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Matthew looked puzzled. "Indian Territory, isn't that dangerous? I thought we were staying here."
"We cannot stay here and live." Hawk told him firmly. "Your mother and I have discussed it; we will go north to my people. There is something you both must know now."
The look on Matthew's face screwed up for a moment, "Why? What must we know?"
Hawk gathered the children, his arm around Matthew, and Jane Ann in his lap.
Hawk smiled at him and Jane Ann. "Your mother and I will be married there, and we will all live as a family. The four of us, until there are more."
Matthew's mouth hung open. "You're getting married?"
"Yes, isn't it wonderful?" Eve chuckled.
"Can you marry an Indian?" Matthew asked.
"There we can be married. Our people may never accept it, Matthew. But it is what I want for all of us. Yes. We want to be a family, don't we?"
Matthew nodded, and then broke into a rare smile. "A real family?"
"A real family." Hawk promised.
He nodded now, and hugged his mother, and then he hugged Hawk awkwardly.
"You must know, your people will never accept it. And even mine will reject you at first. I love you, you are my family. And I will protect you with my life. All of you!"
Matthew smiled now. He seemed to really study on the idea. "I’m glad…We were never really a family before…were we Ma?"
"No Matthew, I'm sorry to say, we weren't." Eve admitted.
"It wasn't your fault." Matthew looked at her sadly.
She gathered him to her. "I'm sorry honey. Hawk and I will make a good family for all of us. I promise you that."
Jane Ann clapped and Eve stared with a warm smile. It was a commitment and it would be hard to keep, but one well worth it.
They would begin their journey north tomorrow. Today they would celebrate being a family.
Matthew and Hawk went off in the woods a while and were gone over an hour.
That gave Eve a chance to see how her food supply in the cellar would hold out. They didn't say what they were up to, but Eve thought it was good that they did things together. Matthew had wanted to do things with his real dad, but that never happened. Her husband had no time for children, that was her job, he told her. Therefore, when Hawk was eager to show Matthew things and teach him how to fend for himself, Eve was very proud.
They came back with a wild turkey. Hawk made a spit and they cooked it slow over the fire for several hours. Hawk had let Matthew kill it, and he was so proud, he was smiling ear to ear. "With one shot, Ma."
Eve smiled, "You are getting to be quite a young man, Matthew. I tried to teach him how to shoot, but I was never that good at it."
Hawk looked at Matthew proudly, "I will teach him what he needs to know. He is a good hunter and he knows how to fish too. I will teach him to track, and how to fend for himself in the woods. He must know the dangers of the woods. There is much he must learn, but I will proudly teach him."
Matthew nodded with a smile to Hawk.
Eve and Jane Ann made biscuits and potatoes. Eve had found a tow sack full of potatoes in the cellar; most of them were still good, mainly because Eve went through them regularly culling out the bad ones. Her supply of canned goods was lengthy too. She had canned her entire garden every year until it was completely full.
Eve checked the cellar again for more food she might pack and take with them on the trip. The fire hadn't hurt the cellar and what she had down there was enough to feed them for some time.
Just before they ate, Matthew and Hawk went out in the forest for a while. When they came back, they were leading another horse.
"Where did you find that?" She asked with a chuckle.
"It was running wild. We caught it."
