After everyone had eaten their fill and the Forsters had said their good-bye's and left, Sam and Jake were finally left alone. Sam looked up at her new husband, with no idea of what to say. It was dark so she couldn't really see his expression, but she could tell he was uncomfortable when Jake rubbed the back of his neck and said, "I'll show you where we'll be staying," then lit a lantern, anded it to her, and walked off.
They ended up at a teepee set a little ways behind all of the other ones, and it was between the river and another pasture filled with horses.
They entered the teepee and Jake gestured towards the boxes filled with Sam's belongings. "I'll leave you to get settled in," he said. "I have something I need to do," he added before he brushed past her and disappeared into the night.
Sam set the lantern down in the center of the room and began to dig through the box where she thought her nightgown was. Once she found it, she quickly got changed before she grabbed the lantern and made her way down to the river.
Sam washed her face and let her hair down then stared at her reflexion in the water. She looked so pale, and her hair was so bright compared to all the people around her who were her new family. She didn't see herself ever truly fitting in with them.
Sam took one last look around for Jake before she went back inside the teepee and looked at the pile of furs that was clearly the bed. She wanted to wait up for Jake, but she was exhausted. So with a sigh, she blew out the candle in the lantern, climbed in under the warm, soft, furs, and fell into a deep sleep.
Sam woke to the smell of what she hoped was breakfast. She opened her eyes and looked around the teepee. She was alone; Jake must not have come back the night before.
Too hungry to ponder over her missing husband, Sam got up and went over to her belongings to find something to wear. She would have to sort through her things and put them away later. As she looked around the teepee, she noticed how simple it was. There was what appeared to be a fire pit in the center and woven rugs on the floor.
In additions to her boxes, there were shelves that held what must be Jake's belongings. Sam didn't see any place to put her things, so she made a mental note to ask Jake about it when she saw him.
Sam quickly got dressed then opened the door of the teepee and peered out. She saw people moving around and getting ready for the day. There was a large fire pit in what looked like the center of the village, and she noted that that was where the delicious smell was coming from.
Sam slowly made her way towards the fire pit, self-conscious about how people were looking at her, but too hungry not to go look for food. As she drew closer, she was relieved to see Maxine and Cricket talking and laughing as they served breakfast.
"Samantha! Good morning! I hope you slept well. Are you hungry?" Maxine asked as soon as she spotted Sam.
At the sound of Maxine's voice, everyone who wasn't already looking at Sam turned and watched her. Sam noticed the chief and his sons, including Jake, standing just behind Maxine.
Sam blushed and gave a tentative smile before saying, "I slept very well, thank you. And yes, I'm very hungry."
"Well here you go then," Cricket said with a kind smile and handed Sam a cup of tea and a plate of cornbread and berries.
"Thank you," Sam said, then she found a spot a little distance from everyone else to eat. She felt out of place with her pale skin and muslin dress. She wanted to talk to someone about what she could do to fit in better, but Cricket and Maxine were busy and Jake was clearly avoiding her.
At the thought of Jake, she glanced towards him to see his mother talking sternly to him before jerking her chin towards Sam. Jake rubbed the back of his neck, that must be a habit of his when he feels uneasy, Sam thought, and looked at Sam, meeting her eyes.
Sam felt her cheeks flush and she looked down towards her food. She looked up again when she heard footsteps approaching, and saw Jake coming towards. His face didn't have any expression on it, so she couldn't tell how he felt about her or the marriage.
"D'you wanna go for a ride when you're done eating?" he asked. Sam was busy chewing her food so she didn't say anything, but nodded enthusiastically. She thought she saw the slightest of smiles tug at his lips but she could have imagined it because he simply gave a short nod and kept walking past her towards the horses.
Shoulda just kept your mouth shut, Jake thought as he walked past his new wife towards the horses.
When Dad had told him and Quinn that one of them would have to marry the white man's daughter, he had every intention of making sure the girl chose Quinn. Jake didn't know the first thing about being a husband, especially not the husband of a white woman.
But when he saw her that day, the day she came to meet him and Quinn, he knew he would feel guilty if she married Quinn and got her heart broken. He didn't know why; he didn't usually pay attention to girls.
But Samantha had a radiance about her. He could see the love and passion in her eyes as she watched the horses, the same love, and passion he felt for them. She was like an open book, Jake could easily read her every expression on her face. He couldn't imagine her ever hurting anyone or anything, and because of that, he didn't want to see her get hurt in any way.
When Jake had seen Quinn looking after the girls heading to do laundry, right in front of Sam, he knew it would only be a matter of time before Quinn would stray from his marriage. It was just who his brother was. He wasn't a bad guy, he just "likes to have fun," as Quinn put it.
Something about seeing Sam standing there, small and alone, made Jake speak up. She must be terrified, he remembered thinking. She would be marrying into this family, this culture, and she would be all alone.
Now though, Jake was regretting having ever said anything to her. He felt awkward around Sam and was at an even bigger loss for words than he usually was. He couldn't bear the idea of sharing a bed with her the night before, so he had borrowed a blanket from Kit and had gone to sleep in the tree house they built for the children to sleep in.
Jake knew what his father wanted from him and Sam's marriage. When he was done eating breakfast and was handing his plate back to his mother she had said, "You have to talk to Sam, Jake! Get to know your wife. Then tell her what's going to happen. She has to know, and it has to come from you." He had glanced over at where Sam was sitting and eating her breakfast to see her already looking at him. He stared down at the ground for a second before meeting his mother's eyes and nodding.
As he had made his way over to Sam, he was struck again by how small she was. The top of her head came up to his shoulder if that.
"D'you wanna go for a ride?" he had asked. Horses always calmed him down and he hoped that being around horses would make them both feel a little bit more comfortable. Judging by her exuberant reaction, he knew he had made the right decision. Now he just had to pick out the right horse for her to ride.
A/N: I tried to write from Jake's perspective but it didn't turn out as well as I thought. But maybe I'll try again, and hopefully get better with practice.