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Strawberry Summer	By : QueenoftheDream Category: InuYasha > Het - Male/Female > Kouga/Kagome Views: 3312 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, nor do I make any money in writing this fic.

Chapter List
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April 11, 1886
Kagome drew the dark green shawl tighter around her shoulders as a cool, rainy April breeze pushed through her wool dress, causing her to shiver. Her shoes clapped upon the wood floor of the porch as she went to sit in Grandpa’s old, worn rocking chair. As she sat down, her Sunday best dress rustled around her ankles, and she focused her gaze in front of her. Beyond the white fenced boundary of her family’s property and on the other side of the uneven dirt road lay acres and acres of wheat fields stretching as far as the eye could see. Contrary to the literal wide open space surrounding her, Kagome felt trapped. Each day that passed by seemed to grip her a little tighter like a vise. Or a noose…
She was snapped out of her gloom when the front door to her right opened and none other than her unwitting captor walked out of her home. She plastered a smile on her face as the young man tipped his hat. The chair squeaked and groaned with the rocking motion, and she fought the urge to wince.
“Good day to you, Kagome. I’ll look forward to seeing you next Sunday at Mass.”
“Of course, Mr. Hopkins.” She almost hoped her smile was convincing. A quick look at his face confirmed that he was tickled pink at her insinuation of looking forward to seeing him.
“Miss Kagome,” he said warmly, walking toward her, “how many times must I tell you? Please call me Joseph.” He lifted her right hand from the chair’s armrest and kissed her cold fingers lightly. She smiled stiffly, and his big, boyish eyes crinkled in response. “Until next week, Kagome,” he murmured, and then he jauntily walked down the stairs and over to where his horse was tied to the fence. She became fascinated with the lace trim at the edge of her shawl as he mounted the horse and trotted by the porch before turning to the road and galloping away. She let out a sigh of relief once he was out of earshot.
Her hopes were again sunk when she saw the door open once more, this time with her lanky younger brother exiting the home. “You know, you really should make an effort with Joe, Kagome. He really loves you, and he’s offering you an opportunity at security, happiness, and a future. Why don’t you accept his suit?” he asked, his voice cracking intermittently. He rolled his dark eyes as Kagome’s face puckered.
“He doesn’t love me, Sota. He’s infatuated, and that’s that. The boy wouldn’t know the earth from the sky if he wasn’t firmly attached to one.” She tilted her head haughtily. Even thinking about dealing with the antics of Joseph Hopkins on a daily basis was enough to make her feel vexed. Sure, he was one of the nicest boys on God’s green earth, but he was also an idiot with a sense of humor comparable to a tree stump. Of course, Mama made it plenty obvious that he was the best she could do with her distant Ute heritage. Indian blood wasn’t exactly a commodity.
“But,” Sota interjected, “his family is successful, and he’s in line to inherit the farm and the money once old Mr. Hopkins passes. It’s worth it if you ask me.” Sota casually leaned up against the wall, one eyebrow raised as he nodded toward the ever-present Hopkins family wheat fields that lined the eastern horizon. The balmy wind rustled the tops of the winter wheat.
Kagome fought the urge to sigh in exasperation, and she stiffly stood up from the chair, brushing imaginary dust from her skirt. “Well, luck would have it that I didn’t ask. You are still a child, and I will not be lectured at by the likes of you.” She stuck her nose up at him, but quickly realized that his eyebrows had drawn together as he stood up straight, looking over her shoulder at the north end of the road.
“Someone’s coming,” he stated, and Kagome turned around.
“Well, go get Mama,” she muttered as her own eyebrows knitted. The figure and the large bay horse trotting down the road belonged to nobody she or her family knew.
“Go inside and get her, Kagome,” Sota gravely stated. “You’re a girl, and girls don’t greet strange men. Go get Mama.” She reluctantly turned and opened the door. She found her mother in the kitchen working at a needlepoint.
“Mama,” Kagome carefully interjected, gently rousing her mother from the daydreams she sometimes slipped into while embroidering. “There’s someone coming down to the house. Sota and I aren’t sure who it is…” she trailed off as her mother looked up with a slight concerned frown marring her features. The matron got up with a fluttering of her skirts and set the embroidery upon one of the end tables in the dining room before bustling out the front door.
Kagome, in turn, peeked around the wooden frame of the door to catch a glimpse at this mysterious stranger. She peered down into the yard and saw Mama, Sota, and the stable master, Michael, speaking animatedly to a tall, wiry man. His back was to her, but she could see that he held himself straight, and judging by her mother’s open posture and body language, his manners did not seem to be lacking. He towered over Mama and the pubescent Sota, and appeared to be even taller in stature than Michael, who stood just over five inches taller than herself.
She saw Sota look up and raise one eyebrow meaningfully at her, and she retreated back inside, radiating embarrassment from being caught doing something as childish as spying. Just as she sat in the kitchen to begin peeling potatoes for supper, her mother reentered, and her forehead crinkled in thought. Kagome peered up at her, waiting for an explanation.
“Oh,” she finally spoke after a lengthy silence, as if just realizing Kagome was there. “We’ve taken on a new employee. We’ll have to keep him up in the loft of the tack shed, so I’ll need you to round up some bed clothes and find the cat. Heaven forbid we have mice while keeping a guest!”
Kagome stood, her heavy skirts falling around her ankles. “We’ve found somebody?” The ranch over the past few years had been sorely lacking in help. Since their land was on the very edge of the range, the cowboys and stable hands that did come around opted for the more steady pay that the railroads and big cattle companies offered. Denver sucked up any prospective business that would have otherwise trickled down to The Springs and its surrounding farms.
Her mother shrugged. “It seems that he found us. If this isn’t divine providence, then I don’t know what is,” she declared with a smile as she sat to resume the peeling that Kagome had started.
Kagome slipped up the stairs past Michael and Sota as they went up to get a spare mattress to haul out to the tack shed. Kagome almost felt sorry for the stranger, being that he had to essentially sleep outside without the general warmth of a house or fireplace. Thankfully, summer was right around the corner, and the nights would soon lose the biting edge they held in the winter and early spring.
She quickly plodded down the stairs with full arms after rummaging in the linen closet, and she walked out the front door. However, as she turned around from pulling the door shut, she found herself running face-first into something hard. The jolt caused her to squeak and drop the bed clothes in surprise. She looked up, hair askew and mouth agape and saw that the object with which she had collided was none other than the flannel-clad torso of the new employee. Her face promptly flushed with humiliation, and her hands came up to hover near her collarbone.
“I am so sorry! I’ll go and retrieve some new, fresh sheets for you right away, sir,” she gushed. As she went to bend down, she felt long, hard fingers gently grab her forearm, and her head flew up as she sharply inhaled in surprise.
“That won’t be necessary, miss,” the stranger soothed with the ghost of a smirk dancing upon his thin lips. She saw short, dark hair peeking out from beneath the brim of his cowboy hat, and his blue-grey eyes danced with suppressed laughter at her embarrassment. He looked down his slightly hawkish nose at her as she grew redder in the face in consternation.
“W-well…” she stammered as he bent down, nearly burying his face in her skirts to pick up the dropped linens. He tucked them under one arm as she slipped a stray curl behind her ear. His sleeves were rolled up to the elbows, and she could see the corded muscles of his forearms flex.
“Thank you kindly, miss,” he drawled as he tipped his brown hat over his forehead. Without saying another word, he turned and walked down the porch steps, leaving Kagome confused, thoroughly embarrassed, and slightly intrigued. Of all of the first impressions to make, her subconscious apparently decided this one was the best.
To her relief, the stranger was out of sight for the rest of the day. At six-thirty, she started bringing food out of the kitchen for supper as her mother set the table. She was bringing the last dish out into the dining room when, looking up to see everyone seated at the table, she saw a familiar face. She almost dropped the crock of mashed potatoes when she locked eyes with the new employee. His dark eyebrows barely twitched, and he gave a polite smile.
Thankfully taking the look on Kagome’s face for confusion rather than the mortification she truly felt, Mama chirped, “Mr. Allen, this is my daughter. Kagome, dear, this is the new employee I was telling you about. I trust you were able to provide him with fresh linens,” she said as she unfolded her napkin upon her lap. Kagome simply nodded like an imbecile as she placed the pot upon the table and took her seat. She thanked every angel she knew of that her place was not next to the newcomer; otherwise she would have simply died of embarrassment.
“Ah. Koga Allen. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, miss,” he drawled smoothly, and he gave her a polite grin. She thanked the heavens above that he paid her the courtesy of sparing her the reliving of their first encounter. She let her mouth stretch into a small relieved smile.
After Mama said a quick grace, the forks were picked up, and conversation commenced. The new employee seemed to be the topic of interest.
“Tell us about yourself, Mr. Allen,” Mama cheerfully requested before biting into a slice of buttered bread.
“Well,” he began, having the decency to be bashful, “there isn’t much to say, Mrs. Walker. I was born in Philadelphia; I’ve bounced around from place to place ever since. When my father passed, I set out on my own, mostly working on farms and ranches and the like.” He paused to take a drink. “It’s not my intention to boast, but I can tame just about any horse you set in front o’ me, so I figure I’ll fit in right well here. There’s nothing really compares to flying across the hills on a spirited stallion.”
Gramps mashed on his food noisily before setting his fork down upon the table with a rattling “clang.” “You got some Injun in you, boy? They’ve got a way with horses, you know.” He nodded sagely.
“Father! I’m so sorry about that, Mr. Allen,” Mama apologized, and Sota’s eyebrows flew up at Gramps’s breach in etiquette.
“No harm done, ma’am. My mother was Yankton, so I reckon that’d make me half Indian, sir. However, you can be sure that I was raised in civilized society.” Sota was staring unabashedly at Koga. He was an avid reader of dime novels and was no doubt imposing the strapping man before him in the place of the wild Crazy Horse or Tecumseh, brandishing a tomahawk and riding down Conestoga wagons over the grassy plains.
“How fascinating,” Mama murmured as she dabbed her mouth with her napkin. “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to stay on until the autumn? We could use an extra hand around the ranch. Free room and board would of course be included, along with pay at the end of your term,” she offered.
“I’d be mighty obliged, ma’am, if you’d allow me to stay on here.” Kagome found that her heart did a strange, floppy jump when he accepted her mother’s proposition.
As the meal wound down, Mama reached over to wipe Grandpa’s face. “Sota, could you scrape up the leftovers and go feed the pigs?” Sota stood and took the serving platters to the kitchen before disappearing to retrieve the slop bucket.
“Kagome,” Mama continued as she began stacking the dirty plates, “I’ll take care of the dishes tonight if you go round up the horses. It looks like it might rain again tonight.”
Kagome immediately excused herself and ran upstairs to change into her riding skirt and one of her work blouses before swiftly walking out to the stable to saddle her grey Andalusian gelding. After leading him out of the stable, Kagome steered the horse to the gate next to the holding pen and unlatched it. As she turned to lead her horse through, she saw, illuminated by the orange rays of the setting sun, Koga riding toward her on his bay Thoroughbred. He had not replaced his hat after removing it for dinner, allowing the wind to tousle the short, dark brown locks.
“Mind if I tag along, miss?” He looked her up and down, clearly appraising the split riding skirt that still scandalized some onlookers of polite society. She found herself strangely intrigued and worried what he might think of such improper attire on a young lady such as herself.
Kagome shrugged and beckoned him to come forward before shutting the gate and mounting her horse.
“C’mon, Rosie,” she clipped as she lightly tapped the horse’s sides. Koga’s horse trotted alongside hers over the pasture land.
“…Rosie? Pardon if I’m mistaken, but I believe your horse is a gelding.”
Kagome chuckled. “You’d be correct. My father bought this horse for me just before he died. I remember I plucked every flower from my mother’s prized white rose bushes and wove them in his mane before declaring his name to be Rose.” She could hear Koga snickering to her left, and her cheeks lifted in a grin.
“Mama was furious that I ruined her flowers.” She shook her head as her smile grew. “I don’t think I really understood that the horse was a boy until some time later.” Koga guffawed next to her, bringing a genuine giggle from her lips.
The pair came upon a copse of trees along the edge of the pasture. “The horses usually stick around the grove this time of evening. Show me what you’ve got, Mr. Allen,” she playfully taunted, looking over at his face. With a lilting grin, she noted with silent astonishment that the red light the setting sun cast made his dark brown hair appear as black splotched with blood red where the light shone through the waving strands .
He spurred his horse forward and easily rounded up the geldings and mares. Kagome rode ahead and opened the large stable doors just as Koga herded them into the chute with surprising swiftness. He helped her lead the horses into the empty stalls, and when they finally shut the stable doors, the sun was nearly set behind the mountains in the west.
“Let me walk you back to the house, miss,” he offered, seeing the darkness quickly descending upon the property.
Kagome’s hands flew up as she shook her head frantically.
“No, no, that won’t be necessary! It’s only a short walk, and you’ve already done so much today,” Kagome plaintively insisted. He shook his head.
“No, I insist. A young lady shouldn’t be out by herself at night. I don’t imagine your mother would be much pleased to find you all gnawed up by a coyote,” he pressed. Kagome clearly had no choice but to accept, and they started toward the front porch.
“You really have a way with the horses,” Kagome blurted as she twisted the end of her braid around the end of one finger. “Even Michael has never rounded them all up that quickly.”
“Well, many thanks. My father always called it ‘animal ken.’ That’s a bit of his old Scottish speech coming through there,” he lightly laughed.
“Oh, you’ve Scottish background as well?”
He did his best accent, looking straight ahead as the pair reached the front steps. “Och, aye. Would ye like me to imitate his speech for ye, wee lassie?”
Kagome giggled as she climbed the stairs, leaving him standing on the walkway. “Well, thank you for escorting me, Mr. Allen. It’s been a pleasure to meet you.”
He nodded frankly, and Kagome found herself marveling at the breath of fresh air he had already blown into the ranch in the four hours he’d been there. “If it please you, you can call me Koga. Good evening, miss.” With that, he started south toward the tack shed. The moment she turned to walk through the front door, she heard him call over his shoulder, “Many thanks for bringing the sheets. Don’t worry, neither they nor my shirt were soiled in the process.” Her face went hot and undoubtedly beet-red despite the teasing note that his dimming voice carried. She leaned backward, noticing how straight he held his broad shoulders as he strode away. It hadn’t occurred to her that she might be staring until she heard Sota clear his throat behind her, causing her to startle and whirl around to face him.
“Don’t scare me like that,” she admonished. “You nearly made me jump outta my skin!” Despite her pitiful attempt at diverting his attention, she could tell by the look on her younger brother’s face that she had been caught dead in the act of staring like a shameless trollop. If her racing heartbeat and burning cheeks were any indication, she could tell that the upcoming summer was going to be out of the ordinary in one way or another.
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Strawberry Summer