Chapter1 (39 page)

“Jude?”
 
She stirred under him, causing a sweet stab of pain in his groin.
 
His hardness twitched between her thighs.
 
She blinked a few times before those green eyes looked into his eyes.
 
He almost crumbled at the love and satisfaction he saw there.

“I’m right here,” he murmured, nuzzling her neck.
 
“This time I’m not going anywhere.”

“I need you inside of me.”

He rested his elbows on the floor and smiled.
 

Her legs wrapped around his waist and his erection found her opening like a homing pigeon.
 
Raw need took command and he pushed into her warmth, yielding to his searing desire for this woman.
 
Kat’s passionate response so soon after her recent shattering release stunned him.

What he’d intended to be a slow teasing interlude turned into a wild dance.
 
Pushed over the edge by her whispered needs, his body exploded.
 

Jude slowly floated back to reality still deeply embedded inside Kat’s warmth.
 
For long moments he didn’t move, enjoying her contractions gently squeezing his penis.
 
He had to be the luckiest man in the world.

Eventually, he rolled away from her about to suggest they move to the bedroom.
 
Kat was asleep.
 
Smiling, he tucked her spoon-style into his body.

*****

An old woman approached the couple entwined on the floor.
 
Sweetgrass Mendon stood over them, a smile on her wrinkled face.
 
She knelt beside her granddaughter and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.
 
“Goodbye, my little Marunga.
 
Be happy.”

Sweetgrass’s smile widened when Kat snuggled closer to the man next to her.
 
“You’ve chosen well, my little Rainbow.
 
We’ll meet again someday, but not, I hope, for a very long time.”

Epilogue

The day dawned crisp, a slight coating of frost on the ground.
 
Red frolicked in the water.
 
Vapor escaped Jude’s mouth like smoke from a locomotive.
 
“Man, Kat.
 
When does winter end here?
 
It’s the end of May for God’s sake.
 
By my calculations, this part of the country has two months out of the year without frost.”

Kat laughed.
 
“It’ll warm up when the sun climbs higher.”
 
She stopped and faced him.
 
You’ve seen a winter first hand.
 
Are you sure you still want to live here the entire year?”

He reached out and curled a silky piece of her hair around his finger.
 
“I’m looking forward to it.”
 
His fingers trailed down Kat’s cheek to cup the baby’s head, which was covered with black curls.
 
Mary Sweetgrass Callahan’s head barely reached the top of the baby sling Kat wore.
 

“I love you, Kat.
 
Have I thanked you yet today for this beautiful little girl?
 
When she gets older, we’ll have to live elsewhere during the school year, but until then I want her to grow up here.”

Kat laughed and stood on tiptoe to brush her lips across his cheek.
 
“Hmmm…sounds good.
 
Do you know how much I love you?”

A low-throated ‘croak’ from above drew her attention.
 
A lone raven glided over the mist-covered water.
 
“Grandmother,” she whispered.

“What?”
 
Jude squeezed her arm.
 
“She’s here?”

Kat pointed at the huge black bird over the lake.

Jude looked up in time to see the raven perform a triple roll, like a fighter jet.
 
“I’ll be damned.”

A second raven joined the first, and they flew in tandem toward the west.

THE END