Author's Note: I'm back! I apologize for putting the story on temporary hiatus—I have been very much focused on the novel I'm writing with my husband and another writing project that I was involved in over the Christmas season. But now I'm back and excited to continue this story!
Thank you, as always, to my fantastic beta readers, katbybee and piscean6724. And thank you, readers, for your patience and for your continued support. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
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JoAnne yawned as she peeked into DJ's room. He was just beginning to stir. Usually, her littlest boy was up with the sun, but he had awakened several times with nightmares last night. Roy would have gladly taken a turn sitting up with him, but when DJ had a bad dream, only his mama would do.
Her heart warmed as he rubbed a fist across his sleepy eyes, then rolled over and hid his face in the pillow, his teddy bear Taco clutched tight in one arm. She didn't really mind the long night or the drowsiness that would only be chased away by a strong cup of coffee and an afternoon nap. Oh, she might grumble from time to time, but this child was a blessing, and she cherished every moment with him.
The tempting aroma of pancakes and bacon and coffee wafted up from downstairs. JoAnne smiled. Her husband was another blessing in her life. Sometimes she still had her own nightmares about last year when she had come so close to losing him. But he was alive and he was here and he was downstairs making Saturday morning breakfast for their family. Thank you, God, JoAnne breathed out in a silent prayer.
She crossed the room to DJ's bedside and sat down next to him. While she hated to disturb his sleep, they really needed to get moving. She brushed her fingers through his tangled red curls, then gently massaged his back in circles as she crooned, "D.J., honey… time to wake up."
DJ burrowed deeper into the pillow, but a few seconds later he rolled over, blinked open his eyes, and grinned up at her. "We're gonna see Aunt Bear today?"
"Right you are!" She swooped in and planted a kiss on his forehead. His hair still smelled of coconuts from last night's bath. "You'd better get up and get ready."
He sat up and gave her a hug, then scrambled to get out of bed. His first stop was at the chart she had hung on the wall beside his door, with pictures of everything he needed to do in the morning. "First potty… wash hands an' brush teeth," he said, poking the pictures in order.
JoAnne chuckled. "Go to it, then, Little Bear!" He scurried into the hall, and Jo turned her attention to his room. She quickly made up his bed, placing Taco on the pillow. Then she moved to his dresser. He liked to choose his own outfit for the day; she liked to make it easier by providing a few acceptable choices. Otherwise, he would stare at his open drawer and get overwhelmed by the possibilities. She picked out two pairs of clean underpants, two pairs of pants, three shirts, and three pairs of socks and laid them out on the bed.
She smiled to herself when she heard the toilet flush and then the water running in the sink. Mornings were so much easier since DJ's teacher had recommended the picture routine chart. He loved the bit of independence and JoAnne loved being able to step back and relax a little.
He came running back into his room, grinning ear to ear. "I a'membered ev'rything, Mama!"
A smudge of toothpaste remained in one corner of his mouth, but she resisted the urge to clean it off. "Go check the mirror," she said. "Make sure."
He ran to look in the mirror that hung on the back of his door and then giggled. "Oops!" He wiped his pajama sleeve across his mouth, then, satisfied, ran back to his chart. "Now I gotta get dressed." He looked over the clothes on the bed and considered them carefully, then chose the Superman underpants, the khaki pants, the green polo shirt, and the grey socks. He was able to dress himself with only a little help to put on the socks. Then he grabbed his plastic fireman's helmet and plopped it on his head. "All done! Let's go!"
"Hang on there, Buster. You still have a few more things on your chart. What do you need to do next?"
DJ huffed out an exasperated sigh and went back to the chart. "Comb hair... eat breakfast… an' shoes." He sniffed the air and then smiled and twirled in a circle, his frustration vanishing. "Pancakes!"
JoAnne chuckled. DJ pulled off his helmet and let her comb the tangles out of his hair. Then he plopped the helmet back in place and tore out of the bedroom, pushing past Chris on his way to the stairs. Megan followed close behind her brothers. All three children loved Roy's pancake breakfasts. Once an occasional treat when Roy had a rare Saturday off, now they were a weekly occurrence. DJ especially loved it when his Daddy would cut his pancake and arrange the pieces into fun shapes on the plate. Last week it was a turtle and the week before that, a bird. Jo wondered what today's shape would be.
While the trio of DeSoto children thundered happily down the stairs, their mother straightened up DJ's bedroom, then checked Megan's and Chris's rooms to be sure they had made their beds. Then she followed the kids. By the time she got downstairs, Chris and Megan had the table set and Roy was ready to serve up breakfast. JoAnne slid into her seat and smiled as she inhaled deeply. "Mmm, I smell bacon."
"Crispy, just the way you like it." Roy walked to the table and set her plate in front of her. JoAnne couldn't get over how good it was to see him up and walking on his prosthetic. He was comfortable enough with it already that he didn't need his crutches for short distances. Steadying himself on JoAnne's shoulder, he swooped down to press his lips to hers, then backed up a little and waggled an eyebrow. "I'm pretty hungry too," he quipped, "but not so much for pancakes."
"Ewwwww!" protested Megan. Chris just rolled his eyes and DJ giggled as he stuffed a forkful of ketchup-covered hash browns into his mouth. He was saving his fire truck pancake for last.
JoAnne put a hand on Roy's cheek. "Later, my love?" she said. "We really do need to get this show on the road, huh?"
With an exaggerated sigh, Roy sat down at his spot opposite JoAnne. "Fine." He stabbed at a pancake with his fork. "I suppose this will have to tide me over."
Surrounded by the happy cacophony of her family, JoAnne hurried to eat her breakfast. Then she collected the plates. She and Megan made quick work of rinsing them, and at last it was time to go.
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Johnny heard the DeSotos coming down the hall a good minute before they actually arrived at the door. Nita was sitting up in bed, just finishing her breakfast, when DJ came barreling into the room, the rest of his family a couple of steps behind him. Ever prepared, Johnny caught the squirming boy up in his arms. "Hold it there, Little Bear!" he said. "No jumping on Aunt Bear just yet. I'll set you down next to her if you promise to be very gentle."
"I promise, Unca Johnny!" He patted Johnny's cheeks, showing off his very best gentle touch.
Nita pushed her tray aside and held out her arms, and Johnny set his godson down on the bed. "I'm so happy to see you, Nitoshi," Nita said, and she kissed him on the forehead. Then she looked up and smiled at the rest of Roy's family. "I'm happy to see all of you."
Johnny bent down by Nita's bed and winked. "If you'll come with me for a few minutes, Nitoshi, I have a special surprise for you and Chris and Megan."
Behind him, Megan gasped. "It's the babies, isn't it. Are the babies here?"
Johnny shook his head and stared for a moment, startled by Megan's guess.
Roy chuckled and elbowed him. "You didn't really think you could keep it a secret once they saw you walking on air, did you, Junior?" he said drily.
Johnny shrugged, then shook it off. "I s'pose not. Yes, Princess… the babies are here. Now, I can't take you in the nursery, but you can look at them through the window." He lifted DJ off the bed and set him on his shoulders, then gestured to the older DeSoto children. "Come on, let's go!"
Megan fairly skipped to Johnny's side. DJ ducked as they went through the door into the corridor. Chris followed, hands shoved in his pockets, shoulders slumped, the very picture of the disinterested teenager. Johnny didn't really blame him—visiting babies in the NICU wasn't exactly a junior high kid's idea of 'cool.' Besides, a distinct glimmer in the boy's eyes suggested he wasn't so disinterested after all.
A few minutes later, they stood in front of the large NICU window. Johnny was glad to see that Royal James was no longer on oxygen. His cheeks were rosy like his sister's and he was awake, his eyes bright and alert. For once, Dixie Jo was the sleepy one.
Megan was hopping from one foot to the other as she looked through the window. "It's those two, isn't it?" she asked, pointing at the two incubators on the end. "It has to be—that one looks just like Nita! They're so cute!"
Chris had pressed his nose up against the glass and seemed to have shed the pretense of considering himself too cool for baby-watching. And DJ was leaning over Johnny's head, trying to get himself closer to the window. Johnny knocked on the window to get Nurse Anna's attention. When she looked up and smiled at the small entourage, he pointed at the babies. She nodded, then carefully lifted RJ out of his incubator and brought him to the window. Johnny lifted DJ off his shoulders and lowered him down so he could get a closer look.
"Kids, let me introduce you to Royal James Gage. We're calling him Jamie." Johnny nodded at Nurse Karlstrom and she returned the tiny bundle to his incubator. When she moved to Dixie Jo, she looked up at him as if to ask whether she should risk waking the baby. He shook his head. "Let her sleep," he mouthed, and she nodded. "The little girl next to Jamie is his sister, Dixie Joanne."
"Dixie JoAnne," DJ crowed. "That's DJ… jus' like me!"
Johnny chuckled. "You're right, Nitoshi. But we'll call her Dixie Jo so we don't get you mixed up."
"She's so pretty," Megan breathed out, then she giggled. "And Jamie's hair is so funny!"
"They're awful small," Chris observed. He looked up at Johnny, his eyes clouded with anxiety. "Smaller 'n DJ was. And they've got all those tubes. Are they OK?"
Touched by the boy's concern, Johnny put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "They'll be fine, Chris. They came just a little early, so they need help eating. It won't be long before they're pros with the bottle and then—" He stopped mid-sentence. They'll be ready to go home, he'd been about to say. He swallowed hard. The babies would almost certainly be discharged before Nita was. He wasn't sure he was ready for that. In fact, he knew he wasn't. The nursery was only halfway put together—all their preparations had been stalled when Nita got sick.
"Uncle Johnny?"
Johnny shook his head. "Sorry, Chris… The babies are doing great and should be OK to go home soon." And I've got a lot to get done before that can happen! "Come on, kids," he said. "Let's get back to Nita and your folks now." He swung DJ back up on his shoulders and then shepherded the children back upstairs.
JoAnne met them at Nita's door and reached up to pull DJ into her arms and set him on his feet. Before Johnny could move past her to go through the door, she grasped his arm and pulled him back "Nita's taking a nap, and she has given Roy and me the task of getting you out of the hospital. I don't think you've stepped outside for more than a few minutes at a time since she was brought in. Now, I'm going to take the kids home to spend some time with Gramma Winnie, and then I'll come back to spend the day with Nita and the babies." She grinned up at him. "And you are going to meet Roy at your office and the two of you are going to get away for the entire day. Nita says she doesn't want to see you till supper time."
Johnny gaped at Jo for a moment, then looked past her to see Nita sleeping peacefully. Guilt stirred in his heart. The idea of getting out of the hospital for a break appealed to him, but he was supposed to be here taking care of his wife, wasn't he?
"It's OK, Johnny," Jo soothed. "Nita will be just fine. And didn't you have a special surprise for Roy?" She winked. "Better to do it now, before Nita and the babies come home. It's a beautiful day, and Heaven only knows when you'll have another chance."
Reluctantly, Johnny finally threw up his hands. "OK. I'm going. But if anything happens—"
She patted his arm. "I'll call the ranch. Now go on… get!"
Johnny knew when he was defeated. He hugged JoAnne and the kids, then hurried off to meet Roy.
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Saturday morning, Matt was wide awake and feeling a bit better. The meds were taking the edge off the pain and he had finally gotten a good night's sleep. Even so, he dreaded the next time he would have to use the incentive spirometer his doctor had given him. Even with the morphine, that thing hurt like crazy.
Dad had spent the night at the Stokers and wouldn't be coming back until later today, after he picked up Mom and Celia at LAX. Dr. Early had just been in to check on him and C Shift was on duty today, so Matt wasn't expecting a knock at the door. "Come in," he called.
When Dr. Manning stepped into the room, Matt swallowed a lump in his throat and shoved his bland hospital breakfast away. "Hi, Doc."
"Good morning, Mr. Carter. You look much better today."
"It's Matt," he corrected. He had no interest in small talk. "You have news about Melissa?"
"I do. Good news, in fact. Our latest scans show decreased swelling, which means that the intracranial pressure has come down." He paused briefly. "She's not out of the woods yet, but things are looking better. I thought you'd want to know." The doctor pulled up a chair and sat, setting his cane to the side. "I should also let you know that I've spoken with her father. I'm not sure where they found him, but he called in from Rammstein—the Air Force is flying him home. Putting it mildly, he was not pleased to learn that Miss Sinclair had designated someone else as her next of kin. But I want you to know that as her doctor, I intend to respect her wishes. General Sinclair may not like it, but…" His right eyebrow shot up as he gave Matt a lopsided grin. "Well, I'm sturdier than I look, and I'm not under his command. We can't keep him away from his daughter without cause, but we will keep him away from you, and he won't have access to her full medical records, so he won't know about the pregnancy."
General?! Matt swallowed a lump in his throat. His upbringing in a military family had nurtured in him a healthy respect for rank and authority, but he knew that Melissa's authoritarian father had been hard on both his wife and his daughter. He remembered how she had insisted they elope and how scared she had been to tell her dad about the baby or their engagement. "Thanks, Doc," he said weakly. Suddenly his stomach felt unsettled.
Dr. Manning nodded. "Take it easy, Matt," he said. "Everything is going to be all right." Leaning on his cane, he stood and limped back the way he had come.
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Roy stared out the window as Johnny drove his Jeep Honcho along the private road that stopped in front of his stables. Johnny had been unusually quiet on the drive from Rampart, but Roy didn't really feel like talking anyway. Ever since the accident, he had been prone to mood swings. Nothing earth-shattering… just, sometimes he found it hard to keep his chin up, as so many well-intentioned people had told him to do. Sometimes, he fell into feeling sorry for himself, and it was really hard to pull himself out again instead of wallowing in it.
People kept saying he had adjusted remarkably well, and maybe he had, but right now he was tired of it all. He wanted to be normal again. He wanted to reclaim his independence. He had seen the prosthetic as a chance to do that, but he hadn't expected using it to hurt so much. And even if he could walk again, he wasn't sure he would ever be able to do the things he missed most. Things like driving. He'd worked awfully hard after he and Jo first married, putting by the money to buy his Porsche, and now it was sitting there in his garage, unused. Sometimes he wondered if he should just sell it. His physical therapist said he might be able to drive again eventually, but had not been encouraging about the idea of him operating a manual transmission with the prosthetic. He would need a car with special modifications, as if they could afford that.
As they neared the stable, Roy saw Tex at the paddock fence, watching a beautiful horse with white stockings and a white blaze on her forehead. Its coat was golden, but when the sun glinted off it, he thought he saw a touch of red. Roy carefully tamped down his interest in the animal. He wasn't ready to ride any more than he was to drive. He wasn't sure he ever would be. Tex looked up at their approach and raised his hand in greeting, and Roy returned a half-hearted wave. "Guess he's back from that auction," Roy observed.
"Yeah," Johnny answered. "First I've seen him since Nita got sick. Billy says he brought back some good horses."
Johnny parked in front of the barn and hopped out. Roy opened his door, then grabbed the grip bar above the seat and pivoted to face the door. The ground was fairly even, but it was a long step down and made him nervous. "I could use some help, Junior." He didn't mean to snap, but the admission grated on him. Lighten up, he told himself, but he still felt grouchy.
Johnny came around to the passenger side and offered a hand to steady Roy as he stepped down. "You OK, Pally?"
"I'm fine," Roy grunted. "Sorry." With Johnny's help, he managed to get down just as Tex joined them, Johnny's mutt Tasembo dancing at his heels.
"Roy DeSoto!" A smile crept across the ranch hand's weathered features. "You have two feet on the ground again! I am glad to see it."
"Yeah… not for long today, though," Roy answered. "I need to take this thing off for a while."
Tex narrowed his eyes. "You must push yourself as far as you can go… and then push yourself a few steps farther." His features relaxed as his gaze broadened to take in Johnny as well. "Mijo, how is our warrior woman doing? And how are the little ones?"
Roy was glad Tex's attention shifted to Johnny. The question seemed to have loosened Johnny's tongue. Roy wasn't sure how to respond to the unwanted bit of advice, so he was happy to let Johnny go on and on about Nita and the babies. Tex's words sounded a lot like what Roy's therapist had said—"You have to push through the discomfort if you want to make progress"—but they weren't what Roy wanted to hear right now. Leaning heavily on his crutches, he followed Johnny and the ranch hand to the stable.
Just outside the stable door was an old split-log bench. Grateful for the chance to take the pressure off his stump, Roy sat down instead of going inside with the other two men. He laid aside his crutches, then unfastened the straps that held his prosthetic in place. Propping the limb against the bench, he leaned forward to massage his stump. He slipped off the protective sock he wore to make sure he had not developed any blisters or other irritation, then pulled it back in place.
A few minutes later, Johnny came outside again. "Roy, you have to come see what Tex brought back for the twins!"
"Johnny, I—" His voice trailed off. Johnny was practically glowing. And the whole purpose of this excursion was to get his partner to relax for a while, instead of hovering over Nita and the babies like a mother hen. What was Roy going to tell JoAnne later when she asked how it went? Oh, I sat on my duff and let Tex take over, and I didn't let Johnny show me the big surprise either because I was feeling sorry for myself. No, that would never fly.
So he slipped his arms into the forearm crutches and, leaving his artificial limb where it was, went to join Johnny in the stable. Roy inhaled deeply as he entered the structure, and he felt his heart lighten. The fragrance of pine shavings mingled with the scent of oats and polished leather tack and was one he had always found soothing. Of course, there were other, less-pleasant odors, as in any stable, but Tex and Johnny did a good job of keeping those to a minimum.
Johnny led him to a stall and gestured to a foal, currently burying his nose in the feedbox. "This is Starburst. He's for Jamie." The name was fitting—the colt was black as the night sky, except for a white star-shaped patch on his forehead. In the next stall was another foal, a delicate-boned russet creature with big brown eyes. "And this little girl is Ember. She's for Dixie Jo." Johnny stroked the filly's neck. "They're both about eight months old, recently weaned. Tex and I are going to train them, and they should be ready for riding by the time the twins are old enough." He looked up and his eyes met Roy's. "Tex brought something back for you, too, Roy." He angled his chin toward the stable door. "Come out to the paddock and see."
The men walked out of the stable and down to the fenced paddock where Roy had seen Tex as they drove in. Tex whistled, a long high call, and a moment later the golden horse came trotting over to them. "Roy," the old Kikapu said, "this is Miel… her name means honey. I do not know whether she was named for the color of her coat or for her sweet nature… most likely both. You will ride her."
Roy's jaw dropped. "Ride… I… Tex, she's beautiful, but..."
"She needs you, Roy DeSoto." Tex leveled his gaze at Roy. "This is her third home since her first owner died. He lost his right leg in Vietnam. He raised her and trained her and he was the only one ever to ride her. She has a sweet nature, but she will not accept a rider. I think it is because she is spooked by a leg on her right side—if nothing else, help me prove my theory."
Miel gazed at him with mournful eyes. Roy shuddered slightly. He could feel her sense of longing—she wanted a rider, just as much as he wished he could ride. But he just wasn't sure he could do it. "I don't know…" His voice wavered. Something told him resistance would get him nowhere. Before he went home today, Johnny and Tex were going to get him on this horse. And in spite of his uncertainty, he found himself warming to the idea.
"Doc Brackett told me it would be good for you," Johnny interjected. "He says riding could help strengthen the muscles in your stump. Give it a try, Roy, please? We can work in the ring until you're comfortable. When you feel ready, we'll make the short ride up to the meadow."
Miel nudged Roy gently, as if she were taking care not to knock him off balance, and nickered in his ear. He chuckled and shook his head, then looked her in the eye. "Do you hear that, Miel? I guess we're goin' for a ride."
As they walked up to the practice ring, Miel followed Roy like a giant puppy dog. Tex got her tacked up, and then he and Johnny helped Roy to mount. "This saddle has a special hand grip on the right," the ranch hand explained as he adjusted a cup-shaped stirrup to the right length for Roy to slide his stump in. "It will help steady you until you find your balance." Once Roy was settled, Tex handed him the reins.
"Let me just sit here a minute first." Roy clung to the hand grips. Everything felt off. His balance was all wrong and he wasn't sure how to signal the horse to do what he wanted. Miel snorted, but she stood still, utterly calm, her only movement the slight twitching of her ears that he took to mean she was ready to go when he was. Well, no time like the present. He sucked in a deep breath and tightened his grip. "All right then, Junior, let's get this show on the road."
"Mijo, you walk around with him the first time," Tex instructed.
Johnny nodded and clicked his tongue. Miel started forward, her gait smooth and steady. Roy started off stiff, his shoulders pulled inward and his body rigid. But by the time they had gone about halfway around the ring, he had begun to relax. It felt good up here. What's more, he found that muscle memory was kicking in.
After the second time around, guided by Johnny, he felt ready to try it on his own. Johnny stayed close still, but Roy directed the horse using the reins and subtle pressure from his knees. His stump was getting a good workout.
A little after noon, about the time Roy's stomach started grumbling, Johnny spoke up. "You ready for a ride up to the meadow, Pally? I could make us some sandwiches and we could have a picnic."
Roy's stomach clenched at the suggestion, but he pushed his anxieties aside. He hadn't imagined when he got here that he would ever agree to get on a horse, but now he was glad he'd done it. The pain in his stump that had troubled him earlier had faded almost to nothing, and if visiting the ranch was doing him this much good, getting up to the meadow would be even better. "A picnic sounds good," he said.
Ten minutes later, they were on the trail. Roy carried lunch in his saddlebags, and Tex had strapped Roy's crutches and the prosthetic leg behind him on his horse Roscoe, along with some fishing gear. Johnny rode Minko close to Roy's side. "I'm fine, Mom," Roy finally quipped. "You can stop hovering now."
"Oh, ha ha." Johnny flashed a grin and increased the distance between them, but Roy had a feeling he would be back in a second if he thought he were needed. That's the kind of friendship they'd always had, each of them looking out for the other, ready to walk through flame or flood, or just stick close to share whatever burden the other had to bear. Roy might tease about it, but he would always be grateful to know that Johnny had his back.
He was not prepared for what he saw when they got up to the meadow. He'd been a little disappointed, to be honest, when he saw the fishing rods, but he'd said nothing, unwilling to begrudge his friend this favorite form of relaxation. The rough path down to the creek wasn't well-suited for the horses, and Roy wasn't willing to attempt it on crutches. He would hang out with Miel, Minko, and Roscoe and hope Johnny and Tex brought back some trout for him. But as they came into the meadow, one of the first things Roy noticed was a timber-lined path snaking into the woods toward the creek. He didn't remember seeing that before.
They stopped. Johnny assisted Roy in dismounting and handed him his crutches while Tex hitched the horses to the highline they kept running between a couple of trees. "Let's take a walk, Roy—you want to do it with or without the leg?" Roy could tell Johnny was doing his darnedest to keep a serious expression on his face, but his eyes were sparkling and his lips twitching with a smile he couldn't quite suppress.
"Um… with, I guess." He swung himself over to a fallen tree and sat down. Johnny brought him the leg and he strapped it in place. Then Johnny gave him a hand and pulled him to standing again. "Come on," he said, his million-dollar grin spreading across his face. "Let's go fishing."
As they walked along the path toward the creek, Johnny explained how it had come to be—from Tex's initial idea to the planning and then the work that all of their old 51's crew had joined in. Then Johnny raised his right hand—the one he had injured when he helped rescue Roy, then made worse in a fall from his horse—and flexed it. "Rachel was a great therapist, but working on this was better therapy for my hand than anything she had me do. Tex has good instincts about that sort of thing."
Roy drank it all in silently. The continuing love and support of his 51's brothers didn't surprise him. But the fact that Tex, who hardly knew him, had come up with this idea and worked so hard to make it a reality, then gave the time and effort to finding the ideal horse for Roy to ride—that humbled him. Roy had doubted Johnny's wisdom, welcoming this rough man into his home, even if he had risked his life to save Nita, but today he was seeing Tex with new eyes.* He swallowed a lump in his throat. "Thank you," he finally managed. "Both of you."
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"It's time, Dixie. You look absolutely gorgeous." Marietta Keenan smiled warmly as she looked Dixie over from head to toe. "I can't believe we pulled it off with only one day to prepare!" She pressed a bouquet of clematis and garden roses into Dixie's hands.
Dixie shivered in anticipation. She wasn't quite sure how to describe her mix of feelings. Excitement, yes. Joy, definitely. Nervous, of course. All mixed in with a little bit of terror. But beneath all these emotions was the settled conviction that marrying Kel was right and good and meant to be, even if it had taken a long time and a lot of trouble to get there. She smiled down at the lovely bouquet. The Keenans had been wonderful, making sure they had everything necessary to make a beautiful wedding in spite of the short notice: The flowers, the dress, the minister, rings, a wedding cake… even a last-minute bachelor party and bridal shower—Al and a few of Kel's other high school buddies had spirited him away for a night of camping in the high meadow while their wives spoiled Dixie rotten with a night of pampering. She had never met any of these people before yesterday, and already they had enfolded her into their friendships and made her feel like family. "I'm ready," she said. "Let's go."
A few minutes later, Dixie stood at the back of the small gathering near the Keenans' lakeside gazebo. Looking snappy in his black broadcloth western-cut suit, white silk shirt, bolo tie, and black cowboy boots and hat, Kel waited for her. The way he looked at her made Dixie's knees wobble, and she wasn't entirely sure her legs would carry her the distance, but all of a sudden there she was standing with him and looking up into his eyes and she couldn't quite remember how she got there. She trembled as she passed the bouquet to Mari and slipped her hands into Kel's.
The wedding passed in a blur. Dixie knew she had must have said all the right words at the right times and at some point Kel had slid the ring on her finger, but her memories of the ceremony primarily involved drowning in the depths of Kelly Brackett's gaze and then melting in his arms when they sealed it all with a kiss. Thankfully, Kristy Keenan was recording the whole thing on a borrowed camcorder.
In the early evening, after their guests had gone home, Mari shooed the newlyweds away. "We'll take care of clean-up. Go on. Your honeymoon suite is ready and waiting." Dixie wasn't sure where Mari found the time, but she had prepared the best guest cabin for their wedding night.
Kel pulled Dixie into an embrace and kissed her full on the lips. A deep, hungry kiss that left her gasping for breath. He let her go and adjusted his hat. "Well, Mrs. Brackett. Are you ready to call it a night?"
It took her a second to recover from that kiss, but then she winked and flashed a coquettish smile. "Well, cowboy, I suppose that depends on what you mean by calling it a night."
Kel laughed and proffered his arm. "Come with me, Dix, and I'll show you what I have in mind."
And so the newlyweds strolled into the night, down the hill to the gazebo, and around the small lake. Then Kel swooped his bride into his arms, carried her across the threshold into the cabin, and closed the door.
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*For Tex's backstory, see Stirring the Ashes of Memory and The Hard Road.