“With the blessing of Chief Job Black Eagle, and the brilliant talent of Marla North, I dedicate this resource center to our ancestor, the mighty Chief Piakuittsun Taikwawoppih, Speaker to the Buffalo, who met Matthew Cahill under the shadow of these mountains many generations ago and made a peace with him. That peace between Shoshone and settler has endured from that day forward to this one. We are neighbors, we are friends, and we are family. We are stronger together, and we carry that strength with us whether we wander or stay in place. Because it is our home, and our hope. Thank you.”
She skittered away from the podium while the crowd cheered. Logan caught her and hugged her, quick and tight, and then took the mic.
Before he turned the mic up to his much greater height, he grinned and leaned low to it. “Well, damn. I don’t know how I’m gonna follow that.”
Everybody laughed, and Logan began to talk. He was talking about Mac, and how she’d made him see some things he and his family had missed, about who they were and how they were needed, but Reese didn’t much care about what Logan had to say. Mac’s words had taken up all the space in his head.
She was standing alone now, against the wall, near the chief’s portrait. She was uncomfortable, ready for the spectacle to be over. This was probably the hardest part of the whole project for her—accepting accolades. She’d been anxious about it from the moment they’d picked a date for the opening and begun to plan it.
Reese broke from the crowd and went to her. He slid his hands into her hair and gazed into her eyes. “You did it, baby. You did it.”
“Because I have you.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight.
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Susan Fanetti is a Midwestern native transplanted to Northern California, where she lives with her husband, youngest son, and assorted cats.
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Anywhere (Sawtooth Mountains Stories, #3) Page 32