She heard the barn door swing open and Adelaide and John Kincaid talking as they walked in. She started to call out to her sister, but suddenly John swept Adelaide into his embrace.
"I wanted to wait to tell you how I feel about you, knowing you were but recently widowed, but I can't wait. I'm too afraid some other man will come along and take you away from me..."
Adelaide lay her head against his broad shoulder and looked into his rugged face. "It wouldn't matter who came along, John. I could never feel about them the way I feel about you."
Makinna moved away from the door and stood in a corner. It was too late to make her presence known now.
"Can you really care about me the way I do about you?" John asked in a voice filled with wonder.
Adelaide's voice was playful as she said, "I don't know, John. You haven't told me how you feel. You only said you were afraid some other man would take me away."
He held her at arm's length. "I love you. I love you so damned much that I can't pass an hour without thinking about you."
Adelaide rested her hand on his chest. "I'm not a young girl, John, and I don't play games. I love you, and I'm not too shy to admit it."
He let out a loud whoop, gathered her about the waist, and swung her around, laughing. "I am the luckiest man that ever lived! I love the lady, and she loves me!"
They became quiet, and Makinna guessed they were kissing. She definitely couldn't make her presence known now. She smiled with happiness for her sister. Adelaide was going to be all right. John would be good to her. Her sister had wanted to live in Texas, and now she could.
She heard John speak.
"When can we be married? I don't want to wait."
"But you must, John. I have been a widow but four months. It would not be proper."
"Here in Texas we do things differently. No one holds much with convention. We're too busy raising cattle and children. I want to increase my herd, and I want children. Do you like children, Adelaide?'
"Yes, I do, John."
"Then it's settled. I won't stop kissing you until you agree to marry me."
Adelaide's laughter was beautiful to Makinna's ears. "Let's go ask Hannah and see what she thinks."
"All right, but I warn you, Hannah has been telling me for years that I need to settle down. The Bar K is a big ranch, and it's good land. I have money, Adelaide, so I want you to put yours in a bank somewhere and live off mine. You can set yours aside for our children if you want to."
Again Adelaide laughed. "If that's what you want. Just how wealthy are you?"
"Not nearly as wealthy as the Silverhorns, but I make a better than good living."
Makinna heard them move out the door, and she felt tears on her cheeks. She smiled wistfully. "Oh, Adelaide, you are going to be so happy," she whispered.
Adelaide and John made an unusual-looking couple, he tall and raw-boned, looking uncomfortable in a suit and tie, she delicate and pretty in a lacy apricot gown.
But as they stood in Hannah Silverhorn's parlor but a few weeks later, their eyes shone with love when the preacher pronounced them man and wife.
The wedding was small, the only guests Hannah, Makinna, and John's sister and her husband.
When the ceremony was over, Makinna hugged Adelaide; smiling through her tears. "Be happy."
Adelaide's laughter bubbled. "I am! Oh, Makinna, I love him so much. Is it right for anyone to be this happy?"
"Yes, it is. If anyone deserves to be happy, it's you."
Adelaide squeezed Makinna's hand. "If only you could be as happy as I am. If only-"
"This is your day. We will not speak of anything but your happiness. A bride should have only happy thoughts on her wedding." Makinna forced a laugh. "Go to your bridegroom. He is looking this way."
And she watched her sister move across the room and into her new husband's embrace.
The house seemed so quiet without Adelaide. Makinna watched Hannah mending one of her gowns, not realizing she had sighed aloud.
Hannah looked at her over her spectacles. "It was a lovely wedding."
"Yes, it was. I am so glad my sister found John."
"He's a good man."
"I think so, too."
"Mangas is up and about. He seems to have recovered nicely."
Makinna laughed. "He is a loveable old man. His eyes twinkle, and he almost seems full of mischief."
"He likes you."
"How do you know?"
"He told me so."
Makinna was thoughtful. "I consider that a compliment. I have a feeling Mangas doesn't give his approval easily."
Hannah studied Makinna's face as she said, "I had word from Coloradous today."
Makinna sat forward. "How is Tykota?"
"You will be glad to know that he is healing nicely."
Makinna closed her eyes in relief. "I'm glad. I have been so worried about him."
"So have I.But not so much for his injury. I knew in my heart that he would heal from that wound."
"You are concerned because he stepped down and allowed Coloradous to be chief of the Perdenelas."
"Not even that. I am more worried about why he did it."
"I don't understand."
"If Ty stepped down because he did not feel capable of leading his tribe, he will find no peace."
Makinna thought about what Hannah said, and she understood. Tykota might always carry guilt that he didn't fulfull his promise to his father. She stood up and walked restlessly to the window.
"Something is bothering you, isn't it, Makinna?"
She turned to Hannah. "I have to tell you something, and I don't want to."
"You are going away, aren't you?"
"Yes. I have decided to go back to New Orleans. At least for a while. I feel if I go back to my roots, maybe I can find who I am. Adelaide insisted on lending me enough money to open a small book shop there."
"I don't want you to leave."
Makinna went to Hannah and took her hand. "I will miss you. But you know I have to do this."
Hannah nodded. "Knowing it and liking it are two different things. I would like to keep you with me."
"I shall certainly miss you."
"When do you plan to leave?"
"I thought I would go as soon as Adelaide gets back from her honeymoon."
"Then I still have you for two more weeks."
Makinna kissed the little woman's cheek, knowing she would miss her dearly.
The sun had gone down hours ago, and dark clouds were gathering on the eastern horizon.
Makinna and Hannah had settled on the veranda after dinner, enjoying the coolness of the evening. Hannah sat in a rocking chair, and Makinna was seated on the steps, watching flashes of lightning in the distance.
"Did you finish packing?" Hannah asked.
It was painful for Makinna to think about leaving. "Yes. Everything is ready to go."
"You can still change your mind," Hannah said hopefully.
Makinna wanted to stay, but she couldn't. If she remained, she would only watch for Tykota every day, and she could not live that way. "I have to go. You know I do."
"`Looks as if it might rain hard," Hannah observed. "We could use some rain."
Makinna's heart wrenched in pain as she remembered how Tykota had taught her not to fear the thunderstorm. "The earth being reborn," she muttered sadly.
Hannah set her sights on the sky. "More than likely it will pass us by."
Makinna heard footsteps coming up the walkway, and she assumed it was one of the cowhands coming to speak to Hannah. She stood up to give the man room.
She walked to a corner of the veranda and stared up at the sky, leaning her head against a wooden column. She was overwhelmed with melancholy. She was happy for her sister, but, unlike Adelaide, she would never know the joy of marrying the man she loved.
As Tykota stepped onto the veranda and approached his mother, he placed a finger to his lips and nodded toward Makinna. Hannah understood immediately and
smiled as joy burst through her heart. She knew why he had come. In fact, she'd been expecting him. "I'll just go inside," she whispered. "Convince her to stay, Ty"
Makinna heard the door open and shut, but she kept watching the sky, still remembering that other storm so long ago when she had first begun to realize that she loved Tykota.
"Were you, perhaps, thinking of me, Makinna?"
She whirled around to find Tykota standing behind her. She pressed a hand to her stomach to stop the fluttering there. Then lightning flashed, and her gaze collided with Tykota's.
"Are you well enough to have ridden a horse here?" She immediately felt foolish for asking such a mundane question, but it was all she could think of to say.
He held out the arm that was in a sling. "So it would seem."
To keep him from knowing she was falling apart inside, Makinna tilted her chin upward. "Your brother sent word as he promised. We knew that he'd taken you back to your tribe."
Makinna's hair glistened in the soft light, and Tykota wanted to reach out and touch it, but he restrained himself.
"I wasn't sure you would come back to Biquera, Tykota."
His voice was deep with feeling. "Why would you think that, Makinna?"
Her words were almost inaudible. "I don't know. I thought..." She paused. "Well, I'm glad you came now, or I would have missed seeing you."
"Oh. Why is that?"
"I'm going away tomorrow. Oh, you probably don't know yet that John Kincaid and my sister married."
"There is nothing that happens on this ranch that I don't hear about, Makinna. I even heard that you were leaving. But I do not think you will."
"And why is that?"
He stepped closer but still didn't touch her. "What makes you think I will allow you to leave?"
A flash of lightning made a jagged pattern across the sky, and he held out a hand to her. She stared at him, then gave him her hand. His clasp was warm, and she trembled when he raised her palm to his lips and placed a passionate kiss there.
"I forgot to thank you for removing the bullet from my shoulder, Makinna."
She could not speak because he was gathering her closer to him. When she would have pulled away, he glared at her, and she relented. Blissfully, she lay her head against his shoulder.
"I have been so worried about you," she admitted.
There was uncertainty in his voice, a trait he had seldom displayed before. "When Mangas told me you were going back to New Orleans, I feared I would not get here in time to stop you."
Makinna's heart was thundering inside of her, and there was a tightening in her throat. "I don't know what you mean."
He tilled her chin up and smiled down at her. "Do we play games, beloved?"
"No, I"
"Your lips beg to be kissed."
"You shouldn't say things like that." She shook her head. "Don't do this to me, Tykota."
"I will never hurt you again, Makinna."
There was something different about him, but she didn't know what it was. He seemed calmer and somehow... lighthearted. "If you were to speak the truth, Tykota, we have both hurt each other."
"I always speak the truth with you." He smiled. "Well, almost always. Some thoughts about you are private, and I keep those to myself."
She moved away, not trusting herself to be so near him. "What about the tribe, Tykota?"
"They will do much better with Coloradous to lead them."
"But your father-"
Reaching out, he touched her face lovingly and stared into her vivid blue eyes. "My rather was sometimes wrong, Makinna. I never want our sons to be burdened with the secret of the Perdenelas' treasure."
His statement brought a gasp to her lips. She wanted to feel Tykota's arms around her, but she still did not trust her own heart. "Our son?" she echoed weakly.
His dark gaze probed hers. "Yes, our son. For this I swear, Makinna, you will have no man's sons but mine."
A sob escaped her lips as he tore off his sling and hugged her to him. "Tykota! she cried.
"I want to fill you with sons and daughters," he whispered against her hair, closing his eyes and absorbing her essence. "I do not believe that any man has ever loved a woman as I love you."
She raised her head and saw the passion in his dark eyes. "If I can't have your children, Tykota, I will have no other man's child."
He growled as his arms tightened about her. "We had better have the wedding soon, because I do not think my mother will like what I am thinking."
She laughed. "The tack room?"
"How soon will you marry me?"
She placed a finger over his mouth. "Tykota, are you sure this is what you want? I know how you felt about your tribe and safeguarding them and the treasure."
Tykota reached inside his vest and withdrew something, which he placed in the palm of her hand.
Makinna glanced down at the two leather armbands with the golden eagles, and the significance of his gesture struck her like lightning. "Oh, Tykota."
"Beloved, I have found in you something more precious than any treasure, and a love more timeless than the sacred mountain."
His lips brushed hers, and he held her tighter against him. Neither of them spoke. It was enough to touch, to feel, to let their love for each other transcend the pain of the past.
Finally Tykota raised his head and lightly kissed her lips. "Makinna, you are so much a part of me, that when you breathe, I take a breath; when you are hurt, I feel pain. Say you will walk through life with me."
Happiness flowed through her, and she pressed her cheek to his. "Yes, oh, yes, Tykota."
He took her hand and led her toward the house. "Come, let us tell my mother." He stopped and quirked an eyebrow at her. "Unless, of course, you would rather I take you to the tack room."
She steered him toward the front door. "No. I think that will wait until I am Mrs. Tykota Silverhorn."
"You had better plan a wedding quickly then, because I do not intend to wait much longer to take you to bed." He slid a hand across her breast, and she felt him tremble. "I have known the joy of your body, and I want to know it every day of my life."
He gave her a long, drugging kiss, but finally Makinna broke it off and moved a safe distance away to look up at him. "You have no doubts?"
"None."
"Where will we live?"
"Here, Makinna. Here on Biquera Ranch we will raise our sons and daughters." He looked down at her. "With you, I have found peace for my restless soul. You have brought true love into my life." He closed his eyes for a moment. "Peace is wonderful."
"Oh, I do hope so, Tykota," she said with feeling. "That is what I want for you above all else. I have watched you struggle, watched you torn between two worlds. The pain of your struggle has been like a knife in my heart."
Tykota raised his eyes and stared at the distant lightning as the first drops of rain begin to hit the roof of the ranch house. "I like to think my father knows and would approve. If he loved my mother half as much as I love you, he is smiling from the Spirit World right now."
Makinna closed her eyes as Tykota enveloped her in his arms. "If there is love," she said softly, "it will find a way."
Makinna shaded her eyes against the glare of the Texas sun and laughed down at her daughter, Yalinda, a dark-eyed, dark-haired little beauty who looked so much like her father. The child was giggling and tugging at Makinna's skirt.
She lifted her into her arms and walked toward the corral. She braced Yalinda on the top rung of the rail fence, and they both watched Tykota instruct young Coloradous.
"My son," he said, "you must never have any fear of a horse. Here in the desert country, your horse will be your best friend. He will often be your only hope between life and death."
Makinna watched Tykota place their threeyear-old son, Coloradous, on the back of a pinto. Unlike his sister, who had the coloring of her Indian heritage, Coloradous looked more like Makinna. His hair was light brown, and his eyes were a startlingly beautiful g
olden color.
With pride shining in his eyes, Tykota stood back and watched his son clutch the reins. He caught Makinna's gaze and called out to her. "Our son fears nothing. Do you see the way he sits his horse?"
Makinna felt pride and love well up in her. She and Tykota had been married for four years, and they had been wonderful, loving years. "Our son may not fear horses, but he might have reason to fear his grandmother. Hannah wants both children to bathe-she's taking them to visit their Aunt Adelaide."
Tykota lifted the boy from the horse and set him on his feet. "You had better run along. I learned early in life that it is not wise to keep your grandmother waiting."
While Coloradous scampered toward the house, Tykota reached for his daughter and hugged her to him. His expression softened when she threw her arms around his neck. After a quick kiss on her cheek, Tykota put her down and watched the child run after her brother.
Makinna linked her arm through her husband's and lay her head against his shoulder. "We make wonderful babies together."
His dark eyes suddenly flamed with desire. "We could always make another one."
"Oh, I am certain we will." They walked toward the house, and he stopped her, encircling her in his embrace. "We could start this weekend, since we will have the house to ourselves."
She looked into his bronzed face, watching the way the wind rippled his long hair. There was contentment in his eyes, his spirit no longer seeking and restless. "Then let us get your mother and the children on their way."
He touched her hair and let his hand drift through the silken strands. "My lovely Makinna, what joy you have brought to my life. I wake up each morning not knowing what to expect out of you. And"-he arched an eyebrow-"I can't keep my hands off you. I wait for the night so you can be completely mine."
"Tykota, I never knew that life could be so good. Sometimes I am afraid."
"Of what?"
"That no woman should be this happy, that it will be taken away from me."
He rested his chin on the top of her head. "Take each day as a gift, Makinna. We have been blessed as few people ever are."
Tykota's Woman (Historical Romance) Page 23