Dark Warrior: Kid (Dark Cloth Series Book 2)

by Wolfe, Lenore

  Kat stared at her, then Meg, then Star Flower. These were her friends. Her eyes filled with tears.

  “Hey,” Mandy said, laughing, “none of that, or you’ll have us all crying….”

  The four women laughed, but Kat noticed that tears shimmered in each of their own gazes, as they quickly looked away, smiling to cover up how close they were to crying.

  Joy filled Kat’s heart, and she knew a happiness she’d never known before. This was really happening. She was really getting married—and to the love of her life.

  If someone had told her such a thing existed, a couple of short years ago, she would have laughed in their face, and probably dug out her skinnin’ knife for even suggesting it.

  Speaking of, she thought. Her hand reached out to touch her blade, where it sat on the dresser top.

  Seeing this, Star Flower laughed. “Oh, no you don’t,” she said, taking the blade and putting it into the top drawer. Mandy and Meg joined in the laughter, as Kat smiled.

  If someone had tried to take that knife away from her—two short years ago….. She laughed out loud. What a difference a few months could make.

  Turning, she caught the sight of her friends in the mirror, and then, she caught sight of herself and, once more, she stared. Was that really her? She looked so different. She looked so—beautiful. No longer was she that wild girl, Mandy had hired, when she’d rescued McCandle from the end of Kat’s blade.

  No longer was she the girl, who spoke in the broken English and Western slang. No longer did she walk around in leathers and fight for her existence. Her life had been transformed—by good friends—and an amazing love for the man—who she was about to walk down the aisle to marry.

  And she could hardly wait to start her future with him.

  Nothing had ever felt so right. Nothing had ever felt so good—so absolutely perfect. She’d been blessed the day she came to Cheyenne. She’d been born the day she’d met Kid. And Kid’s love—and the love of her friends—had been the true beginning of her life.

  She would die knowing that she knew friendship—that she knew a great love. And that love, how well she loved, was the only thing in this life she could take with her—when she left this lifetime.

  Kat turned and smiled at Mandy, hugging her through her tears. She hugged Meg next, then Star Flower. “It is my greatest wish,” she said, “that when I am an old woman—I am still here, laughing with all of you….”

  Mandy squeezed her hand. “Me too….”

  Meg and Star Flower seconded that wish as Mandy said that, and they laughed, again, but this time, they had to swipe at the tears in their eyes, trying to dash them away as fresh tears quickly replaced them no matter what they did, and they laughed.

  “Okay,” Meg said. “I think we’d better get started, or the men out there are going to have to rescue us from something that nothing in their lives will have prepared them for.

  Kat giggled, picturing them having a meltdown, and the guys rushing in to find them all bawling their eyes out. The emotions within her caused the visual—that gave her—to bowl her over in a fit of giggles. Pretty soon they were all giggling so loud that when Hawk opened the door, to see what the commotion was—and he could only stare.

  Kat had never seen such a look on his face, and she dissolved in laughter, sinking to the floor with her friends.

  Hawk looked mortified—and quickly closed the door. Kat heard him tell someone on the outside of the door that they didn’t want to go in there, in gruff tones, and that perhaps someone should fetch Doc, from across the way, to which, Mandy laughed so hard Kat had to slap her on the back.

  When they finally pulled themselves together, they grinned at one another, hugging. Then, Meg went to the door to tell them they were nearly ready, waiving in someone who waited at the door, and Kat’s three friends went out the door to give Kat a moment with her grandfather.

  He had a stunned look on his face as he came in, and he just stared at Kat, tears filling his eyes.

  Oh, no, she thought. This was going to break his heart.

  But as he came forward, he took her hands into his. “You look so beautiful,” he said. He hugged her close to him. “I cannot believe how blessed I am to have found you—to get to have this moment with you.”

  Kat smiled through her tears. Nothing he said could have meant more to her than this.

  “Granddaughter,” he said. “I feel as though my life is complete, to get to be with you for this day,” he said. He smiled at her, gently touching her face. “I’m going to give you a moment,” he said. “Then, when you are ready to step into your new life with the man you love—who is out there waiting for you with great anticipation, by the way…,” to which they both laughed, “then I will be most honored to walk my granddaughter down the aisle to greet her new life….”

  Kat smiled. She couldn’t say anything. Her heart was full to bursting. Her life, at this moment, felt perfect. So, instead, she stood up on her tiptoes, so she could kiss his cheek. Then, she hugged him, burying her head in his chest, where she realized that she’d done just so as a child. Smiling through her tears, she stood there for a long moment in time, knowing she would take this, too, with her—as one of the treasured moments of her life.

  He reached down and squeezed her hand as he released her, then he walked to the door, taking one last, long look before he went out to wait for her by the door.

  Kat turned, looking at reflection in the mirror. She could hardly believe the blessings that had walked into her life. And she took a long moment to thank the Great Spirit for each one.

  She stared at herself in the mirror. She also could hardly believe that she’d actually reached this moment—that she was truly about to get married. She’d waited for so long for this. And as she met her gaze, her cat-like, green-gold gaze stared back at her. She couldn’t get over the fact that the woman in the mirror was really her.

  She looked beautiful. Her tiny face, framed by her blond curls, liked delicate porcelain of the glass figurines, she’d seen at her grandfather’s manor.

  Kat sucked in her breath. She felt amazed by all the things that she’d survived with Kid, just to get to this moment. First, there had been the war they’d fought for Mandy. Then, there had been the war they’d fought for her grandfather. They’d come through so much—just to get to this very moment. And she knew this was a moment that she would treasure for a lifetime.

  Where before, she’d been worried about how this marriage would affect her wild nature—worried that she would feel caged—now she only saw bliss. She couldn’t imagine her life without Kid. She couldn’t imagine her future without him.

  Bliss moved through her, singing in her veins. Love filled her heart to overflowing and tears sprang to her eyes, as she gazed at her reflection in the mirror. The depth of her love for Kid moved through her, gaining her an immeasurable release that she knew came from a place of great trust. To have this moment before her, felt like a treasure she’d never imagined. Kid was a gift from above. And their love gave her insight—understanding—into life itself—into the meaning of life and the only thing that was important—how well they loved.

  Her reflection in the glass shimmered like a deep pool. Silver shown in depths that reflected her own desires. Kid’s love lay in the center of her own heart, and she knew a contentment like nothing she’d ever experienced before, had never known existed, had never known could be hers, and Kat knew bliss.

  Silence filled her until the only thing she knew was the love that existed with every beat of her heart. She turned to face the door. Soon, she would walk down that aisle—and she would become Kid’s wife. Together, they would walk through the rest of their lives, and everything experience, every trial, every tribulation, as well as every joy, every celebration, they experienced, they would experience together.

  So this was what it meant to be one, she thought. Not a cage at all—but someone to share her life with—to experience her sorrows and her joys with her. To know what it w
as like to be in love with her best friend and love—and never face anything that life had to throw at her, alone.

  Yes, Kat thought. I want to be Kid’s wife.

  And so as Kat walked down the aisle of the church on her grandfather’s arm, she had eyes only for Kid. She saw the depth of her love mirrored back to her in his dark gaze, as he took her hand into his. Tears slipped down her face, but Kat didn’t have any desire to dash them away. Instead, she smiled through them and witnessed the tears that shimmered in Kid’s.

  And when she said her vows, her voice tremored. “I will love you with every breath of my body,” she told him, “and every beat of my heart. I will love you, be right beside you, fight right beside you…,” to which laughter filled the room, “raise our children beside you—forever.”

  She heard some sniffing and laughed. Laughter met her ears as their friends laughed with her.

  “I have waited for this moment for what seems like a lifetime,” Kid told her. “I will love you till the day I die and into the great beyond,” he promised her. “I will love you with my life. And if you let me,” he laughed, “I would die for you.”

  She giggled, then sobered. “Just promise to die beside me, not without me. Because, I could never bear my life without you.” she said.

  Now sobs from her friends met her ears, and she laughed through her tears as Kid and their friends laughed with them, and the preacher pronounced them man and wife.

  Epilogue

  New Beginnings

  Kat still hadn’t figured out the answer to their future, but as she looked out over the ranch, she realized she’d figured out the answer to happiness—and that answer lay in family, friends—and the one man she loved.

  Her grandfather had stayed, and it didn’t look as though it was just for the present, since he’d bought a ring for Mandy’s aunt Lydia. He seemed content to leave everything in the hands of his adopted son, Liam—who, from the sounds of it, had his business, once more, flourishing. Kat still felt an immense relief that she hadn’t been made to feel responsible for taking up that particular torch. She’d have been one miserable wife if she’d been caged there. She could only be thankful that her grandfather had come to understand this about her—and why.

  Kat loved the West. She loved this ranch, and she loved her life here with Kid. Most of all, she loved Kid.

  She glanced over now, as he came up the porch steps, coming to put his arm around her.

  “How’s your grandfather doing?” he asked.

  She smiled, which turned into an impish grin. “Giving aunt Lydia a run for her money,” she said.

  Kid laughed. “I’ll bet,” he said. He turned to look out across the ranch.

  Kat tipped her face to the sun, which was slowly going down and touching the ranch with the peaceful end of the day feeling, when everything was done and everything was right with the world. She couldn’t ask for a better life. And she had a surprise for Kid.

  But that would wait until after they ate dinner. Right now, they had Mandy and Hawk heading their way. Jake was already in the house. So was Cord, who’d brought Meg for her.

  Kat took one last look out across the ranch. In a few days, she’d meet her sister for the first time. Kate Anderson had been true to her word—and had kept her safe all this time.

  Kat couldn’t help but feel excited. Her friends were her family, but Rose really was blood, and all these years, Kat hadn’t even known she had a sister.

  Rose was also the true Cherokee Princess, not like what the people had tried to call Kat. And though Kat knew the title was really only a White Man’s title, her sister was the daughter of the true daughter, who’d been born to the chief of the tribe.

  The people saw her as hope for their future.

  Kat saw her only as her sister. And she couldn’t wait to finally meet her.

  Watch for, book two, Khan, a Fire Sprite novel, coming out later this summer

  Watch for Cilia’s sister, the Water Sprite, coming out in this fall.

  ALSO, LOOK FOR MY NEW RELEASES

  AND THE SISTER SERIES TO THIS ONE:

  Sons of a Dark Mother

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Lenora grew up in Montana and Alaska, and currently lives in the central US. She holds a BA in Sociology from the University of Northern Colorado, with a minor in writing, and is a student of the Shaman path. She lives her dream, daily, as a writer. She is also the mother of four grown children, inherited four more when they each took mates and has several beautiful grandchildren.

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  ALSO BY LENORE WOLFE

  HISTORICAL WESTERN ROMANCE

  Dark Cloth Series:

  Best Selling

  Dark Warrior: To Tame a Wild Hawk

  Dark Warrior: Kid

  Dark Gunman: Cord

  Coming this summer

  Dark Gunman: Jake

  Coming this fall

  Dark Warrior to Tame a Wild Hawk

  Bonus Short Story

  Coming out in May

  DARK FANTASY

  SONS OF THE DARK MOTHER SERIES

  Vol. 1

  The Fallen One

  Vol. 2

  Justice

  Coming out this spring

  Vol. 3

  Dracon

  Coming out this summer

  Vol. 4

  Coming out this fall

  Jess

  YOUNG ADULT FANTASY

  Daughters of the Circle

  Shadows in Ravenwood

  Vol. 1

  Released March 2015

  Daughters of the Circle

  Witches of Ravenwood

  Vol. 2

  Released June 2015

  Ongoing series….

  MIDDLESCHOOL FANTASY

  Trilogy

  REALM OF THE ELEMENTAL WITCH

  Fire Sprite

  Vol. 1

  Released March 2015

  Khan

  Vol. 2

  Coming out this summer

  Alli

  Vol. 3

  Coming out this fall

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  SOMETHING NEW I’M WORKING ON

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  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  I am thankful for my soft place to land, even though he had absolutely no reason to do so, and even though his fears would make it difficult, it was still a roof over my head, and for that I am truly thankful. I am thankful for my family. I had some of the most difficult years of my li
fe. I’ve lived through things I shouldn’t have survived.

  I’m thankful to my children. I know I’ve worried you. I’m especially thankful to my youngest son, you’re pretty fearless and stayed right by my side. To my oldest son, you are always so kind to me. To my daughter, you were willing to do a difficult thing for me. And to my middle son, I will always love you. I love you all. I always feel our Great Mother watching over us. And I always come out stronger.

  I’m thankful for all my angels and guides for brining me through my dark night of my soul. I see the light of day, and I’m thankful I’ve survived. I’m thankful to myself for having the strength to reach for life, even when I wanted to quit and cease to exist. I’m thankful for the wisdom to know I would be glad I made it through, even when I was screaming in my car so no one else would know. I’m especially thankful for my friends for reaching out when I most needed it and trying to help me through. I will never forget it.

  I love you all so much. I’m thankful to my fans. My friends and family. It saved my sanity. I threw myself into my writing, and it took up all my time and provided a chance to heal. It also gave me a place to express myself in creative and healing ways. Her Dark Mirror may be fiction, but it allowed me to write without censor. Thank you for putting up with me, even when I hit a wall and didn’t update my blogs:) You all are the greatest.

  Most of all I’m thankful for the divine—how could anyone question all the help we get. It is the reason we make it through. It’s in the soft petal of a flower, the sun’s rays upon the damp earth, the ocean’s waves upon the sandy beach, and the crest of the mountain top. We are loved. May we always have some place inside that knows it, even when we’re in our darkest hour. I am grateful mother. I am your daughter, and I am grateful. And I love you so.