A Double Wedding
Page 15
"I've been in love with you for a long time," Dan said, moving close, reaching up, to pull her arms down. "I just didn't recognize it for what it was."
Silvey let her hands drop. "I ... I guess you can't recognize something you've never seen before."
"I guess not." Dan pulled her into his arms and rubbed his cheek against hers. His eyes were squeezed shut as if he was trying to block out pain. "Tell me I haven't blown this completely. Tell me that you still love me."
"Yes." Happiness flooded through her when she admitted it. "Of course I do. Love doesn't die because one partner does something stupid."
"Keep telling me that," he advised, bending his head to touch his lips to hers. "Whenever I do something stupid, keep telling me that."
Love for him poured out of her and into the kiss she gave him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him, all the pent-up love in her generous soul pouring out to envelope him. "I love you, Dan."
He kissed her again, then drew away. "I meant what I said. If you'd called the police I would have told them you were my fiancee. I'd already decided to marry you even when I was mad as hell at you."
She gave him a knowing look. "Which probably made you think you were exactly like Lawrence, which probably made you even madder."
His grin was sheepish. "Yeah. I had it all wrong about him and Leila. I should have realized that even though his other marriages have failed, at least he's had the courage to keep trying."
"And you didn't even have the courage to try it once."
He grimaced. "You know me so well."
"Good," she said, settling into his arms. "Let's keep it that way." She leaned back and looked at him again. "Does this mean you're not going to object when Leila and Lawrence are married?"
"No, I won't object. In fact, I think we ought to make it a double wedding."
"Really?" She stood on her toes and threw her arms around his neck.
"I'd love that."
They were quiet for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts.
Finally, Dan nudged her away from him and looked into her eyes.
"So I take it that's a yes? You'll marry me?"
Silvey gave him a solemn look. "I will as long as you remember that I'm a once in a lifetime kind of wife."
"Honey, you've got yourself a deal."
The double wedding took place in October at the village site on Branaman Mountain which had dressed itself in red and orange for the occasion. Leila wore a long, tailored dress of pale yellow, and Silvey wore a traditional white -gown.
The idea of having the weddings on the mountain had been Dan's.
Silvey had been enthusiastic, especially after he had given her a Moreno wedding necklace that he'd had handmade for her by a local jewellery craftsman.
Leila had been against the idea until Lawrence had declared that he'd had five weddings in churches or chapels and none of them had lasted-maybe getting married outdoors would change his luck. Leila had dryly pointed out that this marriage would last because of the person he was marrying, not because of luck, but she'd agreed to the outdoor setting and had enthusiastically entered into the preparations.
Silvey took a deep breath of the spicy fall air and watched as yellow aspen leaves gave up their grip on twigs and branches and drifted to earth on the slight breeze. Some of them landed on the roped-off village site, which was yielding more and more information about the Morenos as the excavation continued. After Dan had been named department head, he had purchased the remote sensing equipment that located promising areas for excavation.
As for the burial site, Dan had decided to excavate the graves, document the contents, then cover everything up again. When all the documentation was finished, the state park service had agreed to take over the site, thus helping to protect it from pot rustlers.
Silvey was happy with the plan, considering it to be the best compromise.
More aspen leaves fell, landing on wedding guests, who stood waiting for the ceremony to begin. They cheerfully brushed them aside as they chatted and listened to the violin and cello music which was being provided by a group of Sonora College students.
Silvey couldn't imagine a more perfect setting for her wedding, here in the place where her ancestors may have lived.
As the musical piece ended and the students prepared to begin "The Wedding March," Silvey's father, Richard, took her arm. Leila clung to his other arm, speechless with excitement.
Silvey looked up at him and grinned. "Are you ready to give away both your mother and your daughter?"
"No," he said bluntly. "But I'll do it, anyway."
Silvey laughed and hugged his arm, then glanced over and winked at her mother who smiled back. "I'm so glad you and Mom could come."
Richard glanced ahead to where Dan and Lawrence had taken their places beside the minister. "You're our only daughter," he tilted his head. "And she's my only mother. I had to be here for this-and I had to check out the men you two are marrying." He hesitated, meeting her eyes. "You're sure you know what you're doing?"
Beneath a stand of pines, Dan and Lawrence waited. They were dressed in dark suits, but sunlight speared through the branches, burnishing them in autumn's golden light.
Dan met her eyes and smiled. Silvey was thrilled to see that there were no shadows there. He was as sure as she was.
Happily, Silvey looked up at her father. "I know exactly what I'm doing, Dad. And I'm glad to be doing it."
He laughed, then firmly clasped both her and Leila in a hug. When the first notes of the march sounded, the three of them joined arms and stepped out together.
Copyright
Harlequin Treasury-Harlequin Romance 90s, July, 2011
ASIN: B0056HCAPK
Kindle Edition
Original Mill & Boons 1997
© Patricia Knoll
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN