Blood of the Rainbow

by Shelia Chapman

  Jared sighed. “Do you trust me?”

  Sara swallowed hard. “Yes, I trust you – I just don’t trust me.”

  “Then give me your hand,” he said in a soft, even voice. “I will not let you fall,” he said slowly.

  Sara took a few quick, deep breaths and lifted her arms above her head, slowly, inch by inch, reaching, half closing her eyes until her fingertips touched his. Jared slid his arms down her hands and locked them around her forearms. “Ok Angel, deep breath.”

  Sara gasped, shutting her eyes as she felt her feet dangling. “Jared!” she squealed,” swallowing bile that was determined to choke her.

  Jared chuckled. Sara felt something warm wrap around her like a blanket. “You can open your eyes.”

  It was only then, that Sara realized the warmth she’d felt was coming from his arms. Her feet were planted firmly on solid ground. Jared looked down at her, with glowing crimson eyes again. All Sara could do was stare.

  Jared saw the reflection of his eyes in hers. “I’m sorry,” he scoffed. “I can’t help it. My eyes seem to have a mind of their own when it comes to you,” he said, leaning closer.

  “I don’t mind,” Sara said, barely above a whisper. “Your eyes are fascinating to me, no matter what color they are.” Jared smiled and kissed her.

  ------------

  They walked a few feet further, stopping where a large flat rock, extended over the edge of the mountain. The other end was buried firmly in the ground. Jared sat on the rock and patted the space next to him. Sara sat down. “Now look out there, across the desert,” he said waving his arms toward the horizon.

  Sara’s breath caught. Jared was right. The view was phenomenal. Unfortunately, Sara glanced down and immediately felt nauseous again. “Are you sure this rock isn’t going to decide to tumble down the side of the mountain?”

  Jared laughed. “Angel, this rock has been here since before the first man sat foot on dry ground. It’s not going anywhere, so you don’t need to worry.”

  Sara tried to take his advice, but it still bothered her. She thought about her other dream. The one where she went over the cliff. Did the two dreams somehow tie in together?

  Jared took out his sketchpad, and immediately started sketching. Sara watched him for a while and then took out her notebook and pen. After a short tuning session, she was ready to start composing. With such a majestic scene, Sara was sure writing a song up here would be a breeze. She expected the ideas to flow like vintage wine. She was right. In no time, she was off in her own little world, totally wrapped up in her music.

  Sara glanced up. Jared was watching her. She smiled at him and went back to her music. A few seconds later, she glanced up again, and he was still staring at her. She furrowed her brow. “What?”

  Jared smiled. “I have a problem.”

  “What kind of problem?”

  “I can’t decide wither to draw something majestic – or enjoy something breathtakingly beautiful.”

  “Pardon?”

  Jared put down his sketchpad and moved closer to Sara. He leaned across her guitar and kissed her. “I think I’ll go with enjoying something breathtakingly beautiful,” he said and kissed her again. “What was that you were working on?” He motioned to her notebook.

  “Oh, nothing really. Just something that popped in my head.”

  He reached for the notebook. “May I?”

  “Sure, but it’s just a rough draft.”

  Jared read over the words and looked up at her. “Sing it….”

  Sara started playing what she thought would be a decent introduction. “All right, but, you’ll have to sing the male part. It’s meant to be a duet.”

  Jared sat beside Sara, and held out the notebook, so they both could read the words. “I can handle that,” he said. They sang the song all the way through. It sounded good. Their voices blended perfectly.

  Sara reckoned it would sound even better with the rest of the band. “So, what do you think? Can we use it?”

  “Definitely, I like the title, there’s just a couple of things I’d like to change, if you don’t mind.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Your voice has a higher range. Change the key from D to Eb, and let’s try it again. This time, instead of repeating the last line twice, let’s do it once.”

  Sara nodded, and they sang it again. Jared was right. The song sounded better. The chord changed didn’t bother Jared, since he had a higher range voice too. She put her guitar down and reached for his sketchpad. “Now, let me see what you’ve been sketching.” Sara’s mouth gaped. The sketch was stunning. A digital camera couldn’t have captured what Jared had. He had drawn the landscape, but Sara’s face had been drawn into the clouds and sunset. “How did you do that?”

  “Do you like it?”

  “Yes, I do. You seem to be talented at everything you do. Are you sure you’re for real?”

  Jared laughed. “What do you mean?”

  Sara started counting off on her fingers. “Well, let’s see, you’re a brilliant doctor. You can sing. You can play guitar, piano, and keyboard. You’re a very talented artist, and architect. But most of all,” she said, leaning closer and kissing him. “You’re an excellent kisser.”

  Jared pulled her into his arms and kissed her again, long deep, and lingering. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

  “Eve was an idiot!” Sara said.

  “Eve was jealous of you because she knew she couldn’t compete. Even when you were only in my dreams, you were as real to me as you are right now. Eve made a derogatory remark about you, and I let her have it. She knew in no uncertain terms where my loyalties lay. Holding you and kissing you, was as real in my dreams as it is right now.”

  “I just wished I could remember some of that. How realistic were your dreams? I mean, how far did we…?”

  Jared took her hand and studied her eyes. “Are you asking me if I made love to you?” Sara nodded.

  Jared grinned. “That’s my secret. I’m not spoiling anything for you, or myself. When that time comes, it will be as new and special for me as it will be for you.” He kissed her again.

  The sun was starting to drop behind the mountains. Jared held Sara on his lap, with his arms wrapped around her as they gazed at the brilliant sunset. “We’ll need to get back home soon, or Mother will have a search party out looking for us.”

  “I’ll bet the view is spectacular at night. You could probably see all the way into eternity from here.”

  “Maybe not eternity, but… it is pretty up here, especially during a meteor shower.”

  Sara turned, surprised. “You’ve been up here at night during a meteor shower?”

  “I’ve spent many hours here Sara. Day and night. I used to come here to sketch my dreams of you, and think things through. It’s special and private to me. That’s why I shared it with you. We could come back and spend the night here sometimes, would you like that?”

  “Yes, I would.”

  Jared chuckled, and raised an eyebrow at Sara. “I thought you were afraid of heights.”

  “I am, but I’m getting braver. Just make sure, when we come to camp out, we get here in full daylight and don’t leave till the next morning. I wouldn’t want to try and climb the mountain in the dark.”

  “Nor would I. But Sara,” he said, leaning in to kiss the side of her neck. “That would mean you’d have to spend the night with me.”

  “And?”

  “The whole night, Sara. Alone… with me… in the dark.”

  Sara sighed. “What’s the matter - can’t trust yourself?”

  “Around you? In one word – no!” he said, honestly and stood, holding out his hand for Sara.

  They walked over to the ledge. Once again, the ground seemed to pulsate up and down, and an old, familiar feeling of nausea crept up the back of Sara’s throat. She decided maybe she wasn’t quite over her fear of heights after all.

  Jared studied Sara’s fear filled eyes. “All right… I’ll give you tw
o choices. I can either lower you down, or go down, and you can fall into my arms.”

  Sara gulped. She didn’t like either choice, but apart from spending the rest of her life up there on that mountain, she had to choose one. Sara chose the first. There was no way, no matter how much she trusted Jared, that she could make herself free-fall over the ledge into his, or anybody else’s arms. Besides, she was afraid she might knock him off balance.

  Jared lowered Sara down. She waited for him to lead the way. It wasn’t as tiring going down, but Sara was happy, when rock turned to sand beneath her feet.

  They poured water in their hands from the canteens and let the horses drink. Then they mounted them. “Ok Angel, I know you were scared up there, but be honest. Was it worth it?”

  Sara smiled, remembering how it felt when he kissed her. “It was worth it Jared. I’m glad you shared it with me.”

  After they had shared a long and lingering kiss, they headed back for the ranch.

  ------------

  Jared had been right. Nadine was about ready to send Myra looking for them.

  Jared kissed Nadine’s cheek. “Mother, I might have moved away, but I haven’t forgotten how to get around the place!”

  Nadine smiled. “So, did you have a good time? Where did you take her?”

  “I took her up on Mother’s Mountain, and yes, we had a good time.” Jared failed to mention anything about the climb, or the perch on the side of the mountain.

  “What did you think, Sara? It’s beautiful, isn’t it? I don’t know why Jared felt he had to leave.”

  Jared rolled his eyes. “Mother, we’ve been over this before. I had to find Sara.” He reached out and took Sara’s hand. “And I did find her.”

  Nadine smiled at Sara. “Yes, you did, and we’re not letting her get away, are we?”

  “No, I’m not!”

  Sara wondered if Jared would be telling Nadine about their engagement now, or would wait until Tom was there.

  Nadine reached for Jared’s sketchpad. “So what did you sketch today?”

  Jared sighed. “Mother insists on seeing my drawings. I have to watch her, or she’ll swipe them, and put them in a frame.”

  She glared at Jared. “If I hadn’t kept some of them… the sketches would have been gone long ago.” Nadine flipped the cover back and gasped. “Nizhoni, Shiyaazh!”

  There are those two words again, Sara thought.

  Jared took back his sketchpad and tucked it under his arm. “Yes Mother, they are, but, you can’t have these! They’re for mine and Sara’s collection.”

  Nadine looked disappointed, but finally smiled knowingly. “Ah – I see. I’ll fix you two a snack. You missed dinner, but I saved some for you. I figured you’d be starving when you got back.” Nadine went into the kitchen.

  “Thanks Mother.”

  Sara waited until Nadine was out of earshot, and leaned close to Jared. She didn’t want Nadine to overhear. “I need to know something,” Sara whispered. “Those two words she used when she looked at your sketches. What do they mean?”

  Jared smiled. “You mean Nizhoni and Shiyaazh?” Sara nodded. Jared put his arm around Sara’s waist and kissed the top of her head. “They’re Navajo. “Nizhoni means ‘beautiful or pretty’ and Shiyaazh means ‘my son’, when spoken by a mother. When the word ‘son’ is used by a father, it is Shiye.”

  The words rolled off Jared’s tongue like honey. Sara would have trouble remembering how to pronounce them, never mind what they stood for. She looked deeply into his eyes. “Tell me how to say I love you,” she whispered on his lips.

  Jared grinned. “I – love - you.”

  Sara narrowed her eyes. “That wasn’t what I meant.”

  Jared softly chuckled, tilted her face up and smiled. “Ayor anosh'ni,” he whispered.

  “Ayor anosh'ni,” Sara repeated and kissed him.

  Sara was naturally curious. “Jared… would you teach me, about your people and your language? I hate looking stupid when somebody says something I don’t understand.”

  Jared smiled. “They are not just my people Sara. They’re yours now too, and trust me,” he smiled and kissed her again. “I’ll teach you – at least the ones you need to know. There are only a few. We don’t use the language that much in our generation, but the older generation still do. Regardless of what you do, you could never look stupid. But, it won’t be something you can just pick up in a day. You’ll have to practice, and I’ll expect you to study.”

  “When can we start?” Sara asked with eagerness.

  Jared laughed and pulled her toward the kitchen. “Can you wait until after we’ve finished our snack? Mother was right, I’m starving!”

  ------------

  Nadine had put some plates of sandwich stuff and a pitcher of iced tea on the table. Sara didn’t realize how hungry she was until she saw the food.

  Jared gave Sara a choice. “Which do you want, white or brown, and do you want everything on your sandwich?”

  “Yes please, and I prefer brown bread to white.”

  Jared fixed Sara a roast beef sandwich, and without asking her, cut it into quarters, and handed it to her. They sat down and started eating. Sara thought the sandwich was delicious. Jared said his mother had grilled the roast over hickory chips. That was what gave the meat its unique flavor.

  “Jared, have you ever thought about buying a house, and moving back to Arizona?”

  Jared raised an eyebrow. “Not really – why?”

  “Oh, no reason, I was just curious.”

  Jared eyed Sara over the top of his sandwich. One of his sketches flashed through his mind. He tried to put her off. “Do you really like it here? It’s awfully hot and dry and not to mention, dusty.”

  “I had noticed that part. But yes, I do like it here. You belong here. You fit in – like the land is part of you or you’re part of it.”

  Jared stood and washed his hands at the sink. “Now don’t you start too! I have enough trouble with Mother and Myra. I thought you liked living at Wisteria Hall,” he grumbled.

  “I do, for the amount of time I’ve lived there. But, what if I’d lived in Arizona, do you think you and Eve still would have - I mean, would you still have left?”

  Jared finished drying his hands on the towel, and tossed it angrily on the counter, turning. Sara could tell by the look on his face, he was getting upset. “I don’t know Sara. Does it really matter?”

  “Well, yes, it does – to me anyway.”

  Jared pressed his lips to a thin line. “Why?”

  “I don’t know - it just does.” Sara replied, exasperated. She hated how Jared avoided subjects he wasn’t comfortable with. She stood and started gathering things together to put them away. She had no idea where they went, but it was a force of habit. She’d been cleaning up after herself since she was seven.

  Jared sighed, calming a little. His tone softened, and his eyes stopped glowing. “I don’t know.” He walked up behind Sara, and put his arms around her shoulders, holding her tight against his body. He kissed along her shoulder and up the side of her neck, and then turned her. He tilted her chin up, looking straight into her eyes. “One thing’s for certain,” he softly said.

  “What’s that?”

  “If you had been here, I never would have left.” He leaned closer, brushing his lips over hers, teasing her. His hot breath sending shivers down her spine, as she anxiously awaited his kiss. But he didn’t kiss her. Sara wasn’t sure which was more effective; Jared’s kiss or her expectation of it. Jared seemed to enjoy teasing her that way. He must. He did it a lot!

  “Jared, how long are we going to be here?”

  Jared grinned. “You do like it here,” he said, making an assumption. “Don’t you?”

  Sara nodded. “Yes, I do.”

  Jared smiled. “Well, we’ve got to go back for the gig, but then we can come back, and stay until after the convention, if you want to. I’m off work for the next two months. Because of the funeral, I took some of my
accumulated sick leave, and vacation time.”

  “And they didn’t care?” Sara smiled anxiously. She wanted to see more of Arizona, than she’d seen, before they had to go back to Shreveport.

  Jared narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Yeah. Just don’t get too used to it Sara. Arizona has a way of growing on you. She’ll steal your dreams if you let her.”

  “I don’t think that would be so bad, I could learn to like it here.”

  “Oh, you could, could you?” He playfully flicked the tip of Sara’s nose.

  “When are we telling your parents?

  “When did you want to?”

  “I don’t know. They’re your parents. I thought you would know when would be a good time.”

  Jared laughed. “Sara, any time would be a good time for us to talk to them about our getting married. They love you and to be honest, they’ve been waiting for this day as much as I have. Well, maybe not as much as I have but.…”

  “So when do you want to do it then?”

  “I think maybe after the funeral, when things have had a chance to get back to normal. I don’t want to be disrespectful.”

  “That makes sense.”

  “Have you decided where you want to get married? Here, back at the Hall, or in a church?”

  “Considering my fear of heights, I know this is going to sound strange, but I wouldn’t mind getting married on Mother’s Mountain.”

  Jared scoffed. “Mother’s Mountain! My God Sara, could you pick a harder place to get to?” He laughed.

  Sara smiled. “I know we can’t, it was just a thought. We could spend our honeymoon there, couldn’t we?”

  Jared laughed out loud. “Sure, if you don’t mind roughing it.”

  “I don’t mind.”

  “So does that mean you want to get married here then?”

  “I’d love to, but I would want you to check with your parents first.”

  ------------

  The next day was taken up by the funeral. Jared wanted to stay home with Sara, but she finally managed to convince him that it would be better on his family for him to be there. Jared kissed her several times, hating the idea of being away from her. Sara hated it too, but there were going to be times they would have to be away from each other, so Sara decided it might as well be now.