Ellie was his rainbow. His joy. His pot of gold.
Walks With Wolves eyed Mac pointedly as Mac took Ellie’s finger to slip the ring on it. “You had something to say, maybe?”
“Oh…yes…” Mac grinned a little, embarrassed. The ceremony, the singing and drums, had been overwhelming to his senses, and he’d nearly forgotten that he’d asked Walks With Wolves for a moment to say something personal to Ellie as he placed the ring on her finger. Mac felt the heat rise in his cheeks, and he saw Ellie smiling tenderly up at him.
Clearing his throat, he rasped, “This ring symbolizes how I feel about you, Ellie. The pink is about my love for you, the green about growth that we’ll share between us.” He smiled. “Maybe the growth of a baby or two…”
There were sighs and expressions of agreement all around them, and Mac saw tears of joy come to Ellie’s eyes. “And—” he gulped “—the blue is the sky that I fly in, which has become a second love compared to the love I feel for you.” He slipped the ring on her finger and then whispered, “I’ll love you forever….”
Tears spilled down her cheeks and Ellie heard the collective sigh of all the women around them as she lifted her arms and placed them around Mac’s neck. He held her tightly, his face buried against her hair. “And I love you, too,” she said softly, leaning back just enough to kiss him on the mouth.
His mouth captured hers in a swift, hot, indelible kiss that seared her heart and burned into her soul. The drums began a hard, startling fast beat. Both male and female singers sang. All Ellie was aware of was Mac’s strong arms about her, holding her tightly against him, and his worshiping mouth taking hers, giving back to her, in those golden moments of time.
Dizzily, she felt Mac release her just enough to allow her to put her feet back on the ground. Walks With Wolves grinned broadly, her cheeks flushed, her eyes wet with tears. Without a word, Ellie put her arms around her mother, held her, thanked her. The people began to dance in a large circle about the altar, swaying, moving and singing. They linked hands, their feet shuffling softly in the green grass, their voices lifted up in unison and joy.
Diana hugged Ellie and then smiled through her tears. Ellie whispered her thanks to her sister and gave her the eagle wing and the sacred corn. Taking Mac’s hand, Ellie led him to the circle and the people allowed them in. Mac didn’t know the dance step, but he tried, and after a moment, caught on to the simple toe to heel movement.
Mac had eyes only for Ellie, for the way she swayed with the drumbeat, with the thundering sound echoing and reechoing throughout the hollar. Her brown eyes sparkled with tears and love. Her mouth, soft from his branding kiss, made him ache to take her away from here and make hot, melting love with her. Mac knew that would have to wait until at least sundown, when the marriage feast would end. For the rest of the day, there would be a tournament of horseshoes which he was expected to take part in, one of the Cherokee’s favorite games. There would also be softball, volleyball and other competitive sports, followed by feasting, more singing and more dancing. He didn’t mind because through it all, Ellie would be at his side.
When the sun sank behind the Great Smoky Mountains, and the shadows of the night moved silently across Father Sky, they would leave for a cabin deep in the Qualla Boundary Reservation—a special cabin owned by Ellie’s parents. It was an old cabin Ellie’s hardworking father had built before she was born. As the children arrived, he’d built a newer and larger home in the hollar. Mac had seen the old, wooden cabin, and was eager to be up there with Ellie in the embrace of thick woods and the meandering stream that flowed beside it. There was an old, creaky brass bed that had a brand-new quilt on it, a wedding gift worked on throughout the summer by the women elders of the tribe. Mac was stunned by the outpouring of gifts and generosity from the Cherokee.
As he fell into the slow dance step, with the circle of people moving in a clockwise order with the drumming, Mac laughed. The sound was drowned out by the whoops, the yells and warbles of the people. Ellie laughed with him. He gripped her hand solidly in his. She was his wife! Finally. Forever…
ISBN: 978-1-4268-6270-0
HANGAR 13
Copyright © 1994 by Lindsay McKenna
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