Page 60 of Teton Sunrise

“I had no choice, Walker,” Laurent said, combing his fingers through his mustache. “The shaman came with a bowl of water, and insisted he wash my hair. It is tradition for the ceremony.”

“So I’ve heard.” Alex sniggered. “I brought meat for a feast after the ceremony.” He pointed behind him to the deer on the ground.

Laurent’s smile widened even more. “My bride and I may not stay for a feast. We have our own celebrating to do. I do not plan to wait as long as you did to claim my bride.” He straightened and puffed out his chest. A wide, unabashed grin spread across his face.

Alex laughed, and slapped Laurent on the back. “I understand,” he said. How well he understood. He could have saved himself and Evelyn weeks of misery if he had only known how to communicate with her. Laurent certainly didn’t suffer from that particular deficiency.

His eyes scoured the camp. He hadn’t seen Evie since she left their tent this morning, insisting on helping Whispering Waters with her wedding preparations. His insides warmed just thinking about his own bride. Not an hour went by in a day that he didn’t think about her. In fact, she was constantly on his mind. He was slowly making progress in reading her thoughts and moods by watching for subtle clues in her body language.

When the corners of her eyes twitched, it was a sure sign she was about to speak her mind, just like when her pert little nose rose higher in the air. Often, these subtleties were accompanied by a more obvious sign of annoyance when she fisted her hands at her hips. Luckily, he hadn’t been the recipient of those gestures lately. Hopefully it meant that he was doing something right.

Alex’s mouth curved in a slow smile. Thoughts of her soft sighs when he held her in his arms, and the way her green eyes shimmered with love and need sent his heart galloping in his chest. How well he’d learned those signs. She was probably not even aware of how much her coy glances in his direction, the way she licked her lips, or her discreet smiles affected him and made him forget the world around him.

Evie’s most difficult mood to interpret was when something upset her enough to cry. Wide and round eyes most often preceded her tears, and she fidgeted with her hands in front of her. He’d failed to recognize this particular warning sign a few days ago when he’d finished for the day at the site of the cabin. Tired and hungry, he’d walked into their camp, eager for a hardy meal followed by his wife in his arms. When he’d casually mentioned that he was famished, her eyes had pooled with tears.

“What’s wrong?” He’d pulled her into his arms, alarmed by her behavior. He wondered silently what he had done to cause her distress.

Evie lowered her chin. “I’m sorry, Alex,” she sobbed. “I . . . I burned supper.” She pulled away from him, and buried her face in her hands. He could barely understand her muffled words. “Time slipped away from me while I was sewing my dress, and I forgot that I had the biscuits in the fire. The meat is charred as well. I know how hard you work on the cabin all day, and you must be hungry.”

Alex had stood there silently. When she raised her head slightly and peered at him from between her fingers, he burst out laughing.

“You’re crying because you burned some biscuits?” he asked, and scooped to lift her into his arms. “I have another hunger that needs to be satisfied, wife,” he murmured against her neck. “The burnt biscuits can wait.”

Alex sucked in a deep breath, and his gut clenched, remembering the pleasant incident.

Another memory crept into his mind, leaving a sour taste in his mouth. He recalled an incident when his mother had prepared a supper that angered his father. Alex couldn’t have been more than eight years old at the time, when the bread pudding she’d prepared was a bit too dark on the bottom for his father’s liking. She’d received a beating that left her eye swollen shut for days.

Alex pushed the memory from his mind. Not even for a second had he thought to react in anger when Evie told him about the ruined meal. He smiled softly. After he thoroughly put her mind at ease that he wasn’t upset with her about the food, he’d eaten every last biscuit, and the charred meat as well. The look on Evie’s face, the pure love that sparkled in her eyes for him, made every distasteful bite worth it.

He couldn’t imagine a life without her anymore. She made him happy no matter what she did. He took pleasure in simply watching her perform even the most mundane tasks throughout the day, and the tension he’d felt in his body for most of his life melted away in her arms.

“It is time, my friend,” Laurent said excitedly, and rubbed his hands together. Alex blinked. He hadn’t even realized he’d been deeply absorbed in thought. Looking up, Whispering Waters stood outside her parents’ lodge, a red blanket draped around her shoulders. The clan’s shaman stood next to her, and beckoned Laurent to him.

---