Apache Heart (15 page)

             
Lee gave her a little push, “Kneel down,” he whispered.  Randi did, and the elder medicine man blessed her with corn pollen, “Your new name will be River Crosser,” and Randi’s face broke into a huge smile.  And when she got up, people came forward to congratulate her too.

             
The better part of the day was spent cleaning up and packing, and finally the work was more or less done.  Randi said her good-byes to Lozen and Jack and the girls, then to all the Yahnakis, and last to Elan and Maggie.  Maggie had recovered well from her c-section, and while the baby had been three weeks premature, she was thriving and growing.

             
“Have you given this child a name yet?” Randi teased.  “She can’t be Girl Baby Cody forever.”

             
“We have,” Maggie said with a shy smile at Elan.  “We decided she should be Randi Lee Cody.”

             
Tears welled up in Randi’s eyes, “That’s about the nicest thing ever.”

             
Lee slipped up behind Randi, and wrapped his arms around her.  “Are you crying again?”  He looked at Maggie and Elan, “I’ve never seen a woman who cries as much as Randi does when she’s happy!”  He smiled at her proudly, “Come on River Crosser, time to go home and relax.”

             
When they got to Randi’s cabin, Lee leaned Randi against her freshly painted truck, and started nibbling suggestively at her neck.  His pelvis sunk heavy into hers, and his hands wandered over her curves.  It was the right time now, Randi knew.  She had no doubt who was the right man for her.  Her body felt limp and boneless under his touch, the thrill of letting go of everything rushing through her.  Then Lee pulled back and gently cradled her face in his hands.

             
“Promise me that you’re going to stick to doctoring from now on.  No more running after sociopaths.”

             
“You know what would have happened if all you men had arrived with guns blazing.  Someone would have gotten really hurt, and someone might have died.  It’s all good now.  I’m fine, Lynette’s fine, the baby is healthy—Maggie and Elan are starting a new life, and Joe’s where he belongs—in jail.  The question is, how are you?”   She brushed his bangs back with a gentle hand.

             
“Oh, I’m alright.”  He leaned in and gave Randi a lingering kiss, “But I think shortly, I’m going to be ecstatic.”  His finger traced the lines of Randi’s face.  “That is, if the pants on rules are no longer in play.”

             
“Oh, those were Dr. Bitch’s rules.  Randi ‘River Crosser’ Green says all systems go.”

             
Lee stroked her hair as he looked into her eyes, his voice soft and serious, “You may be a white girl, River Crosser, but you have an Apache heart.  I love you—now and always.”

             
“I love you too.  And I intend to spend my life showing you how much.”             

             
As the screen door closed whacked closed behind them, Randi thought for a moment how a flat tire changed her life forever. She looked forward to sharing Lee with her family back east, but she knew Frenchtown, New Jersey would never be home again.