White Owl (16 page)

“We should be there in two days’ time.”

“Two days!” Rose retorted. “Why are we going so far?”

“I am taking you to a place that is very special to me.”

“Oh,” Rose answered quietly. His voice had sounded strange, almost as if she had hurt his feelings. “If it is special to you, then I know I will love it,” she added.

He had lowered himself to the ground and was reclining on his side. When he patted the spot next to him on the blanket, Rose did not wait for another invitation. She settled against his body as comfortably as if he was merely an extension of her. With her head resting on his bare chest, Rose’s fingers traced the taut muscles of his stomach and chest. She heard him sigh softly and then felt his lips tenderly kiss the top of her head. She let her eyes close as he gently ran his fingers through her hair. The sense of peace she felt in his arms washed over her immediately, and combined with
the heat of the day, drowsiness overpowered the passion she had been feeling a moment earlier.

Rose opened her eyes slowly when she felt a large hand shaking her gently.

“Beautiful,” White Owl whispered as she focused on his face hovering above her.

“What’s beautiful?” she asked in a groggy voice.

“My new wife.”

“That sounds so”—Rose sighed—“nice.” It still did not seem possible that she was actually married to a Ute warrior, but in her mind, he was only the man that she loved, and nothing else mattered.

“We should try to ride farther now that the sun is not so hot,” White Owl said. He glanced up at the sun, hanging low on the western horizon.

Rose sat up and rubbed her eyes. “It’s already late. Maybe we should just stay here tonight.” She intentionally raised one brow in a suggestive arch like he always did to her—a gesture that did not go unnoticed.

White Owl shook his head as a teasing smile curved his mouth. “Could it be that my wife enjoys lying with me? Most Ute women usually act like it is their obligation.”

Rose quickly wiped the smile from her face. A heated sensation rushed through her face. He must think that she was insatiable. When his roar of laughter broke in to her moment of embarrassment, anger began to join the rest of her raging emotions.

“That is not a bad thing, Wild Rose!” He smacked his hand against his chest, adding, “I am proud to know that I make my wife happy.”

Rose scooted closer to him and replaced her pout with another smile. “You should be a very, very proud man then, if that is the case.” She rose up to his lips with a tender kiss.

White Owl leaned back on his heels and sighed. “We need to go now.”

Rose let out a disappointed groan. “What is the hurry? We have the rest of our lives together.” A strange expression passed across White Owl’s face. “What is it?” she asked, alarmed.

A smile replaced his strange look. “Nothing, except I’m just eager to show you my special place.” He rose to his feet and pulled Rose up with him, but he made no attempt to explain further. He wrapped his arm around her waist and led her to the horses.

Rose studied his face as he readied the animals for riding, but he gave no hint of the odd expression she had noticed a few seconds earlier. One thing she was certain of, however, he was determined to get to their destination as quickly as possible.

They continued toward the mountains and did not stop until the land was bathed in complete darkness. They spread their bedrolls under a sprawling clump of cedars and snuggled together to ward off the slight chill of the night. Since they were both too tired to do much more than kiss good night, they slept through the night until the faint glow of the rising sun woke them. Before they continued on their journey, they made slow, passionate love, relishing in the realization that they
no longer had to sneak around in the barn at Rose’s parents’ ranch or worry about being overheard by the villagers at White Owl’s camp. Their desire had no limitations now.

“I want to start every day for the rest of my life just like this,” Rose sighed. White Owl’s sigh echoed her own, but he did not speak. He pulled her as close as was humanly possible as they snuggled under the blanket and allowed their fevered bodies to calm from the impassioned lovemaking they had just engaged in. Rose closed her eyes and sighed again. There really were no words she could use to describe this feeling of overwhelming love that she felt for this man.

“We should go now, before the day grows hot.”

Rose sighed again, but with much less contentment. Although she cherished this time alone with her new husband, his quest to travel so far for their wedding trip seemed unnecessary. But she would gladly follow him to the ends of the earth, so she pushed her weary body up from the ground.

Their second full day of traveling was uneventful, but felt extremely long to Rose. Her butt hurt, and her back ached; in fact, all of her body hurt. Although they stopped frequently to water the horses, she began to worry about Molly, since the little mare was not accustomed to being ridden this long. When she mentioned this to White Owl, he brushed off her worries.

“Ponies are meant to be ridden, Wild Rose. That is why the Great Spirit created magic dogs.”

“Great Spirit?”

“The Ute god,” White Owl answered. “I noticed right away how good you were to your pony. That was one of the first things I loved about you.”

Rose smiled. “Utes call their horses magic dogs?”

“Sometimes. It’s just an old expression.” He motioned for her to mount again. “We’re never going to get there if we keep talking.” One dark brow arched suggestively.

Rose wasted no time in pulling herself onto Molly’s back. Any amount of discomfort was worth the end result, which she was looking forward to with more than a little enthusiasm.

They stopped again during the heat of the day, but neither Rose nor White Owl was able to fall asleep, and once they started riding again, Rose felt so weary she was afraid she would fall off Molly’s back.

They made camp before dark beside a little stream that ran along the base of a cedar-covered hill. The setting sun bathed the entire area in a golden glow. They washed in the brook, and Rose felt much more refreshed. Once they had eaten a quick meal of corn cakes and coffee, then spread out the furs and blankets, it was only a matter of minutes before they were wrapped in each other’s arms. Exhausted from riding and from the heat of the day, they were both asleep just minutes after lying down.

“We will reach Vermillion Basin today,” White Owl said as the sun rose the next morning.

Rose’s attention was riveted by the contrast between the hues of their skin, with the rising sun spotlighting his pale brown skin against her nearly alabaster skin tone. She wondered how hard it would always be for them in this world that was so filled with prejudice and hate.

“What’s wrong?” White Owl asked.

“Nothing,” Rose lied. “Why?”

“You grew so tense and you shook. Are you cold?”

Rose swallowed hard. She told herself her love for White Owl would see them through the hardships they would undoubtedly face because of their differences. “Maybe a little cold, and really dreading riding again today. I wish we didn’t have to move.” She snuggled as close as possible to the muscled body of her husband. His arms immediately tightened around her. She definitely had not been lying about dreading the ride again today.

“How will you survive the winter if you think it is cold now?” White Owl asked with a chuckle.

“You will keep me warm,” Rose replied. She pushed away the worries she had been dwelling on regarding their future and concentrated on their beautiful surroundings. They had woken in a valley of cedars, and the heady pine scent emitting from their branches was intoxicating.

“Tell me more about this special place we are going,” she asked in an effort to divert her thoughts to the present.

“You will see it soon.”

Rose gave up asking questions, since it was obvious she wasn’t going to get any answers. Luckily, she did not have long to wait until they reached their destination.

As they rode into a tall narrow canyon that couldn’t have been more than thirty feet wide, Rose was in awe of the towering rock walls in various shades of brown, rust and tan-colored sandstone. She gasped when she saw pictures of people and animals etched into some of the rugged rocks overhead. White Owl heard her and chuckled as he pointed to the scattering of detailed pictures.

“My ancestors came here many, many moons ago and drew pictures on the rocks so that we could be reminded of our great beginnings.” He halted his horse and gestured toward a large picture of an Indian wearing an elaborate headdress and holding a bow in his hand. The rock that the picture was carved into was at least fifty feet high, yet the details were intricate.

“They are so beautiful,” Rose said in amazement. “How did they ever get up there to do that?”

White Owl shrugged. “I told you this place is special.” At a later time, he would show her the remnants of a tattered bark and vine ladder that those first people who lived here had used to scale the cliff walls. Even with the primitive ladder, etching the pictures in the stone had been a remarkable task. He nudged his horse forward, but kept the pace slow so that they could observe more of the numerous pictures of animals, people and
assorted weapons that covered the cliffs and high rocks.

Rose followed him on her horse, her gaze flitting from one side to the other of the towering canyon walls. She could not even begin to imagine how the Indians had scaled those steep rocks, let alone dangled out there in front of them long enough to etch those massive pictures in the hard stone. White Owl had been right . . . it was worth traveling this far to see this mystical place, and she sensed that this was only the beginning of the surprises her handsome husband had in store for her.

As they rode out of the breathtaking canyon, the area opened up to expose a secluded meadow surrounded by pinyons, cedars, and sagebrush. To Rose, it looked like they had entered their own private world, but a huge round rock fire pit was built smack in the center, reminding her that other people had been here before them. A sense of admiration overtook her as she stopped her horse beside White Owl’s. “It’s truly magical,” Rose said quietly.

“My grandfather brought me here several times when I was small. It was like a magic place to me, too. After he died, I came here once on my own, but it was not the same. When I first met you, I knew that I would bring you here someday.” He turned to look at her, adding, “And now, the magic has returned.”

Rose swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat as she met her husband’s loving gaze. “Thank you for bringing me here.”

White Owl drew a deep breath but did not reply
immediately. His tender expression exposed his thoughts. After a moment of silence, he finally asked, “Would you like to see your new home?”

Rose nodded with enthusiasm as he dismounted, and then he helped her down from her horse. He took her hand and began to lead her back toward the canyon, but before they entered the narrow opening, they turned and began to hike up a rocky slope that led to a ledge several hundred feet above. The rocks almost seemed to create a natural stairway and the climb was easy. Within minutes they were standing on the ledge.

“Oh,” Rose gasped as she looked at the cave that had been completely hidden from the valley below.

The ledge cut into the rock and was approximately thirty feet long. An overhanging rock created a roof over almost the entire area. Cut deep into the back of the ledge was a huge cave with a rock fire pit in the center. Rose pulled White Owl with her as she stepped into the cave. Although they had to duck slightly to enter under the overhanging rock ceiling, once they were inside, even White Owl could stand upright with several inches to spare overhead.

“It’s perfect,” she whispered. “Can we stay here forever?”

White Owl chuckled. “Would you not get lonely?”

Rose turned to him. “I will never be lonely as long as I am with you.” She glanced around the cave, wondering where they would put their bed.

As if White Owl was reading her mind, he cleared his throat loudly and turned back toward the opening. “Let’s get the supplies.”

With an eager nod, Rose followed him back out of the cave. She stopped at the edge of the rock ledge and looked around. Below her was the hidden meadow and to her right was the entrance into the deep rugged canyon with the ancient carvings. In the distance, she could see the tops of towering mountains that had seemed so far away just a couple of days ago. Rose felt her breath catch in her throat. It was awe inspiring, and she felt blessed just to be standing here.

“Come,” White Owl called out. “We will explore later.”

Rose snapped out of her trance and hurried down the slope to help her husband with their gear. She was eager to explore, but even more eager to get their soft furs spread out in the cave.

With her arms loaded, she carefully made her way back up the slope and deposited the furs and blankets inside the cave, while White Owl concentrated on setting up camp around the big fire pit in the meadow. She studied the inside of the cave carefully and finally determined that she would make the bed in the narrowest corner of the cave. She had to bend down slightly as she spread the thick furs out, because this corner sloped and was a little lower in height than the rest of the cave. But when she finished smoothing out the last of the blankets over the furs and stood back to admire
her work, she felt that it was the perfect place for their bed. A chuckle distracted her as White Owl entered the cave.

“That is where I used to put my bed when I came here with my grandfather. I was shorter then and didn’t even have to bend over to smooth the furs.”

“Oh, do you mind that you will have to bend down now to—” Her words were cut off when her husband grabbed her arm and twirled her around. His mouth descended on hers with a demanding kiss. Rose decided he didn’t mind as she returned his kiss with her own demands. She reached up and encircled his neck with her arms, drawing herself up against him as close as possible. His engorged manhood pressed into her abdomen and her knees went weak.