Mountain Moonlight - By Jane Toombs Page 0,69

bear hug and thrust a small velvet box into her hand. In a blur of movement she somehow got aboard the jet with Davis, found the right seat and got her bag stowed.

"What did he give you?" Davis asked.

She looked down at the red velvet box she was holding and slowly, carefully pried up the lid. A diamond set in the center of a cluster of sapphires winked up at her.

"Whoa, that's a way cool ring, Mom. You gonna put it on?"

As she slid the ring onto her left fourth finger, discovering it fit perfectly, reason began to return. This was an engagement ring. She was going to marry Bram. And she was going to have to explain this to Davis. After a moment's thought, she decided a blunt statement was the way to go.

The attendant came by and reminded her to fasten her seatbelt. Noting that Davis already had his on, she buckled hers, then turned to him.

He spoke before she could begin. "So, how soon are you guys gonna get married?"

Vala gaped at him. "I didn't think you could possibly have overheard us in the waiting room," she said finally.

Davis grinned. "I didn't."

"Then how--?

"You know when Bram and me took a walk in the back yard this morning? What I did was tell him the end of the Wind Dancer story--the one Pauline told me. That's what she said I had to do before we left Arizona."

Vala recalled that before they left Pauline's cabin, the old woman had taken Davis aside to tell him something and he'd promised he wouldn't forget.

"Pauline said you two needed a push to reach the right decision and that I was the one who had to do it. She'd already told me all of the Wind Dancer story, so I knew how it ended, but you guys didn't 'cause I wasn't supposed to let on till I could tell that you needed a push. Mostly Bram, 'cause the man's supposed to do the asking."

Vala shook her head in amazement. "Do I get to hear the end of that story?"

"Sure. Wind Dancer, changed into Hummingbird, whispered secret love words in his bride's ear. On account of that, the Ndee believe a man who loves a woman and wants to marry her has to whisper a secret in her ear or else she won't ever be his bride. That's what I told Bram this morning. He's Ndee, so he understood. And it's a good thing I did what Pauline said, otherwise you guys never would have gotten around to it."

Unsuccessfully blinking back tears, Vala leaned over and kissed her son on the cheek.

"Hey, you're not supposed to cry, you're supposed to be happy," he said.

"Sometimes people cry when they're very, very happy," she told him. "Like me right now."

"That's good then. 'Cause I'm happy, too. Bram likes me as much as he does you, except in a different way. He told me that this morning. He said getting me as his son would be the best wedding present in the world."

Bram's beaming smile made Vala's tears flow faster.

The attendant, passing by, asked if she was all right. Tears running down her cheeks, unable to speak, Vala held out her left hand to show her engagement ring.

"My mom's okay," Davis said. "She's crying 'cause she's happy. I guess it's one of the things I got to learn about women."

Chapter 16

A year later, in Arizona, Vala and Bram were curled up together on the couch in the living room one evening, watching Zorro attack his mother's tail and making bets as to how soon Sheba would give him a smack.

"She's got more patience than I have," Vala said.

Bram didn't answer and she saw that he had his head cocked to one side, as if listening.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "Do you hear the baby?" Their daughter had been born prematurely and, though she was thriving now, Vala couldn't help worrying about her.

"Nope. Sounds to me like Davis is talking to someone." Listening, Vala heard a low sing-song. "It's more like he's telling a story. But who to?"

They looked at one another and nodded, rose and headed for the nursery, making no noise with their bare feet. Three-month-old Letty Hunter lay in her bassinet, her dark eyes fixed on Davis who was standing beside it, telling his baby sister a story.

"And so Quo-Qui, the littlest boy of the Ndee, the one they'd always laughed at, saved his people by his cleverness," he finished. Reaching into the bassinet, he touched Letty's hand and she curled hers around his forefinger.

"I like you, too," Davis said softly. "It doesn't matter that you got born too soon and so you're really, really tiny. That's why I told you about Quo-Qui, so you'd hear something good about being small. I'm your big brother and I'll always take care of you."

Letty made a tiny sound, more a squeak than anything else.

"Pretty soon you'll get bigger and then I'll take you for rides in your stroller," he went on. "Maybe I can show you a roadrunner, then, 'cause that's what Quo-Qui changed into. But even if you never do get real big, you don't need to worry about being small. Like the story says, the littlest will triumph in the end. Just ask me. I know."

Bram and Vala glanced at one another and she saw the tears in her eyes were reflected in his. They tiptoed away and embraced in the hall, holding tightly to each other.

Love might not cure all ills, but it lit up every moment of their lives as brightly as the Arizona sun.

The End

About The Author

Jane Toombs, the Viking from her past and their calico grandcat, Kinko, live on the south shore of Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula wilderness. Here they enjoy refreshing Springs, beautiful Summers, colorful Falls and tolerate miserable Winters. Jane is edging toward ninety with her published books and has over twenty-five novellas and short stories to her credit. She’s been published in every genre except men’s action and erotica, but paranormal is her favorite. She’s a member of a closed twelve author promo group called Jewels Of The Quill, where she’s “Dame Turquoise”

Also from Books We Love, Golden Chances Books 1 to 7, Hallow House, Books I and II, and Ten Past Midnight. Six stories and three poems on the dark side of paranormal. Everything from ghouls to the heart-eating Egyptian beast who decides one's fate. Even the touches of romance are definitely different. But what traveler can expect the norm when on the wrong side of midnight? Ten past midnight All's not well. Every road leads right To hell..

Note From The Publisher:

Thank you for purchasing and reading this Books We Love eBook. We hope you have enjoyed your reading experience. Books We Love and the author would very much appreciate you returning to the online retailer where you purchased this book and leaving a review for the author.

Mountain Moonlight - By Jane Toombs Page 0,69

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