“I’m so happy for you both.” He pressed a kiss to her temple. “Naomi had a hard time with nausea for a while, too. But you’re feeling better?”
“I’m twelve weeks as of yesterday, and the past week hasn’t been bad.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” He glanced at his watch. “We need to go. Your man is waiting. I think all of Scarlet turned up. They’re sitting on the ground around the party tent and picnicking in the backs of their pickups.”
Winona laughed. “I warned Jason that would happen.”
Chaska walked with Winona out of the cabin and toward the side entrance at the rear of the party tent, where her bridesmaids fussed with her gown. And then the music started—Bach’sAir on the G String.
Lexi turned and gave Winona one last smile before starting down the aisle, Kat following a few moments later.
Naomi glanced back at them. “I love you both.”
Then it was just Chaska and Winona.
Winona’s pulse quickened as they entered the tent and started up the walk up to the altar together. Looking impossibly handsome, Jason stood with his groomsmen at the front, Grandpa beside them, all of her friends and loved ones rising to their feet.
Later, Winona wouldn’t remember the tears that spilled down her face or her nervousness as she walked up the aisle. All she would remember was the love shining in Jason’s eyes as they vowed to care for one another all the days of their lives.
* * *
Winona leaned back against Jason,his arms around her, the two of them watching the clouds drift in front of the stars, her heart so full of happiness it seemed to overflow. Music, conversation, and laughter spilled out of the party tent, the scent of ponderosa pine carried on a cool summer breeze.
It had been a perfect day.
Jason nuzzled her ear. “I can’t wait to get you to our hotel so I can strip that gorgeous dress off you and havemarriedsex.”
Winona liked that idea. “We should say goodbye to our guests and drive Grandpa home. He must be tired.”
They had an early morning flight to Mazatlán, so they had booked a suite next to the airport. Jason wanted to share his other homeland with her, so they were honeymooning in Mexico.
“Where is Old Man?”
“He and Jack have been talking all evening. They’re new best friends or something.” Winona supposed it wasn’t that much of a surprise. For two men from completely different worlds, they had a lot in common. “They’ve been sitting in the exact same spot since we finished dinner.”
“Yeah. I see them now.” Jason chuckled. “They’re still talking.”
“Did you see the look on Grandpa’s face when we told him I was pregnant?”
“I did.” Jason’s hand moved to caress her belly through the silk of her dress. “That entire wrinkled-apple face of his turned into one big smile, and that laugh…”
“One minute, he was telling me he was ready to make the journey now that I was settled. The next, he said he had to stick around because he had young people to teach.”
“Your grandfather is one of a kind.”
“He’s what traditionals would call a true Lakota.”
“Let’s see if he’s ready to go.” Jason threaded his fingers through hers, and they started back toward the party tent.
Winona saw they were near the maze. “I’ve never actually walked it, you know. Is it as hard as the kids say?”
“Give it a try.”
“Now?”
“Why not?”
Winona found the entrance and set off, trying to find the center. The stone walls were high enough that she couldn’t see dead ends until they were before her. Jason watched, laughing, as she retraced her steps several times, twice going all the way back to the beginning. “Another dead end?”