Night Walker's Woman Ch. 15

Jaycee wore some loose, gauzy white thing that whipped about her legs as Angel led her towards the edge of the canyon. Rex beamed at his girls. This day was perfect. Well, almost. Ryan was already so deeply undercover that he could not be there. Considering how quickly they had managed to arrange the damned thing that was impressive, even for the federal government.

But his other cousin, Jack, was more than happy to fill in as best man. He had worried about how Grandfather would feel about seeing the only grandchild of his dead brother. But he should have known better. The moment the young man stepped from his truck, Grandfather had wrapped his arms about him as if it were just another summer, and his brother Joe had sent the young man to run the ranch with Rex and Ryan.

They had kept the wedding small — just the two of them, Jack, Grandfather, Hector, and Guadalupe. But Jaycee had not minded. Grandfather would perform the ceremony, a mix of the legal one and various Native American traditions.

And if anyone had thought it strange that they chose this place to say their vows, they said nothing. It had been Jaycee's idea, claiming that it was only appropriate as the place where one life ended, and another began for them.

Angel glowed with health as she came to stand beside him. There had been no more seizures since that day. Even though it had only been less than a month, she was already badgering Jaycee to discontinue the medications. Grandfather and even Guadalupe supported her entreaties. He had not weighed in on the issue, but maybe he should. He understood Jaycee's worries, but perhaps it was time to let go of those as she had so many others.

Those thoughts were cut short by the smile that radiated from his bride's face as she closed those last few feet between them. The final cords of the sweet feminine voices raised in harmony echoed in the canyon, "Cowboy take me away. Fly this girl as high as you can into the wild blue. Set me free, oh, I pray. Closer to heaven above and closer to you...closer to you."

Jack leaned over and whispered, "Damn, man, any woman that chooses the Chicks is a keeper in my book."

Rex chuckled at his cousin, but when he turned back, every other thought flew like birds before the storm.

She was beautiful. She always was, from that first day in the courthouse. But never more than at this moment. To say she took his breath away would be an understatement. She took it away and gave it back again. She always would. His "Nʉ Sʉmʉ."

***

Jaycee smiled up at his words as she reached out and captured his hand in hers.

Grandfather's voice was steady as he began.

"Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter for the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now there will be no loneliness, for each of you will be companion to the other. Now you are two persons, but there is only one life before you."

When Grandfather had first shared this blessing with them, Jaycee had thought no words could more accurately capture her feelings than those. They so wholly reflected her new understanding of Feminism 101 and relationships.

"May beauty surround you both in the journey ahead and through all the years. May happiness be your companion, and your days together be good and long upon the earth. Treat yourselves and each other with respect, and remind yourselves often of what brought you together."

Jaycee turned and smiled up at Rex, remembering that first day in the courtroom. She would never have imagined then that she would be standing here with this man. Her brows furrowed, or had she? From that first moment, something deep inside of her had recognized him as her mate.

"Give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness, and kindness that your connection deserves. When frustration, difficulties, and fear assail your relationship, as they threaten all relationships at one time or another, remember to focus on what is right between you, not only the part which seems wrong."

These past weeks had certainly put those admonishments to the test. She did her best, but it was Rex for whom those things had come so easily. She squeezed his hand, though that was not fair. As she came to be more comfortable inside his mind, she had learned that what might appear natural from the outside often came at a very high price.

"In this way, you can ride out the storms when clouds hide the face of the sun in your lives - remembering that even if you lose sight of it for a moment, the sun is still there. And if each of you takes responsibility for the quality of your life together, it will be marked by abundance and delight."

Aww, there it was again. That equality. Equality of responsibility as well as privilege. That was the difference. That was the foundation stone of a good relationship. Caring for the other person's feelings and needs as much as your own. And while their mental link made that a bit easier, it still required a choice. Each and every day, usually several times a day. She did not always get it right, but she was trying. And learning and growing every day. Thankfully, she had a patient partner.

"Rex, my son," Grandfather intoned.

His eyes shone done at her with the heat of passion as they had that first day, but it was matched or perhaps surpassed by the compassion that had captured her heart. Empathy not just for her, or even Angel, but kindness that extended to others in their lives like the Ramirezes. What had it taken her so long to see that? But what did it matter? She had a lifetime to make it up to him.

Rex's voice was incredibly strong as he began. "Fair is the white star of twilight, and the sky clearer at the day's end, but she is fairer, and she is dearer. She, my heart's friend."

His smile never wavered, nor his gaze never left hers as he squeezed her hand and heart, "Fair is the white star of twilight, and the moon roving to the sky's end, but she is fairer, better worth loving."

He leaned in and gently brushed a kissed upon her smiling lips as he finished, "She, my heart's friend."

Jaycee's eyes were filled with tears as Rex's cousin Jack handed him something. Rex lifted her hand to his lips. He pressed a sacred kiss first to her knuckles and then into the center of her palm before he slipped the most unique and utterly perfect wedding band onto the second finger of her left hand.

"Though my people needed no rings to bind one soul to another. Nonetheless, it would be my eternal honor if you would wear this symbol of my undying love, respect, and pledge to you this day."

He slipped the solid wooden band over her knuckle. She tried to examine the intricate carvings in its polished surface, but the tears kept getting in the way. "The great oak offered forth this piece of herself that I might bestow upon you my pledge of strength and protection. Each moment I spent carving it was a prayer and blessing for a long and loving life with you, Nʉ Sʉmʉ."

She watched as his throat constricted, just as his fingers tightened around hers, "Do you accept my pledge to you and all that is yours?"

She could not even strangle words out as those tears raced faster down her cheeks. All she could manage was to boob her head rapidly. But it seemed completely natural and perfect that Angel answered on their behalf, "Yes, we do," as she wrapped her arms about both of their legs and held tight.

As Jaycee did her best to brush the tears from her eyes, she worried that she would not remember the words that she had spent the past week memorizing. Her voice was certainly not as sharp or sure as his or Grandfather's, but somehow or the other, she managed to squeeze the words past that log in her throat.

"Rex Ranger, you are my husband." That word never held a more profound or wholly inadequate meaning than at that moment.

"My feet shall run because of you. My feet shall dance because of you. My heart shall beat because of you. My eyes see because of you." How this man had opened her eyes to so much in such a short time. She looked forward to all that the rest of their lives would reveal.

"My mind thinks because of you." Yes, it was not merely her eyes that his love had opened. But her mind and heart as well.

"And I shall love because of you." She barely managed to squeeze those last words out as his strong arms lifted their daughter and drew them all into a tight circle.

Jack, Hector, and Guadalupe surrounded them, laying their hands on their shoulders as Grandfather extended his hands to their heads.

"Great one in heaven above, please protect the ones we love. We honor all you created as these your children pledge their hearts and lives together." There were tears in the old man's eyes, too. Or Jaycee thought there were, she could not be sure, given how blurred her vision was.

"We honor mother-earth - and ask that this marriage be abundant and grow stronger through the seasons," Grandfather reached into the ceremonial apron that adorned his waist and sprinkled dirt over their heads.

Then Jack passed each of them a candle. "We honor fire - and ask that their union be warm and glowing with love in our hearts," the old man pulled a flint from the pocket and lit Jaycee's candle.

"It is woman who is the fire at the center of her home, my daughter. It is her right, privilege, and duty to share that as she alone sees fit."

Jaycee nodded her head though shock prevented words. She knew that this was not part of the ritual, but an individual blessing of this man to her. The significance of that was not lost on her as she turned and lit Rex's candle. Then together, they lit the candles of the others.

Grandfather spread his arms wide and lifted them to the sky. "We honor wind - and ask, they sail through life safe and calm as in the mother's arms."

Raymond Greywolf spun in a circle as with many of the traditional dances. But the wind that blew was far more robust than any the motions of his body might warrant. For a moment, their candles flickered, but they held, roaring to life with the oxygen breathed into them by this blessing.

Then the old man reached down to Angel, taking from her the double spouted Native American wedding vase. The sentiment might have been traditional, but the execution was anything but. Jaycee knew that their daughter had spent days working with Grandfather to craft the slightly lopsided vessel. Each design and mark had been etched by young and old hands working together to bless this day and them.

Grandfather lifted it to the heavens, "We honor water - to clean and soothe this relationship - that it may never thirst for love."

He held the vase over their heads, which were bent close to one another. Then Grandfather poured the water that she had collected that morning from the stream that ran through the ranch over them both. Some of it trickled down to be captured in Angel's curls as she giggled with delight.

"With all the forces of the universe you created, we pray for harmony and true happiness as Jaycee and Rex forever grow young together. Amen."

Raymond winked at her and added, "A-woman as well."

Their friends erupted into laughter as Jack slapped Rex on the shoulder then drew him into one of those guy hugs. Guadalupe, with tears running down her weathered cheeks, wrapped Jaycee in a maternal one as Hector and Grandfather looked on.

But something had captured Angel's attention as she danced towards the edge of the cliff. Jaycee opened her mouth to scream out a warning, but Rex shook his head and pulled away from Jack.

"Let me, Nʉ Sʉmʉ."

It was still incredibly hard for her. Even with Sean, Jaycee had never really had to share the responsibility for her child. But she knew that this was far more profound than merely some need to impress her or even share her burdens. Rex genuinely loved Angel and saw her as much as his child as hers. She was admittedly still struggling with the depths of that.

But she knew that the words and promises they had just shared extended to Angel as well. So, she had better start to learn. No time like the present as she nodded her head then turned to speak with his cousin.

***

Rex's heart fluttered as Angel turned her dark head and beamed up at him. Those smiles were almost as precious to him as her mother's. Though in a decidedly different manner. He reached his hand out towards his daughter.

"Your mother is worried that you're too close to the edge, sweetie."

"Mommy worries too much."

Rex threw back his head as the laughter rolled out of his gut. Angel looked up at him sheepishly as he knelt in front of her. "I don't think we should tell her that. Not quite yet."

Angel's brow knit together as she pondered his words. Then she nodded slowly, "But soon."

Rex considered exploring what she meant further, but Angel remained distracted, staring out over the edge of the cliff. Had Jaycee been wrong? Was it too soon to bring the child back to this place?

"No. It was right. It was good for Daddy to be here."

He frowned; was that because the child could so easily slip into his mind? Grandfather was right; they should never underestimate her powers. They would have to be more careful about erecting barriers.

Or was it her words themselves that bothered him? The idea of that man having any part in this day did not sit well with him. He knew that he could never erase Sean Riley from their lives or memories. He had only to look at his child's light coffee coloring and tight curls to be reminded that their bond was not biological. Not that it bothered him - usually.

But at this moment, he was not sure what to say or think, especially to the man's only child.

"Daddy brought the pretty lady and three little boys with him." Her eyes remained straight ahead, seeing things that Rex could not. "He seems happier now. I'm glad."

She turned back to smile at him once more, "Mommy needs another baby. Then she will stop worrying about me so much."

Rex shook his head and laughed again. "What makes you say that, Angel?"

"The pretty lady said so." Then as if that settled the matter, she ran off to where Grandfather stood, chatting with his cousin Jack.

And Rex was left to come to terms with the turmoil that continued to rage in his mind and heart. His hands tightened into fists at his side. It angered him that he had never even gotten a punch in on the man.

After all the pain and hurt that Sean Riley had inflicted, both physical and mental torture, on his mate, he had never been able to defend her honor. The man had robbed him of even that satisfaction. He wanted to roar, rage at Fate itself. To have denied him the satisfaction of bringing justice to that thing.

His shoulders slumped. Angel was right. Sean Riley had not always been that thing, the Chupacabra. Once upon a time, before Jaycee, before Angel, he had been a man. From the background that Ryan had shared with him, an honorable one, as concerned with righting the wrongs of the injustices and enslavement of his people as Grandfather was.

He had been a brother, too. Though Rex knew of no other skinwalkers beside Grandfather, he knew they were out there. Somewhere. He believed that. And once upon a time, Sean Riley had been such a comrade.

Then he has lost the most precious thing of all to any skinwalker - his mate. On this day above all others, Rex could empathize with the man. The skinwalker that Riley had once been. He shook his head, would he ever find peace with it?

Angel had almost instantly grasped the situation, releasing the pain of losing the man who had sired her, yet never been the father she had needed. From the little that he had witnessed of their relationship that day, Rex believed the child's pain was far more profound than that.

Riley had not seen her gifts, only that she was not the son he had wanted. But more than that, Rex knew that until Grandfather came into her life, Angel feared that she would become like the man - a monster.

One talk with Grandfather, and that was it. All the pain of a lifetime gone. Simply by the knowledge that Riley's choices were his own and that she did not need to repeat them, or pay for her father's sins. Hell, the child could even find joy in imagining a happy afterlife for the bast...

He felt the soft hands on his arm and smelled her sweet scent even as she spoke. "Grandfather is right, you know. If Angel says that Sean and Astrid were here today, maybe they were."

"Doesn't that bother you?" The words of anger were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

Jaycee gently turned him to face her, "No, honestly, it does not. Maybe it should. But it does not."

She turned her head and stared out over the cliffs for a long moment as she wrapped her arms about his waist and drew him to her side.

"I never knew the man I married until it was too late." She shook her head, and he could see tears glisten in her eyes, "I had stars in my eyes for the man he had once been. I was in love with the legend, the man and attorney he was before."

She inhaled and turned back to face him, "The man that had died with Astrid. I am not excusing anything that creature did or became. He hurt far more than just me. And we may never know all the damage that he did."

"But one thing I have learned is that forgiveness is not about him. It's about me. About us. And the future. Our future. A future I want to share with you and Angel."

Her fingers tenderly caressed his cheek, "It is not our place to judge Sean's soul. If there is a heaven or a hell, then that job belongs to a bigger judge than me. If instead we are reincarnated, then maybe he'll have the chance to atone for what he did in the next life. And if, well, if there is nothing after this...well, it seems silly to allow him to continue to control our lives. Even a little."

Rex leaned his forehead against hers, "I wish I could be as wise as my wife and daughter." His throat choked, "But it hurts, sweetheart. Knowing that I failed you. That when you needed me the most, I wasn't even there. That I never got the chance to right those wrongs for you."

She shook her head as she took his face between her palms and placed the tenderest of kisses on his lips, "Don't you get it, cowboy. Sometimes a woman has to fight her own battles."

"I'm glad that you did not fight Sean. Have you ever considered what it could have done to Angel if you had killed her father? How could she have trusted you after that?"

He had not thought of it that way. But of course, she was right. For all that he had done and not done, the man was still Angel's biological father.

Jaycee nodded and smiled, "No, Rex, what happened here that day was the best thing. Love won out over revenge. And that is always the best outcome of all."

He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her. He kissed her sweet lips until the passion flared between them, erasing all thoughts of the man from both their minds. "I don't know about the best outcome of all. I can think of a few better ones."

She winked at him, "Yes, well, since it was Grandfather that sealed the ties of holy matrimony, I was thinking about other bonds. Ties. And rope, cowboy."

"What did you have in mind, Nʉ Sʉmʉ?"

The image his mate and wife sent scrambled the neurons in his brain, caused his cheeks to flare a bright red and his cock to harden in his jeans. "Yes, ma'am," was the best he could manage.

She wrapped her tiny fist about the neck of his shirt and drew him back to her lips, "That's the right answer, cowboy. Just as soon as we get rid of these people that we love."

They both chuckled and walked hand and hand back to their family and friends, but Rex's mind was somewhere else. The ideas that she had planted in his mind danced down his spine and settled in his groin.

*** Jack Greywolf stood on the porch, staring up at the dark Texas sky. This far from the city or even town, the black depths twinkled with a million stars. Billions. Even more were not visible to the naked eye. His dark eyes scanned the inky blanket, looking for the brightest.