Mountain Moonlight

chapter 15





Vala slept better than she'd expected to, considering it was her last night in Arizona, the last night anywhere near Bram. When she woke in the morning, she lay quietly for a bit, thinking she might be boarding a jet at noon, but she'd be leaving her heart behind. It made no difference how Bram felt about her, she loved him. On this treasure map trip, what she'd found was a man worth loving.

After she showered, she put on the navy pants suit, but wore the bright yellow shirt she'd bought in the mall with it, instead of the plain white one. For some reason, this lightened her spirits a little.

When she went into the kitchen, through the sliding doors she noticed Bram and Davis were standing on the patio in what looked to be earnest conversation. No doubt having to do with how soon Bram can send the kitten, she thought. Davis glanced her way, saw her, waved and then the two of them, Davis still talking, walked away from the house into the yard.

Vala shrugged and went about fixing herself breakfast. Though she didn't feel much like eating, the idea of facing airline food for the rest of the day made her decide to eat something decent while she had the chance.

She was downing her second cup of coffee when Davis came through the sliding doors into the kitchen. Bram, she saw, was still in the yard, apparently contemplating one of the grapefruit trees.

"He's thinking things over," Davis informed her.

"I know he's planning some changes in his life," she said.

"You do?" Davis sounded surprised.

"I think he intends to start lawyering for the Ndee. It seems he had a dream where Mokesh told him to."

"Whoa! It was really Mokesh?"

"In his rattlesnake form."

"Awesome. So he's gonna do it?"

Vala nodded. "Your map made a difference in Bram's life, didn't it?"

"Mine, too," Davis said. "And yours."

Startled, she stared at him. "Why do you say in my life?"

"Um--" Davis tugged at his ear. "Well, you learned to ride a horse, didn't you?"

Not sure he wasn't concealing something, she would have pursued it if Bram hadn't pushed open the sliding door and entered just then. When her gaze fastened on him, everything else fled from her mind.

He looked at her with those wonderful dark eyes and she was caught, unable to move or speak, feeling the arc of emotion flashing between them, filling her heart.

"I have an errand to run before we leave for the airport," he said finally, breaking the spell. "Be back soon."

Bram took the BMW, easing it into the flow of traffic, turning off at the mall, thinking he didn't have much time for what he had to do. He shook his head. Wouldn't be doing it at all if it weren't for Davis. Smart kid. He couldn't say the same for himself.

His mother's favorite word for those unfortunates a can or two short of a sixpack was noodleheads. He'd never believed he belonged there but damned if he hadn't just about joined his mother's noodlehead club.

In the jewelry store, he asked the female clerk, "If you were a no-nonsense lady of maybe sixty, living alone in the Superstitions, but with an eye for beauty, what do you think would catch your eye in here?"

"Does she prefer Native American designs?" the unfazed clerk asked, gesturing toward a tray of turquoise set in silver. In a box next to the tray he saw a gold snake pin with yellow gem eyes and small chips of turquoise set into the body in a diamond-back pattern. "Mokesh," he muttered under his breath.

He pointed. "I'll take the snake."

After Pauline got this gift she could no longer claim there wasn't gold in the Superstitions, he thought with amusement. The gold snake, though, was only a token. He owed Pauline more than he could ever repay.

He finished his shopping and drove back to the house. Inside, he found Vala and Davis on the floor by the kitten box. It hadn't taken Sheba long to learn Davis meant her kittens no harm and, though she made her usual mother noises, she didn't object to the boy holding Zorro.

Davis had the kitten snugged up against his face while Vala watched, smiling.

"I'd say Zorro is the luckiest one of the lot," Bram said to them. "Kinked tail, crossed-eyes and all."

"I hope he won't mind New York winters," Vala said.

"Not to worry." When she glanced up at him, he added, "Cats are adaptable."

"I whispered to him so he wouldn't miss me too much," Davis said. "I told him we'd be together soon."

Vala rose and, leaving Davis with the kitten, followed Bram into the living room.

"All packed?' he asked.

She nodded.

"I like that yellow shirt," he said. "You look good in bright colors."

Hell, to him she looked good in anything. Or nothing. But the colors she'd worn before she bought that skirt and this shirt in the mall here tended to be dark ones. Or plain white. In his mind the brighter shades meant she'd come out of her shell. It gave him a thrill to think that at least part of that was his doing.

"Thank you," she told him.

He took a jewelry box from his pocket, saying, "I want to show you the pin I bought for Pauline."

When Vala gazed at the pin, she murmured, "Mokesh. Perfect."

"Will you help me gift wrap it before we take off for the airport? They'd have done it at the jewelry store but I wanted you to see it."

"I mean to send her something from Davis and me, too," she said. "I thought maybe a wool shawl. I've seen some colorful ones in the stores back home."

"Sounds like something she could use. Send the shawl to me and I'll see she gets it."

He watched Vala's deftness with admiration as she wrapped the box in the gold paper he'd bought and affixed the gold elastic bow.

"I made some cheese sandwiches to bring with us on the plane," she said, "in case the food turns out to be as bad as it usually is."

"Good idea. Someday someone's going to make a mint putting up box lunches to take aboard. My favorite would be smoked salmon, homemade brown bread with a cream cheese spread and an apple turnover."

She smiled. "Pricey, but delicious, I'll admit."

He could tell her smile was forced and he longed to wrap his arms around her and never let her go. But if he touched her, he was none too sure what might happen.

"I'll load the bags into the car," he said.



Vala watched him go out. So far she'd managed to act in a reasonably adult manner and she hoped she could keep it up at least until she was aboard the jet. Davis would be feeling bad, too, so he shouldn't be too upset to see her cry.

Her son, though, seemed to be taking this departure far better than she. He actually seemed to be more excited than sad. Come to think of it, he had enjoyed the flight here-- his first--and so maybe he was anticipating being on the jet, even though he didn't want to leave Arizona. He also had something to look forward to in a few weeks when the kitten arrived.

She had nothing.

Damn it, why was she going away from Bram without ever telling him how she felt? What was the harm in admitting her love for him now that he didn't have to feel embarrassed about not reciprocating? She nodded. At the last minute, just before she had to get on the plane, she'd tell him. Whisper it in his ear along with her goodbye.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, feeling not quite so depressed.

There was the usual traffic at the airport, the hassle of parking and getting a redcap to check the bags she and Davis weren't carrying on, but Bram handled it all with speed and dispatch. She should have known he would. He handled everything well.

They were in good time, but not so early as to have to stand around too long. No glitches occurred--quite the contrary. At the airline counter they honored her return tickets, upgrading them to first class, confirmed the noon departure and even offered an apology for the delay.

Finally, they arrived at the gate. She'd thought maybe they wouldn't let Bram through, but that didn't happen. He set down her carry-on bag and took her hands in his.

"I wish we could avoid being apart," he said.

So did she, but found she couldn't say so even after swallowing to try to rid herself of the lump in her throat. She was vaguely conscious that Davis had moved a ways off, through still keeping an eye on them, but that didn't matter. Nothing mattered except having to leave Bram.

"I have a secret to tell you." Bram's voice seemed to come from a long way off and it took her a minute to understand what he was saying.

"A secret?" she mumbled.

Ignoring the people around them he leaned closer and whispered into her ear. "This is my secret, one that only you know. I love you. Will you come back and marry me?" Stunned, Vala repeated his words in her mind, hardly believing she'd heard right.

He loved her.

"I--I love you, too," she stammered in a half-whisper, barely able to speak.

"Does that mean you'll marry me?" His warm breath stirred her hair as he whispered the words into her ear.

She clung to him, scarcely able to breathe and raised up so he could hear her whisper, "Oh, yes. Heavens, yes."

Bram held her away, grinning at her.

She smiled back, happiness surging through her.

And then he kissed her. The world went away, she was conscious of nothing but Bram until someone tugged at her jacket and Davis's voice said, "Mom, they're announcing that the first-class passengers can board now. That's us."

Bram let her go, enveloped Davis in a 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."