LeClerc 03 - Wild Savage Heart (25 page)

She loved him. Nothing could change that. And somehow they would find a way past the problems as they rose.

Slowly, reverently, Molly slid the simple gold band from her finger. She clutched it in her hand before laying it on the dressing table. She stared at it as her fingers mechanically braided her long hair and wrapped the braids around her head. It stayed within her sight as she slid the dress over her head.

A multitude of buttons closed the front of the simple gown but she soon found that they would not close. She stared with disbelief at the inch of space left between the buttons and buttonholes at her waist and breasts. She had worn the dress only a couple of weeks earlier and it had been snug but it had fit. Now the dress was simply too small.

Reluctantly, Molly pulled out the clean shirt and trousers from her bag. She wadded the dress up and shoved it into the bottom of the bag along with her dirty clothes. She muttered about the impropriety of wearing trousers in general and to a wedding in particular as she hurriedly dressed.

A harsh voice at the door informed her of Hawk’s arrival. She tried to .smooth some of the wrinkles from the shirt as she gathered together her belongings. Hoping that the Reverend Childers would find it in his nature to overlook her dishevelled appearance, Molly picked up her bag and walked to the door.

On the dressing table, the golden band caught the morning light and sparkled with a rich luster. A symbol of what had been momentarily forgotten in the excitement of what would be.

“Look at me,” Molly said to Hawk as she walked down the stairs. “I’ve never heard of a bride getting married in trousers and a wrinkled shirt!”

Hawk barely noticed her clothing. He was entranced with her sparkling eyes and rosy cheeks. “You are beautiful,” he replied quietly. “Beautiful?” Molly chuckled and shook her head.

“You must have spent the night standing on your head if you can look at me and say I’m beautiful.” She handed her bag to him. “Look at this shirt, it hangs nearly to my knees and there isn’t room for even one more wrinkle. And my hair is badly in need of a good scrubbing. And trousers —”

“I see the glow of motherhood,” Hawk interrupted her, his deep voice soft so that it didn’t carry beyond her hearing. “I want to reach out and catch the joy that surrounds you. I long to place my head against your belly and hear the life within you.”

Molly’s breath caught at the unspoken hunger blazing in his dark eyes. A blush climbed up her cheeks when she silently acknowledged that she was eagerly anticipating their wedding night. She couldn’t lie to herself by denying her fascination with the masculine perfection of Hawk’s body.

“If you haven’t changed your mind, let’s go get married, Molly.”

“I haven’t changed my mind,” she answered firmly.

“Ahxk wai la tee wai thiik a tai,”
he said softly, his dark eyes alive with emotion as he traced the angles and slopes of her face.

“Which means?”

His gaze moved from the gentle curve of her cheek to sear into her own. “To love is to burn.” His voice was suddenly harsh from the repressed emotion.

“Do you burn, Hawk?” A shiver of excitement raced down her spine.

She didn’t think he was going to answer as he reached for her elbow and escorted her out of the inn. Their horses were tied to the hitching post and she waited patiently as he secured her bag to the packhorse. He turned, placed his hands at her waist and lifted her to the saddle. Holding her in place, sitting on the saddle rather than straddling it, Hawk’s grip tightened until it was just short of painful.

“I burn,
ain jel ee,
I burn.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Self-conscious in her highly unorthodox clothing, Molly smiled shyly when Hawk introduced her to John Childers and his parents. Mrs. Childers’s censorious expression belied her cordial greeting, but Molly didn’t know if it was caused by her trousers or by the man at her side or maybe both. Hawk was doing his best at the role of an intimidating Indian, and Molly longed to kick him.

John and his father, the Reverend Childers, made up for any lack of friendliness on Mrs. Childers’s part. John in particular seemed delighted to meet Molly.

“Are you sure you want to marry this blackguard, Miss Royse?” John asked with a grin. When Hawk had introduced her, he had neglected to give her status as a widow and Molly didn’t feel inclined to correct the misimpression.

“Is there something I should know about him?” she asked, liking his irrepressible humor and friendliness.

“Miss Royse, I have been an intimate of Mr. Hawk’s for an extended length of time. Please believe me when I say that it would take years for me to give you the details of his escapades.” He lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, his eyes twinkling. “And those are only the ones acceptable to a lady’s ears. I’m afraid I’m too much of a gentleman to give you details of his more raunchy exploits.”

“Call me Molly, please,” she invited as she waved her hand dramatically beneath her nose. “I fear that I must take my chances with him, since I don’t have years to spend listening to your discourse on his character.”

“John, please remember that you are no longer twelve years old,” Reverend Childers said firmly, but the same twinkle in his son’s eyes was evident in his own as he turned to his wife. “Katherine, please take Miss Royse upstairs and help her to prepare for the ceremony. Mr. Hawk has expressed his desire to continue on his journey as quickly as possible.”

Molly regretfully followed Mrs. Childers up the steep stairs. She remembered the warm reception she had received from Mrs. Cobb the day before and couldn’t help but compare it to the coldness of her current hostess.

“You may use this room to change.” Mrs. Childers opened the door to what was obviously a guest room. Sparsely furnished, the room had an air of disuse. “I’ll have one of the girls bring you a pitcher of water.”

“I will appreciate the water, Mrs. Childers, but I’m afraid I’ll be wearing my trousers for the wedding.” Disgusted by her attitude, Molly deliberately pulled her shirt snugly against her stomach. “Nothing else fits and I just don’t know what I’ll do when these trousers become too tight.”

She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Hawk has so many … ah, needs, that he leaves me little time for domestic necessities such as sewing an adequate wardrobe.”

If possible, Mrs. Childers’s nose rose even further in the air. “I was going to discuss this marriage with you and possibly try to dissuade you from your chosen course but I see that it is entirely too late. So be it, you will suffer the consequences of your misguided decision for the rest of your life, young woman. Marriage to a heathen will be hell on earth; may God have pity on your soul for your sins.” Disbelief at the woman’s attitude mingled with satisfaction, successfully keeping Molly tongue-tied until long after the door had closed behind Mrs. Childers.

“Meddling old biddy!” Molly fumed as she attempted to straighten her hair. “Always looking for the worst in someone and ready to believe any gossip that comes along. How someone like her can have such a delightful husband and son I’ll never know!”

She was still muttering definitely unladylike comments several minutes later when she descended the stairs and found the three men in the parlor. Mrs. Childers was nowhere to be seen nor had the promised pitcher of water appeared.

“Please forgive my wife’s absence, Molly,” Reverend Childers began.

“There is no reason to apologize for your wife, Reverend.” Molly kept a firm hold on her temper but it sparkled in her eyes. “She was eloquent in stating her position on my marriage to Hawk.” The older man took Molly’s hands into his own. “Katherine’s seemingly irrational behavior is based on a devastating experience from her past. As I have just explained to Hawk, who is generous enough to forgive her, Katherine was just a small child when she witnessed the annihilation of her family at the brutal hands of the Iroquois. She is normally a generous and loving woman but she can’t overcome her ingrained fear and hatred of Indians.”

“I am sorry for her past, sir,” Molly stated firmly, “but to condemn an entire race of people because of the actions of a few of its members in not a Christian attitude.”

Hawk walked up to Molly and, placing his hands on her stiff shoulders, turned her face to him. “If you marry me it will be this way the rest of your life, Molly.”

“If you tell me that one more time, Nathan Morning Hawk,” she snarled between gritted teeth, “then so help me God, I’m still going to marry you but I’ll make your life miserable for the rest of mine. I’ll whine and cry and do anything I can think of to make you remember that statement!”

A smile played at the corners of his mouth. “Is that a threat,
ain jel ee?”

“No, Hawk, that is a promise!”

“Whoa! I think you’ve met your match, Hawk ole buddy,” John interrupted with a chuckle.

“You should see her when she really gets worked up,” Hawk replied, his gaze never leaving Molly.

“Something worth seeing, huh?”

“Stunning!”

“If you two are finished testing fate, and the lady’s justifiable anger at your teasing, I suggest we get on with the ceremony,” Reverend Childers commented. “I fear that if you continue to push your luck, Miss Royse may decide to show you an example of her temper.”

“Wise suggestion, Reverend.” Molly knew the two men were simply teasing her but her frayed temper couldn’t tolerate too many more of their comments.

Wanting to soothe her, Hawk pulled Molly into his embrace, his hand lightly rubbing her back. He buried his face in the sweet softness of her hair and closed his eyes. Somehow, someway, he would protect her from the abuse their marriage was destined to attract. He never wanted to face the day when he’d see regret in her eyes.

Molly rested her cheek against his shoulder and let the steady beat of his heart calm her frayed poise. Here was strength to conquer any adversary, intelligence to overcome any obstacle. His gentleness and compassion would be her sanctuary. She found security in his arms and maybe, if she was very, very lucky, someday she would find love there, too.

“Anytime you’re ready.” Reverend Childers cleared his throat, uncomfortable with the display of affection in his parlor.

“Looks like he’s ready to me,” John said softly.

Hawk opened his eyes and speared his friend with a look that could kill — had John been less knowledgeable of Hawk’s personality.

With John as their witness, Molly and Hawk became husband and wife. Her voice was clear and firm when she promised to love, honor and obey, but she noticed his eyebrow raise when she repeated the last word.

Molly’s breath caught audibly when he slipped the ring onto her finger. It was as different from the gold band she had removed earlier as night is from day. The wide band was a blue-black braid, tightly woven from strands of Hawk’s hair.

“I didn’t remember until late last night that I didn’t have a ring for you. I will replace it with something more appropriate later.”

“No you won’t,” Molly’s eyes expressed her delight in the unusual ring. “There isn’t a ring anywhere in the world more appropriate.”

Hawk lifted her hand and kissed the finger that wore his band. “It won’t last forever as a band of gold will.”

“Then you’ll just have to make me another one.” Molly looked at his thick, black hair. “I trust you aren’t planning on going bald?”

“Gray, maybe.”

“After years together, I think a ring with gray in it will be appropriate.”

“I have a feeling, Mary Helen Hawk, that you will be directly responsible for more than a few of those future gray hairs.”

“If we may continue?” Reverend Childers interrupted.

“Of course.”

“With the giving of this ring and the pledging of these vows, so you have committed to living as husband and wife. By the power vested in me by God and the sovereign state of Tennessee, I hearby pronounce you man and wife.” Reverend Childers’s eyes twinkled merrily. “You may kiss your bride, Mr. Hawk.”

“Nee wah,
my wife,” Hawk murmured as he raised her head with a hand beneath her chin. His lips were soft and warm as they closed over Molly’s. The kiss was over nearly before it started but not before Molly’s breath became erratic and a tremble settled in her legs.

Hawk’s black eyes were unreadable when he lifted his head and gazed into hers. He had felt her trembling and she wanted to reassure him that it wasn’t from fear, but her suddenly dry throat prevented the passage of words.

“This is an occasion that deserves celebration!” John’s smile was sincere as he clasped Hawk’s hand and patted his friend on the back.

“Celebration will have to wait. We’ve still got most of the day available to us. We can travel many miles in those hours.” Hawk watched Molly to see her reaction.

Smiling shyly, she agreed with him. She was anxious to put miles between them and the animosity of their hostess.

“But surely you can spend one night with us?” John protested, his gregarious nature needing little reason for a party.

Molly watched as the Reverend Childers fought a silent battle, caught between the friendship of his son and the hostility of his wife. She wanted to reassure him that nothing on earth would prevent them from leaving, that she would do anything to save Hawk from facing Mrs. Childers again. She didn’t want her wedding day further marred by the ugliness of hate.