Ride The Wind (Vincente 3) (35 page)

It was raining the day Gwen Felton was buried
behind the church in a small village not far from
Fort Worth. With Noble's influence and Saber's
insistence, it had been possible to have her buried in consecrated ground.

The only ones in attendance at the short ceremony were Reese and Saber. She cried for the
young girl who had died so needlessly, and for
the baby who never had a chance at life.

When the service was over, she glanced up at
her husband, whose head was bowed, and she
swallowed a lump in her throat. There were sadness here today, but there was also the promise
of life, the life that grew within her body.

Reese met her gaze, and his eyes were warm
with love. "I want you to put this tragedy behind
you, Saber. Nothing can make up for what Matthew and Graham Felton did. But at least we
kept a promise. Take comfort in that."

She stood for a moment with her head bowed
in prayer, then placed the flowers she clutched
in her hand on the fresh grave. "I didn't do it for
Felton. I did it for the girl Matthew wronged."

His arm was still in a sling, so he used his
other hand to guide her away from the grave. He
helped her into the buggy and climbed in beside
her.

They drove out of town in silence, each lost in
thought.

At last Saber said, "It will be good to get
home."

His gaze took on a glow she knew and loved
so well. "It will be good to get in bed with you
when we get home. It's been too long."

She snuggled close to him, resting her head
on his shoulder. "There will be three in our bed,"
she said, smiling to herself.

He drew back on the reins and stared at her.
"Saber, I don't want any ghosts in our bed. What
happened to the Feltons was not of your doing."

She shook her head, still smiling. "I wasn't
speaking of a ghost, but a real living creature. I
was speaking of our baby, silly."

He laughed, his silver eyes dancing with
delight. "You have made me a happy man in
every way. You made my house a home, and
now we have a family." He placed his hand on
her slightly rounded abdomen. He wanted her
to swell with his baby so everyone could see. "I
can't wait to hold this baby who came from our
love, Saber."

"I do love you so, Reese."

He drew in a quick breath as contentment
swelled through him like a tidal wave. His eyes
softened, and he had to wait a moment before
he could speak. "My baby is growing inside
you." He pulled her to him and held her tightly.
"Saber, I should have known that first day I saw
you, looking so forlorn and frightened, that you
were going to turn my whole world upside
down."

"And I should have known that first day that
you were the one man in the world for me. I
never told you that when you touched me that
day, even when I thought you were Graham Felton, I felt drawn to you."

He tilted her face up to his and rested his
cheek on hers. "I love you so much, Saber. I
never knew what happiness meant until you
came storming into my life."

"I want to make you happy," she said, glowing
under his love. "I always knew you had a great capacity to love you just had to learn to trust."

He shoved the sling aside and gathered her
close. "Saber, never stop loving me."

"Not until my last breath," she promised.

Reese closed his eyes and breathed in the essence of his wife. She had shown him how to
love and trust. "What can I ever give you to repay
you for all you have given me?"

"That's easy." She drew back and looked at
him with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "You
can give me three or four more little Starretts
running around the house."

He threw back his head and laughed, then
picked up the reins and headed the horse toward
the ranch. "That, my dearest heart, will be my
pleasure."

Saber laid her head back against his shoulder
and said a prayer of thankfulness that they had
lived to find such a powerful love.