It was time to go home, he thought. To marry the woman he loved and raise the child the Creator had given them.
He came to his feet and as he turned to leave, with his family by his side, a small breeze blew, fluttering leaves on the white-blossomed tree and scattering them joyously beneath the sun.
Beneath the glow of a perfect summer day.
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Epilogue
«^
Heather had waited for this moment all her life. Didn't most little girls dream about their wedding day? Plan the ceremony in their minds?
She stood in front of a full-length mirror in the bridal-party dressing room, gazing at her reflection. A sleeveless gown flowed to her ankles in a pool of white, the bodice adorned with colorful ribbon and tiny beads. She wore her hair long and loose, the way Michael liked it best.
"You look radiant." Julianne came up behind her, her tone soft and genuine.
"Thank you." She had chosen Julianne as her matron of honor, and the other woman's presence gave her a warm and welcome sense of family.
As happy as Heather was, she missed Beverly and her brother. But Reed would be all right, she told herself. He had a chance to start over, to search for peace.
"Are you ready?" Julianne asked.
She met the redhead's gaze in the mirror. "I'm more than ready." To marry the man she loved, to spend the rest of her life with Michael Damian Elk.
Julianne handed Heather her bouquet, an arrangement of roses and wildflowers.
They took the path to the wedding site, where summer blooms flourished around a redwood gazebo. Heather wanted to get married at the ranch, with the hills shimmering in the distance and the setting sun painting the sky a brilliant hue.
She spotted Michael at the altar, dressed in a colorful Cherokee-style shirt, a blue blanket draped around his shoulders, signifying his old life and ways, a tradition in his culture.
"I'm so pleased for both of you." This came from Bobby, who stood nearby, waiting to give Heather away.
"Thank you." She turned to the groom's uncle. He held Justin in his arms, and the boy reached out to hug her.
She kissed her son and watched Bobby set the boy on the ground, where he stood proudly on his own.
As the music began and Julianne started down the floral-lined aisle, passing misty-eyed guests, Heather beamed. Julianne held Justin's hand, and the little one toddled along, taking excited steps, bouncing the way babies did when they finally learned to walk.
Maria, who stood in for mother-of-the-bride, was at the altar too, rocking baby Brendan and watching Justin swing a satin pillow in his free hand.
Bobby draped Heather with a blue blanket like the one Michael wore, and soon she was gliding toward the groom. They had decided to blend their cultures, to create a ceremony that was uniquely theirs.
When she stood beside him, he smiled. Her heart pounded in her chest, awed by the sight of him, by the love and admiration in his gaze.
The minister said a prayer, asking the Creator to give Heather and Michael a long and happy life together.
After they said their vows, they exchanged rings. Next, they drank from a double-side vase, a piece of pottery made just for this occasion.
When the vase was broken and the pieces scattered into the earth, Heather and Michael became one.
A white blanket was placed around their shoulders, bringing them closer. The final Cherokee tradition, she thought as he leaned in to kiss her.
The blanket that sealed their union.
That made Heather's dream of being Michael's wife, the woman who captured his heart, come true.
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CHEROKEE DAD Page 14
