White Owl by Veronica Blake

Author:Veronica Blake
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dorchester Publishing
Published: 2011-10-17T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

After the first hours that they had traveled, Rose could not help being disappointed. Instead of riding through the lush pines and aspens that surrounded the Ute lands and Milk Creek, they headed straight north into country that was miles and miles of nothing more than sagebrush and small rolling hills. She had envisioned them spending their wedding trip at some mountain hideout surrounded by trees and deep blue lakes. Now, it seemed, they were headed directly for the desert.

Since Rose had no intention of questioning White Owl about their destination, she tried to focus on looking around the barren countryside, and before long, she began to realize that it represented a different kind of beauty than the mountainous regions offered. The end of summer, and the long drought, had turned most of the surrounding landscape to shades of brown and tan, with a few scattered patches of green foliage on an occasional bush here and there. But it was the distant vista that was breathtaking. Rose drank in the views of the faraway mountains bathed in a misty blue hue from the azure sky. The various peaks were sharp in some areas and rounded in others, forming a majestic skyline; they appeared almost mystical and unreal. They seemed another world away, but they appeared to be riding toward them.

Since the afternoon had grown hot, and riding was uncomfortable, Rose was grateful when White Owl suggested that they rest until it cooled down. “How much farther?” she asked as they spread a woven blanket in the shade of an old gnarled oak tree.

“We should be there in two days’ time.”

“Two days!” Rose retorted. “Why are we going so far?”

“I am taking you to a place that is very special to me.”

“Oh,” Rose answered quietly. His voice had sounded strange, almost as if she had hurt his feelings. “If it is special to you, then I know I will love it,” she added.

He had lowered himself to the ground and was reclining on his side. When he patted the spot next to him on the blanket, Rose did not wait for another invitation. She settled against his body as comfortably as if he was merely an extension of her. With her head resting on his bare chest, Rose’s fingers traced the taut muscles of his stomach and chest. She heard him sigh softly and then felt his lips tenderly kiss the top of her head. She let her eyes close as he gently ran his fingers through her hair. The sense of peace she felt in his arms washed over her immediately, and combined with the heat of the day, drowsiness overpowered the passion she had been feeling a moment earlier.

Rose opened her eyes slowly when she felt a large hand shaking her gently.

“Beautiful,” White Owl whispered as she focused on his face hovering above her.

“What’s beautiful?” she asked in a groggy voice.

“My new wife.”

“That sounds so”—Rose sighed—“nice.” It still did not seem possible that she was actually married to a Ute warrior, but in her mind, he was only the man that she loved, and nothing else mattered.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.