She inhaled deeply on a sigh, realizing she would not win this argument. She looked away from him, and when she didn't say more, Strikes Fast asked, "You…make more talk…no?"
"No. I realize now I will not win this discussion."
He laughed. "Good you know…this."
And, then he kissed her right where they were, underneath a starry sky, and as soon as his lips touched hers, she was astonished to discover she yearned for his lovemaking all over again.
As though he were well aware of the passion he had this moment set to burning within her, he placed her a little away from him and signed, "Let us make love again this night, here under the stars."
"Under the stars?"
He nodded. "If we go into our lodge now, I think I might convince you of the necessity to make love to me there; I can be persuasive when I wish to be. But, I do not wish you to be upset with me."
She grinned up at him and said, "But, it is cold here."
He laughed, then said in English, "Robes, furs…I get…inside. Warm, we…make …it."
She laughed, and, indeed, their passion for one another kept them warm…at least until it was time to actually fall asleep. And, even when they at last retired to the inside of their comfortable lodge, Strikes Fast turned to her and signed, "Let us sleep in each other's arms through the night because once we are traveling, I will not have the chance to hold you. I would like you to be close to me this night through, and then tomorrow we start packing, and by the morning of the third sun, we leave."
"Rising Bear will be coming with us, won't he?"
"Yes," said Strikes Fast in English. Then, again in sign, he continued, "If you agree and he does not object, we will ask him to become our almost son. He might wish to rejoin his tribe, though. But, because both his father and mother are no longer alive, he might like to stay with us. Shall we ask him if he would like to be our almost son?"
"Oh yes. Let us ask him in the morning."
Strikes Fast nodded. "So it will be. Come, let me hold you close to me this night. I only wish I didn't have to let you go during the day." He smiled.
She grinned back at him and said, "How lucky I am to have found you." She reached up to touch his cheek. "And, to think I almost walked away from this beautiful country and from you. Thank you for caring enough to follow me."
"It was and is my honor to do so…and my passion."
And so, they slept tightly wrapped in one another's arms throughout the entirety of the night; it was as though they were each one afraid to let the other out of reach or out of sight. But, the night couldn't last forever, and when morning came and they were able to speak to Rising Bear, they told the boy of their decision to make him their almost son.
To say that Rising Bear was honored by his new status would have been an understatement. Right then and there, even as he stood before them, he cried. This prompted Sharon to run to him, and, kneeling in front of him, she took him in her arms and found that she was crying, too.
