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He gazed intensely into her eyes. “You told me once that what you enjoyed most about riding the river was fishing,” he said.
“Yes, I did learn to love to fish. It always made my father so proud when I brought in a big catfish or trout,” Mia murmured.
She recalled the last time she had fished with her father. The day before her mother’s death she had brought in the largest catfish she had ever seen.
She would never forget the pride she had seen in her father’s eyes as he held the fish out and measured its length with his eyes, then gave it back to her to prepare for their evening meal. She had proudly fileted it, and oh, how delicious it had been right out of her mother’s frying pan!
“Why do you bring that up now?” Mia asked, raising her eyebrows. She laughed softly. “Are you wanting to have fish for our evening meal?”
“Only if you catch it for us,” Wolf Hawk said, smiling as he saw Mia’s eyes widen in wonder.
“You want me to…?” she said, then laughed softly. “Of course you jest.”
“No, there is no jesting about food in our lodge, Lady Hawk,” Wolf Hawk said, rising. He reached down and grabbed her by the hand. “Come. Dress. A canoe awaits us, or would you rather go fishing in your Mia boat?”
“Mia boat?” Mia said.
“Ho, is not the longboat named after you?” Wolf Hawk said, now handing her a lovely doeskin dress that his cousin Little Snowbird had sewn for her to wear on outings with her husband, one that had no fancy designs of beads.
It was just a plain, fringed dress, but her husband had told her every dress looked beautiful on her, beaded, or not.
“Yes, it was named after me,” Mia said, pulling the dress over her head, then reaching for her hairbrush.
Wolf Hawk quickly took the brush from her and turned her so that her back was to him. He began brushing her hair for her until it was freed of all tangles and lay shining over her shoulders and down her back.
He dropped the brush to the floor and turned her to face him. He framed her face between his hands, brought her lips to his, and sweetly kissed her.
“My wife,” he whispered against her lips. “It is a wonder to me that you are now all mine. My Lady Hawk, my wife.”
“Your wife,” Mia said, her eyes taking in his handsomeness.
“Come, we will embarrass the warriors of my village when you, my wife, bring in a great catch of fish,” Wolf Hawk said.
When they got outside, Mia was very aware that most of the women were already cooking over their fires and hers was not even lit yet.
She felt somewhat embarrassed about that. Surely the other women knew why her fire was not yet ready. They must have guessed what had delayed the newly married couple…that their chief and his wife were making love.
Mia blushed at that thought, squeezed Wolf Hawk’s hand, and followed him to one of the canoes.
Inside the canoe Mia spotted fishing poles lying on the bottom and handmade lures.
She had always used worms or crickets when she fished rather than lures. She had enjoyed fishing even though it made her cringe when she placed a cricket on her hook. She loved hearing a cricket’s song at night, especially now with Wolf Hawk, when the stars were bright in the heavens and love was in the air.
At times, her new life seemed almost unreal. She could hardly believe that she had met such a wonderful man, someone who could care so much for her that he seemed actually to idolize her.
Well, she knew that he could not love her any more than she did him. He was everything to her. He was her world.
“Lady Hawk,” Wolf Hawk said as he pulled the paddle rhythmically through the water. “In former times, my people used the woca, or spear, to fish. We would go out on the river at night, using torches of pine pitch to light our way. But today we fish by the sun’s light, using special lures I have made.”
Mia stiffened with excitement when she saw a fish suddenly flip from the water. She gasped, for it was the largest catfish she had ever seen, much larger than any she had ever caught before.
“Did you see it?” Mia squealed, picking up the fishing pole that was ready to use. Wolf Hawk had prepared it the day before.
“Steady,” Wolf Hawk said, laying his paddle at the bottom of the canoe. He moved closer to Mia as she prepared to cast the line out into the water.
“Steady,” Wolf Hawk said again, this time reaching out and actually steadying Mia’s hand.
He watched with her for the catfish to make another leap. When it did, Wolf Hawk held his hand away from Mia as she flung the line out into the water near where they had seen the catfish.
