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Gabriel crossed the distance between them and took her in his arms. “I never imagined I would fall in love with an Indian, let alone a Cherokee warrior. I thought your people were savages who would lie and steal. And I was right. You lied to me about your ability to understand English when we first met – and you’ve stolen my heart.
“You’re also as honorable and brave as any warrior I’ve ever heard of. You’re beautiful and kind and giving. And you’re the wisest woman I know. I love you, Silla. I’m madly, wildly, desperately in love with you.”
He sank to one knee in the tall grass and held out his hand.
“Asila, Medicine Woman of the Fox Clan of the Cherokee Nation, will you do me the honor of becoming my bride? Will you share my life and my home?”
Silla stared down at him, hiding a smile.
“Be your bride? If I say yes, am I agreeing to let you spank me whenever you want?”
“As head of the household, it is my duty to require obedience from those who are under my care.” He repeated the familiar speech from memory, word for word. “It is for your protection – yours and the child’s. My rules are necessary to assure our survival here in the wilderness. I will not subject you to discipline on a whim. But if you deliberately disobey an order I give, then yes, I will expect you to honor your word and submit to punishment for your misbehavior – even if that misbehavior saved my life.”
She reached down to take his hand, pulling him into her arms.
“Yes,” she answered solemnly. “I will be your wife. And I will honor my word. I will come to the barn, lie across your lap, and allow you to spank me…tonight, and whenever you command. But I will never, ever, wear those hated drawers again! If your desire is awakened because of that, or if you awaken mine, from now on I expect you to do your other duty as a husband afterward – and pleasure your wife as the Great Mother intended.”
“I agree.” Gabriel bent his head to her lips. “And this is one treaty that will never be broken.”
Epilogue
Keira
Night had fallen as she spun her tale. When she finished, Reid was silent. Obscured by the darkness, his face was unreadable.
Finally he spoke. “What happened to the child?”
“Gabriel raised her as his own – just as you would have done. Salai lived with them until she was in her teens. That’s how long it took for Silla to track down her sister. Noya and her two older children survived the long march. When she finally found her family, Gabriel and Silla brought them back to the mountains, gave Noya and her children a piece of land, and helped them build a cabin. Sadly Asila’s mother died on the Trail of Tears, along with many other members of their clan.”
“So you’re saying you and I lived here before – a long time ago. Maybe that’s why I was drawn to these mountains.”
Keira nodded. “This is where we’re meant to be again. I don’t know why yet, but I know it’s true. I felt peace in my soul the first time I laid eyes on the Blue Ridge mountains. Just as I knew we were meant to be together the first time I laid eyes on you.”
She slipped to her knees in front of him. “I believe our souls carry what we value most from one life into the next. Take your love of music. As Gabriel you wrote songs and taught yourself to play them on your fiddle. Now you create beautiful music with your guitar.”
Reid sighed. “It’s been a long time since I played the guitar. Maybe I need to pick it up again – and write a new song for you.”
“I would love that!”
He smiled. “No matter what kind of mood I’m in, you brighten my day. Every day. I think you must have been a cheerleader in one of those past lives.” He reached out and caressed her cheek. “Tell me, what has your soul valued enough to carry through time?”
She took his hand and brought it to her lips. “Two things. My gift of storytelling – and my love for you.”
He pulled her up to sit on his lap and kissed her. A kiss filled with lifetimes of tenderness and love.
