“I am going to make you a very happy woman and make sure that you never regret agreeing to be mine. You have my word, Elaina. All we need is each other so let’s agree to be there for one another now. Forget what others will say. Yes, I know that they will all wag their tongues, especially that friend of yours who does not like me one bit, Leila. Nonetheless, I do not care what she thinks, I do not care what anyone else thinks. The only one I care about is you, and what you think.” James looked deeply into her eyes and said, “If you say yes, if you say that it is okay for us to do this, that will be all that matters. You are all that matters to me, my love, no one else but you.”
Elaina blinked back tears, “You really want us to get married, James? Are you sure about this?”
“More sure than I have been about anything in my life, Elaina. I want to be your family and I want you to be mine. I want us to start a family together. We have both lost so much. It is time for us to be happy together. We are going to have a very large family. We will love our children a lot and they are also going to love each other very much.”
Through her tears, Elaina chuckled, “It seems you have everything figured out.”
“Well… almost everything. I still don’t have you. You have not agreed to this union yet, my darling. So, what do you say? Will you get married to this dashing young man who loves you more than anything else in this whole wide world?”
Elaina laughed and she nodded, “Sure, my love. Why not? Let’s get married and make some beautiful babies!”
“Yes!” James screamed. He lifted her and twirled her around. Elaina laughed harder as she spun around. He did not care who heard their excitement and she did not care at all. The only thing that she cared about in that moment was the fact that the man that she loved her too. That was all that mattered after all, to love and be loved.
As she slept, her memories of the time past became her dreams and tears rolled down Elaina’s cheeks.
*
Elaina sighed as her eyes flitted over the mess before her. One side of the wall of the shed that served as the kitchen had fallen in some time in the night when she had been trying to get some sleep. As usual, her dreams had been plagued with her memories and she had barely gotten any rest. Her eyes took in the damage and she ran a hand through her hair tiredly. The old residence had been left to rot for too long. It needed a lot of work to bring it up to par. Still, she could not complain. She was truly grateful for what they had. They had a roof over their heads and their own space. She was pretty sure it was much more than what they would have when they left this place.
She shuddered at the thought of leaving the village. As she settled down to get some work done, she realized that she divided. There were two reasons she did not want to leave the village yet. The first was of course their safety. She was more than sure that their lives was still at risk. And the second, she swallowed hard, the second was that she was really starting to like the village a lot. The air was very clean and fresh and she loved being so close to nature.
She heard a sound at the front of the shack and her head flew up. Elaina felt a pounding in her chest at the sight of Running Wolf at the open of the dirt floor of the yard. Running Wolfraised his hand in a wave, and he ran the other through his hair as he approached her. The pounding of her heart increased as he got closer to her. His smile widened and the corner of his eyes crinkled.
“Hello, Elaina,” his smile deepened and Elaina felt like the wind was knocked out of her.
Sure... it’s because of the village and the fresh air you want to stay here, sure… that is the reason.Let us pretend it is the reason, a voice said in her head. Elaina shook her head as she tried to suppress the voice. She put on a nervous smile and looked up at him.
“Hi, Running Wolf. It’s good to see you here. I hope… uh… you had a good night...”
“It was, thank you very much, Elaina.”
His eyes widened as he realized the mess that was between them. He quickly ran to her side, took her hand and helped her up, “You should be careful. You can get hurt among this rubble.”
Elaina nodded, unable to ignore the tingling in her toes and the feel of his hand in hers.I want to be your family and I want you to be mine, James’ words resounded in her head and forcing a smile, she gently pulled away from him.
“I believe it collapsed during the night. Good thing I was not here when it did. What would poor Jess do without her parents?” She shuddered at the thought.
She looked up and saw that Running Wolf was looking at her intently. She tilted her head, “What? Is there something on my face?”
He smiled and shook his head, “No, nothing. It’s a good thing this didn’t come crashing down on you, yes. I can work on this and make it good as new.”
He turned to the side, taking in the extent of the damage.
“What aren’t you telling me, Running Wolf?” Elaina leaned toward him. He turned to her just then and she gulped as their faces were only inches from each other. Elaina jerked awayand nervously brushed her hand through her hair, “So… uh... the damage? How long will it take to handle it all?”
His eyes had taken on the intent and heated look again. Elaina felt warm all over her body. Running Wolf nodded as he said, “It should take about a day to repair it. And it would need a little bit more to dry.”
“I see...” Elaina nodded slowly. So, he would be in her space for an entire day. She gulped and turned to him. She rapped, “You know what? You really do not need to bother yourself with this. I will be able to handle it. It should not be much work. Thanks so much for your offer, Running Wolf.”
“And what are you going to do about the baby?” he quirked a perfect brown brow.
“The baby?” Elaina scratched her head, puzzled.
He chuckled and placing each of his hands on her shoulders, he gently steered her to face the large shack where her daughter was sleeping peacefully. Leaning close, he said close to her ears, “Little Jessica. Are you going to leave her unattended for that long? When you can easily take up my offer?”
“Right… you… uh… have a point… it… seems… uh… I mean… your point is good...” Elaina stuttered. His overwhelming presence behind her and his touch on her shoulders was messing with her abilities to talk.Think of James, James, she begged her brain but her brain was already overwhelmed by Running Wolf.
“Your hair smells nice. How do you do it?” Running Wolf asked softly.
