By Wendy Mills
He had been detained, however, when one of the small boys of a local couple had fallen from a hayloft and injured himself. The injury hadn’t been serious due to his having landed on a bale of hay, fortunately, but very painful and it had taken him some time to repair it. It had been too late by the time he was finished to even think about leaving, so he had decided to postpone his travel until after he and the rest of the seven exchanged their gifts the following afternoon.
Rain arriving in town a short time after the party had started had surprised him. She was wearing a beautiful buckskin skirt dyed red, with a crisp white blouse edged with red embroidery. Her curly dark hair was free and falling just past her shoulders and her dark eyes had been sparkling with joy at seeing him again. She had been a vision to behold.
Once his surprise had faded away he had asked her what she was doing there. She had laughed at him and said that it was a silly question to ask, since it was obvious that she had come to be with him. He acknowledged that it had been a silly question, and then they had gone into the saloon.
Now as the song they were dancing to ended, Nathan realized how hot the saloon had become.
“Let’s go outside and get some fresh air?” he suggested to Rain.
“Okay.” She agreed and the two of them slipped outside onto the wooden sidewalk.
Nathan leaned against one of the posts and gazed intently at Rain. She was beautiful. He couldn’t help the sense of pride that swelled up within him every time he looked at her and realized that she was his. He knew that despite the fact that neither one of them had spoken of any commitments to each other, yet it was evident every time that they were together. Maybe it was time for him to reveal to her just what he felt for her.
Rain held her ground as Nathan closed the short space between them. She had decided that very day to tell Nathan that she loved him. She knew that Nathan felt the same attraction to her as she did for him. It was evident in his eyes as he looked at her, in his words as he spoke, and in his touch. Yet, he had never so much as said the three words she longed to hear from him. Maybe he would if she declared her feelings first.
Nathan lifted his hands to cup each side of her beautiful face. He leaned in and kissed her soft, warm lips with his own. Rain closed her eyes and gave into the sweet bliss of feeling Nathan’s lips upon hers, his hands on her face, and his body pressed close.
When the kiss ended a few moments later they were both a bit breathless.
“I love you Rain.” Nathan said softly. “ The words have been a long time coming I know…but the feelings have been there for quite some time. It’s just hard for me to put what I’m feeling into words.”
Rain smiled at him, her eyes growing moist. “I love you, too, Nathan. You’ve shown me in more than one way that you cared, but hearing you tell me you love me is the best way of all.”
“I’m going to be telling them to you a lot more often.” Nathan promised her.
“Showing me how you feel is important too.” Rain said with a light in her eyes.
She reached out and caressed his strong jaw with one hand. A slow smile creased Nathan’s lips as Rain leaned forward and kissed him. Nathan’s hands moved from her face to encircled her waist as the kiss deepened and they lost themselves in holiday bliss.
Nathan Jackson’s dark eyes flashed with merriment as he twirled Rain around in time to the lively music. The town’s annual Christmas party was in full swing, and he was glad that he had decided to attend it. He had planned on leaving earlier that day to ride out to the Seminole village to share the holiday with Rain. He knew that since her father’s death that holidays didn’t hold as much meaning to them as they once did. Besides that, the Seminoles with whom she lived and considered as family didn’t celebrate the same traditions that they did.
