Promise Canyon (Virgin River #13)(92)

"Friends of friends made a lot of phone calls. We rented it. We're going to have ourselves a concrete and stone reinforced shoulder and a nice long guardrail. We could use a wider road all the way into town, but this spot is the worst. Hey, it's good to see you two riding together! Didn't I hear you'd had a falling-out of some kind?"

"Us?" Lilly asked. "Must've been some gossip."

"So--you're tight?" Jack asked.

"We're dating," Lilly said. "In the Native community, you're not tight until the families sit down together. We have a lot of tradition to work through."

"And after you work through your tradition?" Jack asked.

"I don't know," Lilly answered with a shrug, looking to Clay for answers.

"Well...then we'll be engaged," Clay answered, smiling back at Lilly. "And married after that. She has to agree to have me. It could take some time, but I'm confident I can trick her into it."

"Good," Jack said. "Men who come to this town drop like flies. I'd hate to see one get away."

Clay reached up to one of Lilly's hands as she held the reins. "I never even struggled."

It was in the deep purple shadows of night, when Clay and Lilly lay entwined in each other's arms, that the fullness of what they had grown together became almost overwhelming to Lilly. As she ran her small hands over his beautiful bronze body, she whispered, "I love you. I find it so hard to remember why I was angry, why I feared trust so much."

He pulled her on top of him so he could look into those unforgettable blue eyes. "Have we put those old demons to rest?"

"I think so, yes."

"You realize that if we're together a long time, and that's what I want for us, there will be issues here and there? Things that have to be stared in the face, Lilly."

"What kind of issues? Do you plan to tell your ex-wife you'll always love her again?" She smiled at him so he'd know she was teasing.

But Clay didn't smile. "I won't make that mistake, but you can count on me to screw up along the way. I'm flawed."

"You're strong," she said, touching his beautiful face.

"I'm not strong enough to sleep alone again. I need you in my life. And I need your strength with mine. We have to make a promise, Lilly--when trouble comes, we'll face it together. Not alone and in silence."

"Promise," she said.

"I have wanted to talk to you about something--about letting me take you back to the reservation. I want you to meet my family."

She smiled at him. "I didn't think I'd ever go back. I take it there's a lot of family to meet?"

"There is, but that will have to wait for another event to pass. My sister tells me our parents are coming to Grace Valley for Thanksgiving."

"And will I meet them then?"

"They would like that, I'm sure. But first, if you agree, I'd like to ask Yaz if he'll sit down with my family."

She lifted an eyebrow. "What are you asking, Clay? You'd better be clear."

"If you agree, I want you to be my wife."

She shook her head. "You have a son. He'll have to give his consent."

"Oh, that's not going to be a problem. He congratulated me on having enough intelligence to work things out with you."

"You have to ask him, just the same," Lilly said.

"I'll do that. Now, what about Yaz?"

"I'm sure he'll be very agreeable. And relieved. He was afraid I'd be an old maid and he'd be stuck with me forever. But what of your family, Clay? They're very traditional. Will they find me acceptable?"

"They will--not that it matters. Lilly, you are the finest woman I've ever known and I want you for my wife if you'll have me. No matter how the families feel."

She gave him a short kiss. "I think if I say no, you'll be a terrible pest. But I would like to do something special for your parents. I'll think of what that can be."

"You're very sweet," he said. "Now that the important details are settled, why don't you go put the opera back on. Crank it up nice and loud." He grinned. "I like opera."

Lilly had been very young when she last participated in traditional Hopi ceremonies and since she was a child then, she had stayed on the sidelines. She had several long talks with Clay and with Ursula Toopeek about the old traditions. She didn't see her future as being enmeshed in the old ways, but she wanted her future in-laws to be clear that she respected them and their traditions.

She had to go to a great deal of trouble to find her props. When a Hopi maiden wanted to show respect for the traditions, she dressed in natural fibers, skins, feathers and beads. For a vegetarian like Lilly to wear the skins of animals was a huge compromise--she limited herself to the boots and wore a woven blanket around her shoulders. But when it came to the traditional cake she would present to the mother of the groom, rather than the ceremonial mush or wheat, she chose a pineapple upside-down cake, which made Clay laugh. "I think they'll begin to understand you, Lilly--you're not exactly going all the way."

"It's a brave new world, Clay," she said with a smile. "Will your mother understand?"

"I don't think she'll have any doubts."