Blood of the Rainbow (33 page)

“But I’m not your wife.”

Jared smiled. “Not
yet,
but you will be soon, so that makes it your job.” Sara smiled. “So, what are you going to call her?”

Sara looked up at him. “Well, the white blaze down her face looks like a star. How about Star?”

“Why don’t we name her after you?”

“Sara?”

“I didn’t say to name her
Sara
. I said to name her after you,
Angel
.”

“Oh!” Sara smiled. “Better still… let’s call her
Angelstar
.” The colt whinnied.

“I like it, and so does she. So from now on, her name will be Angelstar.”

Jared helped Sara while she mounted Jade. Then he mounted Satan, nudged him in the flank, and he loped forward. Jade followed him without prompt. The sudden movement caught Sara off guard, and she wobbled in the saddle for a while before righting herself.

Jared stopped, and waited until Sara was beside him. “You ok with this?  I could put you in front of me, and take the one horse. I thought it would be less weight on the horses this way.”

Sara patted the side of Jade’s neck. “I’m fine. She caught me off guard. I’ve got it now.”

“You’re sure?”

Sara smiled. “I’m sure.”

They headed across the desert toward the mountains in the distance. Jared was right, Angelstar easily kept pace with her mother, staying near her left flank.

------------

The countryside wasn’t exactly what Sara had expected. There were a lot more trees and grass, but it was beautiful – at least, she thought it was. To some, it might have looked a little barren. How was it supposed to look? It was a desert - tall cactus, prickly thorn bushes, geckos and horned toads scurrying to hide themselves under the rocks to stay out of the sun. A lone eagle soared and wheeled in the updraft, high above them.

They stopped for a few minutes. Jared took a drink from one of the canteens and passed it to Sara.

Again, Sara struggled with the full canteen, but managed to drink without giving herself a bath. Jared kissed her when she passed the canteen back to him.

Sara smiled and licked her lips. The water was quenching, but his kiss was sweeter. “Myra said the last time you were home was in January. Does that mean we won’t be coming to Arizona a lot?”

Jared chuckled. “Why – do you like it here?”

Sara scanned the horizon and breathed deeply. “I could learn to….”

Jared grinned and nudged Satan again. “Come on….”

Sara was glad they’d brought water with them. The air was hot and dry. They paused several other times to drink. Sara wasn’t thirsty a couple of the times they’d stopped, but Jared insisted she take a drink anyway.

------------

When they reached the mountains, Sara was half expecting Jared to stop, but they kept going until they’d passed a row of six tall cactus. Jared dismounted Satan and tied him to a bush.

Sara sheltered her eyes against the bright sun. “This is where you wanted to come?” She couldn’t see anything that made this spot any different from all the rest they’d passed without notice. Sara wondered what made it special.

Jared fastened the guitar to his pack and slung them on his back. He leaned his head back and pointed to a spot over halfway up the mountain. “No.  Up there.”

Sara swallowed hard.
Great, more heights.
“Up there – on the mountain top?”

Jared grinned at Sara. He already knew she hated heights. “Not all the way up – but close….”

She dismounted Jade and tied her next to Satan. “What is it about you Indians and heights? Can’t you look at
anything
from the ground?” she grumbled. Angelstar immediately started trying to nurse, but Jade nudged her away.

Jared laughed and slung their canteens over his shoulder. “Looks like Jade is tired of being nudged and nibbled.” Jared leaned across, and kissed Sara passionately, groping her. He grinned wryly. “I guess all women
aren’t
alike….”

Sara’s face flushed, and she tried to change the subject. “Do you need me to take those, or at least, one of them?”
All I need is for him to start coming on to me now!

Jared smiled knowingly and chuckled. He enjoyed teasing her, but he would enjoy pleasing her more – eventually. “No! I’m assuming you’re new to mountain climbing, as well. You’ll need both hands to keep your balance, and besides, like I said, they don’t seem heavy to me.”

“Well, Jared, there really aren’t that many mountains in Crooked Creek – hills yes, but no mountains.” Sara didn’t imagine a boulder would seem heavy to him. He was as strong as an ox.

Jared took Sara’s hand, and they started their ascent. “You’ll love it up there, Sara. You can see for miles, and it’s the only way I can get the view I want for my sketches.”

Sara allowed her eyes to scan the height of the mountain. It seemed like an angry sentinel in front of her. She wasn’t looking forward to the climb. As she could see it, the only thing he would be able to see that high up, might be the tips of the treetops. “Can I close my eyes, and let you lead me like before?”

“No! You have to keep your eyes open this time. I said I was going to get you over your fears and this is your second lesson.”

“Couldn’t you have started with the wooden wolves? Or the snakes,” Sara whined.

Jared laughed. “Trust me.”

Sara trusted him, but that didn’t mean she wanted to test her balance on a tightrope just to prove it. She’d already let him dangle her over a cliff. Wasn’t that proof enough?

About halfway up the path they paused to take a drink.

Jared wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. “Now whatever you do,” he said, passing Sara the canteen. “Don’t look down. And keep your back pressed against the mountain.”

Sara put the canteen to her lips and drank thirstily. Since the canteen was insulated, the water was still cool. Sara passed the canteen back to Jared. He screwed the lid back on and slung the canteen over his shoulder.

They rested for maybe four or five minutes. Jared stood, signaling to Sara that it was time to continue. Although Jared seemed sure of his path, Sara had no idea how much higher they would have to climb. He took her hand and helped her up. What do you do when someone says ‘don’t look down’? Answer - you look down, and Sara did. She learned a valuable lesson. No matter how far away the ground is, it seems to pulsate up and down before your eyes. Sara gasped, instantly feeling nauseous.

Jared grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back against the mountain. “I thought I told you
not
to look down,” he whispered in her ear.

His breath sent shivers down her spine. That was something she didn’t need at this height. She needed to be totally focused on
not
falling. “Never tell me
not
to look down Jared!”

Jared laughed. Neither the height nor the climb was bothering him. It seemed they’d been climbing for hours, and he wasn’t even out of breath. Sara began to wonder if Jared had been born part mountain goat. To her, it didn’t look as if they were making that much progress; either that or the mountain kept getting taller with every step they took.

------------

Jared and Sara kept climbing for another hour or so. Finally, they stopped on a ledge for another rest and drink. After they’d rested, Jared stood and took Sara’s hand. She briefly looked around. As far as she could see, there was no other way to go than up – straight up. “Where do we go now?”

Sara’s question was answered when Jared jumped, grabbed the top of the ledge, and easily pulled himself up, backpack, guitar and all. Sara stared up at him in shock. She folded her arms, and firmly planted herself to the spot, shaking her head – determined. “Uh huh, no way, forget it!”

Jared chuckled, and lay on his stomach with his arms dangling over the edge. “Jump, and grab my arms. It’s not that far.”

Sara squealed. “Jared I can’t do that!”

“Jump up, grab my arms, and I’ll pull you up!”

“I can’t, Jared. I’ll fall. I can’t do this!” Sara’s tone was still high with fear. The more she thought about it, the higher her tone got.

Jared leaned further over the edge stretching his arms, so Sara didn’t need to jump. All she had to do was get up enough courage to reach out for him. “Sara,
give
me your hands.”

Sara hesitated.

“
Give
me your hands,” he stressed. “Come on, Sara. I
won’t
let you fall. You’re as light as a feather to me.”

Sara felt as if she would throw up. “That’s easy for you to say. You’re the one that was born part mountain goat, or wolf, or something, or I don’t know what. I
hate
heights!”

Jared sighed. “Do you trust me?”

Sara swallowed hard. “Yes, I trust you – I just don’t trust
me
.”

“Then
give
me
your
hand,” he said in a soft, even voice. “I will
not
let you fall,” he said slowly.

Sara took a few quick, deep breaths and lifted her arms above her head, slowly, inch by inch, reaching, half closing her eyes until her fingertips touched his. Jared slid his arms down her hands and locked them around her forearms. “Ok Angel, deep breath.”

Sara gasped, shutting her eyes as she felt her feet dangling. “Jared!” she squealed,” swallowing bile that was determined to choke her.

Jared chuckled. Sara felt something warm wrap around her like a blanket. “You can open your eyes.”

It was only then, that Sara realized the warmth she’d felt was coming from his arms. Her feet were planted firmly on solid ground. Jared looked down at her, with glowing crimson eyes again. All Sara could do was stare.

Jared saw the reflection of his eyes in hers. “I’m sorry,” he scoffed. “I can’t help it. My eyes seem to have a mind of their own when it comes to you,” he said, leaning closer.

“I don’t mind,” Sara said, barely above a whisper. “Your eyes are fascinating to me, no matter what color they are.” Jared smiled and kissed her.

------------

They walked a few feet further, stopping where a large flat rock, extended over the edge of the mountain. The other end was buried firmly in the ground. Jared sat on the rock and patted the space next to him. Sara sat down. “Now look out there, across the desert,” he said waving his arms toward the horizon.

Sara’s breath caught. Jared was right. The view was phenomenal. Unfortunately, Sara glanced down and immediately felt nauseous again. “Are you sure this rock isn’t going to decide to tumble down the side of the mountain?”

Jared laughed. “Angel, this rock has been here since before the first man sat foot on dry ground. It’s not going anywhere, so you don’t need to worry.”

Sara tried to take his advice, but it still bothered her. She thought about her other dream. The one where she went over the cliff. Did the two dreams somehow tie in together?

Jared took out his sketchpad, and immediately started sketching. Sara watched him for a while and then took out her notebook and pen. After a short tuning session, she was ready to start composing. With such a majestic scene, Sara was sure writing a song up here would be a breeze. She expected the ideas to flow like vintage wine. She was right. In no time, she was off in her own little world, totally wrapped up in her music.

Sara glanced up. Jared was watching her. She smiled at him and went back to her music. A few seconds later, she glanced up again, and he was still staring at her. She furrowed her brow. “What?”

Jared smiled. “I have a problem.”

“What kind of problem?”

“I can’t decide wither to draw something majestic – or enjoy something breathtakingly beautiful.”

“Pardon?”

Jared put down his sketchpad and moved closer to Sara. He leaned across her guitar and kissed her. “I think I’ll go with enjoying something breathtakingly beautiful,” he said and kissed her again. “What was that you were working on?” He motioned to her notebook.

“Oh, nothing really. Just something that popped in my head.”

He reached for the notebook. “May I?”

“Sure, but it’s just a rough draft.”

Jared read over the words and looked up at her. “Sing it….”

Sara started playing what she thought would be a decent introduction. “All right, but, you’ll have to sing the male part. It’s meant to be a duet.”

Jared sat beside Sara, and held out the notebook, so they both could read the words. “I can handle that,” he said. They sang the song all the way through. It sounded good. Their voices blended perfectly.

Sara reckoned it would sound even better with the rest of the band. “So, what do you think? Can we use it?”

“Definitely, I like the title, there’s just a couple of things I’d like to change, if you don’t mind.”

“What’s that?”

“Your voice has a higher range. Change the key from D to Eb, and let’s try it again. This time, instead of repeating the last line twice, let’s do it once.”

Sara nodded, and they sang it again. Jared was right. The song sounded better. The chord changed didn’t bother Jared, since he had a higher range voice too. She put her guitar down and reached for his sketchpad. “Now, let me see what you’ve been sketching.” Sara’s mouth gaped. The sketch was stunning. A digital camera couldn’t have captured what Jared had. He had drawn the landscape, but Sara’s face had been drawn into the clouds and sunset. “How did you do that?”

“Do you like it?”

“Yes, I do. You seem to be talented at everything you do. Are you sure you’re for real?”

Jared laughed. “What do you mean?”

Sara started counting off on her fingers. “Well, let’s see, you’re a brilliant doctor. You can sing. You can play guitar, piano, and keyboard. You’re a very talented artist, and architect. But most of all,” she said, leaning closer and kissing him. “You’re an excellent kisser.”

Jared pulled her into his arms and kissed her again, long deep, and lingering. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

“Eve was an idiot!” Sara said.

“Eve was jealous of you because she knew she couldn’t compete. Even when you were only in my dreams, you were as real to me as you are right now. Eve made a derogatory remark about you, and I let her have it. She knew in no uncertain terms where my loyalties lay. Holding you and kissing you, was as real in my dreams as it is right now.”