Eden's Hammer (23 page)

April 14, early morning

Adrian was tightening the cinch on the horse, getting ready to leave. Bear had doubled in size in the six weeks at Fort Brazos and was a yearling now, no longer needing to be carried across the saddle. Bear could run alongside now, casting about as he chose. Adrian still expected him to chase off after a rabbit someday and never come back, preferring the free life. Adrian didn’t expect Bear to remain at his side until old age. Even his horse had regained its weight and vitality and seemed anxious to be going.

Adrian gave Roman and Sarah long hugs and shook hands with everyone in the village that had come to see him off. There was a lot of handshaking and backslapping, and a few hugs from some of the widowed women. There wasn’t a person in the village who was able to walk who hadn’t come to see him off. It was a big send-off, and Adrian was smiling hugely. “Well, looks like I have a big family!” he said, and got a cheer in return.

“Linda, would you walk with me a ways?” he asked softly. The crowd, knowing he wanted privacy and well aware by now of the feelings between them, didn’t follow. Adrian took the horse’s reins and Linda’s hand and began walking away. When they were out of earshot, Adrian said, “I hate to leave, but I swear I have to. It’s a mean thing to leave you now, and hurts me to hurt you. But please understand and believe me when I say it would be meaner to stay. Something’s up in Corpus Christi. I have to go check it out. There’s nothing specific; I just get the feeling that something big is up since they don’t want to talk over the open air, but I need to go down there in the worst kind of way. I still owe a duty to the military, even though I was in the Army, not the Navy. If they need me for something…well, I just have to go. I feel drawn, like there’s something I’m supposed to do there. Part of it comes from those strange dreams of the future I told you about. Part of it…a large part of it, honestly, is that I’m still saying goodbye to Alice.”

Linda replied softly, “Adrian, you go do what you have to do. You take as much time as you need to say goodbye to her. I understand that. I’ll be waiting for you. Forget what I said before—there won’t be anyone else for me. Never again in this life. Two great loves is more than any woman can expect. I had one, and now…well, now I have another one, as hard as that is for me to believe. I’ll be here. You just take care of yourself and come home to me as soon as you can.”

Adrian gave her a long hug and a lingering kiss. It was a sad kiss, yet full of passion. Not trusting himself to say more, he mounted the horse, turned, and rode south. Linda watched him ride away. She was dry-eyed, steady of mind. She knew he would be back when his heart would let him, when his heart could allow itself to belong to her, and knowing that she could wait for him however long it took.

Adrian didn’t look back. A single tear slid down his cheek. He thought,
I thought I had done hard things before, but now I know better. Nothing has ever been this hard, or felt this right.

Adrian disappeared into the woods, the wolf running in front of him in great leaping bounds, eager to be in the woods again, the horse eagerly moving into a fast trot.

THE END