“And now you’re married,” Allegra concluded.
Carl examined her. “Being married to you is like gliding over the land like the wind. You and I don’t make any tracks.”
She blushed and returned her attention to the fire. “I’ve always been part of a family. I’ve never glided over the land like the wind. And I’ve always left tracks behind me.”
“Were you happy about that?” he asked.
“I wasn’t unhappy about it,” Allegra told him. “It’s the way I’ve always been.”
“No.” Carl shook his head. “You’re like me. You don’t belong in any one place, fixed to the ground like a tree. You’re the wind, too. We should both be blowing around like tumbleweeds. We’re the same that way.”
“What makes you think so?” she asked.
“I can just tell,” Carl declared. “I can tell by the way you built that fire. And I can tell by the food you had in your saddlebag this afternoon when we stopped to eat. Only another tumbleweed would have that kind of food in her saddlebag. A tree would have a three-course meal in there.”
Allegra laughed out loud.
“And a picnic cloth,” Carl continued, “and forks and spoons, and maybe even a bottle of wine.”
Allegra laughed harder than ever, and Carl joined her. “I guess I am a tumbleweed.”
“Admit it,” Carl concluded. “Who but a tumbleweed would go off and get married by herself, without taking any of her family along? No one but a tumbleweed would even consider such a thing.”
“You’re right,” Allegra admitted. “I’ve never really liked the idea of treading heavily on the ground. I always enjoyed traveling light. The less I take with me when I go, the better.”
She poked the rabbit again. “I think it’s just about ready.”
Carl moved over next to her. He picked up a wide sheet of bark and held it out. “Put it on here. We can divide it up on here and eat off of it.”
Allegra chuckled. “We really are rough, aren’t we? Alma would have my head, if she saw me eating off of this.”
Carl shrugged. “It’s just as well she isn’t here, then. I’m sure we’ll be doing a lot of things Alma wouldn’t approve of.”
“I’m sure we will.” Allegra slid the rabbit off its spit onto the bark tray. The fat sizzled, and steam billowed up from the roasted meat. “It sure smells good, though, doesn’t it?”
“You bet.” Carl tried to pick a piece of meat off and burned his fingers. He stuck them in his mouth. “Good job.”
After the rabbit cooled, they pulled the meat off the bones and licked their fingers. “A feast fit for a king.”
“But is it a feast fit for our wedding?” Allegra asked.
“I can’t think of a more fitting celebration for the wedding of two cow pokes like us.” Carl raised a bone in the air. “Here’s to us. Long may we run.”
Allegra laughed at his antics again.
They lingered in the new house as long as the firewood held out. Allegra lost track of time. The heat from the fire warmed the room, and she felt her eyelids drooping. “I could fall asleep here.”
“We could stay here,” Carl suggested. “We could build up the fire and bank it. That would keep us warm until morning. At least we would have some privacy on our first night.”
Allegra shook her head. “We have to keep going. We don’t even have a blanket to our name. Even with a fire going, we wouldn’t be comfortable here. Come on. Let’s just get back to the house and sleep in a real bed.”
They put the fire out. Outside the adobe walls of the house, the cold air hit them with a thousand icy needles. Allegra instantly regretted her decision to press on. Only the lack of a warm bed to sleep in kept her going toward home.
Every move stabbed them with cold. Their saddles froze their backsides when they mounted their horses, and the reins chilled their hands. Every step brought them face to face with fresh, cold air, and every breath numbed their faces and ears.