It was a cool morning in October that Cait was married in the little adobe church of San Pedro by Father Luis. Both Michael and Elizabeth escorted her down the aisle to where Gabe waited, looking handsomer than Cait could have thought possible in a new black suit. The sun shining in the windows silvered his hair and Cait was reminded of the first time she had seen him. So much had happened since she returned home, and all of it had led her to the man who was waiting for her with a shy smile on his face. “Thank you, Ma, Da,” she whispered as they stepped away, leaving her there with Gabe who reached out and gently took her hand.
The ceremony was dreamlike for Cait, with only a few moments standing out: Gabe slipping the thin gold band on her finger, his feathery kiss on her lips, and her parents’ faces smiling at her as she walked back down the aisle, arm in arm with her husband. Then they were back at the ranch, greeting all their neighbors who were arriving for the feast.
It wasn’t until Ramon struck up a waltz that Cait had any time to herself with Gabe, and she went eagerly into his arms. They circled first, as was appropriate for the new bride and groom, and then Michael and Elizabeth joined them. “What about the not-so-newlyweds?” Jimmy Murdoch shouted, and Juan Chavez pulled a blushing Sadie into his arms.
“I wish they had let us have a party for them,” said Cait.
“Given Juan’s history in the valley, it’s probably just as well they eloped, Cait.”
“They look so happy,” she said, watching her uncle and new sister-in-law, who had eyes only for each other.
“They can’t be half as happy as we are, darlin,” said Gabe, smiling down on her.
Jimmy Murdoch’s raucous toasts were aimed at both couples, so it wasn’t until Gabe had pulled up the wagon with Night Sky tied to the back that Cait finally awoke to the fact that she was leaving home to begin her new life as Mrs. Gabriel Hart.
As they drove slowly down the road and over to the old Garcia place, she was very quiet. “You’re not having second thoughts, are you, darlin’?” teased Gabe.
Cait slipped her arm through his. “Of course not, Gabe,” she answered. “But I just didn’t realize how it would feel to leave Ma and Da behind.”
“We’re not far away, Cait,” said Gabe, giving her arm a reassuring squeeze. “And I’ll be over there every day, working the horses. Pretty soon, it won’t feel like much has changed at all.”
Her mother had prepared a picnic wedding supper for them, but neither did more than pick at the food. Cait finally wrapped it up, saying: “Maybe we’ll both have more of an appetite in the morning” and then blushed when Gabe winked at her.
“You go on upstairs, Cait. I’ll be right in after I take care of the horses.”
* * * *
She was sitting on the edge of their bed when he came up, dressed in a delicately embroidered nightrail. Her hair was down, framing her face with its dark cloud of curls. She gave him a shy smile and said: “I feel very silly, Gabe, considering how close we’ve come to making love, but I am nervous.”
“Don’t worry, Caitlin, we will go slow and easy,” he reassured her as he started to undress. She sat back against the bedstead and watched. She thought he might be about the most beautiful thing she had ever seen as he stood there, tall and long and lean.
He sat next to her and began to untie the ribbon of her nightrail and without even willing it, her arms were up around his neck. He slipped his own hands down and under the gown to lift it over her head. Then he pulled her down next to him so that they lay there, bodies barely touching and drew his finger down her cheek to her lips.
“This is the way it should be for the first time, Cait,” he whispered, and she nibbled at his finger, drawing it into her mouth as she placed her hand on his hips and pulled him closer. He was hard and soft at the same time and she loved the sensation of him pressing against her belly.
Gabe gave her fingers a last kiss and then linking his fingers with hers, pressed her arm down on the bed and took possession of her mouth with his as he rubbed against her. “I’ll make sure you are ready,” he whispered as he stroked her gently. And by the time he entered her, Caitlin was near death or ecstasy, she wasn’t sure which, the pleasure was so intense.
It did hurt, the first time, but afterward, as Cait lost her shyness, she felt a hunger for more. The second time, which went on a gloriously long time, left both of them limp with spent passion.
After lying there, her head on his chest, listening to his heart resume its normal rhythm, Cait heard a strange gurgling sound. “My stomach’s telling me I missed dinner,” said Gabe with a laugh.
“You know, I am starving, too,” she admitted.
They unwrapped the chicken and bread and cheese that her mother had packed, and ate right from the butcher’s paper, licking each other’s fingers clean at the end.
Gabe pushed his chair back and took Cait’s hand. “It is a lovely night, Cait, come and sit with me for a while.” He sat down on their top step and Cait cuddled next to him.
“Look at the sky, Gabe,” she whispered. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
It was a deep black, so deep that you could get lost in it, thought Gabe. The stars shone cold and clear and as they watched, one streaked across the western horizon.
“A shooting star, Gabe,” said Cait, wonder in her voice.
“You should be wishing on it, darlin’.”
“I have nothing to wish for, Gabe, for all I could ever want is right here,” she said and he tightened his arms around her and held her close as they watched the night sky fill with stars.