Wings of the Morning

  "Because you'd been through so much. I didn't know if my

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  presence would complicate things or help them. And I wanted

  to get things ready," he added

  Smokey looked a little confused and he went on.

  "This is no passing fling for me, Smokey. The night that

  Brandon's coachman came back to say Darsey had been

  arrested was the night I planned to ask you to be my wife."

  Smokey was utterly speechless as Dallas slowly covered

  the distance between them. When his hands held her upper

  arms, he went on.

  "You did understand about the additions to this house,

  Smokey, didn't you? The first is you, as my wife, and then as

  God blesses, a bunch of little people who strongly resemble

  Dallas and Smokey Knight."

  Smokey's eyes slid shut, and Dallas pulled her into his

  arms. Dallas loved herl God had given her all her dreams and

  more.

  "I was in such pain when you didn't come." Smokey's voice

  was broken.

  "I'm sorry. I thought it was the right thing, and I wanted

  this house, our house, to be so perfect."

  He stopped speaking when Smokey moved and grasped

  the front of his shirt with both small fists.

  "The house is wonderful, Dallas " she told him, her eyes

  pleading with him to understand "But it's you I wanted, only

  you. Outside of that, nothing you could give me would mean a

  thing." The tears came then, and Dallas wrapped her in his

  arms once again.

  "I'm so sorry," Dallas whispered as she sobbed, "so very

  sorry. I'm here now, and you don't need to cry anymore."

  His words did little. He led her to the parlor then, and to

  the sofa to sit beside him. It was some time before she let her

  head fall against his shoulder and tried to control her tears.

  "You know," she heard him say, his voice gentle, "I may

  never want your hair long again."

  Smokey raised her head "Do you mean that?"

  "Of course. Why?"

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  "I thought you would hate it," she wailed Dallas only

  laughed

  "I can't think of any hairstyle I would hate on you," Dallas

  told her, punctuating his words with a soft kiss. When he drew

  away, Smokey's eyes were thoughtful on his face.

  "YouVe lost weight," she said as the backs of her fingers

  stroked his lean cheek.

  "I haven't felt very hungry," Dallas admitted before hesitating

  and going on. "Was it awful?"

  "Yes," Smokey told him without pause. "I know it could

  have been far worse, but it was the worst thing I've ever

  known. To keep us controlled, they fed us very little."

  Now it was Dallas' turn to close his eyes. He wondered if

  he would ever forget the sight of Smokey's frail frame in that

  courtroom. From what Brandon told him afterward, he was

  almost relieved not to have seen the duel.

  "You didn't answer my question," Dallas said when he had

  reined in his wild thoughts.

  "You haven't asked a question," Smokey reminded him

  and then bit her lip when he slipped off the sofa, took her

  hand, and went down on one knee before her.

  If Smokey had read such a scene in the pages of abook, she

  would have laughed There was no laughter in her right now,

  however. The man she loved was fixedly gazing at her, his eyes

  telling her in ways he could never verbally express how

  deeply she was loved

  "Will you marry me, Miss Simmons?"

  "Yes, Mr. Knight, I will."

  No other words were necessary for quite some time.

  Smokey and Dallas sat wrapped in each other's arms and

  talked about their dreams. Not until Dallas mentioned a possible

  wedding date just a few weeks down the road did some of

  the sparkle die in Smokey's eyes. Dallas would have questioned

  her had he noticed, but someone knocked on the door

  just then and he rose to answer it.

  It was Tate, looking for Smokey to come to supper. Smokey

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  was so amazed at the lateness of the hour that she laughed, the

  joyful sparkle back on her face.

  "I'm sorry, Tate, but I had other things on my mind."

  Tate looked between the two and grinned a slow grin.

  "May I be the first to offer my congratulations?"

  The two men shook hands, and Tate grabbed Smokey in a

  fierce hug. "I've got to bring you home right now with this

  announcement, or Jen will have my head"

  Dallas, whose appetite suddenly seemed to increase, was

  more than ready to comply. The three of them walked together,

  but only Tate and Smokey talked Dallas felt as if he

  were stepping on a cloud--Smokey was going to be his wife!

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  missed something important and was driving Smokey away

  from him. He simply had to see her to find out.

  less than a week later, Dallas rode a borrowed horse

  toward the port where Smokey usually docked the Aramis. His animal was already lathered and flagging with exertion,

  but still he drove him on.

  In Dallas' front pocket was a note, delivered earlier and

  from Smokey. It was brief, and in Dallas' estimation, said

  nothing.

  Dallas--

  I need time to think, so I'm headed out on the Aramis. I'll come see you when I return.

  Yours, Smokey

  Desperate to talk to the woman he loved, Dallas rode like

  a man possessed. He hadn't stopped to pack a bag or say

  goodbye to anyone. Smokey was on her way out to sea, and he

  had to have some answers.

  They'd parted just two days earlier, when Smokey had

  decided she needed to get back to Willa's. All had seemed fine

  when she left. Smokey had grown rather quiet at different

  intervals, but considering her life in the last weeks, Dallas felt

  this understandable. Right now he was terrified that he had

  Darsey moved like an old man as he prepared the Aramis to cast off. Never had he made it take so long. He knew that if

  he carried on too long, Smokey would come up and ask

  questions, but if he moved any faster, Dallas would miss them.

  Darsey was as certain as any man could be that he was riding

  to find Smokey right now.

  To most people, Smokey seemed to be a very controlled

  woman. But she also struggled with fears, fears that plagued

  her because she would not stop thinking. Just yesterday morning,

  Darsey had stared at Smokey in dumbfounded amazement

  when she asked him a question.

  "Do you really think I should marry Dallas?"

  Darsey blinked. "Don't you?"

  Smokey shrugged. "I've been thinking that he doesn't

  really know who I am."

  "So tell him. It's not as if he won't want to listen." Darsey

  stopped because she was clearly not convinced "He's not

  going to change his mind," Darsey added flatly.

  "You never saw his girlfriend, did you Darsey? Kathleen is

  beautiful."

  "I see," Darsey said when he didn't see at all. "I don't think

  you're giving him a bit of credit."

  "I don't know what you mean."

  "I mean, you assume he's not sincere or has some hidden

  motive. It's not as if he wer
e marrying you for your money."

  Smokey's face showed surprise, and Darsey instantly regretted

  his words.

  "You know he's not, Smokey," the mate reasoned "He

  doesn't even know how much you have."

  "That's just it," Smokey spoke with sad logic. "That's just

  one more thing he doesn't know about me."

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  Darsey looked at her in despair. He honestly didn't know

  what to say, but then he wasn't really given time. Before the

  day was out, Smokey had gathered her crew, sent Dallas a note

  that said she would be away, and gone to the Aramis.

  Now Darsey had begun to give up and put them underway

  when he caught sight of a rider. He squinted up the docks and

  noticed a tall man leaping from a horse. He watched as Dallas

  pressed a coin and the horse's reins into a young man's hands

  and ran for the ship.

  Darsey continued to put them off while Dallas came

  aboard and labored to catch his breath. He then handed the

  ropes over to Robby and moved toward Dallas, who was still

  breathing hard

  "I didn't think you were going to make it, lad I couldn't

  have stalled much longer."

  Dallas nodded "What's going on?"

  "I'll let her tell you."

  "Is she in her cabin?"

  "Yes, but I'd wait until you're sure she can't swim for

  shore."

  "That bad, is it?"

  "Well, it's not good. I only pray that you'll be able to

  convince her."

  "Convince her of what?" Dallas was completely in the

  dark.

  "That you'll love her no matter what. You best go below

  and clean up so she doesn't see you."

  Darsey didn't wait for an answer, and a rather bewildered

  Dallas made his way to the crew's quarters. After washing up

  and using Scully's brush on his hair, he sat on a bunk to wait,

  praying all the while that Smokey would believe and accept

  his love.

  "You're being ridiculous." Smokey threw herself on her

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  bed and spoke to her empty cabin, but felt no better. No

  matter what she said, she could not convince herself that all

  was going to be well with her and Dallas.

  She knew the best way to clear the matter was to talk with

  him, but what if her worst fears proved to be true? She had

  wanted to get away to prepare her heart for what might be. Yet

  she hadn't done a bit of preparing, only fretting and stewing.

  She felt the Lord calling her to trust Him, but at the moment

  she was too worked up, and choosing not to listen.

  Smokey hated the jumble her thoughts were in and dozed

  for a time. When her thoughts began moving to Dallas and the

  last time he'd kissed her and held her close, she jumped up

  and reached for her brush.

  Wanting to dispel any and all thoughts of Dallas Knight,

  she gave her hair a ruthless brushing and then tied it in a small

  ponytail at the back of her neck. She didn't bother to fuss with

  anything else because she was going topside into the wind

  They had been at sea for over an hour, but Darsey had

  taken forever to cast off and Smokey wanted to check on

  everything. She didn't have the foggiest idea where they were

  headed, something for which her father would have given her

  a tongue-lashing, but she planned to go up now and act as if

  she were in control.

  Her short legs climbed the stairs quickly, and she stormed

  onto the deck like a woman with a mission. She saw a tangle of

  rope that needed attention and was about to yell for Pete, but

  something stopped her. Leaning against the mainmast, legs

  stretched out seemingly for miles, was Dallas. His face was

  expressionless, but his eyes were intent as they studied her.

  "How did you get here?" Smokey asked after a moment.

  "It wasn't easy," Dallas answered cryptically.

  Smokey couldn't take his intense stare, and she turned her

  gaze to sea. "I had to get away and think."

  "About?"

  "You and me. I can't think straight when I'm with you."

  Smokey had given Dallas her profile as she said all of this, but

  he asked her a question that brought her eyes back to his.

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  "Do you love me, Smokey?"

  "Yes," she answered without a drop of uncertainty.

  "Do you know that I love you?"

  "I know you love the person you think me to be," Smokey

  told him. Dallas was more confused than ever. "Dallas," she

  now went on, frustration rising within her. "There is so much

  you don't know about me. Take my family, for instance."

  "I didn't think you had any family." Dallas' voice was calm

  even as he attempted to piece together what was going on.

  "I don't, not now, but I did You've never even asked me

  about my father or mother."

  "You've never asked me about my mother or father either,"

  Dallas replied, trying to reason with her.

  "I didn't need to," Smokey retorted. "Jenny told me all

  about them."

  They fell silent for just an instant, and Dallas' mind raced.

  "Your mother died having you?" he finally tried and

  watched Smokey nod

  "Yes," she said, glad that he knew that much.

  "And this was your father's ship at one time?"

  "Yes."

  "But you want me to know more before you'll believe that

  I love you?"

  Smokey nodded, calming somewhat. "Do you remember

  the first time we met?"

  "I think so; at Jenny's wasn't it?"

  "Yes. You had just come into port and stopped for a few

  minutes to see your family. You told a story that night about

  seeing another young sailor. He'd raced through the coral

  reefs, and you thought he was trying to rival Clancy for daring

  acts. The way you spoke that night made me think you saw

  Clancy as a fool."

  "Are you trying to tell me that because I ridiculed a legend

  that you admire, I don't love you?" The question sounded

  absolutely absurd even to his own ears, and Dallas saw in an

  instant that he should have kept it to himself. He watched

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  rather helplessly as Smokey turned and walked toward the

  bow.

  Dallas followed slowly, but for her sake kept his distance

  There was something far wrong here, and he had to keep his

  head if he was going to find out what it was. If he followed his

  first impulse, he would grab Smokey and hold her until there

  was no doubt in her mind that he was a man in love.

  "I was a little girl when I learned who my father was."

  Smokey spoke softly as she looked out over the sea, her small-booted

  feet planted perfectly to balance her body against the

  waves. Dallas watched her profile and listened intently.

  "He told me he never wanted to be a hero to me, just a

  loving father." This said, Smokey turned to look at Dallas, her

  heart in her eyes. "It seems silly to be bothered about your

  opinion of Clancy, but I am. He was my father."

  Smokey could see that she had thoroughly stunned him,

  but she went on.

  "I started thinking about the fact that you didn't even


  know that. Here we are planning to spend the rest of our lives

  together and you didn't even know Clancy was my papa. How

  much does it cost to build one ship, Dallas?" Smokey's change

  in topics so floored Dallas that he stuttered when he spoke.

  He named an approximate figure, and Smokey went on.

  "I could build you ten ships on just what I have in the

  Kennebunk bank alone"

  Again Dallas felt as if he'd received a hard blow to the gut.

  He was surprised over these things, but he still couldn't

  believe they made Smokey doubt his love. He spoke carefully,

  hoping he had the right words.

  "I am surprised that Clancy is your father, but I also think

  it's wonderful. And I wouldn't care if you had one dollar or

  one million, I would love you just the same. I believe with all

  my heart that we love each other, Smokey, and knowing that, I

  also believe we can talk all of this out."

  "I also want a white dress and a fancy wedding," Smokey

  told him as if this would be the final straw. Tears began to

  puddle in her eyes.

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  269

  "Well, you can have both," Dallas told her with a smile.

  "Not if we get married in two weeks," she said, and Dallas

  watched a single tear roll down her cheek. She looked so

  forlorn that Dallas wanted to cry himself. All this was very

  important to her, and she hadn't known how to tell him. As he

  gazed at her, she turned back to the railing and stood still. She

  didn't move or speak even when she felt Dallas come to stand

  behind her.

  He reached with long arms and grasped the railing on

  either side of her, effectively locking Smokey between his

  arms. He bent and placed a kiss on the top of her head and

  then one below her right ear.

  "I never meant to rush you," he began softly, his chin

  resting on her hair. "In the future all you have to do is come to

  me, and we'll talk the problem out."

  "Will there really be a future?" Smokey wanted to know.

  "Definitely. In fact, it's starting right now."

  Smokey turned in the circle of his arms, and looked up

  into his beloved face.

  "From this point forward," Dallas told her, "I'm not going

  to rush you. Whatever is important to you is important to me.

  You're going to have the wedding you want; I will see to it

  myself. We're going to talk every day and not let any upset or

  anger go undiscussed

  "I don't know of any other woman who could survive what

  you have this past year, and your self-sufficiency sometimes