Epilogue
The Wild West Show, Colorado Territory
The baby’s cry split through the air. Black Lion, who had been pacing in front of the tent he and his wife now called their home, stopped and grinned.
Flinging back the tent’s flap, he rushed into the white man’s tepee, not stopping until he reached the chamber the two of them called their bedroom. He was greeted by Irena’s and Rabbit Leggings’s delighted smiles.
“It’s a boy,” said Irena. “A fine-looking, beautiful boy.”
“A son, my son.” Black Lion grinned inanely. “And my wife?”
“She is doing well. For this being her first baby, it was a quick birth. I think she is blessed. But she is also missing her husband, I believe. The doctor will allow you a few moments with her, I am certain.”
Black Lion needed no further inducement. Coming around the Japanese partition, he sought her out at once, and he was pleased to see his wife looking healthy, if a bit tired. In her arms was the babe.
“Black Lion,” she said, as soon as she looked up to see him. “Come closer and meet your son.”
Black Lion did as asked and knelt beside her bed. The baby was wrapped in a soft blanket. His skin was red, his hair was black and his eyes were a clear blue.
“He is beautiful,” said Black Lion. “Almost as beautiful as my wife.”
She grinned. “How you flatter me. I am certain I am quite a mess.”
“You are the most beautiful woman of my acquaintance, and I will hear no argument saying differently.” Black Lion offered his finger to the babe, who took it immediately.
“I have been thinking of names.”
“Oh? Have you a name for him already?”
“If you agree, I would like to christen him after my father, John Carl Black Lion.”
“It is a good name,” said Black Lion. “A very good name, indeed.”
He raised his gaze to hers, and she smiled at him. “I love you so much. And I have never been so happy.”
“And I love you. You, my wife, you hold my heart, will always hold my heart.” He kissed her then, knowing with certainty that whatever the future would hold for them, they would always have each other.