"Have you told them all? Are they all on their way?"

"No. After you're settled in I'll call everyone and explain. That's the first they'll even know where you are. All you have to do is select who you want to take calls from while you're in treatment." Aiden shrugged. "You can say no one--you won't be punished. You'll have to talk to them eventually, but if you want to wait until you're better, that's reasonable."

"I don't want to do this," Colin said.

"Who would? It's gonna be a big step, a hard step. You won't believe this now, but you're lucky--you haven't been on drugs half your life. In a few weeks you'll feel like a new man--"

"A new man full of broken bones, titanium rods and screws?"

"I have you set up," Aiden said. "I know--you think you're the first guy to have a bad accident, take a lot of painkillers and wind up in treatment, but guess what? They've seen you before. You're going to treat the addiction and the rehab at the same time and you are going to get better. All you have to do is go with the program."

"The Army isn't covering it, so who is? You?"

"It's me today, but after I make a few phone calls..."

"I don't want to be into all of you for this!" he railed. "I'll pay you back! I don't want you guys doing this!"

"Whatever floats your boat," Aiden said. "How about we sort that out after you're discharged? Right now you have two choices--this place or jail. What's your pleasure?" And then he smiled.

"Arrggghhh," Colin growled.

"Just get in there, will you?" Aiden said. "I'm so ready for you to be someone else's problem!"

"And I'm so ready to be the hell away from you," Colin said, as though he'd completely forgotten who had the Valium that had made the trip bearable.

Aiden's first phone call was to Erin. "He's in," he said. "I hope they have really good locks on the doors. He's real unstable."

"You think he'll stay?" Erin asked.

"We're not going to know the end of that story till the end of that story," Aiden replied.

For the third time in as many months, a row of pickup trucks and a bunch of men gathered along the road into Virgin River. Clay Tahoma and Lilly Yazhi were riding horses from the Jensen Clinic along the road for several miles when they spotted the road construction site.

It had been a few weeks since the earthquake and what little damage it had done had been repaired. Also, the damage to Lilly's love affair with Clay. It turned out he was right--talking when they were soft, pliable, vulnerable and grateful seemed to work wonders for a relationship. In the time since that earthquake, they'd spent a lot of time with Nate and Annie--some of it mending their fences and some of it just enjoying couple time. Lilly was so relieved to be working at the clinic and spending what time she could spare with the horses and the most important people in her life.

There was a lot of noisy activity along the side of the road. Lilly was astride Blue but Clay rode one of the calmer Jensen horses. They approached the construction site slowly and cautiously, making sure their mounts weren't overwhelmed by the people, the noise, the confusion.

Clay was the first to dismount, leading his horse toward the men. Jack Sheridan was standing at the rear of the group of men. He turned and greeted Clay with a handshake. "Hey, haven't seen you around in a while. I hope that doesn't mean damage from the earthquake."

"No--everything was fine at the clinic. How about at the bar?"

"Some broken glass, but nothing too serious."

"What's going on here?" Lilly asked.

"Well," he said, rubbing a hand along the back of his neck. "This seems to be a weak spot in the road--not only weak, but on a curve with a drop-off. We've had more than one vehicle hit this soft shoulder and slide down the hill. Even had a school bus go down--fulla kids. Me and Preacher have written the county and highway department a bunch of times asking for some reinforcement and guardrails, but we always get denied." He shrugged. "We're a real small, unincorporated town without much traffic. We're pretty low on the priority list right now, during a recession."

Clay lifted his chin at all the action. "So what's this?" he asked.

"Well, remember that old woman who died--the one we had that estate sale for? She left a trust for the town. There's been a lot of disagreement about what to do with it, but she was always about taking care of the town. Seemed like it made sense for us to do it ourselves before someone gets killed on this curve." Jack Sheridan grinned. "We like 'em smiling when they come into our town."

"How'd you get all this heavy equipment?" Clay asked.

"Friends of friends made a lot of phone calls. We rented it. We're going to have ourselves a concrete and stone reinforced shoulder and a nice long guardrail. We could use a wider road all the way into town, but this spot is the worst. Hey, it's good to see you two riding together! Didn't I hear you'd had a falling-out of some kind?"

"Us?" Lilly asked. "Must've been some gossip."

"So--you're tight?" Jack asked.

"We're dating," Lilly said. "In the Native community, you're not tight until the families sit down together. We have a lot of tradition to work through."

"And after you work through your tradition?" Jack asked.

"I don't know," Lilly answered with a shrug, looking to Clay for answers.

"Well...then we'll be engaged," Clay answered, smiling back at Lilly. "And married after that. She has to agree to have me. It could take some time, but I'm confident I can trick her into it."

"Good," Jack said. "Men who come to this town drop like flies. I'd hate to see one get away."

Clay reached up to one of Lilly's hands as she held the reins. "I never even struggled."

It was in the deep purple shadows of night, when Clay and Lilly lay entwined in each other's arms, that the fullness of what they had grown together became almost overwhelming to Lilly. As she ran her small hands over his beautiful bronze body, she whispered, "I love you. I find it so hard to remember why I was angry, why I feared trust so much."

He pulled her on top of him so he could look into those unforgettable blue eyes. "Have we put those old demons to rest?"

"I think so, yes."

"You realize that if we're together a long time, and that's what I want for us, there will be issues here and there? Things that have to be stared in the face, Lilly."

"What kind of issues? Do you plan to tell your ex-wife you'll always love her again?" She smiled at him so he'd know she was teasing.

But Clay didn't smile. "I won't make that mistake, but you can count on me to screw up along the way. I'm flawed."

"You're strong," she said, touching his beautiful face.

"I'm not strong enough to sleep alone again. I need you in my life. And I need your strength with mine. We have to make a promise, Lilly--when trouble comes, we'll face it together. Not alone and in silence."

"Promise," she said.

"I have wanted to talk to you about something--about letting me take you back to the reservation. I want you to meet my family."

She smiled at him. "I didn't think I'd ever go back. I take it there's a lot of family to meet?"

"There is, but that will have to wait for another event to pass. My sister tells me our parents are coming to Grace Valley for Thanksgiving."

"And will I meet them then?"

"They would like that, I'm sure. But first, if you agree, I'd like to ask Yaz if he'll sit down with my family."

She lifted an eyebrow. "What are you asking, Clay? You'd better be clear."

"If you agree, I want you to be my wife."

She shook her head. "You have a son. He'll have to give his consent."

"Oh, that's not going to be a problem. He congratulated me on having enough intelligence to work things out with you."

"You have to ask him, just the same," Lilly said.

"I'll do that. Now, what about Yaz?"

"I'm sure he'll be very agreeable. And relieved. He was afraid I'd be an old maid and he'd be stuck with me forever. But what of your family, Clay? They're very traditional. Will they find me acceptable?"

"They will--not that it matters. Lilly, you are the finest woman I've ever known and I want you for my wife if you'll have me. No matter how the families feel."

She gave him a short kiss. "I think if I say no, you'll be a terrible pest. But I would like to do something special for your parents. I'll think of what that can be."

"You're very sweet," he said. "Now that the important details are settled, why don't you go put the opera back on. Crank it up nice and loud." He grinned. "I like opera."

Lilly had been very young when she last participated in traditional Hopi ceremonies and since she was a child then, she had stayed on the sidelines. She had several long talks with Clay and with Ursula Toopeek about the old traditions. She didn't see her future as being enmeshed in the old ways, but she wanted her future in-laws to be clear that she respected them and their traditions.

She had to go to a great deal of trouble to find her props. When a Hopi maiden wanted to show respect for the traditions, she dressed in natural fibers, skins, feathers and beads. For a vegetarian like Lilly to wear the skins of animals was a huge compromise--she limited herself to the boots and wore a woven blanket around her shoulders. But when it came to the traditional cake she would present to the mother of the groom, rather than the ceremonial mush or wheat, she chose a pineapple upside-down cake, which made Clay laugh. "I think they'll begin to understand you, Lilly--you're not exactly going all the way."

"It's a brave new world, Clay," she said with a smile. "Will your mother understand?"

"I don't think she'll have any doubts."

On the morning of Thanksgiving there was a light snow, but the weather was agreeable. Yaz was told to be at the Toopeek home early in the day. Clay and Lilly took horses by trailer to Grace Valley, left the trailer in a wide space in the road at the bottom of the hill that led to the Toopeek home. While Lilly wore her traditional Hopi dress and blanket, Clay was clad in his usual jeans, boots and heavy suede jacket.

"Wish me luck," Lilly said to her intended.

"You don't need luck, baby. All you need today is good balance."

The Toopeek household was crammed full; their eldest, Tanya, was home from college to spend time with her family, and Yaz was present, as was Gabe. The older men were engaged in a serious game of chess while Tom Toopeek had been put in charge of setting the table. Cooking was in full swing and the women--Ursula, her daughter, her mother and mother-in-law were all in the kitchen, chattering and laughing as they crowded around the stove and worktable.

Ursula kept looking out the window.

"Relax, Ursula," her mother said. "They'll be here soon enough!"

"I know," Ursula said. "I'm so anxious for you to meet Lilly, that's all."

And then, finally, at about eleven in the morning, Ursula called her mother out of the kitchen. "Mother, come here! There's someone here to see you!"

Mrs. Tahoma went to the door, expecting her son and his intended, but nothing prepared her for what she saw. Coming up the road toward the house were two riders on horseback. She recognized Clay at once, but was stunned by the sight of a young Native American woman riding beside him, dressed in traditional ceremonial clothing, holding something in her hands in front of her, directing the horse with only her knees and one hand on the reins.

Mrs. Tahoma stepped outside and began to walk toward them.

At Ursula's direction, the rest of the family crowded behind her mother, all the men and children watching.

When Clay and Lilly were near, Clay dismounted first. He reached up to take the cake out of Lilly's hands while she dismounted. When she was on her feet, Clay gave her back the cake and held the reins of their horses while Lilly approached his mother. When Lilly stood in front of her in all her Hopi glory, she passed the cake into Clay's mother's hands. "Mrs. Tahoma, I've brought you a cake that I made myself and hope you'll accept it as a gesture of my respect and love for a new family." She smiled and said, "It's not the usual thing, but I hope you'll accept it, anyway."

Mrs. Tahoma took the betrothal cake, looking down at it.

Lilly caught sight of her grandfather standing behind Clay's mother with the men. There was a smile on his face and he seemed to stand a bit taller, proud of her for embracing even a small piece of their tradition.

All Mrs. Tahoma had to do to seal their engagement with her family's approval was to accept the cake. But she leaned forward and put a kiss on each of Lilly's cheeks. And she said,

"I am honored, daughter. Deeply honored."