They'd put the past behind them, the ghost that used to haunt them. Bobby spoke ofSharoneasily now, convinced that she would be glad he'd moved on, that guilt no longer wracked his soul.

Julianne had made peace withSharon, too. She'd seen the other woman's picture, her dark eyes,her long

dark hair. They were nothing alike, but they'd loved the same man. And somehow, that was enough.

He moved back to touch their son's cheek, to trace each tiny feature. "He's amazing. Incredible.

Everything I'd imagined he would be."

"For me, too." The baby she'd always longed for.

Bobby moved closer. "He looks like a magical little bird. A raven. I don't suppose we could name him that, though."

She smoothed a hand over the boy's thick black hair. She'd known that Bobby didn't want to choose a

name until the child was born, until they saw him.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"It's your choice," she told him. His duty as a Cherokee father.

"I want you to be part of this. I want him to have a name that reflects you, too."

Touched, she looked at Bobby, knowing how significant this was to him. "An Irish name for a Cherokee

baby." A mixed-blood with his daddy's golden skin and deep-set eyes. "How about Brendan? It means

little raven."

"Really?" He reached for the baby and rocked the sleeping infant against his chest. "Brendan Elk. That's perfect."

"BrendanRobert Elk," she added, honoring her husband.

He looked up and smiled, and she put her hand on his knee, encouraging him to cuddle next to her.

And in the silence that followed they admired their newborn son, their little raven the child who'd brought them together, who made their lives sparkle with love and beauty. With the promise, she thought, of happily ever after.

end.