The Sunstone Brooch : Time Travel Romance Katherine Logan (no david read aloud TXT) 📖

“is to reduce, simplify, and, if possible, eliminate the rider’s intervention. I had no saddle, bridle, or reins. I weaved my fingers through his short mane and let him jump naturally, without my interference.”

Then a vague memory hit her. The accepted method of jumping changed in the early 1900s. Had she just shown TR the future of the sport?

“But, madam. You moved with him. You knew what he was going to do.”

“And he did it beautifully. Don’t you think? Without interference from the rider, a horse can walk, trot, canter, and gallop for extended periods without tiring. When I ride, I give just a few cues and then stay out of the horse’s way.”

TR reached out to stroke the horse’s head, but Tesoro stepped back out of his reach. TR looked confused, his arm hanging there in the air. “You can ride him without a saddle, yet no one else can even touch him.” He let his arm fall to his side. “I’ve seen horses buck off their riders, but this horse won’t give a man a chance.”

“I don’t know why he allowed me,” she said. “I’ve never ridden a horse bareback without riding him under saddle first. But the way he accepted me, I knew it was safe to ride him.”

TR shifted the gloves and bridle from one hand to another. “I might as well return these to the tack room.” He turned and hurried back to the barn.

Ensley followed him into the shadows, worried that she might have offended him in some way. “Are you angry with me? Did I do something wrong?”

“Angry? That you terrified me?” He hung up the harness and put the gloves on a shelf. He was quiet for a moment as if putting thoughts together before he spoke. “Every man is frightened when he goes into action, but the challenge is to keep a grip on yourself so you can act as if you’re not. If you keep it up long enough, it changes from pretense to reality, and you become fearless by practicing fearlessness.” He folded one arm across his chest and raised the other hand to fiddle with his mustache.

“When I first came out here, there were all kinds of things I was afraid of—grizzly bears, mean horses, gunfighters—but by acting as if I wasn’t afraid, I gradually ceased to be afraid. But watching you on that horse, madam, had me shaking in my boots. So all my practicing was for naught.”

“Oh, no, you’re wrong,” she said. “You weren’t afraid for yourself. You were afraid for me, and that had to be worse because you had no control over it.”

“No control and total responsibility. How could I possibly explain to your husband that I allowed his wife to kill herself?”

“You didn’t allow it. I took advantage of your temporary absence.”

“Absence or not, I’m still responsible for your safety. And if you have a habit of disregarding the wishes of others, I might have to put you on the train with a one-way ticket to Kentucky. I would rather send Mr. Fraser a telegram to expect you in person than one to expect you in a casket.”

“He wouldn’t like either one of those. But here’s the thing. I had a similar argument with my parents many years ago. Like you, I had to deal with fear getting in the way, but I wasn’t going to let it stop me from doing what I wanted to do. I participated in dangerous activities like breakaway calf roping, tie-down roping, bareback riding, even bull riding. I got over my fear, but my parents were terrified, and there wasn’t anything I could say that relieved their worry.”

TR gazed out the open door. “You appeared fearless, Mrs. Fraser. And I’ll never believe you were scared at all.”

“I didn’t have to be, sir. You were scared for me.”

She might have gotten a smile out of him if not for a rider galloping up to the barn, yelling. “Mr. R! Sewall and Dow arrive tonight with the fifteen hundred head Merrifield bought in Minnesota. They need your help to unload the cattle.”

“Go change your mount,” TR yelled back. “I’ll be ready to ride in fifteen minutes.”

Ensley put Tesoro in the first empty stall. “I’m going, too.”

TR pointed toward a room right inside the barn. “There’s an extra saddle in the tack room. Don’t make us wait for you.” He then whipped around and headed toward the house at a fast clip.

She entered the tack room and collected the saddle, blanket, cinch, and bridle with reins, and saddled Tesoro. He didn’t object, even when she tightened the cinch. “I’ll be right back, boy.”

She grabbed the saddlebags and ran into the house to pack her few personal items. With that done, she borrowed a buffalo robe and rolled it up in the bedroll JC also left behind. Then she hurried from the house, tied down her gear, and was ready when TR said, “Let’s ride.”

Mrs. Sewall entered the barn with a burlap bag and handed it to Ensley. “I fried chicken for lunch and added some cooked beans and fresh bread. I also packed four apples. You can give one to your horse.”

“You didn’t have to do that, but thank you, and Tesoro will enjoy another apple.” The horse looked back at her, and she could have sworn he smiled. “Later, buddy.” She tied the burlap bag to the extra D-ring and rechecked all her gear. “Mrs. Sewall, did you see the man who sold this horse to Mr. Roosevelt?”

“Yes. I was afraid of him at first, but he had kind eyes. And Mr. Roosevelt wasn’t concerned.”

“This might sound strange, but do you remember what he was wearing?”

“He looked…I don’t know…like he didn’t belong here. He wore loose trousers, a red cloak, leather ankle boots, and he had tattoos on one arm.”

“Interesting.” Ensley now had confirmation that Erik brought her the horse. But why now and not while she was walking all by herself? It didn’t make sense. It was almost