His Prairie Sweetheart

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Elias pulled out her chair for her and held the door.

“Son, while you’re out there, walk round the sheep, will you? Captain’s keeping watch. They’re in the close pasture.”

“Yes, sir.”

Savannah and Elias strolled past the sapling trees toward the barn. A breeze brushed her cheeks, and though it was warm, she was grateful for it. Without any wind, the day would be stifling. How a place this warm got the name Snowflake, she’d never know.

“Captain watches the sheep all by himself? I mean, with no shepherd?” She tilted her parasol to shade her face.

“Yep. Pa can’t afford to hire a shepherd just for the couple hundred sheep he runs, so he relies on Captain to look after the flock. He has another dog, too, but she’s expecting puppies any day now, so Pa’s keeping her close to the house. I’m not sure if he was as excited about his own sons’ births as he is about this litter.” Elias bent and plucked a long grass stem from along a fence line, bending it and snapping off little pieces as they walked.

“You said you have horses here?”

“Sure, almost a dozen head right now. They’re in the pasture behind the barn.”

“Could we see them?” Savannah lifted her hem to step across the dusty ruts left by farm wagons.

“You like horses?”

“Oh, yes. I’m a very good equestrienne. Many Southern women are. I had riding lessons from the time I was a child.” A pang hit her heart. Girard had taken her riding many times. It was one of the things they shared, a love of horses.

“Too bad you’re not dressed for it. I’d saddle up a couple of horses. We could ride round the sheep that way.” He threw away the last piece of grass stem.

“It wouldn’t matter how I was dressed if you had a sidesaddle. I’d risk my Sunday silk for a chance to ride.” It had been much too long since she’d been on horseback.

“Are you serious?” He tilted his head, studying her.

“Of course I am.”

“I forgot, you’re always serious.” He shrugged. “As it happens, we do have a sidesaddle. If you’re sure, I’ll bring in the horses.”

Elias ducked into the barn and emerged with a pail half-full of grain in his hand and two halters slung over his shoulder. “Come around this way.”

At the pasture gate, he whistled and clanked the handle against the bucket, shaking the oats. Heads came up from grazing, and several horses started toward him. Bays, chestnuts, a gray with a black mane and tail.

Elias scattered some of the grain on the ground, shouldering his way among the horses. “Which one would you choose?”

Savannah eyed them, knowing he was testing her. “The buckskin with the blaze. He looks like he could move.”

“Hmm, you’ve a good eye. That’s my horse, Buck. And you’re right, he’s fast. But he’s not a lady’s mount.”

“How about the gray mare?”

He paused. “She’s new, and I haven’t ridden her much. I bought her over in Pipestone for a broodmare. She’s got good lines, and I think I’d get some nice foals out of her. But she’s a quick mover and she likes to run.” He frowned. “Maybe I should put you up on my ma’s horse, Gresskar.” Pointing at a round little chestnut with a shaggy mane and knobby knees, he reached for the halter on his shoulder. “Gresskar means pumpkin.”

“I told you I could ride. I’d like the gray. She won’t unseat me.” Savannah gripped her parasol. The man didn’t think she could do anything. “What’s her name? The gray?”

“Elsker.”

Was that a blush reddening his cheeks?

“Elsker? What does that mean?”

He shrugged, not meeting her eyes. “Elsker means ‘love’ in Norwegian. She came with the name. I didn’t give it to her.” Elias busied himself getting halters on Buck and the gray mare. He dumped the rest of the grain on the grass for the horses left behind, and led the two mounts through the gate. “You’re sure you want to do this? You’re not dressed to ride, and if you get thrown, your dress will never be the same.”

“I’m sure.” She put conviction into her tone.

In short order, Savannah closed her parasol, leaning it against the barn wall, and went to Elsker’s side, patting the mare Elias had saddled and speaking softly to her. While Elias was busy tacking up his horse, she checked the girths, making sure they were tight. The plain saddle bore only a scant resemblance to her ornate velvet-and-leather one at home, but it was serviceable and well cared for.

“I’ll give you a leg up since we don’t have a mounting block.” Elias bent and laced his fingers for her to place her knee into. He lifted her easily, and soon she was gathering her skirts, tucking them in, fitting her foot into the stirrup and picking up the reins. Elsker sidled a bit, tossing her head.

Soon they were walking down a farm track, side by side. Savannah thrilled to the movement of a horse beneath her again, letting her body sway with Elsker’s long-legged stride. The mare toyed with the bit, swishing her tail, sending Savannah all kinds of messages that she felt good and would like to move out of a walk.

“The sheep are in here.” Elias stopped at a gate, leaning down to unlatch it and pull it open for her to ride through, all without getting off his horse. Buck pivoted like a seasoned professional as Elias closed the gate behind them.

The sheep grazed in a bunch near the center of the pasture, and Captain rose from the tall grass, loping over, his tongue lolling and his tail curving up, like a great bottlebrush. Elias pulled to a stop, and Captain rose on his hind legs, planting his forepaws on Elias’s knee. The collie licked his hand and gave a bark before bounding away toward the flock.

Elias stood in the stirrups, counting heads. “It’s a well-fenced pasture, and the dogs keep predators away, but it’s always a good idea to count noses.”

They rode completely around the flock, and Elias, finding nothing amiss with the sheep, opened the gate again. “There’s a creek about a mile east of here. Let’s head for that. Are you comfortable trotting?”

She tried not to be offended. He didn’t know her very well, after all, but his condescension grated. “I’d be more comfortable at a canter.” Savannah lifted the reins and put her heel to the mare’s side. This was all the cue Elsker needed. She picked up her feet, leaping into a gallop.

Elias shouted, but Savannah leaned forward, urging the mare on. The wind whipped against Savannah’s cheeks, pulling at her hair. Her hat gave up the fight, flying off, and her skirts flapped against the horse’s side.

For the first time since she was left standing at the altar, Savannah felt as if she could leave the hurt behind and be free, if for only a little while. Free of the stigma of being a jilted bride, free of her fears and insecurities. Embracing the wind, skimming over the ground, exulting in the rushing speed... A laugh escaped her throat, surprising her.

Hoofbeats pounded the ground, and she glanced back. Elias urged his buckskin on, yelling, but the wind tore his words away. As he drew nearer, Elsker stuck her neck out, eating up the ground in long bounds, determined not to be passed. Buck fell back.

Savannah noticed a gully ahead. It wasn’t wide, but it was deep. That must be what Elias was shouting about. With a reckless abandon that telegraphed itself to her mount, she leaned forward, her hands high on the mare’s neck. With a huge leap, Elsker soared over the ditch, landing gracefully on the far side and galloping onward. At the horizon, trees appeared where the creek must be. Savannah eased back in the saddle, gently pulling the mare up, asking rather than demanding.

Elsker resisted for a moment and then dropped to a lope, then a trot, then a walk, tossing her head and prancing, her sides pumping. Savannah patted the mare’s warm neck, pleased and exhilarated.

Elias pounded up on Buck, his face like a thundercloud. “What were you thinking? You could’ve broken your neck!”

Savannah tried to make some sense of her hair, which had come loose from its pins and lay about her shoulders in a tumbled, curly mess. “I was in no danger. I saw the ditch in plenty of time and knew we could jump it easily.” She patted Elsker again. “This is a very fine mare.”

“You knocked about ten years off my life. I saw myself trying to explain to Tyler how I killed his teacher on the eve of the first day of school.” Elias didn’t seem to be quite over his temper yet. “That was a foolish thing to do.”

Savannah blinked. He really was upset. “I told you I was a good rider. There was nothing to fear.”

“You raced an untried mare over unknown ground with no thought to prairie dog holes or gullies or anything else. You knew I was hollering at you to stop, but you just kept going faster. You have no idea of the dangers you could encounter here. This isn’t a bridle path in some city park, you know.” He whipped off his hat and slapped his thigh. “What if you’d come up against a barbed wire fence? The mare wouldn’t have seen it in time, running full out like she was, and you’d have come a cropper for sure. As it is, you had no idea how that mare would react to having a woman in flapping skirts on her back. What if she’d started bucking, shied or flat out run away with you? Plenty of danger to you, but what about the danger to the mare? You could’ve killed her along with yourself.”

Savannah held up her palm to stop the flow of words, remorse flooding her as she realized the truth in his tirade. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think. It just felt so good to be riding again, and the mare wanted to go.” She dropped her hand and gripped the reins.

“Walk her and cool her out a bit before we get to the creek.” He pressed his hat back on his head and nudged Buck into a walk.

Savannah wanted to say that she knew enough to cool out a horse before allowing it to drink, but she clamped her mouth shut, aware that she’d transgressed. She followed Elias across the open ground and down the creek bank, keeping Elsker to a leisurely walk, feeling the mare’s breathing slow.

They arrived at the water’s edge. Elias slid from the saddle, then reached up for Savannah. His hands spanned her waist, and when she kicked free of the stirrup, he lifted her to the ground. How many times had Girard done the same for her after a ride? But Elias had bigger muscles, broader shoulders. Where Girard had worked inside at a desk, in a job with few physical demands, Elias worked outside, helping on his father’s farm, keeping law and order in Snowflake. Handy with tools, good with animals, a man of the land. Girard had been suave in any social situation, quick to smile and flatter. Elias said exactly what he thought, pulling no punches.

She drew herself up short. Comparisons got her nowhere. And anyway, why should she care? She was over love and romance forever and beyond noticing how handsome and virile a man was.