Page 13 of The Hunted Wife

Adam smiled when she approached. “Millie, this is Lightning. He’s the fastest of our horses. I’ll be riding him today. I’ve got a pretty little mare for you. She needs to be ridden. She had a colt about four months ago and hasn’t been out of the stall much since. Some time with her and Star in the corral but that’s about it.”

She looked at the stalls around her. “Where is she?”

“Two stalls behind you on your left.”

She sauntered over to the horses stall and saw a gorgeous paint horse. She was brown and white with a white star on her forehead. “What is her name?”

“She’s Venus. That’s why we named her colt, Star.”

Beside Venus was her baby. The colt was feisty and playful. Apparently he liked tug-o-war, because the first thing he did was try to take the riding gloves Millie held. She laughed. “I guess if I don’t want to lose these, I better put them in a safe place.” After placing the gloves in the right back pocket of her jeans, she reached out to pet the youngster.

He butted her hand with his nose and she scratched him behind his ears.

“He loves that. If you keep that up, you’ll be his friend for life.”

“Then I guess I’ll keep it up.” She laughed again when he moved closer to her so she’d scratch his neck and back. “You’re a greedy little thing.” She finally stopped giving him attention and turned hers toward Adam. “What do you want me to do?”

“Do you know how to saddle a horse?”

She nodded. “It’s been many years but with a little supervision, I think I could do it again. Of course, that was a youth’s saddle. I’m not sure I can lift a full-sized saddle onto the horse’s back.”

“I’ll do that for you, and you can do the rest. Will that work?”

“Yes. Perfectly. And you can check to make sure everything is tight.”

“Deal. Let’s go.”

Once the horses were saddled, they led them out of the barn and then mounted.

“I know just where I want to take you. It’s beautiful. I guarantee you’ll love it. The place was one of my mother’s favorites. Whenever she just wanted to get away from all of us, she’d go there.”

“I can’t wait.”

They rode in companionable silence through some of the most beautiful country Millie had ever seen. Green rolling meadows through a lush valley. A river ran down the west side of the property. She saw some cows getting a drink as they rode past. The land sloped up as they followed the river.

“Tell me more about this place we’re going,” said Millie.

“I’ve only been there once or twice. The time I most remember0 was with my mother, before they left on their skiing vacation.”

Millie heard the catch in his voice and reached over and laid her hand on his arm. “I’m sorry, I know this situation is hard for you. Not only losing them but being thrust into the fatherly position with your brothers. I’m sure some resented that.”

“Maybe a little, at first, especially Ben, probably because he’s the second eldest. The younger boys?—”

She started laughing. “Boys! All of them are men, definitely not boys even Gabriel. How old are your brothers?”

He looked up for a moment and then started counting brothers on his fingers. “Ben is thirty-five. Christopher is thirty-three, Daniel is thirty, Everett is twenty-nine, Fred and Gabriel are twenty-seven. They’re fraternal twins.”

“I thought perhaps they were twins but didn’t know for sure.” Good grief. His mother must have been exhausted all the time, having so many children, so close together. And having three children in diapers! I wouldn’t have survived.

“They do look a lot alike, but they aren’t identical.”

They rode into a small valley situated between two mountains which were snowcapped even though it was late May. Some places, hidden by rock overhangs or along the side of a stream, still had a bit of snow, too. Her maternal Uncle Larry used to tell of being on a camping trip and waking up on May 30th to fresh snow on the ground. This was Colorado and in the high country, which her new home was a part of, even June snowstorms weren’t that uncommon in the high country .

“This place is gorgeous.” Millie’s eyes were wide as she tried to take in everything.

Adam looked around them. “Wait until you see where I’m taking you. This is nothing in comparison.”

“I can’t wait.”