Read Online Miriam's Quilt by Jennifer Beckstrand - Free Book Online Page A

two mares grazed while their foals jumped and ran around, testing their legs like two mischievous toddlers.
    Miriam didn’t try to contain her enthusiasm. She clapped her hands in delight. “Oh, they are adorable! Cuter than kittens.” She giggled as one of the foals leaped into the air and kicked up his back legs as if he were showing off for her.
    Seth seemed pleased with her enthusiasm. “The one with the white patch on his nose is a colt. The other is a filly. Both thoroughbreds.”
    Miriam climbed one rung of the fence, wrapped her arms around the top slat, and watched the foals in silence. The short hair of their coats shone in the sunlight, and their long legs seemed disproportionate to their bodies. Miriam loved to see their developing leg and hind muscles flex and stretch. The colt was a chestnut brown while the filly’s coat was lighter, much like the tan Ephraim had picked out for his quilt—a beautiful color on a horse.
    “Have you named them?” she asked.
    “Nae. I thought you would want to name your own. Which one do you want?”
    Miriam propped her chin on her hands. “They are both so beautiful. I feel like a mother forced to choose between her two children. Which would you choose?”
    “Me?” He rubbed his chin. “That one might be something of a handful,” he said, pointing to the colt. It danced around the pasture.
    “I can handle it.”
    “I know you can,” he said, turning his face to the pasture. “You handle a horse like you were born in the saddle.”
    Miriam suddenly felt shy and lowered her eyes. “Thank you.”
    “Neither of these foals will ever throw a rider. I will train them well.”
    “I know you will. I’ve ridden a horse you trained.”
    The corners of Seth’s lips turned down slightly.
    Miriam cleared her throat. “The pastures look very pretty. I love the golden Alexanders up against the fence. Did you plant them, or do they grow wild?”
    “They’re volunteers,” Seth said.
    “Your stable is nice and big. Lots of space and light. You must be very proud of all the work you’ve done here. The horses are very high quality, and the property is well-maintained.”
    “This old stable is more than sixty years old. The only things well-maintained are my horses.”
    “Nae, truly. The stable floor is clean and the stalls are gute size.”
    Seth shook his head and cracked an uncharacteristic smile.
    Miriam frowned and jumped down from the fence. “What is so funny?”
    “You don’t have to try so hard.”
    “Try so hard at what?”
    “At getting me to like you.”
    Miriam planted her hands on her hips. “Maybe you should try harder at getting me to like you.”
    “I don’t care if you like me.”
    “Oh, really?” Miriam arched an eyebrow. “Well, maybe I don’t care if you like me.”
    “It’s too late to try to pull that one, Miriam Bontrager. I can read you like a book.”
    “There you go again, thinking you can read my mind. If you are so smart, what am I thinking right now?”
    Seth furrowed his brows and pointed to a bucket near the corner of the stable. “You are thinking you would like to pour that water all over my head.”
    Miriam looked away. “Hmm. You really can read my mind.”
    His eyes sparkled like a five-year-old with a frog in his pocket. She hadn’t expected that.
    Her heartbeat quickened.
    He wasn’t cross with her after all.
    His momentary amusement gave way to that look of concern she saw earlier, and he took her by the elbow and led her to a short, rustic bench sitting against the side of the stable. The unexpected touch sent a warm sensation up Miriam’s arm. Ephraim wouldn’t have dreamed of taking such a liberty, but when Seth did it, the gesture didn’t seem improper at all.
    He motioned for her to sit and then sat next to her. “Miriam, I need to apologize for what I said at the auction and then at your house. I hurt your feelings, and I wish I could unsay every word.”
    “But you meant what you said, didn’t