Read Online The Dawn of Christmas by Cindy Woodsmall - Free Book Online
Authors: Cindy Woodsmall
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you make, Sadie?”
“When time and money allow, I make an assortment of things. I dabble in wreaths, but my favorites are candles and soaps, and when I can collect enough scraps of material from the Amish community where I live, I make cloth dolls.”
Beth pulled a business card from her hidden apron pocket. “If you ever have a surplus and are looking for a place to sell them, come see me.”
“Denki.” Sadie took the card and touched the bed. “Levi, I need to go.”
“Not without leaving your address and phone number.”
Beth and Mattie looked at each other, a definite glimmer of interest passing between them.
Mattie fetched pen and paper from an end table and passed it to Sadie.
What could it hurt for him to have her address and phone number?
Levi stood in the round pen. He held a thirty-foot line in one hand and a lightweight longe whip in the other. Despite the neck brace he wore, he turned in circles with the horse on the other end of the line, training the animal to understand and follow his commands.
“Geh.”
The horse picked up its pace.
Even though Blaze hadn’t been training long, the colt moved more fluidly and even paced than Levi could. Still, it was far easier for Levi to get around now that the cast on his leg had been removed a mere two days ago. He moved like an old man in winter while he sweated under the grueling August sun.
Levi needed to make up for lost training time.
“Langsam.”
Blaze didn’t slow a tad. “Langsam,” Levi repeated in the same even tone. The horse raised its head and altered its pace a little. “Gut … Langsam.”
“Uncle Levi.” Tobias sat on the split-rail fence and pointed at the whip. “You gotta at least let him see that out of the corner of his eye.”
“Who’s doing the training? Me or you?”
Tobias clutched a hand to the top of his head. “But you’re
not
listening to me.”
“You’re being impatient again.” When Levi had been on crutches, he’d had to enlist Tobias’s help to tend and train the horses. The boy hada knack for handling the stout and sometimes difficult creatures, but he lacked patience with the tedious process.
“So who got throwed by a horse? Me or you?”
“I have a better question, peanut. Who’s going to be sent inside if he doesn’t stop telling me what to do?” Levi knew that threat would carry some weight. Tobias liked being in his or Andy’s shadow at all times. Since Andy was in the barn tending to the other horses, if Tobias had to go inside, he’d be by himself.
Tobias made monkey gestures in the air, touching the top of his head and flailing his arms, huffing and making mocking gestures—but in all his silliness, he didn’t say anything. For almost a minute. “Not everybody thinks you need to go as slow as you do with training horses, Uncle Levi.”
“What’s their motivation for feeling that way? Because it’s what’s best for the horse and the buyer or because it’s what’s easiest and most profitable for the trainer?”
Tobias frowned but seemed to mull over the question.
Amigo had been five years old when Daniel bought him last spring from an auction. Levi didn’t know why the horse reacted so violently to the fireworks last month, but he’d learned some valuable lessons, ones that caused him and Andy to start training their horses differently. One brother fed the animal and soothed him while the other made an awful racket just outside the barn—beating a horseshoe against a ten-gallon tub, yelling and clapping, or sounding an old car horn. The technique seemed to be desensitizing the animals to loud noises, but it was too early to tell if that would translate to a calmer horse on a road.
“Look.” Tobias pointed at the mailman pulling onto the gravel driveway. He hopped down. “Whatcha want to guess he’s got another package from your girlfriend?”
Levi continued working with Blaze, but he hoped the man did haveanother package from Sadie. She needed money for her
“When time and money allow, I make an assortment of things. I dabble in wreaths, but my favorites are candles and soaps, and when I can collect enough scraps of material from the Amish community where I live, I make cloth dolls.”
Beth pulled a business card from her hidden apron pocket. “If you ever have a surplus and are looking for a place to sell them, come see me.”
“Denki.” Sadie took the card and touched the bed. “Levi, I need to go.”
“Not without leaving your address and phone number.”
Beth and Mattie looked at each other, a definite glimmer of interest passing between them.
Mattie fetched pen and paper from an end table and passed it to Sadie.
What could it hurt for him to have her address and phone number?
Levi stood in the round pen. He held a thirty-foot line in one hand and a lightweight longe whip in the other. Despite the neck brace he wore, he turned in circles with the horse on the other end of the line, training the animal to understand and follow his commands.
“Geh.”
The horse picked up its pace.
Even though Blaze hadn’t been training long, the colt moved more fluidly and even paced than Levi could. Still, it was far easier for Levi to get around now that the cast on his leg had been removed a mere two days ago. He moved like an old man in winter while he sweated under the grueling August sun.
Levi needed to make up for lost training time.
“Langsam.”
Blaze didn’t slow a tad. “Langsam,” Levi repeated in the same even tone. The horse raised its head and altered its pace a little. “Gut … Langsam.”
“Uncle Levi.” Tobias sat on the split-rail fence and pointed at the whip. “You gotta at least let him see that out of the corner of his eye.”
“Who’s doing the training? Me or you?”
Tobias clutched a hand to the top of his head. “But you’re
not
listening to me.”
“You’re being impatient again.” When Levi had been on crutches, he’d had to enlist Tobias’s help to tend and train the horses. The boy hada knack for handling the stout and sometimes difficult creatures, but he lacked patience with the tedious process.
“So who got throwed by a horse? Me or you?”
“I have a better question, peanut. Who’s going to be sent inside if he doesn’t stop telling me what to do?” Levi knew that threat would carry some weight. Tobias liked being in his or Andy’s shadow at all times. Since Andy was in the barn tending to the other horses, if Tobias had to go inside, he’d be by himself.
Tobias made monkey gestures in the air, touching the top of his head and flailing his arms, huffing and making mocking gestures—but in all his silliness, he didn’t say anything. For almost a minute. “Not everybody thinks you need to go as slow as you do with training horses, Uncle Levi.”
“What’s their motivation for feeling that way? Because it’s what’s best for the horse and the buyer or because it’s what’s easiest and most profitable for the trainer?”
Tobias frowned but seemed to mull over the question.
Amigo had been five years old when Daniel bought him last spring from an auction. Levi didn’t know why the horse reacted so violently to the fireworks last month, but he’d learned some valuable lessons, ones that caused him and Andy to start training their horses differently. One brother fed the animal and soothed him while the other made an awful racket just outside the barn—beating a horseshoe against a ten-gallon tub, yelling and clapping, or sounding an old car horn. The technique seemed to be desensitizing the animals to loud noises, but it was too early to tell if that would translate to a calmer horse on a road.
“Look.” Tobias pointed at the mailman pulling onto the gravel driveway. He hopped down. “Whatcha want to guess he’s got another package from your girlfriend?”
Levi continued working with Blaze, but he hoped the man did haveanother package from Sadie. She needed money for her
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