Homespun Bride

greeted her. The wind-driven snow moved off her face and echoed in the open rafters overhead. She drank in the sounds of the stable, sounds she missed. The movement of the horses shuffling in the stalls. The low-throated nickers of greeting. The rustle of stray bits of straw beneath her shoes.
    The steady footsteps at her side were the sweetest sound of all. She could no longer deny it. Not even Solitude’s single, gentle whinny could be more welcome.
    “The foal is still wobbly on her feet.” Thad drew her to his side of the aisle and to a stop. “She’s in the corner right now, all folded up in the straw next to her ma.”
    “I can hear Solitude breathing, but that’s all. She’s so quiet.” She tried to picture it, the beautiful red horse standing over her newborn foal. Noelle gripped the top rail of the gate. “Hi, girl. I came to say hello to your baby.”
    The mare exhaled in an expressive whoosh.
    “It’s hard to say what Solitude meant by that,” Thad interpreted over the rustling sounds in the straw and the solid clink of the mare’s hooves. “But my best guess is she’s saying it’s about time. She’s torn between coming to see you and staying with her baby.”
    The storm chose that moment to surge against the northwest side of the stable. The far-off boom of thunder startled the few other horses in the stables, sending them into loud neighs of protest. Robert’s unmanageable stallion took to racing around his stall, sounding like a half-dozen stampeding buffalo all by himself.
    Suddenly, she felt the mare’s hot breath on her face. She put one hand out and Solitude pressed her nose into it, nibbling affectionately.
    Thad’s arm brushed hers as he reached to stroke the mare. “She knows you pretty well, I see.”
    “Solitude was my mother’s favorite mare. I gave her to Uncle Robert, since I had no need for a horse. Mama understood Robert’s horse dreams.”
    Thad was silent a moment. “What happened to your horse dreams?”
    “Life has a way of taking them away.” She traced her fingertips along Solitude’s velvety nose.
    “True, but life also has a way of giving new dreams.”
    Thad’s hand covered hers and nudged her hand higher. “Are you looking for the star? It’s right here.”
    She felt the swirl of fine hair, where Solitude’s perfect white star was. How had he known? she wondered. She tried to imagine the beautiful red horse in her mind. “Dreams. I don’t burden myself with make-believe anymore. Just the things that are here and real, and that matter.”
    “Like this horse. She’s the mare your mother once loved.”
    “Yes.” No one had ever seen her so clearly. She’d missed that, too. The straw rustled and four small hooves beat an ungainly rhythm in her direction. “It’s the baby.”
    “Her mane is just like a bristle broom stickin’ straight up. Her tail is a red mop. She has her mother’s long, long legs.” His baritone dipped low as he chuckled warmly. “Whoa, little filly. Those legs keep tangling you up. Slow down.”
    “I can hear her. Oh, she fell again. Be careful, little girl.”
    “She’s got her front legs crossed, and her hind end is splayed, but she’s getting up. She’s wobbling, but don’t worry. She’s going to figure it out.”
    Noelle listened to the uneven thumps of the foal’s ungainly steps. She was aware of Thad moving closer to lean his forearms against the rail. His arm brushed her shoulder. The only thing louder than the cadence of the storm against the roof was her heart. “Has my uncle named her yet?”
    “Nope. Not when I was up chatting with him. He’s sure looking better day by day. Well, now she’s got her front legs straightened out. Here she comes.”
    “Oh, her whiskers tickle.” Noelle’s laughter was soft and full of heart. “She’s as soft as warm butter. She’s lowered her head. I can feel her ear.”
    “She’s got her neck outstretched, giving your skirt ruffle a look. She can see it beneath the hem of your coat.”
    “She’s going to be a sweetheart like her mother.”
    “Chances are.” Although he was no longer looking at the foal, but at the woman Noelle had become, still full of wonder and tenderness.
    Now he saw something more. She had a strength that was so subtle he’d almost missed it. He had to look past her beauty and beyond her loveliness to what lay quietly beneath. Now that he saw it, he could not look away.
    “Solitude, I didn’t mean to ignore you.” Warmly, Noelle