Page 71 of A Thistle Beyond Time
“My trip to San Francisco was for seven days and Edna thought it would be a good length of time for Jenna to get to know me better and to get to know all of you. It will also give her time to spend with Ashley.”
“That’s exciting news, Jenna! It makes me very happy,” Ashley bubbled.
Taking Jenna’s hand, Cormac led her around to her seat beside Ashley. “I will use the time to show Jenna around Breaghacraig and while she’s here, I will teach her to ride a horse.”
Jenna immediately protested. “Cormac, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’m only going to be here for seven days, I really don’t need to know how to ride.”
“Jenna’s afraid of horses. She had an accident when she was a child,” Cormac explained to the others.
“That’s right,” Ashley chimed in. “I remember that day you came to the barn with me and took a lesson. You never wanted anything to do with them after that.”
“And I still don’t,” Jenna said firmly.
“Cormac I believe there’s a mare in the stables that would be perfect for Jenna,” Robert offered. “She’s verra sweet. Ye’ll love her, Jenna.”
“I don’t know,” Jenna began anxiously.
“Lass, I told ye I’d find ye the most gentle horse in all of Scotland and I believe ye’ll fall in love with her. I won’t let any harm come to ye,” Cormac assured her.
“I know, but horses are so big and I don’t know how you can stop it, if it wants to toss me off,” Jenna worried.
“Let’s eat breakfast first and we’ll talk about it later. How does that sound?”
Jenna smiled in agreement and helped herself to some food. “This is so good.” She started eating and Cormac relaxed and did the same. The family discussed their plans for the day as they ate breakfast. Cormac took suggestions on things he should share with Jenna while she was visiting and Jenna seemed agreeable to most of them. He was going to have to overcome her fear of horses for some of the activities. It wasn’t that he minded sharing his horse with her, but Cormac felt sure if she could ride a horse of her own, it would build up her confidence, and she could begin to see Breaghacraig as the beautiful place he knew it to be, instead of something to fear.
So far, Jenna was feeling better about being at Breaghacraig this morning. She decided she was going to try and be open to new experiences – with the exception of learning to ride. Cormac was crazy, if he thought he was going to convince her to try it. She still had memories of her fall years before, and the fear and pain it had caused. He’d have to be extremely persuasive to convince her and she doubted that would happen.
After breakfast was finished, Jenna went walking with Cormac and he showed her around the castle. They had already done a tour of the interior and now they had moved outdoors. Cormac had shown Jenna the postern gate, which led out through the back of the castle grounds, the barracks, the blacksmith and now they were heading towards the stables.
Jenna didn’t have a good feeling about this idea. Stopping dead in her tracks, she tried to divert Cormac in a different direction. “What’s over there?” She pointed vaguely off into the distance.
“Where?” Cormac asked.
“Over there,” she pointed again.
Cormac sighed heavily. “Jenna, we’ve already been over every inch of the inner courtyard. Let’s go into the stables. There’s something in there I’d like to show ye.”
When she didn’t budge, he tried grasping her hand and tugging. Still no movement. Jenna was quite determined she was not going into that stable and she appealed to him with wide eyes. “I can’t go in there, Cormac, there are horses in there.”
“Jenna, ye’re always so brave. Please, trust me, I won’t let them harm ye,” Cormac coaxed quietly.
Jenna stared up at him with obvious fear in her eyes.
“I promise,” he said.
“If anything happens to me, I’m going to be so angry with you,” she snarled.
“I’ll take my chances. Come.” He led her in to the darkened stables. The smell of horses, sweet hay, and leather assailed her nostrils. It wasn’t a bad smell, just different to what she was used to. Adjusting to the lack of good lighting, she also noticed how quiet it was. The only sounds she could hear were those of the horses, munching on hay in their stalls. She was surprised at the peaceful feeling that came over her.
“I know this is all new to ye, but Jenna, I want to share the things from my world with ye. Just as ye did with me, in San Francisco.”
“Okay, I get it,” Jenna said, relenting a tiny bit.
Cormac led her down the line of stalls. Each one they passed held a horse, whose head bobbed up with a mouthful of hay when they passed. It seemed the horses were curious about who was visiting the stables. As they approached the last few stalls, Saidear, popped up and nickered at Cormac. Jenna approached the horse with caution, holding out her hand for him to sniff. “Hello, Saidear,” she whispered. “It’s good to see you again.” The horse snuffled against her hand and stuck his nose further out to sniff her hair. She could feel the warmth of his breath against her face. Feeling a bit braver, Jenna touched his soft nose and let her hand glide up to his forelock, which she fluffed with her fingers. Cormac stood beside her, not saying a word. She knew he was letting her experience this at her own pace.
Cormac handed her an apple. “For Saidear,” he said.
Jenna looked questioningly at him. “You want me to feed him?”
