An Unexpected Groom for Christmas: A Historical Western Romance Novel by Shields Elaine

Author:Shields, Elaine
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Regal Quill Publishing
Published: 2024-10-10T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 19

When Tara awoke the next morning, she found she had overslept. The first rays of dawn were creeping over the mountaintops and—much to Maisy’s annoyance—Tara rushed downstairs to boil water to make coffee. John would be waiting for her, but as she emerged from the house, wrapped in a shawl against the cold, she was surprised to find the door to the outbuilding where the goats were open.

“John? Where are you?” she called out, just as John’s head appeared above the stable door.

He was with Stanley, and he grinned at her as she hurried over with his cup of coffee.

“I’ve just been feeding Stanley. I hope you don’t mind. But I’ve got something wonderful to tell you,” he said.

Tara looked at him in surprise. She was amazed he had been able to walk unaided, and she hoped he hadn’t done any further damage to his leg by putting too much weight on it.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Well, I was lying awake this morning—the bed was very comfortable, by the way—and I started thinking about horses, and cattle, and everything to do with farming,” he said. “And I found I could remember things. I don’t mean specific things, like people and places, but how to do things. I knew how to tie a honda knot—that’s not easy, but I could do it. And I knew how to saddle a horse, and how to ride. I could just remember it. Does that make sense?

Tara was overjoyed. It made perfect sense. Like the smell of the coffee, being around the animals had awakened new memories in John’s mind. He was remembering something about his past, and about who he was.

“That’s wonderful, John. I’m so pleased to hear. I remember my father trying to teach me all those cowboy knots. I was all fingers and thumbs, though I’ve gotten better at it since I started nursing. It’s always useful to know a few knots,” she replied, completely forgetting the awkwardness of the previous evening.

“I really can remember a lot. I was just telling Stanley,” he said, smiling as he patted the horse on the back.

“He’s a good listener,” Tara said, and John nodded.

“He certainly is. You’re lucky to have a horse like that. Some horses just understand. I remember my old horse, Dewy, he was a—” he began, but Tara now let out a cry, causing him to paused in the middle of his words.

“What did you say?” she exclaimed, staring at him in astonishment.

“I said I remember my old horse, Dewy,” he replied.

“But don’t you see? You remembered something. It’s not just how to tie the right knot or saddle the horse. You actually remembered something. That’s what you said—you had a horse called Dewy,” she said.

John looked at her in surprise, the expression on his face changing as he, too, realized what he had said. A smile came over his face, and Tara flung her arms around him in delight at his having remembered something—something from his past, and a memory of something he had previously forgotten.

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