Lilly_Bride of Illinois by Linda K. Hubalek

Author:Linda K. Hubalek [Hubalek, Linda K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical, Romance, Fiction, Forever Love, Victorian Era, western, Fifth In Series, saga, Fifty-Books, Forty-Five Authors, Newspaper Ad, short story, American Mail-Order Bride, Bachelor, Single Woman, marriage of convenience, Christian, Religious, Faith, inspirational, Factory Burned, Pioneer, Illinois, Sweden Emigrate, Chicago, Kansas Rancher, Union Stackyards, 1890 Fat Stock Show, American Horse Show, Horseflesh, Train Station, Saloon, Thugs, Trouble, Hunted, secrets
Goodreads: 27424175
Publisher: Butterfield Books Inc.
Published: 2015-12-09T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

“I’ve ordered a special horse car instead of a livestock car to bring the horses home. It has eight stalls so I’ll limit my buying to six or seven, in case some don’t get along well, and we need to separate them farther apart.”

“I assume the cars have water and feeding troughs in them. Is the hay supplied or did you have to order it, too?”

“I ordered hay for the three day trip.” Seth bumped Lilly’s shoulder with his and smiled down at her. “It’s nice to have another person along who knows horses and their needs.”

“Thank you, Mr. Reagan, I’m honored to be your assistant,” she smiled back at Seth.

Last night was a little awkward…but it was nice spending time with Lilly. She seemed to be a really nice person, and made the meal and conversation special for their fake wedding night. But, of course, he still slept on the floor instead of in bed with her.

“Seth, the auctioneer is standing in front of the pens of mares you liked.”

“Tell me two or three you’d prefer…if you had to choose.” He’d considered buying Lilly her own horse, so he wanted her to pick her own choice, in a roundabout way. Seth had already asked and found out all these mares were broke to ride.

“The two bays standing at the front of the pen are the best, but the little bay with the star on her forehead—in the back corner—is my favorite. She seemed to sense my need to hide in their pen and tried to keep the other horses out of my corner.

“She’s smaller, and I’d say she’s a few years older than the others, but she has such a sweet temperament. Although she isn’t as showy as the other horses, I think she’d be a good broodmare. Don’t you?” she asked him his opinion and he’d have to agree with her assessment.

“They’ll be led out in a minute and we can see them walk to be sure their legs are sound.” People stood back against the alley pens as the haltered mares were led out one at a time and walked in front of the audience.

“Folks, with this pen we’re starting on a seller from Iowa,” the auctioneer yelled. “All these mares have registered pedigree papers with them today, except for the mare with the white star on her forehead. I’ll talk more about her when she’s walked out.”

“What’s my starting bid on this large bay? Teeth says she’s four years old. Do I hear fifty dollars?” the auctioneer barked and kept going as buyers raised their hands to bid on the mare. Some bidders waved their bidding number paper wildly in the air, while others kept their eye on the auctioneer and only gave him a nod to convey they wanted to up the ante. They didn’t show their bidding card unless they bought a horse.

Lilly had never been to an American stock auction, so was fascinated with the process. “Are you bidding on this horse?” she whispered to Seth.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.