Under a Texas Sky by Dorothy Garlock

Author:Dorothy Garlock
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2013-08-05T12:00:00+00:00

“So this is where you work,” Anna said as she looked past Dalton and deeper into the blacksmith shop. Her heart was pounding and her skin, dotted with beads of rainwater, tingled with anticipation. Standing near him was exciting, almost intoxicating. Anna half-expected him to reach out and pull her close so that they could resume their passionate kisses from the night before.

But instead Dalton stayed still, smiling.

“It’s not all that different from when my grandfather opened it just after he moved to Redstone. A few changes here and there, but not many.”

“It’s so dark,” she commented, peering into the gloom. Besides the way she’d come in, she could see a larger pair of doors on the opposite wall; one of them stood open, to the cloudy late afternoon beyond. Even with the fresh, rain-scented breeze that managed to make its way inside, the room still held the sharp odor of smoke.

“When the forge is lit, it’s bright enough to work by.”

More than a dozen hammers and several long tongs hung on one wall, balanced in place between nails pounded into the wood. Beneath was a large worktable, its thick wood surface deeply scarred by gouges and nicks, the markings of years of use. Anna knew that these were the tools of Dalton’s trade. Unable to resist taking a closer look, she reached up to take hold of a hammer, its wood handle smooth to the touch, the metal head blackened. But no sooner had Anna touched it than it slipped free, falling onto the worktable with a loud thud.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, embarrassed.

“There’s no need to be,” Dalton answered with a smile. “I doubt you could damage it if you tried. Those things are made to take a pounding.”

Happy that he hadn’t been upset with her, Anna picked up the hammer with the intention of putting it back where it belonged, but was surprised that she had to struggle just to lift it off the table. It had looked formidable up on the wall, but she never would have guessed that it was so heavy. She didn’t consider herself to be a weakling, but just holding the hammer in place was making her arm tremble. As she was about to use both hands, Dalton stepped over and took it from her, placing it back between the two nails as easily as if he were lifting a feather.

“I’ve got it,” he said as their hands touched.

“How do you lift something that heavy all day long?” she asked.

“It wasn’t easy back when I started, but I’m used to it. Since I use one of those hammers most all the day, they’ve become a part of me, like an extension of my hand. I don’t really notice them anymore.”

Looking at the thick cords of muscles that ran the length of Dalton’s arms, rising up and underneath his shirt and spreading across his chest and shoulders, Anna could see the truth of his words. Before meeting him, she’d no idea how strong a blacksmith would need to be, but now she understood.

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