Free His Heart for the Trusting by Lisa Mondello Page B

something wrong.
    Midnight, the
new mare Mitch had been working, was dancing rings around Mitch as Mitch stood
in the center of the corral.  The light evening breeze coming in over the
pasture was soothing.  Sara pushed up the sleeves of her jacket to mid-arm and
then hugged her middle as she approached the corral.
    Nerves
skittered through her veins as she absorbed the distance.  Mitch isn't Dave,
she reminded herself.  No two men were more different.  She had nothing to fear
from Mitch. 
    Marveling at
the power of his gentle touch with this horse, Sara watched for a few minutes,
not wanting to break the spell.  For days, Sara had watched Mitch work his
magic with Midnight.  In the beginning, the mare wanted no part of being bound
in an enclosure.  Mitch approached and Midnight ran away.  But Mitch didn't
give up.
    The other day,
she and Mandy had sat beneath the cottonwood tree in front of the main house
while Jonathan napped on a blanket.  In between the conversation, Sara's
attention was drawn to Mitch and Midnight.  For a long time all she could do
was watch them.  When it seemed as if Midnight would never give an inch, she
did, and the smooth, gentle strokes Mitch gave her in reward made tears spring
to Sara's eyes.  The man gentling the beast.
    He'd made great
strides since them.  Now, even as skittish as Midnight was, Sara could see the
difference, the growing of trust.  She envied it.
    Still dancing
in circles, Midnight eyed Mitch, seemingly aware of his every move.  Mitch
turned his back to the mare and played with the bridle, as if ignoring the
horse.  Finally, Midnight stopped running and with cautious steps, she moved
forward, stopping every so often and taking a side step, bobbing her head or
giving a neigh, as if calling Mitch to pay attention.  Eventually, she stepped
up alongside him and gave him a quick nudge with her nose.  Then another until
she was settled alongside Mitch.
    Ever so softly,
Mitch stroked her head and neck and front legs with long, easy strokes.  He
smiled his pleasure and crooned softly.
    Without even
realizing how he'd done it, the bit was in Midnight's mouth and the bridle was
around the mare’s head.  Mitch let the reins fall and allowed Midnight to get
use to the bit.
    Such trust.
    “That's
amazing,” Sara said quietly.  Feeling like an intruder, she turned to leave. 
    “Not really,”
Mitch said, glancing up at her as he kept his attention on the mare. 
    She stopped and
turned to him.  Mitch was looking at her, his eyes filled with the same
questions she’d seen in the kitchen.  
    Then he said,
“She still could bolt at any time.”
    Sara gripped
the splintered rail.  “But she hasn't.  She came to you when she could have
easily just kept running in circles.”
    “Trust isn't an
easy thing for her.  She still doesn't know what to think.”
    “She let you
put the bridle on her.  You didn't have to chase her.  She came to you.”
    “I have to win
her trust.  And when I have it, I can't abuse it or she'll never give it up
again.”
    Mitch carefully
took the bridle off Midnight and took a few steps away.  Midnight followed like
a stray dog.  Amazing.
    “Does she trust
you now?  Enough to ride her?”
    With his head
low, Mitch shook his head.  “We still need a little time together before she'll
allow me put a saddle on her.  Right now, she's letting me know her
boundaries.”
    “She let you
put a bridle on her as if she didn't even know you were doing it.”
    He chuckled and
glanced up at Sara, his face bright with a smile.  “Oh, she knew.  But she's
still making up her mind.  She wants to trust me.  I can tell.  And maybe one
day she will.”
    “Mitch?”
    He looked up at
her again from across the corral.  He was incredibly handsome.  His dark hair
was the color of mica in the fading light, and his eyes had turned from blue to
a smoky gray.  He stood tall, his weight shifted to one hip as he held the
reins of the bridle.
    Such