Page 41 of All In Good Time
They spentthe night in a sheltered glen and with no wagon to sleep in this time, Sara made due with the ground, which was cold and damp. The next morning, muscles she didn’t know she had were screaming in protest. She did a few yoga moves to loosen things up, then a few jumping jacks to get the blood flowing through her veins.
“What’s that yer doin’?” Hamish appeared mesmerized by her actions.
“They’re called jumping jacks. They’re good for you. You should try them.”
He seemed skeptical, but did as she was doing and before long his huge feet were pounding the ground with such weight that Sara could feel the vibrations a few feet away.
“How was that?” Sara asked as they came to a halt.
“I’m warm as can be now. Although I’m sure I looked the fool,” he chuckled.
“Oh, so you thought I looked foolish.” Sara tried to sound angry, but she was teasing him and he knew it.
“Quite. Things were bouncing around that mayhap shouldnae have been.”
She hadn’t thought of that. No sports bra here. Her arms immediately crossed her chest.
“Dinnae give it another thought, lass. I ken yer Logan’s woman. I’ve ceased looking at ye in that way.” She shook her head in disbelief. She remembered having this same conversation with Dougall in San Francisco with regard to Helene. “He doesn’t own me, you know. I’m my own woman. I can do as I please.”
“I can see that. Yer here. He wouldnae be pleased to ken it.”
“Well, whatever. We should get going.” She gathered her things and then attempted to mount her horse, failing miserably. She’d so wanted to appear the confident, capable woman, but Hamish had to help her, which didn’t sit well with miss I-can-do-it-myself. She thanked him anyway and once she was all settled atop Aeronwen and Hamish had mounted his horse, they headed off. “If someone were to follow us, how long do you think it would be before they caught up?”
“We’ve got a whole day’s journey ahead of them. They’d have to travel at top speed and nae stop to rest. Possibly they could reach us before we got to Dunaill, but ’tis nae likely.”
“Well, let’s put even more space between us and them. Can we go faster today?”
“Aye. Ye’ll have to canter. Do ye feel up to it?”
“I’ve got the trot down, so I think I’m ready for my next lesson.” She smiled saucily at Hamish, who laughed out loud.
“This is as good a place as any to learn. We’ve got clear space all around us.” He showed her how to hold her reins so she wasn’t holding her horse back and then made sure her posture was straight and tall. “So now ye want to put one leg back, like this. Squeeze and go.” He showed her what he meant and his horse cantered away from her. He turned and came back. “Now ye try it.”
Sara did as instructed and was amazed that it worked. So simple and yet so effective and so much more comfortable than the trot. “I like this better,” she called back to him.
“Keep going then. I’ll catch up with ye.” Hamish sent his horse into a canter. The stallion’s long stride easily caught up with Sara’s palfrey. He masterfully slowed his horse’s canter so he didn’t pass her by and they rode on this way throughout the day, stopping occasionally to rest the horses and themselves.
By the end of the day, Sara was ready to lie down and sleep. Hamish got a fire going and brought out a small skillet he’d taken with him. He cooked them both a meal with the food he’d brought and Sara was grateful. She wasn’t much of a cook in her own time and cooking over a campfire was something she’d never done.
“Thanks for taking care of that. I don’t cook,” she admitted.
“Och! Yer a noble lady then. I thought so.” He inclined his head in a bow.
“No. No, not at all. I just don’t. I’d probably burn everything if I tried to do what you just did.”
“I’ve taught ye to ride, and tomorrow morning I’ll teach ye to cook over the open fire.”
“I’ll think about it. I’m exhausted. I’m going to sleep.” She knew Hamish would be awake for a while and as he’d done the night before, he’d sleep with one eye open making sure they were safe. It gave her the security she needed to quickly fall asleep.