Untamed Journey by Eden Carson Page A

gelding. Jackson knew that on uncertain footing in
bad weather the pack horses would listen to another animal sooner
than to an unknown master. His bet paid off, as his stallion turned
to holler and nip at the horses trying to surge forward into the
river.
    Jackson had a firm hold on his mount’s bridle
as they neared the middle of the river. The water was higher than
he had measured in faint moonlight, and he was afraid they‘d be
swimming the last bit. “Ruth, hang on. We might need to swim
alongside the horses to reach the far bank.”
    He didn’t allow himself to worry if Ruth
could swim or not. It didn’t much matter at this point, as they had
to cross now or risk backtracking in the dark.
    Ruth felt her footing give way, so she
tightened her left-handed grip on the slippery reins and wound her
right hand through Caboose’s mane. She started to panic when she
felt her boot wedge between a submerged rock and sucking mud. She
held on for dear life, as Caboose and the other horses were afloat
now and swimming strongly for the far bank and dry land.
    Their strength pulled her straining foot
free, but she lost her short boot to the raging river. She kicked
as much as possible, as the current was fierce, and she could feel
her exhausted mount struggling for breath. She could barely make
out Jackson’s form in the dim light, but sighed in relief when she
saw he had reached solid ground.
    Jackson strained every exhausted muscle as he
pulled his stallion up the thick muddy bank, searching quickly for
sure footing. His mount found his balance and pulled Ruth’s horse
up the bank with him. Jackson reached for Ruth as she struggled up
the side of the creek bed to safety.
    When the last horse was under the shelter of
the trees, Ruth sat down hard on the ground, not sure if it was her
legs or spirit that demanded the moment’s rest.
    “You did great. We can reach the shelter in
twenty minutes, maybe less.”
    Ruth raised tired but still-game eyes to
Jackson’s intense stare. “I lost my boot.”
    Jackson swore under his breath. He didn’t
have spare shoes and they wouldn’t have served for anything but
blisters on her tiny feet anyway. “You’ll have to make due for now.
Give Caboose a rest and let’s have you try riding the grey mare. We
can dry off and rest soon. We’ll have to detour a bit, but we can
find you some new shoes up the trail a ways.”
    He hadn’t planned on stopping at Montgomery’s
place, as it was well-traveled, but Ruth couldn’t do without shoes.
Even if they could manage to keep her mounted the rest of the way,
frostbite was a real concern this time of year. It was simply too
far to go all the way to his place without warm and sturdy
shoes.
    “Let’s mount up and get to shelter before we
both catch our death.” Jackson stood and pulled Ruth up with
him.
    Her muscles were so tired Ruth thought she
might not have been able to stand without Jackson’s help. She
leaned on his strength as she paused to garner her own. After a
moment, she took a deep breath and reached for the pommel, hoisting
her sopping wet skirts up the length of the roan. Jackson’s warm
hand on her stocking foot gave her just enough help to drag her
weary body onto the placid horse.
    Her shaking fingers were so cold, she wasn’t
sure she could hold on much longer. Ruth quickly glanced at
Jackson’s hand, which was still arranging her foot in the stirrup,
and silently longed for that warmth on her body. Her thoughts then
turned to images of being held tight in front of a warm fire, only
it was Jackson’s heat she felt most strongly at her back in her
daydream.
    “Are you ready to ride?” Jackson’s voice over
the still-dripping rain shook Ruth from her reverie and brought her
back to reality quickly.
    “It’s getting colder by the minute, and we
need to dry you off soon. Hang on tight. Shout if you want to be
tied down to the horse. It might be tricky keeping your foot in the
stirrup with no boot.” Jackson shoved