Journey of the Heart Read Online Free PDF

two-year-old.
    Gabriel saw him the first morning he went out to work the yearlings. The black stood in the far corner of the pasture, his nose up, sniffing the wind. When Gabriel entered with a pail of oats, the black trotted toward him and then shaking his head as if to say, “You’re not who I expected,” turned and cantered away.
    “These aren’t for you anyway, Sky,” said Gabe with a smile. The black was beautiful and well named, for he had a pattern of small white spots all over his shiny black coat, as though someone had thrown a handful of stars over him.
    One of the yearlings approached Gabe curiously and he shook the bucket of oats. “Come on then, sweetheart, and get yourself a treat.”
    Gabe loved the game: approach, retreat, approach, while the sun shined on him and the glistening hide of a healthy young horse. Finally the little horse came close enough to dip his head in the bucket. When he lifted his muzzle, Gabe quickly and easily slipped the halter on. The yearling backed up and tried to shake the unfamiliar thing off his head. But Gabe held tight to the rope, dipping his hand into the bucket and offering the yearling more oats from his cupped palm, at the same time gently tugging on the rope.
    The halter only tightened for a minute, loosening as soon as the horse went for the oats, which was just what Gabe intended. The trick was to time it so the horse thought that he was in charge, going for whatever he wanted.
    In a short time he had the horse following him and the bucket of oats around the pasture. He ran the same routine with the other yearlings and only ran into problems with one, a small dark brown horse. It looked like this one had been born later than the others. If he had been a dog, Gabe would have called him the runt of the litter.
    “So you’re not going to play, are you, Shorty?” he said as the horse pulled back as soon as the halter was on. No amount of soothing or coaxing worked. “We’ll try again tomorrow, then,” Gabe said, slipping the halter off and watching the little horse gallop away on his matchstick legs.
    His shirt was soaked with sweat from hours of steady work and he took off his hat to catch the slight breeze that had come up. Night Sky had disappeared to the far corner of the field while Gabe was working, but now he saw the two-year-old come over a slight rise to get a drink from the watering trough in the middle of the pasture.
    Gabe only had a handful of oats left in the bucket. He walked slowly toward the black. The horse turned and looked at him and Gabe stooped and dropped down to his knees, rattling the bucket just a little to gain his attention. Gabe could now see the jagged scar that ran down his neck to his shoulder, but as far as he could tell, a saddle wouldn’t rub against it. The horse had moved easily, so no permanent damage seemed to have been done. Gabe didn’t think it would hurt him to be ridden—just likely spook him to death.
    Sky dropped his muzzle back into the trough, all the while keeping an eye on Gabe, who began talking to him in a sort of crooning whisper. “You were real lucky, fella. That cat must have been old or sick or you moved just in time before she landed. Hurt like hell, I bet. And scared you even more. But you are a beautiful horse, aside from that scar.” And he was, his black coat shining a deep midnight in contrast to the white spots.
    “You look like a smart fella to me, too smart to let yourself be destroyed, Sky. We’re going to get to know each other real well, and when the time comes, well, I bet you let me ride you.”
    Gabe held his hand out and let some oats fall through his fingers. Sky’s ears pricked up and he stepped away from the water.
    “That’s right, you know what these are and you want some, don’t you?”
    Gabe held his breath as the horse came closer, finally lipping the oats from his hand and then, with a start, jumping back. Gabe gave a low chuckle and stood up. Sky tossed his head and