Time Will Tell

Time Will Tell part 14

Leaving the newborn colt with his mother after a difficult birth, Colin followed Gus out to the corral to work with the mating stallions. Libby kept busy in a separate pasture, training yearlings. During the earlier ordeal, Colin had watched the child closely, giving him ample opportunity to make out her feminine features. Her gentle cooing to calm the mare had been a dead giveaway. He had no idea how any of them could have mistaken her for a boy when there was nothing masculine about her. While not very old and having a boyish figure, Liberty Edwards was, as Berta so aptly put it, no male.

Shaking his head at their shortsightedness, he marveled at her nerve. Here she was a young girl taken away from her home in the future by—OK, he knew it sounded bizarre—magical oak trees.

Had she really come from the future like Nathan had said? Or had Nathan simply told him a make-believe story?

The problem was, it made sense with what he’d seen—Libby standing in front of him one moment, disappearing the next, only to reappear seconds later.

Colin always kept an open mind to possibilities. While traveling from the future seemed about as farfetched as anything he could fathom, he’d read and studied too much about past cultures not to have a desire to believe in the unbelievable.

Take mythology, for one. Legends that ancient cultures believed, whether Greek, Roman, Hindu or Nordic, all had mystical ideologies behind them. Most cultures stemmed from some kind of belief in magical beginnings as an answer to their mysteries.

Science was just beginning to unravel a few mysteries, but there were still plenty of unanswered questions. During a world tour taken before his marriage, Colin had seen many amazing sights. Stonehenge in England and the pyramids of ancient Egypt left behind plenty of questions that may never be answered. Who was he to question the unexplainable?

“Libby’s become quite an asset to the farm in a matter of days,” he threw out, just to measure his manager’s reaction.

“Ja. The lad knows his stuff.” Gus went on singing Libby’s praises. In fact, the entire time they worked, it was Libby this or Libby that. According to Gus, she could single-handedly run the farm.

At quitting time, Colin was even more confused. How in the hell had this paragon won over his manager so easily? It was all too much. The girl, supposedly from the future, held Berta and Nathan in her pocket and now Gus was raving about her. He needed to find out what was what and he planned on doing so later that night.

Rubbing his hands together in anticipation, he took the porch steps to his house two at a time, hurrying to find his children, intending to spend time with them before dinner. Then after his evening meal, he hoped to catch Libby under the tree. That was the key to solving this puzzle.

An hour later, Colin entered the dining room and nodded at the nannies. “Good evening, ladies.” He sat and picked up his napkin to spread on his lap. “I trust you had no problems with the children while I was away?” Thank God Colin had found these two blessings. Neither had married, probably because both were a little odd. Or their spinster status could have more to do with their resemblance to horses. Each woman had a long narrow face dominated by big eyes and a wide mouth. The two pulled back their graying hair into tight little buns, creating stern appearances, which were totally opposite of their manner.

Despite their looks, the Young sisters were two of the warmest individuals Colin had ever met.

“I believe Sam is ready to learn to ride a horse,” Minnie said, smiling warmly and recounting the story of his earlier escapades with his younger sister.

Colin sighed and nodded. “Once the busy part of the foaling season is over, I’ll have more time.”

“Horses are all that child talks about,” Maizie agreed. While she prattled on about more of the children’s exploits, Colin listened patiently, glad to know his children were so well-loved.