Excerpt from “The Head and Not The Heart”
“This is one of those books that stays with you, long after you’ve turned the last page.”
-Amazon.com, 5 star review
From The Head and Not The Heart:
“You stand,” I said fiercely, and the horse eyeballed me and stood rigid.
The valet came up with the jockey’s saddle and girths, and Alexander came up in his suit and tie to do the honors of saddling. A man on each side, they fastened the girth and the overgirth together, and then I took the horse out to the walking ring, near the track, to do a few little circles. The jockey arrived, wearing our silks of green and white diamonds, and Alexander and he settled for a little chat on the grass in the center of the walking ring.
Suddenly Alexander was beside me, hand out for the jockey, and while we walked the jockey set his knee in Alexander’s hand and hopped into the saddle, taking up the reins, and nudging his feet into the tiny stirrups. Tiger put his head up and tried to trot sideways; I gave him a warning nudge with the chain. “Don’t,” I said in my deep, oh-son-you’re-in-trouble-now voice, and he settled down to a mincing, bouncing walk, hooves barely touching the mulch.
I had loosened the chain as we neared the track ponies, who were waiting in a little clump near the open gate from paddock to track, and as an outrider leaned down with his leather strap to slip it through Tiger’s bit-ring, I popped up the buckle on the halter and dropped it from his head. For a second, it was just the jockey and the racehorse, but the horse didn’t know it, and then the outrider was in control, taking them out for the post parade and a little pre-race warm-up.
Alexander was there beside me as they went dancing into the deep track, his hand on my shoulder. “He’ll be fine,” he said, and I could only nod. There went our boy. And I’d been so caught up in keeping him calm and together, I’d forgotten to give him his kiss.
You can also read the entire first chapter on this site. You can also read reviews here.
The Head and Not The Heart is available from Amazon in paperback and e-book, and from Barnes & Noble and iTunes as e-book.
Amazon:
Nook Books from Barnes & Noble:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/natalie-keller-reinert
Also at iTunes.