[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Joseph, so I started reading and drawing to help memorize it, including Joseph's surrender speech,
and it stuck in my head, and the first question your father asked was if I'd learned anything about Chief
Joseph."
"Are you making this up?" Rose asked.
"No, angel, I'm telling you I'm a believer now," Tyler replied. "Someone up there saw fit to bring
you to me and I'll never question Him again. Now, let's hope the spirits are still with me when we run
this past my father."
CHAPTER 19
Jack's gaze shifted between Tyler and Rose, who were sitting together on the couch in the family
room. Fixing his eyes on Tyler, he said, "I'm not doubting that you two know your own minds, but
marriage means family, and as the man of the house you'll need to provide a home. You can't raise a
family in a stable, and houses cost money. The boys and I can help build one, but you'd have to get the
loan for the materials, and you can barely meet your expenses as it is."
"I could help him build a log house," Adam said, from his stance near the doorway. "Marc and
Rick are also ready to help. We already talked about it, in the event Tyler decided to do something
like this."
Jack glanced over at Adam, and said, "That's all well and good, but even a log house costs
money for foundation and roof work, as well as all the wiring and plumbing and interior work."
"Between Rick and Marc and I, we have materials left over from building our own houses to
give Tyler a good start," Adam replied.
"It takes a lot more than leftover materials to build a house," Jack said.
"Hold it!" Tyler called out, to get everyone's attention. "Rose and I plan to live at my place until
we have kids, so building a house is a ways off."
"Kids can come even when you take precaution," Jack said, "and following rodeos with your act
to all parts of the country is not compatible with family life. For that reason your brothers all quit the
rodeo circuit when they decided to settle down."
"I've thought about that too," Tyler said, "which is why I've decided to limit how many rodeos I
do and concentrate on opening a school for natural horsemanship. I'd be working with horse owners
who are having problems with their horses, but I also want to work with dyslectic kids and teach
them how to use pictures to learn how to decode books, and at the same time they can learn how to
communicate with horses. I know I can do this."
"You'd need some kind of college degree before working with kids," Jack said.
"Actually, all I'll need are the books I plan to write and illustrate," Tyler replied. "They'll be a
series of easy readers about a kid and his horse and how they communicate, and while the kids are
learning how to read, using my method of phonics, they'd also be working with horses and learning
body language, so learning will be fun and not stressful." Tyler handed Jack the tablet he'd prepared,
and said, "These pictures will give you an idea of how I intend to do it."
Jack took the tablet, and as he flipped the pages, Grace leaned against him and looked over his
shoulder. When Jack got to the last drawing, Grace took the tablet from him, studied the drawings
closely, and said to Tyler, "Honey, this is a wonderful idea. You've combined some of the methods we
tried over the years, but in addition to having the knowledge about how to teach phonics in a way
dyslectics can understand, you also have the artistic ability to carry it out your way, and any one of us
can help you with the grammar and punctuation."
Tyler curved his arm around Rose and pulled her snuggly to him, and said, "Rose is willing to
unscramble things as I go along and help me with that, since she knows how I think, which is another
reason why I need her for my wife, because half the time I don't even know how I think."
Rose smiled at him, and said, "Honey, you understand perfectly how you think. It's the rest of us
who are out of sync, but you and I have a lifetime for me to learn."
Grace closed the tablet and folded her hands over it, like it was special, and said to Jack,
"Sweetheart, we put money aside for each of the kids to go to college, and it's clear that Tyler's given
a lot of thought to his future, so if we put his college money toward his horse arena and whatever kind
of small facility he needs to help the dyslectic kids maybe something like a tiny one-room
schoolhouse with a school bell on top I know he could do this."
Maureen, who was sitting with Howard, said to Jack, "I'm with Grace. We've all watched Tyler
over the years and seen his determination whenever he wanted to conquer something, whether it was
reading, writing, training horses to work together while standing on their backs, or planning a life
with a woman who seems to understand him better than any of us, so I wholeheartedly give these two
fine young people my blessing."
"So do I," Howard said, "and I'm not too old to help nail on sideboards for the arena or siding on
the little schoolhouse when the time comes."
Maddy, who'd been sitting on the back of the couch that Jack and Grace were seated on, said to
Rose, "You do realize you're marrying a centaur, not a man, don't you?"
Rose smiled up at Tyler, and said, "Maybe I'll become the first centauress."
Tyler eyed her with amusement. "Sorry, angel, Shakespeare beat you to it in King Lear, Act 4,
Scene 6, when Lear said, 'Down from the waist they're centaurs, though women all above.'" He
looked at Maddy, and added, "Shall I go on?"
Maddy rolled her eyes, and replied, "Please, brother, spareth me thy soliloquy."
This time Tyler was grateful for Maddy's off-the-wall humor because he could see his father
lightening up some from the serious, inflexible man he'd been a few minutes before. Catching his eye,
he said, "So then Dad, do you still have reservations, or can you drum up a little confidence in me and
give us your blessing?" [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]