Page 2 of A Letter to Adaya
He didn’t respond, but it didn’t matter. She’d said her piece and turned, pushing her husband out of the doorway, and disappearing toward the kitchen.
Bass looked back and forth between the two before following his wife, closing the office door with a bang.
“Well, that didn’t go as badly as it could have,” Simon laughed, leaning back in his chair. “Now tell me about the horses and get your rear off my desk.”
Beau slouched down into the old, creaky chair, its wooden arms inviting him with a hug. He sighed as he watched Simon scribble on a ledger perched on the large wooden desk. Beau had worked on the family ranch all his life, and he was slowly feeling as if it would be his fate forever.
He’d grown accustomed to having Simon critique his every purchase; after all, everyone knew that at the Pickett Ranch, the ledgers took precedence over all else. Even Simon’s wife, Georgia, who seemed to have an almost magical touch with money management, couldn’t make Simon feel any better about it.
“We don’t have the money for horses.” Simon gave him a squinty-eyed look.
“I did not take money from the ranch coffers to buy the horses.” Beau curled his toes in his boots, suppressing the urge to shout.
“Where are they coming from?”
“The money or the horses?”
Simon paused from his writing and glanced up, deep creases forming on his forehead above his glasses. “Either.”
Beau grinned, “A rancher in Chicago is selling off his herd. Property, too, but I was more interested in the horses. I’ve been saving, so I’m paying for them. I’ll be picking them up in Grand Platte in two days.”
“And you’re what? Going to compete with what Oliver and Owen Chapman are doing?”
Beau scoffed, shaking his head. “No. I don’t want to work on anything that big, and I don’t have the land yet. Not with the cattle roaming around. I’m going to work and train them in pairs. There’s talk about a second stage, and people are moving to town. They will need horses. Did you know that there is a man in Sterling who rents out his teams to do fieldwork? If you don’t have horses, or aren’t ready to purchase them, you can just get a horse for a day. Isn’t that something? The Chapmans sell to the military, rarely locally. Wouldn’t hurt to have options closer than the city.”
“How many horses?”
“Just ten to start. Like I said, the man is selling everything. I was thinking of training a pair or two so the ladies can get to town on their own, and also one for Madison.”
“They aren’t going to town alone. Ever.” Bass’s voice was deep with warning, his eyes sparkling dangerously as he re-entered the office.
“That’s between you and them. It doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be a pair that can run the carriage if needed.” Beau stood up. They’d wasted more of the morning than he’d intended.
“How many of the men are you taking with you?” Simon’s voice cut through the tension.
“Just Tater, and Jesse if he wants. It’s only ten horses and will only be a few days.”
Bass shook his head. “Tater’s not going to go. Not since his girl got hurt. He’s too busy trying to figure out how to get her to marry him, when he’s not out in the field with the cattle.”
“I’ll go. We can take Bogey with us.” Rising from his seated position, Jesse’s grin spread across his face, signaling his eagerness. Beau had forgotten he was even in the room. “Just let me grab him, and we’ll get the horses saddled.”
Beau headed for the door to follow Jesse, but Bass grabbed his arm.
“If you’re taking Jesse, someone needs to speak to him about the reputation he’s earning.” Bass lowered his voice and Beau nodded for him to continue. “I’d intended to do it, but he listens to you better. Plus, if you do it, then he can’t blame Em.”
A loud laugh erupted from Beau’s lips before he could stop himself. It wasn’t really that funny, but the idea of Jesse even suggesting Emily was at fault for anything was absurd. Beau knew how much he admired Emily and if she had asked him to trek through fire and brimstone to get her a kitchen utensil, Jesse already would have set out without hesitation.
“This isn’t amusing,” Simon muttered, adjusting his glasses. “Madison hears all sorts of stuff when she goes into town. People talk about the time Jess spends at Miss Marcy’s, his frequent brawls, and Whitney Hartman had to arrest him this week for misbehaving.”
Beau felt his eyes widen. He hadn’t heard that bit of news yet. “I’ll talk to him.”
“We didn’t make those kinds of mistakes at his age,” Bass said. “I just don’t understand where we—”
Beau raised his arm and shook his head. “Don’t finish that thought. We all messed up on our journey, and we can’t blame Jesse for the struggles he’s having. He doesn’t have a Chapman to pal around with the way each of us did. That means he had less of Marmee’s interference in his life.”
“Marmee won’t be too pleased about this, and she probably already knows.” Simon grimaced at the thought.
“She’s not over here banging on the door yet, so let’s do something about it before she is. Aunt Cleo doesn’t need more trouble, especially not now that she’s feeling better.” Bass patted Beau on the shoulder. “You be safe.”
