Page 23 of Her Gentle Protector
“Yeah. That’s it.”
Leading Daisy closer to the house, he stopped far enough away that he wouldn’t risk taking anything back to Midge and the children.
“How’s the patient?” Baxter asked.
Annamae paced the porch. “He’s not awake yet.”
“Has Doc been by?”
She shook her head, her blonde hair sliding across her shoulder. “Not since yesterday.”
“The preacher has it,” Rex said.
“Reverend O’Brien?” The thought of the Reverend being ill hurt his heart. The Reverend had been a fixture in Flat River forever, and was the same age, if not older than Ma. Baxter could only imagine what the fever might do to him. When Rex nodded, Baxter lowered his head and said a quick prayer. “Any word from Whit?”
“I rode to town yesterday and delivered your message. I dropped it on the back porch of the mercantile. Whit yelled that he’ll investigate and get back to me.”
“I better get back inside.” Annamae grabbed the wooden handle of an old metal bucket filled with water and disappeared into the house. Baxter caught Petunia waving wildly out of the corner of his eye.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Just sayin’ goodbye.”
Rex hopped off the porch and walked over. “Who’s your friend, Baxter?”
“Don’t get too close. She’ll make your eyes water,” he grumbled.
“I’m Petunia.” She stuck her hand out. “But you can call me Pet.”
“Pet?” Rex hesitated before gingerly taking the dirty hand.
“She’s Midge’s younger sister. One of the Beale brood.”
Rex’s eyes opened, as if everything clicked into place. “Ah. Good meeting you, Pet. Nice raccoon.”
Baxter turned away from his brother to hide the smile that was creeping across his face. He coughed lightly to cover it up, and then said with a forced seriousness, “Petunia wants to learn how to hunt and trap.”
“Really?” Rex extracted his hand from Petunia, who was still shaking it up and down. Lifting his fingers to his nose, he grimaced. “Well, you’ll fit right in with the wildlife.” He wiped his hands down his pants. “You gonna teach her snares?”
“She can take out a quail with her slingshot. Snares would make the most sense.”
“I think there is some wire in the barn, but I’d start with the basics. Can you track?”
Petunia shook her head, her braid dancing behind her. “I don’t know anything yet. But I’m a fast learner.”
“Let’s get Daisy out in the pasture and the wagon loaded up again. We’ll take a walk along the creek bed and see what we can find.” Rex hopped on the wagon as Baxter led Daisy towards the barn. “Do you know where Momma cat and the kittens have gone, or are they still in the barn?”
Rex tilted his head as he thought about the answer. “I think they are in the third stall under the hayloft. Why?”
“I need to take a few. There are mice problems I want to resolve.”
“Oh. Should I ask any more questions?”
Baxter glanced over his shoulder. “Not now.” He pulled the wagon into the barn and unharnessed Daisy before rubbing her down with a handful of hay. He tried to ignore Petunia, who walked over to the feed area. She returned with two carrots. She took bites from one, between breaking off smaller pieces of the second before feeding them to Daisy.
Baxter eventually opened the gate to the paddock, watching as the donkey trotted away with delight. With Rex’s help, he started loading supplies into the wagon that they would need to fix the Beale homestead, along with some snares that Petunia could practice with at home.
“How bad is it?” Rex asked, referring to the house, as he added a pitchfork to the wagon.
