"They're in good hands, here." Owen opened the bedroom door for Doc as he took the medical bag from him with a solemn wink. "Thanks for leaving this – I have most everything you have, but I may run out."
They made their way to the front door that one of the boys had left standing open. Big Mack lay across the threshold, watching the activity in the front yard.
"Well, I know someone besides Jay who'll be in heaven, with all these boys to play with," Doc said. He bent to examine Big Mack's wounds. "You're gonna be fine, aren't you?" He gave the dog's ears a quick rub, stepping over him to the porch.
Brandon noticed that Doc's eyes immediately went to the tree line beyond the barn, scanning for danger. Smith's cronies weren't likely to do anything in the daylight hours. They'd wait for darkness. Again.
Ol' Rooster stood saddled and ready, tied to the front porch rail. Jay was showing the others a drawing in the dirt by the barn. Brandon watched as the boy drew a diagram with a stick.
"He's showing them how the cattle will be penned," Allie murmured, pride in her voice.
"He's a smart boy," Doc said. "You've done a good job with him, Allie. I never thought—"
Allie shot him a glance as he broke off. "I know. I was worried, too. But, he just needed love. It's a miracle, what love can do."
"Sure worked with him." Doc untied the reins and swung up into the saddle. "I'll ride back out in a couple of days – see how things are going. Do you need any supplies, Allie? I could bring them."
She laughed, glancing at the boys. "You'll need to take the wagon."
"I don't mind. Tell me what to bring. I've got a wagon of my own!"
Allie's smile quickly turned to a frown as her mind worked through what she needed. "Flour, sugar, meal – too much to list."
"Never mind. I'll just get one of everything."
Allie gave him a wry grin. "That should hold us for a couple of days. Let me get you some money. I doubt my credit is worth anything at Zach's after what happened."
Doc waved her off. "We'll settle up later. I'll need to pay him for that Henry. Can't wait to do it, either!" he chortled. "I'll see you in a couple of days." Wheeling the horse around, he rode past the group of boys, stopping to speak to them for a moment before riding on.
Brandon turned to Owen. "Do you feel like you've bitten off a mouthful, here?"
Owen grinned. "Not at all. I'm looking forward to this."
"We'll see how you feel about that once the supplies get here and the fence-building starts. Cows can be pretty ornery at times. It's hard work."
"I'm no stranger to hard work."
"I didn't mean that." Brandon nodded at Owen's hands. "You're trained for finer things than fence building. It's rough on your hands."
Owen held his hands up with an odd, solemn expression. "I've done many things with these… I suppose I'll do fine with cows." There was a warm light in his eyes as he met Brandon's look. "I can do this."
Chapter 20
The wire and nails came that very afternoon on a large wagon all the way from Kansas City. Sam and Ben, along with Owen, the driver, and his shotgun rider, unloaded the bales of wire and buckets of nails.
"Might need some gloves and cutters, too," the driver suggested. "And hammers."
Allie hadn't thought of those things. She had one small hammer, and she wasn't sure if it had been rescued from the barn before it burned.
"We'll take all you have," Brandon said, coming to stand beside her.
"But I—" Allie began. He hadn't even asked how much it cost. And she wasn't sure how much money she had.
He shot her a quelling glance. "We'll need 'em."
She glanced away.
The driver looked at them dubiously. "I got ten pair of gloves and twelve hammers. Four cutters. It'll run you a hunnert and fifty for all that."
Brandon gave him a steady look. "Don't you mean, 'fifty'?"
The driver grinned. "I don't usually bargain about these things. They're necessary. If you want to use the wire, that is."
Brandon took a step closer to the man. "Those cutters are included. One cutter to each bale of wire. We bought eight bales of wire and you only have four cutters. So I figure you won't mind throwing in some of the hammers to make up for that. All of them, in fact. We'll pay for the gloves."