"You're welcome, Mark. You'll be a good cattleman someday."
His smile faded and he looked away. "I guess so."
"Something wrong with that?" The happiness had seemed to drain from him. "Mark?" she questioned when he made no reply.
"Miss Allie, I don't want to raise cattle," he blurted. "I want to be a doctor – like Doc Wilkins, and Doc Morris."
It had never occurred to Allie that the boys might not want to take part in her plan – that they might have one of their own. She stopped to look at Mark. "You – you want to be a doctor?"
He nodded vigorously. "I even got the same name as him – well, almost." Allie smiled at his six-year-old enthusiasm. It was obvious he'd done some thinking about this.
"You too, Lenny?"
"Uh-huh," Mark answered for his friend. "On account of he's afraid of horses and cows. We just want to help people get well."
Allie started walking again, silent in her own thoughts. She'd believed that this cattle ranch was something any boy would want to be a part of. She'd never stopped to consider the children's wishes; what they hoped for and dreamed of. And, of course, that was only natural, wasn't it? Everyone had visions of their own…
As they approached the area where Owen was overseeing the stringing of the wire with some of the older boys, Mark and Lenny stopped, handing off their welcome offering of the water jars.
Sam took the sack Allie was shouldering and fell in step beside her toward where Brandon and some of the others worked, setting the fence posts. They all worked shirtless, their bodies glistening with sweat.
"What do you think?" Allie blurted.
"About what, ma'am?" Sam replied cautiously.
"Being here? This idea." She stopped and looked at him. "How old are you, Sam?"
"Fifteen, ma'am. But I'll be sixteen in a couple of months – I know they said the oldest of us was fourteen but—"
Allie waved a hand. "It doesn't matter. Surely you have an idea of what you want to do with your life, don't you?"
"Well, yeah! I mean…I'm doin' it."
She nodded, looking down at the ground. "If you could do anything in the world, what would it be?"
"Ranchin', of course," he answered with no hesitation.
"But not all the boys feel like that, and it's understandable."
"It's a great chance! A way to get started."
"If it's what you like. What you want in life."
"Who wouldn't?" He shifted the jars, and Allie started forward again.
"Mark and Lenny."
Sam snorted. "They're too young to know anything."
Allie shook her head, recalling their enthusiasm. "I don't think so, Sam. And I'm sure there are others besides them."
"Maybe," he said uncomfortably.
She smiled at his uneasiness. "It's all right. It's just something I didn't think of."
Brandon walked up to join them as they reached his group. "What's that?"
Allie looked at him. "Giving the boys a choice, if we can. It never dawned on me they might not all be cut out for ranching."
By the light in his eyes, Allie could see it wasn't a new concept to him. "Why didn't you say something?"
The boys converged around them as Sam passed out the water jars.
Brandon took a long drink before answering. "I figured you'd come to it, sooner or later." He passed the jar to Sam.
"I take it that's why you weren't as enamored of the idea as I was," she said tartly.
He shrugged. "Partly. It's a lot of work all around. Especially for you." His features softened and he said in a low voice, "It might be best to let some of them follow a different path, Allie."
"I won't farm them out to people like – like Hiram Nielson!"
"No. I didn't say that. But there are some good people out there who might be willing to step forward. Make everyone's dreams come true. Some of these boys might be happier in a smaller family setting."
There was more he wasn't saying, due to the boys. She nodded her understanding. "We'll figure something out."
He leaned toward her and kissed her forehead instead of her lips, laughing at the disappointment in her expression. "Later," he whispered, turning back to the boys. "Let's get three more posts set before lunch!"
"Don't overdo it, Brandon," she murmured.
"I'm not about to…I've got plans—" he said in a low voice, but stopped, his eyes narrowing at something over her shoulder.
She turned to see Jimmy Smith running toward them, yelling breathlessly. He tripped, fell and rolled, then got up and continued running toward the group of boys that Owen was overseeing, terror etched in his expression.
****
Brandon and Allie started forward, followed by the other boys.
Jimmy kept running until he fell at Brandon's feet, winded and panting.
"What's wrong?" Brandon asked, kneeling beside him.
"My pa! M-My pa!"
Brandon put both hands on Jimmy's shoulders, his right hand closing around the boy's upper arm with less pain than he'd expected. "What about him?"