Chapter 34

“Tom, that was all my doin. Tag was just teasin me and I slapped his hat. It rolled out in the dirt and the men threw it back and forth, I’m sorry for what I did, don’t be mad at Tag.”

“I’m not mad Cole, but you see how things can go wrong when you’re just having fun here in Hays?”

“Yes sir, and it won’t happen again.”

Tom put his arm around Cole’s shoulder and they walked back in the hotel. Tom leaned down and said something to Cole and he looked up at him, wide eyed and surprised. Tom jerked his head toward the dining room and smiled, then he and Cal walked over to the leather covered chairs and sat down, followed by Tag and Ray.

The brothers watched as Cole walked stiffly toward the dining room, his new britches whistlin with each step. He leaned slowly around the doorway to look inside. They watched as he jerked his head back quickly, then slipped around to where he was standing with his back against the door facing as if he were just relaxing.

Missy Beeson walked up and they stood talking for the longest, she would look over at Tag and Ray every now and then and smile, then would be right back talking low and fast to Cole.

Mrs. Beeson walked up and Tag just knew Cole was in trouble now, but she smiled and they all stood and talked for a long while before Mrs. Beeson walked away.

Now it looked like Cole and Missy couldn’t think of a thing to say as they both stood switching their weight from one foot to the other.

The last of the customers walked out of the dining room and Cole stuck his hand out to shake with Missy, he knew that she had to go.

She took his hand and they shook for the longest, then she walked around the corner toward the kitchen. As Cole was about to stand up straight and walk away, she ran back and kissed him on the cheek and was gone in a flash.

Tag and Ray both saw this and their eyes were wide in shock as Cole walked over to them grinning. He knew he was gonna get teased, but he didn’t care.

“Gosh Cole, Missy girl really kissed you didn’t she?” Tag said.

“Yep, she sure did, didn’t she,” Cole grinned again and put his hand on the side of his face.

“I think that’s about enough excitement for one day, what do you fellers think?” Tom asked.

Up in their rooms, they all sat around in the big stuffed chairs and the brothers took turns pulling each others boots off. They took off their heavy wool socks and stuffed them down in their boots, making sure they had the right sock matched up with the right boot.

They sat rubbing their feet for a while and Cole looked up at Tom and Cal.

“Tom, I been thinkin about what all you ‘n Cal’s done for us since we all met out there on the trail that day. We lost our Pa out there and I reckon that no matter how bad we had it, we still loved him cause he was all the family we had.

“Then we all thought sure that we was gonna be throwed in jail for stealing cows. Somehow it all turned out that we didn’t go to jail, I’m sure that you ‘n Cal had a big hand in the way that come about.

“The morning we buried our Pa, I felt as lonesome as I’d ever felt in my life, and I knew that whatever happened to the three of us, I had to try and keep us together and watch over Ray ‘n Tag.

“On the way up the steps to the room just now, it come to me that just last night we were all sleeping in the middle of a dusty trail, covered in trail dust and grit, but we were just happy to be there with you ‘n Cal, cause we felt like we had a chance. Today you n Cal got us all new store bought clothes from the skin out. This is the first time in our lives we got new clothes that nobody else ever wore before.

“We just now ate the best meal we ever set down to in our lives and now we’re about to sleep in the fanciest beds in all of Hays, Kansas. I just wanted to tell you both that we’re beholdin’ to you,” Cole finished saying his say, tears runnin down his face, as did his two younger brothers.

Tom looked at Cal and both young men saw the others eyes waterin up.

“I reckon we better get you three ranch hands in bed and rested up, you’re gonna be workin for wages in a coupla days. Cal ‘n me will be riding on out of Kansas as soon as we get you all settled in out at the Bar Y.”

That night at the Double Bar Y Ranch, as the Yancey’s sat around the supper table, Roberta kept seeing Clyde try to hide a smile as if he was thinking of something funny.

Her daughters kept seeing the same thing and Bobbi finally spoke.

“Papa, I think you’ve got a secret you’re trying to hide, are you gonna tell us what it is?”

“I think you’re right Bobbi, he’s been sitting there smiling ever since we came in from town today,” her Momma said.

“Well, I do have some news for all of you. I made a deal today with three new ranch hands that’ll go to work here day after tomorrow, they’ll be living here on the ranch with us and I was told that they’re as good as they come with horses and cattle alike.”

“Oh Clyde, that is good news, we’ve been needing good help for a long time now. Maybe the girls won’t have to work so hard out there now that we have help coming.”

“Momma, you know that Bob and I will always be out there with Papa when he’s workin,” Willa said.

“I know Dear, but at least when the weather is bad you two won’t have to be out in it.”

After supper the sisters cleared the table and washed the dishes for their Momma, before going to their room to dress for bed.

“Will, when you say your prayers at night, do you ever ask God for something personal?” Bobbi asked her sister as they got up from saying their prayers before they got in bed.

“Well, I suppose I have asked Him for some personal things in the past, why?”

“Would you tell me something that you’ve asked Him for so I can tell if maybe I went too far this time?”

“Well, I remember a few years ago I saw Momma crying one day and I asked her what was wrong. She told me that she had prayed for years for a son for our Papa, but it looked like God just had other plans for us. That night I prayed real hard that God would send Momma and Papa a son. That must have been too much to ask for because as you can see, we don’t have a brother. Now what did you ask for tonight?”

“I’m ashamed to tell you now, at least you asked for something for the family. I asked for something selfish tonight and I wish I could take it back now,” Bobbi looked at her older sister with big tears rolling down her face.

“What was it Bob, maybe it wasn’t as bad as you think,” Willa hugged her sister. No matter if she did like to tease her younger sister, she still loved her.

“Well, after we got home today, I thought about them three boys we saw in Bonners Store, I prayed to God that they would be staying close to Hays so we could see them again, I even throwed in that if they did stay, maybe they would to go to church,” Bobbi was bawling now, as she thought of how selfish her prayer had been.

“Bob, look at me,” Willa said.

Bobbi looked up and wiped her eyes on her gown sleeve, to see her sister crying big tears of her own now.

“I just now prayed the same thing when we said our prayers, I just hope we don’t mess up something good for Momma and Papa, that God may have been gonna do for them by being so selfish,” Willa and her sister both were bawling now as they hugged each other.

“Will, you think maybe that since we both prayed the same thing that God will answer our prayers or will He punish us double for being so selfish?”

“Momma told us both that God don’t punish those He loves, if He doesn’t answer prayers we ask for, it’s because He has something better for us,” Willa explained.

“Well, He didn’t send Momma an’ Papa a son, what could be better for them than that?” Bobbi asked through her tears.

“What do you think about us doubling up on the same prayer, you think it will maybe make a difference?” Bobbi asked with a little hope now.

“Well, look at it this way, the preacher is always asking us to all pray for the others in the church, and to pray for those that are sick to be made well again, so I would say that both of us praying the same thing at the same time stands a good chance, don’t you?”

Willa and Bobbi hugged again and crawled into their beds, Willa leaned over and blew the lamp out on the table between them.

“Night Will, I love you.”

Night Bob, I love you too.”

The next morning early, Cal walked out on the balcony fully dressed. His new britches whistling as he walked, and his new hat thrown back with the choke strap around his neck.

Tom was sitting on the rail looking down on the sleepy Kansas town as daylight came creeping across the plains once more.

“Tom, I didn’t sleep that good in that fancy bed with them two boys rolling and turning all night, how’d you do with Tag?”

“I reckon Tag was wore plum out, I never heard a thing outta him all night.”

“Tom you ever have any bad dreams when you were sleeping?”

“None that I remember being that bad, why?”

“Well, I was drifting in and out of sleep so much and I reckon I was restless some in that soft bed, but I kept thinking you ‘n me was fixing to have a show down with some really bad gun hands.”

“Well it could’ve been some of the things we been through in the past few days, just getting tangled up in your head while you was asleep.”

“Yeah, I reckon you’d be right, I sure don’t know anybody that’d be wantin’ to pick a fight with us, do you?”

“The only person I could think of would be Sam Wilson, that’d be wantin to see me gunned down, but last we saw of him, he had high tailed it outta Dodge City headed south into Indian Territory.”

“Yeah, I reckon you’re right, it’s just my mind getting all my thoughts mixed up cross ways in my sleep.”

“More’n likely, but we’ll keep an extra sharp eye out for anything that looks outta place, we don’t need to get blind sided by somebody trying to make a name for himself, you keep that scatter gun close by.”

The three Hanks brothers walked out on the balcony in their baggy underwear, rubbing the sleepy out of their eyes.

“You fellers ready to get some grub down in the dining room this morning?” Tom asked.

“Yes sir,” they all yelped, and ran back in the room to get their new duds on.

The boys were racing to get their stiff new waist overalls on and shirts tucked in at the waist, they pulled their socks up and folded the toe back under like Mrs. Bonner had shown them. They pulled their boots on and re-rolled the legs up at the bottom.

They were walking back and forth in front of the big mirror that was mounted low on the wall behind the dressin’ table, admirin’ their selves. The stiff new britches were making whistling noises, the legs rubbing together in the straddle of each boy, as they walked by and cut their eyes to the mirror to see what they looked like.

“Them’s about the whistlin’est britches I ever heard, I sure hope mine don’t sound like that when I walk,” Cal said as they were all about to head out the door.

“They do,” Tom told him.

Mr. Beeson heard the clomping of the boots and stood at the bottom of the stairs waiting for them.

“Good morning gentlemen, I trust you rested well in your beds last night.”

“We sure did,” the three Hanks brothers chimed.

“Follow me and we’ll get you seated and served this morning.”

The dining room was bustling early, with people staying at the hotel and with people walkin in off the street. There must have been twenty at one time, mostly men.

Everyone either looked up from their plate, or turned in their chair at the sound of the new boots on the wood floor.

The young Hanks brothers walked in first, followed by Cal then Tom, it took only an instant for all eyes to settle on the tall Injun that walked slow and easy behind the others, his eyes sweeping the room as he walked.

When they were all seated, Tag reached over and tugged on Tom’s shirt sleeve. Tom leaned down and Tag whispered something to him with a worried look on his face.

“You sure can, you just order anything you want to eat. It may be a long time before you get the chance to eat like this again so make the most of it.”

Tag grinned, he already knew what he wanted, he had looked at the plates of the men sitting at the table beside them. They each had three eggs with a plate of biscuits and gravy and fried sow belly piled up in another plate.

Missy Beeson came to the table with a big smile and greeted each of them by name this time. She had a pencil and paper in her hand and asked them what they wanted for breakfast. She started with Tag.

“Tag, what would you like for breakfast this morning?” she smiled.

“Missy girl I want three eggs, a plate of biscuits and gravy, some fried sow belly and a cup of that coffee,” Tag said proudly.

Missy laughed out loud when he called her ‘Missy girl’, then laughed even louder when he ordered such a big breakfast.

“How do you want your eggs cooked?” she asked.

“Well, like you always cook’em I reckon,” he answered.

“I mean, do you want them cooked hard, or kinda runny or what.”

Tag turned to look once more at the men sitting beside them.

“Just like theirs are cooked is how I want mine,” he said proudly.

Truth of the matter was, none of the boys had ever had eggs, all they’d ever had was a biscuit and fried sow belly.

Ray and Cole each ordered the same as Tag had ordered, and it sounded so good that Cal and Tom ordered the same thing cooked the same way.

When Missy turned to leave, she patted Cole on the shoulder.

Tag was watchin for some kind of show between the two.

“I reckon that Missy girl is just plum took with my brother now, Mr. Clyde’s gonna hafta find another hired hand looks like.”

“Tag, you better be careful with your teasin, one day you’re gonna meet some pretty little girl and she’ll have you doin double back flips every time she comes around,” Cal said.

“Not me an’ Ray, are we Ray? We ain’t fallin for none of that eye blinking stuff that Missy girl is doin to Cole.”

Tag looked at his brother Ray for backup, but Ray wasn’t gonna join him this time. He thought Missy looked pretty and he liked the way she made eyes at Cole. He was already hoping that one day a pretty girl would come along and smile at him too.

“Ray you ain’t thinkin about goin out and findin a girl too are ya?” Tag asked.

“See Tag, you’ll be right in the midst of all this sooner than you think, you’ll see,” Cal added.

“Nunh unh not me, no way,” Tag said with a scowl.

In no time it seemed, Missy and Mrs. Beeson were back with their plates of food and began placing each order in front of them.

They brought the coffee pot and put it on the table but Tom still asked for water, as the rest drank coffee.

When they were finished with their meal and Missy and Cole had their few words together, they all walked out of the dining room and headed for the front door.

Just as they reached the big double doors, Mr. Gale Fortenberry and another man walked in.

“Good morning Tom, Cal. We got some more parts of the rustling story we need to add if you’ve got a few minutes,” Gale Fortenberry said.

“We were just headed down to Sheriff Wade’s office to turn in our badges, you want to walk down with us?” Tom asked.

“Sure, he’ll need to know what we found out too, and you and Cal may want to wear those badges a day or two longer.”

They all walked down the boardwalk a ways then crossed the street to the Sheriff’s office. Sheriff Wade saw them coming across the street and stepped out the door to meet them.