FAITH
FAITH (after an idea by Nesciri)
Rachel moved around the bunkhouse straightening
things up. She quickly sorted through jackets, boots, hats, gloves and even
socks placing them by the bunks of the rightful owners. While, her job was to
keep the waystation running she never completely cleaned for them, just moved
things around so there would be room to walk and a place to sit. She loved these
children dearly but she was glad she had her own house and didn't have to live
among so much clutter. She shook her head when she saw a dime novel of questionable
content half-hidden under Cody's bunk. She knew Cody liked to read aloud and
she wondered what kind of reading was going on after she left for the night.
She took a quick look at Buck who was still sleeping.
His fever had come down a little and he was resting comfortably. Red Bear had
also fallen asleep on the bunk next to Buck's and she smiled at the two brothers.
They looked so much alike sleeping that she wondered what their mother would
think if she were alive to see them as adults. She would certainly be proud
if she could see the love that the two obviously shared despite their differences.
She felt a pang of longing for her own lost child and turned toward the stove.
Kid had risen early and rode into town to see if anyone had seen Lou or Jimmy
on the trail to the Fort. If not, he was planning to ride out as soon as possible.
Cody was going with him and she needed to have breakfast ready for them. She
opened the side cabinet and pulled down the bowl where she kept the eggs. Rachel
looked at the ten eggs in the bowl and knew it wouldn't be enough.
Rachel stepped out onto the porch. "Cody, Ike,
I need some more eggs for breakfast," she called into the wind. Cody looked
up from where he was working and waved a hand in reply.
Rachel didn't turn right away to back inside but stood a moment watching Ike as he chopped some more kindling for the stove. It would be an almost continual chore now that fall was definitely here. She was glad that Ike had managed to get some sleep the night before. He hadn't slept properly in days because of Buck. She didn't like to think about what would happen to one of those boys if the other should ever die. She thought Ike was handling the strain well, but he usually kept quiet when things were bothering him. Now she could see the grim worry in Ike's eyes and the strain on his face. Without Buck to talk to, he seemed lost and kept his hands always folded in his lap or crossed under his arms. She suddenly realized how much she missed Ike's easy manner and friendly bantering with the others. She closed her eyes and said a little prayer that he would feel better soon now that Buck seemed to be doing better.
Cody trotted over to the chicken coop and quickly
gathered half a dozen eggs. Cradling them in his hands, he carefully brought
them to the bunkhouse. He was just about to hand them to Rachel when she turned
abruptly toward the door when she heard the sound of soft moaning. "Cody,
can you get those going for me? Buck's waking up."
"Sure." Cody thought everyone would be
surprised to see him actually cooking. He mostly kept it a secret that he knew
how, but he had been on his own for a couple of years before joining the Express.
It was either cook or starve so Cody had picked cooking. If the secret got out,
everyone would expect him to do the cooking when Rachel was unavailable and
that included when they were camping out. Between that and Jimmy's lumpy oatmeal,
he would take the oatmeal any time.
Cody cracked half a dozen eggs and started them frying in the skillet. He stood and watched them bubble on the stove. He poked them a little with a fork and turned them over once. They were quickly done and no one else was ready to eat. Rachel was busy with Buck who wouldn't eat eggs anyway. Cody scraped them onto a plate and took a quick mouthful. Maybe he should wait for Ike and Rachel but he figured he needed to eat. After all, they were planning to ride after Lou and Jimmy today. He wished there were some biscuits to go with it but he wasn't desperate enough to bake quite yet. He poured himself a mug of coffee instead. He stood a little bit at the window sipping the steaming liquid and watched Ike still cutting wood. He needed to get back out and help. He quickly gobbled the rest of the eggs. When he was done, he left his plate on the counter and walked outside.
