Better than Bested

Chapter 1

Better than Bested (The Hayburner Part 2)

Adam arrived at the breakfast table unusually late. He was still upset about losing his new rifle, and the last thing he wanted was to endure the inevitable jokes about losing the race.

Hoss already had his plate loaded with eggs and hash, Pa was reading over some paperwork while sipping his coffee. Adam slipped into his seat as quietly as possible.

"Morning, Adam," Pa said.

"Morning, Pa." Adam served himself some scrambled eggs.

"I was figurin' on riding out to the North Pasture," Hoss said, "Hutchins said it looked to him like the ground was too wet to keep the stock there much longer."

"Wasn't that Joe's job?" Adam asked, aggravated that his littlest brother wasn't sharing equally in the ranch work.

"Yes, well, I gave him a few days off, so he could enjoy his winnings," Ben said simply, never looking up from his papers.

Adam tapped the hash spoon heavily against his plate and the last morsels fell from it. Ben lowered his paper and gave the man a warning look. Adam continued, using the silver in a much more gentle manner.

"You wanna ride up there with me, Adam?" Hoss asked.

Adam almost laughed. Hoss had already forgotten that just yesterday, Adam would have killed him if Pa hadn't stopped him. "I think I'll pass," he said, biting back a much less polite response.

"Good," Pa said, finally looking up from his paperwork. "You can look this over

for me. I'm thinking of buying some horses, and I thought I'd better get your opinion before I proceed."

At the unexpected jibe, Hoss laughed out loud and smacked his palm against the

table, causing scrambled eggs to hop out of the serving bowl as if alive. Ben waited for his oldest to respond, eyes sparkling with humor.

Adam's cheeks turned rosy and he turned his head slightly. "All right," he said, "let's just all get this out of our systems right now, shall we?" He turned to Hoss, who was even more amused by Adam's reaction to the joke. "How's that elbow today, brother?" Adam asked, referring to the elbow Hoss had smacked against the edge of the water trough when he'd thrown him in it yesterday.

Hoss' laughter quieted a bit.

"Adam, I'm serious. I really would like your opinion," Ben continued, eyes still dancing. "What do you think I should put down as security?"

Hoss laughed again, and Adam forced a smile. "How about Little Joe?" he replied sarcastically.

Ben and Hoss laughed. "I think your brother's had enough of horses for a while, after all that breakin' he did," Ben said.

"Just as well. Nobody in their right mind should take him anyway, the way he gets out of working around here," Adam grumbled. Hoss laughed again.

"Adam, I've got an idea," Hoss said. "A way you can get that perty rifle back."

Adam glared at his brother.

"What if you bet Joe that you can do more work around here than he does? And make him put the rifle down as security? It would be a sure thing!"

"That's the truth if I ever heard it. I'm going to the barn. I've got chores to do," he grumbled and stood.

"You're not gonna do it?" Hoss asked in astonishment.

Turning, Adam offered his brother a haughty smile. "If there's one thing I've learned from all this, it's not to get mixed up in any of your hair-brained schemes! If you hadn't gotten into that poker game, none of this would have happened!"

"That's enough, Adam. Let's not have a repeat of last night," Ben chided.

Wordlessly, Adam went to the door, jammed on his hat and walked out. Hoss stood.

"Where you goin'?" Ben asked.

"If I'm ridin' out to the North Pasture, I reckon I need to get my horse," Hoss said, shrugging.

"Hoss," came Ben's commanding voice. The younger man stopped. "You better lay off him a while. It doesn't look as if he's taking this too well."

"Sure Pa," Hoss lied, and continued on his way out to the barn.

Adam felt the tension in his shoulders when he heard Hoss behind him in the stables. "Come to get in a few more digs?" Adam snarled.

For a brief moment, Hoss had second thoughts. The moment passed. "Simmer down, Adam! I'm serious about Little Joe! You and me both know he gets out of half his chores around here and he never does any of 'em very well. You'd win that bet hands-down!"

Adam scooped some grain out for his horse. "You and I," he paused to emphasize his correct grammar, "both know that you're just trying to rope me in again. Forget it, Hoss. I lost enough yesterday to last me a year."

"All right, all right," Hoss said, and opened the stall and led Chubb out, preparing to saddle him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Adam relax slightly. He saddled his horse silently, knowing that every minute that passed made Adam drop his guard. He led Chubb to the door, put his hands on the saddlehorn and one foot in the stirrup and said, "I wonder if we could buy that Thoroughbred back?!"

The grain scoop sailed out the door, just missing Hoss' head as he rode away laughing.