Chapter 21 – Gone, Baby, Gone

Three days later Pappy was sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee when Bret got out of bed and wandered in. "Hey, boy, mornin'. Your brother up yet?"

Bret laughed as he poured a cup of coffee. "Pappy, this is Bart we're talkin' about. Whatta you think?"

Beauregard shook his head. "Forget I asked. That's alright, I wanna talk to you, anyway."

"What did I do now?"

"It's not about what you did, it's about what you're gonna do."

"About what?"

"Well, probably the rest a your life, but the immediate future'd be a good place to start."

"You mean when school starts?"

"I mean when school would start if you were still goin'. Don't see any need for any more book learnin', do you?"

A big grin creased the young man's face. "No, Pappy, I don't. I was hopin' you'd be agreeable to that."

"So, where do ya go from here?"

"Well, I'd like to join you and Uncle Ben for poker at night."

"That's a good start, son, but you must wanna do more than that, don'tcha?"

Bret's head bobbed up and down. "Yes, sir, but not till Bart's old enough to go, too. Him an me and Beau wanna do what you and Uncle Ben did – go everywhere an play poker."

"And you're willin' to stay here until Bart's older?"

"Yeah, Pappy, I'm not leavin' without him."

"Good. Glad to hear that. Now, there's somethin' else – "

'What else could there be?' Bret wondered.

"What is Mary Alice gonna do?"

"I . . . . . " Bret started, then realized he couldn't give his father an answer. "I don't know. We haven't talked about it."

"Best find out. I went to the ranch and there's no sign of her Pa, so I don't know where he is. She's welcome here long as she wants to stay."

Just as Beau finished, Mary Alice came out into the kitchen. "Good morning, Papa Beau," she greeted him as she leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. "Good morning, Mr. Maverick," and she did the same to Bret. "Did I hear something about my father? And does anyone want some porridge? I can make it pretty quick."

Bart came running out of the bedroom, fully dressed. "No porridge! I'm goin' out to milk the cow and gather the eggs. I'll be right back!"

Bret and Mary Alice burst out laughing, and even Beauregard smiled. "That boy just does not like porridge," Bret remarked.

"Mary Alice, to answer your question, I went by your house a few days ago. There was no sign of your Pa or any of the livestock. Did he have a job lined up that you know about?"

"No, not that I know of."

"I'll check back in a couple days and see if he's turned up. Bret, pour me some more coffee, would ya, son? Mary Alice, you goin' back to school in September?"

She didn't seem surprised by the question. "I think so, but as an assistant for Miss Spencer. We've talked about me bein' a teacher and the best way to do that. She thinks I should come help her out. There's a whole bunch of little ones coming in this fall, and she can't teach them all by herself."

Bret reached over and took her hand. "You didn't say nothin' about this the other night."

"I know," she told him. "What you asked me got me to thinking. I want to give this a try."

"I think you'd be great at it," he replied. "I'm gonna start playin' poker regular with Pappy an Ben."

Beauregard sighed quite audibly. Bret looked up, startled. "What's wrong, Pappy?"

"Just thinkin'. My little boys ain't so little anymore."

'You don't now the half of it,' Bret thought. "No, Pa, we're growin' up. Can't be helped."

"Seems like just yesterday – "

Bart came running back in with some milk in a bucket and a basket full of eggs. "Milk! Eggs! No porridge, please! I'll even help!"

All four of them laughed. "Told ya how Bart felt about porridge," Bret reiterated, and Mary Alice got the skillet out.

XXXXXXXX

That night Bret and Beau rode into Little Bend with their fathers. Ben skipped poker to visit Corinne Waters, a lady he'd been seeing on and off for over a year. It was nothing serious, but she was a widow lady and had a long-standing fondness for Ben. It was nice to go to her house and share coffee and conversation with a lady of like mind, and Beauregard suspected that she and Ben shared more than just pleasantries with each other. Of course he had no room to ask any questions; after all, there was Jenny McClaine in Claytonville, and Beau never discussed her with Ben. The boys each found a game and Beauregard drank coffee at the bar with Ray Ames for a while.

"What'd you do about that thing between Cora Stampers and young Mr. Bart, anyway?" Ray asked.

"Do?" Beauregard replied. "I didn't do anything; why?"

"Because the Stampers sold their ranch, packed up and left last week. Gone. Vacated the valley."

"Who'd they sell to, that fast?"

"New family, Hayden. Pa named Jessie, with a boy older than Bret named Jessie. Gonna open a Dry Goods store I hear tell. Seems friendly enough. I thought mebbe you went an had a talk with ole man Stampers, scared the livin' daylights outta him."

"Now Ray, would I do that?" Beauregard smiled. Ray had seen that smile before. He remembered the night some drunk cowpoke accused Bart of cheating and backhanded the boy, who was only ten years old at the time. Beauregard was smiling as he pounded the drunk's head against the floor in retaliation. That smile could be deadly.

Finally Beauregard found himself a game and sat down to play some poker. Funny thing, Bret watched him all night; no matter how the cards fell, the smile never left his father's face. Ben appeared about two o'clock in the morning and all four Mavericks agreed that home sounded like a good idea. The group split at the fork and Beauregard rode a way with his oldest son before he brought up the subject of the Stampers.

"Ray says they sold out real quick and left the valley."

"Pa – "

"Nope, not a word. I said nothin' to them at all. But I'm glad they're gone."

'You an me both,' thought Bret. Out loud he asked, "Who'd they sell to?"

"Family named Haden. Ray says they're gonna open a Dry Goods store."

"Was that the reason for the smile? The Stampers leavin', I mean?"

Beauregard laughed softly. "I will admit, I was glad to hear it."

"Whatta you gonna tell Bart?"

"Nothin' to tell him, except they're gone."

For once, Bret sighed in relief.