Chapter 38
The week in Cheyenne seemed to pass all too quickly. For both Jess and Millie, now that the trial was over, just being in each other's company was all that either of them needed to complete the healing process. Millie's presence always made Jess feel more at ease. It had been that way even when they were children but that week the time they spent together in Cheyenne found Jess more at peace with himself than he could remember.
Millie's room was at the other end of the large guesthouse from her Aunt Betty's room. This was fortuitous in Peggy's reckoning and she gave Jess the room next to Millie. This was something that Aunt Betty found hard to understand but when Peggy told her that Jess was a very restless sleeper and subject to nightmares, Betty was content to accept this. Peggy told Jess that as Betty was probably the most likely person to tidy his room for him, he'd better make sure his sheets were at least a little mussed up as she'd told Betty he was a restless sleeper. Jess had the grace to colour up a little but Peggy just grinned and told him to call her Ma.
The first thing Jess arranged when they got there was a visit to the photographer. By Wednesday afternoon, they'd had their photographs taken individually and together and when the photographs had been developed from the glass plate negative, they agreed the results were far superior to that taken by the itinerant photographer in the saloon in Laramie. Despite that, Millie still missed that photograph. She'd always loved it and Jess gave her the copy he kept in his wallet.
Millie announced on Thursday morning that she wanted to go out shopping to replace the petticoat that had been ruined in the cave and asked Jess if he would accompany her. Jess looked horror struck. "Heck Mil. I ain't gettin' dragged into no women's lingerie shop."
This was exactly the reaction that Millie had hoped for as she was planning on making a visit to the dressmaker. "I didn't think you'd want to come with me Jess. Why don't you go and see Doug and have a chat with him? I expect I'll be a couple of hours."
Jess agreed whole-heartedly but when Millie had gone out he revealed to Peggy his intention to buy Millie a new locket. Peggy offered to go with him and help him choose while Millie was out shopping for the petticoat. She did not reveal that Millie was visiting the dressmaker in the main street for a fitting of the replacement red dress.
The size of the locket had to be carefully judged. Jess had asked the photographer to make three large copies of the photograph for framing and had arranged to pick up a small copy the next day to take with him when he went out to buy a locket for Millie. None of the lockets that Peggy and Jess picked out were large enough to take the photograph but the jeweller agreed to have one made to the correct dimensions. This, he said would take a few weeks and Peggy promised to have it sent on to Jess at the relay station via Mose.
Millie was delighted to discover that the dressmaker had indeed kept a copy of the pattern for the dress. The material she'd chosen was very nearly the same shade and texture as the original material and Millie could hardly tell the difference. The lace was different but Millie liked the look of it. The fit was perfect as Millie's figure had not changed since the original dress had been made. Jess and Millie were leaving Cheyenne on Monday morning as they wanted to have a little time with Daisy and Slim at the ranch before Millie went back to work in the saloon on Wednesday evening. The dressmaker promised to have the dress finished and sent over to the guesthouse in time for them to catch the morning stage to Laramie. Millie thanked her and went off to buy a new petticoat.
Peggy loved having the two of them staying with her and was relieved to see that there appeared to be no long-lasting effects from their ordeal, apart from the continuing weakness in Jess's shoulder. Peggy was thrilled with the framed photographic portrait they presented to her. She was sad at the thought of them leaving but promised to visit in Laramie before too long and on the Monday morning she waved farewell to them as the stage pulled away toward Laramie.
As Millie removed her hat, Jess looked across at the large pink candy-striped box on the seat opposite. "So what's in the box Millie? You got a new dress?"
"Oh, it's just a replacement for that petticoat I tore up when you got hurt Jess. It was my best silk one. It was red, to go with my red dress." Millie wasn't lying, she'd bought a new petticoat to go with the new red dress. She just didn't mention the dress.
Jess eyed the box. "It's kinda large for a petticoat ain't it?"
"Oh, there's something else in there too… I had to order it, that's why it was delivered at the last minute" Millie hoped he wouldn't ask what it was.
"I'm sure gonna miss that dress Millie. It was my favourite. You know you always look beautiful to me…" They were alone on the stage that morning and Jess leaned over and gave her a long kiss. "But you looked real special in that red dress. Couldn't you try and get another one made?"
"I don't know Jess. I'd have to get that red material matched up, as well as the lace and I don't have that any more. The dress got torn too and isn't really worth fixin' so I guess I'll have to throw it away."
Sighing, Jess put his arm around Millie, nestling his cheek against her soft hair as she leaned her head on his shoulder. They stayed cuddled up against each other until the stage pulled in at the relay station.
Jess had sent word to Slim via Mose that they would be returning on the Monday morning stage and Mike had been excitedly awaiting their arrival, school having broken up for the summer at the end of the previous week. Daisy grabbed hold of him before he could dash from the porch.
"The stage hasn't even stopped yet Mike. Please wait here until it has. And please give Jess and Millie a chance to get down before you go charging over to them."
"Aw Aunt Daisy. I ain't seen Jess for a whole week." Mike squirmed in her grasp.
"Haven't Mike, not ain't." Daisy remonstrated.
"Sorry Aunt Daisy" Mike said as she released him from her grip.
The stage came to a halt and Jess jumped out first, handing Millie carefully down. Ben was taking care of changing the team with one of the Jackson boys while Mose unloaded their travelling bags and a large, strangely shaped flat package covered in brown paper. Instead of throwing them down to Jess, he pointedly handed them down to Will Jackson, who carried them over to the porch, along with the candy-striped box that Millie asked him to pick up from the seat of the stage. Jess and Millie were on their way over to greet Daisy when Mike hurtled toward them cannoning into Jess. Jess caught him around the waist with one arm and swinging him up and tucking him under his left arm he carried him over to the porch, wriggling and kicking.
"Mike!" Daisy exclaimed. "Please be careful of Jess's shoulder."
Mike stopped wriggling as Jess lowered him onto the porch. "There you go Tiger."
"Gee, I'm sorry Jess. I forgot. I didn't hurt ya, did I?" Mike had such an earnest expression on his face that Millie couldn't help laughing.
"Nah, Tiger, I'm mendin' just fine. Have you been lookin' after Trav for me?"
"Oh sure Jess. I give him an extra fussin' every afternoon when I come home from school but I ain't… er… I haven't any school now until Fall so I can brush him every mornin' for you. He has his sugar lump every night and I give one to Alamo too and I talk to all the other horses just like you do, so's they don't miss ya too much."
"Sounds like you've done a real good job Tiger. I'm proud of ya" Jess said ruffling the young boy's hair.
Mike turned to Millie. "Guess what! You can have my room again. I'm stayin' in the bunkhouse for a coupla nights with Will and Jim. We have some real fun in there."
"Thank you Mike, that's very kind of you" Millie said. "I bet Will and Jim just love havin' you stay over with them."
"That's enough now Mike." Daisy had stood back while the excited boy greeted Jess and Millie. "Let them come in and sit down." She led the way into the cabin and Mike picked up one of the heavy bags and lugged it through the door into the living room.
"Hey Tiger" Jess said. "That's way too heavy for you. Leave the bags; I'll bring 'em in later."
Mike put the bag down and went back for the other. "I can manage it Jess. Will says I'm real strong."
Millie laughed and took the bag from him. "Of course you are Mike. But that one's mine and I need something from it so I'll take it." She handed Mike the dress box. "Could you carry that into the bedroom for me?"
As Mike took the box from Millie, Mose came in looking for coffee and Daisy hurried into the kitchen to bring the coffee pot and a plate of apple pie. She placed it on the table and Mose sat down to enjoy his treat.
Millie opened her bag and searched under a few things before finding a small rectangular package wrapped in pink flowery paper and tied with silver tinselled string. A delightful fragrance wafted up from the package.
"This is for you Daisy. Ma showed us this shop that sells lots of things made in Paris. I hope you like it."
Inhaling deeply, Daisy expressed her delight as she untied the silver string carefully and unwrapped the package, careful not to tear the pretty paper. A delicate lace handkerchief was wrapped around a bar of deliciously perfumed soap. "Oh, my! What a lovely handkerchief. And I can't wait to use this soap in the bath. Peggy showed me the soap she brought from Cheyenne for you and I was quite jealous. What a lovely thought! Thank you so much, both of you."
Jess gave Daisy a hug. "Thanks for all you do for us Daisy. That's hardly enough to say how much we appreciate it."
Daisy patted his cheek gently. "Oh, now… You don't have to thank me. It's wonderful just having you both here again."
"Where's Slim, Daisy? Jess asked.
"Slim is over at the north pasture with Jim Jackson. There was a section of fence that needed some repair. He should be back in time for dinner. He said to tell you he didn't intend to be out for long. Sit down you two and have some coffee. It's a long journey from Cheyenne." Daisy picked up the wrapping paper and string, smoothing it out carefully and tucked it away in one of the drawers for future use. "Did you get any soap for Slim?" she asked chuckling.
"As it happens, Daisy we did but it don't smell like yours." Jess checked in his own bag and pulled out a package. "Here it is. Smells just like pine sap and somethin' else. I think the shopkeeper said it was Cedar and Sandalwood. It's real nice and I think Lucy'll appreciate it too. We brought somethin' back for Mort and Tom and the girls too. Even old Doc." He pulled out another package. "This is for you Mose."
Mose looked up startled. "Fer me? You two got me a present?"
"Sure we did Mose. We couldn't leave you out. Don't worry, it ain't smelly soap."
Giving the little package an exploratory poke, Mose wrinkled his nose and blinked furiously. "It don't feel like soap. Too soft fer that. I'm kinda relieved though. Folks'd start talkin' about me if I went about smellin' of that Frenchie perfume." He undid the little parcel and his eyes lit up as he unfolded a red paisley-patterned silk bandana. "I don't know what to say…'cept… thanks. This is real nice of ya Jess, Millie. It's my favourite colour… and silk too."
"No need to say anythin' Mose. Why don't ya put it on? That's from France too…" Jess grinned at the old stage driver's pleasure.
Shaking his head, Mose carefully folded up the bandana and wrapped the paper around it again. "Heck no Jess. This is the nicest bandana I ever had. This one's gonna be fer Sunday best and Christmas only. I ain't wearin' it over no dusty old trail. Thanks again." He tucked the package into his vest pocket and patted it.
"Well this cabin is going to smell like a French perfume shop, with everyone bathing with this wonderful soap." Daisy went out to the kitchen. "I'm going to get dinner ready."
Jess grinned at Millie. He secretly thought the cabin might smell like a French pleasure house but he kept that to himself. He liked the smell of the soap on Millie and he'd even bought himself a bar of the soap he'd got for Slim.
Mike had been watching the gift-giving with an anxious frown. "Didn't ya bring somethin' back for me Jess?"
"Hey, I'm real sorry Tiger. You was so quiet over there I kinda forgot about you for a minute. 'Course we got ya a present."
"I don't have to bath with that smelly soap, do I?" Mike wrinkled his nose in distaste.
"No, Mike you don't but you mustn't say anythin' to Slim about the soap when he comes in. It'll spoil the surprise." Millie said. "We've got a special present for you. Mose, did you see a large flat package done up in brown paper?"
"That funny shaped one?" Millie nodded. "I sure did Miss Millie, it's on the porch." Mose said. He finished up his coffee. "I oughta to be goin' now but I'd sure like to see what Mike's present is."
Mike rushed out onto the porch and brought in the package. "Is this it?"
"Sure is Tiger. Go ahead and open it." Mike was struggling with the string so Jess cut through it for him with his pocket knife. "Mose wants to see what you got before he takes the stage out."
Tearing at the paper excitedly, Mike gasped with surprise as he uncovered a brightly coloured kite with a long tail. "Gee thanks, Jess! Thanks, Millie! I've always wanted one like this. Can I fly it behind the buckboard when we go into town Aunt Daisy?"
Daisy had come from the kitchen to watch as Mike opened his present. Ruffling the boy's hair, she laughed. "Of course you can Mike. But I'm not sure when I'll be going into town again."
Mose admired the kite. "I sure wish I'd had a kite like that when I was a young'un. Come to think of it, I could fly one off the back of the stage if I'd a mind. You're a real lucky boy Mike." He tipped his hat to Millie and Daisy. "Thanks for the coffee and pie Miss Daisy but I have to go or I'll be runnin' late. Still, I got an empty stage now and it'll be a lot lighter without all them packages, I can gee 'em along a bit now. Good to have you back Jess, Millie."
After waving Mose off, Jess gathered up the torn and scattered paper. "I'll be drivin' Millie into town on Wednesday mornin' Tiger. How about you come with us and you can fly your kite then but you'll have to be up real early."
"Aw Jess, do I have to wait 'til then? Wednesday's ages away…"
"Come with me Tiger." Jess marched over to the door of the cabin and opening it he stepped on to the porch, Mike following. "There ain't a breath of wind out. Ain't no way you can fly that kite today. If a bit of wind gets up, later today, or maybe tomorrow, Millie and me'll walk up to the ridge with ya. That's the best place to fly that kite from. Otherwise, I reckon you'll have to be patient and hope there's enough wind on Wednesday mornin'. Why don't you come over to the barn with me while I go see Trav?"
Mike looked a little disappointed but realised there was nothing he could do about it and he trotted happily off to the barn with Jess.
When Slim came back with Will Jackson, Millie and Jess had unpacked their things. Jess was sitting on the porch and Millie was chatting about the trip to Cheyenne while she helped Daisy in the kitchen.
Slim brushed the dust off his clothes. "Good to have you back Jess. Is Millie inside?"
"Yeah, Slim. She's helpin' Daisy. I reckon dinner'll be ready in just a few minutes." Jess stood up and accompanied Slim into the cabin.
The two women looked up as they entered. Millie was setting the table ready for dinner. "You're just in time. Why don't you go and fetch Ben and the Jackson boys Jess?"
"Gettin' real bossy ain't she Slim? I reckon she's learnin' bad habits from Daisy." Jess ducked a swipe round the head from Daisy. "OK! I'm goin', I'm goin'…"
Slim greeted Millie with a hug. "I hope you enjoyed your trip to Cheyenne Millie. I'm just gonna wash off some of this dust. I'll be back in a few minutes."
When they were all seated around the table, Daisy brought out a dish of fried chicken and dumplings. "I thought we'd have a treat to welcome Jess and Millie home."
"Those chickens been gettin' in Mose's way again, Daisy?" Jess asked.
"No Jess, I am afraid they got sacrificed to satisfy your appetite for chicken and dumplings" Daisy told him.
"That ole rooster had better get busy. We're gonna be runnin' out of chickens at this rate" Slim said. "What with Mose runnin' 'em down and you eatin' 'em."
"Stop complainin' or you won't get your present." At Slim's surprised look, Jess got up from the table and disappeared into the bedroom. He came back after a minute or two and brought out four small packages. He handed them around the table and sat back down to enjoy his meal.
"What's this for Jess?" Slim said as he sniffed at the package with an appreciative smile.
"Does it have to be for anythin'?" Jess asked. "Millie and I just wanted to say thanks to y'all for what you done for us. And for all the help we've had from Ben and the boys here. Come on, open it up why don't ya?"
Slim tore away the paper wrapped around his parcel. A large white handkerchief was wrapped around the bar of soap. "Thanks you two. This soap is just what I need before the dance on Saturday night." He held up the handkerchief. "And this'll come in handy next time I have to mend a broken axle."
Ben had unwrapped a pouch of his favourite tobacco and Will and Jim were admiring the silk bandanas, all three men expressing their thanks.
Mike had found it hard to keep quiet about the presents but now they'd been opened he couldn't suppress it any longer.
"I got a present too! Can I show 'em Aunt Daisy?" Mike was half out of his chair.
"You can show them after dinner Mike. Sit down and eat first."
"Aw Aunt Daisy!" Mike sat down reluctantly.
"Can't you just tell us what you got Mike? Then we can all see it after dinner" Slim said. "Did you get some soap too?"
"Heck no Slim. I gotta kite. It's red and yellow and blue and green and it's got a real long tail. There isn't any wind so we couldn't fly it yet but Jess says we can fly it behind the buckboard on Wednesday when he takes Millie into town. Do you think…" Mike couldn't get the words out fast enough.
"Whoa there, Tiger" Jess laughed. "You'll get indigestion if ya don't slow down a bit. Give us time to eat and we'll talk about it after dinner."
"OK Jess." Mike tried to curb his impatience. "But d'ya think there might be enough wind to fly it later?"
"I reckon it might blow up some, Mike" Will said. "Come evenin' there could be quite a strong wind. How about Jim and me walk up to the ridge with you. We might be able to fly it a little before the sun goes down. What d'ya reckon Jim?"
Jim looked across at his brother and then at Mike. "I reckon Will could be right Mike. There was a bit of a breeze as we came in to dinner. 'Course, we ain't experts and you'll have to show us how it's done."
"Gee! Thanks, Will, thanks, Jim! That'd be great!" Mike ate as fast as he could so he could bring out his kite to show them all.
"Maybe we'll all go up on the ridge before supper. We can watch the first flight and Mike can show us how well he can fly it." Millie said.
Daisy asked Millie a question about the trip to Cheyenne and the rest of dinner was taken up with talk of the shops in Cheyenne and of how they'd spent their time.
The conversation reminded Millie about something. "Oh! Jess, we forgot somethin' didn't we?" Millie mimed a square shape but seeing Jess's puzzled expression, she prompted him. "You know, honey… the picture?"
Jess's face lit up as he realised what she meant. He got up from the table again. "Sure Millie. I'll get it." He went back into the bedroom and came out with a flat, rectangular parcel and handed it to Daisy. "This is for you and Slim. Well, Mike too… all of us really…"
Daisy opened the parcel and uncovered the framed photograph they'd had taken in Cheyenne. "Oh! What a lovely picture of you both. I'm so glad you had another taken. Look Slim." She turned the frame to show him the photograph and Slim smiled in appreciation.
"That's a real nice picture. We'll hang it on the wall. Maybe I'll take Lucy to Cheyenne and get our picture taken too. Hey, how about we all go in and get some family pictures taken."
Daisy, clapped her hands delightedly. "Oh Slim! What a lovely idea. We don't have any pictures of Mike. To have a picture of us all together would be wonderful. Could we manage a trip to Cheyenne? All of us? Wouldn't that be difficult?"
"I don't want my picture taken…" Mike complained. "I ain't… aren't standin' around for no photo… photogr… for no picture."
"It isn't that bad Tiger. Heck, if I can do it, you sure can" Jess said. "Wouldn't you like to have a picture of us all on the wall in here? You could stick a sprig of mistletoe over the frame at Christmas. That'd look real good, wouldn't it? Do it for me and Slim and Daisy, huh?"
"Aw… I guess…." Mike wasn't too enthusiastic but he capitulated. "If we go to Cheyenne, can we go in the shop where you got my kite?"
Slim looked across at Mike with an amused grin. "We can Mike but it don't mean you get another present. Not until Christmas, anyway." He turned to Daisy. "I could manage it while the boys are still here. How about it you two? Can you manage another week?"
The boys exchanged a meaningful glance. "Be glad to Slim" Jim said. "Me and Will have learned a lot while we've been here. It's gonna stand us in good stead when Pa let's us take over some of the runnin' of our ranch. We got a lot of ideas to pass on to Pa too. We were hopin' to get a little trainin' up in mustang breakin' while we were here but I don't reckon Jess is up to it yet."
"I don't have to get up on a horse to show you how to handle 'em." Jess looked across at them and grinned. "The ropin' and ridin' part ain't hard. You just need to know how to handle a rope and you can do that already. Learnin' how to hang on while the horse is tryin' his best to throw ya or brush ya up against the fence is trial and error. You gotta learn how to feel the horse under ya and guess what he's gonna do next. The real hard part is how to get the horse to trust ya. You gotta do that before you can do anythin' else. It's a slow and gentle process and I won't break a horse any other way. I don't hold with breakin' his spirit. You don't want a horse as'll do what you want out of fear. It's gotta be a partnership. Took me a long time to get Trav to trust me. He wasn't havin' none of any of the hands who tried to break him and they was gonna shoot him. But I took my time and just let him know that nothin' I did was gonna hurt him. Trav's gotten used to me over the years. He can guess what I want and he'll do it because he trusts me. I can show you that easy enough. It takes time and patience is all."
"Aunt Daisy. Can I get my kite now?" Mike asked.
Daisy stood up to clear the table. "Help me clear the dishes and then you can get it."
Millie began to stack the dishes. "I'll help you Daisy. Let Mike get his kite. He's been real patient."
"Oh go along with you Mike. And mind you thank Millie. She's a guest you know and she shouldn't have to clear the dishes. That's one of your jobs."
Mike thanked Millie and rushed off to get his kite. After much admiration of the brightly coloured toy, Slim suggested Jim and Will took Mike off to see if there was enough of a breeze to fly it.
"I reckon me and Ben can change the team on the afternoon stage and the rest of it can wait until tomorrow. But if there ain't enough of a breeze, you two had better finish off what me and Jim started this mornin'."
The much-needed breeze failed to materialise and Mike had to wait until Wednesday to fly his kite. The morning was bright and sunny but it was quite windy and Mike climbed into the buckboard with enthusiasm. Slim and Daisy waved them off and Mike managed to get the kite aloft and keep it in the air most of the way to Laramie.
When they arrived, Millie offered to look after Mike.
"I don't have to work until this evening and you have to go and see Doc for that check-up. Did you bring the presents?"
Jess assured Millie he had and went off to see if Doc had time to check him over. Doc's surgery was quiet that morning. He gave Jess a thorough check up and then gave him the all clear to do light work around the ranch. "You can ride Trav but no horse breaking. And be careful how you saddle up. If you feel any excessive strain on that shoulder, you'll have to get someone else to do it for you. No chopping wood yet either but keep up with the exercises and just tackle anything you do with a little care. You need to use that arm and shoulder, but try not to overuse it. I'm not too sure you should be driving the buckboard all the way to town and back so just make sure you rest that arm when you get back."
Doc was very touched by the gift of the soft Irish linen handkerchiefs that Jess and Millie had brought him from the merchant in Cheyenne and promised Jess he wouldn't use them to staunch any bleeding.
After visiting Mort and the saloon and handing over the rest of the presents, Jess took his leave of Millie and drove back to the ranch with Mike trailing his kite along in the stiff breeze.
Slim and Jess arranged the two-day trip to Cheyenne and it was accomplished with few problems. They all stayed at the boarding house run by Peggy and her sister Betty. Daisy was delighted with the resultant photographs. They all had their photographs taken individually and even Mike had been persuaded to sit for a separate photograph as well as one of them all together. They had the group photograph hand-coloured but they had to arrange for that to be sent on to them as it was a lengthy and painstaking process. The photographs were all portrait size and were set in frames matching the one that Jess and Millie had chosen for their own portrait. Mike visited the fancy emporium where his kite had been purchased and Jess had a hard job dragging him away. Mike expressed a wish that they had a store like it in Laramie but Slim later remarked that he hoped it would be a long time before they did. Jess bought a set of dominoes and saved it as a surprise for Mike when they got home. The game had become popular years before and the domino set joined the checkers board as a favourite pastime to while away a cold, dark Winter's evening.
Life at the ranch returned to normal over the next few weeks and although Jess still had to be careful how he used his right shoulder he had almost regained the strength he'd had prior to the injury. Ben stayed on to help them out for a while but the Jackson boys returned to their own ranch eager to pass on to their father what they'd learned from Slim and Jess and to try out some of the horse gentling techniques Jess had taught them.