Chapter 11 ~ One Foot in front of the other
After the boys left, Slim did what he always did –one foot in front of the other- he plodded through ranch chores. He checked fences, fixed tack, greased wagon wheels, wrote reports for The Overland Stage Company and day after day ate dull, boring meals. All the while, his mind chased "what if" questions. ' What if Jack Watson is not Jess?' he thought as he worked his way through his days. 'What if it is Jess and he doesn't want to come home? What if he doesn't care about us anymore?'
One morning, while shaving, he looked at his reflection in the mirror and thought with a sigh, 'Truth be told, I feel guilty. I should have just searched for him earlier. I done it in the past - whoa!' I stopped suddenly, whirled around the room, arms in the air. "In the past I had a general idea of where he went, " I said to the empty bedroom. "Tumavaca, Canada, Billings, and as far as the line cabin. This time I had no trail to follow; Daisy and Mike to look after, that stage line meeting in Cheyenne; not to mention I was still recovering from that infection I got from the barbed wire that bit my hand when I had tried to snap it- not paying attention 'cause I was bantering with Jess and of course the ranch and relay. By the time I realized how late he was coming home, the trail had gone cold, and yet...
Not long after, Slim woke to pounding rain. "No stage today," he thought. Sleep-deprived he rose, drank coffee, grabbed his slicker and gun belt and headed for the barn. After making sure there was enough feed and water for the horses, he looked out at the yard reminding himself that he needed to get inside soon. 'I'll be taking a mud bath' he heaved a heavy sigh. Then he saw Mort cantering into the yard.
"What brings you out this morning?" Slim asked Mort, as the retired sheriff dismounted and led his rain-soaked horse into the barn.
"Good morning to you too" he said. Mort tipped his hat and immediately a shower of water fell at his feet.
"Would you like some coffee?"
"That would be nice."
The rain was letting up now and it seemed to Slim that the sun was trying to make an appearance. "Follow me," Slim motioned to Mort. " Step carefully and we'll make it alright."
Once inside the house, Slim added more wood to the fire and Mort shrugged off his rain-soaked slicker.
"I brought you a telegram from town. Thought it might be important and wanted to get it to you right away." Mort handed the telegram to Slim.
"Thanks," Slim said as he put the telegram in his pocket.
"Aren't you going to open it?" Mort knew the telegram was from Andy and was anxious to discover the whereabouts of Jess also.
"Yeah, I guess," Slim said fiddling with his coffee cup. Finally, after an interminable awkward silence, Slim opened the telegram. Immediately, he saw one word above Andy's name "YES!"
Slim smiled joyfully. "They found Jess!"
