Growing pt.9

Junior walked in and walked over to Kate and hugged her.

"Will daddy be ok?" Junior wondered.

"Yes. He just needs rest." Kate answered.

"What's wrong?"

"His injuries somehow got infected meaning that there's bad stuff growing in the wounds and it's making him very sick."

"I don't like it."

"I don't either, cowboy."

Kate pulled Junior onto her lap and hugged him close. They watched Adam rest and they prayed for him.

A couple of hours later, Jane walked in and saw the two still watching Adam.

"Junior, you shouldn't be in here. Come on, supper's ready." Jane said.

"I'm not hungry," Junior mumbled.

"Junior, come on. You can see your father after supper."

"No!"

Kate shushed Junior and rubbed his back.

"Try and eat a little bit of your supper. Your father will be fine." Kate stated.

"I don't want to leave daddy," Junior answered.

"It'll only be for a little while. Besides, I think the doctor will be here soon to give daddy some medicine."

"Mommy, please."

"Do as she says, Junior." Adam croaked. Everyone looked at Adam who was awake. Junior shook his head and Adam sighed and rested his hand on Junior's thigh. "Go get something to eat. The last thing we need is you getting sick."

"Yes, sir," Junior mumbled.

"Come here."

Junior gave Adam a hug and Adam hugged him back.

"I'll be ok, cowboy. Now, go get some supper." Adam whispered. Junior nodded and did as he was told. He tried to eat his supper, but he could only worry about his father. Brian sat next to Junior cooing and eyeing Junior's plate. He reached over and grabbed the spinach off of Junior's plate and put it on his own. Junior sighed and pushed his plate away.

"Junior, you have to eat something," James said.

"I can't. I'm worried about daddy." Junior sighed.

"I know you are, Junior, but worrying won't help. Your father will start worrying about you unless you eat. And worry doesn't help a person recover."

"I know."

"Then eat a little more of that fish."

Junior sighed and did as he was told. When he was done, he helped clean up and he walked into his parents' bedroom and saw Adam sleeping. Dr. Wolf was examining him and he sighed.

"He's very lucky." Dr. Wolf said. "The infection isn't severe. He should start feeling better in a few days, but I want him to take a full course of this antibiotic."

"Yes, doctor," Kate answered.

"DOn't let him work too hard."

"I won't."

Dr. Wolf left and Kate reached her arms out to Junior. Junior ran up to her and allowed Kate to pick him up. They sat together and watched Adam rest.

A few hours later, Kate looked down and saw that Junior was sound asleep. She smiled and ran her fingers through Junior's soft dark blonde hair.

"I love you, Junior," Kate whispered. Kate carried Junior upstairs and changed him into cleaner and more comfortable clothes. Junior started fussing and Kate hushed him. Junior wrapped his arms tightly around Kate and wouldn't let go even when he fell fast asleep. Kate tried to put Junior in bed, but his grip was too tight. Kate sighed and carried Junior back downstairs.

"Here, let me get him to bed," Jane whispered.

"No, it's fine. Besides, I think if you try to pry his hands open, he'll just wake up and start crying."

"Ok. I just finished giving Brian a bath. James is drying him off."

"Thank you. Bring Brian in when you're done."

"Ok."

Kate took Junior into the bedroom and sat down in the rocking chair. Kate could hear Brian giggling and laughing and she smiled. Kate hugged Junior close and kissed his neck. James brought Brian in and set him down on Kate's lap.

"Thank you, James," Kate whispered.

"Your welcome," James answered. He left the room and Kate felt Brian tug at her shirt. She looked down at Brian who had a big smile on his face.

"Time to go to sleep, Brian."

Kate pulled Brian so that he laid against Kate's stomach. Kate rocked her boys back and forth and she started singing to the two. Brian cooed and joined in and Kate could feel him growing more and more sleepy. Soon, Brian was asleep and Kate relaxed. She looked at Adam and saw that he was watching her.

"How long have you been awake?" Kate wondered.

"A few minutes," Adam murmured.

"How do you feel?"

"Not good. What did the doc say?"

"It's an infection, but it's not severe, but you have to rest for a few days at least and even then, you have to be careful."

"Who will take care of the ranch?"

"We'll be just fine, Adam. Don't worry about it."

Junior coughed and stirred in his sleep. He opened his eyes and looked up at Kate sleepily. He yawned and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Hi, cowboy," Kate whispered. Junior moaned and buried his head into Kate's shoulder. He wrapped his arms around Kate's neck and Kate sighed. She ran her fingers through Junior's hair and sighed. "Daddy's awake, Junior."

"Daddy?" Junior wondered. He looked and saw that Adam was awake. Adam sat up a little bit and rested against the headboard. Junior carefully climbed over to Adam and they hugged. Junior buried his head into Adam's shoulder and sighed.

"My dad can't do all of the work, Kate. He's helping a few people around town. Your dad is having trouble with his back and our moms are busy." Adam explained.

"We'll figure out something and you know it. There isn't a whole lot to do. Just feed the stock and check on the cattle." Kate answered.

"But what about the boys and all the housework?"

"It'll get done."

The next morning, Junior woke up very early and saw that his parents and Brian were still asleep. He walked out of the bedroom and up the stairs to his bedroom. He carefully and quietly pulled out his clothes and got changed. As put his pants on, he noticed that something wasn't right. He looked down at them and rolled his eyes.

"They're backward," Junior said. He put his pants on right and then looked at his socks and scratched his head. He sat down on his bed and spent several minutes trying to put his socks and shoes on. Soon, he was ready and he went to the bathroom and brushed his teeth and brushed his hair. Then he quietly walked downstairs and grabbed his coat and put it on. He reached up at the doorknob and groaned. He tried to reach it, but he couldn't. "I'm too short." Junior looked around and sighed. He found his stepstool and pushed it up to the door. He climbed up and opened the door. He stepped back down and pushed the step stool out of his way. Then he walked outside and out to the barn. Cece followed him and kept him safe while Racer just sat and watched. Junior climbed up to the bin of chicken feed and filled up the bucket. He climbed back down and then went to feed the chickens.

"I come back and get the eggs," Junior whispered. He walked back into the barn and fed the horses and the other animals. He could hear the lambs begging for their food and Junior sighed. He looked down at Cece and huffed. "What does daddy do with the lambs and the calves? They need milk."

In the house, Kate woke up and could feel Brian waking up. She looked over and saw that Adam was still the same. Then she noticed that Junior was missing. Kate picked Brian up and walked out of the room and upstairs to the bedroom. She looked around and saw that Junior wasn't there. She put Brian in the crib and searched around for Junior.

"Junior?" Kate wondered as she looked in every room. She walked downstairs and saw the steps at the door and she saw that JUnior's coat was missing. She put on her shawl and her shoes and walked outside. The wind was picking up making it a little more chilly. Kate shivered and walked to the barn where she saw Junior holding the lambs sadly. "JUnior, you scared me to death. I thought something had happened to you."

"I can't feed the lambs or the calves. I don't know how." Junior mumbled. Kate smiled sadly and Junior looked up at her tearfully. Kate reached out to Junior and knelt down. Junior got up and walked over and hugged Kate.

"It's ok, cowboy. I can help with that."

"I'm sorry. I want to help, but I can't help."

"Yes, you can. You've done a lot already. You fed most of the animals."

"But not all of them and I didn't fix the broken fence daddy talked about yesterday."

Kate smiled softly and looked at Junior who was upset with himself.

"Junior, you're just a little boy. No one expects you to do all these things. You've done more than any boy twice your age would be asked to do." Kate explained. "I'm very proud of you, Junior."

"Really?" Junior wondered.

"Really. Come on, we can feed the lambs and the calves and then get the eggs and have breakfast together. How does that sound?"

"Ok."

"OK."

They got up and Kate showed Junior what to do. Soon, they were feeding the lambs and calves. When they finished, they collected the eggs and then walked inside. Kate checked on Adam and saw that he awake.

"Good morning," Kate whispered as she walked over.

"Morning." Adam groaned.

"Feeling any better?"

"Worse."

"I'm sorry, Adam."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the infections in the first place. Once again, I let my pride get in the way."

"I forgive you, but I wish you were a better example to one of our boys," Kate stated.

"What happened?" Adam wondered.

"Junior woke up early, got dressed, and walked outside. He fed most of the animals but didn't know how to feed the lambs or the calves. I'm glad he didn't because if he did, he'd be attempting to fix the fence by now."

"I see. After breakfast, have him come in here so I can have a talk with him."

"Ok."

Kate walked out of the room and took care of Brian. Soon, the three were at the table eating breakfast. After breakfast, Kate handed a tray of food to Junior.

"Go take this to your father while I change your brother," Kate stated.

"Yes, ma'am," Junior replied. Junior took the stay into the bedroom and saw Adam reading. "Here you go."

"Thanks, Junior." Adam sighed as he took the tray. "Sit down."

"Ok."

Junior sat down on the bed and watched Adam eat.

"Your mother told me what you did this morning. She said that you decided to take charge and do all the chores." Adam said.

"But I couldn't feed the lambs or the calves," Junior mumbled.

"Junior, you're acting just like how I was acting yesterday. I thought I was invincible so I tried to work even though I was sick. You tried to work even though you knew you could do a lot of it. I'm proud that you tried your best and you did everything that you could, but... you could have gotten hurt or sick. Luckily, that didn't happen, but it easily could have."

"I'm sorry. I just want to help.."

"I know you do and I'm proud of you for that, but you're still very young. You need a lot of help still. Next time, tell your mother what you're planning to do."

"Yes, sir. I will."

"Good. Now, give me a hug."

The two hugged and Adam kissed Junior's forehead. Junior sat back up and watched Adam finish his breakfast.

"Daddy, why do we work even when we're sick?" Junior wondered.

"Well, I guess it's a matter of pride. We want to be useful and we can't bear to feel useless so we work and ignore our bodies' warnings and we lie. We're created to work and care for the world around us, but sometimes... we do it too well, and we forget a very important thing." Adam explained.

"What's that?"

"Well, God spent 6 days creating the world and us, but then he spent the seventh day resting. Not because he needed to rest, but to show us that we need to rest. He also wants us to accept help from people, but because of our pride, we like to think that we can do things alone. But that's not how life is meant to be. We're meant to learn and grow together. We're meant to work together."

"I see."

When Adam was done eating, he tried to rest and Junior watched him. Kate walked in and treated Adam's wounds.

"They're looking better." Kate sighed.

"Will he feel better soon?" Junior wondered.

"Hopefully. But it'll still be a while before he can get up and work. Now, I'm gonna go mend the fences. Can you stay here and take care of your brother and your father?"

"Ok."

"Good boy."

Kate kissed Junior's nose and brought Brian in with a few of his toys. She set Brian on the floor and left the room to go outside. She grabbed what she needed and fix the broken fences.

In the house, Junior watched Adam and Brian. Brian sat on the floor playing and cooing. He threw one of the blocks across the room and Junior sighed when Brin looked up at him.

"I'm not gonna get it for you," Junior stated. Brian cooed and crawled over to the block and picked it up. He threw it back towards his play area and then crawled back over.

Junior climbed off the bed and played with Brian.

AN hour later, they heard Cece and Racer barking and Junior ran to a window and looked out. He saw Patrick get out of his truck and JUnior gasped. He grabbed Brian and hid him in the closet.

"Shh. Keep quiet." Junior ordered. He closed the closet door and ran over to the bed and shook Adam. Adam groaned and opened his eyes.

"Junior, what's going on?" Adam asked.

"It's him. It's Patrick."

"Where?"

"Outside. Cece and Racer distract him, but mommy working outside."

"Where's Brian?"

"In closet."

"Good."

Adam got up and walked out of the bedroom. He opened the front door and looked at Patrick who was now at the door.

"Well, well, looks like the bear didn't do a very good job at getting rid of you." Patrick spat. Then he looked around. "So, where's the little whore and the devil's child?"

"It doesn't matter. You're leaving." Adam stated. "You haven't changed. I can smell the liquor on your breath."

"Oh, come on. It's not that bad. Besides, my second nephew is almost 8 months old. I just want to see him."

"You're not touching him. Go, you're not wanted here."

Racer ran up and growled at Patrick.

"Racer, bite," Adam ordered. Racer barked and attacked Patrick. Cece ran over and helped Racer.

In the bedroom, Junior could hear the dogs. He closed the bedroom door and grabbed the baseball bat in the corner. He walked over to the closet and opened the door. He hid inside with Brian. Brian cooed and Junior hushed him.

"You have to stay quiet," Junior stated.

TBC