After the children left, Ben, Victoria, Abel, and Jarrod started getting ready to go to town. "Rip, Matt, why don't the two of you come with us?" asked Victoria. "If you bring your badge and uniform, maybe we can put the fear of the Army and the law into those old bats."
"That's an excellent idea Victoria," said Abel. "It certainly won't hurt to try and make them understand the entire family supports Benjamin and how he is raising Catherine."
When they reached town, Ben tied the surrey up outside the courthouse and everyone went in. Since there was no trial happening, the judge was in his office and greeted his guests warmly. Jarrod gave him the papers and, after looking them over, asked, "Ben, would you please go and get Roy? I want him and his deputy to bring all of those women here. They need to be stopped and I intend to do it, no matter how much I have to fine them. Would you also please ask Reverend Long to come here and bring his Bible? I would like him to be present when I address the women. Captain Stoddard, I will gladly sign the papers for you to adopt Catherine Cartwright as your granddaughter. I wish I could give every child a grandfather." He saw Rip holding his uniform and said, "The office next to mine is not being used by anyone if you would like to change clothes in there."
Ben returned a few minutes later with Roy who greeted everyone. The judge handed him a list of the names of the women who had caused Cat to run away twice and cornered Victoria after church. "I want to see all of those women in my courtroom in thirty minutes. Tell them if they do not come with you willingly, I will fine them one thousand dollars for contempt of court. If you need more men, get them from the saloons. Deputize them and the court will pay them ten dollars each for their help."
Since Roy knew that despite the judge's threat of a fine, the women would not come willingly, he went to his office and took a bunch of badges out of his desk. Knowing that cow hands only earned a dollar a day and would gladly earn more than a week's pay for about an hour's work, he and Clem went into the saloons and deputized ten additional men to help get the women to the courthouse.
Reverend Long arrived at the courthouse shortly after Roy and Clem left. The judge told him what was going to happen and why his presence had been requested.
While they were waiting for Roy and Clem to round up the six women, Rip asked, "Matt, why don't you and I walk over to the school and see if our niece has driven her teacher insane yet?"
"That's a good idea. I'd like to meet the teacher and see how Cat's grades are compared to how she was doing in Dodge."
They walked over to the school and found Susan Winter putting some new books on the shelves. "Good morning gentlemen. I'm Susan Winter, the teacher here. How may I help you?"
"We're Catherine Cartwright's uncles," replied Rip. "And we'd like to know how she's doing with her studies and if she's giving you any problems."
She smiled and shook hands with the men. "You must be Matt," she said, shaking his hand. "And you must be Rip. Catherine loves you very much and has told me all about you. I enjoy having her in my class. Her behavior is excellent and so are her grades. She struggles with arithmetic, but her grade has come up since the beginning of the year. Both her history and reading grades are perfect. She's reading between a seventh and eighth grade level but I'd like her to finish the seventh grade reader before starting the eighth grade book. Catherine has a grade of ninety percent in both spelling and grammar and her arithmetic grade has gone up from an eighty percent to an eighty three percent. I know she has a bad temper, but the only time I've seen it was at the beginning of the term when one of the other students stole her saddlebags and when two boys teased and tripped her the day Mr. Cartwright made her ride double to school with him. The first incident occurred after the school day had ended and the other student was punished by me and her father. She is not allowed to attend school until after Easter. The second incident happened in the morning. Those boys are no longer allowed to attend school here and will be going to separate military schools in the fall."
"We've met those boys," said Matt. "I hope military school straightens them out before they end up in a lot of trouble with the law."
"I certainly hope so too," replied Susan. "I hate to see anyone ruining their life, especially children."
"Rip, we need to get back to the courthouse," said Matt. "Sheriff Coffee may have those women there by now. Miss Winter, thank you for taking such good care of our niece. It's comforting to know she has a teacher who cares as much as you do."
"It's my pleasure gentlemen. Thank you for getting Catherine to come to school. I know she would rather be anywhere but here and Mr. Cartwright told me that you told her she would not be allowed to spend her summers with you if she skipped school. I hope you are successful in getting those women to leave Catherine alone. I saw them corner her aunt after church yesterday, so I assume that's why you are in town today. I have told them many times not come here while school is in session, but they ignore my instructions."
"Miss Winter, based on what you just told us about those women, I highly recommend you accompany us to the courthouse and tell the judge what you just told us," said Rip. "He needs to know so he can order them to stay away from here while school is in session."
The three of them walked over to the courthouse where Susan told the judge about the women coming to the school and talking to the boys during recess and dinner. "I have told them many times that they are not to come to the school and talk to students who aren't related to them, but they constantly ignore my instructions, setting a bad example for the students."
"Thank you for that information Miss Winter. I will add it to the list of complaints against those women. I agree. They do not belong at the school talking to students and trying to cause trouble for Catherine Cartwright or anybody else."
It took more than an hour for Roy and the other men to get the women to the courthouse. The judge was livid and asked the men if they had told the women they would be fined if they did not come willingly. When the men gave an affirmative answer, the judge address the women. "When I issue an order, I expect it to be obeyed. All six of you were informed that I wanted you in this courtroom and that you would be fined if you did not come willingly. Therefore, once this hearing is finished, these men will accompany you to the bank where each of you will withdraw one thousand dollars from your accounts and give that money to Sheriff Coffee who will bring it to me. Men, once you have completed that task, please return here so I can pay you.
Now, as to the reason I ordered you to appear. Mr. Cartwright and his family have filed a complaint against you for your continual harassment of his daughter Catherine as well as your attempts to cause trouble for her and drive her away. The school teacher has also filed a complaint against you because you refuse to follow her instructions and stay away from the school and students while school is in session. You keep saying that it is wrong for a girl to be raised in a household full of men, but you only seem to have a problem with this particular family as there have been other girls being raised only by their fathers and/or brothers. Your words and actions have caused young Catherine to run away not once, but twice and after being called out on your words in church by Mrs. Long, Mrs. Devlin, Mrs. King, and Mrs. Martin, you still insist that Mr. Cartwright is not raising his daughter correctly by allowing her to wear pants and buckskins. Therefore, I have asked Reverend Long to tell you what the Bible has to say about the way people should dress."
"As the judge just stated, you have been told on many occasions that there is nothing wrong with the way Catherine Cartwright is being raised, however you keep insisting that she should be forced to dress the way you think she should. This is what our Lord said about clothing in Matthew chapter six." Reverend Long opened his Bible and read, "And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" He closed the Bible and said, "There is nothing in the Bible about women and girls having to dress a certain way. Those are man's words, not God's and I for one, am sick and tired of hearing you disparage Mr. Cartwright over the way his daughter dresses. You are also violating several commandments. First, there is the eighth commandment, "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour." Next, there is the greatest commandment of all, the Golden Rule, "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." Rest assured, I will be talking to the church elders about your behavior while at the Lord's house. I intend to ask them to exclude you from Sunday services for a while to give you time to think about how your words and actions reflect on each of you as a person and as a child of God."
"There was no need for a complaint and all of this nonsense Benjamin," said Mrs. Thomas. "The solution is simple. Everyone knows the child is an illegitimate foundling. Just send it back where it came from and everything will be just fine."
Everybody in the courtroom except the women saw red. Reverend Long was furious. He had just quoted the eighth commandment to them and Mrs. Thomas just broke it again. Matt looked down at Mrs. Thomas and exclaimed, "Right now, you should be thanking God that you're a woman! The last man who said that about my, Major Masters', and Mrs. Barkley's niece ended up with a broken jaw! I'm going to tell you something you already know. Major Masters' and my brother was married to Mr. Cartwright's and Mrs. Barkley's sister for more than two years before Catherine was born, so that hardly makes her illegitimate or a foundling!"
"None of you women have permission to call me by my name! That privilege is reserved for my family and my friends. The six of you are neither family nor friends!" exclaimed Ben. "My daughter's name is Catherine. Use it!" he demanded. "I am telling you now in front of my family, the judge, Sheriff, Coffee, and his deputies, none of you are welcome on the Ponderosa. Do not come out there! If you show up on the my ranch, you will be treated as trespassers! Once again, you need to thank God that you are women because if you were men and were found trespassing on my land, I could have you shot! Remember my warning! Stay away from me and my family, especially my daughter or there will be consequences! I know exactly what your motives are and as I have repeatedly said, I am not in love with any of you. Nor do I intend to marry any of you. You women disgust me. Just so there are no misunderstandings, should anything happen to me or my sons while Catherine is still a minor, provisions have been made for her care and to protect the Ponderosa from being broken up and/or sold out from under her. I do not want you thinking you can put her in an orphanage, sell the Ponderosa, and keep the money for yourselves."
The judge spoke up. "Ladies, and I am using that term loosely, I am ordering you to stay away from the school when it is in session and the Cartwrights, especially young Catherine. If you disobey that order, you will be fined five hundred dollars for each occurrence. If you trespass on the Ponderosa, you will be fined an additional five hundred dollars for trespassing along with the five hundred dollars for violating a court order. If you violate the court order more than once, I will have Sheriff Coffee lock you in his jail for several days. Like Reverend Long, the Cartwright family, and many others in this town, I am sick and tired of your efforts to get rid of Catherine Cartwright and am putting a stop to it right here and now. You have been warned and informed of the consequences of disobeying my court order. Now go to the bank with Sheriff Coffee and his deputies to withdraw your fine from your accounts."
While the adults were in town, the children were at the mountain where they had been sledding. They built a large lean-to and gathered enough firewood to last several days. "Why do we need so much firewood and why did our lean-to need to be so big?" asked Cat.
"The lean-to has to be big enough for our horses too. We can't leave them out in a blizzard and having them and your dogs in there with us will help to keep us warmer. We need so much firewood because we could end up snowed in here for several days and won't be able to look for some during a blizzard," answered Mike.
Laura and Mary still had not joined their friends when they stopped sledding to eat dinner. "I guess Laura and Mary aren't going to be sledding with us today," said Mike. "They would have been here by now if they were."
"I hope they didn't get in trouble over the weekend," added Jasper. "If they did, they might not be allowed to come back to the Ponderosa at all this week." The other three children agreed with their friend.
The weather changed about an hour after the children finished their dinner. The wind got much stronger and it started snowing. They were up on the mountain and Jasper said, "This is our last run. We need to get into the lean-to in case this turns into a blizzard. It isn't safe to be out in this weather."
The children made one last run down the mountain on their sleds and stacked them up outside the lean-to. They led their horses inside and Mike and Jasper tied some blankets over the opening. "We've got stuff to eat and drink," said Mark. "But what are our horses going to do for food and water if we're here for several days?"
"We brought four days worth of oats for the horses and we'll put snow in the coffee pot, melt it and pour the water into our hats," replied Mike. "Also, if this does turn into a blizzard and one of us needs to leave here during it, we have ropes to tie around ourselves so we won't get lost. This won't be the first time Jas and I have been outside in a snowstorm so we know what to do. Once it stops snowing, we need to see if we can find our horses' hoof prints so we can get back to the house. If the snow has covered them up, we'll just wait here for someone to come and find us. They know where we are, so depending on what time it is, we might be able to do a little more sledding before they get here."
With four horses and two dogs adding to the heat from the fire, the children were plenty warm and sat around telling stories while they waited for the snow to stop. Mark told of how he had become trapped in an old mine one day after he and his best friend had skipped school because the new teacher was mean and had severely criticized Mark's father. Cat told her friends how she met the Apaches and about participating in Little Bear's wedding. Jasper and Mike were amazed at how despite only being two months old, Silver Chief had attacked Morning Dove's father when he adopted Cat. Mike told stories about how his brother Mitch and Little Joe used to get into trouble when Abigail Jones was their teacher and Jasper told stories about things he, Mike, and Mitch Harris had done.
While the children were telling stories inside their lean-to, Ben was pacing and driving the family crazy. "My little girl is out there in that snowstorm instead of being safe at home. I never should have bought that sled and let her use it. I'm going to burn it when we get her back home and the ice skates will go in the rubbish. She's spending the rest of the winter in the house and from now on, she doesn't leave the yard without an adult and I don't care how much she complains."
"If you do those things, Cat will be returning to Dodge with Kitty and I," said Matt. "When she turns twelve, she will go and live with Rip at his fort. Rip and I will see the judge tomorrow to reverse the adoption and Cat will never set foot on the Ponderosa again. Is that what you want?"
"Benjamin, will you please stop that foolishness and sit down?" said Abel. "You are getting all worked up over nothing and are about to lose your daughter. If you don't stop with your nonsense, I will take Catherine back to Boston with me in the spring. She'll go to the best schools and learn everything a girl needs to know, but she won't return here until she's a grown woman and old enough to make her own choices."
"What do you mean I'm getting all worked up over nothing?! My daughter is out there in that snowstorm and has no idea what to do. Neither does Mark!"
"While it's true that neither Cat nor Mark know what to do in a snowstorm, Jasper and Mike do." replied Adam. "They have lived here all of their lives and I am quite certain that this isn't the first time they've been out in a snowstorm."
"Adam's right Pa," added Joe. "In fact, I'm willing to bet a month's worth of chores that they had a lean-to and fire built before setting foot on the mountain. Mitch and I knew what to do when we were eleven, so I'm sure Mike and Jasper do too."
"Benjamin, you are being ridiculous," said Victoria. "We just talked about your overprotectiveness yesterday. If you don't stop your nonsense, with Matt and Rip's permission, I will take Catherine home with me when we leave on Wednesday. That will be the last time you will see her here because it's obvious that you don't intend to stop being overprotective. Adam and Joe are correct. Jasper and Michael know exactly what to do if they get caught out in a snowstorm. They can't have lived here all of their lives without knowing what to do in that event, and now Cat and Mark do too. You don't see Lucas pacing and worrying about his son who is also out in that storm, do you? That's because he knows what you and everyone else do, the children are fine."
"Mr. Cartwright," said Andy. "If you do the things you just said you were going to, Cat will think you are punishing her for something she had no control over. She will resent you and you will lose her. Even if she doesn't leave for Dodge or California later this week, you will wake up one morning and find her gone. If that happens, there is a good chance that nobody will ever see her again. She may know how to get to Rip's fort in Arizona, but right now, most of the landmarks she learned are covered with snow and she could easily get lost. Your family is right. Cat is in good hands out there. Mike and Jasper have good heads on their shoulders and, as Joe stated, most likely had a lean-to and fire built before they started sledding. Chances are there will be enough new snow to cover up the horses' hoof prints, so once the snow stops, I'll ride out with Adam to bring them home. Depending on how much new snow we get, I'd be willing to bet that the kids will have been back on their sleds by the time Adam and I get there."
Hoss got tired of his father's impatience and rants so he went to the liquor cabinet and poured a glass of whiskey for Ben. "Here, drink this. It'll calm your nerves. Everyone's right. Them boys know what they're doin'. You and everyone else already know that ifn little sister was out there alone, me and Adam and Joe would already be out there lookin' for her. But she ain't alone. I agree with Joe. Them kids had a lean-to and fire built before walkin' up the mountain with their sleds. Jasper and Mike are too smart to take chances gettin' caught in a blizzard. Before they left, they tied sacks of oats onto all their saddles and each sack had at least four days feed in it. Hop Sing done packed them enough food to last four days so they ain't gonna starve neither. Ya didn't act that way when Joe was a kid so why are ya doin' it now? Cat keeps sayin' she don't need adults because the Apaches done taught her how to take care of herself and I believe her. Besides that, she's got her dogs with her and they won't let nothin' happen to her." He took his father's empty glass, refilled it and handed it back to him.
"Ben," said Victoria. "Kate would not want you acting like you are and have been toward her daughter. You went to sea while she was still quite young so you have no idea how much Cat is like her mother. Kate was a fighter and so is her daughter. Kate was wild and so is Cat. When she was orphaned, I could have adopted Cat and taken her back to Stockton with me where she would have a mother, sister, and brothers, but I didn't. She was born here and this is where she belongs. I am positive that Kate would want you to raise Cat, but you have got to stop being so overprotective or you will lose her. Why don't you take Joe up on his bet? I'm sure that Cat will enjoy laughing at you having to do all of her, Adam's and Joe's chores for the next month. I agree with Andy that if you follow through with your threat to destroy her sled and skates, keep her in the house for the rest of the winter, and force her to have an adult with her at all times, she will leave in the middle of the night while everyone is sleeping. Now sit down and relax before I have one of your sons throw you in the trough."
It snowed for about two hours and when it finally stopped, there were four additional inches of snow on the ground. Jasper and Mike talked and decided that they had time to make three or four additional runs down the mountain on their sleds. After the fourth run, knowing that someone would be coming to show them the way home, they decided to have a snowball fight instead. "We should build a snow fort and make a bunch of snowballs so we can attack whoever comes to get us," said Cat. "It will be lots of fun, especially if it's Adam." The other three agreed and the four of them had a good fort built in no time at all. Then they made a lot of snowballs and put them behind the fort before resuming their snowball fight.
Hoss and Joe wanted to see how the children had prepared for a snowstorm, so they decided to accompany their brother and Andy to get the children. They decided to sneak up on the boys and Cat, but when they got close enough to dismount, Beauty whinnied a greeting to his stablemates.
"Hark! The enemy approaches! We must prepare for battle!" called Cat.
"So much for sneakin' up on them youngins," said Hoss. "They know we're coming."
"Judging from what I heard our sister say, I think we're about to be attacked," added Joe.
"I have a feeling that you're right," answered Adam. "We'll ride in a little closer and then approach on foot. If we're lucky, we may still be able to surprise them. Once we're on the ground, we had better make some snowballs so we're partially prepared for the attack."
Mark offered to serve as lookout so he hid behind a large tree and waited for the adults to show themselves. As soon as he saw them dismount, he ran back to the fort and said, "They're almost here. I think they're trying to sneak up on us because they dismounted and left their horses behind."
As soon as the adults came within range, Jasper yelled, "The enemy is here! Attack!"
The four children and four adults spent two hours throwing snowballs at each other. Knowing that it was getting close to suppertime, Adam called out, "Hold your fire. What are your surrender terms?"
The four children talked for a few minutes. Then Mike said, "Unconditional surrender. We will ride thy and thy companions' steeds back to yon castle and once we reach it, thou and thy companions will be our steeds and carry us into yon castle. Thou and thy friends will also tend to our steeds."
"Adam talked with his brothers and Andy. If we had more time, we could win this battle, but it's getting close to suppertime and you know how angry Hop Sing gets when anyone is late for a meal."
"Yore right Adam," said Hoss. "We gotta get them kids back to the house afore Pa drives everyone else crazy with his pacin' and rantin'. He was calmed down when we left, but he expected us back almost two hours ago. He's probably fit to be tied by now."
"We surrender and accept thy terms," called Adam. "We shall bring our steeds to thee so thou and thy companions may ride them."
Adam, his brothers, and Andy looked at the lean-to the children had made and were impressed by it's sturdiness and size. "You kids did a great job on this," complemented Adam. "It looks big enough to hold four horses."
"We tried to make it big enough to hold six horses in case Mary and Laura joined us," said Mike.
"I agree with Adam," said Joe. "I don't think I could have built one as good as this. In fact, since you kids are going to be sledding out here, maybe Adam, Hoss, and I will reinforce it so it will last you beyond this winter."
"Why did you stop our snowball fight Adam?" asked Cat. "We were having fun."
"So were we Squirt, but it's getting late and you know how upset Hop Sing gets when we're late for meals. Besides that, Pa has been driving everyone crazy worrying about you. Everyone scolded him for not remembering that Mike and Jasper knew how to prepare for a snowstorm. Also, we've been gone for about three hours now and I'm sure everyone is worried about you kids now. They probably expected us back about an hour after we left, so let's put your fire out, saddle your horses and head for the house."
When Adam, his brothers, and Andy weren't back at the house about ninety minutes after leaving, everyone except Abel started worrying that something might have happened to the children. The longer they were gone, the more everyone started worrying. "All of you are forgetting a very important fact," said Abel.
"What is that?" asked Lucas.
"Stop and think. What happened about three hours ago?"
"It snowed," said Jarrod.
"Exactly. You have fresh snow and four children who know that because there was enough new snow to cover their horses' hoof prints, an adult will be coming to get them. What do you think happened?"
Rip started laughing. "You don't suppose that Adam, Hoss, Joe, and Andy rode into an ambush, do you?"
"Of course I do. If you were nine or eleven with fresh snow, waiting for at least one adult to show up, what would you do?"
"I would make a fort and a lot of ammunition to use against my "enemy". I do believe you're right Abel. Adam and the others rode right into an ambush and had to defend themselves. Hmmmmm. Four children against four adults. I wonder who won that battle."
"My money's on the kids," said Heath. "They had plenty of time to build a fort and make enough snowballs for a week long fight."
It was almost suppertime when eight horses and riders entered the yard. Each child slid down out of their saddle onto the shoulders of the adults who had originally ridden the horses and decided they needed to race to the house. The family heard the cries of "Faster steed, faster!" coming from the yard and laughed when Adam, Andy, Hoss, and Joe entered the house, each with a child on his shoulders.
"We expected you back a long time ago," said Ben. "What took so long?"
"Do the words, "Hark! The enemy approaches! We must prepare for battle!" mean anything to you? We were ambushed and had to defend ourselves."
"Judging from your 'riders', I take it you lost," laughed Jarrod.
"Yes, but only because we ran out of time. I am certain we would have won if the battle had been allowed to continue for several more hours."
Hop Sing heard the children as they were coming into the house, walked into the great room and started laughing at the children sitting on "his boys'" shoulders. "Suppel almost leady. Wash then set table."
"Hoss, you and Joe set the table and then join Andy and me in the barn. Remember, we have eight horses to care for before supper," said Adam.
"Why are you caring for the children's horses?" asked Lucas.
"That was part of the surrender terms. They rode our horses home, we had to carry them into the house on our shoulders, and we have to care for their horses as well as our own. As I said, if we would have had more time, I am positive we would have won the battle. However, I didn't want Hop Sing angry at us because we showed up late for supper."
"We were going to make them do Cat's chores until she was twelve too, but decided it would be too easy on Andy since he's hardly ever home. But we'll beat them in another snowball fight and think of something for them to do as part of our surrender terms," said Jasper.
"What makes you kids so sure you're going to beat us next time?" asked Joe.
"'Cause we're better than you," replied Cat.
Before Joe could answer, Ben said, "Joseph, you don't have time to worry about the next snowball fight. You and Hoss need to get the table set and then help Adam and Andy with the horses. Supper is almost ready and you know how upset Hop Sing gets when anyone is late for a meal."
During supper, Abel asked, "Adam, what did you find when you went to get the children?"
"We found a very well constructed lean-to that was large enough to hold six horses, six children, and two dogs. We also found enough firewood to last at least four days. And, as you already know, we found a snow fort and about a million snowballs. The kids were well prepared for a blizzard and to launch an all out war on whomever came to get them. Since I am quite certain that my little sister was the instigator for that little war, if it weren't so late in the day, I would drop her in the trough just to see how big a splash she made."
"Only a million?" teased Rip. "Kids, I'm ashamed of you. You were out there all day and should have had at least ten million snowballs made. Cat, when you come to visit me this summer, bring Jasper and Michael with you and Lucas can bring Mark so the Army can teach the four of you how to properly prepare an ambush."
"That would be great Mr. Masters," said Mike. "Before you go back to Arizona, will you please ask our parents if we can go there with Cat in the summer?"
"I'll think about it boys. I have to talk to Ben to see if he would be willing to take you along when he brings Cat to me this summer. If he agrees, then I'll talk to your parents and see what they have to say. Of course, any permission will depend on your school grades. I expect high marks from all four of you."
"Please say yes Pa," said Cat. "It will be so much fun having Mike and Jas with me this summer and I can't wait to introduce them to Pete and Mike Tanner. The five of us will have so much fun."
"I don't know if Dodge can handle the five of you," teased Matt. "I already have my hands full with you and the twins and I'm not sure I want two more just like you running loose in my town. Heaven only knows what kind of mischief the five of you will find to get into."
"We won't get into any mischief Uncle Matt. We'll climb the water tank and go swimming in it and maybe we'll race our horses down Front Street. Maybe we'll hide your and Festus' hats and switch your boots and saddles. That's fun, not mischief."
Matt groaned. "If these two join you this summer, I may just lock the three of you and the Tanner twins in a cell just for my peace of mind or you're liable to drive me crazy."
"Driving you crazy would be fun too."
"It's your fault brother," teased Rip. "If you hadn't talked about the possibility of the five kids getting into mischief, our niece would not be thinking of ways to drive you crazy this summer."
"Fine brother you turned out to be. Tell you what. You take over in Dodge for me while our niece, her friends & the twins are together and I'll go, run your fort for you."
"You wouldn't like what I would do to your town and you wouldn't know what to do in an Army fort."
Cat and the boys laughed at the two men teasing each other like children. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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