Two Years Ago

David Chase sat on the edge of the riverbank, barefoot and holding a fishing pole. He'd come out early for a good spot and was soon comfortable in his spot with a line in the water. He learned back and got ready to rest for a bit until he felt his pole shake from the fish biting when he heard someone coming. It was the new boy in his class, Mark.

"Mind if I take a spot?" Mark asked.

"It's a big pond, go right on ahead," Dave said as Mark took a seat. It wasn't long before Mark ditched his boots and had his pole ready a few feet away from him. "You're the new boy. Your Pa won that property on the outside of town."

"We're building our house now," Mark told him as he dug around his pocket. "Peppermint stick?"

"Thanks," David said. "Your Pa has a pretty nice rifle. Hear they call him The Rifleman."

"That's right," Mark told him. "He can shoot a fly's wings off from 50 yards."

"My Pa's kind of jealous," David told him. "You gonna be a gun slinger like your Pa?"

"My Pa's not a gun slinger," Mark said. "He just wants to make an honest living with his own ranch. That's the whole reason we moved here, for a fresh start."

"Well, Northfork's the perfect town," David told him. "You'll make a lot of friends here, Mark. Maybe at school Monday I'll introduce you to the other kids. You seemed kinda shy when we were there the other day."

"It's not easy making friends," Mark said. "Especially when folks are jealous of your Pa for how good he is with a rifle. That's why I always carry two peppermint sticks, just in case I need to make a friend."

"I ain't got no reason to be jealous,' David told him. "I'm plenty proud of my Pa, he takes care of us. Now, the barber's son, he's the one that'll get jealous of you. He's the boy who looks a lot like me. And you definitely made a friend, Mark. Maybe after we're done fishing, I'll introduce you to my family. I think you'll take a liking to my sister, Heller.""

The two boys spent the day getting to know each other until it got into late afternoon when it was time to go home for dinner.

Now

"You want to adopt me?" David asked with both nervousness and fear. Ever since his mother had to sell the farm and move to a smaller home, David had been struggling to help her keep on her feet. When his sister Heller had become engaged to a man the county over, that helped a little bit, but David still felt that he needed to earn money for the two of them. Lucas McCain then entered the picture, knowing of the Chase's money issues.

He couldn't pay much, but he offered David honest wages for taking over for Mark's chores until he was found. David agreed if his wages went directly to his mother to help her survive. Lucas agreed, and soon David was earning his keep on the McCain ranch.

"You don't have to, but it'll be a good opportunity for you to be your own man until you're on your own in a few years," Lucas told him. "You can save money while helping your Ma and you finish your schooling."

"I don't know," David said. "How does Ma feel?"

"She says she'll go along with whatever decision you make," Lucas told him. "It's completely up to you now."

"What would my Pa think?" David asked.

"I can't speak for your old man, but I knew him before he died," Lucas said. "I think he'd like that someone was offering his boy the chance to be more than he is."

"Can I think about it?" David asked.

"Certainly," Lucas said. "Take all the time you need and let me know what you decide." But you're a hard-working young man and I'd be honored to call you son."

"And what about Mark?"

"He's always wanted a brother," Lucas said. "And Dollar-Ten never wanted to be held down by a family, and you were always like a brother to Mark. I'd like to think that Mark would take the news well. I gotta go talk to Millie, I'll be back soon."

Lucas left as David cried a few tears. "I want this so badly, Micah. But I don't like the cost of replacing Mark."

"You're not replacing Mark," Micah promised him. "Mark will always have a home and father that loves him. You're just… keeping his bed warm until he comes home. That is unless you're more comfortable sleeping in the loft. I'll leave the filing cabinet unlocked whenever you're ready to go through the files. I'll help you when things around here have settled down a bit."

Micah patted him on the shoulder as David opened the filing cabinet and started looking through the files.

"A brother," David said as he smiled. "I've always wanted a brother."

Two Years Ago

David and Mark rode their horses to school when they saw a classmate being up by other kids. It was Dollar-Ten, the hardest working orphan in town, always refusing to be tied down to a home, always preferring to do things on his own.

"Hey!" Mark shouted as he tried to help get the bullies off of his friend. "Leave him alone!"

"Coming to the aid of the homeless orphan? He doesn't even have parents!"

"So? Your parents aren't so great," David told them. "Your dad's a drunk, and your mother's been with almost every guy in town!"

"Dollar-Ten is the best, most hardest-working person we know," Mark added as he helped Dollar-Ten up. Dollar-Ten's clothes were dirty and he was barefoot, and only went to school because that was the law, otherwise, he'd be put into the town orphanage, but he always talked his way out of it and lived in the town, doing odd jobs for money. The people of Northfork were so impressed by Dollar-Ten's work ethic that they just rolled with it.'

"You need a pair of boots," Mark told his friend. "I'm about to get a new pair and will just toss this pair away, why don't you let me give you my old pair?"

"Because I don't take anything for free, I gotta work for it," Dollar-Ten told him.

"Okay, fine," Mark sighed. "You come fishing with us and catch enough fish for dinner and we'll call even. You're always catching more fish than the two of us combined. Do and you've got yourself a pair of boots."

"Deal," Dollar-Ten smiled. And from that day forward, the trio became inseparable, best friends until Dollar-Ten eventually became adopted by the man who had mistaken Mark for his own missing son.

Now

"I'm coming for you, brother," David said. "You'd better be okay."