Chapter 5 Confidences A Second Chance
Mike stepped out of Dr. Sam's office and suddenly stopped short. At the bottom of the hill, their buckboard and team were waiting patiently by the hitching rail.
"What? How?" He stammered, looking up at Mort. Mort grinned, he had always liked surprising people. He leaned down and gripped Mike's hand and helped him down the steps. When they reached the bottom, Mike fairly danced between the two horses, petting them and trying to peek inside the wagon.
"Mike, when you and Slim came into town on Monday, you never got the supplies did you?"
Mike shook his head. In all that had transpired, he had forgotten about flour, nails and wire. 'Had Slim loaded everything and then walked away?' He wondered but dismissed the idea fairly quickly. 'Slim wouldn't do that!'
Mort saw the confusion and lifted Mike up onto the bench, saying as he did so, "When Slim went off to find me, he stepped into Benson's and asked that they hold his order. I found out about it and decided it would be a good idea to bring the supplies to the ranch. It will be one less thing that Slim and Jess have to think about."
Mike gratefully nodded, "that's real nice of you, Sheriff Mort." Mort shrugged. "It's what friends do, Mike. Friends look out for each other Oh, and look under the bench there's something there for you too."
"Candy sticks! Gee, thanks!"
"You're welcome, Mike," Mort chuckled. 'If those boys don't watch out, they'll be taking Mike to the dentist the way he eats candy!' He thought as they drove out of town. Awhile later, as the conversation dwindled, Mort once again found himself wondering about the report he had yet to finish. There were still some things he needed to know. He hoped he would find the answers soon.
"After I make sure everything is safe, Mike, you could play with Buttons. I bet he missed you," Mort told him after he set the brake. He got down and watched as Mike carefully prepared himself to jump onto the ground. Usually, Slim or Jess would grab him and swing him over their shoulders or carry him like a sack of flour, but today he was a big boy and had to do it himself.
Mike wondered, 'if I am successful will they stop picking me up?' He really liked it when they did that not just because it was easier but because it felt so nice. 'Like an extra dose of love' the thought warmed his heart.
"Nope, I've got to milk Molly and gather the eggs," he exclaimed.
"You seem eager to do your chores, Mike. Do you know that no one will know if you don't do them? Slim won't know. He probably thinks you're still in town."
Mike shook his head. "Sheriff Mort," he spoke seriously, "Slim says this is a working ranch and we all have to do our part."
Mort shook his head. He hadn't expected that astute response at all. He opened the barn doors and let Mike into the cool dark space. Mike immediately grabbed a pail and went over to the cow who seemed to be expecting him. Mort left him to his task and went about emptying the wagon. As he worked, he watched the young boy. He was keeping up a constant stream of a one-sided conversation with the cow as he milked her. Sometimes he frowned in concentration but most of the time he looked extremely content.
Finally, Mort finished unloading the wagon and went over to the well to fill up his canteen. "Hey, Mike," he called.
Mike was now feeding the chickens who were pecking at his feet. "Have you ever done something wrong and been punished?" 'There was no easy way to ask this question' Mort thought and he hoped that he wasn't going to betray any confidences. He watched Mike struggle to find an answer.
"Well , Sheriff Mort, it's like this," he straightened his young shoulders as he explained. "When I was just here a couple of weeks, Jess taught me how to milk Molly. He showed me how to sit on the stool, where to put my feet, how to get her to give up her milk," he paused for a moment lost in the memory.
Mort didn't push. He had a feeling that something important was about to be shared.
"Jess showed me where to put the bucket," he mumbled in a small voice.
"What happened, Mike?" Mort asked him gently.
"Well," Mike looked up at him and answered "I guess I wasn't paying attention, 'cause right after I milked Molly and the pail was full, I kicked it and all the milk spilled on the floor."
"What happened?" Mort had a good idea how Jess reacted.
"Jess came into the barn, saw the spilled milk and started cussing something awful and then he walked out of the barn. I was so scared. I thought that he was going to hit me like my Pa did when I did something wrong. My Pa used to hit me with a belt. But after a while he came back and sat down on a bale of hay and I stood in front of him. Do you know what he did?"
"No, what?"
"He put his arms around me and helped me get on his knee and explained, real gentle like, how when I lost the milk that meant no milk for me to drink; no milk for the passengers and no biscuits. Then he said he was sorry for yelling at me."
Mort was stunned. He couldn't think of what to say next. He had seen Jess in a foul mood before but never so forgiving.
"I had to apologize to Slim too," Mike continued, and he told me that "this was a working ranch and we all had to do our part."
"They didn't punish you?"
"No sir, not even when I was playing in the yard, well that's not right, exactly." Mike scratched his head. "You see, Sheriff Mort, my Pa, his punishment was to hurt me, so I'd remember not to do what I did, but Slim and Jess they help me understand that what I do or don't do has con, conseq," he stumbled in confusion.
"Consequences?" Mort supplied the correct word.
"Yeah, and that way I learn better. See, Jess told me that his Pa was very strict and that he used to punish him by using his hand on his backside but Slim's Pa use to teach by example. Neither of them believes in hitting a child. They say that the punishment has to fit the crime. I'm not sure I understand all that yet but I try hard every day not to do anything wrong, and when I do, I know that The Talk is coming."
"If it doesn't make you sad, can you tell me about what happened in the yard?"
Mort led Mike over to the porch and they sat down. Mike sat in Jess's rocker. His eyes got misty and Mort was almost sorry he asked about the event.
"A couple of days after, Buttons ran into the yard. Right there," he pointed. "That's usually where the stages stop. Slim and Jess both told me that I couldn't play there or the corrals or the barn. About the only place I could play was in the house. Anyway, I ran after Buttons and suddenly I heard the stage coming and I was so frightened I couldn't move. Suddenly, Slim swooped me up and carried me to the house. The look on his face scared me half-to-death."
Mort felt the hairs on his neck rise. He could imagine the fear that his friends felt seeing Mike in danger. "What happened next?"
"Slim and Jess changed the team and then they had one of those silent talks they do and sent me to my room. They went outside and I couldn't hear anything. Well, I figured that I was going to be sent away, as they might think I was dumb or not obedient. So, I started to pack my clothes in a sack. I was crying a lot and had to keep wiping my eyes. I didn't know what was going to happen to me. A little while later they both came into my room. They were both so serious and quiet. They sat down on my bed with me in the middle. They asked me if I was happy living on the ranch with them. I told them yes and they said that they were glad and they both wanted me to stay. And then Slim put an arm around me and explained that the driver and the horses might not have seen me until it was too late and I could have been seriously hurt or even killed." Mike gulped then, tears rolling down his cheek. Mort wiped them away with his bandana.
"Mike, if you want to stop talking about this we can," Mort murmured.
"I should finish telling you the story, Sheriff Mort," Mike replied. "Jess said that I needed a reminder so I wouldn't do it again. They would have to punish me."
"What happened?"
"They tied Buttons up in the barn and said I couldn't play with him for a week. That was hard. Every time I went outside, he waved his tail and barked. I missed playing with him but I would have missed him more if I had killed him."
Mort nodded in understanding. "They didn't hit you?"
"Nope, they reckoned I'd learned about the danger of not listening to them and then Slim and Jess took turns tickling me!" Mike's infectious laughter rang out.
"What?" 'Did I just hear him right?' Mort wondered.
"Yeah, after I got Buttons back, Slim and Jess explained how some parents punished their children. But they would never do that to me. Slim had me take off my jeans and bend over his knee. Then they said how some fathers hit their children with sticks or their hand, but they believed that I had learned my lesson and that I was in the perfect position to be tickled."
"Sheriff Mort, I learned about love that day. Both Slim and Jess want to keep me safe cause they care about me." He looked up at Mort then and asked in a small, hesitant voice, "Can you stop looking for any kin to claim me? I want to stay with Slim and Jess forever."