AUTHOR'S NOTE:

As of yesterday, we here in the Northern Hemisphere are officially in the summer season! And I would like to kick off summer by thanking the NINE commenters on my previous chapter: lovesgod12, AveXCninja11, MasterofCupcakes, MMM, StoryMaker7, Kairocksrainbow, FirstFandomFangirl, Titanium Jay and Electro Zane, and Naruby7. You all are amazing!

And since June 6, generalhyna and turtlepower12 have faved me as an author. You are so sweet!

Thanks also to measuremesky for being my beta reader for the chapter below!

In the chapter you are about to read, the first part focuses on Zane and includes the explanation of how he came to be a cowboy at Garmadon Ranch. In the second part of the chapter, the soldiers are receiving mail from home...


Chapter 23 - The Summer Continues

With his one available eye, Zane was managing to read a book which was propped up on his chest with a pillow as he lay in his hospital bed. The book had been loaned to him from Celeste's bookshelf. It was simply called "The History of Cefran." Despite the ever-present discomfort caused by his cheek, he was getting some enjoyment out of reading the book.

Every now and then, as Celeste attended to patients in the ward, her voice would waft through the large room and reach his ears, distracting him from his reading. He was not irritated when that happened, however. Far from it.

As Zane read about the construction of one of Cefran's famous bridges, the close proximity of Celeste's voice got his attention.

"Corporal Falk, you have a visitor," she smiled.

Zane's unbandaged eye widened at the shock and delight of seeing the unexpected visitor. His boss, Mr. Wu, was standing there with his hat in his hand. The platinum-haired cowboy's mind immediately traveled back to another time in the past when the white-bearded man with the weathered skin and piercing blue eyes stood by his bed as he lay in a hospital...

Zane Falk's family lived in a faraway land. They were fairly well-to-do and lived on a property of several acres outside the capital city of their country. Though they were not in the highest echelon of society, they were still able to afford some luxuries such as horse riding lessons for the platinum-haired child and his older sister. For themselves, they were able to indulge in their love of horticulture, procuring plants and creating gardens that became locally known for their beauty.

Life for the Falk family was pleasant. The older sister found love and moved into a small apartment in the capital city with her new husband so that he could attend the university. Young Zane excelled in school. He especially enjoyed reading about different cultures. Outside the classroom, he exhibited equestrian skill and began to enter competitions.

Unfortunately, when Zane was about 13 years old, an economic downturn in their home country caused his father to lose all their money. Already in his middle aged years, the elder Falk was in despair about his ability to provide for himself, his wife, and their son.

It was Zane who approached his parents about moving to a faraway country he had read about: Ninjago. In this nation, a family could have a decent life if they were willing to put in hard work, particularly in the western region. Also in the west, good horsemen were admired.

Aside from giving up relative proximity to their married daughter and her husband, Herr and Fru Falk had nothing else to lose, so they boarded a ship with their son and eventually found themselves in Ninjago Town, ready to do what they needed to do to find success in the new land.

Zane had a rudimentary knowledge of the language of Ninjago, having studied it on the ship voyage, so once they exited the stagecoach, he led his parents to the hotel to arrange for lodging for the night.

The next morning, they went in search of a church, to ask the pastor for his recommendation of which people to talk to about finding work. In Pastor Neuro's office, Zane did his best to act as the translator between his parents and the clergyman.

A knock on the pastor's door interrupted their conversation. It was a white-bearded gentleman. He had come to discuss a matter with Pastor Neuro and said that from the other side of the door, he had heard the plight of the family. It turned out that the bearded man, whose name was Mr. Wu, had just taken ownership of a ranch from the widow of his late brother. The brother's murder had understandably traumatized the family, and for the past few months after the tragedy, upkeep of certain aspects of the ranch had fallen by the wayside.

But now Mr. Wu was ready to pour his energy into maintaining the ranch and even building it up to honor the memory of his loved one, and one small way to do so would be to spruce up the neglected landscaping around the main house. The previous gardener had skedaddled in fear after the murder, and the weeds were growing tall.

As Zane translated Mr. Wu's offer of a gardener job to his father, and translated back the acceptance of the offer, he felt grateful for the kindness shown by the gentleman with the cream-colored cowboy hat, especially when it made his parents so happy. Zane could have sworn that ten years were instantly erased from his father's face.

Life was good on Garmadon Ranch. Herr Falk and his wife created lovely landscaping that was the talk of the county. Zane took an exam and easily passed it, proving he had met the requirements for a diploma from the school in Ninjago Town. Because he was still a bit young, and because his parents needed to save up money for higher education, he stayed on the ranch and did various jobs, such as helping to care for the horses after each long day on the range.

One day Mr. Wu caught him performing some stunt riding on a horse to entertain Lloyd, the ranch owner's young nephew. Mr. Wu immediately offered the talented equestrian a weekly job as a riding instructor to the youngster.

After about two years, Zane's older sister gave birth to a son, and the Falk family returned to their home country for a month-long visit with the newest little relative. The new grandparents were so proud of their little grandson. Zane enjoyed being in the role of an older relative and imagined being a mentor to his nephew in the future.

The happiness of the family was cut short, however. On the ship voyage back to their adopted homeland, sickness broke out among the passengers. Unfortunately, the Falks did not escape the spread of the illness. Zane's young age and robust health allowed him to withstand the pestiferous virus, but Herr and Fru Falk ultimately perished and were buried at sea.

Once the ship had docked in its destined port city on the eastern coast of the United States, Zane and the other sick passengers remained in a quarantined ward of the nearest hospital for about two weeks. When the quarantine was lifted, Zane was shocked to find Mr. Wu at his hospital bedside one day. The ranch owner had traveled all the way to the United States to see the young man after learning the awful news about his parents via a hospital telegram.

Zane, finally in the company of a trusted friend who was like a second father, cried into the older man's shoulder at the loss of his parents.

As the days wore on, Zane became stronger and healthier. Mr. Wu spent hours by his bedside. It was not too long before the young man was slated to be discharged from the hospital. And it was time for Zane to make a decision.

"So, Zane," the ranch owner said, clearing his throat awkwardly as he stood up to leave the hospital ward for the night, "I'll be back tomorrow to help with discharging you from the hospital. Do you, uh, know what you want to do after that?"

"I wish to go home," Zane firmly stated.

Mr. Wu sighed. He had been hoping that the platinum-haired youth would want to return to Ninjago Town instead of his native country, for the ranch owner had formed a strong bond with the Falk family over the years, but he hid his disappointment. "I can understand that," he responded, mustering false cheeriness. "I'm sure your sister could probably take you in for a few years until you get established."

Zane tilted his head in confusion at the ranch owner's reaction. "Mr. Wu, my home is in Ninjago Town."

Mr. Wu's heart leaped. "Oh, Zane, I'm so happy to hear you say that!" In a rare deviation from the older man's tough-as-nails demeanor, he leaned over and hugged the lad.

Then, straightening himself up, he asked, "Would you want to be one of my ranch hands? We're down one, now that Zeke went off to prospect for gold."

Zane didn't hesitate to answer. "I would be honored, sir!"

"Howdy, Zane!"

Mr. Wu's voice brought Zane from his thoughts of the past into the present.

"Heard you got yourself into a bad box!" The ranch owner said in greeting. He was about to shake hands with the patient but hesitated, looking at Celeste for permission.

The nurse nodded. "It is all right to shake, though not too hard," she cautioned.

Mr. Wu took Zane's hand and squeezed it.

"I will leave you to your visit. If you need anything, let me know," Celeste said before departing the company of the two men.

Mr. Wu noticed that Zane's gaze lingered on the nurse as she walked away.

"I see you're admiring that piece of calico," the older man smiled as he settled into the bedside chair. "She seems like a fine young lady. Her accent tells me she's not from around these parts."

Zane held up the book and pointed to the word "Cefran" on the cover.

Mr. Wu chuckled. "Well, I'd say a certain cowboy is sweet on a certain nurse, if he's reading about her homeland!"

The ranch owner leaned forward in the chair. "And I'm glad you're already eyeing the ladies, barely a week after that Purple scoundrel sliced you open. That tells me you're doing all right."

Zane grabbed the slate and chalk and wrote, "I'm doing as well as can be expected." Then he flipped the slate toward Mr. Wu.

Mr. Wu smiled. "I'm happy to hear that! I'm planning to stay in Sasnak City for a few days to make sure things are going all right with you, if you don't mind."

Zane didn't hesitate to answer. "I would be honored, sir!" he wrote.


With a wide grin on his face after having gone through the mail line, Cole walked over to his group of friends who were waiting for him. The others had already collected their mail and were eager to go sit under the shady oak tree by the mess tent to read their newly delivered missives.

"All right, Cole, why do you have that saphead look on your face?" Rusty McKanna demanded as the black-haired cowboy approached them.

Wordlessly, Cole held up the two letters that Shorty had just handed him from the mail wagon.

Groans of envy and teasing catcalls ensued. Receiving two letters was a rare occurrence. Most soldiers got only one or none at all during a mail call.

"Can I read one, Cole, while you're looking at the other?" Michael Donlan begged, half jokingly but half seriously. "I didn't get anything today, not even from Jenny." The saloon girl back at McAllister's had agreed to correspond with him while he was away from Ninjago Town.

"No can do," Cole smugly replied, clutching the letters against his chest.

"Here, Michael, I got an idea. You can read part of the Ninjago Town Chronicle," Robinson Murphy offered, proceeding to separate pages of the newly received issue of their hometown's newspaper to share with his fellow Double S Ranch ranch hand.

"So are both your letters from Brooke?" Jay asked Cole, peeking at the two prized messages in his friend's hand. "I got one from Nya, and Kai got one from Sam. I wonder if the Garmadon Ranch ladies had a letter writing party."

Cole held the papers to his nose. "Yep. Even if I hadn't read the label, I could tell they were from her by the vanilla scent."

Rowan Birk sniffed his letter from his sweetheart. "Elly's letter smells like lavender."

"The letter I got smells like - paper," Rusty McKanna lamented. "It's from my sister," he explained.

As the banter continued, the men walked the few yards to their destination and sprawled on the ground in the oak tree's shade. Cole wasn't exactly sure which letter to open first, so he just picked one and tore it open.

The first letter from Brooke was written in direct response to his own letter in which he told her to marry again if something happened to him. He frowned when she said that sentence made her cry. He thought that maybe now that they got that sad business of dealing with his possible death out of the way, maybe he'd make his future letters to her less somber.

He picked up the second letter. It was thinner than the first one. He tore it open.

Ninjago Town
26th June 18xx

Dearest Husband -

Right now I am sitting in Misako Julien's tea shop, resting during our ladies' day of errands in town. I wrote you a letter last night and have already mailed it, so this letter will be brief, as I wish to mail it to you before we leave town to return to the ranch.

One of my errands for today was to visit Doc Julien during his Thursday office hours, and he verified some wonderful news. You're going to be a daddy, Cole Hence! The blessed event is supposed to occur at about the end of next February. Start thinking of possible names for our future little one!

I am going to write to Mama and Daddy now and share the good news with them about their future grandchild.

I love you so much, you handsome devil! Keep yourself safe so you can come home to these loving arms that are waiting for you!

Your devoted wife,
Brooke

Cole's heart leaped. "Yee haw!" he shouted, tossing his hat in the air and startling the young men around him. "I'm gonna be a daddy next February!" he proudly announced, jumping up from the ground.

Shouts of congratulations and happiness filled the air as his friends surrounded him, slapping his back.

As Kai joined in the impromptu celebration, he wondered in the back of his mind how Sam was feeling right now about the fact that Brooke was carrying a child. Kai himself figured that God would bless him and Sam with a baby sooner or later, but Sam was more anxious that it happen sooner.

In his next letter to her, he definitely would assure her that their time would come as well.

And he would thank her for the hairpin he just received from her, the one that once gave him strength in a bad situation. He would keep it in the pocket closest to his heart.

Just in case he needed it.