AUTHOR'S NOTE:
I am very pleased to present the next chapter of this soldier tale in a more timely fashion than I have been posting. Two chapters in the same month - yay! The next three chapters are almost ready and are full of action, and I can't wait to share them!
I'm still aiming to catch up on my reading of other authors' updates. I'm over a week behind, but I assure those authors that I intend to read your writings as soon as I can!
The comments on the previous chapter by StoryMaker7, lovesgod12, guest, Naruby7, and MasterofCupcakes are very much appreciated! I also appreciate MasterofCupcakes and Taiski for faving this tale since the day I posted Chapter 25!
The chapter below begins a few evenings after Kai has returned from serving in the Yellow Army...
Chapter 28 - Before the Next Tour of Duty
Kai and Sam sat on the porch swing of their cottage after supper on an early autumn evening, several days after his return to Garmadon Ranch. After Kai's day of tending the cattle and Sam's day of tending to the household, they welcomed the opportunity to simply sit and be with each other.
The cowboy had his arm around his wife, but their mood was not a happy one. They were discussing the prospect of his reenlistment in the Yellow Army. They had postponed the discussion ever since he had returned from his three-month tour of duty, but they knew that the subject could not be put off any longer.
"This time, they've increased the enlistment period. Soldiers who voluntarily sign up will now have to serve 180 days instead of 90," he told her. "The Purples are proving to be a lot stronger than anyone ever expected. There's even talk of a draft being instituted this autumn, and drafted men are likely to be required to serve for a period of at least one year."
"What has Jay said he's going to do?" Sam asked, settling in closer to him and resting her head on his shoulder.
Kai rested his cheek on top of her golden blonde tresses. "Just today while we were on the range, he told me that he and Nya decided it would be better for him to reenlist instead of waiting to be drafted. For a couple of reasons. Enlisting means there's a choice to join a cavalry, but being drafted means he'll be forced to join an infantry."
He continued. "Either way, enlistment or draft, he'll be missing the baby's birth, but he reckons he can leave the army sooner and miss less of the baby's growth if he voluntarily signs up again, and Nya would much prefer that."
"Oh, and Jay said something else." Kai raised his head up suddenly, causing Sam to lift her own head to look at him. "While he's gone, Nya is going to live with his mama and daddy at their new home in Barrburg. She'll have the baby there, and her in-laws can help her care for the little shaver. Jay felt that if he couldn't be around for the baby's birth and first few months, at least the love from the baby's grandpa and grandma could somewhat make up for him being gone."
Sam felt a little sad at the news that Nya was going away for the next few months. The raven-haired beauty was the first friend Sam had made upon moving to Ninjago Town to work at the Morro Saloon a little over a year ago. During that time, Nya and Brooke - who had been dearly missed by Sam ever since the brunette left with Cole for Ogacich several weeks ago - had become like sisters to the Ninjago newcomer. But she understood that living in Barrburg would be the best choice for the mother-to-be.
She nodded. "Jay's mama and daddy will give the baby lots of love, no doubt!" she agreed.
Kai reached for her hand. "One good thing about me reenlisting with Jay is that if we rejoin the Yellow army by the end of the week, we'll be given the rank of corporal, and that's worth a few extra dollars in our pay."
He gave her hand a squeeze. "The bad thing is that I won't be with you on your birthday." September 22nd was still two weeks away.
"Oh, Kai, I don't care about that," she protested, giving him a nudge. "It sounds like the best thing for you to do is sign up again. Sign up now, so you can be home again sooner. Home again with me." She let go of his hand and cupped his cheek.
He gazed into her earnest blue eyes. "I love you, Sam," he said quietly. Usually he followed this statement with a kiss, but now he simply studied her face, to memorize her beauty in the twilight.
"I love you, too, Kai," she whispered.
Kai swallowed. "Jay's planning to stay two more days here at Garmadon Ranch and then leave. I'll let Mr. Wu know that I'm going with him."
He watched as tears pooled in his wife's eyes. Wordlessly, he used his thumb to wipe away a tear that escaped down her cheek. Before another tear fell, his lips sought hers. Their minutes together were now numbered.
Three evenings later…
Sam, who once more was living in the main house of Garmadon Ranch, was seated in Mr. Wu's office after supper on a tiring day, which had begun with the emotional morning departure of Kai and Jay for Camp Goldland. From there, the men would reconnect with Company C of the 5th Ninjago Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, currently stationed north of Shanville.
Sam sipped from a cup of soothing hot tea while perched on Mr. Wu's guest chair. The ranch owner sat across the desk from her with his own hot beverage. He had just asked her to spend another 7-10 days tending to the cattle, and she had just agreed, knowing that his third extended absence from the ranch would be for the purpose of escorting Nya to Barrburg in eastern Ninjago, about a day's ride north of Sasnak City. Through telegram communication, the senior Walkers had happily agreed to Jay's idea and were now eagerly awaiting the arrival of their daughter-in-law.
"Thank you once again, Sam, for watching the cattle in my absence," the white-bearded man said in gratitude. The help you've provided has been invaluable, and I appreciate it."
He took a sip of tea before continuing. "But your third time at cow herding will be the last time."
"What do you mean?" Sam asked in confusion. He had just said her help was invaluable before saying he didn't want her help anymore.
Mr. Wu set down his teacup. "When I come back, I'm selling all but a handful of cattle."
"But why, Mr Wu?" Sam was alarmed. Cattle was his livelihood.
The ranch owner leaned back in his chair. "There are a few reasons. One reason is that I'm getting tuckered out from tending the cattle, riding into town every day for war news and mail, and taking care of the ranch business all at the same time. In my younger days, I used to be able to rassel a bear and bust a bronc before I even ate breakfast," he laughed, causing Sam to also laugh at his exaggeration, "but I'm getting a little long in the tooth now."
He continued. "Secondly, winter's coming, and I can't ask you or Bo to be out on the range all day when the snow is blowing so hard it stings your eyes and the freezing temperatures chill you to the bone. That's tough enough for a regular cowboy."
The ranch owner then leaned forward in his chair and held his resting teacup between his hands. Avoiding Sam's gaze, he looked down at the cup's contents, and his demeanor became serious. "But the most worrisome reason is that the Purples are marching toward the village of Corbett. If the Yellow Army can't hold them at Corbett, the route to the cattle market will be closed off. And we need to be able to convert the cows to cash. The county tax collector can't exactly accept cows as payment of the yearly taxes on the ranch."
"I'll keep half of the profit from the cattle sale to pay taxes on the land and to buy new cattle when the war is finally over. But," he went on, looking at Sam with the most serious expression on his face that she had ever seen him wear, "I'll deposit the money in a United States bank instead of a Ninjago bank, and I'll move the rest of my money there as well, until this dadgum conflict is over."
"And, Sam, I suggest you do the same with your money."
The heiress gasped. Was Mr. Wu beginning to think that the Purples would win the war?
Mr. Wu sighed. "Yes, I'm becoming a bit rattled about the outcome of this war. I thought for sure the Yellows would've cleaned the plows of the Purples by now, but it hasn't happened. If the Purples do win, the current Ninjago currency won't be worth one shiny penny, and I owe it to the memory of my late brother to preserve the fruits of his years of labor while he was on earth."
"But I still believe in the Yellow cause, and that's why I'm going to donate the other half of the cattle sale profit to the Yellow Army, to help them defend Ouroborus. It's my way of trying to keep Kai and Jay safe."
Sam's mind spun with all that Mr. Wu had just said. She hated to pull all her assets out of the Ninjago Town Community Bank. The folks who worked there were good people. The bank president had even rehired Rowan Birk, the mild-mannered young man who had worked there before enlisting as a Yellow Army soldier but who had lost an arm to a minie ball at the Battle of Jamanakai Village. Thanks to having obtained employment despite his serious injury, Rowan had felt financially secure enough to propose marriage to Elly Metzger, his long-time sweetheart, and they planned to be married in a small ceremony in about two weeks.
Withdrawal of all the money Sam had inherited from her business tycoon father, Cyrus Borg, as well as the money she had indirectly inherited from the unscrupulous Morro, would hurt the bank's bottom line.
Later that night as she lay in bed, Sam decided to withdraw approximately half of her funds, the portion inherited from her father, and deposit them in a United States bank. Like Mr. Wu had said about his late brother, the heiress felt she owed it to her daddy to do what she needed to do to protect the money he worked so hard all his life to obtain. Of the remaining funds, she would donate fifty percent to the Yellow Army, like Mr. Wu was doing. But the remainder she would keep in the Ninjago Town Community Bank.
Then, before she closed her eyes for the night, she prayed for the safety of the two Garmadon Ranch soldiers who had just left that morning to face six more months of danger.
