The early morning sun shone brightly over the desert landscape of Santa Fe, rich oranges and reds painted over a light blue canvas. A warm breeze rustled the plant life and critters scurried out for their morning hunt. Farmers and ranch owners stepped out to start another long day of work, men like Jack Kelly woke up before dawn. Every morning he saddled up his chestnut stallion and with the help of a black & white border collie named Shadow, led his cattle out to the field. On this particular morning he watched them carefully, smoke from the cigarette in his mouth swirled in front of his eyes and tried to distract him. Jack wasn't going to let a puff of smoke distract him, the night before his herd acted jittery when he tried to bring them in for the night. The year before coyotes attacked his herd and Jack placed barbed wire around the field, but he knew it wasn't enough to keep them out.

It had been almost a decade since the newspaper strike against Joseph Pulitzer, in the years that followed Jack went from a popular street kid to a simple rancher. After the strike, Jack decided to sell in the morning so he could work as a butchers assistant the rest of the day. Within a year he moved out of the lodging house and into a run down apartment, Jack's main goal was to prove he wasn't a rebellious street kid, but a responsible adult. The real reason behind such a goal was his relationship with Sarah Jacobs, it had grown serious but Jack waited until he was sure he had enough money to provide for a family, then he proposed to her. Well aware he had dreams of living in Santa Fe, his new bride said she would go with him, as long as he had a plan.

Satisfied his herd settled in for another day of grazing, Jack removed the cigarette from his mouth and whistled, Shadow bounded across the field toward the former newsboy as he patted the stallion underneath him on the neck. Muttering a command, the horse slowly walked toward a large gate constructed of planks and rusty nails, next to it stood a large water trough filled with fresh water. Jack dismounted, opened the gate then grabbed the reins and led his horse up the path to his house, Shadow at his heels. When they first moved to Santa Fe, the couple lived in an abandoned cabin until Jack started asking around and locals explained Pueblo architecture had become a popular look for homes. Square or rectangular buildings made of brick then painted in earth tones, so Jack and Sarah decided to settle on the look for their home and continued to add on over the years.

Sarah stood in front of their two story home and watered a vegetable garden, her hair styled in two tight braids that framed her face. She wore a periwinkle blue blouse, a flowing brown skirt with floral stitching along the hem, and faded brown lace up boots. Shadow barked and trotted up to her, Sarah sprinkled water on the dog who welcomed the cool down. Jack walked up to his bride of five years, leaned in to kiss her but she stepped back.

"I can't kiss you when a horse is staring back at me."

"So you owe me." he grinned.

"I support your cowboy dreams, remember?"

Jack laughed. "Alright well I gotta hook Diego up to the wagon," he led his horse around the house to the stable, a few feet away stood an empty wagon. Jack tossed his cigarette aside and began strapping Diego to the wagon, this horse stood patiently as his owner grunted and gasped through a process he did once a month.

"Dearest," Sarah appeared, Shadow close behind, "any problem with the herd this morning?"

"Nah, how knows what irritated 'em yesterday," he grunted before stepping away from the wagon to join her, his white shirt damp with sweat, "Those cattle bandits that've been terrorizin' this area were caught a week ago, so could be critters riled 'em up."

Sarah sighed as she twirled a braid around her finger. At times she felt Jack still had a city boy daredevil mentality. Often she feared the news that he wasn't coming home. Reaching over and dusting off his pinstripe vest, Sarah requested, "Before you go into town, I need you to look at my pottery wheel."

Jack arched an eyebrow. "Only time you left that art room yesterday was fer dinner. Now suddenly that thing doesn't work?"

"Well Dearest, pottery doesn't paint itself," she smiled at him, then her expression turned serious as she explained her dilemma, "for some reason it wants to stick, and I can't find a reason for it to do that."

Jack just shook his head and rubbed the back of his head, he loved her too much to argue and had a feeling she knew it. Starting for the house, a tanned arm wound around his wife's waist, he stated, "Alright, I'll take a look. If you want me to take those pots into town, better pack 'em up."

She chuckled. "I did that while you were out in the field this morning."

After lunch he planned to fill up that empty wagon with sellable items like Sarah's pottery, quilts, and homemade jams. Then return home, that same wagon filled with food and other items they needed, this was his monthly trip into town. Their neighbors were miles apart, in New York the couple saw people every single day. At least he wasn't surviving off a few pennies every single day, but there were times Jack missed the city life and wondered if Sarah did as well.


Santa Fe's sunset sky with its bright yellows, pinks, and oranges slowly shifted into a clear night with a blanket of stars. Jack Kelly drove his full wagon up the path that led to his ranch, exhausted from selling and buying, and he still had to bring his herd in for the night. First he sold Sarah's wares, went into market, then made a final stop at the post office. On the ride home he went through the stack of letters, one in particular caught his eye and decided Sarah would want to open that one. Inching closer to the house, he noticed a bright glow coming from the fire pit he constructed next to the front door. Sarah sat on a bench with Shadow asleep at her feet, Jack constantly told her not to wait up for him when he went into town but she never listened. He stopped the wagon, stepped down and grabbed the letter before joining her.

"How did it go in town today?" Sarah didn't move, but her eyes watched him.

"I've got a letter that might interest you." He sat down next to his wife and handed her the unopened letter.

Sarah was confused as she tore open the envelop and pulled out the letter, her eyes read the familiar handwriting of her brother Les, slowly her face brightened as she continued to read. Finally, Sarah nudged her husband and said excitedly, "It's Les! Confirming our offer to stay here for a week."

Jack rubbed the stubble on his face and replied, "Yeah I figured. So when's he comin'?"

"Jack," she paused and looked up at him, "he's asking if there's room for everyone else."

He frowned. "Everyone else?"

"Dearest, please stop denying that you miss them," Sarah refused to back down and let Jack walk away from such a serious conversation. His friends, the newsies, had a chance to reunite with him and she wasn't going to take any of his excuses, "It'll be good for you to see your old friends again."

Jack heaved a sigh as he searched his pockets for a cigarette. His wife was right and he couldn't contradict it, he missed the New York crowd. He often caught himself thinking back to hanging out at the docks sneaking into theaters to catch a show. Why Jack felt like fighting this, even he couldn't understand.

"Les says Kloppman is paying for everyone to come, even Spot," Sarah explained as she handed the letter to her husband, "Sounds like Kloppman considers this an early Christmas gift for everyone."

Rubbing his temples, Jack mumbled, "Cactus Flower -."

"The newsies have always been family to him, like the sons he never had. This is his way of reuniting his family."

Sarah grabbed a bucket of water and threw it on the fire, there was a loud hiss as steam swirled up toward the night sky. Jack grabbed her hand, pulled her into his lap, and kissed her. After years of abuse and running away, he had a hard time trusting people yet he somehow fell in love with someone who loved him back. Sarah never raised her voice to him but could somehow talk sense into him. Resting his head on her shoulder he groaned, "Damn it, I still have to bring the herd in."