Dear Mort,
I always thought that Mike would end up becoming a rancher. From the time he was young, he just liked taking care of horses, developing his lasso swing (Slim said he was a natural) and following Jess around asking questions on how to chop wood, how to curry a horse -I just felt that even though he was a good student, becoming a lawyer or teacher wasn't something he wanted to do. So when he wrote me and told me about the trip and how he had decided to stay at the ranch I was not surprised. What did surprise me was that Andy wanted to give up that great job at the hospital with all the extra money and come back to broken bones, gun-shot wounds, babies and very little money! Mike wrote that Andy liked people more than money and I guess he's got a good start at a practice. He grew up in Laramie, he'll be Sam's partner and he can live at the ranch.
Mike wrote me a lot about Jess. How he knew them right away and how long they talked. Andy and he were impressed with the S & S ranch and all the horses and buildings. Jack had a good reputation in town and his men respected him. Both Andy and Mike were afraid that Jess was too attached to his successful ranch to leave. Jess had asked about me and Mike told him that I was in Denver with my sister. He seemed surprised at that but Mike said that it was because I had been ill. He wrote that he hated lying to his 'father' but didn't want to make him feel guilty about causing me pain.
They spent all their free time with Jess and one day while they were fishing, Jess confessed that he was afraid that Slim would never forgive him. Mike thought that he was scared to come home, so he told Andy to encourage Jess to write Slim; to tell him everything, what had happened, why he stayed away and why he wanted to come home.
I nearly wept when I read that! I could just picture Jess confessing his feelings to his 'son'. Slim and Jess' bond may be bent but it seems to me that my two oldest never broke their brotherly connection. I knew when I first met them that they were close friends and partners but over the years, I saw and you did too, the length those two would go to protect each other. The mystery of Jess' disappearance will be revealed some day, I just feel it.
I hope Jess writes Slim. Do you think Slim will tell you, if he does?
Daisy
Daisy POV:
My heart is aching for my boys. Slim has gone through so much, trying to keep the ranch going and missing his family too. I'm going to see if I can go home in the fall.