Chapter 6 – Logistics

Even though we were all in a hurry to learn what Ben and Ellie discovered in Baton Rouge, life went on in Little Bend. Benny began working for Lucien and, according to the reports that I got, was doing well. He was bright and ambitious, wanting to learn everything he could. Belle began preparing for college, and Maudie spent most of her time with the cross-breeds she'd developed. When she wasn't working on the ranch, she was out riding with Benny. The two of them had what seemed to be an unshakable friendship.

Meanwhile, the rest of the family got into the usual amount of cuts and scrapes. Beauregard broke his arm when he fell out of the hayloft. Don't ask me what he was doing up there; probably chasing a kitten or a puppy. Breton cut his leg on a branch in the river, but it was minor and didn't require a visit to Simon. Lily started taking care of Tim the way Breton had mothered her, and it was sweet to see her looking out for him.

Tim, of course, wanted a pony. Lily Beth had one, and he didn't see why he couldn't, too. Quite frankly, I couldn't either. I explained to him all the things he had to learn, and how to take care of a pony, and he listened attentively. It reminded me of the time I taught Matt Clennon to ride, all those years ago. Matt was grown and married now, to a darling little girl named Belinda, and he'd written to me recently and told me they were expecting their first child. If it was a boy they were going to name him Taylor Bart Clennon, and if it was a girl her name would be Mary. I wrote back and told him I was honored.

But I digress. Tim wanted a pony and I agreed with him, it was time. One day I took him over to Claytonville in the buggy, to a ranch that had ponies for sale, and he picked out a grey one and named him Sam. We tied Sam to the back of the buggy and had a wonderful drive back home. Tim was so excited; he couldn't wait to get his pony back to the barn and get his first lesson in grooming. It was a day I'll never forget.

Of course, he wanted to ride Sam right away, and I reminded him he had a lot of things to learn before he could ride. Even though he was too small to saddle Sam, I drilled him endlessly on the parts of the tack and what they did. Then I made sure he knew where each of those parts were on the equipment itself. When I was certain he knew what he should about the saddle and bridle, I got Sam ready for their first ride. I helped Tim get mounted, and then we walked around the corral for about thirty minutes. Tim was smilin' so big the whole time, I couldn't help but smile with him. I'd missed teaching these things to Beauregard and Breton; I was tryin' to make a living to support our ever-growing family. Bret had helped out a lot, and Slim filled in the gaps. So this event was especially important to me.

Tim wanted my assurance that we would do this every day, and I had to make sure that I left time for it. Jim volunteered to help on those days when I was really busy with somethin,' but Tim was more important than anything else, and I wanted to do it myself. This was my last chance to teach my own son to ride, and I wanted to do for him what I'd done for Matt. I shouldn't get ahead of myself, but by the end of the summer Tim could do everything but get on Sam by himself.

Meanwhile, the time that Ben and Ellie had been gone stretched from one week to two, and then to three. Finally, at the end of a month I got a telegram saying "Arriving Little Bend on Friday. Bringing home a surprise."

The stage was due in at three o'clock and Doralice and me decided to go into town early and do some shopping. Tim had been using the saddle that Lily Beth outgrew, and I thought he deserved a new one. Besides, Doralice was always happy to go to the Emporium and see what they had. When we left we had a saddle, a pair of pants and a shirt for each one of the boys, and a dress for Lily Beth. We also brought three bolts of fabric that we thought Belle and Maudie would like since they'd learned to sew from their mother and made their own clothes now. Fortunately, when Benny joined us in town with his Uncle Beauregard, he brought the wagon. Of course, Pappy praised Benny for his ability to miss all the potholes I usually hit.

We transferred our purchases to the wagon so we could cart most everybody back in the buggy. I suspected I knew what the surprise was, but I was willing to wait and see if I was right. Of course, the stagecoach was late, and it was closer to four o'clock than three when they arrived. A man and a woman that I didn't know departed first, followed by Ben, who helped Ellie out. There were two people left in the coach, but it was too dark in there to see them. And then the man stepped out . . . Cousin Beau. I have to admit, he looked terrible, thin and haggard, with dark circles under his eyes. But he was smiling, which was somethin' I didn't expect to see. And then the real surprise. Beau took something from the other passenger and passed it over to Ben, then he reached in and helped his daughter out. Abby forced a smile until she saw Benny, and then her smile became real.

By now Ellie had the bundle, and it became a he when he let out a squeal. Very quickly we were introduced to Joseph Bentley Maverick, and Abby took him from Ellie and rocked him until he quieted down. "You weren't kidding when you promised a surprise," I heard Pappy tell his brother.

"I thought we needed more Maverick's on the ranch," Ben answered.

"Is this a visit or are you here to stay?" I asked Beau.

"We're here to stay, if you'll have us."

My next question was to his son. "Benny?"

"Yes. Oh yes, Pa."

"You've got your answer, Beau. We'll get to workin' on a house for you right away. Down by Brother Bret's house, I think."

Beau and Abby were making the rounds, huggin' and kissin.' I turned to Benny. "Let's get this group home, shall we?"

"Yes, sir. Right away." He began to load the luggage into the wagon, as I ushered everyone that would fit into the buggy.

"How'd you manage this?" I asked Ben.

"It didn't take much persuasion."

"What took you so long to come back?"

"We had to work out the logistics."

"What does that mean?" I persisted.

"I'll explain it later. At least Beau's home."

"He looks awful, Ben," I told my uncle.

"We'll fix that, Bart. For now, let's put Beau and Joseph at our house. If it's alright with you and the girls, Abby can stay with Maudie and Belle."

"I can't imagine that they'd object."

"I'm so relieved to be home."

"I had an idea what your surprise was gonna be, but I sure didn't expect all three of 'em. How'd you manage it?"

"A lot of hard negotiating, son. That woman is tough as nails."

"Dani?"

"Yep. Who else?"

This was going to be an interesting summer, to say the least.

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