Hoss made his way up stairs and down the hall as he sighed tiredly. He had just gotten home from checking some of the range in the northern part of their property for any signs of a wild cat that had been killing some of their calves recently.
A crash of thunder shook the roof of the otherwise silent house. It was almost midnight, the storm had made Hoss later getting home than he had thought it would.
A soft whimper was heard as Hoss passed the closed door of his baby sister and he stopped with a frown and he opened the door. "Jenny?" He asked wondering what she was doing awake at this hour.
"Hoss?" Jennifer asked as she peeked over the covers at her older brother. Just then a crack of thunder rattled her window and she yelped as she jumped with fright.
Hoss saw this and he closed the door behind him as he stepped into her room, sitting his boots down by the wall. "Are you scared of the storm darlin'?" he asked as he sat on the edge of the bed and he patted the 5 year-old on top of the head gently.
Jennifer nodded as she crawled out from under the cover and onto Hosses lap, curling her fingers around the fabric of his shirt. "It wants to get me." she said in a quiet voice as she snuggled into her older brother.
"Jenny darlin' there ain't nothing to be scared of." Hoss said as he rubbed gentle circles on the little girls back, trying to soothe her fear.
Jenniffer trembled and she clutched his shirt tighter with a soft whimper when lighting struck across the sky and lit up the interior of her room through the window.
Hoss could see that the little girl was terrified and he sighed as he kissed the top of her head. "Darlin' it's just the horses in the sky, that's all that it is." He told her as he curled his big arms around her tiny frame to comfort her.
"What?" Jennifer asked with wide eyes as she looked up at her brother. "Horses? In the sky?" she asked curiously.
Hoss nodded, "That's right Jenny. Most people think it's a storm but it's not. It's horses in the sky."
Jennifer gapped with a soft gasp as excitement filled her eyes, her fears momentarily forgotten. "Tell me!" she demanded
Hoss slightly chuckled with a nod, "Alright Jenny, but get back under the covers, okay?"
He couldn't help but smile at the nod he received in response and he leaned back against the head board as he looped a arm around his sister, beginning his story.
"The Lord has horses up there in heaven Jenny. And sometimes they'll get spooked like our horses do. So you see darlin' the thunder is just the sound of their hooves and that wind, why it's just from them running so plumb fast."
"And the lightning?" Jennifer asked, wanting to know what the horses did to cause that.
"Well the lightning, that's just Gods lantern that he's shining to try to check on his herd." Hoss explained and he smiled as he noticed that Jenny had calmed down.
"Oh... well what bout the rain?" Jenny asked, curious as to what the horses did to cause that.
Hoss frowned as a thoughtful expression came upon his face, "Well I suppose that's from the horses running through a river or a creek or something." he said after a moment and he was rewarded with a smile.
"Does Joe know about the horses in the sky?" Jennifer asked in a mischievous tone.
"No, he doesn't. See, the horses in the sky is a secret so not many people know anything about them darlin'."
Jennifer softly giggled, delighted by the idea of knowing a secret that one of her brothers wasn't in on. "Our secret?"
Hoss nodded with a smile of his own, "It'll be our secret Jenny." he promised her.
"Hoss, I'm not scared anymore but will you stay?" Jennifer asked, not really wanting him to go. He was bigger than her pa and her other brothers so Jennifer knew that he could protect her from anything that wanted to hurt her.
Hoss nodded, "Of course, if you want me to darlin'." He didn't mind staying with his baby sister if that meant she would get enough peace to sleep.
Ben awoke as a crash of thunder shook the house and he got out of bed, slipping his robe on and tying it.
He knew that his youngest was terrified of thunderstorms so he went to check on her, if she was afraid he planned to take her back to his room where she would stay with him for the night.
He stopped outside Jennys door and he opened it softly, stopping in the doorway a smile on his face at the scene before him.
There on Jennys bed was his daughter and his middle son both of them sound asleep.
Ben closed the door softly behind him and went back down the hall, to his own room, his worries for his youngest daughter now set at ease.