Chapter Eleven
Chris awoke to silence. It took him a moment to realize that he should be hearing the sounds of two youngest brothers. Vin and JD! Alarm shot through him at the thought that something had happened to them. He scrambled into and upright position and glanced around, looking for Vin and JD. Relief, followed by tenderness, swept over him as he caught sight of them cuddled together and sound asleep.
He went outside to relieve himself in the corner of the alley the brothers had designated as their privy. Upon re-entering their enclosure, he washed his hands, dried them, dipped a cup into their bucket of drinking water, and drank thirstily. Yawning, he crawled back onto his pallet and was just drifting back to sleep when heard footsteps enter their alley.
He was up in a flash, gun cocked, and listening intently. The footsteps kept coming, but instead of making him more on edge, he relaxed his guard, and holstered his Colt. He wondered if Josiah was successful in obtaining train tickets for all of them.
Josiah entered their home a few moments later. He stopped in his tracks as he took in the sight of Vin and JD sleeping cuddled together. He was glad to see his two youngest brothers bonding so well with one another.
"Well?" Chris asked softly.
"We have tickets on an eleven o'clock train leaving tonight," Josiah informed him.
"Good."
Josiah smiled. In just that one word, Chris said so much. His blond brother was always ready for an adventure.
'Get some more sleep while you can, Chris. I'll keep watch," Josiah retrieved his old valise from a corner and began packing his few belongings into it.
Chris settled back onto his pallet and was soon fast asleep. He didn't wake again until all the brothers were back from their assigned tasks. After the brothers enjoyed the feast of ham and cheese sandwiches, hard boiled eggs, pickles, apples, and a sweet roll apiece that Ezra had brought back from the mercantile, they all got to work packing up what they were taking with them.