Chapter 8 – Accommodations and Horse Thieves

"Beau, did you ask your cousins about Benny spending his last year of school here in Little Bend as we discussed?" The question came from Dani; she was sure that the cousins would refuse Beau's request.

"Yes dear, I did."

"And what excuse did they give you for turning you down?"

Beau had been waiting for this moment ever since the subject first came up. He had faith in Bret and Bart; he knew they'd never turn him down. He had no idea why Dani was so sure they would. "Well, my love . . . "

"Yes, dear?"

"They were more than happy to accommodate me."

"That's too . . . they were what?"

"More than happy to accommodate me."

"They . . . said . . . yes?"

"Most certainly."

"And we can just . . . leave him here when we return to Baton Rouge?"

"They were most anxious to assist in any way possible."

"You're . . . sure?"

"Absolutely." Beau tried, he really tried to keep the smirk off his face. But he just couldn't do it.

"Well, I'm . . . "

"Shocked . . . astounded . . . beside yourself?" He suggested.

e suggested

"I just didn't . . . " Dani was flustered. She had readily agreed to the request because she never in a million years expected the Mavericks to agree to it. She just couldn't imagine . . . and now they had. She swallowed her pride and smiled. If they could stand it, she could, too. At least she didn't have to worry about Ben falling in love with someone while he was there; no one of the appropriate age existed in the two families. She had to admit defeat gracefully; after all, she got her way most of the time. And she really did love the man she was married to – she could stand to lose once in a while. "Well, it will be awfully quiet at home this summer."

"Yes, won't it?" Beau turned away and tried not to smile. He knew this was one argument that he was going to win. Oh, how he envied his son. He remembered the last summer he and Bart spent in Little Bend, the summer Bret did his best to get married. He expected Benny to work hard and play hard the rest of the summer, and to do his best in his last year of school in the fall. It took a minute or two before he realized Dani was talking to him.

"I'm going to miss our boy, aren't you?"

Beau shook his head to agree with her. "Sure I'm going to miss him, but I think this will do him a lot of good. It'll do us some good, too. Won't be long he'll be out on his own, so we might as well get used to it. Besides, Abby will still be with us."

"Um, yes, Abby. That's right, Abby will be with us."

Dani was already in bed, and after Beau put his nightshirt on, he joined her. "That gives you a chance to get closer to your daughter."

"I know, and I'm glad for that. I'm just going to miss Benny something awful."

'I'm sure you are,' thought Beau. "I will, too, Dani. We'll learn to live with it."

XXXXXXXX

Benny and Maudie had returned to the ranch some time ago; they put their tack away and gave their mounts a good rubdown. When that was finished they left the barn and wandered outside into the night air; neither one wanted to return to the house just yet.

"I enjoyed the ride," Benny told the girl.

"Me, too," Maudie answered. She stood in front of him, with the moon rising in the sky, and he was sure he'd never seen anyone so beautiful. Her hair shined like gold in the night lights, and her brown eyes danced with a fire that took his breath away. He wanted so much to kiss her, but all he kept hearing in his head was her answer when he asked how old she was. 'Ten, almost eleven.' He couldn't kiss a child! But she certainly didn't look like a child, or act like a child, or talk like a child. Just as he had himself convinced that she wasn't a child, a horse whinnied, and he shook his head and backed away from her. What was he doing? He couldn't do that. She was a baby, a ten-year-old, and besides that, she was his cousin!

The spell was broken; he was in his right mind again. "We better go in," he managed to get out, and began walking towards the house. She quickly followed him, not quite sure of what had just happened.

"Will you go again tomorrow night?" she asked, not sure why.

"Maybe," was his reply.

Maudie didn't know what she'd done wrong, but she was sure it was something terrible. One minute he was warm and friendly, and the next he was as cold as ice. She sighed, as confused as any ten year old had a right to be. Boys! Better to stick to horses and riding with Poppy, and stay away from things she didn't understand.

Without warning, Benny stopped dead in his tracks and turned back to the girl following him. "Alright, I'll ride with you tomorrow night."

She caught up with him and they walked into the house side by side. Neither of them understood what they were feeling, but both of them knew this was different from anything they'd felt before. When they got to their bedrooms, Maudie spoke first. "Good night, Benny."

"Good night, Maudie." Both of them went to bed, tired, happy, and confused.

XXXXXXXX

"They've gone inside, Richie." This came from the tall man, astride the bay mare.

"I see that, Jackson." Richie Hampton turned his head only slightly, to glance at Jackson Melrose.

"We can pick and choose, or we can take 'em all."

"We don't want all of 'em, damn it. We only want the crossbreeds."

"Well, it looks like that's everything in the upper pasture and the red barn," Art Decker offered. He was a man in his forties, still trying to make that one big score.

"And the two that're in the small corral. That gives us what, about a dozen?" That was Jackson again.

"Yeah, Jack, just about a dozen," Richie was sure.

"We gonna get 'em tonight?"

Richie shook his head. "No, tomorrow. Just about the same time."

"And we take 'em to Bryce Canyon?"

"That's the plan, boys. Until the Mavericks quit lookin' for 'em."

"Whata you figure, boss, about a week?"

"Yep." Richie turned his horse around. "Just about a week before we can take off for our payday. Come on, let's get outta here before somebody sees us."

The three men turned their horses east, towards Bryce Canyon, and set out at a gallop. Richie Hampton, Jackson Melrose, and Art Decker were horse thieves; but not just any horse thieves. They only stole the very best, and they had an order for the horses the Mavericks were breeding on the B Bar M. They'd been watching and waiting for days, for the right time to swoop in and steal just what the rancher in Kansas was willing to pay for. And make a tidy sum doing it.