THE WALK

Jason , walking beside Josh, kept an eye on Jeremy, running ahead. Every now and then the boy stopped and jumped up in the air, sometimes shouting.

"Kinda feel like shouting, myself," Josh said.

"And jumping up and down?"

Josh shrugged. "Why not?" Josh took a few running steps ahead, then leapt and shouted.

Jason laughed. "Fun?"

"It'll do."

Jeremy came running back. "Hey, why'd you yell?'

"To see if you were paying attention," Josh answered tartly, and Jason laughed again.

"Hey, J-jason, there's b-been people here."

"Oh?"

Josh glanced at Jason curiously. He didn't sound at all alarmed, nor even surprised.

"Uh-huh."

"How many?"

"C-couple. Prolly trappers."

"Good for you, Jeremy. I leased some of the area to a few trappers when we finally shut down operations."

"Oh," said Joshua.

"Why?"

Jason shrugged. "Why not?"

"That's why you aren't worried about paying the men before we make any sales," Josh said. "Why didn't you say something?"

Jason shrugged. "It never came up."

"You know I've been trying to figure out a plan, and you just act like you don't have one, and here you've had this going all along. You're a sneak!"

"And you worry too much. I keep telling you that."

Josh shook his head. "That's no way to do business."

"It's working, Joshua."

Josh huffed, shaking his head. "It's still not smart."

"It still works." This was one of their most consistent arguments. Jason had decided to just put up with it. What could Joshua really know about running a business?

"Hey, Josh, wanna race?"

"No."

"How c-come?"

"Because I don't want to."

"Okay." Jeremy ran ahead again anyway.

"I should probably tell him to not get too far ahead and to stay on the road."

"Should've thought of that before he discovered your trappers for himself. That could have gone wrong."

"Shows he was paying attention, though." They watched as the boy turned and came running back.

"Why didn't you?"

Jason half-laughed. "I didn't want to be a spoilsport. Besides, we're probably all going to go off in different directions tomorrow, anyway. Him to his Sacred Grove, me to my giants, and you – well, I don't know where you'll go, but I'm pretty sure you don't plan on spending the day inside."

"He's g-gonna wander 'round and do inbentory. And measure out where to put the c-camp. And go to the m-meadow and l-lay on top of the w-weeds and l-look at the clouds."

"Shut up, you." Josh was embarrassed, and Jason was reminded, again, of how young his next brother was, for all his growth and adult demeanor. "And it's inVentory, with a v, not a b. And you don't know everything."

"Guess I know enough, or you wouldn't be mad." Jeremy darted out of Josh's reach.

Jason laughed, long and loud, and threw an arm across Josh's shoulders. "Inventory all you want, so long as you also lay on the grass and look at clouds. They're both important."

Josh mumbled something and looked at his feet.

"J-jason, Jason, can I have a d-drink?" Jeremy tugged on his sleeve.

Jason handed him a canteen, and they stopped walking while the boy drank.

Jeremy handed the canteen back and the three started walking again, at a steady, even pace. Apparently he'd gotten most of his excitement out of his system.

Jason wondered how long it would be before he asked to ride again, or even if he would. The boy showed all the signs of trying to act more grown, just like Josh had when Mom had died.