Aaron had nearly finished his breakfast when the Brothers came into Lottie's for breakfast.

"Running late, Jason?" Lottie chirped, turning three cups over and pouring coffee for all three of them.

Jason ran his fingers through his hair. "Yeah. Some of us had a bad night." He tapped the little one on the head.

"And that made the rest of us have a bad morning," Josh explained. "I'm gonna be late."

"Scrambled eggs?" Lottie asked him. "And toast?"

"Thanks."

"Jason? Jeremy?"

"Whatever is easiest for you, Lottie," Jason replied. "Josh forgets that I'm working, and will also be late if we have to wait."

He saw Aaron watching them, and nodded to him. "I won't be."

"No," Lottie agreed. "I didn't think you would. I'll get your plates." She whisked herself away.

Aaron approached them on his way out. He wanted to get an early start. At what, he didn't know, but it usually looked better, got more respect, if the boss was at work ahead of the men. He spoke to Joshua. "Will you be working for – with us again today?"

"After school," Josh answered, taking up his fork as Lottie set a plate in front of him. "I gotta go to school."

"Too bad. You set a good example, boy." The schoolchildren had joined their families yesterday late afternoon, and Joshua Bolt had worked – impressively.

"You don't have to," Jason corrected him. "A day off wouldn't hurt you."

"Yeah, it will, if Da comes home and I'm not where I'm supposed to be. No thanks. It's different for you."

"If Da comes while I'm working and Jeremy's with me, I'll be in for it anyway."

"You could leave him with Mrs. Mack. Or even here with Lottie."

Jeremy clutched at Jason's arm, hanging on to his sleeve.

"If I leave him with Mrs. Mack, I'll be taking for granted her generosity or some such. And you know how he feels about leaving him here."

"It's not exactly rowdy until after supper," Lottie said.

"You know Da," Jason said grimly. He removed Jeremy's hand from his arm. "Eat your breakfast, little one."

"Yeah, you're always doing something wrong," Josh agreed, wiping his plate with his toast, stuffing it in his mouth before wiping his mouth and taking up his books and running out the door. "Thanks," he said over his shoulder to Lottie as the door shut behind him.

"Ain't that the truth?" Jason muttered, before looking at Aaron and grinning. "See you in a few, Boss."

"Alright," Aaron agreed, and followed Josh out the door, at a slower pace and headed for another location. Funny, Jonathan Bolt hadn't seemed that heavy-handed to him, but then he wasn't a son. Those boys, even the little one, had learned to work and work well from somewhere. And he HAD heard the man turn down Lottie's offer to watch the boy – and seen the regret on both Lottie and the little boy's face.

MacKinzie was waiting onsite. He had set up sawhorses and brought saws, axes, planes, and lathes.

"Are we going to need all that?" Aaron asked.

"If we do, we'll have it," Mack replied, spreading out Aaron's plans on a tall stump that was doubling as a work table. "You want the mill first, I'm thinking?"

"Yes. Once I get that working, I'll be making money to pay for a house instead of having to use what I have."

Mack nodded, trying to smile at the younger man's assurance. What if he got paid in chickens, or maybe just keeping a percentage of any wood he cut? No doubt, this man would sell those things and turn them into money. That was the goal of every business, was it not? To make money?

The men and their non-school children started turning up, and Mack began handing out assignments, and of course that Jason Bolt was just there with them. Aaron had neither seen nor heard him arrive, he was just there.

How did he do that?

And where was his baby brother? Aaron didn't see him anywhere. He also didn't want to ask. As long as the child wasn't in the way, it was none of his business.

It was just a curiosity.

Shortly afterwards, the child was also just there, trotting back and forth carrying things from crew to crew. When he had no errands, he searched for, and found, dropped or bent nails. He stayed busy and out of the way, probably better than the older children.

After that, Aaron was too busy himself to notice anything more than when the schoolchildren arrived to do their part.

He eyed the groups and asked MacKenzie, "Am I paying them individually, or is there a family rate?"

MacKenzie laughed. "You don't understand much about small towns, do ya?"

"No experience," Aaron answered briefly. "I'm not complaining; I'm curious. The rate of productivity is – pretty good. Worth the price, whatever it is."

"You know what it is; you get a daily cost accounting."

"Yes. Thank you for that." Aaron finished what he'd been doing and wandered off to another area.

Mack put his hands on his hips and watched him go. He liked this man's way of doing business.

That day established the routine for the work days for the next several days. A building was taking shape, foundation, floor, roof, and walls. Outer walls, but the equipment would have to be installed before any inner walls could be placed.

At this rate he'd be in business – if he could find any – by the beginning of the month.

Work was just getting into a good rhythm after a lunch break.

"Jay Jason!"

Jason looked startled and turned to find Jeremy. "What is it?"

"Da Da Da!"

"Where."

Jeremy pointed, Jason and (everyone who'd heard him) looked. Yes, there was someone coming down the road, with a pack and a walking stick, still a long way off, but it was identifiable as Jonathan Bolt.

Jason muttered one short terse word before looking to make sure Jeremy was out of range. He didn't have to worry about Da overhearing; he was definitely too far away to hear, unless Jeremy repeated it, but Mack was there, and others.

Mack clapped his hand on Jason's shoulder. "Are ye ready for it, laddie?"

Jason shrugged. "As ready as I can be, I guess. I'm lucky we had this long."

"Aye." He patted Jason's shoulder as Jason turned back to the work he was doing.

"You'd best go sit down," Jason told Jeremy. "Out of the way. You know."

"Uh-huh." Jeremy trudged over to a semi-distant tree where he seated himself among the roots and crossed his arms, looking angry.

"What's going on?" Aaron asked Mack.

"Depends on how Jonny's visit with his missus went."

"I thought she was – um – deceased."

"Oh, aye. And Jonny has been verra unpredictable since."

"So what COULD happen?"

"For you, the worst of it, you'll lose the boys as workers. He may try to stop your building, but that's unlikely. He knows he's got no say in your grandfather's property, that it was properly willed to you. Even said then that he'd best be getting his own will in order because of it."

"Or he could be pleased to have them employed?"

"Tis possible. Barely."

Jonathan Bolt entered the work area and looked around. "So ye're building, are ye?" he said to Aaron.

"Obviously."

"You're making good time," Jonathan said.

He spotted Jason and strode over to him with a roar. "And what is it you're doing here?"
"Working for Mack," Jason answered coolly, trying to ignore the eyes turning his way.

"Aye," Mack said. "I asked him to work for me. Didna think you would mind."

"He is supposed to be taking care of his brothers. Or did he hand off his responsibility to another?" His voice carried well in the falling silence.

"I did not!" Jason loudly replied. "Josh is in school as he's supposed to be –" he spit those three words "and Jeremy is right over there where we can see each other. I AM taking care of him." Jason pointed.

Jeremy had his arms on his knees and had buried his face. He hated it when Da yelled at Jason. Da shouldn't yell at Jason in front of everyone.

Aaron was thinking the same thing. That wasn't right. Not even his own father had chastised him (or anyone) in front of co-workers. It was disrespectful, and if the superiors in a business didn't respect an employee, the other employees wouldn't respect him either. Plus they'd be worrying about when it would be their turn to be the victim. Not a good way to encourage worker loyalty.

Besides, Jason Bolt hadn't done anything wrong that he could see. Except maybe let his youngest brother help, but even that had been done – allowed – with awareness of responsibility.

Now, maybe, if Jason had been the younger boy's age…

Aaron wondered if he should say anything, and glanced at MacKenzie while the elder Bolt was still shouting.

Mack shook his head slightly.

Jeremy ran over and started stomping on his father's feet, and kicking him in the shins.

When the startled father looked down into the child's face, the child started screaming.

No words, just screams.

Jason and Jonathan both reached for the boy, but Jason was farther away.

Jonathan lifted the boy up to his face, Yelled "ENOUGH!" and swatted the boy on the backside. "I'll not be having that! Get yerself home!" He put the boy down.

Jeremy walked away, and when he hit the trail, he began walking the way his father had come in, away from town.

"None of that now!" The man cracked his walking stick across his son's legs, and the boy fell."You know my meaning, now, GET!"

Jason was lifting the boy from the ground, cuddling him and glaring at their father. The two sons looked very alike, Aaron thought, with the glares and the set of their mouths.

"You should know better," Jonathan said to MacKenzie, and the three Bolts walked (for lack of a better word) into town.

Mack shook his head, and urged the crews to get back to work.