The Man From Eagle Creek
Chapter Twenty Seven
The Tanner ranch headquarters was something to see. For miles,
as far as a man could see the wooden rail fence ran east and west
from the main entrance. There were three main houses out front,
built in the shade of huge trees and all the barns and smaller
buildings were spread neatly behind them. There were wagons lined
up in a neat row to one side of the lane that led to the houses.
There were hay mowers and plows of any size and style placed
neatly along the fence behind the wagons.
Hanging on the opposite fence were three large wooden Oxen
yokes fastened to the top of the fence telling of a time gone by,
never to be forgotten by some and never even remembered by
others.
Jedadiah Tanner was thirty years old when he came through
Kansas Territory in the spring of 1850. He, his wife and young
sons were California bound, there was fortunes to be made out
there and he wanted his family to have part of it.
His wife was pregnant and not having a good time of it either.
They had problems along the trail as well and fell completely out
of the wagon train they had joined in St. Louis, Missouri.
He had his life's savings with him and all the household goods
they could pack into two big wagons. Jed Tanner was the son of a
successful merchant back east in Philadelphia, but when his
father died, he felt his true fortune lay in California. He sold
the business and all their holdings and headed west. His wife
Delia had begged him to continue, assuring him she would be
better soon. Jed and his family were camped by the trail near a
sparkling creek in the open plains. The grass was as green as he
had ever seen, the land was flat and a man could see forever.
Other than the big trees along the creek bank, trees were few and
far between.
He had thought of maybe turning back to St. Joseph, Missouri or
maybe Kansas City and waiting until next spring. He just didn't
know what he would do.
Early on the third morning they were camped here, two men rode
into their camp and Jed invited them to join his family for
breakfast. As they sat around eating biscuits, gravy and salt
meat out of tin plates, the men told Jed of a land deal they were
working on. They told him that a man could buy some of this
Kansas prairie land for as little as a dollar an acre, and there
was soon to be a homestead act also that would make it even
easier to add to a man's ownings.
The men were headed over to Topeka to file a claim on some land
they had staked out about twenty five miles west of here. They
invited Jed to come along with them and even showed him a map
with all the markings of the Kansas Territory on it. One man had
been a surveyor's assistant and knew how to read a map enough to
point out exactly where they were sitting. Jed looked at the map,
scratched his head, talked it over with his wife and made up his
mind to settle here. He knew that if this didn't work out, he
could always pick up and move on west, he and his family were
still young.
Two weeks later Jed and his family rode back to this very spot,
with three wagon loads of lumber and the tools needed to build a
house and barn, he also had the deed to fifteen hundred acres of
prime, Kansas prairie land in his pocket. They were now land
owners. They picked a place along the highest bank of the creek
for their home site, then set in to building their fortunes here
in this new land. As soon as he and his boys had a room of the
house enclosed to live in, they set out with a land map and
descriptions of their new land to mark the corners and
boundaries.
By winter that first year they had their home mostly built and
had bought a few head of cattle. The boys were busy during the
summer cutting and hauling the grass hay to the barn for winter.
Winter came at the Tanner family that year with a vengeance and
at times the snow was up to the roof top of the small barn where
they fed their few cattle. The winds howled across the flat
prairie, whipping the falling snow so hard, it blew through the
cracks in the walls and drifted up inside the house near the
doors and windows.
Spring came with the melting of the deep snow banks and the
rippling creek was running full. The cattle had survived and now
were eating their fill of the green grass. Their bellies swollen
with calves that would soon lead to the huge herds of the `TTT'.
In the years to come, they bought more land and grazed the open
range of government lands nearby as well. They bought longhorn
cattle from a man down in Dodge City and bred this range hardy
breed to their own stock. Now they had over thirty five hundred
head of prime healthy beef. They sold nearly twenty five hundred
head each year on the market and bred back all the heifers of
breeding age, they bought the best young heifers at the sale
barns each spring and bred with their strongest bulls to build
herds of the finest Kansas beef there was.
Jed and Delia Tanner still live in the original home built here
at this site over twenty five years ago. His sons Daniel and
Talmon now run the ranch. Through their selective breeding and
culling of stock, they've improved the blood lines of their
cattle to the point that other ranchers came to them each spring
to get good heifers and young bulls for their own operations.
Sheriff Williams introduced Tom and Cal to his wife's brothers
and in no time they were all sitting around as if old friends
meeting again.
They sat under the shade of the large trees and the Tanner
brothers told of the history of the ranch and how Gene Williams
had stolen their sister Delia right out from the arms of her
suitor at the time. The brothers and Gene laughed at the story
they told, they loved to tell it to anyone that would listen.
"We were glad he did though, we sure didn't like her beau that
much, and neither did ma and pa. He was kinda uppity and looked
like a scarecrow to Dan and me," Talmon said.
"Hell I saw him last year at the sale barn over in Stockton and
he looked like warmed up death then, if Dee had married that man,
I'd have had to kill off any kids they had to keep from causing a
stampede when they walked by," Dan laughed.
"I know what you mean, remember that last cattlemens
association meeting we had, he was there with his hired bullies
and he looked worse than they did," his brother agreed.
Tom and Cal looked at one another, there was something about
where this story was going that had their full attention now.
"Just what is this man's name if you don't mind me asking?" Tom
said.
"Will McDonnough from over in Rooks County, you may have met him
since the two of you ride for the association now," Dan said.
"Yep we've met and I reckon it's just a matter of time til we
meet again," Tom said.
"Sounds like you and McDonnough may have rubbed horns back a ways
Tom," Talmon said and winked at his brother.
"Well, I reckon you could say we don't see eye to eye on some of
the stuff he stands for, not just with the cattlemens association
but private matters as well."
"I may as well tell you all right now cause, Tom ain't gonna say
nothing," Cal said.
"We've had a couple of dealing's with his hired gun Mac
Willamacher, the German farmers we met call him `Widowmaker', and
the last time we saw them together they were at the trial of four
of his riders that had raped two young farm girls over'n Rooks
County.
"Tom and I caught them red handed and I won't even tell you what
all Tom did to them, but we took them to Sheriff Red Neely in
Stockton and he put them in jail, except for one that Tom shot.
He had to have his leg cut off and the Doc kept him. When Will
McDonnough got word of his men being arrested, he rode in the
next morning with Mac Willamacher and four more of his riders,
all up in a cloud of dust. As I said before we had already had a
run in with Willamacher and when he saw Tom, he was gonna be a
rooster in front of his boss and take this Injun down to size. He
made the mistake of spitting on Tom's moccasins and cussing him.
Tom just stuck his fist up in under the man's rib cage and then
jacked his jaw with a good hard left. Willamacher was layin in
the dirt hurtin for air before he knew what had happened.
"I would pay to have seen that," Dan said and laughed.
"That ain't all either, Will McDonnough still wanted to convince
the sheriff that he needed to let his men out on bail and was
talkin all high and mighty to the sheriff when he made the
mistake of callin Tom some bad names. Tom slapped that man's face
twice before I knew what was happening. Hell I heard the slaps
then it come to me that Tom had slapped the man twice in the
face."
"My God what happened then?" Dan asked wide eyed.
"Well that was the end of it, they must've figured out that Tom
didn't take to bein' pushed around so they all jumped a horse and
took off faster'n they came in."
"Damn I would have given a prime heifer to have seen that,"
Talmon said and they all laughed.
"Cal likes to color up a story some when he tells his take on
things, it wasn't that exciting at the time," Tom said and
smiled.
"Boys, I'm gonna tell you both right now that whatever you need
from me and my brother or any of the folks around here, you got
it. We been needing someone to get a handle on the dispute
between the cattlemen and the farmers. Most of the cattlemen are
like us, we have no quarrel with the farmers, but there are some
that seem to be itchin to run the farmers out of Kansas
altogether," Talmon said.
"We do appreciate any help you can throw our way, and we'll try
our best to find out who's behind the trouble, if we haven't
already run up on them," Tom said.
Tom, Cal and Sheriff Williams rode back into Osborne another way
and the sheriff showed them were he and his wife had picked out a
place to build their house. Covert Creek ran into the South Fork
of Solomon River just south of Osborne and before they got to the
inlet, the sheriff pointed out a place on a high bank overlooking
the creek bottom where it made a sweeping bend. They rode out on
the point of the bend and looked up and down the creek. They all
agreed this would be a great place to build a home. This was on
Tanner land and the Williams' had been told to pick any place
they wanted to build a home.
They crossed the creek and rode a mile or so then crossed the
South Fork of Solomon River at a low water crossing. They were
almost back to Osborne and Tom noticed Cal was getting fidgety in
his saddle. Sheriff Williams stopped off at his house and the two
deputies rode on into town.
"Tom I reckon I'm gonna get me a hot bath at the barber shop,
what about you?"
"Yep, I need to scrub some of the trail dust off me too, we'll
get us some clean clothes and head over that way."
"Tom?"
"Yep."
"When a boy and girl is close together like we was earlier with
Callie and Cathy, what do you reckon a girl is thinking when a
boy like me is thinking about the things he thinks about?"
"Cal, my mom told me that girls and boys want the same thing,
only a girl will want hers spruced up a little."
"What does that mean Tom?"
"Well, my mom said that a girl wants to hold a boy and touch him
too, but she wants to be told she's pretty and that you like her.
She wants to be talked to and wants you to tell her things."
"What things does she want a boy to tell her?"
"Just things, things about him and what he likes and don't like.
You know just every day things."
"Well that don't make much sense to me if she is wantin the same
things I want, for her to be worrying about what I think about
every day things."
"Well, Cal it's just hard for me to explain. I don't know enough
about this boy and girl stuff either to be givin you lessons in
how to act.
"If you asked me about horses, I could talk a day or two on that,
if you asked me about guns, I could talk like I had some sense
about them too. But you keep askin me about girls and I'm scared
I'll tell you wrong. My dad told me that all girls were
different."
"I'll never get all this figured out now Tom, I didn't know they
were all different, I thought they'd all be alike, like boys
are."
"Well Cal it's kinda like ridin a horse the way I see it. The
first time you rode, you didn't come back thinkin you were an
expert and you didn't feel like you could give somebody lessons
in how to do it right. Horses and girls are a lot alike, but they
all are different from one another. Some don't like to be rode,
some like to be petted, some like to go fast and some like to go
slow.
"My dad told me that the fastest way to climb a mountain was to
go slow."
"What in the world does climbing a mountain have to do with
courtin' girls?"
"What he was saying was, don't hurry a girl up, just take your
time and she'll show you what she wants."
"I just don't reckon I'll ever be able to figure this courtin
stuff out."
"Look at it like this Cal, if a girl leans up close to you with
her lips puckered, she wants to kiss, if she touches your hand,
she wants you to touch hers. The rest will happen when it's
time."
"What if she don't lean up close to me and I want to kiss her?"
"Then you be the one to lean up close, if she wants a kiss you'll
know.
"Just go slow and don't touch her anywhere until you know she
wants to be touched there."
"I'm so scrambled up now about it, that I know I'm gonna mess it
all up."
"You'll be alright Cal, when the time comes, nature will take
over and you'll do what a boy is supposed to do. Just remember
that girls like to feel as good as you do. No matter how much you
want to hurry up and get down to business, you just take your
time so you make her feel good too."
They were walking up the street to the boarding house when the
man from the livery stable drove up in a big buggy pulled by two
horses and stopped in front. Tom's horse had followed he and Cal
and stood by the rail. The man tied the team to the hitching rail
and walked back toward the stable, just as Tom and Cal went in
the door. Callie and Cathy saw them as soon as they came through
the door and greeted them with a smile.
"We want you to meet our mother and daddy," Callie told them and
led them to the dining room.
Mr. and Mrs. Bowers sat at the dining table drinking coffee when
their daughters walked in with the two young men in tow.
"Mother, Daddy we want you to meet Tom Cooper and Cal Randal, the
ones we were telling you about," Cathy said.
Tom and Cal stepped up and shook hands with them both and though
they both had a knot in their throats, they were able to speak.
"Tom you and Cal watch out for my girls, they've been plotting
with their mother all morning and fixing a big basket full of
food," Mr. Bowers said and smiled.
They young men smiled and looked from him to his wife, then to
the girls standing there. They were red faced and just about to
tear their hats up twisting them in their hands.
"The buggy is out front, you young folks go and have a good time,
girls you be back in time to help your mother with supper cooking
and serving," Mr. Bowers told them.
The girls hugged their mother and daddy and the four of them went
out, with Cal carrying the big basket. Tom drove the team and
Cathy sat up front with him, Cal and Callie sat in the back seat
and held the basket.
"Go south out of town, we know a place where daddy goes fishing
that will be a good place to have a picnic and sit on the river
bank," Cathy told Tom.
She then slid over on the leather seat and hooked her arm with
his as he drove the team, she looked up at him and smiled real
big.
"Tom tell me about where you grew up and how you came to be in
Kansas as a lawman," Cathy said making conversation.
Tom told her about growing up on the northern plains near the
Sioux, about the trading post and meeting Mr. Bill Cody. He
seemed at ease talking to her with his slow easy way of talking,
even though he was knotted up inside. In the back Callie sat next
to Cal and he was so nervous he wasn't sure he could talk. She
could tell he was and started asking him where he came from, how
long he and Tom had known each other. Soon Cal was telling her
all about the places they had been and the things they had done
since he met Tom.
Cal was liking this a lot, he was still shaking but he decided
that this was fun. He looked down at Callie sitting next to him
and almost fell off the seat as it come to him that he was
sitting next to this pretty young girl and she was smiling like
she was proud to be here. They rode for about thirty minutes and
Cathy directed Tom across the low water crossing to a place near
the river on the south bank. There were huge trees and lots of
shade right up to the small bluff of the river bank. Tom drove
the buggy under a big tree and stopped. He took the heavy weight
and placed it at one of the horses' feet and hooked the ring in
the bridle. They all walked over to look down the short bluff at
the small river.
"Are you boys hungry? We have lots of food cooked like daddy said
and we have some blankets in the buggy we can spread out on the
ground to sit on," Cathy told them.
They all pitched in and spread the two blankets out under a big
tree, then the girls took the food out and then handed Tom and
Cal a tin plate apiece. They sat back and watched as their
friends piled their plates high with food and dug in. The girls
ate too and then placed the leftover food back in the basket for
later. Cathy looked at Tom and nodded to her sister and Cal. She
took Tom's hand and they walked off down the high bank of the
river to a point where they could walk down the slope to the
waters edge.
"Tom where will you and Cal go from here?"
"Well when I set out a couple of months or so ago, from The
Dakotas, I was planning on coming down through Nebraska, take a
look at St. Joe and Kansas City then head west over to Dodge.
From there I wanted to ride off down to Indian Territory, then
out to Denver and Wyoming. I met Cal and we got to doin some odd
jobs for the law in some of the places we went and wound up here.
I reckon I'll still have time to ride around some when this job
is settled."
"I can see that you're full of wanderlust and have places that
are calling you, will you ever come back this way again?"
"I don't really know Cathy, I know that one day when I've seen
this country like I want to see it, I'll go back to The Dakotas
to make my home. I met a girl up in Newton, Nebraska that kinda
took over my thoughts a lot and I feel that somewhere in my
future I'll go back and get her."
"I guess that was what I was trying to ask, but didn't know how
to put it."
"Cathy, I know I have a lot of growing up to do and I've met some
good girls along the way that any man would be proud to settle
down with. I reckon that there's a whole country full of girls
like you and your sister Callie and it wouldn't be right for me
to let you think I'd be coming back through here just so you'd
like me."
"I am my own person Tom just as you are, I know that one day I
will meet a man and marry so I can raise a family. I just hope
when I do he will be a lot like you. You've got an easy going way
about you that people like, including me," Cathy smiled.
She led him to a log that had drifted up on shore during high
water and was left high and dry in the sand.
They sat down on the log and watched the water flow by, saying
nothing for a while. Cathy reached over and took Toms hand in
hers and smiled at him. Tom was at a loss as what to say or do,
it seemed like he had talked his way into a corner and didn't see
a way out.
"Tom would you think bad of me if I wanted to kiss you, I've
never been kissed and I'm twenty two years old."
"Cathy I'm not what you would call a good kisser, I've only
kissed a couple of girls, but I reckon I'd like kissin you."
The old drift log they sat on had long ago shed its bark and now
Tom sat straddle the smooth trunk facing Cathy as she sat
sideways near him. She looked up at this tall dark haired, half
Indian and felt weak at her stomach as he smiled down at her.
Scooting as close as she could, she leaned in and turned her face
to his. Tom leaned down and softly touched his lips to hers and
put his hand on her back as she leaned in.
Cathy felt light headed as she felt his lips open slightly
against hers, and his warm body just inches away from her body,
that was on fire.
Cathy moaned in her throat as she experienced for the first time
what she and Callie had talked of so many times. They had sat
together and daydreamed aloud of a day just like this when two
young men would hold them and kiss them for the first time. This
was even more than she had ever dreamed it would be and she was
feeling things in her body that were new and exciting to her.
Their mother had told them both all about the boy and girl
things, but she never even got close to telling them about what
was happening inside her now. Cathy was breathless as she pulled
back from Tom and looked at him, wondering if she had kissed him
right or was he thinking that she was just a silly girl.
"Cathy I gotta tell you that we can't be doin this too much, it
makes me have feelin's that good girls like you don't need to
know about."
"I do need to know Tom and I want to know how you feel. Did I
kiss you as good as the other girls you've kissed? Did it really
make you feel good to hold me and kiss me?
"I don't want you to think bad of me but I want to kiss you some
more. I want even more, but I don't know what it is I want. Does
that make sense to you, I know you've been with other girls and I
want to make you feel the way they made you feel."
"You're doin a good job of it too Cathy and I don't want to do
something that you'll feel bad about when I'm gone."
"When you are gone I will miss you Tom, no matter if we kiss more
and you hold me tight, or whether we get up now and go back to
town. I want to be held in your arms the way I've dreamed of
being held, I want to kiss you and feel you next to me."
"Cathy we have a few more days before Cal and me will be headin
back down to Hays and even then we will be in these parts for a
while yet. Let's don't do something today that you'll feel bad
about tomorrow. We have plenty of time to make sure about what we
do. My folks told me to make sure if I was with a girl, that I
thought of her and what all this meant to her and not just how it
feels to me."
"Your folks did a good job teaching you too, you're gentle yet
strong, you are shy, yet exciting to be around. I'm so glad that
you're in my life for whatever time we have. I want you to know
that one day I will know how to love my man and make him feel
good because you took the time to show me the things a man feels.
Before you leave Osborne I want you to make me feel like a woman,
Tom Cooper."
Tom looked at this tall pretty young woman and smiled, he didn't
have words to tell her how much he liked her and wanted to be
with her. He knew it wasn't the love he felt for Beth, the kind
of love he would go back to. He didn't know enough about love to
try to explain it. He knew he had felt love for Sally Mae and he
feels love for Cathy. This growing up and bein a man sure was
more complicated than he ever thought it would be. He slid off
the log then picked her up with his hands on her slender waist
and stood her on the log, they were face to face as they kissed
again.
Tom didn't know it, but at that moment Cathy wanted him to lay
her down and ravage her eager young body. They looked up to see
Cal and Callie sitting on the blankets talking and decided to
walked farther down river.
Callie had finally gotten Cal to tell her more about his life in
the big city of Wichita and all about the places he and Tom had
been since they met. He had talked earlier and he seemed at ease
talking about himself and Tom so she brought it up again. Callie
really liked this shy young man, she liked him a lot and had felt
drawn to him since she first laid eyes on him. Callie was more
headstrong than her sister Cathy, she knew what she wanted and
she wanted Cal.
"Cal have you ever kissed a girl?" She asked as she slid closer.
"No Callie, I ain't never been close to a girl `til I met you.
Tom has been tryin to tell me some about kissin and what to do
but I just don't know if I'd ever be able to do it. I'm so tied
up in knots right now that I can hardly breathe and talk."
"Cal would you like to kiss me, I've never been kissed by a boy
in my life, we could learn together. Cathy and I sit and talk all
the time about boys and what it would be like to have a young man
to come along and want to be with us."
"Callie I really don't know where to even start, like I said Tom
just told me to relax and let it happen. I don't think I could
ever relax with you sittin close to me like this."
"Cal we have to do this, I want to kiss you just as bad as you
want to kiss me. Let's just do it and then we can figure out what
comes next."
"If you're sure then I reckon we can try it, just remember that
I'm scared to death right now."
"I'm as nervous as you are Cal but I'm not scared of you. You are
the sweetest young man I could have ever wanted to come along and
take me in his strong arms. Let's just do it one time and see how
we like it."
Callie turned to sit facing the opposite direction. As she and
Cal sat on the blanket, they leaned in slowly and touched lips
lightly for the first time. Callie sighed as she felt his lips
touch hers and Cal moaned as his lips touched a girls for the
first time. They both knew right away, they wanted more. Callie
leaned in closer and so did Cal, she leaned in so close he
reached up to hold her shoulder. As soon as Cal touched her
shoulder with his big hand Callie moaned and pressed herself to
him. She threw her arms around his neck and mashed his lips with
hers. Cal answered her moan with one from deep in his chest. As
he did, his lips opened just a bit and they tasted each others
mouth. Callie pressed her body harder to Cal now and he leaned
back as she followed him down to the blanket.
Callie was lying on him with her upper body, they were both
touching and holding each others arms as they kissed open
mouthed. Cal could feel her hard little teats press against his
chest and his heart was beating so fast he thought it was gonna
explode in his chest. He could hear his heart beat in his ears
and he could feel her heart too as she pressed against him.
Callie felt the same thing, Cal's heart was thumping so hard and
hers was keeping good time with it. This is just what she and
Cathy had thought it would be like, she was on fire for this
young man and she wasn't sure she could control herself.
Cal locked his long arms around her back and pulled her even
tighter to him. Callie swung her lower body over on top of Cal
and they both felt so wicked and yet so good as they writhed and
kissed with wet mouths. Callie let her tongue slip along inside
Cal's open lips and he completely lost control as his emotions
flooded in gushes down his leg. Cal raised up so fast he threw
Callie off his body, he was so embarrassed he didn't know what to
do.
"Cal what's wrong, was I doing something wrong, I was enjoying it
so much I felt like I was gonna faint."
"Callie, I got too excited by what we were doin. I'm sorry, I
feel so bad about it and no you didn't do wrong. I'm just not
used to all this and I couldn't help it," Cal was red faced.
Callie didn't even know what he meant at first, then she looked
at his breeches and saw a big wet stain.
"Did I do that Cal, did I make that happen?" She asked almost out
of breath as she realized what had happened.
"Yes, I reckon I just didn't know how powerful a kiss can be, Tom
was right when he told me we would figure it all out once we
started. I'm ashamed of myself for this Callie."
"Don't you ever be ashamed of how your body feels Cal, at least
now I know I was doing something right if you got that excited. I
hope you don't think I'm bad, but one day I'm gonna see just how
good I can really make you feel."
"Callie do you really like me that much, that you want to kiss me
some more and maybe even do more?"
"Cal I know we just met and that we just now kissed for the first
time, but the first time I set eyes on you, I wanted you. My body
feels just like yours does this very minute, this is the happiest
I've been in my entire life."
Callie pulled a kitchen cloth from the basket and turned to Cal.
"We need to get you cleaned up Cal."
"Callie I could never open my britches in front of you, let me
have the cloth and I'll go over yonder and clean up my mess."
Cal took the cloth from her hand and walked over behind the big
tree, where he loosened his britches and started wiping. Callie
walked up behind him and put her arms around his waist and
grabbed his manhood in both hands. She felt him swell once more,
then she turned him to kiss him again on the lips. Callie pulled
back and smiled up at Cal.
"Get your self cleaned up deputy, before we make an even bigger
mess."
She giggled and left him standing there wide eyed, open mouthed
and his britches hanging open. Cal's mind was all in a fuzz, he'd
never even dreamed of being this close to a girl, he didn't know
stuff like this could happen between a boy and girl. Callie had
his head whirlin' and spinnin', he wondered what in the world
would happen to them once they knew each other better.
`Here I was tellin Tom I was afraid that I wouldn't live long
enough to know what it was like to feel a woman in my arms, and
now this beautiful young woman has completely took over my heart
and my mind.'
Cal wiped up his mess as best as he could and took the cloth and
rubbed it hard on the wet stain. He sure hoped Tom and Cathy
didn't notice, he was embarrassed enough that Callie knew, dang
she had even grabbed him from behind and took his man part in her
hands.
`God in heaven if you're lookin down on me today I apologize for
all this, and I want to tell you right now that if you'll let me,
I'll come back here and make Callie my wife one day.' Cal had
never prayed to God before but he felt the need to make his
feelin's official.
Cathy and Tom had walked down river a ways to give her sister and
Cal some time alone. Cathy told Tom all about the Fourth of July
celebration that the town of Osborne had planned.
"Since you and Cal will be here this week, maybe we can come back
down to the river again. The Tanners are going to slaughter a
yearling calf and my dad's going to do the cooking."
"I've never been to a Fourth of July celebration, I know Cal will
be tickled when he hears we won't be leaving until Thursday now."
"The day you and Cal came in the boarding house the first time,
the Tanners and the sheriff were all planning the big
celebration. The Tanner brothers said they even have one of the
new thirty eight star flags ordered that they'll donate to the
town of Osborne that day."
"Besides all that, Callie and I will get to spend more time with
you and Cal before you leave," Cathy smiled, and Tom had to smile
too.
Tom and Cathy walked back up the river and made their way up the
short bank. Cal and Callie were sitting side by side next the big
oak tree now, Callie had Cal talking and laughing as if they were
old friends.
"Callie, Tom and I have good news. They'll be staying for the
Fourth of July celebration next Wednesday, that means we get to
spend more time with these two cowboys before they ride off into
the sunset," Cathy laughed.
The four gathered up their food basket and blankets and loaded
the buggy, this had been a good afternoon for all four but it was
time to get back to town so the sisters could help with the
supper crowd at the boarding house. Before they reached the
outskirts of town, Tom stopped the buggy and kissed Cathy one
more time. They looked over their shoulder and Callie was locked
onto Cal like a snappin' turtle.