Pony Express Courtship. Rhonda Gibson

their own time schedule. Seth wondered how long their adoptive father had been dead. Had he allowed them to play when they were supposed to do chores?

      A good while later, Seth left the bunkhouse feeling refreshed. Thanks to his time alone with the Lord, he now had more direction. Clayton carried a sandwich and a glass of milk out to him. The rest of the boys followed.

      “Ma said you need to eat something.” The young man handed him the sandwich and milk.

      He grinned his thanks and took a big bite. Thick ham and cheese coated his taste buds. The butter-flavored bread that surrounded them tasted wonderful. His stomach growled its appreciation. Seth swallowed. “Let’s head to the corral.” He waved the sandwich.

      Feeling as if someone was watching them, Seth turned to the house and found Rebecca standing in the doorway. He waved to her and once more smiled his thanks before turning back to the corral, where the boys waited.

      “I thought we were going to work on the barn,” Jacob said as Seth approached.

      “We are, but first I wanted to spend some time with the horses.” He looked out at the ten horses. “Have you each chosen the horse you want to train with?” He knew they had but wanted to make sure that one of them hadn’t changed his mind.

      The six older boys nodded. Benjamin climbed up on the fence. He looked longingly out at the horses.

      “Benjamin?”

      The eight-year-old turned to look at him. “Yes, sir?”

      “Sir?” Seth allowed a surprised, questioning note to enter his voice.

      Benjamin nodded.

      “Benjamin, looks like you and I need to get a few things straight.” Seth walked over and leaned against the fence beside the little boy. “The rest of you, go find some rope and then round up your horses.”

      The boys pushed and shoved as they went in search of rope. Jacob and Andrew followed at a slower pace, shaking their heads. When they were all out of earshot, Seth told Benjamin, “First, let’s get this straight. I’m not sir, I’m Seth.”

      The boy nodded still, looking sad. Seth reached over and tousled his hair.

      “Good. Now, how come you didn’t pick a horse?”

      Benjamin sighed and climbed a rung higher on the fence, watching the boys exit the stable and enter the corral. “I’m not going to be a rider. I heard you tell Ma last night.”

      Seth rubbed his chin. So it had been Benjamin eavesdropping the night before. “Yes, I did say that, but I think you should have a mount.” He watched closely as Jacob returned and quietly singled out a rum-colored pinto, gently rubbing its mane, talking in a low voice. Thomas and Philip followed suit. For all their pushing and shoving, once they were within the corral, they became serious.

      “You do?” Hope filled the little boy’s voice.

      “Yep, seems to me you’ll need one if we all ride into town or if I need you to go out to the back pasture and get one of the other boys. There are all kinds of reasons a boy needs a horse.” Seth lifted a brow in question, holding the boy’s gaze. “Don’t you think so?”

      Benjamin nodded. His hair flopped down into his eyes. “Can I pick out one now?” he asked, already preparing to climb down from the fence.

      “Yes, but go see if one of the older boys will help you find some rope.”

      “Yippee!” Benjamin ran to the barn, where Andrew and Noah stood cutting lengths of rope.

      Each boy returned to the corral and began trying to catch the horses. They weren’t all bad at roping. Jacob, Andrew and Noah were the best and as soon as each caught their own horse, they helped the four brothers. Seth coached from the sidelines.

      “I want a horse, too, Ma.” Joy’s young voice sounded behind him.

      He turned to face the little girl and Rebecca. Seth finished the milk in his glass and handed it to Rebecca.

      “You don’t need a horse, Joy,” she answered her daughter, taking his glass but looking down at her little girl.

      “Thanks for lunch,” Seth said, even though he could tell her attention wasn’t on him.

      “What if I need to go get one of them out of the pasture? I’ll need a horse then,” Joy argued. Her lip protruded as she looked up at her mother.

      Seth was no child expert but he could read the defiance on the cute little face. Her blue-green eyes demanded answers. He had to turn his head to hide his grin, but just as quickly he returned his attention to them. What would Rebecca’s argument be with the child?

      She shook her pretty head. “You won’t be going to the pasture to get the boys. Now stop sassing.” Rebecca looked back to Seth. “Are you sure it’s wise to give Benjamin one of the horses?” She tugged her shawl tighter around her shoulders.

      “I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t think so,” Seth answered. “He needs to learn to ride just like the others.” He called to the young men behind him, “Boys, bring the horses out here.”

      “Come along, Joy. We need to get back to the house and let the men work.” Rebecca’s voice seemed to hold frost. She took the little girl’s hand and headed back to the house.

      Seth sighed. He’d warned her that the boys would all have horses. Clayton opened the gate to the corral and waited until all his brothers had passed through before closing it again.

      The animals tossed their heads in obvious dislike of the ropes. “Since we lost all our tack in the fire, we’ll need to buy new harnesses and saddles next time we’re in town,” Seth told them as he walked about, inspecting each horse.

      “Until then, I suppose we can use my horse’s saddle and bridle. Wait here and get to know your horse.” Seth walked back to the bunkhouse and retrieved his bridle and saddle.

      “Since we only have one, you will have to take turns. Starting with the oldest. The rest of you will walk about the farm with your horse. Talk to it, sing to it, do whatever it takes for it to learn the sound of your voice.” Seth carried the bridle and saddle over to Jacob.

      Jacob grinned. “Seth, I’ve been saddling a horse since I was twelve.”

      “Not this horse,” Seth pointed out. “I want you to saddle and ride him for about thirty minutes and then come back.” He turned to address all the boys. “These horses will become your best friends. It is up to each of you to take care of these animals as if they were family. They will most likely save your life out there, so give them the respect they deserve.”

      Each of the boys nodded and petted their horse.

      Seth grinned. “Now, I know this is going to sound silly, but if you have a girl horse, talk to her like she’s your sweetheart. If you have a boy, talk to him as if he were your best friend. Animals can sense when they are liked and respected.”

      Benjamin kneeled down and looked under his horse. When he turned to Seth he announced, “I have a boy. Good thing, too, ’cause I don’t know how to talk to a sweetheart.”

      Laughter and good-natured bantering followed.

      “Don’t worry, little brother. You’ll learn soon enough.” Noah grinned across at Benjamin as if he already knew how to talk to a sweetheart. This created more teasing and joking among them all.

      Seth shook his head and laughed with them. Working with the boys would be anything but boring. He felt, more than saw, Rebecca watching from the porch. Tonight he’d have to tell her more about how he planned to train with the boys. He hoped that would put her mind at ease. But from the way she paced on the porch, he somehow doubted it would.

Chapter Five

      Rebecca tucked her daughter into bed.