The Oregon trail

Home cooking

Alex's P.O.V

I was glad to see the homestead.

After a week in the saddle chasing cattle, I wouldn't say I was necessarily saddle sore, but I was definitely weary.

We had brought a couple hundred head down to the homestead with us, letting them graze the surrounding grass.

In the morning they would be heading into town, destined for the sale yards.

Trampus had forewarned me that the winters in Wyoming were notoriously hard. The Grainger's were keen to offload the extra cattle they wouldn't be needing.

They ran a large outfit from what I had been able to gather from the other ranch hands they were one of the larger ranches in the state.

They were well respected in the town, and a lot of people looked up to them.

The less cattle that they needed to carry through the winter, the easier it would be in the spring time. Taking off any potential pressure that could arise if the ice and snow lifted later than usual.

Steve was up and running his mouth like usual. The cougar attack seemingly far from mind now, his wounds healing quickly.

With him up again I was glad to able to trade horses and he back on Red. I had been anxious at first about jumping back on my horse so quickly after his injury's, but the large stallion soon showed that he had shrugged off the attack.

Showing no signs of weakness or tentative movements when walking. His wounds had healed over now, they no longer bleed with every movement, but they had scarred.

It would take time before the hair grew back on those parts of his legs and chest, if they ever grew back.

They would be a forever reminder of what he had been through, a story of the attack and his survival.

And Rodney?

Well she was growing fast as ever. The wee squirt would whip around, having a fit of zoomies, as she ran behind the horses during the day time mustering.

Staying close to either Red and I or Kane.

During the night she would sit down beside my brother. Crawling in beside him, letting him rest his head on her side as they slept.

It was truly a sight to behold. She knew to be thankful for the boy who fed her, even they I was the one who constantly seemed to be the person who pulled her out of sticky predicaments.

There was an unspoken agreement between The Virginian, Trampus and the rest of the boys.

Rodney was Kanes to care for and look after and I was grateful for how the older men had taken my little brother under their wings.

Often I found myself walking past the campfire and Trampus and some of the other men would be trying to teach him how to play poker.

Even Stacey the normally very closed off man had accepted him, I even had caught him on one occasion teaching Kane the proper way to tie off a lasso.

The others were quick to rush past us, the promise of a hot home cooked supper was just too much to wait for.

Normally I wouldn't complain about beans on toast. But when your having them for breakfast, lunch and dinner for a week straight your appetite for them soon changes.