Free Rebellion in the Valley by Robyn Leatherman

they
happened a million years ago.
    As the muscles in Duffy’s jaw tightened with
thoughts of being just another one of the common ranch hands, the
man flinched in his saddle. A drop of sweat found its way down his
temple; the sun overhead reminded him of what he’d seen in the
creek earlier; too bad that Tobias was in the way.
    P
    Business in the kitchen had not slowed down
very much with the pump being out of commission; if anything,
Richard found himself scrambling around even more than usual trying
to come up with ideas for lunch and dinner minus the ingredient of
water, the task proving to be more difficult than he figured it
would be.
    As he piled a few food items on the table, he
had to hand it to himself. ‘Not bad, guess we won’t starve after
all,’ he thought aloud.
    Sourdough bread from the day before, some
cheese and apples, plus the cookies he’d put up a few days earlier.
Thank goodness for cows-there would be something wet to wash it all
down with.
    The man turned to grab his knife from the
oversized canning jar he kept most of his knife collection in and
checked the edge of the blade. The cook’s mouth turned up on one
side, he frowned, and poked it back into the canning jar.
Continuing the search until he pulled out one with a sharp serrated
blade, Richard offered the loaves of bread a satisfied grin and
began to work on slicing them up for the cheese sandwiches he
planned on serving. Out of the corner of his eye, a blonde-headed
girl caught his attention when she entered with one of her books,
walking without bumping into anything as her eyes never even left
the printed pages.
    “Hi, Richard,” she offered without looking
up. “What are you doing?” Finishing the chapter, Hailee pressed the
open book to her chest and sighed. “Sometimes my stories just pull
me in and I forget where I’m at. Can you imagine living in Ireland
or walking on a real beach?”
    “I’ve never been outside America, but when I
was a kid, my grandmother lived in California, and I got to spend a
whole summer at her house. We went to the beach every single
weekend,” he reflected.
    “No kidding,” she perked up, tugging the book
even closer to her bosom. “That must have been wonderful! What do
you remember the most?”
    His nose sniffed the air. “The smell, to tell
you the truth. It didn’t really smell very good.”
    Hailee’s head cocked to the side. “You’re
kidding me.”
    Handing her a platter of sliced bread,
Richard motioned for her to lay a dishtowel over it. “No, it
smelled terrible! Like rotting fish and old socks,” he laughed. “If
you think the stalls smell bad, multiply that a few times over and
toss in a bushel of old fish to boot.”
    Almost on cue, Tobias opened the door and
stepped in, running a hand through his hair after he removed his
hat. “We’re having fish tonight? When did you go fishin' without
me?” he teased his favorite gal.
    Richard grunted. “No fish. Someone’s been
reading, not fishing. But it sounds like a good idea if anyone
wants to load me up with a basketful,” he hinted with wiggling
eyebrows.
    “It’ll probably have to wait til we get back
from that cat hunt,” came the reply. “I think I’ll spend the rest
of the night getting ready to be gone for a few days.”
    The sad droop in Hailee’s posture didn’t go
unnoticed.
    “Speaking of getting things done, the water
pump is a big deal; that’s gotta be the first thing we get situated
before we can even think about leaving. Doesn’t look like it’s
gonna happen today, either, the way Duffy’s taking his ever-lovin
sweet time getting back with that pin and seal,” he tapped his
fingers on the counter top. “I’ll get on it first thing in the
morning, unless by some miracle the man slinks back in before
dark.”
    Hailee frowned and opened her mouth to say
something about the creepy way Duffy had looked at her and the rude
manner he’d spoken to her earlier, but after recognizing that look
on