Free Rebellion in the Valley by Robyn Leatherman Page A

Tobias’ face, she opted to keep her thoughts to herself.
    ‘Guess I better not add even more kindling to
this campfire,’ she reasoned.
    “Chin up, we won’t be gone that long,” Tobias
promised, thinking her facial expressions reflected her feelings
about her father leaving. “And if we’re lucky, the cat won’t work
us over too bad,” he teased.
    “Ha ha. Not funny.”
    Richard’s knife sliced through a few peeled
potatoes, creating vegetable circles. When the pile grew big enough
for his taste, the taters found their way into a cast iron skillet
he’d already prepared with hot bacon grease.
    Speaking a bit louder to be heard over the
potatoes crisping in the skillet, Richard reached over for the bag
of salt and asked Hailee to refill his containers.
    P
    Standing in front of the man holding the
smoking branding iron, Duffy pulled his wallet out. “So what’s this
gonna set me back?”
    “Well, you threw the shoe pretty clean, so it
shouldn’t be too bad. If you want to go grab yourself a bite to eat
down there at the saloon, I bet I’ll be done by the time you get
back. We can settle up then,” he confirmed.
    Duffy stuffed the wallet back in his pocket
and nodded. “See ya in a bit, then.”
    The heavy wooden door creaked when his
shoulder shoved against it, and then the whiff of roast beef and
chicken hit him. On his way to the bar at the back of the room, and
with boots clacking against the old planked floor, Duffy gave a nod
to a couple of men he knew as he strutted by them.
    The sign above the bar had been repainted
since he’d been in the last time; it was easier to read now. A bit
for a drink of beer, two bits for a drink of whiskey, unless you
order food. Five cents with paid meal.
    Duffy was absolutely going to eat.
    He didn’t have the chance to eat twice in
town in the same day, but maybe once a year. He aimed to take
advantage of the situation; and once those mine shares paid off, he
would be doing this more often, maybe even paying for a meal or two
here and there for someone else. A grin emerging across his face,
Duffy leaned back a bit in his chair and figured he might as well
give the folks a little preview of what was to come.
    Once the saloon owner’s wife waddled to the
table with his bread and cold roast beef, she wiped her hands on
the pale blue apron tied about her thick waist.
    “Want anything with your beer? We have some
cheese and salt pickles,” she offered.
    He glanced down at his plate. “Well,” he
rubbed his chin. “Sure! I’ll take some,” he told the woman.
Reaching down for a bit of meat and bread, he wasted no time
shoving it in.
    Glass platter nearly licked clean, Duffy
flipped four bits on the table. “You can keep the change,” let the
woman know.
    Duffy pushed his hat back enough to get a
good look at the sky; he figured it was time to head on over to the
store to pick up the pin and seal. Sure as anything, Bruce would be
waiting to get that pump going again. Not that he could blame the
man, but he did feel the stab of resentment of being the go-get-it
person instead of someone else. A younger man who hadn’t put in as
many years as he had, for instance.
    Or better yet, how about that danged
Tobias?
    P
    Richard gave one more glance into the sink
filled with dirty dishes, thankful there weren’t any more than
that. He knew that once he finally had some warm water to suds up
with his lye soap, he would first have to let them soak an hour
before he could scrub them down. ‘Dried-on egg is a beast’, he
grumbled without anyone hearing him. Just as the older man turned
around, he heard the sound of Hailee laughing outside.
    Glancing out the window, he couldn’t help but
notice that Tobias was the reason she was having such a good time
out there. Shaking his head, a smirk found its way to his face; he
ran a finger over his eyelid to care for an itch and chuckled at
the way those two got along so well.
    “And what’s so comical,” Bruce wanted to know
as