The traditional obligatory offering to Boss Joss. Love his work, got bored, and decided to run with it!

This is a story co-written with a very good friend of mine, aka DeanWinchester here at FF.net. Action adventure, some family drama, and humor. Simon/Kaylee and Mal/Inara galore! Jayne/OC as well. Also, River getting to be a teenage girl in later chapters!

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The next morning had started off very early for the Cobb clan, as the family began their daily chores around the farm compound. In the kitchen, Charlie along with her mother cleaned up what was left of the breakfast that the others had chowed down on. Across the lawn, Mattie had headed off early with one of the horses to restock groceries after the party, while Jayne had been recruited by his brothers to help break down the tent and platform from the previous night.

Back in the main farmhouse, Inara shifted in her sleep, exhaling softly beneath the sheets as the sun slowly rose. Sunlight fluttered through the curtains, the rays bright against her face. Squeezing her eyes shut, she groaned quietly and reached over across the bed that she and Mal had shared that night. She had been pleasantly surprised to find that it was considerably larger than the one in the Captain’s quarters. But as her hand hit the soft sheets beneath her, she found Mal’s side of the bed empty. Inara’s eyes fluttered open, glancing around the bedroom as she looked around for him.

Knowing Mal, Inara assumed that he must have volunteered himself to keep his hands busy. She cautiously slipped out of bed, throwing a robe around her nightgown, slowly creaking the door open and glancing up and down the hall. The house was empty and quiet, the only sound coming from the kitchen as Charlie and Mrs. Cobb were bustling around and cleaning up. After delicately rubbing at her eyes in an effort to appear more awake, Inara stepped quietly down the hall and through the doorway.

Charlie noticed the other woman out of the corner of her eye. “Morning, hon,” the eldest Cobb daughter called over to her pleasantly, wringing her hands in a towel to dry them off. “Sleep well?” Her eyes flashed with a bit more knowing than she should’ve had.

Inara smiled gently, nodding. “Yes, thank you.” Glancing over the table spread before her, she ran a hand along the edge of her chair.

“Help yourself to what we’ve got left, Ms. Serra,” Jane insisted with a grin. Inara smirked, noticing that there really wasn’t much there after the boys had gotten to the breakfast. The thought suddenly occurred to her that perhaps she could check up on Mal when the time came that she was ready to go outside.

Inara grabbed a small flaky biscuit from a basket on the table, not all that hungry at the moment. “I’d feel terribly rude just sitting here while everyone else is lending a hand with things. Is there anything I can do to help?” she asked earnestly, feeling horrible for not waking up earlier this morning with the others. But then again, that was Mal fault, she thought, fighting off a smirk. Doubly so because the captain hadn’t woken her up along with him.

Charlie heard the woman’s request for work, and she stepped over to Inara. Slinging a washrag over her shoulder, Charlie grabbed a few plates and made her way back to the sink to wash them. “Here, you can help me clean up the war zone,” she suggested with a friendly smile. “Honestly, I have the mind to just let those boys fend for themselves. God only knows what kinda of disaster we’d be dealing with if we had to cook for the whole gorram ranch, like back in the old days.” She didn’t envy her momma from back when the farm was actually earning a steady income. Back in those days, the entire ranch was flooded with hands and employees. A whole herd of helpless, hungry, impatient men.

“I’d be happy to,” Inara chuckled, nodding as she filled a plate with the disheveled silverware lying around the table and made her way around towards Charlie.

Outside on the lawn, Mal hefted an axe above his head, staring down at the piece of wood. He slammed it downwards watching the wood split. He had rolled up his sleeves to his shirt, dangling open as his suspenders hung at his sides. Mal had been up bright and early with Mrs. Cobb. He enjoyed the woman’s company. Reminded him so much of being back home with his own ma. It was nice to be back to simpler times. Really nice. He kicked the two halves to the side and put another piece of wood on the block.

He slammed the axe down again watching the wood split. This time they hit the ground. Bringing the axe down heavily, he landed it in the stump of wood. As he lifted the stack of firewood, Mal could feel the bark scratching against his chest through the opening of his shirt. Sighing heavily from the heat, he headed onto the porch of the house. Making his way to the door, he passed Mr. Cobb who was reading. The patriarch had been up far early than any of the people in this house and did what he had to do in advance. Was just his nature. He gave Mal a nod and creaked up from his chair to open the screen door for him.

Carrying the wood back towards the kitchen, the captain called out to Mrs. Cobb. "I left some outback like Mr. Cobb told me. Said to bring the rest inside to you. Where ya want it?"

Inara gently placed the utensils into the warm, foaming dishwater, as Mal arrived through the back door, sweating profusely with a piled of wood in his arms. She turned over her shoulder with an intrigued glance to the man. Work always suited him.

“Oh just put it anywhere over there, darlin’,” Mrs. Cobb responded pleasantly, pointing beside the wood furnace next to the doorway he was standing in.

Mal gave Mrs. Cobb a smile and nodded. "On it." He answered side stepping and turning to the furnace. He put the wood down making sure it was stacked and not in anyones way. He stood up and rubbed the excess pieces of bark into the pile off his chest. He took to buttoning his shirt up and fanned it out into the pile. He ran his hands through his hair pushing the sweaty strands from his eyes. He watched from where he stood as Inara took to working. "Oh someone kill me I must be dreaming." He stated with a smile.

Inara shot Mal a smirk, lifting an eyebrow at his shock. “I daresay that can be arranged Mal, I’d watch out with requests like that.” Especially with Jayne within earshot, no doubt, she thought with a scoff to herself.

Mrs. Cobb was busy packaging up what was left of breakfast, which, because she had hid some from the prying eyes of her sons, consisted of two loaves of freshly baked bread, a quarter of the ham steaks that she’d fried up this morning, as well as a half dozen eggs. “Figured I’d let you and your folks take some of this back on board your ship. It holds pretty well for a few days, so no need to hurry with leaving, by the way.”

"That's nice of you Mrs. Cobb. We don't get too much of real food. Mostly packaged and alcohol." He said with a grin. His eyes took to Inara again. "Look at you. Workin' it off. Looks good on you." He said going out of the kitchen with a chuckle. Mal was gonna try to get cleaned up the best he could at the water pump. Felt downright embarrassed looking like a sweaty wreck. Inara, he’d gladly wander around smelly and wet, if only to tease, but they were guests, and his gentlemanly nature had gotten the better of him.

Inara watched with a silent grin as Mal wandered off for only a moment and returned her attention to the dishes. Beside her, Charlie caught the look, nonchalantly soaking a dish in her hand. “Got yourself a fine boy there, Inara,” Charlie commented with a grin. She couldn’t help but admire the girl’s catch.

Inara glanced up at the other woman in surprise; she’d never heard the term “boy” used to describe Mal by anyone. Though, she supposed, he had been showing signs of being increasing lighthearted lately. Perhaps it was her doing, perhaps not. She nodded with a smirk. “Mal certainly has his moments,” she chuckled softly, glancing back over at Charlie. Funny, this was the first time she’d ever felt comfortable discussing her relationship openly with another person. It might have helped that she’d just met Charlotte, and that she’d more than likely never share any information with her brother Jayne. It seemed to be a game that they were playing with the rest of the crew: As long as the subject was never brought up, there would never be any awkwardness on the ship.

Heading outside and down off the porch, he went around the side of the house and grabbed the handle of the water pump. He splashed some into his hands rubbing his face and then his chest. He ran his wet fingers through his hair to get rid of whatever had fallen into his hair as he worked. Finally once he felt he was clean enough he tucked his shirt into his pants and pulled the suspenders up and over his shoulders. Smoothing his shirt out, he buttoned the top button finally and checked himself over. Presentable, at least.

Having splashed his face and hair with water from the pump, Mal tucked his rebuttoned shirt into his pants as he rounded the house again. Stepping back on the porch, he gave Jayne’s father another nod and returned to the kitchen. "See you got Inara doing manual labor, Mrs. Cobb,” he snarked as he waltzed through the doorway, “Now how did ya manage to, and could you teach me."

“Bih zhway,” Inara laughed quietly, never turning from the sink. Not in her entire residence on Serenity had she ever belittled actual work. Just because she’d never participated in any of Mal’s more colorful jobs didn’t mean that Inara couldn’t use her hands in more practical ways. She and Charlie exchanged tell-tale smirks as they fell into a rhythm for washing and drying together.

“Now, now, Captain, your lady-friend here’s been right helpful to us,” Mrs. Cobb responded motherly. She shifted past him to reach the table once more, grabbing a plate with one or two rolls left on it. She brought them back on the cloth napkin they were resting on, tying up the cloth and placing it near the satchel that she’d taken out to pack all the crew’s food into. “I s’pose you and your crew’ll be wantin’ some of the spirits we had at the party last night?” she asked Mal with a raised brow. “Now there ain’t much left from the bottles we’d had out, but enough to enjoy, I’d wager.”

"That's very nice of you ma'am, but you can keep it. Got enough to keep us grounded already. You're boys will like it more." Mal took a seat rubbing his shoulder as he watched them work. He was watching Inara work mostly. It was nice to see them all relaxing. She seemed comfortable with Charlotte, which he found reassuring. She didn't have enough women to do girly stuff with. Sure she had Kaylee, but she was with Simon more. River was much too...well River like to do that stuff.

“Alright then, suit yourself,” mother Cobb waved, beginning to pack up the bottles of liquor still worth salvaging.

Inara felt the captain’s eyes on her, and flicking a loose strand of her formally immaculate hair, she peeked at Mal from over her shoulder. The two met eyes quietly; a calm, lovely moment in an otherwise danger-ridden life.

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Kaylee stepped into the stables, hauling a heavy canvas sack of feed for the animals in the stalls. She’d energetically volunteered herself and Simon to help out that morning at breakfast. It was the least they could do after the Cobb’s had thrown that wonderful party for them that previous evening. River, however, had found a placed crouched beside the cow pens just outside the stables, her eyes intently following the large bumbling creatures herded together. She’d found an odd affinity for the animals since their last encounter with them.

Simon, not used to the country life and the work involved, was as confused as ever out here. Though he was getting the hang of things, he was worried about River being so close to the cows. He put the bail of hay down he had been hefting to take a look at her. He could see where Jack was milking the cows that he kept glancing down the creatures’ sides at his little sister. That made him nervous. Usually guys weren't too interested in River that way; he was entering uncharted territory.

"Careful River." Simon called to her.

Simon was having a bit of difficulty with the intensity of his work, as far as Kaylee could tell. The young mechanic, on the other hand, was having a wonderful time with the task assigned to her; feeding the animals around the main area of the farm. At the moment, she was at the horse stall, petting the nose of a slender chocolate brown horse resting in one of the stables. Her hand, filled with feed for the creature, was pressed up against the horse’s nose as it nibbled on the grain.

Hearing Simon’s insistent plea to River, Kaylee glanced up from her work, smirking at her sweetheart. “Oh, Simon, she don’t meaning nuthin’.” Kaylee insisted, resting a hand on the horse’s forehead.

Simon set the bail down and looked up at Kaylee. "I know." He dusted his hands off, unbuttoning the top button of his shirt as the thick heat got the better of him. "It's just I worry about her. More so than usual. 'Specially with Jayne's little brother looking at her like that." He answered softly as he could so not to let the boy hear him. He seemed wrapped up in whatever River had told him. "I don't know if he's anything like Jayne I just don't want her alone with him. Mainly to protect him if he tries something. Lord knows River can handle herself." He answered rubbing his neck.

River didn’t say anything in response to her brother’s voice, crouching on the ground as she stared at the cow in front of her. She was fascinated by the creature, aware of the simplistic thoughts in its mind. Ignoring her brother, she felt another set of eyes on her, glancing at Jack with an oddly calm expression.

“No one listens,” she told him thoughtfully. “Bustling around like little ants but no one listens to the souls in cages.”

Jack stopped what he was doing completely and turned on the stool to get a better look at her. "You listenin' to what the cows gotta say?" He asked semi confused. There was something about this girl that wasn't right and oddly enough he didn't care. Sure he wanted to know exactly why she said what she said, but this right here was just fine. "You ain't close enough to really hear 'em." He said with a wide smile. "You can come in if ya want. Show ya how to milk 'em and maybe you can figure out which one has the most milk." He said raising his eyebrows up.

River could tell that her brother was not liking the idea of Jack getting so close to her, but in all honesty, she wasn’t enjoying the prospect of having an over-protective Simon on this trip. Ignoring his all too blatant reservations about the youngest Cobb son, and also curious to learn just how to milk a cow – River had never been given the chance to try blue collar labor like that – she rose to her feet, boots thudding against the wooden floor of the barn. She slipped in next to Jack, craning her neck to peek underneath the large creature, studying it like a child.

“How?” she asked softly, glancing back at Jack.

Jack was very tickled by River. She could make him laugh like no other. He leant back watching her examine the udders of the cow. "Grab a stool and come sit. I'll show you." He waited for her to return with one. Still curious by what Jack was going to show her, River obediently walked back to take the stool behind them, hauling it silently back over to Jack and taking a quick seat.

Finally he scooted over to her and reached out. "Here give me your hands." He took them gently not to alarm her. He took them with him under the cows belly and wrapped River's fingers gently around the udders. "Now hold like that. Then..." He moved her hands downward giving a tug. The milk squirted into the pale. "Just like that. Just be gentle. They hate being rough housed."

She just barely flinched when his hands grasped hers, but she quickly relaxed, letting him guide her beneath the cow’s underside. She smiled in amusement as the mill poured forth and into the bucket. Glancing back at Jack behind her shoulder, she held back a quiet laugh. Observing as precisely as she could, the young girl absorbed his directions, eventually getting into her own rhythm with the cow. There was something wonderfully organic about it all; being in tune with the creature in a way that simply watching it would never have accomplished.

Off to the side, Kaylee was trying her best to reassure Simon of things. “Oh, Jack’s harmless,” she insisted, glancing over Simon’s shoulder as she carefully pulled her hand away from the horse’s mouth. She watched with a hidden smirk as River made her way over to him and sat down. “Maybe bred from the same stock as Jayne, but we shouldn’t hold that against him.” Seemed a might cozy over there, she noticed. Though in all honesty, it seemed to Kaylee that it was about damn time that River got herself acquainted with boys her own age. Stuffed up in Serenity with no one but Jayne and the captain, the poor girl would never make any friends that way. “He seems like a right nice boy,” she told Simon, leaning in to kiss his cheek reassuringly. “Need to give your sister some breathing room, Simon.”

Simon still wasn't too keen on his little sister finally doing teenage girl stuff. It was weird territory for Simon. Without his father or mother around he had to play both of those roles along with his role of big brother. It was a lot to put on one man. "Nice boy yeah." He said looking over his shoulder towards the two. River was milking a cow and enjoying it. He couldn't help, but smile. "I know, but I gotta play mommy, daddy and brother to her all in one. So it's one of my jobs to worry about her well being around boys.

Kaylee caught Simon’s smirk, knew that he could be turned to see things her way. Stepping over to him, she kissed his cheek, straightening out the collar of his buttoned down shirt. “And your doing a great job, hon. But pulling your hair out over every boy that takes a liking to River can’t be healthy for ya.” She nodded over to River, intent on her task of milking the cow. “You know she can take care of herself.” She winked back at Simon, turning around a bit to stroke the nose of the horse behind the young doctor’s head.

"Right I know. Just him I'm worrying about." He said moving away from Kaylee who was busying herself with petting the horse. He went back to the bails he was working with. He grabbed another firmly around the ropes they used to hold it together and looked once more at his sister. She was enjoying herself and Jack's company so Simon would keep his distance for now. If things started going wonky though there was going to be some problems. He would never try to fight Jack if he hurt his sister because knowing him he still had some of Jayne in him whether it was deep down or not. Simon knew that Jayne could bring him down so he didn't want to find out what his little brother could do.

Jack smiled, watching River get the hang of it. "Just like that." He said getting up from the stool. He pushed the stool backwards with his foot and moved around the cow getting to its face. He took the bucket with the animals food in it moving on to the second and last cow next to it. Taking it back over he grabbed a handful and lifted it to the cow’s mouth. Its lips moved around his teeth chomping down on the breakfast. Jack smiled rubbing her head. "Good girl." He said getting another handful. "You're a pro at this, River. Might just have to keep you around a little longer." He said cracking her a wide grin.

River sat there with an awed smile holding on her features, distracted enough by her task to not respond to Jack. She did look up at him after a few minutes, grinning wide at the fact that she was doing quite well for a first timer. Her smile faded slightly as she released the utter and sat quietly beside the cow. She lifted a hand, running it along the smooth and soft hide just above the belly of the creature. Her gaze followed the path of her fingers, calmly studying the texture of its skin, and the rhythm of its breathing. “Bos Taurus, in the Latin,” she informed Jack softly, her ingrained scientific knowledge rearing its head. “A domesticated ungulate, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae.”

Jack laughed slightly as she spewed all that information about the cow. "Yeah that's about right I think. You're a little fact book. That's nice. It's good to have someone around here who knows what they're doing. Knowing Clay he'd just spit out some nonsense to make himself look smarter."

Her eyes lifted with a lighthearted smile as she petted the creature once more. “I like this one. What’s her name?”

He stopped feeding his and put the bucket down going over to River. "Hers? Ah Charlie named her. Ginger. Don't ask me why cause I wouldn't have a clue. Charlie liked to be the one to name the animals when we was growing up. Her and Mattie dominated that. We just sat back and laughed."

“Ginger,” River repeated quietly, as if addressing her, smiling gently as she looked up at the top of the cow’s back, running her hands along its legs. She took great care not to startle the creature, slowly standing from her stool and sneaking front of Jack to stand up near Ginger’s neck. She looked down on her to study her from another angle, minding the curvature of its spine and muscles. This was simply River’s way; whenever she was introduced to something new and interesting, she became absorbed with it, her insatiable curiosity taking over.

Jack was very amused by River's reaction to the cow. He watched from a distance with his arms crossed over his chest as she got down close to the things face. "You're real into cows huh?" He chuckled lightly and stepped back shaking his head.

The boy obviously didn’t get River’s methods when it came to her interests. “Not particularly,” she shrugged quietly as her head craned to one side oddly.

Turning to the wall, Jack grabbed up a saddle from one of the large metal hooks. He held it steadily with his hand. Going to a horse pen he undid the latch letting one of the horses out. Getting up along side the thing he lifted his arm up the muscle in it clenching tightly as he slammed the saddle down on the horse the best he could. He went to hooking up everything he needed to and looped the reigns around. He checked the buckles and turned to the girl.

"You wanna come with me into town, River?" He asked climbing up onto the horse.

River glanced back at Simon for a moment, considering Jack’s offer. Her brother was busy with his work; in her mind, she eagerly assumed that Simon most likely wouldn’t mind. Turning back around, she eyed the horse thoughtfully, wandering over to it. She stood there for a long while, silently decided if she really wanted to go off with Jack. With an odd confidence for a girl who’d never ridden a horse before, she lifted a hand for assistance as she hooked a heavy combat boot into the foothold for a moment.

Jack watched her make her decision. She seemed deep into thought about it. He quirked an eyebrow leaning forward some as she decided. When she finally came towards him, he lifted her hand with a grin. "Great." He took her hand and helped her onto the horse. "Hold on." He stated as he pulled on the reigns leading the horse in one direction. He gave her sides a bounce with his boots. He didn't use spurs like that like his brothers did. They thought him stupid and silly for it, but he didn't feel the need to hurt the animal anymore. "It'll be fun. I think you're gonna like the stores. Got a couple of nice people in town too." He said once they exited the barn.

With his help, River hauled herself up into the saddle as Jack began to trot the horse out of the barn. She didn’t look back to Simon, knowing that at this point it was far too late to be asking permission to leave. Besides, Jack’s description of town sounded interesting enough. Maybe with the proper company, she’d be able to keep herself occupied. Her hands slipped around his waist for support, and she held on firmly to Jack as they began leaving the ranch.

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Across the lawn, Mattie had headed off early with one of the horses to restock groceries after the party, while Jayne had been recruited by his brothers to help break down the tent and platform from the previous night.

Outside on the lawn, Jayne was breaking down the dance platform from the party, still fuming from his encounter with Aria. Putting his foot up against a string of wood planks, the burly mercenary grabbed a piece connected to it and tugged hard. It snapped free and Jayne tossed it into the pile beside him. It seemed like overkill to be shirtless at a time like this, and in fact he’d actually started out with a shirt on, but that had gottted discarded the moment Buck tossed him into the mud pit a few feet away. Then he’d ended up wrestling with Clayton Jr., who just wouldn’t let Jayne live down the embarrassment.

He wiped a grimy arm against his face, pulling off some sweat while leaving a dark tan streak against his cheek. Sometimes, he honest-to-God hated his brothers. He wanted to be back on Serenity not having to wrestle and get his ass beat. It was amazing how wily Clayton was for his size. Jayne was a big guy, but Clayton always seemed to be able to hand him his ass, even when they were kids. He'd get him one of these days to call mercy.

As her stallion trotted across the plain beside the farmhouse, Mattie noticed Jayne grudgingly pulling up firewood. Gripping the reins tighter, she snapped the rope, bringing the horse around to head towards the girl’s older brother. “Jayne!” she called out to the man, finally reaching him a few steps of hooves. “Whatcha doin’?” she asked cheerfully, not really asking out of curiosity. She more wanted to start a decent conversation with Jayne. Maybe get his mind off the less than wonderful time he had last night.

Jayne was in the middle of ripping a post from the ground when he heard his name. Looking up he watched as Mattie trotted over on her horse. He gave her a smile. No reason to be sour to her. She didn't mean no harm. "Just taking the stuff down Mattie." He answered tossing the piece of wood into the pile. "Looks like you're gettin' better with them horses." He said stepping over and rubbing the animals nose. He lifted the animals head up looking at it.

Mattie smiled brightly as Jayne noticed her improved skill. “Damn right!” She smirked, fully enjoying the fact that she could freely curse in front of this particular brother.

"They're looking good. I assume Buck's been helping take care of them." He heard a grumble behind him and felt a tight arm lock around his neck. Oh he was so gonna get it. Lifting his hands up he grabbed Buck by his shoulders and wiggled free. Grabbing the mans arm he twisted it around his back holding tight. "You give?" He asked wiht a strained smile to his older brother.

She saw Buck walk up behind him, but didn’t have enough time to react or warn Jayne, and before she knew it, the older brother had grabbed him from behind and started wrestling. Mattie rolled her eyes as she glared down at her two brothers. “Boys…”

"Give I give!" He finally yelled. "Dangit Jayne." Buck said once Jayne let him go rubbing his arm. "There ever a time when you ain't on the balls of your feet? You're like a damn long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs." Buck went back to his task. His brother never used to be so alert. It was like he was waiting for an attack or something. He was curious as to what fighting he did on that ship.

Trotting her horse around, she hopped off, sauntering toward them. “Can’t you two ever behave yourselves?” she shot back at Buck, crossing her arms.

Jayne stood a couple feet from Buck trying to keep his guard up. "I am behavin'! Buck’s just being a sore loser." He said smiling stupidly. He glanced back at Buck throwing him a head nod. Buck kicked a stick up from the ground hitting Jayne in the ass. Buck too off and Jayne took to chasing him.

He could hear Clayton laughing behind him, and that was the last straw. Jayne grabbed Buck by the arms pushing him to the ground and pinning him. Holding his hands with his knees he put his hands on his brother’s face. "Give?" He said giving him a little slap. "Come on Buck I can do this all day I got a lot of poundage on you big brother."

Mattie couldn’t hold back her laughter anymore, watching in amusement as her brothers wrestled on the ground. It seemed a bit like old times, something that she didn’t mind at all. Things had gotten so desperate and serious around the farm, that there were days when Mattie feared that there would never be laughter in this gorram family again. When Jayne slapped Buck, she felt the need to play referee here. Lifting a corner of her skirt some to aid her walking, she stumbled over to the two men with a wide grin.

“Oh Jayne, get off him,” she giggled, tugging at her brother’s shirt from behind him.

Jayne laughed loudly and shook his head. "Nah uh. Time for Buck to say who's the boss."

Finally his brother wiggled from his grasp and grabbed Jayne's shoulders shoving him backwards. He managed to get the upper hand. Jayne had something else. He flipped Buck onto his back with a grin.

"Ha!" He nearly shouted. "Say it." Finally Buck relented and Jayne rolled off him getting to his feet. "You see I win." Jayne raised his arms triumphantly into the air. Suddenly, though, he felt a pair of strong arms wrap around his stomach and pick him up. He was put back on the ground a few feet away and he looked up at Clayton wildly. "What the gorram hell, Clayt!?"

“Pa wants this stuff down by midday.” Clayton ordered breathlessly, hiding a smirk as he turned, feeling Jayne’s glare burn into the back of his head.

Mattie shot a wicked grin at her three brothers, stifling a giggle in her normal fashion. There were some things that would never change with those boys. As they duked out blame for the little brawl they’d just had, Mattie noticed a slight vibration on the ground, the quiet rumbling of a pack of horses or the like. Glancing up towards the horizon, the girl caught sight of a small cart, pulled by a trio of darkly colored horses galloping towards the farm.

“What’s that?” she called out instinctively to Clayton, lifting a hand to shield her eyes as she was able to just make out the forms of three suited men in the upper seat of the carriage.

As they got closer Clayton's eyes got a bit too big for his sake. He gulped and looked to Buck. "We got problems. Go get daddy." He turned to Mattie finally. "Go find mama and warn her. Get Jack, the doc and that captain fella out here. Might need a few extra men.” Jayne you still got a good arm?" He asked looking at his brother, who nodded enthusiastically.

Per Clayton’s order, Mattie galloped off on her horse, quickly making her way towards the farmhouse, when she suddenly saw another rider heading out of the barn. Squinting, she recognized Jack immediately, with the girl from Jayne’s crew behind him. “Jack!” she yelled at the top of her lungs. “Jack! Wait!” She urged her horse to ride harder, eventually trotting right up alongside the two. “There’s a wagon comin’ up from the East. Clayton thinks it could be trouble.”

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To be continued! Please R&R!

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