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Just come back before it gets dark, okay?” “Yes, ma’am. I’ll handle this as fast as I can.” “Thank you, Doc.” Doc stood and smiled at Rhonda before leaving the kitchen and heading out to the barn to harness the mules. Before he did, though, he swung by the bunkhouse and picked up his Winchester ’73 and the Sharps along with a box of cartridges for each. He may not have expected that any visitors to arrive at the ranch, at least not anyone from the Double L, but it never hurt to be prepared. He walked back out to the barn, set the two carbines in the wagon’s footwell, then pulled an axe from the wall, checked its edge and found it acceptable, although it would need sharpening when he returned. He set it on the wagon’s bed then began harnessing the mules. After the mules were in harness, he stepped up, released the wagon’s hand brake and drove the team out of the barn and headed northeast to the stand of cottonwoods that he had seen near the creek. What made his job easier was that two of the trees were already down and were devoid of leaves meaning that they had been down for a while, and if they’d been down long enough, the wood would already be seasoned. _____ Rhonda finished cleaning up after lunch, still savoring the lingering taste of Doc’s choice in food. She entered her bedroom, took out her sewing
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C.J. Petit (Doc Holt)