Ma said and grabbed his face in her hands. She pulled him close and kissed him hard on the forehead. He didn’t move, partly out of respect and partly because she had a pretty solid hold on him. “Oh for goodness sakes Bess,” Pa said. “Let the boy go. I need to find my dowel rod.” “You be careful,” she whispered and gave him one more kiss before she let him loose. “I will,” he said and paused a moment before he walked outside. Gunner and Jake had quite an army displayed on the porch. A couple of the figures even had carved horses. Jordan put the sack down and picked up one the animals. He knocked over three of the soldiers. “Stop messing with them,” Jake said and snatched the horse out of Jordan’s hand. “I was just looking at it,” Jordan said. “Did you fetch the horses like Pa said?” “Yep,” Jake said and pointed to the fence where both horses grazed. “Gunner helped me.” “Bye,” Jordan said. “You keep your head down,” Jim said and winked one of his big blue eyes at him.
