Mary got up and gave him the basket with the pie in it. “Thank you for coming. It’s nice to know Dave’s leg is alright.”
“It is. Now things can get back to normal around here. But,” he gave Dave a pointed look, “don’t overdo it. I know you, and you like to push your limits. Don’t do that with your leg.”
“I’ll be good,” Dave said.
“And don’t let Isaac worry you,” Joel added. “You’re his pa. Richard can’t take that away from you.”
Dave watched as Joel left the kitchen. Mary hurried to see him out. Dave put his fork into his slice of pie then glanced at Rachel and Adam. Adam had finished the cookie, and Rachel was getting another one for him.
Rachel glanced over at him and said, “I didn’t make these. You got the best ones.” Then she broke it in half and gave it to Adam.
Dave smiled. He didn’t know how much Rachel understood from the conversation he’d just had with Mary and Joel. She was only five, so he assumed she didn’t understand much of it. But it was nice she wanted him to know she’d given him what she believed to be the best cookies. He gave her a pat on the back and then ate his pie.
Chapter Nine
A few days later, Dave felt strong enough to ride a horse. He found Isaac collecting eggs from the henhouse.
“After you take those in to your ma, do you want to go for a ride through the cornstalks?” Dave asked. “They’re tall now.”
As he hoped, Isaac perked up. “You mean it? We can go to the fields?”
“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t mean it.”
“Can Jasper come?”
“Sure. You can take him out of the fence.”
Isaac hurried to put the four eggs into the bowl and then ran for the house.
Dave grinned at the boy’s enthusiasm before he went into the barn. While he was getting the saddles, he heard a bird chirp. He went to the corner of the barn. He hadn’t noticed that the wounded bird was over here. He knew Isaac had been taking care of it with Mary’s help, but he hadn’t thought to ask where they put it. He saw that it was in a wooden crate on one of the shelves. A couple of clean rags had been bunched up to look like a nest, and next to that were seeds and water.
The bird looked up at him and chirped.
Dave didn’t want to be upset by seeing the thing. It was, after all, just an animal. It hadn’t asked to be called Richie, and it hadn’t asked to have ‘Richie’s Company’ written on the side of the crate in Isaac’s handwriting.
Dave turned away from the bird and focused on getting Susannah and Jack out of the stalls. He had Jack saddled up by the time Jasper came into the barn, barking with the joy of being free to run around.
Dave patted the dog’s head. “If you could learn to leave the hens alone, I wouldn’t have to keep you caged up. Those hens aren’t the same as rabbits, you know.”
Jasper barked and wagged his tail.
Dave scratched him behind the ears. “You’re getting better about it, though. I suspect in another couple of months, you won’t have to go back to that fence again.”
Isaac ran into the barn. “Ma wants to talk to you.”
Dave frowned. “Does she need something?”
Isaac shrugged. “She just said to stay here until she talks to you.”
“Alright.” Dave turned his attention to getting Jack ready for the ride, and he was almost done when Mary came into the barn. “Is something wrong?” he asked, turning to her.
“Isaac, why don’t you take Jasper on out?” she said after she gave Jasper a pat on the head.
Isaac did as she wished, and she closed the distance to Dave before she asked, “Are you sure you feel up to riding a horse?”
“I feel fine.” Dave rubbed Jack’s neck. “It’s not Jack’s fault I fell. I’ll be riding him, and Isaac will ride Susannah. I’m taking Isaac to the field. The ground is level there.”
“Yeah, but what about your leg?”
“I’ve done everything Joel said. I’ve been taking it easy. I’m not going to be the one walking. Jack is. I’ll just be sitting.”
“You’ll need to use your leg to help keep your balance. It’s been a while since I rode a horse, but I remember how physically demanding that was.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m not pushing myself too hard. And I owe this to Isaac. Before I got injured, he asked me to take him to the cornstalks when they got high enough, and I promised him I would.”
She let out an uncertain sigh. “You really feel fine?”
“Yes. I admit my leg still isn’t as strong as it used to be, but it’s doing better than it was a few days ago.”
“If your leg starts to hurt, you’ll turn around and come back here, won’t you?”
“Having my mother around has rubbed off on you. You don’t usually fuss over me like this.”
“I’m not trying to mother you, Dave. I just want you to be careful. It scared me when you broke your leg. Things could have been worse.”
He kissed her. “I’m glad you care about me.”
“I do more than care about you. I love you.”
“And I love you.” He rubbed the small of her back. “I’ll be fine. I won’t push myself further than I’m able to bear. You have my word.”
She relaxed. “Alright. I’ll tell Isaac he can come back in.”
Isaac came back into the barn, and soon, he and Dave were out in the field. This time, the cornstalks were just as tall as Isaac wanted them to be.
“Don’t get too far ahead of me,”
