Leah chuckled,"Well, like I said, there is that chance, and knowing him, well, he didn't get involved with a mine that won't pay off." She said pointedly. "He just doesn't seem the type that doesn't know a good one when it comes across his desk."
"Now wanting to stay in town more makes perfect sense what with the boy and all, and getting more education can never hurt. But there's plenty of water to open a mill close by, and if Speed hit's it, that mill will go up close by before you can blink." She offered. "Then there would be a choice, but the stage line, that too has its benefits, and the runs don't take you away from town all that long either, but it will be there. Speed knows you and trusts you I'm sure."
"Town's quite until it isn't." Jonah shrugged and chuckled. "Mostly isn't bad, but that's because of Marshal Guyer's reputation. A place this remote attracts those who don't get on well with civilization, and the local Indian tribes have been emboldened by what happened on the Big Horn, so there's always a chance for trouble." He laughed. "Not to mention grizzly bears and mountain lions.
"You do have a point, Jonah," She agreed, "He is a fair man, except, maybe where Case and his bunch are concerned. But this, this was cold blooded as it gets!" Then she smiled, recalling a tale she had heard, "Grizzly Bears, I heard the story of him and Addy and the bear she eventually killed. This is the life he chose, being out here and yes I suppose that the Indians do present a problem for the outlying ranches and farms. But, that's to be expected."
"But then, life has its hazards...mining..?" He shook his head. Certainly she knew the dangers, and all the ways one could be maimed, if not killed. You just had to take things as they came.
"Yes it does, and for a bit, it'll be us that's workin' it, but as the number of miners grows, our involvement will decline. I know that Speed is something of a hands-on employer, but working in the mine day after day has never been his plan. I'm truly glad of that." She shared, and they had all discussed that. They needed to get ore out, that was a fact, and that meant they would have to do the mining until they hired the men to take their place.
"Oh, well, did he tell you that he and Miss Chappel took that bear carcass to one of the Indian camps and gave it to them?" Jonah asked, smiling. "He's well-respected all over the territory, he has a lot of friends, so don't underestimate that."
That respect came easily to Speed, he was fair and he took care of the territory, and people respected him for who he was as a person, unlike Jonah, who was mostly respected, to his thinking, for the framed paper that declared that he'd gone to medical school in St. Louis.
"When he's able, we'll have to start pushing broth down him," Jonah said with a grin, "he'll need the nutrition to start getting his strength back from the blood loss. Fortunately, Mrs. Armentrout is a good cook, so I do have some here." And hopefully, Speed would come around soon.
Sit down, shut up, don't touch anythin'
"Yeah, I ain't too worried 'bout losin' some business," Addy commented, "I just wanna make sure I got enough that Weedy can go ta some big, fancy college an' have a real good job!" She didn't know what the boy might want to do, but she surely hoped that it was more than driving wagons.
"Good ta know that he's got folks here who'll look after him when I'm gone, he's a good boy, even with all he's been through." Most children in his shoes would rebel and be getting into trouble, and while Weedy had his faults, he was a delight, and Addy was enjoying watching him growing and maturing.
"Oh, well, did he tell you that he and Miss Chappel took that bear carcass to one of the Indian camps and gave it to them?" Jonah asked, smiling. "He's well-respected all over the territory, he has a lot of friends, so don't underestimate that."
"Now that's one I hadn't heard." She replied smiling. "I'd heard the story that Addy killed the bear that was rampaging through the area, but nothing about giving the carus to the Indians. You know, he is just who and what hehe's always been, at least since I've known him. Some would say he's slow to change, but I like that in him. Oh, he has his moments. Everyone does. but it's tolerable."
"When he's able, we'll have to start pushing broth down him," Jonah said with a grin, "he'll need the nutrition to start getting his strength back from the blood loss. Fortunately, Mrs. Armentrout is a good cook, so I do have some here."
"Yes, broth will be good for him to rebuild what he's lost, and some solid food to boot, but not what he's used to eating." She agreed, lots of blood building beef broth would be what Speed would need most of all, but vegtables and a piece of meat now and again as he got stronger would help as well. She would see to that.
"It seems like this will be a slow recovery, what with the blood loss and all. For a bit there I had fears he would not want to continue as Town Marshal, he had talked about maybe County Sheriff, but there was nothing ever actually said about that, and with the election coming you would think that would be a priority."
"Yeah, I ain't too worried 'bout losin' some business," Addy commented, "I just wanna make sure I got enough that Weedy can go ta some big, fancy college an' have a real good job!" She didn't know what the boy might want to do, but she surely hoped that it was more than driving wagons.
"College is a good choice. A young man with a college degree can go a long way in the world, depending on what it is he majors in." Leah explained, amazed that she was already planning for Weedy's future, and that it included higher education, but then Addy was no ordinary woman. "Yes, that is a good choice, furthering his education."
"Good ta know that he's got folks here who'll look after him when I'm gone, he's a good boy, even with all he's been through." Most children in his shoes would rebel and be getting into trouble, and while Weedy had his faults, he was a delight, and Addy was enjoying watching him growing and maturing.
"Good heavens Addy, when you're gone, whatever do you mean?" Leah asked, taken aback by her statement, "We'll be having you around here for a long time yet, and he'll be full grown and on his own before we know it." And how true that was, time will have flown by before they realized it. Even Kalispell will have changed. Though it seems that time drags on and nothing changes, is a fallacy.
"Circumstances change," Jonah observed, "and there won't be the information to make any decisions until Speed is better healed, and there is no telling how fast that will be." There were so many factors involved, and it was time that would be the main tell. "I know it's difficult, but right now all you can do is wait and watch...well, and force that food down him, but he'll be too weak to resist you." He grinned. "Just hold his nose and he'll have to open his mouth!"
He chuckled, then shook his head. "Not having Speed around the town would be a great loss. The people that know him respect him, and the people that don't will quickly find out that he's a man to be reckoned with." He chuckled. "That deputy, Charlie, is young and inexperienced, but I suppose you have to find that experience somewhere."
Alice almost spit out the coffee she had just sipped. She swallowed and said; "Hold his nose, Doctor Danforth, really? I have yet to have a problem with him eating, not ever!" Which was true, he could put away the groceries. "And yes I understand that we will have to wait and see as to when he will be recovered, and I also realize that his war experiences may or may not come into play with this recovery. I don't know that he was ever wounded. All I know is, we have a road ahead of us with a number of unknowns to face up to. Though I do like the thought of him being too weak to resist me." She countered.
She was no longer afraid that he might die from the wound, unless, of course, it went unattended. Her fears were of the unknown that lie ahead for both of them. Would he recover and not be the man that he had been, as often times happened to men surviving a gunshot, or, would he become morose as some others had. Again, time would tell.
Suddenly there was a soft groan and Speed moved his head, then he groaned again as his eyes opened reluctantly and he tried to sit up.
Sit down, shut up, don't touch anythin'
"Good heavens Addy, when you're gone, whatever do you mean?" Leah asked, taken aback by her statement, "We'll be having you around here for a long time yet, and he'll be full grown and on his own before we know it."
"Oh, no, don't mean in that way!" Addy laughed, shaking her head. "Heck howdy, I'm as stubborn as them mules I growed up with! Nah, I just mean when I go outta town on work." She knew she didn't have to worry, even with Speed laid up for a time, when she had to be away from town for a few days on a run, there were several folks around town who would make sure that Weedy was all right.
"He's gonna be somethin' one day, an' I'm already proud'a him."
Leah grinned. "You had me going there for a moment, Addy," She said, relieved by the clarification. "I guess it's just with Speed shot that I jumped to conclusions. Not something I usually do, well maybe sometimes, but I do try to watch myself." It did happen and most times she was right, it was those instances where she was wrong that caused her trouble. Sometimes, not much, other times quite a bit.
"I am glad there are those that look after him when you have to be gone. He is a good boy, from what I've seen, sometimes the devil has his way, but not too often, at least as far as I can tell." Leah added before saying, "College is important, I managed to complete finishing school, which is similar to college, but for girls. It was where I learned about finances, investing, acting like a lady, and all of those things. In fact, the Headmistress was a bit rebellious and taught matters of finance, which was not a regular course, nor approved by the men that sat on the board of directors." She paused, "I don't mean to be so chatty Addy, I'm just afraid for Speed, and I talk when I'm afraid and nervous."