Standing on the covered porch of the house, Emeline looked out through the sheets of rain that nearly obliterated her view of the barn, and, oddly, this was a sprinkle compared to the storm that had come through during the night, keeping everyone awake.  Lightening, thunder, heavy rain and even some hail, had been almost deafening as it pummeled the roof, making sleep impossible, so she and Barnabas had set up all night, drinking coffee, munching on cookies, while he tried to teach her how to play chess.

Dawn's light, though muted by clouds and rain, had revealed a problem -- some of the Morgans had broken down the fence to their paddock and escaped, along with her Noel.  Now, despite the rain, most of the men, along with Barnabas, were out assessing any damage and trying to find the animals.

While she was fairly sure that Barnabas would disapprove, Emeline decided to head to the bunkhouse and join forces with whoever was there to prepare a special meal for the men when they got back.  They'd be wet, cold and hungry, and they deserved a treat. 

To that end, she packed some supplies into a basket, put on a pair of Barnabas' boots and shrouded herself in a blanket, then slogged through the rain, mud and water to the bunkhouse with Natty close on her heels.  In fact, the dog was smart enough to run ahead and seek shelter on the bunkhouse porch without waiting for her.

As Emeline knocked on the door of the bunkhouse, she was laughing hysterically -- one of the boots was sitting behind her, where the mud had grabbed onto it and sucked it off her foot!

"Oh, thank you!" Emeline exclaimed with a chuckle as Danny retrieved the errant boot.  "I suppose they were too big to begin with, but better Barnabas' than mine!"  Draping the dripping blanket on a hook by the door, she headed to a chair by the fire and sat, pulling off the remaining boot and her stockings as well, taking care to keep her ankles concealed beneath her skirts, for proprieties sake.

"I decided that it was just too quiet alone at the house," she explained, "and that the men deserve something special for the work they are doing today."  Sighing, she slipped on the clean socks, allowing as how she'd have to get the mop and clean up the mess she and Natty had made.

"So, I have some special treats."  Standing, she picked up the basket and carried it over to Cookie.  "Chocolate, condensed milk, coconut, some fine powdered sugar, and..." she set the items on the table as she named them, "preserved peaches."

While she wasn't quite sure what they could do with it all, sweets were covered.  "So, what were you thinking for supper?  And please, don't let me intrude."  Even if it felt like that, it wasn't what she intended.

"Cobbler and cookies!  Sounds perfect, and we can use the chocolate in the cookies."  She wasn't exactly sure how they might do that, but chocolate was a relatively rare treat, so as long as the cookies didn't burn, they'd be fine.  "And your steaks and potatoes will be just what they need."

Then he mentioned the cooking facilities, and she frowned.  "Well, I suppose we can use the kitchen in the house?  It sounds like the rain is letting up some.  And it depends on how long they're gone, too."  There was no telling when the crew would be back, could be an hour, could be six.

"Or maybe set up the grill in the breezeway?"  It would be dry, if a bit chilly, but the steaks could be cooked out there.

Justus knew that, whether it was chasing errant horses or tending pig-headed cows, they'd likely be out in the rain one way or another.  It was part and parcel of working on a cattle ranch, and there could be worse things to be doing.

Not that he could think of much at the moment!  Hunkered in the saddle, his oil slicker and hat did little to keep the water away from his skin, but at least it wasn't bone-chilling cold.  Although that would have meant snow, and snow didn't get 'wet' as relentlessly as rain!

And, at the moment, he and Cade were headed back to the ranch, ponying four of the mares that had been hunted down.  He was looking forward to the warmth of the bunkhouse, and a hot cup of coffee before they had to come back out.

"Maybe they'll find th' other horses while we're at th' barn, an' we can just stay," he commented to Cade, tilting his head so the rain ran off the brim of his hat, away from his face.  "Seems like th' rain's lettin' up some, don't it?"  Or was that wishful thinking?

"We'll have a grand feast for them!"  Smiling brightly, Emeline stood up. wriggling her toes in the warm socks, then grabbed the mop.  "We can get the cobbler and cookies done first, since those don't need to be hot."

She liked working with Cookie, and, of course, liked cooking, and a venture like this made her happy.  But first, she needed to clean up her mess, so the mud by the door didn't get tracked everywhere.  Natty was content to settle by the fire.

"As soon as I get this cleaned up..." she paused a moment, leaning over and taking some deep breaths, then continued, "we can get started.  This is going to be fun!"

Nothing better than taking care of family, and these men were quickly becoming that.

Cade felt about the same as Justus about all this wet weather. Yeah, they had slickers and hats on but you still got soaked being out in all this rain long enough. It was part of the job though. And even a wet spring beat those cold Montana winters. 

And they did have four mares with them so it wasn't riding around for nothing. Life's little victories his uncle used to say.

"Maybe they'll find th' other horses while we're at th' barn, an' we can just stay," he commented to Cade, tilting his head so the rain ran off the brim of his hat, away from his face. "Seems like th' rain's lettin' up some, don't it?"

"Is it? Could be," Cade wasn't so sure.

"Maybe Mr. Pike should have startin' on building us an ark? Might end up needing it," he quipped.

"Seems like it some, don't it?"  Chuckling, Justus rode with Cade and the horses into the barn's breezeway, then swung out of the saddle and shook off what water he could.  The bunkhouse was so close and the promise of hot coffee was so tempting, but first the horses had to be seen to.

Tying off Mule and 'his' two mares, he first unsaddled the paint gelding, then grabbed an old grain sack and started rubbing down the mares.  There'd be no relaxing until the horses were cared for.

"So, now for yer ark, where do ya reckon we can get us some elephants...or kangarees, fer all that."  Creatures he'd heard about, but didn't really believe were any more real than a unicorn or Pegasus!