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“A day or two in here should see him right,” Albie said.
“Hopefully we’ll have no more early arrivals. It’s too bleedin’ cold.”
It sure was.
“I saw Percy’s bed was empty again,” Des said.
Albie played it cool. “Ah, yeah. The eggs are collected, the dogs are fed, and he’s made a start on breakfast.”
He made a face. “Guess the snoring’s pretty bad, huh?”
Albie gave him a tight smile and decided to just put it out there. “Yeah. About that. I told him he could sleep in the main house tonight.”
Des’s gaze shot to Albie’s, so Albie quickly explained. “He said he’ll start sleeping in the loft,” Albie said, pointing up to the mezzanine for dry hay. “I can’t have any of my men bunking in with the animals in the barn, Des.” Then he shrugged. “And I was thinking maybe it was time I moved into my father’s room. That’ll give Percy my room. No hard feelings, I hope. It’s just that he hasn’t slept more than a few winks in a week, and he’s trying to work hard to prove himself, doing too many things. He’s gonna cause himself an injury if he’s not thinkin’ right.”
Des nodded. “I get it. ’S okay. You don’t need to explain any decision you make, Albie. You’re the boss now.”
Albie almost smiled. “That may be so, but you deserve the respect to hear it from me.”
And that made him realise something else.
“And speaking of that,” Albie said quietly. “I wasn’t going to say anything because it’s not something I want known, but Percy’s also helping me with my reading. I never spared the time for it as a kid, and to have the likes of McAllister handing me letters and John Bailey writing receipts, I need to be better prepared. I don’t trust any of ’em.” He shook his head. “I thought I had time to learn better before I had to worry about that kinda stuff, ya know? Remember all those times my father told me to open a book and I ran off on a horse instead, didn’t come home till sundown.” Albie smiled then. “I should have listened.”
Des chuckled. “You woulda been too busy kicking and screamin’ to learn anything.”
Albie snorted. “True.”
Bandit came over to the gate, so Des gave him a scratch on the forehead. “Percy’s got himself a good horse. We’ll get him in and around the cattle this week, see how he holds up.”
“Good idea.”
“Robert said Percy did well taking the cattle to town. Being on Minnie woulda helped, but he held his own.”
“He did.”
Des sighed. “I’m glad you got someone around here your own age, Albie,” he said. “Be good for ya for a change. Sure, you gotta be the boss but you can live a little too. It’s good to see ya smile.”
If only he knew...
Albie willed himself not to blush or give himself away.
Thankfully Des seemed oblivious. “And Robert tells me Percy stood beside you when folks around town decided to try it on ya.”
“He did. First time was before I even hired him.”
“Good.” Des nodded slowly. “And Robert also tells me he’s terrible at cards.”
Albie laughed. “He’s about as good as me.”
“So, terrible.”
“Exactly.”
“Makes a bloody good damper though.”
Albie had to agree. “Should we go in and see how breakfast is looking?”
Des gave a nod and they walked back to the house, and they soon got their answer.
