I asked him this morning. Miriam stopped. You asked him. He said read whatever I want. He said he hadn't opened those books in 3 years and they needed someone to read them.
She turned a page. He he seemed glad actually. Miriam looked at her daughter sitting on the floor of the borrowed study in the borrowed house and thought, "This is what survival looks like. Not a single dramatic moment. Just children who keep reaching toward things that interest them even when everything around them is uncertain.
Just 12-year-olds who ask permission for what they want and then actually use it. She left Tessa to her reading. The crisis came on the ninth day when Bramwell rode out at dawn to inspect cattle on the far range and wasn't expected back until evening. It started with Miriam noticing that the mare in the corner stall was standing wrong. She wasn't a horse expert, hadn't grown up with them the way some women in this territory had, but she'd been around enough animals to know that the way a creature stood told you something.
A healthy horse stood with weight balanced and easy. This mare was standing with her back legs braced oddly and her head low, and when Miriam went into the stall to look at her, the animal's breathing had a roughness to it that didn't belong there. She found Denny in the barn. "How long has she been standing like that?" She said.
Denny looked at the mare. She seemed a little off this morning. Boss didn't notice when he left or he'd have said something. She needs a veterinarian. Denny shifted on his feet.
Ma'am, Mr. Concaid didn't leave instructions about that. I can't spend money without She needs a veterinarian today, Miriam said. Not when Mr. Concaid gets back.
Today, ma'am, I don't have authority to. Then give me a horse, she said, and I'll go for the veterinarian myself. Denny looked at her. He looked at the mare. He was 19 years old and trying to figure out which of the two risks in front of him was the larger one.
The nearest veterinarian is Doc Puit in Carver's Mill. He said finally about 4 miles south. Saddle me a horse, she said. He did. She rode to Carver's Mill in less than an hour.
Found doctor and told him the situation without particular drama. He came back with her. He examined the mare for 20 minutes, administered what he needed to administer, and told Miriam that if she'd waited another 6 hours, it would have been too late. Miriam paid him from the household account that Bramwell had given her access to for supplies. She told Denny what she'd spent and why, and told him to make a note of it for when Mr.