OCTOBER 11, 1861

“What are you two doing?” Jewel inquired as she came into the living room and sat down.

“We’re trying to figure out what to get Caly and Buck for a wedding present.” Melissa replied. “We thought about giving them some credit at the general store, but Ted is doing that. We don’t want to do the same thing.”

“It’s going to be getting cold soon. How about some blankets?” Jewel suggested.

“We had thought of that, too, but Marta’s already done that.” Jewel let her shoulders droop as in defeat.

“Oh I know, how about some horses. Buck is an Indian, a horse would be perfect for them as a gift.” Jewel proposed.

Melissa and Jacy’s faces lit up. “That’s perfect.” Jacy exclaimed. “That would be a perfect gift, except-”

“Except what?” Jewel didn’t wait for an answer before continuing, “Don’t tell me someone else is already getting them horses.”

“No, it’s just that I don’t know of any horse ranches. Karen had a horse ranch here, but she moved, so there’s none that I know of that’s close to Dreamville.”

“What are you talking about?” Jaslyn asked. She had just got done with her homework and came downstairs looking for someone. She was tired of being alone in her room.

“There’s no horse ranches around here, and we want to get Caly and Buck some horses for a wedding present. Their wedding is October twenty-first. Caly is Michael’s sister, and Buck is one of the Pony Express riders.” Melissa informed her.

“Oh,” was all that Jaslyn could think to say as she plopped herself down next to Melissa.

“I know where there is a horse ranch close by. It’s not too far from Broken Bow. I could get Stone to take me on his day off, and we could pick out two fine good horses for them.” She looked from one sister to another to see what they thought. “Of course if you don’t trust me to pick out some good horses then I could just tell you where it is Jacy and you could go.”

“Oh no, I’m not much good at picking out horses. I trust you. You and Stone go and do it.” Jewel didn’t want to be the one to choose the horses.

“All right. But do you want me to get two horses, one for each of them, and how much should we pay?” Jewel needed some information to help her select the horses.

“Well, two horses are fine. They could be from you, Melissa, Jedidiah and . . . Jaslyn and myself. So lets say no more than twenty dollars a piece for the horses, but if you have to go a little higher than no more than thirty dollars a piece. How’s that?” Jacy wasn’t sure what the going rate for horses were because she had come by hers without spending any money at all. Thinking of Trixsy, also brought Cody to mind. Their relationship seemed to be going real well. She was sure that he would ask her to attend the wedding with him. She had been looking in her closet to find the perfect dress to wear, but she was getting disgusted because she didn’t want to wear any of them. She was thinking about going to the boutique and buying a new dress just for the occasion.

“Ok then it’s settled, I’ll get Stone to help me select two horses for their wedding present. I’ll ask him tomorrow. Now does anybody want some cookies and milk?” Jewel asked.

Melissa jumped up off the couch. “I do.”

“So do I,” Jaslyn stood up.

“Ok, follow me.” Jewel stood up and headed for the kitchen. The two girls followed her while Jacy stayed put and picked up one of Jaslyn’s shirts and finished sewing up a little tear that she had got in it today while playing outside at school. Jaslyn really needed some new clothes. She hoped that they would be able to adopt her. She wished that Jedidiah would return. He might be able to help them in the adoption process when the judge got here.