Liam Thomas pulled the wagon up in front of Teaspoon Hunter’s office. Teaspoon was already standing in the doorway, having been alerted by the sound of the wagon.

"Liam? What’s going on?" He asked as he noticed that the wagon was packed to the brim.

"Well, Teaspoon," the elderly man replied, just a hint of an Irish brogue left in his voice. "Eleanor and I have put a lot of thought into this. We’ve decided to move back East for a bit."

"Back East? Why?" Teaspoon asked.

"It’s been a hard few months, not just on Eleanor and myself, but on Erin and the boy, too. You know how often you and your riders have gone off looking for him."

"That I do Liam."

"Well, we thought that maybe it would be easier on all of us if we went back East. Get the boy further away from his past. Give him a chance to get to know us without the opportunity to run. We’ve got family back there, a niece and her husband with kids about their ages, so we’d have family around to help. We may even have to look into a boarding school for the lad."

"Well I hate to see ya all go."

"I know. But we think it’s for the best. Eleanor and I, well, we aren’t exactly spring chickens anymore. We could use the extra help right now. Besides, it will be good to see family again."

"How are you gonna keep him from running off while you travel?"

"I’m ashamed of what I’ve had to do. I’ve got the boy’s hands and legs tied. I hated doing it, but I can’t chase after him if he decides to jump from the wagon. I’ll untie him when we get far enough away that he can’t make it back here."

Teaspoon shook his head in sympathy. It was no way to treat a child, but he also understood the situation Liam was in. If he could spare one, he would be tempted to send one of the riders along for a few days to help out.

"So what are you doing with the homestead?"

"We talked to Mr. Simmons and he’s gonna try to lease the property for us. Maybe we can come back once the boy accepts us as his family. I was hopin’ that maybe you’d keep an eye on the place until he does."

"Of course, Liam."

"Well, we’d best be off. We’re hopin’ that the weather holds as it is. At least long enough to get us a bit further east of here."

"Good luck to you Liam, Eleanor."

"Thank you Mr. Hunter." Eleanor answered him as Liam slapped the reins against the horse’s rumps and the wagon moved off.

Teaspoon watched as the wagon moved off with Erin and Cayden in the back end. The young girl waved as she passed the sheriff.