OCTOBER 22, 1861

 
Richard had waited a few weeks before having Hal attend school because he wanted to get to know the child better. And it was a lot easier to have Aaron run the bar in the daytime when there were fewer customers, so that he could spend time with Hal. Then he would attend to the bartending in the evenings so that Aaron could go back to being the bouncer.

Richard gently shook the young boy to wake him. "Hal wake up, time for school." He watched as the child sat up rubbing his eyes.

"Do I have to go?" Hal said as he tried to wake up.

"Yes son. Hurry and get dressed, and we'll go get some breakfast at the restaurant, and I'll show you where to go." Richard watched the young boy nod and get up. He went back to working on the plans for their apartment Hal finished getting dressed and got his schoolbooks together. "I'm ready."

Richard nodded. "Okay. I need to stop by the store and see about the wedding gift I ordered."

"Okay." Hal followed his new father over to the store. Then the two went to the restaurant for something to eat. After they had finished eating, Richard rented a buckboard and headed out to the school. As they pulled to a stop, Hal couldn’t believe all the kids he saw.

Richard quickly introduced him to Kathleen and then smiled as the boy went off to play with some boys his own age. Richard stuck around to chat with Kathleen for a while, but when the bell rang, he said goodbye and quickly headed back to town to attend his bar at the Rusty Trigger Saloon.