"Give her two pieces but hold out your hand with a flat palm; otherwise, she'll bite your fingers off."
Abe laughed hard giving the horse her treats. Looking up at Roy, Abe wore an enormous smile. Roy had Abe repeat this exercise several times until Sugar-Girl responded without Roy's help. When Roy was satisfied, he smiled at Abe.
"Excellent work, Abe; I'm very proud of you."
They were cleaning up and putting things away when Abe suddenly remembered, "Oh, Roy, I almost forgot. Maw wants you to come for dinner tonight and stay over again. The barn door is stuck and she needs help getting it working again."
Roy loved visiting because he enjoyed being around the Johansson family. In addition, Sara's cooking was far superior to that of Roy's.
Half joking, Roy exclaimed, "I think your maw only has me come to your house so I can work for her." Abe frowned at Roy. "I'm just joking Abe, and never repeat what I just said to your mother."
"Not to worry, Roy. It's just between us two men."
Roy chuckled. "If we're to make supper, we'd better saddle up Abe, it's getting late."
After packing a few things and providing extra hay for Molly and Sugar-Girl, Roy and Abe headed to the Johansson farm. Molly hee-hawed and Sugar-Girl whinnied as the two rode away. Off in the distance, the Santa Fe railroad gave out a sharp blast of its whistle. Roy chuckled, remembering this sound from when he was a kid.
Rubbing grease off his hands, Roy walked into the Johansson kitchen. "The barn door is working again, but I'm not sure for how long. One of the top trolleys is broken and needs to be replaced. I think I'll go into town and get a replacement at Frank Dillard's general store."
"How much will it cost Roy? I need to be careful because we're getting close to harvest time. Once I sell our crop, then I can afford new things."
"It's okay Sara; I'll cover it for now. Besides, your mare threw a shoe on our way back last night, so I was going to take her along to visit the blacksmith."
Sara sighed. She reached up on one of the shelves and pulled down a large tan crock. Fishing around, she retrieved some money and started counting. Roy placed a hand on top of hers.
"Save your money. Tom has known me for years. He'll put it on credit."
"But Roy, why do things always break at the wrong time."
Roy smiled and gave Sara a big hug. He leaned over and started kissing her to stifle her complaints. Sara gently pushed Roy away.