overjoyed to see each other and Rowdy threw his arms around the dog’s neck. With Muttly sitting and Rowdy standing, they were nose-to-nose and Muttly licked the little boy’s face in response to his exuberant hug.
“Muttly, stop that,” Jessie protested.
Margaret grinned and bent to wipe Rowdy’s face with the damp towel she held. Rowdy twisted away from her, intent on petting the dog.
“Come inside and we’ll wash your face, Rowdy.” Margaret pulled open the screen door and Jessie followed Rowdy and Muttly into the cool interior. The four of them trooped across the tiled foyer and turned left, bypassing the spacious wood-paneled living room with its leather sofas, thick wool rugs and Remington artwork, and followed the hallway to the airy kitchen.
On the far side of the room, sunshine poured through the windows of the dining alcove that looked out on the back garden. Jessie crossed to the sink, dampened a towel and squirted liquid soap onto it. “Come here, Rowdy. Let’s clean you up so Grammy can give you a cookie and a glass of milk.”
“I want soda,” he said hopefully, his words muffled beneath the cloth Jessie was scrubbing over his face.
“Milk,” Jessie said firmly. “Have your uncles been giving you soda?”
“Not today.” Rowdy smiled angelically and clattered across the kitchen to pull out a chair at the table and clamber onto it. Muttly immediately lay down beside him.
“Men,” Jessie grumbled under her breath.
“I’ll second that,” Margaret said wryly. She opened the refrigerator, took out a carton of milk and poured some into a plastic glass that had a red-and-blue image of Spider-Man on one side.
“What’s Dad done this time?” Jessie asked as she took a plate from the cupboard and collected three oatmeal chocolate-chip cookies from the vintage Dumbo cookie jar on the counter.
“He bought another airplane.”
“Another one?” Jessie set the cookies and milk on the table in front of Rowdy and returned to lean against the counter. “Why does he need another plane?”
“He didn’t say he needed it, exactly. He told me he thought it was wise to have a backup since the Cessna is fifteen years old.” Margaret rolled her eyes before returning the milk to the refrigerator and taking out a frosty pitcher of tea.
“That doesn’t sound totally unreasonable,” Jessie said, turning to take two tall glasses from the cupboard behind her. She knew next to nothing about airplanes but her father’s favorite hobby was flying and lately he’d been interested in a smaller plane a neighbor was using to dust crops. A sudden thought occurred to her and she looked at her mother. “Uh-oh. Did he buy this plane from Jack?”
Margaret nodded.
“But Jack’s plane only has room for two or three people. What’s Dad going to do with it?” Jessie carried the glasses to the table and returned for a plate of cookies.
“He says he’s going to use it to dust the oats and rye fields down in the basin.”
“Grandpa’s dusting fields?” Rowdy’s eyes were round with awe. “Like you dust, Mom? How does he do that?”
“No, hon.” Jessie walked behind him, ruffling his hair, and took a seat at the oblong table. “It isn’t like dusting furniture. When a pilot dusts fields, he flies his plane low over the ground and releases pesticide dust to kill the bad bugs that might harm the crops growing there.”
“What’s a pesty-side?”
“A pesticide is sort of like medicine for the crops to keep them from getting sick.”
“Oh.” Rowdy drained his milk. “Where’s ’lizabeth, Grammy?”
“She went to town with George to buy groceries,” Margaret replied.
Apparently satisfied that the McCloud family cook, whom he adored, wasn’t available, Rowdy hopped down from the table. “Can Muttly and me go outside and play now?”
“Yes—but stay inside the fence and don’t leave Grammy’s yard,” Jessie called after him when he raced for the door.
“I won’t,” he called over his shoulder as he pulled open the glass door and bounded out with the rottweiler beside him.
“What I wouldn’t give for some of his energy,” Margaret said, smiling fondly as she watched boy and dog race off across the grass.
“Me, too.” Jessie took a bite of cookie, grinning when Muttly returned a thrown stick and bowled Rowdy over before he popped up, laughing, to cast the stick again. “He’s amazing, isn’t he?”
“Of course. And perfect, too,” Margaret stirred her iced tea and chuckled at the sight of Rowdy and Muttly playing fetch. “He’s my grandson.”
“Not that you’re prejudiced or anything,” Jessie said wryly.
“Of course not.” Margaret sipped her tea, took a bite of cookie and chewed, her eyes narrowing with consideration. “I wonder how soon Luke and Rachel will have children? Have they said anything to you?”
“Not a word. But the ink is barely dry on their wedding license, Mom.”
“I know.” Margaret sighed wistfully. “It’s so much fun having little ones in the family, I’m hoping they’ll decide to have children sooner rather than later.”
“Rowdy would certainly love it if they did. He’s always asking me why his friend Cody has two brothers while he doesn’t have even one.”
“And what do you tell him?”
Jessie shrugged. “That he has two uncles and Cody doesn’t have any so if he’ll share Chase and Luke with Cody, maybe Cody will share his brothers with Rowdy.”
“And he thinks that’s a good solution?”
“He says Cody should share his brothers but he’s reluctant to agree to sharing his uncles.”
Margaret laughed out loud. “Sounds like a McCloud.”
“Yes,” Jessie agreed. “That it does.”
“Speaking of brothers, Luke told your father that Rachel’s brother, Zach, has returned to deal with the property he inherited from his grandfather. I think Rachel and Judith plan to combine their acres with his and he’ll manage all of the ranches together.”
Jessie flinched inwardly at the mention of Zach’s name but answered with relative calm. “I know, I heard the rumor in town and Rachel confirmed it.”
“Did she say if he’s here permanently?”
“I don’t think she knows for sure although she did say she hopes he’ll stay.” Jessie’s gaze followed Rowdy and Muttly as they wrestled and rolled on the lawn outside. “Her mom has the house in town and now that Rachel and Luke are living in his house, Rachel seems relieved to have her brother on-site.”
“That makes sense. I
