Beside her, in deep thought, stood Ellie Younger. Her small finger poised at her lip as she paced back and forth, long mousy brown braids swing in an ark as she turned. "She's gotta be really pretty, and has to cook good...Pa likes to eat, ya know?.." She sighed, glancing sidelong at the other girl, finding she wasn't paying the slightest attention, Ellie stopped in her tracks. "Are you even listenin?"

Bunny blinked and looked over at the tall, lanky girl. "..Yes'th I are, ya kitty..." She grinned, an almost toothless gesture before she stood. Brushing her dusty hands over her freckled cheeks, she grinned widely and nodded, "...He de...d...des'th'rves, yeah..thats'th the word...Bob des'th'rves good food, like cakes'th and chocolates'th! HEY!!!" The girl bounced in her step, nearly toppling over with her newfound excitement, "..Will he invite us'th to eat wi'f him if he gets'th cakes from the lady?"
 

"Yeah, silly.." Ellie rolled her eyes and shook her head in disbelief, a habit true to her father. "He's my Pa...Course we'll get invited....." She turned leaning her gingham covered back against the oak tree. "But the problem is we gotta find us this lady first..." She giggled as a thought jump in her young mind. "Just like Uncle Cole says...Hell, it ain't gonna fall outta the sky."

"Cole says that?!" Bunny instantly perked, her eyes widened like silver-dollars. "...'kay then, I think we should look c'woser to the ground, y'reckon? Maybe she is'th c'wos'th'er than we think...To town?" Her smile widened and she tugged on a fire-red pigtail.

Ellie giggled and pushed off the tree just in time to wrap a arm around Bunny's shoulder. "It's just an expression...It means that you gotta look for what you want, it ain't just gonna walk right up to you and say howdy.." She tilted her as if in thought. "Least that's what I think it means."

"Cole is'th the smartest'h man a'wive..." Bunny oggled, before giggling and tugging Ellie with her. "..When we find you a Mama, will t'ere be a shindig and then Cole will dance wi'f me and marry me?" She asked, nodding in assurance of her words.

"Uhhhh.."Ellie waved her hand, trying to avoid hurting Bunny's feeling for the gillionth time. "Well.....Ummm...I don't know but we can't worry about that right now we gotta start lookin. How you think men go about findin a girl for 'em?" And then sudden inspiration struck her, and her heart was near bursting with excitement. "The newspaper!"

"News'th-paper?" Bunny asked, her head tilted as she padded along beside Ellie. "Y'r Pa dun'read...does'th he?"

"Dang...He sure does and even if he didn't uncle Cole and Cousin Frank do.." She sigh, plopping down onto the bank, her elbow planted against her knee to cradle her chin. "There's gotta be...Hummm...."

"Ooo!!!" The red-headed child exclaimed as she popped on her feet like a leap-frog. "Why not we go to the dress'th lady! I see her all the time jabbin' away wi'f e'ryone, ya reckon she might know a Mama-type f'r you!"

"Nah….Can’t take the chance with her. She gossips…" Another bout of inspiration struck her and she jumped to her feet. "I know what…." She turned a smile brighter than the summer sunshine on Bunny."We can put one of those…Those things in the paper…" She pursed her lips and nodded, having made up her mind. "They’ll just have to write us a letter saying why they should be married to pa….THEN.." She giggled. "We’ll have then drop the letters in the church charity box…Reverend Thomas won’t tell on us." She looked to Bunny for a reaction, for her opinion.

Bunny blinked in awe and said lowly, "...Yous'th a genius'th too..." A smile laced over her cherubic lips and she started running. "..Let'sh go t'yer hous'h and git the lead to w'ite!"

©©©©©©©©

Ellie sat at the rough hued table, a piece of paper lay in front of her. She cocked her head to the side, chewing at the tip of the pencil held carefully between her fingers. "What should it say?" She sighed and cut her eyes to Bunny. Her palms sweating as she listend for the fist hint of approaching footsteps from the barn.

"Umm...." Bunny started, as she chewed on a licorice strip. "...In search of Mommy.."

"Oh yeah…Yeah…That’s good.." She bounced in the chair and put lead to paper, speaking as she wrote. " In search of Mommy… You gotta be pretty….and cook real good…You gotta ride a horse and know Sunday hymes…You can’t get mad at dirt or messy hair….And you gotta tell all the good bedtime stories." Ellie sighed sweetly with accomplishment as she lifted the paper and read it again. "OH YEAH…" She wrote, shrugging. "You gotta marry my pa too."

"Yeah! Don't f'rget marriedage and stuff..." Bunny giggled and kicked her legs slightly in the chair, gasping as she heard the thumping up the front stairs.

The door opened and Bob Younger walked in, pressing the door shut with his back and sighing loudly. "...Hot...really...hot..." He enunciated, opening his eyes to see the girls at his dining room table. "Oh oh..now I see.." He started, tossing his hat off of his head and prowling towards the table. "...Make Daddy work all morning and afternoon so you can sit in the house like Queen of Licorice?" He teased, recieving a giggle from the redheaded girl as he made his way towards Ellie.

"Nuh uh, daddy, I got all my chores done early…Everyone you told me…" She giggled, her eyes growing wide as she eased the paper off the table and stuffed it into her pinafore pocket. "Oh yeah, that big ole mean hen in the corner of the coop, she’s stopped layin."

"Mis'th-ter Younger?" Bunny started, as she slipped away from the chair and plodded behind him.

Bob was about to curse about the chicken when his arms slipped around Ellie's waist and he hoisted her in to the air and over his shoulder. Grinning lopsidedly, he looked down at the little red-head and lifted a brow. "..No, he's not coming over today, Bunny.."

"Darn it!"

Laughing wildly Ellie wiggled on her father’s shoulder, gasping for breath. "Don’t you have something…Something for her …Her to take over …There, daddy?" Tears of merriment streamed down her cheeks.

"Pwease Mis'th-ter Younger!!" Bunny exclaimed happily, bouncing before him.

Shaking his head, Bob let Ellie slip down against his chest where he cradled her and chuckled. "..Oh! I know, why don't you two take him ..." Bob's eyes scanned the house and he nodded, "..Bring him that hat...he forgot it here few days back.."

Already Bunny was skipping towards the stetson and plopping it on her head. "YAY! Ell-wee, lets'th go!!!"

"Your in trouble!" She whispered, knowing her uncle was going to give him a ear full for sending to two girls over to his place. "Hahahahah!" She slithered away from her father and rushed for the door. "Hurry…Hurry…Hurry.." Her squeals echoed out into the yard beyond the house as she grabbed Bunny’s arms and ran for the road.

Bob moved to chase after them, but paused in the door, calling out, "You be back by suppertime! And I mean it! You have school in the morning!" He laughed warmly before closing the door and slumping against it. Looking around the home with cocoa-rich eyes, another sigh fell from his lips and he pushed away from the door in a pout. He was bored.

"Y'know sum'fin?" Bunny supplied as they walked the trail towards Cole's house. "..I reckon that letter is'th gonna get you a Ma...It is too bad that my Ma is'th married to my Pa, then we could be th'sisters..."

"Yeah…I thought of that already. Don’t seem rightly fair does it?" She sighed and shrugged, plodding along beside her best friend. "But I guess some Ma, even is she ain’t yours, is better than none. Sides, I wanna baby brother and your ma’s done babied out. You got eight brothers and sisters, bet she can’t have no more. Lacy Perkins said a woman can only have eight babies anyway, said your mom got lucky and got an extra one on counta that some other family couldn’t take it."

"I heard that my Ma is s'th'pecial kinda in that ways, though I don't believe I like it much...They is all mean and big and rub my nose in th' dirt..." Bunny shrugged and brushed her hand along her hat. "Y'r Pa seems nice enough d'oh, we is'th sure to get him married..."

"Yeah, and purty too!" Ellie smiled as she picked up the pace, seeing Cole’s house in the distance.

When they made it to Cole's yard, Bunny stopped and took the hat off, and brought it to her chest. Swallowing roughly, she looked up at the blueing sky of evening and said gently, "..Dear God, I love Cole Younger...please make sure to bless'th him tonight if I fo'get to include him in my bedtime prayers'th." With a smile, she waddled towards the house, holding the hat quite proudly.

Ellie gave a sharp nod of approval and skipped up to the porch. "You gonna knock or you want me too?"

"Umm...umm.." Bunny stammered, watching the large door as if it were ominously dangerous. "..You..."

Cole stood in the barn watching the two, seeing the instant they had entered the yard at the front of the house. A slight smile hung on his lips as he saw the actions of the coppery headed girl, Bunny. She was a constant thorn in his side for the last eight months but she was cute as a button. He shifted and kicked away from the barn support where he lounged. "Elenore Younger, what in heaven’s name are you doing here?"

Jumping several inched from the weather worn porch she turned rounded eyes to her uncle, who was now striding towards them. She glanced to Bunny and gasped.

It was all slow motion. Bunny turned once she had heard Cole's voice and her eyes widened once more. Watching as each step brought him closer, she moved to lean back against the door. Silent for one of the few times in her life, she held the hat out towards him, her eyes unblinking, her lips parted slightly, and her hands shaking just a bit. She was in love.

Cole came to a stop at the edge of the porch, his booted foot raised on it’s edge, thick arms crossed over his chest. "You hear me, girl?" He asked, reaching out and taking the hat from the shorter of the duo.

"Uncle Cole!" Ellie launched herself at him and as luck would have it he caught her and gave her a bruising hug. Leaning back she smiled back and Bunny. Her eye slid back to Cole and she sighed. "Daddy thought you might need your hat and Bunny here volunteered us to bring it over."

Bunny swallowed the clench in her throat and grinned widely, toothlessly. "...Hi....Cole..." came soft, faint like a whisper of a too shy child. She brushed her hand at her dusty cheek and grinned again, trying to impress him with the 'big kid tooth' that was coming in.

"Hello, Bunny." Cole smiled, letting Ellie slip to the ground. He leaned toward the girl and tugged on one of her pig tails. "Thanks for bringing my hat back."

The girl was staring. He was so much bigger than her, so much stronger with muscles and a hard body. He could probably lift a horse! Swallowing again, she giggled and ducked her head shyly, trying to remember what her sisters had said. They told her she was too eager, and if she wanted to catch the boys attention, be subtle about it. Of course she failed to mention that the 'boy' she was in love with was Cole Younger.

Ellie smile and twisted in place as she watched Bunny being taken over by an unaccustomed shyness. "Guess what, Uncle Cole?"

"What?" He glanced at his niece over his shoulder, imagining his own daughter would have looked something like her. That all to familiar pain squeezed at his heart then.

"Bunny made a apple pie all by herself yesterday." She said, trying to help her friend as much as she could, even knowing that the situation was hopeless.

"That true?" He turned his attention back to Bunny.

"Uh huh! And it had apples'th and c'weme, and I didn't burn it at all!" Bunny exclaimed, becoming more and more elated and finally loosening up. "Ma says'th I am a weg..regular bake..thingie..." The girl nodded and jumped a bit, "I can make you a pie!!"

"You do that, Bunny." He smiled and straitened, moving towards the door. "You girls come on inside, got something for ya."

When he moved into the house, Bunny reached out for Ellie's arm and whispered, "...He wants me to make him a pie?!!" before they walked in. Back in his presence, the girl quieted down and smiled, watching admirably.

"You gotta do it then!..You just got to!" She whispered as Cole turned his back on them.

Cole reached up to the hearth and retrieved a brown paper bag and handed it to Ellie. "Them peppermint sticks are for the both of you."

"Gee, really Cole!?" Bunny exclaimed, watching him with admirable blue eyes. "Thank you!"

Cole winked at Bunny and turned his attention to Ellie. "Your pa need any help fixin that leaky roof?"

"No…He fixed it this morning…" She replied as she shuffled her feet, glancing up at him through her lashes. Chewing on her lower lip she leaned over towards Bunny. "Think I should ask him to post it in paper for us?" She whispered.

Her hands reached up to her heart and she glanced to the ceiling, mouthing, 'Thank you Lord', before looking back at Ellie. With a smile, Bunny nodded and began to fidget nervously with her fingers.

"Uncle Cole?" She reached slowly into her pocket and withdrew the crumpled paper.

"Yeah?"

"Ummm…Uhhh..Well, you see.." She pitched and stumbled over her words, nervous sweat beading on her upper lips and across the bridge of her nose. "I got this idea and …This idea about a mama…And I was wondering if you’d put this in the paper for me?"

Cole reached out for the paper and nearly spewed the hot coffee, he’d just poured himself, over the kitchen table. He reread the words and tried to compose himself before he laughed at his niece , crushing her delicate feelings. At first, he thought to refuse but then he thought of the little debt he owed Bob for setting the girls loose on him. "Yeah, sure, Sweetheart."

Cole gave them a good five minutes as they left him alone in the house and his laughter roared through the house. "Little Brother, I’d hate to be in your shoes."

*********

TBC