The door opened downstairs and the soft, muffled voices of his parents drifted up to his room. He pulled the covers tighter as he heard his father’s resolute voice and firm footsteps echoing up the stairway. The door to his bedroom creaked open and the footsteps stopped just inside. 

“Jimmy?” 

He tried not to shake, hoping his father would think he’d fallen asleep and leave him be. 

“Jimmy, son, climb out of bed. I want to talk to you.” 

The tone of his voice left no room for games, and soon Jimmy threw the covers off. He swung his legs over the side and stood up, hoping his legs would hold him. He studied the floorboards intently, fearful to meet his father’s gaze. 

Wood scraping over the floor indicated the chair in the corner had been pulled into the center of the room. Soon he saw his father’s boots and felt his closeness, but still he wouldn’t raise his head. A tender hand rested on his shoulder and an even gentler voice finally caused him to raise his head. 

“Jimmy, your ma tells me you were sent home from school today ‘cause you were fightin’.” 

He nodded his head a fraction, but remained silent. Sympathy crossed his father’s face, a reaction he wasn’t expecting at all. 

“Care to tell me what happened son?” 

He tried to, but fear of being punished had constricted his throat so tightly no sound would force its way out. 

“Jimmy…” his father coaxed. 

Finally the words tumbled out in a rush. “Some kids were sayin’ things about Grandpa. I told ‘em to take it back, but they kept on sayin’ things.” 

The words became mixed with tears as the insults and taunts echoed in his mind again. His father raised his hand and Jimmy knew the moment had come. He was going to be punished for fighting, because Daddy had always told him not to fight. Instead his father pulled him onto his lap and hugged him tightly to his chest. 

“Oh Jimmy,” he sighed and wiped the boy’s cheek. “When I gave you your grandpa’s name, I never imagined how truly like him you'd become.” 

The young boy looked up, his eyes questioning. This was not the response he expected from his father. 

“Your grandpa was a lot like you are when he was younger. Quick temper and quick to take offense. But he learned to control it, just like I know you’re going to.” 

Travis settled back into the chair, and settled Jimmy closer against him. “I want to tell you something, Jimmy, and I think you’ll understand better.” 

Jimmy nodded his head and then leaned it against his father’s broad chest. He stared mesmerized at the silver star, gently rising and falling with Daddy’s every breath. A deep rumble filled his ear as his father cleared his throat, and then finally he spoke. 

“Grandpa and his daddy didn’t get along real well when Grandpa was a boy. He used to see his dad hit his mother, and Grandpa couldn’t stand it. He tried to stop it, but there was really nothin’ he could do. So when Grandpa got older, he left home and tried to make it on his own. 

“He was an angry young man, who got into more than his fair share of trouble. Things changed, however, when he signed on to be a Pony Express rider. ‘Cause it was then that your grandfather met Grampy.” 

Jimmy’s interest was now thoroughly piqued. He loved hearing stories about Grandpa, but to hear a story about Grandpa and Grampy was just too exciting. Grampy had been in the Army, a Texas Ranger and a U.S. Marshal. Any story with Grampy was bound to be exciting. 

“When Grampy first met Grandpa, he thought your grandfather was a hot-head with an itchy trigger finger. And for the most part, he was right. But gradually your grandpa began to change, and it was because of Grampy. 

“Grampy was in charge of the riders at the Sweetwater station, and he tried to teach them all to be better people. He took Grandpa under his wing, told him he didn’t always have to use his gun, and taught him how to think things through. By the time the Pony Express was over, your grandpa was a different man.” 

He paused and fell silent for a moment, and then slowly as the cobwebs of the memories faded away, continued on. “By the end of the Express, Grandpa thought of Grampy as his father. His real father had died when he was younger, and besides, it was Grampy who had taken him as a cocky young boy and turned him into a man. So when he stopped riding, your grandpa pinned on a badge and became Grampy’s deputy. 

“By the time I was born, Grandpa was no longer a deputy, but Marshal. Grampy had decided he’d finally gotten too old for the law, and so he handed the job over. You never got to know Grampy, but he was a fine, fine man Jimmy. I remember sitting with him in Grandpa’s office, as he and Grandpa would talk about a case. Grampy never stopped teaching Grandpa, but by that time, they talked much more like equals than teacher to pupil.” 

Jimmy looked up as he heard his father’s voice grow thick with choked back emotions. Daddy was always so tough, that Jimmy never thought of him as nearly crying. But there in his daddy’s eyes were tears threatening to spill over. His father swallowed a couple of times and smiled down at Jimmy while squeezing him close. 

“Yep, Grampy was a fine man,” Travis crackled out. Clearing his throat he continued on. “I don’t think I ever fully understood how much he taught to Grandpa, until one day I got into a fight at school and was sent home. 

“I was so sure Grandpa was going to be very angry, that I did like you today and hid in my bed. Grandpa came to my room and sat on my bed and listened to the story that I’d practiced and practiced to tell him. I was so afraid he was going to punish me, or be disappointed that I’d gotten into a fight. Instead he pulled me close and said he was going to let me in on a little secret.” 

“A secret?” Jimmy whispered, speaking for the first time since Daddy started telling the story. 

His father chuckled, a smile spreading over his face. “Yep, a secret. He said it was something he’d learned from Grampy, and he was going to tell it to me. He said he wasn’t going to punish me, not in the way I was expecting. I was still in trouble, because fighting was wrong, but he wasn’t going to hit me. Grandpa never raised a hand against me or my brothers and sister while we were growing up or against Grandma for that matter. He could never do that, after watching his father hit his mother.” 

“But what was the secret Daddy?” Jimmy interrupted. 

“Ah yes, the secret,” Daddy said, trying to hide a smile in his mustache. “Your grandpa told me that he’d learned a daddy isn’t just supposed to love his children only when they’re good. He said that a father’s love is without end. Do you understand what that means Jimmy?” 

Jimmy started to nod his head and then slowly shook it. He felt proud that Daddy was talking to him like he wasn’t a little kid, but at only eight years old he didn’t really understand what his father meant. 

“Grandpa said it means loving your kids no matter what, even if they don’t always do things right. Grampy never had any kids of his own that he raised, but he considered all of the riders his children. There were times he wished they’d done things differently, but it didn’t mean he loved them any less. Instead he just tried to help them learn from their mistakes and he loved them all the more. 

“Grandpa said that’s what being a father was all about. You never stop loving your children, even if they do something wrong. So now you know the secret Jimmy.” 

Jimmy looked up into Daddy’s smiling eyes. “I do?” 

“Yep. A father’s love is a love without end. You remember that when you’re a daddy and you’ll always know what to do.” 

Jimmy nodded his head and laid it back on his father’s shoulder. Travis hugged his son tight and then slowly released him. 

“Now Jimmy, this doesn’t mean that you should have been fightin’. So you’re gonna have to stay in your room today and tomorrow, you come straight home after school as well. You listen to your ma and do the chores she gives you, alright?” 

“Yes, sir,” Jimmy said, his deep brown eyes turning slightly sorrowful. 

“That’s a boy,” Travis said as he stood Jimmy up and then ruffled his hair. “I’m gonna head on back to the office. I’ll see you at supper time.” 

“Bye Daddy.” 

Travis looked at his son, standing taller than when he’d first arrived. His heart swelled with a love he never thought he’d ever experience. 

“Bye son.” 

He stepped out into the hall and closed the door behind him. Heading down the stairs and towards the door, he caught site of a pair of familiar legs, stretched out in front of the fireplace in the front room. 

“Dad?” he asked stopping in the doorway. 

“Hey there, Travis,” Jimmy replied, looking up from the paper. He folded the paper and laid it on the table and then stood slowly, straightening his long frame. His salt-and-pepper hair fell against his shoulders in a slight wave and for a moment Travis saw a vision of Grampy standing in his sitting room. 

“Headin’ back to the office?” Jimmy asked walking towards his son. 

“Yeah,” Travis nodded, and turned toward the door. Father and son reached for nearly identical black hats, and then stepped outside. 

“Hear young Jimmy got into a fight at school today,” Jimmy said as they passed through the gate. 

Travis nodded his head, not really surprised that Jimmy knew about the fight. He realized there weren’t many things in town that escaped the former Marshal’s notice. In fact, he was surprised he hadn’t seen his dad waiting at the house when he got home. Then he realized that Jimmy had been giving him time and space to deal with the situation on his own. 

“So is that why you stopped by? See how he was doin’?” 

“Well, that and to see you,” Jimmy answered as they stepped into the dusty lane. 

“Me?” Travis asked. “Don’t you think I’m getting a little old for you to be checkin’ up on me?” 

Jimmy caught the humor in his son’s voice and said, “Son, you’ll never be too old for me to stop checkin’ up on. It’s just somethin’ a father does.” 

Travis felt a catch in his throat, and not trusting his voice merely nodded his head as they continued on. Jimmy didn’t really need to look at his son to know what he was feeling. He remembered the jumble of emotions he had the first time Travis got in a fight. 

“It’s a hard thing to do isn’t it?” he asked, looking over at Travis. “You remember the first time you got sent home?” 

A baleful smile crossed Travis’s face. “Yeah. In fact I told Jimmy about it.” 

“Really?” 

“I went up to his room, and he was hiding under the covers. I remembered doin’ the exact same thing.” 

“Yep,” Jimmy nodded as the memory surfaced. “I was mad and disappointed that you’d gotten into a fight and I was all set to scold you. And then I saw the look on your face and all I wanted to do was hug you. You were so frightened, tears threatenin’ to fall, and yet you were also so brave, ready to face your punishment. I knew I had to say somethin’ to you, but suddenly punishing you was the furthest thing from my mind. 

“That’s when I understood what Teaspoon told me the day you were born. He said ‘Son, this little baby is gonna change your life forever. You’ll find yourself doin’ things you never thought you would, and you’ll love every minute of it.’ And as usual, he was exactly right.” 

“Sounds like Grampy,” Travis said, nostalgia creeping into his voice. 

“Yeah it does,” Jimmy echoed, a distant look covering his eyes. “So instead of yellin’ at you, I sat you down and told you why I’d always love you. I figured you’d learn more from that than hearin’ me lecture you for a month of Sundays. And I’ll bet that’s just what you did with Jimmy today, isn’t it?” 

Travis looked at his father, amazed, but knowing he shouldn’t be. “I’m always amazed at how smart you are. You know the answer before I even say it.” 

“I had a good teacher,” Jimmy said with feeling as they stopped around the corner of the Marshal’s Office. 

“So did I,” Travis responded. “So did I.” 

Jimmy blinked and turned his head. The lump in his throat increased, and he stared down the street a moment before turning his gaze back to his son. He reached out his hand and rested it on Travis’s arm. 

Travis broke the silence first by speaking. “Thanks for stoppin’ by today Dad.” 

Jimmy smiled warmly. “You’ll always be my boy, Travis. So you’re just gonna be stuck with me lookin’ in on you from time to time.”

“It’s just somethin’ a father does,” Travis said repeating Jimmy’s earlier words. 

“Yep,” Jimmy said while nodding his head. “’Cause a father’s love is without end.” 

Travis nodded silently, caught up in his thoughts of his father and his son. Jimmy smiled and with his eyes signaled it was time to get back to the business of the day. Smiling, Travis once again nodded his head and started to turn away. 

Jimmy caught his arm and stopped him, looking deep into his eyes. The love and pride he felt for his son radiated brightly. One corner of his mouth turned up, and he patted his son on the shoulder then slowly walked out into the street headed for his home. Travis watched his father go, then turned, stepped up on the wooden boardwalk and headed to his office. 

Author’s note: Inspired by “Love Without End, Amen” by George Strait