xymnovel Chapter 132 Paradise Valley with Cowboys and Children
Chapter 132 Paradise Valley with Cowboys and Children
Chapter 132 Taking the Cowboy and the Kid Back to Paradise Valley
First thing: Get the list.
The town hall was dimly lit. The fat clerk pushed a parchment in front of Tom.
The paper was rough, and six names were scrawled on it in ink.
Tom's sharp gaze swept over them. "Six?"
The portly clerk quickly replied, "That's all."
Tom's eyes darkened. He grabbed the flimsy parchment, rolled it up neatly, stuffed it into his pocket, turned around, and strode across the threshold. The wooden door slammed shut behind him.
The second thing: complete the formalities.
He went straight to the town office to find Sheriff Dan.
To everyone's surprise, Dan's eyes narrowed as soon as she saw him, and she grabbed his arm and dragged him to a secluded corner.
"Tom," Dan said in a very low voice, his face more serious than ever before, "you have to help me!"
Tom frowned: "Get to the point. I'll help if I can, but don't blame me if I can't. I have a ton of other things to do."
"Tom, this is something only you can do!" Dan said, looking around nervously.
"What are you looking at?" Tom asked, puzzled. "This is your territory!"
Dan leaned closer, almost whispering, "Do you know who the girl you saved is?"
"I don't have time to ask." Tom has been busy recruiting cowboys these past few days, so he doesn't have time to care about anything else.
Dan wasn't surprised, his expression serious: "The daughter of a New York tycoon! She was kidnapped after being betrayed by her own people. We can't contact her parents, so we have to send her back!"
Tom waited for the next installment.
Seeing his "you say, I'm listening" attitude, Dan sighed inwardly, thinking that the kid was clearly pretending to be confused!
Having exhausted all other options, Dan could only be blunt: "No one is more suitable than you to escort her to New York!"
Tom shook his head immediately: "Dan, what I need are the adoption papers for those kids. If you process them, consider it payment for wiping out the Blood Gang."
As for giving it away? He doesn't have the time for that!
Seeing that Tom was unyielding, Dan had no choice but to complete the formalities for him with a dark face, along with the previous twenty-one children.
Having received the few thin pages of paper, Tom left the town hall without looking back.
A group of tough cowboys, teenagers, and a caravan laden with supplies left the town under the cover of night, their hooves thundering!
Tom rode at the back of the group, his sharp eyes scanning the newly recruited cowboys as he assessed these unfamiliar faces.
The six children on the bus were either seven or eight years old, or only three or four.
"The orphanage will probably be empty soon—"
Tom muttered to himself, but he didn't have the energy to investigate the children's whereabouts at the moment.
To his surprise, the youngest child, who was only three years old and should have been crying and fussing at that age, was unusually quiet and well-behaved.
This "sensible" behavior carries an indescribable pitifulness.
After a long and dusty journey, when the familiar outline of Paradise Valley finally came into view, Thomas stood guard at the valley entrance with a gun, and the atmosphere was tense.
"What's going on?" Tom reined in his horse, his brow furrowed.
Thomas stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "They're ranchers from elsewhere. They used to graze their cattle in the valley every summer, and they wanted to come again this year. We chased them away!"
"A gun was used?" Tom pressed.
"No!" Thomas glanced at the newly recruited cowboys behind Tom, "but they have more men than we do."
Tom nodded, suppressing the urge to press for details about the other man's whereabouts. The Dutton family's cowboys were indeed too few, and asking might not be of any use. "These are the new recruits. You and Wade should keep a close eye on them." He gestured to the dozens of cowboys behind him.
"It looks alright," Thomas replied.
Tom didn't say anything more and directed everyone to take the children to the bathhouse first.
The mother came forward, her eyes softening as she looked at the timid children: "You went to the orphanage?"
"Yes, that's all I brought back."
Tom nodded, though he couldn't explain why for the time being.
Aunt Claire, holding the youngest child, turned to Tom with a glance and asked, "Where are the clothes? The previous children didn't have enough clothes."
The implication is that these newcomers can't be left naked.
"I bought them, clothes and food are all prepared." Tom turned to Wade and instructed, "Wade, take the cowboys to bathe and give them a thorough medical check-up. Lock them up for three days first!"
Wade accepted the order and left.
Tom handed over the task of settling the new cowboy directly to him and Thomas.
The children were taken to be cleaned by their mothers and aunts.
Tom noticed that all the boys brought back this time were boys, and a question crossed his mind: Where did the girls go?
He touched the crucial land deed in his arms, then turned to find his father, James.
"The land deed, I got it." Tom handed over the documents.
James carefully checked it and, finding nothing amiss, put it away safely.
He looked at Tom with a questioning gaze: "Brought back some more children?"
He was clearly curious about his son's habit of "picking up" strangers every time he went out.
"This really has nothing to do with me," Tom tried to explain, but judging from his father's expression, he clearly didn't believe a word of it.
"You need to find some women to take care of them."
James gave the order directly, leaving no room for discussion.
Tom understood that he had been supported entirely by his mother and aunt.
I forgot about this in Bozeman, so it seems I'll have to look for it again in Livingston.
At this moment, Mary quietly walked to Tom's side, hesitant to speak.
"What's up?" Tom asked.
Mary lowered her voice: "Children—think of something."
Tom calculated the time: "Are they alright? Like, have they dysentery or something?"
Mary shook her head: "I've been watching, everything's fine."
"Okay, you can discuss it with my mom and aunt to see when it would be appropriate to release him."
After Tom finished speaking, he noticed that Mary was still there and looked a little uneasy. Remembering that she was usually like a ghost on the ranch, he asked, "Mary, are you settling in well here?"
"It's...it's fine." Mary was clearly taken aback by Tom's question and was somewhat flustered.
Tom noticed her discomfort and added, forcing himself to speak, "If there's anything you can't tell me, feel free to go to my mother."
Mary nodded, and the atmosphere became a little awkward for a moment.
Tom quickly brought up a more serious question: "Would you be willing to take care of these children full-time from now on? Consider it a job, like Zack and the others, and get paid every week."
Mary suddenly looked up, her eyes lighting up instantly, then dimming like a deflated balloon, filled with disbelief and hesitation.
"I will build them a school," Tom explained earnestly. "As you can see, the children are too young and need someone to look after them. I will also ask outsiders for help, but I will feel more at ease having someone of my own in charge."
Tom's words made Mary's breathing quicken, and the flame of hope in her eyes was rekindled. She nodded vigorously.
Tom laughed. "This is Dutton territory. If you run into trouble later, you'll have no one to talk to. Remember, go to my mother." He paused, then nodded to Mary. "I'll talk to them about this."
After saying that, he turned and left.
Tom didn't sit idle; he immediately began patrolling the valley.
To his surprise, construction had already begun on the watchtower in the valley!
The wood was piled up, figures moved about, and the progress was faster than expected.
Just then, Zack approached and asked in a low voice, "Tom, what do you think they're up to over there?"
The direction he was pointing was not far from the east bank of the valley entrance on the north side of Paradise Valley.
Tom looked in that direction, his pupils contracting slightly. There, dust was flying everywhere, and a group of people were digging foundations and building stone walls with great enthusiasm!
They are building a fortress!