He went through his usual morning ritual in front of the coal stove, edging his stiff back as close to the blaze as he could get without lighting his behind on fire and touching his toes a half dozen times. He put coffee on to perk, pulled on his flannel shirt and overalls. When the coffee was ready, he poured a tin mug black as the night outside and sat munching cold biscuits and drinking hot coffee, feeling stove up as an old banty rooster.

Most mornings, he would rouse Ben to help with the chores, but on this day, Ezra had decided to give himself a birthday present and he wanted to think it over a bit more before Ben got up. When he had finished the biscuits, Ezra drained the coffee, put on his boots, headed out to the corrals. In the dark he heard the whuff and stomp of the Appaloosas in the darkness, the whip crack of their short, stiff tails. He forked hay to them, shook buckets of oats into their troughs, checked the left front hoof of a mare he had seen limping the day before. These horses were his livelihood and passion. They were the best stock horses a man could own, in his opinion, intelligent and quick-footed and beautiful to boot. He visited the warm stall where Sourdough Biscuit, his prize studhorse, led a life of luxury. He rubbed the stallion’s coat with rough fingers and promised him a good, long ride out on the prairie later.

He got around to the little Jersey milk cow after the horses were fed. He liked milking, always had, the sssss… sssss… sssssss… of the long streams of milk foaming into the bucket, the warmth of the little cow’s flank against his cheek. Mabel had many virtues, including a docile disposition and the ability to produce rich, creamy milk, but her best quality was that she was a good listener.

“Aint it a fine mornin, Mabel? A little brisk, I’ll grant you that, but you can just about feel spring poppin through. Before you know it the columbine will be out.”

He turned a stream of milk into the mouth of a mewing cat. “Mornin, puss. You might as well hear this too, so come on over. I made up my mind. Today’s the day I aim to have a little talk with the boy. There aint no way to know how it will set with him if I don’t come right out and ask. What do you think, girl? You don’t believe he’ll turn me down, do you?”

Mabel did not voice an opinion, so Ezra gave her bag a last squeeze and used her tail to hoist himself to his feet. Back inside the cabin, he tapped Ben on the shoulder.