“Workin’,” Henry said proudly. “I got me a job not far from here. Been there nearly a year now.”

“Well I’ll be,” the big man grinned. “You working cattle?”

“Horses, mostly.”

“Well, horses must agree with you, because you sure look a whole lot better’n the last time we talked. How you doing?”

“I’m doin’ good.”

“You still drinking?” Sam asked bluntly.

“No, sir,” Henry said. “Ain’t had a drop in over five months.”

“Off the bottle, huh? Well I’ll be darned.”

“Yes, sir. How about that?”

The two stood, quietly looking at one another for several seconds, both seemingly waiting for the other to say something, when somewhere in the dark recesses of his mind, it suddenly dawned on Henry that Sam had given him six months pay back when he was drinking, in exchange for six months work when he sobered up. He had almost forgotten.

“I believe I owe you some time,” Henry finally said, breaking the silence between the two men.

“I thought maybe you’d forgot about that,” Sam smiled.

“No sir, I hadn’t,” Henry said flatly. “I appreciate what you did for me, Mr. Mitchell,” Henry went on with all sincerity. “And I sure enough owe you.”

Sam seemed happy with Henry’s acknowledgment, and while he fully expected Henry to stick to his word and come and work the money off, he also knew Henry was working for someone else now. Sam knew what it was like to lose a good hand, and didn’t like the idea of leaving Henry’s current employer short of help, especially coming into a busy time of the year. So, as ranch folk often do when broaching what they might see as a slightly difficult subject, Sam eased the talk in a different direction until he could feel more comfortable with what he wanted to say. The two men chatted for a while longer about cattle and horses and the weather. Just before parting ways, Sam told Henry that he understood things change, and he was happy that he had a good job that suited him. He told Henry he could certainly use him, at least for the winter, but if he’d rather just pay the money back instead of coming and working it off, that’d be okay with him, too. He would leave the choice up to Henry, but also said he would like an answer soon, so he could find someone for the position if Henry wasn’t going to take it. The two old-time stockmen then shook hands, Henry told him he would get back to him in a couple days, and they each returned to the needs of the day.

It was a long drive back to the ranch for Henry. About halfway there it dawned on him that some of the money Sam had given him was what ultimately got him to Jessie’s ranch in the first place. It was Sam’s money that had brought him to his new life, and it was a life Henry knew for certain he did not want to leave.