A big thank you to M and BCW for betaing this. And a heartfelt thank you to those of you who read my work and have been waiting patiently for more. I appreciate your support. This is just an appetizer.

Rating: G

Just Resting My Eyes

By Klair

Wyoming Territory, Prospect Creek Ranch, 1878

Puffing and panting, Blair trudged up the steep and dusty trail after his father. The thirteen-year-old still didn't have much height, but he made up for it with pluck. However, the very strenuous three-hour hike following his tireless father up the windy path had used up most of his good spirits. The mountain they were climbing held many beauties, but?

"Are we there yet?" he whined.

"Look around and see," came the matter-of-fact response.

Blair looked up from the trail, where his attention had been focused just ahead of his boots, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other for the last hour. They'd made it!

"Oh, wow!" was all the awe-struck-boy could say.

The breathtaking view of endless mountains and valleys made him forget the ache in his legs.

"Worth it?" his father asked with a smile.

"Oh, yeah!" Blair said, bouncing on his heels.

His father eased himself down to the ground, ready for a rest and a leisurely scan of their surroundings. Jim Ellison loved these peaks around their valley home. The solitude and peace he'd found here in the past went a long way to reviving his soul. Strange, in the past five years he'd felt no yearning to come here.

"Why haven't we come here before?" Blair asked, coming to plop down next to his father. "It's beautiful."

"It's quite a hike, Little Bit. I didn't think you were old enough, until now," Jim said before unscrewing the top to their canteen and taking a deep swallow. He passed it to Blair who'd just finished rolling his eyes dramatically.

"Papa, can you please stop calling me that? I'm *thirteen*." He swallowed a big gulp and wiped his mouth with his shirtsleeve. "I'm not a little boy anymore," he said with a pout.

Chuckling softly, Jim threw an arm over Blair's shoulders and squeezed the boy in a gentle, one-armed hug. "I know, Blair, but no matter how old you get ? you'll always be my Little Bit." At his son's look of abject horror, Jim added, "But, I'll work on not calling you that in public. That's the best I can do, Chief."

"Okay, you can do that. Papa?"

"Yes?"

"Can you talk to Uncle Paddy about calling me 'Poppet', too?"

Jim laughed heartily. "No! You're on your own there, Chief."

Groaning as though he were dying, Blair sank to the ground, throwing his arms up over his head. He lay quietly there for a few minutes and Jim returned to taking in the landscape, very content in this companionable silence. After a while, he glanced over to check on his unusually quiet son. Blair's eyes were slowly shutting, and a grin spread across his face as he watched the boy fight to keep them open.

"That's a good idea, Little Bit. We have a long hike back and it's no easier. Take a nap."

"I don't wanna nap," the boy snapped, sounding all of eight again.

"Suit yourself." Jim went back to watching the mountains, noticing a hawk circling far in the distance.

From the corner of his eye, he watched as Blair's eyes continued their struggle with his brain and finally won, closing and staying that way. A satisfied smile spread across the rancher's face and it was all he could do to keep from laughing when he heard a tired, whispered, "I'm not taking a nap. I'm just resting my eyes."

Reaching over, Jim rubbed a few gentle circles over his son's chest, feeling Blair sink deeper into sleep.

"That's good, Chief. Just rest your eyes."

Once he was sure the boy slept, Jim went back to his introspection, keeping watch over the resting form at his side.

The end