"Boy am I hungry! I hope Rachel's got supper started already! I could eat a whole cow if she let me!" Cody exclaimed, as he, Ike and Noah rode into the waystation.
"Name a time when you aren't hungry Cody!" Noah exclaimed in exasperation. "You don't even have to work up an appetite before you claim to be hungry!"
Ike grinned at Noah as Cody scowled at the black rider. Ike caught Noah's attention behind Cody's back.
(I've seen ants who work harder than Cody! At least by the end of the day, they don't complain about being worn out!)
Noah burst out laughing, making Cody swing around in the saddle to peer at Noah and then at Ike. Ike shrugged his shoulders and looked at Cody innocently, as if to say he didn't know what Noah was laughing about. Cody continued to gaze at him for a moment, as if he didn't believe the innocent act Ike was giving him, then turned to face forward again. It was only when Cody had turned back around, that Ike's innocent look fell and he shook with the silent laughter he had barely kept restrained while Cody was looking at him.
The three riders unsaddled their horses, put them in their stalls and walked to the bunkhouse. Cody opened the door and called out,
"Rachel, what's for supper? I'm starved!"
"Ssh!" Rachel hissed silently, hoping to keep Cody from making anymore noise and waking Lou up. She hurried forward and pushed Cody out the door and into Noah. The three riders looked at Rachel in bewilderment.
"Cody, can't you ever enter a room without bellowing at the top of your voice?" Rachel asked angrily.
Cody looked at her in surprise. "I'm sorry, Rachel. I was just wanting to know what was for dinner."
Rachel looked at the blond-haired rider's puzzled face and smiled. "I'm sorry, too, Cody. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. It's just that Lou's still asleep and I want her to get as much sleep as she can."
"Is something wrong with Lou?" Cody asked with concern.
"I don't know. Not that I'm aware of. It's just that she hasn't been looking so good lately, and I'm worried about her. I just want you boys to be quiet until she wakes up, okay?" Rachel said, looking at Noah and Ike too.
The three riders nodded and quietly followed Rachel back into the bunkhouse.
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