He must have made some sound as his boots scuffed through the straw on the barn floor, because Ember straightened up and turned to look at him."Oh. He...lo," she greeted him, not even giving him the respect of using his name. "You lookin' for something to do?"He continued walking toward her, just watching her fidget as she became more uneasy. It was against the law of The Stone to treat a convicted criminal with unnecessary animosity, and Rick considered that this female bitch in heat was doing. That would work, Dad," Matt volunteered."See, I told you guys it would be okay," Jack said, quickly realizing he had general support for his proposal."So you young people decided all this while I was away, right?" I accused, trying not to sound irritated."No ... just this morning," Matt said. "At first we tried to figure out how to make it work at your townhouse, but Jack said there was more room at his house. They even have a basement with a big playroom and a bathroom." Judging by your. The little canines came to the doors leading to Jeff's lab and office. His office had an outer door as well as another that led directly to the lab, and the lab also had a second door that opened into the basement.They both sniffed at Jeff's office door and realized that Jeff was inside. They looked at each other. "Whap. Whap."Jeff knew that strong force fields were possible. The Ship used them all the time. She had begun to teach him some of the basics of her technology, but he knew he had. It was either that or let the steers walk off the valued fat of tender cuts and made them too lean and tough for eager taste-buds. The cattle drive trails were rift with danger from rustlers and savages all looking to take their slice of the pie at the expense of the owners and the cowboys that were more expert at herding cattle than shooting from the back of a running horse.He was almost out of everything and all he could think about was finding some work that would allow him to feed his horse.