LOST AND FOUND – PART VII

LOOKING FOR TROUBLE

Chapter 57

Early in the afternoon the day after Adam disappeared Thea was in the nursery wearily checking on the triplets she had just put down for a nap when she heard someone burst through the front door and come running down the front hallway. Then she heard Nate urgently calling her name. Her heart rose in her throat and she hurried out of the room and ran toward the stairs.

As soon as he caught sight of her he called out, “Adam’s all right, Thea. We know where he is!”

She stopped dead for a second and stared at him blankly. Then her face turned red and she let out a joyful scream as she rushed down the stairs and threw herself into his arms.

Nate was totally unprepared for this assault and the two of them crashed to the floor with Thea on top. He started laughing helplessly when she crawled up his long form and began to rain kisses all over his face, saying “Thank you!” in between each one.

“Thea, what on earth are you doing?” they heard Ben yell as he too, hurried down the stairs. Thea scrambled to her feet and ran at him next. But the older man was used to her impulsive behavior and managed to stay on his feet.

“Adam’s been found, Pa!” she gasped, laughing and crying at the same time. “Nate says they know where he is and he’s all right!” He stared at her for a moment in disbelief then burst out laughing as he picked her up and swung her around. “Adam’s been found!” she shrieked again. The noise brought everyone else in the house running toward the commotion. Ted and Barbara rushed into the hall first, and then Hoss and Dora arrived, each one with a twin in their arms.

“Adam’s been found?” Ted asked, not daring to believe he had heard Thea’s shout correctly.

“YES!” Ben said as he continued to laugh. Then Thea pulled his head down and gave him huge kiss on the lips - that only made him laugh harder.

“And he’s all right?” Barbara was still in shock.

“Yes, yes, yes!” Thea caroled as she rushed at her friend, seized both of her hands and spun her around. When she suddenly let go, Barbara stumbled into Ted who instinctively pulled her into his arms to keep her from falling. They stared at each other for a second then started laughing too as they hugged each other tightly.

Dora burst into happy tears as she and Hoss reached for each other with their free arms and huddled together with the twins in between them. “Thank God,” was all Hoss could say while Dora nodded her head against his shoulder as she wept with joy.

“Nate, I think I love you!” Thea said as she threw her arms around him again. Looking up into his smiling face she asked, “Where is he?” The young man’s expression fell.

“I can’t tell you,” he said and anxiously waited for her reaction.

“What do you mean you can’t tell me?”

“I’m so sorry, but that’s classified information. His kidnapping is connected with an investigation and I can’t tell anyone. They’re bending the rules by letting me tell you anything!”

Thea’s eyes narrowed and she stared back at him with an expression he just couldn’t read. The rest of the people in the room watched with worried eyes, waiting for her to explode.

“How did you find out?”

“I received a telegram about a half hour ago.”

She still stared at him with that odd expression for what seemed like forever then suddenly smiled as she pulled him close in another hug. “Don’t worry Nate, I’m not upset with you. All that’s important is Adam’s been found and he’s fine!” Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Hoss and Dora put the twins down and they ran to their mother who knelt to wrap them into her arms. They stayed that way until Alexander spoke up. “Ma, is Pa coming home now?”

“Soon, baby, soon. I don’t know when yet, but I do know he’ll be coming home soon.” Alexander wiggled with delight while his sister just tightened her hold on her mother and let a few small tears of relief escape. Then Thea’s head snapped up and she burst out laughing when Alexander whispered something in her ear.

“Dear Lord, of course you’re hungry, it’s almost two o’clock!” she said as she scooped both of her children up and hurried toward the kitchen. The rest of the adults couldn’t help but join in with her joyful laughter as they followed.

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Two hours later Ben was the first to notice Thea was missing. He had gone on a quick inspection of the house and hadn’t found her anywhere.

“Have any of you seen Thea?” he asked worriedly as he came into the kitchen where everyone, including all four deputies, was gathered waiting for more news.

“Not for about an hour,” Dora answered. “When we brought the triplets down.”

“I’ve looked all over the house and didn’t find her, but…” He shook his head.

Nate turned white as he slapped a hand to his shirt pocket. “Oh no…” he groaned and closed his eyes against a sick feeling that made him go cold.

“What’s wrong, Nate?” Joe asked. His tone was serious, but when Nate opened his eyes he could see the other man’s lips twitching. Joe had already figured it out.

“Sure! Go ahead and laugh. It’s not YOUR…” he glanced at the twins, “…butt that’s going to be kicked up between your shoulder blades when your brother gets back. Dear Lord, I’m a dead man.”

“I don’t think I completely understand,” Ben said. Nate just groaned again as he put his head down and rubbed at his temples.

Joe provided the explanation. “Thea picked his pocket and took the telegram. And judging from Nate’s reaction I guess she knows where Adam is now.”

Everyone honestly tried to not be amused, but smiles broke out everywhere as the tall blond man stood.

“All of you spread out and look for her,” he said in a grim tone. “I’ll be back as quick as I can,” he finished with as he rushed out of the kitchen, heading for the front door.

“Well, you heard the man, let’s spread out and look for her,” Dylan said and bit back a chuckle. “Does the phrase ‘exercise in futility’ sound familiar to anyone?” He gave each man an area to search and they finished quickly. Ted was the last man to return to the kitchen to report in. “She’s not anywhere on the second or third floors,” he was saying when the sound of the front door opening reached the group. Nate came stomping down the front hall then stopped in the kitchen doorway.

Joe couldn’t resist one more poke at his friend. “Where did you go Nate?” he asked with an innocent expression.

“You know damn well where I went!” he practically shouted then made a visible effort to get his anger under control. “I went to the train depot and yes, THAT WOMAN is on her way to Bentwood Junction!” He abruptly turned and started down the hallway again.

“Where are you going?” John called after him.

“Where do you think? I have to send a telegram to Blake letting him know she’s on her way there.” He threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. “God! Isn’t there ANYTHING he didn’t teach that damn woman how to do!” was the last they heard from him as he slammed out the front door.

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The first thing Adam thought when he woke was, “Don’t open your eyes,” so he lay there, not moving while he tried to keep his breathing in a sleep-like rhythm. He listened carefully until he was reasonably sure he was alone, and then opened his eyes to look around as best he could without moving his head.

Not seeing anyone, he started to sit up, but fell quickly back when his head began to spin. He grimaced with pain when the huge lump behind his right ear hit the pillow.

“Damn!” he said as the memory of Onyx kicking him in the head came back. He cautiously explored the lump with the tips of his fingers and felt the stitches that closed the gash. After waiting for the throbbing to subside he slowly sat up and his head remained reasonably clear. He surveyed the rest of the room through the bars of the cell he was in and couldn’t tell where he was. Nothing looked familiar. While still sitting on the cot, he took a few deep breaths and remained still for a moment before standing.

He moved over to the window that was set high in the wall, reached up to grab the bars and pulled himself up to look out. Quickly, he realized he was in Bentwood Junction. Sighing, he let go and landed lightly on his feet.

“Oh now this is just not good,” he said softly to himself, then moved over to the cell door and listened as intently as he could. He could just make out voices coming from the front room of the jail, and then the voices began to move in his direction. Adam stepped back from the cell door and stood there waiting.

The first person to enter the room was the stocky, dark-haired young deputy he had intimidated so badly when they had come to get Will. A tall, raw-boned man with salt-and–pepper hair and a deeply lined face followed. Adam knew who they were.

“Hey Bobby,” he said to the young deputy, causing him to stop in mid-stride. The older man almost ran into him.

“How did you know my name?” Bobby said irritably, his mouth turning down in a frown.

Adam just laughed and turned his gaze toward the older man who gave Bobby a shove to get him moving. The two deputies came into the room, and the taller man sat down on a bench that was up against the wall facing the cell while Bobby stopped to stand right in front of the cell door. The young man smirked.

“You aren’t so high and mighty now, are you? Well you just wait. When the sheriff gets back we’re all gonna have a little fun with you, aren’t we Jasper?”

The older deputy sighed as he shook his head. “Didn’t Mitch tell you not to talk to him? Or even go near him? You’re gonna get your ass in a sling again.”

“There isn’t any harm in talking – I just want him to know what’s coming.” Bobby smiled arrogantly.

Adam bared his teeth and the brightness of Bobby’s smile slipped down a notch. “By the time we get finished with you, you’re gonna be asking to die. After you tell us what we want to know.”

“Planning on indulging in a little torture later?” Adam said as his smile became sharper.

“Yep, you’re gonna tell us where Albrecht’s kids are.”

Adam’s expression did not change, but his mind frantically back pedaled, trying to make some sense out of this. “So counterfeiting isn’t lucrative enough for you, you’re also in Simon’s employ?”

Bobby chuckled as he nodded, believing he had deeply shocked the man in the cell. “Albrecht’s got a lot of operations going on and we’ve been working with him for a long time. He’s even paying us extra so he can be the one to kill you. But first you’ll be telling us everything you know.”

“Bobby, that’s enough! Mitch is going to be furious with you,” Jasper said.

The other deputy ignored him as he stepped a little closer to the cell. “I’m gonna make you pay.”

Smiling his dangerous half-smile Adam said low, “Why don’t you come in here and tell me that?” then suddenly stepped up to the bars in one huge stride. He laughed when the younger man quickly moved back, startled. Bobby’s face turned deep red and he opened his mouth, but didn’t get a chance to speak.

“Let me ask you a question, Bobby.” Adam interrupted him as he moved back and unbuttoned his shirt, “Do you really think you can do better than this?” He opened his shirt and when the deputy saw the mass of scars on his chest the young man’s eyes opened wide and his face turned slightly green. A voice coming from the doorway made them all turn in that direction.

“Keep your shirt on Cartwright,” a tall, red-haired man said laughingly as he moved into the room. His dark brown eyes took in the situation and white teeth flashed in a smile through a full beard.

“Knock it off, Bobby. You know we don’t have time to be torturing anybody. Besides, we’d never get anything out of him anyway.”

Adam was buttoning his shirt as he watched the man move into the room. “Hello Mitch, I guess I don’t need to ask what you’re up to these days.”

Mitch chuckled. “Always could depend on you to make some kind of smart-ass comment. No matter what we were doing, that mouth of yours was always ready.”

Bobby’s mouth dropped open. “You worked with him?”

“Yes. At least until Pinkerton kicked me out for something I didn’t do.”

Shaking his head slowly Adam said, “Come on Mitch, give it up – the evidence against you was overwhelming.”

“I told you before, and I’ll tell you again, someone set me up.”

Adam remained silent, just staring at his former friend with a guarded expression.

“Don’t look at me like that Cartwright, no one’s going to do anything to you. I wouldn’t dare let that happen. Thea would find me some day and cut my heart out with a dull butter knife.” The man in the cell did not respond as Bobby moved closer to the cell door.

“But Mitch you said I could…” The sheriff interrupted him.

“No I didn’t, you just heard what you wanted to hear as usual.” The younger man turned his back toward the cell as he watched Mitch move in the direction of a door in the far wall. In a split second Adam was at the bars, thrust an arm through and wrapped it around Bobby’s neck. He slammed the young man back against the cell, pulled Bobby’s gun, and pressed the barrel against the deputy’s right temple. The other two men froze.

The silence was finally broken when Mitch spoke. “Adam, you know you’re not going to shoot that kid so just let him go before things get ugly.”

“Of course I’m not going to shoot him. If I had wanted him dead, he would be by now.” He pulled his arm away from the deputy’s neck and gave him a hard shove. Bobby stumbled away, almost landing in Jasper’s lap who was still sitting on the bench. Adam snapped open the cylinder on the deputy’s gun then turned it with the barrel pointing up, letting the bullets fall to the floor. Then he snapped the cylinder closed and tossed it at the young man who caught it awkwardly.

“Just taking the opportunity to make a point, Mitch,” he said with one brow raised and a sarcastic half smile. “You’re way out of your league, Bobby. If you insist on running with the wolves you better learn to keep your mouth shut, your eyes open, and be aware of what’s going on around you at all times.” After giving the young man another scathing look, he turned around, walked over to his cot, and stretched out with his ankles crossed and his hands stacked beneath his head.

Mitch laughed, “You better listen to the man, Bobby, he knows what he’s talking about.” Turning toward Jasper he said, “What are you laughing at, fool? He’d chew you up and spit you out too.” He opened the door in the far wall.

“We need to get the rest of this equipment ready to go, so get in there and finish up.” Both deputies hurried into the side room and Mitch shut the door behind them. Then he came to pick up the bullets.

“It’s too bad I won’t ever be seeing you again after this Cartwright, I’ve always enjoyed watching you work.” The sheriff picked up the last bullet, chuckled when the other man ignored him, and started toward the hallway that lead to the front room. But he stopped when they both heard footsteps approaching. Adam turned his head in that direction and winced when the lump made contact with his hand.

A large woman came shuffling down the hallway carrying a broom in one hand and a bucket in the other. She was hunched over and as she passed the cell Adam got the impression she was an elderly woman, with a lined, careworn face. When she reached the far wall she opened what turned out to be a closet door, stowed the broom and bucket, then turned back to say something to Mitch.

Her eyes were pale blue and hooded – her voice high and tremulous as she spoke to the sheriff in what sounded like German. After Mitch responded in the same language she turned to open the back door and left, not having given the man in the cell so much as a brief glance.

“Don’t bother trying to get her to help you. The woman doesn’t speak English and knows better than to pay any attention to a prisoner,” Mitch said and started to move off down the hallway.

“Mitch,” Adam said quietly but didn’t move as the sheriff came up to the bars on the other side of the cell. Then he turned his head to look in the other man’s direction.

“You sent those two after me, fully expecting them to not come back, didn’t you?”

Grinning, Mitch nodded.

“And you expected me to take care of them for you. Then you would have two fewer accomplices to ditch.”

Mitch snapped his fingers, “Still sharp as a tack, aren’t you Cartwright?” His grin widened. “Of course I did, but you let me down. And I sure as hell DID NOT expect them to succeed in bringing you back.”

Adam narrowed his eyes. “If my horse hadn’t kicked me in the head by accident they wouldn’t have.”

“So that’s what happened? God, you should have heard the story Bobby told. He said he took you down by himself!” Mitch was laughing now. “I am looking forward to never seeing that little weasel again.”

“I’m sure.” Adam said dryly. “So let’s keep our fingers crossed that you two won’t end up sharing a cell.”

The sheriff started applauding, “Beautiful! Such excellent use of sarcasm! Damn, I really am sorry I won’t be seeing you again. You were the only one in Pinkerton’s stable I actually enjoyed working with.”

“Thanks Mitch, I’ll treasure that thought in my heart for the rest of my life,” Adam delivered his last verbal jab then turned his head to look at the ceiling again.

“God, you always could make me laugh,” the other man said and continued to chuckle as he walked away.

Adam just smiled to himself, closed his eyes and lay still, listening closely to the faint sounds of the deputies working in the other room. Then they began moving back and forth past his cell. Soon the sounds slowed and ceased. After waiting for some time, he slowly sat up to sweep his eyes around the room to be sure he was alone again. He was.

While still sitting on his cot, he unbuckled his belt and pulled it off. Then he bit partway through the leather loop that fastened the open rectangular buckle to the belt and ripped it free. Using both hands, he bent it in half lengthways as far as he could then lay the metal piece on the floor. Standing, he stepped on it carefully, and winced at the loud crack it made when it snapped in half. Unsure as to whether or not the sound had been heard, he grabbed the two ragged pieces of metal off the floor, shoved them into a pocket then picked up the rest of his belt. He coiled the leather up and concealed it under his pillow. Then he went to stand at the cell door to listen.

The voices in the front room continued so he pulled the two pieces of metal from his pocket and knelt to take a close look at the lock on the cell door. Picking the lock took more time than usual, but when the door was finally open he silently moved down the hall, stopping right before the turn into the front hallway. He pressed himself up against the wall and edged a little closer.

“I already explained this to you twice. The safest thing for all of us is to split up,” Mitch said in an exasperated voice.

“But how come you’re takin’ BOTH sets of plates?” Bobby’s tone was both suspicious and whining.

“Because I’m the one who found them.”

Jasper laughed nastily, “You mean because you’re the one that killed the old guy and took ‘em.”

Adam’s eyes narrowed as he nodded – so that’s how the old forger had met his end. Suddenly the cold barrel of a gun was pressed against the back of his neck. He stiffened and raised his hands.

The person behind him stepped back and he slowly turned around. When he saw who was holding a gun on him, his eyes opened wide.

Smiling at his expression, the woman who cleaned the jailhouse let go of the gun butt then held it out to him dangling from her finger in the trigger guard.

Adam slowly lowered his hands and reached to take it while staring at her face intently. She put a finger to her lips then gestured for him come along as she started back down the hallway. He hesitated for a second then followed. When they reached the cell area she stopped and turned around. Adam was still staring and when she smiled again something clicked. He smiled back whispering, “Joan?”

Nodding she put a hand over her mouth to muffle a soft laugh.

“What are you doing here? Is Pinkerton involved in this?”

“No,” she whispered back. “I joined the Marshal’s office a few months ago.”

“So YOU’RE the inside agent?” She nodded.

“I’ve been cleaning this place for the last month, making these idiots believe I don’t understand English,” she grinned. “We’re ready to go. This happy little family of thieves is planning on moving out tonight so that’s when we’ll take them. Blake thought it best to wait until they are away from here with the evidence in their personal possession so they can’t claim everything as just confiscated goods.”

“Good, that’s what I would do. I was afraid he’d come charging in here too soon just to get me out.”

“He wanted to, but when I reported in and told him they had no intention of doing anything to you he changed his mind. “

Adam nodded, “Again, that’s what I would have done.”

“I know,” she said while reaching into her pocket. “Here’s a key to your cell.” She grinned, “it’ll be faster than picking the lock with your belt buckle.”

“How did you know about that?”

“I drilled a few peepholes here and there,” she answered then pulled his cell door open. “You’d better get back in, one of those imbeciles will probably wander back here to check on you soon.”

Adam stepped into the cell while dropping the key into a pocket. He slipped the gun under the pillow on his cot then turned back. She pushed the cell door shut, careful not to make any noise, and beckoned him over.

“We didn’t get a chance to advise you about Albrecht being involved before they kidnapped you. But it looks like that man is involved in crooked little businesses like this one stretching across at least four states. We’re still not sure of just how many yet.” She turned her head to glance down the hallway. “Oh, and Blake sent a telegram to Nate letting him know you’re all right so he could tell your family.”

“Oh no.”

“What?” she said low, but was clearly startled.

“I can’t really tell you, but something in my gut tells me that wasn’t a good idea.”

“Why in the world would you think that?”

“Sorry, but you would understand if you had ever met my wife.”

“Oh…well Nate surely wouldn’t tell her where you are, right?”

No, but…” Adam just shrugged and shook his head.

She blinked at him then went back to the original subject. “Anyway,” she continued, “Albrecht will be here just before sunset. He’s bringing the rest of the money they demanded for the children’s location AND the extra he’s paying for the privilege of being the one to shoot you. Then they’ll lock him in here with you before they take off.” She smiled at him, “Busy little bunch figuring all the angles, aren’t they?” Adam grinned back.

“You better get going.”

“Good luck,” she answered him and started for the back door.

“Joan,” he said softly and she turned back. “You did a great job on your disguise. I never would have recognized you.”

She actually blushed and said a quiet “Thank you,” before moving quickly and quietly out the back door.

When she was gone, Adam went to stretch out on his cot again and could feel the hard outline of the gun under his pillow. He sighed with relief, folded his arms across his chest and turned his thoughts to making his own plans for that night.

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ESCAPE

Chapter 58

At sunset the two deputies and the sheriff were in the cell area waiting for Albrecht. He wasn’t long in showing up.

A knock sounded on the back door and Mitch went to open it, letting Simon in. His eyes went immediately to Adam who was leaning against the front bars of the cell, his expression neutral.

“Did you get the information?” Albrecht said, his eyes gleaming with pleasure at seeing Adam behind bars.

“Of course. Did you bring the money?” Mitch answered.

“Here,” the other man answered as he took an envelope from an inner jacket pocket and tossed it at Mitch as he walked by. Adam watched him approach noting the livid, puckered scar that now marred the man’s face. Albrecht stopped at the side of the cell that faced the back door.

“Where are my children?” he said, his cold gray eyes meeting Adam’s.

“Why do you want to know? So you can have another chance to kill them?” Adam answered.

“They’re MINE! Nobody ever takes anything that belongs to me!” the other man raged, spittle flying from his lips.

“You know, the last time I saw foam flying out of a mouth like that it was from a rabid dog. You might want to talk to a doctor about it,” Adam said coolly, and smiled his half smile when Albrecht actually tried to lunge at him through the bars.

“Calm down, damn it!” Mitch yelled and the man managed to get himself under control.

“Open that cell, I want to be looking right in his eyes when I kill him,” Albrecht said in a flat tone and Mitch came to unlock the cell door. Then he followed, pulling his gun from his holster as his eyes never left Adam who had moved to the center of the cell. The sheriff opened the door and Albrecht stepped into the opening. He never had a chance to react when Mitch snatched the gun from his hand and gave him a hard push. Stumbling, he fell to his knees at Adam’s feet.

“You’re on your own now Cartwright,” the sheriff said as he slammed the door shut. “Have a good time.” He turned to his deputies to give them some last minute orders and they hurried to the front of the jail. As soon as they were out of sight, Mitch slipped out the back door. Albrecht was looking up at Adam with an expression that was somehow both furious AND terrified.

"I suppose you’re going to kill me now,” he managed to say through clenched teeth, unsure as to what Adam’s still neutral expression meant. But then his eyes opened wide and his mouth fell open when Adam suddenly reached down to haul him to his feet by the front of his shirt.

“No,” was all Adam said, his expression never changing as he smashed his fist into the man’s face with every ounce of power and strength he had.

Simon almost flew across the width of the cell, slammed backward into the iron bars, and then toppled forward to land flat on his face, out cold.

“God that felt good!” Adam said as he hurried over to go down on one knee next to the unconscious man and quickly searched through his clothes. He only paused for a second to glance over his shoulder when Mitch came back in.

“Aw,” the red-haired man chuckled. “Ya just couldn’t wait for me, could ya – I missed it!” He came up to the bars on that side of the cell and for the first time gave Adam a true, genuine smile.

“Well, I guess I’ll be on my way now.” His mouth slipped back into his usual mocking grin when Adam quickly stood, startled. “You’re leaving now?” he said and wanted to kick himself for reacting without thinking first.

“Of course! Come on, I know there’s a whole crew out there just waiting to bring us all in and I don’t plan on being here when that happens.”

Adam’s eyes quickly became hooded again and the other man noticed, but just continued to grin. “What tipped you off?”

“The fact that YOU never came back.” He laughed. “But that’s not your fault, so don’t go beating yourself up about it. When you came to yank your cousin out of this jail you couldn’t have known I was the sheriff. If you had, you never would have pulled that stunt.”

Shaking his head, Adam sighed deeply.

“Cartwright!” Mitch barked, his voice mirroring his annoyed expression. “Don’t you ever listen? I told you, don’t be so hard on yourself! If YOU had been in charge of this operation that thought would have occurred to you. But with their usual brilliant cunning the home office sent someone else to take charge, didn’t they?” He received his answer when Adam’s jaw clenched.

“Whoa, that really pissed you off, didn’t it?” Adam didn’t answer, just gave him a dark look. “Well,” Mitch continued trying to hold back his laughter, “just take comfort in knowing my slipping through their net isn’t your fault.”

Turning away, the sheriff went to the closet, opened the door and went in. The man in the cell was watching with deep interest as Mitch knelt, lifted a floorboard and removed a rectangular package. Then he stood and came out, slipping the package in his jacket pocket as he gave his former friend that genuine smile again. Adam found himself smiling back.

“I can’t believe this, you substituted fake counterfeit plates for those, didn’t you?” he asked and the red-haired man’s grin widened as he just nodded, clearly impressed with his own cleverness.

“I’d like to stay and chat some more, but I really need to get going before those two brainless twits come back,” he said and when he drew his gun Adam stiffened. “Don’t get excited, I’m just using this as a little insurance.” He reached into his jacket pocket to take out Albrecht’s weapon.

“Would you mind moving to the other side of the cell?” Mitch motioned with the barrel of his gun and Adam suddenly understood. “I just can’t bring myself to leave you locked up in there and at Bobby’s tender mercy,” he said and cautiously moved up to the bars and put his hand through to carefully place the gun on the cot. Then he began to back away.

“Just so you know, I always intended to hand Albrecht over to you. Almost feels like the old days when we were on the same side.” He had reached the back door. “Good luck, Boss, and give Thea a kiss for me when you get home,” the red-haired man said laughingly then was gone.

Adam had only taken one step toward the cot when the two deputies came hurrying through the room and then through the door in the sidewall. He sighed in relief that they hadn’t noticed the pistol then quickly stepped up to the cot, but saw them coming out of the corner of his eye. So he did the only thing he could do – he sat down on it, praying he wouldn’t go down in history as the victim of a freak accident.

The two men paid no attention to the occupants of the cell and hurried back to the front room.

Slowly and carefully he stood and stayed there for a few moments as he breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly gathered up both guns, took the cell key from his pocket and opened the door. After stepping through he slowly pushed it shut, then tugged on it to be sure it locked. Then he hurried to the back door, opened it only as far as he needed to slip through, and took off after Mitch in the deepening twilight.

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A half hour later Jasper came back down the hall and was halfway through the room when he suddenly realized Adam was gone. He slowly walked up to the cell door and looked around in shock. Even though he knew there was no place to hide in the jail cell, he still kept looking, not believing Adam had vanished. Then he jumped, badly startled when Albrecht abruptly sat up. The man’s gray eyes seemed to glow eerily in his bloodied face as he stared back.

“Bobby!” Jasper called out, unable to look away from those eyes, and the younger man came running.

“What!” he said irritably then skidded to a stop with his mouth open when he saw only one man in the cell.

“Your boss let him go,” Albrecht lied smoothly as he stiffly got to his feet. “The two of them double-crossed you and took the real plates with them. If we hurry, we still might have time to catch them.” Simon pulled out a handkerchief and wiped at the blood on his face. But it was already dry and all he managed to do was cause the blood-mask to crack.

Jasper flinched and finally managed to tear his eyes away. “Forget it,” he said flatly, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this and I’ve had enough.” Before the other men could say anything he turned and rushed down the hallway to the front of the jail. A few seconds later they heard the front door slam. But neither man heard when the door opened and closed quietly a few seconds later.

“Has he always been such a gutless wonder?” Albrecht asked as he came to stand in front of the cell door. “Get me out of here and I won’t forget you Bobby. And I’m sure the two of us can manage to give Cartwright what he deserves.”

The young man’s face was red with fury, but he clenched his fists and took several deep breaths to calm down. Without answering he hurried off to the front room, but quickly returned with the ring of keys. He tossed them to Albrecht.

“Let yourself out! I’m gonna find that man and kill him if it’s the last thing I do!” he said as Simon was trying to unlock the cell.

The young man started toward the back door. But he took no more than two steps when he heard someone coming at him from behind, fast. Turning quickly, he only had enough time to see Joan, but didn’t see the gun in her hand before she shot him through the heart and he collapsed, dead before he hit the floor.

She was just starting to turn toward Albrecht when he kicked the cell door open. The heavy, iron bars smashed into the back of her head and she went down hard, falling across Bobby’s lifeless body. He only paused long enough to scoop up both their guns. In seconds he was out the back door and running off into the deepening twilight.

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After slipping through the back door Adam paused to let his eyes get accustomed to the weakening light. He looked around, unsure about what to do when he just caught a slight movement in the brush on the hill directly in his line of sight.

Quickly realizing that it was unlikely any of Blake’s operatives would be moving away from the jail, he decided the fleeing man must be Mitch and he hurried after him, stopping occasionally to stand and watch until he spotted the next movement. He was gradually closing in when the brush ended and he stopped at the very edge to watch Mitch as he hurried toward a small outbuilding. When the other man went inside, Adam ran up as quickly and as quietly as he could then pressed himself up against the sidewall. He listened intently and the sounds told him the other man was saddling a horse, so he slipped around the corner and waited next to the door.

A few minutes later the double doors swung open and Mitch mounted then nudged the horse into a trot as he rode through. As soon as the horse was past, Adam stepped out from behind the door and took off running. He launched himself into a flying leap, grabbed the back of the rider’s jacket and let his body-weight drag the man off the horse.

Mitch hit the ground first and was further stunned by Adam landing on top of him. The two rolled around, each one trying to pin the other when Adam finally managed to flip his opponent over and wrapped an arm around his neck. Mitch suddenly stopped fighting.

Breathing heavy and straddling the other man’s lower back Adam slowly pulled his arm away and the red-haired man started to laugh as he was searched for weapons. Then he stayed lying still when Adam took his gun and quickly stood to back away.

“Come on Mitch, on your feet. I want to get back to town as soon as possible to see how the rest went.”

Mitch laughed one more time and slowly stood, his hands raised, then he shook his head. “How the hell did you get out of that cell so quick?”

“How do you think – I had a key. You didn’t know it, but we had an agent inside.” He could just make out the other man’s brow furrow. In a second his teeth flashed in a smile. “The cleaning woman, right?”

“Right.”

“Damn, she was good! I never suspected her for a minute.”

“If it’s any consolation I never would have recognized her at all if she hadn’t dropped the pose.”

“Ah!” was all Mitch had to say in answer and was about to turn around in resignation to start the walk back when he clearly saw the silhouette of a man rising up no more than twenty feet away over Adam's shoulder. Then he caught the glint of bright moonlight on metal.

Without stopping to think he took a quick step forward and slammed both hands into Adam’s chest, knocking him down. He was surprised when he felt the bullets hit before he heard the shots.

Even before Mitch was hit, Adam had started rolling away while squeezing off as many shots as he could toward the dark shadow before it quickly disappeared. They heard a choked off scream, then the sounds of someone heavy moving away in a stumbling run. Both men had recognized that silhouette as Albrecht.

Adam scrambled over to Mitch, staying down, and tried to see the man’s wounds in the bright moonlight.

“Now, why the hell did I do that?” the man on the ground said, truly puzzled by his own behavior. “After all these years of just looking out for myself, what the hell possessed me to take those bullets for you?”

“I don’t know Mitch, but hang on, I can go for help.”

“Forget it Cartwright. That’s black blood pouring out of me and we both know that means he got me in the liver. Think he nicked a lung, too.” Mitch paused to cough and bright red bubbles burst on his lips. Then he shook his head and grabbed Adam’s arm when the other man started to stand.

“Listen to me Adam. I don’t have much time and you have to hear this.” He tried to raise his head then bit back a groan from the pain that movement cost him.

“NEVER underestimate how much that man hates you. You guard yourself and your family at all times until he is either dead or behind bars. No, never let up until he’s dead. He can still get you from prison.” He paused to lick his dry lips and his breathing became harsher. When he spoke again his voice was weakening so Adam had to lean closer to hear.

“I never lied to you and I swear with God as my witness I didn’t do it. Someone set me up. I swear…”

He turned his head to look the dying man in the eye and what he saw there told him Mitch was telling the truth. “I believe you,” he simply said and Mitch managed the ghost of a smile until he began to choke. Adam gently turned him on his side and blood poured from his mouth.

Mitch weakly whispered his name, so he leaned down again to listen. “Tell Thea I’m sorry…” was the last thing he said.

Adam stayed kneeling next to his former friend and listened to the man’s breathing gradually slow and then stop. He rolled Mitch onto his back then sat back next to the body. Putting his head in his hands he silently mourned for this man who had proved to be a good friend in the end. Then he couldn’t stop his thoughts from turning to speculate about who had set Mitch up. He believed the man had told the truth and with a sinking feeling realized he would have to find the answer to that question or he’d never be able to live with himself.

“I’m sorry Mitch,” he said softly as he got to his feet. “Maybe if I had stood by you back then none of this would have happened.”

He stayed standing next to the dead man for a few moments more then wearily walked off to bring the horse back to carry the body for the long walk back to town.

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AFTERMATH

Chapter 59

When Adam was finally in sight of Bentwood Junction again he could see lights everywhere, but very few people in the street. Clearly the roundup was over and he was quickly spotted. People poured out the back door of the jail and the first one out was Blake.

“Adam! Damn, I’m glad to see you. We had no idea what happened.”

“Mitch took off before we expected him to and I had to go after him.” He gestured toward the body draped over the horse. “Albrecht killed him.”

Blake glanced at the body then nodded to two of his men to take it away. “I’m sorry. You know it’s strange, but he really didn’t seem to fit in with the others. Especially Albrecht.”

“He got away, but I know I hit him with at least one shot.”

“Too bad it wasn’t right through his black heart.”

Adam nodded wearily as the two men entered the jailhouse. “How did the rest go?”

“Fine, we picked up everyone except Bobby and Jasper. They’re both dead,” Blake answered as they passed the cell that was packed with people.

“How hell did that happen?”

“We’re not sure about Jasper, he was found knifed in the alley next to this building. But we believe Joan took Bobby down.” He stopped when they were in the front room. “She’s in bad shape Adam. It looks like someone smashed her in the back of the head. We found her unconscious on top of Bobby.”

“Wait a minute, she wasn’t supposed to be part of the roundup, was she?”

“No, she wasn’t supposed to and I have no idea how. And I guess I won’t until Joan is conscious again.” Blake looked anxiously at the other man, noting his furious expression. “Now keep a hold on your temper Adam…Thea is here and she’s working on Joan right now.” When Adam didn’t respond Blake braced himself for the explosion – it never came.

Adam sighed as he shook his head. “I knew that telegram wasn’t a good idea.”

“Look, I couldn’t let the poor woman suffer, not knowing if you were alive or dead.”

“That’s better than having her charge down here and get in the middle of a gunfight.”

“Well, Nate let us know she was coming and we picked her up at the train.” He paused again then told Adam the rest in a rush, “I’m sorry, but she refused to be reasonable and stay put, so we had to lock her up in a storeroom.” He waited anxiously, not knowing what to think of the other man’s expression.

At first Adam’s eyes were hooded and his mouth grim, but then his lips began to twitch and he smiled. “Good, serves her right” he finally said and Blake relaxed.

“Oh she was hopping mad. She kept kicking at the door and promising all sorts of bodily injury to me. I’m depending on you to keep any of that from happening.”

“Don’t worry, once she realizes I’m alright she’ll calm down,” Adam narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw. “At least until I get her home.” Suddenly Blake found himself feeling sorry for Thea.

“Let’s go, I want to find out how Joan is doing.”

Adam merely nodded and followed Blake out the front door of the jailhouse, however, his expression plainly showed just how angry he really was.

The two men crossed the street to what looked like an empty storefront, but the inside was brightly lit. Blake stopped at the door and motioned for the other man to go in first. Adam gave him a quick sideways glance and grinned. “Chicken,” he said then opened the door and went in.

Joan lay on a cot in the center of the front room, her head heavily bandaged. Thea was bent over her and had her back to the door, but she quickly straightened up and turned when she heard the door open.

She came to Adam in a wordless rush, and he opened his arms to her. They stood there holding each other tightly while Adam bent his head down to rest his cheek on top of her head and Thea deeply sighed in relief. Blake smiled then moved away to look at Joan.

Thea had removed the makeup Joan had used to make herself look old, and her naturally pale complexion was now stark white. Her dark gold lashes drew a lush half circle on each cheek and her pale pink lips were slightly parted, revealing a small gap in between her two front teeth.

Blake was suddenly seeing Joan in a way he never had, realizing her features were perfect, and he wondered why he had never noticed before. The answer to that came to him when he pictured her as she normally was. Joan was a tall woman, but was always bent over with her shoulders down, as though trying to minimize her height. And she usually had her head slightly bowed so no one could see her face clearly. His train of thought was interrupted when Adam and Thea came to the other side of the cot.

Thea reached down to gently touch Joan’s cheek as she spoke. “Her skull is fractured, but I don’t think severely and there are no signs of any bone splinters invading the brain. I didn’t stitch up the lacerations yet – I want Ted to take a look at her first. Her pupils are reacting normally, so I don’t think any brain swelling is involved, and her heartbeat is strong and regular.”

“So you think she’ll recover without any lasting affects,” Adam asked quietly while looking down at the woman on the cot.

“I believe so, but Ted should be able to tell us more.” She paused to look at Blake. “I think she’ll be stable enough to be moved in the morning, so I’d like to take her home then.”

“Good,” was all the man said in answer, and after giving Joan one more glance he started for the door. “I need to get back to the jail – we’re taking statements from everyone willing to talk,” he added then was gone.

Thea gave her husband a nervous look out of the corner of her eye. “Adam…” she began, but he cut her off.

“Theadora, we will not be discussing this here.”

“But I wasn’t trying to interfere, I just wanted to be here in case you were hurt and needed a doctor.”

He sighed. “What did I just tell you? Now is not the time and this is not the place. But believe me, we WILL be having that discussion when we get home.” He was shaking his head as he turned and started for the door. Thea stared at his back, deeply unnerved.

When he reached the door he stopped, standing there with his hand on the knob for a few seconds. Then he turned back to her, his eyes dark and hooded. “Thea, Mitch is dead, Joan badly injured, Albrecht got away again, I have a terrible headache from Onyx kicking me in the head, and I am just too angry right now to deal with your foolishness.” He opened the door. “When we get home,” he said ominously then left.

Thea went cold with dread, knowing she had gone much too far this time. She stood there with a hand over her mouth, blinking back a few tears of hurt and frustration for a while. Then she turned back to her patient. She didn’t see her husband again that night.

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Adam’s father and brothers, Matt, Ted, and the deputies met the train when they arrived about mid-morning, so there were plenty of people to help carry Joan to the wagon they had brought.

“Be careful, try not to jostle her too much,” Thea said as she closely followed the men carrying Joan to the wagon. They all helped to settle her stretcher on the pile of hay in the wagon bed then Ted lifted his sister in and went to take the reins. Everyone else followed, walking behind the slow-moving wagon. Adam was the last and Ben deliberately fell back to walk beside him.

“Are you alright, son?” he asked, noting Adam’s grim expression and angry eyes.

“I’m fine Pa,” he answered shortly. Ben sighed.

“I’m sorry Adam, I tried to watch her, but she slipped away.”

“Don’t worry about it. Thea should have known better.” His father just nodded and the two men walked the rest of the way to the house in silence.

Dora, Barbara, and the twins were waiting on the front porch when the wagon pulled up in front of the house, and the two children came running to throw themselves at their father. Adam scooped them up and they both threw their arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. He kissed each one on the top the head and stayed standing there, holding his children while he watched the rest of the men carry Joan in.

Then he put the twins down and they scampered off, in search of their mother. Ben held the front door open for his grandchildren and they remembered to thank him as they hurried inside. Their father was right behind them.

Thea was at the bottom of the stairs, crouched down with her arms around the twins when she looked up to see Ben, Adam, and Nate all standing in a line, looking down at her with angry expressions and their arms folded across their chests. She slowly stood, looked at each man for a few seconds, and then turned away to hurry up the stairs after her patient.

The three men watched her go up, not moving a muscle until she was out of sight. “I’m depending on you both to stay angry with her for a while,” Adam said to his father and his deputy. “She has to stop putting herself in danger this way and stop interfering.”

“I’ll try, Adam, but you know how hard it is for me to stay mad at her,” Nate answered as he shook his head and moved away.

“How about you, Pa?”

“I think I can manage,” the older man said then clapped his son on the back. “I take it you haven’t talked to her about this yet.”

“No, and I have a feeling she’s going to do everything she can to avoid being alone with me.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“Well, take my advice and get that confrontation over with as soon as possible.”

“Oh I will, you can count on that. She went too far this time.”

Ben just nodded in agreement and the two men started down the hall toward the kitchen. “How did the rest of it go?” he asked his son.

“Fine, after they had to take the time to meet Thea at the train and then lock her up in a storeroom.”

“They didn’t!”

Adam actually laughed, “They did,” he said as they entered the kitchen.

“Who was locked up in a storeroom?” Nate asked as everyone gathered around to hear what happened.

“Thea,” his boss answered then motioned for everyone to be seated at the table so he would only have to tell the whole story once.

“Well,” Adam started with, “I’m sorry to say Albrecht got away again…”

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Thea had managed to avoid her husband until mid afternoon by sticking close to Joan and sending people for whatever she needed. But now she desperately wanted to change into cleaner clothes, the ones she was wearing were crumpled, damp from sweat, and dusty from the train ride.

She poked her head out the door of Joan’s room and listened carefully for the sound of anyone moving around upstairs. Not hearing anything, she quickly slipped out and hurried down the hall to the room she shared with Adam. She opened the door and went in, quickly moving toward the closet when she heard the door shut and turned to see her husband there. He was leaning back against the closed door and she stared at him with wary eyes as he reached down and turned the key in the lock.

He straightened up then walked over to the bed, his dark eyes never leaving hers as he sat down on the edge.

“Come here,” he said, his voice deepened by his anger.

“Why?” she automatically asked and mentally winced at asking such a foolish question.

“You know why,” he answered. “Come here.”

Thea involuntarily took a small step back then jumped, badly startled when he roared at her. “COME HERE!” Everyone in the house heard him and everyone knew then he had finally cornered her. Thea’s face went red as her own temper flared.

“Fine!” she glared at him as she stomped over to drape herself across his knees. “Go ahead, do your worst!” she practically shouted and Adam had to bite back a smile at her bravado.

When he could finally speak in a hard tone he said, “I TOLD you what was going to happen if you did something like that again.”

“I know,” she said. “Come on, let’s get this over with so I can get back to my patient, you big bully.”

This time Adam had to bite back a chuckle, especially when she reached up and began to run a hand up his thigh.

“Stop that!” he said as he pushed her hand away. She sighed. “I’m bored, what’s taking you so long?” she said as she grabbed his left hand and kissed it. He pulled his hand away, shaking slightly with silent laughter.

“Thea, knock it off and get up,” he finally managed to say.

“No, you said you were going to do it and you always do what you say you’re going to do, so do it.”

Adam couldn’t help but keep smiling at her attempts to manipulate him and when she said, “I’m waiting…” he responded with, “If you insist,” and delivered one hard-handed smack on her bottom.

“Hey!” she yelled in protest and slid off his lap until she was sitting back on her heels.

“Aha! You didn’t think I’d actually do it, did you?” he said, looking into her startled eyes. “Never try to manipulate me, it won’t work. I have decades more experience at it than you do.”

She was still staring at him when he continued. “Answer one question for me Thea. How can someone as intelligent as you are be so damn thick headed?”

“But I never intended to interfere, I just had to be there in case you needed me!”

“I know that, but that’s not the point.” He paused to take a deep breath because he was becoming angry again. “Try to understand this. The most effective weapons I have are my attitude, my image, and my reputation. It was bad enough when you insisted I get rid of my beard. Do you have any idea how much harder it is to be intimidating with this face? But I was willing to do that for you.”

“Adam…” she started to say, but he interrupted her.

“You can have your say when I’m finished,” he said. “Do you remember what Pa did to me by pulling strings and getting the regional office location moved? You show me the same things every time you do something like this. You show me a lack of respect, a lack of faith in my abilities, and you embarrass me in front of my colleagues.”

He paused to let that sink in, and when it did she covered her face with her hands and bent forward to put her head on his knee. “Oh my God, you’re right!” she said, her voice muffled then she threw herself across his lap again.

“I’m so sorry!” she cried out. “Go ahead, beat me black and blue. No, that’s not good enough!” she stood and grabbed his hand and began to tug on it. “I deserve to be horsewhipped, let’s go to the barn!”

Adam raised his eyes heavenward and sighed, as he pulled hard on her hand. She landed in his lap again, but facing him this time.

“Stop it,” he said quietly as he wrapped his arms around her and she began to cry into his shoulder. “Why does everything have to be an extreme reaction with you?” He pulled a handkerchief out of a pocket and gave it to her. Then he sat there holding her and waiting for her to calm down.

“I AM sorry,” she finally managed to say. “But when it comes to you I just lose my mind. I can’t think straight when I don’t know where you are or what’s happening to you.”

“I know, but you have to let me do my job without any interference. Of any kind.” He kissed her on the forehead. “You have to, Thea. I can’t afford to have you undermining my authority and my reputation.” He kissed her on the lips this time.

“Do you really think that I wasn’t afraid waking up in that jail cell? Of course I was, but I couldn’t let anything break my concentration. Not my fear for myself, and not my fear for you either. I knew you were coming the second Joan told me Blake sent a telegram to Nate. And that reminds me; you owe him a huge apology. He could have lost his job over this.”

Thea sniffed, but the storm seemed to be over. “Do you think he’ll ever forgive me?”

“I don’t know,” Adam said truthfully.

She sat in his lap silently for a while then quietly said, “Do you forgive me?”

“Do you have to ask? Don’t be ridiculous, of course I do,” he said and she threw her arms around his neck and squeezed him tightly as she rained kisses all over his face. But she stopped when she saw him wince when her hand made contact with the lump behind his right ear.

“Dear Lord! I forgot Onyx kicked you in the head,” she said, instantly switching from wife to doctor. “Adam, who the hell stitched this, one of the horses? This is terrible.” She stood and began tugging on his hand. “Come on down to my office, I want to replace those stitches. That gash will never heal correctly this way.”

“Alright if you insist,” he answered then gave her his wicked grin. She laughed.

“Don’t think I’m going to forget you did that,” she said as he stood.

“Good, that was the whole point,” he answered and chuckled at her outraged expression as he turned the key in the lock, opened the door, pulled her out into the hallway, and then down the stairs.

Thea entered the examining room first and quickly lifted the drape off the suture table. Adam took his usual seat next to it and she wasn’t surprised when Ben appeared in the doorway a minute later. He quietly came in and sat on the examining table.

“Déjà vu,” Thea said under her breath and tried to not be nervous with Ben’s dark eyes following her every move. She bent to the task of cleaning Adam’s wound as she quickly snipped and plucked the stitches out.

Adam had his eyes closed and when she paused to look at his face she could she just how exhausted he really was. The gash began to bleed again with the stitches removed so she hurried to give it a thorough cleaning, and was soon closing it again with her small, fine sutures. Adam opened his eyes and looked at his father.

“Onyx must have only given you a glancing blow,” Ben said as he watched Thea work.

“He must have, but it was certainly enough to knock me out for about twenty-four hours, I think.”

“Do you still have a headache?” Thea asked and he nodded carefully.

She reached into her bag, took out a square tin, opened it and removed a folded piece of white paper. Unfolding the paper, she dumped the contents into a glass then filled it halfway with water. The power quickly dissolved and she handed the glass to her husband.

“Drink this,” she ordered, and watched as he drained the glass. Then she cleaned the neatly stitched laceration again before applying a bandage.

Ben was watching his son closely and noticed when most of the tension eased from Adam’s muscles as the powder eased his headache.

Thea put a hand under her husband’s chin and gently tipped his face up so she could see his eyes clearly. “If you start seeing double or your vision gets blurred tell me right away. Now is not the time to keep a stiff upper lip and suffer in silence,” she said and he gave her another nod.

Then he turned his head to give his father a significant look and Ben quickly hopped down and left the room, heading back to the kitchen. Adam sat there patiently, watching his wife quickly clean up the mess then set up the suture table again. He stood and held a hand out to her when she was finished.

“I believe there’s a whole room full of people you need to apologize to.”

She looked at his hand for a few seconds before taking it in her own. He pulled her into his arms and gave her a quick hug saying, “Come on, let’s get this over with.” He kept an arm around her shoulders as they made their way down the hall, but stopped when they reached the kitchen doorway to let her enter by herself.

She went in and he stepped into the doorway then leaned one shoulder against the frame.

Thea walked up to the table with her hands clasped behind her back and swept her gaze around at all the faces looking at her with varying expressions. She looked down, cleared her throat then looked back up again.

“I’m sorry for causing you all unnecessary worry by disappearing like that. Please accept my apology,” she said and her words were answered by nods and smiles all around the table. The twins were staring at her with huge eyes, startled, not really understanding what was happening.

Nate, however, was standing and leaning back against the counter. When she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye she could see he was still angry, so she walked up to him slowly, thinking hard about what to say.

“Nate, I owe you the biggest apology of all. I didn’t stop to think for one minute that I was putting your job in jeopardy.

I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.” She hung her head and waited for his reaction.

As soon as she bowed her head Nate shot Adam a beseeching look. Adam shook his head even while he smiled at his friend’s distress.

The deputy rolled his eyes as he sighed. “I’ll try Thea,” he said with a tight throat. “But it’s going to take some time until I can trust you again.”

Thea nodded, “I know, and I AM truly sorry.” She put her arms around him and gave him a quick squeeze then moved over to Ben who was standing near Adam.

She looked up at his stern expression, then put her head down and stopped when the top of her head bumped against his chest. “Can you ever forgive me, Pa?” she said and Ben almost laughed, but managed to stop himself.

“Theadora, look at me young lady,” he said and quickly wiped the smile off his face as she raised her gaze to meet his. “I want you to promise me, as well as every other person in this room that you will never pull a disappearing act like that again.”

“I promise, Pa, never again,” she said quietly and he put his arms around her as he laughed. “I swear, child, sometimes you are more trouble than all three of my boys together ever were.”

Everyone laughed at that and Thea buried her red face in his chest as Adam gave his father a grateful look and mouthed “Thank you.”

Ben just nodded as he patted his daughter-in-law on the back until they all heard one of the triplets cry out. She stepped back and pulled his head down to give him a quick kiss then hurried up the stairs, closely followed by Dora, Hoss, the twins, and the two ever-present dogs.

The deputies stood and headed down the front hallway, accompanied by Joe and Ted. No doubt heading for the Sage Brush. Matt offered to escort Barbara home and the two stopped on their way out to tell Adam and Ben goodbye. And Matt promised to bring Cassie over as soon as she returned from San Francisco.

The two men soon found themselves alone in the kitchen and Adam wearily moved over to the table to take his usual seat.

“You look exhausted, son. Shouldn’t you be getting some rest now?”

“I will, Pa, but first I have to decide what I’m going to do about making this house more secure. Before Mitch died he told me to be on my guard until Albrecht is dead. He said I don’t understand just how much that man hates me.” He went on to describe the confrontation and Simon’s obsession with getting his children back.

“What else can I do besides turning this place into a fortress and having armed guards twenty-four hours a day?” he asked his father and Ben shook his head.

“I don’t know son.”

“Well, the only thing I AM sure of is that Albrecht will show up again, and when he does I better be ready for him.”

The two men fell silent, both thinking hard as they sat in the now quiet kitchen while the late afternoon shadows began to lengthen toward evening.

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ALL’S WELL

Chapter 60

Thea never did get a chance to change her clothes and now it was close to midnight. She was sitting in a chair in Joan’s room and worrying because the woman had not shown any signs of returning to consciousness yet.

Ted had carefully examined her as soon as Joan had been carried upstairs. He had agreed with Thea’s assessment and had stayed to assist while she closed the lacerations. Watching her talented fingers at work for the first time had rendered Ted uncharacteristically humble when he compared her skill to his own. Her precise stitches and the way she had only cut away the hair immediately surrounding the wounds made him smile with anticipation, wondering what other things he could learn from his newly found sister.

Later in the day when everyone in the house had heard Adam shout at Thea, Ted had found himself in a completely unfamiliar situation. His own temper had flared and he had been halfway up the stairs before he realized he couldn’t interfere. And even though it was the middle of the night now he was upset with himself for still being irritated.

Adam had noticed the coolness in Ted’s manner and was aware of its cause. He was already regretting letting his anger get the best of him, but also knew he had been forced to do something drastic to get Thea to see just how dangerous her actions had been.

A few minutes after midnight both men had arrived at Joan’s bedroom door from opposite directions at the same moment. Ted looked closely at the other man’s face and his irritation vanished when he saw just how exhausted and worried his brother-in-law really was. He smiled and Adam just stared for a few seconds before the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

“I was goin’ to take over watchin’ Joan so Thea can get some rest,” he told Adam and the other man nodded.

“Great minds think alike,” Adam said quietly as he opened the door and went in. Ted followed and the two men stood there looking at Thea who had nodded off in the chair. She was very pale and lines of worry and exhaustion marked her face.

“Good Lord, put her to bed Adam. The silly twit will be losin’ that baby if she doesn’t take better care of herself, “ Ted said and the other man gave him a startled look.

“Damn, I hadn’t even thought of that,” he said and Ted hurried to reassure him.

“She’ll be fine, all she needs now is rest,” he said as he put a hand on Adam’s shoulder. “And don’t worry, I’ll be backin’ you up and givin’ her a good doctor to doctor talkin’ to tomorrow.” He laughed softly, “I figure we can nag at her in alternatin’ shifts.”

Adam sighed, glad that her brother was now on his side. “Thank you,” was all he said in a quiet voice as he bent down to pick her up. Ted left Joan only long enough to hurry ahead and open their bedroom door. Adam carried Thea in then turned to smile his thank you. Ted just nodded, pulled the door closed, and hurried back to the unconscious woman.

When the door closed Adam gently laid Thea down on the bed then knelt to remove her shoes and stockings. He continued undressing her and when he was finished he picked her up again and carried her through the inner door to their private bath. A tub full of hot water was waiting and he carefully slipped her in. That finally woke her up.

Her head was resting on a folded towel he had placed on the rim of the tub and she tipped her head back as far as she could. “Adam?” she said and he chuckled.

“Were you expecting someone else?” he answered as he sat down on a chair he had placed right behind her head.

“Is Joan alright? Did she wake up?” she asked anxiously and saw him shake his head as he leaned forward to look into her upside-down eyes.

“Joan is fine, but still unconscious, and you need to remember you are not the only doctor in this house. Ted is watching her,” he said as he nudged her head back upright then started pulling out her hairpins.

“He pointed something out to me earlier that I hadn’t thought of,” he continued as his nimble fingers unbraided her hair. She began to relax as the pressure on her scalp eased and her hair fell free.

“What did he say?” she murmured with her eyes closed.

“He said you have to stop letting yourself get exhausted like this.” He started brushing the tangles out of her hair.

“You’re exhausted too!”

“Yes, but I’m not carrying our child, now am I?”

“Oh, right,” was all she had to say in answer and he just laughed as he continued to brush her hair. When she opened her mouth to argue the point some more he interrupted her.

“Theadora, would you please just shut up and relax? I am in no mood for an argument right now.”

The warning tone to his voice told her to drop the subject so she did as he asked. The hot water and the brush moving rhythmically through her hair made her eyelids feel incredibly heavy, so she was almost asleep again when Adam broke the silence. Her eyes popped open in surprise.

“I shouldn’t have lost my temper with you and for that I apologize. But I was terrified knowing you were heading into the middle of a town-wide confrontation. I didn’t know Nate had warned Blake you were coming so I had no idea what you might do, or what you might stumble into.” He stopped brushing her hair to lean forward and rest his cheek on top of her head.

“And when I get terrified I get angry,” he paused to clear his throat. “Thea, I lost you once. I can’t stand the thought of losing you again.” He rubbed his cheek against her soft hair for a few moments then sighed deeply as he stood. “Remember that,” he said and quickly left the room.

Thea stayed in the tub for some time, thinking about everything he had said since he had come into the empty storefront the previous night. The reasons he had given for his anger earlier that day in their bedroom she recognized as being valid. But she also now knew his fear over what might happen to her was the real source of his fury. And the more she thought about it the clearer she could see that they had both been feeling the same emotions. However the difference was that HER fear had been caused by something beyond Adam’s control – HIS had been caused by something she had done deliberately. She flinched when she came to that logical conclusion.

The water had cooled some, but was still warm when she stood and stepped out. Adam had left towels draped across the back of the chair so she quickly dried off and went into the bedroom to put on her nightgown, robe, and slippers. Then she slipped quietly out into the hall and down the stairs, heading for his office. Just as she had expected, he was sitting behind his desk, his chair turned sideways and facing away from the door.

“What are you doing still up, Theadora,” he said and she smiled, wondering if perhaps he really did have eyes in the back of his head. She came around the desk and stopped to stand right in front of him.

He was looking down and when she simply said, “I need you,” with a tight throat, his head snapped up and he reached out to pull her into his lap. She slipped her arms around him and he buried both hands in her hair as his lips found hers. When he pulled back a few seconds later to glance over her shoulder he laughed at her puzzled look.

“I keep expecting to see the twins standing there staring at us,” he explained and they laughed together remembering the last Christmas dawn they had shared.

He leaned forward again until their foreheads met. “PLEASE don’t ever frighten me like that again,” he said with his eyes closed and she softly whispered, “I won’t.” Pulling her tightly up against him, he held her in a fierce grip as he breathed, “Thank you.” They stayed that way until the first light of the breaking day, having fallen asleep in each other’s arms.

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The sun rose bright and strong that morning of the last Sunday in July. Ben, Hoss, Dora, and Joe had decided to stay the previous night rather than make the trip back to the ranch. Everyone had been unusually tired since no one had been able to get much sleep since Adam had disappeared.

Joe was the first one up and when he was making his way down the hall toward the back stairs, he passed the room where Joan lay. The door opened abruptly and he was surprised to see Ted standing there with the ever-present Fred perched on his shoulder.

“Joe! Would you do me a big favor and stay with Joan for a little bit? I don’t think it’s necessary to keep a constant watch on her, but you know how Thea is and I don’t want to get caught leavin’ her alone.”

“Sure,” Joe answered.

“Thank you, I’ve been workin’ on an article and I need a particular book to finish. I’ll be back as quickly as I can,” the other man said and took off down the hall toward his room.

Joe smiled and shook his head at Ted’s boundless enthusiasm for writing his medical articles. He had taken a look at one Thea had been reading and had known from his first glance that he wouldn’t have been able to understand it.

The title had been something about similarities in left and right brain vascular structure and that had stopped him cold. And then he had been grateful he had not seen any illustrations.

Walking quietly across the room he settled himself in the chair next to the bed and glanced down at the sleeping woman. Then he found himself wondering about women in her profession. How could someone with such pale, fragile features be an agent with the Marshal’s office? But then he still found it hard to believe petite Thea had cut him open and removed his spleen in a matter of minutes.

He shook his head again, remembering the fevered pain before the operation and the muscular agony he had gone through when his brother had whipped him back into shape. Adam had been right, of course. It HAD hurt like hell, but had been worth it.

Suddenly he realized he had been staring at Joan’s face without actually seeing her. He was startled that two light blue eyes were now staring back. Her pale pink lips parted and he just stared mutely and deeply into her clear eyes. He felt like he was looking through mysterious depths and into her soul. The tip of her tongue poked out to lick her lips and his eyes focused on the puckish small gap in between her front teeth. She smiled and said “Hello” in a soft, sweet voice and all he managed to do was just blink.

“Where am I?” she asked and tried to move her head, but froze as she winced with pain.

Joe finally found his voice. “Don’t move,” he said a little too loudly and she winced again, closing her eyes.

“Geez I’m sorry,” he said softly and almost tiptoed across the floor to open the door. He went out into the hallway, shut the door without making any noise then hurried down the hall to knock on Adam and Thea’s bedroom door. Adam called out, “Come in,” so he did and saw his brother standing behind Thea and massaging her shoulders as she rolled her head.

“You ok?” he said to her and she just smiled as Adam answered the question. “She’s fine, just a little stiff. We both fell asleep in a chair last night, and we’re both too old to be doing such a thing.”

Thea laughed. “Your brother’s lucky he got the feeling back in his legs again.”

Adam chuckled as he continued rubbing her back. “What did you want Joe?” he asked.

“Oh! Joan’s awake,” he said and had to hastily step to the side when Thea rushed for the door.

“You left her alone?” she almost shouted as she dashed out the door and down the hall. Adam closely followed her.

Joe shook his head and rolled his eyes before leaving their bedroom and making his way back to Joan’s. When he came into the room, Thea was on one side of the bed giving her patient a quick exam while Adam stood on the other side holding the prone woman’s hand.

She glanced at the door and smiled at him when he entered. “Hello again,” she said softly and Adam tugged on her hand gently to get her attention.

“Joan, this is my brother Joseph Cartwright. Joe, this is Joan Aldrich. I don’t think I would have made it out of that jail alive if I hadn’t had her help.”

The woman actually blushed and Adam laughed at her reaction.

“Pleased to meet you,” Joe said, finding himself staring into her eyes again. Suddenly her eyelids came down and her face seemed to change, becoming harder somehow, and he was startled at this transformation. Then it was gone and Joan blinked as Thea leaned closer. She cupped a hand over the other woman’s right eye, and then her left as she tested her patient’s pupil reactions and took a deep breath as she straightened up.

“How are you feeling Joan? Do you have any double vision or blurriness?”

“No.”

“How about your headache? Is it overall pain, or just in one spot.”

“ALL over,” her patient replied with a rueful smile and Thea smiled back.

“Good,” she answered, “not that it’s good your head hurts, just that the pain isn’t localized. I want Ted to look you over, but it seems to me the only thing you’ll need to recover is plenty of rest.” She looked up when her brother came into the room and gave him an irritated look.

“Where have you been…” she began but stopped, knowing she was being unreasonable.

Ted smiled at his sister, glad that her irritation had died out so quickly. “Ah, I see our guest has finally decided to join the party,” he said and grinned his quirky grin at Joan who couldn’t help but smile back at the tall, handsome man.

“Would you folks mind steppin’ out in the hall for a few minutes?” he said and the other two men nodded and headed for the door.

“You too, Thea,” he continued and she looked up at him startled. “We can have a little chat when I’m finished.”

She gave him a quick, narrow-eyed look before turning to follow Adam and Joe out the door. Ted turned back to Joan.

“Well young lady,” he said as he took both of her hands in his. “Show me how hard you can squeeze my fingers…”

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Adam was leaning back against the wall with Thea in his arms watching Joe pace up and down when Ted came out. Thea didn’t turn around, but he could see her spine stiffen so he knew she was still feeling offended. He raised his eyes to meet Adam’s and the two men exchanged a look of understanding.

Joe had abruptly stopped pacing and now said, “Well, how is she?” in an impatient tone.

“Fine, besides having a wicked headache. That woman must have a skull as hard as a rock to not be exhibiting any signs of concussion.” Thea still didn’t turn around, but he knew her face must have been turning red because the tips of her ears were.

“That’s good to hear,” Adam answered. “When do you think she’ll be up to being questioned?”

“Actually, she’s already asked for you, but don’t be surprised if she doesn’t remember what happened.” Ted informed him. “When someone has survived such a profound blow to their head they will often not remember what happened. And sometimes will also have lost the memory of as much as a week before the event.”

Adam nodded then dipped his head down to kiss his wife before moving toward Joan’s room. He gave her a quick glance that plainly said, “Behave,” then went in and quietly closed the door. Thea finally turned around when Ted softly said her name.

“Do you mind if we consult on this in your office?” he asked and she didn’t answer him. She just started down the hallway toward the front stairs and Ted smiled at her still stiff back as he followed.

Neither of them said a word on the way down and when they stepped into her office Thea started toward her desk, but Ted stopped her with a hand on her arm.

She looked up at him questioningly, but all he did was take her by the hand to tug her toward the spiral, iron staircase. He still did not speak, just pulled her up the stairs and over to a day bed just opposite the stairs. This was her favorite spot to retreat from her hectic daily life. Ted sat down then looked up at her with his uniquely quirky grin as he held his arms out to her.

Thea took one look at the affection shining in his leaf-green eyes and was astonished at herself when she burst into tears then threw herself at him. Ted caught her and settled her in his lap before wrapping his arms around her. She sobbed into his shoulder as he gently patted her on the back.

“What the hell is the matter with me?” she said in a choked voice when she finally leaned back to look into his laughing eyes. She frowned. “Now what’s so funny?” she demanded with a sniff and her back stiffened again when he answered.

“You, that’s what’s so funny,” he pulled her back into his arms and kissed her on the forehead before continuing. “Darlin’ when are you goin’ to realize that you’re not alone anymore? I am your brother. I love you. Let me help you, damn it!” He smiled when he felt her relax against him again.

“Is that why you sent me out of Joan’s room?” she asked quietly and he laughed.

“Of course, you idiot. You’ve got to learn how to ease up, Theadora. I don’t want to say anythin’ rude, but honey at your age and after what happened the last time you gave birth, you have to be careful or you could lose this one. And I think that happenin’ again just might push Adam over the edge.”

She nodded against his shoulder. “Oh God, I never thought of that. You’re right, that would almost kill him.” Sighing she tightened her hold on him. “Ted, why do I still act this way? Why do I still feel, deep down inside, as though I’m alone?”

“Holy Mary Mother of God! Think, Thea. You spent most of your childhood without anyone you could trust. Without the love and care every child deserves. I still can’t believe you became the person you are. How did you turn out this way after livin’ with that emotional graveyard for so long?”

Thea shook her head, “Do you mean bossy and head-strong and independent and impulsive?”

“And compassionate and lovin’ and loyal and…” she cracked up laughing as she put a hand over his mouth.

“I’m going to have a head as big as Adam’s if you keep that up.”

Ted just smiled as he hugged her tightly again. “He does have a high opinion of himself, doesn’t he?”

She nodded her head against his chest. “And it’s a good thing he’s always right. That might become irritating in a lesser man,” she said with a slightly sarcastic tone to her voice.

“Feelin’ a little resentful are we?” She let out an exasperated breath.

“Yes and I should be ashamed of myself. He was so sweet last night and everything he does tells me how much he loves me. But I get so irritated sometimes I could just scream!”

“So.”

Leaning back, she looked up at him startled. “What?”

“So what if he was so sweet last night and so what if everythin’ he does tells you how much he loves you. Your feeling irritated was a normal response.”

“Ted, you’re completely confusing me and that’s really not a good thing to do to me right now.”

“Honey, I’m talkin’ about guilt, forgiveness, and the bottom line.” He settled back up against the wall still holding her tightly.

“Now I have to tell you that when I heard Adam yellin’ at you I lost my temper and was on my way up there to defend you. But I stopped because it’s not my place to interfere. You and Adam are married and unless you ask me for help, I have to keep my nose out of it. But from watchin’ you two it seems to me that there is only one thing that would ever be somethin’ he could not forgive you for doin’ and that’s being unfaithful. Am I right?”

“Right.”

“And the same goes for you too?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, that’s what I call the bottom line,” he chuckled. “That’s what I meant when I said ‘so what’ about him bein’ sweet to you. You two are in your seventh year of marriage and most people would think everythin’ should have been worked out between you by now. But that’s not true and marriage isn’t like that. Don’t pay any attention to the fairy tales – married couples don’t live happily ever after. You both have such forceful personalities you will never become settled and eventually bored with each other.” He paused to look down at her. “Do you understand where I’m goin’ with this?”

“I think so. What you’re saying is that Adam and I will always have conflict, but that’s a good thing.”

“Yes, and your being irritated with him, even when he’s right about somethin’ is perfectly normal and the man is intelligent enough to expect that. It’s only when you deliberately put your life in danger that he gets truly furious. That is the ONE thing that has to stop Thea because it’s the only thing, besides infidelity, that might actually damage your marriage. Any other type of conflict you two should be able to work out.”

Thea sighed. “You know I’m already starting to wonder how I got along without you all these years. You’re the only one I can talk to about these things because I know you will be fair.”

“I try to be fair and I’m extremely fond of your husband, but YOU are my sister. So if it ever came down to a choice you know it would be you.”

“Yeah,” she answered softly and squeezed him as hard as she could.

“I just want to make one more point, then I’ll stop pontificatin’. You said, ‘What’s the matter with me?’” He shook his head. “For God’s sake Theadora you’ve had one hell of a week! Your husband disappeared, you snuck off to Bentwood Junction, you came home to face three furious males then had a huge fight with Adam. Not to mention being pregnant and exhausted. Don’t you think that’s enough to reduce just about anybody to tears?”

“Well, when you put it that way, I guess so.”

“Good! I’m glad you have enough sense to see it my way.”

Thea laughed softly and the two sat there for a while in silence until they heard someone come into the office.

“Thea?” Adam called up the stairs.

“I’m here!” she called back and they heard him quickly clattering up the iron staircase. When he reached the top and saw her sitting in Ted’s lap he couldn’t help but smile.

“I just wanted to let you know the children are up, dressed, and in the sitting room assaulting Joe.” Thea opened her mouth to ask about Joan, but he answered her question before she could. “And yes, I left Joan alone because she asked me to.”

She looked up at him solemnly for a moment then slid out of Ted’s lap to come over and hug him.

“Thank you,” she said quietly, reached up to give him a quick kiss, then hurried down the stairs.

Adam watched her go and resisted the urge to yell, “Slow down!” after her. He sighed in relief when she reached the bottom, and then turned to Ted. But he didn’t speak; he just looked at the other man for a while with narrowed eyes.

“What?” Ted finally asked, willing to play along even though he thought he knew what Adam was thinking.

“How did it go?”

“Very well.”

Adam nodded and his expression didn’t change as he continued to stare. As the seconds ticked by, Ted just stared back, refusing to be the first to speak this time.

“Is it going to work?” his brother-in-law finally asked and Ted smiled. Now he knew he was right about what Adam had been thinking, but decided to play dumb.

“Is what going to work?”

Rolling his eyes Adam said, “Taking her father’s place. Using your resemblance to him to replace all those hurtful memories. Filling that emptiness she’s carried around inside all her life.”

Ted’s smile faded and he gave the other man a serious, steady look. “Yes,” he said firmly, “it’s goin’ to work.”

Adam took a deep breath and finally smiled, saying “Good,” as Ted got to his feet.

“Now I have a question for YOU,” Ted asked looking the other man squarely in the eye. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes…yes I do.”

“I’m glad, because havin' your support and trust will go a long way toward helpin' Thea through this. In gettin' her to finally understand that she’s not alone anymore.” He held his right hand out and Adam looked at it for a moment before reaching out. The two men shook hands.

“I do trust you, but I have to say you need to do some work on playing dumb,” Adam said as he started down the stairs first. “And Joe would the perfect person to help you with that.”

He didn’t look back when Ted burst out laughing behind him. He just smiled to himself, pleased at how well Ted had fit into the family and how he seemed to be filling some empty spots in more hearts than just Thea’s. Then he unwillingly turned his thoughts toward the busy day he had ahead of him.

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GROWING UP

Chapter 61

Alexander had been awake for more than an hour on this Sunday morning and he rolled over and groaned as he stuck his head under his pillow. Then when he heard his father’s firm footsteps coming down the hall he clamped his eyes tightly shut and waited for his bedroom door to open.

“Alex,” Adam said as he came in, ”why are you still in bed?” As usual, his father got right to the point.

“I don’t feel good,” Alexander answered and he heard his father walk up to his beside. The pillow was suddenly gone as Adam sat down next to him.

“You seemed perfectly fine yesterday,” he said as he rubbed his son’s small back with one large, yet gentle hand. “Turn over and tell me what’s wrong,” he continued. Alex automatically obeyed, but when he looked into his father’s smiling eyes he just couldn’t lie.

Adam chuckled. “You’re not really sick are you?”

Alexander shook his head and sat up to try and wrap his small arms around his father’s waist. Still smiling, Adam pulled the boy into his lap. “What’s wrong?” he repeated and the boy shook his head against his father’s hard chest.

“It’s that dang Suzie!” he blurted out then rolled his eyes at himself, wondering if his father would chide him for using the strongest word he had ever heard his Uncle Hoss use.

Adam let that pass and resisted the urge to chuckle as he spoke, “Suzie? Oh that little red-haired girl that sits next to you in church. She follows you around too, doesn’t she?” He bit his lip. “I take it that you don’t like her.”

The boy shook his head again. “Ew no! She’s a GIRL!” he said as though he was surprised his father didn’t understand.

“Well, Annalise is a girl.”

“No she’s not, she’s my twin. Besides Annalise doesn’t try to hold my hand and kiss me.” Alexander made a retching noise then buried his face in his father’s stomach. “I just can’t stand it!” his muffled voice was barely understandable to Adam’s ears.

“I see,” he said and tipped Alex’s head up to look into eyes exactly like his own. “Get ready for church, son,” he said firmly and set the boy on his feet.

“Do I really have to go, Pa?”

“Yes you do and hurry up. You know how much your mother dislikes tardiness,” his father said and was gone through the bedroom door.

Alexander sighed, but did as he was told. Soon he came stomping down the back stairs and if his mother could have seen him she would have laughed at his expression – a mirror of his father’s most irritated look.

The boy had just entered the kitchen when he glanced out the window and saw the back of the buggy retreating as it rolled out of the barnyard. He didn’t know what to do, torn between joy at having been left behind and a sinking feeling at the idea of facing one of his mother’s quietly disapproving looks. His love for his mother won out and he hurried to open the back door and ran down the steps, but the buggy was already gone. Then he heard his father’s voice coming from inside the barn.

“Stay there Alexander, I’ll be right with you,” Adam called and a moment later walked a saddled and bridled Onyx out. Then he slid the barn door closed.

“Well come on if you’re riding with me,” he said and Alex couldn’t believe his ears. Adam had never taken him for a ride on the well trained but spirited Morab, believing the boy was too young before. He checked his impulse to run and walked over, something his father noted with deep approval.

Adam lifted him into the saddle then mounted behind him. He pulled Alexander back against him and leaned down to speak low into his ear. “Just relax and hold on,” he said and spurred the huge black horse into a trot. Alex held on with both hands and his heart lifted when the horse's gait smoothed out into a canter.

But the ride was much too short for Alex. When they reached the church his father dismounted then motioned for the boy to stay in the saddle as he walked Onyx over to the hitching rail in the shade that was intended for their family’s use. The buggy was already there, but empty and as Adam tied the reins Alex turned his head to see Richie Trainor and Phil Smith standing on the church steps with their mouths hanging open. Both boys were his age and had been teasing him mercilessly about Suzie’s interest. But now they stared with envy.

Adam glanced behind him and looked in the direction Alex was staring. Quickly understanding, he came to lift Alex down from the saddle, but didn’t take his hand as he normally would. He just shortened his stride so his small son wouldn’t have to run to keep up. He briefly nodded at the two boys as he and Alex climbed the steps and said, “Don’t you boys think you better get inside? The service is about to start.”

The boys were startled at being addressed by the tall, dark man who had never noticed, let alone spoken to them before. Adam smiled as the two hurried in and quickly separated to join their own families.

He led Alex to their usual pew and the boy’s heart sank when he saw Suzie had cleverly chosen to sit near the end this time, no doubt waiting for Alex to appear. He was about to reluctantly enter when Adam’s hand came down on his shoulder. He stepped around his son and sat next to the little girl, then bit back a chuckle as he reached out to take the boy’s arm to pull him in. Alex had been standing there frozen with his eyes wide open in surprise.

Alexander breathed a sigh of relief, but then his head whipped around when he heard Adam speaking to the girl’s parents. He held his breath, praying his father wouldn’t say anything about their daughter’s single-minded pursuit. Of course his father did nothing of the sort, but then he leaned down to say something quietly to Suzie!

He couldn’t hear what Adam was saying, his ears seemed to be suddenly stopped up, but the little girl giggled and her parents smiled. Then Pastor Albright stepped up to the pulpit and he tried to please his father by focusing on the minister’s words.

As usual, he didn’t really understand what the man was saying, but occasionally he would hear a word that interested him and he would repeat it silently to himself so he would remember to ask his father later what it meant. Sometimes Adam would give him a straight answer and sometimes he would tell his son he wasn’t old enough to understand yet. Either way, Alexander had always enjoyed Sundays as being one of the few days he could have his father all to himself, at least for a little while. He didn’t know that Adam did this on purpose, believing that each of his children deserved to have his undivided attention sometime during the week no matter what their age.

Thea agreed on this point and did everything she could to help arrange these times, something she had a formidable talent for. Even at five, almost six years old Alexander was aware of his mother’s efforts to keep control of their chaotic household. And he knew she did this to ensure his father would have the time he needed and never came home to shrieking bedlam. He grinned as he thought then of how his father had occasionally called his mother “hummingbird” – and sometimes she seemed to have those fast-beating wings as she flitted here, there, and everywhere.

His head came up when he realized the service was over and this time Adam did take his hand to keep him from getting swept away in the crush of slowly moving people. The entire Cartwright clan gathered at the hitching rail and his father let go of him so he hurried over to Annalise who was smiling a pleased smile at her brother.

“What was it like?” she whispered, sharing her brother’s passion for riding and referring to what was an earth shaking event in their small world.

Alex seemed at a loss for words as he stared at his sister unable to describe what riding the huge horse had been like. Even though it had been in the safety of his father’s arms. He glanced around to find his mother and spotted her in front of Adam who was leaning down to speak quietly in her ear. Her shoulders were shaking with silent laughter and the boy frowned, not happy at the idea of his mother hearing the whole story.

Why that bothered him he didn’t know, then he jumped startled when Annalise poked him in the ribs. When he turned back he almost gasped when he found himself looking into Suzie’s round, freckled face. But he quickly realized something was different about her now. Her light brown eyes were looking over his shoulder and when he shifted his feet to take a step back she didn’t seem to notice.

Puzzled, he glanced behind him. Suzie seemed to be staring at Adam and when he turned his head back again she was looking at him without her usual intensity. “Is he your Pa?” she said in a hushed tone and Alex dumbly nodded his head. She sighed.

“He’s sooo handsome!” she said in that same hushed tone then wandered away, still staring at his father.

Annalise was practically strangling with repressed giggles then almost choked to death when she saw a brief, disgruntled look pass over her brother’s face. Then she leaned in to whisper in his ear, “He’s sooo handsome!” in a very good imitation of Suzie’s reverent voice. Alex leaned back to give her an astonished look, but when he saw her emerald green eyes dancing with mischief he started laughing and she quickly joined in. The two children were reduced to gasps by the time they stopped.

Adam called his son and the boy quickly turned away from his sister to rush over to his father. Annalise watched him go with her usual good humor, not feeling the tiniest bit jealous. Thea was aware of this and again thought about how much the girl was like Adam in personality, always being concerned with other people first. Except for her temper – her temper she owed completely to her mother.

Thea hurried over to her daughter and took her by the hand as Adam tossed Alex up into the saddle and swung up behind him.

“Are they going for a ride now?” Annalise asked her mother, her beautiful eyes shining with both intelligence and happiness for her brother.

“Yes, you clever girl,” Thea answered. “And I think it’s time all four of us take a ride soon. You can go with me on Ruby.”

Annalise caught her breath in excitement then gave her mother a look she had never seen before. Thea quickly realized her daughter was grateful and she shook her head, feeling the child had been being neglected. She picked the little girl up and hugged her closely, thinking how it was the quiet ones, the children that didn’t make demands who could get lost in the crowd. Alexander had always been extremely vocal, making his wants and needs known to the whole world from the first and she made a mental note to discuss this with her husband.

They both watched Adam and Alexander take off, then Thea carried her daughter around the group of mostly males, stopping to talk to each person. Every single one showed their affection for the child with a pat, or a kiss, or by smoothing down her curly black hair. Ben, however, held his arms out for his granddaughter and Thea gladly handed her over, extremely pleased with the special bond between the two.

Then the whole family climbed into buggies, or swung up into the saddle to return to the cream-colored house and, as usual, spend a long, lazy, warm summer afternoon together.

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When Adam and Alex had taken off, the boy had assumed they would be returning home. But when they reached the cross road where they should have turned left, Adam turned the horse to the right. He leaned down to speak in his son’s ear.

“We’re going for a little ride this afternoon. There’s something I want to show you.”

The boy took a deep breath and almost squealed with excitement, but didn’t, knowing the sharp noise might irritate the high-strung horse. Again, his father noticed and smiled, so he urged Onyx into a gallop. Alexander leaned back against his father and just enjoyed himself.

Soon, Adam reined the horse into a walk and turned him onto a narrow path through the woods. Alex took advantage of this new point of view to look around and his sharp ears picked up the sound of a stream off to their right. The path took a narrow turn and then they were heading in that direction.

Sunlight glinting off the water in the wide streambed began to flash in between the trees. In a few moments Adam reined Onyx in then he dismounted to lead the horse through the trees, onto the flat, mossy bank, then right into the shallow, clear water.

The horse quickly dipped his nose in and began to drink. Adam came to pluck his son from the saddle and carry him further out into the stream toward a huge, tall rock. The boulder was near the other bank and he continued to walk around it, splashing through the shallow water until they reached the far side. This side of the rock was up against the spreading branches of a heavily leafed tree and Adam pushed the branches back and smiled when he saw the foot and hand holds he had carved into it many years ago.

“Up you go!” he said to his son and Alex quickly scampered up while his father watched him carefully, ready to catch him if he slipped. When he disappeared over the top edge, Adam quickly followed.

The top of the rock was almost flat and Alexander was carefully peering over the other side toward the horse that was still standing in the stream. He turned back when he heard his father’s voice.

“Make sure to stay far enough away from the rim. That water isn’t deep enough to break a fall,” Adam cautioned him as the stepped up onto the rock. He came over to Alex and pulled him back, then sat down cross-legged almost at the very edge. Then he picked the boy up and settled him in his lap. He wrapped his strong arms around the boy and the two sat there for a while in silence, listening to the woods noise all around them.

“I used to come here when I wanted to be alone a long time ago. Back when your Uncle Hoss and Uncle Joe were still very young.”

Alexander didn’t say anything, knowing that if he kept quiet his father would go on speaking about his past, a subject he rarely talked about.

“Did you know I spent a lot of time taking care of them?” The boy just shook his head, staring at the water rippling over the smooth brown stones in the streambed.

“Now you and Annalise help your mother take care of your brothers, but I very seldom had a mother to help. Mine died when I was born.”

Alexander’s brow furrowed and he opened his mouth to ask a question, but stopped.

“Go ahead Alex. I know I’ve never talked about these things with you, but I think you’re getting old enough now to understand.”

“You never had a mother?” he asked tentatively.

“Not my own, no, but I did have your Uncle Hoss’s mother for a while.”

“Did she die too?”

“Yes she did, son. And then I had to take care of Hoss when he was a baby.”

Alex let a small giggle escape and his father smiled. “I know what you mean. It’s hard to think of Hoss being that small, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” the boy said, grinning as he pictured huge Uncle Hoss, being just like Thomas, or Benjamin, or Matthew.

“But I do remember him that way,” Adam continued. “We had Joe’s mother for a while, but she left us too, and then there was Joe to take care of.”

Alexander thought about that for a while. “Pa?”

“What Alex?”

“That’s awful.”

“I know, but sometimes that’s the way life can be. You have so much more than I did as a child and I want you to understand how lucky you really are.”

“Lucky?”

“Of course. You have your grandfather, your uncles, your aunt, your brothers, your sister, your mother, and me. That’s a lot of people, Alex. For so many years there was just the four of us – Pa, Hoss, Joe, and me.”

“Why?” Alexander didn’t hesitate to ask.

“I don’t really know, but it seems to me the time was just never right before I met your mother.”

“How did you meet Ma?”

Adam smiled glad that his son was now comfortable with asking whatever came into his head. “In the hospital. Your mother saved my life.”

“Really?” the boy asked in surprise.

“Yes, she did.”

Alexander thought about that for a while, wondering how his petite mother had managed to save his father, a man he viewed as being larger than life.

“How?”

Adam tightened his arms around his son as he answered. “I’ll tell you that story sometime when you’re older.” The boy was used to his father making such judgments about information so he accepted this easily and didn’t pursue the subject.

“Now the reason I told you about taking care of your uncles is to show you that everyone has things to do that they might not WANT to do. I had a lot of responsibility when I was not much older than you and that’s a heavy load for a child. Do you understand what I mean?”

Alex nodded and made a connection between what his father was saying and the events of the day. “Kinda like me not wanting to go to church.”

“Right. And the REASON you didn’t want to go.”

“Oh, Suzie.”

“Right again.”

“But that’s ok now because she likes you better than me.”

“What?”

“She said she thinks you’re ‘sooo handsome’,” Alexander answered and clapped a hand over his mouth to muffle a giggle. Then he was startled when Adam burst out laughing.

“What is it with females and this face?” his father finally managed to say. “Good God I never should have given in to your mother’s demands that I get rid of my beard.”

“How come you did?”

“Because I love your mother and wanted to make her happy.”

“I don’t get it.”

“Me either and I guess we never will.” Adam chuckled again. “Be prepared Alex, for some strange reason we Cartwright men seem to have this devastating effect on women.”

Alex squirmed in his father’s lap. “Suzie doesn’t like me any more. Now she likes you.”

“I know, but believe me another Suzie will show up eventually,” he paused to consider his words. “I helped you with your problem today, Alex, but you’ll have to learn to handle things like that on your own. Avoiding a problem won’t make it go away and frequently will only make it worse.” He sighed.

“Just remember I am your father, I love you, and you can always come and talk to me. Don’t get yourself so upset that you actually consider doing a truly stupid thing like lying to me.”

Alexander froze, he hadn’t thought about that. His father had known he was going to lie about being sick.

“Don’t ever lie to me, Alex. No matter what you may have done or think you’ve done tell me. One of the biggest parts about growing up and becoming a man is standing up to take the consequences of our actions.” He paused for a few seconds. “After all, everybody makes mistakes. Do you understand?”

Alex nodded, then shifted around until he could look in his father’s face. He had an important question to ask, but hesitated, not sure of what the man’s reaction would be.

Waiting patiently, Adam noticed how much his son was changing. He was growing up so quickly.

“Pa? Do you make mistakes?” Alex finally asked then dropped his gaze, as though afraid he was being disrespectful.

“Alex, look at me,” his father said with laughter in his voice and the boy obeyed.

Adam shook his head, “Son, I frequently make mistakes and yelling at your mother the other day was a BIG one.”

Now that he knew his father wasn’t laughing at him Alex relaxed and grinned.

“Was she hoppin’ mad?”

“You bet she was! And she had every right to be, I shouldn’t have lost my temper like that.”

The child thought about that for a bit. “Did you say you were sorry?”

Laughing, Adam nodded.

Alex’s grin widened. “Ma forgave you.” The boy was stating a fact, not asking and his father understood.

The two fell silent, watching the water ripple by, but when Onyx snorted and started toward them they both laughed and Adam stood, still holding the child.

“Time to go home?” Alex asked and his father nodded as he set him on his feet. Then he patted his own shoulder saying, “Climb up and let’s get off this rock.”

The boy quickly scrambled up onto his father’s broad back and hung on with his arms around his neck.

Adam carefully climbed down then splashed through the shallow water again. When they reached Onyx, he let the child shift over into the saddle by himself. He swung up behind his son and looked down at the top of his small head.

“Promise me something, Alex,” he said quietly and the boy tipped his head back to look up with an expectant expression. “Never come here without me.”

“I won’t Pa!” the child answered.

“I mean it, son. Never. Not for any reason.”

“Yes sir!” Alexander responded and gave his father an upside-down smile.

“Alright then let’s go home! I’m suddenly in the mood to see what kind of trouble I can get into with your mother.”

Alexander looked up at him wide-eyed for a second, but when Adam grinned down into the boy’s serious face and chuckled, he burst out laughing.

Adam spurred Onyx into motion and the two laughing voices lingered on the warm, humid air for a while. And when the beat of the horse’s pounding hooves faded, the woods became quiet again, the only sound being the chuckling of the stream as it busily rippled over the small stones and splashed against the huge, silent rock.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE GODFATHER

Chapter 62

Joan was making a slow but steady recovery and this Saturday was the first day Thea was allowing her to come down stairs. Ted carefully carried her down under Thea’s eagle eye and they settled her on the sofa in the sitting room. The twins and Uncle Joe were already there, entertaining the triplets.

“Should I take the kids up to the playroom?” Joe asked Thea in a low voice, but Joan heard him and interrupted.

“Please don’t, I’m sure the noise won’t bother me,” she said and gave Thea a big, overconfident smile.

“All right, but the minute you start feeling tired or if your head starts to hurt, you let me know.” She smiled back at Joan before quickly leaving the room, no doubt having twenty other things to do.

Ted was just about to leave when Thomas crawled over to latch onto his pant leg. His big dark green eyes looked up at his uncle and he said his first word. “Blocks!” the baby crowed and Ted started laughing as Joe ran to the door and called for Thea. She was in the doorway in seconds.

“What?”

“Thomas said his first word!” Joe laughed.

The baby just stared at his mother who quickly smiled, but stayed silent, hoping he would speak again.

Ted looked down. “What do you want? Tell me.”

Thomas vigorously yanked on his pant leg. “Blocks!” he demanded and gurgled with laughter as his tall uncle bent down to scoop him up. He carried the child over to Thea and she laughed as she rained kisses on his little face.

“Say it again!” she told him and he started clapping his little hands, chanting “Blocks! Blocks! Blocks!’

Everyone was laughing now, including Joan who had pulled herself up into a sitting position.

Thea snatched Thomas out of Ted’s arms and held him up as she twirled around. “That’s my boy!” The baby kicked his legs and waved his arms around, tickled by all the attention.

Handing him back to her brother, Thea sighed and said “Well, get the blocks out Uncle Ted!” Then she reluctantly left the room again. Tucking Thomas under one arm, he quickly went to the closet to do as instructed.

Joan had watched the family’s antics with a pleased smile and was slightly startled when she looked down to see Annalise standing right in front of her. The little girl’s face was solemn as she stared at the bandages.

“How did you hurt your head?” Annalise said in an almost whisper.

At first the woman didn’t really know what to say, but then she laughed softly and said, “I don’t know!”

Annalise blinked, not understanding the answer.

Joe had been watching and came to pick his niece up and settled her in his lap as he sat down next to Joan.

“Most times when someone gets hit in the head they won’t remember what happened,” he explained to the little girl. “Isn’t that right, Ted?”

“Yes sir!” Ted answered sitting on the floor in front of Thomas and busily stacking up blocks. “She has no memory of how it happened or who did it.”

“Oh…” Annalise was looking up into Joe’s face then turned her gaze back to Joan. “Don’t worry, my Pa’ll find out and they’ll be sorry.”

“You really don’t remember nothin’?” Alexander asked. He had sidled up to stand on Joan’s other side and she turned her head to give him a small smile.

“No, I’m sorry to say I have no idea.”

“Geez,” the boy said then used one of his Uncle Hoss’s favorite phrases. “That’s just plain awful!”

This time Joan blinked. “Why?”

Alexander gave her a look that said the reason should be obvious, even to an adult. “If you don’t know who did it how are you gonna keep ‘em from doing it again?”

The two adults sitting on the sofa exchanged a startled look then burst out laughing. Ted broke in.

“Can’t argue with logic like that!” he chuckled and hurried off on his hands and knees to collect blocks when Thomas used both hands to send them flying everywhere.

When he managed to stop laughing Joe said, “Go help your Uncle Ted,” to the twins. Annalise hopped down from his lap and took her brother by the hand to drag him away. But she stopped for a second to whisper something into his ear. The boy turned his head to give the two on the sofa a knowing look and chuckled as his sister dragged him off toward Ted and the blocks.

Joan had still been laughing softly so she hadn’t heard Annalise, but Joe had and he was desperately trying to keep his face from turning red. He failed and his expression plainly said he was irritated. Her smile faded.

“What’s wrong Joe?” He shook his head.

“I just realized I have a smart-aleck niece,” he said loud enough for the children to hear.

Annalise gave him a teasing look and a big smile. He couldn’t help but smile back and his irritation faded when the little girl giggled.

Not really understanding the interchange between niece and uncle, Joan kept her curiosity to herself and looked around the room. Matthew had crawled off and was draped over Balor who was lying in the corner. Her brows rose because she hadn’t noticed the animal before. The boy managed to get one leg over to straddle the dog’s back, and then leaned forward on his huge neck, one of his favorite places to take a nap.

Benjamin had been behind Adam’s favorite chair, but had crawled out when the commotion had started. Always drawn to voices, he came to sit in front of Joan now and sat there staring.

“What do you want Benny?” Joe asked and the baby pointed at the woman saying, “Name!”

“Joan,” Joe answered and Benjamin repeated the name, his dark eyes fastened on her face intently. He continued to stare.

Finally he took a deep breath and said, “Pretty!” then took off at a fast crawl to go back behind the chair. Joan blushed.

“Are there any more children hidden in this room somewhere?” she asked, keeping her head down.

Joe realized she was embarrassed by the baby’s candor, so he didn’t comment on that. “Nope, that’s all of them, at least for now.” He chuckled.

Joan’s head came up and she gave him and odd look, “For now?”

Joe nodded, “Another one’s expected in January or February. I can’t remember which.” He was watching the woman’s expression carefully, unsure as to what it meant.

“You mean Thea is expecting another child and she took off for Bentwood Junction anyway? Adam must have been livid!”

“Uh…yeah, you could say that.”

Her eyelids came down to conceal their expression and her face seemed to become harder for a few seconds. “I take it she got in a good bit of trouble for that,” she said and her voice seemed to have become deeper and harsher.

“Well, Adam WAS pretty mad, but I think they’ve worked it out and made up.” He was staring at her warily, a little unnerved. But when she turned back to him, her face was relaxed again and her eyes were wide open and clear.

“I can see why,” she murmured and he found himself staring at the small gap in between her two front teeth again. She flushed a becoming pink and looked away.

“Nate was pretty peeved, too,” he blurted out, just saying the first thing that came to mind.

“Who’s Nate?” She still had her face turned away.

“One of the deputies. Blake sent him a telegram to let her know Adam was fine. She picked Nate’s pocket and took the telegram to find out where Adam was.”

Joan turned back to him and he relaxed when he saw she was grinning. “She didn’t!”

“Oh yes, she did. Nate was fit to be tied.” He grinned back.

“I bet,” she laughed softly. “That Thea is something else, isn’t she?”

Joe just nodded, glad she seemed like herself again.

“You are so lucky, Joe.”

“I am?” he asked, puzzled by her statement.

“You have all this family around you. And I have to say I think they’re lucky to have you too. How many men would spend a Saturday afternoon with their niece and nephews?”

He smiled at her. “Maybe one that doesn’t have anything else to do?”

She gave him a skeptical look. “I find it hard to believe there aren’t scores of young women in this town just hoping you’ll come to call.”

“I guess, but I haven’t been able to find one of them that could hold a candle to Thea or Dora,” he shrugged her comment away.

“Who is Dora?”

“She’s married to my brother Hoss and is Thea’s first cousin.”

“No other cousin’s for you?”

“No,” Joe responded quietly, then chuckled. “You just wouldn’t believe how those two met!”

“Tell me,” Joan said and shifted on the sofa until her back was up against the arm then drew her legs up. Joe automatically straightened out the blanket that had been covering her and started telling her the story. By the time he was finished describing Hoss chasing Adam around the hotel hallway and how Dora had attacked her future husband, she was leaning further back, weak with laughter.

“Oh my!” she gasped, wiping tears of mirth from the corners of her eyes. “What a storybook romance!”

Joe burst out laughing at her acerbic comment, but stopped when she raised a hand to her head.

Ted had been keeping his mouth shut, playing with the children, but he had been watching the two on the sofa out of the corner of his eye.

“I think it’s time for Joan to go back upstairs to rest,” he said. “Would you mind taking her?”

“Sure, be glad to,” Joe answered as he stood and bent over to pick her up.

She held up a hand to stop him. “Joe! You can’t carry me all the way up there, you’ll hurt yourself.”

“I’m stronger than I look,” he laughed and gathered her up into his arms in spite of her protests. She almost squeaked in surprise when he seemed to have no problem.

“Don’t blame me if you can’t straighten up tomorrow!” Joan laughed and Joe shook his head. “Oh be quiet!” he said and she laughed again as he carried her from the room.

Ted watched the two of them leave and grinned, glad to have helped his cousin impress the young woman. Then his grin faded as he remembered the odd change to her expression when Joe had told her how angry Adam had been. Then he realized Thomas was staring at him with disappointed eyes, afraid the game was over. So he smiled and quickly began stacking up blocks again.

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Early the next Sunday afternoon the entire family had gathered at the cream-colored house for the noon meal after church. Thea and Dora had decided to alternate weeks while the weather cooperated, and this week was Thea’s turn to hold the gathering. Everyone was happy with the arrangement, especially Hop Sing who appreciated the time off.

The meal had been over for at least an hour, but everyone except Joe and Ted had lingered at the table, quietly conversing. The youngest of the Cartwright brothers and his cousin had gone across the street to the Sage Brush. No doubt to have a few with Adam’s deputies.

The quietness of the lazy, warm afternoon was broken less than a half hour later when Joe, Ted, and the deputies all trooped noisily in the front door and down the hallway. Joe popped through the kitchen door first waving a folded newspaper.

“Hey Adam! Nate showed me this story about a man named Alexander Cartwright. He’s bringing his baseball team from New York to San Francisco for an exhibition game. Do you know him?”

Adam gave Nate a dark look, “Didn’t he tell you?”

“No, he said I would have to ask YOU. What’s with the big mystery?”

Adam cleared his throat said “Let me see that,” then snatched the paper out of Joe’s hand. He quickly found the article and began to read just as Thea came bouncing down the stairs. She stopped in the doorway and looked around the room, clearly puzzled.

“What’s going on? Is something wrong?” she asked in a worried tone.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Adam answered. “But it looks like your ex-boyfriend is coming to San Francisco and bringing the Knickerbockers for an exhibition game.”

“Alex?” she squeaked, and hurried over while “Ah’s” and “Oh’s” of understanding swept through the adults and knowing looks were exchanged.

Adam held the newspaper over his head and Thea grabbed it. “I can’t believe he’s going to be so close and didn’t let us know!”

Her husband raised his eyes heavenward and shook his head. “I can believe it. He’s planning on just showing up, as usual.”

Joe was grinning from ear to ear, having not seen Adam like this before. “He was your boyfriend?” he asked Thea in an innocent tone.

“No, he was NOT my boyfriend. Alex was never anything to me but just a friend. I keep telling your brother that, but he just won’t believe me.”

“That’s not true, Theadora,” Adam said his eyes narrowed with ill temper. “I believe you. I’m just saying that ALEX didn’t see your relationship that way.”

Thea was still reading. “I never gave that man any encouragement,” she murmured.

Adam took a deep breath. “Thea, sometimes you can be so dense. Couldn’t you see how jealous he was?” She put the paper down.

“I never saw him do anything or act like he was jealous in any way.”

“Oh really? Then why was he always trying to hit me in the head with the ball when he pitched?”

“So he was a lousy pitcher.”

“Oh good God,” Adam said as he put a hand to his forehead. Then he started laughing. So did everyone else.

When he could finally take a breath Joe asked, “But what about the name?”

“Alex is Alexander’s godfather,” Adam explained. “And I still don’t know how you talked me into that,” he said to his wife.

“Come now, you know you two became good friends eventually.”

“Sure, the best of friends,” Adam was grinning at her. “The kind of friend you never turn your back on.”

Thea made an exasperated sound. “It’s a moot point anyway. We’re married and have five children. I just don’t see what the problem is.”

Adam shook his head and winked at his father. “There isn’t any problem. I just think I’ll call in a few favors and arrange a little surprise for Alex.”

“What are you planning? You’re not going to hurt him are you?”

“Now, Thea would I do something like that?” he asked in a pleasant tone.

“Of course you would!” she answered and everyone else but Adam burst out laughing. “What is that devious mind of yours up to?”

“Don’t you worry about it, you just leave Alex to me,” her husband answered and she had to accept that as the end of the conversation.

But for the rest of that afternoon and evening when Thea would look at him suspiciously Adam would just shake his head at her and grin his wicked grin. She would be worrying about it for days until Alex finally arrived.

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Alexander Cartwright paused on the platform when he stepped off the train in Virginia City. He was looking at a piece of paper that had Adam and Thea’s address written on it when a large man in a black suit stepped in front of him. Alex gradually tipped his head back and slowly ran his eyes up the tall form. Finally meeting the man’s cold blue eyes, he couldn’t stop himself from taking a quick step back and when he bumped into something wide and solid he swung around. What he had backed into was an even taller and larger man, also in a black suit, only this one had the darkest, blackest eyes he had ever seen.

He glanced back and forth between the two men until the one with the blue eyes spoke.

“Excuse me sir, my name is Charles Ranier and I am a Federal Inspector.” He flashed a badge practically right in front of the shorter man’s eyes. “And this is my partner Wes Everest.” He nodded toward the larger, bald man who was standing there silently with his arms folded and his brow furrowed.

“Are you Mr. Snarkwhistle? Milton Snarkwhistle?”

“Uh…no,” Alex responded, trying to hold back a smile. “I’m Alexander Cartwright.”

“I see,” Charlie said. “Do you have any identification, sir?”

Alex was still trying to keep a straight face. “Yes I do,” he said, but when he reached for his wallet it was gone. Suddenly, he stopped feeling like laughing as he frantically searched. He found nothing and the other two exchanged a significant look.

“I swear to you I am Alexander Cartwright!” he said desperately. “I came to San Francisco with my baseball club to play an exhibition game and I’m in Virginia City to visit friends.”

“No identification then?” Charlie asked and Alex could only helplessly shake his head. The two men in black exchanged another look then Charlie pulled something from a pocket.

“Sir, are you seriously trying to tell us that the man in this picture is NOT you?” He held the picture up, right in the shorter man’s face.

“Yes, that’s me, but I’m not him!” Alex blurted out.

“Sir, this is a picture of Milton Snarkwhistle, and if this is a picture of you, then you must be him.”

“But I’m not! I swear to you I’m not!”

Charlie tucked the picture back in his pocket as he looked down at Alex with narrowed eyes.

“I’m afraid you’re going to have to come with us, sir. If you really aren’t this man you will get a chance to prove it. But for now we have to assume you are our suspect.”

“You can’t be serious!” Alex protested as each man took one of his arms and they began to almost carry him down the sidewalk. Wes had picked up his bag.

“Believe me sir,” Charlie said, “we are very serious.” And that was the last thing any of them said until they reached the regional office building.

Charlie let go of his arm to open the front door and Wes pulled him through. The big man just kept going down the hallway, only pausing at the front desk to set Alex’s bag down. His partner followed closely. The group stopped at Adam’s office, Charlie opened the door then stayed holding it open as the larger man marched Alex in.

The next thing he knew, Wes had pushed him down to sit on the sofa then turned away to go through the outside entrance. He shut the door and Alex could see him standing guard there through the barred glass. When he looked at the other door he could see the man in the hall doing the same.

Glancing quickly around, he shifted nervously on the sofa, not believing what had just happened. He was so upset he didn’t notice that the tall chair behind the desk was facing away until he heard a deep voice coming from that direction.

“Welcome to Virginia City, Alex. But the next time you decide to visit let me know. That way, I can arrange to have someone meet your train.”

The chair swung around and Alex’s eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw Adam grinning at him.

“What the…” Alex blurted out as he started to stand. Then his light gray eyes opened wide with fury when Adam chuckled.

“This was a practical joke? A STUPID PRACTICAL JOKE!”

Adam simply raised his eyebrows and nodded, still grinning.

“You ignorant son-of-a…” Alex choked on the words as he raked his hands through his sandy brown hair.

“Really?” Adam chuckled again. “I seem to remember a man who looked just like you paying some woman of dubious employment to show up at Thea’s house with a wedding ring and a fake marriage certificate. And I believe that was the day before our wedding, wasn’t if?”

Alex froze.

“And what was that ridiculous last name you gave me? Oh yes, now I remember…”

Groaning Alex said, “Snarkwhistle,” then abruptly sat down again.

“Right,” Adam said while giving the other man a sharp smile. “I figured you were too drunk when you came up with that brilliant plan to remember the… particulars.”

“How did you find out? I mean that woman never did show up.”

“You idiot,” Adam snorted with laughter. “She took your money then came right to me and told me the whole story.”

Alex looked down at the floor as he winced. “Oh God, I’m sorry. Does Thea know?”

“No, I never told her – you won’t be telling her either.” Adam said firmly as he stood and come to stand in front of the other man

“Do we understand each other now?” he asked and just stood there waiting with his arms folded across his chest. When Alex finally nodded he held his right hand out to help him up. When they were both standing Adam gave him one more narrow-eyed look.

“AND you will not tell my wife about today, either.”

Adam was giving him an order and Alex was smart enough to realize this and not argue. Then he jumped, startled when Adam called out to his friends.

“Wes! Charlie! Come on in, the joke’s over.”

Both men quickly did – Charlie gave Alex a wide, unrepentant smile while Wes merely nodded, still not saying a word.

“I believe you three have already met, so we might as well head over to the house now.” Adam grinned again as he opened the office door and waved the others through.

Alex was the last of the three to leave the room and once he was past, Adam’s grin turned into a knowing smile as he stepped out then closed and locked the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WELCOME FRIEND

Chapter 63

Wes and Charlie took the lead on the walk to Adam’s house and the two men were discussing names for the coming baby. Dulcy was due any day now.

Charlie had Wes in stitches the whole way as he offered every outlandish name he could think of – the last one being “Algernon.”

Adam was laughing too as he and Alexander hurried after them. “What if it’s a girl, Charlie?” he asked helpfully.

“I never even thought of that!” Charlie exclaimed. “I’ve got it, you could name her Hepzibah!” Wes started choking.

“No, no! Here’s a better one – Broomhilda!” Charlie continued and even Alex burst out laughing. “Not what you’re looking for? OK…what about Hagatha?”

The four men had come to a stop and were standing on the sidewalk in front of the cream-colored house. Wes was gasping for breath with tears of mirth rolling down his cheeks. “You know,” he choked out, “the funny thing is imagining the look on Dulcy’s face if I were foolish enough to come to her with any one of those ridiculous names! She’d put a dent in my head.”

Of course, only Adam and Charlie could appreciate that image since they knew the hot-tempered, statuesque redhead. The two men practically howled at that picture. Adam put a hand on Alex’s shoulder and when he could speak said, “You’ll understand once you meet Dulcy.”

Alex was smiling and just nodded his head, seemingly over his pique at the practical joke the three had pulled on him. Carefully noting this, Adam opened the gate and waved Alex through, then followed leaving Wes and Charlie to bring up the rear.

“Hmmm…” he heard Charlie muse right behind him. “I forgot about Jezebel. Or maybe Ethelred?”

All four men burst out laughing again as Adam opened the door and held it open for his three guests to enter. Wes was sputtering as he said, “Knock it off Charlie, you’re killing me!” when they were finally inside. He chuckled one more time before Adam noticed how still the house seemed.

“I wonder where everyone is?” he said quietly, and then called out, “Is anybody home?”

His question was met by silence for a beat of three, then the word “No!” was shouted by numerous voices from the kitchen. Adam turned to Alex and spoke low so he could be heard under the resulting din of laughter.

“Welcome to the Cartwright Home for the Hopelessly Sarcastic, Alex,” he said, with laughter in his voice.

Then he turned away from his guest as Alexander and Annalise shot through the kitchen door and ran up to him. He crouched down to scoop them up.

“Alex, you haven’t seen these two for a long time.”

The man took a step closer, his eyes wide as he swept his gaze from child to child. Then he smiled. “How old are they now?”

“We’re almost six,” Alexander answered proudly while Annalise nodded vigorously in agreement.

Alex turned his eyes to Alexander. “Did you know I’m your godfather?” he said to the boy.

“Uh huh! Pa told me,” Alexander answered, and then held his arms out to the smiling man.

“May I?” he asked, looking to the boy’s father for permission.

Adam nodded, saying “Sure.”

Alex carefully took the boy into his arms and settled him on one hip as Alexander looked up at him with a cheeky grin.

Wes and Charlie had headed for the kitchen and the two stepped to each side when they reached the doorway to let Thea come through. She paused to give each huge man a welcoming hug then took off down the hall toward her husband.

Adam put Annalise down to wrap his arms around Thea when she practically threw herself at him. She gave him her tightest squeeze then turned her head to look at Alex when Adam said, “Look what followed me home.”

“I’m so glad to see you Alex,” she said with a big smile then stepped back to take Annalise’s right hand. Adam took the girl’s left hand as he said, “Come on and meet everybody.” They led the way down the hall toward the kitchen as Alex and Alexander followed closely.

When he stepped through the kitchen doorway Alex’s eyes opened wide at the noisy room full of people. Adam let go of Annalise’s hand and took Alexander to set him down. The twins trotted off.

Adam took Alex’s arm and led him to the right end of the kitchen by the back door. “Alex, this is my brother Hoss and his wife Dora.”

Alex shook Hoss’s hand and nodded at Dora saying, “I’m very pleased to meet you.” The young woman, who was blooming with health and obviously pregnant, gave him a wide smile in welcome. Then his eyes focused on the baby in Hoss’s arms.

“And this is my son Matthew,” Adam said taking the baby from his brother and giving the child a buzzing kiss on his cheek. The boy squealed with laughter as his father handed him back to Hoss. Then the two men moved on.

Wes, Charlie, and Dulcy were seated at the nearest end of the long table and Adam led his guest over to meet Dulcy. After one look at the redheaded Valkyrie, Alex’s lips started to twitch as he imagined her denting Wes’s head. The two men’s eyes met, and Wes actually gave him an answering smile, something he rarely did. Adam quickly steered him toward the next group before the man burst out laughing and would have to explain why.

Matt and Cassie were the next people to meet Alex and he smiled in appreciation of the petite, strawberry blonde’s beauty. She was also obviously pregnant and he suddenly realized that every adult female in the room was. When he turned to his host with his brows raised Adam read his expression and grinned.

“Seems like an epidemic, doesn’t it?” he laughed and Alex joined in as Adam led him toward a large group at the left end of the kitchen. They paused on the way to meet Ben and Ted who were sitting in two rocking chairs in the corner with the twins in their laps. Joe was standing with the deputies holding Thomas, while Nate had Benjamin.

Adam quickly introduced Alex to his deputies, his brother, and the babies before taking Benjamin from Nate. Then he led his guest toward the table not noticing that Joe was practically on his heels. He nodded at an empty chair and after Alex sat down he went to get his guest a cup of coffee. Alex turned to watch him walk up to Thea at the stove, and then nearly jumped out of his skin when he turned back and found himself almost face to face with Joe.

“So,” Joe said with a big smile, “I hear you and Theadora were an item before my brother showed up.”

“Not really,” Alex said cautiously. “I mean, I thought we were, but I guess Thea didn’t see it the same way.” He paused for a second. “Once Adam entered her life she never had any time for anyone else.”

“Hmmm…” Joe said, looking at Alex with narrowed eyes. “That’s typical of those two – they’re too much alike in so many ways. You’d think they’d never get along, but they’re so much in love it can be nauseating to watch sometimes.” He chuckled and Alex joined in until Adam returned with the man’s coffee.

He gave Joe, who was sitting at the end of the table, a suspicious look before moving around behind him to take the seat opposite Alex. He sat the baby in his lap and Benjamin put his small hands on the table and stared at Alex with his bright, almost black eyes. Before anyone else could speak, he pointed at the man across the table and demanded, “Name?” as he usually did when meeting anyone.

“Alexander,” Joe said and the boy turned to him with a puzzled look. Then he glanced to his left where Alexander was sitting in Ted’s lap.

“No, no, no!” he said, beating his little hands on the table. “No Unca Joe,” he argued while pointing to his brother, “Alexander!” he insisted. The three men started laughing while the rest in the room fell silent to listen.

“Yes, Benny, his name is Alexander too,” Joe persisted and the baby’s mouth closed in a stubborn line as he crossed his little arms, imitating his father.

“He’s just having a little trouble understanding the concept of two people having the same name Alex,” Adam explained. Then the baby’s brow cleared as he took a deep breath.

“Alex!” he yelled, pointing at the man across the table. Then he turned to look at his brother again shouting, “Alexander!” He gave his uncle a triumphant look and an emphatic nod, proud of himself for solving this difficult puzzle.

Everyone was laughing at Benjamin’s cleverness when Joe opened his mouth to argue further. But Adam shook his head at his youngest brother. “Let it go Joe. Once Benjamin makes up his mind, there’s no changing it.”

Thomas had been watching the brief argument between his brother and his uncle with deep interest. And when he tipped his head back to see Joe’s disgruntled look he started clapping his hands together chortling, “Benny! Benny! Benny!” obviously cheering his brother on.

The resulting laugher went on for some time and Thea had started for the table to gather up her two babies for their nap when she noticed Dulcy suddenly stop laughing. The woman’s face went white and she bit her lip, hard.

Thea immediately changed direction and leaned down to speak in Dulcy’s ear. When the redhead nodded, Thea took her arm and helped her up. No one else had noticed.

The two women left the room through the doorway to the hall and Thea led her down to the recovery room that adjoined her examining room. She quickly got Dulcy settled into the large bed there, then hurried back to the kitchen to whisper in Wes’s ear. The huge man gave her a blank look, and then stood when she tugged on his arm.

Adam had just noticed Dulcy was gone and quickly understood when he saw Thea pulling Wes from the kitchen. He waited a few minutes before standing and handing Benjamin to Cassie. Then he slipped from the room and hurried down the hallway, wondering what kind of expectant father Wes would turn out to be.

When he entered the recovery room Thea was wiping the sweat off of Dulcy’s forehead and her hair was already turning dark. She groaned and he could see her abdomen harden under the sheet covering her. Then he heard another groan, but this one came from his left. He turned to see Wes standing up against the wall, his eyes wide and staring.

Wes didn’t seem to notice when his friend came to stand in front of him so Adam put his hands on the huge man’s shoulders. “Are you alright,” he asked, but got no response, so he waved a hand in front of the other man’s eyes. Wes slowly bent his head and Adam repeated the question.

“Are you alright?”

The big man just stared for a few moments before slowly shaking his head.

Dulcy groaned again and let out a small shriek that she muffled with a hand over her mouth. Wes moaned in response, his eyes becoming unfocused again as he clutched his middle. Then his knees buckled and he toppled forward. Adam automatically tried to catch him, but the two crashed to the floor.

Neither woman had been paying any attention to the two men and were badly startled at the loud noise. Thea hurried over to kneel next to them.

Adam was trying to laugh, but couldn’t with Wes’s crushing weight on top of him.

“Go get Hoss, Ted, and Charlie – I can’t shift him or get my arms out,” he gasped.

Thea took off and quickly returned with the three men. They had a hard time not laughing as they rolled Wes off and onto his back. Then they helped Adam to his feet. He took a deep breath and let it out with a chuckle.

“Let’s take him next door and put him on Thea’s examining table so I can look him over,” Ted suggested so each man took a limb and they staggered out the door.

In a moment the four were standing around the table looking down at the unconscious man. “What happened?” Hoss asked as he shook his head.

Shrugging his shoulders Adam answered, “I have no idea. He just started moaning, grabbed his stomach, and fell on me.”

Wes’s eyes opened then and he looked around blankly. Ted bent over him to peer into his eyes. “Hmmm…” he said as he noted the man’s eyes were clear. “Where is the pain Wes?”

The prone man opened his mouth to answer when they heard a muffled scream from next door. Wes’s face turned white and he clutched at his abdomen as he abruptly sat up.

Ted stood there watching with hooded eyes then had to hold back a peal of laughter. He thought he knew what was wrong with Wes, but continued to examine him anyway. When he was finished, he stepped back and motioned for Adam to follow him out into the hall.

Adam closed the door and then moved to stand in front of his brother-in-law. “What wrong with him?” he asked anxiously and his eyes narrowed when Ted muffled a chuckle with his hand.

“Nothing really,” he answered.

“There has to be something wrong, the man is in terrible pain.”

“Yes he is, but it’s all in his head. Believe me, I’ve seen this before – Wes is having sympathy labor pains.”

Adam just stood there staring at Ted when they heard a pitiful moan from Dulcy then an answering moan from Wes. His lips began to twitch as he asked, “Are you sure?”

Ted just nodded, not trusting himself to open his mouth without howling.

Taking a step back, Adam leaned against the wall and shook with silent laughter. When he could speak again he straightened up and shook his head saying, “Is there anything we can do about it?”

Nodding again Ted said, “We need to get him out of the house so he can’t hear Dulcy.” He moved to put his hand on the examining room doorknob. “Just agree with everything I say,” he continued then opened the door and went in.

He walked up to the pale man lying on the table and plastered a solemn expression on his face. “Wes, I think you might have a potential slight torsion of the bowel and the only thing to do is to walk it off.”

“What?” Hoss said in surprise, but Adam gave him a quelling look so he closed his mouth.

“Walk it off?” Wes echoed.

“Yes. Much like a horse with colic, you need to be up and moving,” Ted said firmly.

Adam was still looking at Hoss and trying not to laugh at his brother’s dubious expression. “Hoss, why don’t you and Charlie take Wes out the front door and into the side yard by my office. The fresh air alone will do him good.”

Still looking baffled, Hoss did as he was asked and when he moved past his brother to take Wes’s left arm he paused as Adam put a hand on his shoulder.

“I’ll explain later,” he said so Hoss nodded and helped Wes to his feet. Then the two practically dragged Wes through the door sideways and disappeared with him down the front hall.

As soon as they heard the front door close Adam turned to Ted with a grateful look.

“Thank you for doing that. Wes would have been horribly embarrassed if you had told him the truth.”

“I know,” Ted said with a chuckle and Adam grinned. “And I’m not surprised this happened. It’s usually the biggest and toughest that go down the hardest in these situations.”

They laughed together briefly before Ted went next door to see if Thea needed any help and Adam went to make sure Wes didn’t come back in when he started feeling better.

Thea was bent over Dulcy, holding her hands and speaking in a low, urgent voice when Ted entered the room.

“All right Dulcy, I need you to start pushing now,” she said then let go to move back to the end of the bed. The sheet was already folded back over the prone woman’s legs.

Ted moved to stand next to the bed and bent over her to wipe sweat off her face when Thea said, “OK, I need a big push from you now…”

He put the cloth to the side and was about to straighten up when Dulcy grabbed his hands and squeezed. His knees almost buckled.

“Good God!” he gasped, but didn’t try to pull his hands away as he leaned against the edge of the bed.

“Did you say something Ted?” Thea asked distractedly, not noticing her brother’s pained expression.

“No,” he managed to say and bit back a groan.

“Good girl!” Thea enthused. “The head is crowning…give me another big push!”

Dulcy took a deep breath, clenched her teeth, and bore down as hard as she could. This time Ted did go to his knees when the woman’s hands tightened even more and she let out a piercing shriek. He bit his lip to keep from shrieking too.

“Stop pushing!” Thea ordered as the head appeared and she carefully rotated the baby until the shoulders were in the correct position.

“Only one more push, love, and this will all be over. Dulcy, give it everything you’ve got!”

The woman shook her sweat-soaked hair back, took a huge breath, and pushed as hard as she could. Her mouth opened wide as she screamed fiercely and her face turned an even deeper red. She still had a tenacious grip on Ted’s hands and the man’s vision went gray when her hands spasmed and his left index finger snapped.

The next thing he knew he was lying face down on the floor, Dulcy was laughing with joy, and a baby was crying.

“Congratulations!” he heard Thea say. “You have a fine, healthy son.” She came up to the side of the bed, stepping carefully around Ted and placed a blanket wrapped bundle in her friend’s eager arms. Then she bent down to help Ted up.

The man stood there cradling his swollen left hand in his swollen right, being careful to not move the broken finger.

Dulcy was crying now as well as laughing and he couldn’t take his eyes off the new mother’s face. “You know,” he said to Thea, “no matter how many times I see it, that still has to be the most beautiful sight on earth.”

Thea smiled as she reached over to carefully take his left hand in both of hers. “Dear Lord,” she said, “we better get a splint on that and quickly.”

He vaguely nodded his head, still staring at Dulcy’s face while Thea took hold of his right arm and pulled him from the room.

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Joe had noticed when Adam left the room and when he saw that Thea, Wes, and Dulcy were gone too, he figured out what was happening. But he didn’t say a word to anybody and continued questioning Alex.

“I’ve been reading a lot about baseball in the newspapers recently and Adam says you invented the game.”

Alex nodded his head. “We started out just playing against our own and then other men’s clubs, but it’s really becoming very popular. And it looks like we’ll be organizing leagues with teams and playing professionally. That’s one of the reasons I brought my team out here to play exhibition games.”

“Did Adam ever play?”

“Yes, and he was really very good, but eventually just didn’t have the time for it anymore.”

“I bet,” Joe answered shaking his head. “Too bad we don’t have a local team, we could have played a game while you’re here.”

Alex thought about that for a few seconds, and then he smiled. “We wouldn’t have been able to now, our time is too tightly scheduled for the next month. But we might be able to stop here on our way back through to New York.”

“Really?” Joe said, excited at the idea.

“Why not?” Alex answered and turned away to hide the wicked gleam in his eye. When he turned back his expression was suitably serious. “I’d only have two conditions. One, that Adam pitch for your team, and two, that Thea be the umpire. She’s the only person I know that I trust to be completely impartial.”

Joe’s face fell. “It would take a lot to convince Adam to pitch, but there’s no way you’ll ever get him to let Thea be the umpire. At least not right now with another baby on the way.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Alex murmured, “why don’t you ask him and see?”

Shaking his head, Joe was about to answer when Thea appeared to gather up Ted, Charlie, and Hoss. He briefly wondered why in the world she would need THEIR help delivering Dulcy’s baby then decided he really didn’t want to know.

“I’ll ask him, but I can tell you what his answer will be. He’s very protective of Thea.”

Not wanting to give up, Alex thought of another angle. “What do you think he would say if Thea asked him?”

“The same thing,” Joe said promptly.

“So you don’t think she could talk him into it?”

“No.”

“That’s too bad,” Alex said reluctantly, unhappy that he wouldn’t get to face Adam on the pitching mound one more time. “Just ask him anyway and see what he says.”

Joe was about to tell Alex it was no use when his sharp ears heard Dulcy’s fierce scream from the other side of the house. He stood up.

“Hey! Did anybody else hear that!” he yelled and what was left of the crowd became silent, listening. Then they heard the newest arrival to their group of friends crying out at his rude introduction to the world and his mother’s joyous laughter.

They all stared at each other for a moment before starting to cheer and chatter in excitement. Then they burst out laughing when Wes came charging up the back stairs, tore the screen door off it’s hinges, and barreled through the kitchen on his way to meet his new son.

Adam, Charlie, and Hoss came up the stairs more slowly and Adam shook his head. “Damn, I’m going to have to fix that door again,” he said between chuckles. The three men had just entered the kitchen when Ted appeared in the door to the hall to announce, “It’s a boy!” The crowd became even noisier then as the three men walked up to Ted.

“What happened?” Adam asked, looking at the splint on Ted’s finger.

“Oh…Dulcy broke it,” Ted answered ruefully and the three men surrounding him didn’t even try to hold back their amusement. Adam had to put a hand on Hoss’s shoulder to prop himself up, he was laughing so hard.

Joe was bouncing Thomas up and down in his lap when he looked across the room and saw Joan standing at the bottom of the stairs. He knew she wasn’t recovering very quickly from her head injury and Thea would be very unhappy to see she had come downstairs by herself.

He abruptly stood, shoved Thomas into Alex’s arms and hurried over. She smiled shyly at him as her eyes surveyed the noisy, celebrating group. He took her arm and tugged her back toward the stairs to sit down.

“What’s going on?” she asked chuckling at the sight of Adam and Hoss leaning into each other, weak with laughter.

“Dulcy had her baby.”

Joan’s pale cheeks flushed pink. “Really?” she said in excitement, “was it a girl?”

Joe chuckled, “No, a boy.”

“Oh,” was all she had to say in response and he could have sworn she said it with disappointment in her tone. But he let that pass without questioning her.

“You know you’re not supposed to come down by yourself. Thea will be very upset with you.”

Joan instantly turned to him with a worried frown. “She will? Please don’t tell her!”

Surprised at how upset she seemed to be, he was quick to reassure her. “I won’t tell, I was just teasing you.”

“Oh,” the blonde woman said softly and her cheeks flushed a deeper pink as her eyes were drawn back to the celebrating crowd.

“Maybe I should go back upstairs,” she said wistfully and Joe shook his head.

“You just stay here with me and Thea won’t know a thing.”

Her pale blue eyes turned to meet Joe’s and he thought again about how deep and crystal clear they seemed to be. Then her eyelids came down and she shifted a little closer to him as he put his arm around her shoulders. Then they sat there silently for a long time, watching the crowd celebrate the arrival of their newest member.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MARIE

Chapter 64

Adam was on his way back to his office, but was in no hurry. He was thinking as he walked along about the people he had seen off on the train a few days before. Alex’s short visit had ended without further incident, although the man seemed to be puzzled by Thea’s cool treatment. He smiled, knowing his wife had done that on purpose just to please him, but had relented and hugged Alex when they saw him off.

Dulcy, Wes, Charlie, and the new baby – Adam Charles Everest – had gone home to San Francisco the next day, and they were already making plans to go there for the child’s baptism. Adam and Thea had been asked to be the boy’s godparents and they were looking forward to making the trip.

He was smiling when he glanced up and spotted his deputies standing in a group on the board sidewalk in front of the office building. And it was clear they were looking for him.

He quickened his pace and when he was close enough to see their grim expressions his heart leapt into his throat and he ran the rest of the way. “What?” he said frantically looking at each grim face.

No one seemed to be able to bring themselves to answer him as Nate held out several pieces of paper, a report, with a shaking hand. Adam looked at the papers for a second before taking them from his second-in-command, and then bent his head to read them.

Halfway through the first page, Adam’s face turned stark white and an anguished sound escaped his closed throat, but he forced himself to keep reading. When he finished, his arm fell limply and the papers fluttered to the sidewalk. He leaned back against the wall and put his hands over his face for a few moments. Then he bent over with his hands braced on his knees as his whole body shook and he bit his bottom lip so hard as he tried to stay in control that he drew blood.

When he finally stopped shaking he took in a huge breath and let it out with a shudder. He pushed off the wall and reluctantly turned then started down the sidewalk toward home.

His four friends watched him walk away, their own eyes bright with unshed tears, their faces stiff with anguish.

Nate turned away and crouched down to gather the papers up, but he stopped and put a hand over his eyes as he sobbed once. Then he stood quickly, his tall, wiry body tight with fury and shouted, “Damn it!” as he turned and kicked the front door so hard he broke the latch.

The four men continued to stand there for a while, their heads hanging as they mourned the loss of that gentle, loving woman who had been a quiet, but deeply felt presence in their lives for what seemed like forever.

Nate was the first to move as he bent down again to pick up the report, and the four men slowly started down the sidewalk, following the path Adam had just taken. They knew he would be firmly tamping down his grief by now to allow his mind free rein to decide what course of action he would take to find whoever had murdered sweet Marie.

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Adam slowly climbed his front steps and walked across the porch to his front door, but paused there for a few moments before going in. He made his way down the hallway and went into the kitchen, knowing that Thea would be there at this hour in the afternoon. When he softly said her name she whirled around with the smile she always gave him when he came home. But after taking one look at him she raced across the large kitchen to cup his face in her hands as she anxiously searched his eyes. “What’s wrong?” she said and he closed his eyes for a moment before taking one of her wrists in each hand and tugging her hands away from his face. He continued to hold her wrists as he looked down into her eyes and said, “Marie is dead.”

She took a step back and looked up at him in disbelief. “What?” she said, sure she had not heard him correctly. He nodded in answer as he let go of her wrists and guided her with an arm around her shoulders to the chair at the head of the table. Pushing her down into the chair, he sat down in the one to her left, and then reached out to take both of her hands in his across the corner.

“It’s true, Thea. Marie was murdered.”

She tried to pull her hands away, but he wouldn’t let her go. “No, that can’t be true, there must be some mistake, who would ever want to hurt Marie?”

He shook his head keeping his gaze locked on hers. “There’s no mistake. Marie is dead.” Watching her face as she finally accepted that he was telling the truth hurt his heart more than his own grief. Her eyes filled, then overflowed with tears, but she didn’t make a single sound. He stood, came around to pick her up then sat down in her chair and gently settled in his lap. She sat there stiffly until he wrapped her in his arms then she collapsed against his chest as she shook with huge sobs. He didn’t say a word, just held her until she couldn’t cry anymore.

Neither moved until she spoke in a hoarse voice, “What happened?”

When he didn’t answer her she leaned back to look at him. His eyes were closed and his own anguish etched deep lines of pain on his face. When he opened his eyes she flinched at what she saw there.

“Thea,” he said in a tight voice, “sometimes sharing a burden makes it half as heavy, but not this. Sharing this with you will only make it twice as heavy. So please, don’t insist on knowing. I’m asking you, for my sake, don’t insist.” He closed his eyes again.

She pressed her face against his neck as she laid her head sideways on his shoulder. “I won’t,” she whispered and tightened her hold on him as he began to shake with his own silent grief for his dearest friend, the quiet woman he had known better than anyone else. They stayed that way in each other’s arms, finding comfort in their shared sorrow, until they heard a small voice say, “Pa?”

They both opened their eyes and turned their heads to see Alexander standing right next to them. His hazel eyes, exactly like his father’s, watched them anxiously.

“Come here, Alex.” Thea said and lifted him into her lap. She hugged him close as Adam smoothed his unruly hair down with a gentle hand.

“Alex,” he said, his voice roughened and deepened by his grief, “your Aunt Marie won’t be coming home, son.” The boy leaned back in his mother’s arms and took in their sorrowful expressions. “Like Uncle Jerry?” he asked as his little chin started to quiver.

“Yes Alex, like Uncle Jerry,” Thea answered him and pulled him close again as she pressed his head to her breast. Adam put his arms around his son and his wife to hold them tightly as the boy cried out in protest. “But I love Aunt Marie!”

“I know, baby, I know,” Thea said low into his ear. “We love her too.”

Adam leaned down to kiss his son on top of the head then felt a small hand on his shoulder. As he turned his head to look, Annalise came around from behind. She pushed his arm up and ducked under it to press herself up against him and bury her face in his chest. Then she slipped one arm around her father’s waist while reaching out to rub her brother’s back, her eyes wide and filled with concern.

The four of them stayed that way for a long time, until Alex cried himself out. Still holding her son close, Thea slipped out of her husband’s lap. He stood, lifted Annalise into his arms, and the two of them went up the back stairs and into their bedroom.

They laid the children on the bed together, covered them with a blanket, and quietly left while leaving the door open. Pausing in the hallway they hugged each other tightly again, and then parted reluctantly. Thea went into the nursery while Adam went downstairs and out onto the front porch where he assumed his deputies would be waiting for him. They were.

Dylan sat on the railing, Mike and John on the steps, while Nate was pacing back and forth. When Adam came out they all turned to him and watched as he slowly walked over to the swing and wearily sat down opposite the man sitting on the railing. Nate quickly came to sit next to him on the swing and leaned forward to look in Adam’s eyes.

“What’s the plan?” he asked as the other two deputies came to stand next to Dylan. Adam looked up to meet that handsome young man’s eyes.

“First I’m sending for Stu, and then I want you to go with him, Dylan.”

The red-haired deputy nodded his head, never breaking eye contact with his boss. He had already figured out that this situation would require the type of work he had done for many years before. “Who is Stu?” he simply asked, accepting Adam’s order without question.

“The best gun for hire in the business.”

Dylan’s eyebrows rose. “Gun for hire?”

“Yes,” Adam said grimly. “He’ll be your backup.”

“Ah,” Dylan answered. “But most men in his profession are pretty independent. Will he balk at that?”

“Not after I get finished talking him into it.”

Nate broke in. “We all want to go,” he couldn’t help but say.

“I know, Nate, but that would only drive these men underground. The only way to get at them is from within, you know that.” He turned back to Dylan. “Have you ever infiltrated this kind of group before?”

Dylan nodded then smiled a cold smile. “A few times. Luckily they usually aren’t very intelligent, just vicious.”

Adam nodded and leaned forward to prop his elbows on his knees as he covered his face with his hands.

The four deputies glanced at each other, not sure what to say. Then Nate spoke. “Don’t worry boss, Dylan and Stu will bring them in.”

“You don’t understand.” Adam’s voice was muffled and when he dropped his hands they saw a face they hadn’t seen since he had attacked Mueller. “I don’t think Marie ever had an unkind thing to say about anyone. I don’t even think she ever had an unkind THOUGHT about anyone. That dear, sweet, kind woman was brutally murdered just because of the color of her skin. No, I don’t want them brought to justice. I want them to die, slowly, painfully, and by my hand.”

Standing, he went to the steps, but paused. “Dylan, you will forget everything I just said – and that is a direct order.”

He went down saying, “I’ll be back, I need to send a telegram to Stu’s contact.” And they watched as he quickly strode down the path, through the gate, and up the street.

“He didn’t really mean it,” John said.

Nate shook his head. “Don’t you kid yourself, Johnny, he meant every word. But he swore to uphold the law and he will, even if it kills him inside.”

“You’re right Nate,” Thea’s voice came to them through the screen door. She opened it, stepped out, and motioned for them all to come in. Each man stopped to hug her as they filed through and she glanced up the street in the direction her husband had just gone before following them in and closing the door.

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Two days later Adam unlocked the door to his office, walked in then stopped abruptly when he realized a man was lying on his sofa. He instantly recognized the long, lean figure as Stu even though the man had his hat pulled down over his face. An empty whiskey bottle sat on the floor next to him and Adam shook his head as he silently walked over to his desk and sat down to consider this puzzle.

He had sent the telegram only two days before so how did the hired gun get to town so quickly? Why had he broken into the office instead of coming to the house? And why had a man who rarely drank rendered himself nearly senseless by downing an entire bottle of whiskey? Leaning back in his chair Adam thought these questions over as he waited for Stu to show signs of regaining consciousness. He didn’t have long to wait.

Stu abruptly sat up, his hat falling to the floor. He sat there staring with sunken eyes at the man behind the desk. Adam remained silent, waiting for him to speak first.

“I heard about Marie,” he said in a deep, rough voice.

“So that’s how you got here so quickly. I sent a telegram to you only two days ago.

“You did?”

“Yes. I want to hire you to go after the people responsible.”

He just stared at Adam for a few moments then the ghost of a smile passed across his face. He surprised the other man with the question he asked.

“Do you remember the first time we met?”

“I think so,” Adam said, his expression puzzled. “It was in my office, wasn’t it? You were talking to Marie.”

Stu nodded then winced, he had a terrible hangover. “That’s right, but do you realize you never asked me what I was doing there?”

“You’re right, I never did,” Adam answered.

“I was in San Francisco looking for someone,” Stu said in a low voice. "I was looking for my mother.”

Adam stared at the younger man while his mind quickly made the connection. “God, and you found her didn’t you? Marie was your mother.”

The other man nodded and scrubbed his hands across his face as he tried to wake up fully. Then he looked around the office with bleary eyes.

“Why didn’t you come to the house last night instead of breaking in here?”

“I wasn’t fitting company for man nor beast last night. Thea probably would have thrown me out, I was falling down drunk.”

“I doubt she would do that.”

Stu smiled. “I guess now that you know you won’t want to hire me for this assignment.”

“Yes, I still do. However, you won’t be working alone. I want you to be Dylan’s backup.”

“You know I ALWAYS work alone.” Stu’s dark brows furrowed and his light brown eyes narrowed.

“I know you usually do, but it’s very important that Dylan handle this. He’s spent years infiltrating criminal groups and can get close to these people. If anyone can find out who did this to your mother, Dylan can.” Adam paused, watching the other man carefully. “You do want to find out who’s responsible, don’t you?”

The younger man stared back for a while and Adam could tell he was trying to think clearly about this situation. Finally he nodded.

“Good,” Adam said briskly and stood to come around his desk. “Come on. You’re going to the house with me and sleep this off. When you wake up, we’ll talk.”

Marie’s son looked up at the man standing over him and sighed. Standing, he swayed slightly and Adam took his arm to steady him. Then the two men left the office and slowly made their way out of the building, across the street, and down to the cream-colored house.

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Stu slept for almost twenty-four hours and when he awoke he felt a brief moment of nauseating vertigo. Then that passed and he became aware of some decidedly unpleasant things.

His mouth felt like it had been stuffed with cotton – cotton with a terrible taste, rough texture, and incredibly bad smell. He seemed to have oozed whisky out of every pore and the sour smell made his stomach clench. Groaning, he rolled over to hang his head over the edge of the bed and found himself looking into a bucket. He was very thankful to whoever had anticipated the need.

When the door opened some time later he was still hanging there, clenching his teeth against the dry heaves and trying not to moan. A gentle hand came down on the back of his neck and a cold cloth was pressed against his forehead. He knew without looking that it was Thea.

She carefully sat next to him on the edge of the bed and he felt another cold cloth on the back of his neck now. He shuddered and heard Adam’s footsteps approaching.

“He’s in worse shape than I thought he’d be,” he said to Thea and she sighed with exasperation.

“Yes, he’s dehydrated and no doubt in terrible pain. Whatever possessed you to do this dear?”

The man on the bed tried to raise his head, but couldn’t. “I’m sorry,” he managed to croak out.

“Don’t apologize to me, apologize to yourself,” she shook her head. “Well, you’ll feel much better once we get you cleaned up and something in your stomach,” she answered him and the bed shook slightly as she stood and took the cloths with her. He whimpered at the nausea that rose in his throat from the slight movement of the bed.

“Just be careful and slow,” she said to her husband and Stu could hear her leaving the room. When he opened his eyes he was looking down at Adam’s boots.

“Adam,” he said in an almost whisper. “You’re a decent man. Kill me right now and put me out of my misery.”

Smiling, Adam pushed the bucket out of the way with a foot and reached down to slowly turn the other man over. “Dear Lord, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this pale before.”

Stu moaned as the ceiling seemed to keep dipping down as it spun on some invisible axis. “Oh God.”

Adam waited until the young man’s eyes stopped flicking up and down to pull his legs over the side of the bed. Then he slowly pulled him up into a sitting position. When Stu let out a horrific belch, Adam quickly stepped to the side, not sure of what else might becoming out. He waited for a few more minutes, and then pulled the younger man into a standing position. Then the two began to move at a snail’s pace out of the room and down the hall. Luckily, the private bath off of the bedroom Adam and Thea shared was close.

The tub was already filled and Adam let go of his charge long enough to kneel down and shut off the kerosene heater that was built into the bottom of the tub. He dipped a hand in and nodded – the water was just above body temperature. Anything else, hotter or colder, would be too big a shock for the hungover man to tolerate yet.

Stu stood in the middle of the room, swaying slightly with his eyes closed. But when Adam touched his arm, he jumped badly startled. He had literally been asleep on his feet.

Getting the tall, young man into the tub took some maneuvering, but when he was finally in, the older man brought over a straight chair that had been sitting in the corner. He set the chair behind the end of the tub where Stu’s head lay against the rim and sat down.

“Don’t go to sleep again, you need to stay awake and get your system going,” Adam said and his young friend opened his eyes and put forth his best effort to keep them open.

“Afraid I’ll drown?” he asked in a feeble attempt at humor.

Adam smiled, “No, you’re too long to slide under without help.”

“If only you would.”

Ignoring that comment, Adam leaned back, stretched his legs out, folded his arms and sighed. “What happened, Stu? I just can’t imagine your mother walking away from you.”

“Ahhh…think about it. A white man married to a black woman. No matter what my father did, he just could not find work.”

“I see. She did it for you.”

“Of course. And no one ever knew. Until now.”

“No one else ever will. Even Thea if that’s the way you want it.”

That made the man in the tub sit up. “You didn’t tell her?”

“Of course not. You confided in me and this is nobody’s business but your own. Although I would hope you know Thea can also be trusted. But if you want her to know, YOU will have to tell her.”

Both men looked toward the door when they heard a knock. Adam stood and went through the door to the bedroom. He came back in a few minutes with a large mug of black coffee. Stu reached for it eagerly.

“Take my advice and drink it slowly. Otherwise, it’s going to come right back up.”

“Thanks,” Stu sighed as he took a sip and settled back in the tub.

“I’ll leave you alone now, but don’t take too long pulling yourself together or Thea might just come after you.”

“She wouldn’t! Would she?”

“Yes she would,” Adam smiled at Stu’s horrified expression. “Try to understand this. Right now you are her patient, not her friend and she wouldn’t even think twice about walking in here to make sure you’re all right.”

“Really?”

“Really. For God’s sake, she had only known my father for a few days when she cut an arrow out of his backside.”

Stu let out a loud, startled laugh at that, and then winced as he put a hand to his head.

“Damn! Ben must have been horribly embarrassed! He’s so dignified.”

“He was at first, but he got over it. And I’ll tell you the same thing I told him. Being a doctor and a surgeon, Thea’s seen everything under the sun and more. Some of the things she’s told me about you just wouldn’t believe.”

The other man just sat there shaking his head when Adam grinned as he moved toward the open door. “Thea’s put some clothes on the bed she thinks will fit you, and I’ll try to head her off if she starts to come up here. But you know how determined she can be, sometimes even I can’t stop her,” he chuckled and Stu could hear him still chuckling as he left the bedroom and moved off down the hallway.

Not much more than half an hour later Thea’s brows rose and Adam had to grin when they heard their young guest carefully coming down the back stairs. She stood and went to the doorway to watch him come down the last few steps.

“I certainly hope you haven’t made a habit out of doing this sort of thing now,” she said a little more sharply than she intended then sighed when the young man flinched.

“I’m sorry.” She took his arm to guide him to the table and he gratefully sank down into the chair to Adam’s right. Then she turned away to bring the coffee pot and another cup. She set the cup down in front of Stu and he stared at it stupidly for a second.

“I’m sorry, I forgot to bring the other one down,” he said in a soft, rough voice as she filled the cup.

“Don’t worry about that,” Thea answered and he felt a brief, gentle touch on his shoulder as she moved around him to re-fill her husband’s cup.

Adam smiled his thanks to her and looked questioningly at Stu. The younger man nodded as Thea set the pot down on a trivet on the table. She started to move away, but Adam caught her hand and pulled her down into his lap.

“Stu has something he needs to tell you,” he explained and she turned to him, her fine hazel eyes showing concern.

His head was down as he stared into his coffee cup and when he raised his gaze to hers she almost gasped at the raw pain she saw there.

“Thea, Marie was my mother,” he said simply, still looking at her with deeply wounded eyes.

Shocked, she stared for moment then slipped from her husband’s lap. She stepped around the corner of the table and gently wrapped his aching head in her arms. He turned his face into her abdomen and pressed against her as he shook silently.

One of his hands was lying limp on the table and when Adam reached out to take it in both of his Stu held on tightly. A few hot tears, the first he had cried for his mother, wet the front of Thea’s dress and she leaned her head down to rest her cheek against the top of his head.

“I’m so sorry,” she murmured and tightened her hold on him.

Adam leaned forward. “We loved your mother very much,” he said. “She was a member of this family and that means you are too.”

His kind words and Thea’s gentle touch broke down his defenses. For the first time since he was a child he allowed himself to cry without restraint, knowing these people would not think less of him. And he realized he felt safe, a feeling he had never experienced before.

He cried for his mother and he cried for himself, letting out everything. The long, lonely years growing up without her and the fear he lived with every day – that someone would find out his secret.

When he finally grew quiet he didn’t move, he just continued to rest against her, feeling drained and hollow. Thea and Adam didn’t move, they just patiently waited for their young friend to recover. In a few moments he did.

He took a deep breath and leaned back. Thea let him go and without thinking began to dry the tears from his face with her apron, something she frequently did with her children. Stu couldn’t help but start laughing and she stared at him puzzled until she realized what she was doing.

“I’m sorry,” she said then gave a quick laugh as he tipped his face up to her. “You can finish if you want,” he said and she quickly did, no longer embarrassed. She dropped a quick kiss on the top of his head and hurried away toward the stove. He turned to see Adam smiling at him.

“Don’t ever hesitate to come to us if you need anything, even if it’s just someone to talk to. That’s the way this family is and you’re one of us now.”

Stu nodded and looked down, still a little overwhelmed at their easy acceptance. He was surprised when he saw that Adam was still holding his hand. Before, he would have quickly pulled away, but now he just smiled.

Thea appeared next to him to put a plate of toast down in front of him as Adam finally did let go. Stu eyed the toast with distaste, feeling like he would never want to eat anything again. She lightly patted him on the shoulder reading his expression correctly.

“You have to eat something, young man, so get started,” she said firmly then went around to sit down directly opposite him. She propped her elbows on the table and dropped her chin into her hands as she looked at him expectantly. “Just a little bit at a time.”

He reluctantly lifted a piece and grimaced before poking a corner between his lips and taking a tiny bite. His stomach clenched then heaved once. He ground his teeth together then desperately swallowed, hoping it would stay down. To his surprise it did. She gave him an encouraging smile, so he tried again and it was much easier.

Thea watched him intently as he continued to take tiny bites and small sips of the coffee until both were gone. Giving him a hugely pleased smile, Thea reached across the table to pat his hand and said, “Good!”

He almost laughed and resisted the urge to say, “All gone!” as he smiled back. She sighed as she stood.

“Well, gentlemen, if you’ll excuse me I have three babies that will be waking up any minute.” Thea paused on her way to the stairs to slip her arms around her husband’s shoulders from behind and kissed him on the back of the neck. Adam grinned, then she was gone and the two men sat there silently listening to her quick footsteps moving away.

Stu took a deep breath and his expression became serious. “You do know how lucky you are, don’t you?”

Adam gave his young friend a knowing smile. “What do you think I am, stupid? Of course I know.” He laughed.

Stu shook his head. “I hope I meet someone like her some day.”

“I’m sure you will, but the only one I know of in this area right now married my brother Hoss.”

“Well, promise me if you happen to run across another one you’ll tell me first.”

“Sure,” Adam promised as he smiled. “But if you’re feeling up to it I CAN introduce you to Dylan. I’d like you to get to know each other before you leave for Earlystown. Plus I know he has some ideas about how to approach these people and he wants to discuss them with you.”

“You have that much confidence in him, huh?”

“Yes I do. I’m very familiar with Dylan’s work and he’s the best at this sort of thing. Just like you are the best at what you do.”

Stu rose and was thankful to discover he was now reasonably steady on his feet. “Alright, let’s go then,” he said as Adam stood. The two men slowly made their way down the hall and out the front door while Adam went over everything he knew about the situation. Neither one noticed Thea watching them go from the open second floor hallway. Her pleased smile faded once they were gone and her thoughts turned to Marie.

“We’ll do our best for him,” she whispered, hoping the woman she had loved like a sister could hear her. Then she wiped away the few tears she hadn’t been able to stop and hurried back to the nursery.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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