HISTORY HAS A HABIT
By: Julie-Ann S.
*************************************************************************************************************
Another day was progressing smoothly
at the Wells Fargo office in
"Should be here any time now,
Mr. Cartwright." Charlie said in a
cheerful voice.
Ben Cartwright turned to face
Charlie. "Thanks Charlie. Nice day isn't it?"
"Sure is Mr. Cartwright. Too bad I have to work. Sooner be fishing down at the lake."
Hoss Cartwright nodded in
agreement. "Same here Charlie. Same here."
Charlie smiled. "Well I best be getting back to
it."
Ben and Hoss watched as Charlie left
to talk to the other people who had gathered to meet the stage. Ben anxiously took out his watch and looked
at it. After he had placed the watch
back in his pocket, he turned to Hoss.
"Any sign of Adam yet?"
Hoss shrugged his shoulders. "Haven't seen him
since he took off to get somethin' from the
mercantile."
"Didn't he have some letters to
send as well? I'm sure I saw him put
something in his saddlebag earlier."
"Yeah,
most probably
Ben laughed "Well you know Joe,
Hoss. He's always been one to brag about
being able to pick out the prettiest girls in the pack. Don't see him changing now. Do you?"
"No siree,
The two men were then suddenly
distracted by the sound of thundering hooves.
Ben and Hoss turned towards the direction of the sound and waited.
*****************************************************************
Adam looked at the address on the
envelope to make sure it was correct. He
walked over to the postmaster and handed it to him. "Here you go and you may as well see if
there's any mail for the Ponderosa while you're at it."
The postmaster looked at the
envelope. "Hmm...all
the way to
"I'll just check your mail for
you now Mr. Cartwright. Pretty sure
there was something here for the Ponderosa."
"Thanks." Adam said absent-mindedly as he watched was
happening across the road. He had seen
his Pa and Hoss arrive at the Wells Fargo office while he was completing his
letter. Adam wasn't quite sure if his
father or brother knew whether or not he was in here. It didn't matter. He was nearly finished and soon would be
joining them in meeting Joe and this girl he was bringing home with him.
Adam smiled, as he continued to
watch as his youngest brother step out of the stage and then casually turn to
help the mystery lady out. When Adam
finally saw the face of Joe's girl, he could feel nothing but shock . In that
instance, the smile on Adam's face disappeared and his mind began racing. It couldn't be...no
it can't be. Moments later another man
stepped down from the stage out on to the street. Him too? No this can't be right. Adam shook his head to make sure he wasn't
seeing things.
Sure enough he was seeing straight
and as he watched Joe introduce the man and woman to his father and brother,
Adam could feel a sense of dread wash over him.
How on earth did Joe manage to find her?
He was sure that Joe didn't frequent the places where she could be found. What was exactly going on here? The only thing he knew for certain was that
he couldn't go out there and join his family.
Not now or until at least he knew what was going on.
"Mr. Cartwright? Mr. Cartwright? I've got your mail."
Adam turned to face the postmaster,
"Sorry, I got distracted there for a minute." Taking the mail, he then asked the postmaster
if he could use the back exit. The
postmaster was a little surprised but agreed.
As Adam was leaving he turned to the postmaster, "If my father or
brothers come looking for me, tell them I had some things to do and I'll see
them later." Adam left, leaving the
postmaster scratching his head in confusion.
*****************************************************************
"Well...how do you like it?" Joe stood in the middle of the hotel
room. It was one of the finest rooms
that they had in the hotel and he knew nothing but the best would do for the
woman standing in front of him.
"I like it fine, Mr.
Cartwright." the
woman turned to Joe and with a twinkle in her eye, smiled brilliantly at
him. Yeah, thought Joe, this is was one
beautiful woman. As he looked at her
pretty upturned face, he longed to kiss her then and there but knew that he
couldn't, as both their fathers and Hoss could walk in on them at any minute.
Just then, Hoss walked into the
room, followed by Ben and the girl's father.
Joe smiled as they came in. The
girl's father walked to his daughter and repeated the question Joe had asked
earlier.
"Yes father, I like it very
much. It's one of the nicest rooms I've
ever been in." she replied.
Joe turned to the girl's father,
"Mr. Smith? I trust that your room
has meet with your approval as well."
"Yes son. It's the finest that I have found in a long
time." Sam Smith nodded his head. Yes, he thought, things were better than they
had been in a long time.
Joe grinned. He was glad that Renee and her father liked
their rooms. He looked at his father and
brother, feeling very reluctant to leave.
"Well I guess we'd better be going and let you both rest up. It's been a long journey." Turning to Renee, he took both of her hands
in his, "Until tomorrow." and kissed her on the cheek.
"Until
tomorrow, Joe." she whispered
breathlessly back at him.
"Aww c'mon Joe. Time we were goin'. Gotta ranch to run
you know." Hoss smiled.
"Ok. I'm coming." Joe
followed Hoss and Ben out of the room.
When they finally left the hotel,
Ben, Hoss and Joe made their way to where the horses had been left. An extra mount had been brought in, so that Joe
could home. Hoss stood there for a
moment, looking like he had lost something.
"Dadburnit. Now where do you reckon Adam has gotten
to?"
Adam's horse was nowhere to be
seen. Ben and Joe tried to think of
something say but had no answer for Hoss.
Joe was a little bit angry that Adam hadn't bothered to turn up and meet
him at the stage. He had been half
expecting Adam to meet them at the hotel, but that didn't eventuate
either. It looked like his brother had
gone off one of his mysterious trips again.
Ben was slightly worried. He knew Adam had intended on being there to
meet Joe at the stage. Ben still had no
idea what to think or do about Adam and his disappearing tricks. Even though Adam had stuck pretty much close
to home in the last couple of months, there were still times where he would
just take off without a word and then return home as if nothing had happened,
with a ready excuse at hand.
"Your brother is probably
already on his way home. I expect we
will see him there." Ben said, trying
not to sound too concern.
"Yeah, you're probably right
The three men got up on their horses
and headed for home.
*****************************************************************
Adam sat looking at the
fireplace. He had followed his family
and their two visitors to the hotel. He
stood outside watching for a few moments before deciding to head home. Throughout his journey home, he been trying to come up with something that he could tell
his father and brothers about his notable absence. Joe, he knew, would not be very amicable
mood. In fact, if he knew his youngest
brother, he may be downright livid about the whole situation. Joe most certainly would have the ride home
to get himself worked up over his absence.
Adam knew he had to be prepared for that possibility. Running his hand through his black hair, he
also tried to think about what he could do to start talking Joe out of
proposing to the girl he had brought back with him.
Remembering what Joe's letter had told
them of his intentions in bringing some girl that he had meet while he was in
San Francisco back home to meet his family, Adam had been originally pleased to
hear that his brother had found someone worthy enough. The letter also mention that she had lived
all her life in the city and knew nothing of what it was like to live in the
country. It was Joe's intention to bring
her here to see if she would take to living out here. Joe had also indicated that he had held off
proposing until he was sure that she loved it out here as much as he did.
The news from Joe was greeted with
complete happiness from Pa, Hoss and himself.
The way Joe had described her was as if he was describing an angel. An angel. Adam laughed at that the thought of that
now. Back then it sounded nice but
now...now that he seen who the girl was, it was absolutely ludicrous. Adam knew the girl was as far as anybody
could get from being an angel and her father well - that was another thing. He wondered how they were getting away with
that one. The man claiming be the girl's father wasn't her father. Just how had Joe managed to find her? That was one of the many thoughts that kept
plaguing him. The upmost thought in his
mind, however, was the one of what she and her so-called father were up
to. He had to find this out as quickly
as possible and with the added task of talking Joe out marriage, Adam knew he
had an uphill battle to fight.
As he sat there looking at the small
fire burning in the fireplace, Adam began to formulate a plan of action on how
to handle this situation without giving away anything. The girl and her father, and this he was
positive about, didn't know that he was related to her prospective husband. Well...they had known him by a different name
and different occupation back when he had first met them. Thankfully at least he that
in his favour at this point in time.
First on the list, Adam noted was
too find out as much as he could from Joe without
sounding too nosy. This was going to be
hard he thought. He could imagine what
Joe's reaction would be. Knowing that
his brother hadn't even bother to meet the girl he was intending to marry and
then having to ask a lot of questions about her from that same brother may not go
down to well. He was pretty sure that Joe may not take kindly to a barrage of
questions about her. Adam sighed. He was not looking forward to this or to the
possible ramifications that it could bring.
*****************************************************************
Dinner that night was a rather
one-sided affair. Ben, Hoss and Joe
talked about his trip to
As he continued to listen to Joe
talking about Renee, Adam felt both worried and annoyed. He was worried about the fact that this could
possibly all end badly for Joe, whom he could see was
very much taken by the woman. The
annoyance came from the fact that he knew what she was really like and at the
moment he felt a little powerless in being able to break the hold that she had
on Joe. Adam knew that he had to start
talking out Joe out of marriage as soon as possible and if he didn't get
started now, he may never start.
Adam sat up straight in his chair
and prepared himself for what would follow.
He looked across the table at Joe.
"So Joe, is she all you've hoped
for?"
Joe's eyes narrowed. He had seen that Adam had chosen to remain
quiet and not say a word. So what was
Adam up to now? He was a frankly a
little annoyed by Adam's question.
"Yes she is Adam. Yes she
is. Why do you ask?"
Hoss and Ben could see what was
coming. Hoss had a strong suspicion that
Adam was on some sort of fishing trip but couldn't say anything until he could
confirm his suspicion by talking to Adam about it. Ben, on the other hand, didn't know why Adam
was now so intent on getting on Joe's wrong side. Ben, thought it
would be wise just to remain quiet for the time being but was he also prepared
to step in when the time called for it.
Adam leaned forward a little. "I thought to ask because we've seen it
all before. Each one of us knows that
you have been in this same situation before with other girls. What makes this one so special?"
"What makes this one so
special? What sort of question is
that?" Joe's voice began to rise
slowly.
"I mean that all the other
girls were special to you too. So, what
makes this one different from the others?"
Adam didn't like the words coming out of his mouth but he had crossed
the line and there was no going back.
"She is different from the
others. Don't ask me how or why...I just
know she is." Joe said, trying to
keep calm.
Adam could see that Joe was
determined not to let his oldest brother get the upper hand. Time I tried another tact, Adam thought. "This Renee girl...Do you know
everything that there is to know about her?"
Joe blinked. Joe was beginning to realise that Adam was
determined to make sure that he was sure.
But why?
"Yes I am sure I know everything.
Why are you so determined to make sure that I do know. You haven't even met her yet."
Nodding Adam replied "Yes I
know I haven't met her yet. But are you
sure that you know everything that there is to know about her? No skeltons in her
closet or anything like that?"
"No skeltons
in her closet!" Joe didn't like the way this conversation was going and
besides his temper was beginning to get the better of him. Quit while you can Joe Cartwright. "You know what it looks like to me, big
brother." Joe stood up. "It looks like you're intent on talking
me out of this marriage. I haven't even
proposed to her yet and you're already talking me out of it. When I do proposed, it will be...it will
be. Oh, forget it! I give up!
No use talking to you about it Adam." Finishing on that note, Joe excused himself
from the table and went upstairs to his room.
Adam cautiously looked at his father
and then Hoss. The looks they were
giving him did nothing to ease the burden that he was carrying.
*****************************************************************
The next day long after Joe had left
to go into
"Hey
Adam." Hoss said casually.
Adam turned to see Hoss standing
next to him. "Yes,
Hoss. What can I do for
you?"
Hoss took a deep breath. "I want to talk to you about this
situation that you and Joe are in."
Adam nodded a couple of times. "Yeah I figured you would be wanting to talk about it.
You want to know why I'm acting the way I am."
"Yep. Wouldn't have anythin' to do with you know what?"
"Yes it does and that's all I'm
going to say on the matter. I wish it
didn't have to be this way. I know it's
hard sometimes not being able to tell you more than what you need to
know."
Hoss could see that this business
was worrying Adam. That weight he had
carried when he first arrived back home was back. "Adam I know. It just that I don't want to see Joe get hurt."
"I don't want to see Joe get
hurt either." Adam hesitated before
continuing, "This job that I do is not so bad...most of the time. It's only when family is involved, that it
gets hard." Adam placed his hands
on Hoss' shoulders "It's better for Joe to get hurt now instead of later
on when it's too late to do anything about it."
Hoss nodded in understanding. He really felt for Adam but he was also glad
he wasn't in Adam's shoes at the moment.
The situation with Joe was going to get a lot more
worse before it got any better.
*****************************************************************
"What? You can't be serious Adam!"
"
Ben stared up at Adam. He was seated at his desk and had been going
over some of the ranch's accounts when Adam had come in. When he saw Adam he could tell that something
was not quite right. Adam had been very
apprehensive in broaching the subject that they were discussing now. Ben couldn't begin to understand his son's
latest behaviour. He took a deep breath
before going on. "So...you're
intent on going away on this fishing expedition. Don't you even want to meet the girl your
brother intends on marrying? You know
you'll have to meet her sooner or later."
I rather it to be later...much
later, Adam thought. He sighed and then
nodded "
"That's the way you feel about
it?"
"
"I suppose nothing I do or say
will make you change your mind. I'm
telling you Adam, I'm not happy about this but I know I can't stop you. You're a grown man...it's your choice. I still wish you would reconsider."
"I wish I could too,
Ben placed his hand on Adam's arm,
"I know son. I just...I just wish
that sometimes, you could be more open with me."
Adam gave his father an affectionate
smile. This was still one of the hardest
things he had ever to do in his life.
Keeping secrets from his father was not a pleasant task. All that Adam could get out of this state of
affairs between him and his father was the thought that he was extremely
blessed to have Ben Cartwright as his father.
He couldn't ask for a more understanding father but it still didn't stop
him from feeling a wave of remorse even time he told his father a lie. It was regrettable that there was a part of
his life that he may never be able to share with his beloved father.
*****************************************************************
A few hours later, Adam was carrying
out the last of his preparations for his fishing trip. He was too absorbed in checking the straps on
the pack horse that he was taking with him, that he didn't hear Joe coming up
to him. When Joe had arrived home, Hoss had
greeted him and told him that Adam had decided to go away for a couple of days. Joe was a bit annoyed when heard this. He was not happy that Adam had decided to
forgo meeting Renee and her father once again in favour of something else. He, however, felt a little relieved at the
prospect that he wouldn't have to keep fighting with his brother over his
intentions to marry Renee.
"So...you're really going on
this fishing trip then?" Joe asked.
Adam jerked. He was a little surprised to find Joe on the
other side of the pack horse. Adam had
been hoping that he would be long gone before Joe came home. It was plain to see that plan had just gone
out the window. He curtly nodded
"Yes I am. Don't want to be around
here for the next couple of days."
"That figures. Since Renee and her father are coming here
tomorrow to stay for a few days."
Joe hesitated before continuing, "I expect we won't be seeing you
again until long after they leave."
"You got that right." Adam continued to check the pack horse.
"Fine
then.
If that's the way you feel about.
I'll see you when you get back."
Joe could feel his temper beginning to rise again.
"That's the way I feel about
it. It's a shame that you
don't." Adam turned to his horse
and mounted it. Grabbing the reins of the
pack horse, he was just about to move off when Joe stepped in front of his
horse.
"Not so fast big brother. This isn't finished yet. No more beating around the bush. I want to know what you really think."
Adam stared at Joe. He knew Joe wasn't going anywhere until he
got what he wanted. Adam at finally had
enough and wanting to get out of there as fast as he could, he decided to give
Joe what he wanted. "You want to
know what I think?
Well I'll tell you! She's no good
for you Joe. She's after something and I
can tell you, that I know it isn't you.
You'd better off with one of those saloon girls in town then you would
be with her. Now out
of my way!"
Adam kicked his horse and Joe jumped
out of the way. As he watched Adam ride
away, he could feel the anger boiling inside of him. He felt like going after his brother and
throttling the living daylights out of him.
Joe stood there with his fists clenched by his sides. How dare he insult Renee like that. He hadn't even
had the decency to meet and get to know her before he formed an opinion on what
she was like! Joe had no idea of what he
wanted to do next, so he continued to stand there staring off into the
distance.
*****************************************************************
Night had fallen and the streets of
After placing the watch back in his
pocket, he continued to wait. He had
ridden for a couple of miles, that afternoon, in the direction of the lake and
when he was sure he wasn't being followed, he had change direction and headed
into Virginia City. Meeting Renee
tonight was the number one priority at the moment. The offer he had for her had to made before it was too late.
If she was still the woman he remembered her to be, then she would
probably need a day or so to consider his offer and to find out what Joe had to
give her in return. Adam laughed. That girl always did know how to wrangle
anything out a man and he knew that she would be determined to get the possible
outcome for herself, no matter what the cost.
"Well...I see that you haven't
changed a bit." Adam turned to see Renee standing behind him. He politely did a half-bow in her
direction. She smiled knowingly back at
him. Yes, Adam thought, still as
beautiful as ever. A temptress if there
ever was one. Even though he had always
known what laid under that charming exterior of hers,
he still found her to be a little bit fascinating.
"And I see that you are still
the same." Adam replied. "I
was quite surprise to see you after all these years and in a place like
"We're both
the same, you and me, Mark Rydell. We both go where the money is and the money
just happens to be here." Renee
looked up and down at him, admiringly.
Still as handsome as ever - smiling that smile of his, showing off those
gorgeous dimples. Every once in a while,
ever since their last encounter, she would think of him and then chide herself
for being so stupid in letting a catch like him get away. She would then remember why she let him slip
so easily away. Gamblers were never that
reliable where money was concern.
"Well I know what brought me
here...rich ranchers and miners just waiting to be fleeced. The question that begs to be asked is this
then...was it a miner or a rancher?"
"A
rancher.
I plan on marrying him and taking him back to
Adam shook his head and
laughed. "Some things never change,
do they?" Adam brought up his hand
to lightly touch an errant blonde curl that was sitting on the side of her
face. He didn't like what he was about
to do Joe but it was either this or have her join the family and that was
something he was not willing to entertain.
He knew he'd have to perserve if he was going
to save his brother from the clutches of the beautiful Renee.
"You're right, Mark. Some things never change. No matter how hard I try to deny it...there
has always been that certain something between us. It's amazing how after all these years, we
can still pick up from we left. However,
I think we are beginning to digress from the original point of this
meeting. Your note did say something
about an offer that I couldn't refuse."
She placed her right hand on the lapel of his coat.
"Yes my dear, it most certainly
is amazing. As for my offer, I think it
is most definitely something you can't refuse." Adam slowly took his time, caressing her
right arm with his left hand. "Hmm..shall we...shall we find
somewhere more private so that we can discuss it." Adam raised an eyebrow and smiled "Your room perhaps?" He touched the side of her face lightly with
his right index finger. " I happen to know of a
back way into the hotel." he added matter of factly.
"I bet you do, Mark Rydell. I bet you
do." She coyly nodded and
sighed. There's was something about this
man that was just plain irresistable. Right now it was thoughts of him that were
occupying her mind and that suited her just fine. Remembering her previous encounters with Mark
was sending a small shiver throughout her body.
Joe Cartwright had certainly not come up to scratch in the way that Mark
had. It didn't matter though, Cartwright
was only an end to a means and he paled into insignificance when she compared
him to the man she was with now. It was
just a terrible shame that Joe wasn't more like Mark.
Adam put his arm around her waist and
gently lead her off in the direction of the hotel's
back entrance.
*****************************************************************
Renee stood on the porch faning herself. The
night was rather warm. As she looked
around she raised an eyebrow in disgust.
Dirt and dust everywhere...how could anybody bear to live in this place. She shook her
head. It took ages to get anywhere and
when you got there, there wasn't that much to do. Yes, she thought, the city was most
definitely the place to be. All of its
attractions and the never-ending excitment had always
fascinated her.
"Well I hope I didn't keep you
too long." Joe remarked as he approached her. She looked very beautiful tonight. He walked up to her and put his arms around
her waist.
She sighed as she nestled her head
on his chest. "No, you weren't gone
that long."
They stood there for a moment. Renee was itching to find out what Joe's
plans were for after they got married.
She had a feeling he would be proposing marriage at any moment now. The pride she felt as she recalled how easily
she was able to mask her real feelings and to pretend that she actually enjoyed
the provincial life out here was at times overwhelming. Joe had been taken hook, line and sinker and
that pleased her. Not many men had come
around as easily as Joe did, especially Mark Rydell. The thought of Rydell
sent another shiver through her body.
She quickly brought her emotions under control and got back to the
matter at hand. All that was left to do
was to convince Joe that the city was the place to be.
"Uhhh...Renee?" Joe put his hand under Renee's chin and
tilted her face towards him. The time
had come and he was certain of what her answer would be. How could she possibly say no. "Renee will you marry me?" he lovingly
whispered to her.
Renee beamed. She felt like jumping up and down but
restrained herself from doing so. She
had got what she wanted since the first time she had seen Joe and all that
lovely money he was carrying with him.
No more trying to work out where the next meal was coming from. From now on she could do whatever she
wanted. The thought of all that money
she was going to get was enough to make her burst. She enthusiastically answered yes to Joe's
proposal.
When he had gotten her answer, Joe
had initially wanted to shout and tell the whole world that Renee Smith wanted
to be his wife. He looked at her face
and that thought went out the window as quick as it had come. All he wanted now was to kiss her until she
couldn't breathe anymore and thusly set about doing so.
After a few minutes, Renee decided
she needed a break from Joe's amorous embraces.
Holding him at arms length, she smiled shyly "Joe, if you don't mind and if
you don't think I'm being too forward.
I've got some questions that need to be answer."
Joe nodded and escorted her to the
seat on the porch. After they had seated
themselves, Joe placed his arm around her shoulders. "Ask away. I hope they're not too hard."
Renee smiled sweetly "Firstly I
want to know where we will be living after we're married."
Fair question, Joe thought. "Why here of course. Well not here exactly that is. I have a cabin not far from here. I've been planning to do it up when the time
came to make it suitable for my wife and our family."
"Here!" Renee wrinkled her nose in disgust "But
I had my heart set on living in
Joe sighed. He could understand her predicament. He didn't like leaving idea of leaving his
home either so he guessed it must be the same for her. "Look, I understand how you feel but
you'll soon learn to love it out here. Everyone
does eventually. Besides if we moved to
Renee was confused. This didn't sound right. His family was rich. Why on earth would he have to work. "What about
your money? I thought..."
Joe interrupted her "I'm sorry
if you're under the impression that I have plenty of money. Sure Pa gives us a bit extra when we go away
on trips but other than what we only get what is due to us. We have to work for any money that we do
get."
Renee immediately stood up. "You're telling me that you're just a
working man! You have to work for every
single dime that you get?"
"Yes I do. But that shouldn't matter. Or does it?
If you love me then that's all that matters. Money shouldn't even come in to it." Joe was beginning a sinking feeling in the
pit of stomach.
"Who said anything about love. I've had a lot
more better offers than this before. In
fact I had one just last night!" By
now, Renee could see that she had been wrong about Joe Cartwright. How could she had
been fooled so easily? She had let go of
all pretence and was looking for a way out.
The deal Mark Rydell's had offer
her was looking better by the minute.
From what Rydell had told her last night, he
was giving her to till the end of the month to take up his offer and to meet
him at one of the places they used to frequent in New Orleans. Sam wasn't going to like this turn of events. But to hell with Sam. Remembering what had taken place the night before, she knew she had nothing to lose. The deal that Rydell
had placed before her was most definitely one she couldn't refuse.
Joe got up from the seat and
approached Renee. He could see that she
was irate and he wanted to make her understand his position. Renee took a step back as he came near her.
"No, this won't do Joe
Cartwright. You're not the man I thought
you were. When I first meet you in
Following her quickly inside, Joe
found Renee in the arms of her father crying hysterically. Ben and Hoss just stood there unsure of what to
make of the situation. Joe wanted to
apologise to her for giving her the wrong impression but she wasn't
listening. Sam Smith was completely
confused by this turn in events. He was
expecting a totally different outcome to the one he was facing now. When Renee indicated that she wanted him to
take up her to her room, he made his apologies and promptly took her upstairs.
When they had reached her room and
closed the door behind them, Renee immediately stopped crying. Sam shook his head thinking that he should've
known better. He had been through this a
hundred times. Renee told him of her
intention to leave that night and if he wanted to come with her he better not
put up any arguments.
Meanwhile, downstairs Joe just stood
there shocked to the core. What on earth
had just happened here? He was hoping
beyond hope that Renee would be feeling better in the morning. He wanted so much to clear up any
misunderstandings that they had between them.
******************************************************************
"Then they just up and left
without a word to anyone. In the middle of the night too and without a sound."
Hoss said shaking his head.
"Doesn't
surprise me at all." Adam smiled.
He had his back to Hoss and so Hoss couldn't see the pleased expression
on his face. He had just returned from
his fishing trip and Hoss had wasted no time in telling him what had happened
five days earlier.
"She was sure the most confusin' woman you've ever met. Likin' the place
one minute and then outta here the next." Hoss paused for a moment, "Somehow you
were right about her Adam. Say...how
come you knew anyways. You never met the
woman, so how could ya tell that..." Hoss stopped speaking suddenly as if the
answer to question he was going to ask had already been answered.
Adam turned to Hoss and raised an
eyebrow "Let's just say that I've met her type before and leave it at
that."
Hoss nodded in agreement "You'll get no argument from big
brother. But Joe...well that's whole
different bucket of fish."
"Speaking
of fish.
Here take this." Adam handed
Hoss a stack of fish. "Caught
them this morning. Thought they might do for dinner tonight."
"Yes siree. They most surely will do. Best get them to Hop Sing." Hoss licked his lips at the thought of the things
that Hop Sing could make with the fish.
He had started to make his way inside when he abruptly turned around,
"Hey Adam. I want to make sure. You only did what you had to do and nothin'
else right?"
"Yes Hoss I did what I had to
do and that was it." Adam
replied. Hoss then seemed to be
satisfied with that answer he had be given and continued to make his way
inside.
Adam returned to unloading the pack
horse. He was pleased that his plan had
turned out so well. He still regretted
the way he had gone about it but he had no other choice. Knowing exactly what Renee was like had
greatly helped in the whole scheme of things.
If it had been any other woman, then he would've been at his wits
end. When he had first met Renee, during
one of his undercover assignments for the government, he had found her totally
enchanting even though he knew her true nature.
It was a good thing that Joe would never find out the lengths to which
he had gone to in order to break Renee's hold on him. Adam wondered how Joe was fairing now that
Renee had departed from his life.
"Adam? Glad to see you've come back. I think there are some things we need to talk
over."
Adam turned to see Joe standing
behind him. That was the second time Joe
had come up on without a sound. Either
he was losing it or he had developed selective hearing where his family was
concerned. "Joe. I don't think there's much more I can say on
the subject. Hoss told me what
happened. All I can say is that I'm
sorry."
"I accept your apology Adam. But I still don't like the way you went about
it. What gets me is that you knew what
she was like all the time. You never
meet her and yet you knew."
"What can I say, Joe. Call it sixth sense if you will. I just had a feeling that she wasn't the one
for you." Adam waited for a few
seconds before continuing "So, how are you holding up?"
"I'm holding up just fine. I've been in far worst situations before and
gotten through them, so I'll expect I'll get through this one. I'm luckier then most men, I guess. I've got my family to support me."
"Look Joe. I am truly sorry about the fight we had. You know how it is...when we believe in
something so strongly no-one's ever going to change our minds about it. No hard feelings I hope."
Joe laughed "Yeah you're right
Adam. I'm sorry too." He approached Adam and held out his
hand. Adam took Joe's hand and shook it.
After standing there for a some time, Adam and Joe briefly nodded to each other. "I've got to take this stuff inside and
see
Joe watched his oldest brother
walked inside. He thought back to the
conversation that Adam had had with Hoss.
Earlier, Joe had come up the side of the house, stopping when he had heard
Hoss giving Adam the details of what happened with Renee. He was thinking about confronting Adam about
Renee, but when he caught the end of Hoss' and Adam's conversation he had
decided not too. It was obvious to Joe
that Hoss and Adam had some sort of secret understanding between themselves but
as to what it was he had no clue.
Going over what had happened over
the last week or so, Joe knew that Adam had been out to make sure that the marriage between
Renee and him never eventuate. Adam, he
recalled, had
stopped either Hoss, his father or himself taking up with the wrong woman on
several occassions.
One of the first times was when Hoss had fallen for Helen Layton. Adam had known of her true nature and had set
about proving it to Hoss. Joe shook his
head. Suddenly a light went on inside
Joe's head. Hang on a minute! He was beginning to realise that the
situation between Hoss and Helen Layton was no different to the situation that
he had been in with Renee. It was also
beginning to dawn on him that Adam must have known something about Renee. Remembering what Adam had said about meeting
her type before was now beginning to make sense. Adam must of met
Renee previously. That's why he had been
so keen to avoid meeting her. How could
of he had been so stupid as not to see that.
Oh yeah, I know why I couldn't see that.
He smiled sheepishly.
He rubbed the back of his neck with
his hand. Whatever the reason was that
had made Adam want to avoid meeting Renee must of been really important. He was practically certain that Hoss knew
something about it. Well, whatever it
was that Adam was involved in, Joe knew that he would
have to find out. He wasn't about to be
left out of whatever his brothers were up to.
He decided that he would have do his best to
find out exactly what it was. With that,
Joe firmly nodded and went inside to join his family.
THE END
AUGUST 2003