JUST ONE OF THOSE DAYS

by Julie-Ann S.

**********************************************

The front door to the ranch house at the Ponderosa slammed closed. Seated at the dining table, Adam, Hoss and Joe stared nervously at each other, each one of them hoping that one of the others would get up and see what was going on.

Adam cleared his throat. "Is that you Pa?"

"Yes it's me!" Ben shouted gruffly back.

The three brothers kept glancing at each other as they continued to listen. Their father was not in a good mood judging by the way he sounded and the noise he was making as he banged things down on the sideboard near the front door.

Hoss leant over to his side in an attempt to see what was his father was doing. "Everythin' ok Pa?"

"No everything is not okay." Ben said stiffly as he made his way to his chair at the dining table. Before sitting down, he stood and stared at his sons. Once again, as he had done so often in the past, he wondered where he went wrong as a parent. He then shook his head and let his gaze rest upon his eldest son. "Fine son, you are."

Adam cringed. Oh great Pa's mad at me. "Look Pa..."

"Don't look Pa at me, Adam. It's all your fault."

"My fault? What do you mean it's all my fault?" Adam stood up and stared intensely at his father. His stance was one of getting ready for any confrontation that might occur.

Ben could see that Adam was preparing for whatever he had to say. He was about to speak when he heard a chuckle coming from his right. He tore his gaze from Adam and looked towards the perpetrator. "Joseph?"

Joe smiled, as he regained his composure. Now was definitely not the time to start laughing out loud. "Sorry Pa." He took a deep breath in order to control himself. "I'm just glad that it's Adam and not me that's in trouble this time."

Upon hearing what Joe had said, Ben sighed and smiled a little. He turned back and placed his hand on Adam's shoulder. "Sit down, son."

Adam cocked his head in response to his father's request and cautiously took his seat. "Ok Pa."

Nodding, Ben took his seat and once again looked at his oldest son. "I'm sorry Adam for being so abrupt but if you knew the day I just had I think you'd be feeling the same way. It's just that sometimes it can be very hard trying explain what you are up to without giving away the fact that you work for the Secret Service."

"Ahh!" A small smile appeared on Adam's face. "I'm sorry Pa, but I did warn you that this might happen."

"Yes you did." Ben stopped as Hop Sing brought in his meal. Hop Sing, after placing the plate on the table, chastised Ben for being late and told him that he should come to dinner on time. After apologising to Hop Sing, Ben watched as the cook left shaking his head and muttering something in his native tongue.

As he ate his meal, Ben could tell that his sons were trying to work out with each other in a non-verbal fashion, who would ask the question they all wanted the answer to. Each time he lifted his eyes off his plate, his sons just smiled innocently at him.

After he had finished his meal and as he began drinking his coffee, Ben waited to see who would speak up first. He knew his sons wanted to know what had happened that day and he was quite content to bide his time and wait for them. Now that he had eaten, he could see that he was more annoyed than angry with what happened that day.

Joe stared at Adam and tilted his head towards his father. Adam gave Joe an exasperated look and sighed. "So Pa...how was your day?"

Ben grinned. He was now feeling much better and had even begun to relax a little. It was amazing what a good meal and a cup of coffee could do to one's attitude, he thought. Seeing that his sons were waiting, he spoke up. "Ok boys. I'll tell you." He took another sip of his coffee. "It started this morning..."

**********************************************

"Hmm...interesting move Roy." Ben began studying the chess board in front of him. He was at Roy Coffee's house and they were seated on the front porch playing a game of chess. The game had been progressing quite well and had been going on for just over a hour.

"Speaking of interesting moves, Ben. How is Adam these days?"

Ben raised his head and regarded his friend carefully. "Adam's fine. Why do you ask?"

Roy shrugged his shoulders slightly. "That's good to hear Ben. I'll only ask because he's been in and out of town a lot since he's come back home. I just thought he wasn't happy being back on the ranch after his travels around the world."

"Adam is quite happy to be back home, Roy." Ben was now beginning to feel uneasy due to Roy's sudden interest in how Adam was. He knew that ever since Roy had retired, the former sheriff still kept up with the comings and goings in Virginia City. Since Roy's house was situated on the road into town that lead from the Ponderosa, it made sense that he would notice Adam riding into town.

Seeing that Ben was deep in thought about something, Roy smiled. "So you don't mind Adam coming in here as much as he does."

"No I don't. Adam's a grown man and he can do as he pleases." He shrugged his shoulders in a casual fashion. "I suppose he comes in here to do the normal things. Same as any other man would."

Raising an eyebrow, Roy looked at Ben sceptically. "I don't think so, Ben. He comes in here at all times of the day and night. If I didn't know any better I'd swear he was up to no good."

Abruptly standing, Ben rubbed the back of his neck. "Look Roy, what Adam does with his free time is his business. I'm certainly not going to start prying into my son's life."

"That never stopped you before. As I recall you use to be quite interested in what your sons got up to here in town."

"That was years ago and I trust my sons. I raised them to be good and upstanding citizens."

"That may be so but that doesn't mean they won't get into trouble."

Ben nodded. "Yes I understand that but I think they are old enough to make sure that they don't." It was getting harder by the minute to deflect Roy's questions and it was starting to show.

Roy carefully regarded his old friend. He had the feeling that Ben was getting a bit irritated with his line of questioning. Adam's frequent trips into town had begun to intrigue him and from what he had heard just recently, the oldest Cartwright son was most definitely up to something.

Getting up from his chair, Roy walked over to Ben and placed a hand his shoulder. "I'm sorry Ben. I was curious that's all, especially after seeing Adam ride in this morning."

A look of mild surprise quickly came and went over Ben's face. He saw that Roy staring at him intensely and he smiled politely. "Thanks Roy." Going over to pick up his hat, Ben took a deep breath. "Well Roy, I've got other errands to run. I'll see you next time." He held out his hand.

After taking Ben's hand and shaking it, Roy nodded. "Yeah I understand, Ben. We can finish this game some other time."

**********************************************

Adam frowned. After listening to his father speak about what had happened with Roy this morning, he knew that he would have to start being more careful around the former sheriff in the future. He made a mental note to make sure that the next time he went into town, he would come in from another direction. From the sounds of it the old man may have retired but he had certainly not given up his life of being a sheriff.

Smiling apologetically at his father, Adam spoke reassuringly. "Sorry I didn't tell you about my being in town today. I hadn't plan on going in but something came up and I had to deal with it straight away."

Joe perked up. "Really Adam? So what came up?"

"What makes you think I'm going to tell you Joe?" Adam folded his arms and smirked.

"Can't blame a man for trying." Joe grinned.

Ben smiled and rose from the table. He then made his way to his favourite chair in front of the fireplace and sat down. His sons quickly followed suit and followed him into the great room.

Shortly after Ben had taken his seat, Hoss sat down on the settee. "Pa, is that it? Is that all that happened today?"

As Adam seated himself in his blue chair and smiled. "No Hoss. I have the feeling there's more to come."

"Yes Adam. You're right there is more to come. My visit with Roy was only the start." Ben gazed into the fire for a few moments. Thinking back on the day's activities, things weren't as bad as they had originally seemed. Telling his sons about what had eventuated during the day was about the best thing he could have done under the circumstances. It was definitely easing some of the tension that he had built up on his way home and when he thought about what was still to come, he grinned slightly.

Adam looked nervously at his father. It was good to see that his father was now feeling better and it was obvious that he was starting to enjoy telling them about his day. He then began to contemplate on how much his father had found out about what he had been up to that day. Knowing his father, he also knew that he would have to wait patiently to get his answer.

Taking a more comfortable position in his chair, Ben continued. "After I left Roy's house, I made my way down main street towards the International House, intent on getting some lunch. On my way there..."

**********************************************

"Mr. Cartwright."

Ben turned around to see who was calling his name. He was surprised to see that it was Viola Hedley. Briefly touching his hat, he acknowledged her. "Miss Hedley."

Viola smiled. "Oh Mr. Cartwright. Such a pleasure to see you. How are you?"

"I am well and you?"

"I'm fine thank you."

Carefully observing her, Ben was once again puzzled as to why his sons had such adverse reactions every time her name was mentioned. He, himself, had found Miss Hedley to be very pleasant and charming. In fact, exactly the type of woman, he wouldn't mind having for a daughter-in-law.

"Umm...Mr. Cartwright. I was wondering if you could help me?"

"Help you? In what way?"

"Well you see." Viola shifted nervously. "I usually don't do this sort of thing but I...I..."

Seeing that was she unsure about whatever it was that she was going to ask, he smiled benevolently in order to reassure her. "Please continue, Miss Hedley."

Taking a breath, Viola shyly smiled. "Well, Mr. Cartwright. I was wondering if you could ask your son Adam if he would like to come to a little soiree that I am having on Saturday afternoon?"

Ben laughed slightly. "If you want me to I will. Why haven't you asked him, yourself?"

"Oh I was going to when I saw him just a short time ago outside the Lending Library, but before I could reach him, he left in what seemed to be quite a hurry. I wanted to ask him before he made any other plans." She looked quite puzzled for a moment.

"I understand perfectly. Yes, I will ask him on your behalf."

Viola beamed. "Thank you Mr. Cartwright." She paused before continuing. "Your son must have had very important business to attend to, to be in such rush like that?"

"Yes he must have had." Ben began pondering what Adam could be possibly involved with now. Suddenly remembering that he wasn't alone, he smiled. "Well if that's all then?"

"Oh yes. That's all. Thank you for your help Mr. Cartwright." She nodded demurely.

Tipping his hat, Ben smiled. "My pleasure, Miss Hedley."

After making her farewells, Ben watched admiringly for a moment as she made her way down the street.

**********************************************

Lowering his head a little Adam, took a deep breath. When he had left the Lending Library, he hadn't been in good mood. He was just thankful that he had the good sense to look around before getting on his horse. If he hadn't he would've surely would have been accosted by Viola.

Joe grinned and looked over at Adam who was now slouching in his chair.. "So Adam, Viola wants you to come to a soiree on Saturday afternoon. Imagine that."

Hoss was trying to stop the grin that was forming on his face. "Well I'll be...say hello to Miss Viola for me when you get there." He winked at Adam.

Adam tilted his head sideways, in the direction of his brothers and leered at them. "You two know perfectly well that I have no intention of going."

"Now Adam. Miss Hedley is a charming and very beautiful woman and I don't see why you wouldn't want to go?" Ben shook his head slightly. Even when he was telling his sons about his encounter with Miss Hedley, he had seen their reactions at the mere mention of her name. It was still very confusing why his sons and now, ever since the dance last week, Candy, had such strange reactions every time that she was talked about. If he didn't know better, he could swear that they were scared of her.

"I'm sorry, Pa. I have other plans on Saturday but I don't see why Joe couldn't go. She seemed to like Joe just as much as me." Adam smiled innocently at Joe.

Ben nodded and gazed in Joe's direction. "Yes, if I remember rightly she came here to see you too. How about it Joe? Since your brother can't make it, I'm sure Miss Hedley won't mind you taking your brother's place."

Immediately upon hearing this request, Joe stopped his grinning. "Uh...not me. What I'm mean to say is that I'm busy too. Ain't I Hoss?" He tapped Hoss on the arm.

Hoss turned to look at Joe, who was now silently begging him to say yes. Seeing that his brother needed his help, he nodded quickly. "Ahh...yeah that's right we got to umm...go and...ahhh do that thing we've been plannin' to do."

Glancing at all three of his sons, Ben sighed. "Well you boys sort it out amongst yourselves. I just hope Miss Hedley won't be disappointed."

"I'm sure she won't be Pa. She hasn't gone through all of the single men...oww" Joe bent down and as he began rubbing his leg, he glared at Hoss, who was staring innocently up at the ceiling.

"Ahh...what Joe means to say Pa is that Miss Hedley will have no problems finding someone to come to her soiree on Saturday." Adam sat up straighter in his chair. "So...is that all that happened today?" he asked reluctantly.

Still not knowing quite what make of what just happened, Ben shook his head. "No son. After I had parted ways with Miss Hedley and had lunch I was on my way down to the bank do some business when I ran into Clem Foster...

**********************************************

"Afternoon, Ben"

"Clem, nice to see you. How are things?"

"Fine." Clem frowned. "Ben, I have something to ask you?"

Ben nodded. "Sure Clem. What is it?"

Clem rubbed his chin with his fingers, while he tried to work out a way he could phrase what he wanted to say. "Well Ben, it's kind of hard to put into words."

Looking at the sheriff, Ben wondered what the man wanted to know. Going through what he was aware of that had happened since he had last seen Clem, he couldn't work out what the question was about. Knowing that his boys hadn't been involved in any trouble recently, he was certain that it couldn't be anyone one of them, unless... Ben closed his eyes briefly. He was now dreading hearing what Clem's question was.

"Well, Ben. I don't know how to put it but here goes. The other night at a certain saloon in a, let's say not so respectable part of town, there was a brawl. The fight had been going for a while by the time I had arrived." Clem studied Ben closely for any reactions to what he had been saying.

Seeing that Ben was passively listening to him, Clem continued. "After my deputies and I had managed to break up the fight, I happened to notice your son Adam at the back of the saloon. Now don't get me wrong, Ben, I'm not saying that Adam was involved in any way. I am more curious to know why he was there in the first place. It's not exactly the sort of place I would expect to find a Cartwright in."

Lowering his head, Ben tried to think of something appropriate to say. Adam would have had a good reason to be in place like that in the first place and Ben had no doubt that was in relation to his son's Secret Service work.

Raising his head, Ben smiled humbly. "Yes you're right it isn't a place you would expect to find me or my sons in but this time was an exception." He knew he was about to tell a lie and it wasn't settling well with him. "You see Adam was looking for a ranch hand of ours who had gone missing the previous night."

"Really? Well this is the first I've heard about this. Usually you bring us in to help."

"Yes we do but since it was only a matter of our man not returning from a night on the town, we thought we wouldn't bother you. You, yourself know how things can be with some of the ranch hands around here. Once they get a bit of money, they seem to go a little crazy."

Clem nodded. "Yeah, I suppose you're right." Clem looked at Ben warily. "Well just tell Adam the next time he happens to turn up at a bar room brawl, not to leave so quickly. I usually like to get statements from all the eyewitnesses."

"Yes I'll let him know. Thanks again Clem for appraising me of the situation."

"You're welcome, Ben." Clem held out his hand.

Ben took Clem's hand and shook it. "I have to be getting to the bank before it closes."

"See you next time, Ben."

"Good-bye Clem." Ben then briefly watched as Clem made his way down the street back to his office. He had a sneaking suspicion that Clem didn't quite believe everything that he had just told him. Knowing there wasn't much more he could about it, Ben continued on his journey to the bank.

**********************************************

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Adam thought about the night Clem had been asking his father about. He had been certain that Clem was too busy cleaning up after the fight to notice that he was there. As soon as he had seen Clem, Adam knew he had to get out of there as soon as possible but his business at the saloon took longer than he had expected. A feeling of regret was now beginning to sweep over him as he debated with himself, if it had been such a good idea to tell his family about his life. Having his father lie for him was very unnerving.

Somehow, Ben could tell Adam was having second thoughts about his decision to tell them about his job in the Secret Service. Leaning over in his chair, Ben smiled at his oldest son. "Adam."

Adam stared at his father for a moment. "I'm sorry Pa. I just...I just..." He abruptly stood up, frustrated at not knowing what to say.

"It's okay son. I understand. I know my lying to someone on your behalf is something that is hard for you to accept." He got up and went over to Adam and placed his hands on his son's shoulders. "But I rather lie for you, knowing the real reason why I'm doing it. I wouldn't of done it if I didn't know what you were up to and if I didn't believe in what you are doing."

Smiling weakly, Adam nodded. "Thanks Pa." He felt another weight come off his shoulders. "I'm glad you told me how you felt. It has helped more than you'll ever know." After briefly squeezing his father's arm, both men resumed their seats.

"From what I heard so far you've been pretty busy lately. Care to tell me what you were up to?"

Adam shot a look of disbelief at Joe. "You never give up do you?"

"Nope." Joe smiled smugly.

Adam rolled his eyes and smirked. He was feeling much better after the words of encouragement from his father. There would be more times like this ahead but at least he had found comfort in the knowledge that his father didn't mind so much and that most of all, he approved in what his son was doing.

Leaning back in his chair, Adam returned his gaze to his father. "So Pa, what happened next?"

Ben smiled. He was glad that he had helped relieve some of the anxiety that Adam had begun to feel when he had been talking about his meeting with Clem. Telling Adam that he approved of his job in the Secret Service was the right thing to do. He realised that he should of done it much earlier than this. Now that it was out, he was seeing what had happened today in a better light. By telling Adam how he felt, it was as though he had relieved himself of the same burden that Adam had been carrying.

"Pa? You ok?"

"Yes I'm fine, Hoss. Got caught up in my thoughts there for a moment." He grinned. "Now where were we? Oh yes. After my business at the bank had concluded it was late afternoon and I had decided it was time to come home. However, on my way back to the livery stable..."

**********************************************

"You're Ben Cartwright ain't you?"

Glancing to his left, Ben saw an old man. The man had stepped out from behind the tree near rear entrance of the livery stable. "Yes I am. Do I know you?"

The man shook his head. "Nah. You don't know me but I know you. Who in this town doesn't know of the great Ben Cartwright?"

"How can I help you?" Ben carefully observed the man he was talking to. He was swaying a little and reeked of alcohol. His first inclination was that the man was after some money to buy some more whiskey.

"I need for you to give a message to one of your sons." The man blinked a couple of times.

"One of my sons?" Once again Ben had the feeling it had something to do with Adam. Nearly everyone he met today had business to do with Adam. It was getting so that he couldn't make a move without hearing something about his oldest son's activities in town and it was starting to annoy him a little.

"Yeah, your son Adam is the one I'm wantin' you to give a message to." The man wiped his brow, which was sweating profusely, with his shirt sleeve.

"Why don't you come by the ranch and give it to him, yourself? Or how about the next time he is in town?" Ben was now also getting tired of being Adam's personal messenger service. He wished his son would conduct his affairs a bit more efficiently and more discretely then he was apparently doing at present.

The man shook his head violently. "No it's gotta be now, so he's knows about it the next time we meet."

Ben sighed. "Alright. What is it?"

"Just tell Adam, that the next time it's gonna cost him double."

"Double what?"

"Never mind that Mr. Cartwright. Just give him the message." The man nodded and started to walk away.

"Hang on a minute." Ben shouted. "You forgot to tell me who you are. I think my son would like to know who the message came from."

"Oh yeah." The man paused. "I supposed a busy man like your son needs to know these things. Just tell him it's from Mitch. Now if you don't mind I best be headin' for the Bucket of Blood. Tonight's usually a good crowd and I can get a few free drinks if I play my cards right."

Watching Mitch, walk away from him, Ben just looked bewildered. He was finding out more about Adam's life then he had in a long time. Adam was usually a very private person and tended to keep things to himself but if this kept up, he wondered how much longer it would be before he really found out something about Adam that he didn't want to hear.

**********************************************

Hoss shook his head sadly. "Boy Adam, for a Secret Service agent, you haven't been very secret much lately have you?"

"No haven't. I admit that in the last month or so, I might of become a bit more relaxed but upon hearing what Pa's been saying I think that I'm going to have to be a bit more careful in the future."

"Well Adam, there's not much I can say in relation to that." Ben smiled.

Adam grinned. "It's okay, Pa. You've done enough already. You won't have to worry about anything like that in the future. I'm just sorry that it all caught up with you on the same day. It must not have been pleasant."

Ben chuckled slightly. "Originally it wasn't. On the way home all I guess that I just made a mountain out of a mole hill. That's why I was angry when I came home. Now I've told you about what happened today, I feel a bit relieved and a little more understanding of your situation. I only had to avoid telling people the truth for just a few times today. You have to do it all the time."

"Yeah, but at least now I don't have to lie to you, three." Adam smiled warmly at his father and two brothers. "It was hard when I first came home. Not being totally honest was tearing me apart inside."

Slightly surprised at Adam's confession, Ben nodded once. "It must have been bad. It's a hard thing to do to lie to the people you love."

After a few moments of silence, Ben looked over at Joe. His brow was knitted and it was obvious that he was thinking deeply. "Joseph?"

Joe snapped out of his reverie. "Oh sorry, Pa. I was just trying to work out who Mitch is."

Adam groaned. He wondered how much longer Joe's obsession with his work was going to last. It was plain to see that those dime store novels Joe loved to read so much was beginning to affect his thinking. After making a mental note to try and get Joe to read something else, he began to rise. "You sure did have an interesting day, Pa. It's getting late so I think I better turn in."

Grinning Ben, put up his hand to stop Adam from leaving. "I'm not finished yet. There was one more person."

A look of concern swept across Adam's face. He began to going through the list of people he knew or had dealings with in town who knew his father. Failing to come up with someone, he sat down, the confusion evident on his face. "I don't understand, Pa."

"You will Adam. In fact once I tell your brothers what she said, I think you'll be the one answering questions for a change."

Adam frowned. Who on earth was Pa talking about. Then all of a sudden it hit him. "Oh no!"

"Oh yes." Ben was smiling a little at the evident discomfort Adam was suffering and he was glad. Adam needed something like this every now and then to prove that he was human just like everybody else. Even Hoss and Joe were enjoying this unexpected turn in events. It was one of the rare times that Adam Cartwright actually looked like he wasn't in control of his emotions.

Immediately forgetting about Mitch, Joe was curious to see what Adam had gotten himself involved with now. The mention of a woman, was making it even more interesting. The only other woman that Adam had reacted strangely to in recent times was Viola Hedley. A foreboding thought then crossed Joe's mind. He gazed upwards and silently began praying that there wasn't another Viola Hedley running around loose in Virginia City.

Hoss impatiently turned to his father. "Well Pa, out with it. You've been keepin' us waitin' long enough."

"Yes so I have. After meeting Mitch, I walked into the livery stable, intent on getting my horse and leaving town before I ran into any more people who wanted to speak to me about Adam..."

**************************************************

"Howdy Mr. Cartwright."

"Howdy Slim." Ben smiled as he greeted the livery hand.

"Busy day Mr. Cartwright?"

"Yes a very busy day." Ben walked grabbed his saddle off the rail and went to over to his horse.

He began saddling his horse and was pre-occupied with thinking about what people had said about Adam, that he failed to notice someone come up beside him.

"Excuse me. I couldn't help over-hearing but did Slim say your name was Cartwright?"

Ben tore his attention away from his thoughts and the job of saddling his horse to see who had addressed him. It was the young lady he had noticed when he had first entered the building. She had long brown hair that was tied in a braid and a pleasant face. He didn't know who she was and surmised that she must be a recent arrival in town as he hadn't seen her around before.

"Yes, ma'am." He tipped his hat. "Ben Cartwright's the name."

"Hmm" She frowned a little. "You don't happened to be related to an Adam Cartwright by any chance?"

Not Adam again, was the first thought that raced across his mind. Rolling his eyes, Ben nodded solemnly. All he could think of was what had Adam done now. It was plain to see that son of his had more irons in the fire than anybody else he knew about. "He is my son, Miss..."

"Oh sorry, in my haste I forgot to introduce myself." She held out her hand. "Miss Jane Talbot. I recently became the owner of the Lending Library here in town."

Taking her hand and shaking it a little, Ben smiled kindly. "Ahh I had heard that the Library had been sold. Now I understand, you are acquainted with my son through that."

Jane bit her lip. "Umm, Mr. Cartwright, it is true I became acquainted with your son through him paying a visit to the Library but not in the way I suspect you are thinking."

"Oh?" Ben raised an eyebrow. "I assume he came into the Library to get some books. My son is an avid reader."

"I suppose that his original purpose may have been that but that's not they way it transpired."

"I'm afraid to ask what happened." Ben looked questionably at the young lady.

"You see Mr. Cartwright, earlier today an incident occured and well..." Jane took a deep a breath. "How can I put this delicately." She paused again and nodded firmly. "That high and mighty son of yours interferred when he had no right to."

Ben was slightly taken aback by what Miss Talbot had said. "I'm sorry but I don't quite understand."

"I was involved in a rather delicate situation concerning another man, who let's say was making unwelcomed advances towards me. I had the situation well in hand until your son came along. He somehow got the impression that I needed rescuing and proceeded just to do that."

"I don't know what to say, Miss Talbot. My sons have always been the type to help out any ladies in trouble." A perplexed look came over Ben's face. He had always prided himself on the fact that he had taught his sons to be respectful of women but he was suddenly confused by what he was hearing. Most women would be gushing praise and thanks by now but this one was different.

"That may be so, Mr. Cartwright but not all women are some poor damsel in distress waiting for a knight in shining armour to rescue them. Why in this day and age that would be plain ridiculous. If I had that attitude I'd never get anything done."

"You have a point. Once again, I'm sorry if my son Adam has caused you any distress. I will let him know how you feel on the subject."

Jane smiled. "Oh need to worry about that Mr. Cartwright. He knows how I feel."

"Really?" Ben wondered for a moment what she had told Adam in order to get her message across. "I do have one question though. Why tell me about this?"

"Well, Mr. Cartwright. In my anger, I neglected to tell Adam that he is welcome at the Library anytime so long as he just comes in to get books and nothing else. You and the rest of your family are also welcome to come to the Library as well, however I hope you will be glad to know that restriction I have applied to Adam doesn't apply to the rest of the Cartwrights."

Ben grinned. "Thank you. I will relay that message to him."

"I suppose you think I'm a strange kind of person. What I mean to say is that I don't exactly act like any of the other women around here."

"Yes that is true, you aren't like any of the other women around here. In fact I think it would do Adam some good to know that not all women aren't just sitting around waiting for him to come and rescue them. I'm afraid at times all of my sons somehow get the idea that women are very delicate creatures and need a man to help them. I'm guilty of the same thoughts myself."

"Yes, I suppose there are some women out there who do need rescuing but I'm not one of them. Once you get to know me, Mr. Cartwright you'll see I'm not all that bad or that unconventional. I'm afraid, however, Adam may have a different opinion about me for some time to come." She smiled graciously at Ben. "It's time that I was headed back home. It's has been nice meeting you Mr. Cartwright. I do hope that you will stop by at the Library."

"I intend to." Ben tipped his hat at her again.

After making their farewells, Ben watched Jane leave. He didn't know what quite to think of Miss Jane Talbot, but he had already decided that she would be a very intriguing woman to know.

**********************************************

Joe and Hoss stared at Adam as they waited for him to say anything about Jane Talbot and what had happened earlier in the day.

Seeing that Adam was remaining tight-lipped and not saying a word, Joe let out an exasperated "Well?"

Adam casually looked at Joe under hooded eyelids. "Well what?"

"Well you gonna tell us or will we have to ask Jane Talbot ourselves?"

Hoss nodded. "Yeah Adam, how 'bout it. It couldn't be as bad as that incident with you know who."

Adam shook his head slightly. "No, it wasn't as bad as that incident. Let's say it was more of a shock."

Ben smirked. "It must of been. Miss Talbot did say that she got her message across to you."

"She certainly did at that." Adam begun rubbing the back of his head as he remembered what she did.

Letting out a very audible sigh, Joe folded his arms. "Well you gonna tell or not?"

"I'm thinking that maybe I shouldn't tell you but then knowing you Joe, you'll probably head off to the Lending Library and endeavour to find out for yourself." Adam looked thoughtful for a moment. "But then if I let you do that, you might receive the same treatment I got from the delightful Miss Talbot and then I would end up hearing all about it from her and you."

The way Adam said delightful implied to the other three Cartwrights that he obviously thought that Jane Talbot was anything but delightful and they all smirked a little. Hoss, Joe and Ben were beginning to find it amusing that there was at least one woman out there who was immune to Adam Cartwright's charm.

Seeing the smirks, Adam knew he had to tell them the rest. His apparent dislike of Jane Talbot was once again coming to the fore. He could see that she was far too independent for his liking and he knew that if he spend to much time in her company, it would lead to a very big clash of personalities.

Taking a breath, he smiled and said sarcastically. "The delightful Miss Talbot, after I helped her out of an very embarrassing situation, thanked me by hitting me on the head with a book."

Silence reigned for only a few seconds before the other three started howling with laughter. Adam rolled his eyes and prepared himself for the onslaught that was going to come.

Joe was clutching his sides and he spoke in between laughs. "She whacked you on the head with a book! Pa was right when he said books affected your thinking."

"Well I thought I wouldn't never live to see the day that a woman didn't fall into your arms after you helped her." Hoss said as he took a break from his bout of laughing. "It just goes to show that pigs do fly backwards."

Ben was having little success getting back to a more serious tone. "What can I say Adam. It's not every day I get to meet a woman that is not impressed by your good looks and charm."

Adam grimaced. "Yeah, well I wasn't that impressed by her either. All I did was what any of you three would have done. I was only helping the lady out." He was slowly losing control of his temper as he continued dramatically. "Then what does she do to thank me. She hits me on the head with a book." This brought another howl of laughter from Joe.

Standing up, he sighed heavily. He had to go before he lost any more control. Just thinking about what Jane Talbot had said to him afterwards when he confronted her about hitting him on the head was beginning to make him very mad. The heated argument he had with her was now back at the forefront of his mind. "If that's it then. I'm going to bed."

"Yes that's it." Ben looked at Adam, his laughter had died down considerably as he watched Adam get more irritated by the minute. "Good night Adam."

After wishing his father and brothers a good night, Adam quickly made his way upstairs. He had a lot to think about once he calmed down. Plans had to be made to ensure that his father wouldn't have another day like today.

Smiling Ben got up from his chair. "I think I'll have another drink before turning in myself." As he made his way into the kitchen, Ben thought about his day and decided that it wasn't that bad after all. It had been just one of those days. One good thing that had occurred however, was that he had learnt more about Adam and his way of life. Even though his oldest son was at the moment a bit put out because of Jane Talbot, deep down he knew that Adam would get through it calmly and rationally. Yes, there would be more times like this ahead, of that Ben had no doubt but at least he was sure that everything would work out in the end.

THE END

FEBRUARY 2004

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