The
Course of True Love…
By Rona
The general
store was
always crowded with sacks and barrels of things everywhere you looked.
Today,
Joe thought there seemed to be more space for customers to walk about
in, and he
glanced round, seeing odd gaps here and there. There had been a bad
storm the
previous day and Joe guessed that the supply wagon had not yet arrived.
At the counter
in front of
Joe was a woman clutching a baby. Joe looked at the baby incuriously,
seeing
that it was very young. It was also sound asleep in its mother’s arms.
He
fished in his pocket for the list of supplies that they needed while
the woman
finished up her shopping.
“Thank you, Mrs
Smith,”
Cameron, the storekeeper, said. “Hi, Joe. What can I do for you?”
“Here’s the
list,” Joe
replied, handing it over. He glanced at the woman as she fumbled in her
reticule, putting away her change. She was much younger than Joe had
expected –
in fact, he wouldn’t have put her age above 20, if that, which made her
younger
than he was.
“We’re expecting
the supply
wagon any minute,” Cameron told Joe, drawing the young man’s attention
back.
“You’ll have to wait for it before you can get this flour and coffee.”
“No problem,”
Joe replied,
cheerfully. “I can wait. It would be a tragedy if we didn’t have flour
and
coffee at the Ponderosa. I’ll come back for it.”
“Sure thing,
Joe,” Cameron
agreed. “I’ll start gathering the rest of the supplies for you.”
Turning to leave
the store,
Joe saw that Mrs Smith was struggling to pick up her shopping and hold
her
baby. “Can I help you, ma’am?” Joe asked politely, tipping his hat.
“Well, thank you
Mr…” She
let the sentence trail off and Cameron jumped in before Joe could say
anything.
“Mrs Smith, this
is Joe
Cartwright of the Ponderosa ranch. Joe, this is Mrs Smith. She just
moved into
town.”
“Pleased to meet
you,” Joe
smiled.
“Likewise,” Mrs
Smith
returned. She tilted her head to look at him for the first time and
smiled. Joe’s
smile widened. Mrs Smith was one of the most beautiful women had had
ever seen.
Her eyes were as green as his own and the hair that peeped out from
under her
fashionable hat was a coppery colour. Her skin was fair and her teeth
were
straight and white. “Thank you, Mr Cartwright; I would welcome your
help.”
Reflecting that
it was a
pity this girl was married, Joe picked up her parcels, grinned at
Cameron and
followed Mrs Smith out of the store. It was a warm day, and he saw Mrs
Smith
move the baby so that the sun wasn’t shining directly on its face.
“Cute baby,”
he remarked, more to make conversation than anything else. Joe wasn’t
even sure
if the child was a girl or a boy.
“Thank you, Mr
Cartwright,”
she replied.
“Please, call me
Joe,” he
asked. “I always think people mean my pa when they call me Mr
Cartwright.” He
caught a glimpse of her face. “If you think that’s appropriate,” he
added
hastily. “If your husband won’t mind.”
“I’m a widow,”
she replied.
“So my husband won’t mind. Very well, Joe, but you must call me
Caitlin.”
“It’ll be my
pleasure,
Caitlin,” he responded. “I’m so sorry about your husband.” He paused
for a
moment. “What’s the baby’s name?”
“She’s called
Marie,”
Caitlin replied, looking down on the sleeping infant. “She’s 8 weeks
old
tomorrow.”
“My mother’s
name was
Marie,” Joe told her. They smiled at each other.
“You say was,”
Caitlin
ventured. She wasn’t sure how to go on.
“She died when I
was very
young,” Joe replied, saving her embarrassment. “I don’t really remember
her
very clearly.”
“Just like Marie
won’t
remember her father,” Caitlin sighed. “He died three months before she
was
born.”
“I’m sorry,” Joe
repeated.
“That must be very hard for you. Do you have family here?”
“No,” she
replied. “My
parents are back east. My in-laws are both very elderly. When Simon
died, I
stayed with them for a while and went home for a while, but after Marie
was
born, I realised that I had to make a fresh start. Back home, I was
Simon
Smith’s widow and I wasn’t allowed to just be me, Caitlin. So I made
the
decision to move here.”
“That was very
brave with a
new baby,” Joe marvelled.
“Foolish, more
like,”
Caitlin smiled. “But Simon left me money and I can afford to get some
help. I’m
very lucky, really. I could have been left destitute.” She smiled
again, but
there was a wistful edge to it now. “There are advantages to marrying a
man
much older than yourself,” she added. She stopped in front of a small
house.
“Thank you for your help, Joe,” she repeated.
“Let me take
these inside
for you,” Joe insisted. The baby was just beginning to stir. Caitlin
smiled her
thanks. “How much older than you was your husband?”
“I’m 19,”
Caitlin replied,
matter-of-factly. “And Simon was 45.” She tried to smile brightly, but
tears
trembled on the edges of her lashes. “It didn’t seem like a big gap.”
The tears
suddenly broke free and Joe was embarrassed. But after a moment, he
found that
he had put his arms round her, and Caitlin was leaning on his shoulder,
sobbing
quietly.
After a couple
of moments,
Marie woke and began to cry. Caitlin sniffed, and broke away from Joe,
horrified at how forward she had been with this young man she had only
known
about half an hour. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” she apologised, her fair skin
staining
with colour.
“Don’t be,” Joe
replied.
“You’re alone and I’m your friend. Aren’t I?” he coaxed and she smiled.
“Yes, you are.
Thank you.
My first friend here in town.”
“But not your
last, I’d
bet,” Joe assured her and politely tipped his hat before taking his
leave.
****************
“Well, nice of
you to come
home at last,” Ben remarked as Joe pulled the wagon to a halt. “Was
there a
queue at the saloon?”
“No, there was a
wait for
the supply wagon to arrive,” Joe replied, jumping down from the seat.
“It got
held up by yesterday’s storm and it was real late arriving in. Sorry it
took so
long.” He reached for the top sack of flour.
“I was kidding,
son,” Ben
chided, gently. “You’re not that late.” He watched Joe carry the sack
over to
the kitchen door and drop it down. “See anyone you knew?”
“Not really,”
Joe answered,
picking up the next item. “I met the person who bought O’Leary’s
cottage
though. A Mrs Smith, a widow.”
“Well, I hope
you didn’t
meet her in the saloon,” Ben joked.
“No, the store,”
Joe
replied, his eyes twinkling furiously. A smile tugged at the corner of
his
mouth. “She’s a real nice lady,
“That was kind
of you,” Ben
approved.
“She couldn’t
manage the shopping
and the baby,” Joe added, carrying a crate of vegetables over.
“Baby?” Ben
queried.
“Uh-huh,” Joe
confirmed,
still diligently unloading the supplies. He was finding it hard to keep
his
face schooled to neutrality.
“Which baby is
this, Joe?”
Ben asked, totally confused.
“Why, her baby,
of course,”
Joe responded. “Marie her name is, just like Mama. She’s 8 weeks old
and as
cute as a button.”
“But I thought
you said
this lady is a widow,” Ben said.
“She is,” agreed
Joe,
deciding that the teasing had better stop there if he wanted to sit
down for
his supper that night. “Caitlin’s 19 and she was widowed about 5 months
ago.
Her husband was much older than she was.”
Pursing his
lips, Ben
sought to look disapproving. “You rascal!” he scolded. “Winding me up
like
that!” He shook his head at Joe, but he couldn’t stop a smile breaking
out. Joe
grinned back. “You seem to know an awful lot about her,” he went on.
“Could it
be that the young widow is pretty?”
“She’s
beautiful,” Joe
replied. “And she’s a very nice girl.”
“Joe, just
remember that
she is newly widowed,” Ben reminded him gently. “Her emotions will be
very
confused right now.”
“I know that,
Pa,” Joe
replied, blithely and Ben almost winced aloud. He could see how keen
Joe was on
his new friend and he hoped that his carefree son wouldn’t get his
heart
broken.
**********************
It was unusual
for Joe to
be so keen to go to church, Ben thought as they rode in. Yet he hadn’t
had to
call Joe more than once and there were none of the customary attempts
to avoid
going. Joe found the sitting still in church a real chore and Ben
sometimes
wondered if his son would ever get over his fidgets.
As they hitched
the horses
to the rail outside the church, Ben caught Joe scanning the people who
were arriving
for the service. Amused, Ben suddenly understood his son’s sudden
desire to be
in church; he hoped Caitlin Smith would be there. Ben, who had much
more
experience with babies than Joe, knew that it was unlikely, but he
didn’t say
anything. If Joe mentioned her name, Ben resolved he would tell him
that babies
generally didn’t keep very good time.
As they sat down
in the
pew, Joe suddenly turned to Ben and a brilliant smile lit his face.
“There’s Caitlin,”
he whispered and pointed discreetly in her direction. She was sitting a
couple
of rows in front of them on the other side of the aisle.
Looking in that
direction,
all Ben could see was the slim figure and the copper-coloured hair. The
end of
a shawl hung down by her hip and Ben guessed that she had brought the
baby with
her. Marie was clearly asleep and Caitlin had taken a seat where she
could make
a discreet exit if necessary. Ben couldn’t see her face, but he nodded
and
smiled at Joe, laughing inwardly when he saw his son settle back
contentedly.
It was one of
the most
peaceful services that Ben could remember with Joe present. How much of
the
sermon actually took root in Joe’s brain was debatable, but at least he
didn’t
have to be reminded to sit still about 20 times. He pretended not to
notice
when Joe leapt from the pew as the congregation began to leave. Sure
enough,
Joe made a bee-line for Caitlin’s side.
“Hi there,” he
called and
Caitlin smiled at him.
“Hello, Joe, how
nice to
see you here.” She shifted the baby’s position. “How are you?”
“I’m absolutely
fine,” Joe
replied. “How are you? And how’s this little lady?” He leaned over to
peek into
the shawl.
“Heavy!” Caitlin
laughed.
“I wasn’t sure if she’d sleep this long, but it was so nice to get out
of the
house.”
“I’ll take her
if you’d
like,” Joe offered, although he always felt rather handless when it
came to
babies. He liked children and children liked him, but he’d had very
little to
do with babies.
“Are you sure?”
Caitlin
asked, but she handed Marie over with nary a qualm when Joe nodded.
Together, they
walked up
the aisle to the door and Ben, who was chatting to the minister,
thought that
they looked like any young couple with their first child. The thought
created a
pang through his heart. He wanted his sons to get married and have
children and
he had been younger than Joe when he had been widowed, but he wasn’t
sure that
this young woman was the right one for Joe. He knew that he was
reacting to the
fact that she had been married to an older man, and that he didn’t want
Joe to
take on a ready-made family, knowing how difficult that could be.
Chiding
himself mentally for pre-judging the woman, he stepped aside as Joe
introduced
her to the minister. They spoke briefly before Joe turned to Ben.
“Caitlin, this
is my
father, Ben Cartwright. Pa, this is Caitlin Smith.” Joe beamed at Ben.
“And
this little lady is Marie Smith.” He tilted the baby so that Ben could
admire
her.
“How do you do,
Mrs Smith,”
Ben replied, shaking her hand. He could see why Joe was so taken with
her.
“I’m so pleased
to meet
you, Mr Cartwright. Joe was such a big help to me the other day. I
don’t know
how I would have got home without his aid.” Caitlin beamed up at him.
“I’m glad to
hear it,” Ben
replied. “And what a lovely little lady this is. She looks like you,”
he added.
For a moment, a
cloud
passed over Caitlin’s face. “Thank you,” she responded. “But she
actually looks
like her late father.” The smile she produced was rather strained, but
Ben
pretended not to notice.
“Well, she is a
beauty,”
Ben remarked. He glanced up as Hoss and Adam came over.
“Hey, Joe, you
look right
purty with a baby in yer arms,” Hoss called as he drew near. He tipped
his hat
to Caitlin. “Ma’am.”
“This is my
brother Hoss,” Joe
explained, looking pained. “And that’s my other brother Adam,” he
added, as
Adam came into view.
“Hello,” Adam
said, smiling
at her. He moved to peer at the baby, and just at that moment, Marie
opened her
eyes and realised at once that she was no longer with her mother. Joe’s
look of
dismay as the baby gave vent to her ire was hilarious.
“I’d better go,”
Caitlin
said, reaching for the baby. “It was so nice to meet you all. I hope to
see you
again soon. Goodbye.” She hurried away, clutching the screaming infant
to her.
“She seems a
very nice
girl,” Ben commented as they went back to the horses.
“And you sure
looked the
part holding that baby,” Adam added in a teasing tone. “Better watch
out, Joe;
she could be looking for a new father for that baby.”
“That’s uncalled
for!” Joe
protested. “Caitlin was widowed a few months ago. How could you suggest
that
she’s looking for another husband already? You don’t know her.”
“I was just
joking,” Adam
objected. “There’s no need to go off at me like that. You did look nice
holding
that baby. But if you don’t mind someone with more experience offering
a little
advice, next time, don’t look so worried. It doesn’t instil confidence
in the
mother, you know.”
Regaining his
sense of
humour, Joe retorted, “It wasn’t my face that set her off screaming,
big
brother! Just remember that when you offer advice.” He put his heel to
his
horse and rode off in front.
“Ya asked fer
that, Adam,”
Hoss chortled.
In reply, Adam
just rolled
his eyes.
******************
A familiar
pattern began to
emerge over the next few days. Every morning, when Ben gave out their
assignments, Joe would listen hopefully to see if there was anything
needing
doing in town. When there wasn’t, he would ask if the mail needed
collecting,
or some supplies. When Ben shook his head each and every time, Joe
would look
disappointed before mooching off to find his horse.
“You do realise
that Joe is
in love, don’t you?” Adam asked his father one morning before he went
out.
“Joe thinks he’s
in love,” Ben
corrected. “And yes, I recognise the signs. He’s always like this when
he has
his eye on a new girl. I wonder how long it will take him to ask her
out.”
“What do you
think of her?”
Adam asked.
“She seems a
nice girl,”
Ben replied. He sipped his coffee thoughtfully. “She’s very young to be
left
alone with a new baby, that’s for sure. I just hope that loneliness
doesn’t get
to her and she agrees to marry someone just to have company.”
“By someone, do
you mean
Joe?” Adam probed. “Because we both know what he’s like; he’s half
convinced
that he’s in love with Caitlin already. It wouldn’t take much of a push
before
Joe was convinced that they are made for each other.”
“Not just Joe,”
Ben denied.
“But it’s a worry. Perhaps as he gets to know her better, he’ll cool
off a
little.”
“Let’s hope so,”
Adam
agreed, but his tone indicated that he thought it a forlorn hope.
*****************
“I need one of
you to go
into town this morning,” Ben announced over breakfast the next day.
“There’s a
crate of horseshoes waiting to be collected from the blacksmith’s shop
and we
need some more nails. We’re running low and Charlie told me that the
fence in
the north pasture is down.”
“I’ll go into
town,” Adam
offered, his disinterested demeanour hiding the mischief that prompted
the
offer.
“I’ll go,” Hoss
suggested.
“Ya need someone big an’ strong to carry them horseshoes.”
“Well, that’s
true,” Ben
hedged, knowing perfectly well that his older sons were intent on
tormenting
the life out of his youngest son.
“I’m strong!”
Joe
protested. “I could go.”
“But that
wouldn’t be
fair,” Adam objected, using one of Joe’s favourite arguments against
him. “You
went in for the supplies last week. It must be either Hoss’ or my turn.”
Hoss suddenly
coughed
loudly into his fist to try and hide the laughter that threatened to
break out
as he saw Joe’s indignant face. Joe shot him a glance and suddenly
tumbled that
he was being teased. However, this revelation didn’t restore his good
humour.
He scowled ferociously at his family, all of whom were now laughing at
him
openly. “Fine!” he snapped. “One of you go into town!” He threw his
napkin down
on his plate and stormed out.
“That was
cruel,” Ben
sniggered.
“But it was very
funny,” Adam
replied. “Did you see his face when I said it wasn’t fair?”
“He sure is in a
snit,
ain’t he?” Hoss chortled.
“Go and get him
and tell
him he can go into town, Adam, please,” Ben requested. “I can’t bear a
whole
day of his bad temper.”
“Sure thing,”
Adam agreed
and rose.
Outside, he was
surprised
to find Joe hitching the wagon. “Going somewhere?” he asked.
“You’re a touch
sensitive
right now, aren’t you?” Adam asked. “We were just teasing you.”
“I know,” Joe
snapped. He
drew in a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He knew perfectly
well that
he hadn’t shown himself in the best light, and he didn’t need Adam
rubbing it
in.
“Well, Pa says
you can go
into town if you really want to,” offered Adam, trying to gauge how
annoyed his
brother was. “But you don’t have to.”
“I’ll go,” Joe
replied,
sulkily. “I think I can manage a crate of horseshoes and a barrel of
nails.”
His bad mood was vanishing as though an alchemist had waved a magic
wand over
him. He backed the other horse into the traces and hitched it up. “I
was going
to go anyway,” he admitted. Adam rolled his eyes.
As Joe climbed
onto the
wagon seat, Hoss came out of the house. He handed Adam his hat and gun
and
watched as Joe released the brake and slapped the reins on the team’s
backs.
“Say hello ta Mrs Smith fer me!” Hoss called, as Joe rounded the end of
the
barn.
Fortunately,
Joe’s ribald
reply was lost in the rattling of the wagon bed on the axles.
***********************
The first stop
was the
blacksmith’s shop, where Joe found the crate of horseshoes ready and
waiting for
him. He loaded them onto the wagon, enduring the jibes about the
smallest
Cartwright being asked to do the heaviest jobs and paid the smith.
His next port of
call was
the hardware store, where he bought the required keg of nails and
passed some
minutes in conversation with the owner. Jackson Jones was renowned
throughout
the town for the amount of talking he did. It didn’t even matter when
one
customer left and he was serving another – he just kept on talking as
though
the person he was addressing was the same. In fact, it was widely
rumoured that
when he didn’t have customers, he talked to himself, although this had
never
been substantiated.
But today, Joe
was too
impatient to spend too long talking to Jones, and he made his excuses
and left
the first time Jones paused for breath. Securing the keg in the wagon,
Joe
thought about what he was going to do next.
Stopping briefly
at the
mercantile, Joe headed the wagon out to Caitlin’s house. Taking a deep
breath,
he jumped down from the seat and knocked on the door. After a moment,
Jenny
Kendrick opened the door and grinned at Joe. He had known her in
school. “Hi,
Joe!” she exclaimed.
“Hi, Jenny,” Joe
replied,
feeling his heart sink. It would be all over
“Sure thing,”
Jenny
responded. “Hold on and I’ll tell her you’re here.” She beckoned Joe
into the
small front hall and disappeared upstairs. Joe heard the murmur of
voices and
then Jenny reappeared. “Mrs Smith says to have a seat and would you
like a cup
of coffee?”
“Thanks, that
would be
great,” Joe replied, for he had left the house that morning with his
coffee
only half drunk and Joe always felt he couldn’t get started in the
morning
without his coffee.
He hadn’t drunk
more than a
couple of mouthfuls, sitting at the kitchen table, when Caitlin came
into the
room. She looked tired and her hair was hanging in a loose plait down
her back.
He rose to his feet when she entered. “Joe!” she exclaimed. “How nice
to see
you.”
“I was in town,
so I
thought I’d pop by and see you, but if it’s a bad time…” Joe didn’t get
the
chance to finish.
“No, come in to
the sitting
room. Jenny, can you bring me a cup of coffee, too, please?” Caitlin
asked and
Joe obediently picked up his cup and followed her through to the front
room.
“Marie’s asleep just now,” Caitlin explained. “It’s so good to see you.
I was
feeling a bit lonely, but I was up a lot of last night. I just couldn’t
get
Marie to sleep at all.” She sighed.
“I brought you a
gift,” Joe
remembered and delved in his jacket pocket. “And I brought one for
Marie, too.”
“You didn’t have
to do
that!” Caitlin scolded, but she looked excited. “May I open them now?”
“If you’d like,”
Joe
replied, smiling at her enthusiasm.
With child-like
delight,
Caitlin felt both gifts thoroughly before first opening the one for
Marie. In
it was a simple, but elegant, ivory teething ring. Joe looked
embarrassed as
Caitlin exclaimed over it. “Cameron at the store said that babies can
get teeth
quite soon and that those are really good,” he explained.
“Thank you,”
Caitlin
replied, her eyes glowing. “That’s wonderful!” She turned to her own
gift,
opening it slowly. She looked at the gift for a moment before drawing
it out of
the wrappings. It was a small china bud vase, with a pale pink rose
painted
onto the white surface. “Joe, that’s lovely! Thank you!”
“Think of it as
a house-warming
present,” Joe told her, relieved that she had liked his offerings and
flattered
by her obvious delight.
“How kind of
you!” To Joe’s
horror, Caitlin was blinking away tears.
“Caitlin? I
didn’t mean to
upset you.”
“You haven’t,
Joe,” she assured
him. “I’m sorry. I cry so easily nowadays. Its beautiful and I’m really
touched.” She composed herself as Jenny came in with her coffee.
There was a
slight hiatus
as Caitlin took a sip of her coffee, but before long, she and Joe were
chatting
away like old friends. Caitlin was funny and clever and Joe was
enchanted with
her. Finally, a clock somewhere struck
“Oh my goodness,
I’m going
to be late!” he exclaimed. “Thank you for the coffee.”
“No, its I who
should thank
you,” Caitlin insisted. “Jenny is a great comfort to me and we get on
very
well, but it’s nice to have a change of company. And thank you for
those
gifts.”
“Caitlin, I’d
like to see
more of you,” Joe ventured. “I’ll understand if it’s too soon for
romance, but
I’d like to see you as a friend. Perhaps we could go for a picnic on
Saturday?
We could take Marie along and I’ll show you some of the Ponderosa.”
“I’d like that
very much,”
Caitlin replied. “As friends.”
“As friends,”
Joe agreed.
He kissed her cheek lightly and left.
**********************
“Where have you
been, young
man?” Ben demanded as Joe came into the house. He knew perfectly well
where Joe
had been, but he wanted to see exactly what Joe would say.
“I’m sorry I’m
late, Pa,”
Joe replied. “I went to see Caitlin and I forgot the time.”
“Hop Sing isn’t
too happy
with you,” Ben warned him. “You missed lunch.”
He eyed Joe assessingly. “How is Caitlin?”
“She looked
kinda tired,” Joe
admitted, his movements slowing as he thought about the girl. “She said
Marie
had her up a lot of the night. I guess babies do that, huh?”
“I’m afraid they
do,” Ben
agreed, going over to the table. Joe followed him. “I remember pacing
the floor
down here with you a night or two,” he mused. “Your poor mother was
worn out
and I walked about with you howling in my ear until exhaustion finally
sent you
to sleep.”
“Caitlin has
Jenny Kendrick
working for her,” Joe told him. “But I guess Jenny isn’t there at
night, so
Caitlin hasn’t anyone to help with the baby through the night.”
“Its tiring,”
Ben
sympathised, “but it’s worth it.” He smiled ruefully. “I have to admit
that
sometimes it doesn’t seem like its
going to be worth it, when it’s the middle of the night and the baby
won’t go
to sleep and there’s no one to help you.”
“I don’t know
how you
managed, Pa,” Joe said, quietly. He knew that Ben was thinking of the
years he
spent travelling west with Adam and Hoss, alone for the most part.
“Neither do I,”
Ben
admitted. “But you do what you have to do and get on with it.” He
smiled at Hop
Sing who had come silently from the kitchen and put a plate down in
front of
Joe. “You eat your lunch, son and then perhaps you can go and help your
brothers mend that fence.”
“Yes, sir,” Joe
replied and
started to eat hungrily.
********************
“How was Mrs
Smith?” Hoss
asked, as Joe arrived.
“Fine, thanks,”
Joe
replied, determined not to be drawn into losing his temper. He shucked
his
jacket and prepared to lend a hand.
“How’s the
babby?” was the
next attempt from Hoss.
“Fine,” Joe
answered,
picking up hammer.
Eyeing Joe
speculatively,
Adam leant against Hoss’ beefy shoulder. “Do I sense a rejection here,
brother?”
“Could be,”
agreed Hoss,
leaning against Adam, who almost fell over, unprepared for Hoss’
weight. “I
reckon his heart’s broke, don’ ya, Adam?”
“Looks like it
to me,”
nodded Adam, having regained his balance before he crashed to the
ground with
Hoss on top of him. They’d never have lived that one down, he
reflected,
waiting for the explosion from Joe.
“Don’t put money
on it,”
Joe advised. “I’m seeing Caitlin again on Saturday. As friends,” he
added
pointedly.
“Oh, as
friends,” Adam
echoed. “Is that what they call it now?”
“I thought it
was called
courtin’,” Hoss admitted.
“Great oaks from
little
acorns grow,” Joe quoted cheerfully. He looked at his brothers. “Are we
going
to mend this fence or not?”
*******************
Saturday dawned
bright and
sunny and Joe hurried through his morning chores so he could get ready
to
collect Caitlin. Adam obligingly hitched the buggy for Joe and he drove
off in
plenty of time. Jenny once more admitted him when he arrived at
Caitlin’s
house, and he sat down to wait patiently for Caitlin to be ready.
After a while,
he rose to
his feet and looked around the room. He paused to study a photo of a
distinguished looking man with light coloured hair. He guessed at once
that
this was Simon, for as Caitlin had said, Marie did indeed resemble him.
“That’s Simon,”
Caitlin
said from behind him. Turning, Joe saw that she had on a light pink
dress and
looked very young and fresh. Marie was gurgling in her mother’s arms.
“I guessed,” Joe
replied,
unexpectedly depressed by Caitlin’s continuing devotion to her lost
husband.
Yet he knew that Caitlin wasn’t ready to move on, and wondered why he
should
feel like that. “Marie is like him, isn’t she?”
“Very,” agreed
Caitlin. She
looked at the baby and smiled as the infant smiled at her. “It’s a
comfort,
Joe. To know that when I look at Marie I’ll always be able to see
Simon.”
“I understand,”
Joe
murmured, because he did. Ben had often commented that he was able to
see each
of his wives in the sons they had left him and mentioned the solace
this had
brought him.
“Well, what can
I bring for
the picnic?” Caitlin asked, making an effort to shake off the sombre
mood.
“Just yourself,”
Joe
assured her, smiling. “Everything else is organised.”
“Are you sure?”
Caitlin
protested uncomfortably.
“Absolutely,”
Joe said firmly.
“Come along, madam.” He pretended to crook his arm for the baby and
Caitlin
laughed aloud. She got her revenge by handing him the baby, but Joe
didn’t mind
in the least, as Marie beamed at him cheerfully.
They were soon
in the
buggy, driving sedately towards
*******************
The picnic that
Hop Sing
had packed for Joe was delicious and he and Caitlin sat on a rug near
the lake
and talked and laughed while Marie slept. Several times, Joe was
tempted to
kiss Caitlin, but he quelled the desire, knowing that she was still in
love
with her late husband.
They shared
their
childhoods with each other, Joe explaining about his brothers and his
father’s
three marriages, which answered Caitlin’s burning, but unspoken, desire
to know
why none of the Cartwright brothers looked alike. He told her about
living on
the Ponderosa.
In return,
Caitlin told him
about her upbringing as an only child of older parents. She had gone to
an
all-girls school and shortly after graduating had gone to work for
Simon. She
had fallen for him at once, and was surprised and delighted to learn
that he
had fallen in love with her, too. They had married a few months later
and
Caitlin had become pregnant at once, much to their mutual delight.
“There was only
one thing
that spoiled our happiness before Simon died,” Caitlin told him. “One
of his
partners came to the house one evening to talk to Simon about
something. Simon
left the room to find some papers and Geoffrey, his partner, tried to
kiss me.”
Caitlin looked at Joe. “I didn’t do anything to encourage him, Joe.”
“I believe you,”
Joe
assured her, for he could see that she had been, and still was, head
over heels
in love with Simon.
“Simon was
furious,”
Caitlin went on. “He threw Geoffrey out, and we had a row. Oh, don’t
get me
wrong, Joe, Simon did trust me, but he was suddenly frightened that I
had
married him because of his money, not because I loved him. I believe I
convinced him, Joe, but I was very unhappy for a while. But then,
things
settled down again, as they do, and I began to plan for the baby
coming.” She
paused and looked out over the lake. At that moment, the sun went
behind a
cloud. “And then Simon died,” he concluded. “Marie was born a month
early, and
I decided to move out here, to get away from the memories.”
“Has it worked?”
Joe asked.
“Some,” Caitlin
replied. “I
never want to forget Simon; what we had was so special. But I have to
move on
with my life, too.”
“Yes, you do,”
agreed Joe
and he leant in and kissed her gently.
For a moment, no
more,
Caitlin returned the pressure on her lips, and then she drew back,
flustered
and blushing. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, and tears danced on her
lashes. “It’s
too soon.”
“No, I’m sorry,”
Joe
apologised. “I shouldn’t have done that. Please, forgive me?”
Studying Joe as
though for
the first time, Caitlin thought again what a spectacularly handsome man
Joe
was. She had no doubt that she would be as captivated by him as he
seemed to be
by her, if only her heart didn’t belong to another. When would she
believe that
Simon was dead? Sometimes it seemed to her that he was still alive
somewhere,
and would walk in one day. Shaking that thought off, she smiled at Joe.
It was
simply that she hadn’t been allowed to see Simon’s body, since it had
been
unrecognisable because of the fire in which he had died. “Of course I
forgive
you,” she replied, trying to rid her mind of the sad thoughts. “But I’m
not
ready for anything more than friendship, Joe.”
“I know,” Joe
assured her. He
glanced up at the sky, for the sunshine had gone and it looked as
though it
might come to rain. “It looks like the weather has changed,” he
commented.
“Yes,” Caitlin
answered,
hoping that didn’t mean that Joe would not want to see her as a friend
again.
She was lonely and needed all the friends she could get. “And I need to
get
home before Marie wakens and needs a feed.”
Suddenly
realising what
Caitlin meant, Joe blushed to the roots of his hair. “Oh yes, I see,”
he
stuttered and began to pack up the picnic. “Perhaps next time, you
could come
out for dinner at the Ponderosa,” he suggested. “And if Marie needed
feeding,
you could use one of the guest rooms.”
“That would be
very nice,”
Caitlin agreed.
“I’ll arrange it
with Pa
and let you know,” Joe smiled, relieved that he hadn’t ruined their
friendship
with that one rash kiss.
****************************
The rain
obligingly stayed
off until Caitlin and Marie were safely home and Joe promised to send
word
about Caitlin coming to dinner. He got into the buggy and set off for
home,
cursing that the rain was now coming down in stair rods and there would
likely
be some thunder and lightning, too.
Sure enough, the
thunder
started rumbling when he was about half way home. The buggy horse broke
into an
uneasy lope, but the condition of the road was too slick for Joe to be
happy
with that pace, so he pulled it back to a trot. He was soaked to the
skin and
shivered slightly.
There was a
flash of
lightning and a moment later, the horse half reared and broke into a
gallop.
The wet leather slipped through Joe’s hands, and it was a minute before
he got
the reins gathered up again. By then, they were racing along the road
at high
speed. “Whoa, fellow,” he called, soothingly, but the horse wasn’t to
be
soothed.
Abruptly, Joe
realised that
the horse was hopping lame on one hind leg, and he dashed the rain from
his
eyes to peer more closely. There was blood on the horse’s haunch. Joe
was
perplexed. Where had the blood come from? The lightning hadn’t struck
the horse,
or even anywhere close by. He tightened the reins again, but the horse
was
running from the pain and wasn’t going to stop!
There was little
Joe could
do but hang on, knowing that the horse would tire eventually and come
to a
halt. But the road was increasingly stony there and as the wheel hit a
rock,
Joe found himself airborne, the reins still clutched tightly in his
hand. He
landed with a thump on his back, feeling the reins torn from his hand
before
something struck his head and he passed out.
*****************
“I thought Joe
would have
been home by now,” Ben commented as he, Adam and Hoss sat down to
supper. “He
said he’d be back in time for supper.”
“I thought he’d
be back by
now, too,” Adam agreed, helping himself to potatoes. “Hoss and I saw
him
leaving Caitlin’s house as we rode out of town. I don’t think Joe saw
us,
though.”
Ben frowned. “If
he left at
the same time as you, he should have been back ages ago.” As if to add
emphasis
to his words, the thunder boomed right overhead.
Laying down his
fork, his
meal untouched, Hoss asked, “Do you think we should go look for him?”
Unwilling to
admit how
worried he was about Joe, Ben hesitated. But when he looked at his
sons, he
could see they were as concerned as he was. “Yes, I think we should,”
he
admitted.
They rose as one
and headed
out into the storm.
**********************
The cold rain
pouring onto
his face roused Joe and he tried to roll over to avoid it. His body
refused to
respond at first, but feeling came back and Joe rolled onto his side.
His head
throbbed and he touched gentle fingers to the worst place and gaped at
them in
surprise as they came away bloody.
Memory returned
with a rush
and Joe pushed himself to his feet, wincing as his bruised back set up
a chorus
of disapproval. Peering through the rain, Joe saw the buggy lying a
short
distance away, with the horse struggling in the traces. Joe limped
towards it,
becoming aware that more than one place on his body hurt. He didn’t
think
anything was broken, but he had had quite a battering.
Dropping to his
knees
beside the horse, and trying to pretend that it wasn’t a relief to be
sitting
down again, Joe soothed the animal, calming its struggles so that he
could
check it over for injuries. It only took him seconds to see that the
horse had
snapped its leg just above the fetlock. Regretfully, Joe took his gun
from his
holster and put the animal out of its misery.
Joe was now
faced with a
long walk home through the pouring rain with a multitude of minor
injuries. He
took a few more minutes to allow his system to settle, but the various
aches
and pains that he had refused to go away. The few minutes grew into
several
minutes and then into half an hour. Each time Joe got up, his head
whirled and
walking was clearly going to be difficult.
Just as he had
convinced
himself that he had to begin walking
and had gained his feet, Joe heard the sound of horses coming towards
him. He
steadied himself as best he could and waited for help to arrive. He
wasn’t at
all surprised to see his family, although how they knew he needed help
was a
mystery to him.
“Joe!” Ben
exclaimed,
jumping down from Buck. He hurried over to Joe, and put out his hand to
steady
his son, for Joe was swaying like a drunk in a high wind. “Are you all
right?”
“I’m fine,” Joe
assured
Ben, unaware of the fact that blood caked the right hand side of his
face.
“Just a bit sore.”
Behind Ben, Adam
and Hoss
had dismounted and were now checking out the buggy and horse. Adam
suddenly let
out an exclamation of surprise. “Look at this!” he called. He pointed
to the
horse and Ben and Hoss crowded closer to see. Joe just closed his eyes
and
tried to kid himself that he couldn’t feel the world spinning. “This
horse was
shot!”
“I just did
that,” Joe
mumbled, shivering. “It broke its leg.”
“No, this horse
was shot in
the haunch, Joe,” Adam explained.
“What?” Joe
asked,
stupidly. “That can’t be.” But then he remembered seeing blood on the
horse’s
quarters. “How?”
“I don’t know,”
Adam
admitted. “Didn’t you hear a shot?”
“All I heard was
thunder,”
Joe replied. He staggered suddenly as a gust of wind hit him and Hoss
caught
him before he could fall.
“Never mind that
for now,”
Ben chided Adam. “Let’s get Joe home.” He took Joe’s arm and led him
over to
Buck. “You’d better ride with me,” he suggested. “We didn’t bring an
extra
horse, and you look like you’re ready to fall over any minute.”
“Gee, Pa, you
sure know how
to chirk a guy up,” Joe complained, but he didn’t baulk at riding
double. He
doubted if he could have sat a horse alone.
*******************
A good night’s
sleep had
Joe back on his feet the next day, but he was badly bruised and the
gash on his
hairline hurt. The night before, Ben had wanted to send for the doctor,
but Joe
had dissuaded him, saying that all he wanted was a warm bath and his
bed. He
even managed to eat a few mouthfuls of supper before falling into a
deep sleep.
“Morning, Pa,”
Joe called
as he came down the stairs. He glanced at the clock, seeing that it was
almost
“Morning,” Ben
replied,
getting to his feet and going over to join Joe at the table. “How are
you
feeling this morning?”
“A bit stiff and
sore, but
all right,” Joe answered. “Thanks, Hop Sing,” he added, as the Chinese
cook put
the coffee pot on the table. Joe could smell his breakfast cooking and
his
stomach growled. “I’m starving!”
That, and the
enthusiastic
way Joe attacked his food, convinced Ben that his son was all right. He
watched
Joe eat as he drank another cup of coffee. “Where are Adam and Hoss?”
Joe
asked, around a mouthful of bacon.
“They went out
to see if
they could salvage the buggy,” Ben replied.
“Do you think it
can be
saved?” Joe asked, frowning. “I’m sorry I crashed it.”
“It looked all
right last
night,” Ben answered, “but we weren’t really looking at it, to be
honest. We
were more concerned with you.” He patted Joe’s arm. “Don’t worry about
it, son.
I’d sooner lose a buggy than lose you!”
Smiling, Joe
applied
himself to his plate once more. Ben often wondered where his slender
son put so
much food, for Joe could sometimes rival Hoss in the portions he put
away,
although his appetite was the first thing to suffer when he was upset.
As Joe finished
eating,
Adam and Hoss returned. “Well, look who’s up!” Hoss exclaimed as he
came in.
“Sleepin’ Beauty!”
“And good
morning to you,
too,” Joe responded, good-naturedly.
“How’re you
feeling?” Adam
asked.
“If his
appetite’s anything
to go by, he’s feeling in the pink,” Ben responded, dryly. Joe grinned
at him.
Ben smiled back. “Was the buggy salvageable?” Ben asked.
“Yes, it was,”
Adam
replied. “It’ll need a little fixing up here and there, but there’s no
great
damage.” He glanced at Joe. “We had a closer look at the horse,” he
told his
brother. “And look what we found.” He held up a piece of flattened lead
and Joe
took it to look more closely. Ben leant closer to see, too.
“It’s a rifle
bullet!” Joe
declared, flatly. He looked up at Ben, his face troubled. “So someone
did shoot
at me! But who? Why?”
“I don’t know,”
Ben
admitted. He glanced at his older sons, both of whom were frowning.
“That’s what we
wondered,
too,” Adam nodded.
“It could’ve bin
a
accident,” Hoss offered. “Someone out huntin’.”
“It was
pouring,” Joe
objected. “Who in their right mind would go huntin’ in a downpour like
that?”
Hoss shrugged miserably.
“Want me to go
into town
and mention it to
“No, I don’t
think so,” Ben
replied. “What would he find? After that rain last night, there won’t
be any
tracks left.” Glancing at Joe, Ben saw that he had stopped eating at
last. “I
think you should stay in the house today, son,” he suggested, “and let
those
aches and pains settle down.”
“Aw, Pa, I’m
fine!” Joe
protested, before realising that he’d probably done himself out of a
day off
work. His agile mind tried to think up a reason for him to go to town,
but
before he could say anything, Adam stepped in.
“We have to
finish that
north pasture fence,” he suggested, “and Joe could come along, help us,
but
we’ll make sure that he doesn’t over do it.
That’ll help get rid of his stiffness.” For Joe had been edging
carefully out of his seat, trying not to wince. He paused long enough
to glare
at Adam, who intercepted the look quite calmly.
“I don’t think
fence
mending is quite the right treatment after a fall like that,” Ben
objected and
Joe threw Adam a triumphant look. “No, Joe is going to stay around the
house today
and he can go over the branding records with me.”
Now it was
Adam’s turn to
look triumphant as Joe gave Ben a weak smile. After a moment, Ben
grinned back.
“Relax, Joe its Sunday.” As he rose from the table, and seeing Joe’s
relieved
expression, he couldn’t help but add, “you can help me with the
branding
records tomorrow.”
**********************
After a couple
of days of
taking it easy, Joe was easing back into the work of running a ranch
the size
of the Ponderosa. Adam and Hoss had finished mending the fences, so Joe
was
spared that, but there seemed to be an inordinate amount of barn chores
needing
done and Joe couldn’t figure out why Hop Sing needed so much wood all
of a
sudden. However, he didn’t complain, hoping that Ben would soon relent
and
allow him to go back to work properly.
“I’d like you to
go to town
for the supplies, Joe,” Ben said at breakfast a few days later. Joe
beamed at
him. Although collecting the supplies was a chore that Ben often gave
the boys
after they had been off work, Joe didn’t mind. It would allow him the
chance to
see Caitlin.
“Sure thing,
Pa,” he agreed
and bent his head over his plate, stuffing the remains of his breakfast
into
his mouth as fast as he could, so he would be ready to leave sooner.
“Do you think
Joe should go
alone?” Adam asked.
Shooting his
older brother
a dirty look, Joe protested, “I can look after myself!” He had
completely
missed the concern colouring his brother’s tone.
“You can’t look
after
yourself against a gunman’s bullet!” Adam snapped.
“And you think
that if you
come along with me, you can stop that bullet?” Joe asked, sarcastically.
“Well, I’m
hardly likely to
catch it between my teeth,” Adam retorted, “but my presence might stop
someone
shooting at you in the first place.”
Just as it
looked as though
a full-scale row was about to erupt, there was a knock at the door.
Still
glaring at Adam, Joe got up to answer it, knowing full well that
everyone
expected him to. The head logger of the timber crew, Tim Fox, stood
there.
“Tim!” Joe exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”
Hearing the
name, Adam rose
from the table and hurried over. “Tim?” Ben and Hoss followed more
slowly.
“There’s a
problem up at
the timber camp, Adam,” Tim explained, tipping his hat to Ben. “I
really need
you to come up.”
“What kind of a
problem?”
Adam asked, sharply, reaching for his gun belt. “An accident?”
“Not the way you
mean,” Tim
replied. “Nobody’s been hurt, but we’ve broken a blade on the mill and
there are
a couple of other things I’d like your advice about.”
“I’ll be right
there,” Adam
assured him. He glanced at Ben. “Well, that ends the argument, doesn’t
it?” he
asked. “I can’t go into town with Joe.”
“I’ll be fine,”
Joe
protested.
“I hope so,”
Adam replied
and went out to saddle his horse.
************************
“I’m not happy
about you
going into town alone,” Ben repeated as Joe hitched the horses. “I wish
Hoss
didn’t have to go and check that sick cow Charlie found. I could send a
message
to Mr Comford that I’ll show him the herd another time.”
“You can’t do
that!” Joe
protested. “He might buy from us!”
“I guess you’re
right,” Ben
agreed. “But I can’t help worrying.”
“You’re all
fussing over
nothing,” Joe assured him. “I’ll be fine,
“Might?” Ben
echoes. “Are
you sick, son?”
Laughing, Joe
set the team
in motion. Ben stood and watched him go, overcome by sudden unease. Who
was
gunning for his son and why?
******************
The trip into
town was
totally uneventful, although Joe could have sworn that he could feel
someone
watching him. He glanced around sharply several times, but there was
never
anyone in sight and he finally put it down to the jitters that his
father and
brothers had expressed.
He parked the
wagon by the
store, gave the storekeeper his list and told him he would be back.
With a
jaunty air, he strode off down the boardwalk, humming to himself. Once
again,
he felt someone watching him, but the street was busy and he couldn’t
see
anyone gazing at him in particular.
As he drew
closer to
Caitlin’s house, he could see her coming towards it from the opposite
direction, pushing a pram. She waved and Joe stopped to wait for her.
“Hello,”
Caitlin said as she reached him. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to see
Marie, of
course!” Joe chided her. “What; did you think I’d come to see you?” He
leant
over the pram and the baby gave him a gummy smile.
“My pram finally
arrived
yesterday, so Marie and I thought we would give it a try,” Caitlin
explained.
She suddenly glanced round, the smile leaving her face.
“What’s wrong?”
Joe asked,
although he could feel the same sensation she could; they were being
watched.
Caitlin
shivered. “For the
last few days, I’ve had the feeling that someone was watching me.”
“Let’s go
inside,” Joe
suggested. He glanced over his shoulder.
“Do you feel it
too?”
Caitlin asked, wheeling the pram to the foot of the steps.
“Yes,” Joe
nodded. He
shielded Caitlin with his own body as she gathered the baby into her
arms. As
soon as they were safely inside Joe went on,” Someone shot at me on the
way
home from your house on Saturday.”
The green eyes
were wide in
Caitlin’s white face. “Are you all right?” she asked. Marie gave a wail
if
discontent and Caitlin realised she was holding the infant very
tightly. She
led the way into the kitchen, where she laid the baby in a basket.
“I’m fine,” Joe
assured
her. “Just a few bruises.”
“It was Sunday
that I first
felt these feelings,” Caitlin whispered. “I wondered why you weren’t at
church,
but I remember you telling me that it depended on what was happening
around the
ranch.”
“Well, I
happened on
Sunday,” Joe joked. Caitlin smiled slightly. “But I don’t understand,”
he went
on. “Why would anyone be watching us?”
“I don’t know,”
Caitlin
replied. “It doesn’t make sense.” She swallowed nervously. “Joe, I’m
scared.”
“It’s all
right,” Joe
soothed. “I’ll look after you both.” He stepped forward and put his
hands on
her shoulders. “Maybe you should come out to the ranch for a while,
until we
find out what’s going on.” He glanced around. “Where’s Jenny today?”
“It’s her day
off,” Caitlin
replied. She took a step towards Joe. “Perhaps I should come to the
ranch, but
what would your father say?”
“He’d be…” Joe
got no
further, for the kitchen door suddenly opened and Joe looked over
Caitlin’s
head to see the man from her photograph.
Whirling,
Caitlin just gaped
at him for a moment. Then, tears suddenly streaking her face, she let
out a
cry. “Simon!” She threw herself across the room at him. “Simon! Oh,
Simon!” She
wrapped her arms around him, oblivious of the fact that he only slowly
returned
the gesture. “I was told you were dead!”
“It was a
mistake,” he
replied, hoarsely, his eyes still fixed on Joe, who stood frozen to the
spot.
“What happened
to your
voice?” Caitlin asked, looking up.
“I was hurt in
that fire,
and couldn’t talk. I don’t know why they told you I was dead, because
they knew
who I was.” Simon brushed that aside. “I traced you here, but I find
you
practically in another man’s arms!” He glared at Joe. “Who are you?”
“This is Joe
Cartwright,”
Caitlin explained. “He’s a friend of mine.”
“A friend, eh?”
Simon
scoffed. “So that’s why you’ve been seen around town with him, is it?”
“I don’t know
what you’re
implying here, Mr Smith,” Joe interjected flatly, “but Caitlin has done
nothing
wrong. I am just her friend.”
“You took her
for a picnic
last Saturday,” Simon accused him, “and you kissed her.”
“How do you know
about
that?” Caitlin asked, her face pale. She pulled herself away from Simon.
“I was
watching!” Simon
roared.
At the sudden
noise, Marie
let out a wail and Caitlin reached for her automatically. She hugged
the child,
and the crying began to abate.
“If you were
watching,” Joe
returned, “you’d have seen Caitlin draw back from me.” He glared at
Simon. “She
told me that she was still in love with you and only liked me as a
friend. After
6 months, your wife is still in love with you and how do you repay her?
You
wait nearly a week before you come to her!” Joe shook his head.
“I think you’d
better
leave,” Simon ordered, stiffly.
To his intense
annoyance, Joe
looked at Caitlin. “What do you want me to do?” he asked her.
“You’d better
go, Joe,”
Caitlin replied, nervously. “Simon and I have a lot to talk about.”
“I’ll be at the
store for a
while if you need me,” he told her. Sending another cold look Simon’s
way, Joe
picked up his hat from the table. “I’ll show myself out.”
Slowly, Joe made
his way to
the front of the house and opened the door. For an instant, he
hesitated, not
sure if he should go or stay, but then he heard Caitlin’s voice and
realised
that this was no place for him. Head down, he went out and pulled the
door
closed behind him.
Something hard
struck him
on the back of the head and Joe tumbled down into darkness.
*********************
As Joe left,
Simon and
Caitlin stood looking at each other. “Simon, I’ve missed you,” Caitlin
whispered. She vaguely heard the front door shut. She held the baby
out. “This
is your daughter. I called her Marie, like we planned.”
Simon stepped
closer and
looked down at the child’s face. She was sleepy and yawned widely
before
pursing her rosebud mouth and blowing a few bubbles. “She looks like
you,”
Simon ventured.
Smiling, Caitlin
shook her
head. “No, she looks like you,” she corrected. “Simon…” Caitlin
hesitated. “You
don’t really think that I was cheating on you, do you?”
“No,” Simon
responded,
sitting down heavily. “But when I saw you with that young man, him so
good
looking and you so obviously pleased to see him, I wasn’t sure what to
think.
Geoffrey told me that you thought you were a widow.”
“Geoffrey?”
Caitlin echoed
in dismay. “How does he come into this?”
“He found me,”
Simon
reported. “I had been ill for months, and unable to talk. He explained
that it
was near time for you to give birth and that the shock of knowing I was
alive
would be too much for you. So I left it a little while before going
looking for
you. But by then, you had moved out here, and I had to explain to Mama
and Papa
where I had been. It was a shock for them, too.”
“I can imagine,”
Caitlin
murmured.
“Geoffrey
offered to come
out here with me, and we decided to watch you, to see when would be the
best
time to tell you I was still alive. It was so difficult not to come to
you.”
Simon sighed and wiped his brow with a shaky hand. “The journey here
wore me
out and I spent the first few days resting.” He frowned. “I’ve been
very tired
since we got here and I’m not sure why. I didn’t feel like this at
home.”
A nasty
suspicion crept
into Caitlin’s mind. “Geoffrey could have been drugging you!” she
cried. “Was
it him who told you that Joe and I kissed? That I didn’t resist? I
thought so!
He’s still trying to manipulate you, Simon. He’s determined to get
revenge for
you throwing him out of the house!”
“What?” Simon
gasped. “Do you
think so?” He shook his head. “I know he’s been watching that young man
and he
told me that he wouldn’t be coming around here again, but I didn’t ask
why he
was so sure. And then, when I saw you both today, I just couldn’t wait
any
longer. Caitlin, I love you!”
“And I love
you,” Caitlin
replied and threw herself into his arms once more. She raised her head
to him
and they kissed deeply.
******************
“Hey, Pa,
where’re ya
goin’?” Hoss called, as he saw his father riding towards town.
Drawing rein,
Ben waited
while Hoss came alongside him. “Mr Comford didn’t stay as long as I
thought, so
I decided to go into town to meet up with Joe. Want to come?”
“Sure thing,”
Hoss agreed
and they set off at a ground-covering lope. As they rode in, Hoss told
his
father that the sick cow seemed better and Ben told Hoss that Comford
would buy
a small herd from them. The small-talk didn’t hide the fact that they
were both
worried about Joe.
As they rode
down the main
street, Ben saw his wagon still parked outside the store. The supplies
were all
loaded. He pulled Buck up and tethered him to the rail and went in,
expecting
to see Joe passing the time of day with Cameron. “Hi, Mr Cartwright,”
Cameron
called from his perch half-way up a ladder. “The supplies are all
loaded and
ready for Little Joe to take home.”
“I thought Joe
might be
here,” Ben explained.
“Nope, I ain’t
seen him in
at least a couple of hours.”
“Thanks,” Ben
replied and
went out. “He’s not been there for a couple of hours,” he reported to
Hoss and
mounted again.
They both headed
towards
Caitlin’s house. Again, Ben dismounted and went over to knock on the
door. A
few moments later, Caitlin opened it. “Hello, Mr Cartwright, how lovely
to see
you!” she exclaimed. Ben thought she looked radiant.
“Hello, Mrs
Smith,” he
replied, tipping his hat. “Is Joe here?”
“Joe?” Caitlin
replied.
“Why, no, he left, oh, I’m not sure.” She partially turned away.
“Simon, how
long ago did Joe leave?”
A tall man with
greying
fair hair came into view. “At least an hour,” he replied.
“An hour?” Ben
repeated,
worry colouring his tones. “Well, perhaps he’s gone to the saloon.”
“Mr Cartwright,
may I
introduce you to my husband?” Caitlin asked and did so proudly,
explaining the awful
mix-up that had led to her thinking her husband was dead.
But there was
one fact that
Ben grasped at once. “You say your partner assured you that Joe
wouldn’t be
round again?” he asked, urgently. “What did he mean by that?”
“Well, I don’t
know, exactly,”
Simon replied. “I assumed he’d had words with him. Explained the
situation.”
“When was this,
exactly?”
Ben demanded.
“Late Saturday
afternoon,
after the rain came on,” Simon replied, clearly perplexed, but on his
best
behaviour. “He was soaked through.”
“It must have
been him who
shot at Joe,” Ben murmured.
Caitlin’s eyes
were open
wide. “Oh no, I never thought!” she cried. “Simon did mention that and
I never
thought!”
“It’s all
right,” Ben
soothed her, although every nerve ending was screaming at him to find
Joe,
quickly! “What does your partner look like?” he asked.
“He’s about your
height and
very broadly built,” Simon replied. “He’s got dark hair and a
moustache.”
“Thank you,” Ben
replied,
turning to leave.
“Mr Cartwright,
do you
think Joe’s all right?” Caitlin asked, anxiously.
“I hope so,” Ben
replied.
He hurried over to his horse and mounted up. He and Hoss rode quickly
away.
**********************
Before long,
there was a
crowd out looking for Joe. Men combed the saloons, the livery stable
and the
boarding houses. People checked out each alley, in case he was lying
there
injured. But it was as though Joe had vanished into thin air. There was
no
trace of him. Until one of the men found Joe’s hat on the road leading
out of
town to the south.
There were a
number of
tracks, but Hoss soon picked out the one that looked as though the
horse was
carrying extra weight. “He coulda come from Caitlin’s house real easy
without bein’
seen,” Hoss pointed out. “I reckon we gotta follow them, Pa. Joe’s in
trouble.”
“You’re right,”
Ben agreed.
He thanked the men who had helped them search, but said that they would
go on
alone.
“Is that wise,
Ben?”
“I don’t know,”
Ben replied.
“I don’t know what manner of man has my son.”
“You men go
back,”
“Thanks,
************************
Consciousness
slowly tricked
back. Joe’s head ached violently and he couldn’t get his thoughts to
coalesce.
When he tried to move, his limbs refused to cooperate, and it took him
several
minutes to figure out that he was bound hand and foot.
But gradually,
his grip on
the world improved and Joe tentatively opened his eyes. The light
blinded him
for a moment, but he slit his eyes and squinted until he grew used to
the
glare. Glancing around, he saw that he was outside, lying beneath a
tree. His
hands were bound behind his back and his ankles were tied together.
“So you’re
awake.”
Cautiously
turning his
head, Joe saw a strange man sitting near him. To his knowledge, Joe had
never
seen him before. “Who are you?” he asked, hoarsely.
“My name is
Geoffrey
Howard,” he replied, coldly, coming to stand over Joe. “My partner is
Simon
Smith and I’m going to get rid of you so that my path to Caitlin Smith
is wide
open.”
That didn’t make
sense. For
a moment, Joe wondered if the pounding in his head had affected his
hearing.
“But Simon is alive,” he protested.
“Not for long,”
hissed
Geoffrey malevolently. “After I’ve killed you, I’m going to arrange an
accident
for him!”
“It was you who
shot at me
on Saturday!” Joe accused. He began to struggle against his bonds, his
heart pounding
in rhythm with his head. “Why?”
“Because you’re
in love
with her!” Geoffrey shouted. “And I can’t have her looking at any man
but me!”
He reached down for Joe, who rolled away, but he wasn’t quick enough.
Yanking Joe to
his feet,
Geoffrey punched Joe twice in the stomach and allowed the younger man
to fall
to the ground again. He went over to his horse and took down some rope.
Kneeling by Joe, he tied it around Joe’s waist. That done, he began to
untie
Joe’s feet.
Instantly, Joe
kicked out
at him, and Geoffrey barely missed a kick in the face. Snarling, he
rounded on
Joe and punched him several times in the face until Joe slumped down,
clinging
to consciousness by a thin thread. Satisfied that his prisoner wasn’t
going to
attack him any more, Geoffrey returned to his task.
As Joe groggily
raised his
head again, Geoffrey rose to his feet. He had re-tied Joe’s feet so
that there
was a length of rope between his ankles. He attached the end of the
rope around
Joe’s waist to his saddle horn and pulled the young man to his feet.
“The Indians
like to do
this,” Geoffrey whispered. “We can learn so much from our red
brothers.” He
jumped onto his horse and urged it into a trot.
Fear spiked
through Joe’s
gut. He knew what was coming and he knew he wouldn’t survive it.
Geoffrey would
drag him behind his horse until he was dead. The hobbles around Joe’s
ankles
would simply ensure that he tripped and fell all the sooner.
At that instant,
the rope
round his waist tightened, and Joe managed one stumbling step before he
fell.
*********************
The next minute
or so took
on nightmare proportions for Joe. The ground rushed past his face, and
he
couldn’t bite back cries of pain as his body bumped over rocks and
through
bushes. His clothes ripped within moments, and Joe could feel the skin
being
flayed from his body. It seemed to him that the horse’s hoof beats were
amplified through the ground until it sounded like there were several
horses
pulling him to his death. He thought he heard shooting, but the pain
was too
much for him and he passed out.
*******************
“There!” Hoss
cried and
slapped his heels into Chubb’s side. The big black gelding sprang
forward and
Ben and Roy followed.
As they neared,
they could
see that the rider was dragging someone along the ground and it didn’t
take
much to work out who the someone was.
Although the
shot went
wide, Geoffrey was unseated and his horse pulled up to an uncertain
standstill,
sidling about nervously, uncomfortable with the weight on the end of
the rope
tied to its saddle.
Leaving Geoffrey
to Roy,
Ben and Hoss hauled their horses to a standstill and leapt off to kneel
beside
Joe’s unconscious figure. “Joe?” Ben whispered, as Hoss caught his
breath in
horror.
“How is he?”
“He’s in a bad
way,
As
“You’re going to
be all
right, son,” he soothed, although he knew Joe couldn’t hear him. “I’m
here
now.”
******************
Joe was still
unconscious
when they arrived back in
It was an
anxious wait.
A little while
later,
At long last,
the door to
the surgery opened and Paul came out. He looked grim and a new burst of
fear
gripped Ben’s heart. Surely Joe hadn’t died? He didn’t know how he
could
survive if that was the case. “Paul?” he whispered.
“He’s pretty
sick, Ben,”
Paul replied and momentary relief swept over Ben. His son was still
alive.
“He’s lost a lot of blood. He has a bad head injury.” Paul sighed and
sat down.
“Joe has broken his left arm in three places, and his right shoulder
was
dislocated and the wrist broken. He has broken both ankles and his left
foot.
He has lost a lot of skin from the front of both legs and on his chest
and
stomach. There is a distinct chance that this will become infected.
Right now,
he’s holding on and I’ve done everything I can for him.”
A hand gripped
Ben’s arm
and he looked up into blue eyes drowned in tears. His own eyes filled
with a
corresponding moisture and he put his hand over Hoss’. A moment later,
Adam’s
hand was on top of his and they stayed there for a moment, giving and
receiving
comfort.
“Joe’s still
unconscious
from the ether,” Paul added,” but you can go and sit with him.”
“Thank you,” Ben
whispered
and hurried into the surgery with his other sons on his heels.
Joe lay on the
examination
table. He had a bandage around his head and the top of his chest was
swathed in
bandages where it peeked out over the blanket. His left arm was in
plaster from
his fingertips to his shoulder and his right arm had a cast on the
wrist and
was in a sling. His plastered feet peeked out from under the blanket.
Moving
closer, Ben could see the bruises marring Joe’s cheek and when he
looked, he
saw that all Joe’s toes were bruised, too. “Joe?” he breathed, leaning
over to
stroke his son’s head.
There was no
response.
********************
Over the next 24
hours, Ben
could not be persuaded to leave Joe’s side for more than a few minutes
at a
time. Joe drifted in and out of a drugged sleep, not aware of his
family
waiting for him to wake. He ran a high temperature for a time, but it
finally settled.
Paul kept an anxious eye on all the raw places on Joe’s body, but
miraculously,
infection didn’t set it. Gradually, Paul began to lessen the amount of
morphine
that Joe was receiving and he was soon nearing consciousness. Finally,
on the
second day, he opened his eyes and looked at Ben.
“Hello there,”
Ben smiled.
“You… look…
tired,” Joe
whispered. He swallowed and tried to move, but his body rebelled. A
groan of
pain escaped his lips. “What… happened?”
“You were hurt,”
Ben
explained. Paul had warned him not to mention what had happened unless
Joe
mentioned it first. His memory of events might be shaky because of the
head
injury.
That seemed to
satisfy Joe
for the moment, and he closed his eyes again. When he next awoke, it
was Adam
who was sitting by his side and a lamp was burning low on a table near
the
seat. “Adam?” he breathed.
“Look who’s
awake!” Adam
commented, smiling at his brother. “Would you like a drink?”
“Mm,” Joe agreed
and when
Adam brought the glass over, he tried to reach for it. The look of
surprise on
his face when his arm wouldn’t cooperate was almost comical. “What…?”
“Take it easy,”
Adam
soothed. “You’ve broken your arm and it’s in plaster.”
Accepting that
for the
moment, Joe took a few sips of the water. He lay back down and sighed
deeply.
Although his body was grindingly sore, his mind was much clearer. And
suddenly,
Joe remembered. “Caitlin and Simon!” he gasped, making an attempt to
get up.
Restraining him
gently,
Adam assured him, “Don’t worry, they’re safe. Relax, Joe. I promise
that
they’re all right. Caitlin was in to see you yesterday, but you slept
all the
time she was here.”
“But Geoffrey!”
Joe
protested. “He… he…” He struggled to get the words out. “He hit me,”
Joe
panted, as the memories washed over him. “I was tied up and couldn’t
get away.”
The green eyes were wide with fear as Joe remembered. Adam put his hand
on
Joe’s shoulder to give him support. “He dragged me behind his horse…”
Joe’s
voice ran out and he panted for breath.
“Geoffrey is
safely in
jail,” Adam assured him. “You’re safe now, Joe.”
Slow tears
seeped out
between Joe’s closed lashes and ran down the sides of his face into his
hair.
Adam gently wiped them away. Eventually, Joe slept again. Adam watched
him
sleep, while heaping curses on the head of the man who had done this to
his
beloved brother. At that moment, Adam would have gladly gunned Geoffrey
down.
The only thing that stopped him was that he was responsible for looking
after
his brother and he couldn’t abdicate that responsibility.
*****************
The next day saw
Joe ready
to learn how badly injured he was. He listened in silence and growing
dismay to
the seemingly endless list. Although he had had no choice but to accept
his
family’s help while unconscious, Joe had hoped to be able to at least
pee in
privacy, but he soon saw that that was out of the question and would be
for
some time. He was horribly embarrassed the first time he moved his
bowels and
had to accept Ben cleaning him up afterwards. This was the way it would
have to
be for some time, as Joe could do nothing at all for himself.
By the fifth day
after he
had been injured, Joe was begging to go home. His pain was now
manageable as
the broken bones began to knit and the new skin started growing. Joe
was fed up
of not being at home and he could see the toll it was taking on his
family as
they commuted to and from the ranch each day so that he wouldn’t be
alone. Ben
stayed all the time, but Joe knew that he would soon have to go back
and help
Adam and Hoss. And so Paul agreed he could go home.
*********************
As he waited for
his
brothers to arrive with the wagon, Joe was told he had visitors. He was
sitting
up in a chair, his plastered legs stretched out in front of him. The
only
clothing he could get on was one of Ben’s shirts and a pair of his
pants with
the legs split up the seams. Joe fervently wished that he looked more
presentable, but he did at least have clothes on. Ben had threatened to
just
make him wear a robe home, but Joe had vetoed that idea before
realising that
he was being teased. “Send them in,” he told Paul glancing at Ben, who
shrugged.
It was Caitlin,
Simon and
Marie. Joe gazed at Caitlin for a moment, overwhelmed with relief that
she
really was all right. “Caitlin!” he cried and she hurried across the
room to
kiss his cheek.
“How are you,
Joe?” she
asked, examining him closely. “I’m so sorry about this.”
Frowning, Joe
replied,
“Caitlin, unless there’s been an horrendous mistake, Roy Coffee has
already
locked up the person who did this. So I don’t see how it’s your fault.”
“But it’s
because of me
that Geoffrey did this!” Caitlin protested. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not your
fault,” Joe
assured her. He desperately wanted to reach out and touch her hand, but
he
couldn’t move either arm. “Please, believe me.”
“Are you sure?”
Caitlin
asked.
Smiling, Joe
nodded. His
head was finally free of the bandage that day and had at last stopped
its
relentless throbbing. “Of course I’m sure,” he scolded. He looked up at
Simon,
who was holding the baby. “How’s Marie?” he asked.
Taking the hint,
Simon came
closer and held the child out so Joe could see her. She was awake, as
Joe had
already guessed from the odd gurgles she had been emitting. Now, she
rewarded
him with a charming smile and a small burp. “Oh, how lady-like,” Joe
teased.
“Joe, we’ve come
to say
goodbye,” Caitlin murmured. “Simon and I are going back east on the
train.”
“I see,” Joe
replied, his
face suddenly still. “That’s a surprise.”
“I had hoped you
would be well
enough for us to say goodbye to in person,” Caitlin told him tears
standing in
her eyes. “I wanted to thank you for being my friend.”
“I’ll always be
your
friend,” Joe assured her, his voice hoarse. He raised his face as
Caitlin
leaned in to kiss his cheek.
“Thank you for
helping
her,” Simon said, patting Joe’s shoulder in lieu of shaking his hand.
“Goodbye.” He ushered Caitlin out.
“Goodbye,” Joe
croaked,
after the door was closed.
Standing by the
window, Ben
watched as the couple walked away down the street. His heart ached for
his son.
He turned away and went over to Joe. He was gazing blindly at the door,
tears
running down his face, which was a picture of misery. Silently, Ben sat
down
and put his arm round Joe’s shoulders. Joe leant into his father’s
warmth. “I
love her, Pa,” he whispered. “I love her.”
“I know,” Ben
crooned. He
gently wiped away the tears, reflecting that the course of true love
never did
run smooth. Caitlin was everything he had hoped for in a
daughter-in-law and
Joe, as he had feared, had given his heart to her, when she wasn’t free
to love
him back, firstly because she thought her husband was dead and then
because she
discovered that he wasn’t. None of this was Caitlin’s fault and Ben,
who had
met her in the street, knew that she was well aware of Joe’s love for
her and
of how much this would hurt him.
But Joe was
strong and had
his family around him to lend him support through this difficult time.
Joe
would recover from his injuries and his broken heart would mend. One
day, Joe
would love again.
They were still
sitting
like that when Adam and Hoss came in. Joe’s tears had dried and he was
feeling
tired. “Is everything all right?” Adam asked, sensing that something
had
happened.
“Yes,
everything’s all
right,” Joe replied. He turned his head and looked at Ben. “Let’s go
home.”
The End