Rise with the Occasion

Book 10 of A HOUSE UNITED series

By Sarah Hendess

 

Ponderosa Ranch
Late December 1863

 

            It didn’t sink in until Monday the twenty-eighth that Hoss had really moved out.  Ben, Adam, Little Joe, and Josie all slept in until nine o’clock the morning after the wedding, and until they resumed their usual routines at home on the twenty-eighth, they’d been able to pretend Hoss was just away for a night.  It was at breakfast on Monday that the big man’s absence sank in.  While he would return to work as usual the following week, the house would never be the same without him.

            Adam wanted nothing more than to ride out to see his new fiancée, but due to Christmas and the wedding, several chores had gone undone, and Ben needed his help at home.  He felt no small pang of jealousy as he watched Josie bundle up to ride out to the O’Connells’ farm to check on Fionn right after breakfast.

            “I’ll tell Molly you said hello,” Josie said, kissing Adam’s cheek before she slipped out the door.

            The O’Connells’ farm lay on the western shore of Washoe Lake, about halfway between the Ponderosa and Virginia City.  There had been no new snowfall the past couple days, so the road was still packed down from the Cartwrights’ last ride to town, and Josie, Scout, and Pip made good time.  Adam always chastised her for looking down at her horse rather than where she was heading, but Josie couldn’t help gazing down at her beautiful Appaloosa mare as she rode.  She’d agreed to let Adam breed Scout to his stallion, Ruckus, when the mare came into season in the spring, and it pained Josie to think of not being able to ride her horse for several months.  Josie still distrusted horses, but she and Scout had reached an understanding.  Josie was not looking forward to adjusting to a new mount.

            It took her only an hour to reach the O’Connells’ farm, and she smiled as a tendril of smoke curled from the chimney of the farmhouse.  Pip raced ahead, barking his head off to let Conall know he’d arrived.  Fionn stepped out onto the porch and grinned as Josie hitched Scout to the post in front of the house.  Impatient, he skipped down the porch steps and swung Josie around before planting a big kiss on her.

            “Come on, let’s take Scout to the barn.  She’ll be warmer in there.”  He grabbed Scout’s reins and started to lead the mare toward the little barn.  Josie stopped him.

            “Not without your coat, you don’t!  You march yourself right back into that house, Fionn O’Connell!  I’ll take care of my horse.”

            Fionn raised his hands in surrender and backed his way up the porch steps and into the house.  Josie giggled as she led Scout into the barn and untacked her.  She knew she’d be there for at least an hour or two, so there was no point in not making Scout comfortable.  She found an extra blanket hanging on a peg and tied it around Scout’s middle to keep her warm.  Giving Scout a final pat on the nose, she grabbed her medical bag and zipped out of the barn.

            Fionn was waiting for her just inside the front door and helped her out of her coat. 

            “I put the kettle on,” he said.  “Thought you might like some tea.”

            “I would love that, thank you!” Josie said, kissing him again.  Fionn wrapped his arms around Josie and held her close.  Josie sighed happily as Fionn’s warmth seeped through her shirt.  “Where’s Molly?” she asked, glancing around.

            “Molly is at her shop today,” Fionn answered, still holding onto Josie.  “Every time you Cartwrights throw a party, she gets swamped with orders.  You’re quite good for her business.”

            Josie grinned.  “She did a beautiful job with those bridesmaids’ gowns.  She deserves the attention.”  She paused as a tingle shot up her spine.  “So it’s just you and me, eh?”

            Fionn chuckled and held Josie at arm’s length.  “Aye.  Just you and me.  Well, and Conall and Pip.  But I don’t think they’ll bother us.”  He glanced over his shoulder at the two wolfhounds, who were wrestling playfully on the rug in front of the fireplace.

            Josie giggled.  “No, I don’t think so.  Take off your shirt.”

            “Man alive, Hey, You, I thought we were takin’ things slow!”

            “Your lungs, remember?”  Josie grinned as she held up her medical bag.

            “Right, me lungs.”  Fionn led Josie into the living room where a fire crackled in the fireplace, and he obediently unbuttoned and removed his shirt.

            Josie swallowed hard as she gazed at Fionn’s bare chest.  He was lean, but not lanky, and his chest and arms bulged with muscles he’d built working his land.  His skin was smooth and pale; Fionn lost his summer tan during the winter.  Hundreds of freckles sprinkled his shoulders, and Josie had to stop herself from kissing every single one of them.

            “Be professional, Dr. Cartwright, be professional,” she told herself.  This was not the first time she’d seen Fionn shirtless.  She’d peeled his shirt off him within minutes of his arrival on the Ponderosa before Christmas and examined him at least a dozen times during his stay.  But that was before they were courting.  And Fionn had been desperately ill.  And her family had been right there.  Now she and Fionn were alone in his house, miles from anyone, with no expectation of being disturbed for seven or eight hours.  She gave her head a little shake and focused on digging her stethoscope out of her medical bag.

            “Turn around,” she told Fionn when she found it.  He sat sideways on the sofa, and Josie sat behind him and placed the end of her stethoscope against his back.  “Take a deep breath for me and then let it out slowly,” she commanded.  Fionn did, and Josie was treated to the beautiful sound of air rushing in and out of clear lungs.  Fionn let out a small, dry cough as he expelled the last of his breath, but there was no doubt he had fought off the pneumonia.  “Your lungs sound perfect!” she announced with a smile.  Fionn grinned as Josie moved around him and pressed the stethoscope to his chest.  She frowned.  “Your heart’s pounding, though.”  She started running through a mental list of possible causes, but Fionn took her by the waist and pulled her onto the sofa in front of him.

            “Wonder why that might be,” he said.  He took the stethoscope from her hand, set it on the coffee table, and leaned in and kissed her.  Josie sighed as she kissed him back, and Fionn pulled her onto his lap.  She wrapped her arms around his neck and slipped her tongue into his mouth.  Fionn slid his hands slowly up from Josie’s hips to her waist and began untucking her shirt.  Josie didn’t know whether or not to stop him.  She looked up at the ceiling and sucked in a big lungful of air.  The room was hazy.  Fionn must have gone to her head.  Then, a vigorous burbling came from the kitchen.

            “Fionn, the kettle!”

            Fionn’s eyes popped open, and he cursed as tipped Josie onto the sofa and darted into the kitchen.  Josie tucked her shirt back in while Fionn tended to the tea, and he returned a few moments later bearing a tray with a teapot, two cups, milk, sugar, and a small plate of scones.  He set the tray on the coffee table and pulled his shirt back on.

            “Break for elevenses?” he asked with a grin.

            “At nine-thirty?  Why not?” 

            Fionn laughed and poured Josie a cup of tea, allowing her to add milk and sugar herself.  They sat together on the sofa as they drank their tea and munched their scones.  When the teapot was empty and the scones nothing but a few crumbs left on the plate, they sat in awkward silence, neither of them sure what to do next.  Pip and Conall had completed their wrestling match and now lay curled up together in front of the fire, giving their owners no diversion whatsoever.

            “So, do you have a lot of other patients to see today?” Fionn asked at last.

            “No.  No one else, actually.  Unless someone comes out to my clinic, which is unlikely.  This time of year, they usually go into town to see Paul.  Roads are more likely to be clear heading that way.”

            “Oh, aye.”  Fionn draped his arm around Josie’s shoulders and toyed with her braid.  “So, uh, would you like that cuddle we talked about?”

            Josie smiled.  “Just a cuddle?  Taking it slow?”

            “Aye, just a cuddle.  And maybe some snogging.”

            Josie giggled.  “Snogging?!  What in the world is snogging?”

            “Pretty much what we were doin’ before the kettle interrupted us.”

            “Well in that case, ok.”

            “Do you trust me?”

            “Of course,” Josie said.

            Fionn smiled and stood up.  Taking Josie by the hand, he led her to his bedroom.  It was a small room, with space for little more than the bed and a washstand, but like the rest of the house, it was swept clean, and the bed was made up with a beautiful patchwork quilt that Josie presumed Molly had sewn.  Fionn sat on the edge of the bed and pulled off his boots, beckoning to Josie to do the same.  Her heart racing, she sat down and yanked at her boots, nearly punching herself in the face as her left boot came loose and her hand flew backward.  Fionn chuckled and crawled under the covers.  He held the edge of the quilt up, and Josie climbed in next to him.

            “Relax, Hey, You,” Fionn whispered as he pulled her into his arms.  “I promise, it’s just a cuddle.”  Josie let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding and released the tension in her body as she nuzzled her head onto Fionn’s shoulder. 

            Josie thought she could lie there forever, wrapped up in Fionn’s arms.  His body was warm against hers, and every so often, he would kiss her cheek or her temple.  She reached an arm behind her and ran her fingers through his hair.  Encouraged, Fionn propped himself up on one elbow and leaned over her.  He said nothing as their eyes met, and he traced her jawline with one finger before kissing her lips again.  Her hands reached up, unbuttoned his shirt, and shoved it off his shoulders.  Fionn moaned softly as Josie ran her hands down his chest.  For a brief moment, her hands hovered at his belt buckle before sliding around his waist and clinging to his bare back.  She closed her eyes as Fionn kissed her again, but her eyes flew open again when she felt his hand on the top button of her shirt.  She must have let out a little whimper, because Fionn’s eyes opened, too, and he gazed down at her.  Josie searched for the words to communicate what she was feeling – desire, fear – but her vocabulary abandoned her, and she just stared at him, wide-eyed.

            Fionn smiled.  “Sorry,” he whispered as he brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes.  “Got a little ahead of meself there.” 

            “That’s ok,” Josie whispered back, returning his smile.  “I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted you to stop.”

            Fionn gave her a final kiss and rolled off of her.  He opened his arms wide, and Josie snuggled up against him, her head once more on his shoulder.  Warm and blissful, they both drifted off to sleep.

            Josie awoke two hours later, and it took her a minute to remember where she was.  She smiled as she became aware of Fionn’s arms still wrapped around her, and she rolled over and kissed him awake.  He smiled sleepily at her. 

            “Hungry?” he asked, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

            “Yeah, actually, I am.”  The scones and tea seemed like years ago.

            Fionn nudged her out of bed, took her hand, and led her, stocking-footed, back to the living room.  He pointed her toward the sofa while he coaxed the fire back to life and then ducked into the kitchen to heat up some stew.  Carrying the same tray he’d used for their tea that morning, Fionn reappeared in the living room twenty minutes later with two steaming bowls of stew, several slices of brown bread, and a little pat of butter.

            “Warmer in here than the kitchen, believe it or not,” he said, setting the tray down on the coffee table.

            Josie smiled and thanked him for the food.  As before, they ate in silence, just enjoying the warm stew and each other’s company.  Josie gazed up at the mantel and shook her head at Fionn’s father’s shillelagh that hung there.  She couldn’t believe it had been six months since that fateful day when Fionn had told her about the shillelagh right before he kissed her.  Which was right before Josie broke his nose.  Biting her lip so she wouldn’t giggle at the absurdity of the series of events that led to her having just spent two hours in bed with Fionn, her eyes came to rest on a little jar just below the shillelagh.  It was a nondescript glass jar with a clasping lid, like the ones Hop Sing used when he made preserves.  But this one wasn’t full of jam.  It took Josie a second to realize just what the jar held.

            “Fionn, why do you have a jar of dirt on your mantel?”

            Fionn had been buttering another slice of bread, and his head snapped up.  He smiled as he followed Josie’s gaze.

            “That’s not just dirt, Hey, You.”  He set his bread on his plate, got up, and snatched the jar off the mantel.  He handed it to Josie.  “That’s Ireland.  Scooped it off the banks of the River Liffey just before me, Molly, and Da left Dublin.  Been carryin’ it around nine years now.”

            “You carried this all the way from Ireland?”

            “Aye.  From Dublin to Galway, across the ocean to Boston, and across the continent all the way to San Francisco.  And now to Virginia City.”

            Josie giggled.

            “What’s so funny?”  Fionn’s face fell, and Josie frowned, too.  She hadn’t meant to hurt his feelings.

            “I’m sorry, Fionn, it just struck me that your little jar of dirt has traveled more places than most people I know.”

            Fionn brightened again.  “Aye, suppose it has, hasn’t it?”  He grinned and took the jar back from Josie.  He stared at it longingly.  “Not quite as full as she once was.  Da and me, we sprinkled a little of it on the porch of our home in San Francisco.  I did the same thing when Molly and I moved here.”  He blushed.  “You probably think that’s silly.  Celtic superstition, or some such nonsense.”

            Josie rose and took his free hand.  “Not at all, Fionn.  I think it’s beautiful.”  He smiled.  “Come on, finish your lunch, and then I’ll help you with the dishes.”

            Once they’d polished off the rest of the bread, Fionn and Josie carried their dishes into the kitchen and cleaned them up.

            “I tried to argue once that washin’ dishes was a woman’s job,” Fionn said as he put the now-clean bowls back into the cupboard.  “Molly cracked me so hard across the backside I couldn’t sit down for a day and a half.”

            Josie laughed.  “I guess it’s different for me, living with four men.  Well, three now.  Either way, we don’t have the luxury of differentiating men’s and women’s work.  It’s all just work, and someone has to do it.  Though none of us really enjoys it when Little Joe tries to cook.  Thank goodness for Hop Sing.” 

            Fionn chuckled and gave Josie a swift kiss.  “I have to go check me livestock.  You stay here where it’s warm.  I’ll be back before you can say ‘Jack Robinson.’”  He glanced at the dwindling pile of logs next to the kitchen stove and frowned.  “Guess I’ll bring in some more wood, too.”

            Josie nearly offered to help, but stopped herself.  It had been so hard for Fionn to accept the Cartwrights’ assistance while he was sick, and Josie could tell it was important for him to stand on his own two feet again.  She did, however, oversee his bundling up to ensure he wore enough layers to stay warm while he was outside. 

            While Fionn tended to the livestock, Josie got down on the living-room floor and played with Pip and Conall.  By the time Fionn burst back through the front door, his arms laden with firewood, Josie was sitting on the floor leaning against Pip with Conall sprawled across her lap.

            “See you’ve managed to stay warm!” Fionn said as he dropped the logs into the rack next to the fireplace.  He let out a couple dry coughs, and Josie shoved Conall off her lap and rushed over to him as he pulled off his layers.

            “You all right?”  She laid a hand on his cold cheek.

            “Oh, aye.”  Fionn cleared his throat.  “Just flares up a little in that cold air.  I’ll be fine.”

            He was a bit pale and his chest was heaving.  The slog through the snow to and from the barn had taken a toll on his recovering body.  Josie took his hand.

            “Let’s go have another cuddle,” she said, suddenly shy.  “Get you warmed up.”

            Fionn broke into a wide grin.  “Never let it be said that Fionn O’Connell didn’t listen to his doctor.” 

            Minutes later, they had discarded their boots again and were snuggled up under the covers of Fionn’s bed.  Worn out from his tromp through the snow, Fionn drifted off within moments.  Josie lay awake listening to him breathe and marveling again at how she had ended up here with Fionn.  Had Simon not attacked Fionn, she’d probably be a married woman by now, living over a furniture shop in San Francisco.  Time was a great healer, but this thought of Simon still made her a little sad.  She sighed, and in his sleep, Fionn cuddled up closer against her and nuzzled his face in her hair.  Josie’s sadness vanished, and she said a little prayer of thanks for the way things had worked out. 

            “I love you so much, a chuisle,” she whispered to Fionn’s sleeping form.

******

            That Thursday afternoon, the Cartwrights’ house buzzed with activity.  It was New Year’s Eve, and Adam and Josie were bouncing with excitement that Molly and Fionn were coming to ring in the new year.  Little Joe was thrilled because Hoss would be coming, too, and Ben was just delighted that no one had invited Widow Hawkins.

            Eyebrows had been raised Monday evening when Josie arrived home, pink-cheeked, giggly, and barely in time for supper.  When Ben made a comment that she must have had a lot of patients to visit, Josie had blushed deep scarlet and muttered something incomprehensible.  Adam weaseled it out of her later that she’d gone nowhere except the O’Connells’ and that Molly had not been home.  Josie assured him no impropriety had occurred, but Adam warned her about protecting her reputation all the same.  Josie nearly opened her mouth to remind Adam that he was hardly one to talk, but she decided against ending such a wonderful day with an argument.

            Hoss and Patience arrived first on New Year’s Eve, and Little Joe pounced on his brother before he’d even stepped down from his wagon.

            “Geez, little buddy, it’s only been five days!” Hoss said, laughing. 

            “Five apparently interminable days,” Adam called from the porch. 

            Ben stepped over to the wagon and lifted Patience down while Hoss shoved Little Joe off of him and into the snow.

            Josie and Adam waited until Hoss and Patience had reached the porch to offer their greetings, and then everyone hustled into the house to warm up.  While Josie and Patience giggled next to the fireplace, Hoss shook off Little Joe for a second and pulled Adam to the side.

            “You were right, Adam,” he whispered.  “It was amazing!”

            Adam bit back a bark of laughter.  “I wouldn’t lie to you about something like that.”  He slapped Hoss on the back and led him back into the throng.

            Molly and Fionn arrived mere moments later, and Adam swung Molly around before pulling her in for a kiss.

            “Have you told them?” she asked, breathless and giggling.

            “Only Pa,” he whispered.  “Figured I’d wait until you got here to break the news to Joe, Hoss, and Hop Sing.”

            Molly smiled and glanced over at Josie and Fionn, who still had their arms wrapped around each other, their faces beaming.

            “Wonder how long until we get an announcement out of those two as well,” she said.

            Adam smiled, too, as he looked over at his cousin and her beau.  “I don’t know.  Josie told me they were taking things slowly.”

            “Aye, that’s what Fionn said as well.  But things have a way of happenin,’ you know.”  She winked at Adam and handed him her carpetbag.  Since the celebration would last past midnight, she and Fionn were staying the night.

            Adam’s face darkened.  “They better not,” he grumbled.

            “Be fair now, me love.”  Molly laughed at Adam’s scowl and poked him in the ribs.  He broke into a smile and led her into the house, tapping Fionn’s shoulder as they passed.  Fionn and Josie obediently fell into step and came inside, too.

            As the family sat around the table after a huge dinner, Adam rose and asked for everyone’s attention.

            “I’d like to offer a toast,” he began, raising his wine glass.  “First, of course, to the newlyweds, who seem as happy as we all hoped they would be.”

            Hoss and Patience exchanged shy smiles and squeezed hands under the table.

            “Second, to Miss Molly O’Connell, who has done me the great honor of consenting to be my wife.”

            The table erupted.

            Ben, Fionn, and Josie already knew of Adam and Molly’s engagement, of course, but this was the first that Little Joe, Hoss, Patience, and Hop Sing had heard of it.  The four of them leapt to their feet and made enough noise for at least a dozen people as they offered their congratulations to Adam and Molly.

            Hoss wiped tears from his eyes as he pumped his older brother’s hand.  “That’s wonderful, Adam, just wonderful!  When did you ask her?”

            “At your wedding reception, actually,” Adam said, shuffling his feet.  “We stepped outside for a moment.  I hope you don’t mind.”

            “Mind?  Of course I don’t mind!  I’m honored!”

            Little Joe shoved between Adam and Hoss as they grinned at each other.

            “Congratulations, Adam,” he said.  “But thanks a lot.”

            “For what?”

            “Now Pa’s gonna be breathing down my neck about getting married!”

            All three brothers burst out laughing.  Adam wrapped an arm around each of them and mussed up their hair, just like he used to do when they were little. 

            “All right, all right, you three,” Ben said with a chuckle as he rescued Hoss and Joe.  “Let’s all settle down and have some dessert.”  Hoss settled right down at the mention of dessert, and before long, everyone was digging into slices of Hop Sing’s famous spice cake.

            The family spent the rest of the evening catching up with Hoss and Patience and playing games.  Hop Sing proved to be exceptionally good at charades, and Josie humiliated Ben on the checkers board.  The highlight of the evening was, of course, the final countdown to midnight.  Joe and Fionn had escaped to the cellar and returned with armfuls of jars of hard cider to toast the new year.

            Adam pointed a warning finger at Josie.  “You’re stickin’ to one jar, young lady.”

            Josie giggled.  “Believe me, Older Brother, that is NOT a problem!”

            Adam pulled his watch out of his pocket and led the family in a countdown of the last ten seconds of 1863.  When they hit zero, everyone shouted “Happy New Year!” and circulated around the room, hugging each other.  Even Pip and Conall bounced around giving New Year’s licks.  Adam pulled Molly in for a lingering kiss.

            “This is the year we get married, sweetheart,” he said.

            Molly couldn’t say anything.  She just smiled at him with tears in her eyes and kissed him again. 

            It was nearly two a.m. before the party broke up.  Ben tried to persuade Hoss and Patience to stay the night rather than driving forty-five minutes through the cold to their house, but the newlyweds were awfully anxious to get home.  Hoss muttered something about checking on Chubb, but he fooled no one.  Everyone stepped onto the porch and waved as Hoss and Patience drove off, and then they hurried back into the house to get out of the cold.

            Little Joe yawned, stretched, and bid everyone goodnight.  Ben suggested the rest of them do the same and directed Fionn to the downstairs guestroom while he followed Joe, Josie, Adam, and Molly upstairs.  Molly was about to follow Josie into her bedroom when Adam grabbed her elbow.

            “You get your own room this time, sweetheart,” he said, pointing to the door of Hoss’s old room.  “We’ve had an opening.”

            “So you have.”  She gave Adam a quick kiss, ducked into Hoss’s old room, and closed the door behind her.

            Adam said goodnight to his father and Little Joe and then turned to Josie and gave her a hug.

            “Happy new year, Little Sister,” he said. 

            “Happy new year, Adam.”

            “So what were you and Patience plotting this evening?”

            Josie giggled.  She and Patience had spent a good deal of time with their heads together in a corner of the living room.  “Oh, you know, just library stuff.”

            Adam raised an eyebrow.  “Uh huh.”

            “Adam, a doctor must keep her patients’ confidences secret.”

            “Hang on.  She’s not… already?!”

            “Oh, goodness, no!” Josie exclaimed, then dropped her voice.  “Even if she were, she wouldn’t have noticed anything yet.  I was just letting her know what to look for in the future.  Anyway, have a nice night.”  She gave him a suspicious little wink, kissed his cheek, and darted into her room, giggling.

            Alone in the hall, Adam muttered “That was odd,” shrugged his shoulders, and retired to his bedroom.

******

            Thirty minutes later, Josie cracked her bedroom door and listened for signs of life.  Hearing none, she stuck her feet in her slippers and turned to leave.  Pip whined.

            “I’m sorry, Pip, but you can’t come with me.  You and Conall will start wrestling and wake up the whole house.”

            Pip collapsed dramatically on the floor and looked up at Josie with sad eyes.  Josie sighed.

            “Look, you can sleep in my bed if you stop pouting, ok?”  She patted the bed, and Pip leapt to his feet and sprang onto the mattress.  Josie bit her lip to keep from laughing aloud as the gigantic dog burrowed under the covers and flopped onto his side, his shaggy head resting on Josie’s pillow.  Stretched out to his full length, he was longer than Josie was tall.  She pulled the quilt up over his shoulders and patted his head. 

            “Good boy.  Keep it warm for me.  I’ll be back later.”  She slipped out of the room, closed the door behind her, and crept downstairs to the guestroom.

******

            Adam stirred as he heard footsteps in the hallway, but when his bedroom door didn’t open, he assumed he must have been dreaming and rolled over to go back to sleep.  Ten minutes later, however, his door did open, and Molly slipped into the room.  She glided across the floor and crawled into bed next to him.  He sighed as she kissed him awake.  He grabbed Molly’s nightgown and pulled it over her head.  Molly giggled softly.

            “Easy there, Adam,” she purred.  “We should savor this.” 

            They did.

            Afterward, Molly collapsed in his arms.  Adam held her tightly and tried to get his brain back together.

            “That was incredible,” he whispered.

            Molly smiled and nuzzled her face into his neck.  Adam set his alarm clock for five a.m. – sadly, only two hours away now – and drifted off.

******

            Adam smacked his alarm clock the instant it rang.  Given how late they’d all gone to bed, no one would be awake yet, but he didn’t want to take any chances.  His bedroom had grown cold, and he and Molly shivered as they fumbled their way back into their pajamas.  He kissed her goodbye, and Molly slid out of the room.

            Across the hall, Ben awoke with a start.  He thought he’d heard an alarm clock, but then decided it must have been the pressure in his lower abdomen that woke him up.  He sighed.  Seemed he couldn’t get through a night anymore without having to get up at least once.  He rolled out of bed, crammed his feet into his slippers, and stuffed his arms into the sleeves of his dressing gown.  He toddled across the room, flung open his door, and stepped into the hallway.

            And smacked right into Molly as she left Adam’s bedroom.

            “Oh, Mr. Cartwright!” Molly exclaimed in a hushed tone.  “Oh my goodness!  I, uh, well, uh…” 

            Ben’s eyebrows shot up.  “Do you need something, my dear?”

            “Oh, no, sir,” Molly said, recovering.  “I just heard Adam coughin’, and after Fionn was so sick, well it scared me half to death.  I couldn’t get back to sleep without makin’ sure he was all right.  I’m sorry, sir.  Supposin’ I should have woken Josie and let her check on him.”

            Ben had heard enough tall tales in his day not to fall for Molly’s, but something prickled in the back of his brain, and he suddenly remembered his thirties.  He decided to let this one slide.  “Probably,” he agreed.  “But sometimes when we’re worried, we don’t think straight.  Is he all right?”

            “Oh, yes, sir.  Just a dry throat from the cold air.  I gave him a glass of water, and he’s sleepin’ like a baby.”

            “Well, I expect he’s exhausted now,” Ben muttered.

            “I’m sorry, sir?”

            “Nothing, Molly.  You run along back to bed, sweetheart.  Thank you for checking on Adam.”

            Molly beat such a hasty retreat into her room it was a miracle she didn’t leave a pair of fire trails behind.

            Ben chuckled softly and was about to head into the washroom to take care of the reason he’d gotten up in the first place when his brain prickled again.  Josie.  If Molly was out of bed…  Ben padded down the hall to Josie’s bedroom and cracked open the door far enough to stick his head in.  There was just enough moonlight coming in through the window to reveal a long, slim figure – all alone – in the bed, the covers pulled up nearly over the head. 

            “That’s my good girl,” Ben whispered fondly.  He closed the door and headed back for the washroom.

            Under the covers of Josie’s bed, Pip thumped his tail, pleased to pieces by his own cleverness.

******

            In his room, Adam had fallen back to sleep the moment Molly stole into the hallway, so he completely missed overhearing the conversation between Molly and Ben.  Nor did he hear Josie creep back upstairs thirty minutes later.

After a lovely – and innocent – night spent wrapped up in Fionn’s arms, Josie slipped back into her bedroom just before five-thirty.  She was pushing it getting back to her own bed this late, but when she had gotten up half an hour earlier, she’d heard Ben’s and Molly’s hushed voices coming from the upstairs hallway, and she didn’t dare venture upstairs until they’d had time to fall back to sleep. 

            Pip was still stretched out in Josie’s bed when she returned to her room, and Josie had to shove him to one side to make enough space to climb into bed.  Pip was no substitute for Fionn, but he was toasty warm and more than happy to let Josie fling an arm around him and snuggle up. 

            “Uncle Ben would be so mad if he spotted you on the bed,” Josie whispered.

            Pip just wagged his tail, beating a cadence against Josie’s leg.  She giggled, buried her face in her dog’s wiry fur, and fell asleep. 

******

            Fionn and Molly left right after breakfast the next morning.  Josie and Adam wished they would stay longer, but Molly had a slew of gown orders to work on, and Fionn promised he’d be back later in the week to help with some of the Ponderosa chores.  Josie had grinned when Fionn told her how Adam was finding extra work for him to earn supplies for building a washroom.  She was glad not only that Fionn would have hot running water, but also that he’d be spending more time around the Cartwrights’ ranch over the next few months.

            As January passed, Fionn certainly did spend a lot of time around the Ponderosa.  Adam had meant it when he said he hated cold winter chores, and he set Fionn to work checking on their herds in winter pasture, patching a few drafts in the barn, and splitting firewood.  Fionn even helped Hop Sing with household chores such as making soap and doing the laundry.  After one particularly heavy snowfall, Josie came in from her clinic to see Fionn and Little Joe clearing snow from the roof of the house.  She shrieked as Fionn slipped and plummeted from the rooftop, but the snow was piled so high against the house that he fell only four feet before landing feet-first in a massive pile of fluffy snow.  Josie and Little Joe laughed so hard they could hardly dig him out.

             Josie and Fionn didn’t get any real time alone during this period, but they were content just getting to see each other.  Josie was tempted many times to make a stop at the O’Connells’ on her way to and from town, but one of Ben’s firmest rules was that she always tell someone where she was going and never deviate from that plan except in an emergency.  He wasn’t trying to be controlling; especially in the winter, on a ranch as big as the Ponderosa, letting someone know where you were going and when you expected to return was simply a matter of safety.  But Josie did miss the cuddling.

            Meanwhile, word of Adam and Molly’s engagement coursed through Virginia City like a racehorse.  Adam couldn’t walk down the street without being congratulated by at least three or four people – all of whom wanted to know when the wedding would occur.

            “We should set a date,” Adam told Molly one afternoon when he went into town to post some letters.  “Whole town’s getting antsy to know, not to mention my aunts in Boston.”  While in town, Adam had received one telegram from Hannah and two from Rachel expressing their joy over his engagement and wanting to know when the wedding would be so they could make travel arrangements.

            “I suppose it depends on how soon you think you could have a house built,” Molly said.

            “Yeah.”  Adam scrubbed his hands through his hair and ambled over to the calendar Molly kept on the wall of her shop.  “I don’t expect this weather to break much before mid-March.”  He counted weeks on the calendar.  “What with springtime round-up and branding, I’d hate to promise anything before the middle of June.”

            Molly joined him at the calendar.  “Well, how about June 25, then?”  She pointed to the date on the calendar, the emerald in her engagement ring sparkling on her finger.  “That gives you a couple extra weeks, and us about a month and a half before the cattle drive.”

            “Actually, my dear,” Adam said, slipping an arm around her waist, “it’s my turn to stay home from the drive.  So you’ll just have to put up with me all summer.”

            “Is that so?”  Molly gave him a coy smile.

            “That’s so.”  Adam leaned down to kiss her but was interrupted by the tinkle of the bell over the shop’s door.

            “Oh, I’m sorry!” Rebecca Croft exclaimed, turning to leave.  “I didn’t know you had company, Molly.”

            Adam let go of Molly and turned to Rebecca.  “No, it’s all right,” he assured the young lady.  “I was about to head home anyway.”

            “Congratulations on your engagement, Adam,” Rebecca said.  “My family was excited to hear the news.”

            “Thank you, Rebecca.”  A flash of light reflecting off the third finger of Rebecca’s left hand caught his eye.  He took her hand and held it up to admire the small diamond sparkling there.  “And it would appear congratulations are in order for you, too.”

            Rebecca blushed.  “Tom proposed on New Year’s.”

            Adam grinned.  Thomas Billings, the banker’s son, was a fine young man with a bright future ahead of him.  If not for Fionn, Adam would have nudged Josie in Tom’s direction before he began courting Rebecca.  “Have you set a date?” he asked.

            “Yes, just yesterday.  We’ve decided on July 16.  Gives Simon plenty of time to arrange to be here, and then he can help Daddy drive the cattle on his way back to San Francisco.”

            Adam’s stomach jumped at the mention of Simon.  “Have you told many people yet?”  He tried to sound casual.

            Rebecca’s sharp brown eyes locked on Adam’s.  “Josie knows,” she said simply.  “I bumped into her the last time she was in town.  And Simon knows about her and Fionn.  It won’t be a problem.”

            Adam hoped she was right.

******

            Adam’s concern over Simon’s visit evaporated as he, Molly, and Josie planned a birthday party for Fionn.  He was turning twenty-four on February 9, and as Molly informed them, it had been three years since Fionn had last celebrated his birthday.  Two years earlier, Fionn and Molly had been making arrangements to bury their father.  Last year, they’d been preparing to leave San Francisco in the wake of Fionn’s acquittal for attacking Molly’s ex-fiancé.  Josie and Adam assured her they’d do Fionn’s birthday right this year. 

            Fionn had more than earned the lumber he’d need to build his washroom, so Adam and Josie ordered a large copper bathtub from San Francisco as his gift.  They were worried the stage coach wouldn’t be able to deliver it over the mountains that time of year, so they toasted with two of the last jars of hard cider when it arrived just days before Fionn’s birthday.

            Fionn would never consent to a party, so Josie, Adam, and Molly conspired to surprise him.  On the afternoon of the ninth, Ben dragged Fionn into the high country with him to check his traps.  They took Pip and Conall along, too – after Ben’s close call the previous winter, he never rode into the mountains in the snow without Pip.  Josie came home a little early from town that day with Molly in tow to help set up for the party.  Due to the weather, it was only a family affair, but with the additions of Patience and Molly, Cartwright family affairs were growing rather large.  There almost wasn’t enough furniture for everyone to hide behind when Ben and Fionn arrived at the ranch house after their long, cold day in the high country.  As it was, Hop Sing’s shoes stuck out from behind the dining-room curtains.

            Everyone laughed when Fionn nearly fell backward in surprise as they revealed themselves with a chorus of “Happy birthday, Fionn!”  But Fionn got the last laugh when he said, with a poker face worthy of a card shark, “Thank you, everyone, but it’s not my birthday.”

            The hilarity died immediately.  Josie went pale.

            “But, Fionn, isn’t your birthday February 9?” she asked.

            “‘Tis,” he replied, sticking his hands in his pockets.  “But today’s the tenth.”

            The family glanced around at one another, their faces asking each other how they all could have made such a huge mistake.  Fionn smiled politely through the whole exchange, but when he caught Adam glancing at the calendar near Ben’s desk, his cool expression crumbled, and he broke out in laughter.

            “If you could only see the looks on your faces!” he cackled.  “Of course today’s the ninth!”

            Eight faces went from alarmed to relieved in an instant.

            “Good one, Fionn,” Hoss said, shaking Fionn’s hand.  “You really had us going there!”

            Everyone agreed that Fionn had played the moment masterfully and were congratulating him until Hop Sing herded them all over to the table to eat.  It was awfully crowded with eight people at the table and one Chinese cook flitting all around, but Hop Sing had made a big pot of chili, which required only a bowl and a spoon, so it was easily eaten in tight quarters. 

Despite his reservations about taking anything from the Cartwrights, Fionn grinned from ear to ear when Hop Sing brought out a huge birthday cake with white icing and placed it before him.  Everyone shouted “Happy birthday!” again while Fionn blew out the twenty-four tiny candles Hop Sing had managed to fit onto the confection.  He grinned even more broadly when Molly, Little Joe, Ben, and Hoss and Patience piled presents in front of him when everyone had finished with their cake.  He tore into the gifts, revealing a pair of leather gloves from Molly, a bottle of whiskey from Joe, a checkers set from Ben, and a thick fisherman’s sweater from Hoss and Patience.  Finally, Josie took him by the hand and led him into the guestroom, where she and Adam had stashed the bathtub.  Fionn’s jaw dropped when he saw the enormous basin.

“Adam,” he said, his eyes never leaving the bathtub, “I think we’re goin’ to have to build a bigger washroom than we’d planned!”

Adam chuckled and laid a hand on his future brother-in-law’s shoulder.  “Come on, Fionn, you know me better than that.  You think I didn’t check the measurements several times?”

Fionn chomped down hard on his lower lip and turned to shake Adam’s hand.  “Thank you,” he said in a husky voice.  “This is truly wonderful.”

“Thank Josie, too,” Adam replied.  “Half of it’s from her.”

“Oh?”  Fionn raised an eyebrow.  “Which half?  The top or the bottom?”

Josie giggled.  “The front, actually,” she said. 

“Ah, good on ya, Josie.”  Fionn pulled her into a tight hug.  “So when are you goin’ to help me try it out?” he whispered into her ear.

Josie snorted and buried her face in Fionn’s shoulder so her family wouldn’t see her blushing.  She had just pulled herself together when a frantic pounding on the front door stopped everyone in their tracks.  Hoss got there first and flung it open to reveal a pale and shivering Matthew Marquette.  Adam’s heart leapt into his throat when he came around the corner and saw Hoss pulling Ross’s younger brother into the house.

“Josie!” Matthew sputtered.  “I need Josie!”

Josie burst out of the guestroom and dashed over to Matthew.  She laid a hand on his forehead, but he shook her off.

“Ain’t me!” he said.  “It’s Dell!  Josie, her baby’s coming!”

Josie’s eyes widened, and she spun on her heel and tore up to her bedroom to retrieve her medical bag.  At the same time, Adam and Little Joe snatched up their coats and hats and darted out to the barn to saddle horses.  Ben threw an arm around Matthew’s shoulders and led him to the blue armchair next to the fireplace.

“It’s too early, Mr. Cartwright, it’s too early,” Matthew moaned, burying his face in his hands. 

            Ben poured the young man a large brandy. 

            “It’ll be all right, son,” Ben said, handing him the drink.  “Josie will take good care of Dell and the baby.”

            “Me too,” Hoss said as he pulled on his coat.  “I’m goin’ with her.  Patience, you be all right stayin’ here tonight, sweetheart?”

            Patience nodded and gave Hoss a kiss before he raced out the door to saddle up Chubb, grateful that he and Patience hadn’t come over in their wagon that evening.

            Josie flew back down the stairs, her medical bag clutched in her right hand.  She gave Fionn a swift goodbye kiss and then dived into her coat, hat, scarf, and gloves before dashing out to the barn with Pip trailing along.

            “I should go,” Matthew said, getting to his feet.  Ben pushed him back into the chair.

            “Not yet, you’re not,” he said.  “Babies take their time coming.  You just sit there and warm up a while.”

            The front door flew open yet again, and Adam shoved Little Joe inside ahead of him. 

            “We’re leaving, Pa!” he called.  He kissed Molly, grabbed his, Hoss, and Josie’s guns off the sideboard, and ran back out, slamming the door behind him.

            Ben, Fionn, Molly, Patience, Little Joe, and Matthew were left in a suddenly very quiet great room with nothing to do but stare at each other.

            “So!” Fionn said at last, clapping his hands together.  “Who wants another slice of cake?” 

******

            It took Josie, Adam, Hoss, and Pip nearly two hours to battle their way through the snow to the Marquettes’ ranch, all three of the humans praying the whole way for the safety of Delphine and her baby.  When they finally arrived at the Silver Dollar Ranch, they handed off their horses to one of Ross’s ranch hands and burst into the house without knocking.  Adam hollered Ross’s name as he, Josie, and Hoss tore off their coats, hats, scarves, and guns.

            “Up here, Adam!” Ross called back from the second floor.

            Three pairs of booted feet and one set of fuzzy paws thundered up the stairs.  Josie had never been in the Marquettes’ home before, but Delphine’s moans of pain told her immediately which was the master bedroom.  The door was ajar, so Josie let herself in, followed closely by her cousins and Pip.

            “Josie, thank God!” Ross said.  He grabbed Josie’s arm and yanked her over to Dell’s bedside.

            “How you doing, Dell?” Josie asked, brushing a lock of sweaty blond hair from the woman’s forehead.

            “I’ve been better,” Delphine panted with a tight smile.

            Josie smiled back.  “I bet you have been.”  She turned to the men.  “Adam, how about you take Ross downstairs and get him a cup of coffee?”  Ross locked his knees when Adam tried to lead him from the room.  “It’s ok, Ross,” Josie said.  “I’m just going to examine Dell.  I won’t let you miss anything important.  Have a cup of coffee and maybe a bite to eat, and then you can come right back.”

            Ross kissed Delphine’s forehead and followed Adam from the bedroom, Pip trotting along behind them.  Once downstairs, Adam sat Ross down at the kitchen table and set a kettle on the stove.  Ross dropped his forehead onto the table.

            “Thanks for riding out, Adam,” he mumbled into the wood.  “You didn’t have to.”

            “Don’t be daft, Ross,” Adam replied.  “Of course I did.”  He sat at the table across from his friend, and the two men waited in silence for the water to boil.  Either Dell was no longer groaning or they were too far away from the master bedroom to hear her.  The silence was agonizing.  Adam kept glancing at the kettle, wishing it would hurry up.  At long last, Ross spoke up.

            “Where’s Matthew?”

            “Oh, he was half frozen when he got to our place, so Pa kept him.  He’ll send him back once he’s thawed out a bit.”

            Silence descended again.  Adam’s thoughts kept turning to the laboring woman upstairs.  He and Ross had been best friends since they were awkward, lanky kids.  He’d been the one to introduce Ross and Delphine ten years ago.  He knew how badly they wanted children, and now, after years of praying for a miracle, Dell was laboring prematurely.  His stomach twisted, and he almost didn’t notice when the kettle finally began to steam.  Before serving the coffee, he poured a generous helping of whiskey into each of the cups.  Ross’s face twisted when he tasted it.

            “Easy now, Adam,” he said, attempting a wry grin.  “Don’t you remember how much trouble we got into with that bottle of whiskey when we were kids?”

            Adam chuckled.  “How could I forget that?  I’ve never been so sick in my life.  Poor Hoss thought I was dying.”

            Ross finally managed a real grin.  “I still can’t believe we thought we could build a flying machine.”

            “I still can’t believe you jumped out of the barn loft!”

            The friends laughed at the memory, the tension in the room finally broken. 

            “My father was so angry,” Ross said, shaking his head.

            “Yeah, mine, too.”

            The men were still chuckling when Hoss clumped his way into the kitchen.  Ross leapt to his feet.  He opened his mouth, but Hoss held up a hand.

            “Don’t you worry none, Ross,” he said.  “Dell’s doin’ just fine.  In fact, Josie thinks she’ll be delivering that baby in the next hour or so.”

            “Is the baby ok?”   Ross’s voice was small and sounded far away.

            “Near as we can tell, the baby’s just fine,” Hoss assured him.  “It’s a little early, but Josie’s pretty sure Dell’s eight months along, not seven.  Most babies do just fine at eight months.  Why, Adam here’s an eight-month baby, and look how good he turned out!”

            Adam flashed his most winning smile.  Ross rolled his eyes.

            “Can I see her?” he asked.

            “Of course.  You go right on up.”

            Ross tore out of the kitchen, his doctored coffee forgotten on the table.  Adam rose to follow him, but Hoss grabbed his arm.

            “You stay put, Uncle Adam.  Dell don’t need every Cartwright in the territory gettin’ a peek.”

            Feeling that life was brutally unfair, Adam dropped into his seat.  Hoss patted his shoulder and headed back upstairs.

            Each minute was a geological age.  About half an hour later, Matthew came home.  Adam met him at the door and updated him on Dell’s progress.  The exhausted young man sank onto the sofa and stared into the fire.  Adam followed suit.

            Not long after, Delphine’s cries of pain rang through the house.  Adam and Matthew both jumped.  Matthew sprang from his seat, but Adam held him back.

            “Stay put, Uncle Matthew,” he said, echoing Hoss.  “Dell’s got everyone she needs up there.”

            Matthew plunked back down on the sofa.

            As Dell’s cries grew louder, Matthew clapped his hands over his ears.  Adam stood up and paced the living room.  Pip started to whine.  But within minutes, Delphine fell silent, and the squalls of a newborn baby filled the home.  Matthew burst into tears and leapt at Adam, catching him up in a huge hug.  Adam fell backward into an armchair with the force of Matthew’s enthusiasm, the young man landing in his lap. 

            “Get a hold of yourself, man!” Adam demanded, giving Matthew a little push onto the floor. 

            Matthew was still on his rump on the floor and having his face licked by an excited Pip when Hoss thundered halfway down the stairs.

            “It’s a girl!” he announced.  “Healthy as a horse, too!  Dell’s doin’ just fine.  Ross is a little peaked, but he’ll be all right.”  He turned and pounded his way back up the stairs to finish assisting Josie.

            Adam buried his face in his hands while Matthew danced around the living room shouting “A niece!  I’ve got a little niece!”  Pip chased after him, barking.

            Another fifteen minutes went by before Hoss appeared again, inviting Matthew and Adam upstairs to meet the newest Marquette.  Refusing to be left behind, Pip followed them up the staircase and into the master bedroom.

            Dell was sitting up in bed, her newborn daughter clutched in her arms.  She was pale and sweaty, but beaming from ear to ear.  Paler and sweatier still, Ross sat next to her, staring down at his baby girl.  Josie and Hoss were off to the side of the room washing up and repacking Josie’s medical bag.  Much as he wanted to dash to Ross and Dell’s side, Adam sidled over to Josie so Matthew could have first claim on the family.  He laid a hand on Josie’s shoulder.

            “How’d it go?” he asked quietly.

            Josie turned from the wash basin and grinned at Adam.  “Perfectly.  Dell did great.”

            “How’s the baby?”

            “Also perfect.  A little on the small side, but she’s got a good set of lungs.  I expect Ross and Dell won’t be getting much sleep for the next couple months.”

            Adam pulled Josie into his arms and let his relief wash over both of them.  Tears welled up in his eyes, and he buried his face in Josie’s hair. 

            “Thank you,” he whispered.

            Josie took a step back and looked up at him.  She dug into her pocket, pulled out a clean handkerchief, and blotted a stray tear from his cheek.  “Dell did all the work,” she said.  “All I did was catch.  Now, why don’t you go meet the little one?”  She gave him a nudge toward the Marquettes.

            Suddenly shy for the first time in his life, Adam required a second nudge from Josie to get his feet moving toward the bed.  Matthew was cradling his niece, but he handed her to Adam when he finally reached them.  Adam swept the baby up in his arms in a much more experienced fashion than Matthew had done and stared down at the tiny pink face.

            “Hey there, little one,” he whispered, his eyes filling with tears again.  The baby ignored him and yawned in her sleep.  Adam smiled as he looked from the baby to Ross and Delphine and then back to the baby.  “Thank goodness you look like your mother,” he said more loudly.  Everyone laughed except Ross, who blew raspberries at Adam.  The baby let out a soft whimper, so Adam handed her back to Delphine.  “You are so blessed,” he told the new parents.

            “I expect you’re right behind us,” Ross said with a grin.

            Adam smiled.  “With any luck.”  He turned to his cousin.  “Josie?  Do you need to stay here tonight, or should we get out of the Marquettes’ way?”

            Josie studied Delphine’s face and saw the color returning to her cheeks as she cooed over her baby.  “I think we could get out of the way.”

            “Don’t be silly,” Ross said.  “It’s past midnight and it’s freezing out there.  We’ve got plenty of space.  Please stay.”

            Adam caught Josie’s eye, and the cousins reached a silent agreement.  “All right,” Adam said.  “Pa won’t worry if we don’t come home tonight.  He knows a thing or two about new babies.”

            Josie grinned and finished tucking her equipment into her medical bag.  Once she was all packed up, Matthew led the three Cartwrights to the guestrooms. 

            The Marquettes’ house was nearly as large as Ben Cartwright’s.  Though only Ross, Dell, Matthew, and now the baby lived there, the five bedrooms had once also accommodated Ross and Matthew’s parents, now deceased, as well as the middle son, Henry, who had a blacksmith business in Carson City.  Adam had no doubt that Henry and his wife would soon be paying a visit to Virginia City.

            “Ross and Dell got this one all set up as a nursery.”  Matthew pointed to a closed door as they ambled down the hallway.  “But you all can set up in these two.  This one’s got two beds.”  He pointed toward another door and heaved a heavy sigh.  “The beds are all made up.  Adam, you know where everything is around here.  You all right if I go to bed?”

            “Absolutely,” Adam said, laying a hand on the young man’s shoulder.  “Get some sleep.”

            Matthew nodded and trudged back the way they’d come, disappearing into a bedroom at the end of the hall.

            Hoss swung open the door of the bedroom Matthew had pointed out, and all three of them tried to go through the narrow doorway at the same time.  Josie’s head knocked against the doorframe, and Adam bit back a cry of pain as all of Hoss’s weight came down on his foot. 

            “Josie, this is the room with two beds,” Hoss said, ignoring his brother and cousin’s pain and poking his head into the room.  “Why don’t you take the other one?”

            Josie slipped under Hoss’s arm into the room.  “Hoss?  Have you taken a look at these beds?  They’ll be a tight fit even for Adam.  You’ll hang off the end.”

            “Huh, guess I will,” Hoss mused.

            “Take the other room,” Adam said.  “The bed in there is bigger.  Josie and I can bunk in here.”

            Hoss nodded and smacked right into his brother as he turned around.  Adam sighed.

            “Oh, sorry, Adam,” Hoss said.  “Get all clumsy when I’m tired.  ‘Night you two.”

            Josie and Adam bid Hoss goodnight before they each collapsed onto one of the small beds.

            “We should wash up,” Adam muttered, staring up at the ceiling.  “Washroom’s two doors down on the right.”

            “Good to know,” Josie replied.  She stuck her feet up in the air and pulled off her boots without sitting up.  The boots hit the floor with a clunk, and Josie slid under the covers.

            “I’ll second that,” Adam said.  He pulled his boots off, too, and crawled under the covers of his own bed.

            “I feel bad for running out on Fionn’s party,” Josie said with a yawn as Adam blew out the oil lamp.

            “Yeah, but he understands,” Adam replied.  “He’s awfully proud of you, you know.”

            “Really?”

            “I would have thought that was obvious.  You’re his primary topic of conversation.”

            Josie was grateful for the darkness.  It meant Adam couldn’t see her blush.

            “I think the boy needs a hobby,” Adam chuckled, somehow knowing anyway that Josie was blushing.

            “He’s been talking about getting a small flock of sheep.”

            “Sheep?  What in the world does he want sheep for?”

            Josie shrugged even though Adam couldn’t see her.  “I asked him that exact question.”

            “And?”

            “And he said, ‘Because I’m Irish.’” 

            Adam laughed at Josie’s perfect imitation of Fionn’s accent.  “And in Fionn’s mind, that’s a perfectly reasonable explanation,” he said, still chuckling.  “Well, good luck with your sheep, Fionn.”  He shook his head and yawned.  “Goodnight, Josie.”

            “Goodnight, Adam.”  Josie rolled over into a more comfortable position, and she and Adam were both asleep within minutes.

******

            Before they left the next morning, Josie gave Dell and the baby another thorough examination.  Both mother and baby were doing great, and Josie encouraged Delphine to get out of bed and start moving around.

            “If you have any trouble nursing, don’t be ashamed to ask for help,” she said as she packed up her stethoscope.  “Charlotte Larson is a miracle worker when it comes to nursing.  She knows more about it than I could ever hope to.”

            Adam knocked on the door, and Josie called him in.

            “Just wanted to say goodbye before we left,” he said.  He shook Ross’s hand and kissed the cheeks of both Dell and the baby.  “Have you thought about what you’re going to call her?”

            Delphine smiled up at Ross.  “Giselle,” she said in her French accent.  “After my grandmother.”

            Adam grinned as he and Josie agreed that Giselle was a beautiful name.

            “Come on, you two,” Hoss said, appearing in the doorway.  “Let’s leave the new family be.  Ross, you all need anything, you scoot yourself right on over to the Ponderosa, you hear?”

            Ross promised he would, and after a final round of goodbyes, the Cartwrights headed home.

******

            The rest of February passed quietly for the people in and around Virginia City.  Heavy snowfall kept everyone home most of the time, but Adam and Josie frequently ventured over to the O’Connells’ farm to visit Fionn and Molly – when the latter pair weren’t traipsing over to the Ponderosa.  Adam was anxious to start building his and Molly’s house, but there was nothing he could do until the weather broke, so he passed the time helping Molly with wedding plans.  It took both him and Little Joe to hold Fionn still long enough for Molly to measure him for a new suit for the event, though Josie very gallantly offered up her bottle of chloroform.  Adam had hoped to have the wedding right there on the Ponderosa, but as he and Molly created their guest list, it quickly became apparent that they needed a bigger venue.  The front yard would do fine for a reception, but they would have had to borrow chairs from every family in Virginia City to have enough seating for the ceremony.

            “Looks like I better speak to Reverend Lovejoy about using the church,” Adam said one afternoon as they counted up their guests again.  They were up to one hundred, and it seemed that every day one or the other of them – if not Ben – thought of another name to add.

            “Do you think he’ll be all right with it?” Molly asked.

            “Why wouldn’t he be?”

            “Only time I’ve been in the church here was Hoss’s weddin’.”

            “Oh, he won’t care about that.  Besides, the Lovejoys are family now.”

            “Yes, but I’m Irish.”

            Adam grinned mischievously.  “You don’t say!”

            Molly smiled, but there was no sparkle in her green eyes. 

            “Means I’m Catholic, doesn’t it?” she said.

            “Are you?”  Adam was genuinely surprised.  In the ten months he’d known Molly, the topic of religion had never come up.  And the closest thing to religious iconography in the O’Connells’ home was the late Patrick O’Connell’s shillelagh over the mantel.  Though he supposed he should have made the connection.  It wasn’t exactly a secret that most Irish were Catholic.

            “Fionn and I were both baptized Catholic.  Only went to Mass a handful of times as children in Ireland, and not at all since we came here, but that’s a handful too many times for most Americans’ comfort.”  Molly’s voice dropped nearly to a whisper.  “That was one more strike against Fionn in San Francisco.”

            Adam took Molly’s hand.  “I’ve known the Lovejoys since I was sixteen years old,” he said.  “The Reverend won’t refuse to perform my wedding.”

            “I’m sure he won’t.  But that doesn’t mean the people of Virginia City will be happy about him performin’ it in their church.”

            “If they don’t like it, they don’t have to attend.”

            “All right,” Molly agreed.  But Adam could tell she wasn’t entirely convinced.

******

            Adam made a cold ride into town the next day to speak with Reverend Lovejoy.  He tried the Lovejoys’ house first, but Mrs. Lovejoy directed him to the church.  As Adam mounted the church’s front steps, he smiled as the notes of “Amazing Grace” wafted out from the sanctuary.  Though Widow Hawkins supplied most of the church’s piano playing, Reverend Lovejoy was an expert pianist himself.  He was known slip away to the church to play, especially when he was trying to work out the following week’s sermon.  Adam made a production of stomping the snow off his boots before heading inside in the hopes that he wouldn’t startle the minister right out of his skin.

            The piano cut off as Adam stepped into the sanctuary.  Reverend Lovejoy stood up from the piano bench and greeted Adam with a warm handshake.

            “What can I do for you this afternoon, Adam?”

            Adam explained his and Molly’s situation with their guest list.  “And Molly’s concerned that she won’t be allowed to be married in the church because she was baptized Catholic,” he finished.

            “Who was baptized Catholic?!” a shrill voice echoed from behind them.  Both men jumped and turned around.  Adam’s heart sank as the petite form of Mrs. Laurel Bailey strode down the aisle toward them.  He hadn’t entirely forgiven her for giving Josie such a cold reception when she’d arrived in Virginia City almost three years ago.

            “No one in particular, Mrs. Bailey,” Reverend Lovejoy replied, clasping her hand in greeting.  “You know Adam and me.  We get together, and the academics in us just come sailing out.  You never know which way the conversation may turn!”

            Mrs. Bailey narrowed her eyes.  One crooked index finger jabbed itself in Adam’s direction.  “It’s that Irish girl you’re marrying, isn’t it?  Idol worshipers, the lot of them!”  She turned on the minister.  “Reverend, please tell me you’re not planning to perform that ceremony!”

            Adam raised an eyebrow and waited for Reverend Lovejoy’s response.

            “Actually, Mrs. Bailey, I am.  I’ve known the Cartwrights for the better part of twenty years, and I’m not about to deny one of them a church wedding.”

            “You can’t be serious!” the woman snapped.  “It’s bad enough they let those heathens into our country, but for you to allow them into our church is an outrage!  The Virginia City Ladies’ Guild won’t stand for it, Reverend, you can be assured of that.”  She reached into her handbag and pulled out a small wad of bills.  “Here is forty-five dollars we raised for the church over the past few months.  You would do well to remember the wishes of the women who donated it.”  She crammed the money into the minister’s hand and then turned on Adam.  “And you, young man, would do well to pay attention to the sort of riffraff your dear cousin is chasing around with.  Did you know that your fiancée’s brother was put on trial for murder in San Francisco?  Or did she conveniently forget to tell you about that?  Though I suppose a girl like Josephine can’t expect to do much better, what with her insistence on running around playing at medicine like she was a man.”

            Adam puffed up like an angry cat, but Reverend Lovejoy stepped between him and Mrs. Bailey.

            “First of all,” the Reverend said, his tone low and even, “Fionn O’Connell defended his sister from an attack that very well could have cost her life.  It was prejudice like yours that unfairly put him on trial for attempted murder.  Second, he was acquitted.  And third, while the ladies of Virginia City may contribute to the financial needs of this church and, yes, even my own salary, that does not give any of you the right to spew hatred in this House of God.  Adam Cartwright and Molly O’Connell will be married in this church, and that is the end of it.”  He stuffed the forty-five dollars into Laurel Bailey’s still open handbag and then showed her his back.  “Oh, and one more thing,” he said, turning to her again.  “Dr. Cartwright may not be a lady in your narrow conception of the term, but she is truly a virtuous woman, and as the Good Book says, ‘her price is far above rubies.’  Good day.”  He turned away from Mrs. Bailey again and did not turn back around.  Adam watched as the woman’s jaw worked up and down a few times.  With a loud “Hmph!” she stormed out of the church, slamming the door behind her.

            Adam turned his attention to the reverend and was surprised to see the older man’s shoulders shaking with rage. 

            “I appreciate what you just did, Reverend, but you didn’t need to bring on that sort of trouble on my behalf.”

            “Yes, I did,” Reverend Lovejoy growled.  “Laurel Bailey and the Ladies’ Guild have been trying to use their donations for their own political ends for far too long.  This was the last straw.”

            “Even so, Molly and I can find another place for the wedding.”

            “No, you won’t.  You and Miss O’Connell will be married right here.”  There was a finality in his tone that warned Adam not to argue.

            “So we shall,” he agreed.  “And the church can expect a generous donation for your trouble.”  He turned to leave, but the Reverend grabbed his elbow.

            “Just tell me one thing, Adam.  The O’Connells aren’t practicing Catholics, are they?”

            “No.  Molly said they hardly ever went to church in Ireland and haven’t gone at all since they came to America, and that was nearly ten years ago.”

            The minister wiped his brow.  “All right.  It doesn’t matter to me, but this gives me a leg to stand on with anyone else who might complain.  But I baptize your children, you understand?”

            Adam grinned.  “Agreed.  Thank you, Reverend.  For everything.”  He shook the minister’s hand and left the church.

******

            Mid-March brought good news all around.  Hannah and Rachel had written to say they would arrive in early June, about three weeks before Adam’s wedding, to help with the final preparations.  Having no reason to hurry back to Boston, they planned to stay at least through the end of July, if not into August.  Sheriff Coffee and Clementine Hawkins were the only ones excited by the prospect of seven or more weeks with Rachel, but everyone was glad to have Hannah for such a long visit. 

            Much to Adam’s delight, the winter weather broke a week earlier than he’d predicted.  He wanted to get right to work on Fionn’s washroom, but Fionn insisted he work on the new house for Molly first.

            “Besides,” Fionn had said when Adam tried to argue that he intended to keep his promise of the washroom.  “I’ve got some lambs to pick up from a fellow outside Carson City before I start plowing for me crops.”

            Adam shook his head.  “I still don’t understand why you want sheep.  They’ll tear up your pastures, you know.”

            “Let me ask you somethin’, Adam.  Can cattle tear up pastures?”

            “Well, sure.  That’s why we rotate them around the land.”

            “There you go.”

            Adam grinned.  “Point taken.  Enjoy your sheep, Fionn.  We’ll work on that washroom once the house is built.”

            Over the next weeks, Adam, his brothers, and the ranch hands rushed to complete the spring roundup and branding so they could get to the construction of Adam’s house.  Ben had granted his request for the meadow on the shores of Lake Tahoe, and like Hoss, Adam had insisted Ben not split the land off from the rest of the Ponderosa.  He drove Molly out alone to the spot one morning, and tears streamed from her eyes as Adam handed her a shovel to break the first ground.  Adam had shown her his blueprints for the house, but he couldn’t resist running around the house’s future footprint and explaining where each room would be.

            “The kitchen will be here, with the dining room adjacent.  We’ll have a nice big great room like Pa has, and the bedrooms will be upstairs.  I’ve planned five.”  He stood in the middle of what would be the living room and pointed up at the sky.  “Our bedroom will be right about there.” 

            “Our bedroom,” Molly echoed wistfully. 

            Adam grinned at her and looped an arm around her waist.  “Our bedroom,” he repeated.  “With a gigantic new bed I’ve ordered from San Francisco.  Lots of room to roll around.”  He nipped playfully at her neck, and Molly squealed with laughter.  He pulled her into a tight hug.  “I can’t wait, sweetheart.  I can’t wait to spend every single night together.  No more sneaking around.  No more ‘supplies.’”  Molly sighed and leaned into him.  Adam kissed her forehead.  “I want a baby, Molly,” he whispered.

            Molly smiled into the front of Adam’s coat.  “So do I,” she whispered back.  They were quiet for a time, wrapped up in each other’s arms.  “We’ll be married soon enough, you know.”

            Adam took a small step back and studied her face.  “What are you suggesting?”  He raised one eyebrow.

            “I’m suggestin’ that that sort of thing can take a little while anyway, so if we just stopped bein’ so careful, what difference would it make?”

            The corners of Adam’s mouth twitched.  “And what if it doesn’t take a little while?”

            “Then we tell everyone the baby was early.”

            “An explanation that will satisfy everyone except a young lady who bears an uncanny resemblance to me.”

            Molly giggled.  “A young lady who also shares your ability to keep your mouth shut.”

            “That’s true.  Her discretion is laudable.”  He smiled.  “All right then.  Let’s throw caution to the wind, shall we?”  He pulled her close again and held her fast.

            “Come on, Adam,” Molly said.  “Let’s go back to my house and warm up.  Fionn’s out to Carson City today picking up those lambs he’s been on about.”  She gave him a cheeky wink.

            “Miss O’Connell, are you trying to seduce me?”

            “Not exactly hard to do, is it?”

            With a final kiss, Adam led Molly back to the wagon, and they drove off for the O’Connells’ farm.

******

            The house construction went smoothly for the first two weeks until a shipment of nails and shingles Adam had ordered got held up in Carson City.

            “I should have known something would happen,” he grumbled one morning at breakfast.  “Things were going too well.”

            “It’s just to Carson City, son,” Ben said, pouring another cup of coffee.  “Why don’t you take the buckboard and pick them up?”

            “Because I’m supposed to ride down to Genoa today to pick up that mare I bought for Molly.”

            Noticing that Molly and Fionn shared the dapple-gray mare, Adam had purchased a small red mare for Molly as an early wedding gift.  The mare was a beautiful little horse.  An Appaloosa, like Josie’s Scout, only copper-colored.  She hadn’t developed the typical Appaloosa speckling – just one little white patch at the top of her left foreleg and a white coronet marking on her left hind leg – but she was a sound, sturdy animal who would give Molly years of service.  Not to mention a few beautiful foals if Adam bred her to his dapple-gray stallion, Ruckus.

            “I’ll go get the building supplies for you, Adam,” Joe offered.  “I’ve been itching for a trip to Carson City anyway.”

            Adam and Ben exchanged a skeptical glance.  Little Joe tended to get into trouble in Carson City, usually in the saloon. 

            “Hey, I’ll come with you!” Josie said.  “I wouldn’t mind a trip to Carson City, either.  Dr. Martin said a new apothecary opened up there, and I’d love to check it out.”

            Ben and Adam’s shared glance turned from skeptical to alarmed.  Adam was remembering Josie’s tale of her and Little Joe’s canoeing trip.  Ben was remembering the night of the hard cider.  He knew he had to play his cards just right.

            “Wonderful idea!” he said, leaning back in his chair.  “I have some financial business that needs to be transacted in Carson City.  You two won’t mind taking care of that for me, would you?”

            Little Joe’s lip curled.  “Financial business, Pa?  What sort of financial business?”

            “Oh, stocks and bonds, things like that.  Shouldn’t take you more than three or four hours.”

            “Three or four hours?” Josie asked, her nose wrinkling.  She glanced at Joe.

            “You know, Pa, I think Adam would be better suited for that job, being the good businessman he is and all,” Joe said.

            “Yeah, Uncle Ben,” Josie added.  “I’d hate to mess up something that important.”

            “Well, I have great faith in the two of you, but if that’s how you really feel, maybe Adam should be the one to go,” Ben replied.

            “Could you go, Pa?” Adam asked.  “Then I could still go get the horse.”

            “Unfortunately, son, I’ve got to help Hoss and some of the men with the last of the branding today.  We came across a few stragglers the other day, and we need to get them marked and mixed in with the rest of the herd.  I’m sorry, but it really can’t wait.  There have been rumors of rustlers in the area.  Can’t you wire the seller in Genoa and let him know you’ll be a few days later than you thought?”

            Adam sighed and scrubbed his hands through his hair.  “Only problem is I didn’t put a deposit down on that animal.  Didn’t have the cash on me when I saw her.  Seller’s been holding her for me in good faith.  If I don’t show up today, he may sell her to someone else.”

            “I may not know much about stocks and bonds, but I sure do know a few things about horses,” Joe said, cheerful again.  “How about Josie and me go down to Genoa for you and get the horse?”

            Adam chewed on his lower lip.  This idea wasn’t a whole lot better than sending Josie and Little Joe to Carson City, but he didn’t see any other solution.  “All right,” he conceded.  “I’ll get you the money.”

            Josie and Little Joe beamed at each other before scampering away from the table to get some gear together.

            “Gonna be a long day, riding all the way to Genoa and back,” Josie shouted down the hallway as she spread the contents of her medical bag across her bed to make sure she was well supplied.

            “We’re not doin’ this in one day,” Joe called back.  “Bring a dress!  We’ll stay at the hotel tonight, and I’ll take you to dinner.”

            Josie cheered and snatched a simple calico dress out of her wardrobe.  It would get a little wrinkled rolled up and tied to her saddle, but it wouldn’t matter.  Genoa was no fancier than Virginia City.

            In minutes, the two youngest Cartwrights were packed and ready to go.  Josie and Little Joe raced each other down the stairs and nearly crashed into Ben, who was standing at the bottom.

            “Easy there, you two,” he chastised gently.  Don’t go getting yourselves into trouble already.”

            “Aw, we won’t get into any trouble at any time, Pa,” Joe protested.  “Believe it or not, me and Josie know how to be responsible adults.”

            Ben grunted a reply and turned his head as he heard the front door open.

            “Joe, you’ll have to get Cochise ready, but I’ve got Betsy all saddled up for you, Josie!” Adam said as he stepped inside.  Pip trotted in behind him.

            “Betsy?”  Josie’s stomach gave a little lurch and she started for the door.  “Scout’s not sick, is she?”

            “Scout’s fine,” Adam assured her.  “But she came into season yesterday.  Figured I’d put her in the corral with Ruckus later today.  If we’re still in agreement about that, of course.”

            “We are!  I just, I mean, are you sure she is?”

            Ben took her elbow.  “If Adam says she is, then she is,” he said. 

            “I do pride myself on knowing a thing or two about women,” Adam said, puffing out his chest.

            Little Joe rolled his eyes.

            “Besides,” Adam continued, “I led Ruckus past her stall yesterday, and both of them went half crazy.”

            Josie’s shoulders sagged.  “I thought you said she wouldn’t come into season until at least late April.”

            “Usually, mares around here don’t,” Adam replied.  “Apparently Scout has other plans.”  He put a hand on Josie’s shoulder.  “It’s ok to change your mind.  Or we can wait for her next cycle.  I just thought it would be better to get started right away.  Increase the chances of success.”

            “No, let’s start now.  Just surprised me is all.  I’m sure Betsy and I will get along just fine.” 

            Adam smiled.  “You will.  And even if Ruckus does his job properly this first time around, you’ll still get to ride Scout through the summer.  You’ll have to ride her a little easier, but you don’t really have to come off a healthy pregnant mare until the last three months or so.  And if you promise to be real careful, you can ride the new horse home from Genoa.  You know, test her out.  Make sure Molly will like her.”

            Josie grinned.  “Thanks, Adam.”

            “Any time, kid.  Now you two should get going.  The money for the horse is in your saddlebag along with a letter from me to the seller.  Man named Don Webster.  He runs the livery stable in town, so you shouldn’t have any trouble finding him.”

            “You got it!”  Josie hugged Adam and Ben.  Then she grabbed Little Joe’s hand and dragged him toward the door.

            “Wire us if you need anything!” Ben called.

            “We will, Pa!” Joe chirped as he zipped out the door behind Josie.

            Adam and Ben were left standing in the living room and shaking their heads.

            “I have to admit, I’m a little jealous,” Ben said.

            “A trip to Genoa does sound like a lot more fun than branding cattle.”

            “True.  But I was thinking more along the lines of those two’s enthusiasm for just about everything.”

            Adam chuckled in agreement.  Then he turned serious.  “So what about those cattle rustlers you mentioned at breakfast?  Think we need to hire some extra men to protect the herd?”

            Ben sighed.  “Not yet.  It’s still just rumors.  Peter Croft mentioned it to me the other day.  Apparently Bud Johnson lost a few cattle, and he found tracks leading off his property.”

            “Doesn’t mean rustlers.  Those cattle could have wandered off.”

            “Could have.  But there are several new faces wandering around town.  Men with no real background.  That’s certainly not unusual for Virginia City, but I’d rather be on my guard than lose cattle.”

            “I’m with you there,” Adam agreed.  “I’ll mention it to Ross next time I see him.  The more people we have keeping an eye out, the better.”

            “Agreed.  How’s the baby, by the way?”

            “Growing like a weed.  Pretty agreeable little thing, too.  Doesn’t scream nearly as much as Little Joe did.”

            “Adam, no child before or since will ever scream as much as Little Joe did.  Notice how Marie and I didn’t have another one after him?”

            Adam laughed.  “Good point, Pa.  Still, I’ve never seen Ross and Dell so happy.”

            “Good for them.”  Ben smiled sadly.  “I wish Ross’s father were still here.  He would have been thrilled to death with a little granddaughter.”

            Adam smiled, too, as fond memories of Jasper Marquette came back to him.  “He sure would have.”

            “Hurry up, Hoss,” Ben muttered.

            Laughing again, Adam bid his father goodbye and headed outside to introduce Scout and Ruckus before hitching up the wagon to drive to Carson City.

******

            Well down the road to Genoa, Josie and Little Joe were still talking and laughing as exuberantly as they had when they’d left the house.  They were in no hurry and let the horses – and Pip – amble along as they all enjoyed the warm spring sunshine.  Josie decided Betsy wasn’t so bad.  The bay mare often served as a relief for the Cartwrights’ usual mounts, and she was a compliant, intelligent animal.  Josie just hoped Ruckus was being kind to Scout. 

            “I’ve never been to Genoa,” Josie said to distract herself.  “Is it very big?”

            “A little bigger than Virginia City,” Joe replied.  “Older than Virginia City, too.  It’s been there since I was a kid, but they called it ‘Mormon Station’ then.  We used to go down there for supplies before Virginia City sprang up.  But it wasn’t much more than a trading post until they discovered the Comstock Lode.”

             Josie nodded.  She knew the Cartwrights had friends in Genoa – indeed, Ben Cartwright had friends everywhere – and it was exciting to get to see a different town.  After her birthday trip with Adam to Sacramento, Josie wanted to explore the whole of the American West like Lewis and Clark.  She’d have to leave Adam at home, though.  He’d want to plan the whole trip out in advance, and that would take away the fun of getting hopelessly lost.  Fionn and Joe would be much better suited to the adventure.

            They stopped for lunch a little better than halfway there and breezed into Genoa in the late afternoon.  Since they needed to board their horses anyway, they went first to the livery, where they introduced themselves to Don Webster and gave him the letter from Adam.  The man smiled as he refolded it and shook Josie’s and Little Joe’s hands. 

            “Got the money right here for you, Mr. Webster,” Josie said, digging the cash out of her saddlebag.  “Fifty dollars cash, as agreed.”

            While Mr. Webster drew up the bill of sale, Josie and Joe admired the horse Adam had selected.  The little red mare was a smidgeon taller than Scout, but she had the same sleek build. 

            “She’s gonna run like the wind,” Josie said, patting the horse’s nose.

            “She sure will,” Joe agreed.  “Adam picked a good one.”

            “He always does.”

            Webster returned then with the bill of sale.  Joe looked it over carefully and declared everything in order.  The trio enjoyed another round of handshakes, and then Joe paid Webster to board all three horses and Pip for the night.

            “Can’t say I ever boarded a dog,” Webster said.  “But seein’ as how he’s nearly horse-sized, don’t expect it makes no difference.” 

            “He won’t give you any trouble, will you Pip?” Josie said.  Pip wagged his tail and licked Josie’s hand.  She bid him and Webster farewell for the evening, and then she and Joe walked down the street to the hotel.

            They secured side-by-side rooms on the second floor.  It was nearly suppertime, so they cleaned up for dinner.  Josie had brought along a green calico that she thought would look smashing alongside Little Joe’s bright green eyes, and Joe had even brought along a tie.  He was determined to prove that Adam wasn’t the only one who could take Josie out for a nice evening.  They met in the hallway, and Joe gave Josie a grand bow and offered his arm.  Josie giggled and accepted it, and Little Joe escorted her to the restaurant on the ground floor.

            Josie had been right not to worry about a few wrinkles in her dress.  She and Joe blended in perfectly with the other diners, and they enjoyed every bite of their dinners and desserts.

            As they sipped their coffee at the end of the meal, a tall, burly gentleman with dark hair came over to their table and greeted Little Joe.

            “William!” Joe said, his face brightening as he leapt to his feet.  “Josie, this is William Poole.  They call him the ‘Thunder Man.’  He supplies the explosives we use in our mines.”

            Josie shook the man’s outstretched hand.  “A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Poole.”

            “Likewise, Dr. Cartwright.  Your uncle has told me a lot about you.  I won’t keep you from your coffee.  I just recognized Joe here and wanted to say hello.  Give your father my best, son.  I’m here for another few days, but I’ll be up in Virginia City by the end of the month if you need anything out on the Ponderosa.”

            “Sounds great, Mr. Poole.  Thank you,” Joe said.

            He had no sooner sat back down than another figure, a short, skinny one this time, sidled over to their table.

            “Well, if it ain’t Little Joe Cartwright,” the young man sneered.

            Joe sighed and didn’t look up from his coffee cup.  “How’ve you been, Fred?”

            “Better than you, apparently.  You know, your lady friend here looks just like your brother.  Ain’t that a little weird?”

            “She’s my cousin, you imbecile.  Josie, this is Fred Smythe.  Fred, my cousin, Dr. Josephine Cartwright.”

            Fred kissed the back of Josie’s outstretched hand.  Her skin crawled, and she snatched her hand away. 

            “A doctor, you say?  Well, at least one Cartwright has amounted to something.  Certainly better than dear Little Joseph.”

            Josie glanced at Joe and saw him chomp down hard on his lower lip.

            “Welcome to Genoa, Dr. Cartwright,” Fred continued.  “If you’d prefer to have a real man show you around, I live over on B Street.”

            Josie gave Fred a flirtatious smile.  “Is that so?” she asked, fluttering her eyelashes at him.

            Fred nearly melted into the floor.  “That’s so.”  He winked at her.

            “And what is the name of the man I should ask for?”

            Little Joe nearly spat his coffee across the restaurant.  A deep flush started at Fred’s collarbone and crept up his neck to his face.  Josie waited for steam to shoot from his ears.  Fred opened his mouth but apparently couldn’t formulate a retort.  He spun on his heel and stormed away, accompanied by Joe and Josie’s peals of laughter.

            “Oh, Josie, what did we ever do without you?” Joe asked as he wiped tears from his eyes.

            “No idea.”  Josie grinned at him.  “But why did I just insult that young man?  What was his problem?”

            “He and I had a… disagreement over a girl a few years ago.  I won, of course.”

            “Of course.”

            “He hasn’t forgiven me.  Don’t know why.  That little gal was cute, but she was no prize.”

            “Maybe he was to her.”

            “Maybe.  But she picked me over him, so that’s hardly my problem.”  Little Joe stretched and yawned.  “Come on.  Let’s take a stroll.  I’m falling asleep in this chair.”

            Little Joe and Josie took a nice walk around Genoa, carefully avoiding B Street.  It was a friendly little town, and Joe knew several people, at least by sight.  They didn’t return to the hotel until nearly eleven o’clock.  They bid each other goodnight and slipped into their separate bedrooms, the unpleasantness at dinner forgotten.

******

            The cousins rose early the next morning, eager to pick up the animals and enjoy another leisurely ride home.  Josie met Little Joe in the lobby just as he was settling their bill.

            “Wait a second!” Joe protested, stabbing a finger at the bill.  “What’s this charge for?”

            “That’s from supper last night,” the clerk replied.

            “Yeah, but it was just my cousin and me.  What’s this third meal?”

            “Oh, that was Mr. Smythe.  He said you were covering his meal, too.  Seemed like he knew you, so I didn’t question it.”

            “Right, Mr. Smythe,” Joe said.  His lip curled.  “Yeah, sure.  Yeah, I’m covering his meal.”  He dug a few extra coins out of his pocket and slapped them on the counter.  “Thanks, Mark.  See you next time I’m in town.”

            “Very good, Mr. Cartwright, Dr. Cartwright.”

            Joe grabbed Josie’s elbow and led her outside.

            “But, Joe,” Josie protested as they stepped onto the sidewalk.  “You’re just paying for his meal?  He lied!  He as good as stole from you!”

            “That he did,” Joe said. 

            “If you want to go over to his house and pop him one right in the mouth, I won’t stop you.”

            “No, Josie.  I have a much better idea.” 

            Josie followed Little Joe’s gaze across the street to a large covered wagon bearing a sign that said “William Poole: THE THUNDER MAN!”

******

            Josie later reflected that William Poole must not have known Little Joe all that well, or he never would have sold him two small sticks of dynamite and a long length of extra fuse for, as Joe claimed, an experiment Adam wanted to try.

            “If it can wait until the end of the month, Joe, I’d be more than happy to come out to the Ponderosa and help him with it,” Poole said as he pocketed Joe’s payment.  “Might be safer having a professional do it.  I’d hate to see Adam blow himself up so close to his wedding day.”

            Joe waved him off.  “Mr. Poole, if there’s one Cartwright who knows what he’s doing, it’s my brother Adam.  Don’t you worry.  And we’ll be real careful carrying these home.  I promise.”

            Poole wished them well and promised to see them when he came through Virginia City.

            The cousins raced toward the livery stable as fast as they could while toting explosives.  They collected Pip and told Mr. Webster they had a couple errands to run and would be back for the horses by lunchtime.  Then they scurried over to B Street.

            The house Fred Smythe shared with his older brother was a squat, ugly little bungalow on a street full of other squat, ugly little houses.  Little Joe beckoned to Josie and Pip to stay quiet as they crept around behind the Smythe home.  There wasn’t a backyard to speak of – just room for a pungent outhouse and an equally pungent chicken coop.  Some scraggly bushes concealed them from the street as Little Joe laid out his plan.

            “All right,” he whispered.  “This will take some patience, but it’ll be worth it.  You and Pip stand guard and warn me if anyone’s coming.  I’m gonna place these charges in the rafters of the outhouse and run these extra fuses out to our hidin’ place.  When ol’ Freddy comes out to do his business, we light the fuses.”

            “Joe, you’ll blow him to bits!”

            “Not with these two tiny charges I won’t.  I place them in the rafters just right, and that privy will just fall down around him.”

            Josie giggled.  “And there he’ll be, sitting with his trousers around his ankles!”

            “And hopefully right in the middle of something he can’t interrupt,” Joe added with a wicked grin.  Josie stuffed her fist in her mouth to keep her laughter from alerting the entire neighborhood to their presence.  She gave Joe a little push toward the outhouse.

            “Go get him, Joe!” she whispered.

            Little Joe crept toward the outhouse and slipped inside.  Josie clutched Pip’s collar and hardly dared to breathe as she watched for any signs of life from the house.  Five eternal minutes later, Little Joe emerged, gulping fresh air, and unspooling the extra fuses as he raced toward their hiding spot.  He dived into the bushes next to Josie and Pip.

            “Got it!” he crowed.  He handed Josie one fuse and a couple matches, reserving the second fuse for himself.  “Now we wait.”

            “How do you know he’s even home?”

            “Unless he’s drastically changed his habits, Fred doesn’t go anywhere before lunch.  Too lazy.”

            “Doesn’t he have a job?”

            “If he had a job, do you think he’d been living here?”  Little Joe indicated the bare yard and putrid outhouse.

            “S’pose not.”

            Little Joe was right.  After about half an hour, Fred Smythe meandered out the back door and across the yard to the outhouse.  As soon as he stepped into the privy, Little Joe whispered “Now!” and he and Josie lit their fuses.  Josie giggled with glee as she struck her match and the fuse hissed to life.  Joe lit his simultaneously, and the cousins grinned at each other as the flames licked up the fuses toward the outhouse.

            That was the last part of the plan that went well.

            Not five seconds after they lit the fuses, a holler from the house attracted Fred’s attention.  He stepped right back out of the privy, slamming the door and stomping back into the house.

            “What?!” he shouted.  “Can’t a man even take a…”  The backdoor slammed behind him.

            “Awwww!” Josie moaned. 

            Little Joe was about to grab her and Pip and get out of there when they heard a “ploop!” from the privy.

            “Ew, one of the charges must have dropped into the hole when Fred slammed the door!” Joe said.

            Josie blanched.  “Oh no!  Joe!  The methane!”

            “The what?”

            Josie didn’t stop to explain.  She grabbed Joe’s jacket and gave him a hard yank toward the sidewalk, but a loud POP! from the outhouse caught their attention.  They turned back to watch as the rickety sides of the outhouse fell outward.  The roof caved in and splintered over the wooden seat where Josie and Little Joe had hoped Fred Smythe would be sitting.

            “Awww, that worked perfectly!” Joe groaned.  He kicked hard at a loose stone on the ground.

            “The second charge, Joe!” Josie cried, yanking on his jacket again.

            “Isn’t needed.  That first one-” 

Little Joe never got to finish his sentence. 

A huge BOOM! went up from the privy hole, nearly deafening Josie, Little Joe, Pip, and Fred Smythe, who had darted back outside to investigate the sound of the first charge taking down his outhouse.

The cousins clapped their hands over their ears as a massive brown geyser shot up from the privy hole – it must have risen a hundred feet.  Josie had just enough time to marvel at its soaring height before she remembered the old adage “What goes up must come down.”  She clapped her gaping mouth shut and ducked her head, but Little Joe was staring up and shouting, “Wow!  Look at that!” just as the column of excrement rained down.

Hot, stinking waste splattered over the cousins, Pip, Fred Smythe, half a dozen pedestrians, and the next four or five houses down on each side of the Smythe home.  Josie shrieked as warm, watery fecal matter ran down the back of her collar and soaked her clothes.  Joe got a mouthful and promptly vomited into the bushes while Pip whined with displeasure.  Spotting them, Fred Smythe screeched Little Joe’s name and darted toward them through the shower of half-decomposed poo.  Halfway across the yard, he slipped in a brown puddle and crashed to the ground as the geyser finally began to subside. 

“Time to go, Josie!” Joe croaked, still retching.  He grabbed Josie’s slimy arm and hauled her to the sidewalk, where they smacked right into a drenched, disgruntled man.  He was so covered in filth that his face was indistinguishable, but even under a thick layer of muck, there was no mistaking the tin star pinned to his vest.  Josie broke out in a cold sweat.

“Sheriff!” Little Joe squeaked.  He turned and spit a brown blob out of his mouth.  “What, uh, what are you doin’ way over here?  Thought your office was on Main Street.”

“It is,” the sheriff replied.  His voice was cold and hard.  “But I happened to be checking in on one of our elderly citizens and thought I heard an explosion from over here.  Arrived just in time for the second blast and this lovely bath.  You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?”  His steely glare darted between Joe and Josie.

Josie’s voice failed her completely while Joe emitted a series of high-pitched squeaks more suited to a frightened mouse.  To make matters worse, Fred Smythe came around the corner of the house just then.

“Sheriff!” he hollered.  A sticky glob dripped from the finger he pointed at Josie and Little Joe.  “These two are responsible for this mess!  They blew up my outhouse!”

“I was wondering why they were in such a hurry to get out of here,” the sheriff said.  He wrinkled his nose.  “Apart from the obvious.”

“Hey, now, you can’t prove we did anything!” Joe protested.  The sheriff hesitated, and for a split second, Josie thought they just might get off the hook.

Until William Poole came huffing and puffing down the street.

“Little Joe!” he shouted when he spotted them.  “Joe!  Oh my goodness!  Thank God you’re all right!  I recognized the sound of my charges, and I was terrified you and Dr. Cartwright had blown yourselves to pieces.”

Fred smiled smugly as the sheriff turned to Poole.

“You sold the boy some charges?”

“Well, yes, sheriff.  Just a couple hours ago.  Said he needed them for an experiment his brother was doing out on the Ponderosa.”  Poole looked around and pulled his shirt collar up over his nose.  “What the hell happened here?”

“Ponderosa?”  The sheriff pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket, found a corner that was still more or less clean, and wiped some of the foul gunk from Joe’s face.  “You’re one of Ben Cartwright’s boys!”  He glanced at Josie.  “And who are you?”

“J- Josie,” she squeaked, wishing she could sink into the sidewalk.  “I’m one of Ben Cartwright’s boys, too.  Well, except I’m a girl.  And I’m not really his, see, he’s my uncle, and-”

            The sheriff cut her off.  “Either of you deny buying charges from William Poole this morning?”

            “No, sir,” Joe muttered.  He spat again, another brown blob hitting the sidewalk.

            “No, sir,” Josie echoed in a whisper.

            “Either of you deny using those charges to make this mess?”  He swept one arm around to indicate the feces-covered street and pedestrians, most of whom had gathered around to glare at the Cartwrights.

            “We didn’t mean to make a mess, Sheriff!” Joe said.  Josie nodded so vigorously in agreement that muck flew from the brim of her soaked hat and spattered on William Poole.  “We just wanted to bring down his outhouse.  But one of the charges sort of fell down into the hole, and it got a little out of hand.”

            “A LITTLE out of hand?” the sheriff roared.  “Son, you’ve coated half a block in human manure!  What have you got to say for yourself?”

            Joe shrank down and shrugged his shoulders.  “Oops?” he said hopefully.

            “Cartwright, you and your cousin are under arrest.  Hand over your weapons.”

            Little Joe sighed as he slowly unbuckled his gun belt and handed it to the sheriff.  Josie, having never been in so much trouble in her life, shook so badly she couldn’t get hers unbuckled. 

            “It’s all right, Josie,” Joe whispered as he helped her with the buckle.  “We’ll get this straightened out.”

            “I don’t want to go to jail, Joe!” Josie whimpered.  Her hazel eyes brimmed with tears.

            William Poole turned to the sheriff.

            “Hang on, Sheriff!” he protested.  “You can’t arrest a woman!”

            “I most certainly can, and I will!” the sheriff replied.  “You got a problem with that, Poole, I’ll arrest you, too, for aiding and abetting!”

            William Poole gave Josie and Little Joe a sympathetic glance but stepped aside so the sheriff could march the Cartwright cousins down the sidewalk.  They hadn’t taken more than two steps when the sheriff noticed the massive dog following along.

            “What the hell is that?” he shouted, pointing a finger at Pip.

            “That’s Pip,” Josie said quietly.  “My dog.”

            “THAT’S a dog?!”

            “Well, he looks a lot better when he’s not coated in excrement.  But he’s real friendly.  Please don’t make me send him off.”

            The sheriff sighed and hung his head.  “Fine.  Bring him along.  Let’s just get out of this mess.”

            Accompanied by the jeers of angry pedestrians, the sheriff marched Josie, Little Joe, and Pip down the sidewalk toward Main Street and the Genoa Jail, all four of them leaving a trail of muck in their wake.

******

            Back on the Ponderosa, Adam had retrieved his shingles and nails from Carson City and was happily back at work on his house.  He and his hired men had finished the framework and were ready to start hanging the exterior walls.  If the weather and his luck held out, Adam would have more than enough time to finish both his house and Fionn’s washroom before the wedding in three months’ time.  He was hammering away at a back wall when Ben came charging up on Buck.

            “Adam!” Ben barked before his feet even hit the ground.  “Adam!  We’ve got a problem!”

            Adam dropped his hammer and raced over to his father, his heart pounding visibly through his shirtfront.  “What is it, Pa?  What’s wrong?” 

            “Joseph and Josephine have been arrested in Genoa.”

            Adam dropped his head and chuckled.  “Good one, Pa.  You really had me going for a second there.”

            Ben’s mouth was a tight line.  “Do I look like I’m joking, boy?” he growled. 

            Sweat broke out on Adam’s upper lip.  “No, sir.  But you mean Joe.  Joe’s been arrested.  Josie must have wired you.”

            “No.  Sheriff Ellis wired me.  Joseph AND Josephine are sitting in his jail as we speak.  Apparently they’ve been there since yesterday.”  He whipped a telegram out of his jacket pocket and shoved it at Adam.

            “Joseph and Josephine Cartwright arrested for vandalism and destruction of property,” Adam read aloud.  “Vandalism and destruction of property?  I sent them to buy a horse!”  He kept reading.  “Bail set at two hundred fifty dollars apiece.  APIECE?!  What in the world did they vandalize?!”

            “I don’t know, son, but I intend to find out.”  Much to Adam’s alarm, a vein in Ben’s temple began to throb.  “And you’re coming with me.”

            “Of course.  When do you want to leave?”

            “Right.  Now.”

            “Yes, sir.”  Adam turned to tell his men he was leaving, but the last line of the telegram caught his eye.  “Hey, Pa.  What do you suppose this is about?  ‘Bring them clean clothes’?”

            Ben snatched the telegram from Adam and read it over.  “I don’t know.  Guess I missed that on my first read-through.  Suppose we better comply, though.  Nick Ellis must be upset enough as it is if he threw a woman in jail.”

            Adam let his men know wouldn’t be back until at least the next day and that if they had any problems they should contact Hoss.  Then he swung onto Sport’s back and followed his father to their house.

            Ben didn’t say a word as he stormed upstairs and ripped clothes out of Little Joe’s wardrobe.  Adam ducked into Josie’s room and grabbed a clean shirt and pair of jeans from her wardrobe.  His face burned as he opened her delicates drawer, and he couldn’t bring himself to sort through it.  He blindly grabbed a stack of items and crammed them into a carpetbag, hoping that by chance he would snatch whatever Josie might need.  In less than fifteen minutes, he and Ben were back on their horses, galloping toward Genoa.

******

            Josie, Little Joe, and Pip had spent a miserable night in a cell in the Genoa Jail.  The buckets of water they’d been given were no substitute for real baths, and after a while, Josie and Little Joe grew so accustomed to their stench that the barely noticed it.  They only bright spot came that evening when a group of Genoa’s ladies, appalled that their sheriff had imprisoned a woman, came to the jail demanding to give the Cartwrights a decent supper.  The cousins had enjoyed fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and even some chocolate cake before curling up on the rough wooden floor to sleep.  There were two cots in their cell, but the frames were rusty and the paper-thin mattresses full of bugs.  Josie nearly used Pip as a pillow, realized how filthy he was, and rested her head on her arm instead.  They woke at dawn, cold and stiff, after only a couple hours’ sleep. The dried outhouse spray on their clothes crackled as they moved.  They sat side-by-side on the cell’s hard wooden bench and waited to be rescued as the ladies of Genoa grouped outside the jail, protesting Josie’s incarceration.

            “I knew this day would come,” Josie said.  “Somehow I always knew.”  She dropped her face into her hands.

            “Pa’s gonna be real angry,” Joe moaned, mimicking Josie’s gesture.

            “Maybe we’ll get lucky and Adam will get the message first.”

            “That won’t be any better, Josie.  At least not for me.”

            “We should have asked the sheriff to wire Hoss.”

            “Yeah.” 

Josie inspected her ruined hat.  It had saved her hair from the worst of the blast, but the hat was unsalvageable.  “Why is it that every time you and I have an adventure, I have to buy a new hat?”

            Little Joe shrugged, and the cousins lapsed into silence.  The day passed at a snail’s pace, Josie and Joe occasionally catching little snatches of sleep as they leaned against one another.  Josie would have killed for a book.  Even a boring one.  Finally, in late afternoon, they heard a very familiar gruff voice outside.

            “Let us through, ladies, please!” Ben beseeched.  “The lady in question is my niece.  We’re here to get her released.”

            Moments later, Ben barged through the door.  Josie’s heart soared and then sank at the sight of her uncle.  Her knight in shining armor had come to rescue her, but she had never seen him so angry.  The vein in his forehead throbbed, and his entire face was flushed.  He shoved past the sheriff and strode over to the cell.  Pip jumped to his feet and let out a happy bark.

            “Josephine, are you all right?”  Ben reached through the cell bars and then recoiled like he’d just been stung.  “Man alive, what is that smell?!” 

            Adam burst into the jail then, too, and screeched to a halt several feet from the cell.  He ripped a handkerchief from his pocket and covered his nose.

            “I think I’ve figured out why we were supposed to bring them clean clothes, Pa,” he said.  Even the handkerchief covering the lower half of his face couldn’t hide his smirk.

            Ben turned away from the cell toward the sheriff.  “Nick, what in the world happened?”

            Sheriff Ellis gestured to Josie and Little Joe.  “I’d tell you Ben, but the story is so much better coming from them.”

            Ben turned back to the cell but did not approach it again.  “Joseph?”

            Joe shrank down, but Josie poked him sharply in the ribs.  “We, uh, we blew up an outhouse, Pa,” he peeped.

            Ben stared blankly at him, eyes blinking.  “Come again?”

            “We blew up an outhouse, Pa.”

            From behind them, Adam let out a bark of laughter that he quickly swallowed when Ben turned and glared at him.  He bit his lip, but his eyes danced.  Josie’s mouth twitched upwards.  At least Adam wasn’t angry.

            “Whose?” Ben demanded.  “And for the love of all that is holy, Joseph, why?!”

            By the time Little Joe finished the story of Fred Smythe’s rudeness at the hotel, his leaving them with his supper bill, their dynamite purchase, and the geyser of feces, Adam’s face was bright red, his eyes streaming with suppressed laughter.

            Dumbfounded, Ben turned to the sheriff.  “Nick, clearly this was just a practical joke gone awry.  Did you really have to throw them in jail?”

            Sheriff Ellis popped up from his seat and threw his hands in the air.  “Ben, they drenched half of B Street in crap!  What was I supposed to do?”

            Adam couldn’t take it anymore.  He burst into hysterics so hard that his legs gave out.  He slid down a wall and sat heavily on the floor.  Even Ben’s sternest glare couldn’t bring him under control, and he laughed until his nose ran and his abdominal muscles screamed for mercy. He dripped and clutched his stomach as he tried to catch his breath.

            Ben decided that his best course of action right then was to ignore his eldest son.  “Nick,” he said, “you’ve made your point, and I’m sure Joseph and Josephine have learned their lesson.  How about letting them out?  I’ll take them straight home.  They won’t bother Genoa again.”

            “Sure thing, Ben,” Sheriff Ellis said.  “Just as soon as you pay their bail.”

            “Come on, Nick, you can’t be serious about that.  They’ll compensate the Smythes for the outhouse.  Surely that’s enough.”

            “If you think that’s enough, Ben, I invite you to walk down to B Street and check out what a clean-up job we’ve got over there.  We don’t get enough rain in a whole year to wash away that mess.  The good people of Genoa will be out there scrubbing for days!”

            From his seat on the floor, Adam burst into a fresh round of laughter.

            “The bail stands at two hundred fifty dollars apiece,” the sheriff finished.

            “Don’t be ridiculous!” Ben thundered.  He slammed his fist down on the sheriff’s desk and immediately winced.  He pulled his fist back and cradled it in his other hand as surreptitiously as possible.

            “It’s fine if you don’t want to pay it,” the sheriff said.  “They’re welcome to serve ninety days here in the jail instead.”

            Josie whimpered and clutched Joe’s hand.  Tears spilled down her cheeks.  Her one night in jail had been misery.  Surely Ben wouldn’t leave her there?  Not for three months!

            Adam’s head snapped up when Josie sniffled.  He sobered instantly and rose to his feet.  “I’ll pay Josie’s bail, Pa.  Just give me a few minutes to get a bank draft.”  He caught his cousin’s eye and gave her a warm smile.  “Don’t worry, kid.  Older Brother’s got you.”

            Little Joe’s eyes widened as Adam slipped out the door.  “Hey!  Hey, Adam!  What about me?” he called.  But Adam was already making his way through the crowd of women outside the jail.

            Ben shook a finger at Josie.  “I hope you know how much you owe him, young lady.”

            “Yes, sir,” Josie whispered, ducking her head.

            “Hey, Pa,” Joe said.  “What about me?”

            Despite the stench, Ben crossed the cell and stood face-to-face with his youngest son.  Joe had never been so grateful for the iron bars containing him.  “What about you, Joseph?  Sounds like you were the chief architect of this little scheme.  Now, you tell me.  What should I do about you?”

            “I’ll pay you back, Pa, I swear.  Please don’t leave me here.”

            “Pay me back?  Where do you intend to get that sort of money?”

            “Enos Milford needs help breaking some horses.  I was gonna use the money to get a stallion like Adam’s got, but I’ll pay you back instead.  I promise.”

            Ben glared at him, letting the young man sweat for a moment.  “All right,” he huffed at last.  “I’ll be right back.  Looks like I have to get a bank draft, too.”

            In less than an hour, Adam and Ben had settled Josie and Joe’s bail, and the youngest Cartwrights were released from their cell.  Josie tried to fly into Adam’s arms, but he stuck out a hand and kept her at bay.

            “Sorry, Josie, but you smell awful.”

            Josie glanced down at her filthy clothes.  “Oh.  Right.”

            Adam chuckled.  “It’s ok.  Let’s get you two over to the bathhouse.  We brought you clean clothes.  You get cleaned up, and Pa and I will go over to the livery and get the horses.”

            “I can’t thank you enough, Adam,” Josie said, blushing.  “I’ll pay you back.  May take a while, but I promise I’ll pay you back.”

            “I’m sure we can work something out.  Come on.  Let’s get you cleaned up.”  He gave her a little nudge out the door of the jail.

            The good ladies of Genoa, still holding vigil outside the jail, sent up a cheer as Josie emerged, filthy but smiling.  She waved to them and thanked them all for the wonderful meal the night before.  Several of the women backed away from her stink, but they all applauded as Adam escorted Josie away from the jail, Little Joe slinking along behind at Ben’s prodding.

            “I have to ask, Josie,” Adam muttered as they headed down the street toward the bathhouse.  “How did you two manage to create a geyser?”

            Josie giggled.  “One of the charges accidentally dropped into the privy hole...”

            Adam groaned.  “And ignited the methane,” he finished for her.

            Josie nodded, trying not to laugh too loudly lest she anger Ben further.  He was still red-faced and scowling, and Josie knew better than to press her luck.

            Adam nearly choked.  “That must have been quite a spout,” he croaked out around swallowed laughter.

            “’Bout a hundred feet,” Josie said with a grin.  “It rained down for a good thirty seconds.”

            Adam stuffed the collar of his jacket into his mouth until he was sure he had himself under control.  “I’m sorry I missed that.”  The wind shifted just then, and he caught a fresh whiff of his cousin.  “Then again, maybe not.”  The cousins laughed quietly together as they walked the rest of the way to the bathhouse.

******

            Fionn laughed for five solid minutes when Josie told him about her arrest in Genoa.  Between Fionn’s springtime busyness on the farm and Josie’s trip to Genoa, they hadn’t seen each other in two weeks.  Everyone in Virginia City seemed pretty healthy at the moment, so Josie had taken an afternoon off from her clinic to ride out to the O’Connells’.  Molly was at her shop in town, so Josie and Fionn were cuddled up in Fionn’s bed as Josie told him all about her and Little Joe’s adventure.

            “Oh, I wish I could have been there to see the looks on your faces!” Fionn cackled.  He rolled away from Josie and curled up in the fetal position as his stomach cramped from laughter and tears streamed down his face.

            “Be glad you weren’t there to smell us,” Josie said, shaking her head.  “I’ve dealt with some pretty gruesome effluence in my day, but this took the cake.  Thank goodness for Adam.  Uncle Ben was so angry I think he might have left me to rot in that jail.”

            Fionn roared with laughter again.

            “Aw, don’t worry, Hey, You,” he said when he noticed Josie scowling at him.  “You know if Adam hadn’t come to the rescue, old Fionn would have bailed you out.”

            “My bail was two hundred and fifty dollars!”

            Fionn’s eyebrows shot up.  “Oh.  Well in that case, you know if Adam hadn’t come to the rescue, old Fionn would have broken you out.”

            Josie tried to hold onto her scowl but couldn’t.  She cracked a smile just before Fionn stuck a finger in her ribs, and she shrieked with laughter.

            “Seriously, though,” she said once she’d successfully swatted Fionn away.  “I don’t know how I’m ever going to pay Adam back.  Best I can do is give him my share of Scout’s foal.”

            “She expectin’ already?”

            “It’s too early to tell, but Adam said she and Ruckus got along real well.”

            Josie instantly regretted that statement.  Fionn’s face lit up with a devilish grin, and he rolled on top of her.

            “You know, they’re not the only pair in these parts that could get along real well.”  His brown eyes glittered.  Josie smiled back at him and playfully shoved him off of her.

            “Little different for horses, isn’t it?” she said.  “They don’t have to worry about shame.”  She tried to keep smiling, but her face fell.  She snuggled up next to him and rested her head on his chest.

            Fionn wrapped an arm around her and kissed her forehead.  “Don’t see how it’s shameful if two people love each other.”

            Josie’s heart quickened.  “It shouldn’t be, should it?  And yet I was taught my whole life that it’s just not something nice girls do before they’re married.”

            “Aw, I know plenty of girls who didn’t wait, and they’re still nice girls.”  Fionn blushed instantly.  “Oh dear!  That’s not how I meant it!  Just, you know, acquaintances who I happened to find out later had…  I mean, you know, word gets around, and-”

            Josie giggled and laid a finger over Fionn’s lips.  “It’s ok, Fionn.  You’re a twenty-four-year-old man.  I figured you probably had by now.”

            Fionn blushed so deeply his face matched the violet fabric of the quilt they lay under.

            “What’s the matter, Fionn?  It doesn’t bother me.”

            Fionn turned his face away.  “Actually, Josie, I, uh, I, well, I’ve never…”  He cleared his throat.

            “Really?!”

            “Not for lack of opportunity, mind you!  There are plenty of ladies out there who realize just what a catch young Mr. Fionn O’Connell is!”

            “I have no doubt about that.”  Josie gave him a kind smile.

            “Just was never in a position where I could afford to go sowin’ any oats, as it were,” Fionn continued, staring at the wall, the ceiling, anywhere but at Josie.  “When me and Da and Molly were comin’ west from Boston, it was hard enough keepin’ food in our own mouths.  I couldn’t risk creatin’ another one.  Same thing even when we reached San Francisco.  Things eventually started gettin’ better, but then Da died, and I had Molly to think about.  And then, well, things got real bad.”  He sighed, and Josie brushed his hair from his forehead.  He glanced at her and gave her a weak smile.  “I know there are places a man can go for that sort of thing, but that never felt right.  Not for me first time.  That should be special, with someone I love.”

            Josie turned his face toward her and kissed him.  “I love you so much, Fionn,” she whispered.  “And when the time’s right, it will be very, very special.”

            “I love you, too, a chuisle.”  He pulled her in for another, lingering kiss.  When they pulled apart, his wicked grin had returned.  “So I think it’s about two o’clock right now.  What time did you have in mind?  Three?  Four?”

            Josie giggled and batted at his nose.  “I already told you, I was taught to wait for my wedding night.”

            Fionn wrinkled his brow.  “So you never have, then?”

            “Of course not!” Josie huffed. 

            “Didna mean any offense, Hey, You.  I’m sorry, I just assumed you and Croft…  You two seemed so serious.”

            Josie’s face darkened.  “No.  I mean, we were serious, but Simon and I really only courted about two months, and I was recovering from typhus for the first of those.  You and I have gotten more interesting than Simon and I ever did.”

            Fionn’s grin could have illuminated the entire Nevada Territory.  “You mean I’ll be your first?”

            Now Josie blushed.  “If we reach that point, yes.”

            “I’ll have to be careful not to mess things up, then.  Make sure we reach that point.”  He caressed Josie’s cheek like he was about to kiss her again, but then he chuckled.

            “What’s so funny?”  Josie’s eyes danced, knowing Fionn’s answer would be an amusing one.

            “Just imaginin’ it.  Two virgins, tryin’ to figure out what to do…”  He snickered again, and Josie joined in.

            “I’m sure we can figure it out,” Josie assured him.  “I’m a doctor, after all.”

            “Thank the good Lord for that.”  Fionn reached under the blankets and adjusted his trousers.  “I’m thinkin’ maybe we should get out of this bed for a bit.  Would you like to see those lambs I bought?”

            Josie swallowed hard.  “I think that would be prudent, yes.”

            “I love when you use fancy words.”

            Smiling at each other, the pair rolled out of bed, put their boots on, and headed hand-in-hand out to the barn.

******

            Wishing she could spend the night at Fionn’s, Josie rode home around four o’clock.  Hoss and Joe had gone fishing and caught more trout than any of the Cartwrights had imagined the stream behind the house could hold, so they were having a big fish fry for supper.  The family was already gathering at Ben’s by the time Josie arrived home.

            “There she is!” Hoss said, grabbing Josie around the waist and spinning her in a circle as soon as she slid from Scout’s saddle.  Josie laughed.

            “You’re in quite the mood!” she said as Hoss set her gently back on the ground.      

            “Just miss you is all,” the big man replied with a shrug.  “Don’t get to see you every day anymore.”

            “I miss you, too, big fella.”  She inhaled deeply.  “Boy, oh boy, does that fish ever smell good.  Hop Sing must have been working all day.”

            “He was.  And he’s got the terrible mood now to prove it.”

            Josie giggled.  “Where’s Patience?” she asked, glancing around the yard.

            “Oh, she’s inside talking to Pa.  Between you and me, I think she’s feelin’ poorly.  But she keeps insistin’ she’s fine.  Maybe you could sneak a look at her?”

            Josie smiled at the concern in her cousin’s bright blue eyes.  “I’ll see what I can do,” she promised.  She stretched up on tiptoe and kissed his cheek before handing him Scout’s reins and zipping inside before he could protest about putting her horse away.

            Patience did indeed look rather pale when Josie bounced into the great room and greeted her and Ben.  But she had a smile on her face and sipped her tea while she and Ben chatted about how glad they were that the weather was finally starting to warm up a bit.  Josie plopped onto the settee next to Patience, and Ben slipped away while the young ladies struck up a conversation about the Virginia City Library.  Between the money Josie had earned helping to capture the bank robbers outside Sacramento in September and the proceeds from the fall festival, the space off Will Cass’s General Store was nearly bursting with books.  Sally Cass was reporting at least a dozen library patrons per day.

            “Oh, and my father said the new school bell should arrive soon, too!” Patience said, her eyes shining.  “Won’t that be wonderful?”

            Josie agreed it would be.  Then, realizing they were alone in the room, she said, “Are you feeling all right, Patience?  You’re awfully pale.”

            Patience waved a dismissive hand.  “It’s just the winter, Josie.  A girl can’t get any color in her cheeks when it’s cold.  I’ll be fine now that the weather’s warming up.”  Josie was about to push harder, but Patience cut her off.  “How was your trip to Genoa with Little Joe?  I heard you had a little excitement.”

            Josie groaned.  It seemed all of Nevada had heard of her and Joe’s trip to Genoa.  “Let’s just say I had to buy a new hat when I got home.”

            Patience laughed and had just asked for all the details when Adam and Little Joe moseyed down the stairs.

            “I’ll tell you later,” Josie whispered.  “It’s a pretty sore subject with Joe, and, well, I owe Adam an awful lot of money.”

            Patience nodded and rose to greet her brothers-in-law.

            “How’s your house coming along?” she asked Adam.

            “Pretty good!” he replied with a bright smile.  “Right on schedule.  Should have the roof on in a week or so, and then I’ll take a little break to get that washroom built for Fionn.”

            “He must be excited about that.”

            “He is!” Josie called out.  “Right now that big tub is just sitting in the middle of his living room.  I caught him playing at being a ship’s captain in it this morning when I went over there.”

            Ben and Hoss came into the room just in time to hear Josie’s last comment and joined in the ensuing laughter.  They were interrupted by a sweaty, grease-soaked Hop Sing who announced that dinner was ready.

            “Goodness, Hop Sing!  Are you all right?!” Josie asked.

            “Hop Sing do nothing all day but fry fish.  Now Hop Sing stink!”  He snorted disdainfully and shuffled back into the kitchen.  Not wanting to be on the receiving end of Hop Sing’s wrath, the Cartwrights all wisely held back a fresh round of laughter.

            As everyone sat at their places around the table, Hop Sing brought in the first heaping platter of fried trout.  Josie dropped her head back and took a long, luxurious breath.

            “Isn’t that just the best scent in the world?” she asked no one in particular.  Everyone agreed it was, though Patience’s agreement was less than convincing.

            “Yes, it’s lovely.  Excuse me, please!”  Patience leapt from her seat and tore off across the living room and up the stairs, one hand clapped over her mouth and nose.  Hoss jumped up from his seat, too, and was about to follow his wife, when Josie laid a hand on his arm.

            “I’ll check on her, Hoss.  You enjoy your fish.  You and Joe worked hard catching them.”

            “Not as hard as Hop Sing work frying them!” an indignant voice called out from the kitchen.

            Josie giggled and scampered off after her friend.  But not before she caught her uncle crossing his fingers under the table.

            “Patience?” Josie knocked on the washroom door.  The unmistakable sound of retching drifted out from under the door.  “Patience, can I come in?”  She assumed the “Unnnngggghhh” from the other side of the door meant “yes,” so she pushed her way in. 

            Patience was bent over the commode, a wave of vomiting having just passed.  She sank into a sitting position on the floor and looked up at Josie with dull eyes.  Strands of auburn hair had come loose from her chignon and lay plastered to her pale face with sweat.  She gave Josie a wan smile.  Josie snatched a glass from the counter, pumped some water into it, and knelt next to her friend.  Patience accepted the water with a grateful smile and took a small sip.

            “So how late are you?” Josie asked.

            A hint of color rose in Patience’s waxy cheeks.  “Three weeks,” she whispered without looking at Josie.

            “Three weeks?  Why didn’t you come see me?”

            “Didn’t want to get Hoss’s hopes up in case it was just a little dyspepsia.  Besides, I thought women got sick in the morning.  I’ve felt sick all the time the past several days.”

            “The morning is when it’s usually the worst, but not always,” Josie explained.  “I had a patient once who was fine except between the hours of two and four p.m.”

            Patience dropped her head between her knees.  “Everything smells so terrible, Josie.  Hoss put on some aftershave this morning, and it nearly killed me.  Then that fish just now.  I thought I could suffer through it, but when Hop Sing set it on the table right in front of me…”  She gave a little “urp!” and hung her head over the toilet once more.  Josie held her hair back while she retched again.

            “It’s all right,” Josie said, rubbing Patience’s back.  “This will pass.  You won’t be sick the whole time.  In fact, by about four months, most women start feeling pretty good for a while.”

            Patience nodded as her vomiting slowed, and she sat back down on the floor.  Josie handed her the water glass again.  Patience rested her head on Josie’s shoulder while she sipped her water.

            “Josie?  Do you really think I am?”  Her voice was small but hopeful.

            Josie smiled.  “I’d say so.  I could do a quick exam if you’d like, but given your symptoms…”

            “I’m gonna be a mama.”

            “You sure are.”  Tears rose in Josie’s eyes as she kissed Patience’s sweaty forehead.  “So thank you in advance for the new cousin.”

            Patience laughed weakly and picked her head up from Josie’s shoulder.  “Do we need to go tell everyone?”

            Josie thought about this.  “How about I just tell them you ate something funny this morning?  Give you a chance to tell Hoss tonight in private.  Then the two of you could break the news to the family together when you’re ready.”

            “That sounds nice.”

            “Good.  Now, if you’re done vomiting, why don’t you go lie down in Hoss’s old room?  You can open the window to keep the fish smell out.”

            Patience smiled and let Josie help her to her feet.  Then she pulled her into a tight hug.  “Thank you, Josie.  I can hardly believe this!”

            Josie finally let down her physician’s demeanor and got caught up in the excitement.  “I know!  Me too!  Congratulations, Patience.”  The young ladies smiled through happy tears at one another before Josie shooed her friend off to bed. 

            It took all Josie’s fortitude to wipe the goofy grin off her face before she headed back downstairs to her family.  Hoss jumped to his feet as soon as she appeared, and Adam and Joe had to grab hold of the table to keep it from jumping with him.

            “Josie?  She all right?  She sick?”  His plate of fish and potatoes sat untouched on the table.

            “She’s quite all right, Hoss,” Josie assured him.  “A little under the weather, but nothing that won’t resolve itself.  She’s resting in your old room while we eat.”

            “Maybe I should go up there.”

            “She’s really ok, I promise.  Just sit down and enjoy your fish.”

            “If you say so,” Hoss muttered, plopping back down in his seat.

            “What’s wrong with her, Josie?” Little Joe asked as Josie took her place at the table.

            “Oh, something she ate must have disagreed with her.  She’ll be fine.”

            “Something she ate, huh?” Ben asked with a raised eyebrow.  Next to him, the corners of Adam’s mouth twitched.

            “Sure,” Josie replied.  Ben’s eyebrow rose a little higher, and Josie smiled at him.  Tears rose in her uncle’s eyes, but he quickly bit them back.

            “Well, I certainly hope she feels better soon,” he said.

            “I’m sure she will.”

            Ignoring Hoss’s and Joe’s confused looks, Ben, Josie, and Adam grinned at each other and dug into their fish.

******

            “Oh, Fionn, you should have seen the look on Pa’s face when Hoss busted in and told him he was going to be a grandfather!”  Adam grinned at Fionn over the board they were lifting into position on the side of Fionn’s house.  Over Fionn’s protests, Adam had taken a week’s break from building his own home to construct the washroom on the side of Fionn’s.

            “Must have been priceless,” Fionn said, grinning back.  He held the board in place while Adam nailed it to the house. 

            They had only a few planks of siding to go before the washroom was finished.  Adam was pleased with how the little room had turned out.  Molly and Fionn now had a flush toilet, sink, and a bathtub with hot running water.  Of course, Molly would enjoy it for only a couple more months before she and Adam wed, but Adam liked the idea of Fionn having the washroom all the same.  Though this had less to do with Fionn and more to do with Josie’s potential future comfort.

            “It was,” Adam replied.  “Pa and I had figured it out when Patience ran off that night of our fish fry, but it was great to hear Hoss’s official announcement all the same.”

            Fionn turned away and grabbed another siding board.  “Have a lot of experience with an expectin’ woman’s early symptoms, do ya?”

            Adam’s right eyebrow shot up.  Was Fionn baiting him?  No, as Fionn turned around, there was that mischievous glimmer in his eye.  Adam snickered.  Fionn must be the world’s worst poker player.

            “I’ve got two younger brothers, don’t forget,” he said with another chuckle.  “I was twelve by the time Little Joe came around.  I remember Marie’s early days carrying him all too well.” 

            Poor Marie had vomited continually during her entire first trimester.  Ben hadn’t had any idea what to do; neither Elizabeth nor Inger had been so sick.  Even the then-very-young Dr. Martin had run out of ideas for quelling the nausea.  All they could do was try to keep her hydrated and coax her to eat a little something now and again.  It was only when Ben met a young Chinese immigrant in Eagle Station – now Carson City – that they found her some relief.  The young man gave Ben a sachet of ground-up cardamom seed and ginger with instructions for making a tea.  A year later when Ben and Marie realized just how much work Little Joe was going to be, Ben sought out the Chinaman and offered him a job on the Ponderosa.  Hop Sing had been a part of the family ever since.

            “Aye, supposin’ you would,” Fionn said.  “Don’t think about those things when you’re the youngest.  I bet Hoss’s announcement caught Joe by surprise.”

            “It did.  Boy fell backward out of his chair.”

            Fionn laughed.  “When you and Molly make your first announcement, make sure I’m already sittin’ on the floor, all right?”

            “I’ll do that.”  Adam slapped Fionn’s shoulder and then helped him lift the siding board into place.

            “Still can’t believe she’ll be gone in two months,” Fionn said as they aligned the board.  The jocularity was gone from his voice.  “Goin’ to be awfully quiet around here without her.”

            Adam stole glances at the younger man’s face as he hammered the board into place.  “It was pretty hard watching Hoss leave,” he admitted.  “He and I have seen each other through every tragedy of our lives.  Even when his mother was killed when he was only a few weeks old, something about his presence pulled me – and Pa – through.  Then when Marie died… I don’t know what I would have done without him.”

            “Aye,” Fionn said, not looking up at Adam.  “That’s me and Molly as well.  But at least you still had Little Joe at home.”        

            “Yeah, he’s real comforting every time I have to bail him out of jail.”

            Fionn laughed so hard he let go of his end of the board, and it swung from the nails Adam had hammered into the other side.  Adam smiled to see Fionn’s lightheartedness return.  He grabbed the free end of the board and swung it back into place before gesturing to Fionn to take the hammer and nails. 

            “Besides,” Adam continued as Fionn fastened the board to the house, “are you really planning to live here alone for long?”

            Fionn paused with the hammer mid-swing and raised an eyebrow at Adam.  “Can’t afford a hired hand,” he said coolly.

            “That wasn’t what I meant.”

            Fionn finished hammering the board in place and wiped a bead of sweat from his brow with the back of one hand.  “Adam, I’ll be straightforward with you.  I love Josie more than anythin’, but I’ve only got one year on this farm under me belt.  It was a good year, but it was only one year.  Who’s to say it won’t turn against me this year?  I can’t ask Josie to give up the comfort of the Ponderosa for such a gamble.”

            “Josie doesn’t care about luxury, Fionn.  Believe me.  She’s always been just as happy sleeping out on the range as she has been in the nicest hotel in Philadelphia.”  He chuckled as the memory of Josie shooting George Nelson through the shoulder in the mountains outside Sacramento danced through his mind.  “And she’s pretty tough, to boot.”

            “Aye.  But I still need at least one more good year with this place before I’d feel comfortable bringin’ her here.”

            “It’s your decision,” Adam said.  “But I do appreciate your caution.  She’s my little sister after all.”

            Fionn grinned at him as Adam positioned the final siding board and allowed him to hammer in this last board.  The two men stepped back to admire their work.

            “Needs a good coat of paint, but I’d say that’s a job well done, Cartwright,” Fionn said.  “This is just grand.  I can’t thank you enough.”

            Adam waved a hand.  “You earned it,” he reminded him.  “All those chores you did over the winter.  You more than earned it.  You want to earn some more money next winter, you just let me know.”

            Fionn’s face lit up.  “I’ll certainly do that!  Maybe make enough to go jewelry-shopping meself.” 

            Adam chuckled.  “Can’t promise I’d be able to pay you that much,” he said.

            “Wouldn’t need so very much.  Josie doesn’t care about luxury, does she?”  He winked at Adam, who laughed again.

            “Touché.”

            “Besides, I’ve got me sheep now.  Their wool should fetch a good price, especially if Molly spins it for me.”

            Adam’s brain prickled.  “Is that why you bought the sheep, Fionn?  To earn money for a ring for Josie?”

            Fionn crouched down and sifted through the grass for any nails they may have dropped.  He shrugged and said nothing.

            Adam rested a hand on Fionn’s shoulder.  “You know something, Fionn?  I didn’t like you when I first met you.  I thought you were arrogant and reckless.”  He paused.  “I was right about the arrogance.”  He chuckled as Fionn smirked up at him.  “But I was dead wrong about the recklessness.  You’re one of the most responsible people I’ve ever met.  You’re a good man, Fionn.  And I’m glad you and Josie found each other.  I know that when the time comes, you’ll take good care of her.”

            Fionn rose and met Adam’s gaze.  “Thanks, Adam.  You just take good care of my sister, you hear?”

            Adam grinned.  “That I will.  Now how about we get this mess cleaned up before Molly gets home and kills us both?”  He gestured to the boards and tools scattered across the yard.

            Fionn slapped Adam’s shoulder, and the two men set about clearing up their debris.

            When Molly got home late that afternoon, she squealed as Fionn and Adam showed off the new washroom.  She flung her arms around each of their necks in turn.

            “Oh, it’s just marvelous!” she said.  “If only Da could see what style we’re livin’ in now!”

            Fionn grinned.  “Barely had any potatoes back in dear Eire, and look at us now!” he said in a deep voice Adam assumed was meant to mimic the late Patrick O’Connell. 

Molly giggled and kissed her brother’s cheek.  “Not bad at all for a couple of bog-trotters.”

Adam frowned.  “Don’t call yourself names like that Molly,” he said.  “You’re so much more than that, and you know it.”

“You’ve upset Billy Yank,” Fionn stage-whispered to Molly so Adam could overhear.  Molly giggled and stepped over to Adam, planting a kiss on his cheek, too.

“It’s all in good fun, me love.  If we Irish didn’t laugh at ourselves, we’d spend all our time cryin’.  Now, what did you say you wanted to show me out in the barn?”

Adam grinned at Fionn over Molly’s head.  He’d already shown his future brother-in-law the red mare he’d bought for Molly, and Fionn had expressed no small amount of delight over the horse.  Adam had wanted to give the mare to Molly as soon as he’d gotten back from Genoa, but he’d discovered no one had ever trained the animal to ground-tie, so he’d spent the past couple weeks working with the horse.  He took Molly’s hand and led her out to the barn.

Adam had put the mare in a stall in the back of the barn, so when they stepped inside, he had Molly close her eyes as he led her to the far end.  When they were right in front of the stall, he told her to open her eyes.

Molly gasped when she found herself face-to-face with this unexpected gift.  “Adam!  Is she for me?” she squeaked.

“Happy late engagement,” Adam replied with a grin.  “Or early wedding.  Whichever you prefer.”

Molly flung her arms around his neck and kissed him, pressing her body tightly against his.  Adam was just wondering if there was a clean stack of hay nearby when Molly pulled away and turned to her new horse.

“She’s beautiful,” she said, her eyes raking over the mare’s copper-colored body with its two little patches of white – one near her left shoulder and one circling the top of her left hoof.  “Same color as that copper washtub in the new room.”

Adam chuckled.  “I was thinking a new penny, but sure, same color as the washtub.”  He stepped forward and patted the mare’s neck.  “She’s an Appaloosa like Scout, but she never got all the speckling.  Doesn’t matter, though.  She’s a magnificent little horse.  Josie rode her home from Genoa and said she runs like the wind.”

“Genoa?”  Molly turned to Adam with laughter dancing across her face.  “Did you buy her when you went to bail Josie out of jail?”

“Actually, this horse is the reason Josie and Little Joe went to Genoa in the first place.  I’d picked her out a few weeks earlier and made a deal with the seller.  Those two were just supposed to pick her up for me.  As we all know, they got a little sidetracked.”

Molly laughed.  News of the youngest Cartwrights’ misadventures had spread like wildfire through Virginia City, and the townspeople were not going to let them live it down anytime soon.  Even Sheriff Coffee had joined in.  One morning about a week earlier, as Josie and Little Joe rode into town, the lawman had shouted a warning to everyone on Main Street to guard their privies.

“Josie’s still frettin’ about payin’ you back, you know,” Molly said.

“Yeah, I know.”  Adam scratched the back of his head.  “I’m not going to make her repay me, but I haven’t told her that yet.  A little fretting now might make her think twice about going along with whatever scheme Little Joe concocts next.” 

Molly giggled and turned back to her horse.  “What’s her name?”

“Hasn’t got one,” Adam replied.  “You’ll have to think of something.”

“Runs like the wind, does she?”

“That she does.  Even with me riding her.  Strong little thing.”

“We’ll have to call her ‘Breezy,’ then.” 

The horse nickered and nudged Molly with her nose.

“I think she likes it,” Adam said with a grin.

“I think so, too.  That was nice of you to let Josie ride her home, especially after causing so much trouble.”

“Well, I felt bad that I’d commandeered Scout.  But when a mare’s in season, a mare’s in season.  Didn’t want to miss an opportunity.”

“Have any luck with that, then?”

“Too early to tell,” Adam said.  “Hope so.  She and Ruckus will produce a fine foal.”  He stepped behind Molly and slipped his arms around her waist.  “How about us?” he asked, nuzzling his face into her neck.  “Think we’ve had any luck?”

Molly smiled as she reached behind her and caressed his cheek.  “I’m afraid not,” she answered.  “Things arrived yesterday just when I expected them to.”

“Pity,” Adam said, smiling into Molly’s neck.  “We’ll have to keep trying.”

“Aye, that we will.  But another time.  We don’t get back in the house soon, Fionn’s goin’ to get awfully suspicious.”

Adam kissed her neck one last time, took her hand, and led her back to the house.

******

            At dinner on the Ponderosa that night, everyone agreed that Molly had made a good choice with her mare’s name. 

            “She was glad I let you ride her home from Genoa, Josie,” Adam said, nudging his cousin’s elbow.  “She’s about as experienced a rider as you were when you arrived, and I think it was comforting to her to know that Breezy met with your approval.”

            “That’s nice.”  Josie didn’t look up.  She just twirled her spoon around in her mashed potatoes.

            Adam wrinkled his brow.  “You ok, kid?”  His first thought was that she and Fionn had had an argument, but his conversation with Fionn that afternoon certainly didn’t support that theory.  His heart sank as he realized the more likely reason for Josie to be melancholy.  He laid a hand on her arm and looked up at Ben, who he now noticed looked grim, too.  Even Little Joe wore a tight expression.  “Did we get bad news?” he asked.

            Ben’s mouth was full, so Joe answered for him.

            “Sort of,” he said.  “Nothing about Uncle Jacob specifically, but it looks like the Union Army’s gearing up for a big battle, somewhere in Virginia.”

            This was hardly surprising.  The warfront had been pretty quiet since Gettysburg last summer as both sides regrouped and licked their wounds.  But they had to get back to it sometime, and Dr. Jacob Cartwright was sure to be in the thick of it.

            Ben swallowed the mouthful he’d been chewing and chimed in.

            “You remember President Lincoln put General Grant in charge of all the Union armies last month?” he asked.  Adam nodded.  “Well, Grant doesn’t seem content to direct his generals from Washington.  He’s gone to the field with General Meade and the main army.  They’re pushing into Virginia pretty hard.  Everyone expects another major battle within the next week or so.”

            Adam turned back to Josie.  “You know what he’s trying to do, don’t you, Josie?  He’s trying to take Richmond.  Grant takes Richmond, and this whole war is over.” 

            “I don’t think he’s just trying to take Richmond,” Ben said, leaning back in his chair.  “They’ve tried taking Richmond before with no luck.  I think he’s trying to destroy Robert E. Lee’s army.”

            “Either way, it ends the war.”

            “Yes, but setting out to take a city and setting out to destroy an army are two different animals.”  Ben rubbed his temples.  “People will fight to save a city only up to a point.  When it seems like hope is lost, they’ll give up.  But they’ll fight to the death to save their own lives.  It’s the most brutal kind of fighting.”

            With a clatter of dishes, Josie mumbled a quick “Excuse me,” and darted from the table and up the stairs.

            Adam turned to his father with huge eyes.  “Geez, Pa, did you have to say all that right in front of her?  She’s worried enough as it is!”

            Ben blinked a few times like he was just waking up from a deep sleep.  “You’re right,” he sighed.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t say anything she didn’t already know, but still…”  He rubbed his temples again.  Adam had never seen him look so tired, so worn, so… defeated.  He glanced across the table at his youngest brother and suddenly understood what this war had been doing not only to Josie, but also to Ben.  He stood up and laid a hand on Ben’s shoulder.

            “It’s all right, Pa,” he said gently.  “This war has everyone’s thinking all turned around.  Uncle Jacob will be ok, though.  He’s made it this far.  Takes more than an old Confederate general to bring down a Cartwright.”

            Ben gave Adam a thin smile as he reached up and patted his son’s hand.  “You’re right, son.”  He shook his head.  “I should probably go upstairs and see to Josie.”

            “I’ll go.  Stay and finish your supper.”

            “No, I’ll go.  I need to apologize.”  Ben rose and lumbered up the stairs, leaving Adam and Joe staring at one another across the table.  Joe’s eyes were wide, and his nostrils flared like they did when he was angry.  But it wasn’t anger.  It was fear, and seeing it made Adam’s chest ache.  He was trying to think of something comforting to say, but Little Joe beat him to the punch.

            “I don’t know if you believe all that stuff you just said, but Uncle Jacob really will be all right, Adam,” Little Joe said.  “He will be.  And we’ll get him and Aunt Hannah to come out to the Ponderosa for a good, long visit.  It’ll be just like that summer after you graduated college.  You’ll see.”  He flashed a smile.

            An invisible belt tightened around Adam’s chest, squeezing the breath from his lungs.  For twenty-one years, he’d been the one comforting Joe – checking under his bed for monsters, rocking the little boy back to sleep when he woke from a nightmare anyway, deftly removing splinters from tiny fingers before Ben could come after him with a needle – and now Joe was turning the tables.  Somewhere along the way, his baby brother had grown up.  Adam had just never realized how much until now.  He smiled back.

            “Thanks, little buddy.”  He held Joe’s gaze for a few seconds.  “You know I’d bail you out of jail every day, right?”

            “But, Adam, you didn’t bail me out of jail.  Pa did.”  Joe’s eyes twinkled.

            Adam chuckled.  “That’s beside the point.”

            “Yeah, I know.  I’d bail you out, too, Big Brother.”  He paused.  “Except I don’t think you’d ever be stupid enough to get caught.”

            “Probably not.”

            Adam marveled that even in the shadow of a war in which brothers were fighting against their brothers, other brothers could still share a laugh over dinner.  The world made no sense sometimes, but at least for tonight, it didn’t matter.  He reached over and mussed Joe’s curls, at the same time, swiping the last dinner roll from his brother’s plate.  For once, Little Joe didn’t protest.