SUMMARY:  Delayed on a trip home from Sacramento to the point that his family searched for him, Adam suddenly appears on the Ponderosa but wounded and wearing clothing clearly not his.  Joe is the one to find him but has no answers only questions for the unconscious man.  A quest for answers will lead to a variety of trouble for family members.

Rating:  T   Word Count:  13,833

Polka Dots and Tears

Chapter 1

Riding across the pasture, Joe Cartwright kicked Cochise into a gallop when he saw that familiar rider coming slowly down the ridge. His brother Adam was almost two weeks late in returning from a trip to Sacramento. After sending a telegram that he would be home as soon as he could make the trip, he had disappeared. When he didn’t arrive, they assumed he had been delayed for some reason and waited for a telegram informing them of the problem. There had been no telegram. They headed to Sacramento and found that he had purchased several horses and told the rancher there that he planned on taking them to his family’s ranch in Nevada. They had tried to find a trail but there had been rain so even Hoss with his tracking skills could find nothing. They followed what they thought was the most likely route and found nothing.

Now only after one day home following their search, Joe saw him and rode to him only to see him fall from his horse and lay still in the grass. Rushing to his side, he was relieved to find no wound and to find him still warm and breathing. He fired three shots to summon help. Kneeling at Adam’s side, Joe could do nothing for him and plaintively asked the unconscious man questions that had no ready answers.

“Adam, where have you been? What happened to you?”

Under his yellow coat, Adam was wearing a white and black polka dots shirt. When hands arrived and helped Joe get Adam to the house, they discovered his underwear blood soaked from a wound that had opened in his hip. The polka dot shirt had covered up another bandage over a wound in his side. Probing the wound in his hip, Ben discovered that the lead bullet was still in it. He had already sent a man to get Doctor Martin. After he told Hop Sing to get everything ready for some surgery, he pulled a chair next to the bed and sat there to monitor his son’s condition until the doctor arrived. As they waited, Adam moaned and moved about slightly. Ben and his brothers talked to him trying to get him to respond. His eyelids fluttered and his eyes blinked a number of times. When his eyes opened, it was clear that although he was in pain and weak, he was lucid. In a clear but soft voice, he addressed his father.

“Pa, I need you to help her.”

“Adam, you need help yourself. You’re hurt.”

“I know. She couldn’t get the bullet out. Then she got sick. She wasn’t in good health to start with and taking care of me was a strain on her.”

Speaking gently, Ben asked Adam about ‘her’ without challenging his story. “Who is ‘she’, son?”

“She lives just beyond the Ponderosa. She and her husband thought panning for gold and trapping was the way to prosperity. He died. She’s alone and needs help. I was almost home. She saved me. Some men attacked me and stole my horses.”

Exhausted, Adam closed his eyes again and didn’t open them.

Joe was concerned. “Pa, could all that be true?”

“I don’t know. He could be hallucinating.”

Hoss had already made up his mind. “Not with that polka dots shirt, Pa. All I know is that something purty bad happened to him, and then someone helped Adam and that’s probably the one who got him to wear that shirt. I’m gonna go backtrack him and see ifn I kin find who it was who helped him. He said she needed somebody to help her too. I’m gonna do that.”

“We don’t know what kind of help she needs.”

“Adam said she wasn’t in good health. I guess I’ll just go there and help her. I’ll bring her here ifn I hafta.”

“Don’t go alone. Take a couple of men with you. Adam already had trouble up there with horse thieves who are probably the ones who shot him. I don’t want you going up there alone and getting hurt too.”

“I’ll take a couple of men with me, Pa. Don’t worry. You jest be sure ta take good care of older brother there. I ‘spect ta see him sittin’ up with a good story ta tell me when I git back. I jest gotta know how he got that shirt.”

After Hoss left, Joe was going to say something more about the polka dots shirt, but their father was too worried. He couldn’t bring himself to say something flippant with him feeling so concerned yet, and the more he thought about the pain Adam was in, the less he thought he should say anything. There were going to be months and years he could use that material for teasing his brother. Though the shirt was open and pushed to the side, those outlandish polka dots still stood out so well. They were more appropriate to a party dress for a woman and looked so incongruous on his older serious brother so well known for dressing in black or dark navy blue. On occasion, he wore a red or white shirt, but nothing like the shirt he still wore as he lay in his bed. He was so obviously weak and in discomfort that their father wasn’t following the usual protocol of removing his clothing and getting him into a sleepshirt before the doctor arrived. Joe wasn’t sure that was a good idea. Although this might be a great source of comments he might make to his brother in the future, he was loyal enough to his brother that he didn’t want anyone else to know what he was wearing.

“Pa, do you think we should at least get that shirt off of him? We could always pull a blanket over him from the waist up. If I help, it shouldn’t disturb him too much.”

“He needs to rest.”

“But, Pa, it’s polka dots!”

It seemed that the potential for Adam being teased about that finally penetrated. “I don’t think he has to worry about Doctor Martin teasing him about what he’s wearing.”

“No, I don’t think the Doc would do that either, but he’s married.”

Ben considered Paul’s wife then. A sweet woman, she helped her husband in his job often nursing wounded or injured patients and helping in deliveries. However, she was also a member of a number of women’s groups and quite popular. If she slipped up even once and mentioned what Adam had been wearing when he was found, it would be all over the town within a day. Joe had already considered the potential. He had buttoned up Adam’s coat before anyone had arrived in the pasture to help. Partly that had been to make it easier to move his brother as well as to keep the bandage in place around his middle. There had been the ulterior motive though to hide that shirt from those other eyes. So far, only family members including Hop Sing had seen it. Joe hoped to keep it that way.

“Let’s try to be as gentle as possible while we do it. He’s so weak. I hate to disturb him or cause him any more pain.”

“Why don’t we raise his arms and take it off that way. His arms aren’t hurt.”

So they slowly pulled his arms up above his head and then tugged his shirt up and off. Joe rolled it up and tossed it inside a drawer closing it so that no one would see it. They would hand it over to Hop Sing for laundering when no one was around.

It seemed that once Adam had delivered his message and relaxed into the loving care of his family, nothing was going to wake him. He slept through everything including Doctor Martin arriving and Ben and Joe explaining all that they knew about Adam’s injuries which was mostly how they found him, what he had said, and all that they had done for him since he had been shot.

“I can tell the lead is still in his hip wound which is still open and bleeding. The wound in his side looked like it was healing, but the ride partially opened it up again.”

Agreeing with both of Ben’s assessments, Paul said he was going to need some help. “That bullet in his hip is stuck in the bone. If he said she couldn’t get it out, I’m not surprised. It’s probably very painful for Adam. When I take that out, it’s going to be much worse, and he’s going to fight against me so I’m going to need you to hold him down. If I can get a good hold on it, I don’t think it will take long.” Pausing then, Paul wanted to say something more positive and it wasn’t difficult to know what it was he should say next. “Whoever took care of him did a great job of keeping those wounds clean. There’s no sign of infection at all. Once that bullet comes out, he should heal well and quickly. I don’t think there’s going to be any lasting ill effects. If there are, they won’t be serious.” Paul could tell how relieved Ben and Joe were to hear that information.

Unfortunately, Paul was correct in his assessment of what would happen when he took that bullet from Adam’s hip. Although only partially aware of what was happening due to some morphine the doctor administered, Adam struggled against their efforts to hold him still as Paul pulled the bullet free. After quickly bandaging the wound, Paul gave them simple instructions.

“The pain must be quite bad if he still felt it even with the dose I gave him. I didn’t want to give him more knowing how sick he gets from the stuff, but I knew he had to have some. Try to keep him still and keep cool cloths on his head and face to try to minimize his nausea. Hop Sing can brew some tea to help settle his stomach too. I’ve only packed the wound at this point. I’ll stitch it closed when I’m sure it has stopped bleeding. He’s going to have to stay in bed for a few weeks. That bone is cracked. It hasn’t separated which is good. For a few days, he shouldn’t be out of bed for anything. After say three days, he can sit or stand to do what is necessary. Otherwise, he needs to be in that bed laying flat on his back as much as possible.”

“He has a broken hip?”

“The pelvis bone is cracked where the bullet hit it. Frankly, I don’t know how he was riding. The pain had to have been terrible. I suppose he thought that because he didn’t have that much trouble walking, he could ride more easily, but riding put more pressure on it than walking would have. He’s lucky it isn’t displaced.”

“Did I make it worse bringing him here on his horse?”

“No, Joe, by then any damage was already done. I’m sure your gentle treatment was far better for him than him riding alone and pushing to get home. In say a week or so, I’ll start letting him sit for short periods of time, but he’ll still have to spend the majority of his time laying flat and still in that bed.”

“That won’t be easy to do when he starts feeling better.”

“I’m sure he’ll complain, but the alternative is a broken hip and being in a cast that will be on for two months. You can tell him that. Now you said Hoss went to help this good Samaritan who helped Adam?”

“Yes, Hop Sing packed up food and supplies for him. Hopefully he will be able to help her whoever she is. I told him to bring her here if he couldn’t help her there.”

“Do you know anything about her?”

“Nothing at all. It’s one of many questions we’d like to ask Adam. Why was he bringing horses from Sacramento? That’s not why he was there. What happened to him?” Ben looked down at his son. All those questions could wait though. Adam was home and safe although injured and in pain. Those were going to be the more important issues for him for the immediate future.

“I want to know where he got that shirt.” Now that he knew his brother was going to recover, he was amused again by the polka dots shirt. A look from his father though reminded him that they didn’t want to bring up that subject with Paul.

“Shirt?”

“Adam was wearing a shirt that wasn’t his and not the usual design for him. Joe is curious as to who he borrowed it from.”

“Oh, I imagine whomever he could because his was likely damaged and bloody after that wound to his side. It’s shallow but long. Those are the kind that bleed profusely at first. That’s also another reason why he’s so exhausted. He was likely wounded only a week or two ago. He hasn’t had time to recover from that kind of blood loss. That usually can take up to six weeks or more.”

Still with his eyes on his son, Ben asked when Paul would be back to check on his son.

“I plan to be back tomorrow morning. If the wound is dry and clean, I’ll stitch it closed and bandage it. He shouldn’t move out of that bed today. You know what to do.”

In agreement with that, Ben had Joe show the doctor out after offering him a meal before he went. Ben sat again in the chair he had pulled next to the bed and waited as he had done so often by a son’s bed. He wasn’t going to move until he saw those eyes open again and heard his son greet him.

 

Chapter 2

Following Adam’s trail had been fairly simple for Hoss and the two men with him. Other than meandering a bit at times as Adam must have been tiring and let the horse have his lead, the trail was easy to see. After tracking for most of the day, they were in the timber outside the boundaries of the Ponderosa when they lost the trail due to lack of light. It was time to camp except Hoss was sure he could smell smoke. He told the other two to set up a camp and make a fire.

“I’m going on ahead using the general direction Adam came from. Ifn I don’t find nuthin, I’ll head back here and we’ll finish tracking ‘im in the morning. I’ll need the fire for a beacon ta find ya.”

“If you find her?”

“I’ll fire three shots. You come find me, but ride easy. I don’t want ya hurtin’ yourself.”

The two men dismounted and began to set up a camp. Hoss rode slowly through the trees thinking that the smell of woodsmoke was becoming stronger. After about a mile, he spotted a cabin in the distance. He speeded up his approach and that was a near fatal mistake. Anticipating only an ill woman, he was not at all prepared to meet three armed men when he got there. As soon as he dismounted, a man came around the side of the small cabin with a rifle pointed at his gut.

“Hey there, no need for that, mister. I only come here ’cause my brother said there was a woman here who was ill and needed help.”

Two more armed men stepped out of the cabin then and one pointed his pistol at Hoss then too. One spoke to the man with the rifle.

“Any idea who this is?”

“Said his brother told him there was a sick woman here. Probably another of them Cartwrights. He kin tell us where the other one is.”

“We don’t need the other one if we got him.” Turning to Hoss, the man asked if he was a Cartwright.

“I am. I’m Hoss Cartwright.”

“Bring him inside. He can write out the paper we need. Those horses are worth a lot of money, but we need a bill of sale. They’ll accept one from him as well as from the other.”

“I can’t give you a bill of sale for horses you stole from my brother!” Hoss had quickly discerned that these must be the men who had shot Adam and taken his horses including his riding horse and pack horse stranding him in these mountains. He wasn’t going to help them, and these men didn’t know he had two friends out in that forest.

“You’ll give it to us or I promise you we’ll shoot your brother’s friend and then you if you won’t help us.”

“My brother’s friend?”

“Yeah, she’s still alive, but a little worse for wear. It took a bit before she would tell us where he went.”

Anger threatened to boil up inside Hoss but he knew he had to control that temper if he wanted to help that woman and save himself too. He handed over his pistol as ordered and entered the cabin ahead of the outlaws. On a cot in the corner, he saw a woman huddled in a blanket. Even in the darkened interior, he could see that her face was bruised. Once more, his temper boiled, but he tamped it down.

“What deal you offering?”

“You write out a bill of sale for them three Appaloosas and maybe we don’t kill you.”

“Not good enough.”

“It’s all you got.”

“No, it isn’t because what if I don’t write one out? You’ve got nothing.”

“He’s right on that, Jingo.”

“Oh, shut up. You didn’t have to agree with him.”

Hoss took a guess as to what happened. “You tried to sell those horses only whoever you tried to sell ’em to had heard we was looking for Adam ’cause he disappeared after buying three Appaloosas. They wouldn’t buy ’em without a bill of sale ’cause it was too darn suspicious. There ain’t many Appaloosas for sale anywhere.”

“Yeah, so you’re gonna give us a bill of sale for ’em.”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe?”

“You let the lady go. Put her up on my horse and when I see her riding outta here, I’ll write out a bill of sale for ya.”

“How do we know you’ll do it?”

“I don’t lie. You ever see a more honest face than mine?”

“He do look honest, Jingo.”

“Oh, shut up. Well, I guess we don’t have a lot of choice. If you don’t, you know we’re gonna shoot you and go after her and shoot her too?”

“Kinda figured that. Figured the time it took me to write out a full bill of sale and sign it would give her time to get away.”

“All right, then, so you’re smart enough.”

“Jace, get her up and take her out to his horse and get her on her way.”

“Nope, I want to see her go.”

“Why?”

“You ever see three more dishonest faces than the three of you?”

“I guess you got a point. When she’s on the horse, you kin watch from the doorway until she rides away. All right?”

The third man took a torch to light the area outside and went to retrieve Chubb. Jace helped the woman from the cot and out the door. When the woman from the cabin was outside and helped into the saddle on Chubb, She tried to object but got a pistol pointed at her face making her halt any complaints. Jace called out that it was time. Jingo told Hoss to stand, but when Hoss was going to walk outside, Jingo told him to stop.

“I’ll go out there and keep this rifle pointed at you. You try to run, and I’ll shoot you and then I’ll shoot her. You got that? Jest stand in the door and watch.”

“I got it.”

Hoss watched as the woman rode rather sedately to the tree line and then disappeared. He had expected her to ride away as fast as she could go, but at least, she was safely away from the cabin. Jingo told him to back up into the cabin, and he did. However, he did so rather quickly and pushed the door closed and barred it with the stout plank he had seen there earlier that was obviously there for that purpose. Then he put out the lantern plunging the cabin into darkness. The men outside were shocked. They had expected Hoss to run not barricade himself in the cabin so all three had been outside with their weapons ready to stop him from running away.

“This is stupid, Cartwright. You ain’t got a gun, and there’s three of us with rifles out here.”

“Ah, Jingo, we left his pistol in there when we took it away from him.”

“Damn!”

“Listen, you might have a pistol, but we still got three of us with three pistols and three rifles. You’re stuck in a cabin with no way to get away.”

From behind them then from the trees, they heard a voice. “Drop your weapons!”

“Listen, we got an outlaw trapped in there, mister.”

“We know who’s in there. Drop your weapons or we start shooting.”

They knew then that there was more than one in the trees or at least he said there was. “How do you know there’s more than one of you?”

Shots were fired from two spots with angles covering a lot of ground. When Jace went to put out the torch, shots hit the ground by his feet.

“One last chance: drop your weapons!”

Hoss yelled from inside the cabin. “I got this side boys if they decide to fight. I’ll shoot the fat one. You boys shoot the tall skinny ones.”

The sound of weapons hitting the ground was the only response.

“All of them!” was yelled from the trees.

A few more were pulled from boots and belts.

“I said, all of them!”

Small knives and various other small weapons were added to the pile. Then Hoss opened the door and the two hands emerged from the trees. The woman slowly rode back into the clearing on Chubb. She smiled broadly at the two men emerging from the trees with rifles pointed at the men who had tormented her.

“You boys are more than a sight for sore eyes. You’re heroes in my book.”

Smiling at her rescue and energized by the events that had occurred, she looked younger than she had earlier and Hoss could see in the torchlight that she was attractive even with the bruises. He offered her help to dismount and then his arm to walk back to her cabin even as he kept his pistol trained on the outlaws.

“Ma’am, Adam said you needed help. I’m plumb pleased to have been able to help.” Looking to his friends, Hoss said only a little. “Tie ’em up, and ya don’t need ta be gentle. These yahoos shot my brother and they bin beating up on this woman here.”

Glares met his words as men in the west didn’t tolerate anyone being nasty to a woman. The three outlaws paid a price that night for their behavior. Once they were tied, one hand stood guard and the other went to get their horses.

“Hoss, should I go back to our camp to pick up our gear?”

“I’ll go with ya if Charlie here feels all right about watching these three on his own.”

“I’d be happy to help him.” The lady had come back to the doorway of her cabin and paused as the men looked at her in surprise. “My name is Donatella, but most people have called me Ella since I was little probably because my younger brother and sister couldn’t say Donatella that well. I know how to use a rifle.”

Hoss handed a rifle to her. “Then here you go. This is mine. It’s got a light pull on the trigger.” Looking at the men who were tied and sitting in a group, Hoss grinned. “Be sure to keep it aimed at them so ifn it goes off accidental like, it won’t hit anything innocent.”

“I like your way of thinking, Hoss Cartwright.”

Startled for a moment, Hoss recalled that he had told the men in the cabin his name. She had heard and remembered.

“We’ll be back soon, Ella.”

As she watched Hoss ride away, Donatella noted how different the two brothers were. After hearing that story, Adam had called her Donatella noting how beautiful the name was. He was dark where Hoss was light. He was intense where Hoss was relaxed. She found it hard to believe, as she supposed many did, that the two were brothers. She had a short time to talk with Charlie to find out more about the Cartwrights and spent an enjoyable hour with him as he apparently loved to talk and gave his observations not only of Adam and Hoss but of their younger brother and their father as well. She was ready to be gone from these mountains and this family seemed to be the ones who likely would help her do that. Adam had promised they would help, and despite her skepticism, she was beginning to believe it would happen. She only hoped she could survive to enjoy it. The terrible headaches and problems with her eyes continued although since the beating, both were less severe. It didn’t make sense, but she wasn’t going to complain about getting some relief. The hardest part was going to be facing that ride the next day and wondering if she could sit a horse that long.

When Hoss returned with the gear from their camp, he and the men set up a camp directly outside the cabin. Ella was pleased that they were so considerate. None of them made any assumption that they would spend the night in her cabin. The three outlaws did make some complaints. They asked for blankets saying it was going to get very cold and they should get to have their blankets. Ella didn’t agree with their assessment of the situation.

“They shot Adam, stole his horses and his supplies leaving him on foot, wounded, and with no means to stay warm. They expected him to die. They came up here to get the bill of sale from his body. It won’t hurt them to spend one cold night.”

Charlie offered another reason. “Hoss, one of us kin watch ’em better ifn we kin always see their hands and such. They kin sit close to the fire ifn they want.”

“I agree with both of you. They’ll be less trouble if they’re a mite chilled. That’s what we’ll do.”

And that’s what they did. The night was cold making the three outlaws shiver. They were never in any danger although they were uncomfortable and unable to sleep. In the morning, two of them had to share a horse too. There were enough horses for everyone to ride with Adam’s Appaloosas and the pack horse too, but there weren’t enough saddles to accommodate Ella. Hoss appropriated one of the outlaw’s saddles and put it on one of the Appaloosas so Ella could ride the magnificent animal. They would have to go slowly because of the two men riding together, but Hoss determined it was best because he saw how stiffly Ella moved in the morning. He guessed her injuries were bothering her more than she was willing to tell them. Although he wanted to know all about Adam’s time in her care, he knew it was best to wait until they were at the ranch and Ella had a chance to rest. Between her and Adam, they were going to hear all of it eventually. There were a lot of questions for them to answer, but they had Adam back and his horses were recovered as well as the outlaws apprehended so there was no urgency. When Hoss told Ella that it was time to go, she knew it was also time to open up to tell him the truth.

“Hoss, you know your brother, Adam, said I was sick. Well, I get headaches sometimes.”

“That’s all right. We’ll get you to the ranch and Doc Martin kin take a look at you and help fix you up.”

“No, you don’t understand. Even though Adam was still so hurt, he rode for help because I couldn’t. I didn’t want him to go because he was still bleeding, but I couldn’t get that bullet out. There was no guarantee I could stay on a horse that long. When I get a headache, I fall down sometimes and can’t stand up. I can’t open my eyes to the light. Adam saw that a few times when he was here. He didn’t trust me on a horse.” Hoss was going to object but she knew what he would say. “I know you’re going to say it’s fine because of you and your two friends, but I thought I should tell you because it could happen.”

“Ma’am, ifn it does, we’ll take good care of you. Ifn I gotta, I’ll carry you in my arms to the Ponderosa. We’re gonna git you there, don’t you worry.”

Ella nodded in relief that he didn’t look at her with pity but with concern. “Thank you. You are a special man.”

So they did although it took longer than expected because they rode with great care in consideration of Ella. The two hands continued to Virginia City with the three outlaws on their horses as Hoss escorted Ella into the house. Both were concerned about Adam and wanted to see his condition. Normally Hoss would have been paying attention to the beauty around him with the pine trees first and the shadows they threw that painted a portrait against the mountainside and then the meadows with the grass dotted with flowers as well as flowering weeds that made the meadows so colorful and teeming with small life as well as the occasional foraging deer. However Ella was the center of his concern for this ride and he hardly noticed the beauty around him as his heart opened to the lady who had saved his brother’s life.

 

Chapter 3

Most of the time Hoss was gone, Adam had been asleep. Exhaustion, blood loss, and the ordeal of the bullet removal had taken a heavy toll on him. When Hoss and Ella got to his room, they found Ben taking yet another turn at the side of the bed. After introductions, Ben updated them on Adam’s condition.

“He’s been sleeping quite a bit. He’s going to be fine though. Doctor Martin was here this morning and stitched up his hip wound.”

“Today?” Ella was incredulous. She had thought he would have had that done much sooner.

“Doctor Martin wanted to be sure that the wound had stopped draining and that there was no infection. Adam is confined to bed because the hip is broken.”

“Oh, no, he rode here with a broken hip? I should have been the one to try it.”

Looking at her standing there next to Hoss, Ben wondered why she hadn’t done exactly that. However, he had to wait for an explanation. Hoss told Ella it was time to get her to a guest room so she could rest. After doing that, Hoss was back and told Ben about Ella’s condition and why she didn’t make the ride. He told him about the outlaws too and recovering the Appaloosas as well.

“Those weren’t smudges of dirt of Ella’s face neither. Them yahoos beat on her some to try to find out where Adam went.”

“Did you find out anything else about what happened to Adam or about her?”

“Not much. I didn’t want to put no pressure on her seeing as how she was hurting and she gets them headaches and such. Say, is Doc Martin gonna be back soon? I told her the doc would check her over too and take care of her.”

“He’ll be back tomorrow if he can. He wants to keep a close check on Adam’s hip injury. So far, everything is good.”

About that time, Joe came in and they had to update him on everything as he had been taking care of all the ranch business with his father and brothers otherwise occupied. On the bed, Adam awoke and complained.

“Can’t a dying man get some peace and quiet?”

“You aren’t dying, son.”

“I know, but it feels like it sometimes because every time I wake up, there’s one of you sitting there praying over me like I am.”

“We aren’t praying over you, older brother. We’re guarding you so you don’t get out of that bed. Doc left strict orders, and if anyone knows about breaking Doc’s orders, it’s me. So I’ve been sure to take my turn making sure you don’t.”

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you, Joe?”

“Maybe a little. I’m going to enjoy it a lot more when I can tease you about that polka dots shirt. You sure looked pretty in that shirt, Adam.”

“I thought you were going to wait.”

“Oh, that’s not teasing. That’s the truth.”

All Joe got for that was a glower although both Ben and Hoss were smiling. If Adam could trade barbs with his youngest brother, he truly was feeling better. Perhaps it was time to let him explain a little though.

“Seriously, son, how did you end up wearing a polka dots shirt?”

Sighing deeply, Adam looked at Joe first with disdain and then at his father and Hoss with a more resigned look before he said anything.

“My shirt was a mess. Those men must have followed me from Sacramento and bushwhacked me up in the mountains where I couldn’t ride fast enough to elude them. I got hit in the side first as I rode to get away. They must have decided that getting the horses wasn’t good enough. They didn’t want to leave a witness either so they shot again and that’s when I got hit in the hip which knocked me from my horse. All I had was my pistol. I hid in the trees as well as I could and shot at them. They luckily weren’t the best of shots or I would have been dead already. I guess they figured that I was wounded and on foot in the mountains so I’d die. They left. I was bleeding quite a bit. I took off my coat and ripped up my shirt. I used the sleeves to tie a bandage around my middle. That and my handkerchief was all I had for the wound in my side. I folded the rest of the shirt and used it to pack the wound in my hip to try to stop the bleeding. I knew that bullet was still in there. I found a stick and used it like a crutch and started walking for home.”

All of them knew he never would have made it. In his condition and under those circumstances, he wouldn’t likely have survived more than two or three days at best. They were silent though to let Adam continue the story.

“After walking about as far as I thought I could go, I smelled wood smoke. I was worried that I had gone in a circle.”

Everyone knew how easy that was to do. They nodded sympathetically as they imagined walking with a bullet in a hip.

“But as I got closer, I saw it was a large clearing with stumps all around so I knew it was someone’s cabin. When I saw it, I didn’t watch where I was going as well as I should have and I fell. I must have yelled when I hit the ground. I don’t know because I was out for a while. When I woke up, Donatella was there. She was the most beautiful sight in the world I could imagine at that point. It was a struggle for her to get me to her little cabin. She managed though but I could see how it made her suffer, and she had to lay down for a bit. I was so exhausted, I was out of it until she began to tend to my wounds. She used old clothing from her husband to make bandages but couldn’t get that bullet out.”

“Yes, Doctor Martin said it was embedded in the bone. He struggled to get it out.”

“I remember.”

Ben winced because he remembered too and that was a painful memory to hold seeing your son suffer like that. Both of them needed Adam to move on with the story and he did.

“The wound kept bleeding, and we both knew that there would be infection or I would die of blood loss if that didn’t stop. However, it was rather cold up there, and she didn’t want me to ride away with only my coat. The only cloth she had was some she had purchased at a bargain price from a peddler because of the pattern. No one else would buy it. She was going to make aprons from it. She quickly cut out a pattern for a shirt and stitched it together apologizing all the while about how poorly done it was. I thought it was amazing that anyone could sew a shirt together that fast. Anyway, when I pulled it on, it fit reasonably well, and she was correct. I felt a lot warmer with that on under my coat.”

“But you rode instead of her?”

“In the days I was there, she had a number of episodes when she would drop to her knees from the pain of her headaches and once had to lay on her side by the fireplace facing away from it because the light bothered her so much. I knew she might have one of those spells when she was riding especially if the sun was bright. I didn’t think she could make the ride.”

“You didn’t do so well either, older brother. If I hadn’t seen you, you could have laid out there for a long time.”

Joe had been going to say he could have died but couldn’t even bring himself to say those words. His father and Hoss knew it too and were grateful he had phrased it that way.

“Joe, I knew that too. I rode toward the pasture because I hoped to find men working there. The house was hours more and I didn’t think I could make it.”

“What was your backup plan?” Hoss knew he must have had one. He always did.

“I was going to fire three shots and hope someone heard them. Then fire three more if no one came after the first ones. After that, I’m afraid I was out of plans. The rest of my bullets were on that packhorse the outlaws took.”

It was a sobering story and answered many questions they had had. There was still one left though. Joe asked that.

“But why did you buy three Appaloosas in the first place?”

“You don’t see them for sale very often especially the gray ones. Apparently, a horse trader had sold the original stock to a local rancher years ago. He may have stolen them from the Nez Perce. Well, it seems no one particularly liked this man and didn’t want to do him any favors. He needed money and was selling off assets he didn’t need. The price was right and I had money so I bought them.”

“That still doesn’t really answer why only how.”

“You’d make a good lawyer, little brother.”

“And you’re trying to get out of answering my question. Why did you buy those horses?”

Sighing, Adam looked to his father as if for help. Ben had a resigned look though.

“You know how he is, Adam. He’s like a dog with a bone when he has a question he wants answered. He’ll gnaw on it until he’s worked every little bit out of it and then crunch what’s left.”

“That’s a good one, Pa. You sounded a lot like Hoss right then.”

“Now you’re helping him do it. Why won’t you answer my question, Adam?”

Frowning because he was stuck in bed and couldn’t get away, Adam knew he had no choice. Hoss grinned because he thought he knew the answer and wondered why Joe hadn’t guessed it too.

“Because they’re for your birthday!”

Speechless, Joe stared at Adam realizing that it was a gift that was beyond all expectations, but more than that, it meant that everything Adam had endured had been because he had been thinking of Joe and his birthday. Joe was humbled but feeling guilty too. Adam saw it.

“Aw, don’t go feeling like that. I can see it in every part of you. Those outlaws are the only ones responsible.” Pausing to catch his breath because talking so much was wearing him out, Adam waved off his father who was going to try to make him stop talking and get some rest. “I got to meet Donatella, and we still got the horses home because of Hoss so it all worked out well.”

Even as Adam missed the look of jealousy that crossed Hoss’ face at his mention of Donatella, Ben saw it. He was going to be worrying about more than Adam’s condition once he saw that. He had seen that she was an attractive woman, but he didn’t want her to come between his sons. Before things could get more complex, he did step in to insist Adam had talked enough and that they all ought to let him rest. Hoss had someone else on his mind anyway.

“I better go see how Miss Ella is doing. She was right tuckered out by everything that happened.”

“Everything that happened?”

Hoss grimaced as he looked at his father knowing he shouldn’t have said that.

“We can talk about that later, son.”

Not about to be dissuaded, Adam wanted to know what had happened. Ben said he would explain and Hoss could go. Hoss was only too eager to go and Ben saw the questioning look Adam had to that. He wasn’t so injured that he couldn’t observe what was happening especially with someone as transparent as Hoss. Looking at his father, he could read concern there too.

“Seems like Hoss is rather taken with Donatella.”

“Yes, it appears he may be.”

Pursing his lips, Adam stared at the door that was almost closed after Hoss had left. Joe was uncharacteristically silent waiting to hear what would be said next as he too had drawn the same conclusions as their father. Adam made the job quite a bit easier.

“Don’t worry. I won’t make trouble for them. I’ll be stuck here for weeks anyway according to Paul.”

“You have feelings for her already?”

“She saved my life, Pa.”

“So it’s more gratitude than anything?”

“Yes, of course I am very grateful for all she did for me. It seems she kept helping me even after I left.”

“Good. I wouldn’t want trouble between you and Hoss to come from this.”

“There won’t be any trouble.”

“I’m going to go talk to Hop Sing then and make sure he’s all right with having a house guest. If you need anything, wait for me to come back.”

“Pa, I’m here. I can help Adam with anything he needs.” Joe made his presence known, and Ben was grateful. Joe waited for their father to leave before turning to Adam. “Pa heard what he wanted to hear, but you didn’t fool me a bit.”

“Fool you?”

“Don’t even try to do that. I know what you were doing there. Wasn’t that being a bit arrogant?”

“Arrogant?”

“Yeah, deciding who she should want? Maybe you ought to let her decide.”

“I don’t want to hurt Hoss when I’m not even sure how I feel.”‘

“Then maybe you ought to wait on making a decision until you know, or more importantly, until she knows.”

“When did you get so smart?”

“You know you’ve been telling me for years to start learning from my mistakes because I can’t seem to take advice from you or anyone else. I guess I’ve made enough mistakes that I’m finally able to see better what I ought to do. It gives me a better perspective on what other people are doing too.”

Quiet for a time with his eyes closed, Adam appeared to have fallen asleep but opened his eyes after about five minutes. “Thanks, Joe. You gave me some things to think about. I’m not sure what to do but I appreciate what you said. It makes sense.” Then he did close his eyes and drift off to sleep.

 

Chapter 4

Settling into a chair, Joe picked up a book to read but found it impossible to concentrate on it. He was worried about what would happen if both brothers developed similar feelings for Ella and wondered what her feelings about the situation were. Only time would give any of them answers. The first moves weren’t favorable for Adam’s situation because, of course, Hoss had a distinct advantage in being mobile.

The first step was Doctor Martin’s though. He arrived to check on Adam, and after pronouncing him doing well, he went to check on Ella. After doing a thorough examination, discussing her symptoms, he asked a few questions and soon had his diagnosis.

“That ‘little’ bump on the head you said you got when you tripped and fell against the stall in your stable caused a hematoma that is pressing on your brain. It’s causing all sorts of problems, but the good news is that rest and time should be all you need to recover fully.”

“I’m sorry, doctor, that sounds like good news, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You had some bleeding inside your skull. That blood pooled and clotted. It’s sitting there now pressing on your brain. In time, it will be taken care of by your body. There’s no evidence that there is any additional bleeding going on. I think that as the pressure in your brain changes or if that mass moves or shifts, you get dizzy or you have vision problems or a headache or any combination of those. Moving slowly, not doing anything strenuous, and having lots of fluids and good food as well as good rest, you should have no more serious problems.”

“It seemed better after those men hit me. Shouldn’t it have been worse?”

“I would never recommend that form of treatment, but they probably dislodged some of the clot and made it easier for those parts to dissolve thereby reducing the pressure on your brain. It could have been much worse and caused things to get worse, but luckily it seemed to have gone positively for you.”

“If I do the things you said to do, how long will it take until I’m all right again?”

“I can’t tell you that. It varies from patient to patient. It could be weeks or even months to a full recovery.”

“Oh, my, I can’t impose on the Cartwrights that long.”

“You’re not imposing.” Turning his attention to Paul Martin, Hoss preempted his father and made sure Ella knew the family would support her as long as she needed it. “Doc, you can betcha we’ll make shur of all that you said for Miss Ella.” Hoss moved to put a protective hand on Ella’s arm.

For the first time in a long time, Ella felt protected. She had been on her own and feeling vulnerable ever since her husband had died. Even before his death, she had been worried frequently with only the two of them in the wilderness with travelers coming through with no one there to call on for help if they needed it. Now she had these strong men around willing to take care of her and protect her. If she could have picked a brother, she would have picked Hoss. At that point, she had no idea that he had a much different idea of their relationship.

As Ben walked out with Doctor Martin, Ella asked about Adam.

“He’s doing fine but needs his rest. Doc says he’s gotta stay in bed and not get out for the next couple of days at all. After that, he kin only get out for, well, you know.”

When Hoss blushed a bit at that, Ella did know. “I could help care for him. That way I could help pay you all back for your hospitality. I could sit with him and then you all could go do the work you need to do.”

“Oh, that ain’t necessary. You’re a guest.”

“I’d like to do it.”

“Now I done told ya that a guest don’t work here on the Ponderosa. Hop Sing is fixing up a real nice lunch. How about we go down there and let him know how much we appreciate what he’s doing for us?”

Sitting in Adam’s room, Joe heard the conversation between Hoss and Ella and knew Adam heard it too. After the two had gone downstairs, Joe turned to Adam.

“I know you’re not in any shape for it, but aren’t you going to fight for her? You know she wants you to. She did her best there to get in here to see you and Hoss wouldn’t let her. He’s falling in love, and if you don’t do something soon, he’s going to get hurt real bad. You don’t want that, do you?”

“He won’t get hurt if I stay out of it.”

“Aw, c’mon, Adam, don’t play the martyr. It doesn’t suit you. You heard her. She’s not interested in Hoss the way he is in her. You can see as well as I can that she’s a bit of a challenge. She’s not the type of woman who’s going to be happy staying home cooking and having children the way Hoss sees having a wife. She went with her husband into the wilderness and stayed there after he died. She’s no docile woman like Hoss would marry.”

“No, probably not.”

If you let things keep going the way they are, she’ll have to tell him, and he’ll be hurt especially if this goes on a while and his feelings get stronger for her.”

“Maybe it will be better that way.”

Frowning, Joe stared at Adam. He thought back and remembered how things had been with Regan and how upset Hoss had been when he thought Adam was trying to steal her away from him. Hoss had nearly beaten Adam to a pulp except he and their father had come in and broken up the altercation. As he thought about that and the pained expression Adam wore, he knew Adam had no idea what to do.

“You don’t know what to do, do you? You’re afraid to try.”

“Not afraid to try. Afraid of what the results could be. Can you guarantee that Hoss won’t see it as a betrayal again if I say I want him to back off? Do you even think he would consider doing that at this point?”

“Even if you told him how you feel, he thinks she feels the way he does. He’d probably tell you that she doesn’t have feelings for you. If you tried anything to prove she did, he would see it as a betrayal.” Joe slumped in the chair. Like Adam, he could see no way out of the quandary. “Damn, so we have to let it play out and Hoss is probably going to get hurt.”

Silent, Adam squeezed his eyes shut in frustration. Joe offered to go get his lunch tray and it seemed a good thing for both of them to get some time to think. When Joe got to the table to find Ella and Hoss in animated conversation about the sights on the ranch, he began to think perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad. Then his father stopped him before he went upstairs.

“A telegram was delivered. They have reopened the negotiations in Sacramento. They didn’t like any of the bids and want to have the top two there to see what can be done. Adam can’t go. I want you to go with me.”

“Who’s going to take care of things here?” Even as he said it, Joe knew that the responsibilities would be on Hoss, but that would also put him in a position to spend a lot of time with Ella. However, he was likely also going to have to accept her help in caring for Adam. A recipe for disaster was in the making and he couldn’t see any way around it. “How long will we be gone?”

“Probably no more than a week. Nothing much can go wrong here in a week so Hoss should be able to handle everything else all by himself.” Ben meant to be supportive, and Hoss took it that way.

Joe remembered something though. “If we’re going to be gone for a week, Hoss will have to get the payroll and handle that all by himself. If word is out that Adam is laid up and that we’re gone, someone could try to take advantage of that.”

“Son, it sounds like you don’t want to go with me. I thought you’d jump at this chance, and I was looking forward to some time with you.”

“What about me, Pa? Weren’t ya lookin’ forward ta some time with me?” Hoss was grinning as he said that though.

“Hoss, you have Ella and Adam here. I think you’re going to be doing just fine. Now, Ella has volunteered to help with Adam’s care. We’re need to accept her generous offer so you can get everything done that needs to be done while we’re gone.”

By Hoss’ look, he clearly hadn’t considered that issue but had only been thinking of all the time he would have with Ella especially in the evenings without his father and younger brother around. Knowing she would be spending quite a bit of time with Adam while he worked was not something he wanted to consider. By not saying anything in response to that statement, he actually communicated quite a bit. Ella began to consider what his silence meant and any conclusion she drew worried her. The hand on her arm earlier and the constant attention from Hoss now took on an entirely different meaning to her. It wasn’t brotherly protection, and she didn’t know what to do about the situation. She tried to send a message.

“Yes, I’ll be very happy to sit with Adam and help with anything I can do for him.”

“He does like to read a lot, Miss Ella, so he probably would like time to himself too. Some days, you could come with me when I go out to supervise the men and I could show you some of the sights on the ranch like I told you about.”

“But what if Adam needs something?”

“We kin leave things in easy reach, and he’s always got Hop Sing here for ‘im.”

So Ben and Joe headed to Sacramento and Hoss began a whirlwind of activity running the Ponderosa and doing his best to spend as much time as possible with Ella as he could. There were trips to see the lake of course but also meadows with deer, herds of Ponderosa cattle and the large pastures and corrals of horses. Once Ella accompanied Hoss on his rounds of the ranch as he did his job overseeing the men working there. As much as possible, Hoss was charming, on his best behavior, and enthusiastic about whatever Ella wanted to do. The two spent a great deal of time talking but never seemed to get to that one topic Hoss wanted to discuss which was a future for the two of them. It was only a week since he had met her though so he assumed it was too soon for her and decided to be patient. He did think a kiss would be nice, but there never seemed to be a good opportunity for one.

A good example was when they were skipping stones and he guided her throws to show her how to do it. It put them in physical contact with Hoss holding her waist with one arm while the other held her arm that was doing the throwing. It would have been so easy for her to turn ever so slightly and offer those lips for a kiss. She must have known that Hoss would never have done anything more than what she would want, but instead she had coolly thrown her stone and then pulled away to look for more to try to throw by herself. By the time his younger brother and his father returned, he was equally as happy about what had happened and frustrated too.

 

Chapter 5

Of course, Adam was still confined to bed with Hop Sing and Ella as his most frequent visitors. On the day his father and youngest brother due home, Doctor Martin gave him permission to sit in a chair but for no more than two hours. Hop Sing positioned the rocking chair by the window so he could see what was happening outside and put a small table next to it as well for a book and a glass of water. When Ella walked in after one more trip with Hoss that morning, she had to smile seeing Adam sitting in a chair. Hoss had gone to town to get the payroll.

“You look rather regal sitting like that.”

“Well, then, it must take a broken hip for me to look regal because that’s why I’m sitting like this. I tried leaning to one side and it hurt quite a bit. Doctor Martin said I could sit in a chair for a couple of hours each day. I don’t want to do anything that would jeopardize those instructions and the chance to be out of that bed.”

Because of that restriction, Adam wasn’t watching out his window when Hoss rode into the yard bringing in the payroll for the hands, but he did hear some riders coming in and after he heard Hoss downstairs so he struggled out of bed and saw strange men pulling guns and heading toward the house. It was going to be difficult, but he knew he had to get a pistol that he had in his bureau, load it, and get to the top of the stair without being heard. He could only hope nothing terrible happened before he got there because the hands weren’t back from working that day and Hop Sing was gone for the day. That left Hoss and Ella alone to face those men.

Downstairs, Hoss was surprised to have the door opened behind him but expected one of the hands not three armed men. He pulled his gun and moved into the office alcove but one of the men rushed to where Ella was and pointed a gun at her.

“Come out now or she gets hurt. Give up and we’ll let her go unharmed.”

Without hesitation, Hoss dropped his weapon and walked out of the alcove. One of the men ordered him to sit on a chair and he was tied securely.

“All right, now let Miss Ella go now. The money is right there on the desk for ya.”

“Oh, I think we’ll have a little fun with her first, then we’ll take the money and go.”

“You said you’d let her go unharmed.”

“I guess I did. I lied.”

“Yeah, you didn’t think we was gonna leave any witnesses, did ya?”

“Shut up! We were gonna get him to give us the combination to the safe first. He won’t do that now.”

“Sorry, Boss.”

“Oh well, I guess the cash and the fun is what we get.” Looking over to where Ben had the brandy decanter, the boss smiled more. “And we can have a few drink while we do it. Pour us some, would ya, and hand over that woman.”

The man laughed then and the other man moved toward the desk to get the money as the speaker holstered his pistol and moved toward where the third man held Ella. All motion halted though with a command from the top of the staircase.

“Hold it right there and drop your weapons to the floor.”

Adam stood leaning on the stair rail with a pistol aimed at the boss of the three men so he addressed Adam.

“There’s only one of you and three of us. You can’t get all of us.”

“I can try. I know I can get you first.”

“I’ll shoot her or maybe him.”

“Not before I shoot you in the head.”

“My men will shoot both of them.”

“Not before I shoot you in the head, and that will give me all the time I need to shoot both of them in the head too.”

The man by the desk drew and Adam shot him in the head. It removed all doubt as to his ability to shoot accurately. The other two men stood silently in the stalemate for a moment. The boss was undecided. He wasn’t willing to die and was thinking furiously of a way out of this with his life at least and his freedom if he could get it. His remaining man got impatient and drew turning as he did to aim at Adam and pulling Ella in front of him as he did so. Adam pulled back and the shot missed him. Ella rolled away from the man and Adam stepped back and shot him dead center in the chest swinging his weapon to bear on the boss who had drawn his pistol but hadn’t gotten it aimed yet.

“Drop it!”

The man let the pistol drop from his fingers to the floor. There was silence in the room, and it seemed the sound of that pistol hitting was thunderous.

“Unbuckle your gun belt and drop it.”

The man did that as well.

“Now undo your belt and drop your pants.”

“What?”

“I don’t want you running or moving fast for the next few minutes.”

The man did as ordered and looked up at Adam as he stood there with his pants around his ankles.

“Mister, you sure don’t leave a man much.”

“As a man, you didn’t show up with much.” Adam addressed Ella next. “Ella, could you go in the kitchen and get a knife to cut the ropes around Hoss?”

“I could untie him.”

“It will be faster with a knife, and frankly I don’t know how much longer I can stand here. The only recourse I have left is to shoot that man if you don’t get Hoss loose soon.”

Ella rushed to the kitchen then to get a knife to cut Hoss free. Once free, Hoss took charge and quickly tied up the one live outlaw. When he heard more horses outside, he went to the door where some hands were milling around looking at the strange horses tied up outside.

“Boys, we got some trouble. I could use some help in here.”

It was two hours later before Hoss was able to go upstairs. He assumed that was where Ella had gone. In Adam’s room, she was sitting beside him as he lay on the bed in obvious pain. Hoss didn’t like how things had gone but wasn’t going to say anything about it with Adam already hurting and especially because it had all worked out all right.

“I sent some of the men to town with the bodies and the one man you left alive. I cleaned up downstairs as well as I could, and I paid out the payroll.”

Although Hoss didn’t say anything critical, Adam could detect the irritation still in his voice. “You don’t like how I handled things, do you?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to say it.”

Looking at Ella, Hoss decided to open up. “You coulda got Miss Ella shot.”

“Hoss, you heard what they said. They intended to kill both of you. What they were going to do to her before that was possibly worse. Ella approves of how it went.”

Looking at her, Hoss was surprised to see her smile and nod. “I’m sorry, Hoss, but I preferred Adam’s way of dealing with it to yours. I would rather have been shot than to, well, to what else they had in mind.”

“But he never tried to talk them out of it.”

“He did, but two of them weren’t willing to listen.”

It was then that Hoss realized that if he had tried to negotiate, Adam would have been there eventually to back him up. “I guess I should have tried it myself.” Then he watched as Ella held Adam’s hand and looked warmly at the man who had saved her life. Now Hoss felt he didn’t have any advantage over his older brother. “I guess I better go clean some more or Hop Sing is gonna be real unhappy, and I don’t want him to be unhappy.”

“I’ll help you. Adam needs to rest anyway.”

For a couple of hours, Hoss and Ella worked together and talked and laughed. Then they warmed up the food Hop Sing had left for them placing the food on three plates.

“Do you want to come up to Adam’s room and have dinner with us?”

Somehow, Hoss had thought she would bring a plate up to Adam and have dinner with him in the dining room. Hearing that invitation shot down all his expectations once more. She correctly read his response.

“By now, Adam probably would like some company too. You don’t mind, do you?”

Of course, he minded, but he could hardly object. “No, you go on up.”

What made things worse from Hoss’ perspective was that Doctor Martin visited the next day and decided that Adam needed to stay in bed a week longer after his foray down the hall. That meant Ella would likely be up in his room more and talking with him more and spending less time with Hoss. It wouldn’t matter much as Ben and Joe were due home anyway. It did instigate a conversation between Adam and Ella that was long overdue though.

“Adam, do you care for me?”

Not wanting to commit too much, Adam couldn’t lie. “I do care for you.”

“I care for you a great deal.”

When Ella didn’t say anything for a time, Adam had his own question. “What brought that about?”

“I don’t want to hurt Hoss. I don’t know how much I care for you. I don’t know if it’s enough to make a commitment or if it’s based too much on gratitude. I think you have the same reservations, and I get the feeling Hoss wants me to have stronger feelings for him. I’m sorry, but I don’t. It’s a difficult situation, and I don’t know what to do.”

“But maybe you could have feelings for him if you didn’t have those for me?”

“Well, that’s putting it rather bluntly, but, yes, that’s about it. I’m confused. With what happened with those outlaws, as an example, I liked what you did. You’re more the kind of man I think I could love. But it’s all happened so fast, and I don’t want to make trouble in your family or hurt Hoss.”

“I don’t want to hurt him either.”

“So, what do we do?”

“I’ve got an idea.”

The two talked for quite some time after that and felt that they had reached a reasonable way out of the quandary. They planned to sleep on it and discuss it again. The next time they talked about it, Ben was there to discuss it with them.

 

Chapter 6

On Ben’s return, he asked Hoss how things had gone, and if he detected anything less than a fully positive response, he didn’t show it. Instead, he headed up the stairs to see Adam and how he was doing. Ella tagged along with him which was a sign to Joe that things were definitely not going the way Hoss had intended. As soon as their father and Ella were out of sight, he had to ask.

“So how did things go with Ella and you?”

A scrunched-up face told him that Hoss didn’t want to answer which was enough of a response. However as usual, Joe guessed that Hoss probably wanted to talk about it but didn’t know how to open the conversation especially as he didn’t know if Joe was going to tease or listen. Joe decided he better let him know he wanted to help or at least be a shoulder to cry on if that was what he needed. He paused though wanting to be careful what he said because he didn’t want to give Hoss the wrong idea that he was going to help him win over Ella. He didn’t think that was realistic.

“She wasn’t interested? I’m sorry if that was the case.”

“I can’t tell if she’s interested. She’s friendly enough, but whenever I try to get closer to her, she seems to find something to do.”

“Oh-oh.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“It’s the ‘I want to be your friend’ brush-off. I’ve had it happen to me.” It hadn’t actually happened to Joe, but he had heard about it often enough to recognize it. He guessed he could describe it well enough to convince Hoss but hoped he wouldn’t ask who it was.

“Who did it to you?”

“Oh, it was a long time ago. That doesn’t matter.”

“Still hurts, huh?”

“Yeah, I guess it does a long time when that happens.”

“I opened up my heart, but she ain’t interested. I think she wants Adam. She spent every chance she got up there with him. He don’t need that much care so I figured she really just wanted to be with him rather than me.”

There was a hint of anger there as well as some jealousy perhaps. It was exactly what Joe and their father had talked about on their trip as both had worried about a romantic triangle developing.

“What has Adam said about things?”

“Don’t know. Ain’t talked to ‘im much.”

“But you must have seen him a couple of times a day to help you do things.”

“Yeah, I did, but I didn’t want to talk a lot. Guess I was worried about what he might want to say to me. I didn’t think I wanted to hear it.”

“Adam told me he wasn’t going to do anything to try to win Ella. He said he didn’t want to take a chance on hurting his relationship with you.”

“He did!”

“He did.”

At first Hoss had brightened at that news but then thought about it and drooped again. “Except he can’t stop her from doing anything to try to win him over, and from what I could tell, she was trying real hard.”

“No, they were talking and she was trying to avoid hurting you.” Ben had come down the stairs so quietly that the two brothers hadn’t heard him approach. “The two of them are up there worried about you. I think you ought to go up there and talk with them and get this all out in the open.”

“With both of them?”

“It affects all of you so all of you should be there.”

No one had ever accused or suspected Hoss of being a coward. Although reluctant, he headed up those stairs and walked down the hall to Adam’s room. He found Ella sitting on a chair next to Adam’s bed and holding his hand. Unable to fight back that twinge of jealousy, he pushed into the room anyway. It probably tinged his words with a little bitterness though.

“Pa said you both wanted to talk.”

Letting go of Adam’s hand, Ella stood and moved to Hoss and took his hand. “I’m going to tell you something similar to what I told Adam.”

“What’d you tell Adam.”

“I said I thought I might be in love with him but that I knew I liked him very much. However much of my feeling might be gratitude for seeing him as the man who saved me from being all alone and treating me with such respect. For the first time in a long time, he made me feel special. My feelings for him might be in response to that.”

“And me?”

“I like you very much too. You see, I met you after I met Adam so I already had these feelings for him that got in the way of developing any feelings for you. I am also so grateful to you for saving me and bringing me down from that mountain. I needed help and you were there.”

“So what we gonna do now?”

“I’ve been talking that over with Adam. I’ll stay a few more days at least until I’m sure the dizzy spells truly are gone. I wanted to leave as soon as your father and brother returned, but he said you are a reasonable man and wouldn’t expect that.”

“Leave! But where will you go?”

“Adam said that you have a little bit of interest in a certain seamstress named Marcy who has a shop in town. With the shirt I made, he’s rather sure that I might get hired there especially if you would put in a good word for me.”

“Where would you live?”

“Adam suggested to your father that he put in a good word with a boardinghouse owner he knows and your father agreed. He did have a rather funny look when he said yes, but he did agree to do it.”

Looking at Adam, Hoss couldn’t help smiling. “Adam, you didn’t, did you?”

“I would have asked her myself if I could, but I can’t exactly ride to town in my condition, now can I?”

Looking from one to the other, Ella wondered what was so funny. Adam saw her look and decided to explain.

“The owner of the boardinghouse, Clementine Hawkins, is a rather eccentric little English widow who has a very strong attraction to my father which he does his best to resist.”

“It don’t stop her from trying though.” Hoss chuckled.

Ella was relieved to have Hoss acting more normally. Knowing the conversation was going to be turned back to her then, she decided to explain more.

“Adam and I have decided that after a reasonable period of time, he can call on me if he wishes to do so, and we can see if we have any interest in each other beyond saving each other. Now if you would like to do the same, I think that would be fine. You can call on me if you wish. There will be no promises and no expectations. We’ll be friends until we see if there is a reason to be something more. Is that fair?”

“So there’s nothing between you and Adam now?”

“Nothing more than there is between you and me.”

“Then it’s real fair. I’m sorry ifn I sounded suspicious there. It always seems like gals pick my brothers before me.”

“Hoss, have you ever seen a picture of my late husband?”

“No, I ain’t.”

Taking a locket from her pocket, Ella passed it over after opening it carefully. “That was taken on our wedding day when he looked his best. He had a miniature made for that locket.” The man in picture was large like Hoss but not nearly as handsome. “I’ve always been attracted to a man’s character more than his looks. He was smart, adventurous, funny, and ready to help anyone who needed it. That made him attractive to me. You see, you are a very attractive man to me, but so is Adam. At this point, I don’t know how I feel nor do I think either of you are clear in your feelings.”

“How long do you think we ought ta wait before either of us asks to come calling?”

“I think a month at least.”

“That seems all right.”

It was with relief that Ben and Joe saw Ella and Hoss walking down the steps and smiling. Ben had briefed Joe on what the three were discussing upstairs while the two of them were waiting downstairs. There was one more topic to discuss though.

“Now, what was it that Adam said we should discuss about the payroll?”

Hoss scrunched up his face at that one. “Well, you remember how you said there wasn’t likely going to be a problem but Joe was worried? Joe was right.” So Hoss told them the whole story leaving out no details. From that point on, no one in the family ever handled the payroll alone ever again.

For almost a week, there was a relaxed atmosphere in the house until it was time to move Ella to town. Hoss and Joe had made a trip to her cabin to retrieve her possessions. Ben advanced her some money so she could buy some material and make herself a dress for work. Sitting in a chair at his window, Adam waved good bye as she left. Hoss was fairly sure he saw tears in her eyes as she looked up at Adam waving.

As the next three weeks went by, Hoss spent a great deal of time thinking. After another week, Adam was given permission by Doctor Martin to walk with a cane as long as he was careful. He managed the stairs on his own taking his time navigating those. After another full week, he considered taking the carriage into town but wasn’t sure he was up to the task. Hoss offered to go with him.

“Ah, it wasn’t the sort of thing I should do with you.”

“You want to go see Ella.”

Shrugging, Adam had nothing to say to that.

“I’ll hitch up the carriage. I should be ready to go in a half hour so get yourself all spiffed up. It’ll probably be a slow ride. I don’t want to have you hurting when you walk up to her.”

Shocked, Adam could only stare at Hoss.

“I bin thinkin’, and don’t you dare say nothing smart ’bout that. Nah, I bin thinkin’ you and Ella are more suited to each other than me and her. She’s pretty smart, but it’s more than that. She’s got a lot of schooling, and she wants to do things. I heard she’s already talkin’ that maybe she’ll be openin’ up her own shop in town. I heard that from Marcy. Now, I got nothing against a woman doing things like that, but I kinda like a woman who’s more cuddly than that. You know what I mean. Ifn things work out for the two of you, I wish you well.”

“That was quite a speech.”

“For a week, I bin practicing what I was gonna say. I talked to Joe about it, and he already had about the same thinkin’ as I did. I figured if he could see it and I was thinkin’ it, then it was probably true.”

“It may not work out.”

“Maybe not or maybe it will. Only one way to find out. Now go do what I told you.” Hoss walked out to the stable feeling good about being able to boss Adam around for a change. Joe had told him it would be a good feeling to open up about things and tell Adam.

The ride to town was amiable with Hoss asking Adam so many times if he was comfortable with the ride that they eventually turned it into a joke. Arriving in town, they went to the seamstress shop to find out when Ella would be done with work. Hoss watched through the window of the store as she greeted Adam, they talked briefly, and then she hugged him. When she stretched up to give him a light kiss, Hoss grinned. He had suspected as much, and it felt good to be right too. Even with the wavy glass of the window, he could see how his brother’s face relaxed into a smile. Hoss leaned back and had a smug look when Adam came back to the carriage.

“Guess that worked out purty good. Guess me and Joe were purty smart, huh?”

“She’s moving to California.” Adam’s voice was flat.

“What?”

“She thinks there’s more opportunity there. With the price of silver dropping now and miners leaving town, there isn’t much demand for her shirts. More people are still moving to California. She’s going there.” That mask in place, Adam showed no reaction.

“You could tell her to stay.”

“I could, but I won’t. I don’t know that I have feelings for her that are strong enough to ask her to give up her dream.”

“Dang, I thought this might be the one for you.”

“I thought she might be too. I’ll never know now.” Adam’s jaw was set.

Before the conversation got maudlin, Hoss knew he had to do something. “At least you’ll always have that polka dots shirt.”

“If you think I’m ever going to wear that shirt again, you’re crazy as a loon.”  He didn’t say anything about the other reason she had given:  she couldn’t choose him because it would hurt Hoss. He knew it was true too so he wouldn’t disagree with her no matter the cost.

“It might be good when the circus come to town. Or you could wear it when we go to the orphanage to help with the children. They like clowns.”

Despite the scowls he got, Hoss didn’t give up on that teasing even after they got home. The polka dots shirt was a bottomless well when it came to material for teasing and both Hoss and Joe drew on it whenever they could for years. It seemed odd after all that teasing, but Adam never got rid of that polka dots shirt. Many years later when Adam was married and a father, he wrote a sad song called Polka Dots and Tears. For the first time, the brothers realized he had never forgotten his Donatella, and they knew he had loved her.

 

 

Tags: Adam Cartwright, Ben Cartwright, Hoss Cartwright, Joe / Little Joe Cartwright