Summary:  A guest on the Ponderosa finds her time monopolized with activities planned by Adam and Joe.  Hoss comes up with a plan to change all of that.

Rating = PG    WC = 1455

An Excellent Plan

Hoss carried the supplies out to the buckboard and dumped them in without caring how much noise he made. He walked back in the store and picked up the next crate and trudged out with that too. He was thinking of his brothers, and it was just so very frustrating and bothersome. They had a pretty houseguest who had already been on the Ponderosa for a week, and he hadn’t had a single moment alone with her. Joe was always inviting Catherine down to the breaking corrals to show off his bronco busting skills or asking her to take a walk in the garden with him. And that Adam was worse with those songs he sang to Catherine and reading from those books the two of them liked so much. Just the night before, Adam had asked her to take a walk in the moonlight to recite poetry. Hoss knew darn well that there was a lot more that happened out there besides reading. Adam had that smug look when he escorted Catherine back into the house near time for all of them to go to bed. Well she had said she would like to ride with him and see the wildflowers in the valley that were so pretty and the new twin fawns he had seen there frolicking just the week before, but she never had a chance with her time being split between his older brother and his younger one. Hoss heard a feminine throat clearing behind him and turned to see MaryNell, Joe’s girl of the month or maybe the week or maybe not for long based on the look on her face.

“Hoss Cartwright, I would like you to give your brother a message. I would really, really like to see him so I could tell him what cliff he could jump off of. He has been two timing me and I just won’t stand for it. I would like to tell him just what I think of him if you know what I mean. That, that, weasel!” MaryNell was very frustrated and couldn’t say more. She had heard all those stories about Little Joe Cartwright and his romancing of any pretty girl who smiled at him and wanted to tell him exactly what she thought about that.

“Yes, Miss MaryNell, I’ll be sure to tell him.”

MaryNell stomped away, and Hoss was feeling a little better. At least someone else was mad at Joe too. He started to think of how he could tease his younger brother with this information. He went inside to get more of the supplies, and when as he came out of the store, Miss Abigail was there and smiling at him. She stepped close as she did with her students and touched his forearm to hold his attention.

“Oh, dear Hoss, it is so nice to see you. I wondered if your brother was here with you?”

Hoss smiled and teased her a little bit. “Which brother would that be, ma’am?”

“Oh, Hoss, you are so charming and innocent. Why, your older brother, Adam, of course.”

“No ma’am, he’s not. If’n you have a message for him, I could deliver it if’n you wanted me to.” Hoss was hoping it would be something nasty so he could slam both his brothers with bad news. Abigail disappointed him thoroughly though.

“Hoss, that is so sweet of you. I so would like to see Adam to discuss some of the history lessons I was planning to teach. Do you suppose he would be free this afternoon if I made the trip out there to see him?”

“Well, ma’am, I guess so.” Hoss started thinking hard then. He decided that he could get at least one brother out of his way so he could see more of Miss Catherine. “Why, Miss Abigail, I’m sure brother, Adam, would have time for you. In fact, perhaps you ought to plan on staying for dinner and then Adam could drive you back to town.”

That invitation made anything else Abigail was going to say disappear from her mind. “Why, Hoss, that is a delightful idea, and thank you so much for the invitation.” Abigail walked away as fast as she could before Hoss could rescind that invitation, but she was smiling, and there was a spring in her step.

Hoss felt a little badly about getting her hopes up but not too badly because if Adam was there, he would discuss her history lessons with her. If she had more on her mind that she wanted Adam to do, well that was always Adam’s problem. Hoss was whistling as he drove the wagon home and as he thought about what else he could do, he whistled even louder and less in tune. Once he got home, he began to put the supplies away. Joe came up behind him as he was unloading the buckboard.

“Hey Hoss, what are you so happy about?”

“Oh nothing in particular, I guess.” Standing as if he was trying to remember something important, Hoss snapped his fingers as if he had suddenly remembered something. “Hey, Joe, MaryNell said she ‘would really, really like to see’ you. Oh yeah, she had fire smoldering in her eyes and her lips were all pouty like.”

Joe perked up at that. “Really, well I should probably take a ride into town to see her then. My work is done for the day. Tell Pa I won’t be home for dinner.” With a big grin, Joe headed toward the stable, and before Hoss finished toting in the supplies, Joe was riding for town.

Adam was the next to greet Hoss. He walked out of the house as Joe was riding out of the yard with a whoop. “Where’s Joe going off to in such a hurry, and why does he seem to be so happy?”

“Oh, he wants to go see MaryNell. Say, Adam, Miss Abigail said she was coming out here to see you about some history lessons and such, and would be staying for dinner and then you could drive her back to town after dinner. You don’t mind at all, do ya?”

Hoss had to fight the grin he wanted so much to show as he watched his brother think about all of that. There was a sudden panicked look on his older brother’s face, and he distinctly looked a bit pale too. That was probably about the time he was thinking about driving Miss Abigail back to town.

“Oh no, Hoss, Pa wanted me to head over to Carson City to pick up those lumber contracts. I was going to go tomorrow, but the weather is so fine, I think I’ll go now. Tell Pa for me, please, and make any apologies to Miss Abigail if you would, please.”

“Well, Adam, she’s gonna be darn disappointed. Maybe you ought to stay home a bit longer and head to Carson tomorrow.”

“No, no, please tell her it couldn’t be helped. I’ll be back in a few days.”

Hoss walked inside and asked where their guest was, and Ben said she was resting upstairs in the guest bedroom because she was so tired from all the activities with his brothers. Hoss told his Pa where his brothers had gone. Ben was a bit surprised that they would leave so suddenly, but he knew better than to be surprised by those sons of his. Ben said Hoss ought to go check on their guest to see if she was feeling any better after her nap. Hoss knocked quietly in case she was still sleeping, but he heard her answer and opened the door to see her smile when she saw him.

“Ma’am, how about that quiet ride to the meadow I was telling you about? We could just relax there and watch the clouds go by.”

“Oh, Hoss, it would be lovely to do something so peaceful. I’ve been looking forward to that ride you promised me. Let me change into something more appropriate for seeing the sights with you, and I’ll be right down. Oh, Hoss, thank you. I’m all excited.”

“I’ll just get Hop Sing to pack us a little something for a picnic, and I’ll hitch up the carriage too.”

“Be sure to pack a blanket or two, Hoss. It can get a bit chilly in the early evening, and we may have to snuggle under a blanket to stay warm.”

“Oh, yes, Miss Catherine, I’ll do that. I will surely do that!”

Tags: Hoss Cartwright, jealousy