Summary: Abigail Jones always considered herself to be a sensible woman except when it came to Adam Cartwright, her knight in shining armor.

Rated: K

Word Count: 642

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work.  No copyright infringement is intended.

 

Of Knights and Cowboys

 

 

Abigail Jones had always considered herself to be a sensible woman. She could read, write, and cipher; she could sew a dress, plow a field, bake a mean apple pie, and even shoe a horse if need be—she was the daughter of a blacksmith after all. Oh, she was prone to flights of fancy like many a young woman, but she knew the difference between fantasy and reality…well, most of the time. However, the instant she saw him sitting astride his big bay gelding, every sensible thought in her head evaporated like a pool of water in the desert.

 

Deep within her heart of hearts, deeper even than her sensibleness, ran a wide romantic streak. She had always seen herself as the Lady Rowena*, waiting for Sir Wilfred to return from the Holy Land to sweep her off her feet. Well, Adam Cartwright was her Sir Wilfred. He was everything she wanted in a man: handsome, tall, honorable, intelligent, and well read. It didn’t matter that he didn’t seem interested in her. It didn’t matter that he was four years her junior; she was determined to have him no matter what.

 

Girl after girl caught his eye; Abigail held her breath in fear, but nothing ever came of those relationships. The years flowed by, and she began to despair. Crow’s feet settled into the corners of her eyes, and tiny wisps of silver began to appear in her honey-brown hair. Soon she would be on the wrong side of thirty-five, a regular old maid. And still he didn’t notice her.

 

Then out of the blue Hank Myers showed up. He was everything that Adam was not. He was coarse and loud; he was rough, temperamental, and had no use for the finer things of life. Oh, he had good qualities too. He worked hard, made friends easily, and was willing to help anyone in need, but, instead of setting his sights on one of the other unmarried ladies of Virginia City, he only had eyes for her. Abigail wasn’t blind, she knew that he liked her. Her sensible side tried to remind her that she wasn’t getting any younger, yet still she wouldn’t listen. His attentions flattered her vanity, but she was by no means won over.

 

She wanted her Sir Wilfred.

 

If only, she thought to herself as she lay in bed one night, waiting for sleep to claim her, if only he was Adam. But such wishing was in vain.

 

She started to think that perhaps she wasn’t the Lady Rowena after all, but the fair Jewess Rebecca—doomed to love a man she could never have. And if she was Rebecca, then Hank Myers was the Templar Knight, Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert, intent on stealing her soul. But just like Rebecca, Abigail was stubborn and would not relent…until she heard him sing.

 

Never before had she heard such a voice. It was by no means perfect like Adam’s was, but there was a raw emotion in Hank that wasn’t to be found in the oldest Cartwright son. Hank didn’t just sing the words to a song, he meant them. There was pain, so much pain, and hopelessness in his voice that it nearly brought her to her knees. She knew that agony was her doing and she could hardly stand to hear it.

 

Her good sense returned. Here before her was a man who loved her for herself. He may not have a taste for the refined, but he tried to for her sake, because he knew that she did.

 

Her heart softened. Thoughts of Adam Cartwright faded from her mind. Perhaps she didn’t need a knight in shining armor to swoop in and take her away after all. All she needed was a good, honest, hard-working cowboy with a voice that would make the angels weep.

 

Finis

 

Author Notes: The Lady Rowena, Sir Wilfred, Rebecca, and Sir Brian de Bois-Guilbert are all characters from Sir Walter Scott’s famous novel Ivanhoe.

I wrote this little story for a writing challenge on Bonanza Boomers. I was given the song title “Why Can’t He Be You” by Patsy Cline and this is what came out of it.

 

Tags: Abigail Jones, Adam Cartwright, Hank Myers, Knights, Cowboys