Summary: The seventh story in the Traci Series has Adam and Traci trying to find peace by living in Boston but they find that it can’t erase the losses they’ve suffered.
Rating:  T
Word Count:  14,151

 

Traci Series:
First Love, and Tragedy (by BettyHT)
A Triangle (by BettyHT)
Another Angle (By BettyHT)
A New Angle (by BettyHT)
A Trust Broken and Fixed (by BettyHT)
I Still Love You (by BettyHT)
The Black Egg (by BettyHT)
Another Guise (by BettyHT)
Runaways (by BettyHT)
A Boy and His Horse (by BettyHT)
Frogs and Other Stuff (by BettyHT)
An Island (by BettyHT)

 

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The Black Egg

Chapter 1

It had been brewing for months. Adam had stalked around the house like a caged cougar all winter. He was ornery and snide. He read a lot or worked in his room. Ben was frustrated with him and his unwillingness to try to adjust for the sake of peace in the family. Hoss spent time in the stable mending harness, and grooming the horses because he couldn’t stand being around his older brother when he was like this. Joe egged him on and enjoyed the red faces and the comments that were snarled his way for it seemed at least in this he had power over his older brother.

Any sympathy over Adam’s loss of his son and Traci separating from him to spend the winter with her parents in Arizona had diminished to almost nonexistent. But that Adam was deeply unhappy was clear to anyone who even looked at him. Ben watched his son staring out the window at the heavy March snowstorm. There would be a lot of work to do to clear a path to the stable to take care of the animals there, and to clear the heavy wet snow off the roofs so there would be no damage. For now, though, all they could do was watch.

Ben regretted his hasty decision in the fall to forbid Adam to go east for the winter. He had said he needed him here in the spring, and he wouldn’t be able to be back in time. He had told him he needed to be here when his wife decided to come back. Adam had said he didn’t think she would ever come back to him after what he had done. Ben had no answer for him then and still didn’t.

As he watched his eldest son now, his heart pained him for he knew that Adam would leave. Adam wouldn’t talk about it until he had worked it all out in his own mind, but he would not endure another winter like this, and he needed to do something to escape his nightmares and would no longer ignore his own dreams. As much as Ben hated the thought, he also understood having a dream and chasing it, as well as wanting to strike out in a new direction to move away from sorrow. He had done so as a young man. Adam had waited much longer, helping to build the Ponderosa and help his younger brothers. Well the Ponderosa was now a huge empire, and his younger brothers were men.

At the window, Adam looked down at his hands. The scars were turning white as the redness faded away, but the memories didn’t fade at all. He had pulled at the flaming door unable to open it until Hoss had dragged him off his own porch just before it collapsed. The fire and embers had singed his clothing and hair. He had looked up to see Hoss kneeling next to him with soot on his clothing and his own burns and singed hair. There had been no more screams from his son then, but the screams continued on and on in his mind. He could never escape them. He had thought he had lost his wife and son, but Traci was found unconscious in the garden where she had been harvesting when the men rode up. Her memories too were painful, but she had been spared the worst of it. She was unconscious as Adam and Hoss rode up to find Adam’s house fully engulfed in flames and his son’s screams coming through the open window.

“Stop, Adam, you’ll just die if you go in there. Stop.” Hoss’ words echoed in his mind as well.

Then later, there were Traci’s accusations. “You, and your damn principles. You had to testify even though they threatened you. Well ‘you’ wasn’t just you any more, but you ignored that. You never thought that they would wait until they could hurt you in the worst way possible. You killed our son. He’s gone and he’ll never come back. How much are your principles worth now?”

The posse caught the men. They had not known of his son. They thought they were burning his house in retribution. His son was the innocent victim of revenge. The men were tried and convicted. That they would be sentenced to hang for killing a child was a given. Adam had sat in that courtroom each day, and then stood and watched as the men were hanged. But none of it brought any solace. Each day he came home to Traci’s silence until she announced she was going to visit her parents in Arizona.

“I’m not sure when I’ll be back.”

“Are you coming back?”

Dropping his head to his chest, the pain of what Adam was feeling was all too apparent as he recalled her answer.

“I’m not sure of that either. I just know I cannot be with you right now.” And she had packed the meager belongings she had accumulated after they lost everything in the fire, and she had left.

Each night Adam lay in bed and stared at the ceiling wondering how he had made his life turn out so wrong. He had written a letter to Traci’s mother, and the reply had been to give Traci just a bit more time. He wasn’t sure what that had meant, but he worried that Traci would never come back. He had written to Traci as well but had received no replies to those letters other than a perfunctory reply each time from her mother that she was doing as well as could be expected.

As the winds diminished, it was time to work at removing snow. Normally this would be a fun time as men tossed snowballs and generally released the pent-up energy of being cooped up for several days by the bad weather. Instead, it was quiet. No one wanted to throw a snowball and get Adam to reprimand him about wasting time instead of working. Hoss and Joe had gotten used to walking on eggshells around him. Adam sensed it and announced he would grab a ladder and start removing snow from the stable roof if they wanted to finish in the yard. Once he was out of sight, the normal hilarity resumed although it was a bit quieter than it would have been had Adam not been so despondent and churlish.

After a few hours, Hoss decided to go see what Adam was doing because they hadn’t seen him in quite a while and the stable roof as well as the porch roof were cleaned off. He found him in back of the house leaning on the ladder. Hoss was about to make a comment about him loafing while they worked when he saw his shoulders heaving from what could only be sobbing. Hoss wrapped his arms around his grief-stricken brother and realized in the silence that he could hear his child crying. Adam must have heard him as he worked. Hoss’ house had not been completed before the first snows so they had decided to spend the winter in the main house. Hoss had not realized how difficult that had made it for Adam. Ben had told Hoss that when Hoss and Jillian were up at night with their child as he fussed, Adam would dress and grab his hat and coat and leave the house. He couldn’t bear to hear a child cry.

“Hoss, I can’t stand it here. I have to leave.”

“I know you do. I’ve been expecting it. I bet Pa has too.”

“It’s just too hard, and I’m making everyone else miserable, and I don’t know how to stop.”

“What about Traci?”

“I want to be with her. I don’t think she wants to live here any more either. But it’s her decision. If she doesn’t want to be with me, I’ll have to accept that.”

Chapter 2

A week later, Adam received a message from town. He cleaned up, packed a valise, and said he wasn’t sure when he would be back. He met Traci in town as she requested. They talked for hours about what had happened in the months they had been apart. Both were reticent with each other and cautious not wanting to cause any pain, until Traci dropped her bombshell.

“Adam, we’re having a baby.”

Adam was sitting on a chair next to Traci who sat on a settee. He looked at her in shock.

“I didn’t know until I was at my parents’ home. I wanted to tell you, and I didn’t want to tell you. Mama talked and talked with me to help me reach a decision.”

“And what is your decision?”

“Well, it depends a bit on you too. I can’t live here. I can’t think of raising a child here. I would be worried sick all the time. I don’t want to live in Arizona either. With all the raids and children being kidnapped, I would never sleep at night.”

“How about Boston?”

“What?”

“How about if we move to Boston? I’ll get a job doing something in engineering, or architecture, or even teaching. I still own my grandfather’s home there. I have had people renting it, but we could live there.”

“Yes, we could.”

Moving to sit next to Traci, Adam wrapped his arms around her as she leaned into his chest.

“It’s going to take some time to arrange everything. Do you want to live here in the hotel until that’s done?”

Thankful that Adam understood her reluctance to return to the Ponderosa, Traci nodded as she wrapped her arms around him.

“It’s going to take some time for us to be ready too. Can you be patient with me? I may seem all right now, but I find myself breaking into tears at the slightest thing.”

At Traci’s words, Adam looked down. He always found it hard to share his feelings, but if they were going to rebuild their relationship, it had to start with him. She could tell there was something he was holding inside.

“Tell me.”

And he told her of crying into Hoss’ arms only a week previously when he had heard a child’s cry, and how he had to leave the house every time that happened so he didn’t scream out his agony. His voice broke as he talked.

“So you heard him? You heard AC cry?”

“Yes. I tried to open the door but the fire had already warped it, and it wouldn’t open. Hoss pulled me back before the porch collapsed.”

“That’s how you burned your hands?”

Traci realized how selfish she had been in her grief. Adam had tried to console her and help her. She had not realized the depth of his sorrow and pain. She should have helped him too because he had tried to be strong for her and done all that he could, but she had done nothing for him. He had taken care of the funeral arrangements and the burial by the lake. He had gone to the trial and the hanging. He had asked her every day what he could do for her.

“I am so sorry. I thought only of myself and what I lost. I never thought about what we lost. I was so selfish. I wasn’t much of a wife to you.”

They cried together months after the tragedy that had torn them apart and now pulled them together again. Finally spent, they were in each other’s embrace the first night Traci was back in the same room and in the same bed, but the intimacy was one of mutual comfort and care. For the first time in months, both slept without nightmares. They had at last achieved some solace by being together.

In the morning, Adam woke first. He was still wearing his shirt and trousers as he lay beside Traci. He watched her as she slept until she awakened and looked into his eyes. He leaned down and kissed her very softly. She smiled a little and relaxed against his shoulder. After a few minutes, she leaned toward Adam and kissed him softly. They were like a couple courting and trying to determine what the other wanted and would allow. For now, kissing was enough. They rose and dressed in clean unwrinkled clothing. Adam put his hand on Traci’s lower abdomen to see if he could feel the bump. He thought he could detect it, and Traci confirmed that was where it was. They had breakfast together, and afterwards each set out to start completing necessary tasks for them to be able to leave. Adam sent a number of telegrams, and stopped in at the bank and at his broker to make financial arrangements. Then he got Sport from the stable and rode home to tell his family what had been decided.

Much as Adam had expected, his father was sad at his news of leaving but not surprised. He got the same reaction from Hoss. Both were relieved that he and Traci were back together, and though it seemed that the decision to leave had been sudden, they realized that the two had simply been thinking along parallel lines that made it much easier for them to reach such a decision.

“When will you go?”

“We have some things to do to prepare. I think we’ll be leaving within two weeks though.”

“So about Easter then?”

Suddenly remembering the Easter celebrations the family participated in each year, Adam nodded. He did not want to be here to see all the children having so much fun, as he and Traci continued to mourn the loss of their child. He would make reservations to be sure they left before the Easter egg hunt started. He hugged his father and Hoss in a rare display of emotion for him, but he owed them so much for tolerating him for the last several months.

“Where’s Joe?”

“Down at the breaking corrals. He’s got some stock that need to be ready for the Army contract soon.”

“Adam, our younger brother doesn’t think you’ll leave. I’ve mentioned that I thought you would be going, and he told me I was wrong. Be gentle with him. This is going to be as hard on him as losing a parent.”

“I know, Hoss, I know. But I haven’t been able to think of a way to soften this. We’re leaving within two weeks, and we won’t be changing our minds. It’s going to be better for everyone for us to be gone for a while.”

“You’ll come back someday?”

“I can’t make any promises.”

Deciding that it might be best to see his youngest brother with a lot of witnesses around to help hold Joe’s temper in check, Adam took Sport and rode to see him. Joe was apprehensive as he saw Adam. Adam had that look he had whenever he had bad news to deliver. Joe jumped down from the fence and walked toward Adam before he dismounted.

“It’s bad news, isn’t it?”

“Well, some might think it was good news.” Adam dismounted and ground tied Sport. Then he stood and looked his youngest brother in the eye. “Traci’s back.” Joe was going to whoop and grab him in a hug, but Adam grabbed his upper arms and stopped him. “We’re leaving, Joe. We can’t live here now. We’re going to Boston, and I can’t tell you when we’ll be back. I’m staying in town with Traci as we make preparations.”

Joe grabbed Adam’s arms and jerked his hands from him. “You always do that. You do what’s right for you, and don’t think about what this will do to others. How about Pa? Have you thought about how this will hurt him? Do you have any idea how much he missed you when you were away at college? And Hoss? You’re his best friend. How can you just leave him behind like this?”

“Pa’s given me his blessing, and Hoss too.”

“Of course they have. They would do anything for you. But you’re too selfish to see it. Well go then. Don’t bother coming back. If you turn your backs on us, don’t expect us to care.”

“Joe,…” But Joe stomped off to the corral again and gave a dismissive wave to Adam. They would be no more conversation at this point. Adam mounted up and rode back toward town never seeing the forlorn look of his youngest brother and the tears in his eyes.

In town, Adam met Traci at the hotel. She had purchased clothes for traveling including a jacket for it was still cool further north. She asked Adam how it had gone with his family, and he explained.

“They know where we’re staying?”

“Of course. I’ll have to go to the house to pack the things I have there. It’s not much.”

“Then we can spend some time with them, and talk a bit more before we go.”

“Did you tell your parents before you left?”

“Yes, I told them I would not live in Arizona with my child. They understood that decision. I also said I would not live in Virginia City or on the Ponderosa. They had more trouble accepting that. I told them I would let them know where I would be living after I had a chance to talk with you. Now I should get some stationery and write. There’s a lot to tell them.”

Chapter 3

On the Saturday before Easter, Traci and Adam were scheduled to board a coach to take them east. Ben and Hoss were there early, and the four of them had breakfast together. Adam had said his goodbyes to Hop Sing, Roy Coffee, and Paul Martin the day before. All were sad to see him go but not surprised. Roy had made the most profound statement.

“My Mary told me years ago when you was just a youngun that you would leave some day. She said there was too much world out there for you to be satisfied here forever. I just hope you find your way back here someday.”

“Thank you, Roy. I don’t know what the future will bring. But I do know we won’t be back anytime soon. We need time.”

Roy had nodded in agreement. He knew about sorrow and the time one needed to adjust. He asked how Adam’s family was accepting the news, and found that Ben and Hoss were sad but had been expecting it so had had time to adjust. Adam told him that Joe had not spoken with him since he had told him. Nor had he seen much of him other than in passing or to exchange polite greetings. Adam regretted that very much but hoped his younger brother would understand someday.

At breakfast, the mood was somber but emotional too. All four had tears in their eyes as they finished eating. Adam and Hoss moved to carry the bags and a trunk to the stage. As the four of them stood at the stagecoach ready to say their goodbyes, Joe rode in on Sport. He came to the coach, and Adam walked over to him.

“I wanted you to know, I’ll ride him and keep him in good shape. I just hope you come back when you can still enjoy him.”

“Joe, thank you. I hope you’ll understand some day, but I have to do this. Thank you for accepting it even if you don’t want to. It means a lot to me.”

As Adam went to put his arm around Joe’s shoulders, Joe pulled him into a hug.

“Never know when I’ll ever get one of these again.” In a whisper, Joe had one more thing to say before he said goodbye. “I never meant those things I said. I was hurting and tried to hurt back. It was wrong, but you know me and how I am. You should know I love you, and will welcome you back as soon as you feel you can come back.”

“Someday, Joe, someday, but I can’t tell you when or make any promises. I just can’t.”

Nodding in acceptance, Joe and Adam walked back to the stagecoach. It was time. Adam helped Traci up the step and then turned to hug his father in what he knew might be the last hug. He hugged Hoss and Joe too in another rare display of affection and then climbed aboard. The last they saw of him was a hand raised in farewell out the window as the stage pulled away.

In the coach, Traci held Adam’s hand and noticed how rigidly he was sitting. She knew how difficult the morning had been for him. After about a half hour, she asked if she could have her hand and massaged the stiffness out of it. Adam saw by her hand how hard he had been gripping her.

“I’m so sorry. I was lost in my thoughts and regrets.”

“I know. It’s all right. If it wasn’t, I would have said something sooner. I had the same problem when I left Prescott. We’re in this together now no matter what happens. It’s just the two of us.”

“Three.” And Traci smiled again at Adam’s willingness to be a family again. He had spent time wallowing in his grief, but that was over for both of them. They would work together, plan together, and soon she hoped, they would resume their intimate lives. It had been a long time, but both were hesitant to push things faster than the other could tolerate it. But tonight, she thought, she would let him know she was ready and see what his reaction would be. She smiled in anticipation. Adam saw the smile and hoped it meant what he thought it did. He took her hand again but gently and raised it to his lips for a kiss.

Chapter 4

That first night was spent in a way station. Traci and Adam shared a room but the bed was sagging in the middle and squeaked with the slightest move. They held each other, kissed, and caressed but no more. It was enough though. Their hearts were healing as they touched and stayed close to one another. The healing power of having someone you love hold you each night was amazing. The other passengers on the stage asked them if it was their honeymoon, and they had to say that they had been married for two years surprising all of them. The woman traveling with them wished that her husband would look at her with that kind of adoration, and her husband wished that his wife would show by her actions that anything he desired would be his as he saw how Traci gave looks to Adam.

In Denver, Adam and Traci took a few extra days to rest from traveling and to enjoy some of the finer points of the rapidly growing city. Adam would take her hand or she would slip her hand through his elbow, and they would walk and find new restaurants to try. In the evening, they bought tickets for theatre shows. Then after, they would undress each other in the privacy of their room and Adam would gently take his wife. After two days of that, Traci asked him to please let his passion loose and not worry about hurting her. The pace of their lovemaking was frenetic as emotions were unleashed. It was cathartic and their lives began to settle into a comfortable closeness and shared intimacy that let them talk more freely and share their thoughts.

Then they bought tickets on the train and continued their journey. Another stop was in St. Louis, and then they took the train to Chicago and then to New York. They found New York to be bustling but dirty and dangerous as well. Adam told Traci what he remembered of Boston from his days there as a student which made her look forward so much to making that a home for them and their child.

Once Adam and Traci reached Boston, they found some of the same problems had developed there as they had seen in other cities especially New York. Fortunately, the problems did not seem as bad in Boston, and in the established neighborhood where Grandfather Stoddard’s house stood, there was little change. Some neighbors even remembered Adam although he had changed quite a lot from the tall slender college student most of them had known. He asked after the housekeeper who had worked for many years for his grandfather and found that she no longer worked. He made plans to visit her as soon as possible.

As Adam carried the bags and the trunk into the house, Traci was looking all around inside quite amazed at the workmanship of the woodwork and the trim in each room. It was an old home built in a traditional style but well crafted. The furniture was all old of course but still in good condition. There was a vase of fresh flowers and some fresh fruit and vegetables on the kitchen table. Next to those were two stemmed glasses and a bottle of wine.

“Adam, who would have put these things here for us?”

“David Wyatt was in school with me. He works as an investment broker, and handles all sorts of real estate transactions. He was the one renting this home for me, and I asked him to make sure the house was ready for us when we arrived. He’s the one who left the key for us at the bank.”

Before going to their home, Adam had stopped at the bank he would use while in the city and made sure all his finances were in order there. They had handed him an envelope with the key to his home. David had offered him a job with him, but Adam had declined because he had another offer from a friend who owned an architectural and engineering firm with his father. It was the type of job Adam dreamed of having. He had an open invitation to stop in there to discuss working with them.

“The carriage is waiting outside. We need to get going. We have a lot of shopping to do before the day is done. Linens, towels, soap, dishes, pots and pans, and some food are all on the list, and we only have a few hours to finish.”

It was during the completion of these mundane tasks that Traci looked at Adam and realized they were no longer grieving but were moving forward. She was amazed that only a month earlier, she and he had nightmares and had been unable to cope with their grief. If only they had turned to each other sooner for solace. She looked at Adam and when he turned to see her looking, she had one thing to say.

“I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? About what?”

“All the pain we suffered was my fault. If I hadn’t turned away from you, we could have started to heal so much sooner.”

“Sweetheart, that is the past. We’re together now and that’s all that matters.” And some polite Bostonians were surprised and a little scandalized as the tall westerner took his wife in his arms and kissed her right there in the middle of the market. Traci blushed a little with the end of the kiss and seeing all the people who were staring, but she felt so good inside, it didn’t matter much to her at all. They gathered up their purchases and returned to the carriage that was nearly overflowing with all of their purchases. The driver helped carry their packages in when they arrived home, and Adam tipped him well and then asked if he could be there the next morning at nine. Thinking that this might be a regular fare and a generous man at that, the driver agreed.

That night, Traci prepared a meal and they drank the wine. Both were exhausted after a long day, but once in bed and kissing, things rapidly progressed until they were making love in their new home. The next morning, as dawn broke, Adam awoke. He had not had enough sleep, but the sun shining in the window made it impossible for him to sleep. He rose carefully so as not to disturb Traci and left her sleeping peacefully.

Adam went downstairs to his grandfather’s desk that was now his and began to write a letter to his father. He had taken Joe’s words to heart, and he was determined never to let his father see a month go by without a letter from his son. He had written short letters as they traveled to let his father and brothers know that they were safe and all was going smoothly. In this letter, he described much of what they had seen and done. Then he talked of Boston and the people that his father would have known and how the city had changed. When Traci awakened and felt the cool bed beside her, she knew Adam had been up for hours before her. The smell of ham let her know he was preparing breakfast as well. She slipped on a robe and went downstairs to find him in the kitchen humming and cooking.

“Ah, good morning, my love. Have a seat. Breakfast will be served in minutes.”

“How did you know I would awaken at just the right time?”

“Well after I wrote a letter to my father, and took a stroll in the neighborhood, I came back and opened the bedroom door and made a bit of a clatter as I was cooking.”

“So the noise and the smells would awaken me. You could have just kissed me.”

“Yes, but then we would still be upstairs, and I have an appointment at ten.” Adam grinned that gorgeous grin of his, and Traci smiled and shook her head. She had not felt this good in months.

“I’m going to see the old housekeeper later today if I can locate her. I want to offer her the chance to stay in her old room here. Is that all right with you?”

“Of course. The way you describe her, it would be delightful to have her here. She could tell me all about the city, and of course all about you as a young man in college.” Traci had a twinkle in her eye, and as Adam whirled around at her words, he had to grin again. She was teasing him. She hadn’t done that in months either.

Chapter 5

As the carriage drove up to Morgan and Son, Adam was very impressed with the building. It was done to accentuate the skills of the people inside. It was an impressive building with all of the ornamentation one would expect, but there was also a sense of functionality in how the building was designed. He asked the driver to return in two hours. Adam wasn’t sure how long such an appointment would last, but he could always ask the man to come back again if two hours wasn’t enough time.

As Adam walked into the elegant lobby of the building, he was greeted by one of two clerks there who must have been alerted to watch for a man fitting his description for they called him by name. He was led up the stairs one level to an office and asked to wait. There were drawings on the very long table in the room, and as he waited, he walked around the table perusing the plans that surprised him. There were a number of design errors in each set of plans he saw. He couldn’t understand that level of incompetence in employees of such a firm. And they must have been employees because none of the plans had a Morgan name at the bottom but were names instead that he did not recognize. It was nearly an hour before the door opened, and his old friend, Jacob Morgan, and Jacob’s father Raymond greeted Adam.

“Well, Adam it is so good to see you. What do you think of the work we have going on here?” And Jacob waved his arm across the table of drawings.

A little uncomfortable in the position of criticizing the drawings of a firm he wished to join, Adam still had to be honest. “Are these preliminary drawings? I’m afraid I see design flaws in all of these.”

Raymond was the first to react. “Really. Could you point out the worst ones you see?”

Nervous at the question, Adam stepped to a plan that appeared to be for a large warehouse. “These load bearing walls are inadequate to support the roof and would likely collapse in one of Boston’s snowstorms. That is, if they lasted that long as the footings are too shallow for the walls and they might collapse of their own weight during construction.”

Jacob was looking at his father with a big grin on his face. Raymond nodded and reached out to shake Adam’s hand. Adam was completely in the dark.

“Would you work for us starting today? My son told me how good you were, and we need someone to clean up this mess for us as soon as possible.”

“What happened? Why are so many plans flawed?” Adam felt he needed to know what was going on, and Jacob laughed out loud at his question. Raymond frowned. Jacob had told him that Adam was very intelligent and discerning, but he was reluctant to discuss such important business with him so soon after meeting him. He had met him as a student but that was quite different than meeting him as a man.

“Father, we need to tell him. Adam is a man we can trust, and we need him.”

With a bit of reluctance yet, Raymond began to tell the tale. “We refused to pay kickbacks to the mayor and the city council members for contracts we were awarded. We hired some new men for contracts we were awarded, and those politicians to sabotage our work obviously planted one of them in here. The design flaws you saw are not easily discernible by building supervisors and foremen. One of those projects has already been started.”

Startled by that revelation, Adam asked which one, and was horrified to hear it was the one he had described. “Has anyone been hurt? Those designs could have a wall fall on the workmen?”

“No, and construction has been halted. We will have to redo the plans and try to salvage what has been done already. You haven’t answered my question yet. Will you work for us?”

Adam reached out to shake Raymond’s hand and accept the position. Then the three of them looked over all the plans for current projects marking spots where the plans were suspect. Adam told them he had a carriage scheduled to be there soon and wondered if one of them would accompany him to the building site so he could see what had been done and what might be done to rectify the situation. Jacob agreed it was a good idea, and the two of them walked outside to wait for the arrival of the carriage. The plans were in a large tube Adam was carrying, and Jacob was carrying a case of drafting tools. Adam would look the site over, take notes, and begin working on a plan that evening.

After visiting the site to observe, Adam dropped Jacob at the office, and promised to be there the next morning at nine. On the way home he stopped to visit his grandfather’s old housekeeper and cook. Mrs. Burke was so surprised to see him. He was so handsome and confident, it took her breath away to see him standing on her doorstep. Well in fact, it was her widowed daughter’s doorstep. Despite the changes the years had brought, they recognized each other immediately. Belle invited him in, and Adam gave her a kiss on the cheek and was then pulled into a hug. He smiled at the diminutive woman. He told her of his marriage, his child, the fire, and the decision to move here to Boston. He managed it all with only a tear in his eye, but Belle could see the depth of emotion behind those statements. She told him how her daughter had recently lost her husband and had to work any job she could find to pay the rent and buy food for the two of them.

“I have an offer for you then.”

“Now don’t go all noble on me and think you have to take care of us. We’ll manage. We always have.”

“Well, if I could, I would like to hire her. We need a cook and a housekeeper to help Traci. She’s going to have a baby in four months, and I want someone to help her with everything. And she knows no one here so it would be good to have someone for her to talk with every day who could tell her all about the city too.”

“Oh my, Mr. Cartwright, that would be wonderful. I’m sure my Eliza would love that. It would be so good to work for nice people and have a job she could count on.”

“Please call me Adam. You always used to call me Adam.”

“You weren’t my daughter’s employer then. I’ll call you Mr. Cartwright.”

“All right, how about if you call me Mr. Cartwright when anyone else is around, but please call me Adam when it’s just the two of us?”

“Yes, Adam, I can do that.”

“Would you and Eliza like to share your old room? Traci and I will use the large bedroom upstairs and there are still two other bedrooms there. One will be for the baby, and the other will be for guests. The downstairs bedroom is available.”

Then, Belle couldn’t stop herself and began crying. Adam wrapped an arm around her realizing for the first time that she had been putting on a brave front, and conditions were far worse than she had explained. Once she stopped crying, he advanced her money so that they could hire a carriage to move them to his home. He asked if tomorrow would be too soon, and Belle started crying again but nodded yes. As soon as he left, Belle started packing, and as her exhausted daughter returned home that night, she was overjoyed to hear that their lives had taken a distinct move upward.

Chapter 6

When Adam returned to his home, he found Traci with flushed cheeks and looking exhausted. He looked around the house and couldn’t see any obvious changes so he wondered on what she had been working so diligently. Traci took his hand and led him to the back yard. There was a flower garden there that had obviously been neglected for years. There were piles of debris and leaves but what was revealed was beautiful. Rose bushes were blooming in various shades but dominated by red and pink hues. Adam was amazed and then remembered his father mentioning his mother’s fondness for roses.

“I never knew this was here. It had always been just a jumble of plants, and I had paid little attention to it. This has to be my mother’s rose garden. My father told me once how my mother loved roses. I put a bouquet of roses on her grave for her birthday every year I was here. There is a carving of a rose on her headstone.”

Traci hugged Adam. They had roots here now. This really was their home.

“It’s funny, but now I feel like we know your mother a little. Some of her has been revealed to us. Will you take me to the cemetery so we can put a rose bloom there for her and one for your grandfather too? It will be so meaningful coming from this garden.” Adam nodded.

Once they were back in the house, the two of them discussed the day. Adam was happy to report he was gainfully employed in his chosen profession, had hired not one but two cooks and housekeepers, and had arranged for the driver to pick him up in the mornings and evenings. He would also be available if Traci or one of their employees needed to go somewhere. Adam told Traci though that for now, she should not go shopping without him, Belle, or Eliza for there were dangerous parts of the city. Traci had plans for their backyard, but Adam admonished her to let him do any of the heavy lifting that might be required. She pointed out that he would be working very long days based on what he had told her of his new job. So he said he could hire someone to come in and help her clear the yard, and she agreed that was a good option.

Working almost to midnight, Adam only came to bed when Traci awoke and went downstairs to tell him he wouldn’t do very good work for his new firm if he was exhausted on his first day. Adam agreed and fell into a sound sleep in just minutes of sliding into bed. Traci smiled at him and snuggled up to him for her own peaceful sleep.

Early the next morning, Belle and Eliza arrived at the house with their meager possessions, and Adam greeted them and welcomed them to his home. They had lived on the salary of Eliza’s husband, and with his death, they had to sell anything of value that they owned just to survive. This job and place to live was a godsend. They quickly put their bags in the room, and hurried to the kitchen to begin by making breakfast. When Traci came downstairs, Adam made the introductions, and before he left, he heard lively chatter from the kitchen. He smiled as he walked out with his plans and headed to the office.

The next few weeks were hectic. Adam was immersed in damage control at the firm. Traci was busy getting her house in order, and working on the backyard gardens. Belle became the de facto mother for all of them giving sage advice and teaching her favorite recipes to both Eliza and Traci. For Adam, to come home each night to wonderful smells and the chatter of women in his home made him feel content like he had never felt before. He realized that in Nevada, he had much of this but he had felt guilty about leaving Traci alone each day, and then he worried too about leaving her without protection. That fear had proven prophetic, and he was determined that Traci would never be in such a situation again because of him. Unfortunately, the enemies of the Morgan firm were finding how he had thwarted their plans, and were making new plans that included him.

Chapter 7

In Adam’s next letter home, he asked if his father could put a rose on AC’s grave. He told Traci he was making that request and tears filled her eyes. Each of them thought each day about their beautiful son who was gone, but most of the time the sorrow was manageable. This gesture by Adam brought it all to the forefront again, and they had to talk and hold each other. No matter how often they thought they had recovered from their grief, they found moments like this that let them know it would always be with them but just a bit easier to accept as time passed.

As Traci’s stomach grew, Adam became more and more attentive. Belle watched the man she had known so many years before and marveled at how much alike and how different he was than his grandfather and his father. He had that sober serious side from Captain Stoddard, and he had a fierce temper and determination like his father. Like his father, he too was following his dream. However, he had a gentle nurturing side that showed itself over and over again as well as a keen appreciation for literature and music that had to have been the result of being his mother’s son. Belle learned more of his history now that she had known before and understood how he could look so cold and detached sometimes when he was worried or angry. She knew he kept a loaded firearm in his desk and up in his bedroom to be sure he would be able to protect his family if he had to do so. She and her daughter felt so much safer in his home.

In the heat of midsummer in Boston, Traci was terribly uncomfortable. Nearing the last weeks of her pregnancy, she found the heat almost unbearable. Raymond Morgan offered the use of his cottage on Nantucket. Adam had cleaned up the plans that were faulty and overseen adjustments to the warehouse that had been under construction so that it was sturdy. Both Raymond and Jacob insisted that Adam should take some time to be with his wife. He told them that she was so near delivery, he didn’t think she would want to be away from home and that travel might be too much for her. When he said the same to Belle and to Traci, they laughed.

“I would love to be away from the heat of the city. To have you all to myself and sleep with cool ocean breezes sounds heavenly. I’m close enough now that if the trip does bring on labor, there should be no complications. As big as I am, I may have miscalculated the timing anyway.”

As Adam looked to Belle, she nodded in agreement. “I’ve helped birth a number of babies including you. We’ll be fine, and Mrs. Cartwright would feel much more comfortable there away from the heat and vapors in the city.”

So the decision was made. Adam rented a large carriage, and the four of them moved to the cottage on the Nantucket shore. They planned to stay for only a week or two, but the arrival of Matthew Cartwright only two days before they were scheduled to leave extended their stay until they had spent nearly a month relaxing and enjoying the clean, cooler beach environs. It was difficult to return to the city after that, but Adam needed to return to work.

On the first day back, Belle and Eliza made numerous trips out shopping to restock the house with necessities. They also spent time refreshing the house and making it spotless. Traci got to spend all of her time with her baby. As Adam dressed in the morning, Traci had sat in the rocking chair nursing their son. No matter how many times Adam saw this event, he was still moved almost to tears. His lovely wife with his child nursing at her breast made him believe more in God and his mercy than almost anything else. Adam and Traci had not been attending church regularly but both had determined that they should for they had avoided church just when they had needed most to be there. To his father, Adam had already sent a long letter talking about their vacation and the wonderful event that had occurred there.

When Adam got to work, he found a large box of cigars and a bottle of champagne on his desk. Within minutes, Raymond and Jacob were at his door asking how things had gone. Other than a telegram announcing the birth of his son and explaining he would be late returning, Adam had not communicated with anyone in Boston while he was gone.

“So, tell us about your son.” Jacob had several children and was doting father. He wanted Adam to have that happiness again.

Grinning, Adam told them. “I have a dark haired, slender son with the healthiest lungs who lets everyone know it when he’s hungry or wet. He sleeps a lot, and he’s growing fast.”

“What is the history of his name?” Raymond was very traditional and had made sure there was a biblical reference and a family history associated with the name of each of his children.

“There is none. We didn’t want to saddle our child with any family history or any expectation this time. His name is from the Apostles, and we don’t know anyone in the family with that name.”

A bit surprised at that, Raymond understood when he thought about the child they had lost. It sobered him for a moment though until Adam announced that they planned to have a party of their friends soon, and everyone could see how they had developed their garden into a beautiful space for entertaining, and then they could all meet his son as well. Jacob and Raymond were both happy at that announcement. It told them more than anything that Adam and Tracy were moving past their grief and building the future. They had been somewhat reclusive regretfully declining invitations to parties in the months they had been here. Now they were ready to socialize and that was a very good sign.

At that moment, in fact, Traci was working on a guest list. She had become a lady of leisure for the past two months and was ready to take on a task. This was the kind of thing she could do and still dote on her son. Then she penned a long letter to her parents. Like Adam, she didn’t want her parents worrying because it had been so long since they had received news. At least once a month they sent letters to their families, and when there was more news to share like now, they sent more.

On the Ponderosa, Adam’s letter from Nantucket had arrived. Ben was always just a little worried when one of these arrived. He couldn’t help the parental anxiety. Adam might be nearing forty but he was still his son and would always cause Ben to worry. Now that he couldn’t watch him walk up those stairs every day or ride out on Sport, he had to be content with the letters that arrived regularly. For that, he was immensely grateful. He didn’t know what had brought about the change in Adam, but Ben appreciated very much how hard he was working at keeping his family informed of everything that happened. This was a very thick letter, and Ben hoped it meant that their child had been born and all was well. As he read, his smile got bigger and bigger. He stood as he finished reading the letter, and headed out to the branding area to let his sons know they had a new nephew and that Adam and Traci were doing well.

Chapter 8

At work in Boston, Adam was apprised of what had happened in the office. The man planted there had finally been found out. He had laid low as Adam had worked to correct the errors in plans, but with Adam out of town, he had tried to slip in errors in another building project. Based on what had previously been done, Adam had told them whom to watch and for what to watch in the submitted plans. Jacob followed Adam’s instructions, and the man was fired as soon as his sabotage was detected. They would continue to watch their employees for the possibility that there was another plant, but overall business could proceed normally. In city hall, though, there was rancor over what had happened for how could they intimidate other businesses into kickbacks if this firm was able to thwart them. A decision was made and a plan formulated to remove Adam Cartwright from that firm.

Nothing unusual happened for months. A dangerous sense of complacency descended on everyone. Adam and Traci had their first party and were gracious hosts. It was a small garden party, but everyone was impressed with the simple elegance of the entertainment and the buffet. Some had some idea that a couple from Nevada would be unable to impress proper Bostonians with their vast experience at entertaining, but all enjoyed the afternoon and evening in the beautiful garden with the fragrant rose garden that was the envy of all of the ladies in attendance. As a result of the party, Adam and Traci received numerous invitations to parties and events and found a great deal of joy by being able to spend one or two evenings out each week in the big social season.

As fall approached, both Adam and Traci began to dread the anniversary of AC’s death and how that would affect the other. Each Sunday, they went to church and were gradually getting to know the minister and his wife. Again each expected the possibility that the other would need some counseling to handle their grief. As the day approached, Adam was reticent to speak of it and Traci became somewhat withdrawn. Each suspected the other of harboring sorrow they couldn’t bring out.

Finally the day arrived. As Adam awoke and gazed on his sleeping wife as he did every morning, he worried how this day would be for her. Traci awoke, saw the worried look Adam had, and misinterpreted it to be sorrow. She reached for him and he wrapped his arms around her. They lay for some time like that. Then both started to speak at once, and then just as predictably each told the other to start.

“Adam, I want to remember the happy times. Do you remember the day that AC discovered splashing? That is one of my fondest memories. I look forward to the day when Matthew can do things like that and it will be soon.”

Because Adam was so quiet for the next few minutes, Traci was almost afraid to look at him. Then he suddenly left her embrace and went to his dresser returning quickly to bed with a sketchbook. Traci had no idea what he intended to do until he asked her to sit beside him as he opened the book. He had sketched himself in the bath with AC who was using both his arms and his legs to splash water all over. Tears started then but they were not of sorrow so much as of fond memories.

“When did you do this?”

“When I’m working on plans and get stuck or tired, I pull this out and remember a happy time, and then I sketch it out. In the days and weeks after that as I find time, I fill in the sketch. There are more.”

Adam and Traci only had one photo of AC and it was the small one they had gifted to Ben. The other larger portrait of Traci holding him had been lost in the fire.

“I’ve contacted the photographer who did the first portrait for us. He wrote to say that the materials were slightly damaged but that he felt he could do a basic print for us from what he has. He will produce and send it as soon as my payment reaches him. I want us to be able to remember the joy that boy brought to us.”

“Adam, that is wonderful. I’ve been worrying what the sorrow would do to you, but apparently you have come to terms with it.”

“And you?”

“Yes, I’m thinking like you are. I don’t dwell on the fire any more. I remember him each day as I hold Matthew. They do of course resemble each other. Matthew is a quieter baby, and certainly sleeps more than AC ever did. But he laughs and coos as soon as he sees one of us. He’s such a happy baby. I want this to be a happy family to help him grow up into a strong and capable man like his father.”

Things might have progressed further at that point except the happy baby was not so happy to be ignored when he was hungry and wet, and he let them know that.

On the Ponderosa, a few hours later, Ben and his sons rode to AC’s grave and each placed a rose there. Hop Sing had been nurturing a bush in a container that stood by the door of the kitchen. He had told them of its purpose, and Ben had tears in his eyes at his friend’s thoughtfulness. As they stood at the boy’s grave, Ben pulled Adam’s latest letter and read it aloud. He had been afraid it would be a sad letter, but there were all sorts of news items as well as an explanation of how Adam was working to keep his son’s memory alive even as he and Traci reveled in their joy of Matthew.

Chapter 9

As Adam and Traci built their lives and home in Boston, the corrupt city hall politicians had been observing them and spying on them through men they had hired. They had a plan once they realized why the couple had left Nevada to come to Boston where Adam had interfered in their plans. He was much too intelligent an adversary to allow him to continue to reside in the city and work against them. Two men were dispatched to watch the house, and at the first opportunity, they were to carry out the plan to disrupt the lives of this family and make them flee once again.

Adam kept a regular morning schedule. He rose early, did some work in the garden, took a walk, and then went in to bathe and dress for work. Once he had breakfast, he would kiss his wife goodbye, and go out front where his regular carriage waited. On the morning the men had decided would be the day, they dressed as unobtrusively as possible. Walking from opposite directions toward Adam’s house, they converged on the front walk as the carriage pulled away. Walking to the porch, they opened the front door expecting that the ladies inside would only think that Mr. Cartwright had forgotten something and returned. It worked perfectly.

The well-dressed ruffians surprised Belle and Eliza in the kitchen as they were cleaning up from breakfast. Eliza yelped until one of the men placed a hand over her mouth and threatened her with a knife. Upstairs, Traci was bathing her son when she heard the sound. She stepped from Matthew’s room to see two men at the base of the stairs. She quickly moved into the room to place Matthew on the floor. Then she raced to their bedroom. As the men moved to walk up the stairs quietly, they were confronted by Traci standing at the top of the stairs and holding a pistol on them.

“Now, ma’am, you know you can’t shoot us. You just put that down, and we won’t hurt you. We just want to have a little fun, and then we’ll be on our way. Your man can take you and the brat back to Nevada afterwards.”

“No, you will leave, now! I do know how to shoot, and you would be wise to just back down those stairs and leave before I have to show you how well I can shoot.”

The two men looked at each other, nodded, and when they turned back, they rushed up the stairs side-by-side. There was the roar of the pistol then, and next that could be heard was a wailing infant. In the kitchen, Eliza had managed to get one of the drawers open and had retrieved a knife. She was using it to try to cut herself free when she had heard the shots and then the crying. She hurried which caused her to cut herself several times before cutting through the ropes. She cut her mother loose and sent her to get the police. Ominously to them, the crying upstairs had stopped. Belle ran to the street and hailed a carriage asking the people inside to please get the police for Mr. Cartwright’s home had been invaded by two criminals and shots had been fired.

Within about ten minutes, two constables arrived at the Cartwright home. They entered carefully because of the report of the gunshots. As they walked in, they saw two men sprawled on the stairs. A quick examination showed that both were dead. They removed the bodies to the porch, and secured the knives they found. Then they cautiously went upstairs identifying themselves and calling for Mrs. Cartwright. They saw a head peek out from a bedroom, and when Traci saw who they were, she called them into that room. She had Adam’s pistol and told them she had used it to defend herself as the men rushed her with their knives. Then she had gone to comfort her son assuming that the authorities would be there soon. They took her statement, and told her not to worry as the whole thing looked very cut and dried. They left when the police wagon came to carry away the bodies.

When Adam raced into the house a short time later, he saw the blood on the stairs and his heart nearly broke until he heard Traci call to him from upstairs. When he got upstairs, he found her still holding Matthew. She had not cried or showed any emotion until Adam came in the room and she placed their sleeping child into his bed. She turned to Adam, and suddenly her resolve to stay calm collapsed, and she ran into Adam’s arms. He held her tightly and waited for the tears to end before he asked her what happened which caused the tears to start again. Finally, he comforted her enough that she could tell the story. She included the comment they had made about Nevada which she had neglected to tell the officers. They both knew who had been responsible for the attack. They would have to take more precautions and tell Raymond and Frank that the campaign against them had escalated.

With all the witnesses to the crime the two men had attempted, there was no way for the corrupt politicians in city hall to use this incident. Instead they sat down in another closed-door meeting to develop a new, more subtle plan. It would be nearly a year before that one was started. It took that long for them to set the groundwork, and it would take another year or two to complete, but they were sure it would work. They were greedy men but patient. Once their plan was implemented, it would be the start of their grandiose scheme to loot millions from the public treasury.

Chapter 10

Over the next months, Adam worked with the Morgans to set up a plan to thwart any plot against them. They acquired allies and hired people to help them including a ‘gardener’ for Adam who was actually a bodyguard for the family. Adam also formally checked out his regular driver and then hired him. He knew how to shoot as well from service in the Massachusetts regiment in the War so he was outfitted with appropriate weapons. Locks were installed on the doors in the Cartwright home. Even though they did not expect the next assault on them to be a physical one, they could not rule it out either so preparations were made. All three men met with their bankers and brokers to be sure that there could be no underhanded dealing there.

Alert for threats, Raymond, Jacob, and Adam waited almost two years before they discovered some irregularities. They didn’t know the meaning of what was happening though. Every month, cash was deposited into Adam’s account and into Jacob’s. Then drafts were brought in to make payments from those accounts. The payments were always less than the deposits, so the accounts began growing substantially. People were in place though to document what happened and to keep track of who brought money to the banks and who cashed in the drafts. This pattern continued for almost another two years.

Working in many cities other than Boston, the Morgan firm was handling more and more design work for palatial homes as well as large factories and warehouses which became a specialty of the firm. Under Adam’s design specifications, warehouses were built to suit the type of product stored there and the method by which producers moved the product into and out of those buildings. The efficiency he designed into the plans meant a more efficient and therefore profitable investment so the demand was high for a Morgan warehouse. Each of the men also designed some beautiful homes for some of the new millionaires in the East. Each of the men had styles that were distinctive. If they wanted large but traditional American or English style manors, Raymond drew the plans and supervised the building. If the buyer wanted a palace or castle style, then Jacob was the designer.

If however the buyer wanted a home with modern design elements and unusual touches that would make a unique home, Adam was the preferred designer. Often in the evenings, Adam spent time reading of the newest designs that were being made in the United States as well as in France and England. He asked for information on Japanese style homes and incorporated some of those into homes he built as well.

As the firm grew and prospered, Adam and Traci could afford some trips including one long foray into Europe that took over three months. They brought Matthew with them because although he did not appreciate the trip, they could not bear to be gone that long without him. Adam and Jacob built homes on Nantucket next to Raymond’s and the three often vacationed there together with their families. In the warmer months, Adam and Traci had numerous garden parties inviting not only their business friends but also men such as Sam Clemens and Edwin Booth who had become great friends of Adam. Those parties were so splendid that people rarely ever turned down an opportunity to attend.

All of these events were documented in the letters that Adam and Traci continued to write to their families on the monthly schedule they had set for themselves. From the Ponderosa came news of more children for Hoss and Jillian. Then remarkably Ben adopted another son, Jamie. The news they had been hoping to hear that made them the most joyous was when Adam read in a letter that Joe was marrying and later heard they had a child too. Traci’s brother Darren married and soon there was news of another niece and nephew as he and his wife had twins.

As another Christmas found the Cartwrights still celebrating separately, Matthew had a few questions for his parents.

“Are we ever going to go to Grandpa’s house for Christmas? Some of the other kids who live here visit their grandparents for Christmas. Why don’t we?”

“Matthew, those children have grandparents who live close to Boston or in Boston. Their families only have to travel a few hours or less to see them. My father and brothers live a long way away. It would take us at least a week of travel just to get there, and that’s if everything went well and we made all of our connections.”

“Mama, can we go see your parents then?”

“It would take even longer to go see my parents. There is a railroad that goes very near your father’s family and there are other shorter lines to take to Virginia City. But Prescott is still a long way from any rail line so it could take two weeks to get there because we would have to ride the stage at the end of the rail line.”

“Then when can I learn to ride a horse? I want to ride like you do.”

So arrangements were made and Matthew started riding with his father or his mother at the stable where they kept a few horses they owned. Buying a pony for Matthew and stabling it there was not a problem. Adam rode at least once a week, and Traci tried to get out even more when Matthew started riding. After dinner one evening, Traci had to ask.

“Are we ever going back to Nevada? I just have this feeling lately that you are missing your family and want to go back.”

“I do miss them. Almost every day, I wish I didn’t have to leave, but we did have to leave, and we have to keep Matthew safe.”

“He’s older now, and things seem to have settled down out there as the silver mines are closing down. Perhaps we should think of a visit?”

“I don’t know. We should think about how we could do that. But it would be months away at least before we could even consider it.”

Traci nodded. Adam’s work was scheduled into the next summer already, and he had trips to make to various locations to monitor progress on buildings he had designed. He was becoming more and more in demand as a designer of palatial homes. Each of those projects could take one to two years to complete so these new projects were far from complete.

As spring warmed the city and tulips blossomed and trees leafed out, the politicians at city hall were ready to spring their surprise. The mayor announced that he was beginning a major investigation into corruption in city contracts. After about a month of innuendo implicating the Morgan firm in that corruption, police officers appeared at the firm to arrest Adam and Jacob for bribery and kickbacks. Raymond wanted to stop the arrests but a few words stopped him.

“Raymond, we need to play this out. We have people in place to help us, and we have to trust them. Jacob and I will watch each other’s backs. You know whom to call. We’ll go peacefully, and hopefully see you soon. Please let Traci and Miranda know what happened, and alert our security people to keep a close watch on our families.”

“I’ll do that, Adam, and I hope our planning works.”

At that, Adam and Jacob were led away in handcuffs and placed in a police wagon. There they were treated roughly and arrived at the jail with a number of bruises and cuts. However nothing too severe could be done, so the rough treatment was tolerable. There were a few tense hours at the jail until U.S. Marshals showed up to take custody of them. There was quite a bit of wrangling, but even a local judge who was brought in had to admit that the marshals had the correct papers and the authority to take charge of the prisoners.

The mayor had called a special meeting and reporters had been invited. Unaware of what had transpired at the jail, the mayor produced a ‘secret’ ledger that showed payments to Adam and Jacob from the city, and then payments made to the recently deceased city council president. Suddenly investigators from the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office swooped in to confiscate the ledger, and arrest the mayor and a number of city council members. Finally a representative of the governor’s office stood to speak and the reporters were all straining to get in a good position to report this suddenly engrossing story.

The agent laid out the results of the state’s investigation. He explained how the mayor and council planned to incriminate Adam and Jacob so that they could use that to intimidate other businesses into kickbacks. When the reporters asked why those two were targeted, the answer was that the Morgan firm had refused to cooperate in illegal behavior and the corrupt politicians had set out to make an example of them. The attack on Adam’s house was brought into the discussion, and it was explained how the failure of that plot had let to this one. It was a great story, and one that would hit the newspapers in cities across the country. Of course in that era, the next group of politicians were also morally and ethically deficient but at least kept their corruption on a smaller scale so as not to attract the attention of those who would expose them. The corruption in Boston never reached the level that was achieved in New York and Chicago.

As Adam was escorted to his home by marshals, Traci was a bundle of nervous energy. Matthew didn’t understand what was wrong but only that his mother was very upset. Adam knocked on the door, and Traci flung the door open when she saw him. He was bruised a bit but otherwise healthy. Traci threw herself into his arms and cried. Matthew came up to hug his father’s leg. He didn’t know what was wrong. Adam picked him up with one arm even as he held Traci with the other. Adam sat on the settee with his wife and son for the next hour. Finally Matthew was asleep on his shoulder and it was time to put him in his bed. Adam stood holding his son and looked down at Traci.

“Come with me. I’m going to bed too as soon as I get our son settled in his bed.”

Traci nodded and followed Adam up the stairs. After Adam had gotten Matthew undressed and into a night shirt, he returned to the bedroom to find Traci sitting on the edge of the bed just staring into space. He walked and sat beside her.

“Adam, I thought it would be safer here. I thought we wouldn’t have to worry about something terrible happening. But it’s just a different city, and danger is still around us. The only real difference is that our families are not here.”

“Perhaps it’s time to think of living some place outside the city?”

“Where could we go?”

“I have several commissions yet to finish, but I could work from Nantucket. You like it there and so does Matthew. There’s a small school there, and I would actually be closer to where some of my projects will be built.”

“Honestly, we could live there?”

“Yes, and we could take Belle and Eliza with us. There’re three bedrooms so we could accommodate them. I’ve made enough money from my work and from my investments that I don’t need to work as much as I used to. In fact, I wouldn’t need to work at all if we lived somewhat modestly.”

As Traci wrapped her arms around Adam’s neck and kissed him, he began unbuttoning her dress. He worked his way down her back until all the buttons were undone and then helped her slip the dress from her arms and dropped it to the floor as he pulled her into a standing position. He began kissing her cheeks, neck, and shoulders then. Traci unbuttoned his shirt and pushed it off his shoulders as they continued to undress each other. Finally able to relax fully, they made love with each other as they had done when they were first together.

Chapter 11

The next morning, Adam asked Belle and Eliza if they would live with his family in Nantucket. Belle was all smiles until Eliza asked after Henry who was Adam’s driver.

“Well, I wasn’t expecting to need a driver in Nantucket, but Henry is certainly welcome to accompany us there and work in other capacities as needed.” Suddenly it all made sense to Adam: the looks that Eliza gave Henry were not just admiring looks from afar. The two of them had apparently developed a relationship. He liked both of them and having Henry there to help protect his family was an appealing thought. Adam had become more aware of how dangers could appear out of seemingly innocent situations. There was a room over the carriage house at his cottage that he had expected to use only for guests, but it certainly would be an appropriate place for Henry to stay and would be acceptable as well if Eliza and Henry decided to make it official.

Looking over the breakfast table, Adam saw Traci smiling. She had suspected that there was something between Henry and Eliza and had been proven correct. She was savoring the moment of having observed something her astute husband had missed.

“Now, do you want to go to the office with me to tell Raymond and Jacob what our plans are? We can bring Matthew too. He hasn’t been there in a while, and it may be the last time he sees it.”

Agreeing quickly, Traci went upstairs to dress in more formal clothing, and Adam took Matthew to his room to dress him for the outing. The five-year-old did enjoy dressing up and insisted on clean clothing every morning. Traci insisted that somehow he had inherited that trait from his father because as a child, she had dressed in a plaid shirt and pants almost every day. That Matthew favored dark colors was probably just his desire to be like his father.

At the firm office, Raymond and Jacob were not at all surprised at Adam’s decision. Under similar circumstances, either one or both of them might do the same. Adam had brought a lot more profit to their firm, and they would hate to see him go but he could still work on projects and commissions from Nantucket. He already had a full slate so for two years at least they expected he would still be with their firm. Others who wanted to avail themselves of his talent would have to wait until he finished his current projects that included a three story ‘cottage’ for one of the wealthiest families in New York who wanted an ostentatious showcase in which to entertain guests for the summer season.

“What is in that design that won you the commission? He’s a difficult customer to please but he and his wife are all enthused about your design.”

“I put a ballroom on the third floor ringed with windows and balconies. They can party up there with the most gorgeous views that anyone could imagine.”

Raymond shook his head. Neither he nor Jacob would ever have thought to reverse a design and put the ballroom on the top floor and the living areas below it. This was the type of situation where Adam’s engineering background served him well. Raymond began to think that architects should possibly be schooled as engineers as well.

“There’s a grand staircase in the foyer that leads to the second floor, and then there are matching staircases to either side that continue to the top floor. There’s a solarium on the back of the house. If lighted properly, it will look like a prism to the guests looking down from the ballroom balcony in the back.”

“He said something about swans?”

“In the center of the foyer is a water garden. It’s large enough that during parties, they could have two swans swimming in it as guests arrive.”

“What about living areas?”

“There was only room on the first floor for a library, parlor, and dining room with a kitchen and maid’s room in the back. The second floor has a sitting room with each bedroom and a water closet for each bedroom as well. He has asked about the possibility of expanding the first floor and that may happen. It will be a monument to excess, and may stand as a reminder of that for hundreds of years. If we earn all the commissions and fees that are possible, we may be able to choose to do only the projects we want to do.”

Raymond extended his hand and thanked Adam for all he had done to advance the firm promising bonuses on his current projects if completed within the two-year time frame. Jacob walked out with them adding his thank you to that of his father and asking if Adam would consult on projects that Jacob had accepted. Adam said he would be happy to do that. Jacob could come to Nantucket at any time, and they could work together.

“So, you’re not planning to be back in Boston at all?”

“No, in fact, I plan to sell the house here. We’re going to take the rose garden with us and some of the furniture, but the rest will be sold. We’ll live in Nantucket for the next two years and then we’ll see.”

For two years, Adam and Traci lived by the ocean. There were many people there in the summer months, but the town’s population was quite small over the winter months. Winters were mild compared to what Adam had experienced in Nevada. Eliza and Henry married and lived in the room over the carriage house. Belle was in the house and enjoyed her role as a substitute grandmother to Matthew. Matthew began attending school and was schooled as well by Adam in those subjects in which he excelled: writing and math. By the end of those two years, Adam had become a very wealthy man through his work and his investments. He told Traci that they could travel as soon as he finished the last of his commissions for he wasn’t accepting any more until they had a chance to travel and he could recover from working over fifty hours a week for two years. They talked and discussed options, and even asked Matthew which of their ideas he liked best. Well before Matthew’s eighth birthday, they had made a decision.

Chapter 12

Easter Saturday dawned gloriously. As he did each year, Ben Cartwright remembered as he awoke that this was the day that Adam and Traci had left. They had a son now and a life in New England, but how he yearned to see them again. Ben had been so happy to hear that Adam had moved his family to the small town of Nantucket. After everything that had happened, Ben worried about his son and his family. Although Adam had tried to downplay what had happened when he wrote, the newspaper stories had been all too clear in the descriptions of what those corrupt politicians had tried to do. Adam had been absolutely reliable in sending letters every month, and for the past few years, he had his son Matthew write too to the grandfather he had never met.

After breakfast, children began arriving with their parents for the annual Easter egg hunt on the Ponderosa. Neighbors, married hands, and Ben’s sons came with their children. Ben sat on his porch watching his grandchildren search for colored Easter eggs. Joe, Hoss, and now Jamie had blessed him with a number of energetic children to watch and enjoy. Jamie’s child was too young to run with the others but his mama was carrying him around as Jamie picked up eggs for him and placed them in a basket. He cooed and laughed as much as a six-month-old can. Hoss and Joe were yelling out encouragement to their offspring to get the most eggs. Finally Joe and Hoss said it was time to head to the back of the house to look for more eggs in the garden.

Once the whole Cartwright clan reached the back of the house and the garden, two of the oldest grandchildren insisted that Ben join them in the hunt for eggs. Hoss handed his father a basket. Ben started to look for eggs and Hoss and Joe walked with him and seemed to be steering him toward the bench near the grove of pines in the back. When Ben reached the bench, he found a black egg sitting on it.

“Now who would ever want a black Easter egg?”

“I think I would.”

Ben whirled around at the sound of that rich baritone. He had not felt whole for the eight years since he had heard it last. Letters were simply no substitute. Adam stepped forward and his father embraced him almost out of necessity. He might have fallen if he had not had those strong arms to support him.

“You’re home. You’re really home.”

“Yes, and I brought a surprise.”

A lady with long dark tresses emerged from the grove where Adam had waited for his father. A slender dark-haired boy walked hand-in-hand with her.

“Pa, Traci and I would like to present our son Matthew. We’ve decided that Boston has become too large, dirty, and dangerous. We want to raise our son here.”

By now, Ben couldn’t control the tears that rolled down his face. He looked at Hoss and Joe.

“You knew and didn’t tell me?”

“We weren’t sure when they would get here. We found out late yesterday so Joe cooked up this surprise.”

“Yeah, Pa, you’re never going to forget this Easter egg hunt, are you?”

“I think that every year, I want to see at least one black Easter egg.”

 

 

Tags:  Adam Cartwright, grief