Summary:  I didn’t think I would have a Christmas story this year, but I found two old story prompts in a folder and used them.  The first two paragraphs of this story are those prompts with a few alterations, and the rest of the story is mine.  A snowstorm leads to some changes for two families.
Rating: PG  Word count: 5409

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“Will it ever stop snowing?”

Chapter 1 – six points of view

“Will it ever stop snowing, and that damn horse, why did he have to run off? If this keeps up, Pa is going to be sitting there worrying. I know him. He’ll step up to that window about every five minutes and look out to see if I’m home. He’ll have his pipe, but he won’t even notice when it goes out. He’ll keep sticking it in his mouth and sitting and then standing to look out that window again. Now Joe and Hoss will be making jokes to try to keep Pa from worrying. They’ll probably be telling stories about how I look like a polar bear by now and probably have icicles hanging from my eyebrows. I know they’ll be worried too though. Sooner or later Sport is going to get home, and they’ll know I’m in trouble. I have to keep awake until then. I have to make sure I don’t let this snow bury me. I’m not too far from the turn off to the house. They know the direction I have to be. It’s the only way to come back from town. I’m praying now that I can stay awake long enough. That leg was hurting a lot but I can hardly feel it now. Oh, God, I hope I hear them calling my name soon. I hope they can see me waving this black hat when they get close enough. Sometimes it’s good to wear black. They’ll see me soon. Oh, God, I hope they see me soon.”

*****

“When will it ever stop snowing? I know so many people say how beautiful it is. Well that may be true but only for about one week. Then Christmas is over and the snow is just a pain in the face. Yes, a darn pain in the face. I swear if Little Joe hits me with one more snowball, I’m going to tie him up like a calf for branding and push snow down his neck. That is one satisfying dream to have except for the face I’ll see on Pa if I do that. No, I have to do something else. Now he usually hits me when I come through a door so I know the important thing is not to be the first one through the door. It can’t be Adam either because Joe will enjoy himself just as much and giggle so hard he falls into a snow bank. No, it has to be Pa. If he hits Pa in the face with one of those, that will be the end of snowballs in the face. It won’t actually do any good though. That little scamp will come up with a new prank within a week or as soon as his backside ain’t hurting no more. I should probably just put up with the snowballs instead of letting him surprise me with some new prank. When will it ever stop snowing? Say where is Adam anyway? He should have been back from town a while ago. Maybe he decided to stay there because of the weather. Yeah, that’s probably it.”

*****

“Will it ever stop snowing? I mean, I like the snow and all, but if it snows too much, then there’s work to be done, and I can’t have any fun. Some people around here get so grumpy when it snows. Hoss says it’s my fault, but if he would try it my way, he wouldn’t be so grumpy. All he has to do is have a little fun maybe by having a couple of snowball fights now and then. Now Adam is so grumpy, I don’t know if anything can fix it. You’d think he’d be happy with all that extra time to sit around reading and all that kind of stuff he likes to do, but, no, he gets crabby instead. There’s just no way he’s ever happy. When it’s hot and we have a lot of work, he’s in a bad mood because he doesn’t any time to himself. Now he’s got plenty of time, and it still doesn’t make his mood any better. Sometimes I think he doesn’t like living here on the Ponderosa with us, but that can’t be. This is the perfect place to live as far as I’m concerned. Well, maybe we can do something to make him smile. Hoss and I can usually come up with something. We just have to put our heads together and work on a plan. Yeah, that’s it. A plan to make Adam smile. We can do it. I know we can.”

*****

“The snow seems like it will never end. It could be days or even weeks before Adam comes back home. I’ll worry about him until I see him walk through that door. I know he’s smart enough to stay in town with a storm like this coming in, but then again I worry that he thinks he has to get those supplies and the payroll home to me so he won’t disappoint me. He always tries to be the perfect son. I don’t know when he started trying to be that, but I know he does. It’s an impossible standard he’s set for himself, and of course, any criticism I make aggravates him far more than it should because of that. I’ve tried to think of what I can do about the situation, but I have no ideas. Now obviously Joseph has some kind of idea again because he snapped his fingers, grinned, and looked at Hoss. I’ve seen those warning signs before and they usually mean trouble. I can only hope it’s not too much trouble and especially not any more trouble for Adam. I fear he’s thinking of leaving, and I don’t want anything to push him into that decision any sooner. I guess I know it will happen someday, but I hope to delay it as much as possible.”

*****

“Mister, Mister, wake up. I stopped and risked my life a bit doing it, but I ain’t got much time. I need you to wake up and work with me to get you into my wagon. There you go. Open them eyes. I kin see some blood on your leg, but you look strong enough otherwise. I’ll pull you up, and you do what you can. I’m gonna put you in the back of my wagon and take you to my home. No, not your home and don’t you go shaking your head at me. It’s the best offer you got, and I ain’t even sure we can make it there. I’m putting you in the bed of the wagon with the supplies. You better hang on cause I ain’t stopping again. I got a wife and children I hope to see again. They’re more important that you are. So here we are. I’ll push and you pull and we’ll get you in the wagon. There, now I’m driving and you hang on. I hope we can make it. If you can stay awake, say some prayers for us, and maybe ask for this snow to ease up for a bit so I can at least see the fork in the road that takes me toward my place. Wish us luck.”

*****

“Damn, it’s Sport. He’s home and there’s no sign of Adam. I’ll get him in the barn and get one of the hands to take care of him. But then I got to go to the house and deliver this news. It’s an awful time to tell a family this kind of thing. They got to know what it means. A man on foot out there at night in this storm with no provisions ain’t got a chance. They’ll know it, but like they always do, they’ll think they can deny fate. They’ll go on hoping until there’s nothing left to hope for. Well, I gotta do it, but this is gonna be as hard for me to do as it is for them to hear. I like that man even with all his faults. He was a good man, fair and honest and about as hard-working a man as I ever met. Got a feeling he was thinking on leaving for greener pastures, and maybe he should have left sooner cause leaving this way ain’t no good for nobody. Damn, well, here goes. I hate this.”

*****

“It’s been weeks. Pa and Joe have that look of defeat about them, but I don’t cause I just can’t believe he’s gone. I got this gut feeling that somehow, somewhere, he’s alive. As close as we’ve been through all these years, I figured I’d know if he was gone, and I ain’t got that feeling. We searched when that storm finally let up, but there was no sign of him anywhere. It took almost two weeks before anyone could get to town, and we found out he got the few supplies we’d asked him to get and picked up the mail and payroll. He was seen heading out of town, and that’s the last anyone saw of him. Joe and Shorty risked a lot just getting to town to find that out. They came back as discouraged as you can guess. I still don’t believe he’s gone. Adam always seems to find a way. I don’t know how he did it, but I think he did it again. Somewhere, out there, my brother is alive. I know he is. I gotta believe that. I gotta believe it.”

*****

“Christmas is over. It was never really a holiday this year. We put Adam’s presents in his room and closed the door. I can’t go in there yet. I don’t think Hoss or Joe have opened the door yet either. I see tears in Joe’s eyes every day. Hoss doesn’t want to talk about it. I think he still has hope, but I don’t know how he can. There’s nothing on which to base any hope. A father shouldn’t have to bury a son. It’s not right, but in this case, it’s worse, because we never found him. We’ll have to wait until spring. Oh, Lord, it’s so awful to think about. I wish now I hadn’t tried so hard to keep him here. If I had encouraged him to go when he first mentioned it, this would never have happened.”

 

Chapter 2

With his leg bandaged and splinted, Adam lay on a cot in the main room of Curtis Lay’s cabin. All the family activities swirled around him and gave him little quiet time, but there was no other option in the three-room cabin. Three children shared a bedroom and Curtis and his wife Mary shared the other. The other room was a kitchen, dining room, and sitting room combined with a fireplace at one end and a stove at the other. It was warm, cozy, and full of noise and activity. Curtis gave up his nightshirt for Adam to wear and wore his shirt to bed instead. The couple thought it more proper for Adam to be covered with their children around. Mary said she would mend Adam’s pants when she had time, but it didn’t matter too much because he couldn’t wear them yet anyway.

At first, the couple had wondered if Curtis had brought home an outlaw with Adam’s black clothing, but when they saw his wallet, they knew who he was. Relieved, they were hoping that some of the money he was carrying might become a reward for his rescue but were too proud and too honest to ask. Instead they freely offered all they could to a man who needed their help. They did all he asked except for one thing.

“Is there any way you can get word to my family that I’m alive? My horse ran off when I was shot and probably ran home. They must think I was lost in the storm.”

“I’m sorry, Adam, but that storm dumped so much snow I can barely get to my barn and outbuildings to take care of my stock. I could never get through the snow to your ranch.”

“I understand.”

Although Adam understood, he worried about his family and how they must be reacting. He hoped they didn’t take risks in looking for him, but knowing Joe and his father especially, he guessed they probably had and would. Somehow, he knew Hoss would take a more careful approach, but still worried that any one of them could be hurt in a fruitless search for him.

In the Lay family, the two little girls were very shy around him but often came up together to bring him his meals. They rarely spoke to him but giggled often and then ran back to their mother to tell her that he had grinned at them and said thank you. Mary would look over at Adam and shake her head.

“Someday, they will learn some social graces.”

“Ma’am, they’re doing well. I think they’re charming.”

“Thank you. You are a gentleman.”

It was a bit more difficult being a gentleman when he had needs, but Curtis and his son, Axel, were good about helping him holding up a blanket screen as he used a bucket and then carrying that away once he was settled in bed again. Adam could tell he was a strain on the family resources and knew he had to make an offer to offset expenses.

“Curtis, I can tell that I have upset the supply situation for your family this winter, and I may be here for weeks yet. You have pigs and chickens, but you need those for your income in the future. I have quite a bit of money on me. How about if I buy one or more of those from you so we can use the meat to supply us for the next few weeks, and then you have the money to replace the loss in the spring? Would that be fair?”

“Now, Adam, we aren’t asking you to pay us for what we done for you.”

“I know. You never asked me. I’m offering to pay my way. I’m sitting around here doing nothing. It makes me feel useless. If I could at least pay for my board, then I could feel a little better at least about the situation. Please accept my offer.”

Looking at Mary who nodded, Curtis smiled and sighed. It was the best they could have hoped to get.

“Thank you, Adam. That would be very fair indeed.”

“If you could get my coat, I will pay you now.”

“No need for that.”

“No, if we’re going to do business, we should do business and then shake on it like any two men would. If I had some brandy, I’d pour one for you to toast a successful negotiation too.”

“Well, Mary has some cherry concoction she made up for Christmas for us. Maybe she could be convinced to pull that out a day early.”

Mary needed no convincing. Adam pulled his wallet from his coat and offered a sum to Curtis who said it was too much.

“Now we both know that stock prices go way up in the winter. What I’m offering is the winter price and you know it.”

“Well, I guess so. I never sold any of mine in the winter before.”

“Now you have.”

And the three drank to their successful agreement. That night, they ate roast pork with all the fixings and had more for their Christmas Eve dinner and on Christmas Day. But they had more to celebrate than just their new partnership. Axel sat down on Christmas Eve next to Adam and stared at the Christmas tree.

“Do you have one of these on the Ponderosa?”

“Every year.”

“Does your mother make you decorate it too?”

“No, all my mothers have gone to heaven.”

“All your mothers? How many did you have?”

“I had three.”

“I only had one. She died. How can a body have three mothers.”

“My mother died when I was born. She was smart and loved reading and music. I guess I got those things from her. Then when I was about five, my father married Inger. She was my Ma and smiled and took care of me and made me happy. After she was killed, I didn’t think I would have another, but Pa married Marie when I was about eleven. I called her Maman because she was from New Orleans. She taught me to sing French lullabies and how to play guitar.”

“And she died too?”

“Yes, she died in a riding accident.”

“So you had a mother, a ma, and a what, a maman?”

“Yes, I did.”

“And you loved all three of them?”

“I did, and they loved me.”

“How could you love all three of them?”

“If a mother can love more than one child, why can’t a child love more than one mother? I like to picture them in heaven, arm-in-arm looking down on me and watching over me.”

“Maybe they’re the ones who made my father look off the road and see you laying in the snow.”

“Yes, just the thing a guardian angel might do.”

“Maybe that’s what my mama is doing now.”

“Could be.”

“Mary is my stepmother, you know.”

“I know.”

“How did you know?”

“She has red hair. Your father has blond hair. The girls have reddish hair, but you have black curly hair like the woman with your father in the picture on the fireplace mantel.”

“You are smart. Yeah, Pa says I look a lot like her.”

“I don’t think she would mind you loving your stepmother. I think my mother probably was happy I had two more mothers to help take care of me when she couldn’t.”

“Yeah, she does take pretty good care of me, but I was taking pretty good care of us before she came too.”

“I bet you still are. No reason you can’t all work together and be an even stronger family.”

“I can’t call her Mama like the girls do.”

“No, that would be too confusing, wouldn’t it.”

“I could call her Ma like you called your second one.”

“That could work.”

“Do you have anything special to remember your mother?”

“I have her favorite book and a music box.”

“I don’t really have anything.”

“Maybe we could make something special.”

“Like what?”

“Well, your tree doesn’t have an angel. I could carve one, and we could put curly dark hair on her and a dress in her favorite color.”

“Mister Adam, that’s a great idea. We got some wood in the barn. How big a piece do you want?”

“Well, seeing as how it has to go on top of that little tree, and I don’t have too much time to whittle, I’d say only about ten inches or so and maybe softer wood if you have it.”

“All right.” Axel hurried to Mary. “Ma, I got to go to the barn and get a piece of wood for Mister Adam to whittle. Is that all right?”

Nodding her head, Mary found it hard to speak. After Axel got his coat on and rushed out the door banging it closed in his excitement, Mary walked over to Adam and grasped his chin kissing him as tears ran down her cheeks. At that moment, Curtis walked in. He frowned and then stood in shock as Mary rushed to the kitchen wiping tears from her eyes and cheeks. Adam was speechless but the girls weren’t.

“Papa, why is Mama crying?”

“Papa, why did Mama kiss Mister Adam?”

Mystified, Curtis went to his wife who whispered to him for a short time. Then Curtis approached Adam who wasn’t sure what was going to happen until he saw that the man’s eyes were glistening too.

“Mary told me about what you said to Axel and what he said to her. He ain’t never called her Ma before. Only ever called her Mary no matter what I said. Told me about the angel too. Mister, you done paid us right there with those two things for anything we ever done for you. We’re gonna be a real family this Christmas with a real good dinner and a real good feeling about everything. Makes me feel even worse that we can’t get word to your family about you being alive and all.”

“I guess it was meant for me to be here instead.”

Later, as Curtis, Mary, and Axel decorated the small tree and made preparations for Christmas, they were all grateful for Adam whittling because the girls were fascinated by the process and it kept them from being underfoot. When it was time to finish the angel, Adam asked if Mary could cut a few dark curls from the back of his head as his hair was quite a bit longer than Axel’s. Mary had fashioned a green dress for the angel because Curtis said green was his first wife’s favorite color. Once the angel was all dressed out, Adam said she needed some sparkles and pulled a couple of silver beads from his hatband. Mary fixed them into a halo and set it on the angel’s head presenting the finished angel to Axel to place on the tree.

The two little girls, Bethany and Clarissa, clapped their hands and asked what they were going to sing. Axel volunteered Adam whom he said knew all sorts of songs his third mother had taught him. So they had an impromptu concert with Adam singing and then teaching songs to the family for a sing-a-long. The next day was more of the same with the family declaring it was the best Christmas ever. It was almost enough for Adam to forget how difficult a time it must be for his family.

 

Chapter 3

Almost a month later, Curtis heard three shots fired and told Adam it was time to go. He had left a sign by the road that if any freight haulers came by and wanted cargo, to fire three shots. He had kept a path open as much as he could to the road and bundled Adam into the wagon heading out to the road to meet whomever was there and wanted the work. Although Adam couldn’t walk, he used a crutch and Curtis’ help to get to the wagon and then lay in the back wrapped in a blanket. His pant leg was split on the side with the splint. When they got to the road, Adam recognized the men as regular freight haulers who often delivered to the Ponderosa. They frowned though at what appeared to be an empty wagon.

“It doesn’t look like you two have any freight. What’s the deal?”

“Stoney, the deal is that I’m the freight, and I’ll pay you well to take me home. I’m Adam Cartwright, and my leg is still in a splint.”

“We heard you were dead. Sorry. Didn’t mean to be blunt, but it’s what we heard.”

“That’s why I want to get home. I want to let my family know what happened.”

“Freight hauling in winter is an expensive proposition.”

“You know I’m good for it.”

“Yeah, and if you ain’t, I know your family will pay for you. Damn, just seeing the looks on their faces is gonna be good. Now, we ain’t got very comfortable places to ride. You all right with riding on top? We’ll tie you down so you don’t slide off.”

“Best offer I’ve had today.”

“All right, we got to shift some freight around then. Some was gonna end up at the Ponderosa anyway. We’ll put it all on one wagon and the other two wagons will go on to Virginia City. This one will go to the Ponderosa. I hear you got quite a cook there. I’d like to spend the night too. I don’t want to have ride back to town only to end up in the dark.”

“It’s a deal.”

After bidding farewell to Curtis and thanking him profusely once more, Adam waved from the top of the freight wagon as it began it’s difficult trip to the Ponderosa. Hours later, chilled but all right, he sighed in relief when he realized that they had stopped in the yard of the ranch. He heard his father then.

“I didn’t expect any freight deliveries in the winter.”

“Special circumstance and special delivery this time, Mister Cartwright. We got the special delivery up on top here.”

Climbing from the seat up to where Adam was wrapped in his blanket and tied in place, Stoney loosened the ropes and asked Adam if he was going to need any help getting to the side. He didn’t.

“Then we’ll go below, and you drop over the side, and we’ll get you before you hurt yourself.”

It worked and when they turned Adam to help him to the house, Stoney and his partner were rewarded with the look on Ben’s face that they had wanted to see. It was a crazy mixture of shock, joy, and disbelief.

“Adam? Oh, my Lord, it’s you.”

Walking to Adam, Ben first grabbed him by the shoulders and then touched his face staring into his eyes almost unwilling to believe it could be true.

“Pa, it’s a long story. Could we talk about it in the house. It’s damn cold out here.”

“Of course, come in. Come in.”

Ben kept a hand on Adam’s shoulder as if he could accompany him into the house. Stoney offered another option.

“He can’t walk on his own, Mister Cartwright. His leg is still busted up some. We’ll take him in. He paid to be freight and until he’s delivered, that’s what he is.”

Inside, Hoss and Joe had looks that were about the same as Ben’s had been except Hoss insisted he had known Adam was alive somewhere. Once the previously missing son was settled in his chair with his leg up and a warm blanket tucked around him and a hot drink in his hand, he was pressed to tell the story. He began with the obvious.

“I thought when Sport stumbled, that’s what threw me. It wasn’t until later that I realized I’d been shot. Someone must have thought to get the money I was carrying, but he wasn’t a very good shot or when Sport stumbled, that threw off his aim. Anyway, I had my pistol and shells, and I got behind a tree, but the shooting made Sport run off. I wasn’t going to be robbed and killed, but it wasn’t much better. I couldn’t walk, and I was stranded in the storm. Once I realized the would-be robber had gone, I pulled myself back toward the road and waited. I waved my hat in hopes you would see it if you were looking for me. Instead, Curtis Lay saw me and hauled me to his ranch. We were lucky to get that far. If you’re wondering why he didn’t bring me home, he risked his life by stopping and taking the time to haul me into the back of his wagon. That made his trip home even more difficult with the extra weight too.”

“He saved your life.”

“Yes, and he and his wife and children welcomed me into their small home and shared everything they had with me. Pa, I paid them for a hog and some chickens because we needed the food, and he couldn’t afford to kill them otherwise. Then when I left, I left the rest of the money in the cot I had been using. If you think that was wrong, I’ll pay you back. I’ll pay these freighters too for the trip here because I didn’t want to get hauled to town.”

“Nonsense. Whatever you paid that family was probably not enough, and we’ll pay these freighters whatever is due them.”

“I told them they could spend the night too, and I hope Hop Sing is here because they’re hoping to have one of his meals. Apparently he’s famous for his cooking, and they want to taste some of his delicious food.”

“After that, I can almost guarantee they’re going to get a great dinner.”

Joe was curious. “You got shot. Why is your leg splinted?”

“It broke the bone. Lucky for me, that’s all it did. It could have killed me if any of that had gotten infected.”

“Must have hurt something fierce.”

“Hoss, it hardly hurt at all. I was so cold by the time Curtis found me, I couldn’t hardly feel that leg. Then Mary took such good care of me, it healed very quickly.”

“How about now?”

“It’s not too bad. The bone is mending well too. I still can’t stand on it, but a few more weeks, and it should be almost healed or at least enough to start standing on it.”

By the next morning, Joe and Hoss had plans to have a late Christmas. They went out and got another tree, decorated it, and brought in some pine boughs to decorate the house a bit too. Ben put some limits on what they were doing saying it was only going to be a family Christmas as Adam was still recuperating. It was a low-key affair then but many of the traditions of earlier Christmases were resurrected with stringing of popcorn, singing around the tree, and sipping hot drinks in the evening and in the morning. With Adam unable to move around much, it seemed more fitting to do those kinds of activities. By the time the festivities were concluded, the whole family was in a better mood.

As Hoss and Joe hauled the tree and decorations away, Adam turned to his father.

“Pa, if I ever leave here, this will be the Christmas I remember best spending time with the family I love.”

When spring arrived and it finally stopped snowing, the brothers headed out to check on the herd and the condition of the ranch. Ben was working at his desk and heard a wagon come into the yard. Going outside, he guessed who it had to be by the descriptions Adam had given them of the Lay family. He hardly had time to welcome the family before Curtis was offering him Adam’s wallet.

“Mister Cartwright, when Adam left, he forgot his money so we brought it to you. We didn’t want anyone to think we would steal it.”

“No, Mister Lay, Adam meant for you to have it, and assumed you wouldn’t take the money if he offered it. Now, I don’t want to take money he freely gifted to you. What you did for him and for us is worth far more that what’s in that wallet. Please keep it, and get whatever your family needs.”

“Mister Cartwright, Adam gave us so much more than anything money can buy.”

“Oh?”

So Curtis told the story of how Adam had explained to Axel how he could love two mothers. Mary and Curtis talked of how Adam taught the family to sing songs and taught them games and told wonderful stories. Axel was excited to tell the story of the angel and how it would always be on the Christmas tree every year.

“So you see, he paid us in ways money never could.”

“I understand, but I know he wanted you to have the money too. Perhaps you could come to dinner here on a Sunday. I believe Adam has a project he would like to discuss with you. He’s trained in construction and spent a good part of the winter designing an addition to your home. He can’t wait to see if you would like it. He needed something like that to occupy his mind and his time when he was cooped up with his broken leg and by the winter snow. We would love to have you here, so please let us know when it would be a good time. And next year, we’re going to want to visit with you in the Christmas season too and see that angel on your tree.”

“Mister Cartwright, I like all those ideas. And thank you, and thank Adam again for us. We look forward to seeing him again and talking over that plan he has.”

“Thank you, and bless you for bringing my son home to me in more ways than you know.”

 

TAgs:  Adam Cartwright, Ben Cartwright, Christmas, Family, Hoss Cartwright, Joe / Little Joe Cartwright