Summary: In a noble deed, Joe talks Adam into the annual kissing booth not knowing what will result but hoping for the best.
Rating: PG Word count: 5,153

---

After the Kissing Booth

Chapter 1

First, there was the miracle, and later there was the magic. It didn’t start out looking like either of those was in store for Rachel Long or anyone else when Hoss Cartwright showed up at Doctor Martin’s office covered in dust and blood. Doctor Martin greeted Hoss at the door of his office and had only one question.

“What happened this time? Are you shot, stabbed, or something else?”

Looking down, Hoss seemed to realize for the first time how much blood was on his shirt and hands.

“No, Doc, it ain’t me who got hurt. It’s Adam. We chased down some rustlers and he got shot in his side. He said he was fine. Told me it was only a crease in his hide, and he stuffed a couple of bandanas in there to stop the bleeding. That’s what he said, but when we brought them yahoos to the sheriff, Adam almost fell right off his horse. I was walking up right behind him and he near fell right into my arms or he might have been laid out into the dirt. He still said it wasn’t that bad, and he said he was only tuckered out. We put him on a bunk at the jail. Can you come and see to him?”

“Why didn’t you bring him here?”

“I just told you.  You know how he is. He said it was just a piece of his hide and nothing serious so he didn’t want nothing except a bandage. Doc, his shirt and pant leg was all wet with blood. It might only be a crease in his side, but I think it was bleeding a lot.”

With an eye roll, Doctor Martin grabbed his bag and his coat to follow Hoss to the jail. When he examined Adam, he found that indeed it was a flesh wound but a deep and jagged one. After cleaning it thoroughly, stitching it, and applying a thick bandage to help prevent any more bleeding, he sat beside his patient and waited for the inevitable question.

“Can I ride home now?”

Normally, he might have said yes, but there were extenuating circumstances this time.

“No.” He explained quickly before Adam could argue with him. “You lost a lot of blood. There was quite a bit of foreign matter in the wound because the bullet tore through your clothing. That debris could cause the wound to fester, and I’m not sure it’s all cleaned out. It was all in there a long time too because you didn’t seek any help right away. Although I stitched it closed, the stitches are a bit uneven. I’m not sure it’s closed as well as it should be. The risk of infection is higher than normal. You already have a slight fever.”

“I’ll take a room at the hotel then.”

“No, that’s not a good idea. Somebody has to check on you regularly and make sure you have enough to eat and drink as well. I don’t have the time to make that many trips to the hotel. You can stay in the patient room at my office. No one is there now.”

“All right. But no fussing. I’ll sleep there and head home tomorrow.”

“We’ll see.”

That Adam had given in so quickly let both Doctor Martin and Hoss know that he was feeling worse than he admitted. That he warned them about ‘fussing’ said that he knew he probably needed some too. It was prophetic. By the next morning, his fever was high and the wound was infected. Doctor Martin had to open it, drain it, and clean it again. He left it open for a time which meant more blood loss, but the infection was a greater threat that had to be beaten first. After two days, Paul stitched the wound closed again. By then, he had hired a nurse to do that fussing that Adam had warned he didn’t want. However, Paul knew the man well. He hired a nurse who liked books, played chess, and generally knew how to keep up her end of any conversation including one that got a bit cheeky or even somewhat snarky.

Rachel Long didn’t mind the job at all. Ever since she had arrived in town to work at the apothecary shop and seen Adam ride into town, she had been smitten. Then she lost that job and got one in the bookshop and supplemented it by working as a nurse when needed. As it turned out, the job in the bookstore gave her other chances to see Adam as did the occasional nursing job. She had not wanted him to be hurt, but she had seen him other times when ranch hands or his brother Joe had been hurt. Of course, he was a regular at the bookstore. Now her job was to keep him in bed. She smiled every time she thought about the doctor telling her that and where her mind went when he did so. Unable to tell anyone what she was thinking, she simply smiled and agreed.

“He can be a difficult patient to keep in bed too. He hates being there.”

“I know Adam can be difficult. I have heard stories about him and his temper. I have heard that he has a stubborn streak.”

“All those Cartwrights have that. I blame their father. I never knew a man as stubborn as Ben Cartwright, and then he raised three more like him, and none is more like him than Adam.”

“I have met him, Doctor. Adam has stopped in the store a few times, and we have had time to chat on occasion. I think I know a few things that will keep him busy enough that he won’t object too much to following your orders.”

“If you can make him do that, it would be a minor miracle.”

It seemed everyone thought she had worked that miracle. Instead, the miracle was chess and talking about books. She was good enough at chess to push him to his limits and beat him in one match. That loss made him want to play more not only to be competitive, but he also seemed to want to teach her even more about the game. When they weren’t in a chess match, they often talked about books and other things too. When Paul said it was all right for Adam to go home, she appreciated that he seemed slightly less than thrilled with the release from his confinement.

“Rachel, I shall miss you. On the ranch, there is no one to give me so many chances to play such quality chess and the bonus is that I get to discuss books at the same time. You are a diamond in our midst, Rachel Long.”

When he left with his brother, Hoss, he had to climb carefully into the carriage for the ride home. Turning back, Adam gave her a wave and a smile before settling onto the seat for the ride. Hoss had smiled at her and thanked her without realizing how much she cared for his brother. No one seemed to know. Well, perhaps one did. Adam’s brother, Joe, came up beside her to thank her.

“We appreciate all you did for my brother. I do think he’s going to miss you as much as you will probably miss him. I’ve never seen him accept ‘fussing’ like he did this time. You are the only difference I can see compared to all the other times.”

Then Joe swung up on his horse and followed the carriage out of town. It was the last close contact Rachel had with any of the Cartwrights for the next year. Adam saw her in the bookstore with the usual conversations they had whenever a new book arrived. There were times he saw her elsewhere such as at church, and he called her by name and smiled, but that was it. There was never a hint that there was anything more. Her heart ached for him.

There were other patients at Doctor Martin’s office who had the benefit of Rachel’s nursing, but none ever got the attention Adam had gotten. None ever demanded so much attention either, but Paul Martin had reason to think about that and drew the logical conclusion. From what he had seen, Rachel cared for Adam quite a bit, but it seemed that Adam did not return that affection. He never asked Paul about her or ever mentioned her in conversation. Paul felt sorry for the young lady who had set her sights on a man who was probably out of reach for her. There were times Paul offered some general advice to Rachel, but he wouldn’t presume to get too personal. Then Adam got involved with Laura, and Paul assumed Rachel would give up any hope of a relationship with him. When that ended so disastrously for Adam, Paul wondered if he would ever trust a woman again and assumed that Rachel no longer had any strong feelings for him. He was wrong.

One person who could see what Paul and others didn’t notice was Joe. He saw all the telltale signs. He added up all the available evidence and drew the logical conclusion. Nearly a year after Adam had been wounded by rustlers, as the Cartwrights walked into church one Sunday, Joe asked Adam why he didn’t pursue Rachel Long or at least see her socially.

“She seems interested in you. She takes every opportunity to greet you and ask about you. She couldn’t be more interested. Today out there, she looked at you until you were inside the church. If some lady showed that kind of interest in me, I would show some in her. After what’s happened, a nice woman like that might be just what you need.”

“Joe, she’s much too young for me. I think she’s younger than you.”

“I don’t think she’s that young. Besides, my mother was a lot younger than Pa.

What difference does age make? Julia was a lot older than me. It’s what is in the heart and in the mind that matter most, isn’t it?”

“I’m not in the mood to discuss philosophy. Let’s get into church before we get the eye from Pa.”

That conversation let Joe know that Adam did have some interest in Rachel. He had obviously thought about her to have an answer ready for Joe’s question. Joe guessed his brother wasn’t pursuing her because of some personal standards and probably because he was snakebit after Laura saw Will behind his back. Joe didn’t agree that Adam should dismiss Rachel’s interest so easily though and began to wonder how he could work around those rules Adam had made for himself. It took quite a while before an opportunity was presented to him that he could use. At least to Joe, it seemed like it was a long time. By serendipity, it happened at church only a month later.

Long after services had ended on a Sunday, Joe was still at church because the minister wanted him to help move some items. When he walked out, he was stopped by a few ladies who had just finished a planning meeting for the church picnic and social. The church needed money, and they had an idea about how to raise quite a lot of it. What they needed most was for Joe to get his brothers to help. After he listened to their idea and agreed with them, Joe knew he would have to talk with his brothers when he got home. He promised the ladies he would do his best to convince them. That conversation with Adam and Hoss went about as well as Joe expected, but he was highly motivated because he had an ulterior motive. Adam was adamant in his refusal.

“It’s always the same thing, Joe. No, I don’t want to do it.”

“But, Adam, I already told them you would.”

“You had no right to do that.”

“All the ladies were practically begging me to say you would. I couldn’t turn them down. Adam, you know how much they look forward to this every year. The kissing booths are a huge attraction and bring in more money than anything except the box lunches. You bring in more money than anyone else ever does with the booths. The ladies all say that you run a kissing booth better than any man they have ever known.”

“Of course, he does, Joe, but he is a mite slow. Last year, I had twice as many ladies going through my line in the first hour than he did.”

That got Adam’s attention and distracted him from Joe’s proposal.

“Hoss, what happened after the first hour?”

“Dadburnit, they all started lining up at your booth. Some even went to Joe’s line.”

At that point, Adam’s pride got in the way of his thinking.

“It’s because if they’re donating money, I want them to have a kiss that is appropriate to their donation.”

Joe saw his opening because he knew Adam was a sucker for facts and logic. A little appeal to pride wasn’t going to hurt either, and might even be more important. Their oldest brother was a proud man and perhaps a bit vain even if he would never admit that.

“That’s what the ladies at the meeting said. ‘It’s not a little peck on the lips with that man. Now that’s a man who knows how to kiss a lady.’ After that, I had to tell them I would do it. Who else could raise money for charity as well as you could.”

“Joe, you cannot manipulate me that easily.”

Ben decided that perhaps he had a solution to the impasse.

“Adam, maybe you could do it this year and tell them it is the last year you will be doing it. You can say you’re retiring, and this is it.”

“Hot diggity. Next year, I’m going to have a long line of ladies to kiss.”

“Don’t count on it.”

“Why, you ain’t gonna retire as Pa said?”

“No, I’m going to do as Pa suggests. There are other reasons.”

While Hoss frowned, Ben nodded and walked to the kitchen to get another cup of coffee. Joe slapped Adam on the shoulder, but Hoss sat a bit longer with a quizzical look. Then he understood the insinuation and took a pillow and threw it at Adam.

“Dadburnit, Adam, you always got to have a smart mouth on you.”

“Hey, I’m only suggesting that maybe this year you think about what Joe said the ladies expressed at the meeting.”

“Joe, what did you say they said?”

“I guess they’re not so crazy about a little peck on the lips when they’re donating money.”

“But it’s for the church.”

“Money is money, I guess. Wouldn’t hurt for us to try Adam’s way. I’m kinda looking forward to it.”

“Ah, Joe, don’t get too enthusiastic. Remember, these are ladies and not one of the gals you’re sparking out in the moonlight. Try to strike a balance.”

Because Adam was on his way out the door when he said that, Hoss turned to Joe for an explanation. Ben was coming back with a full cup of coffee though. Joe decided on a wise course of action for his own benefit before following Adam out the door.

“I’ll explain it later.”

Ben watched Hoss follow his brothers outside. He knew Joe had just dodged answering that question because he had come back into the room. It was probably best that he did. Sometimes with his youngest son, Ben knew it was better not to know.

 

Chapter 2

On Sunday, it was clear that Joe had done a good job of explaining things to Hoss and that Joe was doing a good job of restraining himself with the ladies too. There were no slaps to the face nor jealous husbands stalking toward Joe’s booth. All three brothers including Hoss had good lines throughout the assigned time. Only Adam still had ladies in line though as three o’clock approached which was the official ending of the kissing booths.

Hoss and Joe were already done and taking down their booths when the deadline struck. Adam announced he would have to close his booth down at that time and was sorry if any ladies in line were disappointed. Hoss and Joe offered to substitute, but all but one had been in line one or two times already. So the already kissed ladies smiled and agreed that it was all right.

However, there was one lady in line who was sorely disappointed. Rachel had hoped she could get to the booth before Adam closed it up for the day. She had been waiting for such a chance for almost a year. When he had been shot by rustlers, they had spent weeks together, but then he had left, and she yearned for so much more than the occasional conversation or smile. She had fallen in love during those weeks of caring for him, but it seemed to be only her.

When Rachel heard about the kissing booth, she had thought about it every day and dreamed about it at night. Then the minister’s wife asked for her help with the refreshments table. What could she say? It would hardly be acceptable to mention that she lusted after Adam Cartwright and wanted to be in line as often as possible at his kissing booth. Hearing Adam announce the kissing booth was closed, Rachel was more than disappointed. She felt devastated that she had missed the opportunity completely. There had been talk that this was the last time Adam would do anything like this. Recently, she had heard rumors that he might be leaving to pursue his dreams elsewhere. Her heart hurt to even think about that possibility.

After all his planning to get this done, Joe had a similar problem. He had convinced Adam to do this for Rachel to have the opportunity to finally kiss his older brother. He couldn’t go to the minister’s wife and admit that. There didn’t seem to be a way out of the dilemma especially as he had his kissing booth to keep him busy. All he could do was decide he had to have another plan to bring the two together.

Seeing how dejected Rachel looked standing there when Adam closed his booth, Joe knew he had been correct in his assumptions about her. If she didn’t leave, Adam was bound to notice. As he saw the drama playing out, he wisely decided the best avenue this time was to stay away. Weighing the pros and cons of interfering, the best bet was to let Rachel do her best so he steered Hoss away too. He didn’t want Hoss to walk over and get in the way. It was easy to get Hoss to do what he wanted by claiming he needed help carrying his kissing booth to storage.

When Adam pulled his booth down to take it back to storage, he couldn’t help but notice Rachel standing there looking sad. He liked her even if he had told Joe he would not pursue her romantically. Still, his heart wouldn’t let him ignore her when she looked to be in distress. Putting down the booth parts he held, he walked to her and touched her arm.

“What’s wrong, Rachel?”

She was so startled by his approach and the touch that it made her blurt out the truth.

“I was so disappointed not to get to your booth.”

At first, Adam didn’t know how to respond. Her words had surprised him, but he knew she meant them. Seeing the hurt in her expression, he had to make it go away. He quickly came up with a plan. It was impulsive but felt like the right thing to do.

“I’m sorry. I can’t open up the booth again without getting some other ladies upset with me. It’s mostly dismantled already anyway. Perhaps you could keep me company while I finish that job.”

Without hesitation, Rachel agreed. She felt that at least she would spend a little time with him. Rachel stood there while Adam finished dismantling the booth and stacked the pieces neatly. He asked what she had been doing that she had been so late to the booth. He had looked for her and been disappointed she had never been in line. When she told him the minister’s wife asked her to help with refreshments, it all made sense.

“She is a difficult woman to refuse, isn’t she?”

“She certainly is. It was for a good cause too.”

“Yes, I had the same problem with my brother, Joe, who pushed me to do this. He’s hard to refuse, and it was for a good cause.”

Then he reached down to pick up several of the parts to carry to storage. Putting them down, Adam peeled off his coat.

“You don’t suppose you have time to help me put things away, do you? You could carry my coat for me. Perhaps we might find a little quiet and private time, and I could give you that kiss so you wouldn’t be so sad.”

He watched as her whole demeanor changed. Taking his coat with a flourish, she tipped her head to him.

“Lead on, kind sir. I would be happy to assist you.”

Hoss was going to follow with the next load of booth parts, but Joe put a hand on his arm.

“Maybe we could do that later. Let’s go get some punch and refreshments first. I think older brother may have something in mind besides putting his booth back into the storage shed.”

“What? You mean with Rachel. Oh yeah, maybe he does. She’s the one he liked when she was his nurse, wasn’t she? He always likes them smart ones. I’m hungry anyway.”

At the storage shed, Adam put the pieces on the empty shelf where they belonged and stepped back outside where Rachel handed him his coat.

“It’s a little warm for this. I only wore it because of the booth and wanted to show respect for the ladies. Do you mind if I don’t wear it now?”

“No, I don’t mind at all.”

He had taken her hand as he spoke and when he leaned back against the storage shed, she had to let go or lean into him. She did not want to let go. When she leaned into him, he put his arm around her shoulders. Not even her daydreams had ever been this good. Pulling her close to his side, he softly told her his disappointment that she had been so late to his booth.

“I rather looked for you a few times. I had hoped you would be there.”

“You did?”

“Yes, I like you, and you’re very pretty too. I’ve enjoyed the few times I’ve been able to visit with you. None of those times have been opportunities to kiss you so I thought maybe today would be the day. I know I haven’t ever expressed any of this to you before, but I have been reevaluating things in my life, decisions I have made, and you came up in my thoughts rather often especially recently.”

“I can’t believe you said that about me. I’m so plain. No one has ever called me pretty.”

“I did. You have a smile that can light up a room. You have eyes that shine with your intelligence. You have innocence and goodness that shows. You are beautiful.”

If her time with him in Doctor Martin’s office had been a miracle, she felt that this was magical. His words to her were transforming her. She felt like a princess with his arm around her and his soft voice telling her such wonderful things.

“Would you walk with me to my carriage? I’ll put my coat in there, and then I think I promised you something.”

Standing up straight and putting out his hand, Adam took Rachel’s hand in his as they walked. When they reached his carriage, he threw his coat on the seat as he turned to Rachel and wrapped an arm around her waist. Cocking his head to the side, he looked down.

“Are you ready?”

She couldn’t speak with that muscular arm around her, but she smiled. With his other hand, Adam caressed her cheek and tipped her head up to look at him. Leaning down, he kissed her lips gently and then brushed his lips across her cheeks before coming back to kiss her lips again. She leaned into him as he did so making him want to do more. She didn’t pull away so he pressed his lips against hers and allowed more passion to show as his hand held her cheek gently and his arm pulled her in closer. She pressed against him and returned the passion of his kiss as he moved his hands to slide down her back. Boldly, she wrapped her arms around him and felt his warmth reveling in the sensation of the physical closeness she had so yearned to have. Suddenly, he pulled his hands back up and broke the kiss leaning away from her slightly.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing is wrong. Everything is so right, but I was going to do something more than I should. Maybe I already have.”

“Oh, no, I wanted you to do what you did. It was wonderful to kiss you and have you be so close to me and hold me.”

“I think we were holding each other. If you don’t object, then perhaps you might be willing to have dinner with me this evening?”

“Yes, I would be happy to have dinner with you this evening.”

“You didn’t even complain about the short notice of my invitation.”

“No, I don’t mind at all.”

“Let me go find my family to tell them I won’t be going home with them after all. Will you walk with me?”

They walked hand-in-hand back to the picnic area to find that people already knew all about the kissing. Some had been bringing things back to their carriages and had seen the couple because now they were a couple. No two could kiss like that and claim they were only friends. The news had spread quickly. Like others, Hoss and Joe were grinning as the two returned, but Adam didn’t mind much under the circumstances. He told his father his plans.

“I want to take Rachel on a carriage ride and then to dinner. I won’t be going home with all of you this evening. I’ll be home late.”

Again, he got a grin.

“Everyone seems so happy about this.”

“Son, that is because everyone is happy about this.”

“No one is happier than I am.” Turning to Rachel, Adam held out his arm for her. “Let’s get back to the carriage before my brothers return to normal and start saying things.”

They didn’t make it to the carriage for their getaway before hearing Joe start singing with Hoss joining in.

“Adam and Rachel, sitting in a tree

K I S S I N G

First comes love

And then comes marriage

Then comes baby

In the baby carriage.”

With a deep sigh, Adam apologized.

“I am so sorry, but if you’re going to spend time with me, you’re stuck with my brothers acting like that. I’ve never been able to stop them.”

“Could you shoot them?”

Looking at her and seeing the cheeky grin, Adam started laughing. He choked out one question.

“Where should I shoot them?”

“Does it matter? In town, on the ranch, or here would all work out about the same.”

Adam laughed harder.

“Oh, unless you meant where to shoot them so they wouldn’t be able to tease you. Well, that would be difficult without risking them dying. I suppose your father would miss them.”

Soon they were both laughing so hard they had to hang onto each other. Hoss and Joe saw it and were slightly irritated.

“Joe, why is it I think he found somebody who is gonna laugh at us just the way he does? You know, like they got secret jokes and we ain’t going to always understand what they’re laughing at?”

“Dang, I know what you mean. I kind of wish now I hadn’t helped him out like this. Why does he like the smart ones so much?”

“I don’t know, but it is funny how things worked out today to get them together. Wait a minute, you didn’t plan this, did you? You just said you helped him out. What did you do, Joe? If this was some scheme of yours, you know when he finds out, he’s going to be mad.”

Knowing how upset Adam might be if he ever knew he had been manipulated, Joe was wise again. He surprised himself by doing that twice in one day.

“No, it wasn’t any scheme of mine. I wish it was. It sure worked out well. I only meant that I helped him out when I got you to go to the refreshment table when I thought he might have a kiss in mind for Rachel. It was a lucky guess. That’s all.”

“Oh yeah, that was a good move. He won’t be upset about that at all. He’ll probably even thank you for it.”

It was a happy home on the Ponderosa that evening. Joe was wise once more setting a record for him. He never told anyone how he had set things up so that Adam and Rachel could have their first kiss. At first, it was because he was afraid of what Adam might do to him. Later, he wanted to say it wouldn’t matter, but really, he was still worried about what Adam might do to him. He stayed wise on this issue until forever. But every time he saw them kiss which wasn’t that often, he knew he was the one who had brought them together. He had helped create the magic, and the dark knight and the princess kissed. He was sure they kissed quite a bit more, but Adam was too private a man to do that in public much so they had to assume he kissed her. Rachel smiled a lot though when she was with him, and smiled even more when other ladies asked at church picnics and socials if Adam kissed well.

“Much better than the kissing booth, ladies. Much better.”

Rachel wouldn’t say anything more than that because she knew Adam very well. He would take her hand with that gentle smile of his, and they would walk away hand in hand. The other ladies sighed sadly because he had retired from his kissing booth. Only Rachel got his kisses now, and that ring on her finger said it would be always and forever.

 

 

Tags:  Adam Cartwright, Joe / Little Joe Cartwright,