Summary:  Adam and Adreille’s relationship had an odd start.  “But why?” they thought.

Rated: T

Word Count: 7641

 

Prologue

Hustle and bustling at the Ponderosa, a late start this day: Hoss making a pile of hotcakes to take on the trip, Adam swallowing a quick coffee, and Little Joe coming down the stairs, sleep still in his eyes. “Hurry up, we’re going to be late!” Ben hollers.

Virginia City was in a hub of activity. Six wagons will be arriving with medical supplies to help build the new clinic; this will be followed by a rodeo and dance. All the sponsors were there waiting to greet the medical teams. Roy Coffee, looking at his watch, “Where are Ben and the boys?” Doc Martin, fussing with his tie, mumbled. The Cartwrights came racing in, dismounted, and walked over to them. “A late start, but at least we made it,” said Ben, shaking Roy’s and Doc’s hands and acknowledging with a nod to the Barclays and Nelsons.

Just then, the lookout horse and rider came racing around the corner, “They’re here, just beyond the ridge.” A few minutes later, six covered wagons—especially designed for the trip—came into view and proceeded to head down the main street. They were greeted with cheers from the crowd.

All medical personnel were mounted, so I can say with relief it was nice to feel the ground beneath my feet. My name is Adrielle O’Connor. I am a fourth-year medical student, and I and three other med students are in charge of ten nurses and the training program that is to be set up. Well, at least we think that we’re in charge. Sister Mary Margaret had other ideas. I’m not her favourite person since she always catches me rolling my eyes.

We were introduced to everyone; there was lots of handshaking and hugs. “This is Ben Cartwright and his sons Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe,” Doc Martin mentioned to me. I said, “Hello, nice to meet you, and thank you for such a great welcome.” Adam: “You have an accent.” I looked at him and responded, “So do you.” Hearing a smothered laugh, I looked over at Little Joe standing there covering his mouth. Adam stood back, folded his arms, and stared at me. I did the same: folded my arms and stared right back at him. The staring match began. I felt myself losing, but I was determined to hold my own. Joe was standing there watching this play out.

“Adrielle! Come here. We need to get started.” This was one time I could kiss Sister Mary Margaret. Oh, thank God, I thought. No rolling eyes this time. Walking away, I was resisting to turn around. Well, I did. He was watching. And as he turned to follow Roy Coffee, he tipped his wing and moved on. What just happened? I thought to myself, well, that didn’t turn out well.

It had been about two weeks since I had met Adam Cartwright. The new clinic was up in no time. Training the nurse’s aides was intense, so I had no time to think about our very odd meeting. Today, I had a queer feeling that he was around, but I would look over my shoulder. Nothing. Sister Mary Margaret: “You look tired. Go get some rest.” She then chased after some cowboys, who were distracting two of our prettiest nurses.

In a deep sleep, I was walking towards a lake, then slowly into it. I was up to my chest when the darkness turned into Adam’s eyes. Suddenly, the water was covering my head, and I couldn’t breathe. I started to panic—only to wake with a thud when I hit the floor. A nightmare? Or what was it?

Looking at the clock, I thought, geez Louise, it was only four in the afternoon! Sighing, I got dressed and decided to get some fresh air and come to grips with my dream.

There was a flurry of activity at Doc’s. The Cartwrights and the Barclay’s horses were outside. “Oh, this doesn’t look good,” I muttered. I rushed over to help while I could hear three of the other medical team behind me. Adam was next to Little Joe, who looked like he’d been shot in the arm as well as two others.

Doc Martin looked up, “Grab one and help me!” I turned to the nearest one, who happened to be Little Joe.

“Okay, let’s see what we have here.”

“It’s not that bad,” he winced.

“Let me be the judge of that,” I responded, feeling Adam’s eyes on me. “Help me get his shirt off while I get the supplies.”

I had to take charge of the moment. While he was undressing Little Joe, I got the syringe ready.

“What are you going to do with that?” Joe asked.

“I’m going to give you an injection, which will numb your arm and help me take out the bullet. It is a new procedure. You’ll be right as rain.”

Little Joe didn’t seem to be convinced and neither did Adam—both looked green around the gills. Haha, tough guys, I thought to myself.

With little commotion, the bullet was out, and I was ready to stitch him up. Adam: “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” I responded, and we locked eyes.

“Hello! Bleeding to death here!” yelled Little Joe.

I looked over at Little Joe with annoyance, “Really?”

Adam tapped him behind his head and got up and left.

It was a couple of hours before everything settled down. Roy Coffee and his deputy were taking statements. I was putting stuff away when I felt the hairs on my arm stand up. Adam was standing next to me, his arms brushing against mine. “Dinner? I know you’re hungry. Your stomach gurgled while you were taking care of Little Joe.”

I looked at him. “I didn’t notice I was hungry until you mentioned it. Yes, that would be nice. I just need to finish here, in about ten minutes?”

Adam: “I’ll be outside.”

Not a smile. Well, if he won’t smile, I won’t smile. As I closed the door behind me, he walked up and offered his arm. And off we went to dinner.

Dinner actually turned out to be much better than I expected. Adam, toying with his sherry glass, looked over at me. “There is something about you.”

I stopped with my glass halfway to my mouth, “Well, there’s something about you also.” That was random, I thought.

Adam paid for the meal and escorted me back to the hotel. We said goodnight, and as he walked away, I felt sort of sad. I was hoping for at least a kiss on the cheek. I guess I’m not his type.

Meanwhile, Sister Mary Margaret was on a rampage down the hall and a floor below. Praise be she wasn’t on my floor; this woman could hear a gnat sneeze all the way from Paris, France and still tell it to shut up! I felt sorry for those aides, but better them than me—don’t get me wrong, I feel their pain! Smiling, I went to my room. Leaning against the closed door, there was a “ting”…or was there? Ting Ting! It came from my window. I went over and opened it. Adam: “Can you come down?

“What? Now?”

“Yes, Now.”

“Okay, coming!” What on earth, I thought.

I walked out and uttered to myself, “Where is he?”

“Psst! Over here!”

Walking to the end of the hotel and looking around the corner, I was suddenly grabbed, and strong arms enfolded me. Before I could utter a sound, Adam’s mouth was on mine. It wasn’t a very gentle kiss, his whole mouth covered mine roughly. It took me a few seconds, but I responded in kind. “I need oxygen!” and pushed him away. He laughed.

“Oh, it can laugh!” I chuckled.

He reached me and pulled me to him, giving me a kiss on the cheek. “We should go in before I lose control.”

“There will be no loss of control here, young man!” shouted Sister Mary Margaret. Didn’t I say that she had an uncanny sense of hearing?

Adam led me back under the watchful eye of Sister, both of us trying not to laugh. “Doesn’t she know how old I am?” Adam said.

“Doesn’t make a difference. You could be eighty-seven and still get it.”

“Well, goodnight.” As he leaves, he tips his hat at Sister Mary, who, yes, actually giggled. I can’t remember if I walked or floated upstairs.

A few days later, it was time for us to leave and head back to our homes. All the goodbyes were said, and townspeople were handing us gifts and baskets of food and drink for the journey. The ranchers and cowboys escorted us part-way.

I hadn’t seen Adam after that night, so I didn’t look for him. I felt sick. Sister Mary Margaret came up to me, putting her hand on my leg “You make a good medical professor and doctor. We didn’t see eye-to-eye all the time—excuse me if I overstep my boundaries, but there is something that I can’t quite put my finger on. You and Adam seem like an old couple. Not old in age but in spirit, like old souls.”

Riding along with our group, a lone rider on top of a ridge came riding down on quite a head-tosser of a horse. The rider was wearing a black hat and a mustard-coloured jacket. It was Adam. My heart rejoiced! He pulled up, and he smiled and winked. I barely managed to stay on.

“How far are you coming?” I asked.

“How far would you like me to come?” he smoldered.

“Right up to my doorstep,” I said, knowing full well that wouldn’t happen.

“I wish I could,” Adam responded, reaching out and taking my hand.

“You have an open invitation anytime.” I smiled, and he smiled back.

Silently riding side-by-side and looking over at Adam, I saw that he was studying me.

**********

Chapter 2

Adam: “Want to go for a ride? You’ve been studying a while. It’s time for a break.”

“No need to ask me twice.” Dropping the book and following him out the door. Sport was saddled along with another horse. “What happened to my saddle?”

“Learn to ride Western. This is a good of a time as any!” Adam declared.

“So you’re teaching me to ride or break my arm?” I laughed while mounting up.

“Where did you hear that?” he asked.

“Little Joe came in an hour ago announcing that you were going to teach me to ride Western, and then Hoss perked up along with Hop Sing and said that your student broke her arm.”

“No respect from this family,” Adam muttered.

The panoramic view of the Ponderosa was astounding! Sitting there in silence and taking it all in, Adam said, “Beautiful view, isn’t it?”

I nodded in agreement, and he moved Sport closer to me, our legs touching. Adam reached over and took my chin into his hand. “Do you have feelings for me?” he asked, his face close to mine.

“Yes. I do very much,” I responded, hoping that he wouldn’t notice my trembling.

He brushed his lips against my cheek all the way to my ear whispering, “Enough to make love with me?”

Oh my goodness, I thought. Hopefully my “yes” sounded like a “yes”. Suddenly, a passionate kiss ensued until the horses started to fuss.

“Race you back! I’ll give you a head start,” said Adam.

“Boy, I don’t need a head start. Eat my dust!”

Ben and Hoss were in town for a meeting, and Little Joe was preparing himself for a date. “How do I look?” asked Little Joe.

“Dashing. Are you planning to knock her out? Did you bathe in that lotion?” I joked.

Little Joe just smiled and tipped his hat and was gone.

Hop Sing: “No. 3 son on date.” And he started opening windows.

Sitting in front of the fireplace, I was wondering where Adam was. But just then, Adam opened the door, wrinkled his nose, and beckoned me. Stretching and following him out the door I asked, “Oh, another ride?”

“Ssh! Just mount up,” he hushed me.

Not a sound could be heard on the ride. We came up to a line shack. “A line shack?” I asked, “Aren’t they used for weary trappers, ranch hands, and open to all?”

“Yup,” he confirmed, “not this one. I use this to read and to play music.” He paused and looked at me. “…No, it’s not a love nest,” helping me dismount, he continued, “but now it is.”

“Oh, I am in for a surprise,” I said.

Entering the shack, the fireplace was roaring. On the table were two bottles of wine: one red and one white as well as a tray of fruit, vegetables, and sandwiches. I looked over at him, pointed to the tray, and Adam responded bashfully, “Hop Sing, he saw me trying to put a tray together.”

“Oh,” I responded, and I continued to look around the shack. The atmosphere was warm and inviting. Catching the corner of my eye was the bed which had fresh sheets and extra pillows. The sheets were turned down.

I was nervous and excited at the same time. We had come very very close at times, but now it seemed to be actually happening. On hearing the door lock, I grabbed a glass of wine, pretending to be calm. Adam came over, and his jacket was off. He placed his gun belt and hat on the table. Nobody wears a gun belt like him…—okay, concentrate! I thought to myself before he reached over and took my wine glass away.

“You’re drinking the wrong wine. Mine is red, and yours is white,” he said.

I wanted to have a comeback, but my brain had stopped working. Adam pulled me closer, looking into my eyes, smiling, and pressing his lips against mine. I placed my hands on his shoulders, feeling the muscles under his shirt, and he pulled me in closer, his hands on my back. Opening my mouth with his tongue, we had a long, passionate French kiss. For a second, he removed from my back, unbuttoned his shirt, and then mine—all the while kissing my neck which drove me wild! He undid the snaps of my skirt, which I stepped out of, and I then noticed that he was barefooted. When did that happen? I wondered. Taking my hand, Adam led me to the freshly sheeted bed, where we made love. It was mind-blowing.

I woke up with Adam leaning over me and kissing my shoulder. “We need to get up,” he said.

“Oh I know…don’t want to…can’t we just stay here?” I whined.

“When we’re married,” he responded before I rolled over and looked at him. Pinching my nose, he continued, “I hoped and assumed you’d marry me.”

“You hoped and assumed right.”

We made it back just before the rest of the gang got home. Sitting in front of the fireplace, holding glasses of wine, Adam’s arm was draped over my shoulder. Ben came over and got himself a sherry. “Why are meeting’s so long? I’m tired,” he groaned, looking over at us.

“Meet your future daughter-in-law,” Adam said.

**********

Chapter 3

Sitting in the tearoom, I was staring out the window watching the people while Adam was reading a newspaper, one of the three he had bought. “Nothing much in real estate,” he said.

Turning and looking at the frown on my husband’s face, I reached over and squeezed his arm. “Finish your coffee, and let’s go back home,” I responded. As an intern, we’re living at the married student housing, which Adam was not overly fond of, but it was great when he visited from Ponderosa. And even greater when I visited him.

We left and stepped into the bright daylight. Adam folded his newspaper and offered me his arm before we strolled down the street window-shopping. When we came to an alleyway, looking inside, I said, “Oh that looks interesting!” “𝔜𝔢 𝔒𝔩𝔡𝔢 ℭ𝔲𝔯𝔦𝔬 𝔖𝔥𝔬𝔭𝔭𝔢” the sign said.

“Want to go and look?” Adam asked, “We might find some interesting items as a book or two.”

As we entered, the door chimed, sounding like a clock instead of the normal wind chimes. Adam, of course, had to go investigate. “Adam, leave it alone,” I said.

“Hello! How may I help you?” a voice called out.

It took a while for our eyes to adjust to the dimness. A giant of a man came out from behind the counter and walked towards us. I was amazed at how nimble he was around all the crowded items, unlike my Adam, who, at the moment, was like a bull in a china shop as he was trying to catch a vase.

“Place your newspaper here and look around,” the giant said, going back to the counter. Reaching under, he pulled out a ring tray. Adam and I went over to look at what he was showing us, and he caught me staring at him. The giant looked up. I was greeted with the oddest blue eyes: no irises, the whole pupils were blue. He smiled and turned back to Adam before beckoning to me, “Come and look.” So I did.

Adam and I saw beautiful rings! The ones that caught our eyes were the rings that were shaped with two “A”s and one “C”: our initials. Adam picked the bigger one up, it was the perfect fit. He then placed the smaller one on my finger. They fitted like they were made for us. How strange, I thought.

“We’ll take them,” Adam said, “how much?”

“Five hundred pounds for both,” the man responded.

Adam looked up with a raised eyebrow, “Five hundred pounds? Do you mean dollars?” he questioned.

“Yes, my mistake. I’ll take a draft if you don’t have cash.”

Adam looked at me. We had the cash, so I nodded. Then, smiling, we left the shop with our new rings. Adam’s had three diamonds and an emerald—a symbol of rebirth, his birthstone. Mine had four diamonds as they are a symbol of clarity and strength, my birthstone.

“What luck! We’ll get them cleaned and appraised,” Adam declared.

We turned the corner, and the giant called out, “Mr. Cartwright! You forgot your newspapers.”

Adam turned and retrieved his papers as I tripped over a step looking at my ring. Adam laughed, and I responded with sarcasm, “You’re funny. Let’s get dinner.”

Adam looked up from his chair before he asked, “Did you get me an extra newspaper?”

No, why?”

“I only had three. Now there’s four,” he said, “but it’s missing pages.”

“Does it have cartoons?”

“Woman!” he exclaimed, and I smiled. There are times when I loved to exasperate him. “Actually,” he continued, “only the real estate part.” He held up the paper, and there was a picture of a Tudor-style house for sale located six hours from here and six hours from the Ponderosa. “Perfect! Right in the middle!” Adam declared, “Let’s go down to the office tomorrow.”

“I’d also like to return to the shop. I saw a dollhouse—I totally forgot about it with the rings,” I trailed off before continuing, “Adam?”

“Yes, darling?”

“Did you give the Curio Shopkeeper our last name?”

Adam looked up and responded, “No. I thought you might have.”

I shook my head, and he tilted his head in a thoughtful manner before I said, “Let’s finish our breakfast. What do you want to do first?”

“Let’s drop the rings to be cleaned, go to the Curio Shoppe, and then to the real estate office that’s listed here,” he responded, tapping the paper.

“Yes, boss,” I chuckled, playfully bowing.

Adam laughed, “You’re learning fast, but not fast enough.”

“You’re a brat,” I remarked.

At the jewelry store, we were told the rings would be ready in the afternoon—great timing! “Do you remember where the Curio was?” I asked.

“Well, when we left the tea house on Jim’s Street, we turned right and walked almost to the end of the block,” he responded before him and I headed in that direction and found the alleyway. As we entered, we found the shop but no sign. As Adam looked through the dirty windows, I tried the door, and it opened. We went inside: dark, cobwebs, layers of dust that you could write your name in. Adam and I looked at each other exclaiming, “Wow!” This is the right place; I can see the imprint of the ring box, I thought. We stood there for a few minutes and left, closing the door softly behind us, and walking slowly hand-in-hand, we went to Murdoch’s to pick up the rings.

“Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright! I’m Mr. Murdoch. I took the liberty to value your rings, and I suggest you get them insured,” he said.

Adam raised an eyebrow, asking, “How much?”

Mr. Murdoch looked at Adam, responding, “How much did you pay?”

“We got them from a Curio Shoppe.”

“What Curio Shoppe? 𝔜𝔢 𝔒𝔩𝔡𝔢 ℭ𝔲𝔯𝔦𝔬 𝔖𝔥𝔬𝔭𝔭𝔢? The owner died fifty years ago. The shop has been vacant since,” he said, looking at us strangely. He then smiled and continued, “Never mind what you paid. Here’s the evaluation papers.” He handed me the papers, shook Adam’s hand and left with his cane. He was close to ninety-seven years.

As we walked out, Adam said, “We’ll deal with it later; we need to get to the real estate office. Do you want to walk or take a cab? There’s a horse and cab ready over there.”

“No,” I responded, “let’s walk.”

The agent must have been waiting for us, for we were greeted with smiles and handshakes before saying, “We can go tomorrow. It’s a fair way from here.”

“That would be fine,” said Adam.

“Shall we say five in the morning?” the agent asked, looking at me.

Why look at me? I thought. “That is fine by me,” I said, frowning at him.

“I’ll bring a cab around the student residence,” said the agent, and with that, Adam and I took a cab home.

“Could this day be even more strange?” I said.

“Wait until tomorrow. Let’s see what that brings us,” Adam responded, kissing the top of my head.

“It was just like a magic trick, the way the shop disappeared.”

“More magical moments are probably going to happen, like the one that is going to happen now,” Adam said, grabbing me to him and then locking the doors. As I watched him take his shirt off coming towards me, I read the evaluation sheet.

“Our rings are worth close to one hundred fifty thousand dollars,” I said.

Adam stopped dead in his tracks. “What?!” he exclaimed.

**********

Chapter 4

Spot on, five in the morning, the agent was at the door. “Good morning, I brought breakfast and lunch and made reservations for dinner afterwards,” he greeted.

Adam whispered in my ear, “He’s looking for a sale.”

I slept most of the way when I suddenly woke up, like someone was touching my cheek and was whispering to me “wake up”. I looked over, thinking it was Adam, but he was deep in conversation with Mark, the agent. “Hey sleepyhead, we are five minutes away,” said Adam.

I smiled and responded back, “I’m feeling oddly strange of how I woke up.” It took me a minute to get my bearings. Taking a swig of coffee to perk me up and rubbing the back of my neck, I looked up to see two enormous horses made of wrought iron as the gates to the property. The path to the house wasn’t as long as you expected it, but there were a number of overgrown trees hiding the house. Then, it was there. Adam and I gazed at it. This was our house—love at first sight! Adam was in a totally different world; he was moving around in almost a sleep-like state. The architectural work was fabulous! Adam, being an architect, was in seventh heaven. One word came out of his mouth: “Sold”.

I nodded in agreement, looking at Adam. “Yes.”

“The house has some furniture, clocks, musical instruments, etc. It hasn’t been occupied since 1746,90 years ago. It all comes with the sale. You just have to pay the back taxes, and it’s yours,” the agent declared.

Adam looked at Mark, asking, “What? How much?” Both of us waited for the hammer to drop.

“I have it here: fifteen hundred,” Mark answered. You could hear the wind rustling through the trees. Mark repeated himself, “One thousand five hundred and zero cents.”

On the journey back, Adam was asleep this time, but I had thoughts of renovations racing through my head. At dinner, we signed the papers, and it was ours. Mark asked if we were going to rename the property, and Adam hadn’t thought about that, turning to me and asking, “What do you think, Addy?”

“I hadn’t given it a second thought, either. It’s been such a whirlwind of a week,” I responded.

**********

Chapter 5

Pulling the wagon up to the step, I watch Adam dismount and come towards me frowning. “You were travelling quite fast,” he said.

I rolled my eyes. “I wanted to get here and get started,” I retorted, sticking my tongue out.

He stood there with his hands on his hips, his gun belt sitting nicely. Concentrate! We have a lot to do in a month, I mentally reprimanded myself.

Adam took the horses while I went inside. It strangely felt like home.

We decided to spend the week with Hoss, Little Joe, and Candy coming in a day or two to help. “We can put the boys in the living room, and we can stay in the library. I brought mattresses that they can use for beds,” I said.

“They’re bringing their bed rolls,” Adam responded.

“I think they’d might like to sleep on something other than the floor, Adam.”

“Upstairs or downstairs?”

“Upstairs,” I answered.

As Adam and I stood in the large hallway, he looked over my shoulder, saying, “We can put one of the floor clocks in that corner.” He walked off to one of the rooms as I went to the corner, and standing there, I didn’t see anything at first. Running my hands across the wall, it was smooth. As I walked away, my hand brushed against what felt like a knob, and then looking closer, it was a knob. How did I not feel that at first? I thought. Turning it, the door opened to the stairs going up to the attic.

I call to Adam, “Come take a look at this!”

He saunters over, looks up the stairs and at the door. “Don’t go up until I get back,” he says. After a while, he returned with a large brick to block the door open.

“Adam,” I said, “I’ll go up first just in case any stairs are rotten.”

“What if you fall through? You’re the doctor,” he responds back, looking at me.

“There has not yet been a piece of rotten wood, considering how old this house is.”

“True…but I’m still going first,” he declared.

That’s okay, I have a nice view… My mind wandered off before I realized, —Addy! House! House! Think “House”!

The room was huge! The window was at least six to eight feet in height, providing plenty of light. Adam was at the window. “I can see the backyard. There’s something behind the willow trees,” he noted.

I glanced up at the ceiling, pointing to a trap door, and Adam looked around and found a ladder. Pushing it open, we climbed up. Standing on the roof, the view took in the whole property. “Look! There’s the pond I fell in,” I said, pointing to the east side.

No comment. I glanced to see where he was looking. “Looks like another small garden hidden behind those trees. Let’s check it out tomorrow or later tonight,” Adam mentioned.

“What if vampires live there?”

“Enough with the vampires.”

Returning to the room, I moseyed over to a corner. Another door…why am I not surprised? I thought. I came to the conclusion that the doors that were made to be seen were seen while others were almost invisible. This is a walk-in closet!

In I went and down I went. “ADAM!” I shouted as I was falling. I tried gripping the walls to break my fall, and my feet landed firmly on something. “Honey! Honey!” I called out, “I’m okay! I landed on a box…or something.”

“Don’t move! I’ll get a lantern and a rope,” Adam shouted back.

Looking down at my feet, I was standing on a sea trunk. I could make out shapes of objects from the light from the door. Squinting my eyes I thought, Wait—wait a second…what is that?

“Here, I’m sending down a lantern,” Adam called. As the lantern came down, I could see what it was: a library sliding ladder.

I told Adam, “There are ladders everywhere in this house!” Jumping off the trunk, I moved the ladder over to him, who came down quite quickly. “I am fine,” I said, “but look at all of this stuff! There are at least eight trunks in this secret room.”

Reaching down, I took the smallest chest from Adam as he climbed out. We blocked the door open with the ladder, so it wouldn’t close. Sitting on the floor, I said, “Let’s see what we got here…it has a leather covering of some sort. Should be easy to remove as the leather could be brittle.” I tried to open it. “No, I guess not.” Eventually, however, we opened it: inside were several velvet purses.

We looked at each other, exclaiming, “Money?!” Each purse was filled with different nominations of British and European currency and coins.

“Each of these bundles of bills are a thousand each,” Adam observed, “…wonder if they’re counterfeit.”

“No, I don’t think so,” I said, holding up a very rare tuppence, called a “new pence”. It had Queen Elizabeth I on it.

“I figure a few thousand is here,” Adam said, “I will take it back to the Ponderosa as we don’t have a safe and ask Pa about it.”

“Yes, we do.”

“Do what?”

“Have a safe. It’s behind that huge desk in the library. It was hidden behind a curtain.”

“You have a magical talent of finding things,” he chuckled, “but this is safer at the Ponderosa for now.”

**********

Chapter 6

Finishing our evening meal of cold chicken, potato salad, and wine in front of the fireplace, Adam pats the mattress. I look at him and say, “We have an hour or so of daylight. Let’s see what’s behind those trees if we can.” I hand him a lamp. “Let’s go.” Adam had a machete with him and began removing some of the hanging branches; he stopped suddenly and jumped back. “What?” I question, coming up to his side. There at the entrance, two huge hornet’s nests, at least six to seven feet long as wide, were hanging from the trees. We backed up a respectable distance.

“No one is home,” I said.

“What?” Adam questioned.

“There are no residents,” I continued as I moved closer.

“Be careful,” said my new shadow.

He threw a stone. A genetic link in all males to throw something, I thought to myself. I turned and ordered to him, “Just stay there.”

“I don’t want you to die!”

“Adam. Stop. Stop now,” I demanded, holding my hand up. “If I turn and run, start running. Don’t hesitate. Move like you’ve never moved before. Got it?” Adam gave a big nod of the head. I was directly under both nests; they were petrified with age. They were massive—four grown men of Hoss’s size could fit in. “We need to remove these before we can get into the secret garden,” I said, pointing to the hornet’s nests, “look how well it’s hidden with the perfect guards. Would you come near it if you saw those?”

“I see your point. We’ll get Hoss and Joe to remove them later when they get here.” Suddenly, Adam looked at me, his eyes became dark. “It is getting dark…vampires may come and get you,” he spooked, and I screamed, laughing as we ran back to the house. “Gee, you run fast,” he panted.

“What? You expect me to slow down? Nice try!” I tripped him up, chuckling, “last one in is a rotten egg!”

“Next time, I’ll turn into a bat. Let’s see how fast you can run then!” he teased. With that, the evening ended nicely.

**********

Chapter 7

“So, I was thinking—I have extra time—that I can come down and work on the house,” I suggest.

“Alone?” Adam questions, “Stay here alone?!”

“Why not? I feel comfort—”

“No, no, and no! Look what happened to you in the attic, the closet, and the pond! Can’t wait ‘till we go into the cellar. What are you going to find there?” Adam was on a roll, gesturing with his hands. He was expecting no answer, but I had one for him.

“If the floor has soil, I won’t go in. Vampires bring soil from their own country,” I say, and with this, I turn to run but not fast enough.

“Hello…hello? Anyone home?” a strange voice called in. The door opened, and in stepped a couple. “Sorry to interrupt. My name is Daniel and this is Diane. We were sent by Mr. Murdoch and Mark, the real estate agent. They said that you may be needing a gardener and a housekeeper. We have letters of introduction.” Daniel turned and looked at me—those eyes…those strange, blue eyes.

“Come in,” Adam responded, “let’s discuss the situation.” After a short conversation, they were hired, which meant I could stay nights!

“Hey Adam and Addy! Anyone home?” Hoss yelled with Little Joe and Candy in tow. Hoss and Little Joe were ready to take down the huge hornet’s nests. Adam and Candy were upstairs while I was downstairs in the dining room when terrible yells were heard. Hoss and Little Joe were running as fast as they can as if all of Hades was after them! “Adam!” Hoss bellowed, “I thought you said the nests were empty!”

The three of us rushed out, looking over at the trees. “What hornets?” I asked.

“Hornets as big as birds!” Little Joe exclaimed.

“Let’s go and see,” Adam said. As the five of us approached, we stood at a fair distance: not a movement. Hoss stepped closer, and a few flew out. He stepped back—they were gone! I stepped forward with Hoss, and only one flew out. He moved back again. I looked at the nest. Empty. Adam came up. Empty. We retreated, and it was Candy’s turn. As he approached, out they came!

As we returned to the house, I noticed how Daniel had been watching us. Saying nothing to the guys, I went upstairs to look out the attic window. I saw Daniel approach the hornet’s nests. He was carrying what looked like a shepherd’s hook and blankets. I could feel the hair on my arms and neck tingle—Adam was behind me. Both of us watched as he took down the nests without a hornet in sight, laid them on the ground, and covered them with blankets which he then set on fire. As Adam and I watched, he slowly turned and looked directly at us. We didn’t have time to step back, but then again, we didn’t want to. 

**********

Chapter 8

The weather had been quite hot and humid; trying to keep cool outside was next to impossible! In the last few days, the men had been working bare-chested, except for Daniel, who wore his heavy woolen coat. His long sleeves weren’t rolled up, and he was buttoned-up from the knees to the neck. While the others were glistening with sweat, not a bead was seen on him.

Adam came in and started, “We’re going to cut the trees. It will take us an hour; then we can see the secret garden.”

Just then, Daniel came in and said, “I left my cup and plate in the woodcutter’s shed.”

“I can go and get them,” I said. Something was different about Daniel, and I couldn’t place my finger on it.

I went into the shed, picked up the dishes, and backed into the hooks on the wall, knocking down a huge coat. That was it! He wasn’t wearing his coat! I thought. Picking it up, it was heavy—something dropped out. Reaching down, it looked like a newspaper clipping. I picked it up; it was wrapped around something, tied together with yarn. I knew I should place it back, but I didn’t know what pocket it fell out. Standing there with it in my hand, I tried to read the print. The yarn had come untied, and it opened to reveal a locket. Putting the dishes down, there were engravings on the locket: two “A”s and one “C”. Opening it, there were two locks of hair: one black and one reddish blonde. I closed the locket and placed it back into the newspaper clipping. Daniel came in, and I looked at him saying, “I knocked your coat down, and this fell out. Sorry.” I handed back to him the strange item, grabbed the dishes, and hurried out. I could feel his eyes on me.

I told Adam about what had happened. “Did you see what the clipping was about?” he asked.

“No,” I said.

Adam rubbed his chin in deep thought, and Little Joe popped in, grabbing a sandwich. “We’re ready to go in the garden. There is a gate—are you guys okay?” he asked.

“We’re fine. Let’s go see our garden,” Adam answered.

The gate was easy enough to open as we stepped in to be greeted by overgrowing roses and lilac bushes. What took us by surprise was a giant statue of two angels: the wings of the bigger one holding the smaller one. Candy walked around and noted, “It’s a headstone. There’s a grave here.”

Hoss questioned, “Shouldn’t they be facing the grave?” The rest of us stepped around and looked: there was no headstone with names on it—or unless the names were on the angels.

Little Joe looked at the angels. “Nope,” he said.

The grave was on the edge of a hill that was eroding. “We’ll have to move the grave and the angels…” Adam started, “maybe over by that tree in the far corner. We can tidy it up and place a few benches.”

“What a wonderful idea!” I said.

Daniel and Diane had shown up, watching us from the gate. They approached, saying “We would like to help.”

“We need to make this a priority. All in favour?” Adam asked. We all raised our hands.

“While you guys tidy up, Diane and I will ride into town. We’ll need a priest, doctor, and a medical coroner,” I said. “Make a list. We’ll be ready to leave in an hour.”

As we were about to head out, Daniel approached us, mentioning, “Ask for Dr. Roberts. He can get everything ready for you.”

Adam added, looking at me, “It will take you a few days; hurry back. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

A few days was an overstatement. Hitching the horses, I said to Diane, “We’ll start with Dr. Roberts.”

As she was getting out, a priest approached me. “Hello, Mrs…Dr. Cartwright,” he greeted, extending his hand, “am I correct? I am Father Joseph.” We shook hands. “You’re the new owners of Kindred Spirits,” he added. I gave him a puzzled look, and then it dawned on me: it was the name of our property! “Are you renaming the place?” Father asked.

“Actually, Adam and I haven’t given it a thought—we forgot. I am heading to Dr. Roberts’.”

“Let me walk with you; I know him personally. Besides our doctor, he’s also one of the medical coroners. But you know that already.”

I just smiled as we walked. Upon arriving at Dr. Roberts’ office, he stepped out to meet us. After a formal greeting, we signed papers, and everything was ready to go.

Arriving back in the early afternoon, Adam was surprised. “That was quick,” he noted, “didn’t expect you back at least two to three days.”

Looking at him, I responded, “Why are you surprised?”

“True,” he said, “how did it go?”

“Well, I was met with Father Joseph, who was chatting with Little Joe.”

“Good person to talk to,” laughed Adam.

“And Dr. Roberts had the papers ready to go. He pretended to look around for them for at least ten minutes. I see he is with Daniel.”

**********

Chapter 9

Everyone was extremely tired, so it was an early night for all. Hoss, Little Joe, and Candy took their bed rolls upstairs, giving their mattresses to our guests. Tomorrow will be a big day, the exhumation day. Lying awake, side-by-side, deep in our thoughts, I popped up, leaning over Adam. “Daniel and Diane were the couple that asked us to stand in for them in that town, I’m sure of it,” I mentioned.

Adam rolled over and responded, “No, that Daniel was smaller and a flirt.”

“Really? Is that all you remembered?”

“Go to sleep,” he says. Morning comes early.

The exhumation was scheduled for six fifteen in the morning; Hoss and Candy were at the sight already. We had all made an effort to dress with what we had. Father Joseph blessed the newly-dug grave and the angels that had been moved—this time facing the grave. Then Father came over and gave the blessing over the bodies that were going to be exhumed. You could cut the silence with a knife. The only sound was made by Hoss and Candy.

“We reached the bodies. They were wrapped together in cloth—looks like they are in each other’s arms,” Hoss said. We all looked in: the bodies were in an embrace. Adam and Daniel had a large waterproof sheet to slide under the bodies to lift them with minimal disturbance. As they were moved over to their new resting place, the male’s hand was exposed, revealing a hand with a ring exactly like the one on Adam’s finger. Both of us decided to pretend that we didn’t see it, but Daniel knew that we did.

A small service was set as they were put to rest in their new resting place. Candy beckoned me over; he was in the old grave. “What? What is it?” I asked.

“There seems to be a secret shelf in the side of the grave…looks like something is there.” Candy pulled out what was hidden: two fairly large books wrapped in oilskins.

I took them over to the others, and Adam came over to take a look, noting, “They look like diaries.”

“The new grave is closed. We will need new paperwork to reopen it. I think we can forego that,” Dr. Roberts said.

The place was put in order, and we all left in groups. Daniel, Diane, Father Joseph, and Dr. Roberts were walking in front of Adam and I, and way in front, Hoss, Little Joe, and Candy were making a beeline for the spread that Diane had put out. Daniel did turn around once to look at us.

“I wonder if her ring is the same as mine,” I pondered. No answer from Adam. More than likely, I answered to myself.

**********

Chapter 10

The boys were getting their horses ready, including Sport. Time for them to return. They had stayed a few extra days, and Ben needed them back for a cattle drive. The books were placed on the desk, and tapping it, Adam mentioned, “A lot of questions will be answered: the rings, the house, why they were buried how they were, who they are, and us.”

I walked over to Adam and placed my head on his arm and cupped my hand over his on the books, responding, “The answers would be a story in itself.”

Little Joe urged, “We have to leave if we want to make good time.”

Adam said, holding me close, “Promise not to read until I get back. I want us to read them together.”

“I promise, darling,” I agreed.

**********

Epilogue

Saying goodbye to the boys and Adam, I waved as I watched them leave. Turning to walk back in, I suddenly realized a question I needed to ask to Adam. Running down the path, I yelled, “Adam… Adam…ADAM!”

He stopped Sport, and he headed back to me in a gallop. Adam asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. We have been so preoccupied with all the craziness that we forgot…are we renaming the place or keeping the original name?”

“I think we should keep its name.” He frowned, continuing, “Jiggle my memory…what is it?”

I told him, “Kindred Spirits.”

Nodding his head, he replied, “Well fitting. I’ll get a new sign made up.” Smiling, he blew a kiss, gave me a wink, tipped his wing, and rode back to join Hoss, Little Joe, and Candy, who were waiting at a polite distance.

I walked past the library, stopped, and went over to the books. Placing my hand on them, I said, “We have to wait until Adam gets back.” I thought I heard whisper.

“That is fine…”

Looking around, I noticed one of the windows were open with a slight breeze coming in. Must be the breeze, I thought, heading towards the kitchen.

The End

Author’s Note:

Written for the 2022 Ponderosa Paddlewheel Poker Tournament.   The game was Five Card Draw and the words and/or phrases I was dealt were:

magic tricks
hornets
lock of hair
newspaper clipping
money