Chapter 14

“Do I have to go back to school? You could teach me here.” Once all the turmoil was over, Adam wanted to get Drew into a more normal routine. There was still two months of school left and with the snow melting away, there was no reason he couldn’t go to school.

“You need to go to school. I’ll take you there today, and I’ll be there to pick you up at the end of the day. I have a lot to do in town today, so I’ll be close by for the whole day. Someone will give you a ride in each morning and then pick you up at the end of the day.”

“When can I get a horse? Then I could ride to school by myself.”

“I’m looking for a pony for you, but you’re too young to be riding that far alone. Even when you get a pony, you will be riding with someone to school and back home again.”

By the end of the day, Adam was back at school to pick up his son. He had worked with the bank and lawyers and finally had finished getting all the estates of Merry’s parents and her sister and her husband who were also Drew’s parents cleared. There was a nice sum in the bank in Merry’s name and another one in Drew’s name. The larceny had been reversed and all the money was back in its rightful accounts. He had news of the Waverlys as well that he would share with his family when he returned home. Mr. Waverly had been sold out by his wife who gave information to the authorities about some girls who had been found murdered in other towns. He had assaulted them and then killed them so they could never testify against him. He was in Reno awaiting execution by hanging. Elaine Waverly avoided the gallows with her willingness to give information. What she had not been prepared for was that the judge sentenced her to consecutive terms in the women’s prison for the crimes she had committed. She would never get out. Finally the family could relax about that whole situation because all the loose ends were tied up.

Drew was very quiet on the ride home. Finally Adam had to ask.

“Are you upset because you don’t have a pony yet?” Drew shook his head. “Are you upset with me because I’m making you go to school?” Drew shook his head again. “Did you get in trouble at school today?” Drew shook his head once more. “Son, you’re going to have to tell me because I don’t want to play twenty questions with you.” With that, Drew started crying. Adam stopped, dismounted, and pulled Drew down into his arms. “Talk to me, son, and tell me what’s upset you so much.”

“I’m not a real Cartwright. That’s what the boys at school said. They said I’m an orphan and I don’t have any parents.”

“You know I’m your father, don’t you?” Drew nodded. “And Merry is your mother?” Drew nodded again. “You have a mother and father in heaven too?” Once more Drew nodded but he stopped crying because he was seeing the logic of Adam’s statements, and he was ready with the next question.

“And you chose me. You wanted me to be your son. Those boys at school got in their families because their parents were nice to each other, but you picked me to be your son.”

“Exactly. We love you very much, and you can’t be an orphan if you have parents.”

“Are you being nice to Mama?”

“Yes, I’m always nice to Mama except when she cheats at chess.”

“No, I mean are you being nice so that you can have a baby together. I would like a brother. You have two, but I don’t have any. How are you nice to her anyway? How is it different from being nice to everyone else? And where do you get the baby after you’re done being nice to each other?”

“Ah, a baby grows in a mother’s belly until it’s big enough to be born.”

Drew frowned a little and then asked the question that Adam knew he was going to ask. “How does the baby get in there?” So Adam explained briefly how that happened. Drew was very quiet before he looked up at Adam. “Can you show me?” At that, Adam almost choked.

“No, son, that is something that is very private between a man and a woman. You can see the horses doing it though. When your Uncle Joe puts a stallion in with some mares, he wants the stallion to put babies in the mares.”

“That’s not private?”

“No, the horses don’t mind you watching.”

“All right. Maybe one of those stallions can make me a pony. Is it all right if I ask Mama to make a baby boy with you?”

Adam almost choked again. “No, son, talking about this is also a very private thing. Fathers talk to sons, and mothers talk with daughters, and only a husband talks to his wife about that.”

Drew was quiet for a while again. “Boy, grandpa was very lucky he only had sons then, wasn’t he?”

“Yes, I like to think your grandfather was very lucky to have three sons, especially the first two. Joe has given him more gray hair and worry lines than Hoss and I ever did together.”

“I like Uncle Joe. He’s fun. I like Uncle Hoss too because he teaches me all sorts of stuff. He says some funny words though. Can I say dadburnit?”

“You just did so the answer must be yes.”

“Papa, you’re funny too. No, I mean, that’s not a bad word, is it?”

“Not at all, and Uncle Hoss would probably think it was funny if you started saying it too.” Time to get home now, though. Mama is probably wondering why we’re late.”

Once they were home, Adam told Merry about the conversation he had had with Drew. She smiled at him and asked him to go for a walk with her. Once they got to the grove of trees behind the house, she stopped and asked Adam to kiss her. “I know you said you wanted to have a baby but not right away. I’m afraid that you’re only getting half of that wish.”

Wrapping his arms around Merry, Adam pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her again and with even more passion. “I’m so happy right now, I could make love to you right here. Are you sure?”

“As sure as I can be. It’s been six weeks and nothing, so I would think that’s about as sure as I can be. I would think somewhere shortly after we married. I should have had my flow at least three weeks ago and nothing happened. So I waited to be sure before I told you. I had thought you might notice, but you’ve been so busy with all the legal and financial stuff.”

“I did notice and I was hoping. I was afraid to say something though. Drew’s going to be very happy. We should probably wait for a few months before we tell him though. Waiting eight months for the baby would be very difficult for him.”

That night at dinner, Hop Sing brought milk for both Drew and Merry. Merry leaned over and whispered a question to Adam. “How does he know these things?” Adam shrugged and looked at his father who had noticed the milk too and had the hint of a smile as he looked at his oldest son. Hoss and Joe were digging into the platters of food and didn’t notice. Adam shared his news about the Waverlys keeping it very simple so that Drew would not ask any questions. At the end of dinner, when Hop Sing asked if everyone was ready for dessert, Drew gave Hop Sing a compliment.

“Mr. Hop, that was the best dadburned supper I ever had, dagnabit.”

Hop Sing nodded his thanks for the compliment, but Joe giggled and Hoss roared. Ben had to chuckle and shake his head. Drew sat with a slight smirk on his face because he was proud to have pulled that off just as he planned it. Merry leaned over to Adam. “He’s your son. It’s amazing how much like you he is.”

Tags:  Adam Cartwright, SAS