{"id":15362,"date":"2017-10-27T20:59:31","date_gmt":"2017-10-28T00:59:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=15362"},"modified":"2025-09-25T15:41:03","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T19:41:03","slug":"snake-in-the-grass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=15362","title":{"rendered":"Snake in the Grass (by Patina)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Paradise is almost gained for one Cartwright. Written for a Halloween challenge. My words were: Paul Martin, chains, snake.<\/p>\n

Rating: T. Word count 761<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Snake in the Grass<\/strong><\/p>\n

Adam gazed up into moss-colored eyes and he sighed in content.\u00a0 He reached up with his forefinger and hooked a corkscrew curl, slowly pulling it down until it was a long kink and then letting go, watching it spring back as if he\u2019d never pulled it.<\/p>\n

Yvette smiled and took his hand before he could take hold of another curl.\u00a0 She pressed his hand to her cheek and rubbed as if she were a cat marking a person as its own.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome here,\u201d he said, sliding his hand around to the back of her neck.<\/p>\n

She complied, meeting his lips for a lingering kiss.\u00a0 Afterward, she nuzzled the delicate skin under his jaw.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could stay here forever,\u201d said Adam.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy don\u2019t you?\u201d she murmured.<\/p>\n

Adam sighed again before turning his head, seeking her lips for a deep kiss.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have responsibilities.\u00a0 The Ponderosa doesn\u2019t run itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have brothers.\u201d\u00a0 She toyed with a button on his shirt then slipped slender fingers between cloth and skin.<\/p>\n

\u201cPersuasive, aren\u2019t you?\u201d said Adam, a devilish twinkle in his eye.<\/p>\n

\u201cMmm-hmm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs much as I want to bask in the sun with you in this little Garden of Eden, I really must get back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yvette withdrew her hand from his shirt and her lower lip pushed forward in a little pout.\u00a0 \u201cBut it\u2019s hours yet until nightfall.\u00a0 Besides, we haven\u2019t finished our picnic.\u201d\u00a0 She reached into the nearby wicker basket and withdrew a bright red apple.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe forbidden fruit,\u201d said Adam, his dimple deepening as he smiled at his own joke.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes an apple is just an apple,\u201d said Yvette.<\/p>\n

She pressed it to his mouth, letting him pierce the skin but she pulled it away before he could bite a piece out of it.\u00a0 Leaning over, she pressed her lips against Adam\u2019s and savored the apple\u2019s sweet juice before breaking their kiss.<\/p>\n

\u201cHave I changed your mind?\u201d Yvette asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Her eyes narrowed as her lips pressed together in a frown.\u00a0 \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI told you,\u201d said Adam as gently pushed her away and sat up.<\/p>\n

Yvette pushed him back into the grass and hissed through bared teeth.<\/p>\n

Adam caught a glint of silver from the corner of his eye and tried to squirm away from Yvette as chains slithered through the grass until his wrists and ankles were captive.\u00a0 He frantically looked from one side to the other, testing the chains for weakness but there was no give.<\/p>\n

Yvette straddled Adam and pressed her weight against his chest.<\/p>\n

His eyes widened in terror as she leaned forward with her mouth open, revealing a mass of small snakes.\u00a0 He gritted his teeth and thrashed his head from side to side, her breath hot against his face.\u00a0 Adam had no choice but to open his mouth when she pinched his nose.\u00a0 His scream was cut off as the small snakes passed into him.\u00a0 He flailed against the chains, struggling to breathe.<\/p>\n

Pain radiated from his chest into his shoulders and ribs.\u00a0 Another white-hot burst of pain.\u00a0 Then a deep breath.\u00a0 And another.<\/p>\n

Awareness slowly returned and the next few breaths came easier.<\/p>\n

Adam opened his eyes.\u00a0 His eyebrows drew together as he studied the ceiling for a moment.\u00a0 He gasped again for air as a coughing spasm shook his pain-wracked chest.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all right,\u201d said a familiar voice.\u00a0 \u201cDrink some cool, sweet water.\u201d<\/p>\n

An arm snaked around Adam\u2019s back and lifted him up to drink.<\/p>\n

After his head was again resting on the pillow, Adam studied his father\u2019s face, noting deep lines etched into the forehead and normally vibrant eyes colored with worry.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened?\u201d asked Adam.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t die on me again,\u201d said Paul Martin.\u00a0 \u201cI won\u2019t have it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam cleared his throat and rested a hand over his heart.\u00a0 He looked from his father to the doctor then shook his head.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe worst should be past,\u201d said Paul as he gathered up a few things to stuff back into his bag.\u00a0 \u201cYou should train your horse not to dump you and run off when it sees a snake.\u00a0 And you\u2019re lucky that rattler didn\u2019t inject more venom.\u201d\u00a0 The doctor set his hat on his head and said, \u201cI\u2019ll see myself out.\u201d\u00a0 He patted Adam\u2019s shoulder before leaving the bedroom.<\/p>\n

Remembering Yvette and her snakes, Adam rested his hand on his father\u2019s knee and asked, \u201cWill you stay with me until I fall asleep?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben smiled, brushed hair back from his eldest son\u2019s forehead, and picked up a battered copy of Paradise Lost<\/em> to read aloud.<\/p>\n

The End<\/p>\n

October 2017<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tags:\u00a0 Adam Cartwright,\u00a0APM,\u00a0Ben Cartwright,\u00a0chains,\u00a0Rattlesnake,\u00a0Snake bite<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary: Paradise is almost gained for one Cartwright. <\/p>\n

Rating: T. Word count 761<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":15363,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-full-width-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[23,8,29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-short-stories","category-halloween","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-8-id","wpcat-29-id"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/snake.jpg?fit=250%2C222&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15362"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15362\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}