Summary:\u00a0 A What Happens Next for ‘The Magnificent Adah’.\u00a0 As Hoss finishes one last beer, Little Joe heads outside to saddle Cochise and wait for him – little knowing the deadly danger that lurks in the dark.<\/p>\n
Rated: PG-13 for brutality, violence, and graphic images<\/p>\n
Word count: 14770<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I’ll See You Outside<\/strong><\/p>\n ONE<\/p>\n Hoss Cartwright frowned and sighed a deep sigh.<\/p>\n The big man ran his finger around the lip of his beer glass, clearin\u2019 it of sweat, and glanced at the door to the saloon, considerin\u2019 whether or not he should step out into the street and head for Piper\u2019s Opera House.\u00a0 He and Adam had come to the saloon together and ended up partin\u2019 after tradin\u2019 words on what to do about little brother.\u00a0 Adam laughed when he told him what Joe said about it takin\u2019 \u2018a red-blooded man\u2019 to persuade a woman like Adah Menken and thinkin\u2019 that man was him<\/em>.<\/p>\n Truth to tell, he thought Adam was just plain old green-eyed.\u00a0 Older brother\u2019d tried to have his way with the actress and she\u2019d turned him down flat.\u00a0 Little brother was a darned good-lookin\u2019 man, \u2018specially wearin\u2019 that there brown city slicker suit he had.\u00a0 And he seemed to have a way with older women.\u00a0 There\u2019d been Lota Crabtree who\u2019d been paid right handsome to trap him, and who turned it down \u2018cause she didn\u2019t want him hurt.\u00a0 And then there\u2019d been Julia Bulette.\u00a0 At first he\u2019d thought little brother was just courtin\u2019 her to make their Pa mad, but when he saw the look in Joe\u2019s eyes when he heard she\u2019d been knifed and robbed, well, it was clear Joe\u2019d learned the meaning of lovin\u2019 a woman.<\/p>\n Hoss raised an eyebrow as he took another sip of his beer.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t thought about it before.\u00a0 Miss Menken made three<\/em> older women baby brother \u2018d sparked in about twice as many weeks. \u00a0With a shake of his head, Hoss leaned in and wrapped his fingers around his beer.<\/p>\n He\u2019d have to caution him to slow down.<\/p>\n All of a sudden there was a tap on his shoulder.\u00a0\u00a0 Hoss turned to find Little Joe behind him.\u00a0 He\u2019d been thinkin\u2019 so much he\u2019d missed his brother comin\u2019 in.<\/p>\n With a grin he said, \u201cLittle Joe, how\u2019d you make \u2013 \u201d<\/p>\n The big man didn\u2019t see the fist flyin\u2019 at him until it took him on the chin.\u00a0 While his head was still reelin\u2019, baby brother snarled, \u201cNow don\u2019t say anything else <\/em>about Adah Menken.\u201d<\/p>\n He blinked.\u00a0 \u201cJoe, I ain\u2019t even opened my mouth!\u201d<\/p>\n Joe scowled.\u00a0 He had a funny look on his face, like maybe he was mad at himself.\u00a0 \u201cYeah, well, just don\u2019t<\/em>,\u201d he said as he shook his fingers.\u00a0 \u201cGo on and finish your beer.\u00a0 I\u2019ll see you outside.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss watched him go, a smile on his lips.<\/p>\n Dag-burn it, if Joe wasn\u2019t the cutest<\/em> darn thing!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joseph Francis Cartwright was one preoccupied man.\u00a0 He felt like an idiot.\u00a0 First of all for what he\u2019d tried with Miss Menken, and secondly, for the reason <\/em>he\u2019d tried it.\u00a0 First and foremost it was pride, and like Pa had taught them, pride went before destruction.\u00a0 He was so sure he could best older brother Adam in the wooing department that he\u2019d forgotten the woman he\u2019d be trying to woo was a person \u2013 a real person with a real life and real <\/em>problems of her own.<\/p>\n Secondly?<\/p>\n He felt like an idiot for acting just like<\/em> his pa.<\/p>\n Joe snorted.\u00a0 Now, he loved his Pa \u2013 loved him more than anything \u2013 and<\/em> respected him.\u00a0 That love was the reason he\u2019d gotten himself into this mess to begin with, and<\/em> why he\u2019d tried to get Miss Menken to \u2018show her colors\u2019.\u00a0 He \u2013 along with Adam and Hoss \u2013 was trying to prove that the actress was playing their father for a fool and was only interested in his money.\u00a0 He should have known better.\u00a0 Pa wasn\u2019t stupid or<\/em> vain.\u00a0 No woman, no matter how <\/em>beautiful, was gonna fool him.\u00a0 And as to Adah?\u00a0 Pshaw, any woman worth her salt \u2013 could you say that about a woman, Joe wondered? \u2013 wouldn\u2019t be able to help herself where Ben Cartwright was concerned. \u00a0She\u2019d just have <\/em>to fall in love with him! \u00a0After all,\u00a0 Pa was the best man in the territory \u2013 the smartest, the surest, and<\/em> the most honorable.\u00a0 The young man grinned as he stepped off the boardwalk and into the street.\u00a0 Still, there was one <\/em>thing Pa wasn\u2019t, and that was someone who kept his opinions to himself.\u00a0 Pa was always butting in, telling him what girl he should date and deciding who was and wasn\u2019t good enough for him\u2026.<\/p>\n Just like he\u2019d<\/em> tried to do to his pa.<\/p>\n Joe halted in his progress.\u00a0 He chuckled as he turned back toward the hotel and glanced up at the balcony he\u2019d just vacated.\u00a0 From everything Adam and Hoss had told him about his own Mama \u2013 about her tempestuous nature and quick temper \u2013 it seemed to him that Miss Menken would make a right fine match for Pa.\u00a0 The curly-headed teenager continued to stare at the French doors he had escaped through until a shadow passed by.\u00a0 Well, two shadows.<\/p>\n Joe winced as his hand went involuntarily to his back side.\u00a0 He\u2019d better skedaddle<\/em> quick before his pa looked out <\/em>that window if he knew what was good for him.<\/p>\n As he started on his way, Joe\u2019s thoughts flew back some five minutes or so to the scene in the saloon.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t quite sure why he\u2019d taken his own humiliation out on Hoss except that he knew middle brother would understand.\u00a0 There was something in him that was always fightin\u2019 to get out; something deep inside that was like a burning fire that living just kept heaping kerosene on.\u00a0 Everywhere he looked there was injustice, and if there was one thing a Cartwright couldn\u2019t abide, it was something being unfair.\u00a0 It made him furious.\u00a0 Joe glanced over his shoulder again at the hotel.\u00a0 And then, what did he<\/em> up and do?\u00a0 Something unfair. \u00a0Accusing a beautiful and intelligent woman like Adah Menken of being\u2026well\u2026the wrong <\/em>kind of woman.\u00a0 He\u2019d have used that uppercut on himself if he could have\u2026but he couldn\u2019t\u2026and so he\u2019d delivered it to Hoss\u2019 chin and\u2026<\/p>\n He was gonna be dead by morning.\u00a0 Middle brother would see to it.<\/p>\n And if Hoss didn\u2019t, then it would be Adam who\u2019d be standin\u2019 on the porch, arms crossed and toe tapping when he got home, ready to lecture him to death on the right and wrong way to woo a woman.<\/p>\n The pair of them wouldn\u2019t give Pa a chance to take a shot.<\/p>\n Joe let out a sigh as he reached Cochise\u2019s side.\u00a0 His horse blew out a greeting as he tossed the strap up and over his saddle so he could tighten the cinch.<\/p>\n At least she <\/em>still loved him.<\/p>\n Maybe he\u2019d just sleep in the barn.<\/p>\n \u201cCartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n For a second Joe thought there was an eclipse.\u00a0 There wasn\u2019t.\u00a0 When he turned, he found a six-foot-seven three-hundred-pound mountain of a man blocking the light.\u00a0 The slight young man swallowed and took a step back out of instinct.<\/p>\n When he became aware the next day, five-foot-nine one-hundred and thirty-five-pound Little Joe Cartwright would wish that instinct had told him to run.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, that\u2019s right,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n There wasn\u2019t much of a moon that night. \u00a0What light there was, was a hazy sort of glow cast by the meager light spilling out of open doorways, and by the few streetlamps that had been lit.\u00a0 No one bothered to clean the glass in the lamps, so it was a hellish sort of light, all red and ugly.\u00a0 It struck the man\u2019s pugnacious nose, which twisted left like a sidewinder, and sparked in his beady eyes \u2013 though how it reached them Joe could never say since the stranger\u2019s eyes were little more than the split between a dead man\u2019s lips.<\/p>\n \u201cThe name\u2019s Regan,\u201d the man said.\u00a0 \u201cJohn C. Regan.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe blinked. \u00a0So?\u00a0 Did he know a \u2018John C. Regan\u2019?\u00a0 He didn\u2019t think so.\u00a0 His pa had plenty of business partners and even more acquaintances in Virginia City, but he was pretty sure he would have remembered one who could have given Hoss a run for his money in fair fight.<\/p>\n Hmm.\u00a0 There <\/em>was an idea.\u00a0 There was nothing the townsfolk loved more than a good fight.\u00a0 Five cents a head would be a good price for admission.<\/p>\n The man was staring at him.<\/p>\n Oops.<\/p>\n A thought formed on Joe\u2019s lips.\u00a0 Maybe he should apologize.\u00a0 But then the man spoke again.<\/p>\n \u201cRemember that when your Pa asks.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026sure\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Okay.\u00a0 Obviously the guy had had a little too <\/em>much to drink.\u00a0 Joe hadn\u2019t smelled it at first, but as the mountain of a man moved closer, it became clear as a mountain spring that he was pie-eyed as a Paiute medicine man smoking\u00a0 Devils\u2019 Weed. \u00a0\u00a0Joe resisted rolling his eyes and turned back to Cochise.<\/p>\n He\u2019d just beat a hasty retreat\u2026.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As a young man John C. Regan had learned that you went in fast and you went in hard.\u00a0 \u2018It ain\u2019t a man you\u2019re hitting, it\u2019s a punch bag\u2019, his Tipperary trainer told him.\u00a0 The moment you see your opponent as a man \u2013 a living, breathing man with just as much right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of whatever makes him happy as you \u2013 you\u2019re done.<\/p>\n In other words, you\u2019re dead.<\/p>\n He\u2019d started life in Ireland and come to California at the ripe old age of seventeen.\u00a0 Even then he would have made two of the scrawny snot-nosed kid he was hammering.\u00a0 Prize-fighting had earned him a living, but it was the bar room fights John C. Regan relished \u2013 no rules, no regulations, and no law looking over your shoulder.\u00a0 He always won.\u00a0 Always<\/em>.\u00a0 It was no tall tale that he could take down the biggest and best of them with one hand tied behind his back.\u00a0 That gave him some satisfaction, but nothing like the satisfaction he felt now.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t because the Cartwright kid was scrawny as a school girl and twice as pretty, it was because of what Little Joe Cartwright represented.<\/p>\n Everything<\/em> he represented.<\/p>\n The rabbit punch to the back of the neck was for being who <\/em>he was \u2013 a Cartwright.<\/p>\n The sucker punch that drove the kid into the alley was for the champagne and roses.<\/p>\n The low blow, just below the level of Cartwright\u2019s waistline, that sent him sailing into a trio of barrels masked by darkness, was for Adah saying he was \u2018washed up\u2019.<\/p>\n The feint, followed by a kidney punch that drove the kid to his knees was for her trying to buy him off.<\/p>\n The thug paused to crack his bleeding knuckles in preparation for the final blow.<\/p>\n He\u2019d saved the best for last.<\/p>\n John C. Regan, who outweighed the semi-concious boy he was beating by nearly two hundred pounds, lifted his victim by the shirt collar and dangled him a few inches off the ground.\u00a0 The sneer that had curled his cruel lips as he meted out his own perverse kind of justice, warped into a devilish smile as he observed the damage he had done.\u00a0 And then, seeing not the boy but the man<\/em> he wished to kill, the prize fighter raised his right hand and, with a twisting movement that was meant to tear flesh from bone, drove the corkscrew into Little Joe Cartwright\u2019s left eye.<\/p>\n Then he opened his fingers and let the once handsome boy drop to the filthy ground of the alley as if he were no more than a scrap of meat meant for the dogs.<\/p>\n John C. Regan stood where he was, staring down at his victim for several seconds before he stirred.\u00a0 As he raised his hand and regarded his bloody knuckles, he chuckled.<\/p>\n Chuckled.<\/p>\n \u201cI told your old man I\u2019d settle this my way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Just before he kicked the boy\u2019s near lifeless body with the weighted toe of his boot and walked away.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n TWO<\/p>\n Hoss paused at the door of the saloon and looked back at the stranger whose name was John C. Regan.\u00a0 There\u2019d been something about the man that set his teeth on edge and it had nothin\u2019 to do with the snub he\u2019d got when he said his name was Cartwright.\u00a0 Regan was as mean a lookin\u2019 cuss as he\u2019d ever see\u2019d and arrogant too \u2013 why, his words swaggered as much as he did.<\/p>\n The big man cast his eyes toward the Piper Opera House.\u00a0 Right beside it was where Joe told him he was gonna tether his horse. \u00a0Hoss grinned.\u00a0 He supposed little brother had done that in case he had to make a quick getaway if Pa showed up.\u00a0 As he stepped off the boardwalk, he squinted against the hellish light that dimly lit the street.\u00a0 Yep.\u00a0 Cochise was there all right.\u00a0 His brother\u2019s paint pony was hard to miss with its patches of bright white on a field of black.\u00a0 Hoss walked over to the horse and reached for it, and was surprised when the animal shied away from his touch.<\/p>\n \u201cHey, Cooch,\u201d the big man cooed.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with you?\u201d\u00a0 Hoss frowned as he noted Joe\u2019s cinch was tossed over the animal\u2019s saddle like he\u2019d been tightenin\u2019 it and gettin\u2019 ready to ride.\u00a0 Droppin\u2019 the leather strap back into place, he surveyed the street.<\/p>\n There was no sign of Joe.<\/p>\n The big man let out a sigh as he turned toward the Opera House with all of its hustle and bustle and carriages comin\u2019 and goin\u2019.\u00a0 He was just gonna hafta go and find that there woman and ask her what had become of little brother.\u00a0\u00a0 Maybe Joe had gone back to apologize or maybe\u2026.<\/p>\n What was that?\u00a0 The big man paused.\u00a0 He\u2019d heard somethin\u2019\u2026a strange sound\u2026..<\/p>\n Whatever it was, it was comin\u2019 from the alley.<\/p>\n A long time ago, when he was a little boy, he\u2019d heard a noise like that out in the wild.\u00a0 Not knowin\u2019 what it was he\u2019d\u00a0 moved in slow-like, listenin\u2019 and frownin\u2019, until he found the source.\u00a0 Turned out it was a young pup what had been near mauled to death by a wolf.\u00a0\u00a0 Like he did then, Hoss moved with caution, knowin\u2019 somethin\u2019 was in pain and needin\u2019 help, but takin\u2019 care less whatever made it hurt was still there.<\/p>\n The alley was black as God\u2019s pockets.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t see nothin\u2019.\u00a0 Movin\u2019 with caution, the big man walked along it, his fingers brushing the wall of the building to his right-hand side.\u00a0 \u00a0He\u2019d just about decided he was hearin\u2019 things when his foot struck something soft laying on the ground.\u00a0 He used his toe to feel it a bit and realized it wasn\u2019t a some \u2018thing\u2019<\/em>, but a some \u2018one\u2019<\/em>.\u00a0\u00a0 Reaching down Hoss found a shoulder and then his fingers encountered a mass of thick curly hair matted with somethin\u2019 sticky.<\/p>\n Time stopped.<\/p>\n Joe.<\/p>\n Hoss reeled, uncertain of what to do.\u00a0 The big man hesitated a second before dropping to his knees and feeling along his brother\u2019s slender form.\u00a0 Little Joe didn\u2019t move or make a sound. \u00a0The big man cupped his baby brother\u2019s face in his hand and sickened when he felt the blood runnin\u2019 over his fingers.\u00a0 Land of Goshen!\u00a0 What had happened? \u00a0Who could have done this?<\/p>\n He was gonna kill <\/em>them!<\/p>\n Hoss closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath.\u00a0 He had to corral his emotions.\u00a0 None of that thinkin\u2019 was gonna do Little Joe any good right now.<\/p>\n What should<\/em> he do?<\/p>\n What would Pa and Adam do?<\/p>\n First thing, he needed to get a fix on how bad beat Joe was.\u00a0 Yeah, that was it.\u00a0 He remembered Doc Martin sayin\u2019 it weren\u2019t always the smartest thing to move a man due to the injuries he could have inside.<\/p>\n Maybe he should go<\/em> for Doc Martin.<\/p>\n But no, he couldn\u2019t bear to leave Little Joe all alone in this dark alley.<\/p>\n The big man opened his eyes and looked down at his little brother.\u00a0 A single solitary beam of light, cast by a distant source, had worked its way into the alley to illuminate his brother\u2019s still form.<\/p>\n He had to put his hand on Little Joe\u2019s chest to know for sure the boy was breathin\u2019.<\/p>\n Coming to a decision, the big man slipped his arms under his baby brother\u2019s battered body and lifted him up.\u00a0 With Little Joe cradled like a baby against his massive chest, he stepped into the street and then halted, unsure of a direction.\u00a0 The hellish glow of the streetlamps struck the boy\u2019s face as he did, revealing the extent of his injuries. \u00a0What Hoss saw filled him with a deep, unspeakable rage.<\/p>\n Somebody near beat Little Joe to death.<\/p>\n For a second time, the big man was at a loss.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t know what to do.\u00a0 Then his little brother, broken as he was, shifted in his arms and gave him the answer.<\/p>\n Joe\u2019s bruised lips parted and he breathed.<\/p>\n \u201cPa….\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben Cartwright\u2019s emotions were in turmoil.\u00a0 He\u2019d known beforehand that Adah would turn his proposal down, and yet held out a slim hope that he was wrong.\u00a0 She was a beautiful, strong, and determined woman; a wonderful woman with a vigorous and expanded mind equal to any man\u2019s.\u00a0 Perfect in every way but one.<\/p>\n Adah was blind when it came to John C. Regan.<\/p>\n The pair\u2019s dalliance had begun years before when Adah was the toast of two continents and Regan, a well-known and respected prize fighter.\u00a0 If you could \u2018respect\u2019 anyone who made his living by beating other men half to death.\u00a0 They were married briefly, until it became known that her divorce from Alexander Menken, her former husband and manager, was not what one would call \u2018official\u2019.\u00a0 Ben smiled as he turned the corner and headed for the stairs.\u00a0 He supposed his boys were right.\u00a0 Adah was the \u2018wrong kind of a woman\u2019.\u00a0 But then that same thing had been said about Joseph\u2019s mother.\u00a0 People\u2019s tongues wagged and women were destroyed because of youthful misadventures that in a man would be overlooked.\u00a0 Life often became for them a \u2018school of hard knocks\u2019 which they, in turn, grew hard to survive.\u00a0 Like Marie, Adelaide \u2018Adah\u2019 McCord came from New Orleans and was Creole by birth, and like Marie she embodied the free spirit and soul of that great city.\u00a0 Adah would not let others define her.<\/p>\n At least, no one, but John C. Regan.<\/p>\n Ben halted to let a mother and her children pass.\u00a0 The quartet had opened the door in front of him and stepped out into the corridor.\u00a0 He tipped his hat and smiled and let his mind wander, for just a moment, to what kind of a son Adah might have given him.<\/p>\n He laughed out loud.<\/p>\n One Joseph was quite enough, thank you!<\/p>\n As he began to move again, this time nearing the top of the stairs, Ben let out a sigh.\u00a0 Adah\u2019s relationship with Regan was complicated, to say the least.\u00a0 Though he had never seen a bruise \u2013 and he doubted the brute of a man had hit her, since he could easily have killed her \u2013 Regan had battered her all the same.\u00a0 There were women like Marie who \u2013 abused by men and the life they had chosen \u2013 never lost their spirit.\u00a0 His late wife\u2019s abusers had sought to break her spirit, but they had not succeeded.\u00a0 Though Adah appeared to have kept her <\/em>spirit mostly intact, she was to put it brutally \u2018damaged goods\u2019.\u00a0 The actress\u2019 response when he questioned her choice to live \u2018half a life\u2019 \u2013 that maybe \u2018half a life\u2019 was all she was capable of understanding \u2013 had saddened him, but it had not been unexpected.<\/p>\n Adah Menken believed that John C. Regan was all she deserved.<\/p>\n Ben descended the stairs quickly and crossed to the hotel desk where the manager waited.\u00a0 He was more than ready to leave this place and head home.\u00a0 As the manager looked up, he held out the room key and said, \u201cI\u2019ll be checking out shortly.\u00a0 Would you prepare my bill, please?\u201d<\/p>\n The manager was looking beyond him.<\/p>\n He had the oddest look on his face.<\/p>\n A heartbeat later, his middle son spoke ten words that changed Ben Cartwright\u2019s life.<\/p>\n \u201cPa!\u00a0 Pa.\u00a0 Somebody mite near beat Little Joe to death!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n THREE<\/p>\n He blamed himself.<\/p>\n John C. Regan\u2019s final words rang in Ben Cartwright\u2019s ears even as he sat at the side of his youngest son, holding his hand and staring at Joseph\u2019s once angelic face that was now no more than a Hellish battlefield.<\/p>\n \u2018I will settle this, Cartwright, my way.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n \u2018I hope you know what you\u2019re doing.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n The guests in the hotel lobby were giving them a wide berth, unwilling or unable to enter into the drama that was unfolding before their eyes.\u00a0 The wealthy patrons hurried by, pretending they did not see the young boy who lay bleeding on the horsehair sofa; acting as if his labored breathing was as common a sound as the clink of glasses and the chink of silverware against china plates.\u00a0 He\u2019d thought of sending for Adah \u2013 of shoving into her face the brutal reality of this man she loved<\/em> \u2013 but decided against it.\u00a0 Adah was an actress.\u00a0 He would never know if her penitence was real.\u00a0 Anyhow, Adah didn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n What mattered was Little Joe.<\/p>\n Ben shifted and lifted his hand to touch his son\u2019s curls, but hesitated, unsure of whether or not the gesture would bring the boy additional pain.\u00a0 He was no innocent; no novice to the evils of the world, but this\u2026.\u00a0 The anguished father sucked in a breath and held it against his rising anger.\u00a0 Regan did this to his boy because of him<\/em>; because he had dared to love Adah and to offer her a life lived free of fear. \u00a0John C. Regan had considered his actions and with cold calculation decided the price he would pay.<\/p>\n The rancher moved that hand to his face to strike back the tears that had formed, but then he let them fall on his boy\u2019s pallid flesh.\u00a0 Little Joe was alive<\/em>.\u00a0 He thanked his maker for that!\u00a0 But the boy was so broken.\u00a0 Shortly after he\u2019d sent Hoss to find a doctor, he\u2019d gingerly pried his son\u2019s shirt tail free of his trousers so he could examine him.\u00a0 There didn\u2019t appear to be a square inch of Joseph\u2019s torso that was not bruised.\u00a0 The contusions were the deepest and darkest on the back of his neck and on the boy\u2019s lower back just above his kidneys.<\/p>\n Two places where a single blow could kill.<\/p>\n Yes, John C. Regan had decided what payment he would exact.<\/p>\n His son\u2019s life.<\/p>\n Someone cleared their throat.\u00a0 Ben looked up.\u00a0 It was the mustached man who had been behind the desk.\u00a0 The manager of the hotel was in his middle years.\u00a0 His pale blue eyes shone with unmasked sympathy.<\/p>\n \u201cMister Cartwright, is there anything I can do to help?\u201d<\/p>\n This stranger\u2019s compassion nearly unmanned him.<\/p>\n Ben swallowed over a lump in his throat.\u00a0 \u201cMy other son\u2026Hoss\u2026he went to fetch the doctor.\u00a0 Perhaps you could see what\u2019s taking him so long?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCertainly.\u201d\u00a0 The man took a step.\u00a0 \u201cMister Cartwright.\u00a0 Here he is now.\u201d<\/p>\n Without loosing Joseph\u2019s hand, Ben turned and looked toward the door.\u00a0 Another man had preceded Hoss through it.\u00a0 He was on the short side, and wore a gray suit with a white shirt and black string tie.\u00a0 His gray hair was thinning on the top.\u00a0 The newcomer had the look of a man who has witnessed tragedy and become numb to it.\u00a0 His movements were slow and sure \u2013 too slow for an anxious father who had feared for twenty long minutes that each breath his young son took would be his last.<\/p>\n \u201cI couldn\u2019t find Doc Martin,\u201d Hoss said by way of apology.\u00a0 \u201cSeems he\u2019s out of town.\u00a0 This here is Doc Fields.\u201d<\/p>\n Paul was not the official town doctor yet \u2013 there were others \u2013 but he was his friend and the best.<\/p>\n Ben\u2019s nod was curt.<\/p>\n Doctor Field\u2019s gaze landed on Joseph where he lay on the settee.\u00a0 There was a softening of the taut line of his mouth and a deepening of the already profound furrows on his brow.<\/p>\n \u201cHow old?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n It had not been the question Ben expected.\u00a0 It took him a few seconds to respond.<\/p>\n \u201cSeventeen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSavage,\u201d the man said as he came to his side.<\/p>\n Ben looked at his boy, at Joseph\u2019s battered body; at his bruised and bloody face.<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Adam Cartwright was enjoying a whiskey in the hotel saloon.\u00a0 He\u2019d decided to wait for his kid brother to finish his pointless attempt at wooing the sophisticate that was Adah Menken by throwing one back and watching the world go by.\u00a0 Adah was quite a woman.\u00a0 He could understand why Pa was attracted to her.\u00a0 She had wit, sophistication, and a keen intelligence \u2013 and was a beauty to boot.\u00a0 The problem was, she was also an actress and actresses tended to be, to put it politely, a bit \u2018lively\u2019.\u00a0 Generally, they were the kind that had traded the normal affections of a woman for the bright allure of acclaim and applause.\u00a0 Not that he had anything against them.\u00a0 He\u2019d loved a few.\u00a0 But, generally speaking, they were not the type \u00a0of woman to settle down on a spread in the middle of nowhere and content themselves by running a household and rearing children.<\/p>\n Adam almost spit out his beer.<\/p>\n Egad!\u00a0 Little Joe was seventeen.\u00a0 He was hard enough to cope with.\u00a0 What if Pa remarried and there was a new<\/em> little brother?<\/p>\n Or little sister?<\/em><\/p>\n Adam took another sip and let the liquid slide down his throat.\u00a0 He\u2019d already made his mind up that marriage, if it happened for him, was far in the future.\u00a0 He\u2019d raised one kid and barely made it through that.<\/em>\u00a0 Every day he looked for the gray hairs.\u00a0 He was sure they were there.<\/p>\n Or maybe they had been and he\u2019d plucked them out along with the rest of his hair that last time Little Joe had decided he was old enough to come to town on his own.<\/p>\n Or that time Joe\u2019d ridden that horse that was too big for Hoss.<\/p>\n Or maybe it had been the second \u2013 or was it third? \u2013 time he\u2019d had to take a shotgun away from an irate father while his baby brother hung his curly head and gave him that \u2018who me?\u2019 look.<\/p>\n Adam sighed, looked at his drink, and tossed the rest of it back.<\/p>\n They\u2019d be lucky if the kid made it to eighteen.<\/em><\/p>\n The black-haired man looked at the door, and then at his glass, and then held up two fingers to signal one of the saloon girls \u2013 a pretty one named Jenny \u2013 that he wanted a refill.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s your poison?\u201d Jenny asked after sashaying over to the table.<\/p>\n He thought a moment and then handed her the glass.\u00a0 \u201cHow about a beer this time?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd here I thought you were more of a man than that little brother of yours,\u201d she said with a wink.\u00a0 \u201cYou Cartwrights and your beer.\u201d<\/p>\n Pa preferred beer.\u00a0 If the truth was known, he did too.\u00a0 Beer was a pleasure.\u00a0 Whiskey was an exercise.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, you don\u2019t want me to fall off my horse on the way out to the Ponderosa, do I?\u201d he asked playfully.\u00a0 When Jenny laughed, he added, \u201cSo did Little Joe behave himself?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t talking about Joe.\u00a0 I meant Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n The fact that Jenny had referred to Hoss as his \u2018little\u2019 brother did not escape him.<\/p>\n But it did amuse him.<\/p>\n \u201cSo Hoss was here.\u201d\u00a0 It only made sense.\u00a0 \u201cWas he waiting for Little Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe was,\u201d the pretty girl remarked as she placed the empty whiskey glass on her tray.\u00a0 \u201cAnd he was.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHuh?\u201d<\/p>\n Jenny laughed again.\u00a0 \u201cIt was the funniest thing.\u00a0 Hoss was standing here, minding his own business, when your little <\/em>little brother,\u201d she grinned, \u201ccame in and popped him on the chin.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJoe did what?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPopped Hoss right on the chin!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDid he say why?\u201d<\/p>\n She shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cI was busy, but I heard Little Joe tell Hoss not to say anything \u2018else\u2019 about Adah somebody.\u201d\u00a0 Her eyes brightened in the way a woman\u2019s did when someone has just handed her a new hat.\u00a0 \u201cOh!\u00a0 That\u2019s that actress who\u2019s in town, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam was reeling a bit.\u00a0 \u201cSo, let me get this straight.\u00a0 Hoss was drinking a beer and Little Joe just walked up to him and punched him because Hoss said something about Adah Menken?\u201d<\/p>\n Jenny scowled at him.\u00a0 \u201cNo, silly.\u00a0 Little Joe popped him because Hoss didn\u2019t <\/em>say anything.\u201d\u00a0 She cocked her head.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a good thing you didn\u2019t order another whiskey, sweetie. \u00a0I would have told Sam not to pour it!\u201d<\/p>\n And with that, Jenny sashayed away.<\/p>\n Leaving Adam blinking.<\/p>\n He sat there a moment and then rose to his feet.\u00a0 \u201cNever mind,\u201d he called out, stopping Jenny from pouring the beer.<\/p>\n \u201cGood luck finding those brothers of yours,\u201d she called out.\u00a0 \u201cYour pa ain\u2019t gonna be happy if you lose them.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam let out a sigh and stepped out of the door.<\/p>\n Only to come close to being run down by the Paris Opera hotel manager. \u00a0The man had a wild-eyed look.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you looking for someone?\u201d Adam asked.<\/p>\n The mustached man looked him in the face.\u00a0 His gaze shifted to his shirt and pants before returning.\u00a0 \u201cAre you Adam Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWho wants to\u2026?\u201d\u00a0 The black-haired man paused.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s this about?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf you are Adam Cartwright, your father sent me to find you.\u00a0 Your younger brother\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam felt it this time.\u00a0 It was about a dozen.<\/p>\n Hairs that went gray, that is.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n FOUR<\/p>\n Adam Cartwright stirred.\u00a0 He glanced at the open window before placing the book he held on the chair-side table and rising.\u00a0 Then he pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers and let out a sigh.\u00a0 It was almost morning.\u00a0 He\u2019d gotten, maybe, three hours of sleep \u2013 in<\/em> the chair by the table, with<\/em> the book in his hand. The black-haired man rose and walked to the window and looked out on the near-deserted street before turning on his heel and heading for the corridor outside of his room.<\/p>\n The hallway of the hotel was quiet.\u00a0 It was early enough that the majority of its occupants were still sleeping.\u00a0 Adam grinned.\u00a0 One in particular, for sure.\u00a0 He paused outside his brother Hoss\u2019 room and listened to the big man snore.\u00a0 \u2018Sawing logs\u2019, some people called it.\u00a0 Since they were in the timber business he thought that quite apropos.<\/em><\/p>\n It had been close to midnight before they took possession of their rooms.\u00a0 Pa already had one, but he\u2019d rented two more for him and Hoss to bed down in.\u00a0 Adam snorted.\u00a0 Two, because Pa knew he\u2019d never get any sleep if he was in the same room with Hoss!\u00a0 Thank God, the big man was doing all right.\u00a0 He was battered and bruised, but had come out of the fight \u2013 all things considered \u2013 pretty much intact.\u00a0 Middle brother and John C. Regan were just about equal in size and strength, but Hoss lacked the sheer inhumanity of the other man.\u00a0 He shuddered still to think of what might have happened to their pa if the older man had taken the brute on.<\/p>\n What might <\/em>have happened.\u00a0 Adam puffed out a breath and shook his head.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t have to imagine it \u2013 he\u2019d seen it lying in his Pa\u2019s bed.<\/p>\n Joe had made it through the night.\u00a0 They hadn\u2019t been sure he would.<\/p>\n There were so many variables to the beating he\u2019d experienced.\u00a0 According to Doctor Fields. John C. Regan had thrown just about every dirty punch known to man.<\/p>\n It was clear his intention had been to kill Little Joe.<\/p>\n That<\/em> was another thing that had taken a toll on middle brother.\u00a0 Hoss was a gentle soul wrapped in a solid core of strength.\u00a0 He cared deeply.\u00a0 He loved deeply.\u00a0 And most of all, middle brother wanted to believe that everyone cared and loved as deeply as he did.\u00a0 What Regan did to Little Joe shook him to the core. Hoss\u2019 body would heal within a matter of days.<\/p>\n That gentle soul was another matter.<\/p>\n As for him, there\u2019d been only one thing about what happened that really surprised him.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t Regan.\u00a0 Oh, no.\u00a0 He\u2019d seen evil in all its incarnations and understood well the base nature of man.\u00a0 No one who took the road west ended it in innocence.\u00a0 No, what surprised him was Adah Menken.\u00a0 The savvy, smart, sophisticated and intelligent woman, whom their Pa loved enough to ask to marry him, had chosen the beast over beauty.\u00a0 She actually loved <\/em>Regan.\u00a0 John C. Regan, the man who had beaten her down until she believed she deserved only \u2018half\u2019 a life.<\/p>\n \u2018Frailty, thy name is woman.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n It still bothered him, what his Pa had said after Adah came to Regan\u2019s rescue.\u00a0 \u2018There are many kinds of love.\u00a0 As many as there are women.\u2019\u00a0 He was one of the fortunate ones.\u00a0 He\u2019d known love in a great variety.\u00a0 A Father\u2019s love.\u00a0 A mother\u2019s, in Inger and Marie.\u00a0 Brotherly love.\u00a0 There was the love of his land, of his country; of God.<\/p>\n But the kind of a love that drove a woman back to man who had nearly killed a seventeen-year-old boy, and done it out of spite?<\/p>\n That kind of love wasn\u2019t love \u2013 it was a sickness.<\/p>\n Adam looked up and found he was standing outside the door to his father\u2019s room.\u00a0 He raised his hand to knock, but before he could, a soft voice spoke.<\/p>\n \u201cCome in, son.\u201d<\/p>\n The black-haired man shook his head.<\/p>\n How did Pa do it?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ben Cartwright glanced at his youngest son before placing the bloody rag he held on the bedside table and rising to greet his eldest.\u00a0 Adam looked as he imagined he<\/em> did \u2013 exhausted, anxious\u2026troubled.\u00a0 They\u2019d all been in attendance the night before for the doctor\u2019s prognosis.\u00a0 Joseph\u2019s eye would heal \u2013 thank God! \u2013 but it would be days if not longer before they knew if the boy himself would be all right.\u00a0 There were bruises around Joe\u2019s waist, dark as any cavernous hollow and tight as a fist that could be a sign of internal bleeding.\u00a0 The blow Regan struck to the back of the boy\u2019s head \u2013 known a \u2018rabbit punch\u2019\u00a0 \u2013 could have injured his spinal cord or shaken his brain from side to side so violently Joseph would be left partially paralyzed.\u00a0 Doctor Fields remarked that, had the blow been any harder, it was likely the brain stem would have been completely severed from the spine.\u00a0 In that case, it would not have been a bruised and battered Little Joe his brother found in that alley.<\/p>\n But a dead one.<\/p>\n The rancher ran a hand over his eyes, curtailing the tears.<\/p>\n \u201cHow\u2019s Joe doing?\u201d Adam asked from the doorway.<\/p>\n Ben went to meet him.\u00a0 \u201cYour brother is holding his own.\u00a0 Joseph was in a lot of pain this morning.\u00a0 The doctor\u2019s been by.\u00a0 He gave him a dose of morphine.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam\u2019s gaze moved from Little Joe to him.\u00a0 \u201cWas that wise with the head injury?\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019d asked that as well.\u00a0 The doctor had shrugged and admitted it was a toss-up.<\/p>\n He really <\/em>missed Paul.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt it best to let the boy sleep,\u201d Ben answered.\u00a0 In truth, it had been more than he could bear to listen to his almost grown son whimper like a child whose soul as well as body had been wounded almost beyond comprehension.<\/p>\n Adam nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI just checked on Hoss.\u00a0 He\u2019s sleeping too.\u00a0 Did the Doc give him something?\u201d<\/p>\n The rancher nodded.\u00a0 \u201cA mild sedative for the pain.\u201d<\/p>\n His eldest was watching him.\u00a0 \u201cWhat about your <\/em>pain, Pa?\u00a0 I\u2019m\u2026sorry about Adah.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben raised one eyebrow.\u00a0 \u201cAre you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPa\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBe honest.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam drew in a breath and let it out slowly as he considered his answer.\u00a0 \u201cWhy\u2026how<\/em> could you love a woman like\u2026that\u2026enough to marry her?\u201d<\/p>\n He knew his son was not being disrespectful.\u00a0 Adam didn\u2019t care that Adah was an actress or that she had been married before, or even that she\u2019d shown her body off to the entire city.\u00a0 What his eldest meant was \u2013 how could he love a woman who did not love herself?<\/p>\n Ben thought a moment.\u00a0 \u201cYou remember the trip out west?\u201d<\/p>\n The boy snorted.\u00a0 \u201cI remember it well.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen you remember the face of desperation.\u201d\u00a0 Ben gestured with his head and the two of them stepped into the hall where their conversation would not disturb Joseph.\u00a0 \u201cWomen\u2026men\u2026anyone can be driven to desperation by circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo you\u2019re saying Adah chose Regan over you out of desperation?<\/em>\u00a0 I don\u2019t see that, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDid you see any resemblance between Adah and your stepmother?\u201d<\/p>\n His son looked uncomfortable.<\/p>\n \u201cWomen like Adah, like Marie, are delicate creatures.\u00a0 All it takes is one man using or abusing them \u2013 and telling them that it is their fault \u2013 for them to believe it.\u00a0 They take on the belief that they are unworthy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut why choose Regan over you?<\/em>\u00a0 You would have loved her and made her feel that she was worth something.\u00a0 You would have given her everything.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben pursed his lips.\u00a0 \u201cAh, there\u2019s the \u2018rub\u2019 as your Shakespeare is wont to say.\u00a0 Such women don\u2019t\u00a0 believe <\/em>they deserve anything.\u00a0 They long for a good man, a man they can trust, but they are afraid to trust him.\u00a0 They fear that, if<\/em> they trust him he will betray them and break their heart.\u00a0 And that, Adam, they cannot <\/em>survive.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSo it\u2019s safer to choose a man they can\u2019t<\/em> trust?\u201d<\/p>\n He nodded.<\/p>\n Adam was silent a moment.\u00a0 \u201cMarie trusted you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, by God\u2019s grace.\u00a0 Your stepmother chose to take my hand and pull herself out of a hellish existence.\u00a0 But it was hard, Adam. \u00a0Marie never felt she was good enough.\u00a0 Though, when Joseph came along, I believe she almost forgot her fear.\u201d\u00a0 He clapped a hand on his son\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cI should get back to your brother.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam\u2019s troubled gaze shot to the partially open door.\u00a0 \u201cIf you think Joe is going to be\u2026okay\u2026I\u2019ll head out to the spread.\u00a0 The ranch won\u2019t run itself.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou do that, son.\u201d\u00a0 He understood.\u00a0 Adam needed solitude to deal with his own grief and rage.\u00a0 \u201cHoss and I will stay here with your brother until he is well enough to travel.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen did Doctor Fields think that would be?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben\u2019s aspect darkened.\u00a0 \u201cIt depends on your brother and how he heals.\u00a0 There\u2019s some\u2026concern\u2026about the bruising around his hips.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam nodded.\u00a0 He, like any educated man, knew what that meant.<\/p>\n His son covered is hand with his own.\u00a0 \u201cJoe\u2019s a tough kid, Pa.\u00a0 He\u2019ll be okay.\u201d<\/p>\n It flashed before his eyes again \u2013 the vision of Marie\u2019s slight, slender, curly-haired, bright and beautiful boy facing death at the hands of a monster nearly three times his size.<\/p>\n He nodded.<\/p>\n It was the West.<\/p>\n They all had to be tough.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cPa?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben Cartwright hurried up the hotel staircase.\u00a0 His fear mounted with each step he took toward his middle son, who was standing at the top.\u00a0 Hoss had insisted on sitting with Joseph while he went downstairs to get something to eat.\u00a0 He had no appetite, but hunger paid no attention to a man\u2019s desire to wallow in rage and grief.\u00a0 He\u2019d stood up and nearly swooned and known he had to go.<\/p>\n It was odd, sitting in the hotel dining room with the chaos of normal life swirling about him.\u00a0 There was a couple sitting at one of the tables, and a family of six who were obviously heading out as soon as they finished eating.\u00a0 They were in their travel clothes and had several valises on the floor by their chairs.\u00a0 Behind him three businessmen were holding a meeting.\u00a0 He knew them, though not well.\u00a0 They\u2019d greeted him as they passed by and asked how he was doing.<\/p>\n He hadn\u2019t know what to say.<\/p>\n To say nothing seemed…wrong\u2026somehow.\u00a0 To say anything seemed\u2026wrong\u2026somehow.<\/p>\n So he simply nodded.<\/p>\n Just after the waitress delivered his plate, the hotel manager came over to inquire about Joseph.\u00a0 His answer was pat.\u00a0 \u2018He\u2019s holding his own and the doctor hopes for the best.\u2019\u00a0 To say more would have been to open a floodgate that he had neither the will to handle, the energy to cope with, or the capability to close.\u00a0\u00a0 The man seemed to understand.\u00a0 Though a stranger, the manager briefly rested a hand on his shoulder before moving on to the next table.<\/p>\n After that he sat there, lost in thought; picking at his food and pushing it around on the china plate \u2013 until he heard a familiar voice.\u00a0 It was evocative, arousing in him both desire and disgust.<\/p>\n Adah.<\/p>\n Ben\u2019s jaw grew tight and his fingers gripped the edge of the table as he continued to listen.\u00a0 He heard Adah speak to the concierge, inquiring about the stage and asking that her trunks be taken to the station.\u00a0 Those who occupied the tables around him had no notion of the war that was being waged in their presence.\u00a0 His first impulse had been to rise to his feet and march into the lobby and confront her.\u00a0 What kind of father would he be if he allowed her to climb onto the stage and disappear without so much a word, free of consequences?\u00a0 Adah would tell him he was making a scene and he would tell her<\/em> that it was nothing compared to the scene of the night before \u2013 to the tragedy of a beautiful young man who had been beaten to within an inch of his life and left in a filthy alley to die!\u00a0 People would stare.\u00a0 Tongues would wag.\u00a0 But that wasn\u2019t what stopped him.<\/p>\n What stopped him was the fear that John C. Regan could be with her and he would kill him.<\/p>\n And he would<\/em> have killed the bastard.<\/p>\n So he\u2019d sat there, unsure of what to do, for a full minute before tossing his napkin onto the table and rising to his feet.\u00a0 He crossed deliberately over to the doorway and stepped to the side, where he would have a view of the lobby but no one would have a view of him. \u00a0Adah was just leaving the desk.<\/p>\n She was alone.<\/p>\n Ben watched the actress move, noting the elegant turn of her foot, her slender figure and girlish waist; unable to miss how the dawn light spilled in through the open door to strike her rust brown-walking suit and brunette hair, turning both to bronze.\u00a0 She was breathtaking.\u00a0 Beautiful.\u00a0 Adah held herself like a queen.<\/p>\n Few knew of the wretched pauper inside.<\/p>\n He\u2019d had a lot of time to think as he sat throughout the night watching over his wounded child.\u00a0 Time to figure out just why<\/em> he\u2019d thought he loved this women enough to propose.\u00a0 The answer came to him just before dawn as he changed the bandage on his son\u2019s head for the second time.\u00a0 Adah was a wounded creature, just as Marie had been.\u00a0 A woman as battered and bruised by life as his son had been by John C. Regan.\u00a0 There was something within him that drove him to bind up such women\u2019s wounds and to set them free to live the lives God intended.\u00a0 He\u2019d loved Marie and that love had freed her to love herself.<\/p>\n He only wished he could have done the same for Adah.<\/p>\n As she stepped out the door, the actress turned back to give an instruction to the concierge who was near the dining room and their eyes met.\u00a0 Adah\u2019s lips parted. \u00a0She took a step forward.<\/p>\n And then fled out the door.<\/p>\n \u2018Magnificent\u2019. \u00a0That was what people called her.\u00a0 Magnificent she might have been, but \u2013 for him \u2013 her effervescence had waned and the limelight gone out.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n FIVE<\/p>\n \u201cPa?\u201d<\/p>\n The weak and trembling voice jolted Ben awake.\u00a0 He glanced out the window, noting the time, and then shifted onto the bed beside his hurting son.\u00a0 Hoss had come to get him because Joseph was awake.\u00a0 By the time he arrived, Little Joe had lapsed back into silence, and so he had taken a position in the chair beside the bed and sat there as the day wore into night.\u00a0 Up until this moment the boy had slept as one dead.<\/p>\n He had slept too as he was finally at peace with the choices he\u2019d made.<\/p>\n Paul Martin had returned to Virginia City with the sun and, after stopping at his office, hastened to the hotel to check on the young man he called his \u2018favorite patient\u2019.\u00a0 The first thing the physician did was assure him that, though gruff, Doctor Fields was an excellent diagnostician and Joseph had been in good hands.\u00a0 Paul roused Little Joe long enough to ask him a few questions and poke a few places before giving him a potion so he could sleep.\u00a0 He\u2019d watched his friend as he worked and seen him scowl when he examined the bruising on Little Joe\u2019s abdomen and back.<\/p>\n Paul had seen him watching and told him it was simply too soon to know.<\/p>\n After the doctor left, he\u2019d returned to his chair to keep a silent vigil and fallen asleep.<\/p>\n Ben reached out to touch his son\u2019s cheek. \u00a0It was one of the few places where Joseph\u2019s handsome face remained undamaged.<\/p>\n \u201cHey, sleepyhead,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n His son looked puzzled, and then frightened \u2013 and then panic entered Little Joe\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cTake it easy.\u201d\u00a0 He placed a hand on Joe\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re fine.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPa\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Joe wet his lips.\u00a0 His voice was robbed of all strength.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2026can\u2019t see!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cSon.\u00a0 Take a deep breath.\u201d\u00a0 Little Joe obeyed as he did the same.\u00a0 Doctor Fields had feared for the boy\u2019s sight and said Joe could be blinded.<\/p>\n Was that to be the case?<\/p>\n His son\u2019s fingers clawed at his wrist.\u00a0 \u201cPa\u2026!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s dark in here, Joseph, and you\u2019ve been sleeping.\u201d\u00a0 The sun had gone down only a moment before.\u00a0 \u201cLet me turn up the light.\u201d\u00a0 Without removing his son\u2019s hand, Ben lit the lamp.\u00a0 It was a challenge, but he managed it one-handed.\u00a0 \u201cCan you see anything?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe\u2019s grip tightened.\u00a0 He shook his head.<\/p>\n Ben thumbed the wheel, bringing up the light.\u00a0 \u201cNow?\u201d<\/p>\n The boy\u2019s fingers were digging into his flesh.\u00a0 They relaxed slightly.\u00a0 \u201cI can see\u2026something, Pa.\u00a0 It\u2019s\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Little Joe sucked air in through his swollen lips.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s orange\u2026red\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n He turned the lamp up a bit more, so the light filled the room.\u00a0 \u201cHow about me?\u00a0 Joseph, can you see me?\u201d<\/p>\n His son turned his battered face toward him.\u00a0 Fully revealed by the light the sight was enough to sicken not only Ben\u2019s stomach, but his heart.\u00a0 Overnight the bruising had intensified, and what wasn\u2019t bruised was torn and swollen.\u00a0 Still, the anguished father held still.<\/p>\n \u201cJoseph?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe\u2019s beautiful, pain-filled green eyes fastened on him.\u00a0 A heartbeat later the tears overflowed.<\/p>\n \u201cPa\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n He so <\/em>wanted to hug him.\u00a0 Joseph, like his mother, was a tactile creature.\u00a0 His youngest boy lived for touch.\u00a0 Still, the rancher was terrified that the action would bring his son more pain, so he remained where he was.<\/p>\n As if reading his mind, Little Joe\u2019s fingers shifted to his sleeve.\u00a0 They urged him closer.<\/p>\n \u201cJoseph, no.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n More tears fell.<\/p>\n There had been a time, when Joseph was young and before his mother died, that the boy had climbed a tree.\u00a0 They\u2019d been on a picnic and he and Marie had become otherwise\u2026occupied.\u00a0 By the time he looked up, the tiny boy was twenty feet in the air.\u00a0 When Joseph looked down and saw him, a brilliant smile had plumped his chubby cheeks and he had let go, knowing he would catch him.\u00a0 He had, but the boy\u2019s weight knocked him from his feet.\u00a0 They had rolled \u2013 his greater weight tumbling over and over the child.\u00a0 When they stopped, he\u2019d been afraid to touch his son for fear something was broken and he would injure him further.<\/p>\n As he was afraid now.<\/p>\n Joseph\u2019s lip trembled.\u00a0 \u201cPa\u2026please\u2026.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Words came to him.\u00a0 Spoken long ago, by someone he could not remember. \u00a0\u2018What a grand and beautiful force, the immense and wildly unappreciated power of human touch.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n Fear be damned!<\/p>\n Ben reached forward and gently slipped his arms under his son\u2019s ravaged form and began to lift him.\u00a0 Little Joe whimpered as he did it, but sucked in the sound so he would not stop.\u00a0 Just like the time when the boy had been four, he gingerly and gently began to pull Joseph to his chest and, just as the boy had done at the time, his son flung himself into his arms and gripped him tightly.<\/p>\n His tears fell as well.<\/p>\n They sat there for some time, quietly weeping but saying nothing.\u00a0 Joseph was the first to stir.\u00a0 His son\u2019s face had been buried in his shirt.\u00a0 Little Joe turned it and rested his cheek on his arm.<\/p>\n \u201cPa?\u201d<\/p>\n The fingers of one hand were buried in the boy\u2019s matted curls.\u00a0 The other surrounded his slender waist.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, son.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI want to go home.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJoseph.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think that\u2019s wise.\u00a0 Paul said \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n The boy straightened up.\u00a0 He bit back a groan and then sat for a moment with his eyes closed before speaking again.<\/p>\n \u201cPlease, Pa.\u00a0 I\u2026want to go home.\u00a0 I\u2019ll\u2026heal\u2026better at home.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJoe \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n His son\u2019s fingers bit into his arms.\u00a0 \u201cPa.\u00a0 I need<\/em> to\u2026go home.\u00a0 I don\u2019t\u2026\u201d\u00a0 Those wide green eyes grew wild.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Little Joe\u2019s gaze shot to the window.\u00a0 His voice fell off to a whisper.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s <\/em>out there.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWho?\u00a0 Joseph, who?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben sucked in a breath at the boy\u2019s look. Then, the truth dawned.<\/p>\n Regan.<\/p>\n The rancher\u2019s jaw grew tight as a the love of a father and the need for justice warred within him.\u00a0 Still, Ben fought to keep his voice calm.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s gone, Joe.\u00a0 Regan ran like the coward he is.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe\u2019s face was once again buried in his shirt front.\u00a0 The boy\u2019s fingers clutched the fabric.\u00a0 Joe was shaking.\u00a0 His vibrant, strong, and proud son\u2019s voice was hushed with fear.<\/p>\n No, with terror.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, Pa.\u00a0 He\u2019s there.<\/em>\u00a0 He\u2019s\u2026waiting for me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJoseph, look at me.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe\u2019s head shook against his chest.\u00a0 \u201cHe told<\/em> me\u2026Pa.\u00a0 He told me\u2026if he didn\u2019t\u2026kill me\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 His son sucked in air.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019d\u2026come back.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRegan was just trying to frighten you, son.\u201d\u00a0 Ben stroked the boy\u2019s curls and spoke soothingly.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s gone.\u00a0 He and Adah left.\u201d<\/p>\n The boy\u2019s head came up.\u00a0 A pale hope entered his eyes\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cHe\u2019s\u2026really<\/em> gone?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYes, son,\u201d he assured him.\u00a0 \u201cJohn C. Regan is gone.\u201d<\/p>\n At least, he hoped he was.<\/p>\n To protect his son\u2019s dignity, they left for home after dark.<\/p>\n Joseph was soon to be eighteen; not a boy, but not quite a man.\u00a0 The only way he would agree to his older brother carrying him out to the wagon was if they did it when no one was around to see, and the only way Paul would agree to them taking Joseph back to the Ponderosa, was if Hoss carried him down the hotel steps.<\/p>\n He doubted the boy could have made it on his own.<\/p>\n As was often the case, the day following an injury was twice as hard and a hundred times more painful.\u00a0 Thankfully, the bruising on his son\u2019s abdomen had eased.\u00a0 That was the only reason Paul agreed to their scheme.\u00a0 Of course, Paul brought the boy into the world and had tended him since birth, so he well knew Joseph\u2019s disposition. The boy was high-strung and easily upset just like his mother.\u00a0 Once the physician understood the nature of Joseph\u2019s fears, he agreed that taking the boy home could very well prove the best medicine.<\/p>\n As for him, Ben was concerned that his boy\u2019s physical wounds would prove the least of their worries.<\/p>\n His youngest was a study in contradictions \u2013 fearless in order to overcome his fears, prone to riotous laughter that often led to tears; extremely talkative \u2013 so much so that his older brothers had been known to tie him to a stake and gag him while playing a \u2018game\u2019 when young, just for a moment of peace.\u00a0 And yet Little Joe could be quiet.\u00a0 Intensely quiet.<\/p>\n As he was now.<\/p>\n Hoss gave him a nod as he cast an anxious look at his baby brother.\u00a0 They\u2019d stepped a few yards away from the wagon after settling Joe in.\u00a0 Paul was talking to him now, giving the boy a few last minute instructions.<\/p>\n \u201cLittle Joe ain\u2019t said nothin\u2019, Pa.\u00a0 You think he\u2019s just tired?\u201d<\/p>\n He gave out a little sigh.\u00a0 \u201cI think he\u2019s holding everything inside.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAbout bein\u2019 beat, you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben placed a hand on his giant of a son\u2019s arm.\u00a0 There were a few fading bruises here and there, left over from his fight with Regan, but for the most part, his middle boy was entirely recovered and he thanked God for that.<\/p>\n \u201cIn part,\u201d he replied.\u00a0 \u201cAs you know, Joseph holds himself up against you and Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n His son scowled.\u00a0 \u201cYou mean, Little Joe thinks he ain\u2019t a man \u2018cause Regan whupped him?\u00a0 Pa, I\u2019m surprised he didn\u2019t kill<\/em> him!\u201d<\/p>\n They were all surprised \u2013 and thankful.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know your brother. The fact that the man outweighed him by nearly two hundred pounds and was nearly a foot taller means nothing.\u00a0 But that\u2019s not what I\u2019m talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss was looking at his brother again.\u00a0 Paul was stepping down out of the wagon and Little Joe had turned his face so it was hidden beneath the covers.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s something else?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Ben hesitated.\u00a0 If he mentioned Joe\u2019s fears about Regan returning to Hoss, then Hoss would tell Adam.\u00a0 He preferred to inform them both at the same time, so they could work out a strategy.<\/p>\n The rancher nodded.\u00a0 \u201cBut now is not the time to go into it.\u00a0 It\u2019s a long ride out to the Ponderosa and it\u2019s going to be hard on your brother.\u00a0 We\u2019ll get Little Joe home and get him settled and then you and Adam and I can talk.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHas this got somethin\u2019 to do with that there monster what did this to him?\u201d Hoss asked, his tone more a growl than an inquiry.<\/p>\n Ben patted his son\u2019s arm.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll talk about it later.\u00a0 First, let\u2019s get your brother home.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Adam met them at the door.\u00a0 He had no idea how his eldest son knew they were coming, other than the fact that he might have heard their approach \u2013 although the fact that Adam was dressed seemed to indicate that he had been waiting and some sixth sense had alerted him to their plans.<\/p>\n Or perhaps it had been Providence.<\/p>\n It was very<\/em> early in the morning when they arrived.\u00a0 So early not even Hop Sing was up.\u00a0 As they rolled in, the shadows departed and the golden glow that heralded the new day topped the mountain peaks and spilled over into the yard.\u00a0 As he\u2019d predicted, the ride to the spread had been extremely hard on his wounded son.\u00a0 Though they\u2019d tried their best to keep the wagon level and traveled at a snail\u2019s pace, Joseph had moaned and cried out as it bumped along the road, jostling his battered and broken form.\u00a0 The boy bit his lip through in an attempt to stem the tears, but they\u2019d fallen anyway, trailing down his cheeks to wet the collar of his bloodied shirt.<\/p>\n He still wore the remnants of his fine suit.\u00a0 They\u2019d had nothing else to change him into.<\/p>\n Hoss had unhitched the team and was putting the animals in the barn.\u00a0 Joseph had fallen asleep just as they wheeled into the yard and he\u2019d decided to let the boy be for a few minutes before rousing him and taking him inside.\u00a0 Adam watched Hoss go and then walked over to the wagon where he stood now, staring at his younger brother.<\/p>\n It was early and the light was sketchy at best, but Ben recognized the look on his eldest\u2019s face.\u00a0 He recognized it, because it had been written on his own not all that long before.<\/p>\n He waited until Adam glanced his way and then signaled him over.\u00a0 After greeting him, quietly, speaking as much to himself as to his son, he said, \u201cDearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam\u2019s jaw was set.\u00a0 His whiskey-colored eyes locked on his and he quoted back, \u201cI sought my soul, but my soul I could not see. \u00a0I sought my God, but my God eluded me. \u00a0I sought my brother and I found all three.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n He was deeply touched \u2013 and deeply concerned \u2013 by the fervor of his eldest\u2019s emotion.<\/p>\n Adam drew a breath and let it out slowly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m going to kill him, Pa.\u00a0 For what\u2026for Joe.\u00a0 I swear I\u2019m going to kill<\/em> Regan.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben nodded slowly.\u00a0 \u201cI want to kill him too.\u201d<\/p>\n For a moment, his son\u2019s face registered surprise. Then he nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cAdam, Regan is gone.\u201d<\/p>\n The boy considered that a moment.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re sure?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u00a0 Adah left tonight.\u00a0 I saw her go.\u00a0 She was alone.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Pa.\u00a0 I know she meant a lot to you.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cIf she did, it\u2019s over now.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut how can you be sure Regan is gone?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause he is a coward.\u201d\u00a0 Ben\u2019s fingers formed into a fist.\u00a0 \u201cOnly a coward could do what\u2026that monster\u2026did to your brother.\u00a0 Regan knows I would set the law on him.\u00a0 He\u2019s done this before \u2013 broken that law\u2026killed men.\u00a0 He would have gone to jail.\u00a0 He will <\/em>go to jail if he ever dares to set his foot in Virginia City again!\u201d<\/p>\n Ben noted Adam was looking behind him.\u00a0 He turned to find Hoss standing at his shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cYou want me to get Little Joe and take him up to his room, Pa?\u201d the big man asked.<\/p>\n \u201cI suppose he\u2019s slept long enough.\u00a0 Hoss, be\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Ben turned to look at Adam.\u00a0 His son had placed a hand on his arm.\u00a0 \u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll get Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI can do it, Adam.\u00a0 Little Joe\u2019s dead weight\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss winced,<\/p>\n Adam looked his brother in the eye and then him.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll <\/em>get Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss started to speak, but Ben stopped him with a nudge.\u00a0 Before he could say anything further, Adam turned on his heel and went to the wagon.<\/p>\n \u201cYou want I should drop the back for him, Pa?\u201d Hoss asked.<\/p>\n \u201cThat will be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n The big man took a step.\u00a0 \u201cPa?\u00a0 What\u2019s wrong with Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n Marie had been exhausted.\u00a0 In order to allow her to sleep after Joseph\u2019s birth, he had taken his tiny and rather vocal newborn son to the next room and laid the baby in the middle of the guest bed.\u00a0 He\u2019d returned then to his wife\u2019s side and, without knowing it, fallen asleep as well.\u00a0 When he woke, he dashed \u2013 with great guilt and fear \u2013 to the other room to check on his third child and found Joseph wasn\u2019t alone. \u00a0Twelve-year-old Adam was there.\u00a0 His eldest son lay on the bed with his youngest in his arms.<\/p>\n Adam was singing.<\/p>\n Hush-a-bye, don’t you cry,<\/em><\/p>\n Go to sleepy little baby boy.<\/em><\/p>\n When you wake, you shall have,<\/em><\/p>\n All the pretty little horses.<\/em><\/p>\n Blacks and bays, dapples and greys,<\/em><\/p>\n Go to sleepy you little baby,<\/em><\/p>\n Hush-a-bye, don’t you cry,<\/em><\/p>\n Go to sleepy little baby,<\/em><\/p>\n When you wake, you shall have,<\/em><\/p>\n All the pretty little horses.<\/em> \u201cI will always be there for you,\u201d the boy said with an intensity that had almost frightened him.\u00a0 \u201cNo one\u2026no one<\/em> will ever hurt you,\u00a0 I\u2019ll keep you safe, little Joseph.\u00a0 I promise.\u201d<\/p>\n And Adam was a man of his word.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n SIX<\/p>\n Ben Cartwright placed the book he was holding on the fireside table and rose to his feet.\u00a0 As he did, there was a noise at the top of the stairs.\u00a0 He looked up to find Hoss coming down.<\/p>\n \u201cIs your brother sleeping?\u201d Ben asked.<\/p>\n Hoss nodded.<\/p>\n He didn\u2019t say anything.\u00a0 He just\u2026nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cIs everything all right?\u201d<\/p>\n It had been two days since they\u2019d brought Joseph home.\u00a0 The boy was getting better.\u00a0 It turned out his eyesight was fine, though Paul said the vision in Little Joe\u2019s injured eye would remain blurry until the optic nerve recovered. \u00a0The bruises on his son\u2019s body had run the gamut from red to a deep purple and\u00a0 were beginning to fade.\u00a0 It was only a matter of time before they changed to yellow-green and disappeared all together.\u00a0 Still, as the outward signs of the beating disappeared, Joseph\u2019s inward bruising deepened.\u00a0 At first he was sullen and spoke little, and then Joseph\u2019s mercurial temper made an appearance \u2013 so much so that Hop Sing refused to take the boy\u2019s meals up, leaving that to Hoss.<\/p>\n Who held Joe\u2019s supper tray.<\/p>\n \u201cI ain\u2019t sure, Pa.\u00a0 You know how Little Joe\u2019s been mad as a rattler on a spit.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben chuckled.\u00a0 An apt description.<\/p>\n \u201cYes\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI took his tray in and he didn\u2019t say a word.\u00a0 I opened his window curtains and stoked the fire \u2018cause the room was cold and he didn\u2019t yell at me to leave things alone.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cSince he wouldn\u2019t talk, I went and did a few things upstairs that needed doin\u2019.\u00a0 When I came back\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 His son indicated the tray in his hands.\u00a0 \u201cJoe didn\u2019t eat nothin\u2019, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDid he react badly when you told him he should have eaten something?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, sir.\u00a0 He was sittin\u2019 up in the bed, starin\u2019, and he just kept sittin\u2019 there starin\u2019.\u201d\u00a0 His son paused.\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t think, well\u2026.\u00a0 You don\u2019t think Joe still thinks he ought to have been able to take Regan on, do you?\u00a0 Like he\u2019s mad at himself for getting\u2019 beat up?\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019d had that talk with his youngest son.\u00a0 Joseph seemed to accept the fact that he \u2013 as most<\/em> other men \u2013 was no match for John C. Regan; a man who was not only bigger than Hoss, but a trained prize fighter as well. \u00a0Still, there had been something \u2013 a look in the boy\u2019s eye, the way his lips tightened into a line \u2013that told him the subject was not closed.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat should I do with the food?\u201d Hoss asked.<\/p>\n Ben let out a sigh.\u00a0 Hop Sing had already threatened to return to China \u2013 twice \u2013 if Joseph didn\u2019t alter his behavior and<\/em> develop an appetite.<\/p>\n \u201cHow about we take it out on the porch and eat what we can between us?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss grinned.\u00a0 \u201cJust what I was thinkin, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n It was a glorious day.\u00a0 The night before had been chilly, but the risen sun had warmed the land, decrying the advent of winter.\u00a0 They were without jackets, but comfortable as they took their places at the porch table.\u00a0 Ben watched the men coming and going for a moment before turning to his son.<\/p>\n \u201cHow are you, Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n The big man looked startled.\u00a0 \u201cMe, Pa?\u00a0 I\u2019m fine.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben held his gaze for a moment.\u00a0 \u201cAre you?\u201d<\/p>\n The big man hemmed and hawed and then said. \u201cI ain\u2019t hurtin\u2019 if that\u2019s what you mean.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd here I thought you were the honest one,\u201d the rancher answered.<\/p>\n His son was startled, for an instant.\u00a0 Then he snorted.\u00a0 \u201cAdam always says you\u2019re just like one of them mediums at the circus what can see things other folks don\u2019t see.\u201d<\/p>\n The rancher smiled but sobered quickly.\u00a0 Adam.\u00a0 It had been two days since he\u2019d seen his eldest and he was concerned.<\/p>\n No.\u00a0 He was frightened.<\/p>\n \u201cPa?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I mean is this \u2013 have you <\/em>come to terms with what happened to your brother?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss stared hard at him before rising to his feet.\u00a0 He shoved his hands into his pocket, leaned against the porch post, and looked out toward town.\u00a0 \u201cWhen I found him, I thought Regan had done killed Little Joe.\u00a0 I ain\u2019t never see\u2019d a man so broken, and to know it was Regan what done it\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss sucked in air.\u00a0 \u201cI felt them fists, Pa.\u00a0 I was nearly done \u2013 would <\/em>have been if it hadn\u2019t been for Adam tellin\u2019 me to give that good-for-nothing a hug.\u201d\u00a0 He hung his head.\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t get the picture out of my head \u2013 Regan comin\u2019 out of the darkness, beatin\u2019 on Little Joe, and then leavin\u2019 him lyin\u2019 in that alley all alone.\u201d<\/p>\n None of them could get that picture out of their head.<\/p>\n It was the reason Adam was gone.<\/p>\n Hoss swung around to face him.\u00a0 \u201cHave you<\/em> \u2018come to terms\u2019 with it, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n Ah.\u00a0 Hoist by his own petard.<\/p>\n He thought a moment before he answered.\u00a0 \u201cYour brother is alive.\u00a0 I thank God for that and\u2026try not to think of anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n The big man looked up toward his brother\u2019s window.\u00a0 \u201cYou think Joe\u2019s gonna be okay?\u201d<\/p>\n He hoped he would be.<\/p>\n His youngest son was complex, to put it mildly.\u00a0 He often thought he would gladly trade the wisdom of the old man he was for the energy of the young man he\u2019d been, just so he could cope with him.\u00a0 Ben considered what his own reaction would have been; how he<\/em> would have come through such a beating and what would have been the aftermath.\u00a0 He\u2019d been young once and, though he\u2019d never been as slight as Joseph, it had taken him some time to grow into his present height and bulk.\u00a0 He knew what it was to be intimidated.\u00a0 Once, as a young lieutenant, he\u2019d been surrounded by a group of older, much larger, and very angry seamen.\u00a0 They hadn\u2019t beaten him, but they\u2019d scared the living daylights out of him by threatening to throw him overboard.\u00a0 Everywhere corner he turned, he expected to find them waiting.\u00a0 He lost sleep.\u00a0 And weight.\u00a0 Each day he grew angrier at his own impotence.\u00a0 In time his captain caught wind of it and put an end to the rebellion, but it took young Lieutenant Cartwright months to \u2018come to terms\u2019 with what had happened and to overcome the fear that it would happen again.<\/p>\n \u201cYour brother will be fine, in time,\u201d he said at last.\u00a0 \u201cWe just need to give Joseph time \u2013 and space \u2013 to work through it.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss nodded toward the road to town.\u00a0 \u201cWhat about my other<\/em> brother?\u00a0 You heard anything from Adam, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben frowned.\u00a0 He and his eldest son had engaged in a heated \u2018discussion\u2019 the night Adam informed him he was riding off in search of John C. Regan.\u00a0 Adam wasn\u2019t a small man, but Ben was all too aware of what Regan had done to Hoss \u2013 who was a good one hundred pounds and at least three inches taller than his older brother.\u00a0 He\u2019d confronted his son as he saddled his horse, telling him that Joseph needed him at home and reminding him of how he had stopped him<\/em> from taking on the prize fighter. \u00a0He outweighed his eldest by a few pounds but, in truth, they were about the same size.<\/p>\n All Adam said was, \u201cI made a promise, Pa, and I mean to keep it.\u201d<\/p>\n Then, he was gone.<\/p>\n Adam and Little Joe were a study in contrasts.\u00a0 The one energetic, talkative, excitable and rash. The other calm, cool, and calculated.\u00a0 The irony was, they were more alike than they thought.\u00a0 Both loved deeply.\u00a0 Both were fiercely independent.<\/p>\n And both, fiercely protective.<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u00a0 I haven\u2019t heard anything from your brother.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss nodded.\u00a0 \u201cA man\u2019s gotta do what he\u2019s gotta do, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss had wanted to go as well.\u00a0 His middle son was just as protective, but the argument that Joe needed him here <\/em>carried more weight.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I better get about my chores, Pa.\u00a0 They ain\u2019t gonna do themselves,\u201d Hoss said as he stepped off the porch.\u00a0 \u201cYou gonna go up and see Little Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben rose to his feet with the breakfast tray in hand.\u00a0 \u201cHere.\u00a0 If you don\u2019t want it, feed it to the pigs.\u00a0 Just so we take an empty tray back to Hop Sing.\u201d<\/p>\n The big man grinned.\u00a0 \u201cSure thing.\u00a0 I might even eat a bite myself as I work.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben was glad his son wanted it.\u00a0 He<\/em> had no appetite.\u00a0 Two of his sons were in turmoil.<\/p>\n So, he was too.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He\u2019d spoken to Little Joe and it had not gone well.<\/p>\n The boy\u2019s anger had turned inward and he\u2019d sunken into depression.\u00a0 His son\u2019s monosyllabic replies to his questions gave him little more than the assurance that he was not in too much pain and that he didn\u2019t need anything to sleep. \u00a0He\u2019d tried to draw him out, but Joseph steadfastly refused.\u00a0 In the end he\u2019d turned down the light and kissed his son on the head like he had when he was a little boy and headed for the door.\u00a0 Joe asked one question, just as he reached it.\u00a0 Of course, it was the one he could not answer.<\/p>\n Where was Adam?<\/p>\n Hoss had gone to bed by the time he came down to the great room, worn out by doing his chores plus those of his two brothers.\u00a0 He\u2019d leant a hand during the day, but had to return to the house to do paperwork and so the bulk of the heavy work had been left to the big man.\u00a0 It was after ten and he couldn\u2019t sleep, so he\u2019d decided to pour himself a brandy.\u00a0 He was halfway through a new novel.\u00a0 He thought he\u2019d see if he could concentrate enough on it to know what he was reading.<\/p>\n Somehow, he doubted it.<\/p>\n He\u2019d just stopped the decanter and sat down when the front door opened and his eldest son blew in along with a cold wind. \u00a0Adam doffed his heavy coat, hung his hat on the rack, and then proceeded to unbuckle his gun belt and lay it and the weapon on the credenza before turning into the room. \u00a0The boy hesitated and then stepped into the light cast by the dying fire.<\/p>\n One side of his face was bruised.\u00a0 He limped as he crossed the room to his chair.<\/p>\n Ben swallowed a sip of brandy before speaking.\u00a0 \u201cI take it you found Regan?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam nodded slowly.<\/p>\n \u201cDid you fight him?\u201d<\/p>\n One side of the boy\u2019s mouth twitched.\u00a0 \u201cNot exactly.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut your face\u2026your leg\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a long story.\u201d\u00a0 Adam\u2019s eyes went to the decanter.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d like a drink before I tell it.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben flushed.\u00a0 Here was his son, safe and sound.\u00a0 Adam had ridden hard to and from the Ponderosa and obviously been through something.<\/p>\n \u201cCertainly.\u00a0 I should have thought of it,\u201d he said as he poured the drink and handed it over.<\/p>\n Adam sipped the liquor slowly, savoring it.\u00a0 When the glass was empty he put it on the table.<\/p>\n \u201cHe got away,\u201d he said at last.<\/p>\n \u201cRegan?\u201d<\/p>\n His son nodded.\u00a0 Adam drew a breath and leaned forward, dangling his hands between his knees.\u00a0 \u201cI went to town first.\u00a0 I wanted to see if Robert and Roy knew anything.\u201d\u00a0 His son shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t believe we didn\u2019t set them on Regan that night.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe were too concerned about your brother.\u00a0 I spoke to Robert the next day before we left, but I knew it was fruitless.\u00a0 Regan was already out of his jurisdiction.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRobert sent word to the sheriffs in the surrounding towns, with a description.\u00a0 No one saw him or Adah.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know how Regan got out of town, but Adah took the coach.\u00a0 He probably met her at one of the way stations.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam nodded.\u00a0 \u201cHe did.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow did you find out?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI went from station to station.\u00a0 Knowing Adah and her penchant for comfort,\u201d his son glanced at him, as if weighing his reaction, \u201cI figured she would take the stage, so I followed it.\u00a0 I did a little asking \u2013 and a bit of greasing palms \u2013 and found they were headed for Short Creek and the port there.\u201d<\/p>\n The quickest way out of the territory would be by riverboat.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, you caught up to them there?\u201d<\/p>\n His son pursed his lips.\u00a0 \u201cI went straight to the sheriff and told him what John C. Regan had done to Little Joe.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t believe me.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben couldn\u2019t believe what he heard.\u00a0 \u201cDidn\u2019t believe you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt seems Regan had spent some time in the area.\u00a0 Did you know after retiring from prize fighting that he made his living by being a strong-arm man?\u00a0 That he hires himself out to businessmen for enforcement and protection?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAdah never mentioned it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, it\u2019s true.\u201d\u00a0 Adam scoffed.\u00a0 \u201cThe sheriff of Short Creek thinks very highly of him.\u00a0 Seems Regan helped him once to take down an illegal mining ring.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben\u2019s head was spinning.\u00a0 \u201cSo, what did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I left the sheriff\u2019s office post-haste, I can tell you, before he tossed me into a cell for defaming Regan.\u201d\u00a0 Adam let out a sigh.\u00a0 \u201cI found out what hotel he and Adah were staying at and went to confront him.\u00a0 When I got to their room, Adah came to the door.\u00a0 Pa\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDid you know he beat her?\u201d<\/p>\n The rancher stiffened.\u00a0 He\u2019d suspected it.\u00a0 Such treatment \u2013 and the acceptance of it \u2013 was part and parcel of the sorry soul Adah was.<\/p>\n He nodded.<\/p>\n Adam reached up.\u00a0 \u201cHer eye was blacker than mine.\u00a0 She was pretty scared to see me, but finally told me Regan was in the next town at a saloon.\u00a0 So I went there.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe wasn\u2019t alone.\u00a0 Seems that, along with beating women and teenagers, Regan is mixed up in illegal gambling.\u00a0 His cronies weren\u2019t too happy when I came storming in.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSon.\u00a0 Don\u2019t tell me you took them on by yourself?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI was enraged, Pa.\u201d\u00a0 His son\u2019s fingers knit together.\u00a0 \u201cI was seeing red.\u00a0 I went for him and threw the first punch.\u201d<\/p>\n In his mind\u2019s eye, Ben could see John C. Regan in his battle with Hoss and remembered his fear that the prize fighter would hurt him badly.<\/p>\n \u201cDid he strike you?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam looked chagrined.\u00a0 He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI went down under a pile of his men and woke up in a jail cell.\u00a0 By the time I was released, Adah and Regan were gone.\u201d<\/p>\n They sat in silence for some time before Ben spoke.<\/p>\n \u201cGod forgive me, I wish the man was dead.\u00a0 What he did\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Ben swallowed.\u00a0 \u201cYour little brother may never be the same.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam was silent for a moment.\u00a0 Then he rose.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll talk to him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s late, Adam.\u00a0 Leave it until morning.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt may be late, but Joe\u2019s awake.\u00a0 I saw his silhouette in the window.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s out of bed?\u201d\u00a0 Ben rose as well.\u00a0 \u201cThat boy\u2026!\u201d<\/p>\n Adam had come to his side.\u00a0 His son rested a hand on his sleeve.\u00a0 \u201cLittle Joe feels he\u2019s lost all control, Pa.\u00a0 Getting out of bed isn\u2019t a rebellion, it\u2019s a necessity.\u00a0 He has to reclaim something of what he had.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben nodded\u2026slowly.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll let you know how it goes in the morning,\u201d Adam said as he headed for the stairs.<\/p>\n \u201cSon?\u201d<\/p>\n The boy turned back.\u00a0 \u201cYes, Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDo me a favor?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cSure.\u00a0 What?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTell that young scallywag to get back into bed when you leave.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n SEVEN<\/p>\n Three knocks.\u00a0 A pause.\u00a0 And then three more.<\/p>\n It was sort of a secret code between them.\u00a0 Translated it meant, \u2018I\u2019m coming in whether you want me to or not.\u2019\u00a0 Adam lifted an eyebrow and drew in a breath as he gave his brother the agreed upon thirty seconds, and then he opened the door.<\/p>\n Pa would have been happy.\u00a0 Little Joe was in bed.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you want?\u201d was his cheerful greeting.<\/p>\n He decided to take the least\u2026prickly\u2026path.\u00a0 \u201cPa said you asked where I was.\u00a0\u00a0 I thought I would come in and tell you.\u201d\u00a0 He nodded toward the window.\u00a0 \u201cI saw your light was on when I pulled in.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe sat up at that.\u00a0 \u201cPulled in?\u00a0 Where have you been?\u201d<\/p>\n Nothing like the truth.<\/p>\n \u201cI went to find and kill John C. Regan.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe\u2019s eyes went wide.\u00a0 There was a spark of deep satisfaction in them, but it was quickly replaced with fear.<\/p>\n For him.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2026didn\u2019t<\/em>\u2026did you?\u201d<\/p>\n He indicated the chair by the bed.\u00a0 \u201cMind if I sit down?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe shook his head.\u00a0 Then he nodded.\u00a0 \u201cNo\u2026yeah\u2026I mean\u2026sit down.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n He was tired.\u00a0 Way too<\/em> tired for this conversation, but he\u2019d feared if he let it go that Little Joe might up and sneak out of his window and go looking for Regan himself. \u00a0His little brother had been far too quiet in the days before he left.<\/p>\n A thinking Little Joe was a dangerous Little Joe.<\/p>\n After adjusting his seat, Adam looked directly at his brother.\u00a0 Joe was sitting on the bed in an awkward position, as if everything he owned hurt.\u00a0 Baby brother was undoubtedly tired as well \u2013 too<\/em> tired to keep up the pretense he needed to keep up in order to keep Pa from hovering.\u00a0 Joe looked terrible.\u00a0 Even though the yellow-green bruises meant he was getting better, they leant his complexion a sallow sickly color.\u00a0 Little Joe\u2019s lower lip was swollen as was much of his face.\u00a0 The lid of the eye that had been struck so hard drooped.\u00a0 Joe\u2019s many female friends would appreciate that wound.\u00a0 It gave little brother a rakish air.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought you came up here to talk,\u201d Joe said.<\/p>\n He broke out of his reverie.\u00a0 \u201cSorry.\u00a0 Sorry I was staring.\u00a0 It\u2019s just\u2026I haven\u2019t seen you in two days.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe made a face.\u00a0 \u201cI look awful.\u201d<\/p>\n Appearance was of paramount importance to his brother.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ll heal,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll tell any young ladies that come calling you have the plague until you\u2019re ready for visitors.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe\u2019s lips twitched.\u00a0 \u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat are older brothers for?\u201d<\/p>\n Gingerly \u2013 and with great care \u2013 Joe shifted back until he was supported by his pillows.\u00a0 Once there, he closed his eyes and bit his lip.\u00a0 A little moan escaped him.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you okay?\u201d Adam asked.\u00a0 \u201cDo you need anything for the pain?\u201d<\/p>\n His brother glared at him and then, slowly that look changed to one of gratitude.\u00a0 Joe nodded.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s over there on the dresser.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t want to ask Pa\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam held up a hand.\u00a0 \u201cCompletely<\/em> understand.\u201d\u00a0 As he rose to cross the room, the black-haired man asked, almost casually, \u201cSo do you want to know what happened with Regan?\u201d<\/p>\n For a moment there was silence.\u00a0 Then, a \u2018Sure,\u201d with a little bravado.<\/p>\n Adam picked up the bottle and the spoon and headed back.\u00a0 He nodded toward the glass and pitcher on the table.\u00a0 \u201cDo I put it in water?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah.\u00a0 A tablespoon in a glass.\u201d<\/p>\n The older man halted.\u00a0 Then he laughed.\u00a0 \u201cShould I add a teaspoon of sugar to help it go down?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe laughed too.\u00a0 He held his side when he did it.\u00a0 \u201cYou know, Adam, if I have to be honest\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you do.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt would be nice to be four-years-old again.\u00a0 You know, to let everyone take care of you without \u2013\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFeeling like it demeans you?\u201d he asked as he handed his brother the glass.<\/p>\n \u201cHuh?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDemeans.\u00a0 Debases.\u00a0 Humiliates you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI get that last one.\u201d\u00a0 Joe sighed as he looked at the glass in his hand.\u00a0 \u201cI wish you would speak English.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI do.\u00a0 I just speak a different English from you.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe made a face as he swallowed the potion.\u00a0 \u201cI speak American.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u00a0 Well.\u201d\u00a0 Adam cleared his throat.\u00a0 \u201cSo, Regan.\u00a0 Do you want to talk about him?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe leaned back and closed his eyes.\u00a0 He was silent a moment before he said, \u201cI thought I was gonna die.\u201d\u00a0 His eyes popped open and he looked at him.\u00a0 \u201cReally.\u201d<\/p>\n It took a second.\u00a0 \u201cI wasn\u2019t so sure myself that you\u2019d pull through when I rounded that corner and saw you lying on the hotel settee.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe nodded.\u00a0 Again, he was silent and then he simply asked. \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy did Regan attack you?\u00a0 You know why, Joe.\u00a0 To get back at Pa and to make him pay for offering Adah a better life.\u201d<\/p>\n His brother made a face.\u00a0 \u201cWhich she turned down.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe shifted so he was facing him.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t get it, Adam.\u00a0 Miss Menken was smart and really beautiful.\u00a0 She could have any man she wanted.\u00a0 Why\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy would she want John C. Regan?\u201d\u00a0 Adam snorted.\u00a0 \u201cThere are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe was frowning.\u00a0 \u201cWho\u2019s Horatio?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBear with me.\u00a0 It\u2019s classical.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMeaning \u2018not\u2019 American.\u201d\u00a0 Joe shifted further down as if seeking to get comfortable.\u00a0 \u201cSo, Regan.\u00a0 Did you\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe got away.\u00a0 It\u2019s a long story, Joe, and it will wait for tomorrow.\u00a0 Suffice it to say he had friends in town and they ran interference for him.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe glanced at him.\u00a0 \u201cThat where you got that shiner?\u00a0 One of Regan\u2019s friends?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUh huh.\u201d\u00a0 Adam touched it and winced.\u00a0 \u201cThink that group that took you on in the street for supporting Tukwa.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe winced.\u00a0 \u201cOuch.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe truth is, Joe, I\u2019m glad someone stopped me.\u00a0 I was so angry I would have killed Regan if I had the chance.\u201d<\/p>\n Baby brother was staring at him, his mouth partially open.\u00a0 \u201cBecause of what he did to me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause of what he did to you.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe blinked.\u00a0 \u201cAdam\u2026I\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t need to say anything, Joe.\u00a0 You don\u2019t remember, but I <\/em>do.\u00a0 The night you were born I took an oath to protect you, and protect you I will <\/em>until you are old enough to look out for yourself .\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 He paused and added with a grin, \u201cWhether you like it or not.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe dropped his eyes.\u00a0 His voice was soft.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2026like it, Adam.\u00a0 Thanks.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam nodded and then he rose.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m beat.\u00a0 I\u2019m going to get some sleep.\u00a0 You do the same.\u00a0 I promised Pa I\u2019d make sure you did.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOkay.\u201d\u00a0 His brother fell silent for a moment and then, just as he reached the door, called him back.\u00a0 \u201cAdam?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs he\u2026?\u201d\u00a0 He swallowed\u00a0 hard.\u00a0 \u201cIs Regan really<\/em> gone?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s gone, Joe.\u00a0 I doubt he\u2019ll ever darken the streets of Virginia City again.\u00a0 And if he does\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Adam put his hand to the latch.\u00a0 \u201cYou can be sure, I\u2019ll be waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The sun rose on the fifth day since his youngest had been beaten to within an inch of his life.\u00a0 Ben Cartwright had expected to spend the morning in the house catching up on paperwork.\u00a0 Instead, he was on the road and riding toward the lake. \u00a0Hoss had come down early and headed out to do chores.\u00a0 Adam followed about an hour later.\u00a0 They exchanged pleasantries and then his son told him about his talk with his younger brother \u2013 not the details, but enough to fill him in. \u00a0Adam admitted he had given Joe some of the pain killer Paul left behind, mostly so he wouldn\u2019t be worried when the boy slept in.\u00a0 And so he had let Joseph sleep until almost noon before going up to check on him.<\/p>\n And found his bed empty.<\/p>\n He admitted he\u2019d panicked.\u00a0 Joseph was impulsive at best and reckless at worst.\u00a0 He often acted before thinking things through.\u00a0 From what Adam told him, he didn\u2019t think the boy had gone to find John C. Regan and so it had stumped him just where he had gone.<\/p>\n Until his <\/em>heart took over from his head.<\/p>\n Ben drew his mount to a halt and ground tethered the animal before pushing his way through the overgrowth that led to the high plateau upon which the love of his life was buried.\u00a0 Marie had loved the view of the lake from the raised knoll and it had been her wish to be laid there for her eternal rest.\u00a0 When Joseph was troubled \u2013 when his young son\u2019s emotions overcame him \u2013 this was where he would come.<\/p>\n He was here now.\u00a0 Kneeling beside his mother\u2019s grave.<\/p>\n Ben paused.\u00a0 The boy seemed to be in prayer and so he waited, unwilling to disturb him.\u00a0 It was obvious even the short journey had taken a toll.\u00a0 Joseph was pale.\u00a0 He was breathing hard.\u00a0 He should be in bed. Not kneeling in the wet grass on a winter\u2019s morning.<\/p>\n \u201cI know you\u2019re there, Pa.\u00a0 You can come on out.\u201d<\/p>\n The rancher smiled.<\/p>\n Of course, he was there.<\/p>\n Ben moved to his son\u2019s side and stared down at the stone that bore his beloved\u2019s name.\u00a0 He drew in a breath and let it out before placing a hand on his son\u2019s shoulder.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m all right, Pa.\u00a0 I just\u2026I just needed to talk to Mama.\u201d<\/p>\n He bit back any chastisement.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI understand.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe looked up at him.\u00a0 \u201cDo you, Pa?\u00a0 Do you really?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben stepped past his son to look at the vista spread before him \u2013 the blue sky and even bluer waters of the lake.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, I do,\u201d he said softly.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve come here quite often myself seeking your mother\u2019s guidance.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDo you hear her, Pa?\u201d his son asked, his tone hushed.\u00a0 \u201cI do.\u201d\u00a0 Joe paused.\u00a0 \u201cAm I crazy?\u201d<\/p>\n The rancher turned back.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 No, you\u2019re not crazy.\u00a0 You\u2019re mother is with us.\u00a0 I feel it every day.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe was staring at the tombstone again.\u00a0 \u201cI remembered something.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I came out here.\u00a0 I needed to ask Mama if it was real.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRemembered?\u00a0 Something about your mother?\u201d\u00a0 His son had very few memories, having been just under five when his mother died.\u00a0 \u2018Is it personal, or would you like to tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe remained silent for a moment.\u00a0 Then he smiled.\u00a0 It was a shy, self-effacing smile that reminded him of Marie in one of her rare contrite moments.<\/p>\n \u201cI would love to hear it,\u201d the rancher said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou remember when I fell out of that tree?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDo you?<\/em>\u00a0 You were very young.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, I remember it, Pa.\u00a0 I really do, and not because you told me about it.\u201d\u00a0 Joe rose to his feet and came to his side.\u00a0 \u201cI remember being up in that tree and looking down and seeing you.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben let out a sigh.\u00a0 \u201cDo you remember letting go?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah.\u00a0 And you know what, Pa?\u00a0 For the first few moment I felt like I was flying and I wasn\u2019t afraid.\u00a0 And then\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI saw your face and I realized that something was wrong.\u00a0 I realized I could\u2026die.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben placed a hand on his son\u2019s arm. \u00a0The boy was trembling.\u00a0 \u201cBut you didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n Little Joe nodded.\u00a0 \u201cJust like I didn\u2019t die when Regan beat me,\u201d he said quietly.<\/p>\n His eyes teared up.\u00a0 \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDo you remember that night?\u201d the boy asked.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat night?\u00a0 Oh, you mean the night after you fell out of the tree?\u00a0 Yes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou came in and told me goodnight with Mama.\u201d\u00a0 Joe paused.\u00a0 \u201cDid you know she came back\u201d?<\/p>\n He didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was late.\u00a0 I woke up and she was sitting there by the bed.\u00a0 It\u2019s what I remembered, Pa.\u201d\u00a0 Joe was excited.\u00a0 \u201cI remembered something new<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWould you like to share it?\u201d<\/p>\n His son nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cWell?\u201d he asked after a bit of time elapsed.<\/p>\n Joe walked to the edge of the grassy knoll and stared out at the lake.\u00a0 \u201cI woke up and she was there.\u00a0 The morning light was coming in the window and Mama looked just like an angel.\u00a0 I saw her and I started crying.\u00a0 I was\u2026afraid, Pa.\u00a0 Afraid I would die.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, Joseph\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n His son struck away a tear.\u00a0 \u201cI told Mama I never wanted to go outside again.\u00a0 I never wanted to climb another tree or take another chance or do\u2026anything.\u201d\u00a0 Joe hesitated.\u00a0 \u201cDo you know what she said?\u201d<\/p>\n He shook his head.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fears we don\u2019t face become our limits.\u00a0 Fear, mon petit<\/em>, does not stop death.\u201d\u00a0 Joseph looked at him.\u00a0 \u201cIt stops life.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben circled his boy\u2019s shoulders with his arm.\u00a0 \u201cA very wise woman, your mother.\u201d<\/p>\n Tears were streaming down his son\u2019s cheeks.\u00a0 \u201cI miss her so much, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know, son.\u00a0 I miss her too.\u201d<\/p>\n They stood as they were, and then Joseph turned and threw his arms around him.\u00a0 This precious boy \u2013 all that was left of his beloved Marie \u2013 wept until he could weep no more.\u00a0 Ben held him, grateful for the chance to do so.\u00a0 John C. Regan could so easily have killed his son. This was a gift and a precious one.<\/p>\n After a minute, Ben let him go.<\/p>\n As he let his fears go.<\/p>\n \u2018Fear does not stop death.\u00a0 It stops life.\u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cAre you ready to go home, son?\u201d he asked as he assessed the pale and shaking boy, noting the wrinkles of pain around his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cI think you should.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe ran his sleeve under his nose and then nodded.\u00a0 He looked up at him.\u00a0 \u201cAdam told you, didn\u2019t he?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben smiled.\u00a0 \u201cAbout the pain you\u2019re in?\u00a0 Yes.\u201d<\/p>\n What else were older brothers for?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tagged: WHN, SJS, Family<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Inspired by:\u00a0 The Magnificent Adah<\/p>\n Directed by:\u00a0 Christian Nyby <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Summary: A What Happens Next for ‘The Magnificent Adah’.\u00a0 As Hoss finishes one last beer, Little Joe heads outside to saddle Cochise and wait for him – little knowing the deadly danger that lurks in the dark.
\nAdam leaned over and kissed his brother\u2019s curls, for Joseph had them even then.<\/p>\n
\nWritten by:\u00a0 Donald S. Sanford<\/p>\n
\nRated: PG-13 for brutality, violence, and graphic images
\nWord count: 14770<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10058,"featured_media":30466,"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":false,"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":[23,41,1007,13],"tags":[1032],"class_list":["post-28994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-hurtcomfort","category-joe-cartwright","category-whn","tag-the-magnificent-adah","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-41-id","wpcat-1007-id","wpcat-13-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\/2020\/10\/Cheryls-Joe-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1954&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28994","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\/10058"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28994"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28994\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}