A Real Father<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Maureen knew that she was in trouble, but right now her head felt too funny to think about it. She wasn\u2019t in pain\u2014that, no doubt, would come tomorrow. She was just having trouble seeing straight and keeping her balance.<\/p>\n
Was this what liquor did to you? She\u2019d been expecting more of a light, bubbly feeling.<\/p>\n
\u201cLean on me, sweetheart, while I get you up into the saddle,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n
His voice was surprisingly gentle under the circumstances. She wasn\u2019t sure how it happened, but a moment later she was sitting on top of Sport. Adam swung up behind her, reins in hand.<\/p>\n
Little Joe, who was standing next to them, favored them with a wary look. \u201cAre you sure you don\u2019t want to take the buckboard home?\u201d he inquired.<\/p>\n
Maureen shut her eyes, allowing Joe to sound like a disembodied voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, Pa promised any number of folks a ride home after the picnic,\u201d Adam explained. \u201cDon\u2019t worry; I\u2019ll get her safely back to the Ponderosa.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I\u2019ll ride with you, then,\u201d Joe informed him. \u201cHang on while I get Cochise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maureen opened her eyes and shivered. What had she done with her shawl?<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m cold,\u201d she announced.<\/p>\n
She heard Adam sigh and then she felt him fiddle with the buttons of his jacket. \u201cHere, lean back,\u201d he told her.<\/p>\n
She leaned back against his chest as he buttoned his yellow jacket\u2014or was it tan?\u2014around the both of them. She smiled a little, grateful for the warmth of him.<\/p>\n
He must not be completely disgusted with her, she decided. And that was the point of this whole escapade, wasn\u2019t it? She wanted to make sure that Adam could handle her no matter what she did. And she needed to know that he\u2019d never regret his impulsive decision to become her guardian.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you think Nancy\u2019s parents are saying to her about the liquor?\u201d she ventured as she nestled against him. Her voice sounded strange, she noticed. Why were her words slurring like that?<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I were you, sweetheart, I wouldn\u2019t be worried about Nancy,\u201d Adam said dryly.<\/p>\n
Maureen cringed at that and decided to keep quiet for a spell. She closed her eyes again and drifted off to sleep. She had a vague memory of the plodding ride home and of Adam carrying her inside while Joe promised to stable the horses.<\/p>\n
She remembered babbling on and on about something while Adam carried her up to her room. She was still babbling as he helped her strip down to her chemise and tucked her into bed. Funny, but she could never remember the topic of her rambling discourse when she looked back.<\/p>\n
She remembered the next morning all too well, however. She vomited twice before her head cleared and she got some color back. And then she had to face Adam.<\/p>\n
But he had very little to say to her. After checking up on her, he ordered her to stay in her room until he returned home\u2014he would deal with her then.<\/p>\n
Maureen sighed as she heard his footfall go down the stairs. She had a terrible feeling that he was wishing he were rid of her.<\/p>\n
*<\/p>\n
Little Joe walked up to the house. Maureen was sitting cross-legged on the porch with a pile of mending. Not a very lady-like way of sitting, he thought to himself, but at twelve she could get away with it.<\/p>\n
Joe smiled as he shook his head. Who\u2019d of thought that Adam would take on the guardianship of a twelve year old girl? But this little girl had plenty of brains and plenty of sass\u2014maybe older brother couldn\u2019t resist that combination.<\/p>\n
He stepped up on the porch and took a seat beside the freckled colleen.<\/p>\n
\u201cAren\u2019t you supposed to be confined to your room?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
She gave him a sour smile. \u201cYes, but Adam\u2019s not here right now. He went into town to see Charlotte.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe nodded, accepting the fact that she was outside because Adam wasn\u2019t around to send her back in. Lord, she would sure keep his hands full. But that would be good for him.<\/p>\n
Of course, Adam had his hands full with Charlotte too. She was still insisting that they keep their marriage secret. She was still afraid of what would happen if the folks of Virginia City knew that Adam had married a black woman.<\/p>\n
What a lot of changes for older brother, Joe reflected as he leaned back and stretched his feet out in front of him. Adam had only just married Charlotte when Maureen fell into his hands.<\/p>\n
Well, at least the two ladies would keep his life interesting.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you think Adam\u2019s going to strangle me?\u201d Maureen asked.<\/p>\n
Her voice sounded a little strangled already. She must be quaking just thinking about Adam\u2019s return.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d Joe assured her. \u201cI just hope you weren\u2019t planning to sit down too much over the next few days.<\/p>\n
She ignored that and bit her lip. \u201cBut what if\u2014what if he wishes he\u2019d never taken me in?\u201d<\/p>\n
Joe stared at his boots. The poor kid was desperate for reassurance. He could tell her that Adam was crazy about her, but it wouldn\u2019t do any good. She needed to hear it from him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy don\u2019t you talk to him about it?\u201d he asked at last.<\/p>\n
She took a deep breath\u2014like someone preparing herself for the worst\u2014and then nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will,\u201d she promised.<\/p>\n
*<\/p>\n
Adam sighed. \u201cI have to punish her,\u201d he said. \u201cI can\u2019t let her get away with behavior like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was sitting on his chair backward with his arms folded across the back of it. Charlotte was standing behind him rubbing his back, but she leaned forward at that and kissed the top of his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew me when I was a child\u2014and you never hesitated to punish me,\u201d she reminded him.<\/p>\n
He grinned. \u201cIt\u2019s different with Maureen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, you\u2019re walking on eggshells with her,\u201d Charlotte said. \u201cMon Dieu, I know what a difficult life she\u2019s had, but you let her get away with too much. She wants you for a father, Adam. A real father\u2014and that means you must take her in hand sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam didn\u2019t need to think that over. He knew that Charlotte was right.<\/p>\n
Well, it was comforting to hear his own thoughts echoed, he supposed. In fact, the mere sound of Charlotte\u2019s voice was comforting. New Orleans had left her with a Southern drawl and the trace of a French accent\u2014an irresistible combination.<\/p>\n
He craned his neck to get a look at her and gave her a teasing smile. \u201cI’m surprised at you. Apparently you’re going to be quite a strict mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
She winked at him. \u201cI won’t be. You know I\u2019m no disciplinarian. I\u2019m already practicing my favorite line: \u2018Wait till your father gets home!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
He rolled his eyes at that. \u201cLeaving me to be the villain, I see.\u201d<\/p>\n
Charlotte laughed. \u201cOur children will adore you, Adam, no matter how strict you are. And that goes for Maureen as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
She paused to wrap her arms around him and kissed his cheek. \u201cYou had best get home to her. There\u2019s nothing worse than waiting for a punishment.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded. There was no point in putting off the inevitable.<\/p>\n
He just hoped that Maureen would understand what having a real father meant.<\/p>\n
*<\/p>\n
Maureen peeked inside the barn. Adam was in there by himself, unsaddling Sport. She took a deep breath and stepped inside.<\/p>\n
“\u2019Evening, Adam,” she ventured as she hung up her lantern and leaned back against the wall.<\/p>\n
He gave her a wry glance. “Good evening,” he returned. “Didn\u2019t I tell you to stay in your room?”<\/p>\n
“Yes, but that was hours ago,” she pointed out. “I was hoping that you weren\u2019t angry anymore.”<\/p>\n
He smiled a little at that. “No such luck,” he informed her. “You\u2019ve earned yourself a good talking to, young lady.”<\/p>\n
Maureen cringed as she watched him set the saddle aside and begin to brush down Sport. Little Joe had already explained what a \u2018talking to\u2019 meant when a Cartwright used the term.<\/p>\n
Adam had never spanked her or tanned her before\u2014he\u2019d always been content to lecture her or assign her extra chores. But she\u2019d been acting up for the past few days, pushing him further and further. And at the picnic yesterday she\u2019d finally crossed the line.<\/p>\n
“Any chance of me charming my way out of it?” she asked as she widened her eyes and gave him the innocent look that Joe had taught her.<\/p>\n
She watched him bite back another smile as he shook his head. “No,” he answered. “But if you give me a reasonable explanation for your behavior I\u2019ll reconsider locking you in your room until you\u2019re seventeen.”<\/p>\n
She rolled her eyes at that and walked up to Sport, picking up a brush along the way. Then she took a stand opposite of Adam so that she could help him with the grooming.<\/p>\n
They worked quietly for a few minutes. At length Adam broke the silence. “Why don\u2019t you tell me what was going on inside your head?” he invited.<\/p>\n
She considered that. “I\u2019m not sure,” she answered. “I think I was putting you to the test.”<\/p>\n
“I gathered that much,” he said dryly. “What were you testing me for, Maureen?”<\/p>\n
She sighed. “I don\u2019t know, Da.”<\/p>\n
“Were you trying to find out how much you can get away with?” he persisted.<\/p>\n
She shook her head. “No. I think I was trying to make sure that you\u2019d always tolerate me. I mean, that you won\u2019t get rid of me even if\u2014well, no matter what happens.”<\/p>\n
Adam gave her a speculative look. “Even if\u2026” he prompted.<\/p>\n
“Um, even if I make you crazy sometimes,” she said, dropping her voice a little. “Or even if you have a real child with Charlotte\u2014someone of your own blood, I mean.”<\/p>\n
Adam didn\u2019t answer that immediately. He put down his brush instead and then backed Sport into his stall.<\/p>\n
“Good boy,” he said as he stroked the chestnut\u2019s neck. Then he leaned against the stall and turned back to Maureen.<\/p>\n
“I don\u2019t just tolerate you, sweetheart,” he said softly.<\/p>\n
She gave him a tentative smile. “Are you kind of attached to me, Da?”<\/p>\n
He winked at her. “A bit,” he owned. “And even if Charlotte and I have children that won\u2019t change. Now why were you worried about it?”<\/p>\n
She shrugged as she stepped over to the stall and began petting Sport. “Some of my Mam\u2019s gentlemen were good to me for a while\u2014but they always left in the end.”<\/p>\n
Adam reached over to her. “Come here,” he said as he drew her into his arms. “I doubt any of those, uh, \u2018gentlemen,\u2019 paid your Mam $3,000 for the privilege of being your guardian.”<\/p>\n
She brightened at that. “That\u2019s true,” she said as she rested her head against his chest. “You can\u2019t get rid of me, can you? You wouldn\u2019t want to waste all that money.”<\/p>\n
Adam laughed. “No, I wouldn\u2019t,” he agreed.<\/p>\n
She broke apart from him a little and smiled up at him. “If I confess something, Adam, will you promise not to get any angrier than you already are?”<\/p>\n
“I\u2019ll do my best,” he promised as he released her.<\/p>\n
“I\u2014I lied about Tom Sullivan,” she stammered. “The man my Mam was married to, I mean. I told you that he was the best father a girl could want and I went along with my Mam\u2019s story about him dying and all. But he didn\u2019t die\u2014he just walked out on us when I was five.”<\/p>\n
She held her breath, waiting for his response. But to her surprise, there was no shock in his eyes.<\/p>\n
“I know,” he said at length. “Maureen, I had reasons to doubt the stories that you and your mother told me about Tom Sullivan.”<\/p>\n
She blushed and stared down at her feet. “Oh,” she managed. “I guess you noticed something fishy about them.”<\/p>\n
“Yes, I did,” he said gently. “He sounded a bit too good to be true, so I hired someone to investigate him.”<\/p>\n
She swallowed. “Well, then you\u2014you must have found out that he\u2019s a wastrel who owes half the world money. Why\u2014why did you let me lie?”<\/p>\n
He shrugged. “I thought that you might be attached to his memory\u2014regardless of what kind of father he was.”<\/p>\n
Maureen sighed. “He wasn\u2019t any kind of father. He told me before he left that he didn\u2019t think I was his. I suppose any man in the Five Points might have sired me.”<\/p>\n
She paused and forced herself to look back up at Adam. “Please don\u2019t tell anyone else. My Mam likes pretending to be a widow. She thinks it makes her more respectable\u2014despite her gentlemen callers.”<\/p>\n
“I won\u2019t say anything,” Adam assured her. Then he cocked his head at her. “Maureen, how attached are you to the name \u2018Sullivan?\u2019”<\/p>\n
“I\u2019m not,” she answered, coloring a little. “Why should I care about his name? He didn\u2019t want me.”<\/p>\n
“That\u2019s reasonable enough,” Adam owned. “Would you, ah, care to take my name instead?”<\/p>\n
She felt her eyes widen at that. “You\u2019d let me use ‘Cartwright?'” she demanded.<\/p>\n
He smiled and chucked her chin. “It\u2019ll make the paperwork for my will easier,” he teased.<\/p>\n
“I\u2019d love to use your name!” she told him, nodding eagerly. “Are you really going to leave me something?” she added as an afterthought.<\/p>\n
Adam laughed. “Of course. Did you think I wouldn\u2019t provide for you?”<\/p>\n
“I didn\u2019t know,” she answered, returning his smile. “Should I consider murdering you for my inheritance?”<\/p>\n
He laughed again. “No,” he answered. “My Pa and my brothers are my executors and they’ll follow my instructions. They won\u2019t let you touch the interest until you\u2019re twenty-one and you’ll have to be twenty-five before you lay a finger on the principle.”<\/p>\n
Maureen rolled her eyes. “You\u2019re right. That\u2019s too far away\u2014there\u2019s no point in doing away with you. If something happened to you would Charlotte be my guardian?”<\/p>\n
He shook his head. “That will be my Pa. Or\u2014if he\u2019s not alive\u2014Hoss and Joe.”<\/p>\n
“But Charlotte won\u2019t be as strict as your Pa,” she objected. “I just have to pronounce my French correctly and use the right fork at meals to keep her happy.”<\/p>\n
Adam smiled at that. “And dress well\u2014Charlotte considers it a cardinal sin for a woman to wear an unflattering color.”<\/p>\n
“There\u2019s no chance of that,” Maureen assured him. “She makes all my clothes now. Can\u2019t you name her?”<\/p>\n
“No,” he answered firmly. “There are several reasons for that, but the most important is that she\u2019d let you get away with murder.”<\/p>\n
Maureen sighed. “Forget about murder\u2014I was only teasing about that. But would you let me get away with that little scene I caused yesterday?”<\/p>\n
“\u2019Fraid not,” he answered, shaking his head again. “You\u2019ve pushed me far enough, Maureen Cartwright.”<\/p>\n
She started at that\u2014it might be worth the hiding, just to have heard him call her by his own last name. But she\u2019d still prefer to get out of it.<\/p>\n
She gave him a hopeful smile. “What if I told you that I was really, really sorry?”<\/p>\n
But Adam was having none of it. He gave her a sympathetic smile as he stepped over to her and put his arm around her shoulders.<\/p>\n
“If you\u2019re not now you will be shortly,” he promised.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Summary: Maureen puts Adam–and his guardianship–to the test. This story is part of a series that includes Freckles & Rouge, but it will stand alone.