{"id":58396,"date":"2025-09-16T18:06:55","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T22:06:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=58396"},"modified":"2025-11-01T14:56:39","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T18:56:39","slug":"saucy-sally-and-the-birthday-surprise-by-pat-d-in-pa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=58396","title":{"rendered":"Saucy Sally and the Birthday Surprise (by Pat D in PA)"},"content":{"rendered":"

SUMMARY: <\/strong>Not long after Adam returns from college, he begins to wonder if he should have come back at all, as his father doesn’t seem to recognize he’s not the stripling youth he’d been when he left home more than four years earlier.\u00a0 It takes a wise young woman of the world to potentially set both Cartwright men straight and help heal a rift that threatens to destroy the family.\u00a0 Written in answer to the 2025 Brandaversary R-Rated Story<\/em><\/strong> challenge.<\/p>\n

RATING:<\/strong> MA\/R<\/p>\n

WORD COUNT:\u00a0<\/strong>10,159<\/p>\n

NOTE:\u00a0<\/strong> the sketch is from a photograph of Pernell Roberts in the 1950 University of Maryland college yearbook, the Terrapin, when he was about 22 years old.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

Author’s Note:\u00a0 A huge thank you to CareBear for her encouragement and beta-reading!<\/p>\n

Saucy Sally and the Birthday Surprise<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The young man in the bed with her was strong, skilled and surprisingly aware of her needs, which disconcerted the young whore.\u00a0 Usually, the men she serviced were only interested in their own pleasure, but not this one.\u00a0 Not since the very first time he\u2019d lain with her.\u00a0 He was\u2026 different.<\/p>\n

Oh, to be sure, his spirited and energetic lovemaking lived up to his youthful status \u2013 the man had stamina she\u2019d rarely experienced!\u00a0 Usually two or three times a night \u2013 but he always, always, made sure she, too, reached completion.\u00a0 That was definitely not the normal state of things.\u00a0 If Sally was ever able to come just close enough to reach fulfilment that she could finish herself off once the man left her tent, that was a bonus.\u00a0 This man made her climax each and every single time.\u00a0 And made it personal, as though needing to prove himself… each and every time.<\/p>\n

Different acts, different positions \u2013 some she\u2019d never tried before and was determined to have fun with in the future! \u2013 were experimented with while this dark-haired young man filled her bed and her body.<\/p>\n

Tonight, after having first found his ease in a very straightforward manner, he had then rolled her onto her belly then grasped her hips, pulling them up so she was on her knees, her head and shoulders still down, and taken her hungrily and forcefully from behind.\u00a0 She moaned as his big penis entered her, not hurting her at all, but filling her completely, the delicious friction causing her to frantically position herself to allow his cock to rub her womanhood in such a way as to drive her mad with desire.\u00a0 As the sound of his thighs smacked against hers, and his thrusting hips slapped her rounded bottom each time he drove into her, deeper and deeper with each stroke, she found herself moaning in her own need and desire, using her inner muscles to grip and milk him as relentlessly as he pounded into her flesh.\u00a0 She felt triumphant as she heard him finally bellow out his completion. \u00a0Then, they collapsed together on the narrow camp bed her tent provided, both panting in exhaustion, satiated.<\/p>\n

\u201cY\u2019know, these narrow cots do make rather uncomfortable velvet couches.\u201d<\/p>\n

The humor present in his voice softened the tone enough that Sally didn\u2019t get her back up. \u201cWell, the phrase \u2018beggars can\u2019t be choosers\u2019 comes to mind, but of course, as you\u2019re a payin\u2019 customer, the term \u2018beggar\u2019 don\u2019t really apply.\u201d<\/p>\n

The deep, throaty chuckle was stifled when she leaned over and kissed him fully on the lips, her soft, round breasts pressing into his chest.<\/p>\n

\u201cMmm\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLike that, do you?\u201d she said, smugly, propping herself on an elbow.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan\u2019t imagine anyone who wouldn\u2019t,\u201d he grinned back at her, his white teeth shining from his olive-skinned face.<\/p>\n

He sure is a good lookin\u2019 fella.<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0Sally allowed her hand to play in the black curls, usually so firmly disciplined to lay flat against his temples.\u00a0\u00a0The day\u2019s oppressive heat had made him sweat, and the sweat brought out the unruly curls; she continued to allow her fingers to play, while knowing it irritated him somewhat.\u00a0\u00a0He wanted every part of his person to do his bidding, from his hair to his muscles to his cock.\u00a0\u00a0And, for the most part, his body obeyed.\u00a0\u00a0She smiled to herself, reliving just exactly how well that body had done his bidding just five minutes earlier\u2026<\/p>\n

His amber-hazel eyes gazed into her dark grey, studying her suddenly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d she asked, suddenly self-conscious and uncomfortable.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI know it ain\u2019t \u2018cos I\u2019m comin\u2019 out somewhere, as I ain\u2019t got a stitch on,\u201d she said archly.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d he smiled, lazily.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cJust committing you to my memory,\u201d he replied softly.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAn old trick of mine.\u00a0\u00a0I like to capture a moment in memory\u2026 keep it\u2026 kind of like a painting to look back on,\u201d he admitted softly.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThe moment you cried out, when I\u2019d been able to make you\u2026\u201d he flushed slightly, not wanting to say the word.<\/p>\n

She grew serious and studied him as well. \u201cDon\u2019t, Adam,\u201d she said quietly.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cDon\u2019t do that.\u00a0\u00a0I\u2019m a whore, and ain\u2019t never gonna be anythin\u2019 else.\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t make memories with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abruptly she turned and slipped out of bed, gathering up her dressing gown and wrapping it around herself, rather like protective armor, as though cinching the cheap silk belt was like pulling on chain mail. \u201cYou\u2019d best head out,\u201d she said flatly.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI got other clients to see tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam remained where he was, an arm bent behind his head, his hand cradling the base of his skull as he smiled at her.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m happy to pay for another couple of rounds, Sally.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you? Well, I\u2019m not,\u201d she said briskly, arching a dark eyebrow at him.\u00a0\u00a0When she did that, it always disconcerted him.<\/p>\n

It was in those moments she looked so, so much like the miniature he had of Elizabeth Stoddard Cartwright.\u00a0\u00a0It was what had caught his eye six months earlier, not long after arriving home from college back east and visiting Eagle Station for the first time.\u00a0\u00a0The trading post had gone up not long before, and as soon as there were gold rushers and miners, there were saloons and chippies plying their trades.<\/p>\n

Adam Cartwright had grown up in his time back east.\u00a0\u00a0He\u2019d left a green-as-grass boy of nineteen, bright but untested.\u00a0\u00a0Four years of study at Harvard, being befriended by far more sophisticated young men \u2013 young men with money to burn and willing to share \u2013 had given him the polish he\u2019d lacked when he left Utah territory and brought him home to his family a full stallion, no longer a gangly colt.\u00a0\u00a0Adam had excelled; he\u2019d completed his studies with honors, he\u2019d gained the respect of his professors and his classmates alike.\u00a0\u00a0He\u2019d left childhood behind, completely\u2026 he was a man, fully grown, fully adult, and fully experienced.\u00a0\u00a0He now understood when patience was required, and calculation, no longer grabbing for what he sought, but instead weighing the odds and plotting for it, never giving in until he\u2019d attained his goals\u2026 all<\/em>\u00a0of his goals.<\/p>\n

Just a few days after arriving home, just a few days after a boisterously happy greeting from his father and younger brothers, he also began to realize with a cold certainty that his all too brief foray into total independence – albeit wrapped in the trappings of the requirements of collegiate life – was over. He was, once again, part of a family.\u00a0\u00a0A strong family, with each member very much present in each other\u2019s lives.\u00a0\u00a0It didn\u2019t take long at all for the young man to realize he was going to have to spend a good bit of time figuring out how to make his father understand that he hadn\u2019t come back content to merely pick up the threads of his nineteen-year-old self and carry on as if nothing had changed<\/p>\n

It was then his nighttime rides began.\u00a0\u00a0A deep need for freedom, to be out from under microscopic study of his father, trying to find his boy again in the man\u2026 his brothers trying to find the \u2018big brother\u2019 who\u2019d left four and half years ago in the man who\u2019d returned, something of a stranger, especially to his littlest brother, Joe.<\/p>\n

And on one of those nighttime forays, into the new settlement of Eagle Station, Adam had come across Finney\u2019s, a slapped-together saloon serving rotgut and warm beer, alongside a series of tents housing the soiled doves that serviced the miners and cowboys of the area\u2026<\/p>\n

He\u2019d sipped a beer from a none-too-clean glass \u2013\u00a0well, at least it\u2019s wet!<\/strong> \u2013 and noticed a dark-haired, slim young whore coming in to buy a bottle of whiskey and started slightly in shock.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

For this young woman – no more than eighteen, surely – had long, waving dark hair, hazel-grey eyes, beautifully arched dark brows, and a face that could have been the twin of a miniature that had sat on his nightstand since he\u2019d arrived in Boston.\u00a0\u00a0His grandfather, Captain Abel Stoddard, had gifted it to him on his arrival.<\/em><\/p>\n

A miniature of Elizabeth Stoddard Cartwright copied from the portrait the old sea captain had hanging in his parlor.\u00a0\u00a0Elizabeth.\u00a0\u00a0Ben\u2019s Cartwright\u2019s first wife; Adam\u2019s mother who\u2019d died within an hour of his birth. This girl could have been her sister.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s\u2019a matter with you?\u201d grinned his old friend, Ross Marquette.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYa look like you\u2019ve seen a ghost.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Adam swallowed hard, turning troubled, shocked eyes back to his tall, skinny friend, and quickly got himself back under control.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYeah\u2026 something like that,\u201d he\u2019d said softly, glancing back at the girl.\u00a0\u00a0She saw him, and smiled at him, nodding at Ross familiarly.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s jaw tightened; somehow, it upset him that this girl had obviously plied her trade with his friend.\u00a0\u00a0Adam knew the foolishness of that feeling and was able to tamp it down.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHow are ya, Ross?\u201d she smiled, raising the bottle in greeting.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cCan\u2019t complain, Sally, how \u2018bout you?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I could complain but it wouldn\u2019t be worth a damn, now, would it?\u201d she grinned, saucily.\u00a0\u00a0She allowed her startlingly beautiful grey eyes to rove over Ross\u2019 tall, handsome companion.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWho\u2019s your friend?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNow, Sally, this ain\u2019t just no ordinary friend!\u00a0 This here\u2019s a college gra-jew-ate,\u201d snickered Ross, winking at the girl, and using a shoulder to elbow his old friend forward, to his annoyance.\u00a0 \u201cFresh home from Boston, Massachusetts, Sal.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Her eyebrows rose, and Adam\u2019s heart caught in his chest with familiarity. The expression on his mother\u2019s portrait, to the life!<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cDoes this here college graduate have a name?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

She\u2019d slowly walked toward the two young men, her eyes smoldering.\u00a0\u00a0Sure, he was good-looking, but his clothes didn\u2019t look any finer than the working clothes Ross Marquette had on.\u00a0\u00a0Still\u2026 there was that Cupid\u2019s bow mouth, begging to be kissed\u2026and those muscles that rippled under that tan shirt, holding real promise\u2026 and those impossibly broad shoulders that tapered down to the slim hips. \u00a0All of these were enticing to a girl used to having to breathe through her mouth to avoid the stink of drunken miners and cowpokes as they bedded her.\u00a0\u00a0This handsome boy … no!\u00a0 Handsome man<\/strong> could prove to be a welcome distraction.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAdam Cartwright,\u201d he said quietly, his amber eyes hooded and sultry.<\/em><\/p>\n

The rich baritone arrested her in her tracks. A musical voice.\u00a0\u00a0She looked into his eyes again, and both young man and girl felt the electricity crackling between them. Ross saw it, too, and smirked, raising an eyebrow at his normally unrufflable friend… he sure was ruffled now!<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWell, Adam Cartwright,\u201d she said, just as quietly, \u201cI think we might maybe have us some fun together.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And they certainly did<\/em> <\/strong>have some fun over the last six months.\u00a0 Over and over again.<\/p>\n

She\u2019d even been the one that Adam chose to indoctrinate his younger brother in his first time with a woman.\u00a0 Adam knew Hoss would need someone gentle, and someone who\u2019d let him take his time while still strong enough to lead him along.\u00a0 And, after the event, according to a somewhat shellshocked Hoss she\u2019d done a masterful job.<\/p>\n

Bringing his mind back to the present, Adam sat up on the cot, reaching a long arm out for her and pulling her back into his lap. “Memories don’t have to be long term, Sally,” he said, softly, soothingly, gently kissing her neck.\u00a0 “But they can keep a man warm on a long night keeping cattle from straying.\u00a0 You wouldn’t deny me that, now, would you?”<\/p>\n

She hesitated, knowing this was dangerous…so dangerous, not just for him, but for her,\u00a0 as well.\u00a0\u00a0Never let ’em get too close,\u00a0<\/em>the older whores had warned her.\u00a0‘Cos then they got the power to hurt you<\/em>.\u00a0 But those eyes of his were like deep pools… drawing her in.<\/p>\n

“Well, I suppose, when you put it that way,” she sighed, allowing her warm hands to travel down his broad chest toward his groin.<\/p>\n

~-oo0oo-~<\/p>\n

As Adam and Hoss jockeyed for position between the eight to ten beeves (who\u2019d escaped a break in the fence line) and the river, doing their level best to keep them moving toward the rest of the herd Adam found himself thinking over and over again about how he might have better handled the argument that morning.<\/p>\n

He and Pa had been locking horns for the last six months, and he was growing weary of the daily battles, the daily interrogations, the daily need to justify himself and his choices and his decisions.\u00a0 Perhaps it had been wrong for him to come back from Boston.\u00a0 He thought – he\u2019d honestly and truly thought – Pa needed him, but that certainly didn\u2019t seem to be the case.\u00a0 Pa wanted someone who\u2019d rubberstamp Ben Cartwright\u2019s plans and offer no resistance.\u00a0 Adam knew that unless something changed, he\u2019d wither away from ennui and resentment\u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIf I can\u2019t trust you with something as simple as making sure the fence lines are solid, then – \u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNow, just one minute, Pa! That\u2019s not a fair assessment -\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cC\u2019mon, Pa, you know it ain\u2019t Adam\u2019s fault that Curly and Jack didn\u2019t catch that line o\u2019 fencin\u2019!\u00a0 You know<\/strong> it ain\u2019t!\u201d\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I know, Erik Cartwright, is that I\u2019d asked your older brother to handle making sure the border fencing was solid!\u00a0 Didn\u2019t I!?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWell, yessir, but -\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNever mind, Hoss.\u00a0 It\u2019s clear our father has absolutely no interest in hearing any side of the issue but his own.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYou watch yourself, young m-\u2026and just where do you think you\u2019re going?!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cOut! Someone has to ride those fences, don\u2019t they? Sir?!\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Sighing, Adam thought back to the conversation he and Sally had had over a little whiskey and sex a few weeks back…<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, Sal, I wonder if it was the smartest move I ever made to come home.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cOh, c\u2019mon, honey, it can\u2019t be that bad.\u00a0 Your Pa\u2019s a decent fella-\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYes, he is.\u00a0 He\u2019s more<\/strong> than a decent fella. He\u2019s a fine man.\u00a0 But he has the tendency to look at his sons and not note the passing of time,\u201d he\u2019d replied, dryly, groaning in contented pleasure as Sally\u2019s warm hand stroked his member, coaxing it back to attention. In response, his hand went to her firm breast, gently rubbing the nipple encouraging it to stiffen as well.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIn other words, he\u2019s havin\u2019 a hard time realizing that you\u2019re not still the wet-behind-the-ears kid you were when you left,\u201d she\u2019d purred, moving suddenly.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cExactly!\u00a0 Oooh\u2026\u201d he gasped, as her hand was replaced with her mouth. His hands drifted down to her head and threaded his long, sensitive fingers through her dark waves, holding her head as she sucked him, ever so efficiently, her tongue drawing his cock in, using maddening swirls to excite him, throwing him off his<\/strong> rhythm and instead setting her own inexorably.\u00a0 <\/em>For a few minutes, nothing more was said as Sally skillfully relaxed the irritated, tense young man in her bed.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

Afterward, while his senses slowly returned, Adam had sighed, feeling his heart gradually begin to return to its normal, strong beat instead of a frantic hammering.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cSo\u2026 College Boy\u2026 Smart Boy\u2026\u201d she\u2019d whispered in his ear.\u00a0 \u201cYou gonna whine about it forever? Or do<\/strong> something to change it?\u00a0 What is it that ya want?\u00a0 Do you really want to leave?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

He\u2019d sighed, frowning. \u201cNo, I don\u2019t.\u00a0 I love my home.\u00a0 I love my family.\u00a0 But I do want my father to understand I\u2019m no longer a child, and treat me like the man I am.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Sally propped herself on her elbow studying the handsome young man beside her.\u00a0 \u201cWell, then, it sounds like you need to do some talkin\u2019 and convincin\u2019,\u201d she said decidedly. \u201cSeems to me that if you want to make change, you gotta do somethin\u2019 diff\u2019ernt\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Talkin\u2019 and convincin\u2019, huh? Easier said than done with someone like Pa.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Adam sighed, pushing his hat a little further back on his head and rubbing at his temples, which were aching now. He\u2019d got very little sleep last night after getting home late from Finney\u2019s.\u00a0 Unfortunately, Sally had been otherwise occupied for the night, so he\u2019d ended up drinking pretty heavily with Ross and not rolling in until well after midnight.\u00a0 Five in the morning had come too \u00a0quickly, and his headache and a bit of nausea were the greatest proof of that.\u00a0 Combined with steers that were going out of their way to wander and get themselves stuck in swampy bogs, and hands that sniggered behind his back (and some to his face), it seemed everything was making his life a misery today.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss!\u00a0 What\u2019s the hold up!?\u201d he hollered down the bank to his younger brother, trying to wrench a calf out of being stuck in the brambles at the creek\u2019s edge.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026dadburned, ornery misbegotten son of a bull\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam couldn\u2019t help but smile at his younger brother\u2019s colorful language. That was another change that had come about while he was back east, he noted.<\/p>\n

Just as he was about to dismount to help, he heard a mighty roar from his younger brother, a bleated moo!<\/em><\/strong> of relieved freedom and loud splashing.\u00a0 He peered over the side of the bluff and grinned to see the freed calf clambering gleefully up the bank while his soaked young brother trudged up behind it, decidedly irritated.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood job,\u201d he nodded, gesturing toward the calf.\u00a0 \u201cDoesn\u2019t appear any worse for wear\u2026 though you<\/em> do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAw, why don’t you just stuff it, older brother,\u201d Hoss growled as he stalked past, glaring as Adam chuckled and nudged Sport forward to keep the calf from tumbling down the bank again.<\/p>\n

\u201cTemper\u2026 temper\u2026\u201d chided the older brother gently, his mouth curved in a smile.\u00a0 \u201cC\u2019mon, let\u2019s call it a day.\u00a0 Even Pa couldn\u2019t say we\u2019ve not earned our supper today.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he\u2019d expected, mentioning food helped to quickly turn Hoss\u2019 mood around.\u00a0 \u201cFirst smart thing you\u2019ve said all day,\u201d Hoss grunted as he mounted Chubb. \u201cLet\u2019s move\u2026 my stomach\u2019s startin\u2019 t\u2019think my throat\u2019s been cut.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

~-oo0oo-~<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Troubled by this morning\u2019s argument with Adam, Ben directed the wagon toward Eagle Station, knowing that he couldn\u2019t get much work done without the fencing tools he\u2019d need.\u00a0 With Hoss and Adam both rounding up the cattle that had broken through the fencing, Ben wearily headed into the trading post to try to gain additional fencing.<\/p>\n

As he pulled the wagon up in front of Eagle Station itself, Ben sighed to see the brisk trade happening at the two drinking establishments, as well as the eight to ten prostitutes\u2019 tents set up with almost military precision.\u00a0 Just what the father of sons needs, he grumbled to himself, setting the brake on the wagon and swinging down.<\/p>\n

Once inside, he received a wave of hello from one of the owners, Warren Hall, as he made entries in a notebook while his brother, Frank, counted off items on the shelves.<\/p>\n

\u201cBen! Long time no see!\u201d grinned Warren, nodding at the rancher.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, we\u2019ve been real busy, Warren,\u201d Ben nodded, pulling off his gloves and slipping them into his jacket pocket, a jacket he didn\u2019t really need with the summer heat.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot too busy for young Adam to make his presence known, though, eh?\u201d chuckled Frank, sticking his pencil behind his ear.<\/p>\n

Frowning, Ben glanced at him. \u201cAdam?\u201d he repeated. \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

Frank and Warren Hall, chuckled and glanced at each other. \u201cOh, nothin\u2019 much, Ben, just that your boy\u2019s been a regular over at Finney\u2019s of an evenin\u2019 \u00a0the last few months\u2026 out back in the tent city, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Confused, Ben tried to place the reference\u2026 and suddenly grew red-faced, his brows knitting together. \u201cThat so?\u201d he asked, grimly.<\/p>\n

Since Adam\u2019s return from Boston, he\u2019d faced a good deal of ribbing from the locals.\u00a0 Though he never tried to put on airs (despite their claims to the contrary), Ben Cartwright\u2019s oldest son had had to deal with a lot of teasing \u2013 both light-hearted and some more malicious.\u00a0 Ben knew that Adam and his old friend, Ross Marquette, had been spending a lot of time here in Eagle Station at the saloons.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t known about his visits to the tents, however.<\/p>\n

Warren dug an elbow in his brother\u2019s ribs. \u201cThere now\u2026 we\u2019ve gone and got the boy into trouble with his pa,\u201d he said, sarcasm layered heavily. \u201cBen, here, just might take a strap to \u2018im and it\u2019s all \u2018cos o\u2019 your big mouth.\u201d\u00a0 This set Frank to giggling\u00a0 again.<\/p>\n

Ben harrumphed and put his hands on his hips, glowering at the Hall brothers. \u201cI came in to get some supplies, not be party to gossip.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frank tittered.\u00a0 \u201cOh, no harm in a boy sowin\u2019 his oats, Ben. What can we do for ya?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re prepared to do some business rather than spread lies, then we can talk,\u201d Ben rumbled, surprised at how quickly his temper was rising.<\/p>\n

At that, Warren Hall raised an eyebrow, his stance no longer jocular, but combative.\u00a0 \u201cAin\u2019t no lie, Cartwright,\u201d he said, firmly, losing the humor right quick.\u00a0 \u201cYour boy\u2019s been enjoyin\u2019 a certainly young lady\u2019s company back\u2019ere on a reg\u2019lar basis.\u00a0 Just \u2018cos you ain\u2019t aware of it don\u2019t<\/em><\/strong> make it a lie!\u201d<\/p>\n

Both men realized that they were drawing an audience, and Ben\u2019s face grew redder still.\u00a0 He glared balefully at the man before him, who returned the glare two-fold.\u00a0 Finally, Cartwright sighed. \u201cHe\u2019s a grown man, Warren, not a boy,\u201d he ground out, wishing Adam was in reach to shake him until his teeth rattled!\u00a0 What he said instead was, \u201cWhat Adam does in on his own time is his own business.\u00a0 Now, if you\u2019d like to tend to YOUR business, I need some fencing wire.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hall bristled slightly, but also realized that Cartwright, an upright community member \u2013 and a damned good customer \u2013 was tryin\u2019 to meet him halfway, so it\u2019d be wise for him to do the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight this way,\u201d he grunted, heading toward the counter. \u201cHow much ya need?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

~-oo0oo-~<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben Cartwright hesitated by the swinging door of Finney\u2019s.\u00a0 Adam hadn\u2019t been in there either.\u00a0 He dreaded the thought of having to go try to roust him out of a whore\u2019s tent, but he was bound and determined to hash this problem out with his son, once and for all, or they\u2019d never be able to find their way again.<\/p>\n

\u201cC\u2019mon, you slut, quit fightin\u2019 me!\u00a0 You know ya want it!\u201d<\/p>\n

Frowning, Ben settled his hat more firmly on his head and walked down the planked walkway that elevated passersby from the muddy streets, stopping short suddenly when he heard the unmistakable sound of a hard blow and a woman\u2019s cry of pain from around the side of the saloon building.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll teach you some manners, by God, ya saucy piece!\u201d came a rough voice, and another cry of pain.\u00a0 Grimly Ben strode forward; he didn\u2019t care what the girl did for a living, manhandling her was unacceptable.<\/p>\n

In the dim lamplight spillover, Ben could see a girl struggling against a beefy miner, filthy and clearly drunk, but his big fist clamped around her forearm like a vise.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me go, ya bastard!\u201d she cried, twisting like an eel, desperate for her freedom. \u201cLet me go, I said!\u201d<\/p>\n

The big man drew his hand back, this time in a fist, and Ben wasn\u2019t fast enough to keep that fist from connecting. \u00a0The girl dropped like a rock, and furious, Ben whirled the surprised miner around, delivering several body blows and finishing the job with a roundhouse right that laid him out cold as a mackerel.\u00a0 Ben whirled to the girl, slowly coming up to her elbow, shaking her head.\u00a0 He could see blood dripping from her nose, but most of her face was hidden by a fall of wavy dark hair.<\/p>\n

\u201cMiss\u2026 Miss, are you badly hurt?\u201d he asked, very gently putting a hand under her elbow.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 wha\u2026\u201d\u00a0 She was obviously dazed, but she turned, surprised, to the deep but gentle voice above her.<\/p>\n

Ben\u2019s eyes widened in shock.\u00a0 My God\u2026 <\/em>\u201cLiz\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head again, and focused on the man, a big man, easily as big as the one who\u2019d been beating her, but with a thick head of graying hair, a strong face, slightly larger than truly handsome nose, but a pair of the most beautiful dark brown eyes she\u2019d ever seen.\u00a0 She wiped at her nose again and chuckled ruefully.\u00a0 \u201cSorry, fella\u2026 name\u2019s Sally, not Liz, but for a price I\u2019ll answer t\u2019whatever you want.\u201d She winced as she leaned on one wrist to try to rise but fell when the arm buckled, the pain surprising her. \u201cOh!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben shook himself back to reality.\u00a0 Of course, it couldn\u2019t be, don\u2019t be such an idiot!<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 \u201cHe did hurt you, then,\u201d he said grimly.\u00a0 \u201cCome, let me help you get back to your \u2026 your place, and take a look at that arm and those bruises.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m\u2026 I\u2019m all right, mister, no need,\u201d she muttered, managing, with his assistance, to get to her feet, and glancing fearfully back at the miner, still out cold.\u00a0 \u201cWish you hadn\u2019t-a-done that, he\u2019ll be mad as hell once he comes around. And he knows where I live.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben thought for a moment.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll move your tent.\u00a0 He\u2019s so drunk, he\u2019ll be totally turned around.\u00a0 Come on, young lady, let\u2019s get you inside and looked at.\u201d<\/p>\n

When she hesitated, he smiled at her and crooked his arm as he would to any find lady.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m Ben Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

Startled, she looked up at him.\u00a0 \u201cCartwright?\u201d she echoed, aghast.\u00a0 Adam\u2019s father?!<\/em>\u00a0 Sweet Lord have mercy\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Seeing his questioning look, she quickly covered herself.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve.. uh, I\u2019ve \u00a0heard o\u2019 you.\u00a0 Got a big spread\u2026 the Ponderosa.\u00a0 Cattle, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s right.\u00a0 And you\u2019re\u2026 Sally, isn\u2019t that what I heard?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes\u2026 Sally MacGiver.\u00a0 Here, this one\u2019s mine,\u201d she gestured toward her tent, wincing again as it was beginning to hurt to speak.\u00a0 Once inside, he noted that while a whore she might be, she kept her tent shipshape and tidy, and the cot was made up neatly. She even had a glass of water with some flowers resting on a trunk, offering some gentility and color to the place\u2026 they look like the ones near the ranch house, the same beautiful rose and purple hues\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHere, you sit yourself down and point me toward some rags so we can clean you up.\u201d<\/p>\n

She chuckled and winced. \u201cIt\u2019ll take more\u2019n some rags, Mr. Cartwright,\u201d she sighed.\u00a0 \u201cLook, there\u2019s no need.\u00a0 I can take care of myself\u2026 ain\u2019t the first time a client got rough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben tipped his head to one side and studied her again.\u00a0 Yes, it was clear there were differences, but my goodness the resemblance to his beautiful Liz really was quite remarkable.<\/p>\n

Flushing in disconcertion, willing his body to stop responding to this child, he gently daubed at the bruise forming on her cheekbone and tenderly wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, grimly shaking his head.\u00a0 \u201cAnimal,\u201d he muttered under his breath.<\/p>\n

She found herself growing a little weepy as his tender touch reminded her of her own gentle father, how he\u2019d take care of her when she was hurt or ill.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, dear, I don\u2019t mean to hurt you,\u201d he apologized, gently, but firmly finishing his ministrations.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou ain\u2019t hurting me,\u201d she sniffled.\u00a0 She looked up at him, her grey eyes uneven as the right one began to puff and swell.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2026 you must have some young\u2019uns\u2026 you\u2019re real gentle-like.\u201d<\/p>\n

He chuckled. \u201cI do\u2026 three.\u00a0 Well, they\u2019re not little anymore, except the youngest.\u00a0 He\u2019s twelve, but the other two are grown, or nearly so in my middle boy\u2019s case.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wincing, more at the thought of the deception she was engaged in than in any pain at the man\u2019s ministrations, Sally thought of those two \u2018older boys\u2019 and guiltily kept her eyes lowered. If you had any idea what things I’ve been up to with those sons o\u2019 yourn\u2026<\/em>\u00a0 When he gently daubed at the cut on her cheekbone she flinched, jerking her head back.<\/p>\n

\u201cEasy,\u201d he said soothingly, gripping her hand with one of his own and continuing his ministrations with the other. \u201cJust squeeze hard when it hurts.\u00a0 I\u2019m almost done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patiently, she breathed through what little remaining discomfort was caused and finally sighed, looking up at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I can tell you\u2019re a real good father, sir,\u201d she whispered.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know how to thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben found himself gazing into her grey eyes, losing himself in them.\u00a0 And she returned the gaze.<\/p>\n

\u201cOr\u2026 maybe I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben shook himself, realizing her intent. \u00a0\u201cNo need,\u201d he said, starting to rise.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Cartwright,\u201d she said gripping his arm, nervously.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2026 I\u2019ll tell ya this for nothin\u2019\u2026 I\u2019d be grateful if you\u2019d stay a bit anyhow\u2026 in case that brute comes back.\u00a0 And\u2026\u201d she swallowed, raising her head proudly. \u201cI ain\u2019t one to be beholden to nobody.\u00a0 I\u2019d be grateful if you\u2019d let me \u2026 please ya, in order to pay my debt to ya.\u201d\u00a0 She chuckled a bit without humor.\u00a0 \u201cThink of it as a birthday present, like.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not my birthday,\u201d he sighed gruffly, but stilled when she placed her fingers to his lips, shaking her head, gazing at him\u2026 God, but she looks like Liz!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cNo\u2026 it\u2019s mine.\u00a0 Today\u2019s my birthday, and to be honest, I\u2019d like to spend it with a kind and gentle man for a change,\u201d she said softly. \u201cSee, I\u2019m one of them \u2018ladies o\u2019 the evenin\u2019 that actually likes<\/em> the work I do, for the most part.\u00a0 I\u2019m good at givin\u2019 a man what he wants and needs.\u201d\u00a0 She gazed up at him, seeing that somehow, there was a link of some kind between them, though she wasn\u2019t exactly sure what it might be.\u00a0 Perhaps \u2026 perhaps I remind him of someone? <\/em><\/strong>\u201cI know your woman died awhile back,\u201d she said, very gently and with dignity.\u00a0 \u201cI ain\u2019t aimin\u2019 to make you forget her. Instead, well\u2026 maybe bring her back to ya for a short time.\u201d<\/p>\n

He hesitated, shocked to feel his body respond to her.\u00a0 It had been a long time since he\u2019d been with a woman.\u00a0 Ben was no angel, and to be sure he\u2019d taken his pleasure with women of Sally\u2019s type in the years occasionally since Marie had died.\u00a0 He was a very physical man, a man that enjoyed women, liked women.\u00a0 His hand gently stroked her wavy hair back from her face. \u201cYou\u2019re not more than a child,\u201d he said quietly.<\/p>\n

She shook her head, and her hand, surely, but gently, reached for his manhood. \u201cNope\u2026 all woman,\u201d she disagreed, smiling as he gasped, and carefully placed her bruised mouth to his, taking his free hand and placing it insider her bodice.<\/p>\n

Oh, Liz\u2026<\/em>But the shape was wrong, the touch was wrong.\u00a0 Twenty-five years on, Ben\u2019s hands still remembered the feel of his wife\u2019s firm breasts\u2026 the exact swell of her hips\u2026 and while this girl reminded him of her very, very much, she was not Elizabeth.\u00a0 And all the wishing in the world couldn\u2019t make her so.<\/p>\n

\u201cSally\u2026 no.\u201d\u00a0 He removed his hand from her bodice and hers from his lap.\u00a0 \u201cThat isn\u2019t going to happen,\u201d he said gruffly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not?\u201d she breathed, her eyes nearly closed, her young lips close to his.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I\u2019m old enough to be your father, and as enticing a young lady as you are, I don\u2019t bed sweet young things like you.\u201d<\/p>\n

A low, guttural laugh was halted with an almost painful sob, as she pulled away from him and turned her body, keeping her face averted. \u201cSweet young thing!\u00a0 Well, that\u2019s a reach, lemme tell ya.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it\u2019s not,\u201d he said firmly, turning her back and tipping up her chin with a finger to make her look at him\u2026 much as he would have young Joseph.\u00a0 His mind whirled with options.\u00a0 \u201cYou said it was your birthday\u2026\u201d he mused.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what if I did?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, missy\u2026 ,\u201d he smiled gently then, and removed his finger from her chin and instead used it to gently snag a loose curl, and hook it tenderly behind a tiny ear.\u00a0 \u201cSomeone once told me that the best gift you could give a … a young lady of your occupation is a decent night of solid sleep, with no strings attached.\u201d<\/p>\n

Startled, the girl looked up at him, her lips parted slightly, surprised by his words.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuppose I get us some food, and you tell me a little bit about yourself, and then I make it possible for you to have a good night\u2019s sleep in a decent bed.\u00a0 How does that sound to you?”<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2026\u201d For once, Sally MacGiver, freshly nineteen years old, didn\u2019t have a quick, witty comeback, a sharp word or a sarcastic comment.\u00a0 She was speechless.<\/p>\n

Ben chuckled and raised an eyebrow.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m guessing from the look on your face that this sounds like a good idea to you?\u201d<\/p>\n

A slow smile formed on her face.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I\u2019d certainly be willin\u2019 to hear more!\u201d she answered, decidedly.<\/p>\n

= = = =<\/p>\n

Hop Sing finished placing the nicer dinnerware on the exquisite table which looked as though he\u2019d been preparing for this evening for weeks, all the while muttering about last minute birthday cakes and no time to prepare for a decent feast.\u00a0 He stepped back and critically eyed the effect.\u00a0 Flowers would be nicer, but there hadn\u2019t been time to go out and find some, so the candles with the pretty and fragrant vines Missy Cahtlight used to call Clematis wound around them would have to do.<\/p>\n

The roast pork would soon be perfect, and all the vegetables were ready to be steamed, and the birthday cake was finished and decorated.<\/p>\n

He glanced toward the stairs where the little missy the Boss brought home earlier was resting.\u00a0 She looked troubled and too thin\u2026 her clothes had been cheap and tawdry, but even Hop Sing had spotted the resemblance she bore to the mother of Number One Son… except for the bruises on her face.\u00a0 If Mister Adam had a sister, it was not unreasonable she would look like this little j\u00ecn<\/em>\u01da.\u00a0 <\/em>Hop Sing had no judgement on her profession; he\u2019d known full well how circumstances can force someone into a position \u2026 erm, into work they normally wouldn\u2019t do. \u00a0If the Boss was content to have a prostitute at his table, then who was he to protest?<\/p>\n

He heard the front door open and Mister Hoss\u2019 big voice and then Mister Adam\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoy oh boy, somethin\u2019 sure smells good, Hop Sing, what\u2019s for\u2026 hey\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 Hoss\u2019 eyes were wide as he took in the beautifully decorated table.<\/p>\n

Adam stopped short, filthy, tired and aching from dragging recalcitrant steers out of the swampy bottomland they\u2019d been assigned to patrol today.\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s all this?\u201d he demanded of the houseman.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t remember Pa mentioning anyone coming to dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs suplize,\u201d answered Hop Sing with dignity.\u00a0 \u201cWater hot for baths.\u00a0 You go take, stink of cow.\u201d<\/p>\n

One black eyebrow rose. \u201cSorry to offend,\u201d Adam replied dryly.<\/p>\n

Hop Sing sniffed. \u201cDinner leady one hour.\u00a0 Hurry, please. Boss say everyone clean for dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut who\u2019s comin\u2019?\u201d asked Hoss, confused, as he allowed Hop Sing to herd him toward the wash house as efficiently as any of their head wrangler Jos\u00e9\u2019s cutting horses might.<\/p>\n

\u201cGuest of father, no more question, move,\u201d commanded the Chinese man, sending both brothers in the same direction. \u201cHop Sing put clothes in wash house fo\u2019 you. Go!\u201d<\/p>\n

The Chinese man shook his head, and turned as the Boss came downstairs, wearing his good suit with the silver waistcoat.\u00a0 He looked truly majestic in that outfit and Hop Sing felt great pride to work for such an important-looking man.<\/p>\n

\u201cNumbah One and Number Two Sons getting washed.\u00a0 Mister Little Joe dressing?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is,\u201d nodded Ben, grimly, as he pulled his shirt sleeves down comfortably under his jacket.\u00a0 \u201cHe put up a fuss about having to wear a suit, until I informed him he could either sit comfortably at the table or not, his choice. But he’d be doing it wearing his suit!\u201d<\/p>\n

Hop Sing stifled a grin.\u00a0 \u201cAll be leady in one hour. Girl fit in one of Missy\u2019s dresses, maybe?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben\u2019s expression softened.. \u201cI think so, yes,\u201d he smiled.\u00a0 Then his eyes widened.\u00a0 \u201cI sure hope she found one that she won\u2019t need too much help getting fastened into, as none of us is suited to be a lady\u2019s maid!\u201d<\/p>\n

~-oo0oo-~<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam poured himself a brandy looking at the festive table settings.\u00a0 A birthday, Hop Sing had said, though he couldn\u2019t imagine who in the world it could be.\u00a0 Nothing this fancy would be done for the likes of Doc Martin or Roy Coffee.\u00a0 All he\u2019d wanted to do after the godawful day he\u2019d had today was to get a bath, eat a simple supper and relax with a book, maybe even allowing himself to doze off while reading. Having to entertain was not<\/em><\/strong> part of his plan.<\/p>\n

He glanced up to see Hoss coming in from the kitchen, fastening the buttons on his shirt cuffs, and looking decidedly more presentable than he had when stripping off his filthy work clothes in the wash house.\u00a0 He smiled at his \u2018little\u2019 brother, pouring him a small glass of brandy as well. \u201cSay when,\u201d he said quietly.\u00a0 When no sound came, he looked up in annoyance, only to become alarmed at the expression on his younger brother\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

Hoss looked like he\u2019d been pole-axed. His face was white as a sheet, his eyes so wide that Adam could see white all around the blue orbs. And his mouth kept opening and closing though nothing was coming out.\u00a0 Whirling in alarm, Adam nearly dropped the two glasses he held.<\/p>\n

For there was Sally, coming down the stairs on Ben Cartwright\u2019s arm, wearing a dress that Adam recognized as one of Marie\u2019s.\u00a0 She was clean, her hair nicely coiffed, if still damp from having been washed. And\u2026 his jaw tightened in anger.\u00a0 She\u2019d been beaten.\u00a0 Her face and neck were bruised.<\/p>\n

Her head was held high, her pride held like armor, as she gazed back at the two brothers, continuing down the stairs on Ben\u2019s arm.<\/p>\n

Adam supposed it was seeing Marie\u2019s dress that did it.\u00a0 It brought his Creole stepmother back to him, full of life again, making the only thing he could think of slip unbidden out of his mouth.<\/p>\n

\u201cMerde!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

~-oo0oo-~<\/p>\n

This is absolutely bizarre.\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s the only word I can come up with for this situation\u2026 bizarre.\u00a0\u00a0Nothing else seems to come close to defining it.\u00a0\u00a0Strange\u2026 weird\u2026 nightmarish.\u00a0\u00a0Even absurd isn\u2019t strong enough.\u00a0\u00a0Embarrassing?\u00a0\u00a0Yeah, that would work, too, but again, not strong enough.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Adam was able to keep up quiet dinner conversation, his face as calm and steady as possible throughout the meal, but his mind was churning right along with his stomach.\u00a0For God’s sake, Cartwright!\u00a0You\u2019re twenty-four years old, man, not a child! Get a grip on yourself!<\/em><\/p>\n

Across the table, his next younger brother wasn\u2019t faring anywhere near as well.\u00a0\u00a0He couldn\u2019t look anywhere but at his plate, so he was mechanically shoveling food into his mouth as though his life depended on it.\u00a0\u00a0And, considering what he believed his father might do to him if he understood that the young woman seated across from him had been the prostitute to whom he\u2019d lost his innocence?\u00a0\u00a0Maybe his life did<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0depend on it.<\/p>\n

\u201cSally tells me her father was a forty-niner,\u201d Ben was saying, keeping a weather eye on his two older sons.\u00a0\u00a0Adam\u2019s reaction, he\u2019d expected.\u00a0\u00a0This young woman seated beside him was an honorable girl, and when she\u2019d reacted so oddly to his suggestion of coming to the Ponderosa for a day or two of rest, good food and peace, he\u2019d been able to put two and two together.\u00a0\u00a0But she\u2019d said nothing until he point blank asked her if Adam had been a client\u2026<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cSally, I\u2019m not angry.\u00a0\u00a0For heaven’s sake, I\u2019m a man\u2026I was a sailor before I came west.\u00a0\u00a0I\u2019ve lived in the world.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

She\u2019d eyed him, worriedly.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou been real good to me, Mr. Cartwright. An\u2019 I don\u2019t want to make any trouble\u2026 for anybody.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cSally\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

She sighed, and he could see his hunch had been correct.\u00a0\u00a0He nodded, and a small smile formed itself.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWell, then,\u201d he said briskly, flapping the reins to speed up the pace of the borrowed buggy, “the next few days ought to be interesting, don\u2019t you think?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Astonished, Sally had looked at him then and laughed outright.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cMr. Cartwright\u2026 well, I ain\u2019t never met no one like you before,\u201d she said in admiration, and then her expression became softer. \u201c\u2019Cept my papa.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now at the table, watching Adam twist in the wind, Ben Cartwright had to constantly stifle an inward chuckle of amusement.\u00a0\u00a0He wasn\u2019t thrilled that his son had been frequenting the tent city in Eagle Station, but he couldn\u2019t truly blame him.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0For heaven\u2019s sake, he had done the same as a young man! And Ben Cartwright knew that any son of his would behave kindly and keep it professional.\u00a0\u00a0He hoped. No, Adam had definitely been kind, or Ben would \u00a0have known from Sally\u2019s reaction.<\/p>\n

No, Adam\u2019s \u2026. erm, activities\u2026\u00a0\u00a0didn\u2019t really bother him.\u00a0\u00a0It was Hoss\u2019 reaction that startled him.\u00a0\u00a0While he knew Hoss was a fully capable eighteen-year-old, the boy was also painfully shy around young ladies.\u00a0\u00a0And it dawned on him that \u2013 as had usually been the case in the\u00a0past \u2013 it was likely Hoss\u2019 elder brother who\u2019d \u2018helped him out\u2019 on that score, introducing him to the art of pleasing women.\u00a0\u00a0And that\u00a0did\u00a0rile him a bit.<\/p>\n

\u201cA forty-niner, huh? Did he ever find a strike?\u201d asked Little Joe, with interest, picking up his glass of milk.<\/p>\n

She smiled at him.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cNo, nothin\u2019 big,\u201d she admitted. \u201cBut Papa\u2026 he never stopped dreamin\u2019. Not \u2018til he died.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe nodded. \u201cI can understand that.\u00a0\u00a0My pa never stopped dreamin\u2019 neither until he found the Ponderosa.\u201d He tucked into his roast beef, then looked up, puzzled. \u201cBut\u2026 if your pa isn\u2019t alive anymore, where do you live?\u00a0\u00a0Are you still workin\u2019 his claim?\u201d the boy asked, curiously.<\/p>\n

Hoss choked on his bite of biscuit.<\/p>\n

Alarmed, Joe leaped to his feet and pounded on his brother\u2019s back, while Adam set his knife and fork down, wishing he could sink into the dirt beneath the house.<\/p>\n

Sally, flushing slightly and struggling hard not to laugh, looked down at her own plate, then uneasily toward her host.<\/p>\n

Ben studied his middle son blandly, hearing him able to take in air, albeit a bit wheezingly, and turned his attention back to his own meal. \u201cWell, Joseph, it\u2019s not usually good manners to ask a question like that, especially while we\u2019re seated at the table, so let\u2019s just move on, shall we?\u201d<\/p>\n

And, just like that, his two older sons\u2019 eyes were clapped on him like white on rice.\u00a0\u00a0They stared at him, then they stared at each other.<\/p>\n

He knows!<\/em><\/p>\n

And both young men promptly lost their appetites.<\/p>\n

~-oo0oo-~<\/p>\n

Late that evening, after a supper the likes of which Sally MacGiver had never, ever enjoyed in all her life, both Hoss, beet red with embarrassment, and Adam, more pale than flushed, had managed to excuse themselves for the night, begging forgiveness for being worn out after a long day in the saddle rounding up steers.\u00a0 Joe had been sent to bed earlier, and Hop Sing, after making sure his host and the \u2018lady\u2019 were seen to with fresh coffee and pastries, also told his employer to simply leave the dishes in the kitchen and he\u2019d deal with them in the morning.<\/p>\n

After a few moments of peaceful silence as Ben sat smoking his pipe in his red leather chair and Sally curled up comfortably in a blue velvet chair opposite him, gazing into the fire, she drew in a breath and turned her head to her host.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2026 I can\u2019t thank you enough, Mr. Cartwright,\u201d she offered, softly. \u201cBut I think my bein\u2019 here has made your family uncomfortable \u2018nough.\u201d\u00a0 She started to rise to her feet. \u201cI\u2019ll be gone by mornin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSally.\u201d<\/p>\n

His commanding voice stopped her in her tracks.\u00a0 She drew in a deep breath and looked at him, nervously.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know you said you\u2026 em\u2026 like what you do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her lips firmed and her chin came up.<\/p>\n

\u201cWould you be interested in doing anything else, though?\u201d<\/p>\n

Her eyes widened in surprise.\u00a0 \u201cLike what?\u201d<\/p>\n

He shrugged. \u201cNo idea.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, since I ain\u2019t good for anythin\u2019 else -\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStop that!\u201d<\/p>\n

She flushed and clamped her lips together.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are most definitely good for ANYTHING else, young lady!\u201d he barked, uncrossing his legs and punctuating his speech with the stem of his pipe. \u201cYou\u2019re a bright young woman, articulate, smart.\u00a0 You could do anything you put your mind to!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLike what, a fine lady’s maid?” she demanded, hotly.\u00a0 “Wife o\u2019 someone as fine and educated as your boy?!\u201d\u00a0\u00a0She waved her hands at herself, her eyes glittering with unshed tears. \u201cLook at me!\u00a0 I\u2019m a whore, plain an\u2019 simple!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to be if you don\u2019t want to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her chest heaving, she stared at him.\u00a0 \u201cAn\u2019 what else could I do?\u201d she whispered, her lips trembling.\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t cook, I can\u2019t sew -\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could learn.\u00a0 IF<\/em><\/strong>,\u201d he stopped her protests with an upraised hand. \u201cIF<\/em><\/strong> \u2026 you wanted to.\u201d<\/p>\n

He set down his pipe and walked over to her as she stood before the fire, frowning and agitated.\u00a0 He kept his hands in his pockets.\u00a0 \u201cDo you think, ever, of doing something else?\u201d he asked, more gently now.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re good with people, Sally.\u201d<\/p>\n

She shook her head, then glanced back at him, worriedly.\u00a0 As though speaking would give him something to hold over her.\u00a0 She hesitated, but his kind eyes and face \u2013 this felt so much like pouring her heart out to Papa! \u2013 gave her the courage to speak.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wondered once…\u201d\u00a0 She swallowed hard.\u00a0 \u201cWhen Papa and me was travelin\u2019 west, we stopped in a town that had a nice eatin\u2019 place.\u00a0 The lady that ran the place had someone who did the cookin\u2019 and the cleanin\u2019 up. She worked the main room, takin\u2019 peoples\u2019 orders, sittin\u2019 \u2018em down, makin\u2019 \u2018em feel t\u2019home.\u201d\u00a0 She closed her eyes, a small sigh escaping her.\u00a0 \u201cThat seemed awful nice. Like always havin\u2019 people comin\u2019 to visit and makin\u2019 \u2018em feel welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben nodded, taking his hands out of his pockets and gathering one of her tiny ones in his.\u00a0 \u201cI have a friend in California, a woman named Nell Starling, who owns just such a place.\u00a0 In Sacramento.\u00a0 If you\u2019re game I\u2019d like to write to her and see if you might come to her, to work for her and learn the business.\u00a0 She\u2019s a widow, and the last time we wrote she said how she\u2019d like to find someone to take over the business when she was ready to stop.\u00a0 Adam says you know how to read.\u201d<\/p>\n

She glanced up at him, fearfully. \u201cA little, yeah.\u00a0 Not real good.\u201d<\/p>\n

He smiled at her. \u201cPractice makes perfect, Sally.\u201d\u00a0 As he\u2019d done in her tent, he reached out and used a finger to tip her chin up to look at him.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you say, Sal?\u00a0 Would the hard work of learning a new business be something you think you could tackle?\u201d<\/p>\n

Scared, but excited by this prospect, too, Sally found herself allowing a tiny shard of hope to brighten a life that had been darkened by hardship and loss.\u00a0 She swallowed hard, and pulled her hand from his, walking a little to gather her thoughts.\u00a0 Finally she stopped, and turned, head high and stared at him. \u201cWhy?\u201d she demanded.\u00a0 \u201cWhy me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben smiled, and held out a hand to her.<\/p>\n

Frowning she remained still, until he shook his head. \u201cCome here, little girl,\u201d he said sternly, but with a twinkle in his eye.<\/p>\n

Sighing, she walked to him and placed her hand in his, and he walked her toward his desk area.\u00a0 There, he turned her and pointed her toward the three framed images resting there on his desk.\u00a0 And when she looked at the three, she gasped in shock.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut\u2026 but that one\u2026 she looks like me!\u201d she breathed, reaching over to pick up the small painting, and her hand stopped, guiltily glancing at him before her fingers touched it.\u00a0 He smiled at her and nodded, and she lifted it, staring in amazement at the image before her.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s my first wife, Elizabeth,\u201d said Ben quietly.\u00a0 \u201cAdam\u2019s mother.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elizabeth.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 \u201c\u2026Liz\u2026\u201d she breathed, remembering the name he\u2019d called her, and looked at him, questioningly.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh\u2026\u201d\u00a0 Her hand shaking, finally she set the picture back down with respectful gentleness and drew in a deep breath.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s hurting,\u201d she said, very softly, staring at the image.<\/p>\n

Startled, Ben frowned, puzzled.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam.\u00a0 He\u2019s hurting.\u201d\u00a0 She drew in a breath and stared at him.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s thinkin\u2019 you ain\u2019t never gonna see he ain\u2019t 18 anymore.\u00a0 That you\u2019ll never see he\u2019s come back with learnin\u2019, and experience.\u00a0 That\u2019s he\u2019s a grown man with ideas and plans of his own.\u201d\u00a0 She hesitated.\u00a0 \u201cI ain\u2019t trying to be hurtful, Mr. Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sighing, Ben eased a hip onto the desk. \u201cI\u2019ve wondered.\u00a0 He\u2019s been so prickly\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been feelin\u2019 like you ain\u2019t takin\u2019 him serious,\u201d she responded, gently.\u00a0 \u201cAn\u2019 if you two can\u2019t find a way to mend the rift, he\u2019ll\u2026 well he\u2019ll leave again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lips parted in a shock, Ben shot again to his feet. \u201cWhat?!\u201d<\/p>\n

She nodded. \u201cYou got it all in your power to make the change, sir, but if\u2019n you let it go too long\u2026 well, you\u2019ll lose him.\u00a0 And I don\u2019t think you want that.\u201d<\/p>\n

She reached out a hand and tenderly patted his arm.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s grown up,\u201d she said, with a sad smile.\u00a0 \u201cHe ain\u2019t a little boy any more.\u00a0 Can you figure out how to meet him where he is?\u201d<\/p>\n

Troubled, Ben gazed down at the miniature of his wife, and the young girl stepped closer and gently kissed his cheek.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll say good night, then.\u201d<\/p>\n

And she walked up the staircase, leaving the man below to ponder how to bridge the expanse between himself and his eldest son.<\/p>\n

~-oo0oo-~<\/p>\n

Three weeks \u00a0later, Adam sat on the front porch watching the full moon rise over the mountains, chin propped on his hand as he gazed into the night sky, remembering the girl who looked like his mother and yet had her very own special place in his heart. The girl who’d excited his body and his heart. The girl who\u2019d left that afternoon with a family traveling on from Eagle Station to Sacramento.<\/p>\n

He heard the door open and shut, and closed his eyes, trying to get control of his emotions.\u00a0 Sure enough\u2026 it was Pa.<\/p>\n

He heard the chair creak beside him.<\/p>\n

\u201cMind if I sit here with you for a bit?\u201d<\/p>\n

He silently waved a hand of acceptance\u2026 welcome\u2026 whatever\u2026<\/p>\n

After a good ten minutes of silent rocking on Ben\u2019s part, and total immobility on Adam\u2019s, the older man turned his head toward his son, empathy radiating from his chocolate brown eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you all right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s lips firmed and his hand dropped.\u00a0 The young man stared at his boot tips.\u00a0 \u201cOf course. Why wouldn\u2019t I be?\u201d\u00a0 But the tone was somewhat subdued.<\/p>\n

Ben smiled sadly.\u00a0 \u201cBecause you liked her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam winced, and turned his head a bit away.<\/p>\n

\u201cSon\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa, I\u2019m fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben firmed his lips a moment, then drew in a deep breath and leaned forward, his forearms on his thighs.\u00a0 \u201cSally and I talked quite a bit, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam, glanced at him, alarmed.<\/p>\n

Ben smiled, gentle understanding shining out at his eldest.<\/p>\n

Adam cleared his throat and straightened slightly.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe mentioned you were\u2026 concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam flushed, uncomfortable.\u00a0 \u201cShe shouldn\u2019t have.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not?\u201d asked Ben gently.\u00a0 \u201cShe cared about you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Again, Adam flinched and closed his eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe cared about you so much she wouldn\u2019t let me help her until I knew you two had been\u2026 involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe weren\u2019t \u2026 involved. <\/em>I was a \u2026 a client<\/em>, nothing more,\u201d Adam bit out, his voice harsh.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know better than that,\u201d Ben chided\u2026 very, very gently.<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s lips trembled slightly, and his hand came up to his mouth again, to keep those lips from betraying him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you came home\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam turned as silence fell between them and was startled to see pain on his father\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you came home, I had trouble accepting that you weren\u2019t the boy who\u2019d left here nearly five years ago,\u201d Ben admitted, his voice low and rough.<\/p>\n

Adam said nothing, allowing his father some space.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was so easy for me to just\u2026\u201d Ben waved a hand, trying to come up with the words he needed to explain how he felt.\u00a0 \u201cTo just pick up where we\u2019d left off.\u00a0 I mean, I was the same man I’d been when you left.\u00a0 But the difference was\u2026. well, you weren\u2019t the same boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Very true,” Adam replied, quietly.<\/p>\n

Ben hauled in a breath and raised his eyes to his eldest son, a look of pained acceptance on his face.\u00a0 \u201cNo.\u00a0 You weren\u2019t a boy at all. You\u2019d become a man in the time you were gone.\u201d\u00a0 Ben chuckled and shook his head. \u201cWhat am I saying\u2026\u201d\u00a0 He looked up apologetically at the young man before him.\u00a0 \u201cYou were a man before you left.\u00a0 You\u2019ve always been older than your years, Adam.\u00a0 Always.\u00a0 Taking on more responsibility than you should have, from babyhood.\u201d\u00a0 He shrugged his shoulders.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s \u2026 well, it\u2019s hard for a father to want to relinquish responsibility for a child.\u00a0 While you\u2019ll always be my baby -\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam drew in a frustrated breath, and Ben gently patted the air between them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile you\u2019ll always be my baby<\/em><\/strong>,\u201d he repeated, eyeing the younger man firmly, \u201cmy firstborn, you\u2019re not a baby or a child or even a youth anymore.\u00a0 You\u2019re a man.\u00a0 A man<\/em><\/strong>\u2026 a son to be proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hesitantly, Adam glanced up at his father.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd\u2026 Sally made me realize that if I didn\u2019t recognize that, I\u2019d lose you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam gazed into his father\u2019s chocolate brown eyes. \u201cSo\u2026\u201d\u00a0 He respectfully nodded.\u00a0 \u201cWhere does that leave us?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben nodded as well, leaning back in his rocker and bringing his hands together, steepling his fingers.\u00a0 \u201cWhere do you want it to be?\u201d\u00a0 he asked, honestly.\u00a0 \u201cDo you\u2026 do you feel as though you need to leave us?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam swallowed hard and shook his head, leaning forward, and mirroring his father\u2019s stance of a few minutes earlier, forearms on his thighs.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t want to, Pa,\u201d he admitted, softly.\u00a0 \u201cThis is\u2026 this is home.\u00a0 I love you all.\u00a0 But\u2026\u201d\u00a0 he swallowed hard and firmed his mouth.\u00a0 \u201cBut if you can\u2019t find your way clear to understand that I\u2019m not that little boy anymore, I\u2019m not sure where that leaves us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben nodded.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s fair,\u201d he murmured.\u00a0 \u201cWhat role do you want to play on the Ponderosa?\u201d<\/p>\n

That surprised Adam.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2026\u201d He shut his mouth for a moment, thinking.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not foolish enough to consider myself your equal,\u201d he replied, slowly, thinking\u2026 and making Ben smile.\u00a0 \u201cBut I don\u2019t want to be seen at the same level as Joe\u2026 or even Hoss.\u201d\u00a0 Proudly, he raised his chin a little.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve worked hard the last five years, Pa.\u00a0 I\u2019ve learned a lot that can help the Ponderosa find its way forward, into the twentieth century.\u00a0 But if you undercut me every step of the way\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben nodded, rubbing his chin.\u00a0 \u201cI understand, Adam,\u201d he retorted, gruffly.\u00a0 He frowned and gazed at his son. \u201cAs long as you<\/em> understand, I\u2019ve led this ranch alone for a long time.\u00a0 Oh, I had help… Jake and Jos\u00e9. You, of course.\u00a0 \u00a0Lately, your brother Hoss.\u00a0 But the weight of the decisions and their ramifications rested on me.”\u00a0 He sighed and looked seriously at the young man beside him. “It\u2019s going to take some practice for me to hand over some of the reins. I’ll need you to be patient.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam studied him and decided to meet him halfway.\u00a0 He nodded. \u201cUnderstood.\u00a0\u00a0 As long as you<\/em><\/strong> understand\u2026 I won\u2019t\u2019 give up on something I feel strongly about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben chuckled and shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ve never been anything other than persistent,\u201d he grunted.\u00a0 \u201cSo\u2026 is there a chance we can work this out?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam studied him, and then a slow, sweet smile crested on his cupid\u2019s bow mouth\u2026 Liz\u2019s smile, Ben realized.\u00a0 \u201cYes, sir, I think so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben cleared his throat and nodded, pleased.\u00a0 Then he thought of something.\u00a0 \u201cHowever, I\u2019d like you to remember that your younger brothers are my responsibility,\u201d he said, slowly, and lifted his head, gazing directly at his eldest son, who looked perplexed.\u00a0 \u201cHoss.\u00a0\u00a0 And Sally.\u201d\u00a0 He said no more.<\/p>\n

Adam remained quiet for a moment, then raised his own eyes, looking directly at his father as well, standing his ground.\u00a0 \u201cThat awful day in Ash Hollow, Inger placed Hoss in my arms to care for,\u201d he said softly, gently.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve never stopped.\u00a0 Not from the moment that arrow took her.\u00a0 When he came to me, a couple of months back, asking questions and wondering about… well, about relations with women, I did what I believed was right and was best for him.\u00a0 I didn’t want him to learn from anyone but the best, and someone who would be kind and understanding of him.\u00a0 You might not agree… in fact, as a father I\u2019m pretty sure you don’t.\u00a0 But that\u2019s doesn\u2019t change the reality of what was happening. He needed answers. And not answers his Pa could easily give.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben glared at his eldest and was a little disconcerted to note that Adam was absolutely and totally feeling on solid ground here.\u00a0 There was no shame, there was no regret.\u00a0 He was a man, in full control of himself, and Ben had no choice but to take note of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cMarie asked me to watch over Joe, too.\u00a0 So\u2026\u201d\u00a0 Adam leaned back and steepled his own hands once again.\u00a0 \u201cAre you demanding that I step away from promises I made to the two women whom I loved\u2026 who accepted all of me, accepted me for who I am, and were mothers to me?\u201d<\/p>\n

For a difficult, tension-filled moment, Adam was honestly unsure of how this would play out. But he couldn\u2019t deny Inger, and he couldn\u2019t deny Marie.\u00a0 Not now, not over something so important.<\/p>\n

Ben fought with himself\u2026 fought hard.\u00a0 And realized that Marie had been right.\u00a0 In this, Adam would be the one who would know best\u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMon cher, your eldest son is a smoldering fire of emotion, have you never seen this?\u00a0 How can you have raised this man for all these years and never seen it?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cMan?\u00a0 Nonsense! He\u2019s\u2026 he\u2019s just a boy!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNon, Benjamin.\u00a0 He is a man\u2026 has been so for a year at least,\u201d she scoffed, waving a hand.\u00a0 \u201cI have told him I place his baby brother\u2019s care in his hands.\u00a0 For he will educate my son in ways you cannot.\u00a0 A father cannot do these things.\u00a0 It must be an uncle\u2026 or a brother who loves him. You can teach him how to defend himself.\u00a0 How to be an honorable man.\u00a0 Someone other than his father must teach him the way of the world.\u00a0 I trust Adam to do so.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben sighed and leaned back.\u00a0 \u201cYes, I know.\u00a0 She told me,\u201d he grunted.<\/p>\n

Astonished, Adam glanced at his father.<\/p>\n

Smirking, Ben nodded. \u201cYes, she did.\u00a0 She told me there are some things a father cannot teach.\u201d\u00a0 He studied his eldest son.\u00a0 \u201cYou will take this role very, very <\/strong><\/em>seriously?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam’s face was impassive, then he nodded. \u201cYes,\u201d he said, gravely.\u00a0 This was a solemn promise.<\/p>\n

Ben nodded.\u00a0 \u201cVery well, then.\u201d\u00a0 He pushed himself to his feet and stared out at the yard.\u00a0 Then down at Adam.\u00a0 \u201cAre you happy with what we worked out for Sally?\u201d<\/p>\n

He smiled then and nodded, rising as well to his feet. \u201cYes.\u00a0 She\u2019s a wonderful girl.\u00a0 If her father hadn\u2019t died, she\u2019d never have ended up earning her living this way.\u00a0 She was amazing,\u201d he admitted softly.<\/p>\n

Ben nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI know that Nell will be a good resource for her,\u201d referring to the woman who\u2019d run the restaurant in Sacramento they both knew.\u00a0 \u201cSally can have a fresh start and make her life whatever she wants it to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYes,\u201d he said softly.\u00a0 Just not with me.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAdam\u2026 you know how much I love you, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Surprised, the young man turned to his father, gazing in surprise.<\/p>\n

Ben smiled.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t say that as often as I should,\u201d he admitted, apologetically.<\/p>\n

Adam shook his head\u2026 you never cease to surprise me, Pa.\u00a0<\/em> \u201cWe know it, though,\u201d he replied, warmly. “Hoss… Joe… and<\/em> I.”<\/p>\n

\u201cGood,\u201d nodded Ben, reaching out and gripped his son\u2019s strong bicep.\u00a0 \u201cSo,\u201d he said, clearing his throat and getting himself more under control again.\u00a0 \u201cTell me about this plan you\u2019ve got for shifting the herd\u2019s grazing areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s lips parted in surprise.<\/p>\n

Ben chuckled.\u00a0 \u201cJake told me,\u201d he reassured his boy, mentioning the name of the Ponderosa\u2019s longtime foreman.\u00a0 \u201cYour brothers didn\u2019t rat you out.\u201d<\/p>\n

And laughing, the two eldest Cartwright men went back into the house to talk business.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

THE END<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RATING: MA\/R
\nSUMMARY: Not long after Adam returns from college, he begins to wonder if he should have come back at all, as his father doesn’t seem to recognize he’s not the stripling youth he’d been when he left home more than four years earlier.\u00a0 It takes a wise young woman of the world to potentially set both Cartwright men straight and help heal a rift that threatens to destroy the family.\u00a0
\nWritten in answer to the 2025 Brandaversary R-Rated Story challenge.
\n(10,230 words)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12518,"featured_media":56723,"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":[1005,1004,690,30,40],"tags":[647],"class_list":["post-58396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adam-cartwright","category-ben-cartwright","category-ma-rated","category-prequels","category-challenges","tag-r-challenge","wpcat-1005-id","wpcat-1004-id","wpcat-690-id","wpcat-30-id","wpcat-40-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\/2025\/04\/college-age-Adam.jpg?fit=600%2C600&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58396","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\/12518"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=58396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58396\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/56723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=58396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=58396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=58396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}