{"id":7552,"date":"2008-07-09T18:27:02","date_gmt":"2008-07-09T22:27:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=7552"},"modified":"2026-02-11T10:15:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T15:15:14","slug":"foolish-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=7552","title":{"rendered":"Foolish Questions (by Storm)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary: \u00a0<\/span>Here is another way in which Adam and Storm could have met. In this one Adam finds out that sometimes the answers are more important then the questions. Rated: \u00a0MA (45,990 words)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Storm series<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Return to England
\n<\/a>The Special Rope <\/a>
\n<\/a>Foolish Questions<\/a>
\nAnte Up<\/a>
\nLove Lost, Destiny Found<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0Foolish Questions<\/strong><\/div>\n
\n

 <\/p>\n

CHAPTER 1<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI am so very glad that you have finally come back for a visit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo am I Ben.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs this Storm?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes it is. Quite different isn\u2019t she?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, all I can recall is a cute little angel who would quite often speak her mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe still speaks her mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd she still resembles an angel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you Mr. Cartwright. I must say the Ponderosa is even more lovely then I remember.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, now why don\u2019t we go inside.\u201d
\n\u201cThat is a very good idea. Thank you Ben.\u201d
\nStorm and Nate entered the door Ben held open for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut when is your son going to arrive Nate?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh Matthew should be here in a week or so. Speaking of sons where are your three?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle Joe should be home shortly. Adam and Hoss should be back in three or four days. Storm you look tired, would you like to go to your room and rest up?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben showed Storm to the room that would be hers for the length of her stay here. After making sure she was comfortable he rejoined Nate downstairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s grown into a beautiful young woman Nate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes she has. She\u2019s the very image of her mother.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes there is a very strong resemblance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cExcept that my Constance would never have done half the things that Storm has.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe seems to me to be very like her mother.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes my Connie was very strong willed but it will take someone other than myself to show Storm just how to behave as she should. Perhaps a husband?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNate are you still hoping that Storm and Little Joe will marry?\u201d
\n\u201cAren\u2019t you? Or do you feel that my daughter is now below your son?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben knew Nate was joking. It had long been a wish of both of them for Little Joe to marry Storm. Ever since she had been born four months after Little Joe. It had also been a wish of Nate\u2019s wife Constance and Ben\u2019s wife Marie.<\/p>\n

\u201cNate, I\u2019m just afraid that your daughter may be too good for my son.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBen I long for the day that she finds a man strong enough to control her. I know it\u2019s all my fault, I indulged her too much. I\u2019m afraid I failed to realize in time that she and Matthew should be taught to behave differently and once I did it was too late.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t believe she\u2019s that bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo she\u2019s not, it\u2019s just at times she is a little too strong in her opinions and not afraid to share them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen she\u2019s also a lot like her father.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Storm sat on the bed and wondered what was going on downstairs. She only hoped that her father wasn\u2019t giving her away. She knew her father and Mr. Cartwright had long hoped for a marriage between her and Ben\u2019s youngest son, Little Joe. She knew in her heart her father would never force her to marry against her will but she also knew he was growing tired of her not showing interest in any gentleman who had tried to court her. She had tried to explain to him that none of them were willing to challenge her but that had only succeeded in irritating him. It was as if they were silenced by the beauty they all said she possessed, or if not that then it was surely the money her father possessed that made them hold their tongues. Maybe Little Joe would be different, after all he hadn\u2019t been raised in Boston like the other men. Maybe this time she would finally find a real man. One not threatened by a woman with opinions and a mind of her own.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm may I come in?\u201d She hadn\u2019t realized she\u2019d fallen asleep but she must have.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes papa, of course.\u201d
\n\u201cBen says that supper will be served shortly. Why don\u2019t you get ready?\u201d
\n\u201cYes papa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh and by the way, Joseph\u2019s back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s nice papa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm he\u2019s grown up to be rather handsome.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Storm prepared for dinner and joined the others. When Little Joe saw her he had to agree with his father she was very lovely and Storm admitted to herself that he was handsome enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good to see you again Storm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you as well Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

After a delicious meal it was suggested that Little Joe and Storm take a walk and allow their fathers time to reminisce without fearing that they were boring their children.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very beautiful night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes it is Storm.\u201d
\n\u201cLittle Joe, if I were to tell you that that was the sun what would you say?\u201d She pointed up to the full moon shining down upon them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would tell you it was the moon.\u201d<\/p>\n

So far so good Storm thought but this is where it usually went wrong or where the gentleman usually went wrong. \u201cAnd what if I were to insist Little Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I\u2019d say it really doesn\u2019t matter, if it makes you happy to say it\u2019s the sun then sun it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh.\u201d Maybe Nevada men were no different then Boston men after all.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs something wrong Storm?\u201d Why did he feel as if he\u2019d just failed something.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I\u2019m just feeling a little chilly and a little tired.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen why don\u2019t we go inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

When they heard the door open Ben and Nate wondered why their children were back so soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs something wrong? That was a rather short walk Joseph.\u201d Ben was sure that Joe would have wished to take a young lady as beautiful as Storm down by the lake, after all it was a full moon and a clear sky tonight.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm is feeling tired pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u201dYes, I\u2019m afraid it\u2019s my fault Mr. Cartwright. It has been a very busy day and it\u2019s finally caught up with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course. It was thoughtless of me not to realize that you would be tired.\u201d Ben felt there was more to it but let it go. He knew that Storm had taken a nap this afternoon so had thought she would be rested enough to allow Joe to take her to the lake tonight. Perhaps, because of the friendship between their fathers, Joe had just decided to take it slow.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood night papa, Mr. Cartwright, Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHAPTER 2<\/p>\n

Ben and Nate were happy to see Little Joe and Storm spending so much time together. While they did enjoy each other\u2019s company, both Storm and Little Joe knew their relationship would never be what their father\u2019s hoped. They had been friends growing up and they were both happy to let things remain that way.<\/p>\n

This day found them out riding. Neither Hoss nor Adam had seen Little Joe, Hoss hadn\u2019t seen Storm but Adam had.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026so if we\u2026.\u201d Hoss looked over to where Adam should have been, but wasn\u2019t. \u201cHey what\u2019s wrong? You look like you\u2019ve seen a ghost or something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a minute I thought I had.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam remembered that night so clearly. He was barely sixteen and his pa had asked him to go over to the Kendall\u2019s and invite them for supper on Saturday. When he arrived he found only Mrs. Kendall at home, Nate had taken Storm and Matthew into town with him. She had invited him to come in and wait if he liked, or perhaps he would like to come in and have some of the pie she had taken out of the oven a short while ago. He couldn\u2019t resist the offer of fresh pie, especially Mrs. Kendall\u2019s fresh pie, so he followed her in. He wasn\u2019t there long when the three men burst in. He had tried to stop them but was no match for three grown men. They had beaten him but they had killed Mrs. Kendall, among other things. He remembered the message they had instructed him to give to Nate. How he should have never locked them up in the first place and how they had warned him that they would get even with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam are you alright?\u201d
\n\u201cYeah Hoss, just some bad memories that\u2019s all. We better get home, I do believe it\u2019s almost supper time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI do believe you\u2019re right. I think I can smell it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nice to see that you two are finally home and only two days late.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah finally.\u201d If Hoss had had his way they would have been home early, but there was a young woman who had caught Adam\u2019s eye and Hoss found himself happy to stay and watch his older brother acting like his younger brother. That was something that rarely happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss you had better hurry and let Hop-Sing know that you\u2019re home because right now he\u2019s only planning on four for supper.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll go and let him know right away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss ran inside, his mind so consumed with the thought of a good meal he didn\u2019t comprehend what Adam had.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa did you say four?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes Adam, we have guests.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReally? Who?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHello Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNate?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben noticed the odd expression on his son\u2019s face. \u201cAdam is something wrong?<\/p>\n

Before he could answer Little Joe and Storm came riding up.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would seem as if I have won again Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou cheated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI did not! You\u2019re just a very bad loser. Papa who\u2026..\u201d Storm looked towards her father and noticed standing near him a man who, for some reason, scared her. Maybe scared wasn\u2019t really the correct word but he certainly did stir some emotion in her that she couldn\u2019t ever recall feeling and being frightened was the only emotion she knew that she hadn\u2019t felt very often.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm come here. You remember Ben\u2019s eldest son, Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes of course. It\u2019s very good to see you again Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell that explains the ghost.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou look very much like your mother.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes she does. Unlike her mother, though, she can\u2019t keep track of time. Don\u2019t you think you should go and prepare for supper?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

She couldn\u2019t seem to take her eyes off of Adam and neither Nate nor Ben failed to notice it.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm, it is rather rude to stare.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes papa, I\u2019m sorry I hadn\u2019t realized I was staring.\u201d She turned and ran into the house. Once in her room she kept thinking about what had just happened. She couldn\u2019t believe it but she had just acted like a lovesick schoolgirl. She had behaved like all those girls she knew so well back in Boston. The ones who seemed to lose all capacity for intelligent thought when looking at a handsome man. But, oh God, he was handsome but would he pass the test? She had to find out before she became too deeply lost in his eyes, those beautiful eyes. How though? If their fathers had their way Little Joe would again take Storm for a walk after supper as he had every other night since she had arrived. She had to have the chance to walk with Adam, to ask him the same thing she had asked every man who wished to court her. Of course it wasn\u2019t really he who wished to court her. She went to Little Joe\u2019s bedroom and knocked on the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle Joe, may I speak with you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course Storm, come on in.\u201d<\/p>\n

She went in and closed the door behind her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need to ask you a question, and a favor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d Joe found himself a little nervous. Why had Storm closed the door?
\n\u201cDo you like me Little Joe?\u201d She knew, as she had stated it, it was a question any man would be afraid to answer. \u201c I mean do you like me as our fathers wish us to like each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm I\u2026..\u201d Now her action of closing the door took on a whole new meaning.<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle Joe you asked me to the dance next Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, we should have fun.\u201d Joe found himself expecting his door to open at any moment and to find himself facing his father. He began to try and come up with some plausible explanation as to why he and Storm were in his bedroom with the door closed.<\/p>\n

Storm tried to think of a reason as to why Little Joe seemed so nervous. \u201cWould you have more fun if you were going with someone else?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell\u2026\u201d Joe now was completely confused.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen you should ask her Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you sure?\u201d Joe breathed a sigh of relief. For once thankful that a pretty girl wasn\u2019t attracted to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure. That takes care of the question, now for the favor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWill you\u2026well you see I\u2026I would kind of like to walk with Adam after supper tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if I\u2019m there our fathers will expect me to escort you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think so.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry. I\u2019ll eat and leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Little Joe thought it over and decided on something better then just eating and leaving, he would do his best to get Adam to take that walk with Storm. He hadn\u2019t failed to notice the way she had looked at his oldest brother and if he had remembered it sooner he might have not been quite as nervous earlier. Well, he thought, no accounting for taste.<\/p>\n

As supper was finished Storm waited for Little Joe to excuse himself before their fathers had a chance to suggest they take their walk, but he didn\u2019t seem to be making any effort to leave.<\/p>\n

\u201cAren\u2019t you two going for your nightly stroll?\u201d
\nLittle Joe didn\u2019t miss the look Storm gave him, and began to wonder if even his oldest brother would be capable of handling her. \u201cActually I\u2019m feeling a little tired. Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes Little Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWould you mind greatly accompanying Storm tonight. She so loves to take a walk after supper.\u201d<\/p>\n

Storm faced softened to a smile, she would have to remember to thank Little Joe tomorrow. He had made sure that now there was no way Adam could refuse.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course not Little Joe. I don\u2019t mind at all. Storm may I?\u201d Once again Adam took on the responsibility of being the eldest and picking up his youngest brothers slack.<\/p>\n

The irritation in Adam\u2019s voice did not escape Joe but he just put on his best smile and grinned at his brother.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course.\u201d Oh God, Storm prayed, please let him pass the test.<\/p>\n

Nate and Ben looked at each other as Adam helped Storm from her seat. They both knew something was going on just not what.<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

They hadn\u2019t walked far when Storm posed her question.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very lovely night Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes it is Storm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam if I were to tell you that that\u2019s the sun, what would you say?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d tell you it\u2019s the moon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if I were to insist?\u201d Storm found herself holding her breath waiting for his answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I would tell you no amount of insisting would change the fact that that is the moon.\u201d Adam knew something was going on and perhaps if he weren\u2019t so irritated at having been trapped into escorting Storm on this walk when all he wanted to do was go to bed he might have just agreed with her, but as it was he was happy to be given the chance to argue with someone. It wasn\u2019t so much that he minded walking with her it\u2019s just that he was very tired, it had been a very long week that had left him wondering just how Joe managed to do it. Pursuing a young lady was hard work especially when that young lady thought playing hard to get made her all the more desirable. All Adam knew was that he was becoming way to old for those games.<\/p>\n

Storm didn\u2019t know what to say next. No man had ever answered that question correctly.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if I again insisted?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I would be forced to explain to you the difference between the sun and the moon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

This was not the reaction he had expected. He would have thought to hear how he should have agreed with her out of politeness \u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor proving to me that not every man is willing to indulge a woman just because she is a woman. That even if a lady is either pretty or rich when she\u2019s wrong she\u2019s wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI honestly don\u2019t believe you thought that to be the sun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, but there are men who are willing to let me believe that. That to them it\u2019s easier to let me believe the wrong thing because to argue the point would mean they might have to try and teach me the right thing. To many of them I\u2019m just a female and incapable of learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou get all that from asking that one question?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI\u2019m not too sure how Shakespeare would feel. He might have thought it best to have just agreed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd prove what?! That you\u2019re nothing more than a mindless idiot willing to agree with something that is clearly wrong because of love or just because it\u2019s what everyone else feels is the right way to behave. I\u2019m not a shrew Adam, but I have a brain and unlike some other ladies I know I have a desire, no not desire because a desire is something you can walk away from something not necessary for one\u2019s survival it\u2019s more of a need, to use it. I won\u2019t take a man\u2019s word as gospel just because I care for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to think that if a man cared for you he wouldn\u2019t expect you too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh you\u2019d be surprised. Every man, EVERY MAN, I\u2019ve posed that question too has found it easier to agree with me. It wasn\u2019t because they thought me to be correct but because it was easier too. After all who would the world believe me, a stupid woman, or them. Who would people take seriously, me or them. Then there were those who wished to kiss me and thought that by agreeing they just might be allowed to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI take it that not many got their wish.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot one, although there were those that tried anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cLittle Joe I thought you were tired?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am pa, so tired in fact I have to sit here until I build up enough strength to walk up the stairs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has certainly lasted longer than your first walk.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes Mr. Kendall, I suppose that Adam just may have passed the test.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTest? What test?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not really sure pa. I just felt as if I\u2019d failed one that night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell if anyone should know about failing tests it\u2019s you little brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle Joe did she tell you the moon was the sun?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes she did Mr. Kendall.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you agreed with her?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cWhen is she going to learn that is not a test. That sometimes people will agree with her just because it is a foolish question.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a feeling that Adam didn\u2019t agree. Now I think I\u2019m finally strong enough to attempt those stairs. Goodnight pa, Mr. Kendall, Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n

Five minutes after Little Joe went to bed Hoss followed. Five minutes or so after that Adam and Storm returned. Adam found he was no longer too upset about having been forced to take that walk. Oddly enough he wasn\u2019t as tired as he had been either.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo did you enjoy your walk tonight Storm?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes papa, very much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI see and you Adam, did you enjoy your stroll under the sun?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPAPA.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t believe you\u2019re still asking that question. Haven\u2019t I told you it is a foolish one. It is hardly one to use to judge whether or not a man is worthy of your affection.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not my affection I\u2019m trying to determine if he\u2019s worthy of. If I surrender my heart to him then my body\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSTORM!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat papa! There is no separating my heart from my body from my soul from my mind. If he can command one then he can command them all. I would like to know he would not blindly lead or expect me to follow without question. If he is going to prove himself deserving of my love then he must show he will accept me as an equal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom that one question Storm!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo papa not the question, from the answer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm I believe you had best get on up to bed. We will discuss this later.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes papa. Goodnight everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

After they clearly heard Storm\u2019s door close Nate turned to Adam. \u201cYou\u2019ll have to excuse her Adam. I\u2019m afraid I allowed her too much freedom growing up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s alright Nate, I found her quite intelligent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn other words too smart for her own good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not what I said.\u201d In fact Adam found himself thinking maybe for his own good.
\n\u201cNo, but others have.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The following morning when Strom awoke she found only Little Joe waiting at the table. She had stayed in her room longer hoping that she wouldn\u2019t have to face her father and was glad to see that it had worked but she was also disappointed that it had ended up meaning she hadn\u2019t gotten to see Adam.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo did you enjoy your walk last night?\u201d
\n\u201cYes I did Little Joe, thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor making sure Adam had no choice but to accompany me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess he got the answer right, but then Adam always was the smart one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle Joe your answer wasn\u2019t wrong, it was just wrong for me. You see that\u2019s a question that the correct answer is different for each person who asks it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm are you sure about the dance Saturday? I\u2019m not too sure if I can get Adam to ask you to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle Joe you just worry about who you wish to escort and let me worry about myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlright, if you\u2019re sure.\u201d Little Joe had a feeling his brother had better watch out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am. Little Joe do you know where Adam is?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDown by the corral, if you want I\u2019ll take you there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can find my way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to go that way anyway, if I have any hopes of getting a date for Saturday\u2019s dance.\u201d<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The whole way there Storm kept thinking of what to say. How to try and appear not nervous. Before she could completely work things through Little Joe said they were there. Oh well, she thought, it will be what it will be.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm was that Little Joe with you?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cWhere is he going Storm?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo ask the girl he wants to take to the dance to go with him before it gets too late papa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I thought he wanted to take you?\u201d
\n\u201cNo papa, you and Mr. Cartwright wanted him to take me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m working on that papa.\u201d<\/p>\n

He watched her as she walked towards where Adam was standing with some men. At first he thought she was going to see the horses. Only after it was too late did it occur to him what she might really be up to.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood morning Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood morning Storm.\u201d Adam could see by the expressions on some of the men\u2019s faces how desirable they thought her to be. He would have to remember to tell Nate to tell her to not go out alone. He supposed he could tell her himself but feared what kind of reaction that kind of a suggestion might receive.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam if you don\u2019t have a date for Saturday\u2019s dance would you like to go with me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Nate and Ben caught up with her just in time to hear her question but not in time to stop her from asking it.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm Margaret Kendall! You apologize to Adam this instant.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat for papa?\u201d
\n\u201cStorm you get back to the house now. I will be there shortly and we will discuss what for then.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I haven\u2019t gotten my answer yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSTORM!\u201d Nate couldn\u2019t believe she was behaving like this. He watched her stomp to her horse and ride away. \u201cI\u2019m sorry Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s alright Nate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo it\u2019s not. She knows better, or at least she will know better!\u201d Nate turned and prepared to go and teach his daughter a lesson she\u2019d not soon forget.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa I think maybe you should go and try to calm him down a little before he starts that lesson.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you may be right. I don\u2019t ever recall seeing Nate that angry before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once Ben was gone Adam turned back to the men he had been talking to before Storm had walked up.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow where were we?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes Edgars?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I were you I\u2019d accept that offer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd why\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA female that would ask a man to a dance may just offer you other favors that a man usually has to ask of a woman. Course a lady like that I would think would refuse such requests but if she\u2019s the one doing the offering then\u2026.tell me Cartwright are you so much of a gentleman that would you refuse such a pretty thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

If Edgars had been watching Adam\u2019s face instead of laughing he would know what the other men did. He would know he should duck.<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ben finally caught up with Nate, thankfully before he had gotten to Storm.<\/p>\n

\u201cNate why don\u2019t we sit down for a minute.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI just don\u2019t know what\u2019s gotten into her Ben. She has never been like this before, at least not this bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNate we always wanted your daughter to marry my son. Maybe we just picked the wrong son.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know Ben.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you question Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo Ben of course not. Every one of your sons have become fine, decent, honorable men. I just hope that if Storm continues with this obvious\u2026well it\u2019s just I hope that Adam wouldn\u2019t allow\u2026.Ben you and I both know that Adam feels a responsibility for what happened to Connie. Even after I assured him it wasn\u2019t his fault, that he had done more than any grown man would have done, yet he still felt guilty. I suppose that\u2019s because he\u2019s your son. I would just hate to think that he would allow that unfounded guilt to cloud his judgment about Storm. Ben if the way she\u2019s behaving is because she has feelings for Adam, she has never felt like this before because she has never acted like this before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNate, I\u2019m sure she\u2019s had men court her before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes and every single one of them answered that stupid question wrong. The only reason she would allow men to call on her was because I forced her too. I told her the only way to know if a man was suited to her, if she could possibly have feelings for him, was to give it time. That it took time for feelings to grow, to get to know someone. She would tell me she didn\u2019t need time, she would say that she would just look at him and know. The way she looked at Adam the first time she saw him when he and Hoss got back, Ben she never looked at a man like that, never.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNate this may just be a way for her to show you and me that she has a mind of her own. You will have to admit that we have been pushing her and Little Joe together, it was only a matter of time before one of them pushed back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are other ways to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps, but few this effective.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I will go and suggest a few others to her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before Nate could reach the stairs the door opened and Adam came in.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy Lord Adam, what happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing pa, nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben walked to where his son had sat down and was examining the cuts on his face when Nate spoke.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing Adam? I find when a man says nothing is the cause for his fighting, that cause is usually a woman. In this instance I would venture to say that woman is Storm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not important Nate. Edgars just said some things he shouldn\u2019t have.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow you\u2019re defending my daughter. You will find Adam that Storm is different from her mother in this respect. She seems to believe she is capable of defending herself. I suppose that too is my fault. You see when she was growing up I forgot, or maybe chose to be blind to the fact, that she would grow into a woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nate went to his daughter a lot calmer then he was before but no less determined.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm may I come in?\u201d<\/p>\n

Storm was relieved that he didn\u2019t sound quite as angry as he had been. \u201cOf course papa.\u201d
\n\u201cWould you like to know what you have done?\u201d
\n\u201cWhat have I done now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam is downstairs right now with a split lip and quite a few bruises as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd why is this my fault?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause he was defending your honor!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho asked him to?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm I don\u2019t know what is wrong with you!?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you really want to know papa? Really? He makes me feel like no man ever has before! Oh papa is this what it feels like when you love someone? If it is I don\u2019t think I like it much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm you barely know Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I told you I wouldn\u2019t need to know him well, that I would just know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm is this all because he answered that foolish question of yours the way you wanted him too?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo papa, it\u2019s because I believe even if he had answered it as all the others had I would of found a way to believe it to be right this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm, just because you care for Adam doesn\u2019t mean he will care for you in the same way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that papa, maybe he\u2019s the one who needs time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe.\u201d Nate turned and left the room. He had never seen her like this. She looked so lost, so unsure. He had started out with every intentions of trying to dissuade her with a very strong lecture and had yet wound up determined to try and help her. He went downstairs and was at least happy to see that Adam was no longer bleeding.<\/p>\n

\u201cBen may I speak with you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course Nate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWould you mind greatly walking as we talk?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shortly after Adam heard the front door close he heard Storm\u2019s door open.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to apologize.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t expect you to.\u201d He looked quickly up. He had never heard her come downstairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t ask you to defend me.\u201d She walked to where he had remained seated and picked up the rag and immersed it in the cool water that was in the basin on the table. \u201cDoes it hurt much?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I\u2019ve been hit worse.\u201d Adam was immediately sorry for saying that. He could see what it had started her thinking about and that wasn\u2019t what he had wanted.<\/p>\n

Storm knew he had been beaten worse. She vaguely remembered how badly the men who had killed their mother had beaten Adam and once her father had told her and her brother just how serious it had been. She didn\u2019t like remembering so she changed the topic of conversation to one she hoped would be more pleasant.<\/p>\n

\u201cHave you thought about my question?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat question?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout whether or not you want to come to the dance with me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t give up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I guess I don\u2019t have much of a choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes you do. You can either say yes or have me haunt you the entire time we\u2019re here.\u201d
\n\u201cThen I guess it\u2019s yes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean it Adam? Really?\u201d<\/p>\n

It appeared as if she actually thought he would have said no. \u201cYes really but I have one question. Since you asked me does that mean you come and escort me to the dance?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam we\u2019re in the same house, I hardly think it necessary to worry about that detail.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI see. So you\u2019re too cheap to rent a carriage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you like I\u2019ll buy you a carriage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow you\u2019re trying to buy my affections.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre they for sale?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot for the price of a carriage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow about if I throw in a team of horses to pull it?\u201d<\/p>\n

She watched as a smile spread across his face. She was surprised at how it seemed to light the entire room and warm her very soul.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm you are like no woman I have ever known.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that a good thing?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes I believe it could be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, may I\u2026.will you\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before Storm could finish her question Nate and Ben came back into the house. Adam was glad they had because she didn\u2019t need to finish it for him to know what it would be. He need only look into her eyes to know she wanted him to kiss her but only because he found himself wanting to kiss her.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHAPTER 3<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Saturday arrived and found everyone anxious to go to the dance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t believe she\u2019s taking this long to get dressed. Usually she\u2019s ready to go before Matthew.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNate I\u2019m sure she\u2019ll be down soon. Meanwhile Little Joe, Hoss why don\u2019t you head on into town. You don\u2019t want to keep your dates\u2026..\u201d Ben stopped because he could tell by his son\u2019s faces they were no longer listening anyway. He looked in the direction they were and could understand why. \u201c My God Nate, your daughter is beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is isn\u2019t she Ben.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou sound surprised papa.\u201d
\n\u201cYou have never put this much effort into getting ready before. I mean you have always been beautiful Storm, just never this entrancingly so.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you agree with papa Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHuh.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you find me entrancingly beautiful?\u201d She could feel Adam looking at her and the longer he did the warmer she felt. \u201cAdam, I\u2019ve heard it\u2019s not polite to stare.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm, you shouldn\u2019t have given him something so pleasing to stare at.\u201d
\n\u201cOH, and I suppose papa he wasn\u2019t pleasing for me to stare at.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlright. Staring will now cease. Little Joe, Hoss you best get going, Adam why don\u2019t you go and get the carriage.\u201d Ben watched his sons reluctantly turn from the vision of beauty before them. \u201cI\u2019m afraid Storm that you may have made Joseph regret his willingness to let Adam escort you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI doubt that Mr. Cartwright, but thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

When they arrived at the dance all eyes were on Storm. She realized she may have fussed a little too much, that some of the other women might believe she\u2019d done so in an effort to try and show them up. Honestly she\u2019d never wished so strongly to look good for a man. She hadn\u2019t done it to make the woman jealous or the men envious, she had done it because she wished to please Adam.<\/p>\n

Storm felt as if she hadn\u2019t sat out one dance since they had arrived, of course since dancing meant being in Adam\u2019s arms it was alright with her. She was beginning to feel a little tired though and, besides, other men had begun cutting in.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, I\u2019m beginning to feel a little warm. Would it be alright if we stepped outside for a few minutes?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019d like.\u201d<\/p>\n

As they walked she kept hoping he would kiss her. There were a few times she thought he might but something seemed to stop him each time. Finally Storm did as she usually did when she found subtleties weren\u2019t working.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam will you ever kiss me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou certainly do come straight to the point.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStraight to the point?! I\u2019ve been hinting ever since we started walking.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHave you?\u201d Adam hadn\u2019t missed the hints he had just chosen to ignore them to see how far she would go.<\/p>\n

\u201cI suppose I\u2019m not use to being coy. Usually when I want something I ask.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I\u2019ve noticed.\u201d<\/p>\n

And, Storm thought, that\u2019s not the kind of a woman you want. \u201cI\u2019m sorry Adam but I can\u2019t change. I wish I could, if only to please you I wish I could, but even if I did I would only be lying to myself, lying to you. Eventually I\u2019d change back because this is who I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm I wouldn\u2019t want you to change.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I don\u2019t understand? Why won\u2019t you kiss me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm you are a very beautiful woman.\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you only kiss ugly woman?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo I\u2019m just afraid if I start kissing you I might not be able to stop there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would be fine with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m afraid it wouldn\u2019t be fine with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGo away Matthew.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t, as your older brother it is my responsibility to protect you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this instance from yourself. Hello Adam. She has grown up to be quite a persistent little pest hasn\u2019t she.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps, but a very lovely one as well. When did you get here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA little while ago. When I saw all the lights I hoped I\u2019d find everyone here. Now aren\u2019t you going to come and give your big brother a kiss hello.\u201d<\/p>\n

She reluctantly left Adam\u2019s side and went to her brother.
\n\u201cOh come on Storm, you must be at least a little happy to see me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly a little.\u201d He could tell by the smile that had slowly come to her face she was more than a little happy.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow what\u2019s this? I thought you were suppose to be with Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would seem, as always, your sister had plans of her own. Hello Matthew.\u201d Nate went and greeted his son.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe usually does papa. Hello Ben.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHello Matthew.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWait a minute! I had absolutely no plans when I came here. If anyone had any plans it was papa, all I wanted was to\u2026.OOOH!\u201d<\/p>\n

They watched as she marched her way back to the crowd.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do believe that is the first time she has ever walked away from an argument.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat may be Matthew but we best go join her before she ends up taking her anger out on some unsuspecting soul.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI do believe she is my date. I\u2019ll go see after her Nate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam left and Matthew turned to his father and Ben. \u201cHas she been acting like this the whole time you\u2019ve been here papa?\u201d
\n\u201cNo, just since Adam returned.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBen I think you had better warn Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout what?\u201d
\n\u201cWhen my little sister wants something she usually finds a way to get it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can think of worse things for Adam to have to worry about.\u201d Besides, Ben thought, maybe his son had finally met his match.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

It was very early the following morning when Storm finally gave up trying to sleep. Perhaps if she went for a ride it would help take her mind off how it had felt being in Adam\u2019s arms while they had danced. Maybe it would let her mind stop trying to imagine his lips on hers.<\/p>\n

She rode a short distance when she decided to rest a little. The sun would be rising soon so there was no need to try and hurry back in hopes of being able to catch a few hours sleep before it was time to awake.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, well, well. Miss. Kendall isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes and just who are you?\u201d Storm knew the man looked slightly familiar.<\/p>\n

\u201cEdgars.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHello Mr. Edgars.\u201d Storm didn\u2019t like the way he\u2019d positioned himself between her and her horse. She should have heard him approaching but she had been busy trying to imagine how Adam kissing her would feel. \u201cIf you will please excuse me Mr. Edgars, I best be getting back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWait. I heard tell that Adam accepted your invitation to the dance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that is any of your affair Mr. Edgars.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really care what you think Miss. Kendall.\u201d<\/p>\n

Storm knew she was in a very bad position. If she backed away she would fall down the bluff and going forward would only put her nearer to Mr. Edgars. She decided to try and run around him even though she didn\u2019t think there was enough distance between them for her too. She was right and he grabbed her arm. When he pulled her to him she hit him and he hit her back.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will find Miss. Kendall that I\u2019m not quite the gentleman Adam is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you will find Mr. Edgars that I am not quite like the ladies you are use to dealing with.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI certainly hope not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Storm did something that was very unladylike but not something she hadn\u2019t done before. She brought her knee up rather quickly and ran as soon as the pain he felt made Edgars release her. The whole ride back she expected to look back and find him following her. She wasn\u2019t afraid that he would catch her, well not too afraid he\u2019d catch her, what frightened her was how to explain being chased by a man to anyone who might see . The nearer she got to the house she began to hope that no one was yet awake. She opened the door and hurriedly made her way to the stairs. She could hear her father and Mr. Cartwright speaking and she only hoped that they would ignore her until she could try to hide the mark on her face.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm?\u201d<\/p>\n

She was so close. Her foot was already on the bottom stair.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just going to wash up a bit papa. I\u2019ll be right back down.\u201d She placed her other foot on the step.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere have you been Storm?\u201d Nate had believed she was upstairs still in bed when she hadn\u2019t shown up for breakfast with the others. He had decided to let her sleep a little while longer and then he was going to go up and check on her. Sleeping late was not something that came naturally to his daughter but then dancing as much as she had last night was not something she had done very often.<\/p>\n

\u201cOut riding papa. I couldn\u2019t sleep.\u201d She was up one more step.<\/p>\n

Nate could sense something was wrong. It may have been due to the nervous tone in his daughter\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm I want you to come here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPapa please just let me\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow Storm!\u201d<\/p>\n

She reached her father just as the front door opened and Adam, Hoss and Little Joe came in.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm what happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nothing papa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nate believed there to be only one person she would want to protect. \u201cDid Adam do this to you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam? Papa what makes you think that I would fight\u2026.I mean no.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong Nate?\u201d Adam walked over to see just what he\u2019d been accused of doing. When he saw her face he forgot that Nate thought him capable of doing it.. \u201cStorm who did this?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter.\u201d She once again made her way to the staircase. Adam followed behind her.<\/p>\n

\u201cBen, boys why don\u2019t we sit down, this should be rather interesting.\u201d Nate was curious to see if Adam could get an answer when he was sure he would have failed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d have to agree with you Nate.\u201d Ben could tell that both Adam and Storm had seemed to forget that there were others in the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm who did this to you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat difference does it make Adam. At least he wanted to kiss me badly enough to try and fight for the right to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm who did this?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam why don\u2019t you want to kiss me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI never said I didn\u2019t want to and stop trying to change the subject.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if you want to why don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh to hell with it!\u201d She took Adam\u2019s face in her hands and pulled his lips to hers. Storm only hoped he was enjoying it as much as she.<\/p>\n

Their lips parted and Storm, once she was again in control of her thoughts, spoke. \u201cSee Adam it wasn\u2019t so bad was\u2026.\u201d Not to be outdone Adam pulled her to him and kissed her. When he let her go she finished her sentence. \u201c\u2026it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Matthew came downstairs and was wondering about the scene that greeted him. \u201cAlright, so what did I miss?\u201d Everyone just looked at him and laughed. He kept walking and bent to kiss Storm good morning. \u201cHey Storm did someone hit you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for reminding me Matthew. Storm who did this?\u201d<\/p>\n

Matt quickly joined the others.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter Adam.\u201d Storm could tell by the look in his eyes there was no use in arguing and besides she had looked there too long and had lost any will to do so. \u201cHe said his names was Edgars.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere is he?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI left him on the bluff and considering where I hit him and how hard, he may still be there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thankfully for Edgars sake he had decided it in his best interest to suffer through the pain and leave before anyone had found out what had happened.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Nate spent the next few weeks watching in amazement as his daughter fell deeper and deeper in love. He was surprised to see how it managed to curb her anger where nothing ever could. Oh she still argued and voiced her opinions, just in a more ladylike way, and if she ever got too out of control it seemed as if just one look from Adam could quiet her.<\/p>\n

One night the question that had begun to haunt her every waking moment, and had begun to seep into her sleeping ones as well, became too loud for her to ignore. She quietly left her room and snuck into Adam\u2019s. Luckily he had just begun to get ready for bed.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm what are you doing in here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam do you love me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cExcuse me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you love me? I think you have had enough time to know the answer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it may be best if you go back to your own room.\u201d
\n\u201cTell me yes Adam and I\u2019ll leave this room right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if I say no?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI love you Adam. I know it. I also know that I will never love anyone like this again. So if you tell me no I will beg you to take me to your bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThan it would be the foolish man who would say yes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you are no fool Adam.\u201d
\n\u201cNo maybe not a complete one, but I suppose there is one other type of man who would say yes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOne who really meant it. You are very good at thinking up questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou still haven\u2019t answered this one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWill you at least give me a hint as to which answer is the right one this time?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know Adam, I really don\u2019t know. So much of me wants you to say yes, but there is also a part of me that hopes you\u2018ll say no.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGod help me. Yes Storm, I love you.\u201d She began to walk towards him. \u201cWait, you said you would leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust one kiss?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, because one will lead to another which will lead to another and so on and then I may as well have said no.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReally Adam? Do you really want\u2026I mean\u2026oh it\u2019s just not fair. Why does propriety say that when two people love each other they have to wait.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe why isn\u2019t important. It\u2019s nice to know that at least Adam is willing to abide by what society dictates.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGo away Matthew.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll go. I\u2019ll go and get papa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNO. I\u2019m leaving. Goodnight Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGoodnight sweetheart.\u201d<\/p>\n

They heard Storm\u2019s door close and yet Matthew didn\u2018t leave Adam\u2018s doorway.<\/p>\n

\u201cWould you like to come in Matthew?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell maybe for a few minutes. You are a miracle worker Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do you say that?\u201d
\n\u201cYou\u2019ve done what no other man could, you have made my little sister fall in love.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd?\u201d
\n\u201cAnd if you ever do anything to hurt her, I\u2019ll make sure you pay for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe you would Matthew, somehow I think you might have to stand in line for your chance too though.\u201d<\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you look happy this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am papa, I really am. Mr. Cartwright where\u2019s Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm you\u2019re being rude again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPapa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAsking questions before bidding anyone good morning? Is that how I raised you?\u201d
\n\u201cNo papa. Good morning papa, Mr. Cartwright. Now may I inquire as to where Adam is?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben smiled at her. \u201cHe\u2019s down by the corral with Hoss and Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh I had hoped to see him before he left this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDidn\u2019t you see enough of him last night?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean by that son?\u201d
\n\u201cHe doesn\u2019t mean anything! Good morning Matthew.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood morning little sister, papa, Ben.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nate didn\u2019t miss the look that passed between his children. Lord knows he had seen enough of it when they were growing up. It was a look that meant they had a secret and both had better keep it no matter what.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm I was thinking that maybe after breakfast I would like to take a ride down to the corral. Would you like to come with me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes Matthew I would love to.\u201d She ran past him as he reached the table.<\/p>\n

\u201cAren\u2019t you going to join me for breakfast?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have time to eat Matthew, I have to go and get dressed.\u201d<\/p>\n

She ran upstairs in search of something to wear.<\/p>\n

\u201cFunny but she looked dressed to me.\u201d
\n\u201cShe was dressed only to please herself now she has to go and dress to please Adam.\u201d
\n\u201cYou know papa I\u2019m not sure if I like her better now or before Adam told her he loved her.\u201d
\n\u201cJust when did Adam tell her that?\u201d Ben found himself hoping it was true.
\n\u201cLast\u2026.I mean I just assumed he had told her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust what happened last night Matthew?\u201d
\n\u201cNothing papa, nothing. I had best get to eating or I feel whether or not I\u2019m finished when she comes down I\u2019ll be leaving.\u201d To assure no more answers would be expected of him Matthew made sure his mouth was full every minute until Storm finally did reappear.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

***********<\/p>\n

\u201cAlright what are you two grinning at?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh nothing big brother.\u201d
\n\u201cYeah nothing. It\u2019s just Hoss and me couldn\u2019t help but notice how you seem to be smiling more than usual this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe it\u2019s because I intend to sit here and let you try your luck at that wild one first.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that\u2019s a nice way to repay me for getting you and Storm together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle Joe you know as well as I that Storm would have managed that with or without your help.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it much matters who got who together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean Hoss?\u201d
\n\u201cCause here she comes now Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell good morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood morning Adam.\u201d
\n\u201cI was speaking to Matthew.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHa Ha.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou certainly slept later than usual this morning.\u201d Adam had found himself trying to delay leaving the house as long as possible in hopes that she would appear but for once his brothers were more anxious to get to work then he was.<\/p>\n

\u201cI suppose that could be because I got to sleep later than usual.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam went to help her down from her horse. She waited for his help only because she knew it would mean that she would get to feel his hands around her waist if she did. The others watched as Storm and Adam seemed to forget their presence.<\/p>\n

\u201cAHEM. Good morning Storm.\u201d
\n\u201cOh Good morning Little Joe, Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam removed his hands and followed Storm to the corral fence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho\u2019s going to try that wild one first?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm, Adam said\u2026\u201d
\n\u201cADAM? You can\u2019t! You could get hurt.\u201d
\n\u201cActually he said I should try first.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, okay.\u201d
\n\u201cThanks a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t mean\u2026. Ah Little Joe I\u2018d be upset if you got hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her and Matthew watched the bronc riding for awhile, that\u2019s where Nate found them.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm would you like to come with me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere papa?\u201d
\n\u201cVirginia City. I need to send wires back east. Don\u2019t forget I still have a business to run.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember papa.\u201d Even if she wanted to, Storm couldn\u2019t forget that. She knew that eventually it was that business that would force them to return. \u201cCan I shop while you wait for your wires?\u201d
\n\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThan I\u2019ll go with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matthew knew his sister\u2019s true reason for wanting to go. \u201cStorm we all know that shopping is not one of the things you enjoy doing so could your desire to leave be because it\u2019s Adam\u2019s turn to try and break a horse?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShut up Matthew. Adam you had better be alright when I come back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOr?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOr I\u2019ll\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm this is not the first time I\u2019ve done this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the first time I\u2019ve seen you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cActually it\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlright the first time\u2026.\u201d She wrapped her arms around his waist. \u201cOh Adam I love you so.\u201d
\n\u201cYour father is waiting Storm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t care.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut he does. Besides that horse is waiting for me.\u201d And Adam knew if this embrace went on much longer getting on and riding would prove to be more painful then getting thrown.<\/p>\n

\u201cBe careful Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI will be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm are you coming?!\u201d There was a part of Nate that was happy to see the woman she had become and a part of him that missed his little girl.<\/p>\n

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

CHAPTER 4<\/p>\n

As soon as they arrived in Virginia City Nate dropped Storm off at the general store and headed for the telegraph office.<\/p>\n

Storm had finished her shopping and went in search of her father. She had found him still in the telegraph office awaiting a reply to a wire he had sent. She sat there with him and waited for a while but became bored. She decided to take a little walk and soon found herself in the less socially acceptable part of Virginia City.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey! What are you lost or something? The Ponderosa is big but it\u2019s not this big.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t think it was against the law for me to walk here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re the one they call Storm aren\u2019t you?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hear tell that Adam\u2019s takin\u2019 quite a likin\u2019 to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that is any of your business.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy business? Do you want to know what my business is? It\u2019s making men happy and believe me I\u2019ve made Adam very happy quite a number of times. Would you like to know how?\u201d Without waiting for an answer she proceeded to describe in detail just how. \u201cIf you don\u2019t believe me ask Adam. Ask him how much he liked doing all the things I\u2019ve told you with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust who are you?\u201d Some of the things this woman had told her, under other circumstances, would have had Storm questioning the gentlemen\u2019s morality but knowing she was speaking of Adam had Storm questioning her own because she found herself trying to picture what she was being told only with herself as Adam\u2019s partner.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, I\u2019m April.\u201d She could see that she had Storm upset and was glad for it. So maybe some of the things she had said she and Adam had done were lies but she had done them with men other than Adam and who\u2018s to say she wouldn\u2018t do them with Adam in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm! What are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou think on what I\u2019ve told you. Think if you\u2019d be willing to do what I\u2019ve done to please him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSTORM!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cExcuse me April.\u201d<\/p>\n

Storm ran away from April but, unfortunately, she brought the images she had put into her head with her.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm what were you doing?\u201d Nate knew that the section of town that Storm had been in hadn\u2019t changed much and he didn\u2019t like her being there.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing papa. Did you get the answer you were waiting for?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes I did.\u201d And, Nate thought, you\u2019re not going to like what it means.<\/p>\n

After supper that evening Adam thought Storm seemed reluctant to go for their usual walk. Eventually they were outside walking in unusual silence.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm what\u2019s wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing Adam, nothing\u2019s wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy don\u2019t I believe you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d She tried to look into his eyes, something she usually found quite enjoyable, but doing it now only brought back to mind all that April had said clearer then it already was.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t know? Then let me tell you. I believe there to be something wrong because you haven\u2019t been able to look me in the eyes all night. Now you sound as if you\u2019re having a hard time catching your breath.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, oh God Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm.\u201d He pulled her down with him till they were both sitting in the grass. \u201cNow tell me what\u2019s wrong.\u201d
\n\u201cI can\u2019t get it out of my head. I\u2019ve tried but I can\u2019t. I just keep thinking about all of it over and over. When I look into your eyes it gets even worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm what is it?<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t want to know Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I didn\u2019t want to know I wouldn\u2019t have asked.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam believe me you don\u2019t want to know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSTORM, tell me!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn town today, while papa was waiting for an answer to his wire, I got bored waiting with him so I took a walk. I met a girl.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat girl?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe said her name was April.\u201d<\/p>\n

So that was it. She was upset because, if he knew April, she had told her that he\u2019d been with her. \u201cStorm, sweetheart, surely you must know that\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo Adam that\u2019s not what\u2019s wrong. I know that, well that you\u2019ve been with other women. That\u2019s not what\u2019s bothering me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen what is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I tell you you\u2019ll think I\u2019m bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBad? Storm if you don\u2019t tell me I\u2019ll\u2026.Please just tell me.\u201d
\n\u201cShe told me\u2026she told me what you did with her, in detail. Now when I look at you all I can picture is\u2026.well the two of us naked and\u2026.and you lying on top of me with my legs crossed over your back.\u201d<\/p>\n

She watched his eyes close and knew by his deep breathing that the pictures that had been haunting her all day were now in his mind as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou had to share that image with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou wanted me too!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should have told me no!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI did!\u201d<\/p>\n

He looked at her intending to argue that she should have refused him longer and maybe he would have given up, but as soon as their eyes met they locked. Each could tell that they were thinking the same thing because they could see the image of their own thoughts reflected in the other\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

\u201cSo Nate was the news you received today good?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess that would depend on who you were to ask.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBen the news was very good, the consequences that will be brought about by it aren\u2019t going to please Storm. There is a big shipping contract to be bid on and while the agent I left in charge is capable of handling most of the daily business affairs, I\u2019m afraid this is not an every day matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you\u2019ll have to return to Boston.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m afraid so.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat may be a good thing. Nate, I love my sons dearly, but in certain areas they need a push. This just may be what Adam needs to force him to make a decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re right Ben. At least, either way, we\u2019ll know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHave you told Storm?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I think I\u2019ll wait for tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nate and Ben were kept from discussing it any further by the front door crashing open.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t blame me for this Adam!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI CAN\u2019T?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo! if you don\u2019t truly wish to know something then don\u2019t ask.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps I felt that not even you would repeat something like that!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want a woman who\u2019s afraid to say what\u2019s on her mind then maybe you\u2019d be better with one of those society girls back in Boston!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBelieve me Storm there are women right here like that!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cREALLY, and yet you went with April.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt least she didn\u2019t pretend to be something she\u2018s not.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I did! Adam there is one very big difference between her and I.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd what is that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Storm stood in front of Adam and looked into his eyes which seemed even easier to lose herself in when they were clouded with anger. She whispered her answer while she tenderly caressed his cheek.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s willingly surrenders to any man I, on the other hand, would surrender only to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm.\u201d Adam knew he would never be able to win against her. Her touch had the ability to weaken his will. He pulled her to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh Adam. What she said should disturb me more than it does you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd why\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause you know the true nature of what she told me. I only have my mind to interpret what she said, and if you ask papa he will tell you that I have a very vivid imagination.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cExcuse me, but who is April and what is it that she has you imagining about?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cApril is the girl I was speaking to in town this afternoon papa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut who is she and just what is it she\u2019s told you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t make the same mistake I did Nate. You don\u2019t want to push it because you really don\u2019t want to know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cADAM, I wouldn\u2019t tell him!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou told me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s different, he\u2019s my father.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd who am I?\u201d<\/p>\n

She stepped onto the first step which put her lips the same level as his ear.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou, my love, are the man of my dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cENOUGH. Young lady you tell me right now what is going on?\u201d If it weren\u2019t his daughter Nate might be finding some amusement in the seductive way in which Storm was behaving. In the way she had managed with only words to cool Adam\u2019s temper, which was not an easy task for a man even thrice her size to do with his fists. He realized that she didn\u2019t need to be taught how to behave like a woman, it was an instinct brought out of any female when in the presence of the man they loved. He was also aware that while their tempers may be cooling other emotions were now becoming heated.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s nothing papa, it\u2019s over now. Goodnight everybody.\u201d
\n\u201cAdam will you please explain to me what just happened?\u201d
\n\u201cAs I said before Nate, you really don\u2019t want to know. Now as Storm has said, goodnight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nate watched as Adam disappeared up the steps as Storm had done only moments before. He turned to the one person he might get an answer from.<\/p>\n

\u201cBen?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNate, maybe if I told you that April is one of the girls that works on D Street.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh. You don\u2019t think that she told Storm\u2026.I mean have she and Adam\u2026You don\u2019t think that she would\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever it is, as Storm has pointed out, it\u2019s over.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

Storm had tried for hours to fall asleep but every time she closed her eyes another image brought about by something April had said became clearly displayed in her mind. She knew before what occurred between a man and a woman, supposedly for her only after she had become some man\u2019s wife, but it wasn\u2019t until April had spoken of Adam in that way that she had begun to give it some serious thought. Now it was all she could think about. As always, when Storm was faced with a problem she attacked it head on.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm what are you doing in here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re awake.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes and I\u2019m sure for the same reason you are.\u201d In fact Adam had laid down the book he was attempting to read only five or six minutes ago. He watched as she closed the door and walked over to his bed. He only seemed to find his voice when she began to climb into it beside him.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm please go back to your room.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAm I really that undesirable Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

Undesirable? If she only knew the effect she was having on him she would never have asked such a foolish question. \u201cStorm I love you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m beginning to believe you only said that so I\u2019d leave that night and now you\u2019re saying it again so I\u2019ll leave again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, you say that you love me then why won\u2019t you\u2026..I mean you don\u2019t love April and you did with her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou and April have a few more differences other than whether or not I love you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean because she\u2019s been with other men! You weren\u2019t her first! Fine, maybe I\u2019ll go and find someone not so hypocritical. Maybe someone like Edgars!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSTORM.\u201d<\/p>\n

What he did next was stupid. Done in a second of anger at the thought of her with someone like Edgars. One second Storm was sitting the next found her lying beneath Adam. She found she barely possessed enough breath to whisper his name.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam?\u201d<\/p>\n

He could feel himself losing any remaining self control he might posses. He knew if he didn\u2019t stop kissing her all would be lost. With great effort he rolled off of her thankful that tonight had been one he had chosen to wear a nightshirt, although that was doing little to hide how desirable he did indeed find her.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm please go back to your room.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Adam?\u201d While Storm was uncertain of exactly what she had felt, feel something she did and it had aroused new desires within her.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm; please. You know this is wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Adam.\u201d
\n\u201cStorm you and April are worlds apart. It wouldn\u2019t matter if you\u2019d been with other men before because nothing could change what your true nature is. You\u2019re a lady Storm pure and simple.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd April?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cApril is a user. She will take from any man what he is willing to give. She tries to capture his heart by giving him her body, not because she loves him but because a man in love can be talked into doing anything. When that kind of devotion is given without being received in kind it is a very dangerous thing. Is that what you want Storm, to be like April?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam I could never do that to you. I love you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you couldn\u2019t do this because it\u2019s wrong, for you it\u2019s wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, I\u2019m afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAfraid of what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf losing you, but even more so, of never having you. You\u2019re right Adam, I know it\u2019s wrong, I know it is but knowing it\u2019s wrong doesn\u2019t make me want it less doesn\u2018t make me want you less.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s just give it a little more time.\u201d
\nSuddenly something occurred to Storm that she hadn\u2019t thought of before. \u201cAdam do you love April?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo Storm I do not now nor have I ever loved April.\u201d<\/p>\n

But there was someone. Storm could tell there was someone.<\/p>\n

Adam watched as she left his bed, left his room, but he knew she would never leave his heart.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHAPTER 5<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm would you like to walk with me for a little while?\u201d
\n\u201cWhy papa?\u201d
\n\u201cBecause you\u2019re my daughter, I\u2019m your father, and it is a beautiful morning outside.\u201d And I have to tell you something you\u2019re not going to like. He had already told Matthew they would be leaving by the end of next week.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful moon in the sky.\u201d
\n\u201cPapa, don\u2019t be silly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI see. Calling the sun the moon is silly but calling the moon the sun isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPapa, I promise you I will never ask that question of anyone ever again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nate didn\u2019t know if that news should make him happy or not. He knew the reason behind her abandoning her test was because she felt she had met the only man who could pass it, and now he was about to tell her he was going to take her away from him.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm do you remember yesterday I was waiting for a wire from back east?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course I do.\u201d It was because of that waiting that she had met up with April.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could have just as well gone into town and picked it up another day, or asked someone to bring it out here to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you trying so hard not to tell me papa?\u201d
\n\u201cThere are some rather profitable contracts coming up to be bid on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Storm could feel her heart as it began to break. \u201cAnd you have to be there to do the bidding?\u201d<\/p>\n

He could hear the tears in her voice. \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut papa I don\u2019t want to go back to Boston.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know but\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo papa, I\u2019ll stay here. Mr. Cartwright won\u2019t mind, I just know he won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm, you are my daughter and you will return with me to Boston.\u201d Nate wouldn\u2019t admit that he was afraid to leave her. He was afraid that in doing so he would lose his little girl, unaware that she was no longer his little girl. Once a girl\u2019s heart is given in true love it doesn\u2019t matter if that love is returned or not she becomes a woman.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut papa!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm, Adam has had three months. We have been here three months. That is longer than I had intended to stay, longer than I\u2019m sure Ben thought we would have stayed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you\u2019re the one who said love takes time. Three months isn\u2019t very long.\u201d<\/p>\n

He couldn\u2019t bear the tears on his daughter\u2019s face. \u201cStorm how about if I promise you we will come back.\u201d
\n\u201cReally papa? When?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNext spring.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSpring! Oh papa.\u201d She ran into the house.<\/p>\n

Adam watched as she ran past everyone in tears. \u201cNate what\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s going on Adam?! What\u2019s going on! I just ripped my daughter\u2019s heart out that\u2019s all!\u201d Nate knew he was wrong to take the guilt he was feeling at having hurt his little girl and turn it into anger against someone else, so he took a deep breath. \u201cI\u2019m sorry Adam. I just told Storm it was time to return to Boston. As you can plainly see she was none too happy about the news.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll go and talk with her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if that\u2019s such a good idea Adam.\u201d
\n\u201cMaybe not Nate, but it\u2019s the only one I\u2019ve got.\u201d<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

Adam could hear her crying through the closed door. He gently knocked and called in.<\/p>\n

\u201cSweetheart may I come in?\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course it was a rhetorical question, even before he was finished asking he had the door open. As soon as he stepped into the room she ran to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam papa says we\u2019re going back to Boston. I don\u2019t want to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe if pa tells him\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo I already tried that. He won\u2019t let me stay. He said we\u2019ll come back next spring. Adam, that\u2019s almost a whole year away! I don\u2019t want to wait a year to see you again.\u201d
\n\u201cNeither do I.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat am I going to do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only thing you can do. You\u2019re going to marry me.\u201d Adam found himself surprised at how easy it was to say this. He knew it had come from his heart because the words were said before he had a chance to think about them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d It was what she had hoped for but not what she had expected.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going to marry me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you mean it Adam? You really want \u2026.; really?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sweetheart, really. I love you Storm, whether or not you believe me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe you Adam.\u201d And she really did.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood, then we best go and tell everyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOne minute. Shouldn\u2019t we kiss to seal the deal?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI usually shake hands to seal any and all business deals.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut this is not a business deal, it\u2019s a deal of the heart and that kind of deal can only be sealed with a kiss.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re right and besides most of my business partners aren\u2019t as lovely as you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Never was a deal more willingly or more intensely sealed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t hear anymore crying.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not too sure if that\u2019s a good thing or not Ben.\u201d
\n\u201cLet\u2019s hope it\u2019s a good thing Nate.\u201d
\nFrom the looks on their faces as they came downstairs everyone could tell it was a good thing. When everyone heard the news there were quite a few sighs of relief and a roomful of smiles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hate to be the one to intrude on this happiness with a dose of reality, but Storm where and when is this wedding going to take place?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell papa, is September enough time to get your business deals completed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm that\u2019s only five months away.\u201d Now that everyone knew Adam felt himself becoming a little nervous.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know Adam. Is it enough time papa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I suppose it will have to be. I feel if you could have it your way the wedding would be tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan it be?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d Nate wasn\u2019t about to let go that easily.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat settles the when.\u201d Ben knew where he wished the where to be. \u201cHow about the where?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Cartwright if you wouldn\u2019t mind greatly I\u2019d like it to be right here.\u201d
\n\u201cHere Storm? Are you sure here and not back in Boston?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPapa there isn\u2019t a church in all of New England that can equal the majesty of the Ponderosa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHey pa she\u2019s already thinkin\u2019 like a Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe most certainly is Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlright that settles the where and the when but I still think you should return with me to Boston.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut why papa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm please hear me out. You come back to Boston with me and stay only long enough to pick out a wedding dress, then you come back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do I feel there is more to this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you do return, Mattie comes with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMattie!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho is this Mattie?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam if Mattie comes back we won\u2019t\u2026.\u201d Storm looked at her father with complete understanding. \u201cWe won\u2019t have a minute alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cExactly. You see your father is not as stupid as you may think young lady.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut papa why can\u2019t Mattie just pick out a dress. I know she\u2019d pick out a pretty one, then she can bring it out with her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me try Nate. Sweetheart?<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI\u2019m sure it won\u2019t be for long.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot for long? Adam by the time we get back to Boston it\u2019ll be almost a month, then another month to get back. Add in the time it will take me to get a dress and I won\u2019t be back until July sometime, if I\u2019m lucky.\u201d
\n\u201cStorm you must realize that there are people back in Boston who will want to see you.\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t suppose I have much of a choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s better then next spring.\u201d
\n\u201cADAM. I thought you at least would be on my side.\u201d
\n\u201cI am, but this is purely a matter of self-preservation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is that suppose to mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat he means little sister is that a man can say no to temptation only so many times before he gives in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust what kind of temptation are we speaking of Matthew?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing papa, right big brother?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle sister, papa is not stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

Storm and Adam spent the few remaining days before she would leave for Boston making as many plans as they could. This day found everyone, except Ben and Nate, with plans in town. Adam and Storm had gone to speak with the preacher and everyone else to tend to whatever business they needed to attend to. Ben and Nate were sitting on the porch awaiting everyone\u2019s return. They were enjoying the quiet time they had but only because they knew it would end.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know Ben I\u2019ve been thinking and I realized something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s that Nate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always been Adam.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThink about it. We always assumed Storm tailed after him because Little Joe was or because Matthew was with him but when I think back there were so many times I found her with him when neither Little Joe nor Matthew were around. And you want to know something, when he came to visit back east her face would just light up whenever Matthew would say he\u2019d gotten a letter from Adam saying he\u2019d be stopping by.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe you\u2019re right Nate.\u201d
\n\u201cIs something wrong Ben?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWrong? No nothing\u2019s wrong. I was just thinking of that night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe night Connie was killed?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. You had sent Matthew into town for the doc and the sheriff. I had taken Storm with me to the Ponderosa. I\u2019d put Adam in his bed and we were waiting for the doctor. I had told Hoss to take care of Little Joe and since Storm had fallen asleep on the way here I had lain her on the settee. Not five minutes could have passed and she came into Adam\u2019s room. I didn\u2019t even know she was there until I heard her climbing into the bed. I didn\u2019t want her to see how bad Adam was hurt so I went to get her and I was going to put her in the guest room but she told me no. She said she wanted to stay there and hold Adam\u2019s hand because whenever her papa had got hurt or felt bad that\u2019s what her mama did and her papa always got better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI still miss her Ben. After all these years, I still miss her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know Nate, believe me I know.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The closer they day they were to leave approached the more inseparable Storm and Adam became. There were nights everyone would go to bed and leave them sitting in front of the fire only to find them in the same place the following morning.<\/p>\n

As they boarded the stage Nate could see his daughter\u2019s tears and almost relented and let her stay. If he had known the danger her return trip would hold he would have let her stay.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So for one of the few times in their lives Adam and Storm were separated. They survived, or more accurately they existed while everyone around them survived.<\/p>\n

Storm picked out a dress as quickly as Mattie would allow her too and visited all the people her father wished her too.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow papa, can we make the arrangements for me to go back now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you sure Storm? The Constance is due in port soon and wouldn\u2019t you like to wait for Capt. Tanner to come back so you can see him?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPapa while I am very fond of Capt. Tanner why would I want\u2026.\u201d Then Storm realized what her father was hinting at. \u201cPapa I have never cared for Ogden, NEVER!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ogden Mapore was Capt. Tanner\u2019s first mate and was one of the few men Storm had actually agreed to go to more than one dance with. It wasn\u2019t because she cared for him but because she knew he didn\u2019t care for her. The only thing Ogden had found acceptable about her was her father\u2019s ships. She had once overheard him saying that she was extremely pleasing to look at but she would need a strong man to tame her wild spirit. She knew he had no reservations about hitting women, she had heard rumors of how he treated the girls that worked the waterfront. Some might argue that he would treat her differently but she knew to a man like Ogden a woman was a woman.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, I was just teasing you.\u201d Nate went to his desk and took out an envelope. \u201cHere you go.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat is it papa? Storm took the envelope and opened it. Inside she found two passages to Nevada. \u201cPapa when did you get these?\u201d<\/p>\n

Nate took his daughter into his arms. \u201cThe very day we got back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh papa, I love you,\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEnough to stay here with me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPapa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m only teasing you Storm. I always thought it would be Matthew who would go back. I should have know it would be you.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\n

CHAPTER 6<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cNow you behave little sister.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you worry Mr. Matthew I\u2019ll make sure she does.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have complete faith that you will Mattie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you Mr. Kendall.\u201d<\/p>\n

So they boarded the train and began their journey. They should be in Virginia City by mid July. Once they were in Saint Louis they sent a wire to Adam letting him know when they were due to arrive then they boarded the stage.<\/p>\n

For Mattie the trip was like nothing she\u2019d ever experienced. When Mr. Kendall had first asked if she would like to accompany Storm she had agreed without reservation, but the more she thought about it the more anxious she became. If it weren\u2019t for the fact that she loved Storm as if she were her own child she might have even changed her mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cMiss. Storm why is the stage stopping?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know? We\u2019re almost to Virginia City.\u201d<\/p>\n

They waited for the driver to come and tell them and when the door opened they had their answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you ladies and gentleman will kindly step out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along with Mattie and herself there were two other young ladies and one older gentleman on board.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust who do you think you are?\u201d Storm was very angry. An hour or so more and she would be in Adam\u2019s arms. How dare these men get in the way of that.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to know who I am?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI could care less\u00a0who<\/em>\u00a0you are, I asked who do you\u00a0think<\/em>\u00a0you are.\u201d As if oblivious to what she was implying the man continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cAllow me to introduce myself. I\u2019m Lyle Benton, over there is Judd Shelton and that\u2019s Grant Kellen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Storm wished she had a gun because she would have killed these three men without hesitation. How often had she heard those names? Benton, Shelton and Kellen the men who had killed her mother, the ones who had beaten Adam. Adam, she knew she couldn\u2019t let them know who she was or she might never get to see Adam again. She only hoped the others would understand what she was doing and follow her lead.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell Mr. Benton, I\u2019m Margaret Tanner. I have very important business to attend to in Virginia City, so if you will please get on with whatever it is you\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s just it ma\u2019am, the driver said we were wrong, that the money we thought was on this stage ain\u2019t here. We\u2019re inclined to believe him since we looked everywhere and found nothin\u2018.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen why are you keeping us?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMe and the boys we\u2019re trying to figure out how to make up for what we didn\u2019t get. We figure maybe you passengers have something of value.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have some money. If I give it to you can we go?\u201d Storm was glad her father had wired most of the money to the bank in Virginia City.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean, I can?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s just say that everyone has to pay a toll. This money covers yours, and the driver well he\u2019s paid his.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the first time Storm and the other passengers noticed the driver\u2019s body. Storm couldn\u2019t figure how they had managed to stop the stage and kill the driver without so much as a single sound. Then she saw that they had blocked the road and, although, she couldn\u2019t tell for sure they had probably beaten the driver to death. It made her thankful that Adam had been younger and stronger then the driver when they had beaten him or he just might not have survived.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat just leaves the gentleman and you ladies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMattie here is my servant. My money covers us both. I am also inclined to believe that there is enough there to cover us all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt ain\u2019t the amount that matters, it\u2019s the principle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you and your men are so highly principled.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benton liked this little spitfire, in a way she reminded him of himself. The gentleman reached into his pockets and pulled out whatever money he had.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery good, now that just leaves you two ladies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have any money. What little we did we spent on our stage fare. We have family waiting for us in Virginia City.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure we could find a way for two such pretty young ladies to pay for their safe passage besides money.\u201d Benton stretched out his hand and Storm watched as the young girl tried to get out of his reach. Before the gentleman passenger could react Storm slapped Benton\u2019s arm down.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Benton you want money; I can get you money. Let the stage and it\u2019s passengers go and I\u2019ll tell you how.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMiss\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMattie it will be alright. Well Mr. Benton?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow much money?\u201d Again he found that looking into this ones eyes was almost like looking into his own.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow much were you expecting?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe heard tell that there was as much as six thousand.\u201d
\n\u201cAlright Mr. Benton, I\u2019ll guarantee you six thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not stupid Mr. Benton. I watch this stage, along with it\u2019s passengers, leave here safely and then I will tell you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd what if you\u2019re lyin\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen you can take it out of my hide.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA debt that large could take quite a while to pay off that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen you must realize I\u2019m telling the truth because I\u2019d rather be dead than to be touched by you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt might take till you were dead to work off six thousand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo we have a deal?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes Miss. Tanner, we have a deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t leave you here.\u201d
\n\u201cMattie please I need you to tell him what\u2019s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Miss\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMattie! Please, I\u2019ll be fine.\u201d Storm would have allowed Mattie to stay if she wasn\u2019t so afraid she would slip and call her by her real name.<\/p>\n

Storm watched as the passengers got back on the stage and the gentleman, who had been a passenger, headed it off towards Virginia City.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow Miss. Tanner, just how is it you can guarantee me six thousand dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve heard of the Cartwrights Mr. Benton?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cWell I\u2019m engaged to marry one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich one?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam. So you see Mr. Benton I\u2019m sure he\u2019d be willing to pay six thousand dollars to get me back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019d be a fool not to.\u201d<\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The stage was late. Ben must have told his sons every possible reason twice, of course it was being robbed was not one he had mentioned even if it was one they had all thought of. They finally saw the stage coming into town and each let out very deep sighs of relief. That relief lasted only until they saw that the man driving wasn\u2019t who it should be.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019s the driver?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cInside, he\u2019s dead.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew it! I should have rode out as soon as it was late.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam why don\u2019t we\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before Ben finished the door of the stage opened.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you Miss. Storm\u2019s Mr. Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, where is she?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey took her!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey who?\u201d At this point Adam didn\u2019t really care who, he just knew they had better not hurt her.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe men who robbed the stage.\u201d
\n\u201cAdam.\u201d Ben didn\u2019t like the look in Adam\u2019s eyes. \u201cYou\u2019re Mattie right?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cPa what difference does it make! They\u2019ve got Storm! We have to go and get her.\u201d
\n\u201cI agree son, but first let\u2019s find out what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben led Mattie and the other passengers over to Sheriff Coffee\u2019s office. His sons followed, Adam rather reluctantly.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow Mattie please sit down and tell us what happened.\u201d
\n\u201cThose gentlemen that robbed the stage were real upset when the money they thought was there wasn\u2019t. They killed the driver then they said that we all had to pay a toll to go free. Miss. Storm gave them whatever money she had and told them it was enough to cover all of us. They told her it wasn\u2019t the amount it was the principle. This gentleman gave them whatever money he had and Miss Storm said since I was her servant her money paid for me as well. These two young ladies had no money so those thieves said they could arrange to pay in another way. That\u2019s when Miss. Storm said she could guarantee them the six thousand they said they were expecting to get.\u201d
\n\u201cSo they\u2019re holding her for ransom?!\u201d
\n\u201cAdam, son, at least that means they won\u2019t be going far.\u201d
\n\u201cExcuse me, but there is one thing I don\u2019t understand.\u201d Everyone turned to one of the young ladies Storm had just saved from Benton and the others. \u201cI thought she said her name was Storm and you just said her name is Storm. Why then did she tell those men her name was Margaret?\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam knew of only one reason. She didn\u2019t want the men to know her name. Obviously they didn\u2019t know her on sight or it wouldn\u2019t have mattered what name she gave. He could only think of three men who Storm knew of who would be capable of robbery and murder, only three men who if they knew her true name would make her pay for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cMattie, these men who robbed the stage, do you know their names? Did they mention their names?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes they did. They said the were Benton, Shelton\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNO.\u201d Even though he had suspected it knowing it was much worse.<\/p>\n

\u201cand Kellen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNO! NO!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa if they find out who she is…\u201d All Adam could think of is what they had done to Storm\u2019s mother.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey won\u2019t. Storm isn\u2019t going to tell them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho are those men?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMattie, those are the men who killed Storm\u2019s mother.\u201d
\nBen watched as Adam slammed the door to the sheriff\u2019s office behind him. He caught up with him just as he was preparing to mount his horse.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa I can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll have to send a ransom note.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou wait for it. I have to try and find her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam there\u2019s three of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why we\u2019re going with him.\u201d
\n\u201cYeah pa.\u201d
\n\u201cSee, three against three, four against three if you count Storm and I would most definitely count Storm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam think, what if someone is watching.\u201d
\nAdam was about to tell his father he didn\u2019t care, he couldn\u2019t sit here and wait, when he saw a man ride into town. This man had a face he recognized as one that had haunted his dreams for a very long time.<\/p>\n

Ben didn\u2019t know what had gotten his son off of his horse, he was just glad something had but only until he saw his eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam?\u201d He just pushed past his father as if he hadn\u2019t heard. He walked straight to the man who had just ridden into Virginia City.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello, these ladies tell me you\u2019re Adam\u2026..\u201d Adam hit him with all the force he could. \u201cHey! What you hit me for!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben reached Adam just as he pulled the stranger to his feet. \u201cADAM.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to know why I hit you? As I figure it I owe you quite a few more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam who is he?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWho is he pa? This is Grant Kellen. Now you tell me where they\u2019ve got her or I\u2019ll kill you right here.\u201d
\n\u201cListen I was paid to deliver this message to Adam Cartwright. What makes you think I\u2019m this Grant Kellen?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat makes me think it?\u201d While Adam talked Ben took the note Kellen held and read it. \u201cI don\u2019t think it I know it. You see I find it hard to forget a man who beat me as bad as you did.\u201d
\n\u201cBeat you? Mister I ain\u2019t never seen you before.\u201d
\n\u201cI was only sixteen at the time, and of course you and your friend we\u2019re preoccupied with what else you were doing.\u201d
\nKellen tried to remember a kid he, Benton and Shelton had all beaten up on, then it hit him. Kendall\u2019s wife, there had been a kid there.<\/p>\n

\u201cKendall\u2019s wife?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Mrs. Kendall. Now tell me where Storm is or I will kill you and go and find her myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm? Are you tellin\u2019 me that girl that Benton has is Kendall\u2019s daughter?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes she is and you\u2019re going to take me to her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah and if I take you to her Benton will kill me.\u201d
\n\u201cAs I see it Kellen you have three choices. You can take me to Storm and have Benton maybe have a chance at shooting you, not take me and be assured I will kill you now, or you can maybe put it off a little while and wait to hang. Which one will it be?\u201d<\/p>\n

Grant Kellen was, as most men like him, afraid to die. Given the life they had led that was one condition they would gladly delay whenever possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlright, I\u2019ll take you to where they got her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGood choice Mr. Kellen.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the matter Lyle?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know Judd but I would swear she looks familiar.\u201d
\n\u201cCome on Lyle, we\u2019ve been in Mexico for the past, what sixteen-seventeen years. She\u2019s barely twenty maybe twenty two, that would have made her five or six last time we was in Nevada.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re right.\u201d You could see the truth hit Benton. \u201cYou\u2019re right!\u201d<\/p>\n

He walked over to where Storm was standing. He hadn\u2019t tied her up because he knew she had nowhere to go. They were inside a box canyon and the only way out was past him and Judd.<\/p>\n

\u201cMiss. Tanner I can\u2019t help but feel as if we\u2019ve met before. I was just over there telling my friend that very thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure you and I don\u2019t have any friends in common Mr. Benton.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFriends Miss. Tanner? I wasn\u2019t talking of friends, I was thinking more like enemies. Well enemy to me, father to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure I don\u2019t know what you are talking about. My father is in Boston. He runs his family\u2019s shipping company.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot when I knew him. When I knew him he was a marshal. He locked us away but, like we told him, we got out and when we did we found a way to make him regret ever putting us in jail.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have absolutely no interest\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benton grabbed her arm as she attempted to turn away from him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou may not be interested in hearing but I\u2019m gonna\u2019 tell you anyway. Once we escaped it took almost three years to find him. He had decided to quit marshalling right after we were convicted and he took his pretty wife, that boy, and his baby daughter and left town. We did catch up with him not far from here. Originally we were just going to kill him but that would have been too easy on him. Then we thought why not kill those two kids, especially that little girl of his. Boy he sure did dote on her, but maybe I\u2019m just too softhearted because I just couldn\u2019t bring myself to do it although I did have the opportunity. So that left his wife. If I don\u2019t say so myself she was pretty. We hadn\u2019t set out intending to kill her but things just got a little rougher than we had planned. She didn\u2019t like that we was beaten up on that boy. I mean we was just kinda\u2019 using him to amuse ourselves. Man he sure did fight hard for a kid. If we didn\u2019t know better we would have thought she was his mother. Tell me Miss. Kendall do you know what ever became of that boy?\u201d<\/p>\n

Maybe if Benton had been paying more attention to Storm then to his memories he would have noticed that a very short while ago the fear had left her eyes.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThen you won\u2019t deny that you\u2019re Kendall\u2019s daughter?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo tell me what happened to that kid.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy don\u2019t you turn around and see Mr. Benton.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you really think I\u2019ll fall for that old trick? Do you think I was born yesterday?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll tell you what I think Benton, if you weren\u2019t born yesterday you don\u2019t stand a very good chance of seeing another birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benton spun around and found himself face to face with a look of determination he\u2018d seen before only it was no longer on the face of a sixteen year old kid. \u201cWhat you gonna\u2019 do? Kill me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo I\u2019ll leave that to the hangman.\u201d<\/p>\n

Storm would have know better if the need to be in Adam\u2019s arms wasn\u2019t so strong but it was so she ran right past Benton. As she did he grabbed her.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet her go Benton!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet her go? Right now she\u2019s the only thing I have to bargain my way out of here.\u201d
\nAgain Benton would have been wiser if he would have paid more attention to Storm. She did exactly as she had with Edgars, she brought up her knee and ran to Adam as Benton fell to the ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm are you alright?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am now. Adam you\u2019re not here alone are you?\u201d
\n\u201cNo the others are waiting outside the canyon. They already have Shelton and Kellen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re telling me that Kellen led you here?\u201d Benton muttered through clenched teeth.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t give him much of a choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe I won\u2019t give you a choice either.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d Storm had felt Adam tense and start to pull her away.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy don\u2019t you tell her the truth.\u201d Benton had managed to regain his feet even if he was still slightly pained.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is he talking about Adam? What truth?\u201d
\n\u201cThat your mama wasn\u2019t mindin\u2019 what they did to her.\u201d
\n\u201cYou\u2019re lying, I know you\u2019re lying.\u201d
\n\u201cDid your father ever tell you where he met your mother?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShut up Benton!\u201d<\/p>\n

From that Storm knew that Adam knew the answer to Benton\u2019s question.<\/p>\n

\u201cFancy that, a Cartwright marrying the daughter of a whore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam was on Benton so fast that Storm didn\u2019t have a chance to try and stop him. Luckily for her Hoss and Ben had left the other two men with Little Joe, the sheriff and the posse and had decided to see what was taking so long.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss! Stop Adam or he\u2019ll kill him.\u201d
\nIf the fighting had gone on a little bit longer Storm would have been right. She went to Adam and tried to stop him from trying to break free of Hoss\u2019s hold.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter.\u201d She just kept repeating this over and over as she caressed his face. She stopped only when she could see a slight calming in his eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey Cartwright I think I finally figured out something that\u2019s been bothering me for sixteen years now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you know enough to shut up?!\u201d Storm looked to where Ben was holding Benton.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou might be interested in this too. You see I could never figure out why you fought so hard to protect someone who was no kin to you. It just occurred to me though that a boy would defend a woman who was his first like that specially when it probably wasn\u2019t that long before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cADAM NO! I know he\u2019s lying and that\u2019s all that matters.\u201d
\n\u201cLying! You ever wonder why I didn\u2019t take my turn at her? Ask him, I never did. Of course for Shelton and Kellen it wasn\u2019t the first time they had but even I\u2019m not sick enough to bed my own sister. I hope my sister taught you well at least for your sake my sweet little niece.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour lying!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAm I? You just ask your father. Then you ask him just why he married her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam he is lying?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm?\u201d<\/p>\n

She walked over to Benton and looked him in the face.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no way in hell you could be my mother\u2019s brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure our mother and father would disagree with you.\u201d
\n\u201cNo. They probably just felt sorry for you. They probably picked you up from where your mother had thrown you.\u201d
\n\u201cYou just ask your father when you see him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf what you\u2019re saying is true, how could you kill your own sister?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c Like I said, it wasn\u2019t what we had started out to do but I didn\u2019t feel too bad about it either. You see she betrayed me. She told your father where to find us. No one betrays me, no one.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHAPTER 7<\/p>\n

They were finally on their way back to the Ponderosa. Ben had seen to it that Mattie had been taken there when they had left Virginia City. When they reached the point where one way led to Virginia City and one to the Ponderosa Hoss, Little Joe, Sheriff Coffee and the posse along with their prisoners took the road to Virginia City and Storm, Adam and Ben went towards home.<\/p>\n

She had been sitting on the porch waiting and at first sight Mattie could tell that something had deeply upset Storm.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Cartwright is Miss. Storm alright?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe will be Mattie. Do you think you could allow them some time? Right now I think Storm needs to be alone with Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mattie watched as Adam helped Storm inside. A little surprised at the way in which Storm leaned on him. After what she had been through the fact that she needed to lean on him was not what surprised her but that it seemed as if she would be lost without him to lean on did.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn\u2019t\u2026.hurt her did they?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo Mattie, not physically.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did they do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey told her something. Something I think Nate didn\u2019t want her to ever have to hear.\u201d
\n\u201cSomehow the truth always finds a way to be known.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re right Mattie, that\u2019s why it\u2019s usually best to tell it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm, sweetheart, are you alright?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes Adam, I just\u2026 why didn\u2019t papa ever tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTell you what? How do you tell a child something like that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m no longer a child.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, that is something I am well aware of and so is your father. Perhaps he felt you would never have to hear it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe should have told me anyway. He couldn\u2019t believe I\u2019d love mama any less.\u201d
\n\u201cMaybe he thought it would change how you felt about yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow could I. You would never let me feel bad about myself, besides if you love me how could I be anything less\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut up until a little while ago you didn\u2019t have me or my love.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo I didn\u2019t. Do I still?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm, as I am sure you have already figured out, this is not new information to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut why did papa tell you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause he felt I had a right to know the whole truth. That night Benton had said some things. I had mentioned them to pa and pa must have mentioned them to Nate because a few days later Nate came and told me everything. He only asked that I not say anything to either you or Matthew. I told him that it didn\u2019t matter that your mother was one of the finest ladies I have ever known.\u201d
\n\u201cAdam what did Benton mean when he said I should ask papa why he married mama?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm I promised Nate I wouldn\u2019t tell you or Matthew what he told me. You wouldn\u2019t want me to break that promise would you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d But Storm would try and do her best to find out from her father. She felt she already knew the worst. Adam watched her and waited for what he knew would come. When she began to slowly look around he knew she had realized what he had been waiting for her too. \u201cAdam we\u2019re alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

She walked directly into his arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve missed you so Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I\u2019ve missed you.\u201d<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

When Mattie and Ben walked in, Mattie could clearly see why she had been sent to keep an eye on things.<\/p>\n

\u201cMiss. Storm!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMattie?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou come here right now young lady!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was kissing too!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a man. I expect it of him. You are a young lady, it is your responsibility to stop these things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat if I don\u2019t want to stop them?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm Margaret Kendall! You will go to your room right now and say no less than one hundred Hail Marys.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy don\u2019t we make it one hundred and one.\u201d With that she pulled Adam\u2019s lips to hers. The kiss ended when she felt Mattie\u2019s hand across her backside. Before she followed Storm upstairs Mattie turned to Adam. He prepared himself for a rebuke but that\u2019s not what he got.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Cartwright?\u201d
\n\u201cPlease Mattie. To keep things from getting too confused call me Adam.\u201d
\n\u201cHow about Mr. Adam, I\u2019ll feel better that way.\u201d
\n\u201cThat would be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Adam, I\u2019m glad I came. I never thought to see her lovin\u2019 a man so much, but I am going to warn you that I will do whatever necessary to keep that love from being consummated before the vows are taken\u2019\u201d Mattie turned and went to Storm.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I like Mattie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd why is that Adam? Could it be because she\u2019s making Storm do all the penance for something you two share the blame for?\u201d
\n\u201cYou heard Mattie, I\u2019m a man so she expects it from me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam.\u201d Ben watched as the smile left his son\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll tell you something pa, it\u2019s a good thing Mattie is here because right now all I want to do is hold Storm in my arms. I just want to keep her as close to me as I possibly can. Do you know what I\u2019m trying to say pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes I do Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember one time when I was back east, I think Storm was maybe nine, she followed Matthew and I. We had gone out celebrating, I don\u2019t recall exactly what it was we were celebrating but it must have been something big. Nine years old and she\u2019s down on the waterfront looking for us. Well she found us alright. We were in some run down hole with two\u2026um two ladies. Storm walks in that place past men that quite frankly scared me but I swear they all stepped aside for her. She walks past all of them and walks straight up to me and tells me that I shouldn\u2019t be there that she loves me and the lady on my lap doesn\u2019t. I don\u2019t know what sobered me up faster, having a nine year old child tell me that she loves me or having the men in that place look at me as if they would do me great harm if I hurt her, or maybe it was that even at nine years old I believed she understood what she was saying and meant it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why the first time I saw you here, you had me all confused. I think like most girls I always had a dream of what the man who could win my heart would look like, what he would be like. I\u2019d come to believe that no man could ever live up to that dream, that I\u2019d never find the one man I\u2019d be willing to surrender too. I\u2019d forgotten that before there was the dream there was you. I didn\u2019t need to try and imagine who he would be because he was you, so how could I give my heart to someone when it was already yours and no longer mine to give.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you doing down here? Does Mattie know you\u2019re missing?\u201d
\n\u201cNot yet Adam. I gave her my word that I\u2019d be good.\u201d
\n\u201cYour word doesn\u2019t seem to be worth too much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI never said what it was I\u2019d be good at Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd just what do you plan on being good at young lady?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGiving your son a kiss goodnight.\u201d Before another second could pass she was in his arms.
\n\u201cMISS STORM! I find you back in his arms! So help me child tonight I sleep on the floor in front of your door.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks for the warning, now I\u2019ll know enough to step over you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will be spending the time from now until your wedding on your knees asking for forgiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor what! I haven\u2019t done anything but kiss him and even papa let me kiss him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not your papa. I know what kind of thoughts kissing can put into a woman\u2019s head.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy Mattie Kincaid.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you think that I have never been in love? Now get upstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n

As she passed her on the landing Storm leaned and gave Mattie a kiss on the cheek.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love you Mattie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you be thinkin\u2019 that\u2019ll make me go any easier on you.\u201d
\n\u201cThat\u2019s not why I said it, I said it because it\u2019s true.\u201d
\n\u201cI know. Now why don\u2019t you go to bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMattie, I\u2019m kinda hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cForgive me child, I\u2019d forgotten that you hadn\u2019t eaten.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh yeah, for food too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are determined to dig yourself a hole so deep that you\u2019ll be lucky to climb your way out by the time our wedding day arrives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, I\u2019m only joshing. Mattie you know I was only joshing right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoshing or not young lady for you to put those thoughts into words it\u2019s because somewhere you\u2019re thinkin\u2019 them. Now up to bed.\u201d
\n\u201cBut Mattie I really am hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFine then I\u2019ll go and fix you something and I will bring it up to you, and so help me I had better not find you down these steps again tonight or I will tie you to your bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFine. At least then he\u2019ll know where to find me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was that?\u201d Even though Storm had whispered Mattie, as well as Adam and Ben, knew exactly what she had said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing, I just said I\u2019d hate it if you had to bind me.\u201d
\n\u201cVery good Storm.\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know what you mean Adam. That\u2019s exactly what I said.\u201d Storm marched up the remaining steps.<\/p>\n

Mattie reached the bottom step and Adam began to climb them.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd just where do you think you\u2019re going?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo bed Mattie. It\u2019s been a very tiring day.\u201d
\n\u201cYou will stay down here until I have finished what I need to do and gone up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMattie.\u201d
\n\u201cDon\u2019t you Mattie me. If you think for one minute I\u2019d not tie you to your bed you\u2019d be wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not just tie us to the same bed, it\u2019ll make keeping watch a whole lot easier.\u201d
\n\u201cMr. Cartwright did you ever take a strap to this boy to teach him a lesson?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMore than once Mattie.\u201d
\n\u201cIt seems you might be needin\u2019 to do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mattie did her best to make sure Storm and Adam were never alone and for the most part she succeeded. Up until this day they had only managed a few minutes here and there, barely enough time for one stolen kiss.<\/p>\n

This day, though, found Storm with too many unanswered questions and only one person she knew of who could help her answer them. She quietly climbed down the stairs hoping that she wouldn\u2019t be found out too soon. Mattie knew she hadn\u2019t been sleeping well and at first had assumed it to be because of the incident with Benton, then perhaps the upcoming wedding. Storm felt neither was true or perhaps, in a way, both were.<\/p>\n

She found Adam where Little Joe had said he would be and alone as he had promised he\u2019d be.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis explains Little Joe\u2019s hasty departure. Does Mattie know you\u2019re here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWould I be here if she did? I told her I was tired and that I had a headache. She knows that I haven\u2019t been sleeping too well lately.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you decided to use that knowledge and Little Joe as well.\u201d Upon looking at her he could tell being alone with him was not the motivation for this deception, or more accurately the reason she wished to be alone with him was different than he had at first thought. \u201cSweetheart what\u2019s wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

She ran to him. \u201cOh Adam what should I do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPapa will be here soon.\u201d
\n\u201cAccording to the wire the day after tomorrow.\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t want to hurt him but how can I live not knowing the truth?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that what this is really about?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes\u2026no. It\u2019s just that I know you know and I would never ask you to break your promise.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if you don\u2019t ask then there will always be a secret between us.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cStorm only you know what you can and can not live with. Is the truth that bad? Do I think it will change anything? No, but only you can truly answer that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know you can\u2019t tell me what to do, I know you wouldn\u2019t. All I really want is for you to hold me. I feel safe when you hold me and it makes it easier to think just knowing you\u2019re there.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019ll always be there.\u201d
\nSo they sat down under a tree and in time the security of his arms allowed Storm to relax, let her mind calm down enough to realize that no matter what she decided he would never leave her. For the first time in quite a while she slept peacefully.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI best go wake Miss. Storm for lunch.\u201d
\nLittle Joe nervously watched as Mattie slowly made her way upstairs. Where was Adam? Storm had promised that she would make sure they were back before lunch. If Mattie found her missing there would be hell to pay and if she found out he had helped\u2026.he didn\u2019t want to think about that. He ended up doing what he had done as a child. He turned to the one person who he knew would protect him.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa I have something I have to tell you.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat is it Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm\u2019s not up there, she\u2019s with Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

JOSEPH!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Cartwright!\u201d Mattie came running down the stairs. \u201cMiss. Storm\u2019s not in her room!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know?! Is she with him?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMattie, Storm said she needed to talk to Adam. I believed her.\u201d Little Joe backed away the instant Mattie turned towards him.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou helped her!\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben feared that this woman was capable of harming his son more than any man.<\/p>\n

\u201cMattie.\u201d He stepped between them. \u201cIn all honesty don\u2019t you really trust Storm?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere that son of your\u2019s is concerned? NO! She loves him and, surely you must realize, with that kind of love comes forgetfulness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll go get them.\u201d Ben turned to leave.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going with you.\u201d
\n\u201cMattie\u2026..\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am going with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben knew there was no way to make her stay. God help his son.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

Adam saw them as they approached. He gently laid Storm\u2019s head down on the grass and rose to take his punishment.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood afternoon pa, Mattie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mattie quickly got off her horse and ran to Storm. \u201cLook at her. She\u2019s sleeping so peacefully, like she use to when she was a child.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Adam and Ben were surprised by the gentleness in her tone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI swear to you Mattie all we did was talk.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a good thing for you I see no signs to the contrary.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on Mattie, do you mean to say you would have known just by looking at her?\u201d<\/p>\n

Mattie turned and glared.<\/p>\n

\u201cSon I think you best quit while you\u2019re ahead.\u201d
\n\u201cI think you mean while I still have a head.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mattie turned back to Storm. \u201cI had best wake up sleeping beauty.\u201d
\n\u201cMattie no, don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t!? Do you think I\u2019m going to leave the two of you here alone now that I know?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI just meant don\u2019t wake her, I\u2019ll bring her back in the wagon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mattie watched as Adam gently lifted Storm. She noticed how Storm settled into his arms as if she knew without waking that she was safe. She watched him gingerly place her in the wagon and tenderly kiss her cheek. That\u2019s when a sinful thought occurred to Mattie, maybe keeping these two apart wasn\u2019t that important.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs there something wrong Mattie?\u201d Ben noticed how she was watching Adam and Storm and how she had jumped at the sound of his voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, no there\u2019s nothing wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s my son Mattie but there are times he still surprises me.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Nate and Matthew were due to arrive the following morning and Mattie had agreed to allow Adam to walk alone with Storm after supper but only after he had given her his word they would do nothing more than talk.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is nice Adam. How did you ever convince Mattie to allow us to be alone?\u201d<\/p>\n

She tenderly put her arms around his waist and closed her eyes in anticipation of a kiss that never came. Adam could see the disappointment in her eyes once she had opened them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only way was to promise her we would do nothing more than talk.\u201d
\n\u201cYou had to promise?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the only way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it you want to talk about?\u201d<\/p>\n

He could distinctly make out the irritation in her voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a time you enjoyed just talking with me.\u201d
\n\u201cThat was before, when our time alone wasn\u2019t so rare and hard to come by. Back when only thinking of kissing you didn\u2019t get me in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThink of it this way, you only have to wait three weeks and then we can be alone as much as you wish.\u201d
\n\u201cTwo weeks and six days.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd how many hours?\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m not sure, what time is it now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTime for me to get to the point before Mattie comes to make sure I\u2019m keeping my promise.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlright than, what is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWould you mind if I go into town alone tomorrow.\u201d
\n\u201cSo you can warn papa?\u201d
\n\u201cStorm.\u201d
\n\u201cAdam I haven\u2019t even decided if I want to know yet. That\u2019s not exactly true. I do want to know but I just don\u2019t want to cause papa to remember things he\u2019d rather not.\u201d
\n\u201cSeeing Benton and the others will do that I\u2019m afraid.\u201d
\n\u201cWill you tell papa that if he really feels I\u2019d be better off not knowing to just tell me Benton lied.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you\u2019d believe that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, but for his sake I\u2019d say I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

Adam set out early, and alone, the following morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello Nate, Matthew. It\u2019s good too see you\u2019ve returned safely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nate looked around and was a little disappointed. \u201cAdam are you alone? Where\u2019s Storm?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI asked her to wait at the house. Matthew would you mind riding to the Ponderosa alone, I need to speak with your father.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes this have something to do with Storm?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes and no Matthew.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not going to back out are you?\u201d
\nAdam knew that if he said yes he would find Matthew\u2019s fist flying towards his face.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd risk hurting her? Not a chance Matthew.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nate could sense this was something Adam wanted to discuss between the two of them alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s alright Matt.\u201d<\/p>\n

They waited until they saw Matthew reach the edge of town.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow what is it Adam? You\u2019re really haven\u2019t changed your mind have you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo Nate. Why don\u2019t we go on over to the saloon?\u201d<\/p>\n

Why was Adam being so serious? Alright so serious today? Nate had thought that today would be a very happy one. Finally they were sitting in the saloon with a half empty glass of beer in front of each of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you going to tell me what\u2019s wrong or are you going to wait until I\u2019m completely drunk, because if that\u2019s the case Adam then we had better get a bottle of whiskey.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I thought you\u2019re being drunk would make this any easier then I\u2019d order that bottle and wait.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam is Storm alright?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes Nate and if the situation was different I\u2019d wait until you could see that for yourself before telling you that the stage she and Mattie came here on was robbed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn\u2019t hurt her?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, like I said she\u2019s fine. They caught the men who did it.\u201d Now came the hard part. \u201cNate, it was Benton, Shelton and Kellen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNO!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNate, Benton told Storm some things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you\u2019re warning me so I\u2019ll be ready when she asks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf she asks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe hasn\u2019t decided yet if knowing the truth is worth the risk of hurting you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes she know that you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cBut she would never ask you to break your promise.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThan I have no choice but to tell her. I won\u2019t have this coming between you two, Connie wouldn\u2019t want me to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you Nate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow can I go and see my daughter?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWould you like to go to the jail first?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you think I would do anything that might make me miss my daughter\u2019s wedding?\u201d Nate knew seeing those men would make him do something, something he would regret.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would hope not. Nate, what about Matthew?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe already knows and has for quite some time.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

All the dust and discomfort of the journey were forgotten when Nate saw his daughter\u2019s smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cPAPA, oh papa, I\u2019ve missed you so.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd I you my little sunshine.\u201d
\n\u201cPapa you haven\u2019t called me sunshine in years.\u201d
\n\u201cThat\u2019s because you haven\u2019t been sunshine in years.\u201d
\n\u201cOh papa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWould you like to take a walk with me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Storm knew only too well why. \u201cNow papa? You just got here and you must be tired, wouldn\u2019t you like to rest up some first?\u201d
\n\u201cStorm the best time for the truth is now.\u201d
\n\u201cBut I haven\u2019t even decided\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not your decision to make, it\u2019s mine. Now come on.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

They walked in silence for a few minutes, Nate trying to think of how to tell his little girl the truth. Then he looked at her and saw for the first time that she was no longer his little girl but a woman, one about to be married.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm, your mother wasn\u2019t exactly what most people would consider a lady.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSome don\u2019t consider me a lady either.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm this is different.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBenton said that she worked in the saloon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes she did but it didn\u2019t matter, not to me, because to me she was always a lady.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPapa, Benton said he was her brother.\u201d
\n\u201cYes he is Storm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut maybe they weren\u2019t really. Maybe mama\u2019s parents found him or maybe his parents found mama.\u201d
\n\u201cStorm, they were twins.\u201d
\n\u201cThan how could he let them do that do her, how? Matthew would never allow anyone to hurt me, it wouldn\u2019t matter if I\u2019d betrayed him or not. He\u2019s my brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour half brother Storm.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I married your mother Matthew was already a year old.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut papa\u2026\u201d Then Storm remember the question Benton had told her to ask. \u201cIs that why mama married you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour mother married me because we loved each other! Don\u2019t you ever believe any different, is that clear!\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cI\u2019m sorry Storm I didn\u2019t mean to yell like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s alright papa, I guess we\u2019re both a little on edge.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter your mother and I were married I wanted to take her and Matthew and go back to Boston but she wouldn\u2019t go. She said she didn\u2019t think she was good enough for Boston, I assured her that Boston wasn\u2019t good enough for her. I suppose that was as it should have been because if we had gone back you would have never met Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes I would have, of course the oldest I would have been was eleven.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEven at that age you would have stolen his heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFunny I gave him mine when I was only nine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing papa. Now is that all you have to tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s see. You mother use to work the saloons, her twin brother was one of the men involved in her death, and your brother is only your half brother. That about covers it. Would you like there to be more?\u201d And now that it had been said Nate realized it wasn\u2019t so bad telling it. It had been worse hiding it and worrying about Storm finding it out.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen that\u2019s all I have to tell you, except that I love you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI love you too papa.\u201d<\/p>\n

CHAPTER 8<\/p>\n

The time seemed to pass by so slowly that when the day arrived Storm couldn\u2019t quite understand how it had done so so quickly.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo tomorrow you will be married.\u201d
\n\u201cYes Mattie which means you\u2019ll be out of one job.\u201d
\n\u201cMiss. Storm, about that, I think that maybe we had best discuss what will be expected of you tomorrow night. I should have spoken of it sooner but I thought if I didn\u2019t then it would never happen and you would always remain the little girl I love so dearly.\u201d
\n\u201cMattie, I love you too but it\u2019s not necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMiss. Storm it is best to know what to expect. Not knowing can only lead to you being frightened.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI could never be afraid of Adam.\u201d
\n\u201cBelieve me when I tell you that a man is\u2026.well when he is excited in that way he has very little control over his actions. It\u2019s not his mind or his heart that is in control.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMattie, I already know what to expect. As a matter of fact I have known for some time now.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd just who told you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not important, what is is that I know Adam would never hurt me.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m afraid on that he\u2019ll have no choice.\u201d Mattie could see a slight hint of uncertainty come to Storm\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will be your first time child, there will be pain whether or not he wishes it. There will be no way for him to stop it.\u201d
\n\u201cNo Mattie, Adam would never hurt me.\u201d<\/p>\n

If she didn\u2019t know any better Mattie might have been swayed by the conviction in Storm\u2019s voice. \u201cMiss. Storm he will but I promise you something, the pain will be quickly forgotten in the pleasure he is sure to give you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMattie I need to speak with Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that would be a very good idea.\u201d
\n\u201cPlease Mattie, I really need too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I refuse I suppose you\u2019ll only find a way.\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust so you know, I will be right outside the door the whole time.\u201d
\n\u201cThen I\u2019ll be sure to tell Adam we have to be extra quiet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mattie had seen this as an attempt by Storm to lighten the mood so Mattie tried to do the same. \u201cMaybe I\u2019ll stay inside the door.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease Mattie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlright but I\u2019m only going to allow you fifteen minutes.\u201d
\n\u201cIt will be long enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLong enough for talking only.\u201d And maybe one or two kisses.<\/p>\n

Mattie would have to remember to say one or two Hail Marys for that thought tonight. She went to get Adam hoping he was still awake.<\/p>\n

Adam heard the knock on his door and at first had thought it might be Storm, then he realized that Storm wouldn\u2019t be knocking.<\/p>\n

\u201cMattie, it must be after midnight, what are you doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMiss. Storm needs to speak with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you\u2019re helping her?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell as you said it is after midnight, which means it is your wedding day, besides I told her I\u2019d allow you fifteen minutes only and I\u2019d be outside the door the whole time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you have any idea why she needs to see me?\u201d Adam knew for Mattie to be helping to arrange this meeting it had to be important.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m afraid I might have frightened her with something I said. It would appear as if you are the one person who can ease all her fears.\u201d Even when you\u2019re the cause of them.<\/p>\n

Mattie followed Adam down the hall and watched as he entered the room. She closed the door behind him. She hadn\u2019t seen that Storm had changed into her bed clothes or she might have changed her mind about letting them be alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong Storm?\u201d He looked at her, the nightgown she wore barely hiding the form beneath. He realized that come tomorrow it would no longer be hidden from him and if it weren\u2019t for the hint of fear in her eyes that realization would be having a very different effect on him.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, Mattie told me something.\u201d
\n\u201cSomething she said that might have frightened you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe a little. She told me that you would hurt me tomorrow night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDidn\u2019t she tell you it would pass?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, she said it would be forgotten in the pleasure you would give me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI will have to remember to thank her for that at least.\u201d I only pray she\u2019s right. Adam now realized that he had never been any woman\u2019s first and while he may have a very good idea as to what to do he couldn\u2018t be absolutely certain. \u201cStorm, come here.\u201d
\n\u201cBut Mattie\u2019s right outside the door.\u201d
\n\u201cYou must really be frightened Storm to refuse to come into my arms when we are clearly alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it\u2019s just that I told her I only wanted to talk to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm, If I\u2019m going to try and ease your fears then I need you to come into my arms, so come here.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was something in his voice that compelled her to walk towards him. As his arms closed around her his lips lowered to hers.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm, Mattie is right, there will be pain and if there was a way to avoid it I would, but there isn\u2019t. I hope that I can prove her right and that any pain will be forgotten. Storm I will promise you this, we will go slow and only as far as you wish.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam I love you so very much. I know that whatever tomorrow brings you would never do anything to truly hurt me. Any way how could any pain be worse than the time you spanked me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on Storm, I barely touched you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t my backside that hurt most, it was my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never played in that mine again did you?\u201d Adam wasn\u2019t about to admit that it had hurt his heart when he had seen the tears come into her eyes. It had hurt even more when she had refused to allow him to dry them.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, but it wasn\u2019t\u2026..\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWasn\u2019t what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm once we\u2019re married I hope there will be no secrets between us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle Joe was with me.\u201d
\n\u201cLittle Joe was with you? I remember specifically asking you if you were there alone and I remember you telling me yes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou looked so angry when we saw you riding up. Little Joe was real scared and he said you would tan his backside, but that you would never do that to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess I proved him wrong!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess you did!\u201d<\/p>\n

The door opened and when they looked they saw everyone standing there.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is going on?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s going on little brother? What\u2019s going on is that I just found out I owe you a tanning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d
\n\u201cYou let a little seven year old girl take all the punishment for something that both of you\u2026..\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems to me that is something you and your brother are both guilty of.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat pa?\u201d
\n\u201cIf I recall correctly Adam, Storm still hasn\u2019t finished saying all of her penance yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is she saying penance for now? Young lady do you realize what time it is?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes papa.\u201d They had all heard the clock chime one a short while ago. \u201cAdam in a little more than eight hours I\u2019ll be your wife.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEight hours, and if you don\u2019t spend some of them sleeping you are going to fall asleep during the ceremony.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as I don\u2019t fall asleep after the ceremony that will be alright Mattie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSTORM. Adam are you sure about this. I mean you still have eight hours to change your mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPAPA.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m afraid on this Nate my mind is firmly made up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen we all know the futility in trying to change it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes pa, or you should by now.\u201d<\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

Morning came fast, but not fast enough for Storm. She had spent the remainder of the night trying to fall asleep and when sleep finally did come all she could dream of was that day Adam had hit her backside. She knew now that he had done it more out of fear than anger.<\/p>\n

She and Little Joe had loved to play there, it was a world all their own. No one knew of it until Adam had come riding up and saw her horse tied outside the entrance. She had been there alone that time, Little Joe was suppose to have met her but had never shown up. Adam told her it wasn\u2019t a safe place to play and told her not to play there anymore. She told him she wouldn\u2019t. Then about a week or so later he found her there again. This time he was angry. When he found her there he had actually yelled at her, said he had told her not to play there. She had yelled back that he was not her papa and had no right to be yelling at her or telling her what to do. That was when he had hit her backside. Little Joe had said he was sorry and that he would go and tell Adam he was there too but Storm had said not to bother. There wasn\u2019t much sense in both of them getting a spanking, besides she was the one Adam had told not to play there. That was why she had told Little Joe that they had better tie their horses up a little ways away and walk to the mine.<\/em><\/p>\n

It was only later that she found out that some men had robbed and murdered the Potter family and that\u2019s why he was so upset. The men were seen heading in the direction of the mine and he thought they might have been using it as a hiding place. He had gone to her father to warn her again to stay away from there and when he was told she wasn\u2019t home he rode there to look for her. He was hoping she wasn\u2019t there but he was afraid she was. It wasn\u2019t too soon after that they had moved to Boston. Storm had thought it was because Adam was angry at her and had told her father he didn\u2019t want her there any more but when she got older she had asked her father and he had said they had left Nevada because he thought she and Matthew would have a better life in Boston, and seeing as how it was almost time for Matthew to go to college they would be closer to him there.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAre you planning on getting up or are you going to sleep through you\u2019re entire wedding day?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat time is it? Mattie it took so long for me to finally fall asleep.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, I heard you tossing and turning until three or four.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope I\u2019ll look rested enough.\u201d
\n\u201cYou will be beautiful. Now get out of bed and I\u2019ll go and get you something to eat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think I could eat anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll eat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mattie made her way downstairs and as soon as Storm felt it was safe she snuck out of her room and went to Adam\u2019s.<\/p>\n

He watched in the mirror as she opened the door and quietly closed it behind her. \u201cIf you don\u2019t stop this Mattie will have you saying penance until our first anniversary.\u201d<\/p>\n

He kept watching her in the mirror expecting her to walk towards him. When she didn\u2019t he turned around and faced her.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSweetheart what is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never seen you without a shirt before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTell me do you approve.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know. I think I need a closer look.\u201d<\/p>\n

If Adam hadn\u2019t been so entranced by her as she began to walk towards him he might have noticed that his door had opened.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust take one more step and you will find yourself spending your wedding day unable to sit down.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut papa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo buts, until you are married proper you are still my little girl.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPapa, married or not, I\u2019ll always be your little girl won\u2019t I?\u201d
\nNate now knew that was true. Even when, God willing, she became a mother she would still be his little girl. \u201cYes you will but you had better get back to your room before Mattie finds out you\u2019re missing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, can we continue this later?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMost definitely.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mattie made sure Storm ate something before she would allow her to even begin getting dressed. She wasn\u2019t quite finished dressing when the first guests began to arrive. She knew that Adam was already downstairs and she longed to join him.<\/p>\n

\u201cMattie what time is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo minutes later then the last time you asked me. Miss. Storm when it is time your papa will come and get you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMattie it\u2019s taking too long.\u201d
\n\u201cIt only seems that way. Time is passing the same as it always has.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo it\u2019s not, it\u2019s going slower.\u201d
\n\u201cAre you ready sunshine?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPapa really? Is it really time?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes it is. Unless you\u2019ve changed your mind?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNever!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMattie why don\u2019t you go on downstairs and tell everyone to give us five minutes.\u201d
\n\u201cYes Mr. Kendall.\u201d She kissed Storm on the cheek. \u201cYou are the most beautiful bride I have ever seen.\u201d
\n\u201cOnly because it\u2019s Adam who is waiting for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFive minutes Mr. Kendall? You had best hope she can wait that long.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mattie walked out and closed the door behind her.<\/p>\n

\u201cMattie\u2019s right, you are prettier then anything I have ever seen.\u201d
\n\u201cPapa I love him so much.\u201d
\n\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will come and visit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI love you papa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I love you. Now why don\u2019t we go and get you married.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

They walked downstairs and into a crowd of stunned people. Anyone who had been at the dance remembered how beautiful Storm was then, they didn\u2019t think it was possible for her to surpass that beauty and yet she had.<\/p>\n

Once she was at Adam\u2019s side she no longer cared how slow time passed which, of course, is why it seemed to speed up. It felt as if they had no sooner joined hands then the preacher was telling them they were husband and wife. That was followed by kiss the bride so it was okay by Storm.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She felt as if she had danced with every man there so when she finally found herself in Adam\u2019s arms once again she wished to never leave them.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam you won\u2019t let anyone else cut in will you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you want me to be rude?\u201d
\n\u201cYes. I have already danced with everyone here. Please Adam, I don\u2019t want to leave your arms again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlright sweetheart, I will refuse any man who dare asks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam what time is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHave we been here long enough? Can we go somewhere and be alone?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy Storm Margaret Kendall Cartwright, you are being rather forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t even begun being forward. For me this is considered beating around the bush.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust what would you say if you were being forward?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t want to know Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe you may be right about that.\u201d
\n\u201cAdam, where are we going to stay tonight?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean you don\u2019t want to stay here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d not mind staying here if these people would just leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know something I would have thought you would have asked me this long before now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you honestly believe that I would be willing to share you with those brothers of mine forever? It may sound selfish but I want to have you all to myself.\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t understand?\u201d
\n\u201cMy love, while you were picking out a wedding dress I was busy building us a house.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReally Adam? Really? Can we go and see it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes Adam, right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s go and tell pa and Nate that we\u2019re leaving.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo we have too?\u201d
\n\u201cIt will only take a minute.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay but only for a minute.\u201d<\/p>\n

It took a few more than one minute but soon enough they were on the way to their house.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, it\u2019s perfect!\u201d How was it possible that he had built the house of her dreams when she had never even told him what it was.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you really like it Storm? If there is anything you wish to change we can?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNO. It\u2019s perfect Adam, just like you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow remember Storm, we will only go as fast and as far as you wish.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019ll remember. Adam did your first time hurt?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo my love it didn\u2019t.\u201d He wasn\u2019t about to tell her it had been a little embarrassing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not fair is it. I mean a woman\u2019s first time hurts and a man\u2019s doesn\u2019t, a woman suffers the pain of childbirth and a man gets a child.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s because women are more resilient than men.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if that\u2019s true. I think it\u2019s just that men suffer different kinds of pain. I know I\u2019d rather be the one suffering through the pain then to have to watch you suffering through it. Oh Adam that would just kill me.\u201d<\/p>\n

He pulled her to him and began to tenderly kiss her and run his hands over her body. He knew he was touching places no man ever had and he found himself surprised by the feeling of gratification that filled him with. He didn\u2019t think it to be an important requirement, and he knew it wasn\u2019t as long as there was love and faithfulness, but for some reason it made him feel even more fortunate because he knew Storm was not only loving and faithful but his alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, oh Adam.\u201d My God, Storm thought, if his hands were having the affect they were on her through the layers of clothes she had on, what would happen once those clothes were removed? She felt him lift her off her feet and knew he was carrying her upstairs. Only a little while longer and she would be his wife in every sense of the word.<\/p>\n

He set her on her feet and slowly removed her dress. She finally stood before him with only her underclothes on. She had seemed so lost in another world that when her eyes flew open he was taken by surprise.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam?\u201d
\n\u201cWhat is it Storm? Do you want to stop?\u201d He knew if she said yes he would but, oh God, how he wished she wouldn\u2019t say yes.<\/p>\n

\u201cNO. It\u2019s just\u2026.I.\u201d What she did next left him speechless. She put her hands on the collar of his shirt and proceeded to rip it from his body. They could both clearly hear the buttons as they hit the floor. \u201cI promise I\u2019ll sew them all back on.\u201d She had mistaken the desire that had clouded his eyes for anger.
\n\u201cTo hell with them Storm.\u201d
\nHe quickly finished removing her clothes and laid her on their bed and once he had finished removing his clothes he joined her there. She could feel his hands and lips as they caressed her body. She found she no longer possessed the strength to keep her eyes open. It wasn\u2019t until she felt he had positioned himself over her that Mattie\u2019s warning came back to her and again her eyes flew open.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam?\u201d<\/p>\n

It took every ounce of will power he possessed but the slight twinge of fear he could hear in her voice helped him to stop.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it sweetheart?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is when it\u2019s going to hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. Do you wish to stop?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNO. I don\u2019t care how much it hurts, I just want to please you.\u201d
\n\u201cI promise, my love, I will try and make it as painless\u2026.\u201d he thrust forward. \u201c..as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cADAM.\u201d He waited for a minute or so until she seemed to become use to the feel of their bodies joined. He knew she was ready for what was next by what she said to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, I can feel you. Adam, it doesn\u2019t hurt any more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it never will again.\u201d<\/p>\n

He started to slowly move and it took only a few seconds for her body to move with his. The closer she came to realizing her release the harder it became for Adam to believe that his was the same little girl who had followed him, the same little girl who at nine years old had told him she loved him. It was hard for him to believe because he could no longer see that little girl, he could only see a woman. A woman who was now lost in a pleasure her body was feeling for the first time.<\/p>\n

As Storm nestled in Adam\u2019s arms afterwards they were lost in their own worlds. There was a silence between them that was born out of the total gratification they were feeling. It remained quiet until a strange feeling of guilt overtook Storm. She turned onto her other side so she was facing Adam.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam I lied before.\u201d
\n\u201cLied? About what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou remember my friend back in Boston, Greta Wilcox?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes I believe so.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou remember that when you first met her and some of my other friends? Do you remember how they all kinda\u2019 giggled and acted real silly?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI do recall that, yes.\u201d He could distinctly recall that day. The way they had reacted to meeting him had him thinking there was something wrong with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you also recall that Greta\u2019s father was a doctor?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm are you going to stop telling me everything I already know and start telling me what I don\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOne day we got kinda\u2019 curious. I was the youngest, Greta and Bonnie were twelve and Marcy and Jill were thirteen. It was Marcy and Jill who really started pushing Greta. See they knew that her papa, being a doctor, would have certain kinds of books. Anatomy books and such. One day we were all alone in Greta\u2019s house and we snuck into her father\u2019s library. We looked at those books and when we got to the one where they showed a\u2026well a man, I told them it was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWrong? How would you have known it was wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause a week earlier I\u2019d seen you and you didn\u2019t look like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou saw me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. It wasn\u2019t real close but I did see you without a shirt before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that what you lied about?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Chances were the book would have not pictured a man\u2019s chest with hair. \u201cSo, in other words, the chest of the man in the book wasn\u2019t like mine?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that\u2019s all?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d She knew it was useless. \u201cNo. Other things weren\u2019t quite right either.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOther things? Storm are you going to tell me exactly what it is you saw?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t get angry with me! If you didn\u2019t want to be seen then you shouldn\u2019t have arranged your tryst in such a public place!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTryst? Just who was this tryst with?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSally-Anne Baker!\u201d<\/p>\n

That had been one tryst that had not been arranged. One that Adam would not have even attempted to arrange but he was younger and wasn\u2018t about to look a gift horse in the mouth, so to speak. \u201cStorm, just what did you see?\u201d<\/p>\n

She knew by the defeated tone in his voice he already suspected what her answer would be.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw what she did to you Adam. I wanted to leave, I really did, but for some reason I just couldn\u2019t. I heard you and at first I thought she was hurting you. I mean I\u2019ve kicked men there but I\u2019d never bite one there. Then I heard you tell her not to stop. Please don\u2019t be angry Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you left right after that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, right after you both laid down in the grass. Why? Was there something I should have stayed for?\u201d
\n\u201cDo you think I\u2019m so selfish as to not have in some way returned the favor?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you said I was your first first?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are.\u201d
\n\u201cBut Sally-Anne always said that she would never be like some of the other girls, that she would never give herself to a man that wasn\u2019t her husband.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the traditional sense she didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo I want to know Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou probably already do\u2026\u201d Knowing that April would have not omitted this from the little talk she had had with Storm. \u201c\u2026but if you would you like me to tell you I\u2018d be more than happy to oblige.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. Just promise me something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeday you\u2019ll show me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot even one night of marriage and you have become totally wicked.\u201d
\n\u201cNot totally.\u201d<\/p>\n

She saw the smile that touched her soul leave his face.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm you know that I didn\u2019t love her. I was young and\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSowing your oats as papa would say. I know it Adam, besides she started it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you miss anything?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously yes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo tell me did you get caught?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean as far as sneaking into Dr. Wilcox\u2019s library? Yes, but I was glad that we did because it gave me the chance to ask him some questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cQuestions? Storm just what kind of questions?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam he is a doctor. I asked him if the man in the book was what all men looked like.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd what did he say to that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat it was a drawing and that just as all women were different so too were all men. He said that I must be aware that women came in all shapes and sizes and that so too do all men. He asked me why I asked. I lied.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother lie?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. I told him that I had accidentally walked in on Matthew when he was in the bath. Would you have preferred me to tell him the truth, that I had seen you with Sally-Anne?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, you say that you didn\u2019t love Sally-Anne or April but they still satisfied you didn\u2019t they?\u201d<\/p>\n

He had to think of some way to explain to her that they could never make him feel as she did. \u201cStorm have you ever wanted something?\u201d He could see in her eyes that he had better rephrase that. \u201cHave you ever been hungry but you didn\u2019t know what for?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course.\u201d
\n\u201cYou\u2019re hungry so you eat something. It fills the hunger but it doesn\u2019t satisfy the craving. They satisfied the hunger but not the craving, only you can do both my love. Only you can satisfy every part of me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, are you hungry?\u201d<\/p>\n

He could tell she was no longer thinking of food. \u201cAre you sure Storm?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure that I\u2019m hungry, in fact I\u2019m down right starving.\u201d
\nSo again that night they tried to satiate a hunger that\u2019s never able to be truly or completely satisfied.<\/p>\n

CHAPTER 9<\/p>\n

Adam and Storm settled in as did winter. Storm was happy for the cold nights because they meant that she could seek warmth in Adam\u2019s arms. As the frigidness of winter was nearing an end a cold doubt came upon Storm. It was an unusually warm day for the beginning of March and Adam had taken Storm into town for some supplies and some much needed out and about time. She was in the general store while he was at the bank.<\/p>\n

\u201cExcuse me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Storm turned around and found herself looking at a very pretty woman.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, may I help you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re Mrs. Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cYou\u2019re married to Adam, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d A deep pit began to form in Storm\u2019s stomach, she supposed it had to do with the familiar way her husband\u2018s name had come from this woman\u2018s lips.<\/p>\n

\u201cWill you please tell him I said hello.\u201d
\n\u201cHe should be here very shortly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh no\u2026I just\u2026\u201d At that moment Adam walked into the store.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm darling aren\u2019t you done\u2026..\u201d Storm watched as Adam and the woman saw each other and she knew. She knew that this was her. The one who, in Adam\u2019s mind at least, still owned a piece of his heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHello Meryl.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so good to see you again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you. Is your\u00a0husband<\/em>\u00a0with you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. I\u2019m afraid Ron died last year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMeryl I\u2019m sorry. I hadn\u2019t heard.\u201d
\n\u201cIt\u2019s alright Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

Storm felt as if she had to get out of there. She had heard Adam\u2019s words go from accusing to caring and she wasn\u2019t too sure of which upset her more. All she knew was that she had an overwhelming need to be away from this woman.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam?\u201d She lightly touched his arm.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm, I\u2019m sorry. Meryl this is my wife Storm. Storm this is Meryl Con\u2026I\u2019m sorry it would be Listman.\u201d<\/p>\n

He had jumped at her touched, almost as if he had forgotten she was there. \u201cWe\u2019ve met. Adam I have everything on the wagon so can we go home now?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course. It was good to see you Meryl.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you Adam. It was nice to meet you Storm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you Meryl.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ride home was made mostly in silence, as was the rest of the afternoon. Adam sat in his chair pretending to read. Storm knew he was pretending because she watched as it had taken him almost forty minutes to turn one page.<\/p>\n

They were sitting after sharing one of the quietest meals since their wedding when Storm\u2019s need to have answers surfaced.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam who was she?\u201d
\n\u201cI believe I introduced you.\u201d
\n\u201cYou know what I mean Adam!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm let\u2019s just drop it. Whoever she is doesn\u2019t matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

She watched him for the first time get up and walk away from her. Doesn\u2019t matter, she thought. What had she done? She had forced him into this love, or at least into admitting to it. Later when Adam finally came home he found Storm was already in bed. Whether or not he believed her pretense of sleeping didn\u2019t matter because he acted as if he did. As soon as she felt the weight of his body lay down in the bed she wanted to turn to him and rest her head upon his chest as she had done countless nights since their wedding, but she couldn\u2019t. There was something between them now, something Storm couldn\u2019t overcome because it existed in Adam\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n

They each spent the night awake, longing for the comfort of the other\u2019s arms. Just before dawn Storm got out of bed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love you Adam.\u201d She whispered as she walked out their bedroom door.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm.\u201d He had heard her and had wanted to call her back but it was too late, she was already on her way downstairs. He got up and went to join her.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm we have to talk.\u201d
\n\u201cNo Adam, it\u2019s alright. I was just being foolish. I have never come face to face with a woman you loved before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was all in the past Storm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know it was.\u201d But do you? And if Meryl hadn\u2019t married someone else would it still be?<\/p>\n

She knew it didn\u2019t matter because she had already decided what she was going to do. She knew him well enough to know that he needed time alone to think. Roundup would begin next month and then there would be the drive, but he wouldn\u2019t really be alone and he wouldn\u2019t have time to think. She had decided she would go back to Boston. She would stay there until August and if she hadn\u2019t heard from him by then she would return by their first anniversary.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you going to do today?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSprings coming fast so I thought I would see how everything has fared this winter. Maybe I\u2019ll go and get Little Joe and Hoss to help me out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re probably already out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably. So what are you going to do today?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know. There\u2019s so much to do around here. Should I pack you a lunch Adam?\u201d
\n\u201cThat\u2019s a very good idea. I\u2019m not sure if I\u2019ll be able to make it back for lunch but I will be home for supper.\u201d<\/p>\n

She packed him his lunch and he kissed her goodbye. As soon as she was sure he was gone she went up and changed into her riding clothes and saddled her horse. She would go into town and buy her ticket to Saint Louis because once she had that it would make it harder to change her mind.<\/p>\n

She made it as far as the stage office before she began to think that perhaps she was\u00a0<\/em>being foolish. Maybe going all the way to Boston wasn\u2019t necessary, maybe the time they would be apart while he was on the drive would be enough. Sure, during the day he would be occupied but not at night. Then she saw them, Adam and Meryl going into the caf\u00e9, she turned to the ticket agent and made her purchase.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

She waited until she saw him leave town and knew if she went and talked to Meryl she might not make it back home before Adam did but she needed to speak with her. She went to the hotel and asked what room Mrs. Listman was in.<\/p>\n

When Meryl heard the knock on her door some small part of her hoped that Adam had changed his mind but the majority of her knew it wasn\u2019t him. He was married and that just wasn\u2019t who Adam was even if, she hoped, he had found the offer tempting.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello Meryl.\u201d<\/p>\n

This was most definitely not who she had thought she would find when she opened her door. She would have expected Adam first. \u201cHello Storm.\u201d
\n\u201cMay I come in?\u201d
\n\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you and Adam have a nice lunch?\u201d<\/p>\n

Meryl couldn\u2019t believe that any woman would have so much faith that they would allow their husbands to meet with an old lover, but then maybe Storm didn\u2019t know that their relationship had been that intimate. Then again they were speaking of Adam. Even if Storm didn\u2019t know the extent of she and Adam\u2019s relationship, Meryl knew that Storm had sensed something of what had existed between she and Adam at their first meeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hadn\u2019t realized he had told you we were meeting.\u201d
\n\u201cHe didn\u2019t.\u201d
\n\u201cOh. I swear to you we did nothing but talk.\u201d Even if I did offer him more.
\n\u201cMeryl, I love Adam. I love him so very much. Do you love him?\u201d<\/p>\n

Meryl wasn\u2019t sure how to answer this question. Mainly because she wasn\u2019t too certain of the answer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think I should answer that.\u201d
\n\u201cThen let me rephrase it. Did you ever stop loving Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCould you stop loving him?\u201d
\n\u201cNo but then I would have never married someone else, why did you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was tired of waiting Storm. Don\u2019t get me wrong, I did love my husband but\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot like you loved Adam.\u201d
\n\u201cNo. I\u2019m not as young as you and I guess I was afraid Adam would never ask and Ron did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe you should have done like I did and ask him.\u201d
\n\u201cYou mean you proposed to Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, not exactly. I had best get going, I\u2019ll be lucky if I get home in time to have supper started before he gets home.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

Supper was not only started but finished and waiting on the table for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry I\u2019m late sweetheart.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s alright.\u201d<\/p>\n

He attributed her coldness to what had happened yesterday and she attributed his silence to guilt. After they finished their supper, of which Storm ate very little, she decided to tell him of her plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam I\u2019ve made a decision.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d He had been sitting attempting to read.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve decided that while you are tending to the roundup and drive I\u2019ll go and visit papa and Matthew in Boston.\u201d
\n\u201cBOSTON!\u201d He had thought to hear that she wished to rearrange some furniture or at the most change something about the house.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. I think that you need\u2026\u201d
\n\u201cWhat I need is for you to stop talking nonsense!\u201d He slammed the book onto the table.<\/p>\n

\u201cNONSENSE? You think it\u2019s nonsense?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes I do. Storm if this is about Meryl.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell me you saw her today? When I asked you what you did today you told me a lot except that you met her for lunch. If you\u2019re so sure it\u2019s over with her then why? What reason would there have been to hide it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t hiding it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou didn\u2019t mention it either and where\u2018s the lunch I sent with you? If you weren\u2019t going to hide it then why didn\u2019t you return with it instead of getting rid of it somehow? Did you love her Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t ask such a foolish question and as for the lunch Hoss ate it.\u201d
\n\u201cYou\u2019re right, it was a foolish question. I already know that you loved her. How about this one, did you ever stop loving her?\u201d
\n\u201cThat\u2019s even more foolish.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry Adam but you know my perchance for asking foolish questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm.\u201d<\/p>\n

He began to kiss her and she let him. She needed him more than she ever had. He tried to use their lovemaking that night to prove to her that she couldn\u2019t leave him, she loved him. What he didn\u2019t seem to understand was that she needed no proof of that, she already knew it.<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re up early.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to go into town. I want to send papa a wire that I\u2019ll be arriving sometime in May.\u201d
\n\u201cThen you still plan on going.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I\u2019m still going.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, let\u2019s see if I have this, basically your plan is that you go to Boston and if you don\u2019t hear from me by August you\u2019ll come back.\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd what if I do write to you? What if I should decide I do love Meryl, then what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen we do whatever it takes to make you happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to make me happy Storm? Then don\u2019t GO!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh Adam do you think this is easy for me? I\u2019m going to miss you so very much.\u201d
\nHe did his best to harden himself to her tears, after all they were of her own making. \u201cThen don\u2019t GO!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish it were that simple.\u201d
\n\u201cIT IS!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, Adam, it\u2019s not. Not anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm I swear to you I don\u2019t love Meryl. Yes I went to see her maybe to find out just what it was I did feel for her but\u2026Storm I love you.\u201d
\n\u201cIt\u2019s no longer about Meryl, it\u2019s about you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cME?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. Don\u2019t you see, I forced you to admit your love for me and now you\u2019re questioning whether that love was truly there. I forced you into a proposal of marriage and now you\u2019re wondering if any love you might have felt for me was that kind of love or if there was enough love of any kind for such a commitment. Adam, I love you, of that I have no doubt whatsoever. The love I feel for you is in my heart, my mind and my soul. Maybe I\u2019m not being fair because I have never been in love with anyone else. Can you honestly tell me that you have no doubts?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen you need time Adam. Time to decide, and this time I won\u2019t force you but if I\u2019m here my very presence will force you. I know you could never look me in the eyes and tell me that you don\u2019t love me. I know you well enough to know that you do care for me and could never hurt me like that. Please try and understand, please.\u201d
\nHe would never understand but he could no longer see her in such pain and not try to ease it. He pulled her into his arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis doesn\u2019t mean I agree with what you\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know Adam. It just proves that you could never hurt me.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Later that day Storm went into town and Adam went to let his father know what was going on.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s what?!\u201d
\n\u201cGoing to Boston! She says that I need time to think.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy don\u2019t you just tell her that you love her?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I don\u2019t think she would believe me. I could swear on a stack of bibles and I don\u2019t think she\u2019d believe me. She has it in her head that there is a doubt in my mind and if I don\u2019t take the time\u2026..\u201d Ben heard a strange sounding laughter coming from his son. Strange because it was a laughter filled with sadness. \u201cShe\u2019s going because she loves me and I\u2019ll let her go because I love her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben would have argued more but knew it would be useless. Storm seemed to have her mind set and she was as stubborn as his son. \u201cSo tell me Adam would you like to come and stay here with your brothers and I or would you rather stay at your house?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll stay home, I\u2019ll feel closer to her there.\u201d<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The day that Storm was due to leave arrived. Adam had refused to take her into town and even though Ben, as well as Hoss and Little Joe, had offered too , Storm had refused them all. She didn\u2019t want to put them in that position. She had made arrangements for a carriage to come and pick her up. Most people in town had just figured that Storm was going home for a visit, a few who had seen Meryl around suspected something else.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, the carriage is here.\u201d<\/p>\n

He knew she wanted him to tell her it was alright, that she was doing the right thing. He just couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cI won\u2019t try and stop you Storm. You\u2019re too sure that this is the right thing to do but don\u2019t expect me to make it easy for you either.\u201d<\/p>\n

She turned to walk out the door and again he heard her barely whisper something.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love you Adam.\u201d
\nHe stood there staring at the closed door.<\/p>\n

\u201cDamn you Storm, damn you.\u201d<\/p>\n

He caught up with the carriage before it had left the Ponderosa. He pulled her down and into his arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll see you in September.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs long as I don\u2019t hear from you before August.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019ll see you in September.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n

CHAPTER 10<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was as Storm had thought. Adam was so busy with the roundup and drive he barely had time to think of anything else until the end of July. He found himself sitting in his very lonely house one hot August day when there was a knock on the door. He found himself running in hopes of finding that Storm couldn\u2019t wait until September.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello Meryl.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam. May I come in?\u201d She didn\u2019t fail to recognize the disappointment in his voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course.\u201d He stepped aside to let her enter. \u201cIs there anything I can get you?\u201d
\n\u201cThen it\u2019s true? She\u2019s gone to Boston?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes she\u2019s in Boston.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam that day you and I had lunch, she came to see me. I\u2019m afraid I may have misled her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe asked me if I had stopped loving you. I should have told her yes, that I no longer loved you in the way that I had or that she now did, but I didn\u2019t.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat did you tell her Meryl?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI answered her question with a question. I asked her if she could stop loving you. Adam I will admit that I was disappointed when I heard you had married. I guess I came back here hoping we could have some fun like we use to. When I heard that your wife was the daughter of an old friend perhaps I hoped in some way it was an arranged marriage that she would be homely and you had only married her out of some kind of an obligation or maybe pity. Then I met her and knew different. She\u2019s very beautiful and she loves you so very much. I just arrived back from San Francisco and heard the rumors that she had gone back to Boston. Some say it\u2019s only to visit her family some say it\u2019s because of me. \u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd which do you believe to be true?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve thought long and hard on that. I won\u2019t deny that I want you. I also am well aware that I could never be to you what she is. I like my life in New York. I like the parties and the nights out, I like the noise and the people. I could never live here again. I don\u2019t want children, I don\u2019t want the responsibility of worrying about someone else, but you should have children Adam. You would be such a wonderful father. I know that there were times you would speak of moving east of leaving the Ponderosa, but we both know that\u2019s not true. You could probably stay away a year maybe two but this is your home and even if Storm doesn\u2019t come back this is where your children should be raised. It has taken having been married to Ron to make me realize that I am very selfish but even so this has to have always been a part of me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMeryl this isn\u2019t about you. It may have started with you but it\u2019s not about you. It\u2019s about me and Storm. It\u2019s about the fact that that damnable little witch knows me better than I know myself. She told me that I needed time to think, that somewhere I had a doubt about my love for her. I\u2019ve been telling her that she\u2019s wrong but she wasn\u2019t. There was a doubt, some where in the back of my mind it was there. Seeing you brought it out far enough so that she could see it even if I couldn\u2019t. You\u2019ve helped me to see that it doesn\u2019t matter why I told her I love her or why I asked her to marry me, because I do love her. While you\u2019re right in that I would love to see my children raised here that is not the most important thing. Whether it\u2019s here, Boston, New York as long as Storm was their mother I know they would grow to be remarkable people. I love her Meryl, God how I love her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m happy for you Adam even if it makes me a little sad for myself. You see you never said you loved me with such heartfelt conviction.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry for that Meryl.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not. As I\u2019ve said if things had been different, if you had asked me to marry you, I fear that in time I would have come to hate you for forcing me to live here or you would have grown to hate me for making you leave here. Things turned out as they were suppose to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you Meryl.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be heading back to New York shortly, would you like me to go and visit Storm in Boston?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m hoping by the time you get back she\u2019ll be here. She said she would be back by our anniversary.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure she will be.\u201d
\n\u201cHave a safe trip.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

Their wedding anniversary came and past and Storm had not arrived. Adam couldn\u2019t understand what was wrong. If she was going to be late in returning she could have sent a letter or even a wire.<\/p>\n

While Adam had spent most of his time at his house he would always go and share supper with his father and brothers. After the first few solitary suppers he had partook of he knew that he needed to be with someone when he ate or he would most likely starve to death. He didn\u2019t seem to have any appetite when he was alone and it had nothing to with his cooking.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s a week late pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd what do you intend to do about it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I should have done a long time ago. I\u2019m going to go to Boston and get her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWould you mind if I went with you? It has been quite a while since I\u2019ve been back east.\u201d
\n\u201cThanks pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor what? Winter is coming and it will be slow as usual around here. I think your brothers can handle it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you sure? We might return to find that they have sold the ranch.\u201d
\n\u201cHey I heard that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think I was trying to speak so that you wouldn\u2019t Little Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell you could have.\u201d
\n\u201cAre you really gonna\u2019 go after Storm?\u201d
\n\u201cYes Hoss, I\u2019m really going to go after her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, what if she don\u2019t wanna\u2019 come back?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss, I\u2019ll worry about that when I need to, if I need to. Now I think I\u2019ll be getting on home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben walked out with his son.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa, leave it to Hoss to say what everyone\u2019s thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat would you do Adam?\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know. Right now all I\u2019m concerned with is how to convince her that I love her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t believe it was her she thought needed convincing.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was a bleak day in mid October that found Ben and Adam walking through the streets of Boston. They were finally on their way to Nate\u2019s house after having decided to get a hotel room. They had said it would be to wash up and change in after the trip but they both knew the real reason was they feared they might not be welcome, even though they wouldn\u2019t admit it. They couldn\u2019t know that never would two people be more warmly welcomed. They knocked on the door of a very impressive house which started Adam wondering how Storm could be so pleased by the house he had built her after having grown up in such a fine home. He had forgotten how grand it was. They stood there waiting for the door to open and after five minutes they were about to leave assuming no one was home. When they heard someone fumbling with the door latch they turned back.<\/p>\n

\u201cMatthew what is wrong with you?! You haven\u2019t been gone long\u2026..\u201d Nate stood there in stunned silence and only stepped aside to avoid being knocked over when Adam rushed in when he heard Strom yelling his name. \u201cUpstairs Adam, end of the hall.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam ran up the steps and down the hall. He reached the door of the room Storm was in but not before she had screamed his name once more. He stood in the open doorway trying to make sense of the scene before him. He heard the tears and pain in Storm\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cMattie, oh Mattie, I want Adam. If he were here it would be hurtin\u2019 so.\u201d
\n\u201cNow you know as well as I, never was there a babe born into this world without some pain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen it wouldn\u2019t be hurtin\u2019 this much.\u201d<\/p>\n

He silently walked over to the bedside. Mattie only became aware of his presence when he laid his hand upon her shoulder and if Storm hadn\u2019t had her eyes closed in an attempt to block out the pain she would have seen him take Mattie\u2019s place at her side. Mattie had gone out into the hall to give them some privacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI miss him so much Mattie. If he were here then I would know everything would be alright.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I guess everything is going to be alright.\u201d
\nHer eyes flew open and if she were able to she would have jumped off the bed and into his arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cADAM, oh Adam you\u2019re here, you\u2019re really here.\u201d
\n\u201cYes my love I\u2019m here.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry, I wanted to tell you, I really did but then it would have been the reason\u2026..\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm it\u2019s not important now. We can discuss it all later. The only thing that matters right now is you and the baby.\u201d
\n\u201cBabies Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBabies Adam. Its TWINS!\u201d Storm yelled out as another pain overtook her.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

While Adam was upstairs trying to come to terms with what was happening Ben was downstairs learning the happy news as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s so frightened Ben.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNate, she\u2019s only been gone seven months.\u201d Ben worried that something might be wrong.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe didn\u2019t know that she was almost a month along when she\u2019d left.\u201d
\n\u201cStill that\u2019s only eight months Nate.\u201d
\n\u201cWell Everett said not to expect her to go nine months. He says twins usually will arrive early. He\u2019s actually a little surprised she\u2019s held on\u2026\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTwins? Nate did you say twins?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes Ben twins.\u201d
\n\u201cMaybe we should tell Adam.\u201d
\nIt was then they heard Storm yell out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe he has just found out.\u201d
\nThe front door burst open and Matthew and Dr. Wilcox came in.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverett, thank God you\u2019re finally here.\u201d Nate wasn\u2019t sure but he believed seeing Ben and Adam had made him happier and had found him giving more thanks.<\/p>\n

Matthew saw Ben but at first didn\u2019t seem to recognize him, once he did he found himself hoping he wasn\u2019t there alone. \u201cBen? Can I take this to mean that Adam is here as well?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes Matthew, he\u2019s with Storm.\u201d
\n\u201cThank God for that papa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBen I\u2019d like for you to meet Dr. Everett Wilcox. Everett this is Mr. Ben Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good to meet you Dr.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a pleasure to meet you as well but from the sounds of things I had best get upstairs.\u201d
\nWhen Mattie saw the doctor she too said a prayer of thanks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell Mattie should we go in and see what\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think so.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Wilcox! I\u2019m so glad you\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot as glad as I am Storm. Dr. Wilcox I\u2019m Adam Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes it\u2019s very good to meet\u2026.but then we\u2019ve met before.\u201d
\n\u201cYes when I was here attending college perhaps.\u201d
\n\u201cYes of course. So tell me Storm is this the young man who had you questioning the accuracy of my anatomy books?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI told you it was Matthew.\u201d
\n\u201cSo you did.\u201d They all watched as another pain passed through her . \u201cI had better get to work. Mattie would you please help me.\u201d
\n\u201cOf course. I wouldn\u2019t miss this for anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell then, Mr. Cartwright would you please join everyone else down\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNO! Please Adam don\u2019t leave me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSweetheart I\u2019ll just be down\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNO! Please! If you leave I know something will go wrong.\u201d
\n\u201cStorm.\u201d
\n\u201cPLEASE ADAM!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlright, I\u2019ll stay, just calm down. I promise I\u2019ll stay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you really sure you want to do that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Wilcox I have see a baby born before.\u201d
\n\u201cThat may be but it wasn\u2019t your child and it wasn\u2019t the woman you love suffering through the pain of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Wilcox I won\u2019t leave her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Everett knew their was no point in arguing. It appeared to him that Storm had managed to find the one man as hardheaded as she. \u201cAlright.\u201d<\/p>\n

Somehow, although if asked later no one would be able to say how, Adam wound up taking the place of Storm\u2019s pillows. She would hold tightly to his legs that were stretched out beside her every time another pain was felt. At first Adam tried to watch but the more pain she felt and at the first sight of blood he realized the doctor was correct, it was different when it was your child and the woman you love. He had decided to pay as little attention to anything but trying to ease Storm\u2019s discomfort.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour first child is about to make it\u2019s appearance.\u201d Everett had delivered many babies but he found himself taking personal pleasure in these.<\/p>\n

Adam strained to see. He saw it\u2019s head and watched in anticipation as the rest of it\u2019s body came into view. The doctor held the baby up and all could hear his hand and the baby\u2019s cry.<\/p>\n

\u201cWould you like to tell your wife the news?\u201d Everett held the baby so Adam could see.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam?\u201d Storm waited anxiously.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a boy Storm. A son.\u201d<\/p>\n

Storm laid her head back contentedly resting it on his chest, until another pain came upon her.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you think you were done? Did you forget it was twins?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust for a minute Dr. Wilcox.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis won\u2019t be quite as bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Storm agreed it wasn\u2019t as bad. As before, after the baby\u2019s first cry, Dr. Wilcox held the baby so Adam could again tell Storm the news.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell Adam, is it another boy?\u201d Storm was expecting to hear yes or of course but when she got neither she began to worry but only until she looked at Adam\u2019s face. She would swear he was in shock and yet he had one of the biggest smiles she had ever seen. \u201cAdam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a girl Storm. I have a daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to see them. May I please see my babies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course.\u201d Everett was glad that everything had gone well. He would be very happy to tell his daughter that her friend and her children were okay. He would also be delighted to tell her that Storm\u2019s husband had come to fetch her.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Wilcox.\u201d Storm was now resting comfortably with a baby in each arm. Adam was still serving as her pillow. \u201cWill you please go down and send everyone up? I\u2019m sure they must be wondering what\u2019s going on.\u201d
\n\u201cOf course I will and congratulations to the both of you. You have two very beautiful and healthy children. Greta will be so happy to hear it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTell her to come and visit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI will but not too soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

\u201cWell Everett? Is everything okay?\u201d Nate had begun to worry.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes Nate, your daughter is fine and she has done a wonderful job. She has given you a grandson and a granddaughter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGranddaughter? You did say grandson and granddaughter?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes that is what I said.\u201d<\/p>\n

They all watched as Ben fell into the chair nearest him.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you alright Ben?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s funny Nate but his son had the same expression when he saw it was a girl.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI suppose that could be because Ben has three sons.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it\u2019s proof you require Storm has asked me to tell you that if you wish to go up she would be very happy to see all of you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe would be happy but is it alright?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes Nate, just not for too long. They all need their rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re perfect Storm.\u201d
\n\u201cYes they are Adam. Just like their papa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat shall we call them?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMay I Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you have more than earned that right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMay we come in?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course papa. Why don\u2019t you come and see your grandchildren.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nate and Matthew entered the room followed by a still stunned Ben. \u201cBen! I didn\u2019t know you had come too. Adam hadn\u2019t said a word.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry if I didn\u2019t have a chance to think very clearly once I found out the reason you were yelling my name.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes pa?\u201d Adam had never seen his father look so bewildered.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have a daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, and she is beautiful.\u201d Adam again looked at his daughter\u2019s face. \u201cSimply beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes papa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHave you told Adam the names you have chosen?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just about to when you came in.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes you were. Can you please tell me so when they start to behave as badly as their mother I will know what I should call them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Storm just gave him one of her best I\u2018m just going to ignore what you said looks and spoke to the others in the room. \u201cI had two boy\u2019s names and two girl\u2019s names just in case. The one\u2019s I had picked if it were one of each are Benjamin Nathaniel and Elizabeth Hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben kissed Storm then he kissed his grandchildren. \u201cAdam they sure were worth the wait.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes pa they sure were.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes Matthew?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that how you\u2019ve sat the entire time?\u201d
\n\u201cYes it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mattie noticed, even if the men didn\u2019t, that Storm was struggling to keep her eyes open. \u201cAlright everyone out. Miss. Storm you give me those babies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMattie?\u201d She instinctively held them closer to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cGive them to me before you drop them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI would never!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can barely keep you eyes open.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess I am a little tired.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t imagine why.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh papa. Mattie where will you put them?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight beside your bed. Mr. Matthew go and get the bassinet.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cAdam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes Storm?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll come back, I mean you\u2019ll sleep here with me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSweetheart I wasn\u2019t planning on leaving.\u201d
\nDespite the fact that it was a rather uncomfortable position to sleep in, Adam awoke the following morning feeling more rested then he had in months.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

Storm was confined to bed for two weeks and in a way she was glad for it. It gave her the time she needed to become use to having two little babies depending on her. Adam hadn\u2019t asked any questions, more then likely because he knew that Storm would start talking once she was strong enough. As usual he was right.<\/p>\n

It was a cold winters day when the twins were ten days old and taking a nap and everyone else had gone out, under the pretense of having errands to run, that found Adam and Storm alone. Everyone knew that they needed time alone and time to talk.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam I want you to know that I would have told you about the twins.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI never thought any differently. Storm what if I hadn\u2019t come after you, what if I took your not returning as a sign that you had changed your mind. What would you have done?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess I would have written to you asking what you wished to do. If you had answered that you wanted me back then I would have gone back but if you said that you didn\u2019t then I would have waited until all the papers were signed before I went back. I would never have kept your children from you. I wouldn\u2019t have wanted them to grow up not knowing their father, not being able to see what an amazing and wonderful man he is. Besides I would much prefer them to grow up on the Ponderosa then here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou must know that once I knew about the twins everything would be different.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut only because of them. It would have been too late anyway, everything would have been legal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou were right. Somewhere buried deep there was a doubt in my mind. Seeing Meryl made it surface far enough for you to see it but not far enough for me to realize it. Until Meryl came to see me one day and made me realize that the reality of the love we share is so much better than any dream could ever hope to have been. I love you and I don\u2019t know how I will accomplish it or how long it will take but it doesn\u2019t matter, because I will do whatever it takes, for the rest of my life if necessary, to prove that to you. I don\u2019t want you to ever question or doubt that I love you with all my heart.\u201d
\n\u201cAdam there was never a question or doubt in my mind that you loved me, they were all in yours.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you saying that you never believed that I didn\u2019t love you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNever.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen why did you leave?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause you did. The day I went into town to book passage on the stage, I almost didn\u2019t. Then I saw you and Meryl. Maybe if that night you had told me that you had met with her I would have thrown the tickets away. Instead of telling me you tried to prove to yourself and maybe to me that you loved me by making love to me. As we both know any man and woman can do that. I love you so I would have found pleasure in it and, as you have said, a man can find satisfaction with any woman. I just knew that I couldn\u2019t stay if there was a doubt in your mind.\u201d
\n\u201cYou say that you knew I loved you then why go? If you thought the only place a doubt existed was in my mind and not in my heart.\u201d
\n\u201cYou and I are a lot alike. We can not separate our hearts from our minds. One goes with the other and if the doubt in your mind was never erased then eventually it would have been in your heart as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm I would have never stopped loving you, doubt or no doubt.\u201d
\n\u201cBut then it may have been only because of guilt.\u201d
\n\u201cGuilt?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPapa use to say you felt guilty about not saving mama. Even though he said he told you there was nothing more you could have done and that mama would have never blamed you. Papa said that maybe the only reason you wanted to marry me was because of that feeling of guilt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI won\u2019t deny that I feel things would have turned out better if I had done something different. Maybe I could have fought harder or maybe I should have fought less, that however is not the reason I asked you to marry me. I asked you because, well quite frankly, I was afraid if I didn\u2019t ask you you would have asked me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam.\u201d Storm knew that like most men things had begun to get a little too emotional for him and he was just trying to lighten the mood.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm I asked you to be my wife because I love you. You are the only woman I have ever known who could challenge me. The only woman who won\u2019t stand idly by and let a man control everything. You, my love, are the only woman I have ever met that I would call my equal. It\u2019s not because others aren\u2019t but because they are afraid to be. You refuse to act and be what the worlds says you should be. You are who and what you are and I love you, Storm Margaret Cartwright, every stubborn hardheaded inch of you.\u201d
\n\u201cDo we really need to wait four more days?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSweetheart it\u2019s two weeks for you to be able to get of this bed and two months before we can even think of getting back into it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was hoping you would forget about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot likely, not when it\u2019s for your well being.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam was thankful that his children began to stir within their bassinet. It would take Storm\u2019s mind, and his as well, off of their present conversation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess it\u2019s feeding time. Will you please hand me your children?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

*********<\/p>\n

It was on the third day that Storm had been allowed out of her bed that she found herself alone in the house with just her children.<\/p>\n

\u201cMiss. Storm, you have a visitor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReally Tucker, who?\u201d The butler stepped aside to allow the visitor he had just announced entrance to the library where Storm sat reading as the twins slept upstairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello Storm.\u201d
\n\u201cOgden. So the Constance is back in port. Papa was beginning to worry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe ran into some bad winds but we were lucky. The crew said we had the angels on our side.\u201d And even if he didn\u2019t believe in the superstitions the rest of his fellow sailors did, he was well aware that Storm did put some stock into them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad for it. It\u2019s nice to know that everyone has returned safely home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSince you are out of your bed you must have had those babies.\u201d And it also appeared as if her figure had benefited from it.
\n\u201cYes, a son and a daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow nice. Perhaps now you will reconsider accepting my offer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOgden I have already told you I am married and further\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSTORM. I have already told you that I don\u2019t care if you wish to keep up this charade for the sake of everyone else, it is fine, but we both know that you are not married to a man named Adam Cartwright. Even if he does exist he is just someone who took advantage of you. What I find hard to believe is that your father allowed this to happen, that he didn\u2019t insist that whoever did this to you marry you. Unless, of course, he is such a scoundrel as to have used force. If that is the case then I can well understand your father\u2019s reluctance to have you married to that kind of a man. Maybe I should be speaking to your father. He would clearly see the benefits of my offer and the futility of refusing me again. He could make you see that marriage to me is what would be best for you and those children of yours. Surely you must realize how cruel people can be to babies born under these circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you say I have no husband, that my children are bastards. You even say that there is no such a person as Adam Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen who am I?\u201d<\/p>\n

Storm hadn\u2019t known how long Adam had been standing there, she had only seen him a moment ago. Ogden turned to find himself facing a man whom he hated at first sight. He hated him because he could see in the look that passed between he and Storm that he had taken away everything that he himself had hoped to gain. When Storm had come back alone and carrying what he truly believed to be some man\u2019s bastard child he thought she would have no choice but to marry him, even thought she might be grateful for it and certain her father would be indebted to him for accepting not only his daughter but her child. He thought she had made up that story of a husband but surprisingly everyone went along with it. It had never entered his mind to ask if Adam Cartwright did exist he had just assumed that everyone feared for her well being if they didn\u2019t go along with her story. He had been willing to wait for her to see the hopelessness of her situation. Now it appeared as if he would have to find another way.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello Ogden.\u201d Nate feared that if he didn\u2019t break the silence someone was going to get hurt and it wasn\u2018t Ogden or Adam he was concerned for. Adam was strong but then so was Ogden and therefore they could take care of themselves but he knew that Storm would try to keep Adam from getting hurt by any means and she would most likely be the one harmed.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello Mr. Kendall.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOgden I would like to introduce you to my husband, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Cartwright.\u201d
\n\u201cMr. Mapore.\u201d Adam could recall Storm mentioning this man and how he had hoped to gain a part of Nate\u2019s wealth through her. He could see that as he was sizing Ogden up he was being scrutinized as well. Adam was sure that the man before him could be as dangerous as Storm had said but then he had dealt with men such as this before and it appeared as if he had accepted his loss.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would appear as if I owe you an apology Storm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes it would.\u201d Storm knew Ogden may be acting as if he had accepted his defeat but she also knew he wouldn\u2019t give up that easily. She could have never imagined how far he would go or she would have taken her children and her husband and left that very day, saving herself from a great deal of heartache.<\/p>\n

Ogden watched as Storm went so easily into Adam\u2019s arms. He felt something and if he didn\u2019t know himself better he would have said it was jealousy and even if it were it was over the fact that this man now had what he wanted, not Storm, but the Kendall fortune. Ogden didn\u2019t care for Storm, he cared only for himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sounds as if your children have decided it\u2019s time for them to eat.\u201d She made her way out of the room but a strange sense of foreboding overtook her. \u201cAdam would you care to help me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI would love to help you.\u201d
\nThey entered the room where their children awaited their meal. Adam picked up their daughter and Storm picked up their son. She settled comfortably into the bed, which was the easiest place to feed both babies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the matter Storm? Didn\u2019t you trust me to be alone with Mr. Mapore?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam please be careful.\u201d<\/p>\n

He heard concern and worry in her voice instead of the teasing he had expected. It made him stop trying to turn the confrontation that just happened into a joke.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be fine sweetheart.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam this isn\u2019t Nevada.\u201d She hadn\u2019t meant to hurt his ego but she knew she had but he had to realize that things were different here. While in Virginia City Adam was in his element and therefore at an advantage this was Boston and here the advantage was Ogden\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you don\u2019t think I can take care of myself?\u201d Did she really doubt his ability to take care of himself?<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not it. You just don\u2019t know Ogden, what he\u2019s capable of. He\u2019s wanted papa\u2019s company for so long he just took for granted that it would be his.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe company or you? Don\u2019t\u2019 worry, I\u2019ll be extra careful.\u201d<\/p>\n

He settled into the chair next to the bed and watched what had become to him more enjoyable then any opera or play, he watched as his wife nursed his children and with each passing moment his pride repaired itself.<\/p>\n

CHAPTER 11<\/p>\n

It had been decided that Ben would return to Nevada after the New Year, Storm, Adam and the twins would follow sometime in May. This was met with some opposition from Ben.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa if you don\u2019t go back who\u2019s going to make sure spring roundup goes as it should?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think your brothers can handle it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure they could. You do realize that they have been running the ranch alone now for three months, granted three slow months, but still.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam why don\u2019t you go back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hardly think that Storm would agree to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know your right, it\u2019s just that I\u2019ve waited so long for those two. I don\u2019t want to miss one single second of their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can understand that, because neither do I.\u201d
\n\u201cMaybe I\u2019ll come back as soon as everything at the Ponderosa is settled.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat wouldn\u2019t make much sense. You would probably arrive back here just in time to return with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know but grandfathers don\u2019t have to make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI suppose not.\u201d There were many occasions that had Adam wondering where the sane, sensible man that had been his father had gone too. It seemed that where his grandchildren were concerned nothing was too foolish or childish if it got them to smile. Adam didn\u2019t know that there had been times he had been seen acting just as foolish and childish.<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Once Ben had reluctantly left Adam settled into a routine of sorts. He offered to help with the books and to help out at the shipping office. Matthew had quickly accepted and Nate realized he was going to miss Adam\u2019s help when they returned to Nevada but not as much as he was going to miss his daughter and grandchildren.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam where are you going?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMatthew sent word asking if I\u2019d go and help out with the contract details.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we\u2019re leaving in four weeks, he should get use to doing it himself again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn four weeks he\u2019ll have no choice. Right now if I can help I will.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, I was just hoping to spend the day together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll try and be back before lunch okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay.\u201d
\nThey kissed goodbye and, for the first time in quite a while, Storm felt a cold sense of dread come over her. She tried to forget it but it wouldn\u2019t leave her and she felt that the twins had sensed it too because they were both very restless and cried much more than usual. When lunchtime came and went and Adam hadn\u2019t come back she thought that he and Matthew had simply lost track of time and decided to eat in town. There was a little voice in her head that wouldn\u2019t let her believe that, it just kept telling her that something was wrong and she would never see Adam again. She spent the day watching the clock then a little after five she heard the carriage pull up to the front of the house. She watched the front door and saw Matthew come in and close the door behind him.<\/p>\n

\u201cMatthew where\u2019s Adam? Don\u2019t tell me you left him alone at the office all day to figure everything out all by himself while you\u2026..\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm, I\u2019ve been at the office all day and I haven\u2019t seen Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matthew watched as for the first time in his life he saw his sister\u2019s strength leave her. She crumbled to the floor in tears.<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When Adam finally awoke it was to darkness and a gentle rocking. He didn\u2019t know what had happened except that he was walking to the office to meet Matthew when he had been hit from behind. It took him a few minutes but he realized that he was no longer on land. Did people get shanghaied in Boston?<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you\u2019re finally awake.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you please inform me as to what is going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell don\u2019t we talk high and mighty. Let\u2019s see how you are after some hard work.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was brought up on deck and put to work. Adam thought it would be in his best interest to do as he was told.<\/p>\n

\u201cI must admit I didn\u2019t think you would be capable of work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOgden, I should have know I\u2019d be seeing you. So tell me what are you planning to do with me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way I have it planned by the time you make it back, if you make it back, from where I intend to leave you she\u2019ll be my wife and those brats of your\u2019s will be calling me papa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou son of a bitch!\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam wasn\u2019t sure which thought angered him more, Ogden touching Storm or him raising his children. He tried to get to him but was stopped when he was again hit from behind.<\/p>\n

\u201cTake him below. I don\u2019t want anyone talking to him. He\u2019s to be brought up to work only, he eats down in the hold, is that understood?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir Mr. Mapore.\u201d The man carried Adam to his prison. It was no business of his because when a man was given an order he followed it.<\/p>\n

Adam had never realized how much you could miss talking to someone but after two weeks of no one saying a word to him he even missed Little Joe\u2019s attempts at intelligent conversation. Truth was he missed his brothers more then he cared to admit but he missed his wife and children more. He didn\u2019t really care what happened to him or how long it would take for him to get back because he knew he would. What mattered was Storm. He had to get word to her somehow that he was okay. He tried to talk to every man he came in contact with but most turned away from him as if he carried the plague. In a way he guessed he did, he had heard that they had been threatened with no less than 20 lashes if any one was caught talking to him. After the first week he gave up trying to start any conversations thinking it might be best to not try and force anyone to talk to him. He knew if someone were only suspected of talking to him they might be punished and then he would lose any chance of finding an ally. So Adam did what he could to try and win the men\u2019s respect. He worked along side them and even for some who seemed to need help. Eventually he did earn most of the crews respect and admiration. He had almost given up hope of anyone helping him get a message to Storm and that was why he was caught off guard.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said mister.\u201d Briggs didn\u2019t want to have to talk any louder. Mr. Mapore wasn\u2019t that far away, he was never far from this man or Briggs would have waited a little longer for a better opportunity. The crew had decided to find out what message this man had seemed so determined to have delivered. Briggs had lost the toss.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you talking to me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah and keep it quiet. Mr. Mapore ain\u2019t far away and I don\u2019t want no lashes for having bad luck.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is it you want?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst week out all you kept saying was you only wanted to get a message to someone. Tell me quick what\u2019s the message and to who.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want someone to tell my wife to wait for me. I\u2019ll be back. Tell her to stay away from Ogden. Tell her to go back to Nevada, she\u2019ll be safe there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust who is this wife of yours?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBRIGGS! What\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing sir.\u201d Briggs knew he would be paying the price that had been told them but he no longer felt he had been unlucky. He would have sworn that this man had said Storm. Could it be Storm Kendall? If so for her he would gladly take on any punishment.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou were warned the consequences talking to him would bring.\u201d
\n\u201cOgden leave him be! It\u2019s my fault and besides wouldn\u2019t you get more pleasure watching me take the punishment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you want to take his place that is fine with me. Gentlemen let\u2019s go. Mr. Potts this is one flogging I will enjoy doing myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

The crew watched as Adam was tied to the mast. They hadn\u2019t thought to see it but Mr. Mapore looked even crueler then usual and they all feared he wouldn\u2019t stop when the count hit twenty.<\/p>\n

\u201cGo and get the captain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?! Are you crazy Briggs?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReese go. He says he\u2019s Miss Storm\u2019s husband.\u201d<\/p>\n

There wasn\u2019t a man aboard who didn\u2019t have a soft spot for Storm. Most had watched her grow into the beautiful, kind woman she was. There was not one among them who had not benefited from that kindness in one way or another. Whether in the form of money or food or help for their families while they were at sea. After the whip had found it\u2019s mark twice the captain was up top.<\/p>\n

\u201cMR. MAPORE. I don\u2019t recall ordering a flogging. As I am sure you are aware it is one punishment I very rarely do order. It is not approved by either myself or Mr. Kendall.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Captain Tanner\u2026\u201d Ogden was kept from making up some lie to justify his actions.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlright then by Miss. Kendall.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s Mrs. Cartwright.\u201d Adam muttered through clenched teeth.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, so I have heard. Men will you please help Mr. Cartwright to my cabin. Mr. Mapore I will ask you to retire to your own chambers. Mr. Briggs, Mr. Reese will you please see that Mr. Mapore stays put.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir captain.\u201d It was one order both men would enjoy carrying out.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPapa where could he be?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm, we have informed the police and there isn\u2019t a man on the waterfront who isn\u2019t on the lookout for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut papa I just know Ogden had something to do with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm the Constance left that day on the morning tide, Adam didn\u2019t leave the house until hours after.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know papa. It\u2019s just that I need him so.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nate hated seeing his daughter this way. She barely ate or slept. It seemed her only reason for living had become her children but the longer they didn\u2019t know what had happened to Adam even that hold was slipping. Maybe if they only knew what had become of him she would be able to come to terms with it and move on. He was beginning to fear that if they didn\u2019t find out soon they never would. Nate knew that Adam wouldn\u2019t be the first man to disappear into Boston harbor.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm you need him but his children need you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would be leaving in less than two weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know Storm. You have to believe he\u2019ll be back. You have to take care of yourself if not for you then for Benjamin and Elizabeth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPapa you almost sound as if you don\u2019t believe he\u2019ll be back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I believe isn\u2019t important, it\u2019s you that matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t live without him.\u201d She turned and ran upstairs.<\/p>\n

What she had just said scared Nate. It wasn\u2019t the words, those she had said before, but she had never said them like that. She had sounded as one sounds when they tell a child that the sun will come back tomorrow, she had said them as if they were undeniable, as if they were a simple statement of an indisputable fact.<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Kendall there is a visitor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShow them in Tucker.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNate where is my son?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBen, I must say I am very glad you are here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nate explained everything that had happened since Ben had left.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe just disappeared?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm is convinced that Ogden had something to do with it but he was already at sea.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow is she?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot good Ben. I\u2019m afraid she\u2019s beginning to lose hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWould it be alright if I go and talk to her?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that seeing you will do her good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThan I\u2019m glad I chose to be foolish.\u201d<\/p>\n

Storm heard the knock on her door. She tried to ignore it and stay lost in the daydream she was having of Adam.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm may I come in?\u201d<\/p>\n

It sounded like Ben but he was in Nevada. The door opened and she saw that it was indeed Ben and she went into his arms. Being there made her miss Adam even more but it also made her feel closer to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm your father explained what has happened. He\u2019s also told me that you\u2019ve almost given up hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo I haven\u2019t given up it\u2019s just that I miss him so.\u201d<\/p>\n

He again took her into his arms. \u201cI know but he\u2019ll be fine. You of all people should know that, and I know that one thing more is for sure and that is that he can not be stopped when he is bound and determined to do something and you can be assured he is determined to return to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh Ben.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s alright, I\u2019m here now and together we will find him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got to be alright, he\u2019s just got to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s back was tended too and he was now sitting in the Captain\u2019s quarters with a glass of one of the finest brandies he had ever tasted in front of him.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo? Cartwright, any relation to a Ben Cartwright?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s my father.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen you\u2019re Elizabeth Stoddard\u2019s boy?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cElizabeth Cartwright sir.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, again I stand corrected. I can see her in you.\u201d
\n\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I can sense your father in you as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAgain, thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour father achieved what he set out to do. Capt. Stoddard often spoke of him with pride.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir, although he\u2019d never admit that to pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo but then that wasn\u2019t his way.\u201d<\/p>\n

As much as Adam would have liked to find out how this man knew his father, mother and grandfather there were more pressing things on his mind. \u201cCapt. Tanner we\u2019ve been at sea for what three weeks?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo and a half.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich means it would take another two and a half to get back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLess if we run into favorable winds. Are you suggesting I turn this ship around?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m asking, for Storm\u2019s sake. She\u2019s got to be worried sick. I can only image what she\u2019s going through, what she must believe happened to me. Normally I\u2019d not worry so much but the twins are only seven, no I guess it\u2019s closer to eight, months old now.\u201d
\n\u201cThat\u2019s right, I heard they were born in October. A boy and a girl wasn\u2019t it? So what did you name them?\u201d Yes Adam Cartwright was very much like his father, more concerned about the woman he loved then himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjamin Nathaniel and Elizabeth Hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour father must be very proud.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCaptain he wouldn\u2019t of cared what we called them, he would have been proud anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

Captain Tanner called to the cabin boy. \u201cDaniel come here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes captain?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTell Mr. Stevens to turn her around. We\u2019ll be heading back to Boston Harbor.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThank you captain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t thank me, truth be told once the men found out by continuing this voyage I\u2019d be doing harm to Storm I am sure I would find myself facing a mutiny. You will find that your wife has a warm place in the coldest of hearts aboard this ship, including my own.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Constance made better time heading back and it was the twelfth day that found them docking in Boston Harbor. The crew had sworn to Adam that they had angels watching over them and Adam thought he knew at least two by name. It was on the first night they were heading back to Boston that he had dreamed of his and Storm\u2019s mother. Once docked, and before they left to see Storm, the captain left strict orders as to what was to be done with Mr. Mapore. Most of the crew had wanted to throw him overboard long before they had reached port and if it hadn\u2019t of been for Adam he may have well been.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t understand it. He was gonna abandon you and then take your wife and kids as his own.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know it Briggs but I don\u2019t think Storm would want any of you to have to answer for his death.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAin\u2019t one of us on board who would have told so no one would have even known a crime was done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t talking about having to answer in man\u2019s court of law.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo I suppose not. Miss. Kendall cares too much for other peoples mortal souls.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes she does and that would include Mr. Mapore\u2019s.\u201d Adam had given up trying to keep these men from calling Storm Miss. Kendall besides it didn\u2019t really bother him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t believe he\u2019s got one.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

Ben and Nate were sitting waiting for Storm to come down. Nate had to admit that, while she wasn\u2019t as well as he had hoped, she was doing much better since Ben had arrived. Nate heard the knock on the door and waited for Tucker to answer it. If he had know who was knocking he would have run to answer it himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Kendall, sir, I have a message to give you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nate couldn\u2019t understand why the usually solemn faced servant was smiling.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the message Tucker?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCaptain Tanner wishes to see you sir.\u201d
\n\u201cCaptain Tanner? Are you telling me that the Constance has returned? Now what\u2019s gone wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry Mr. Kendall but we had an unwilling crewman on board.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you turned the Constance around?! Captain you should know it wouldn\u2019t be the first time a man changed his mind once he\u2019d sobered up! Do you know what this is going to cost me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry Nate and I\u2019ll gladly repay anything you may have lost but setting out to sea was not\u2026..pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cADAM!\u201d Thank God you\u2019re back safely.\u201d Ben took his son into his arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cNate, where\u2019s my wife.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTucker will you please call my daughter down.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir! Gladly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry Adam I know you would probably like to see her in private but it\u2019s been so long since I\u2019ve seen her smile and I know seeing you will make her smile.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thankfully Storm had managed to complete her descent down the stairs before she saw Adam. If she hadn\u2019t of chances are she would have fallen down any steps that had remained.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam?\u201d She felt her legs give out and she thought she was about to find herself on the floor, instead she found herself in her husband\u2019s arms. \u201cOh Adam, Adam.\u201d She wouldn\u2019t remove her hands from his face unless she was replacing them with her lips. Adam knew this had to stop.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm, sweetheart.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes Adam.\u201d
\nHe was glad that the others had decided to give them, if not total then, limited privacy and had moved out of hearing distance.
\n\u201cStorm I have just spent the last four weeks at sea on a ship with nothing but men.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even If she couldn\u2019t hear the meaning in his words she was beginning to feel it.<\/p>\n

\u201cMR. ADAM!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHello Mattie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHeaven be thanked you\u2019re safe.\u201d Mattie could feel the need that was passing between Adam and Storm and was surprised that the others couldn\u2019t. It wasn\u2019t so much that they couldn\u2019t more that they didn\u2019t want to. Every man there had know Storm as a child including Adam but he was now able to see her as the woman she was. The others were still having a hard time believing that she was capable of feeling those desires even if there was sleeping upstairs twofold evidence that she did. \u201cMiss. Storm, I\u2019m sure Mr. Adam would like to see his children.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Mattie we only put them down\u2026..\u201d Then Storm realized what Mattie was doing. Instead of trying to keep them apart she was now trying to give them time together. The twins were use to taking a two hour nap at this time and she had only finished putting them down when Tucker had called her. \u201cYou\u2019re right Mattie, I\u2019m sure he does.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam wasn\u2019t to certain of what was happening but he was certain that he could feel Storm\u2019s need with every nerve in his body. Storm took his hand and led him upstairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cMattie you know that those two grandchildren of mine will be asleep for at least two hours.\u201d
\n\u201cTrue Mr. Kendall I only pray it\u2019s enough time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy Mattie Kincaid, you are going to have to stop having such sinful thoughts.\u201d
\n\u201cMr. Kendall, I have come to realize that with those two and all the love they have for each other there can be no sin.\u201d
\n\u201cI suppose I should be thankful that you realized this after the wedding.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor certain Mr. Kendall, after the wedding.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMattie?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow Mr. Kendall I give you my word I did my job. Not a thing happened before the vows were said. I will have to be honest and say that there were times I was tempted to turn my back.\u201d Mattie headed towards the twin\u2019s room just in case they decided to awaken sooner then they should.<\/p>\n

\u201cCapt. Tanner, thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo need to thank me Mr. Kendall, that smile on your daughter\u2019s face was thanks enough. He\u2019s a fine boy Ben.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes he is Phillip.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou two know each other?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes Nate, I guess you could say that Philip and I are old rivals of sorts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRivals?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes Mr. Kendall. You see if I had won that rivalry it would be my son your daughter would be married to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReally? I had no idea.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately neither did Miss. Stoddard.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow Philip.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s quite like her Ben.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes although I can\u2019t quite understand how. He only knows what I\u2019ve told him about her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s your son as well Ben. I found myself without a first mate and I offered him the position. He turned me down, said that it was only fair that it go to whoever it should go to. I at first thought that he preferred to be a guest and when I suggested this to him he again politely turned me down. He said that if it were alright he would rather work with the men as he had been doing and work he did. You should be very proud of your son, of the man he has become.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPhillip I can take credit for him being my son and for trying to raise him to be the kind of a man I wished him to be, but only he can take credit for the man he has become.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

\u201cSo tell me Storm did you miss me?\u201d<\/p>\n

They lay there in each others arms both content after having achieved a satisfaction they had both begun to think they would never find again. Now that Adam was safely in her arms Storm once again was able to tease as she hadn\u2019t for quite some time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI must say there were most definitely some things I missed.\u201d
\n\u201cI would venture to say they are the same things I missed about you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow Adam we both know that men and women do not share the same form.\u201d The smile slowly faded from her face and he watched as a cold flash of realization came into her eyes. \u201cCapt. Tanner was downstairs; that means that you were on the Constance! Ogden is to blame!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm it has been take care of.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean they threw him overboard.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that what you would have wanted?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I wouldn\u2019t want them to do it. It would be more pleasurable if I do it myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSTORM.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam you just don\u2019t know what it\u2019s been like. I woke up from so many nightmares with images of you lying at the bottom of Boston Harbor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI hate to have to admit it once again but you were right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about this time?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we should go home as soon as possible. I have had enough of Boston for quite awhile.\u201d<\/p>\n

He pulled her into his arms and a sudden need to touch every part of him overtook her, it was a way for her to be certain that he was really there. He braced himself for what he was sure would come when he felt her hands stop midway down his back.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam what\u2026.who\u2026.\u201d She knew for certain that it wasn\u2019t Capt. Tanner. \u201cI want to see Ogden.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m afraid not my love.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWHY?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy? Because there is a coldness in your eyes that I have never seen before and quite frankly it scares me.\u201d It reminded him of Benton.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe did this to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes he did and he will pay for it but not at your hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

She took a deep breath in an attempt to get her anger under control. It succeeded in doing that but also in arousing something else.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam you smell of the sea.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you prefer that to the smell of pine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I prefer you. Sea or pine, it doesn\u2019t really matter as long as it\u2019s you I smell it on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you sure Storm?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHuh?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean I had forgotten how impressive your father\u2019s house was, our house in Nevada isn\u2019t any where near as grand as this one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you think that I would prefer a house like this? Adam come with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

They quickly put on some clothes and went to the attic. She led him to a rather large structure covered with a sheet. When she revealed what was underneath Adam could only stare in wonder.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I told you that you had built the house of my dreams did you believe me to have been lying?\u201d<\/p>\n

Underneath the sheet had been a rather large doll house and except for some minor details here and there it matched their house exactly.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm what is this?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was nine papa had me tell a man how I wanted my house to be when I grew up. The man drew it and papa had him build it and then papa gave it to me for Christmas that year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm it\u2019s\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur house, the one you built for me and our children. The one whose plans you must have read my mind to draw.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you really want to return to Nevada.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sooner the better.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

CHAPTER 12<\/p>\n

Within the week they were on their way home. Both Storm and Adam found it difficult to say goodbye to Nate and Matthew, and just as hard to say goodbye to Mattie, but it was made a little easier because they all promised to come and visit soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, I don\u2019t understand something.\u201d She had gone over and over the things that had happened between Adam\u2019s disappearance and his return and had been able to answer most questions herself.<\/p>\n

They were sitting on the train a days ride out of Boston. The twins had been lulled to sleep by the motion of the train as had Ben.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat my love?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Constance was set to sail on the morning tide, yet you didn\u2019t leave the house until well after that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would seem that Mr. Mapore told everyone that they were set to sail on the evening tide. By the time Capt. Tanner realized the error it was too late.\u201d<\/p>\n

This made sense but she hadn\u2018t realized that Captain Tanner would have trusted Ogden to that extent. Now to another question that she needed answered. \u201cDo you think Little Joe and Hoss will like their niece and nephew?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben had awaken just in time to hear this question. \u201c Of all the foolish questions you\u2019ve asked this one takes the cake. Like them? I had to almost resort to having Roy lock them in jail to keep them put.\u201d
\n\u201cThen I take it everything is still as it was when I left nine months ago pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPretty much. I did, however, leave you the books to sort through.\u201d
\n\u201cThanks. May I ask who was the one trying to keep them?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I go by the writing, Hop-Sing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf It were Hop-Sing then I won\u2019t worry about the figures.\u201d
\n\u201cI think I can understand why your children are having such a hard time staying awake. The way this trains is moving is making me sleepy.\u201d She stretched and then rested her head against Adam\u2019s shoulder and was soon asleep.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s so very beautiful when she\u2019s sleeping.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly when she\u2019s sleeping son?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, but especially then after all that\u2019s the only time\u2026. \u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only time what son?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was going to say that she\u2019s quiet but that\u2019s not the truth. It\u2019s the only time I can watch her without her knowing, the only time I can stare at her and not feel as if I\u2019m making her feel self conscious.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

It was later that afternoon that Storm met someone that both she and Adam knew, although Adam knew her slightly better. Storm had gotten up to stretch her legs and had left the twins with Adam and Ben.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm Kendall is that you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSally-Ann Baker? What are you doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm I\u2019d like you to meet my husband Guy Poston. We\u2019re on our way to visit my brother, you remember my brother, well he lives in San Francisco now unlike Guy and I who live in London, well mostly London. We\u2019ve been there for three years now. Mother went to live with in San Francisco after father died and I thought it was time to go for a visit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat sounds nice.\u201d Storm didn\u2019t think someone could say so much without taking a breath.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere are you going to Storm? Are Matthew and your father with you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to Nevada, but I\u2019m\u2026..\u201d Storm was about to say not with her father and brother but she didn\u2019t get the chance.<\/p>\n

\u201cNevada! Are you perhaps going to visit Adam? Do you think it would be alright if Guy and I went with you? I would just love to see Adam again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI bet you would.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cExcuse me?\u201d Sally-Ann was sure that Storm didn\u2019t know what had transpired between her and Adam. She was sure no one knew.<\/p>\n

Why Storm decided to do what she did she couldn\u2019t be too sure but she supposed it had to do with her pride. \u201cSally-Ann, Mr. Poston would you please come with me. Sally-Ann I\u2019m not here with father and Matthew but with my husband.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHusband? I hadn\u2019t heard you\u2019d married.\u201d Sally-Ann thought that Ogden had finally succeeded. Well given the choice between Ogden and Adam Sally-Ann would choose Adam to reacquaint herself with although Ogden had been an excitingly different kind of lover. Where Adam was gentle, well mostly gentle, Ogden was quite forceful. Sally-Ann found herself wondering just how Storm was faring with Ogden. Could Matthew\u2019s prim and proper sister actually be enjoying herself? Too bad Matthew wasn\u2019t here, she would have enjoyed becoming reacquainted with him as well. It had been after that little tryst with Adam that Sally-Ann had decided that maybe waiting for her wedding night wasn\u2019t so important. If Adam could do to her what he did without completely taking her what would happen if she allowed him to. Since she had been unable to find a time to \u2018accidentally\u2019 be alone with him she had settled for Ogden and while she wasn\u2019t sorry she had been sure that Adam would have pleased her so much more.<\/p>\n

Storm led them to where Adam and Ben were sitting. Ben held his grandson, who upon seeing his mother approaching, began reaching for her.<\/p>\n

Elizabeth, who was sitting on her father\u2019s lap, had her back to her mother and didn\u2019t see her but when she saw her brother\u2019s reaction she began reaching for him. When they got near enough Storm took Benjamin from his grandfather and turned to her husband. Ben wasn\u2019t too sure of the expression on Storm\u2019s face but it did appear to be a very self-satisfied one.<\/p>\n

\u201cDarling look who I met while I was walking.\u201d Adam looked up to see just who his wife was speaking of and gave her a look that said more than words ever could.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello Sally-Ann.\u201d He would have stood up but the child on his lap prevented it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is your husband Storm?\u201d<\/p>\n

The shocked tone in Sally-Ann\u2019s voice gave Storm all the satisfaction she needed. \u201cYes it is and this is our son Benjamin and that is our daughter Elizabeth and this rather impressively handsome gentleman is Adam\u2019s father Ben.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a pleasure to meet you Mr. Cartwright and it is nice to see you again Adam. Please allow me to introduce my husband Guy Poston.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is nice to meet you Mr. Poston.\u201d Adam didn\u2019t know how to respond to this. If he hadn\u2019t of known that Storm knew what had occurred between he and Sally-Ann it would be less awkward a situation. Then he looked at his wife and knew she was getting great pleasure out of this, she was most assuredly enjoying watching him squirm. As she leaned to kiss their daughter he whispered to her \u201cDon\u2019t worry my love I will find a way for you to make up for this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI must say, Ogden must be very disappointed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben quickly stood up and led Storm to the seat he had just vacated. Neither he nor Adam had mistaken the look that came into her eyes at the mere mention of Ogden\u2019s name.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean Sally-Ann? Why do you suppose Ogden would be so upset?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just that he had long ago mentioned that you would be his wife.\u201d In fact it had been after the first time they had been together.
\nStorm could tell only too clearly what Sally-Ann was implying. It didn\u2019t matter if it were Ogden or Adam she had been with them first. Adam could read this as well and knew he had better say something or Storm might say something that he didn\u2019t want said at least not in front of his father or Sally-Ann\u2019s husband.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat may well be but Storm knew long before she had even met Ogden who her husband would be and given the choice between Ogden or my\u00a0wife<\/em>\u00a0I will bet on mywife<\/em>\u00a0every time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sally-Ann knew that Adam was reminding her that while they had been together it was never as intimate as he and Storm had been. Instead of taking this as it was intended Sally-Ann took it as a challenge.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In spite of Adam\u2019s reluctance an offer was made to Sally-Ann and her husband to spend some time at the Ponderosa. It was an offer readily accepted.<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

When they arrived in Virginia City Hoss and Little Joe were anxiously waiting at the depot. They quickly said their hellos and took their niece and nephew and disappeared.<\/p>\n

\u201cI suppose we owe them that much.\u201d Adam knew that his brothers had been bursting at the seams waiting to see his children and it filled him with a sense of pride.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just surprised that your children went so easily. You know how they can be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy children? Why is it if they do something surprising, and I don\u2019t mean good surprising, they are my children.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause Adam my children would never do anything bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you\u2019re saying they are nothing like their mother?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI swear Adam if I didn\u2019t love you so much I would\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that is what I would call a welcome change in scenery.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Martin it\u2019s so good to see you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes well tell me where are the two newest patients of mine?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe their uncles are showing them off somewhere.\u201d Adam was sure by the time they returned there wouldn\u2019t be a person in Virginia City who hadn\u2019t seen his children.<\/p>\n

\u201cADAM, go and get my children.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh so now their your children.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes and I will not have them inside the saloon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will come a day when my son will want to go into a saloon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh and I suppose so will your daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBite your tongue.\u201d Adam quickly went and got his brothers and returned with them and his children to his wife.<\/p>\n

\u201cAren\u2019t they just perfect Dr. Martin?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI will need a closer look but they certainly do appear to be. Storm you know that I was rather upset with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy Paul?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy? Because I have waited so very long for this and you go off to Boston and allow some stranger the honor.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wasn\u2019t exactly a stranger but I promise Paul any and all future children Adam and I should have will be born right here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell then I suppose I can forgive you. Now let me see those two.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

That night at supper Storm and Adam were introduced to a very surprising guest.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm, Adam I\u2019d like you to meet Pollyanne Willis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam gave Hoss a look that seemed to say I know what you\u2019ve been up to while I\u2019ve been gone. \u201cMiss. Willis it is very good to meet you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Storm saw Adam\u2019s look and also saw Hoss look away embarrassed. She proceeded to slap her husband on the arm. \u201cADAM, stop it. Polly come with me I want to know how you and Hoss met.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam followed closely after. \u201cHey I want to know too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss leaned close to Polly and whispered. \u201cSee I told you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did you tell her?\u201d Adam could only imagine the stories this young lady had been told about him and he feared that they had been anything but flattering.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing Adam, I ain\u2019t told her nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing? Are you sure Hoss?\u201d Adam watched his younger brother look down in awkwardness.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t keep quiet I will tell her something.\u201d Although she tried to sound scolding she was happy to see that no time apart could change the close relationship that existed between Adam and his brothers. She hoped that it would be the same with her children.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes but sweetheart what you can tell her I wouldn\u2019t be ashamed to have her know. So now tell me little brother will I be ashamed of what you\u2019ve told her?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam, stop it. We haven\u2019t even been home one whole day and Hoss is probably already wondering why he might have missed you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAw who missed him. I missed you and, unfortunately, to have you we have to tolerate him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh so you missed nothing about me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe missed one thing about you big brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd what would that be Joe?\u201d
\n\u201cYour math abilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah pa mentioned as much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Storm leaned close to her husband\u2019s ear. \u201cYes you do have a way of turning an inch into a mile.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you are the mother of my children.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI reiterate my previous statement in my defense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat statement?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa believe me this is another thing you don\u2019t want to know. Let me just say that at times my wife has a rather sullied mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know Adam she was a perfect angel before she married you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know pa I somehow knew it would be my fault. Now how about those books there should be some time before\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam there will be time enough for work tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

The knowing grins Hoss and Polly shared do not go unnoticed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlright what was that about.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh Hoss, it\u2019s nothing to be ashamed of.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t say it was something to be ashamed of.\u201d Hoss was just afraid of hurting his brother\u2019s feelings so soon after his return.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell if you won\u2019t tell him I will. Hoss told me that I shouldn\u2019t believe everything I heard. That some people didn\u2019t know you well enough to know what you were really like. He said if I wanted to know that I should just watch you and Storm together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh I see.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust who has been saying things and just what have they been saying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pollyanne heard the defensive tone in Storm’s voice and knew she would defend Adam against anyone or anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not important Storm.\u201d Adam knew only too well that those who didn\u2019t know him would at times think him cold and uncaring but those that mattered knew different and that was all that was important.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**********<\/p>\n

Sally -Ann and her husband came out to the Ponderosa the next day. Her husband had insisted that after all the time they had been apart it only proper for the family to share their first night home without strangers and had gotten a room for one night in the hotel right after the stage had arrived in Virginia City. For the most part Sally-Ann\u2019s visit was pleasant, or at least pleasant up until the day she decided to leave.<\/p>\n

Sally-Ann was suppose to have gone into town with her husband, Storm, Ben and the twins but had backed out at the last minute under the pretense of not feeling well. Storm knew only to well that Sally-Ann was aware that Adam would be home alone because Hoss and Joe were busy checking for strays. Storm had gone into town because she knew that she could trust Adam but the longer she thought on it the more annoyed she became that Sally-Ann would think that Adam would break his vows. Her pride was hurt as well. Having Sally-Ann think that she was not enough to keep her husband satisfied and faithful really began to irritate her. She asked Ben if he wouldn\u2019t mind taking care of Benjamin and Elizabeth and went home. She came upon them just in time to have all she believed to be true proven so. They had seemed to be ignorant of her approach so she watched from the shadows as Sally-Ann snuck up behind Adam and proceeded to wrap her arms around his waist and run her hands up and down his body. Storm was sure if she could have reached she would have gone down to his toes but just above his knee seemed to be the length of her reach or it could have been that she had already touched what she desired. It gave Storm great pride to hear Adam\u2019s response.<\/p>\n

\u201cSally-Ann,\u201d He turned around and faced her. \u201cI want you to stop.\u201d He took hold of her arms and returned them to her side.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Adam you use to enjoy my touch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUse to Sally-Ann, a long time ago.\u201d He wasn\u2019t about to tell her that he may have enjoyed it but she was not someone he would have actively pursued.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t that long ago and besides no one need know. I promise I won\u2019t tell a soul.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be nothing to tell.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on Adam. You liked what I did to you, you can\u2019t deny that, and now there is no reason for us to stop there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe there is no longer a reason for us to stop but there is now a reason for us to not even begin. You see Sally-Ann you may not love you husband but I love Storm and there is nothing you can do that can satisfy me as she does.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReally Adam? You forget that I did spend some time in her company I know that she may be rather outspoken and daring in many areas but pleasing men is not one of them. Lord, she hardly dated back east.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSally-Ann the fact that she hardly dated may be one of the reasons she is so very pleasing to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you\u2019re telling me that she is willing to do to you what I am?\u201d<\/p>\n

Storm had had enough. She would no longer stand idly by and let Sally-Ann insult her.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s my husband Sally-Ann and pleasing him pleases me greatly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Sally-Ann and Adam faced Storm. She could tell by the expressions on their faces that they truly had no idea she had been there. Sally-Ann didn\u2019t like the fact that her one chance for fun was being taken away. If she was going to lose she would make sure that she would destroy, if not all then some of the faith Storm had in her husband.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should first know what it is I\u2019m speaking of before you make such remarks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know exactly what you\u2019re speaking of.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sally-Ann turned on Adam. \u201cYou told her?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t need to tell me, I saw you with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSaw us?\u201d Sally-Ann knew that had to be impossible. She had always been sure to be careful. There had only been once that she had let her desire take control and that had been with; oh yes it had been with Adam but that was because she had chased him so long and wasn\u2019t about to let the one chance that had presented itself get away. It was impossible to believe that one man had avoided her as Adam had when she was sure he knew what she had been offering.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes I saw you all those years ago back in Boston and while then I didn\u2019t quite understand what you were doing I understand only too well now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen surely you must know that I could never believe that you would do that. Ladies such as yourself never do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI suppose I\u2019m not quite the lady you suppose me to be because I not only have done it I have enjoyed it immensely, and I can tell you so did Adam. To be quite frank Sally-Ann comparing the two times\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm that is quite enough.\u201d While Adam enjoyed listening to Storm fight for him he knew it was unnecessary and it was becoming embarrassing.<\/p>\n

Adam was correct in that Storm was fighting but it wasn\u2019t for him, she knew she could never lose him to someone like Sally-Ann, she was fighting for her pride. \u201cNo Adam it\u2019s not nearly enough. Sally-Ann he is my husband and there is nothing I would not nor have not done to please him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing?\u201d Storm took this as a question when Sally-Ann meant it more as a shocked statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you\u2019re saying you do anything he asks of you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now Adam\u2019s pride began to take over. Just what kind of a man did Sally-Ann think him to be?<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst of all Sally-Ann I very rarely need to ask Storm for anything, somehow she just seems to know exactly what I need or want without me having too. Secondly, I don\u2019t need or want anything from her that she would be afraid, ashamed, or embarrassed to give me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sally-Ann could tell by the simple look that passed between Storm and Adam that she was beaten. If she wanted some fun she would have to look elsewhere. \u201cPerhaps it is a good idea for Guy and I to continue on to San Francisco.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes perhaps it is because you are not going to find what you want here, at least not with\u00a0my<\/em>\u00a0husband.\u201d<\/p>\n

They both watched as Sally-Ann retreated into the house.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought you were going to be in town most of the day Storm, and where are my children?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had planned on it but I asked Ben if he wouldn\u2019t mind keeping the twins with him while I came back home. I thought you might be needing my help and I figure if I need to I can always go into town tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

And although he had a very good idea what her answer would be he asked anyway. \u201c So what do you plan on doing now?\u201d<\/p>\n

Storm drew near to him and touched him as Sally-Ann had, but she got the reaction Sally-Ann could have only hoped for, and even though he wanted too Adam wasn\u2019t too sure if it would be such a good idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm we shouldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause someone could come upon us at any moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat didn\u2019t seem to bother you with Sally-Ann and at least we\u2019re married.\u201d<\/p>\n

She took his hand and led him into the privacy of the barn.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm I still think we\u2026..\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh Adam, hush.\u201d She reached to unbutton his pants which magically seemed to seal his lips.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\n

CHAPTER 13<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was a few months after they had returned to the Ponderosa that Storm began to think that Adam might wish her to again go to Boston.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam I need to speak with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout what sweetheart? Are you still not feeling well? Would you like me to go ask Paul to come out and see you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel fine right now but come tomorrow I know I\u2019ll be feeling unwell again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd why\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I was sick everyday for the first three or four months with Benjamin and Elizabeth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBenjamin and Elizabeth? Storm are you saying that you, that we\u2019re having another baby?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes Adam I do believe so.\u201d<\/p>\n

He pulled her into his arms realizing that he hadn\u2019t gotten the chance to do this the first time.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm I just can\u2019t wait to see what you were like when you were carrying Benjamin and Elizabeth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you saying you\u2019re hoping for twins again?\u201d
\n\u201cI just hope everything goes as well as it did last time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo do I but you don\u2019t realize just how big I was with those two.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think given your condition the bigger you are the happier I\u2019ll be.\u201d<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

Adam had asked Paul to come and check on Storm because he swore something was wrong. It was on this visit that Paul was happy to give them some good news, or at least what he hoped they would see as good news. When Adam had approached him in town the other day Paul found his worries to be curious. Adam had seemed embarrassed to tell him that he was concerned because Storm was getting bigger then seemed normal. Even if he remembered saying this would please him he found it to be worrying him instead. It was then that Paul had begun suspecting the truth and he was sure that Storm was too.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo arguing Storm, I want you too promise me you will behave and not do too much.\u201d
\n\u201cI promise Paul.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I am going to tell Adam that I want you to spend the remaining time in bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Paul\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo buts Storm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan I at least go down and tell Adam the good news?\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019ll call him and tell him to come up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam found himself feeling very worried and anxious about what was going on upstairs. He was happy that his father had had the good sense to suggest he take the twins for the day knowing that Paul was coming over and also how worried Adam had been. Adam found that he was so on edge that when Paul called to him he jumped. He ran upstairs and cautiously approached the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs everything okay Paul?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes Adam everything will be fine as long as Storm does as she is told.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo as I\u2019m told? I feel I will have no choice because it\u2019s a conspiracy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust what is it you\u2019ve told her to do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe says I have to be confined to bed for the next four months and it\u2018s all your fault.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you talking about? Paul what is she talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would seem as if you\u2019ll be welcoming two more children into your quickly growing family Adam.\u201d
\n\u201cYou mean it\u2019s twins?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first told you I thought you wanted it to be twins like last time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo sweetheart I just wanted it to go as well as last time.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd it will as long as she stays in bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry Paul she will.\u201d<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

Adam couldn\u2019t wait for his father and brothers to come over. They were due to arrive in a little while to bring Benjamin and Elizabeth home and join them for supper or at least that\u2019s what Hop-Sing had said when he had arrived fifteen minutes ago to start preparing the meal. Adam had already told Hop-Sing the news and was surprised at how emotional Hop-Sing had become. He had become even more so when Adam had explained that he was as much a part of the family as anyone and why shouldn\u2019t he be among the first to know the good news. Once Hop-Sing had gone into the kitchen to prepare what he had said would be his best meal ever, Adam went upstairs and sat with Storm until she fell asleep then again went downstairs to wait.<\/p>\n

Ben had spent a wonderful day with his grandchildren. He kept remarking to Hoss and Little Joe how they were getting rather big and smart just like their father and how most children take after their parents. He was hoping that Hoss at least would understand what he was implying; well he hoped that Joe did as well but since Hoss seemed to have found someone he cared for he stood a better chance of seeing a small version of Hoss before he saw one of Joe. Ben then began to wonder what this next grandchild would be and who would it take after more although thinking on it Storm and Adam were very much alike.<\/p>\n

As soon as they arrived Ben knew there was something going on. If not by the singing coming from the kitchen then by the smile on his son\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

\u201cI must say Adam you look exceptionally happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean more than usual of late?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes and is that Hop-Sing?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss, Joe just lay those two down on the floor.\u201d Adam proceeded to lay a blanket down for his children to continue napping on. \u201cI should probably wait until Storm is awake but I just can\u2019t. You want to know what has Hop-Sing singing? He already knows that we\u2019re going to have twins.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did you say son?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI said we\u2019re having twins. Paul has confined Storm to bed which isn\u2019t making her none to happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTwins? You know something Adam I was kind of upset that it was taking you so long to start giving me grandchildren.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd now Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I\u2019m beginning to feel that it\u2019s probably for the best that you did.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd why\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause the way you\u2019re going at it if you had started any sooner the Ponderosa wouldn\u2019t have been big enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHa Ha. Well maybe if these other two sons of yours would start it would take some of the pressure of making sure you\u2019re happy off of Storm and I.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI tell you what big brother you find me a woman like Storm and I\u2019ll gladly oblige you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, Storm is one of a kind.\u201d<\/p>\n

They all could barely make out the whispered word that drifted down to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA one of a kind pain. Aren\u2019t you suppose to be in bed?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes but I\u2019m lonely. Can\u2019t I just come and sit down there for a little while maybe only until Ben, Hoss and Little Joe get here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI promise Adam, I\u2019ll just sit.\u201d<\/p>\n

They all could hear as she took a step down. Adam made his way towards the stairs knowing that right now he wouldn\u2019t refuse her.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know you can get away with this with me but just wait until Mattie gets here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMattie?! Adam, Mattie is coming?\u201d<\/p>\n

He finally reached her and took hold of her arm and helped her downstairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes. It was supposed to be a surprise but she\u2019s coming to help you out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh Adam I love you!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNate is coming as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPapa?! Papa is coming too?!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe surprises aren\u2019t the wisest of things for you in your present condition.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Adam, when will they arrive?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNext Tuesday\u2019s stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNext Tuesday? That\u2019s awful fast.\u201d They had finally reached the bottom of the stairs and Storm noticed that they were not alone. \u201cBen, Hoss, Joe? You\u2019re already here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry sweetheart I just couldn\u2019t wait to tell them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s alright Adam; I don\u2019t think I could have waited either.\u201d<\/p>\n

Storm went to pick up Benjamin and Elizabeth out of habit, not because she had intentionally meant to ignore the doctor\u2019s orders. While Adam did understand this that didn\u2019t mean he was going to allow it to happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm you pick up either one of them and you will go right back to bed.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

Tuesday couldn\u2019t arrive fast enough for Adam. There were so very many times he\u2019d wished for Mattie\u2019s help. Ben had gone into town to pick her and Nate up and had brought along Benjamin and Elizabeth in hopes of giving his son some much needed rest.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo tell me Ben how is my little girl?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s fine Nate, just fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWould you look at these two? Haven\u2019t they just gotten so big Mr. Kendall?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes they most certainly have Mattie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes they have and that\u2019s why we are all so very glad that you\u2019ve come out to help Mattie. These two have been running us all ragged. I think Adam will be grateful to go out and chase some stray cattle instead of having to chase these two.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sometimes four legged animals seem less troublesome.\u201d At least to most men Mattie thought.<\/p>\n

Nate wondered what it was that they weren\u2019t being told.<\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNate, Mattie it is so good too see you again.\u201d Adam went and picked up a sleeping Benjamin while Ben took the sleeping Elizabeth.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo Adam how is my daughter?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s sleeping as well.\u201d
\n\u201cI see and may I ask why?\u201d
\n\u201cNate you already know that she is going to have a baby.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes but why does it appear as if you are taking care of everything?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy don\u2019t we wait until Storm wakes up and we\u2019ll go and see her and talk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjamin and Elizabeth awoke well before their mother but were so delighted to have not only two grandpas but Mattie and their father to bow to their every wish they didn\u2019t seem to miss their mother too much.<\/p>\n

When Storm did awake and saw her father and Mattie she so wanted to get out of bed and hug them but didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know something Nate I think I liked it better the last time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd why\u2019s that Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I missed the middle time.\u201d
\n\u201cI see you\u2019re happy to be there at the conception and birth but not the nine months in between.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPapa!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI only wish that were so. It just that I didn\u2019t have to worry so much last time. By the time I found out there were to be children there was no time to worry and then when there was time there was no reason.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nate hadn\u2019t really noticed until just now how tired Adam was. Nate knew for certain that Adam did love his daughter as much as she loved him. It wasn\u2019t that he had doubted it before he had just never seen it so clearly. \u201cI suppose so but at least this time it won\u2019t be quite as bad. I mean when we found out she was having twins we\u2026..\u201d That\u2019s when Nate saw the look his daughter was giving him that clearly told him to shut up. \u201cIt\u2019s twins again?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes papa it\u2019s twins again. Now will you please tell me what my brother is up too? What was so important that he couldn\u2019t come and visit me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has a girl.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReally papa? Do I know her? Who is she?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes really and yes you know her and she is Greta Wilcox.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGreta?! You mean brother finally looked close enough to see what was right before him this whole time?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes he did and I do believe there will be a wedding in his future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell it\u2019s about time.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

When the time came everything seemed to go along very smoothly but that was only because fate wasn\u2019t so cruel as to deal Adam too many shocks in that one evening. This time the family awaiting the news about Storm and the children she was giving birth two was much larger then last time. When Paul finally appeared and made his announcement every Cartwright there was shocked but none as much as Adam.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did you say Paul?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam I said that you have two daughters.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re sure Paul? I mean there\u2019s no\u2026..\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam I think I know the difference between a boy and a girl.\u201d<\/p>\n

As if the fact that they were both girls wasn\u2019t shocking enough the fact that they were identical was even more so and although most people had a hard time telling them apart their family never did. They didn\u2019t even have to speak for their father to know which was which.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo tell me Storm do you have names picked for these two.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course I do after all I have had little else to think about for the past four months.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf that were only true. I know you have worried about Benjamin and Elizabeth as well as me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI suppose so but that is something I do all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what names have you come up with?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cSamantha and Skye.\u201d<\/p>\n

CHAPTER 14<\/p>\n

When Sammi and Skye were two Storm and Adam anxiously waited to find out if they were expecting two more children. As a precaution Adam had made Storm stay in bed for the past week and it was here that they were awaiting the doctor\u2019s arrival. Mattie, who had come to stay indefinitely, was downstairs with Ben watching over the already existing brood of Adam and Storm Cartwright.<\/p>\n

As she sat in bed and studied her husband she could sense something was bothering him. She loved him so very much and hated to be the cause of any worry he might be feeling but knew that she couldn\u2019t prevent him from feeling it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs something wrong Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know Storm. I was just thinking what if it is twins again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it\u2019s twins then it\u2019s twins. Paul will be here shortly to let us know for sure.\u201d Then something occurred to her. \u201cAre you saying you don\u2019t want it to be twins?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know that I\u2019ll be happy no matter what I just thought you might prefer it not to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know Adam, I think I would like it to be twins again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd just why is that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe get to have twice as many children in half the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul arrived a few minutes later and after he finished his examination he helped Storm downstairs to join everyone else.<\/p>\n

\u201cPaul should she be down here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s fine Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes Paul but are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean Storm?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think she means that you almost look as if you\u2019re in shock.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam I suppose in some small way I am. You see no matter how hard I tried I can hear the heartbeat of only one baby.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really not twins?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam aren\u2019t you happy that our other children were twins?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course I am, I\u2019m very happy, but it will be nice to know what every other man goes through.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut my love you are not every other man.\u201d
\nEvery one could hear in Storm\u2019s voice that she felt as if she had in some way let Adam down so Paul decided to tell her the one thing that might make her enjoy the fact that she would be having only one child this time.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorm you do realize that while I do want you to be careful and get as much rest as possible there will be no reason for you to be confined to bed for the last four or five months.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is good news. Isn\u2019t that good Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo. Paul you do realize that the only time I had complete peace of mind that she was taking it easy was when she was confined to bed. I mean Mattie can keep an eye on the kids but she can\u2019t watch Storm as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen maybe you should hire someone else but I\u2019m sorry Adam I can\u2019t change the fact that you will have only one child this time around.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPaul is right Adam. Besides the fact that we\u2019re only having one child is your doing not his.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c My doing? Maybe it\u2019s your doing?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo it is most definitely your doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Despite Adam\u2019s trepidations Storm behaved herself and was blessed this time to give Adam his namesake. Then when Adam Jr., AJ, was two and a half years old the were again happy to find out that there would be more babies to hold.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo tell me Paul is it twins?\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul noticed that Adam had made asked this question rather smugly and almost as if he knew the answer. \u201cNo Adam it\u2019s not twins.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it\u2019s only one baby?\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul recognized that Storm sounded a little disappointed. He couldn\u2019t know that it was only because that would mean that Adam was right and therefore she had lost the bet.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo Storm. Adam I want her to stay in this bed from this point on is that clear?\u201d
\n\u201cWait a minute Paul if you told me no when I asked if it were twins and you just now told Storm no when she asked if its only one baby then what is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTriplets. From what I can tell Adam it\u2019s triplets.\u201d
\n\u201cBut I don\u2019t want to stay in bed. I have five children who need me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul could tell by the shocked expression still on Adam\u2019s face he would be getting no help from him in placating Storm so he tried to come up with something on his own.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know Storm most women with five children would welcome the bed rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPaul she is not most woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe very fact that she has given me five grandchildren already is proof of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam hadn\u2019t heard his father come in. He supposed it could be because the word triplets kept going through his mind over and over. \u201cYeah well wait till you hear what she\u2019s going to give you now.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat was that Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben looked questioningly at his son then turned his attention to Paul. \u201cSo tell me Paul who was right? Adam swears it will be only one while Storm swears it twins.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBen they both are.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you take the one child Adam is expecting and the two that Storm is expecting what do you get?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThree Paul you get\u2026\u2026Three?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes three and Paul says I have to stay in bed from now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he hadn\u2019t I would have. Three? Paul are you sure?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPositive, or at least as positive as I can be Ben.\u201d
\nBen felt a smile come to his face. \u201cThree.\u201d<\/p>\n

Storm watched as everyone turned their eyes on her. She knew they weren\u2019t but she felt as if she were being accused of something.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t look at me I didn\u2019t do this by myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul and Ben looked at Storm\u2019s accomplice.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know son she is right, she didn\u2019t do this alone.\u201d
\n\u201cDon\u2019t look at me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell it wasn\u2019t anyone else!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not what I meant sweetheart.\u201d Adam could see she was upset so he went and sat down on the bed next to her. \u201cI just meant it\u2019s not like this is what I had intended to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you want these babies Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course I want them. What I meant was I hate to see you go through this again.\u201d Adam forgot how sensitive she became and he supposed it would be threefold now.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo then if you want more babies but you don\u2019t want me to go through what it takes to give them to you then is what you\u2019re saying is that you want another woman to have your children?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo love I just meant\u2026..Pa please help me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben smiled as he looked to Paul. \u201cIsn\u2019t it nice to see that no matter how old they get they still need their father.\u201d Ben went and sat on Storm\u2019s other side. \u201cStorm I think you know what Adam means. You know that he loves you and is just worried.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know. Adam I have never known a better father than you and I\u2019m sorry if I give you too much at once but\u2026\u2026\u201d Storm couldn\u2019t say any more once the tears began to fall.<\/p>\n

\u201cSweetheart you don\u2019t give me too much, if anything it\u2019s me who has asked too much of you. You though, you have given me more than any man deserves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy love there will be no reason to worry about me, I\u2019m not even allowed to get out of bed for the next five months so I\u2019ll be doing nothing but rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat I don\u2019t believe, do you believe that pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben smiled. \u201cNot for a minute.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

********<\/p>\n

Despite everyone\u2019s disbelief Storm did take it easy, or at least easy for Storm. Most nights the kids ate in the bedroom with their mother telling her what they did that day. Adam always waited until Mattie and he had put the children to bed before he would join his wife for supper. He found that Storm usually ate both times. He would tell her of his day, of things their children had done that they had either forgotten or had chose not to tell their mother. There were some nights he would spend reading to her or singing to her.<\/p>\n

It was in this way that the time past until the time to welcome child six, seven, and eight arrived. It wasn\u2019t until the night was actually here that Adam began wondering how he was going to survive it. He was thankful that it was after their other children were already asleep that Storm told him to go and fetch Paul. Adam only had to go as far as the guest room because Paul had mercifully suggested after he had examined Storm a week ago that he stay there knowing that Storm would be giving birth any day. Mattie, bless her soul, volunteered to go and get Ben.<\/p>\n

\u201cSon what\u2019s wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean you were worried with the others but this time you seem even more so.\u201d
\n\u201cMaybe that\u2019s because this time there\u2019s three babies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat could be but I don\u2019t think that\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPa, Mrs. Conner died last week giving birth to one child. She was younger than Storm is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes she was but then Storm has been through this before and you had better not let her hear you say someone is younger than her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know pa I never thought I would ever depend on someone like I do her. I don\u2019t mean for food or any kind of physical need but emotionally. I find that whenever I\u2019m feeling tired or alone I just need to think of her and I feel better. If ever things get to be too much I just need to come home and see her and whatever had me worried or upset or angry is forgotten and if I ever start to doubt myself I just need to take her into my arms and look into her eyes and soon I begin to believe I am what I see there even though I know I could never be as perfect as she seems to think. Pa if I lose her I know I\u2019d go on because I\u2019d have five reasons, or maybe I\u2019d have eight, to do so. I\u2019m just not sure what kind of a man I\u2019d be without her.\u201d
\n\u201cYou\u2019d be the man she believes you to be because to be any less would be letting her down but we don\u2019t have to think about any of this because she is going to be fine because to not be would be letting you down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben and Adam spent the remainder of the time in silence. Adam found himself wishing that his brothers were there instead of in Placerville. He would have to remember to make sure a wire was sent to them. After what seemed like an eternity Paul came downstairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow is she Paul?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s fine Adam. She\u2019s tired but that I would expect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the babies?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have done in one evening what it took your father a lot of years and three wives to accomplish. You have three sons Adam and if you have any hopes of seeing your wife awake you had better get on up there. I think she was half asleep before the third one was completely born.\u201d
\nAdam quietly made his way upstairs and entered the room where Storm was. When Mattie saw him she got up to leave.<\/p>\n

\u201cGo on in. She is almost asleep but she\u2019s been holding out in hopes that you\u2019d be up to see her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mattie walked past him and he stood in the doorway looking at the woman who had not only become his world but had helped him create a world of his own making. He had gone from \u2018Paradise Lost\u2019 to \u2018Paradise Regained\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey aren\u2019t you going to come and kiss me? I think it\u2019s the least you could do after all I have done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI love you Storm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI know Adam and I love you.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

EPILOGUE<\/p>\n

Storm watched as the snow fell and reflected on how she and Adam use to love to watch it together. It had been five years since they last had. Had he really left her only five years ago? They had spent many years together but she had always wished for at least one more. Her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren had helped her celebrate her eighty-fifth birthday this year but whenever she thought of him she was young again.<\/p>\n

It would be dawn soon and also Christmas day. She prayed for only one gift, the only one she wanted and when she opened her eyes she would swear she saw it. It certainly looked like him sitting out there on his horse, she just had to go and see. As she approached him he reached down as he had so many times before and pulled her up into the saddle behind him and rode off and with each step the horse took she became young again.<\/p>\n

The following morning Benjamin and Elizabeth got up a little earlier then the others. They loved to share some time before the others would awake and remember their father, uncles, aunts and grandfathers. Their mother had often told them about their birth and the circumstances surrounding it. They had often found it hard to believe that their father had ever loved anyone other than their mother because when he looked at her it was if no other woman existed. They had both expected to find their mother in the same place they had left her last night. They had all tried to get her to go to bed but she had said she just wanted to watch the snow for a few more minutes and promised she would go soon and despite her years their mother was as stubborn as ever. Elizabeth knew she should have never left her mother but she wasn\u2019t young herself and she was tired. They knew that soon all the cousins and their families would be arriving. They decided to go outside and make some snowballs to hide away in a secret spot so that they would be already prepared for the snowball fight that always took place on Christmas day.<\/p>\n

They were saddened by what they found but not too shocked. Both could hear the tears in the others voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you think she was doing out here Elizabeth?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think, Benjamin, that papa came to give her the only present she wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe came and took her with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not making any sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo I guess not but I should have known this was coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy? Did mama say she wasn\u2019t feeling well or something?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo she told me she\u2019s been dreaming of papa for the past two weeks now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cElizabeth mama always dreams of papa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes but last night I dreamt of him too, of him and her. I dreamt that papa came and took mama on his horse with him. In my dream I watched as they went riding like they use too. Do you remember Benjamin? Do you remember how mama use to laugh when they did that, how beautiful she was with her hair all flowing behind them in the wind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benjamin took his sister into his arms. \u201cI remember and I guess that\u2019s just what their doing now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can we be sure?\u201d<\/p>\n

Elizabeth looked to where her brother pointed to the horse tracks in the snow. Maybe if they had looked up they would have seen them or maybe they would have just dismissed it as wishful thinking.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam you finally came for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes I did, they finally let me. You were finally ready to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Storm knew she had held on for her children, for his children, but he had come to her in her dreams and told her that they no longer needed her, that they were old enough to take care of themselves and besides he needed her more.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdam do you really think they\u2019ll be alright.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey will be fine and besides we can come and see them every now and then. Now let\u2019s go there are some people who can\u2019t wait to see you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess I\u2019m the last one aren\u2019t I.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes you are which only proves that you are the most stubborn one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry Adam, I\u2019m sorry that I kept you waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s alright sweetheart, it was longer for you than for me and now we have eternity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Storm knew Adam was right. She knew it would seem like no time at all before they would all be together for eternity.<\/p>\n

Next Story in the Storm series<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Ante Up<\/a>
\nLove Lost, Destiny Found<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Disclaimer:<\/span>\u00a0All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

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

Summary: \u00a0Here is another way in which Adam and Storm could have met. In this one, Adam finds out that sometimes the answers are more important than the questions. 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Here is one way in which I feel they might have met. I hope you can find one to your liking.\u00a0 In this version, an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Drama"","block_context":{"text":"Drama","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/coming-soon-4.jpg?fit=320%2C240&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4820,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=4820","url_meta":{"origin":7552,"position":1},"title":"Proud (by Storm)","author":"storm","date":"May 29, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: \u00a0\u00a0This is my story for the May challenge. I'm still trying to decide if I like it or not. \u00a0 Rated: K+ \u00a0WC 700","rel":"","context":"In "Drama"","block_context":{"text":"Drama","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/4Cartwrights.jpg?fit=849%2C541&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/4Cartwrights.jpg?fit=849%2C541&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/4Cartwrights.jpg?fit=849%2C541&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/4Cartwrights.jpg?fit=849%2C541&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12134,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=12134","url_meta":{"origin":7552,"position":2},"title":"In My Father’s House (by DebbieB)","author":"DebbieB","date":"May 1, 2002","format":false,"excerpt":"DebbieB passed away Christmas 2021. Any reader wishing to read this series should e:mail the Brandsters:\u00a0 Brandsters2020@gmail.com","rel":"","context":"In "Drama"","block_context":{"text":"Drama","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Pondarosa-House-3.jpg?fit=564%2C401&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Pondarosa-House-3.jpg?fit=564%2C401&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Pondarosa-House-3.jpg?fit=564%2C401&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8890,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=8890","url_meta":{"origin":7552,"position":3},"title":"Love Lost, Destiny Found (by Storm)","author":"storm","date":"June 26, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: \u00a0In this story, Storm returns to Nevada with hopes that her past will help her deal with her future only to find that her past is her future. \u00a0Rated:\u00a0MA\u00a0 (54,711 words)","rel":"","context":"In "Drama"","block_context":{"text":"Drama","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7549,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=7549","url_meta":{"origin":7552,"position":4},"title":"Ante Up (by Storm)","author":"storm","date":"May 30, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: \u00a0In this version of Adam and Storm's first meeting and life Adam finds out that sometimes the one we save ends up being our savior. Rated:\u00a0MA (78,205 words)","rel":"","context":"In "Drama"","block_context":{"text":"Drama","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/coming-soon-4.jpg?fit=320%2C240&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12147,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=12147","url_meta":{"origin":7552,"position":5},"title":"He Said Not To Tell (by DebbieB)","author":"DebbieB","date":"May 1, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"The author requests those who wish to read this series contact her via eMail: DLB1234@aol.com","rel":"","context":"In "Drama"","block_context":{"text":"Drama","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/1-joe.jpg?fit=238%2C226&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7552","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\/144"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}