False Witness

By Hope

I'd like to thank Sel for all of her editing and great suggestions for this story. I want to thank Kierin for posting this on the Tales of the Ponderosa Web site for me (and Becky for running it on the Yahoo Tales of the Ponderosa Yahoo site). Thanks to Mr. Dortort for the loan of his terrific characters and thanks also to Matt, Drew, Danny & Jared for bringing the younger Cartwrights to life so wonderfully. Hope

The usual disclaimers apply. Rated PG.

"Who is that?" Cynthia Barlow asked while hungrily eyeing someone off in the distance.

Tess turned around to see who her new friend was asking about and spied Adam Cartwright riding into town. "Oh, that's Adam. He's a friend of mine."

"Lucky!" Cynthia said, poking Tess's arm at the same time.

Tess took a second glance over at Adam as he dismounted outside the Trading Post. She glanced again at the look her visiting friend was giving the oldest Cartwright son and some half-forgotten feelings began to stir anew in Miss Greene. She put her finger to her lips and absently tapped her fingernail against her front teeth as she watched Adam go inside the general store. 'Hmmmm,' she thought to herself. 'Now that Isabella has been gone so long, maybe...'

Cynthia watched Tess staring toward the store. "Well?"

Tess was brought out of her reverie. "Huh?--What?"

"Why don't you introduce me to your handsome friend?"

"Oh, uh, well, I uh--," Tess stammered.

"Come on, Tess." Cynthia grabbed Tess's arm and started heading over in the direction of the Trading Post. Tess stopped in the middle of the street and lightly pulled her arm away. "Cynthia, I just remembered. I gotta get back. Ma's waiting. Tell ya, what. Adam comes to town a lot. I'll be sure to introduce you next time. All right?"

"Well, I could just go over and introduce myself?"

Tess had to think quickly. "Uh, why don't ya come out to the ranch for dinner? But first you better get changed. Then you can meet me out there. Ma would be so pleased to see you again. And I can tell ya all about Adam. Then maybe tomorrow..."

Cynthia hesitated while still looking toward the Trading Post. "Well--if you promise to introduce me soon."

"Oh, I will. I promise! Now go get ready and meet me at my house. About six? You can spend the night. All right?"

Cynthia shrugged then turned and headed up the street. Tess watched her go, then when the girl was well out of sight, Miss Greene got a little grin on her face and strolled over to the Trading Post.

Adam was just coming out as she was heading in and there was a near collision as Adam was deeply involved in reading the latest edition of the Alta California. "Tess! I'm sorry."

Tess daintily put her right hand up to her neck as if to calm herself from the near collision. "Adam!"

"Are you all right?"

Tess sighed then held out her hand to rest it on his arm. "Whew, that was close."

Adam gently withdrew his arm. "Sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going."

"That's all right." She looked over at the paper. "Wha'cha readin'?"

"Just trying to get caught up on the latest news of the territory."

"Will ya read it to me?" she asked, coyly. "I'd just be fascinated!"

Adam folded the paper and stuffed it under an arm, then eyed Tess warily. He'd been the target of her advances in the past and it had been at the unfortunate expense of his middle brother Hoss's feelings. The two brothers had been able to overcome their differences afterward but ever since Adam had maintained a cautious distance from this girl who tended to use people when it suited her. "Sorry, Tess. Maybe some other time. I gotta go." He moved off toward his horse.

Tess wasn't one to give up easily. She followed him over and watched as he stuffed the paper in his saddlebag. "Uh, Adam. I'd like to ask your help for somethin'."

Adam untied the reins from the hitching post and threw the right side over his horse's neck. He didn't look over at her as he asked, "What?"

'Think fast, Tess,' she told herself. "Uh, I need to borrow a book--for a friend."

"What book?" Adam was born with a suspicious nature and right now his instincts weren't buying what Tess had to sell.

"My, uh, new friend, Cynthia, from San Francisco, is here visiting her aunt and she loves poetry. I know you have several books on it. So--uh--can I borrow a couple?"

Adam looked over at her and considered this for a few moments. Finally he nodded. "Sure. Stop by tomorrow and pick some out." He started to mount up.

She saw this and started to panic, "Wait, Adam!--Uh, she's not gonna be here long so can I come over now and get them?"

Adam just wanted whatever game Tess was playing to be over and done with. He figured the only way to do that was to appease her and get her out of his hair. "All right. Get your horse."

She smiled, satisfied, and went happily off to retrieve her palomino. Adam shook his head as he watched her go.

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The two rode along for awhile, with Tess glancing Adam’s way every now and then. The eldest of the Cartwright sons kept his attention focused on the road ahead without a single look over toward his riding companion. ‘This isn’t going to be easy,’ Tess thought to herself. After a time she spoke up.

"Pretty day, Adam?"

Adam absently answered, "Uh huh." And they rode on.

Tess’s mind swirled with ideas but unfortunately none that would work with this intelligent, canny, young man. She once again glanced over his way and secretly marveled at the handsome face partially hidden under the hat and the unruly jet black hair that poked out from underneath his hat. How she had let him slip by her before she just could not imagine! She had made her move way too late, after Isabella had come on the scene, but now with Isabella long since relocated to Mexico, Adam was fair game.

Tess gave a brief thought to Hoss but that was it – just a brief thought. True they had considered marriage over six months ago when wanting to adopt a baby Indian who had been found, its mother dying just after giving birth. But, thankfully, the mother’s family had come back to claim the baby just in time so the marriage to Hoss had been put off - indefinitely. Now as Tess thought about it she figured Hoss would understand her change of heart. She’d told him before how she and Adam had always had special feelings toward each other. But then again she wasn’t too worried if Hoss didn’t understand. She hadn’t been too concerned about his feelings when she had dropped him in favor of having Adam escort her to the Ladies Choice Dance last year after Isabella had been forced to cancel on Adam at the last minute. When Adam’s plans changed once again and he had been able to accompany Isabella, Tess was left without an escort so eventually she and Hoss had paired up at the dance. And Hoss didn’t end up suffering any. So what was the harm? He got over it. So he’d get over it this time, too. She had more important things to think about right now.

An idea came to her and she got an impish little grin on her face. She immediately halted her horse and said quickly, "Adam, look!" while pointing off to her left in the dense foliage. Adam halted his horse also and looked over in the direction she was pointing. "What is it?"

Tess got all excited as she said, "A kitten just ran in there! Get it for me?"

Adam sighed disgustedly. "A kitten? Come on, Tess. I gotta get back."

She looked very sincere as she pleaded, "Oh, Adam, please? I’ve always wanted one. And it’s the cutest little thing. Please get it."

Adam sighed again, a habit he had unconsciously acquired over the years. He was too much of a gentleman to just ride off and leave Tess so he eventually gave in and started to dismount. "All right. Here," he said, handing Tess the reins to his horse. Tess dismounted also and watched as Adam headed over into the forest area. She smiled conspiratorially to herself. As soon as he was well out of sight, she threw the reins over each horse, slapped the horses and sent them running off. Then, with an innocent little grin on her face, she headed slowly over in search of Adam.

Adam, who had bent down to move some bushes aside in his search for the feline, heard a noise behind him and turned to see Tess coming towards him. "Tess, I don’t see a kitten anywhere."

"It must be around somewhere. It moved pretty fast though. Maybe it’s long gone by now."

Adam looked at her with raised eyebrows and waited.

"What?" she innocently asked.

"You sure there was a kitten?"

"Of course."

"Uh huh." Adam said unconvinced, and started to move back toward the horses. Tess watched him go with mirth in her eyes, and followed him.

They came out of the forest area and into the clearing where the horses had supposedly been waiting. Adam looked around. "Where are they?"

"Huh?" Tess again asked innocently.

Adam was getting irritated now. "Huh?" he mimicked her. "The horses, Tess. Where are the horses?"

She looked around and shrugged, "Must’ve run off."

"Run off? Why would they do that?" he asked suspiciously.

"How should I know? Maybe somethin’ spooked them?"

He looked at her and immediately knew this had all been a setup. "See ya," he said suddenly and started walking off.

"Hey, where ya goin’?"

He didn’t look back as he called out, "Home!"

"Wait, Adam! Wait up, will ya?" Tess hurried after him.

Adam kept walking without a glance back in her direction. "Tess, I don’t have time for this."

She hurried more quickly until she had caught up with him and then tried to match his pace. "Oh, Adam, please stop for a minute? Let me explain."

He halted but didn’t look over at her as he said irritably, "Well?"

She kicked at a little bit of dirt while she looked down and said, "I’m sorry. I just wanted to spend a little time with you."

He looked over at her in disgust and after a few moments said, "You’re doing it again, Tess."

"Doing what?"

"You know what. You know how Hoss feels about you. Yet you’re trying to get involved with me again."

"Oh, Adam, Hoss will understand. He knows how you and I have cared about each other over the years."

Adam looked at her incredulously. "How we’ve cared about each other?!"

"Yeah."

"Tess, I’ve never cared about you, other than as a friend of the family. But even those feelings aren’t there any longer since I’ve seen how you manipulate people."

Now it was her turn to look incredulous. "I do not!"

"You don't even understand the meaning of the word, do you? You use people, Tess. But you’re not going to use me. And you’re not going to use Hoss any more, either!"

She came over closer to face him. "Just who do you think you are talking to me like that?!"

He stared intently at her as he said, "I’m Hoss’s brother. And I’ll do whatever it takes to let him see what kind of person you really are."

Anger arose in her eyes and she slapped him hard on the left side of his face. Adam flinched slightly but maintained his harsh glare which was boring down on her. Then he got a slight smile as if daring her to do it again.

"You’ll see, Adam! You’ll regret ever being mean to me!"

Adam gave a slight, disgusted chuckle and turned, starting once again to walk off. Tess watched him go, angrily pondering her next move.

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Over an hour later, Adam was walking along and growing weary of the long trek home. He figured he’d probably have to walk another two hours unless someone fortuitously came along to give him a ride. It wasn’t a well-traveled road but from time to time someone would be sure to use it. He stopped, took a minute to remove his hat and wipe the sweat from his brow, and looked off in the distance for some sign of life. But not a soul was in sight. "Figures," he told himself. He gave one of his impatient sighs, put his hat back on, and went wearily down the road.

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Tess was sitting on a log by the side of the road in another section of forest. Her feet ached and she was tired and still angry. It was growing late and she was perturbed that when her horse returned home it hadn’t alerted her mother to the fact that she was stranded. Of course her palomino would’ve gone straight home. That is unless of course he chose to enjoy the grass in the far pasture. "He wouldn’t," she half-confidently assured herself. But then again he always had shown a fondness for that area and Tess remembered having to rein him in on more than one occasion to keep him from gorging himself there. "Darn horse! Wait till I catch you. You won’t be eating any of that grass anytime soon," she pouted.

Suddenly she heard a carriage in the distance. She looked back in the direction she had come and was so relieved to see Cynthia heading her way.

Her friend spotted someone standing by the side of the road and squinted to see who it might be. Recognition swept over her and she encouraged the horse to move faster.

Finally she pulled up alongside of Tess.

"Am I glad to see you!" Tess said wearily.

"What happened? Where’s your horse?"

"Don’t ask," Tess responded forlornly as she climbed up into the carriage and plopped down on the seat a little ungracefully but too tired to care. "I just wanna go home and have a nice hot bath."

Cynthia eyed her friend for a moment and once again got the horse moving. Tess kept her eyes on the road but Cynthia could tell she was lost in thought. "Wanna tell me about it?"

"No!"

Cynthia just shrugged, "Suit yerself." She kept glancing over at her friend as the carriage rode along but also kept a careful eye out on the road.

Tess looked over at her. "I’m sorry. I’m just mad."

"How come?"

Tess clammed up again. Her friend gave a slight chuckle. "Don’t wanna talk about it, eh?"

"I’m mad at Adam Cartwright!"

Cynthia once more looked over at her. "You mean the one we saw in town?"

"No other."

"How could anyone be mad at him?" Cynthia laughed.

"You don’t know him. He’s so smug. So self-righteous. But I’ll show him."

The other girl glanced warily her way, though with a slight grin. "Really got to ya, huh?"

"Yes!"

"You two involved or somethin’?"

"No! And I never want to be involved with him. Ever!"

Cynthia pulled back on the reins and halted the carriage. "My goodness. You really are upset."

"Yes, I am!" She broke down and started sobbing. Her friend was slightly shocked at this but tried to comfort her. "Can I help?"

Miss Greene cried a little longer then looked up. "He’s going to ruin it for me. He’s gonna tell Hoss..."

"Tell Hoss what? And who’s Hoss?"

"Adam’s brother. He’s gonna tell him lies about me. Then Hoss won’t ever want to see me again!" she sniffed.

"Why would he do that?"

"Because that’s the way he is." She sniffed again. "But I’ll show him!"

"That’s right," Cynthia comforted her while handing her a hanky. "If I can help you, you just let me know."

Tess looked up at her friend and smiled through her tears. "You’d really help me?"

"Of course. Nobody is going to hurt a friend of mine."

Tess smiled gratefully. Cynthia picked up the reins once more while saying, "Come on. Let’s get you back home for a nice supper and that hot bath you wanted. Then we’ll decide how best to handle this Adam."

Tess smiled again at her friend while nodding. Cynthia slapped the reins.

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Adam was immensely relieved when he saw his father riding up and leading Beauty alongside him. "Pa, am I glad to see you!"

Ben Cartwright reined in when he had pulled up next to Adam and reached out Beauty’s reins to his son. "What happened? Are you all right?"

Adam accepted the reins, then wearily put his foot in the stirrup and swung his other leg over. "I’m fine."

Ben eyed his son to make sure this was true. Satisfied, he reached for his canteen and held it out toward Adam. "Here."

His son gratefully accepted it and took one long swig, letting some of the water run down the sides of his mouth. Holding the canteen with one hand, he swiped the back of his other hand along his mouth to dry it off. His father watched his son and, with a relieved look on his face, said, "Well, I’m glad you’re all right. We were worried when we saw your horse come home without you."

Ben Cartwright waited, hoping some type of explanation would be forthcoming from his son. But he also knew his eldest son quite well and knew that Adam would only release information when he was good and ready.

"Sorry I worried everyone, Pa. Can we just go home now?" Adam asked as he handed the canteen back to his father.

Ben took the canteen, nodded with a half-grin to himself at his son's enigmatic ways, and turned his horse back in the other direction. Adam turned his horse also.

"You sure you don’t want to tell me about it?" His father asked, trying one last time.

"Yeah. Believe me. I just want to forget about this whole day!" Adam slapped the reins lightly and Beauty started galloping off as Ben Cartwright did likewise to get his horse moving also.

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The two Cartwrights were headed across the field toward their barn when Little Joe first caught sight of them. He called out loudly to get Hoss and Hop Sing's attention. "Adam's back!" Hoss came hurrying out of the barn as Hop Sing came quickly out of the house and over toward the barn. Little Joe joined the others there as Adam and Ben rode up.

"Adam, are you all right?!" Hoss asked anxiously.

Adam wearily dismounted and started leading his horse toward the barn. "Yeah, I'm fine."

His father dismounted also. "Everything's all right," he assured the others. Hop Sing breathed a sigh of relief, smiled and turned back toward the house. Little Joe walked excitedly alongside Adam. "What happened?--Where ya been?--Did ja get thrown?!..."

Ben watched in amusement as Adam kept his same pace toward the barn, seemingly oblivious to his little brother's eager questions.

"Joseph!"

Little Joe stopped and looked back toward his father as Hoss watched and waited for an explanation of Adam's disappearance also. "Yeah, Pa?"

"Why don't you let Adam get settled first and get something to eat. He'll tell us what happened when he's ready."

"Aw, Pa," Joe pouted.

"Come on. Take care of my horse so I can get cleaned up." Little Joe wasn’t thrilled with the added chore and pouted over to his father's horse, taking the reins none too happily.

"Thank you, Son," he told his youngest, then looked over at Hoss. "Why don't you take care of Beauty for Adam?"

Hoss nodded easily. "Sure, Pa," he said as he headed inside the barn. Ben watched him go. 'So predictable these sons of mine' he mused. Then he laughed a little to himself and started off toward the house.

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Try as he might, Little Joe had no success at dinnertime finding out what had happened to Adam that day. The rest of the family was just as curious but they all knew Adam’s stubbornness when he wanted to keep things to himself so they didn’t press him for details. All they could do was hope that at some point he would fill them in so they let the matter drop for the time being and amusedly watched Adam as he tried to eat his meal while patiently ignoring his youngest brother’s continued attempts to figure out the mystery.

Later that night when the family had gone to bed, Adam lay in his bunk reading by candlelight. But he was not really paying any attention to his book. He was pondering things over in his mind. He glanced at the bunk bed next to his and noted that his little pest of a brother had finally gone to sleep. He looked up toward the top bunk where Hoss was and wondered if he was asleep yet also. No loud snoring was emanating from that area yet so there was a good chance Hoss was merely dozing.

Adam thought back to the day’s events and was trying to decide how he was going to tell Hoss about Tess. Any way he did it would hurt his brother. And that was something he’d never want to purposely do. Through the years Adam had been his protector as any older brother would always protect a younger one. But with them there was more to it than that. Ever since Hoss’s mother had died, Adam had assumed more of a role in watching out for and caring for his "little" brother. His father had always been busy just trying to help the family survive the trip out west so most of the day-to-day care for Hoss had naturally fallen on Adam’s shoulders. When Marie came along, the load lightened a bit for the eldest son but that didn’t affect the closeness the two brothers had shared. Then Little Joe was born and Adam had another little one to help look after. Fortunately Marie was there for many years to give Adam some freedom. But now with her gone too Little Joe needed him more than ever. Adam sighed at the thought. It was a big responsibility watching over his brothers and he took it very seriously. But there were times when he wished he could just enjoy his life for a little while without always worrying about them.

He was exhausted from the day’s events so finally leaned over to blow out the candle and then settled into bed. He decided he’d deal with the Tess problem in the morning. For now he needed sleep and he came to the conclusion that Adam mattered the most right at this moment.

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"Hoss, I need to talk to you." Adam had come into the barn the next morning to find Hoss bending down in one corner of the barn and reaching for something. "Hoss?"

Hoss slowly got up and turned to face his brother, a sadness in his eyes. He was holding something tiny which Adam couldn’t identify at first. Moving over closer he saw the dead baby bird nestled in his brother’s gentle, giant hands. Hoss looked down at the bird, then up sadly at his older brother. "Guess he fell out of that nest up there."

Adam glanced up toward one of the rafters where they had noticed a nest several days ago then looked over at his brother and slowly nodded. "I’m sorry, Hoss."

"Reckon I’ll go bury it." He started to move off slowly past Adam.

"Want me to help?"

Hoss stopped for a minute and smiled gratefully at Adam. "No, I got it. But thanks anyway, Adam." Then he walked out of the barn carrying his precious little cargo as if it would break.

Adam watched Hoss go, feeling for his brother’s pain. He decided that now wasn’t the time to tell Hoss about Tess. But he also made up his mind then and there that neither Tess Greene or anyone else was ever going to hurt such a decent person as long as he was around.

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Adam came out of the barn and saw Margaret’s carriage over by the house and Ben on the porch leaning over by the carriage. Adam hesitated, but his father had seen him. "Adam, come over here," Ben called easily.

There was no tension in Pa’s voice so it didn’t appear to be trouble for Adam, but he still kept his guard up as he approached the porch. Walking up to his father he asked, "Did you need something, Pa?"

Indicating the carriage with a nod of his head, Ben Cartwright admonished, "First you could say hello to Margaret."

Adam went over a little closer, tipped his hat and said, "Sorry. Hello, Mrs. Greene."

Maggie Greene smiled over at him. "Hello, Adam. I was just telling your father that we’d like all of you to come to a picnic today."

Adam looked over at Ben who seemed very agreeable to that idea. But Adam had no desire to see Tess. "Uh, I have some things I need to take care of today."

His father clapped him gently on the back. "The chores can wait, Adam. We don’t often get such a nice invitation and on such a beautiful day."

Maggie smiled at them. "Well, good. We’ll see you by the lake. About one?"

"One sounds fine, Maggie." Ben smiled back at her and watched as Margaret turned the carriage and headed out.

"Pa, I won’t be going."

Ben looked over at his son a little surprised, then cheerfully said, "Of course you’ll go. I told you. The chores can wait."

"No. There’s some things I need to do today. You can all go but I have other plans."

His father scrutinized his son’s face. He knew Adam too well and knew something was bothering him. "What plans?"

Adam looked disgustedly off in the distance, then back at his father. "Look, I think I’m old enough to decide if I want to go on a picnic or not."

"Don’t take that tone with me, Son. We’re all going and that’s that. Maggie has some contracts she’d like to get your advice on so I told her to bring them along."

"I can look them over some other time."

"Adam..."

"Pa, I’m not a little child anymore. When are you going to realize that?"

"What’s that got to do with anything?"

"I should be able to make up my own mind about things like this without you forcing me to do something I don’t want to do!"

Ben looked intently at his son as he spoke, saying, "What’s this really about, Adam?"

"Nothing."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Good. Then you’re going with us today. And I don’t want to hear another word about it!" With that, his father stalked to the door and went inside.

Adam was left there, exasperated. He roughly took off his hat and ran his hand through his hair while trying to think of a way out of the situation. He could openly defy his father and cause more problems. He could go to the picnic and let things fall as they may. He could tell Hoss about Tess now. No, he couldn’t do that. Not with Hoss feeling so badly already. ‘Damn Tess!’ he mumbled to himself as he strode off the porch.

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Margaret, Tess and Cynthia were already at the lake when the Cartwrights came into view. They looked over at the approaching guests while spreading out food on blankets which had been draped on the ground. "Here they come," remarked Tess to Cynthia. Cynthia watched as the wagon with two men and three riders on horseback drew near. Margaret glanced up, then rose and walked out to meet them while the two girls stayed by the food.

Cynthia put her hand on Tess’s arm and squeezed it, smiling encouragingly. "Don’t worry about anything, Tess."

Tess smiled back a little hesitantly. "I’ll try not to. Just hope he hasn’t said anything to Hoss."

Cynthia glanced up at the group as they greeted Maggie and again looked at Tess. "If he had said something they wouldn’t all be here, right?" Tess thought about this for a moment then smiled slightly. Cynthia winked at her. "Come on. Introduce me to your friends." She led Tess over to the others as they were dismounting.

After the greetings and introductions were made, with Adam merely tipping his hat in response to being introduced to the new girl, Maggie ushered the men and boys over to the food. Hoss’s eyes lit up at all that was spread before them and Ben smiled at Maggie when he saw that while remarking, "Maggie, you girls have outdone yourselves." Maggie smiled back at him. "Well, everyone dig in. There’s plenty here."

Hop Sing carried a pie that he had made over and set it down on the blanket, then began helping serve the food. Adam kept his distance from Tess, standing off to the side. Little Joe reached for some chocolate cake first and Maggie laughed with Ben when they saw the youngest Cartwright’s choice. The two girls kept their attention focused on Hoss which pleased him immensely. Soon, everyone was involved in devouring the meal except for Adam who decided to focus entirely on the contracts that Maggie had brought along. Every once in awhile Ben would glance his way, irritated at his son’s suddenly unsociable ways, but there would be time to deal with that later.

About an hour into the picnic, the girls rose and motioned for Hoss to get up also. Adam kept an eye on the situation without any of the others being aware he was doing so. Tess and Cynthia led Hoss away from the others while Adam watched, concerned. Meanwhile, Little Joe was playing horseshoes with Hop Sing and Ben and Maggie were wrapping up some of the food items and taking them back to the wagons. Maggie happened to glance over at Adam and noticed he seemed to still be going over the contracts and hadn’t eaten much. "Adam, don’t you want anything else?"

This distracted Adam’s attention away from the departing three and he looked over at Margaret. "No, I’m not really hungry." Ben gave his son an irritated look. Maggie was a little disappointed but decided to try and pull the ever-serious Adam away from the contracts. "Why don’t you go with Hoss and the girls? I’m sure they’d like to have you join them." Adam laid the papers aside and started to rise. "The contracts look fine, Mrs. Greene. I think I’ll be getting back now. Thanks for the food." He started to move off toward his horse. Maggie looked over at Ben, a little surprised.

Ben smiled encouragingly at Maggie and walked over to Adam. "Son,..."

Adam had reached his horse and mounted up. "See you back at the ranch, Pa." He didn’t wait for his father’s approval and slapped the reins to get Beauty moving off. Ben was very perplexed and irritated at his son’s actions. He watched him ride off then walked back over toward Maggie. "I’m sorry, Maggie. I don’t know what’s gotten into him today."

"Maybe he isn’t feeling well?"

Ben knew that wasn’t the problem but absently said, "Maybe." He watched till Adam disappeared over the ridge then resumed his task of helping Maggie with the food.

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When they had gone some distance from the others and were well out of sight of the picnic area, Tess stopped, leaned against a tree and looked over at Cynthia. Her friend stopped also and winked at her without Hoss seeing it. Hoss halted where the girls were, looked around, and waited to see where the girls wanted to head next.

Tess reached out to Hoss and pulled his arm over gently toward her. "Hoss..."

Hoss waited for her to say something, but she acted like she was torn about wanting to speak any further.

"Somethin’ wrong, Tess?"

Tess looked down and didn’t say anything. Cynthia came over closer. "Tell him, Tess."

Hoss looked over at Cynthia, surprised and curious. Cynthia had assumed a serious expression on her face. Hoss caught the look then looked back at Tess and asked worriedly, "What is it? Tell me."

Tess got a little emotional and walked a slight distance away from Hoss. "I can’t, Hoss."

Her back was too him and he could hear her voice catch. He glanced again at Cynthia’s solemn face then grabbed Tess’s arm gently and turned her to face him. "Tell me."

Tears started to roll down her cheek as she threw herself in his arms and started sobbing. Hoss was shocked at how upset she was and drew his arms around her. Cynthia was standing off to the side and said, "Uh, maybe you two need to be alone." She started moving off.

"No!" Tess cried, looking up and pulling back a little from Hoss. "Please don’t go, Cynthia."

Cynthia stopped and waited. Hoss released Tess and put his hand under her chin to force her to look up into his eyes. "Tell me what’s wrong, Tess."

She still had a few tears coming down but had stopped sobbing as she said, "You’ll hate me, Hoss."

He smiled at her reassuringly. "I could never hate you, you know that, Tess." He looked around for a moment then led Tess over to a log nearby and they both sat down. Cynthia stayed watching from a short distance away. Hoss waited for Tess to answer him.

She wiped her hand across her face to dry some of the tears away and looked down again as if hesitant to face him. But finally she looked up into his eyes. "I’m sorry, Hoss. I didn’t mean to but I must’ve encouraged him somehow."

Hoss didn’t have a clue as to what she was talking about. "Encouraged who? What’s this all about, Tess?"

She got quiet again so Cynthia cut in. "It’s about your brother. And what he did yesterday."

This statement stunned Cartwright. "What brother?"

Cynthia eagerly put in, "Adam. Your brother. He was missing for awhile yesterday, right?"

Hoss was trying to remember exactly what had happened yesterday. Then he remembered Adam hadn’t said anything about losing his horse and the circumstances surrounding that. Now Hoss was growing alarmed and looked at Tess when he asked intensely, "What happened with Adam, Tess?"

Cynthia again watched from a distance, a slight grin forming on the corners of her mouth.

Tess looked at Cartwright with a worried look in her eyes. "I’m sure he didn’t mean for it to happen, Hoss. It just..."

He grabbed her arms a little more firmly and desperately asked, "What did Adam do to you, Tess?"

After a slight pause, she started. "We were heading back from town yesterday. We just happened to meet on the way. Adam pulled up at some point and said he thought Beauty might have picked up a stone. He dismounted and looked at her hoof. Then he said we better let her rest for awhile and he helped me down. Hoss, we were just talking for awhile."

Hoss watched her face alertly as he listened, impatiently waiting for her to get to what had happened.

Tess continued, "We started to walk a little and I was careless and started to trip. He caught me and..."

"What, Tess?" Hoss running out of patience and dreading the worst.

"He held me for a moment and then--he kissed me!"

Hoss was shocked at these words. Tess went on. "I pulled away. I love you, Hoss. But Adam told me to remember the Ladies Choice Dance and how much I had wanted him then. He said he had made a mistake and should’ve taken me instead of Isabella. I told him it was my mistake and that I loved you, not him. But he didn’t believe me."

Hoss was incensed at hearing these words, his anger growing with each sentence Tess spoke.

She went on. "I told him I was leaving and I went to get my horse. But he went ahead of me and when he couldn’t convince me to stay a little while to talk things out he chased both horses off!" Her tears started to fall again. "I ran away and left him there. I just--oh, Hoss..." She started sobbing and fell into Hoss's arms again.

Cynthia cut in again. "I found her a few hours later by the side of the road. She said she’d been walking for a long time."

Hoss looked at her then back at Tess. He softly mumbled, "I can’t believe he’d do that." Tess heard this and stopped sobbing long enough to look up at him and say, "I know, Hoss. But he did. You believe me don’t you?"

Hoss looked deeply into her eyes and looked back over at Cynthia who slowly nodded.

"I'm sorry" Tess cried into his shoulder. "It’s all my fault."

He gently comforted her as he whispered, "It’s not your fault. I’m sorry, Tess. It won’t ever happen again. I promise." There was confusion and anger in his eyes as he couldn’t believe his brother would do something like that. Yet here was the woman he loved telling him it had happened. And another person confirming it. Adam himself was confirmation also that something occurred. He never had told anyone what happened the day before. So he was obviously hiding something.

Tess kept her head buried in his shoulder as she asked, "What are you gonna do, Hoss?"

"I--I don’t know, Tess."

She looked up at him. "Don’t let it happen again, Hoss. Please?"

He clung on fiercely to Tess to reassure her. "Don’t worry. Adam will never bother you again. I promise."

Cynthia added, "Tess told me last night how much she loves you, Hoss. That she was afraid of hurting you by telling you this."

Hoss gently released Tess and looked at her. "Don’t ever be afraid to tell me something, Tess. All right?"

She smiled at him in spite of her pain and nodded. After a few moments, she said, "We best be getting back, Hoss. They’ll be worried."

"Are you sure you want to?"

"Yeah. As long as you’re there with me." She stepped back and again wiped her face with her hands to dry her tears. Then she had a thought. "Hoss? Please don’t say anything in front of my mother. Please?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I don’t want her to worry. I just told her my horse spooked yesterday."

He smiled gently at her. "All right, I won’t say anything around her. But I won’t let Adam bother you ever again."

She stepped toward him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek and took his hand. He started leading her back to the picnic site. Cynthia smiled in the distance. Mission accomplished.

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Adam figured he would have at least two members of his family mad at him by the time the picnic was over. He knew his father would be upset with him for leaving the picnic early and for not having joined in the fun while he was there, but his father should’ve understood earlier and let him miss the picnic altogether. And Hoss - there was no telling what tricks Tess had been up to for the past several hours with him. Adam was sure there would be some kind of confrontation on the horizon with his burly brother and he wasn’t looking forward to it. But at least Joe wouldn’t have anything to be mad at him for other than missing a few rounds of horseshoes.

Adam attended to the chores around the ranch which had been postponed by everyone in favor of the picnic. He figured that might calm a little of his father’s wrath and diffuse that situation at least. He had gotten a jump on them as soon as he got home and was almost finished everything by the time he saw the family approaching in the distance. He paused for a moment to wipe some of the sweat from his brow and get a dipper of water from the bucket on the porch. Then he leaned against the porch and waited for the inevitable.

Ben drove the team up to the barn and stopped, set the brake and jumped down. Joe and Hoss had ridden up and were dismounting. Hop Sing climbed down from the other side of the wagon and was reaching into the back to get a few leftovers from the picnic. Ben looked over at Adam and said merely, "Put the team up." Adam nodded once and went to take care of the horses. Ben and Hop Sing headed toward the house while the three brothers led the animals into the barn. As Little Joe led Paint into her stall, he asked, "Hey, Adam, where’d you run off to?"

Adam was unhitching the team as he replied lightly, "I had to get back and take care of your chores."

"No kidding? You mean they’re done? All of them?!" he asked excitedly.

"Yep."

"Gosh, thanks!"

Adam glanced over toward Hoss but his brother was intent on unsaddling his horse. Adam knew right away that something was amiss but knew also he would find out about it eventually and so decided to wait it out.

Little Joe gave Paint a quick brushing down then scampered to the barn door.

"Where are you going, Joe?" Adam wanted to stall Little Joe's departure as long as possible, hoping to delay the inevitable with Hoss.

"Going to the house. I’m tuckered out. See ya!" With that, the youngest Cartwright left the barn.

`So much for that idea,' Adam mused to himself. He led the first horse he had unhitched into one of the stalls and went back for the other one while glancing Hoss’s way. His middle brother stayed focused on his horse, brushing it down now. Adam finished unhitching the other horse and led it into another stall and latched the door behind him. Then he leaned up against one of the posts and watched Hoss. And waited.

Hoss eventually finished with his horse then set the brush aside, walked out of the stall and latched the door. He knew Adam had been standing there waiting for him, but he purposely took his time. Finally he walked up to Adam.

Adam patiently stood there, secretly dreading the moment when he’d have to get his brother to face the truth about the woman he loved.

Hoss stood up to him, looked him straight in the eye and said, "Tess told me what ya done, Adam." Then he proceeded to smash his fist into Adam's jaw!

Exploding pain and then total blackness overcame Adam as he went crashing first back against the post and then to the floor of the barn. Hoss stood there, towering over his brother, expecting him to be dazed but not too injured. "Come on, Adam. Get up!"

Hoss waited for some movement to come from his brother, but there was none. He not-so-gently nudged him with the toe of his boot. "I said get up. I didn’t hit ya that hard." Still there was no response from Adam. Hoss grabbed a bucket and went out to the water trough, filled the bucket with water, then came in and poured it over his brother. But Adam still did not move.

Realization finally hit Hoss. He bent down quickly to try and revive his brother, gently lifting his head and repeating, "Adam? Adam?!" Panic was starting to set in now and Hoss leaned over to try and hear a heartbeat. His own blood was pumping so fiercely in his ears that he couldn’t hear much of anything. He felt Adam’s chest and was relieved to feel some movement as his brother was breathing ever-so-slightly. Hoss again looked at Adam as he pleaded, "Please Adam, wake up! I’m sorry!" But his oldest brother remained silent and still.

Just then, Little Joe came into the barn oblivious to what was going on. "Hey Hoss and Adam, Pa wants ya ta...." Little Joe stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of Hoss bent over an unconscious Adam. Joe’s mouth was open and his eyes grew wide. Hoss immediately shouted, "Get Pa, Little Joe!" Joe remained planted to the spot, disbelieving the sight before him. Hoss once again shouted, "Get Pa!" This finally got through to the youngest Cartwright and he went running back out.

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They had gently carried Adam in and laid him on Pa’s bed several hours earlier. He still hadn’t regained consciousness. Hop Sing and Pa had checked him over and found a rapidly swelling jaw where Hoss had struck him and a lump forming on the back of his head. Ben figured he had either struck his head on the post or hit his head on the stall railing on the way down to the ground.

Hoss was devastated. He hadn’t meant to use his entire strength when he struck his brother but that was no consolation now. Little Joe was terrified he was going to lose his oldest brother and couldn’t understand how Hoss could’ve done such a thing. Ben Cartwright had only been able to gather a little information out of the distraught Hoss and he too could not understand how such a thing could've happened. The last time he had seen the boys together no angry words had been exchanged. What could’ve taken place in the short time prior to Adam’s injury that would’ve caused Hoss to be so angry with him?

All they could do now was pray. Pray that Adam would wake up, pray that he would recover, and pray that the family would survive this.

With no doctor in the area, Ben had to rely on Hop Sing’s knowledge and skills. But both Hop Sing and Ben knew that head injuries were very serious and very unpredictable. And they knew that the longer he remained unconscious, the worse things would look for Adam’s recovery.

Ben stayed by his side almost constantly, dabbing a moist towel to his face to try and keep his temperature down, talking softly to him, and just watching him for the slightest movement. But his eldest son remained ever so still.

Hop Sing came quietly back into the room, bringing Ben another cup of coffee. Cartwright took it gratefully as weariness was setting in. "Thanks, Hop Sing." The Chinese cook nodded once then bent over to feel Adam’s face for signs of fever. Ben watched him and remarked, "It’s not bad yet." Hop Sing nodded again and straightened up. Ben set his cup down and looked up at his friend. "Hop Sing, I want you to take Little Joe into town and see if Eli and Ruth will keep him for a few days."

Hop Sing was a little surprised at this request but didn’t hesitate. "Yes. Of course."

"Thank you. Will you stay with Adam for a minute while I tell Joe?"

Hop Sing nodded once more and Cartwright rose and went out of the room. He found Little Joe sitting dejectedly with his head resting on his hands and his elbows propped up on the dinner table. He raised his head hopefully as his father came out of the bedroom. Ben tried to give him a reassuring smile and came over to put his hand on his little son’s shoulder. "Hello, Son."

Little Joe looked into his father’s eyes and realized nothing had changed regarding Adam. He lowered his head once more to his hands.

"Little Joe, I want you to do me a favor."

His youngest boy looked up at him forlornly.

"I want you to stay with Eli and Ruth for a couple of days."

Joe immediately lifted his head in defiance. "No, Pa! I’m staying here with Adam!"

Ben knelt down so that he could be at eye level with his son. "Joe, Hop Sing and I are going to be spending all of our time trying to help Adam. We won’t have time to take care of you."

"I don’t need anybody to take care of me! I can help ya!"

"I know you can, Son. But right now you’ll help me more if I don’t have to worry about you."

"No!" he shouted, getting up and pushing his chair out so hard it scraped along the floor.

Ben grabbed him and hugged him closely. "I know it’s hard, Son."

Tears started to fall from Little Joe’s eyes. "Don’t make me go, Pa. I wanna stay with Adam!"

Ben looked toward the ceiling as if to try and gather strength. His emotions were also raw and when he heard his little son start to sob he knew his resolve was weakening. He looked down at his son. "Okay, Joe. Okay. You don’t have to go."

Little Joe looked up into his father’s face, his lower lip quivering but the tears ebbing. "Really, Pa?"

"Yes, really. We’ll manage. We need you here with us."

Little Joe smiled slightly, kept a hold of his father and said softly, "That’s right."

Ben smiled down at his son then released him. He squeezed Joe's shoulder and headed back into the bedroom. Little Joe watched his father go inside and remained looking in that direction as door closed.

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Later that night Hop Sing came in again to relieve Adam’s father. Ben left the bedroom, closing the door gently behind him, and walked over to stoke the fire. He was surprised to see Hoss still up and sitting nearby as it was the middle of the night. Hoss still wore the desperate look he had worn since Adam had first been injured. It broke his father to know all his sons were suffering from this incident and he didn’t know how to ease any of their pain. He went over and sat by his son.

"Hoss, you need to get some sleep."

Hoss just shook his head, tears threatening to fall.

It felt to Ben a repeat of the earlier scene with Little Joe as he reached out his hand and rested it on Hoss’s shoulder. "Hoss, you didn’t mean to do this."

Hoss pulled away. "Yes, I did. I meant to hit him!"

Ben leaned back in his chair and asked quietly, "Why? What happened, Hoss?"

Hoss put his head in his hands and shook his head. "I’m sorry, Pa. I was just--just so mad!"

"About what? We had just gotten home from the picnic."

"Because of what Adam did!"

"What he did? When? At the picnic?"

Frustrated, Hoss got up. "No. Not what he did there! What he did the day before!"

Ben was at a loss. "I don’t understand Hoss. What did Adam do?"

Hoss was hesitant to say at first, but then blurted out, "He kissed Tess!"

"What?!"

"He kissed Tess!"

"He wouldn't--When?"

"When his horse came back to the ranch without him. He and Tess were riding back from town. They stopped for awhile, then Adam made his move."

Ben was a little incredulous. "Hoss, Adam wouldn’t do a thing like that. Not knowing how you feel about the girl."

"But he did, Pa. Tess told me!"

Ben thought back to that day and the mystery of Adam being gone and also losing his horse. But it still didn’t make sense what Hoss was saying. "Hoss, what did Adam say?"

"Nothin’. I didn’t give him a chance to lie about it."

"How do you know he would’ve lied to you?"

Hoss was getting more frustrated than ever. "Aw, come on, Pa. You think he would’ve admitted it?!"

Ben shook his head at his son’s lack of faith in Adam. He stood up and walked over to Hoss. "Hoss, has Adam ever lied to you before?"

This caught his son off guard. He stood there trying to remember a specific incident. But soon he found he couldn’t. Ben waited patiently then asked again, "Well, has he?" Hoss was disconcerted but not willing to concede the issue yet. "But Pa, Tess told me..."

"And you immediately believed her over your brother? Without even giving him a chance to explain?"

Hoss thought this over and reluctantly nodded his head.

"Hoss, there’s something in this country called innocent until proven guilty. Have you heard of that?" Hoss nodded. Ben continued. "Don’t you think you should’ve given your brother, who’s loved you all these years, a chance to explain what happened before immediately assuming he’d hurt you?"

"But, Pa, Tess said..."

"I know what Tess said. But you have to remember that she hasn’t always been totally honest with you in the past. Remember the Ladies Choice Dance?"

Hoss looked at his shoes while thinking this over. "Uh huh."

"You immediately assumed the worst of your brother then too, didn’t you?"

Hoss again nodded but kept looking down.

"And it turned out he wasn’t at fault. It was Tess who had caused all of the trouble to begin with. Remember?"

Once more his middle son nodded. After a moment, he looked up with deep regret in his eyes. "Pa, do ya think Tess could'a lied to me at the picnic?"

`Such an innocent,’ Ben thought to himself. Then he said aloud, "Yes, I think that’s entirely possible, Son."

This made Hoss feel even worse. He dragged himself over to the settee and collapsed, putting his hands up to his face and shaking his head. His father could feel for his son and went over to him, rubbing his shoulder in comfort. "Hoss, please get some rest now."

Hoss looked up at him slowly. "Pa, I’m sorry."

"I know, Son."

"If anything happens to Adam..."

Ben squeezed his shoulder. "We’ll just have to keep on praying that he’s all right."

Hoss nodded forlornly. His father smiled at him in reassurance. "Go to bed now, Son." Hoss nodded once more, then got up and headed to his room. Ben watched him close the door and then went over to stoke the fire. It was going to be a long night.

---------------------------------------------

The following afternoon found Ben Cartwright once more at Adam’s bedside waiting for some response from his son. But there had been no change. Ben was exhausted and he knew Hop Sing was worn out also. They had taken turns around the clock watching over Adam as well as trying to keep Hoss and Little Joe’s spirits up, but things didn’t appear to be improving on either front. The two younger sons attended to all of the chores so their father and Hop Sing could focus all of their attention on Adam, but the boys’ hearts weren’t in the tasks as each hour passed by with no sign that their brother was going to recover.

Ben had sent Hop Sing in to town to let the Town Council know he wouldn’t be attending today’s meeting because his eldest son had been injured. He asked his cook to be very vague about what happened and only to say it had been an accident if pressed for details. He knew Hoss felt terrible enough about his brother and certainly didn’t need the whole town wondering how he could’ve done such a thing.

Ben dipped the towel into the basin of water then dabbed the towel over Adam’s face as he had done so many times in the past few days. "Adam?" he asked softly, watching intently for the slightest movement from his son. "Adam?" Still nothing. He again moistened the towel, a lot more thoroughly this time, and held it to Adam’s dry lips, slowly squeezing out the water in the towel to let some of the droplets of water get into his son’s mouth for him to swallow. Adam had gone without food or water for two days and this was a way of getting some liquids into him.

Ben leaned back, put the towel up, and put his weary head down to lean it against one hand. ‘How could Hoss have done this?’ he asked himself. His middle son loved his older brother. How could this have happened? Even if Hoss had been furious with Adam for kissing Tess, how could he have used so much force against his brother? He knew his own strength. His father had cautioned him many times over the years about using it against anyone for fear of what could happen. How could he have done this? The answer came back immediately to Ben. ‘Tess.’ She was the cause. She had so provoked Hoss that he wasn’t seeing things rationally when he had approached his brother. And her lies may have cost Ben Cartwright his eldest son.

Ben got up and started pacing. ‘Damn her!’ The intensity of the anger welling up inside almost frightened him. He abhorred violence yet couldn’t stop the thoughts that were racing through his mind.

‘No!’ He stopped pacing and took a few deep breaths to try and get his rage under control. Eventually he was able to get himself calmed. He was walking back over toward Adam’s bed when Little Joe opened the door and announced, "Mrs. Greene’s here, Pa."

Ben nodded at this unwelcome news. After a moment he asked his youngest, "Little Joe, would you stay in here with Adam for a little while?" Little Joe was hesitant as this would be the first time he had been alone in the room with Adam since the accident. His father noted his hesitancy and said, "It’ll be all right. I’ll be right back." Little Joe nodded and came over by the bed. He took the chair Ben had been using and sat down to keep an eye on his brother although he was somewhat nervous about the situation. His father put his hand on Joe’s shoulder for a minute and smiled at him. "I’ll be right back." Little Joe nodded and Ben left, closing the door behind him.

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"Ben, I’m so sorry to hear about Adam. How is he?"

Ben was on the porch talking to Margaret Greene who was standing next to him. "He’s unconscious. There’s been no change."

"What in the world happened, Ben?"

Cartwright was certainly in no mood to go into the details with Tess’s mother so he took his own advice and said, "There’s was an accident and Adam hit his head."

"Oh my! Well, is there anything we can do to help?"

"No. But thanks, Maggie."

"Hop Sing stopped by town and told the Council why you couldn’t be at this month’s meeting. So we postponed it." Ben nodded his head at the news. Maggie went on. "Eli and Ruth are going to be bringing dinner out tonight so you and Hop Sing don’t have to worry about cooking. Shelby’s going to try and drop by later to see if she can do anything to help. And I’d like for Tess and me to bring you dinner tomorrow if that’s all right?"

That was the last thing Ben needed, for Tess’s further help. But he didn’t say anything. He just answered, "Let’s see how it goes. All right?"

Margaret nodded in understanding. "Certainly, Ben. You’ll let me know if there’s anything...?"

"Of course. Thank you, Maggie."

She nodded again and started to leave, knowing Ben would want to be getting back to his son. Cartwright helped her into the carriage and Margaret took the reins and turned the horse back the way she had come.

-------------------------------------------------

Tess and Cynthia were seated on the front porch at the Greene Ranch sipping lemonade and giggling.

"I would’ve loved to have seen that!" Cynthia remarked in response to something Tess had said.

"Yeah, wish I could’ve been a fly on the wall when Hoss got home and saw Adam!" Tess laughed.

They were still laughing as Maggie’s carriage came into view. Tess leaned up in her chair and announced, "There’s Ma."

Cynthia looked out that way, too. "Maybe I better be going?"

"No, why? You can stay one more night. Your aunt won’t mind and I know that Ma doesn’t care."

Cynthia shrugged.

Margaret Greene climbed out of the carriage and walked toward the porch as one of her men led the carriage away. Tess looked at her mother and noted there was a worried expression on her face. As her mother came up the porch stairs, Tess asked, "What’s wrong, Ma?"

Maggie drew a deep breath then sadly broke the news. "Adam Cartwright’s been badly injured."

It was like Tess’s world completely stopped. She stared at her mother, mouth agape, as her friend also looked on in shock.

Tess could hardly get any words out. "No!---How?!

Maggie dropped into a chair, exhausted from the day’s news. "It was an accident. He hit his head."

Tess was stunned. She urgently asked, "Is he gonna be okay?!"

Her mother just shrugged slightly, not knowing how to answer her daughter. Tess rose quickly. "I gotta get over there!"

"Tess, wait! They don’t need us right now. I was just at the Ponderosa."

Tess started quickly down the porch stairs, taking three at a time, and called back, "I gotta see Adam! He’s gotta be all right!" She hurried away. Her mother called out quickly, "Tess!" But her daughter was long gone. Mrs. Greene looked at Cynthia who was very concerned also but didn’t know what to do. Maggie got up and hurried to the edge of the porch just as she saw her daughter riding away.

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It was almost dusk and Eli and Ruth had stopped by the Ponderosa to bring a nice dinner for the family. Hop Sing was in with Adam. Ruth, Hoss and Little Joe were setting out the food and putting plates out while Ben was in the main room talking quietly with Eli. The Cartwright patriarch looked drawn and exhausted.

"...Tess was stirring up some trouble again," Ben told his friend.

Eli asked plainly as if it was no surprise, "So she’s the cause of all of this?"

Ben nodded.

"How is Adam?"

Ben walked over to the fire and bent down to throw another log on. "I just wish there was a doctor nearby. Hop Sing says we can’t try moving him to Sacramento and that’s the closest doctor I know of." He stood and faced his friend. "I don’t know what else to do for him. I can’t stand just sitting by and doing nothing while my son..."

Eli waited patiently for Ben to continue. After a time, Ben added, "Hop Sing thinks when the swelling goes down he may wake up."

"That could well be. Perhaps soon?"

"I hope so."

Eli noted the desperation in Cartwright’s eyes. "Tell me what I can do for you, my friend."

Ben smiled over at him gratefully. "This meal Ruth cooked for us is plenty. Thank you."

"You know we will do anything..."

Ben nodded.

Just then they heard a horse come racing up near the house and shortly thereafter heard quick footsteps on the porch. Ben went to the door just as someone started banging on it. He opened it wide to reveal Tess Greene anxiously standing there. Ben’s shock at seeing who it was quickly turned to anger. Hoss also saw who it was and was equally as shocked.

"Tess, what do you want?" Ben asked, not too graciously.

"Mr. Cartwright, I need to see Adam! Please?!"

Hoss moved over by the door and Tess looked his way quickly then back at Ben. "Please, Mr. Cartwright? Let me see Adam?!"

Little Joe came over nearby, sensing something in the way his father had spoken. Eli was close by also. Ruth watched from a distance, unaware that anything was wrong.

"Tess, you’re not welcome here," Ben stated flatly.

She looked at him desperately. "Please. If anything happens to him I’d just..."

Cartwright looked down at her with a piercing glare, "Something already has happened to him, Tess. Remember?"

Tess looked again at him desperately then tried to turn to Hoss for help. "Hoss? Please? I have to see him!"

Hoss looked at her with disgust. "Haven’t you done enough already?"

"You don’t understand, Hoss."

"Oh, I understand. I understand you used me to hurt my brother," he spat angrily. Little Joe was shocked and angered also when he heard this as he hadn’t really understood how Adam had been hurt.

Tess shot back at him, "What did you do to him, Hoss?!"

Ben heard this and grabbed her by the arm. He led her forcibly out the door, closing it behind him and leaving the others still inside the house. He then led her not too gently down the porch and over to her horse while she tried pulling out of his grasp. "Ow, you’re hurting me!"

Speaking in a low, menancing tone he said, "Tess, you’re not welcome here--ever again. Do you understand?"

She looked defiantly at him and finally managed to pull out of his grasp. But she didn’t respond to his warning.

He said in the same low and menacing tone, "You can play your games somewhere else but not with my family. Do I make myself clear?"

Again she didn’t respond but mounted her horse. Cartwright grabbed the reins and wasn’t about to let go until Tess had acknowledged him. Finally she relented just to get away from him. "Yes!"

Ben released the reins and Tess went tearing off away from the house. Ben watched her go, keeping her well in sight until he saw her horse fade off into the distance. He sighed heavily, relieved to have that confrontation over with. After one more glance to make certain Tess was gone, he turned and was startled to see Hoss waiting for him on the porch.

Ben walked up on the porch to stand beside his son. "Hoss?"

"It was really true, huh, Pa?" Hoss asked sadly.

Ben nodded reluctantly.

"She used me."

Ben again nodded.

"Just to hurt Adam?"

"It seems so."

"Why, Pa? I don’t understand."

How to explain to this innocent boy of his? "Hoss, I don’t want to hurt you."

"Tell me. I need to know."

Ben let out a long, slow breath while considering whether to go any further. But Hoss wanted to know. And he was right - he needed to know.

"Hoss, I think Tess loves Adam."

Hoss looked stricken but he gradually and reluctantly accepted the news. He had suspected as much after going over it and over it in his mind ever since Adam had been hurt. But he had refused to admit it to himself. "We were going to be married..."

"I know, Son. It would have been a mistake."

Hoss nodded slowly. "Then why, Pa? Why would she do that to him?"

Ben shook his head, somewhat at a loss. "I’m not sure, Hoss. I think it was all a game to her."

His son stood there trying to comprehend what had happened. Little Joe meanwhile had opened the door and poked his head out saying, "Pa? Is she gone?"

His father nodded to him.

Joe came outside and asked, "Hoss, you all right?"

Hoss composed himself, looked Joe’s way, then smiled over at him.

Joe smiled back hesitantly. "Well, uh, jus’ wanted ya to know supper’s gettin’ cold."

Ben smiled over at his youngest, clapped Hoss on the back, and ushered them both inside.

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The following morning, Ben was dozing in his chair, hair in disarray, face looking more drawn than ever, and wearing the same clothes he had worn the day before. Hop Sing appeared at the door and came in quietly. He decided not to disturb the weary father and came around the other side of the bed to check on his patient. He was surprised to find that Adam’s head was slightly turned to the left as he had remained in the same position for the past several days. Hop Sing figured his father must have been checking his son at some point and moved his head. The Cartwrights’ cook and advisor felt Adam’s forehead to see if there was any fever and felt the faintest movement as the eldest son turned his head slightly at Hop Sing’s touch.

"Adam?" Hop Sing said softly. At this, Ben came instantly alert and looked over at his son. But Adam still had his eyes closed and lay still. "What is it, Hop Sing?" Ben Cartwright asked anxiously.

"He turned head slightly."

Ben leaned closer and put his hand on Adam’s shoulder. "Adam? Adam?" He nudged his son a little on the shoulder. "Adam?" but there was no response. Ben looked over at the cook questioningly who then responded, "Maybe good sign. We must wait."

Ben was tired of waiting. It had been several days already. He looked again at Hop Sing for more encouragement. His friend smiled again and said, "Must be patient."

"Be patient," Ben remarked somewhat disgustedly to himself.

The cook ignored him and said, "You eat food now with Hoss and Little Joe. I will stay here with Adam."

Ben was hesitant to go but yielded after one more lingering glance toward his eldest son.

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That night, right before turning in, Hoss peered into Pa’s bedroom to say goodnight and to check on his brother. He hadn’t gone all the way into the room since Adam had been injured but had gone as far as the doorway several times. He was still grief stricken at having caused his brother’s injury and hadn’t been able to bring himself to come any closer.

"Uh, Pa, I’m goin’ ta bed now."

Ben looked up from a book he had been reading. "Night, Hoss. Would you throw one more log on the fire on your way out?"

Hoss nodded, but something caught his eye as he started to turn and he stopped in his tracks. Ben saw this and looked questioningly at him. "What’s wrong, Hoss?"

Hoss didn’t answer him, but looked over at his brother. "Adam?"

Ben quickly looked at his eldest son and was stunned to see him with his eyes half-open as though squinting from the light.

Ben drew closer to him. "Adam?"

Hoss hesitantly entered the room and came over near the bed, not able to believe his brother was finally waking up.

Adam felt like he was lost in a dense fog but was trying hard to come out of it when he heard a voice. He tried to speak one word, "Pa?" but only his lips had moved. His throat was so dry and he felt as if his head was in a vise.

He felt his head being gently lifted, then felt pressure against his lips and parted them slightly to feel a little cool water going down his throat. Someone was saying something in the distance but he couldn’t make it out. He again tried saying "Pa?" and this time was able to say it in a whisper. He felt pressure once more against his lips and one more time tasted the cool water in his throat. Then his head was gently laid back against the pillow.

"Adam?"

He heard it a little clearer this time. He tried to recognize the voice through his haze.

"Pa?"

"It’s me, Son. Can you see me?"

It took a moment for the jumbled words to get through to his brain, but when they finally did, Adam tried to gradually open his eyes. The world seemed to be spinning around him so he shut them tightly to try and bring everything to a standstill. He groaned a little at the dizziness he felt.

"It’s okay, Son. Just relax. You’re going to be all right."

Adam took a careful breath, nodded slightly at Ben’s words, and whispered, "Hurts."

His father smiled and laid his hand on Adam’s shoulder in comfort. "I’m sure it does, Son. Just lie still now."

Ben looked over at Hoss who had a relieved look on his face, though he was still upset about having hurt Adam in the first place.

"Hoss, he’s gonna be all right."

Hoss smiled hesitantly over at his father.

"Go and get Hop Sing."

His son nodded and with one final look toward his brother he went out.

Hop Sing came in shortly thereafter. Adam had his eyelids clenched together but he was still conscious. Ben told the cook about his son waking up and that he was in pain.

"I will make medicine for him to drink. Then pain will lessen."

Ben smiled at him and nodded and Hop Sing left the room.

"Pa?" Adam said once more faintly.

"Yes, Son?"

"What happened?"

"Nothing for you to worry about right now. Just rest."

Adam’s brows were drawn together as he struggled to stop the ache in his head and struggled to remember something. "I wanna tell Hoss something. But I--can’t remember."

Ben again put his hand to Adam’s shoulder to comfort him and keep him calm. "Don’t worry about it tonight, Adam. Just relax. Hop Sing is fixing some medicine to help you."

Adam tried again to remember what he needed to tell his brother but finally gave up and let out a deep sigh. "Everything’s mixed up."

"I know. Just take it easy."

Hop Sing came in with a cup and brought it over by the bed. Ben once again gently lifted Adam’s head. "Drink this, Son." Adam tried to squint to see what he was drinking but the universe was still spinning rapidly so he quickly closed his eyes. He sipped the warm liquid and then his father eased him down to the pillow.

Hop Sing watched with approval. "Number one son will rest now."

Ben smiled up at him and nodded in concurrence.

----------------------------------------------------

Late the following afternoon Ben found Hoss outside chopping wood. "Hoss, Adam wants to see you."

His middle son looked up, thankful to see a slightly more rested and relieved Ben Cartwright. It had been a rough week for all of them. Hoss set the ax down slowly. He was hesitant to finally face his brother but his father gave him an encouraging pat on the arm and a slight push toward the house. Hoss went the rest of the way after glancing back once more at his father. Ben stood there with a gentle smile on his face and nodded for his son to keep going.

Hop Sing was coming out of the bedroom, soup bowl in hand, as Hoss was heading in. The cook smiled at the young man as he walked by. Hoss found Adam with his head propped up against a couple of pillows and his hand up to his sore jaw. Adam was still having some trouble with his vision and he looked up to see several Hosses coming into the room. He closed his eyes, then slowly opened them to try and bring his brother into focus, and lowered his hand away from his jaw.

"Hey, Adam, uh, Pa said ya wanted ta see me?"

"Yeah. Although right now I’m not sure how many of you I wanna see," he joked, while wincing.

"Huh?"

"Everything’s still kind’a out of focus," Adam explained, rubbing his eyes.

"Oh. Uh, can I get 'cha anything?"

Adam once more tried focusing on his brother. "You can sit here for a minute. All right?"

"Sure." Hoss sat down in the chair his father had used all week and waited.

Adam again put his hand to his sore jaw for just a moment and spoke carefully. "Hoss, Pa told me what happened."

Hoss looked down when he heard that.

"It was an accident, Hoss. I don’t hold you to blame."

"Adam, I..."

"Wait, let me finish." Adam took a minute to close his eyes and remain perfectly still as the dizziness was returning. He took a deep, slow breath then tried to continue. Hoss looked over at him, concerned. Adam saw this and said, "It’s all right. Just give me a minute." Hoss nodded and waited again.

"Hoss, I wanted to tell you what happened the other day when I lost my horse. But I didn’t want to hurt you."

Hoss again looked down but said, "I thought you had kissed..."

His older brother interrupted, "I know. Pa told me. But I didn’t, Hoss. I swear it!" Adam could feel a pounding in his skull and his jaw and tried to block it all out of his mind until he had settled things with his brother. He carefully looked over at Hoss and asked anxiously, "You believe me?"

Hoss looked at him and after a moment nodded his head. "Yeah. I found out Tess lied."

"I’m sorry, Hoss."

"Why would she do that, Adam?"

"I don’t know. She was mad at me for the other day." Adam paused for a moment to take a hesitant breath then continued. "I’m just sorry she dragged you into it."

"Pa said he thinks she loves you."

"Well, I don’t need that kind of love!"

"Yeah."

The relentless pounding and the dizziness were getting worse. "Uh, Hoss. Can we finish this later?"

Hoss was worried when he heard that and noticed his brother was in difficulty. "Are you all right?"

Adam chuckled slightly, "No. But I will be. I just don’t want you feeling guilty. I don’t blame you for this, Hoss."

Hoss again looked down.

"Hoss?"

Adam’s brother looked at him as if on the verge of tears. "But I hit you so hard..."

Adam raised his head slightly and immediately regretted doing it as the dizziness was getting intense. He eased his head back down against the pillow. "Hoss, you didn’t mean to. Just forget about it. You hear?"

Hoss nodded but wasn’t very convincing.

Adam made a quick attempt to lighten things up. "Just next time count to three first so I can duck, all right?" He grinned over at his brother while desperately trying to avoid the nauseous feeling that was coming over him.

Hoss chuckled lightly at Adam’s words.

"Now get out of here before I get sick all over you!"

Hoss figured Adam was still joking and smiled then caught the pale look on his brother’s face. "Uh, ya want me ta go get Pa?"

Adam gritted his teeth and still tried to jokingly answer, "Good idea."

Hoss hurried out of the room as Adam closed his eyes and tried to stave off the inevitable.

-----------------------------------------------------

Several days later, Ben was opening the door to his bedroom and heard his youngest son complaining inside. Joe looked up from his chair next to Adam’s bed and saw his father standing there. "Pa, Adam says I’m gonna hafta do all his chores for a whole year while he’s recoop--recoop--"

"Recuperating?" Ben asked helpfully as he glanced over at his eldest son. He was happy to see some of Adam’s old devilment back in his eyes as the patient winked at his father.

"Yeah," complained Little Joe.

"Well, Son, you know it’s gonna take awhile before Adam can get back to doing any type of work."

"But a whole year?!" Joe complained again.

Ben remarked while chuckling lightly, "Well, maybe not a whole year. Maybe just a half a year.

Little Joe stood up, whined, "How come I gotta do everything?!" and sullenly walked over to the window.

Ben smiled at Adam then looked over at Joe. "Well, you want to help your brother, right?"

"Yeah." he said unconvincingly.

"Well, Son?"

"Awwwwwwww. All right," he said while pouting. Then he walked out of the room, sagging dejectedly.

Ben watched him go then looked over at Adam. "Maybe that wasn’t such a nice thing to do to your little brother."

Adam smiled with mirth in his eyes and said, "Sorry. Couldn’t resist. How was the Council meeting?"

His father grabbed the chair Joe had been using and sat down. "Fine. By the way, I found out some news today. Seems Tess is going to San Francisco for awhile to stay with her friend Cynthia.

"Good! Maybe she won’t come back!--Ow!" He put his hand up to rub his sore jaw.

"Hurts, huh?"

"Only when I talk," Adam complained lightly.

Ben chuckled. "Maybe you better not talk so much then," he cautioned, while glancing over to scrutinize his son. Adam's father could see the swollen, purplish jaw beneath several days growth on his son's face. He had given a fleeting thought earlier to helping Adam shave but immediately ruled that out because it would be too painful while the jaw was still swollen. "How ya feelin'?"

"Tired of layin’ here, Pa."

"Well, remember what happened yesterday when you tried to get up."

Adam thought about it and responded dejectedly, "Uh huh." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Ben recalled Hop Sing's words as he gently advised, "Be patient, Adam. It's gonna take some time."

Adam nodded slightly then closed his eyes for a moment. His father sat there knowing something was troubling him. Finally, Adam looked over at his father and said, "Pa, I never encouraged her."

Ben smiled at him. "I know, Adam."

"You think Hoss knows?"

Ben took a moment to think about this. "I think he does now. He was just hurt by all that happened. And confused."

Adam again nodded slightly.

His father added. "He’ll get over it."

"I hope so."

Ben watched him carefully and added, "So will you, Son."

Adam was caught off guard momentarily by this statement but then half-smiled at his father and said softly, "Yeah." He sighed and looked off in the distance before adding, "Some day."

Ben reached over and gently squeezed his son's arm as Adam closed his eyes to rest.

THE END