*A what if I got off "A Stranger Passed This Way"…mainly, what if the Vandervorts had started to move before they found Hoss?
Prologue
The hot blazing sun beat down upon the lone traveler unmercifully. What did it care if his father and brothers were waiting for him, waiting for him to come back home? What did it care that he had been bushwhacked, knocked unconscious and then left to die? What did it care that the man had come to only to find himself confused; his thoughts unorganized. The sun didn't care, but two lone figures sitting off in the distance did.
"Who do you think he is, papa?" Christina Vandervort turned and looked at her husband, Klaas. The couple was moving back to Michigan after living in the west for a number of years.
Klaas did not answer his wife of more than thirty years, as he leaned forward trying to figure out if he should know the man they could see struggling to stay upright. But, they were too far away. If he wanted to see if he recognized the man, they would have to get closer. "I don't know, mama, but I'd say he needs help." He said as he pushed their horses forward. By the time they got to the man...who Klaas quickly realized he did not know... he was laying upon his back on the dirt road on which he'd been walking… and was unconscious.
Chapter One
TEN YEARS LATER
The music rose up and spread over the front yard, as Ben walked out of the house laughing and talking with Adam. The yard was filled with friends and family helping celebrate the marriage of one of their long time ranch hands, Candy Canaday. The trustworthy employee had just married a black haired beauty by the name of Miranda Jensen. They could see the groom and his bride laughing and talking with Little Joe and his wife, Alice. Little Joe and Alice had been married eight years and had four children. Adam's wife of seven years, a brown haired, brown eyed woman by the name of Laura Ann could be seen talking to a few of their guests while their children played nearby.
Everything would have been all right except a few of the young children who did not know any better started playing around and one of them accidently called a nearby horse 'hoss'. No one was surprised by the pained look that came into Ben's eyes as he quickly came up with a reason to go back inside. Adam turned and followed his father.
Once inside Adam found his father standing in front of the empty fireplace, looking at nothing in particular. Since he and Laura Ann had buried an infant son a few years before, Adam knew all too well the pain his father was in at the moment; it didn't matter that it had been ten years since Hoss had disappeared without a trace. If only they knew what had happened to Hoss, his father would have had some closure on the subject. "Are you all right?" Adam asked slowly, concerned he'd upset his father if he wasn't careful with his words.
Ben sighed and took a deep breath. "Most days I'm fine; really," he said as he turned his head and looked at his oldest, "but once in a great while it still hurts." He turned back to the fireplace and his voice grew a bit hard. "I want to know what happened to him." Knowing that his son would never purposely stay away, he and his family had accepted that Hoss had died years ago; still, the not knowing how or when still got to all of them at times. "I want to know he didn't suffer long…that…" Ben's voice broke as he hung his head, doing his best to get a hold of himself. He did not want to ruin Candy's special day.
Adam laid his hand on his father's shoulder, gave it a squeeze but said nothing. What could he say? He wanted to know the same thing, but the past held all the answers…and there was no one with the key to that part of life. Only when Little Joe entered the house did the two stop talking.
"Are you all right?" Little Joe asked, then wondered as Ben and Adam looked at each other and laughed.
"I'm fine. I thought you were with your wife and the happy couple." Ben said as he stepped away from the fire place.
Little Joe nodded. "I was, but Miles Anders just showed up. He asked me to tell you that he has a buyer for that land that Paul Hill wanted us to sell for him and told me to give you this." Little Joe handed his father an envelope their friend of five years had given to him, still thinking they should have left the selling of the land to the old man. Then again, their long time friend had never been very good at handling any sort of business.
Ben took the small envelope from his youngest son and looked at it. On the top of the top left hand corner was some pretty fancy handwriting that read Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Vandervort Holland, Michigan.
For a moment, Ben thought about opening it up and reading it. However, the reception was still going full swing, and he knew he needed to rejoin the celebration. "I'll look at it in the morning." Ben walked over to his desk and tossed the letter down on his desk. He then excused himself and went back outside, leaving Adam and Little Joe to talk.
"Is he really all right?" Little Joe had left the party once Ben disappeared into the house. He hadn't seen his father so unsettled for ages and he didn't like it.
"I don't think that it's ever all right," Adam answered as he thought on his own departed son, "the pain of losing Hoss isn't near as sharp as it used to be. However," Adam sighed, "I don't think pa, or any of us, will ever stop wondering and that's what hit pa hard tonight." Adam then shook off the melancholy feeling that had come over him and insisted that he and his brother rejoin their families and the celebration.