A Cause We Believe to Be Just
Book 11 of A HOUSE UNITED series
By Sarah Hendess
Ponderosa Ranch
Nevada Territory
May, 1864
"I still think you should run, Ben," Sheriff Coffee said, sipping his beer as the two men relaxed at a table in the saloon. "You know you'd have the votes of everyone in Virginia City."
Ben chuckled. "The Ponderosa is all the responsibility I want, Roy. I've got enough going on what with Adam's wedding next month and my first grandchild on the way. I don't need to be the first governor of Nevada, too."
The sheriff raised an eyebrow.
"Besides, we don't even have statehood yet," Ben pointed out. "And no guarantee when we will get statehood."
"Oh, it's coming, Ben. Sooner rather than later, according to your oldest boy."
Now Ben raised an eyebrow.
"Yessiree," Roy said, leaning back in his chair. "Just the other day Adam was telling me how he thinks we'll have statehood before the year is out. Something to do with all the Union sympathizers wanting to give President Lincoln more support in the election this fall."
"That sounds like Adam. Always thinking at least two steps ahead. Probably why I haven't beaten him at chess since he was twelve."
The men laughed, and Ben rose to leave. It was about time to meet back up with Adam, who was at the church with Molly going over wedding details with Reverend Lovejoy. Ben bid farewell to the sheriff and stepped outside. He basked for a moment in the bright warmth of the mid-May sun. The weather so far this month had been quite pleasant, and Adam was now only days away from finishing his and Molly's house well ahead of schedule. Ben would soon be helping him fill it with all the furniture he'd ordered from San Francisco. Patience's pregnancy was going well – she'd finally gotten over her terrible nausea – and in a couple weeks, Hannah would arrive for Adam's wedding. Ben grinned contentedly as he headed down the sidewalk toward the church.
His grin vanished as he approached the telegraph office. A crowd grouped around the door and chattered excitedly. Ben's heart sank – he knew what must have happened.
"Every time I walk past this building…" he muttered as he nudged his way into the throng.
A few moments' listening proved his theory: The Union and Confederate armies had clashed again in Virginia, not far from where General Stonewall Jackson had been killed the previous year.
"They're callin' it the Battle of the Wilderness, Mr. Cartwright," Morris said. The young telegraph operator's eyes were wide. "Guessin' about seventeen thousand Union casualties!"
Ben's heart leapt into his throat. "Any messages for me? Or Josie?" he croaked. He and Josie had both been half sick with worry ever since they'd heard a few weeks ago about the two armies gearing up for another major clash.
Morris's eyes softened. "No, Mr. Cartwright. 'Fraid not. I'll send a rider out to the Ponderosa if any come in."
Ben thanked the young man and slipped back out of the crowd. The sunshine no longer seemed so cheerful, and Ben blinked against the glare.
"Please be all right, Jacob," he whispered as he trudged toward the church to meet Adam.
"Josie's not gonna take this well," Adam said an hour later as he and Ben rode home. He and Molly had had a successful day setting up the final wedding details with Reverend Lovejoy, and he'd thought nothing could break his cheerful mood – until Ben showed up and filled him in on the war news. "She's taken every battle a little harder than the last."
"Yeah," Ben agreed. "And with no word from Jacob or Hannah to give her…"
Adam frowned. "I'm sorry, Pa. I know this has been hard for you, too."
Ben tugged the brim of his hat lower over his brow. "Been hard on the whole country, son. We don't get to claim any special consideration." The set of his jaw told Adam the conversation was over, and father and son rode in silence the rest of the way home.
Josie appeared to take the news a lot better than Adam had predicted. He and Ben broke the news to her and Little Joe over dinner that evening, and while Josie's fork clattered onto her plate and she didn't finish her meal, she raised her chin high and insisted that her father would be all right.
"Telegraph lines are down all over the South," she said, absently stirring her green beans. "He probably hasn't been able to get word out to us."
"I'm sure you're right," Ben said, patting her arm. Their eyes met, and Josie gave her uncle's hand a little squeeze.
Ben didn't finish his supper, either, and Hop Sing muttered about wasting food while he cleared the table. In an attempt to placate him, Josie started to help, but a knock on the door distracted her.
"I expect that's Jesse Hatcher," she said, shaking her head. "I'll go get my bag. Tell him I'll meet him out at the clinic."
The young rancher had come into Josie's clinic earlier that day with his hand bleeding profusely from a bad cut on his palm. He'd refused to let Josie stitch it up, so she'd bandaged it tightly and sent him on his way with instructions to come back if it started bleeding again. Taking a page from Hop Sing's book, she muttered her way up the stairs to retrieve her medical bag.
Adam swung the door open to reveal not Jesse Hatcher but Fionn O'Connell. The young man's face and clothes were streaked with dirt and sweat as if he'd come straight from working in his fields. Adam's stomach lurched.
"Fionn! Are you all right? Is Molly all right?"
"Sure, sure, we're both fine," Fionn said, trying to peer around Adam into the house. "Is Josie all right? Molly told me about the battle, so I rode straight over." Behind him on the porch, Conall let out a happy yip as Pip appeared in the doorway next to Adam. The wolfhound slipped past Adam, and he and his son trotted off together across the yard.
Adam smiled as his fear subsided. "Between you and me, I think she's more upset than she's letting on. It was really thoughtful of you to ride out here. Come on in." He stepped aside to let Fionn into the house while Little Joe hollered for Josie to come back downstairs.
"Long day on the farm, Fionn?" Ben asked, the twinkle returning to his eyes.
Fionn glanced down at his grimy appearance as he unbuckled his gun. "Yes, sir. Sorry. Molly told me about the battle as soon as I came in from me fields, and I didn't stop to wash up before I came over."
"Don't worry about it," Ben said. "Like Adam said, it was very thoughtful of you to come see about Josie. You two say hello and then you're welcome to wash up here. We'll scrounge you up some grub, too."
"You don't have to do that, Mr. Cartwright. I'm all right."
"You eat!" Hop Sing called from the dining room where he was just finishing clearing up. "Cartlights no want eat, so O'Connell will!" He stormed back into the kitchen, his long queue swinging behind him.
"Supposin' I better eat," Fionn said with a grin.
"Fionn!" Josie exclaimed as she rounded the landing on the stairs and descended the rest of the way to the ground floor. "Oh my goodness, are you all right?" She raced over to him, her hands reaching out to examine him. Fionn pulled her into a hug.
"I'm all right, Hey, You," he whispered. "I heard about the battle, and I was worried about you."
All three Cartwright men suddenly remembered important chores they had left undone and slipped quietly out of the house.
Ignoring the stench of Fionn's long work day, Josie buried her face in his shirt as the tears she'd refused to shed in front of Ben rose to her eyes.
"We haven't had any word from Papa," she replied. "I'm sure the telegraph lines are just down in Virginia, but…"
Fionn kissed her forehead. "I'm sure you're right," he said, echoing Ben's earlier statement.
"Oh, Fionn, thank you for coming. This has been so hard on Uncle Ben, too, that I worry about getting upset in front of him." The tears spilled over, and Josie snuffled into Fionn's filthy shirt. Fionn held onto her tightly, not saying a word while Josie wept quietly. When her tears at last subsided, he took a step back and tilted her chin up.
"Better?" he asked.
"A little." Josie gave him a watery smile.
Fionn leaned down and gave her a lingering kiss. Josie wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him. They both jumped when Hop Sing thundered in from the kitchen.
"Mr. Fionn go wash up! Hop Sing have plate ready!"
Fionn laughed and ran a hand through his hair. "That's an order I'm not inclined to disobey," he said. He kissed Josie's nose and bounded up the stairs to wash up. Josie narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Hop Sing, who gave her a smug smile and then strutted back into the kitchen.
By the time Fionn reappeared downstairs, Adam, Ben, and Little Joe had returned from their urgent chores. Joe joined Josie and Fionn at the table while Fionn polished off the supper that Josie and Ben hadn't wanted. When he finished, he sighed happily and leaned back in his chair.
"Hop Sing, you sure can cook," he said, patting his stomach. "I don't think these Cartwrights appreciate you nearly enough."
Hop Sing beamed. "No, they don't!" he agreed. "Hop Sing cook and cook, but Cartlights complain and complain!" He jabbed Little Joe sharply in the ribs as he swept past to refill Fionn's coffee cup. Fionn laughed as Little Joe yelped in protest.
"Soon as I have the money, Hop Sing, I'll hire you away from these scalawags, don't you worry," Fionn told the cook. Even Ben chuckled as Hop Sing shot him his second smug smile of the evening.
"Planning a big crop this year, are you?" Adam asked with a grin. "Maybe charge that buyer in Reno more for your corn?"
Fionn laughed again. "No, that buyer gave me a good price last year, but I've got other plans for me corn this summer."
"What would you do with corn besides sell it?" Josie asked.
"Oh, I've got a few tricks up me sleeve," Fionn replied vaguely. "Now Hop Sing, have you got any dessert lyin' about?"
Once Fionn had polished off two of Hop Sing's famous powdered doughnuts, he joined the family in the great room, where Ben poured a round of brandy for everyone. As he tended to do, Fionn lightened the mood considerably, kibitzing with Adam and teasing Little Joe about his current lack of love interests.
"I got plenty of interests!" Joe protested. "Just a shame none of 'em are interested back."
The family roared with laughter, and Fionn turned to Josie, who, despite Fionn's stinky shirt, was leaning against his chest as they sat together on the floor.
"Your Mam should be here soon, shouldn't she?" he asked.
"Two more weeks," Josie answered. "She and Aunt Rachel should be reaching Panama any day now. I expect I'll have a telegram from her soon."
"That'll be grand," Fionn said. "Didn't have the pleasure of officially meetin' her last year. Think I'll make a good impression?"
Little Joe barked out a laugh, and Fionn stuck his tongue out at him while Ben and Adam snickered. Josie giggled and kissed Fionn's cheek.
"You'll do just fine," she said.
As the evening wore on, Adam caught Fionn stifling yawns and fighting to keep his eyes open. He shook his head. Fionn had obviously put in a full day of hard work on his farm before riding over, and surely he had an early morning and another long day tomorrow. Adam stretched his arms over his head and yawned.
"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm beat. I expect Fionn's had a long day, too. We should probably let him get home before Molly sends out a search posse," he said.
Fionn glanced at the grandfather clock. "Aye, supposin' I should get along home." He rose and bid goodnight to Adam, Ben, and Little Joe and then ambled over to the sideboard to gather his hat and gun. Josie followed him and slipped her arms around his waist.
"I wish you didn't have to go," she whispered.
Fionn kissed the top of her head. "Aye, me, too. But I'll come back tomorrow night. And the next night and the next, as long as you need me."
"You can't do that, Fionn. Not with all the work you have on the farm this time of year. It's too much."
"Nothing's too much for you, Josie." He leaned and kissed her in full view of the rest of the family. Then, with a final nod to the men, he slid out the door, latching it quietly behind him.
The glow from Fionn's visit vanished with him, and after just a few minutes of sitting somberly in the living room, the Cartwrights bid each other goodnight and went off to bed. Adam wasn't surprised when only a few minutes after he blew out his lamp, his bedroom door opened and Josie padded softly into the room. Nothing needed to be said. Adam scooted over to make room, and Josie crawled under the covers next to him. He wrapped his arms around her as she laid her head on his chest, and the cousins drifted off to sleep.
Fionn was as good as his word and showed up at the Ponderosa every evening for the next two weeks – though he started eating a quick supper at home before riding over. The Cartwrights were generous, but Fionn wasn't about to let himself eat them out of house and home. Ben, Adam, and Little Joe found themselves looking forward to Fionn's nightly visit almost as much as Josie did. Adam guessed that Fionn was running himself ragged working a full day on his farm and then spending long evenings on the Ponderosa – a suspicion he confirmed one night when he secretly followed Fionn home and witnessed the younger man falling asleep in his saddle only minutes after riding out of the Cartwrights' front yard. He wanted to say something to Molly, to see if she could talk some sense into her brother before he made himself sick with exhaustion, but he couldn't bring himself to. They'd still had no word from Jacob, and both Josie and Ben were losing weight from not eating well. Fionn's visits were the one bright spot of their days.
All the Cartwrights tried to distract themselves from their worry by throwing themselves into their work. Adam cheered up when the furniture for his new house began arriving, but this just made things harder for Ben and Josie. Not only were they worried about Jacob, but now they had a tangible reminder that Adam would soon be moving out. Josie slept every night curled up next to Adam – both for comfort and to squeeze out every last second with Adam before he left home. As often as not, she woke in the middle of the night, panicked and crying for her father. Relying on skills honed during years of Little Joe's childhood nightmares, Adam held her close and stroked her hair until she fell back into a restless sleep.
Their spirits lifted a bit, however, as they and the O'Connells celebrated Adam's thirty-fourth birthday with a big family dinner. Then, as May drew to a close, they began preparing for Hannah's and Rachel's arrival. Since Hoss had moved out, no one had to sleep in the bunkhouse to make space. Hannah would take Hoss's old room, and Rachel would take the downstairs guestroom again.
His house finished and his ranch chores caught up, Adam took the day before his aunts' arrival off and rode out to the O'Connells' farm to take Molly for a ride. She was enjoying her new horse, Breezy, and had been more than willing to close her shop for a day when Adam suggested they ride out to Lake Tahoe for an afternoon. She'd offered to bring the picnic lunch, and Adam hoped that lunch would include barmbrack. Adam had never had the sweet bread before meeting Molly, but he'd fallen head over heels for it when Molly had first served it to him last fall. She said it was traditionally a Halloween food, but Adam loved it so much that she usually made a loaf when she knew he was coming over.
When Adam arrived on the farm, Molly greeted him with a long, deep kiss that made his insides roll.
"Well hello," he said when they finally parted, breathless and tingling.
"Missed you," Molly said with a smile.
"Missed you, too." Adam grinned back at her. It had been only two days since he'd last seen her, but lately even the shortest separation was agonizing.
"Three and a half more weeks, my love."
Adam smiled again. "Still counting, are we?"
"Every second until I walk down that aisle."
Adam kissed the tip of her nose. "Come on. Let's go on that ride."
Two hours later, they reined their horses to a stop on a secluded section of lakeshore near their new home. They hobbled the horses to graze without wandering off too far and then spread out the picnic blankets Adam had brought along. Ravenous after their long ride, they plowed through the picnic lunch in record time. Adam ate half the loaf of barmbrack all by himself. Then, their bellies and their hearts full, they cuddled together on the blankets and watched the gentle waves of Lake Tahoe lap against the shore. To the east, they could just see the roofline of their new house, now filled with furniture and waiting for them to move in.
"Adam, I'm so happy," Molly sighed as she leaned against his chest.
Adam smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Me, too. I never thought I could know contentment like this."
They sat quietly for a time before Molly spoke up again. "Your aunts still arrivin' on the stage tomorrow?"
"Yeah. I can't wait to see Aunt Hannah."
Molly giggled. "No love for Rachel?"
"It's always good to see family."
Molly giggled again.
"I do love my Aunt Rachel," Adam said. "She's just hard to take in large doses. I'm hoping Widow Hawkins keeps her occupied most of the time."
"Widow Hawkins isn't the only one lookin' forward to seein' her."
"What do you mean?"
"Sheriff Coffee's been talking about her for weeks, sayin' how lovely it'll be to have a fine lady in town again. Brings it up every time I see him."
Adam's eyebrows shot up. "Does he now? Well, maybe Aunt Rachel won't have time to hassle me after all."
"Be charitable, Adam. She's comin' all this way for our weddin'."
"Yes, ma'am." Adam kissed Molly's cheek. "And since you feel so kindly towards her, I'm sure you'll be delighted to join us for supper tomorrow night."
"Oh, well, I, uh, I don't know," Molly sputtered. "I've got a lot of work to do, what with finishin' me weddin' gown. And Fionn's suit needs a few final touches…"
"Be charitable now, Molly," Adam teased. "Aunt Rachel's coming all this way for our wedding."
Molly sighed.
"Besides, Hoss and Patience will be there," Adam continued. "And Fionn's invited, too, of course. He's bound to keep things interesting."
"Aye, that he is. All right, we'll be there."
"Thank you. Truly, thank you."
"Care to show me how thankful you are?"
Adam laughed. "You're in quite the mood today!"
Molly kissed him. "You goin' to take advantage of it or not?"
Adam did.
When Adam returned home that evening – with a big smile on his face – Little Joe met him in the barn.
"Hey, Adam, I think maybe you've had some luck with Ruckus and Scout," he said. "I tried putting them together in the breeding corral this afternoon like you asked, and Scout reared up and wouldn't let Ruckus anywhere near her."
Adam grinned even more broadly. "That's great!" He ambled over to Scout's stall and patted the Appaloosa's nose. "Guess we'll know for sure in a few weeks if you don't go into season again," he said.
"You know, Adam," Joe called from the front of the barn. "You should probably talk to Josie. She's still going on about giving you her share of the foal."
"Oh, yeah." Adam frowned. In all the hubbub over the battle, plus his wedding plans and Hannah and Rachel's visit, he'd completely forgotten to tell Josie she didn't have to pay him back for bailing her out of the Genoa Jail. "I'll talk to her tonight." He strode to the front of the barn and draped an arm around Joe's shoulders. "Come on, Little Brother. Let's see what Hop Sing has cooking."
Little Joe grinned as the brothers headed out of the barn.
Once again, Josie was disinterested in her supper. This time, at least, she was glowing with excitement over her mother's arrival rather than brooding over the lack of word from her father. She tried to protest when Adam told her she didn't owe him for the bail money, but Adam wouldn't hear a word of it.
"Your mother would have killed me if I'd left you in that jail, so I consider it an investment in my personal safety," he said.
Josie wrinkled her nose. "All right," she grumbled good-naturedly. "Thanks, Adam."
"Anytime, kid. Oh, and Molly said she and Fionn will be here for supper tomorrow night."
Josie beamed. She couldn't wait to show Fionn off to her mother. As for Aunt Rachel… Well, Aunt Rachel would be unhappy with any man Josie chose, so it was best not to even consider her opinion.
The Cartwrights hit the sack early that night since they had to be up early the next morning to meet the stagecoach. Adam lay awake for some time, unable to fall asleep. Something was nagging at him, but he couldn't figure out what. He rolled over twice to get more comfortable, and he finally realized what it was: For the first time in two weeks, Josie wasn't cuddled up next to him. He swung his legs out of bed to go check on her when he heard someone fumbling around downstairs.
"Probably Hop Sing doing some last-minute straightening up," he muttered to himself as he stuck his feet in his slippers. There was no love lost between Hop Sing and Rachel, but Adam knew the Chinaman adored Hannah and wanted everything to be perfect for her arrival.
Adam side-stepped the creaky floorboard outside his door and crept to Josie's bedroom. There was no light coming from under her door, so he opened the door a crack and stuck his head in.
Josie's bed was empty.
Just then, he heard a clatter from downstairs followed by a soft curse. He chuckled and headed the other direction down the hall and then down the stairs. He found Josie in the kitchen, picking up a dozen spoons that she'd dropped on the floor.
"Oh my goodness, I'm sorry, Adam," she said, her face flushed, as she snatched up the spoons. "I didn't mean to wake you. I couldn't sleep, so I was going to make myself some tea, and everything just went wrong."
Adam glanced around the kitchen and saw the spoons weren't the only casualty of Josie's culinary endeavor. Loose tea was strewn across the kitchen table, and the sugar bowl had tipped over, scattering its contents on the counter.
"How did you manage all this?" he asked, trying unsuccessfully to hide a smirk.
"No idea," Josie said, brushing a lock of hair out of her eyes. "One minute I was reaching for a spoon, and the next I'd spilled everything in the kitchen."
Still smiling, Adam helped Josie collect the remaining spoons and sweep up the tea and sugar. Then he sent her to the living room while he prepared her tea. He carried the tea into the living room and placed it on the coffee table in front of Josie.
"Not having any?" she asked with a grin.
"Definitely not." Adam poured himself a brandy from Ben's decanter before settling on the settee next to his cousin.
Neither of them said a word as they sipped their drinks. When Josie's tea was gone, she scooted close to Adam, who put his arm around her shoulders. She leaned against his chest and soon fell asleep. Leaving her tea cup and his snifter on the coffee table, Adam picked her up and carried her upstairs to her room. He tucked her into bed and then patted the space next to her. Pip leapt from his spot on the rug and hopped onto the bed next to his mistress. He flopped down with a big sigh, and in her sleep, Josie threw an arm around him.
"Good boy, Pip. You keep the monsters out of her dreams tonight, ok?" Adam whispered.
Pip thumped his tail on the bed, and Adam gave him a scratch behind the ears. He kissed Josie's forehead and then slipped out of the room.
