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Into the Long Night

After Adam is injured while breaking a wild horse, all the family can do is keep watch into the long night while each family member has their own private time with him, praying he will come back to them. This is the 9th story in the series.


The sun was casting a beautiful glow around the room as it streamed through the lace curtain at Alissa's window. It looked like it was going to be a lovely day even if the sun had only been up for an hour.

The sound of someone chopping wood slowly brought Alissa awake as she stretched and yawned before finally deciding to get out of bed. She didn't think she would ever get use to how early everyone around here got started in the morning. Being more of a night owl herself, Alissa would much rather sleep in at least until 9:00 a.m. before getting out of bed. But of course if she wanted to eat breakfast with the rest of the family, she had to get up a lot earlier than that.

Pouring water into the delicate white porcelain bowl on the stand, Alissa quickly washed her face and dried it trying to remove all traces of sleep from her eyes. After yawning once again, she reached for her pastel blue dressing gown with white eyelet lace on the sleeves that was lying on the bed and slowly tied it around her waist. One thing for sure Alissa thought, the Cartwrights didn't spare any expense when it came to her wardrobe. All the clothes she had hanging in her closet were beautiful and tailored to fit her petite size perfectly. She looked down at her dressing gown and lightly touched the soft intricate lace that adorned her sleeves and the hem of the dressing gown. I have to admit, I may not like having to wear dresses and skirts all the time like they do in this era, but the beautiful workmanship on some of my clothes certainly makes me feel like a princess sometimes. Twirling around the room Alissa smiled contentedly as she finally stopped and looked in the mirror to admire her lovely dressing gown.

As she was standing in front of her mirror, a playful twinkle appeared in her bright green eyes when she suddenly recognized that all familiar tenor voice singing outside and eagerly hurried over to the window. Quickly moving aside the lace curtain Alissa opened the window and leaned over the ledge. And what a feast for the eyes greeted her as she gazed down at her handsome fiancé chopping wood. Adam had removed his shirt and the sight of him as he swung his axe had Alissa mesmerized.

Looking at Adam without his shirt on was a delight even when he wasn't working, but now as he chopped the wood his muscles flexed and strained as he swung the axe through the air with ease from many years of practice. The sweat that was forming on his muscular body seemed to accentuate his fine toned arms as Alissa continued to stare at this man of hers. Oh, this was definitely worth watching Alissa decided, as a dreamy smile caressed her lips.

"Mmm just think… that gorgeous hunk of man is all mine," Alissa muttered, then she called down to Adam.

"HEL—LO handsome! It sure is nice to wake up and start the day looking at that splendid body of yours."

Adam stopped chopping and looked up at Alissa with a wide grin. Slightly blushing at her remark, he reached down in the bucket by his feet and grabbed a dipper of water and poured the cold water over his head to help him cool off. Of course this just made him all the more appealing as the clear water slowly ran down his body leaving small trails in the curves of his muscles, while it glistened in the sunlight as it nestled in the black hairs on his broad chest.

Alissa felt her heart skip a beat at the sight of her cowboy. "How can one man have so many sexy attributes?" she wondered out loud, as she leaned against the frame of her window and let out a long sigh.

"Hey sleepy head, are you going to get going this morning or sleep the day away?" Adam asked, as he grinned up at her flashing his dazzling smile with just a hint of dimples.

"Sleep the day away? Oh yeah, like that is possible around here," she laughed.

"I will be right down and then we can have breakfast together. Oh and Adam, do you think you could keep your shirt off while we have breakfast?"

Adam just shook his head and grinned as he went back to chopping the rest of the wood.

"Well a girl can dream, can't she?" Alissa laughed, as she closed the window and hurried to get dressed.

oxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

All the family was seated at the table as Hop Sing bustled about bringing the morning breakfast. Each time he brought in a dish he mumbled a little louder, but not loud enough for anyone to hear what he was actually saying. Finally Ben laid down his napkin and held on to Hop Sing's arm before he could hightail it back into the kitchen.

"For heaven sakes, Hop Sing, what is wrong this morning? All you have done is mumble. Spit it out…what is bothering you?"

Hop Sing stopped and crossed his arms across his chest as he let loose on Ben.

"Party coming up soon and Hop Sing is plenty busy. No have time to make big breakfast all time. I have too much to do!"

Hop Sing was referring to the upcoming party that the Cartwrights were throwing. Now this wasn't just any party but the biggest party that the residents of Virginia City had seen in a long time! Adam Cartwright was getting married and Ben Cartwright was hosting an engagement party for half of Virginia City. Hop Sing had been cooking for days now and everyone was staying out of his way, because the best cook for miles around was not in the best of moods lately. But Ben had no idea that he was so overwhelmed.

"Now listen, Hop Sing, I will get you more help from town to help with the extra work. And we sure can eat a lot less fancy breakfasts if that is going to help."

Alissa jumped in at this point. "For heaven sakes, Hop Sing, I can cook us breakfast… I will be happy to help."

Joe tried to hide his snicker and Adam just looked down at his plate. But Hoss had the saddest expression of all on his face when he realized that Alissa might be doing the cooking. They all knew that her skills in the kitchen were not very good, and when she had almost burned down the kitchen one morning after trying to bake biscuits, Hop Sing had shooed her out and told her to stay out of his kitchen.

Being the peacemaker Ben just smiled and patted her hand. "That is alright, dear, we will just get Hop Sing more help. You won't have to do any cooking right now. After all, the party is for you and Adam so we can't have you do any cooking before your own party."

Hoss got a broad smile on his face as he said, "That's right, Alissa, you jest take it easy. You have other things to keep your mind occupied."

"Very well, if you think so, Ben. I guess you are probably right. With my cooking I just might end up poisoning everyone."

Hop Sing nodded and headed back to his kitchen while the rest of the family let out collective sighs knowing the problem had been taken care of and their stomachs would not have to suffer for the next few days.

oxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Later that morning after changing into her riding clothes, Alissa was on cloud nine thinking about how exciting it was going to be for people to know that she was marrying Adam. They had been engaged now for about a month but hadn't told anyone outside of the family. Ben was going to make the big announcement at the party. They hadn't set a date yet, and Ali wasn't really sure when they would actually be getting married. She just was happy to be engaged to the most handsome man in all of Nevada. Of course she was just a little prejudice where Adam was concerned.

Adjusting her hat further down on her head, Alissa smiled as she headed for the barn. She was going for a ride on Freedom today and was really glad to be able to give him a good run. The Cartwright's foreman and Hop Sing were going into town for more supplies and Alissa wanted to go along to give Freedom some exercise. As she was heading for the barn Alissa glanced over and saw Adam down by the corral where they were breaking some of the new horses. She decided to make a quick detour and go and give that handsome man of hers a kiss before she went for her ride. As she got closer to the corral she noticed Joe was getting ready to try and sit one of the new horses.

This was one of many things on a ranch that she really didn't like to watch. She knew it was necessary, but the danger to the rider and sometimes the horse was more than she liked to think about. After all, she was a city girl and it was still very hard for her to adjust to all the dangers a rancher faces every day, especially with a ranch the size of the Ponderosa.

Ali waved and smiled at Adam as she approached the corral. He was sitting on the top rail of the corral watching Joe get ready to break a Pinto that had come with the new stock. He quickly waved at Alissa then turned to watch his little brother do what he does best—become one with his horse and ride it till it tires and finally concedes to its rider.

Joe nodded at the ranch hands holding his horse to let go and prepared for another ride of his life. He loved breaking horses and was a natural when it came to working with the horses. There never seemed to be a horse he couldn't break or ride, and he took great pride in the fact that he would talk to them and watch them for days before he would even attempt to get on their backs. Some of the ranch hands said he was foolish, but the proof was in the result—he was the best!

Alissa approached the fence where Adam was sitting and held her hand to her eyes to shield the bright morning sun as she looked up at Adam.

"I hope Joe will be okay. This is one of the things about ranching that I really don't like, Adam. It is such a hard thing on both the rider and the horse… either one could end up badly hurt."

Alissa turned to watch Joe as she quietly said a little prayer to herself for his safety. As he pulled on his sweat hardened, leather gloves Adam looked down at Alissa and smiled lovingly.

"I know it seems harsh to you, sweetheart, but that is the life of a rancher. Things on a ranch are very difficult and dangerous some of the times. It just comes with the job. But they are things that must be done and we all do what is necessary to run the Ponderosa. None of us can ask a ranch hand to do what we ourselves won't do."

Adam reached down and squeezed Alissa's shoulder then he turned to watch Little Joe. He had complete confidence in his little brother, but there was always the chance that a rider could get hurt and silently said his own prayer for Joe's safety.

Joe slowly wrapped the rope around his gloved hand and then carefully pulled it tighter as he got a firmer grip. Then he gave the signal to let the horse go as he proceeded to work his magic. The horse did everything in its power to throw Joe from his back, but nothing worked with the experienced rider. Eventually the horse tired and started to trot around the corral with an occasional buck just for good measure. After a few more times around the corral, Joe jumped off the horse and came over to where Adam and Alissa were waiting as a couple of hands led the horse away.

As he started dusting off his chaps with his hat he looked up at his brother with his usual mischievous grin and cheerfully asked, "Well, older brother, what did you think of the ride?"

Adam grinned down at Joe and grabbed his hand in a firm handshake, "As always, Joe… you make it look easy."

Joe's eyes widened as he exclaimed loudly, "Easy…are you kidding? I feel like I jarred every bone in my body on that one. He sure is a beauty though, isn't he? I think he will make a fine horse when I am done."

Alissa went over to Joe and hugged him with a sigh of relief as she tried to hide her concern.

"I am so glad you are all right, Joe. I hate this part of ranching and worry that one of you is going to get hurt very badly some day. I still wish you and Adam would just let one of the other hands do this job."

Adam jumped down to the ground and shook his head as he came over and stood in front of Alissa.

"It's not going to happen, little one, so you might as well get use to it."

Putting his arm around Alissa's shoulder Adam smiled down at her as he lifted her chin slightly.

"Why don't you go for your ride now? You may not want to watch for a while because I am up next and I know how you tend to worry."

Alissa smiled slightly, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

"You are probably right, Adam. I definitely don't want to see you try and break your neck. Remember we have an engagement party in two days and I certainly don't want any broken bones."

Then Alissa turned serious as she stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around Adam's neck and whispered in his ear so only he could hear her tender words.

"Please be very careful, my love. I don't know what I would do if you got hurt."

Adam gently pulled her arms from around his neck and gave her one of his slow, confident smiles as he brought the palm of her hand to his lips for a gentle kiss.

"Don't worry, sweetheart, I've done this a hundred times and the most I get is a bad headache."

As Adam gazed down at this beautiful girl that he loved with all his heart, he eagerly took her face in his hands and captured her mouth, kissing her until she was breathless before turning her around and giving her a playful swat on her backside as he gently pushed her toward the barns.

"Now scoot…I have work to do!"

Turning away from Alissa, Adam playfully gave Joe a brotherly slap on his back as they both went to see about breaking the next horse.

As Alissa walked towards the barns she couldn't help but smile as she thought of that stubborn man of hers. Her lips still tingled from the passionate kiss Adam had given her, but she still couldn't shake the foreboding that she felt today. She eventually shook it off as party jitters and slowly walked into the barn to saddle Freedom, saying a prayer for Adam's safety just in case.

TBC