With Charity for All
Book 7 of A HOUSE UNITED series

By Sarah Hendess

Ponderosa Ranch
Nevada Territory
August 1863

Adam left the Ponderosa right after lunch on Monday, August 17. He wanted to arrive in town with enough time to take a room at the hotel and wash up for his dinner with Molly that evening. He was so excited as he packed his carpetbag that he nearly forgot to take the financial ledgers he needed for his meeting with the banker the next morning. He had wrapped the box containing Molly's birthday necklace in some bright green paper Josie had found for him, and he tucked this into his bag between two clean shirts.

Ben, Hoss, and Little Joe were out on the range rounding up and counting the reserved cattle, so Adam bid farewell only to Hop Sing before he left the house. He saddled up Sport and started off down the road toward Virginia City, popping in at Josie's clinic on his way out to say goodbye to her.

Josie glowed as she hugged him goodbye and kissed his cheek.

"Remember," she said, "you have to tell me all about Molly's reaction to that necklace!"

"I will. I promise." Adam grinned at her, chucked her fondly under the chin, and mounted back up on Sport.

The afternoon sun was merciless, but Adam enjoyed his ride into town and stopped at a small stream halfway there to give Sport a drink. He splashed a little of the cool water on his face and grinned to himself as he imagined what Molly's reaction might be that night to her birthday present. Careful as he was being with this relationship, Adam had to admit – if only to himself – that he was falling in love with the pretty Irish seamstress. These romantic thoughts of Molly stirred up a familiar fire just below his navel, so Adam splashed a little more cold water on his face before mounting back up on Sport. No sense making his thus-far pleasant ride into town uncomfortable.

Adam arrived in Virginia City in the late afternoon, and after bedding Sport down at the livery, he ambled over to the International House, carpetbag in hand. He greeted the clerk and took a room on the second floor, where he dug into his bag and extracted his dress pants, jacket, shirt, and tie. He was relieved to see that none of the items had gotten badly wrinkled on the ride to town and he put them on hangers and carried them down the hall to the washroom where he hopped into a cool bath. He spent a little longer in the tub than he had intended, making sure he washed off every last drop of sweat and speck of trail dust. When he finally emerged, his skin glowing pink from all the scrubbing, he took an inordinately long time shaving, being careful not to nick his face or leave behind a single prickly whisker. He winced as he splashed on some of his good aftershave, but he smiled at his reflection in the mirror as he combed back his hair, using a little extra tonic to hold that stubborn Stoddard forelock in place. Satisfied that he was as clean as he could possibly be, he unwound the towel from his waist and got dressed.

As he finished knotting his tie around the collar of his crisp, white shirt, Adam heard the clock in the lobby toll the hour and he grinned at himself in the mirror again for how well he had managed his time. Stopping in his room to deposit his dirty clothes and slip the box with Molly's necklace into his jacket pocket, he brushed the dust from his hat and headed out to collect Molly.

It was only a few blocks from the International House to Molly's shop, and Adam covered the distance in ten minutes. He had been worried about picking her up right after work – life with Josie had taught him how much time women could require to dress for a formal meal – but Molly had assured him she could prepare herself in the back room of her shop. And when Molly answered Adam's knock on the door (it hadn't felt right to just walk in like he did during business hours), Adam discovered how very right she had been.

Adam stood stunned at the sight of her. She wore a gown of emerald silk with a low-cut neck and cap sleeves. The skirt was full, but not as wide as a true hoopskirt, which made it much more practical for strolling around Virginia City, and the neckline and sleeves were trimmed with delicate white Irish lace. She had done up her long hair in the same two braids that crisscrossed behind her head like she had worn in at the Cartwrights' party three months earlier, and Adam thought he had never seen a more beautiful woman. He broke into a wide smile and bowed grandly to her.

"A very happy birthday to you, Miss O'Connell," he said as he straightened up and kissed the back of her right hand.

"Thank you, Mr. Cartwright," Molly giggled.

"Shall we?" Adam gestured to the sidewalk behind him as he offered his right arm to Molly. She smiled at him, took his arm, and let him lead her back to the International House, where Adam had reserved a private table in a back corner of the restaurant.

All eyes shifted to Adam and Molly as they swept through the restaurant. A good portion of Virginia City was jealous of either one or the other of them. The ladies were envious of Molly for snagging the elusive Adam Cartwright, and the men were jealous of Adam for claiming one of the prettiest young ladies in town – a feeling only slightly mitigated by Dr. Josephine Cartwright's recent availability. Adam sensed the attention and puffed up a little as they arrived at their table and he pulled Molly's chair out for her. Before sitting down himself, he asked the waiter for a bottle of the hotel's finest wine. The young man grinned and with an enthusiastic "Yes, sir!" darted for the kitchen.

Adam and Molly smiled as the waiter rushed to get their wine, and Adam reached across the table and took hold of both of Molly's hands.

"Would you like your birthday present now?" he asked, his eyes twinkling.

Molly glanced around at the restaurant and then back at Adam. "I thought this dinner was my birthday present!"

Adam smiled at her. "It's part of it, but I wanted to give you something you could keep, too." He let go of Molly's hands so he could reach into his jacket pocket and pull out the necklace box. He handed this to Molly as she eyed both him and the long, slim package suspiciously. Her first thought was that Adam had gotten her a book, and she was touched by his thoughtfulness. She loved to read but never had much extra money for books, so she treasured each one that came her way. She ripped through the green paper to reveal not a novel but a long, flat box. She cocked her head to one side as she carefully pulled it open.

Molly gasped and one hand flew to her mouth when she saw the emerald necklace sitting inside the box on a small red-velvet cushion. "A Dhia!" she breathed in Irish.

Adam grew concerned by how long Molly sat there staring in shock at the necklace. "Do you like it?" he asked.

Tears sprang to Molly's eyes. "It's beautiful." She finally tore her gaze away from the necklace and looked up at Adam. "You shouldn't have. This is too much."

"Don't be silly. I'm selfish, remember? It's pretty and I wanted to see it on you." Adam gave her a sly smile as he rose from his seat and took the box from Molly's hands. He removed the necklace and, stepping around behind Molly, draped it around her neck and clasped it. He returned to his seat and sat there admiring the glittering necklace resting just above the bosom of the beautiful young lady. Still blinking back tears, Molly glanced down at the gem.

"Thank you," she whispered. "This is the nicest thing anyone's ever given me." A single tear slid down her cheek, and she dabbed at her eyes with her napkin.

"You're welcome."

They could have sat there all night making eyes at one another, but their wine arrived just then, and the eager waiter made a grand production of opening the bottle and pouring a glass for each of them. Adam asked for a few more minutes for them to decide on their orders, and the waiter dashed off again.

Molly giggled. "Enthusiastic lad, isn't he?"

Adam grinned in agreement and raised his wine glass. "To Molly O'Connell," he toasted. "May you have many, many more birthdays ahead of you."

Molly smiled and clinked her glass against his, and they both drank. Adam looked down at his glass and smiled. It wasn't easy to find decent wine in Virginia City, but this bottle was pretty good. Molly seemed to enjoy it, too, and they were well into their second glasses when the waiter returned to take their orders.

Over roast legs of lamb, Adam told Molly all about Hoss's proposal to Patience three days earlier. Molly beamed and, even though she had not yet been asked, mentally began designing Josie's and Sally's bridesmaids' dresses.

"Poor Hoss," she said with a smile. "He must have been scared to death!"

Adam laughed and agreed. "I thought he was going to faint right before the Lovejoys arrived."

Molly giggled. "Oh, I am happy for him, though. He and Patience are a fine couple."

"I can think of a finer one." Adam reached across the table and toyed with Molly's fingers. She gave him a coy smile, which he returned with a sly wink as the burning sensation below his navel began festering again.

"Would you like something sweet?"

"Excuse me?!" Adam nearly jumped out of his seat, and it took him a moment to realize their waiter had returned.

"So sorry, sir," the young man said, blushing with shame. "I didn't mean to startle you. I was just wondering if you and the lady would like some dessert."

Adam and Molly both bit their lips to keep from laughing and embarrassing the young man further.

"What do you say, Molly?" Adam asked. "A little something sweet for my sweet?"

This was so corny that this time Molly did laugh aloud. "Well, it is my birthday," she said when she recomposed herself.

The waiter grinned and darted away yet again, returning in short order with two towering slices of chocolate cake. Adam's eyes bugged out at the sight of the confection.

"Goodness!" he exclaimed. "We should have asked for just one."

Molly studied her slice as if planning an attack. "Nothing for it!" she declared as she plunged her fork into the dense cake. She closed her eyes and dropped her head back in contentment as the first bite of cake settled on her tongue. "Oh, that is good," she moaned.

Adam broke out in a cold sweat and distracted himself by studying his own slice of cake. He stuck a forkful in his mouth and instantly understood what Molly was on about. "Holy smokes," he said when he'd swallowed the bite. "Hop Sing needs this recipe." Adam didn't go in for a lot of sweets – not like Hoss and Josie did, anyway – but this cake was bordering on spiritual.

Though neither of them thought they could possibly have room after all the lamb and mashed potatoes, Adam and Molly both polished off their massive slices of cake and then leaned back in their chairs, a bit stupefied, while they waited for the waiter to bring the bill.

Adam settled the bill and then rose very slowly from his chair and helped Molly up. "Shall I walk you home, milady?" he asked as they exited the restaurant and stepped back onto the sidewalk.

"Yes, please," she replied. "But go slowly."

They both laughed. Between the wine and the cake, there was no way either of them could move faster than a leisurely stroll. They chatted as they moved through the dying twilight back to Molly's shop, Adam telling her about shopping with Hoss for Patience's engagement ring, and Molly telling him how excited Fionn had become over the plans for the library.

"Oh, the library!" she exclaimed and slapped her forehead.

Adam gave her a puzzled glance. "What about it?"

"That just reminded me. Josie lent me a book a while back, and I forgot to give it back to her when we went to lunch on Friday. Would you mind taking it home to her?"

"No, of course not."

They had just reached Molly's shop, and she unlocked the door and beckoned Adam inside. He followed her in, and she led him to the back room, which Adam had never seen. He was surprised to find it ran the width of the building and had a small stove, sink, and table. In one corner was a single bed, neatly made up with a patchwork quilt that Adam suspected Molly had sewn herself. Next to the bed was a night table with an oil lamp, and a small wardrobe stood nearby.

"You've got some neat living quarters back here," he observed.

Molly had crossed to the night table and lit the lamp before picking up a slim volume. "Yes," she said as she crossed back to Adam, who had hesitated at the doorway. "Nights like this when Fionn's away, I don't like stayin' on the farm by meself, so he made sure I had comfortable accommodations here." Adam knew Fionn had taken the wagon off to Reno that morning to sell his remaining corn harvest, and he thought Molly's decision to stay in town while her brother was away was wise.

"Hey!" he exclaimed when Molly handed him the book and he saw it was a very familiar copy of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. "This is my book! Josie's been lending out my books!"

The indignation on his face sent Molly into a fit of giggles once more. She blamed all her giggling that evening on the bottle of wine. "Maybe she's practicin' for the library," she suggested.

Adam snorted with laughter. "Yeah, maybe. Did you like it at least?"

"I found it a bit… suggestive." Molly blushed ever so slightly.

"Yes, it certainly has its innuendos." One corner of Adam's mouth twitched upward and he stepped into the room, tossed the book onto the table, and reached for Molly. She stepped shyly into his arms and leaned her head into his chest as his arms encircled her. As soon as she was caught up in Adam's familiar embrace, Molly's apprehension melted away, and she tilted her face up to kiss him. His hazel eyes smoldering, Adam held her gaze for what seemed an eternity as he reminded himself not to move too quickly, not to get caught up in the moment, but they both threw caution to the wind, and within moments, Adam was leading Molly over to the bed.

Afterward, they lay with their arms wrapped tightly around each other. The August night was warm, and they were both coated in fine sheens of sweat. Molly reached one hand up and brushed Adam's forelock off his brow. He smiled as he closed his eyes and kissed her tenderly, tasting the salt on her lips.

"Molly." His voice was husky with emotion as their gazes locked on one another. "Molly, I love you. I love you so much." This was not premeditated, but Adam had never spoken truer words.

"And I love you, my darling." She kissed his nose and then giggled. "I suppose I can't rightly call you 'Just Adam' anymore, can I?"

Adam laughed and buried his face in her auburn tresses. "Sweetheart, right now, you can call me whatever you want."

Molly giggled and rolled over so they were spooning, her bare back pressed up against Adam's chest. They cuddled for a long time until Adam heard the clock in the front of the shop chime eleven. He sighed.

"I should go and let you get some sleep," he said.

"You're stayin' at the hotel tonight, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Anyone expectin' you?"

"Well… no."

Molly rolled over to face him, one hand running lightly back and forth across his hip. "So stay here," she whispered.

Adam pretended to be scandalized. "But what will the neighbors think when they see me leaving first thing in the morning?"

"I'll slip you out the back door."

Adam grinned. "I can go along with that." Adam flipped up his corner of the quilt and slid under it. Molly did the same on her side, blew out the oil lamp, and snuggled up against him. Adam wrapped his arms around her, and they were both soon sound asleep.

When morning came, the first rays of dawn peeked through the curtains of the window and illuminated Molly's bed where she and Adam lay nuzzled together. The warm beams slid slowly across Molly's face, and she sighed and stretched. She was lying with her head on Adam's chest, and she now raised herself up on one elbow and caressed his cheek with her free hand. Adam sighed contentedly as his eyes blinked open, and he smiled up at her.

"Well, good morning," he muttered, still drowsy. "Fancy meeting you here." Molly giggled and gave him a soft kiss on the lips.

"Would you like some breakfast?" she asked.

"I certainly would," Adam replied with a wicked grin, and he looped his arms around Molly's waist and pulled her to him again. He kissed her, and when she drew back, her piercing green eyes met his gaze, and Adam knew he would never again be complete without her.

Ten minutes later, they were again cuddling as they caught their breath, when a shrill voice rent the air, shattering the sweet atmosphere they had created.

"MOLLY!"

Adam's and Molly's eyes widened in horror as they recognized the thick Cockney accent of Widow Clementine Hawkins. Molly glanced behind her to the open window, covered only by a thin pair of pale-pink cotton curtains that were fluttering in the warm morning breeze.

"Oh, sweet Lord!" Molly moaned as she leapt out of bed. She grabbed a light-blue dressing gown off a nearby chair and threw it over her shoulders, cinching the sash tightly around her waist. She glanced around the curtains and whirled back around to Adam. "She's coming to the window! Hide!"

Neither of them was ashamed of their nocturnal dalliances, but neither wanted the widow to spark a riotous chain of gossip through the territory, either. Adam felt a pang of terror as an image of Clementine composing a letter to his Aunt Rachel flashed through his mind, and he grabbed one edge of the quilt and rolled off the opposite side of the bed, wrapping himself up like a burrito. The bed was about two inches too low for him to scoot under, so he sucked his head and feet inside the quilt like a scared turtle, hoping that if he lay very still he could pass as a pile of laundry. He was tucked in mere seconds before the Widow Hawkins shoved her pointy noise through the open window.

"Molly!" she cried again. "Good 'eavens, child, are you all right? I 'eard you screaming all the way from my boarding 'ouse, so I ran right over!"

"Oh, I'm fine, Clementine, just fine," Molly assured her. "There was just a, uh, a snake! Yes, a great, big one, and it scared the dickens out of me."

The widow's eyes widened in shock. "A snake! Goodness, you didn't get bit, did you?!"

"Oh, no," Molly assured her. "In fact, I gave it quite a good thrashing."

Inside his blanket, Adam had to bite his lip to keep from laughing aloud and giving himself away. Then he remembered his discarded clothes and boots lying in a heap on the other side of the room, and he prayed that Clementine wouldn't spot them. Adam wasn't sure he could run fast enough to escape if the widow knew there was a Cartwright man in naught but his skin only a few feet away. Molly had the same thought and turned a bit to one side so she was blocking Clementine's view of the opposite end of the room.

"Good for you, dearie!" Widow Hawkins cheered. "I am so relieved you're all right. Why, if anything 'appened to you, I would just be beside myself, I would!"

"Yes, thank you, ma'am," Molly said. "Please excuse me, though. I really must get ready for my day."

"Of course you must." Clementine glanced over at the lumpy pile of Adam-infested quilt on the floor. "Looks like you 'ave a bit of tidyin' up to do. I'll leave you to it, then. Good morning!" The gray-haired woman withdrew her nose from the room and swept away down the street, back to her boarding house.

Despite the rising heat of the day, Molly slammed the window shut and yanked the curtains across it so they would have no more unwelcome visitors. "It's safe!" she called to Adam.

Adam poked his head out of the quilt and looked around, his black hair sticking out in all directions. He glanced around, ascertaining for himself that the coast really was clear, and then he grinned cheekily up at Molly. "So how about that breakfast?" he asked.

After a simple but delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, and coffee, Adam bid Molly a very reluctant goodbye.

"I wish I never had to leave," he whispered in her ear as embraced her a final time.

Molly smiled and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. "Me, too," she said, caressing his cheek. "But go take care of your business. Keep the Ponderosa runnin' strong."

"The Ponderosa's going to keep me pretty busy the rest of the week, I'm afraid," Adam replied with a frown. "I don't think I'll be able to get back into town until sometime next week." He thought for a moment, and his face brightened. "How about you and Fionn come over for supper on Saturday night? He'll be back by then, won't he?"

"Oh, aye, I'm expectin' him this afternoon, actually."

"It's settled then. I love you so much." Adam smiled, gave Molly one last kiss, and scooted out the back door into the alley behind her shop. He glanced around several times to make sure Widow Hawkins hadn't reappeared and then strode back toward the hotel to change his clothes before meeting with John Billings, the banker. As he strutted along the sidewalk, Adam caught himself humming in between cheerful greetings to passersby. The sun seemed brighter than usual, and even though the air was already warm and promising to be broiling by midafternoon, Adam thought Virginia City had never looked so inviting.

When Adam reached the hotel, he slipped up to his room, grateful that he had taken his room key with him last night rather than leaving it behind the front counter, so it wasn't obvious that he hadn't returned the previous evening. He still wore the grin he'd had plastered across his face since leaving Molly's, and as he shucked off his dress clothes, his mind whirled with a thousand happy thoughts. He did realize, however, that if he and Molly were going to continue their trysts, then he would need to stop by Dr. Martin's for some necessary supplies; he didn't want to get Molly pregnant just yet.

Yet.

This was not the first time that word had struck Adam in relation to Molly, and he grinned even more broadly as he realized he intended his and Molly's relationship to progress to that point – if it hadn't already. No matter, Adam thought. If Molly turned up pregnant from last night's activities, then that was all right with him, too. He was a financially secure thirty-three-year-old man, and things could go much worse for him than being blessed with a family. As he finished buttoning up a clean black shirt, Adam imagined the day when he would be able to burst through the front door of the ranch house and announce to Ben that a grandchild was finally on the way. It occurred to him, though, that perhaps it wouldn't be fair to beat Hoss to that punch, especially considering Hoss had actually announced an engagement and set a wedding date. As Adam pulled on his boots, he redoubled his resolve to visit Dr. Martin on his way out of town that afternoon. But, first things first, he had a meeting at the bank.

Adam was usually keen to discuss possible investments for the Ponderosa, but this morning, his mind kept drifting back to Molly, no matter how hard he tried to focus on the stocks and bonds John Billings was telling him about.

"This must be what life is like for Little Joe all of the time," he thought to himself with a grin.

"So you like this idea?" the banker asked.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

A smile tugged at the corners of John's mouth as he recognized the dreamy expression Adam had been wearing ever since he had walked into the bank half an hour earlier. It was an expression he had worn himself once, as a young man when he had first met the woman who would become his wife.

"I was just saying I think your father would make a lot more money if he sold all his cattle and raised elephants instead."

Adam stared blankly at the banker for several seconds before he realized the older man was joking. He dropped his head and chuckled. "John, I am so sorry. I don't know where my head is today."

Billings smiled and clapped a hand on Adam's shoulder. "I think I do," he said. "And whoever she is, don't let her get away." He gathered up some brochures from his desk and handed the small stack to Adam. "Take these home and look them over when you can focus. You can let me know what you think the next time you're in town."

"Thanks, John." Adam gathered up the papers, shook the banker's hand, and saw himself back out onto the sidewalk. He tucked the brochures under one arm and decided to stop by the stage depot to collect the Ponderosa's mail before heading over to the clinic to speak with Dr. Martin. It had been a couple weeks since any of the Cartwrights had collected the mail, and the depot clerk handed Adam a small sack bulging with post. Curious to see if his most recent issue of "Scientific American" had arrived, Adam plunked down on a bench outside the depot and dug into the mail. To his delight, his magazine had arrived, as had four letters for Josie: one each from Jacob, Michaela, Hannah, and Simon. Adam glared at the envelope containing Simon's letter as if it could somehow transmit his disdain for the younger man all the way to San Francisco. "Well, at least three of these will make her happy," he muttered as he crammed the letters and his magazine back in the sack. He dropped the bank brochures into the bag, too, and cinched it shut before moseying down the street toward Paul Martin's clinic.

The letters for Josie had triggered something in his mind, and as he strolled, Adam felt like he was forgetting something important, but he brushed it off, assuming he was just a victim of his distraction once more. As he mounted the clinic porch steps, however, a light, girlish laugh wafting out of the window slapped him across the face, and he realized what it was that he'd been forgetting: today was Tuesday. Josie, not Paul, was working in Virginia City's clinic today, and he absolutely, unequivocally could not ask Josie for contraceptives. Embarrassed, he turned to leave, but Pip must have smelled him through the open window because the dog began barking, drawing Josie's attention.

"Adam!" she cheered when she spotted her cousin on the sidewalk. "Come on in!"

Reminding himself that Josie had no idea why he had been coming to the clinic, Adam shook off his embarrassment and plastered a smile across his face. He turned back toward the clinic and had no sooner stepped over the threshold than Josie leapt at him and flung her arms around her neck.

"I was hoping you'd stop by before you headed home!" she exclaimed as he lifted her off feet. "We missed you last night."

"I missed you, too, kid," he said, setting her back on the floor and giving Pip a welcoming scratch behind the ears. Adam cocked one eyebrow as he studied Josie's glowing face. "You're in an awfully good mood this morning."

"Hey, Cartwright!" another voice called as a slim figure stepped over to him.

"Oh, hi, Fionn!" Adam replied, genuinely surprised. "I didn't think you were due back until this afternoon."

"I wasn't," Fionn said, shaking Adam's hand in greeting. "But I got a little present for Hey, You in Reno and couldn't wait to give it to her. Drove all night to get back early enough to be sure I'd catch her in town." He draped one arm around Josie's shoulders and gave her a little squeeze. Adam blinked in disbelief as Josie stretched up to give Fionn a peck on the cheek. Fionn beamed like he'd just won first prize at a county fair.

"And what a wonderful gift it was!" she added. "Fionn's brought us the first book for the library!" She grabbed Adam's hand and dragged him over to her desk, where she handed him a weighty volume.

"Jane Eyre," Adam read aloud from the cover. "Nice choice, Fionn."

"Can't take the credit for the selection, I'm afraid," Fionn admitted. "I got to talkin' with the shopkeeper I sold me corn to, and I mentioned the library. His wife was standin' there and got all excited and shoved this book into me hands. Said it was a gift from the good people of Reno."

"That was generous of her," Adam agreed, handing the book back to Josie so he could dig into the mail sack he was still carrying. "I've got something for you, too." After a few moments of rummaging, he extracted the four letters for Josie, purposely placing Simon's at the very bottom of the stack.

"Mama!" Josie squealed as she spotted the first letter. Then, shifting to the second, her voice rose another octave as she cried "Michaela!" Her voice rose so high when she looked at the third letter and shrieked "Papa!" that Pip began to whine. When Josie reached the fourth letter, however, her voice dropped to its natural register. "Oh, Simon." Her face fell as she dropped the letters onto the desk. Simon had been writing to Josie regularly; she could count on a letter about every two weeks, and Adam wished he would stop sending them. His missives were full of declarations of his continued love for Josie, how much he missed her and how very, very sorry he still was for how things had ended between them. Adam was glad Simon was suffering for his colossal stupidity, but the letters kept Josie clinging to the hope that he would return to Virginia City and things between them could return to the way they had been. But Simon's letters also described his apprenticeship in San Francisco so enthusiastically that Adam felt it was unlikely that Simon would come back to Nevada at the end of his year of study. He wished Simon would just give Josie a clean break and let her move on.

Fionn, apparently, felt similarly, because he was glaring at the letter now on the desk, and for a split second, Adam thought the young man was going to snatch it up and rip it to shreds – and he wouldn't have stopped him. Fionn, however, balled his hands into tight fists and crammed them into his pockets so violently that Adam heard a seam pop.

Not noticing Fionn's reaction, Josie turned back to him and Adam and forced a smile. "We were going over to Annie's Café for some lunch. Would you like to join us?"

Adam thanked her for the invitation but declined. "I need to get home. I promised Hoss I'd start working on the blueprints for his house today."

"Give him my congratulations," Fionn said. "Patience is a lovely woman, and she's lucky to be marryin' into such a fine family."

"I'll do that, Fionn, thank you." Adam smiled as it occurred to him how thoughtful Fionn was. He had kept Little Joe calm when they were trapped in the mine cave-in, he had helped Ben check the cattle the day Simon and Josie had broken up so Hoss would be free to comfort Josie, and then he had thrown himself whole-heartedly into helping to plan the library Josie was so excited about. And now, he had driven straight through the night, depriving himself of sleep, just to bring Josie a book. True, Fionn had made the poor decision to kiss Josie uninvited a couple months ago, but he had gone out of his way to apologize, and Adam decided he could forgive the young man one bad choice. "Though of course," Adam continued, "you could always tell him yourself on Saturday. Molly already accepted my invitation for the two of you to come to supper at the Ponderosa."

Fionn's face lit up, and he and Josie grinned at each other. "Aye, that'll be grand!" he said. "Did you and Molly have a nice time last night, then?"

Adam muzzled a chortle and leaned casually against the wall of the clinic. "Yes, it was lovely," he said. "I think Molly enjoyed it, too."

Josie noticed Adam bite his lip as if he were trying not to laugh, and she incorrectly assumed Adam was referring to Molly's reaction to her birthday gift. "Did she like the necklace?" Josie asked excitedly.

"She loved it! I got a great, big thank-you." He bit back laughter again, and this time, Josie narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him but said nothing more.

"Wonderful!" Fionn replied, oblivious to Adam's suppressed hilarity. He shook a finger at Adam in mock severity. "I hope you didn't go keepin' her out too late, now."

"Perish the thought," Adam answered, laying his right hand across his heart. "I had her back at her shop by nine-thirty."

"I knew I liked you, Cartwright." Fionn nodded approvingly at Adam and then turned to Josie. "Ready for lunch, Hey, You?"

"And how!" Josie chirped. She and Fionn grabbed their hats off the hooks near the door, and then the three humans and one canine stepped out of the clinic and into the hot August sunshine. Josie gave Adam a goodbye kiss on the cheek, said she would see him at supper, and then accepted Fionn's proffered arm and skipped along next to him toward Annie's Café.