Chapter Two

That Thursday afternoon, the Cartwrights' house was abuzz with activity. It was New Year's Eve, and Adam and Josie were bouncing with excitement that Molly and Fionn were coming to ring in the new year. Little Joe was thrilled because Hoss would be coming, too, and Ben was just delighted that no one had invited Widow Hawkins.

Eyebrows had been raised Monday evening when Josie arrived home, pink-cheeked, giggly, and barely in time for supper. When Ben made a comment that she must have had a lot of patients to visit, Josie had blushed deep scarlet and muttered something incomprehensible. Adam weaseled it out of her later that she'd gone nowhere except the O'Connells' and that Molly had not been home. Josie assured him no impropriety had occurred, but Adam warned her about protecting her reputation all the same. Josie nearly opened her mouth to remind Adam that he was hardly one to talk, but she decided against ending such a wonderful day with an argument.

Hoss and Patience arrived first on New Year's Eve, and Little Joe pounced on his brother before he'd even stepped down from his wagon.

"Geez, little buddy, it's only been five days!" Hoss said, laughing.

"Five apparently interminable days," Adam called from the porch.

Ben stepped over to the wagon and lifted Patience down while Hoss shoved Little Joe off of him and into the snow.

Josie and Adam waited until Hoss and Patience had reached the porch to offer their greetings, and then everyone hustled into the house to warm up. While Josie and Patience giggled next to the fireplace, Hoss shook off Little Joe for a second and pulled Adam off to the side.

"You were right, Adam," he whispered. "It was amazing!"

Adam bit back a bark of laughter. "I wouldn't lie to you about something like that." He slapped Hoss on the back and led him back into the throng.

Molly and Fionn arrived mere moments later, and Adam swung Molly around before pulling her in for a kiss.

"Have you told them?" she asked, breathless and giggling.

"Only Pa," he whispered. "Figured I'd wait until you got here to break the news to Joe, Hoss, and Hop Sing."

Molly smiled and glanced over at Josie and Fionn, who still had their arms wrapped around each other, their faces beaming.

"Wonder how long until we get an announcement out of those two as well," she said.

Adam smiled, too, as he looked over at his cousin and her beau. "I don't know. Josie told me they were taking things slowly."

"Aye, that's what Fionn said as well. But things have a way of happenin,' you know." She winked at Adam and handed him her carpetbag. Since the celebration would last past midnight, she and Fionn were staying the night.

Adam's face darkened. "They better not," he grumbled.

"Be fair now, me love." Molly laughed at Adam's scowl and poked him in the ribs. He broke into a smile and led her into the house, tapping Fionn's shoulder as they passed. Fionn and Josie obediently fell into step and came inside, too.

As the family sat around the table after a huge dinner, Adam rose and asked for everyone's attention.

"I'd like to offer a toast," he began, raising his wine glass. "First, of course, to the newlyweds, who seem as happy as we all hoped they would be."

Hoss and Patience exchanged shy smiles and squeezed hands under the table.

"Second, to Miss Molly O'Connell, who has done me the great honor of consenting to be my wife."

The table erupted.

Ben, Fionn, and Josie already knew of Adam and Molly's engagement, of course, but this was the first that Little Joe, Hoss, Patience, and Hop Sing had heard of it. The four of them leapt to their feet and made enough noise for at least a dozen people as they offered their congratulations to Adam and Molly.

Hoss wiped tears from his eyes as he pumped his older brother's hand. "That's wonderful, Adam, just wonderful! When did you ask her?"

"At your wedding reception, actually," Adam said, shuffling his feet. "We stepped outside for a moment. I hope you don't mind."

"Mind? Of course I don't mind! I'm honored!"

Little Joe shoved between Adam and Hoss as they grinned at each other.

"Congratulations, Adam," he said. "But thanks a lot."

"For what?"

"Now Pa's gonna be breathing down my neck about getting married!"

All three brothers burst out laughing. Adam wrapped an arm around each of them and mussed up their hair, just like he used to do when they were little.

"All right, all right, you three," Ben said with a chuckle as he rescued Hoss and Joe. "Let's all settle down and have some dessert." Hoss settled right down at the mention of dessert, and before long, everyone was digging into slices of Hop Sing's famous spice cake.

The family spent the rest of the evening catching up with Hoss and Patience and playing games. Hop Sing proved to be exceptionally good at charades, and Josie absolutely humiliated Ben on the checkers board. The highlight of the evening was, of course, the final countdown to midnight. Joe and Fionn had escaped to the cellar and returned with armfuls of jars of hard cider to toast the new year.

Adam pointed a warning finger at Josie. "You're stickin' to one jar, young lady."

Josie giggled. "Believe me, Older Brother, that is NOT a problem!"

Adam pulled his watch out of his pocket and led the family in a countdown of the last ten seconds of 1863. When they hit zero, everyone shouted "Happy New Year!" and circulated around the room, hugging each other. Even Pip and Conall bounced around giving New Year's licks. Adam pulled Molly in for a lingering kiss.

"This is the year we get married, sweetheart," he said.

Molly couldn't say anything. She just smiled at him with tears in her eyes and kissed him again.

It was nearly two a.m. before the party broke up. Ben tried to persuade Hoss and Patience to stay the night rather than driving forty-five minutes through the cold to their house, but the newlyweds were awfully anxious to get home. Hoss muttered something about checking on Chubb, but he fooled no one. Everyone stepped onto the porch and waved as Hoss and Patience drove off, and then they hurried back into the house to get out of the cold.

Little Joe yawned, stretched, and bid everyone goodnight. Ben suggested the rest of them do the same and directed Fionn to the downstairs guestroom while he followed Joe, Josie, Adam, and Molly upstairs. Molly was about to follow Josie into her bedroom when Adam grabbed her elbow.

"You get your own room this time, sweetheart," he said, pointing to the door of Hoss's old room. "We've had an opening."

"So you have." She gave Adam a quick kiss, ducked into Hoss's old room, and closed the door behind her.

Adam said goodnight to his father and Little Joe and then turned to Josie and gave her a hug.

"Happy new year, Little Sister," he said.

"Happy new year, Adam."

"So what were you and Patience plotting this evening?"

Josie giggled. She and Patience had spent a good deal of time with their heads together in a corner of the living room. "Oh, you know, just library stuff."

Adam raised an eyebrow. "Uh huh."

"Adam, a doctor must keep her patients' confidences secret."

"Hang on. She's not… already?!"

"Oh, goodness, no!" Josie exclaimed, then dropped her voice. "Even if she were, she wouldn't have noticed anything yet. I was just letting her know what to look for in the future. Anyway, have a nice night." She gave him a suspicious little wink, kissed his cheek, and darted into her room, giggling.

Alone in the hall, Adam muttered "That was odd," shrugged his shoulders, and retired to his bedroom.

Thirty minutes later, Josie cracked her bedroom door and listened for signs of life. Hearing none, she stuck her feet in her slippers and turned to leave. Pip whined.

"I'm sorry, Pip, but you can't come with me. You and Conall will start wrestling and wake up the whole house."

Pip collapsed dramatically on the floor and looked up at Josie with sad eyes. Josie sighed.

"Look, you can sleep in my bed if you stop pouting, ok?" She patted the bed, and Pip leapt to his feet and sprang onto the mattress. Josie bit her lip to keep from laughing aloud as the gigantic dog burrowed under the covers and flopped onto his side, his shaggy head resting on Josie's pillow. Stretched out to his full length, he was longer than Josie was tall. She pulled the quilt up over his shoulders and patted his head.

"Good boy. Keep it warm for me. I'll be back later." She slipped out of the room, closed the door behind her, and crept downstairs to the guestroom.

Adam stirred as he heard footsteps in the hallway, but when his bedroom door didn't open, he assumed he must have been dreaming and rolled over to go back to sleep. Ten minutes later, however, his door did open, and Molly slipped into the room. She glided across the floor and crawled into bed next to him. He sighed as she kissed him awake. He grabbed Molly's nightgown and pulled it over her head. Molly giggled softly.

"Easy there, Adam," she purred. "We should savor this."

They did.

Afterward, Molly collapsed in his arms. Adam held her tightly and tried to get his brain back together.

"That was incredible," he whispered.

Molly smiled and nuzzled her face into his neck. Adam set his alarm clock for five a.m. – sadly, only two hours away now – and drifted off.

Adam smacked his alarm clock the instant it rang two hours later. Given how late they'd all gone to bed, he was sure no one would be awake yet, but he didn't want to take any chances. His bedroom had grown cold, and he and Molly shivered as they fumbled their way back into their pajamas. He kissed her goodbye, and Molly slid out of the room.

Across the hall, Ben awoke with a start. He thought he'd heard an alarm clock, but then decided it must have been the pressure in his lower abdomen that woke him up. He sighed. Seemed he couldn't get through a night anymore without having to get up at least once. He rolled out of bed, crammed his feet into his slippers, and stuffed his arms into the sleeves of his dressing gown. He toddled across the room, flung open his door, and stepped into the hallway.

And smacked right into Molly as she left Adam's bedroom.

"Oh, Mr. Cartwright!" Molly exclaimed in a hushed tone. "Oh my goodness! I, uh, well, uh…"

Ben's eyebrows shot up. "Do you need something, my dear?"

"Oh, no, sir," Molly said, recovering. "It's just that I heard Adam coughin', and after Fionn was so sick, well it scared me half to death. I just couldn't get back to sleep without makin' sure he was all right. I'm sorry, sir. Supposin' I should have woken Josie and let her check on him."

Ben had heard enough tall tales in his day not to fall for Molly's, but something prickled in the back of his brain, and he suddenly remembered his thirties. He decided to let this one slide. "Probably," he agreed. "But sometimes when we're worried, we don't think straight. Is he all right?"

"Oh, yes, sir. Just a dry throat from the cold air. I gave him a glass of water, and he's sleepin' like a baby."

"Well, I expect he's exhausted now," Ben muttered.

"I'm sorry, sir?"

"Nothing, Molly. You run along back to bed, sweetheart. Thank you for checking on Adam."

Molly beat such a hasty retreat into her room it was a miracle she didn't leave a pair of fire trails behind.

Ben chuckled softly and was about to head into the washroom to take care of the reason he'd gotten up in the first place when his brain prickled again. Josie. If Molly was out of bed… Ben padded down the hall to Josie's bedroom and cracked open the door far enough to stick his head in. There was just enough moonlight coming in through the window to reveal a long, slim figure – all alone – in the bed, the covers pulled up nearly over the head.

"That's my good girl," Ben whispered fondly. He closed the door and headed back for the washroom.

Under the covers of Josie's bed, Pip thumped his tail, pleased to pieces by his own cleverness.

In his room, Adam had fallen back to sleep the moment Molly stole into the hallway, so he completely missed overhearing the conversation between Molly and Ben. Nor did he hear Josie creep back upstairs thirty minutes later.

After a lovely – and innocent – night spent wrapped up in Fionn's arms, Josie slipped back into her bedroom just before five-thirty. She was pushing it getting back to her own bed this late, but when she had gotten up half an hour earlier, she'd heard Ben's and Molly's hushed voices coming from the upstairs hallway, and she didn't dare venture upstairs until they'd had time to fall back to sleep.

Pip was still stretched out in Josie's bed when she returned to her room, and Josie had to shove him to one side to make enough space to climb into bed. Pip was no substitute for Fionn, but he was toasty warm and more than happy to let Josie fling an arm around him and snuggle up.

"Uncle Ben would be so mad if he spotted you on the bed," Josie whispered.

Pip just wagged his tail, beating a cadence against Josie's leg. She giggled, buried her face in her dog's wiry fur, and fell asleep.

Fionn and Molly left right after breakfast the next morning. Josie and Adam wished they would stay longer, but Molly had a slew of gown orders to work on, and Fionn promised he'd be back later in the week to start helping with some of the Ponderosa chores. Josie had grinned when Fionn told her how Adam was finding extra work for him to earn supplies for building a washroom. She was glad not only that Fionn would have hot running water, but also that he'd be spending more time around the Cartwrights' ranch over the next few months.

As January passed, Fionn certainly did spend a lot of time around the Ponderosa. Adam had meant it when he said he hated cold winter chores, and he set Fionn to work checking on their herds in winter pasture, patching a few drafts in the barn, and splitting firewood. Fionn even helped Hop Sing with household chores such as making soap and doing the laundry. After one particularly heavy snowfall, Josie came in from her clinic to see Fionn and Little Joe clearing snow from the roof of the house. She shrieked as Fionn lost his footing and plummeted from the rooftop, but the snow was piled so high next to the house that he fell only four feet before landing feet-first in a massive pile of fluffy snow. Josie and Little Joe laughed so hard they could hardly dig him out.

Josie and Fionn didn't get any real time alone during this period, but they were content just getting to see each other. Josie was tempted many times to make a stop at the O'Connells' on her way to and from town, but one of Ben's firmest rules was that she always tell someone where she was going and never deviate from that plan except in an emergency. He wasn't trying to be controlling; especially in the winter, on a ranch as big as the Ponderosa, letting someone know where you were going and when you expected to return was simply a matter of safety. But Josie did miss the cuddling.

Meanwhile, word of Adam and Molly's engagement coursed through Virginia City like a racehorse. Adam couldn't walk down the street without being congratulated by at least three or four people – all of whom wanted to know when the wedding would occur.

"We should set a date," Adam told Molly one afternoon when he went into town to post some letters. "Whole town's getting antsy to know, not to mention my aunts in Boston." While in town, Adam had received one telegram from Hannah and two from Rachel expressing their joy over his engagement and wanting to know when the wedding would be so they could make travel arrangements.

"I suppose it depends on how soon you think you could have a house built," Molly said.

"Yeah." Adam scrubbed his hands through his hair and ambled over to the calendar Molly kept on the wall of her shop. "I don't expect this weather to break much before mid-March." He counted weeks on the calendar. "What with springtime round-up and branding, I'd hate to promise anything before the middle of June."

Molly joined him at the calendar. "Well, how about June 25, then?" She pointed to the date on the calendar, the emerald in her engagement ring sparkling on her finger. "That gives you a couple extra weeks, and us about a month and a half before the cattle drive."

"Actually, my dear," Adam said, slipping an arm around her waist, "it's my turn to stay home from the drive. So you'll just have to put up with me all summer."

"Is that so?" Molly gave him a coy smile.

"That's so." Adam leaned down to kiss her, but he was interrupted by the tinkle of the bell over the shop's door.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Rebecca Croft exclaimed, turning to leave. "I didn't know you had company, Molly."

Adam let go of Molly and turned to Rebecca. "No, it's all right," he assured the young lady. "I was about to head home anyway."

"Congratulations on your engagement, Adam," Rebecca said. "My family was excited to hear the news."

"Thank you, Rebecca." A flash of light reflecting off the third finger of Rebecca's left hand caught his eye. He took her hand and held it up to admire the small diamond sparkling there. "And it would appear congratulations are in order for you, too."

Rebecca blushed. "Tom proposed on New Year's."

Adam grinned. Thomas Billings, the banker's son, was a fine young man with a bright future ahead of him. If not for Fionn, Adam would have nudged Josie in Tom's direction before he began courting Rebecca. "Have you set a date?" he asked.

"Yes, just yesterday. We've decided on July 16. Gives Simon plenty of time to arrange to be here, and then he can help Daddy drive the cattle on his way back to San Francisco."

Adam's stomach jumped at the mention of Simon. "Have you told many people yet?" He tried to sound casual.

Rebecca's sharp brown eyes locked on Adam's. "Josie knows," she said simply. "I bumped into her the last time she was in town. And Simon knows about her and Fionn. It won't be a problem."

Adam hoped she was right.