From Two to Three, a Family - Part 1 - a Til Death do us Part Sequel

by MissjudyK

This final story in the Til Death Do Us Part starts in England, nearing the birth of their first child. Everything has gone so well that Adam forgets that things can go wrong, and must face old demons. The Cartwrights return home in Part 2 to surprises - some good, some very bad. Melinda and Ben must face that they have lost everything they love in one insane act.

2. From Two to Three a Family Part 2

Part 2 – Old Friends: Old Faces: Old Foes

One

Saying Goodbye

The time in London had flown by, and the Cartwrights had finalized their preparations to return home. They hadn't accumulated many things that needed to go to the States, and much of that had already been packed and sent ahead to make their personal logistics as easy as possible. The one thing that would make this trip infinitely more difficult was their 20-month-old son, AJ, a toddler with a mind of his own. He had the mobility to get where he wanted to go, and the stubbornness to keep at it until he accomplished his goals. Just the thought of keeping an eye on him aboard a ship made his parents shudder.

With their departure just days away, Adam finished writing the last of his thank-you notes to the staff, and then looked outside to watch his son playing in the garden under the watchful eye of their nanny. He was amazed at how much this little miracle had grown while they'd been at Wadsworth Manor. AJ had gotten his first tooth at three months and at a year had sported an entire set of baby teeth along with a winning smile. He spoke his first word, "Dada," at six months, and had a large vocabulary for his age. He was a parrot when it came to speech—repeating every word he could handle—and was able to associate most words with the objects or actions they represented.

The proud father indulged in a pleased smile as he recalled more of his son's accomplishments. Adam Junior had gone from sitting up, to pulling himself up on anything near him, and then holding on to sidestep around the edges of whatever supported him. By ten months, he had taken a few unaided steps, and had given his father many-a-near-heart attack as he'd launched himself from one piece of furniture to another. And at 11 months he was walking everywhere on his own. The smile broadened as he thought about how the staff had constructed barriers on the staircases to keep the little boy safe. These had certainly kept AJ from tumbling down the marble steps, but they had also made it harder for everyone else to go up and down. Even the staid Niles was heard to grouse on his bad arthritis days, as he climbed over the structures to make his way on the stairs.

A soft, "Ahem," brought his attention back into the room. He turned to find Niles standing at the front of the desk. "I have never gotten used to your unnerving way of knowing when I'm ready for you," Adam chuckled.

"I wouldn't be a good butler if I wasn't able to learn your manner of doing things."

"I hope I haven't been too difficult," was offered apologetically.

"You are a self-sufficient man, Mr. Cartwright, but I feel that we adjusted to each other quite well."

Adam nodded as he motioned Niles to sit. "That we have, Niles. I hope you realize how much I've appreciated all you've done for me, and my family." He saw the man give a small smile, and he continued, "I've finished the notes, and would like you to help me with the amounts of the gratuities to include for everyone."

"As you wish, sir."

The two men spent a short time going through the names, with Adam slipping the suggested amount of money into each of the envelopes that he and Melinda planned to hand out the at the conclusion of the party they were hosting for the staff the next night.

With the stack of cards completed, Niles stood to leave. He lingered at his chair for a bit and finally said, "I'd ask that I might speak freely, Mr. Cartwright."

"I hope you've always spoken freely, but please, say whatever's on your mind."

The butler resumed his seat as he looked intently at the man he had served for two years. "When Mr. Wadsworth wrote to us about a young family coming to stay at the estate, I admit that we all wondered what you would be like. The Wadsworths are from the States too, but they grew up in families steeped in English tradition. He described you as coming from a hard-working, self-made, and prosperous ranching family out 'West.'"

The butler blushed slightly as he added, "We'd all heard about American cowboys. Some of the staff actually thought you'd be prone to having gunfights in the street." He coughed as his embarrassment flashed in a deepening blush, and then vanished just as quickly. "What we found was that while you and Mrs. Cartwright are more open about your thoughts; less inclined to accept help with your daily needs, and led a less formal life than we are used to providing, you are exceptional people that we have enjoyed serving."

Adam laughed openly. "Is that a polite way of saying that we're unsophisticated?"

Niles straightened his back even more than usual. "Not at all, Mr. Cartwright! You don't act like English aristocracy, but you are well-schooled in the ways of proper society. What I meant was that we had to drop our 'notions' as to what we thought you would be like, but also had to reduce our stuffiness a bit as we came to accept your simpler ways. Above all, we appreciated that you were always open to suggestion, and would have done almost anything to please us. That isn't the 'English way.'"

"We are grateful to you and the others for welcoming us so warmly, and for never making us feel that we were as clueless as we sometimes felt."

A nod from the butler preceded his final comments. "Mr. Wadsworth wrote that you were a man of honor. He said further that you were respectful and appreciative, and that this was true of Mrs. Cartwright too." The formal man looked down at his hands, and then raised his head again to meet Adam's gaze. "Everything Mr. Wadsworth said was true. And since I take care of the household finances, Mr. Wadsworth let me know that the increase in our salaries, as well as the money for the added operating expenses of the house while you have been in residence, came from you, not him. I appreciated that because it proved to me that you wanted to be more than a guest in this house."

Niles rose, bowed slightly from the waist, and followed that with a brief smile. "I speak for everyone, when I say that the staff has taken pleasure in your being here. We have never known the sound of an infant in these halls. Your son brought new life, and we have all watched him grow with great joy and anticipation. What I am trying to say, is that we…that I…shall miss you very much, and hope that you will return one day."

The going-away party proved to fun for everyone involved. Adam and Melinda had arranged for a caterer with American ties to bring in a meal of fried chicken, barbequed ribs and all the fixins', allowing the staff to get a taste of down-home country cooking, without worrying about preparing or serving it. After dinner, the Cartwrights entertained the group with American and English folk songs that Adam and Melinda sang while he played the guitar. He even added in a few of the camp songs from his cattle driving days, and with some prodding, he told stories about Nevada and the wide open spaces of the western United States. He elicited gasps as he told about the wide variations in weather in the Sierras, and the danger from the wild animals that prowled the canyons and prairies. The young men asked about gun fights, Indians, and sleeping under the stars, while one of the braver maids asked if all American ranchers were rich and handsome.

AJ attended the party, dancing with the ladies, and running circles around the group as he clapped and giggled. But as the youngster began to tire, Adam brought the Cartwright participation in the festivities to a close.

"My father has told me many times that our memories are always there for us when we need them. Yet, the most remarkable thing about memories is that while you take them with you, you can also leave them behind. We will take our memories of England back to Boston with us, and will recall them often, and with fondness. We also hope that the memories we leave behind will make you smile now and again." He raised his glass. "To the wonderful people of Wadsworth Manor." After the toast concluded, he added, "Now…we're going to take our son up to bed, but as we say where I come from, y'all go ahead and party 'til the cows come home."

The voyage home was difficult, but not because the seas were uncooperative. There were gentle swells and minor storms, causing no one in the Cartwright party any ill effects. The hard part was that the memories of England were so fresh that Melinda couldn't talk about them without dissolving into tears. They had met so many fine people that she'd felt the loss deeply. The only thing that had kept her focused was looking forward to being with those she had missed from back home.

AJ was a happy little boy on the ship. Adam and Melinda had convinced their nanny, Anna, to move to America with them for a couple of years until their son entered school. Having an extra set of eyes and hands to keep watch over the active youngster seemed a necessity if his mother was to continue to write and edit for the publishing company, and who better to do it than someone familiar.

The journey was nearly over now. The ship had made good speed, and was scheduled to arrive in Boston on time, so Adam left the women in the cabin to finish packing while AJ napped, and made his way on deck to watch the Eastern coastline pass by. He was surprised at the emotion he was feeling. The call of home and hearth were strong sirens, and he found his heart beating faster in anticipation. Abel was doing well, considering his age, but Adam was anxious to see him. The older man had overseen the renovation of Adam and Melinda's house, and judging from his grandfather's letters, Adam expected a pleasant surprise.

Adam had also arranged for Sadie, Abel's wife of a few years, to find a housekeeper for the new home. They didn't need live-in staff as they'd had in England, but having help would allow them to spend time with their son instead of doing household chores on evenings and weekends. He'd learned from his father to anticipate the need for help rather than waiting until things were out of hand. It had raised eyebrows when his father had hired Hop Sing, but the small Mandarin had proved to be a blessing many times over. Hop Sing had brought order and stability to a family that had seldom had the time or the energy to cook right or do regular household tasks.

Two

The Welcome Home

With the cabin in order, Melinda, AJ, and Anna joined Adam outside for final leg of the voyage into the harbor. They began to wave as they recognized faces in the crowd waiting to welcome the ship. Melinda's parents were near the front of the group, with Miranda and Sam Green standing just behind them. Both of those women broke into tears when Adam lifted AJ and pointed to them. Margaret blew kisses while Miranda bounced up and down as she held tightly to her husband's arm.

Melinda poked Adam's shoulder and pointed toward Frank and Marian Wadsworth, who were a little further back in the crowd. Marian's reaction was much the same as Margaret and Miranda's, as she began dabbing at her eyes.

Adam scanned the remaining part of the crowd for Abel and Sadie, figuring he'd spot his grandfather's distinctive beard. As he continued searching for the familiar faces, he spotted someone who brought a flicker of recognition. Before he could process who it was, his eyes locked on another figure—a man standing much taller and broader than those around him. He focused on the squatty hat perched on the man's head, and followed it downward, smiling broadly as he recognized the face below the bowler. Waving wildly, he hollered, "Hoss!" The name was swallowed by a blast of the ship's horn, and while waiting to try again, Adam looked to the left of his brother and found another surprise; his father was wedged between Hoss and Abel. "Well I'll be!" he hollered as he turned Melinda, and pointed to his family.

The waving of the Cartwrights on board finally caught the attention of the ones on land. Hoss stared at his brother, observing the curly-haired youngster tucked tightly in Adam's arm, and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket that he used to flick across his cheeks before using it for its intended purpose, blowing his nose with enough force and volume to rival the ship's horn.

The shipboard Cartwrights stayed at the rail as the first surge of passengers disembarked. They'd decided to let the crowd ease before making their way to land, knowing the reunion would go more smoothly if they weren't in the mass of people trying to get to their loved ones.

The Hayworths, Greens, Wadsworths, Cartwrights and Stoddards moved toward each other as the crowds around them waned, and when they were all together, Adam and his family completed their journey home.

The group assembled on shore moved toward them with adoring smiles and outstretched arms, but the protective father held his hand up to keep them back, explaining, "AJ's at the age where he's a little shy around people he doesn't know. How about we do introductions, and we'll see how it goes. If he isn't too frightened," Adam winked, "I'll pass him around." He looked over at Melinda and teased, "Does it seem that this group isn't all that interested in the fact that we've returned home as well as our son?"

She laughed. "I was thinking the same thing." Melinda put her arm around Anna's shoulder and ushered her forward. "This young woman was our nanny in England, and she agreed to come home with us. Her name is Anna Wesley. While you wait your turn with AJ, you can make Anna feel welcome."

Taking Adam's arm, the young family made their way to Melinda's parents. "AJ, this is Papa and Gran Hayworth." Melinda turned toward the rest of the group. "Those are the names my parents decided they'd like AJ to use. The rest of you can teach him to call you whatever you like." Margaret did move forward and placed a quick peck on her grandson's cheek as Melinda went on to introduce Uncle Sam and Aunt Miranda, before turning the introductions over to husband.

They had spoken about what AJ would call Frank and Marian Wadsworth. "Mr. and Mrs. Wadsworth" seemed too formal, and they'd decided that Marian and Frank were truly part of their family, and deserved to be called grandparents. Melinda had already informed her mother of this in a letter, and Adam knew that Ben and Abel would have no problem with it.

With Grandma and Grandpa Wadsworth introduced, Adam moved down the line. "AJ, this is Great-Grandpa, and Great-Grandma Stoddard, Papa Cartwright, and Uncle Hoss."

The ladies were waiting expectantly for their chance to hold the boy, but as Adam turned toward them, AJ reached back over his father's shoulder, and said, "Unca Howrse."

Adam handed his son to his brother with a big smile, and laughed as AJ took the bowler from his uncle's head, placed it on his own, saying, "Hat."

"He's a smart little feller. I didn't even know he'd be able to say much yet," Hoss said shyly while tickling AJ's stomach to make him giggle.

Melinda replied, "He started talking early and hasn't stopped. He knows a lot of words already, including, 'no' and 'don't want to.' He uses those liberally when he doesn't agree with what we want him to do."

After the round of hugs and kisses wound down, Adam headed for home in a carriage with Frank and his family, while Melinda and AJ followed in one with the women.

During the ride, Ben explained that he had conspired with Abel to surprise his son. "You may remember that after you visited the Ponderosa, I promised to bring everyone to Boston when you got home from England. I always intended to make good on that. Little Joe should be here too, but there was trouble with a timber contract just before we left, and your brother volunteered to deal with it, and visit you later. He figured the child's godfather should be here."

Adam nodded. "It would have been great to have all of you here, but we'll arrange for him to come soon." Noting his father's sly look, he offered, "I know you're wondering if we were surprised, and the answer is yes—completely. I couldn't believe my eyes when I spotted that pint-sized hat sitting on that 10-gallon head in the crowd." He reached across the carriage and pushed his brother's knee. "Having you here makes coming home even better."

In Melinda's carriage, the ladies managed to smother AJ with kisses that the youngster kept wiping from his cheeks. He started to fuss with the attention, but quickly regained his humor when Margaret pulled a toy wooden ship from her handbag. He was still busy sailing it from one person to another when the vehicle pulled up to the Cartwright house.

Adam pulled AJ out of the carriage and propped the baby on his hip. He lent a hand to the others and finally took wife's hand, and led her to get the first look at their remodeled house. "It looks magnificent, Grandfather," he said as Abel came over to them. "You did a wonderful job; thank you!"

The older man puffed his chest out a little and rocked back on his heels while accepting the compliment. "I couldn't have done such a good job if you hadn't left those detailed instructions. It practically built itself. And while I oversaw the construction, you'll need to thank Margaret and Sadie for the niceties you'll find inside. Those two left no avenue unexplored when it came to ensuring every modern convenience."

The group headed inside where Adam and Melinda moved from room to room, admiring the construction. The house was next door to Abel, and had originally been owned by Melinda's aunt. Adam had met his future wife when she'd been visiting there, while he'd been staying with his grandfather during a school holiday. The house was willed to Melinda when her aunt passed away, but it was small, and in need of renovation. The couple had made the decision to have it redone while they were in England, and from what they could see, the work had transformed it into a roomy and comfortable home.

Adam enjoyed watching his wife's happy reactions as she viewed each room. Much like the Ponderosa house that he'd drawn up so many years ago, this construction had turned out exactly as he had envisioned it. Yet he knew it didn't matter what he thought; it all came down to the finished product winning the favor of its female occupant.

The welcoming assembly gathered at Abel's after the tour to celebrate the family's return with a meal and belated birthday party for the newest Cartwright. AJ dove into the frosting of his cake with gusto, and giggled happily over his gifts—with one in particular holding his attention.

After the other guests left, Adam, Ben and Hoss got down on the floor to help AJ play with the ranch set the middle brother had carved for his nephew.

Adam held Hoss's miniature version of the Ponderosa house up to the sunlight, and peeked through the windows. "This is quite a feat, Hoss. I knew there'd be a tiny red settee and blue chairs inside." He picked up the replica of the barn next with its working doors and swing-away roof that allowed access to the stalls that were occupied by small horses resembling Chubby, Buck, Cochise and Sport. "You must have worked forever on all of this."

Ben laughed as Hoss smiled shyly. "Your brother started whittling the day we got the letter about a baby being on the way. He figured that a boy or girl would appreciate playing with all the animals and buildings, and either one should get to know a little more about where their daddy came from."

AJ rummaged through the box containing the remaining pieces, pulled out a set of draft horses and held them up as he said, "Howrsies!"

Hoss pulled the child onto his lap. "This here's the horse your daddy rode when he lived at this house," he told the youngster as picked up the steed painted a reddish-brown with white socks. "Its name is Sport. The ones you got in yer hand are work horses." Putting the two animals side-by-side, he continued, "See how much bigger and stronger the ones are that do all the wagon pullin'?" He picked up a couple of the black, horned animals next. "These aren't horses. They's the steers yer daddy kept watch on, out under the stars."

The little boy pointed skyward and repeated, "Stawrs up thewr."

"Yep, they are, little man, and on the Ponderosa there's so many of them the sky looks like it's painted with silver speckles."

The Cartwright men laughed as AJ struggled to repeat the words, silver speckles, and once the child was busy playing again, they caught up with quick details of the news from England and Nevada. AJ barely noticed when his father left him with his grandpa Ben, as he wanted to be called, and his uncle, to go next door to help Melinda, and spend a little more time examining the nooks and crannies of the house. When Adam returned a little later, he found his father snoring in the rocking chair with his grandson sound asleep on his lap.

Three

Settling In

Adam checked downstairs, making sure all was in order before heading up to bed on their first night home. He peeked in the room where his son was sleeping in the little bed with sides to keep him from rolling out. Abel had constructed it after receiving Adam's letter telling him that his great grandson was a master of climbing over the rails of his crib in England.

He walked in quietly, and kissed the sleeping child's forehead. The saving grace to AJ's ability to crawl out of bed was that he wasn't able to open door knobs yet. As long as the roaming youngster couldn't get beyond his room he remained safe, and he usually made his way to Anna who would settle him back to sleep.

The door connecting Anna's room to AJ's was open a crack, and since there was no light visible, Adam assumed that she was also asleep. He grinned as he thought about his younger brother's reaction to the attractive young nanny when they'd been properly introduced at Abel's. The big man's cheeks had pinked a little as he gave Anna a shy smile the older brother knew meant Hoss was taken with her.

Melinda had gone up to their new, large room earlier, and Adam could hear her snoring softly as he entered. He stripped off his shirt, tossing it over the chair. He sat on to remove his boots, and then padded over to the window to gaze out at the moonlit sky. He'd stargazed many times in London too, but it had never felt the same. The familiar constellations above, made him feel like he was really home.

A dark awareness from earlier trickled through his consciousness, and he tried to decipher why it bothered him. He attempted again to identify the face he'd seen just before spotting Hoss, yet all he could conjure was a woman's profile. Even now, a shiver of uncertainty disturbed his happy mood.

He was so deep in thought that he jumped when Melinda put her arms around his waist from behind him and kissed his shoulder. He enfolded her hands in his and pushed other thoughts from his mind, as he let her kisses arouse feelings that he liked far more. "I thought you were sleeping, my love, or I would have come right to bed."

"I was dozing, but I heard you come in, and got curious about what you found so fascinating outside." She moved to his side and tucked herself under his arm. "Are you glad to be back?"

"More than I thought I would be. When I looked from our bedroom window in London, I saw beautiful gardens and the roof of a fine stable. Looking out here, I see only a patch of lawn with Abel's house beyond it. But it brings me…peace. The fact that my father and brother are staying there makes it even better." He tipped her face up and kissed her. "Maybe it's because this home is ours."

She giggled. "Ours…and the bank's I'd presume. It must have been pricey to do all this work."

"Not so much as you'd think. I cashed in some stocks I bought years back to help pay for it. Abel was so frugal, that the sum more than covered it." He saw her eyebrows near. "I know you're wondering if we'll be running short of cash, but don't worry. That investment had run its course, so it was time to sell it. And with the other investments we've made, our salaries, and the money from Frank's endowment, we're well covered."

"That's good." She moved her fingers through the curls of hair on his chest, making him breathe faster. "As long as there's a little money left, I think we're going to need some furniture. I can't believe how rearranging walls and room shapes, along with a few extra feet added on to the back of the house could create so much 'empty' space."

He took a deep breath to calm himself, and explained, "Most houses from the time these were built were simply rooms stuck next to each and connected by doors. You remember the main room at the Ponderosa. It worked for just the four of us, but moving things around a little opened space for a big party and dance. That's what I tried to do here too."

"That makes sense, and everything looks wonderful…except for the lack of places to sit down, and the tiny table that seems lost in the dining area."

He pulled her near for another kiss. "Get what you need for Cartwright Manor." His eyes sparkled in the moonlight reflecting off the window glass. "There are two spare bedrooms on this floor. Should we get to work filling those?"

She laid her head on his chest for a moment and then looked up into his eyes. "It's been well over a year since AJ was born, and I'm getting older, along with having the same problems conceiving that were there before. She smiled shyly as her cheeks turned a pale pink. "And you know we 'work' at it almost every night…and every time, you leave me breathless, wanting you even more." She paused a moment, before adding, "I think we need to keep at this—with no expectations, like we did before our son came along. That way we'll be happy if it happens, instead of frustrated if it doesn't."

"You've never been more beautiful than you are now, and I want you more than ever…as you can probably tell." He winked. "And I agree. We'll simply continue making love with enthusiasm and abandon, without worrying about anything else. " He caressed her back, moving lower until he cupped her hips and lifted her so she could wrap her legs around him while he carried her to their bed. After setting her down, he knelt on one knee, and took her hands. "I love you, Mrs. Cartwright. Welcome home."

Adam responded groggily to the knock on their bedroom door. He shook Melinda's shoulder and said, "Niles is knocking. We must have overslept."

Melinda sat up, clutching the sheets around her and laughed softly, "Have you forgotten where we are? There's no Niles here." She moved quickly from the bed to slip her nightgown over her head, and slid her arms into a robe. "Who's there?" She asked, after mouthing to Adam that he should put something on as well.

They heard a small voice through the door. "Mommy, Daddy, can I play wif Howrse?"

The mother ran to the door, opened it, and scooped her baby into her arms, just as Adam finished buckling his belt and shrugging his shirt onto his shoulders. "Good morning, my sweetheart. Did you sleep well in your new bed?"

Anna remained in the hall, and said apologetically. "He was so excited to see you, Ma'am, that I couldn't stop him from knocking."

"No worries. We should have been up long ago." She pulled AJ's shirt up and blew on his belly, making him giggle, before returning her attention to the nanny. "How was your first night here, Anna?"

"Most pleasant, Ma'am. Young Mr. Cartwright slept straight through without waking once. He likes his new bed and I had to pull him from it this morning."

Adam came over and took his son, giving him a gentle "whisker-rub" on his cheek. "Is that so, son? You like your new bed?"

AJ nodded vigorously. "I'm a big boy."

Moving the child around until he was nose to nose with him, Adam asked, "Did you say something about your uncle Hoss?"

Anna blushed. "He's downstairs, sir, wondering if he might take his nephew and me for a walk. He says we're both new to Boston, so we might do well exploring together."

"That sounds great!" Melinda pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Anna, now that we're in the states, you can call us Adam and Melinda or Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright if you prefer. It's less formal here, and no one will think you're being impertinent."

"I can do that, ma'am." Anna laughed. "I mean, Mrs. Cartwright. AJ and I will leave now, but we'll not be gone long."

Hoss had AJ riding on his shoulders while holding his hands as they made their way along the walkway by the harbor. "It sure is purdy here," he commented to his walking partner."

"Purdy?" she asked. "What does that mean?"

"Sorry, ma'am," Hoss choked out, as he grimaced. "It's just my country way of talkin. I mean, it's pretty here. With them ships in the harbor and the birds flyin' overhead makin' a racket, I feel like in a living paintin'. I've been to San Francisco, and it's kind'a like this, but here it's more peaceful…serene-like, compared to there."

"It is 'purdy,'" she teased. "And, young Mr. Cartwright must find it tranquil since he's fallen sound asleep leaning on your hat." She reached up and slid AJ down into her arms, cradling him. "Now I wish we'd brought his pram. He's pretty heavy to carry."

"I'll do it, Anna. He ain't nothin' but a sprout for me. I'm used to carryin' fence posts and baby calves." He settled AJ's head onto his shoulder and wrapped his sturdy arms around the boy's back to keep him lodged in place. "We can head back, since he'll probably sleep better at home. That'll still give us a few minutes to talk."

"You handle the boy very easily, Mr. Hoss. Do you have children back in Nevada?" Anna thought that Adam's brother was single, but she wanted to confirm it as slyly as possible.

"No, ma'am, I ain't never been married. I helped with my younger brother when we was kids, and I take care of the little critters on the ranch. Being as big as I am, I guess I've learned to be careful."

"You'll make a fine father someday." She smiled brightly at him and then looked ahead, grinning to herself, as they walked back to the house.

Four

New Opportunities

Ben said that he and Hoss could stay 10 days, so Adam tried to figure out ways to get things done while including his family.

On his first full-day home, Adam, Ben, Abel and Hoss accompanied him to Wadsworth Engineering to check in. It was nearly noon by the time they arrived, so they shanghaied Frank, and went out to lunch at the Palmer House Hotel. After a repast that included seafood and local lager, they ordered an entire Boston cream pie for dessert—the signature dessert of the Palmer House, created by their French Chef. Adam had promised Hoss that he'd take him to this particular restaurant if he ever visited Boston so he could compare the cake Hop Sing had made to welcome Adam and Melinda to the Ponderosa, with the original.

Hoss was down to the crumbs of his third piece when Chef Sanzian came over to the table carrying a pastry box. "I understand there's someone here who appreciates a good meal and a fine dessert," he said with a heavy French accent, as he nodded toward the largest Cartwright. "I've heard that this table has consumed an entire cake, so I thought I'd give you another to take along with you."

"Well I'll be," Hoss replied as he took the chocolate-topped treasure from the chef. "I am plumb full with the outstandin' meal you made, but I think there's a few people back at the house that'll enjoy this dessert with me later. Thank you kindly."

When the chef returned to the kitchen, Hoss leaned in and said quietly, "That man might have created this here concoction, but the truth is that our cook back at the Ponderosa made one that was even better."

"Then why'd you eat so much of this one?" his older brother asked with a grin.

"I never said this one wasn't good, brother…or undeserving of appreciation. I just said that Hop Sing's was better."

While they laughed at the big man's assessment, Frank signaled for a refill of their coffee cups, and then leaned over to speak to his young associate, "I know your family is planning to head back to your grandfather's now, but I'd appreciate it if you'd to come back to the office with me, Adam. I have a few things I'd like to discuss."

Frank's office was a cozy den of rich, dark woods, and comfortable leather chairs. With Adam settled into one of them, the owner of Wadsworth engineering shook his head and laughed. "I wouldn't mind having that brother of yours leading our work crews. He's likable, and I'm sure he's as strong as three men." He shook his head again. "You and Hoss are both Ben's sons, right?"

"That's right," Adam replied with a questioning tone and a raised brow. "Why do you ask?"

"I see your father in you, Adam. It's not that you and he look alike, as much as that you and Ben approach life with the same drive. Hoss is…" he stammered. "I think he's more easygoing than the two of you."

"My brother's personality is like his mother's. She was a beautiful, caring woman who opened her heart and home to a man who was passing through and needed help. Back then my father had nothing more to offer than a big dream, and a sick child. But Inger believed in him. Hoss has her sense of honor, and her willingness to give others a fair chance."

"Please don't think I was criticizing him, son." Frank responded, noting the protective set of Adam's face as he'd spoken. "I'm sure he's a force to be reckoned with, just as you are." He gave Adam a half-grin. "But I bet people don't see it coming. He probably disarms them with that simple charm of his, and then catches them off-guard when they realize what a strong-minded man he is."

Adam laughed heartily as his tension eased. "Hoss's 'easygoing' ways come as a result of his years of being the biggest guy around. People were afraid of his size, and that bothered him. I think he grew to be very cautious about seeming strong, yet that left him open to being taken advantage of. He's worked that out the best he can, and while he still trusts others, he doesn't let them walk over him anymore." He thought for a moment and amended his statement. "Well that's true for everyone except Joe. Our youngest brother can get Hoss to do anything."

Frank smiled and nodded. "Ben said that Hoss is the animal expert?"

"Pa says the herd is in great shape because of Hoss's ideas. The man is always studying up on cattle and crops. His ideas saved our ranch more than once."

"You'll have to bring him out to see our horses. I'd appreciate his opinion on a few things." Frank paused, and then chuckled. "I'm 5'10". That always made me the tall one in my circle of family and friends. Then I met you and Ben and realized that they grow them bigger in Nevada. And now after meeting your brother, I feel positively puny! I can't help wondering what that last brother of yours is like."

Adam shifted in his chair and crossed his legs as he grinned at his boss. "Let's put it this way. You and Joe might not always agree on everything, but the two of you would see 'eye-to-eye.'"

"I always wondered why Ben called him, Little Joe," Frank snorted. "Yet if he's like the rest of you Cartwrights, I'd still look up to him."

"Thanks Frank. I appreciate your high opinion of us. And I've never noticed that I'm taller than you because I've been looking up to you for many years now. That's never going to change."

The head of Wadsworth Engineering rubbed his chin and nodded thoughtfully before pulling the good bottle of scotch and two crystal tumblers from his bottom desk drawer. "I think it's time for a toast." He handed one generously filled glass to his protégée and raised his own in salute. "To the new face of Wadsworth Engineering."

After a sip, Adam eyed his friend, and asked, "What 'new face' did we just drink to?"

He dodged Adam's question. "I wanted to discuss something with you today."

The younger man took a deep breath and prepared for the usual delay in getting the facts, knowing that Frank would draw out whatever he was proposing as long as possible.

"Frankie is well-settled in San Francisco," he began. "My son says he has a freedom there that he wouldn't experience if he worked with me. I have to admit that he's grown Wadsworth Engineering into a firm to be reckoned with out there. And just as his youth and way of getting things done have proved highly successful in California, I find that my Wadsworth franchise in Boston is burgeoning because our customers come seeking the services of someone with similar qualities here."

Adam's eyebrows rose and then settled into a puzzled tilt. "I'm quite sure the customers all know who's in charge here." He became silent as he tried to understand Frank's import. "Is one of the new men you hired recently creating this surge in business?" After another pause he asked bluntly, "Frank, are you trying to tell me that you don't need me at Wadsworth anymore?"

Frank's laugh echoed to the high ceiling of the room. "Don't need you anymore…" He laughed again, even louder. "Adam, you're the one everyone wants. I've continued to put articles in the paper about your work in London, and I've highlighted the projects you've helped us with here, even while you were across the Atlantic. Our customers want your modern take on their ventures. I take credit for knowing when to promote a good product and producer, but I'm rapidly becoming a figurehead for this company; you are its future."

"I know how much this company means to you. I don't want to interfere..."

Frank hit the polished wood of his desk with a solid smack from his open hand, before he rose and leaned forward to look directly at the man he called his "other" son. "Interfere! I'm happy as pie that things are going as they are. I wanted Wadsworth Engineering in Boston to succeed…mostly to prove that I had what it took to turn a family heirloom into a relevant, thriving business again. I did that by hiring the best people possible through the years, and you've proven to be the best of the best. You're never afraid to put yourself into a project and give it all you have. People respect that…me most of all."

"I don't know what to say." Adam fumbled for words. "Well, maybe thank you would be a good start."

"Hold your thanks until you hear my proposal. You may want to withdraw them after that." He chuckled as he sat down again, and steepled his fingers beneath his chin. "I want you to take over this office. Marian and I would like to move to England for a while. We realized how much we missed London when we'd get your letters telling about the staff and the city. Another spur for me is that the director at our firm there wants to retire, and I want that office to go after challenging projects like the one you just completed. But they're not capable of doing that. I'll have to clean out the engineers who think that what they've done is enough to let them skate by for the rest of their careers. Then I'll bring some life back into that branch of Wadsworth." Frank waited for Adam to take this news in, and then added, "The only way I can see leaving Boston is if you're running this office."

Adam felt his head spinning, and his jaw hung slack as he sat back to regain his focus. "Are you sure about this?"

"Absolutely. I'll admit that I wondered if you'd want to go home and run the Ponderosa someday, but then I figured out that you and your father are much like Frankie and me. We're all are driven men. Yet we all need our own projects."

"I think that's true," Adam said thoughtfully. "Pa's been able to delegate some of the ranch responsibilities to Hoss and Joe, and that's freed him up to take on new things. He's excited about that. It sounds like you've come to the same conclusion."

The older man rose, and walked behind Adam, placing his hands on his shoulders. "I am looking forward to this. Ben and I have raised fine sons who will eclipse us in skill and business acumen. Knowing that keeps us taking on new challenges to keep from becoming irrelevant." He chuckled, and added, "And yes, irrelevant means old, in case that's what you were thinking." After a few moments with nothing more said, Frank cleared his throat. "I'll give you a few weeks to settle in, but then we'll get to work. You're the Executive Director of this firm now, son, and I'll expect you to keep Wadsworth and Cartwright as the names people think of first when they need an engineer."

Adam asked his father to slow down as the group walked home from his grandfather's favorite pub where they'd all had dinner. Hoss was up ahead with Anna, helping her corral AJ as he bounced happily between them, begging for them to swing him, while Melinda was talking with Abel and Sadie about the new housekeeper.

During the meal, Adam had shared the news about his promotion, and as he'd looked toward his father, he'd seen sadness wash over Ben's face. Once they were far enough back that the other strollers couldn't overhear, the son ventured into the conversation he knew was necessary. "I couldn't help noticing that you weren't quite as exuberant about my job as the others."

Ben chuckled as he laid an arm around his son's back while they continued walking. "You noticed that?"

"I'm sorry. I should have told you before breaking the news to everyone. We've talked before about the probability that I wouldn't return to the Ponderosa, but I guess this makes it official."

"I'm very happy for you, but you're right, this does make it 'official.' It took me aback for a minute."

"There's more, Pa." The two men stopped as Adam turned to his father. "Frank gave me a letter from the Board at the Harvard School of Engineering. They've asked me to become an adviser in developing an advanced degree program, and to help determine what new course options might be added to the current curriculum.

Ben blew out a long breath. "That's got to make you feel pretty much like I did when I put that first house up on the ranch. It signified that my dream had become a reality."

"That's a good description; how did you know I'd feel that way?" Adam tipped his head to the side. "I don't think I ever mentioned how much I'd like to become part of academia."

"You didn't have to tell me." Ben grasped his son's arm. "I suspected it from the first day you buried you nose in a book, and knew it for sure when got that far away look when you talked about going away to college. You need to follow this through now and see where it leads you, son, just as I did."

"Thanks for understanding. We're alike, Pa; I want to leave a legacy too, but it'll be a little different." Adam smiled as Ben nodded.

As they walked faster to catch up to the group, Ben looked over at his son. "I'm proud of you, Adam. I always have been, and always will be."

Adam was kept busy at work for the next few days, leaving his brother and father to find pastimes that suited them. By the fourth day, he'd caught up on office work, and since he planned to spend the day doing site inspections, he asked his brother to ride along. As he drove the buggy through the Boston streets, he looked toward Hoss and grinned. "From what Melinda told me, you've spent most of the last few days with Anna and AJ. Are you getting a little sweet on her?"

Hoss grinned. "I sure could be, exceptin' she wouldn't be interested in moving to Nevada, and I'm not interested in livin' here…or across an ocean." He blushed. "I don't mean there's nothin' wrong with Boston. I just am not partial to being closed in, is all."

"No offense taken." He nudged his younger brother's shoulder, "You can get used to living in a city, or at least I did."

"I don't think I could. But iffen it weren't for those problems, I could become real fond of that young lady. She's real good with my godson, and she's nice as anything." The big man hesitated, but then decided to give his opinion. "Anna hasn't complained, Adam, but I've talked enough with her to know that she ain't feelin' real easy about being here. She likes your family fierce, and appreciates that you treat her like one of you—includin' her in everythin' and all—but she's getting' homesick."

"Melinda and I noticed that too, but we want her to stick it out a while longer, and see how it goes. If she can't adjust, we'll get her back to London. We'll talk to her about it tonight. Maybe she can relax a little more if she knows she has options."

Hoss nodded. "That seems fair."

They made it to the first site—a project that Adam had bid on from London—and were walking the edge of the dock while checking the piling construction, when Hoss commented, "You know, the timberin' they're doing reminds me of the way we shore up the mines. Is that pretty much how it works?"

"I always knew you were smart." Adam grabbed his brother's sleeve and led him onto the gangplank connecting the shore to the outer parts of the dry dock system. He pointed to the heavy timbers being used below. "In a mine, you have to support the ceiling from collapsing, but here we have to make sure the floor doesn't give way. The math is different for the two processes even though the reasoning is much the same: the support system has to protect the integrity of the space you're creating."

"I don't get what you mean," Hoss said as he reached out to steady a long beam that the men below were trying to set.

"Don't fall," Adam grabbed him, as Hoss lost his balance for a moment. "And don't get too helpful or the crew will draft you into working with them." He turned Hoss toward to face the open water. "When shoring a mine, you have to factor in the movement of the ground and the shifting in the rock face that may occur within the vault. Most people think that a mountain doesn't move, but it does because the earth below the surface is not static. In a harbor, you may see the smooth surface of the water but what's below is always moving too."

He tossed a scrap of wood onto the water. "Watch that… See how it quickly moves away from where it entered?" Hoss nodded as his brother continued, "If this was a lake and the wood moved like that, I'd assume it was due to wind. Water that's enclosed by land has some movement, but it's mostly from wind and the temperature changes that turn the water over. But here, that piece of wood is moving into the bay with the current of the Charles River and the outgoing tide. What gets confusing is that even though the wood is moving downstream now, at other times, it could move upstream in this area because the tide comes in, and exerts more force on the surface than the river's current. The tides rushing in and out are some of the most destructive forces we have to factor in."

"How do you even begin to figure all this out?" Hoss asked as he chewed on his lip, and refined his question. "What's the most important thing to know about all these 'forces'?"

Adam's laugh blew out to sea on the offshore harbor breeze. "The biggest obstacle is that nothing stays put." He pointed to the wood he'd used as his example. "You can barely see that even though I tossed it in no more than 30 seconds ago. The lesson is to always look ahead of where you are because that's where everything will move if it's not anchored well. There are men far smarter than I who've figured out the equations. The hard part is getting all the variables correct. If you're off on anything, there can be disastrous consequences."

"Gosh, that seems like a lot of responsibility. I'm glad I just have to watch over them steers."

As they headed back toward the buggy, Adam looked over at his brother and smiled. "Don't ever sell yourself short, Hoss. You're not a genius like I am," he snorted at his own comment and poked his brother in the ribs. "But you have natural intelligence. Maybe you don't know the actual theories behind why you do what you do, but you figure things out on your own, and they're usually right on the money."

Gone Missing

Adam was still laughing at a story his brother had told about Little Joe when he turned the buggy onto his street at the end of their day together. The laughter ended abruptly as he saw Frank running toward them.

"The police came looking for you at the office," his boss hollered as he waved him over. "I sent people out to find you, but they must have missed you."

Hoss grabbed the reigns as Adam jumped from the buggy, and ran toward a knot of people standing in front of his house. His father, Melinda, and Abel were all talking at once to a police officer, while a small crowd of curious neighbors and passersby was forming around them. Adam could see the tortured looks on the faces of his family, and yet he couldn't imagine what could be so wrong as to warrant them. Various possibilities filtered through his mind: an accident…maybe something had happened to Melinda's parents. His heart sank to the soles of his shoes as he neared them and he heard the officer shout over the clamor, "I know you're all upset, but we're doing everything we can to find the boy."

He elbowed his way through the onlookers and demanded, "What's going on? What boy are you trying to find?"

Melinda grabbed him and clung to his shoulders, as she sobbed, "Thank God you're here! AJ's gone."

Adam tipped Melinda's tear-streaked face up, while saying as gently as possible, "Tell me what happened."

Through her sobs and hiccupping, she said, "Anna…he was with Anna when he was taken." Melinda dissolved in tears again to the point where she couldn't speak.

While the policeman cleared the gawkers, Ben moved his son and daughter-in-law to a more private spot in the yard.

Hoss had managed to secure the buggy and joined the others as his father started to explain.

"What we know is that Anna took the baby out for a walk around one this afternoon. She said they were a few blocks from home—along a harbor section where there aren't many buildings—when she noticed a black carriage pulled over ahead of her. A man was standing outside, talking to those still in the vehicle, and as she neared them, he turned toward her, tipped his hat, and commented on the lovely day. But once she passed by, he grabbed her from behind, and pulled her away from AJ's wagon. She said she fought him, but he slapped her, and finally put something over her nose and mouth that made her feel woozy. The last thing she saw before passing out, was a woman reach out of the coach to take AJ from the men."

Adam moaned as he absorbed the horror of what his father had told him. "These people…when they took AJ…he would have screamed bloody murder. Didn't anyone stop to help?"

"Anna said there wasn't anyone going by, and that it all happened fast. She thinks the woman put something over AJ's face too, and he got very quiet. That's all she can remember until she awoke at the bottom of a rocky incline where they must have tossed her when they left. She must have been out for a while since she didn't make it back until almost three."

"Where is she now? I need to talk to her." Adam's words were followed by a swirling in his head and gut that should have knocked him to the ground. Amid all the other questions roiling in his brain, he wondered why he was still standing. There was no strength in his legs, and his words had been whispered with what little breath he could muster. He forced himself to take deep breaths, and finally figured out that he was standing only because his father and brother were holding him up. In fact, the two men were supporting both him and Melinda, who was still clinging to him as she wept quietly."

"They had to take Anna to the hospital, Adam," Ben offered as he saw his son's color returning, and felt his weight shifting onto his own legs again. "She was badly bruised, and hit her head in the fall down the bank. She was dizzy, sick to her stomach, and having a hard time staying awake."

Hoss's face became red as a beet, as he vowed, "When I find out who did this to Anna and AJ, I'll pound them to dust. Imagine anyone picking on a helpless woman and a little boy."

Frank and Abel came over to see how things were going, but then headed back to the street to keep onlookers from gathering again. A police wagon pulled up, and a man stepped out, introducing himself as Chief Wilmot from the local precinct. "Why don't we all go inside and talk," he suggested as he made a sweeping motion with his arm, directing them toward the front porch.

"I was told what happened while on the way over," he began once they were seated in the house. "We have men looking for your son, but the young lady wasn't able to note anything exceptional about the carriage, and the streets are full of black coaches carrying families." He turned toward Adam, Ben and Hoss to give his next opinion. "I think you realize that those people aren't out driving around Boston waiting to be stopped by the police. By this time, they're holed up somewhere." Adam nodded solemnly, as Melinda bent forward and groaned as if she'd been punched in the gut.

Chief Wilmot continued, "But perhaps there's information you have that can help us narrow down our search." He paced in front of them while forming his first question. "Is it possible that your nanny could have arranged a kidnapping?"

Melinda's sat up as she regained her voice. "Absolutely not! Anna has been with us since AJ was born. She would never harm him."

"The lure of money makes people do things they might not otherwise, Mrs. Cartwright."

Adam interjected, "That may be true, but Anna came with us from England and has only been in Boston a few days. There wouldn't have been time to plan it." He thought a moment. "Is there a reason you think this is a kidnapping rather than anything else?"

The inspector shook his head slowly. "Nothing has come in to indicate that, and yet I don't know what else it would be. You're a family of means, and I've seen your name in the paper enough to know that you have a good job, and are a man of some influence in the city. I suspect that someone thinks you have enough assets to make a kidnapping worthwhile." The man cleared his throat uneasily. "What we usually find is that kidnappings are done by someone the family knows. Is there anyone who might benefit from this?"

"Not that I can think of," Adam said softly.

"I worked in a different precinct a few years ago," Chief Wilmot leaned over to speak to directly to Adam. "I was there the night you saved that federal bank from being looted. That was some hole you made. The officers never did figure out how you managed to live through it."3 The chief pursed his lips and squinted. "Is it possible that someone from that failed robbery is behind the kidnapping?"

Frank had entered the house a few minutes earlier, and gave his young engineer a knowing nod, and guarded look. "I'm Frank Wadsworth," he said as he shook the police chief's hand. "I can speak to that. Since you were there that night, Chief, you know that Castelletti, the man who planned it, was killed by one of his men. The Secret Service agents who stepped in after the failed plot, suggested that the Cartwrights leave town for a while until the threat from Castelletti could be defused."

"I'm aware of who you are, Mr. Wadsworth," the chief said with a brief smile. "Your company has always been most generous to the police benevolent society, and I've seen you around town."

Frank continued, "Then you may also be aware that my firm has an outstanding security team. My top people worked with the police and Secret Service for some time to ensure that Castelletti's influence died with him. From all indications, it was over."

"I do remember hearing that," the chief replied and then sighed. "You're sure it couldn't be this Castelletti's people?"

"The man who did that investigation left my firm to join the Secret Service," Frank said, "but before the Cartwrights came home from England, I had my new man do a thorough check to see if anything turned up. There was nothing."

"Then let's figure this as a kidnapping," the chief offered with surety. "We'll get a ransom note shortly." He hooked his thumbs in his coat pockets and said with the self-important tone of someone who feels he has complete control of a situation, "I'll go out and disperse my officers. If someone is watching, they'll act more freely without the police standing around." Chief Wilmot turned towards Adam. "I was told that your grandfather lives next door." Receiving Adam's nod, he continued, "I'll have the men move away, and once it's dark, they can come back and set up operations over there."

Adam nodded again, and went over to Hoss. "Would you introduce the chief to Abel so they can make the arrangements? I think Grandfather stayed outside to keep others from lingering by the house."

Melinda's parents arrived just as the conversation with the chief ended. They comforted their daughter, as they prompted her to tell them what had happened. With Melinda in good hands, and Frank talking to Ben, Adam walked to the front windows. He saw Hoss, Chief Wilmot and Abel speaking together, before heading toward the house next door. The sun was setting quickly, bathing the world outside in gray shadows. AJ had been taken over four hours ago, and Adam knew that his child was frightened, and wouldn't understand what was happening. A gnawing pain hit his chest and stomach as he thought of his child crying, hungry, afraid—and just stubborn enough not to do anything his kidnappers were telling him to do. One other fact hit him hard: his little boy was about to spend his first night away from his parents. He could only hope AJ would be so exhausted from the ordeal that he would sleep.

It took every ounce of will for him to remove the images of his son from his mind, but he knew he had to if he wanted think clearly. As his thoughts settled, they returned to something that had been at the back of his mind since they'd docked in Boston. What he finally recalled made his blood run cold, and solidified his suspicion that this was not a simple kidnapping. As he finished sorting things out, he became aware of what was going on around him again, including Melinda telling her parents it was her fault that AJ was gone.

He walked to the couch, and interrupted the conversation. "I'm sorry, Margaret, but I need to speak to your daughter." Taking his wife's hand, he led her to the quiet kitchen where he pulled her to him, and they took a moment to grieve privately for the first time.

Adam whispered, "It isn't your fault."

"It is," she responded as he voice cracked. "I played with AJ all morning, but after lunch, I felt ill, and Anna said she'd take him outside so I could rest. I fell asleep and didn't even know anything was wrong. How could I be such a horrible mother?"

"You're a good mother," he soothed. "And if we're looking for people to blame, how about me? I took Hoss along with me today. He's been going with Anna every day until now. If he'd been with her, no one could have gotten to AJ. And I saw the look in Frank's eyes. He thinks that someone got under his protective net and made it to us, and it's killing him." He laid the back of his hand against her forehead. "You don't have a fever; are you feeling better now?"

Melinda waved her hand. "It doesn't matter. All that's important is our baby. I can be sick once he's safe." She cupped Adam's cheek in her hand. "I remember how ill you were when I was kidnapped. You never let it stop you, and this won't stop me either." She gave a half-hearted smile. "Now, tell me what you were thinking when you were by the window. I glanced over and saw the look on your face."

They held hands as they sat at the table, and Adam sighed before beginning. "Doesn't something about Anna's account sound familiar?"

"The chloroform." she answered immediately. "That's what Castelletti's men used on me. But it can't be him."

He bit his lip as he closed his eyes and then began, "I saw someone in the crowd waiting for the ship when we arrived. It was a brief glimpse, yet it's been bothering me. It made no sense…until this happened. When I could stop thinking about AJ being gone long enough to look at the details, it suddenly became clear who it was."

"Who was it?" She gripped his hands tighter.

"Lucia Castelletti."

"She moved away after her father died, didn't she?" The set of Adam's jaw gave her little reason to question his identification, and she voiced her growing fear. "Maybe the better question is why is she back, and what she was doing at the dock."

"I'm not sure, but I'm leaning toward her taking AJ. You and I had a conversation about Lucia's motives after our last ordeal with her. You thought she'd been kind to us, and that she had been a victim of her father's insanity, just as we were. On the other hand, after having spent two weeks with her, I was convinced that she was an actress playing the part of a naïve daughter who had no clue of her father's intentions."

"I remember. You told me that she had discovered the truth about her father's intentions early enough to have put a stop to them."

He nodded. "She knew that Louis planned to kill me, and she did nothing until she realized his plan had failed. I figured she did that to exonerate herself and sway the outcome in her favor. I was grateful for her decision to help us as much as she did. But if she is behind this, then..." His voice trailed off.

"Then what?" Melinda asked as her voice rose in pitch.

"Then I fear that her help came with a price, and our payment is due."

Melinda's eyes widened as she stood. "Shouldn't we tell the police?"

"Not yet," he said as he glanced through the open door to the other room. "I got a warning look from Frank when he was talking about Castelletti. I think he suspects this is more than a kidnapping too, and he didn't want us saying anything until he could have his men check it out. The police are good at what they do, but if Lucia has our son, we'll need people who can investigate quietly, and see clues that less-trained men would miss. Let's go talk to Frank and Pa, and then decide what to do." Adam stood, and pulled Melinda to him in a tight embrace. He had no idea why Lucia Castelletti would want their son, but if she was as much like her father as he feared she was, then it was either for leverage…or revenge. One possibility would offer some hope, the other option made his stomach turn. He took a deep breath and lied as best he could. "We will find AJ, Melinda. Believe that."

Six

Leverage, Revenge…or Something Else Entirely

Frank and Ben approached the kitchen just as Adam and Melinda were coming out.

"You know this is something to do with the Castellettis." Frank said with urgency. "We just need to figure out which one, and why."

"Which one…is Lucia, but I don't know why." Adam led the group into the living area where Margaret and William could hear what they were talking about. As he finished his story of seeing the young woman at the harbor, there was a light knock at the back door, followed by the entry of two men who made their way through the kitchen to join the group.

"Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright," said the one dressed in black, as he smiled briefly and shook their hands. "I'm sorry that our reunion is marred by the taking of your son. But we have news you'll want to hear."

Adam introduced the one Secret Service agent to the group. "James West…this is my father, Ben Cartwright, and Melinda's parents, William and Margaret Hayworth. I think you know Frank."

Agent West greeted the group and explained his association with the Cartwrights. "I was the agent in charge of the money Louis Castelletti tried have Adam procure for him. Since then I've been assigned to a very elite detail of the service." He turned to the other man. "This is my partner, Artemis Gordon. We've been together since shortly after I first met Adam, and we've followed some very dangerous and despicable criminals who try to do harm to this nation."

As the group offered their welcome, the back door opened again. This time Hoss, Abel and Sadie entered.

Agent West motioned for everyone to join him at the large table Melinda had purchased for the dining area. "We've already met your grandparents and brother when we stopped over there after seeing a line of policemen sneaking into their back door." He sighed. "These local men have no idea how to handle a clandestine operation. If there was someone watching your homes, they'd have seen it all just as we did. We told Chief Wilmot that we were taking over this investigation and that we'll go over to the precinct house later to explain our plans."

Artemis chuckled as he added, "They seemed relieved and nearly fled the premises."

Adam had many questions, but there was only one he wanted answered immediately. "You said you had information about our son?"

Agent Gordon began the explanation. "I'm afraid this involves Miss Castelletti, again." Seeing the knowing looks returning to him from those around the table, he added, "But I see that doesn't surprise you. The Secret Service retained some doubts about her innocence in the matter of that failed bank job when we first worked with all of you. We knew she went to New Orleans, and the Service decided to get someone inside her operation to keep an eye on her."

"What did she do down there?" Frank asked.

West looked at Adam. "I know you're anxious to know what we found out, but please be patient a few minutes more while we lay the groundwork of what's going on."

Adam took Melinda's hand and nodded.

Agent West continued, "The background we got on her was that she came from two powerful families in Sicily. Her father squandered his family's fortune trying to make a name here in the states, but her mother still had money. Lucia used that to purchase her own gambling establishments in New Orleans."

Gordon interjected, "The young woman learned from her father's mistakes, and set up some fine places that did a fair business at first. But Miss Castelletti was stubborn like her father, and didn't play well with others. She was soon in trouble with those who controlled most of the money-making franchises down south. They expected her to pay for police protection, and give gifts to those who ran the organized gambling and brothel businesses. She didn't, and before long, the police shut her down."

"After that she sort of went crazy, and we heard from our inside man that she made threats about dynamiting the levees to flood the city if those in charge refused to let her reopen. Then she talked about hiring assassins to clear the south of the 'trash who controlled it,'" West added to the story, and then laughed sadly. "I know it's only been a couple of years since we worked with you, but you wouldn't believe all the insane people we've dealt with since then. If there's a nut with a scheme; we've met 'em." He looked directly at Adam. "One of the things Miss Castelletti bragged about was that she knew a crack dynamiter who could pull off the levee plan. We figured she was talking about you."

Adam's eyes widened as he asked impatiently. "Do you think she kidnapped our son to get me to help her breach the levees?"

"No. Other things happened instead," Agent West said shaking his head. "She could have just paid her fees and started up again, but we found out that she'd exhausted her mother's money trying to make her establishments into show places; throwing good money after bad just as her father had done, but in a different way, and in a far shorter time. Lucia's family solved that by arranging a marriage for her to a rich, old, Italian with some royal title. He came to New Orleans and married her a while back. She's Lucia Marino now and her new husband has been very generous to her, so her threats ended and we haven't really paid much attention. It should have been the perfect solution, but it wasn't quite that easy. Our man heard that Marino's fortune was contingent on her giving him a male heir."

Melinda moaned. "I still don't see how this involves us?"

"The informant said that Lucia claimed to be expecting when Marino left, but there was no child. No one was sure what she was planning. There was talk of her adopting or even buying a child. Neither of those came about, and then about 10 days ago, she packed up and headed to Boston. Agents here followed her from the train to that building her father bought when he tried to dynamite the bank next door. She managed to contact a couple of the men who had worked for Louis to give her a hand around the place, but other than renting a carriage, and going out from time to time, there was nothing odd about her actions. The Service planned to end all surveillance, but then today, they saw the men loading her trunks onto a wagon. She was out while this was going on, but returned for a short time, and then left again. One of our men followed the wagon and her coach, while the other entered the building to investigate. He found something." West pulled a sheet of paper and a small box from an inside pocket of his jacket, and slid it across the table. "Artemis and I were in Boston on a different assignment, but once this was found, they came to get us."

Adam held the note for Melinda to read at the same time and when finished, his jaw tightened as he opened the box and emptied the contents onto the table. Melinda began to cry silently as she saw the pile of silken curls, and then ran for the back door as she began to retch.

Margaret touched Adam's shoulder and said, "I'll see to her," as she followed her daughter outside, while Frank voiced the question everyone was thinking. "What is that?"

Biting his upper lip to regain his composure, Adam was finally able to say, "It's AJ's hair. She cut his hair off and left it for us!"

Ben took the note from his son's clenched hand, and said, "May I read this aloud?" Receiving Adam's nod he began:

You're a clever man, Adam, so I know you will eventually figure out that your son is with me, and will come here looking for us. But after reading this, you will agree that this it was meant to be, and you will be happy that the child will have the life that I am able to give him.

The years since you and I became friends have been a horrid trial for me. I exhausted my family's money in setting up a business in New Orleans, and had to submit to an arranged marriage to keep us from becoming destitute. At the time, I felt I could tolerate the situation because the man was old and would probably not live long. But I soon found out that my husband had a stipulation to his will, demanding that I produce an heir before I could receive a penny of his fortune. I wish he was handsome and alive as you are, Adam, but he is a homely, decrepit man, who repulses me. He wanted me to go with him to Italy so he could see to his businesses there. To get out of it I lied, and said I was carrying his child, claiming it was not safe for me to travel. He was thrilled with the news, and left me with a goodly allowance to live comfortable while awaiting the birth. I have been writing to him for more than a year with wonderful stories about a son that doesn't exist. He is suspicious now, and threatens to sever my income unless I bring the boy to him.

There was nothing more to do, so I came to Boston in hopes that you could help me. I knew the saints were with me when I found out that you had been gone, but were expected back within days. I met your ship, hoping to speak to you immediately, but my plans changed when I saw the beautiful child in your arms. He is the right age, and has the right looks for my husband to believe that he is ours. In my head and heart, I heard the angels telling me that all would be well. Your child will be the salvation for my family.

I should not have to remind you that it is only because I saved you and your wife from my father's fury that either of you lived to have this one. I felt you would offer him willingly when you came to know how cruel my life has been, but I didn't have time to convince anyone of the providence at work, so I took him.

I have altered his appearance a little, and am sending his curls as a testimony, and remembrance of your great gift to me.

She's completely crazy!" Margaret averred as she helped her daughter back to the table. She looked at the agents and asked, "Did your men see our grandson with her?"

"No ma'am," West replied. "They didn't sense that anything was amiss, so they just watched the front of the building. We assume that she cut his hair and wrote this note when she returned for that short time. The carriage blocked the view of the building door, so they had no idea she had the boy, and from what we heard from the police, the child may have been 'asleep' during this time. The agent searched the building only after she abandoned it."

"Do you have any idea where she is?" Ben asked.

"Our man followed the wagon with her trunks to a ship that's sailing in the morning, but her carriage went a different direction. Knowing what we do now, I wish he'd followed her, but at the time, he felt the luggage would tell them where she would end up."

"Where is she going?" Melinda said quietly, as she fought not to cry.

"The ship is registered to a company from Lisbon," West answered. "We assume she plans to sail to Portugal and will make connections to Italy."

"So are we going to check every hotel in Boston tonight, or is your plan to intercept her when she tries to board the ship? Adam asked.

"Our best efforts will be spent finding her tomorrow," Gordon answered.

"We'll go over our plan with all of you in a bit, and then Arty and I'll head to the police to give them their assignments," West said as he stood. "But first, I think we should all have dinner. I smelled something wonderful cooking next door, and Sadie has promised that there's enough for everyone." West's voice was encouraging even as he saw the blank, sad looks of those staring back at him. "I know none of you feels like eating, but there is nothing more to do right now."

Sadie took up Agent West's charge. "C'mon all of you," she said as she tugged Abel to his feet. "Everything's ready and waiting. This young man is right. You'll all think better with some food in your bellies." She was out the door before anyone could disagree.

When dinner and the planning session was over, Adam and Melinda went home to a house that had seemed so welcoming a few days earlier, but now echoed with the silence of a tomb. Neither of the worried parents had eaten much, and Melinda had begun to look so haggard and pale that Adam asked their families to excuse them for the remainder of the evening.

Melinda walked silently to the sofa and sat, placing her hands in her lap. "What do we do now?" She looked up at Adam as tears began to spill down her cheeks again.

"Pray, and try to rest." He sat next to her and pulled her close. "I remember when we had to wait all night after Castelletti kidnapped you. Doing nothing was the hardest thing I've ever done."

She was nodding as the front door opened and Sam Green walked in. "Sorry I couldn't come sooner," he said, moving toward them. "It was busy at the hospital, and I figured there wasn't much I could do to help here." He pulled a chair in front of the couch. "I met Margaret and William when I arrived, and they filled me in." He bowed his head. "This is so sad. I don't have words to tell you how sorry I am."

Adam responded with a quiet, "Thank you." He thought for a moment before asking, "Did you see Anna at the hospital?"

Sam sat up straighter and shook his head to clear his thoughts. "That's what I came over to tell you. She's fine, but she has to stay overnight. Of course she's distressed. Miranda had stopped by the hospital about the time Anna was brought in…"

"Is Miranda next door?" Adam interjected. "She's certainly welcome to come over."

"She stayed at the hospital with Anna, thinking that would be the best way to help tonight. I guess she thought it would give you one less thing to worry about."

Melinda wiped her tears on the back of her hands and smiled. "That was thoughtful. I do appreciate it."

"I agree," Adam added. "I was thinking I would go check on her soon, and I'm grateful I won't have to now." He thought a moment and asked, "Margaret told you who's behind this?"

The doctor nodded. "Miranda doesn't know yet, but I'll head back and tell her. It'll cause her great pain to know that this still stems from the dealings that started with her ex-husband."

"She's not responsible for any of this," Melinda said strongly. "Any blame falls directly on Lucia Castelletti, or whoever she is now. That entire family is crazy. Her father saw Adam as his main adversary, and she sees him as the answer to all her problems. It's sick."

"Speaking of being sick…" Adam's eyes hooded with concern. "Melinda isn't feeling well. I'm sure some of it is from the situation, but she said she was ill before this started."

Sam tipped his head toward the door, saying, "Why don't you go outside for a few minutes, Adam."

"The two of you are such mother hens," Melinda said sullenly. "I'm fine."

Sam found his friend sitting on the porch steps when he exited the house.

"So?" Adam asked as the doctor sat next to him.

"She's still exhausted from the trip home, but she's not sick…ah…I mean she doesn't have a serious illness." He heard Adam release a deep breath. "Melinda told me what's going to happen tomorrow. Miranda and I'll be there to help. We don't know what Lucia looks like, but we can spot AJ, even without his curly hair."

The two men shook hands after they walked to Sam's buggy. "Thank you," Adam offered wearily before swatting the rear of the horse to get him moving.

Sam glanced back as he drove away, and saw his friend leaning forward with his arm against the lamppost. He couldn't imagine the torture of mind and soul this man was experiencing again. Yet there was nothing he could do to ease Adam's pain. It bothered him that he'd had to lie to him about Melinda's condition—well, maybe he hadn't lied, but he'd been less than truthful. Yet it had been her decision, based on her concern that her husband had enough to worry about for the time being.

Seven

Lessons in Water Dynamics

The group of actual and conscripted detectives met early at the Lisbon ocean-liner's office to do a quick run-through of their plan. Agent West had enlisted the shipping company's cooperation, getting them to block off a good portion of their main entrance. Passengers now had to funnel through a six foot gate to access the departure area. The local law was part of the operation too, but West insisted that they stay out of sight. He didn't want a police presence at the dock to spook Lucia, and send her running with the child.

Those who could recognize Lucia would be stationed at the main gate. The others, who would only recognize AJ, would mingle with the passengers in the loading area in case their target managed to get in without being noticed. The women each had a bright parasol that they could twirl above their heads if they saw the child, while the men had red handkerchiefs they could raise as a signal.

Adam warned the group not to approach Lucia if they saw the boy. "If AJ recognizes you, he'll kick up a fuss. I know it'll be hard to let her walk past you, but please do what Agents West and Gordon have instructed."

"I'm afraid there's some odd news," West addressed the group when Adam finished. "There is no one named Castelletti or Maroni registered on this ship."

Melinda groaned miserably. "Does that mean she's sending her luggage on this ship but may have left Boston on a different one, or that she might be headed to New York?" Her voice rose as she tried to control her panic. "Will we need to follow her to Italy before we get our son back?"

Agent Gordon shook his head. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Many travelers use aliases, and pieces of her luggage were tagged for one of the cabins. I'd say that's a good sign."

"She might be more cunning than we suspect," Ben said with trepidation. "Melinda may be right. This could all be a ruse."

"It's possible," West replied honestly. "But I'm convinced she'll be here today. It seems her time's run out to comply with her husband's demands, and judging from that note she left, she must not have known she was being watched. At this point, she's certain that her plan won't be discovered until it's too late for you to do anything."

With the meeting completed, Artemis took Adam to another room, and worked a little diversionary magic by giving him heavy eyebrows and a full mustache as a disguise. Although Adam was the one who would most easily recognize Lucia, he was also the one she would know. The transformation was completed by donning a porter's coat and hat. When he emerged in costume, the others stared, and then laughed as their tension broke for a moment.

"I wouldn't recognize you if I passed you on the street, son," Ben said as he made a closer inspection of the facial hair.

"I think it's time to get into our positions," West called to the group. "Lucia Maroni may be able to get past one or two of us, but she'll never make it past all of us. Keep your eyes and ears open out there."

Adam leaned against the office doorjamb, watching his family walk out to the loading dock, while the conversation he'd had with them the previous night settled into his recollection like a London fog.

He'd tended to Melinda after Sam had left, and had waited for her to fall into a fitful sleep before he'd made his way outside to think more clearly. It hadn't surprised him to see Abel, Ben and Hoss sitting on the back porch of the house next door, and he'd made his way over. The two older men had been puffing on their pipes, while Hoss had whittled—his brother's favored pastime when his mind was unsettled. They'd talked for a while after he'd joined them, speculating on how the plan would work at the ship's berth the next day, and why the Castelletti family continued to plague him.

Hoss had shaken his head as he'd said, "The strange thing is that this isn't your first go-round with a crazy person, Adam."

He'd been instantly assailed with memories of Kane, Ross Marquette, and the others he met that'd tested his sanity with their own personal inanity. After those images had passed, he'd stepped into conversation he'd known would raise his family's eyebrows. "I know you'll all be there for Melinda and AJ should something go wrong tomorrow." That had been enough to stop the puffing and whittling as the others had uttered their assurances of an easy end to the situation. He'd held his hand up to silence them. "This is the third time I've faced the Castelletti family. The first two times, the odds against succeeding seemed far greater. Yet this time…I'm more uneasy."

"That's because AJ is involved," his father had suggested. "You don't worry as much for yourself as you do when there's a child at risk. And this time there's nothing you can do but wait, and pray that she comes right to us."

Adam had continued. "It seems that getting AJ back will be simple enough if everything falls into place as West and Gordon think it will. If something goes wrong…my will is in the safe at work. Melinda and AJ will never want for money." He'd stopped to consider how best to say his next thought. "I doubt Melinda would leave Boston for good," He'd looked directly at his father and Hoss. "But I want you to make sure that AJ gets out West whenever you can manage it, so he'll know the good people he comes from. That's important to me."

"Don't you worry none, brother. I'll be there for him if the need arises," Hoss had vowed, and then continued in a more teasing tone. "But why don't you just plan on bringin' him out to Nevada yerself."

Adam's attention was drawn back to the present as the first carriage pulled up. He hurried to the curb, assisted the occupants out, and ushered them toward the entrance. As he headed back to his post, he glanced over and saw that Artemis Gordon was similarly occupied while vehicles began to line up in the street.

He breathed deeply to hold his anxiety in check as he helped dozens of passengers without seeing the one he was looking for. Adam's hope was that he'd open a door, and find Lucia inside with AJ. He'd offer to help with "her" child, and once the boy was in his arms, it would all be over—easy as pie—as Little Joe used to say.

The "easy" part began to fall apart as nervous passengers, impatient to get to the ship, left their transportation behind and started walking to the gate. Adam began to worry as the crush of people made it impossible to watch arriving vehicles and keep his eye on foot traffic. He glanced over at Artemis, who smiled as he stopped working, and walked over.

"It's not going quite as well as we envisioned," he stated, as he patted Adam on the shoulder. "But that doesn't have to change the outcome. Your wife is inside watching from the windows. She can see the people on the sidewalk, and Jim is watching at the gate. And if all that fails, we have your families in the boarding area."

Adam nodded, and managed a crooked smile as he stepped up to the next carriage door.

Melinda was in the shipping office, positioned to get a clear view of those on foot. The rush of traffic had increased dramatically with the nearing of boarding time, and she was afraid to blink.

While she knew the plan was for her to alert Agent West if she spotted Lucia, her motherly instinct ate away at that understanding when she spotted a woman approaching with a toddler in hand. The short hair did give her pause, but the uncertainty lasted only a moment, since there was no mistaking AJ's sturdy legs sticking out below his short pants, his toddling walk or his angry pout as he tried to pull away from Lucia's grasp.

Melinda lost any intention of following the "plan" when Lucia stopped walking; dropped her parcels; yanked AJ toward her, and swatted him on the back of his bare legs. Melinda couldn't hear what was being said, but she could see AJ's surprised, weeping response, and Lucia's finger wagging in the child's face. Melinda ran to a door that opened onto the street and rushed out shouting at Lucia to, "Stop it!"

AJ looked up, and hollered, "Mommy!" at the top of his lungs as he saw Melinda running toward him. Lucia saw her too. She left her purse and valise where she'd set them, picked up the howling youngster, and ran in the opposite direction.

Adam and Artemis heard Melinda's shouts, and turned to see the two women take off running. A nod from one man to the other sent Adam after them, while Gordon ran to get reinforcements.

He pulled off the mustache as he closed the distance on Melinda, knowing that his son might have trouble recognizing him if he didn't. Melinda was stopped when he reached her, bent over at the waist, clutching her abdomen. He slowed, but took off again when she motioned him onward, and groaned, "Just a cramp; go!"

As he pursued her through the knots of people, he wondered what Lucia hoped to accomplish by fleeing. This area of Boston contained only docks and empty lots butting up to the river. He was even more stymied when she cleared the crowd and veered off to her left, heading toward a site that He and Hoss had inspected the previous day.

His mind leapt ahead to being reunited with his child. She's tiring, he reasoned as she slowed. It couldn't be easy running with AJ attached to her. The child was lean, but he was tall for his age, and he could make himself feel much heavier than he actually was when he wanted to. Adam knew his son was probably letting himself hang from Lucia's arm rather supporting his weight by straddling her hips. This tendency was a constant battle that he and Melinda encountered with their son, and it often resulted in their threats to make him walk instead of being carried. But today, Adam was thankful. That's perfect, son, keep it up. He was close enough now that he could hear AJ crying, "Daddy," while Lucia pinched his cheeks and screamed at him to, "Be quiet!"

The chase ended abruptly, but the ordeal continued when she turned toward Adam, and withdrew a small pistol from her dress pocket that she held to AJ's chest. "Don't come any closer, Adam. I'm not letting you take this child from me. He's my only hope, and if I can't have him, neither can you."

His disgust with Lucia's inability to see reason tore at his mind, and it was hard to think straight with AJ so distraught. The child was crying "Mommy, Daddy" at full volume, and Adam finally had to say kindly, but sternly, "Stop crying, son. You'll be with mommy and me real soon." He was relieved when AJ complied with the order, but Adam's heart ached as he saw the little boy's face drop into a mournful frown as he continued to mouth, "Mommy…Daddy," in a silent litany.

The rest of the rescuers closed in as Lucia shouted, "Stay back or I'll shoot the boy."

Melinda motioned the others to stop, but walked slowly to her husband's side and took his hand.

"You don't really want to hurt him, Lucia," she said soothingly. "Adam and I know how awful things have been for you, but shooting our son won't make them better."

"What do you know of my troubles?" Lucia snarled. "You can't even begin to understand."

"Tell us," Adam encouraged.

She hiked AJ back onto her hip as she pressed the gun tighter to his tiny ribcage. "I hated what my father did to our family. He went after every ridiculous scheme that came along, and lost everything. When you met him, he was at the bottom. He'd come to America to make good after failing in Sicily, and was operating those squalid poker places and lice-infested brothels, thinking he was someone to honor and fear. But he was nothing." She spat the word as if ridding her mouth of something rancid. "People laughed behind his back. After his death, I set out to make the Castelletti name respected again."

She sighed deeply as she took a break from the story while a tear rolled down her cheek. "But I am truly my father's daughter, and lost everything I had too. It wasn't completely my fault, but the result was the same." AJ began to fidget. She responded by poking him hard with the gun, and snarling, "Behave!"

"It's okay, darling," Melinda said calmly while battling her rage. "You be a good boy for the lady. Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you." She breathed more easily when AJ buried his face in his hands and laid his head on Lucia's shoulder. "Go on, Lucia," she encouraged. "Finish your story."

"My mother forced me to marry Count Marino. He is old and disgusting. I still have nightmares of his rheumy eyes staring down at me during his fumbling attempts to father a child. It was like I was being smothered by a corpse. I lied about expecting a child so he'd go home to Italy."

"I don't know how you managed," Melinda said comfortingly. "You said in the note that he demanded you give him an heir before you could inherit from his estate. But it seems like you've endured enough at his hands to be worthy of all he has."

"That is so true!" Lucia agreed as her eyes opened wide and her head wagged up and down. "But that's not the worst of it. I was reduced to trying despicable ways to conceive the child I couldn't have with him, and in irony, found that that my womb is just as dead as he is!" She cackled loudly before continuing. "When it became clear I couldn't have a baby in time, I tried adopting. The crones in charge would not allow me to have a child without my husband's permission, so then I offered to purchase a child from the brothel prostitutes who were expecting. But they all had girls, or children so ugly or deformed I couldn't possibly accept them."

Adam heard Melinda inhale sharply, and squeezed her hand. He suggested, "Since you fabricated a child, couldn't you simply lie about its death? That would gain you some time. You could head back, play the bereaved mother, and try again."

She snarled, "I told you I can't have a baby. How would that help?"

"We didn't have AJ for some time after we were married, Lucia," Melinda said gently. "Sometimes it takes a while for it to happen."

The cackle returned. "And what should I do until then? I can't stand the man touching me. How could I endure the months of attempts?"

"There may be another way," Adam broke in. "There are orphanages in Boston. We can vouch for you and help accomplish a quick adoption. It's not too late. You can wire your husband and say there's been a delay while we find a child of the right age and physical attributes."

Lucia became thoughtful, and then a hopeful smile turned the corners of her mouth. "You would do that for me?"

"Of course we would," Adam assured her. "We'll help however we can. We owe you that."

She lowered the gun, giving the police an opportunity to move toward her. "You're liars!" she screamed as she understood the intent to capture her rather than to help. She raised the gun again and stepped backward onto the rotting dock. "I told you all to stay back!" An ugly sneer twisted her face as she stared at the couple in front of her. "My father was right about you, Adam! You will do anything to get what you want. I can't believe I fell for your sincerity again." She shook her head as she began to sob. "I wish my father had succeeded in killing you."

The officers had stopped during Lucia's outburst, but resumed their progress, causing her to continue backing up onto the pier to keep her distance from them.

Hoss had arrived with the rest of the group that had come from the ship's berth, but when he'd seen what was happening, he'd made a sweep across the vacant lot to a spot downriver from the standoff.

He realized that he and Adam had been at this parcel the day before, and remembered what his brother had said about the docks and piers being so unsound that they needed to be removed before anything else could be done. He also recalled Adam's lesson about how nothing in moving water stayed put without being secured. The river below him was moving fast, and he gaged that it was nearing low tide by observing the water marks on the rocks.

The big man had no idea why he was so concerned with all of this, but something in his gut told him to find out. It didn't take long for him to understand.

As he looked back to where Adam and Melinda were talking to Lucia, he noticed that three policemen were moving toward the woman who was holding his godson, forcing her retreat onto one of the decrepit piers. He had a moment of paralyzed terror when he saw her catch the heel of her shoe on a loose plank, and tumble backwards into the rushing river. AJ flew from her grasp as she fell, and landed in deeper water, immediately going under. He saw the child pop out a little upstream from him, before disappearing under the swirling surface again.

Adam could hear Melinda screaming as he rushed onto the pier Lucia had fallen from, and dove in. He was followed by Agents West and Gordon along with Sam Green and several police officers. The cold water shocked him as it penetrated his clothing, making him doubt that his son could survive the temperature for long. As he searched below and then surfaced, he saw the others popping up for air as well. What he didn't see was anyone coming up with AJ.

He also saw the police dragging Lucia's body to shore. A glimpse of her as he'd run past where she'd fallen had been enough for him to know that she was dead. There were several broken pilings in this area and she'd landed on one of them, probably snapping her spine.

On land, Melinda was still trying to pull herself free from Frank, Ben and her father, while screaming at them that she had to search for her baby. The three men held tight as Ben tried to calm her.

"Melinda, you don't have the strength to fight that current, and your clothing would weigh you down like an anchor. Your father and I would jump in too if we thought we could help, but we don't want them having to rescue us instead of looking for our grandson. Stop fighting us, and we'll pray together."

She ceased struggling and let her father embrace her while they watched the rescue efforts and beseeched heaven for a miracle. A wave of nausea rocked her as she saw them lift Lucia's twisted body up to the dock, and yet, other than being shocked at what had happened, she couldn't feel anything for the woman right now. Her focus locked on Adam, and she found herself holding her breath through each of his dives. During one of his quick bobs for air, she'd seen him look toward her. He hadn't needed words; the misery on his face had told her everything she needed to know.

Margaret and Miranda replaced the men at Melinda's side as they went to help pull the tiring swimmers back up to the dock.

After 30 minutes of efforts, Chief Wilmot came over to her. "Mrs. Cartwright, I'll arrange for a boat to drag the river as soon as I can. I don't mean to be cruel, but no one saw the boy surface, and with the current they've been battling, and the fact that the tide is about to change, those men out there are in danger of drowning too. I'm going to call them in before we lose anyone." With his edict uttered, he made his way along the edge of the old dock, motioning and hollering at the men to come in.

Melinda knew that the chief had meant that he didn't want to lose "anyone else." She knew that he had issued her son's death certificate with his words, yet she couldn't disagree with his decree. The last thing she wanted was more death. The possibility that AJ was gone was already more than she could bear without worrying about another family losing someone they loved. She shed loose of her mother and sister and made her way to the dock, standing watch as the men who'd tried to find her son came in. The one person she didn't see was Adam, and she realized in panic that he hadn't surfaced for some time. She ran and grabbed her father-in-law's arm. "Ben! I saw Adam go down by that far pier a while ago, and he hasn't come back up."

He patted her hand. "I'm sure he's fine. The boys used to have breath-holding contests. Hoss was the champ, but Adam was a close second."

"No, it's been too long! At first I saw bubbles, but now there's nothing."

He needed no further convincing. It had been a long time since Ben Cartwright had gone swimming, but he stripped off his vest and boots as he yelled for Frank. He saw a coil of old rope wound around a rusty cleat and grabbed it, handing one end to Wadsworth. He wrapped his end of the rope around his hand several times to keep from floating away downriver, and dove down into the cold, murky depths.

***
Adam had felt exhaustion setting in as he'd gone to the surface the last time. He'd seen Melinda watching, and had nodded to her before heading back down for another try. The sad truth was that if their son had gotten into open water, he was already gone, and they might never even find his body. He kept searching by clinging to the hope that the boy had gotten pulled down, and wedged in the legs of the piers. A child might survive a few minutes under water, but Adam knew that the search had been going on for some time now. The chill of the river and the strength of the current were taking their toll on him, and he blocked out his thoughts about what the same influences would have on his son as he continued working his way from piling to piling, looking…hoping…praying for a miracle.

His heart beat faster as he saw something trapped in an underwater crib of rock and wood at the base of a footing, but he found only a bundle of netting—probably lost from a fishing boat. As he tried to swim toward the surface again, a strong surge pushed him back down and his foot slipped into the tangled mass. His eyes opened wide in surprise as he realized that he was securely stuck in the bulk of the net that was encased in the underwater derelict surrounding it. The solution seemed simple: pull his foot out of his boot. But the forces of the current and tide kept jamming him back into the nest, and as a result of his efforts to kick free, both feet were now enmeshed, and he had no leverage.

Why couldn't this have happened at the start of this dive, Adam thought wryly even as panic began to trickle into his consciousness. He was nearly out of air, and his struggling had sapped most of what oxygen was left. There was enough for one more effort, and he slid his hands into the net, found the top of his left boot and pushed.

The normally firm uppers of his boots had softened with water exposure, and instead of being able to use it to pry his foot out, the leather folded down on itself like a sea hag's wrinkles. He was trapped, and he thought angrily that becoming a city man had left him helpless. When he was on the ranch, he would never have been caught without a pocket knife. Yet here he was, drowning in the waters of the harbor that as an engineer, he had learned to master. Ironic, he thought as he tried to control the fear of death that was clutching at him.

He kept telling himself not to breathe even though his lungs were burning with the need for air. One breath was all it would take for the waters of the Charles to fill his lungs and end all hope of surviving. It took every ounce of will to remain calm as his vision began to darken. He finally closed his eyes and willed himself to stop fighting.

The darkness brought peace. He experienced a sense of floating—not as he was actually doing in the water—but of soaring above the earth. It's true, he mused, you do see your life flash by as you're about to die. The big memories passed through quickly: his wedding to Melinda and their first night together; AJ's birth—intermingled with their years in England. The sequence detoured as he remembered seeing Melinda for the first time at Abel's house when he was a student. His thoughts jumped forward many years to seeing her again in Sacramento, and his realization soon afterwards that he needed her. Abel, Ben, Hoss, and Little Joe, seemed interwoven into every facet of this recollection.

As full darkness closed in, he saw someone beckoning to him. She was familiar; he'd seen the same woman in his dreams when he was young.

"Mother," he greeted her, as he felt her arms folding around him.

She caressed his hair, and whispered loving words in his ear, telling him of the many things in his life that she had shared in. When he was finally ready to let go, she took his hand, and said, "It's all right, Adam, you can breathe now."

Sam Green and James West had crawled onto the pier at the same time Ben dove in.

West shouted to Melinda, "What's going on?"

"Adam's missing."

Neither man waited to hear more. They followed the rope down to find Ben working to release his son's lifeless body from the tangle, and set to work helping to unwind the thick net from Adam's feet. The tide was low enough that once he was freed, they brought him up; pulling him the last few feet to the pier, and lifted him to those above.

Sam yelled at the police, "Bring a wagon over here, and clear the street. I'll do what I can on the way to the hospital." He grabbed Adam's wrist as they laid him on the ground, hoping for a pulse. Finding none, he ripped his friend's shirt open, and pressed his ear to Adam's chest, hoping he might hear what he couldn't feel.

The others hovered quietly, while Melinda dropped to her husband's side and brought his wet, cold hand to her cheek. No one needed to tell her how serious this was. She could see that he wasn't breathing, and his color was a deathly white, contrasted with a deepening blue hue on his lips and fingertips. "Please, Adam…" she pled, not knowing what else to say. How could she tell him that their son was probably gone, and that if he died too, she wouldn't have the strength to go on? How could she speak her love or convey the loss that everyone around them was feeling? She finally said, "Don't leave me."

Sam moved her out of the way as a wagon was driven into the field, and a group of men quickly transferred Adam's body onto it. When Melinda asked to come along, he told her gently, "You need to stay here until there's word of your son. I'll stay with Adam until you get to the hospital."

She breathed deeply, and as the wagon drove away, she asked, "Is there any word about AJ?"

Several heads shook back and forth but no one gave voice to what seemed obvious.

Frank had commandeered a blanket from a buggy, and had wrapped Ben in it as he'd made it onto land. He hadn't gotten out of the water soon enough to see his son before he was taken away, but he knew that Adam hadn't moved or breathed when they'd gotten him above water. As he looked around the group that was waiting for news of his grandson, it struck him that someone else was missing. He spoke loudly. "Did Hoss go along to the hospital with his brother? I haven't seen him since we came over here from the ship."

"One of the policemen spoke up. "There was a big fella that came here with all of you who walked further down there while all the fuss was going on." He pointed toward where he'd last seen the man he was describing, "I saw him jump into the water over there after the boy fell in."

There was a rush as everyone headed to the spot where the officer had last spotted Hoss, but they saw nothing to indicate that he'd been there. Ben groaned quietly as he envisioned what this day might end up costing him, and began shouting, "Hoss." Others took up the call as they walked along the river's edge, looking for any clue of what might have transpired.

The police chief had stayed with the officers examining Lucia's body when the others went looking for Hoss. He secured another wagon, and was giving instructions to the driver about where to take the body, when a policeman rode up on horseback.

"Are you Chief Wilmot?" the young officer inquired from atop his mount. Receiving the chief's nod, he said, "Then I've a message for you."

"What?" Wilmot replied in a surly tone. "Don't waste my time. I have enough trouble here without waiting for you to tell me why you came."

He leaned down and said, "I was sent to tell you that we were are investigating a report about a man and child found in the river a mile or so downstream. We didn't see them, since they'd been taken to the hospital by the time we arrived. But news of what happened here made us wonder if maybe they were involved in this incident."

Wilmot nodded as his tone softened. "Thank you. It does sound like the ones we're looking for." He sighed. "At least these poor folks will know what happened." He swatted the horse's rump as he said, "On your way, now. I'll tell the family."

The chief sent a man to Ben and Melinda asking that they return.

Melinda hurried back, and asked breathlessly, "Have you heard something?"

The chief bowed his head as he said, "This is certainly not how I hoped this would end, and I will conduct a full investigation into why my officers moved in too early."

"That's fine," Ben said impatiently. "All we want now is the news."

"A man and boy have been pulled from the water a mile from here. I assume they are the missing man and the Cartwright child. The bodies were taken to the hospital, so I think it best if we send you there to make identification. You can use my carriage so there'll be no further delay."

Ben spent the first part of the ride to Massachusetts General staring down at the floor of the carriage. When he looked up, he found that Melinda was frozen in a trance-like stare that mirrored his. For him, the shock of not being able to save Adam, and then hearing about Hoss and AJ had created an emotional emptiness—a numbness so complete that there wasn't any room left for grief. He didn't even feel cold, although he was still wet from the rescue attempt. "How does something like this even happen?" he asked aloud without expecting an answer.

Melinda looked up, and tried to focus on his comment. "Do you mean, how can you lose three people you love so much that living without them is too hard to contemplate?" Hot tears finally found their way to her eyes as she leaned forward and choked out, "Or do you mean how can we even breathe right now, or find the courage to face what's waiting for us at the hospital?"

The grieving man moved to the bench next to his daughter-in-law "We do it together, Melinda." He gave her a crooked smile and squeezed her hand. "I'll remind you to breathe when you look like you're about to pass out, and you do the same for me. And we'll hold each other up when we feel like toppling. Is that a deal?" He saw that her face was contorted with grief, exposing the raw pain she could no longer keep inside. Yet she managed to pat his arm and nod. "Good girl," he soothed as he held her while she leaned forward and wept.

Sam met Ben and Melinda when they walked into the marble foyer of the hospital. "Are the others on the way too?"

"They're a few minutes behind us," Ben answered.

The young doctor started over to the reception desk, and turned to explain, "I'll leave word to have them remain in the lobby until you send for them."

Ben nodded. "I'll come out to get them a few at a time when Melinda is ready."

Sam motioned them down the hall as he led the way. He brushed up against Ben, and realized that he was still damp. "I can get some dry clothes if you'd like to change first. You must be half frozen."

Ben's voice was toneless as he answered. "That's kind of you, but I need to see my sons and grandson first."

"That's what I figured." Sam patted Ben's back as they continued to walk, and grabbed a dry blanket as they passed a service cart, draping in around the older man. "Hoss and AJ were already here when I arrived with Adam," he continued. "It seemed simplest to put them all into one room near the main entrance since there was bound to be a small crowd coming." He turned a corner and stopped in front of the first room. "They're in here," he said as he opened the door and gestured for them to enter.

There were two beds in the room that was dimmed by heavy curtains pulled across the windows. From the size of the mound in the bed to the right, Melinda figured it had to be Hoss's body. As her eyes adjusted to the low light, she saw that her son was tucked in next to Adam, with his head resting on his father's chest. "It seems so natural," she whispered. "They used to nap that way." Looking back at her father-in-law, she said, "Ben, I'm going to need you now; I'm having trouble breathing."

He wrapped his arm around her, and walked her to the bed as he spoke softly. "This is a good way to remember them, Melinda. Adam will protect AJ forever, just as he's done since the moment he was born."

Melinda's head bobbed up and down in agreement. She reached under the covers to hold AJ's hand, and leaned down to kiss his head. He smelled of the river, and his short hair felt bristly against her lips. Her strength gave way as she was hit squarely with the magnitude of her loss, and she collapsed to her knees, sobbing while still holding the boy's tiny fingers. When she felt her son's hand being pulled free from hers, she thought Ben or Sam was trying to separate them, and hissed, "Let me be, you two. I'll let go when I'm ready to let go."

Ben's voice cracked with emotion as he instructed, "Look up, child. Sam and I aren't doing anything."

She gasped when she raised her head from the bedding that bore the dampness of her tears, and saw AJ's large hazel eyes observing her as he yawned loudly. Next to him, his father was rousing from sleep as well.

"Mommy's crying," AJ observed as he looked up at his father. The child reached out to wipe his mother's cheek, and dried his hand on the sheet.

"That she is, little man," his father agreed. "Something tells me that your Mommy needs a big hug even though we're both pretty cozy right now."

AJ was on his feet in a flash and jumped into his mother's arms, nearly knocking her over from her kneeling position. "Mommy," he cried out as he held tight and snuggled into her neck. "Bad lady…" he said huskily as he started to cry.

"I know, darling," she cooed as she held him tightly. "That bad lady won't ever come back. No one will ever take you from mommy and daddy again."

"Promise?" he asked as he settled into his mother's embrace.

Melinda had managed to stand with Ben's help, and she sat on the bed where AJ had been sleeping. Adam reached over to rub his son's back. "We both promise. You're safe now."

Adam tried to sit up, but was stopped by Sam, who cautioned him to stay where he was for a while yet. He rose up on his elbow instead, and kissed Melinda, wiping her tears away just as his son had a few minutes earlier. The wide-eyed, open mouthed looks lingering on his wife and father's faces made him inquire, "Why do you two look so surprised?" He thought a moment and corrected his assessment. "No, that's not right. You both look shocked."

Sam chimed in. "I was wondering the same thing? You both seemed so bereft when you arrived, but I put it off to the confusion and strangeness of the day. But…I'm beginning to think it was true grief." He looked at Adam and back at Ben and Melinda. "Did you think they were all…."

"Yes." Melinda cut him off before he said the word she didn't want her son to hear. Looking down at AJ, she saw that the instinctual rocking motion she'd been doing while holding him had allowed him to drift back to sleep. She asked for a blanket to cover him as she whispered, "Poor, baby. He must be exhausted." Once he was bundled up, and she was assured that he was truly asleep, she continued her explanation. "When you took Adam away, we were all sure he had drowned. He wasn't breathing; even I could see that."

"That makes sense," the doctor agreed. "But what made you think AJ and Hoss were gone?"

Ben had gone over to his middle son to assure himself that he was indeed breathing even though Hoss remained sound asleep. He nodded to Melinda, and continued the explanation. "That inept police chief told us that their bodies had been found downriver. Maybe he was given bad information, but I'd bet he couldn't get things right even if they were carved in stone like the Ten Commandments."

The mound in the other bed began to stir and make smacking noises. Hoss sounded upset as he groused, "What's a guy gotta do to get some rest around here?" As he came around a little more and saw Ben standing over him, he added, "Oh, hi, Pa. I guess I forgot where I was for a minute." He looked over to see Melinda cradling her son, and his older brother smiling back at him. "Looks like everyone made it out of that river in one piece. That takes a powerful weight off my mind."

"I'm still at a loss to understand how it is that you're all alive," Melinda said quietly so as not to rouse her child, and then blushed at her comment. "I am feeling most blessed that you are all well, but from what we heard and saw, none of you should be here. So someone please tell us what actually happened."

Adam reached around Melinda's waist and pulled her closer. "I'm in the same boat with you, honey," he said while finally managing to sit up without Sam's approval, and rested his head on her shoulder. "I thought I was done for after getting stuck in a mess of nets. It happened when I was nearly out of breath. Sam told me that Pa dove in to get me, but he wasn't sure how he knew I was in trouble."

"I'd been watching you dive," Melinda told him, "and it seemed that you hadn't come up for air in some time. I told Ben, and he went after you." She scooted toward the head of the bed to allow Adam to get more comfortable. "You were blue and lifeless when they brought you up, so I thought he was too late."

He winked, "You weren't the only one. I assumed no one knew that I was down there."

Ben asked, "So how did you survive, son?"

The older son pointed at the doctor in the room. "You'll have to ask him."

Sam scuffed his shoe on the floor, and looked sheepish as he confessed, "I have no idea what I did, but don't tell anyone else; it'll ruin my reputation." He grinned and went to open the curtains to brighten the room. "What you didn't know, Melinda, was that even though he wasn't breathing, Adam still had a weak heartbeat when I left with him. I thought I could save him if I could get him to breathe. After trying the usual things for someone who's been in the water—rolling him over; pushing on his abdomen to expel the water he may have ingested; raising his arms above his head to expand his rib cage—I finally resorted to giving him a hard slap on the back, and hollering at him to breathe." He chuckled. "And he did. I never knew my words had such power."

Melinda saw her husband's pale cheeks color briefly after hearing Sam's explanation. "What's wrong?" she asked quietly as she leaned toward his ear.

He smiled but said nothing. When he couldn't hold out against her questioning stare, he whispered, "I'll tell you later."

"Well, one mystery solved," Melinda said as she smiled at Sam. Turning her attention to Hoss, she asked, "So how did you and our son end up here?"

Hoss pushed himself up to sit in the bed. "It all really started back a bit." Seeing the confused looks being sent his way, he explained, "When Adam and me was together yesterday, he gave me a lesson about currents and tides. In fact, we stopped at the same old docks we were at today, so I kind'a knew it was a dangerous place. The one thing botherin' my mind when I saw what was happenin' with that crazy woman, was Adam's warning about how fast something moves away when it's hits the river." He nodded toward his older brother. "And when I saw that she was so close to the edge of the dock, I got a gut feeling that somethin' was gonna go terrible wrong. I knew that if we all stayed where we was, no one could get in the river fast enough to help. So while you kept trying to talk sense into her, I hurried down the river a bit to check which way the water was movin'. It didn't take long before I saw my godson flying into the water."

"And then what happened?" Ben prodded.

"I didn't see what happened to the woman, but I knew AJ was out in the movin' water. I saw the little guy pop up once, so I knew about where he was headed, and I jumped out as far as I could get. And dang if he didn't bump right into me! He'd swallowed some of the river and urped that up, and he weren't too happy about what was happening, but I got his head above water, and held on as we floated down river. I couldn't believe how fast we was moving, and was trying to figger out how to get to shore when I spied some guys fishin' from a boat, and hollered to them. They managed to pull us in…er…well they pulled AJ in, and I sort'a held on to the back of the boat until we got to shallower water. I still can't say how it all worked, but I'm powerful glad it did. I don't mean to sound silly or nothin' but I'm thinkin' it was a kind of miracle."

Melinda cradled AJ as she rose and went to kiss her brother-in-law's cheek. "I think you're our miracle, Hoss. You paid attention yesterday and figured out what to do today. Thank you."

Adam sent his brother a proud grin. "I can't ever thank you enough, Hoss."

"Aw shucks," he replied as he smiled shyly. "You two already thanked me enough by making me yer little feller's godfather."

Following the reunions and celebration with the others who had thought the day had brought an unspeakable tragedy, and against Sam's best advice, Adam, AJ and Hoss went home, along with their entourage. As he had done once before when releasing a Cartwright patient from care before he should have been, the doctor sent a nurse to stay with them overnight. Anna was released and came home with them as well.

Agents West and Gordon had stayed at the river to work with the police after everyone else had left, and it had taken some time to get all the facts documented. They arrived at the Cartwright house just as the group was getting ready to leave.

"We wanted to stop and say goodbye," Agent West said after congratulating everyone for the successful operation. Seeing the expectant looks of those gathered in Adam and Melinda's living room, he explained further. "I'm sure you all know that Miss Castelletti died as a result of the fall, and the two men who helped her with the kidnapping were apprehended this morning. They admitted to taking the child, but they said she'd told them that the Cartwrights had agreed to watch 'her' little boy until she got on her feet again after the problems in New Orleans. Of course they didn't know what she'd been up to, and she convinced them that Adam was now saying that she'd abandoned the child, and he refused to give him back. She claimed that American authorities would never give her custody over Adam and Melinda, so she needed to abduct him and get him safely to Italy."

"That's preposterous," Margaret said as she bounced her grandson on her knee. "Why would anyone believe that?"

Melinda answered, "Adam has always said that she played her roles well. I'm sure she was very convincing as the wronged mother."

"That's what they said too," Artemis agreed. "They watched your place a few days and decided to grab the boy when he was out with the nanny. They saw their opportunity when 'the big guy' wasn't with her. Once they had him, they helped Lucia move to a boarding house to await her departure.

"Then it was nothing I done wrong?" Anna asked shyly.

"Not at all." West answered sincerely. "The men admitted that they had to manhandle you because you fought so hard to protect the boy. They'll be going away for some time again, and I'm sure they'll never want to hear the names Castelletti or Cartwright again."

After the stories of forethought and survival were shared with the agents, Artemis bowed as he smiled, and said, "We don't usually get to work with people like you, and may I say that it has been a pleasure."

Adam accompanied the two men out to their buggy. "I'm thankful you were near enough to help out. If it hadn't been for you, we wouldn't have figured out what Lucia was doing before she got away. We would never have stopped searching for our son, but I'm grateful that's he's home with us tonight."

West and Gordon shook Adam's hand. "You're sure we can't entice you into joining us?" West asked with a grin. Receiving Adam's loud, "No," he boarded the buggy and pointed down at his boot tip. "I think this is something you might have found handy in the predicament you were in today, Mr. Cartwright." The agent made a movement with his left foot that activated a lever on his right boot tip, releasing a short, double-edged knife blade. "If you'd had boots like mine you could have sawed your way out of the net."

Adam was still shaking his head as the two agents drove away. He couldn't help wondering if he should think a little more about the Secret Service if it would mean getting gadgets like that.

The Cartwright household was ready for bed soon after their families left. The three "river rats, as Hoss began referring to them, took hot baths to eliminate the stench, and Hoss decided he'd stay at Adam's for the night to make it easier for the nurse to keep an eye on all of them.

Sam had given them each a final exam, and found no ill effects other than surliness at having to endure another poking and prodding. He'd left them with a warning to be on the lookout for a cough that could indicate a developing pneumonia, and the possibility of some uncomfortable stomach or intestinal distress from consuming river water.

The nurse made a final check on each of her charges before declaring them all fit as fiddles for the night, and went to the other spare room, leaving instructions to call her if anything changed.

Adam had slipped away after that to secure the house, and found Melinda and AJ tucked into bed when he got to his room. The little boy had been given the seldom-granted privilege of sleeping with his parents, and he was already deep in sleep.

His wife giggled softly when Adam removed his robe. "We've been married a few years now, and this is the first time I've ever seen you in a long nightshirt. Is it even yours?"

"I borrowed one from Abel. I'm still cold from my swim in the Charles." He crawled in next to his son and rubbed his hand across the child's short-cut hair. "I have to admit he's mighty cute this way." He noted Melinda's sour look, and added, "But I'm assuming you're not enamored with it." After leaning over to kiss her, he vowed, "We'll let it grow out, and trim it down again when he's a little older.

"AJ will be heartbroken when Hoss and Ben leave in a couple of days," Melinda said sadly. "He's grown so fond of his godfather. It seems right that Hoss was the one to save him today."

"I know he'll miss them." He yawned and pulled the covers up around his neck. "But at least now that Anna knows she couldn't have done anything to prevent the kidnapping, she's decided to stay on a little longer and see how it goes. It would be harder still if she left."

"You're shivering!" Melinda got up and added a down comforter to the bed before slipping under the covers again. "You really are cold."

"I can think of a way to get warm," he teased as he reached across their son to hold her hand.

Melinda smiled in the dark. "Well, I suspect that having our son between us would make that an impossible solution. Besides, the other day when Sam was here, he said that we should stop trying to have another baby."

His voice was suddenly filled with concern. "Is there something wrong, honey? Was your illness yesterday related to a serious condition?"

She brought his hand to her cheek. "He said we could stop trying because there's already a baby on the way."

Rising up on his elbow, he looked down at his wife and chuckled with relief. "That's wonderful news."

Her reply held a note of disappointment. "I thought you'd be more excited."

He dropped to the bed and rolled onto his back, locking his hands behind his head. "I'm truly thrilled. It's just that when you told me about the baby, something ran through my mind from earlier."

"What do you mean?"

"Something happened while I was under water." He sighed before continuing. "I did what I could to get loose, but in the end all I could do was to concentrate on not taking a breath, hoping that it would give me a few extra seconds to think about everyone I loved before I died."

Melinda got up and came around to Adam's side of the bed so she could hold him while he told her the story. She shuddered as she snuggled in next to him, and tucked her head in the curve of his neck. "Thinking you were going to die must have been a horrid."

"It was…and wasn't. Once I faced what was probably going to happen, I started to relax. I can recall some memories passing through my mind then, but as I blacked out, I sensed that someone was with me."

"Is that when Ben got to you?" she asked as she held him tighter.

"It wasn't him. This was something in my mind—an image of my mother." He chuckled softly. "Pa had a small portrait of her that was done when she was about 18, and that's how I've always imagined her. She still looked that way today as she told me not to worry because AJ was safe with Hoss, and that you were expecting a baby girl…her namesake, as she put it. She said I couldn't die yet, and then said that I had to breathe."

"Do you think she was really there with you?"

"Remember when you asked me what I was thinking after Sam told us what he did to me on the way to the hospital?" He felt her head nod against his chest. "When he said he'd finally told me to 'breathe,' the rest of it made sense. It must have been Sam telling me about the baby and the other things while trying to wake me up. I suppose I was stuck somewhere between being unconscious and awake, and my mind added the details…and the image of Elizabeth."

"I think our minds seek a safe place when we're in vulnerable situations. It must have been comforting to imagine your mother there with you." The day's exhaustion had begun pulling Melinda into sleep, when her eyes flew open again. "Adam…did you know that AJ and Hoss were safe before you got to the hospital?"

"Un huh. I was still pretty groggy when I got there, but I asked to see them before I'd let them do anything for me."

"Here's the thing about that darlin'," she said as she touched his face. "Sam left with you before anyone even realized Hoss was missing, and we didn't find out until later still that AJ was with him. Even then we thought they both had drowned. Sam couldn't have told you what he didn't know himself."

"Well, I'll be." He looked upward and smiled. "I guess I'll have to wait until our baby is born to see if that part was accurate too." He turned and kissed his wife. "I owe you my life, Melinda. Thank you for watching out for me today." Rolling onto his back, he scooped his son into the crook of his arm to scoot him over and make more room, causing the little boy to gurgle, "Daddy, don't go."

"I'm not going anywhere, buddy," he promised, as AJ laid his arm across his father's chest and snuggled close, before slipping back to sleep. In Adam's last wakeful minutes, he held his family tight and gave thanks again for all that had been restored to him.

Melinda heard nasally, even breathing, indicating that her "men" were both asleep. She reached over to stroke AJ's head and frowned, wondering how dreadful it was for her to resent not being there for his first haircut, when the day might have ended with her missing every "first" in her son's life. She quickly regained her perspective. "Your daddy is right; you are so cute right now," she whispered, "but don't tell him I said that."

Sleep eluded her as she considered what Adam had told her. She didn't believe in "ghosts," but she did think it was possible for souls to connect when a loved one was in danger or pain. She had heard stories about people being helped through duress by someone who couldn't "really" have been there. Maybe it was just that a person's mind found solace and courage any way possible. In this case, some of what Adam heard must have been Sam telling him about the baby as he tried to get his patient to fight his way back to life. But that didn't explain the other information Adam had been given about AJ and Hoss.

It left her thinking that there may have been forces at work that they couldn't comprehend—a connection between people that existed in the mind and heart. She remembered that Ben had told her about a time when everyone thought that Adam had died in a stage wreck. He'd said that he had known in his heart that his son was still alive, even when everything confirmed that he wasn't.4 Was it possible that Adam had experienced a similar knowledge in his heart that AJ and Hoss were together and safe?

Melinda moved her hand across her still-flat stomach, wishing that she was far along enough to feel the movement of their baby. She grinned when she thought about the night before. Sam had told her what he thought was wrong with her, but she hadn't been able to enjoy the news because of the kidnapping. Now she could relax and be grateful and excited for this second blessing.

"Are you really our little Elizabeth?" she whispered. "It seems that your grandmother has already decided that you are, and I can't wait to meet you. You're going to love your father and big brother. They'll spoil you and protect you."

Reaching across Adam's chest, she gently took her son's hand. It was the perfect end to an imperfect day, and she prayed again in thanks. As she began to doze, she directed her final thoughts to a woman she would never know. She truly loved Elizabeth. After all, she had given Melinda the finest gift she'd ever received: Adam Stoddard Cartwright. If it was you with all of us today, Elizabeth, she thought as she drifted toward sleep, I know it's because you love your son and grandson as much as I do. Thank you.

Epilogue

(Six months later)

"C'mon AJ, I want you to meet someone," the two-and-a-half-year-old's father encouraged. "She can't wait to see you."

AJ eyed his father skeptically. "Who is it?"

"Your sister's here, Buddy. She's mighty cute."

The child left his Ponderosa play set in Abel's living room where he'd been staying during the commotion going on at his house, and took his father's hand. He hopped and skipped across the yard and up the steps, but suddenly hesitated at the door to his parent's room, and looked up at Adam warily. "She's crying," he whispered.

"That she is, son, but babies do cry a lot at first. You did too."

"I did?"

Adam nodded and smiled down at his son. "Every chance you got." He knelt down to get eye-to-eye with AJ, and pulled him near. "Does her crying scare you a little?" Judging from the child's pale face, and open-eyed stare, he knew the answer was yes. "We'll all need to get used to it, but it doesn't mean that there's anything wrong. Babies cry because they're hungry, or need their diaper changed, or sometimes just to remind everyone that they're here. Do you understand?" The weak nod, accompanied by the same frightened stare, suggested to Adam that while his son may understand, he still wasn't happy about it. "How about we wait out here for a minute and see if Mommy can get her settled before we go in."

The little boy's sunny disposition returned with his father's suggestion. While they waited, he entertained his father with the story of the Ponderosa horses he'd been playing with. "The paint is Uncalla Little Joe's howrse. He can jump right up on it without using the stiwwups. And Uncalla Howrse has a ballack howrse called Chubby, and it is, and so is Uncalla Howrse. And Gwanpa Ben rides a yellalow howrse that doesn't go so fast anymore cuz they are both old. And, Daddy, youwr howrse is Spowrt, but you do not ride him, cuz you live here with me."

Adam nodded and smiled at intervals, as the child continued on to explain what work horses were for, as always, marveling at his son's articulateness. He didn't catch every word, since AJ tended to put w's in front of his r's, making house, Hoss, and horse sound alike, and double pronounced l's, adding syllables to words like black and uncle, making them ballack and uncalla. When the crying inside the room subsided, he opened the door a crack and said, "Let's go in now, son. They're anxious to see us." 5

Melinda was sitting up in bed holding the infant, when her two men entered. She smiled widely, and reached out, encouraging AJ to join her. He scooted up next to her, and she pulled the blanket apart so he could see the baby. After giving him a minute to look things over, she asked, "So what do you think?"

"She looks old."

"What makes you say that?" Adam asked as he sat next to him on the bed.

"She's wrinkally like Gramma Sadie, and Grampa Abel."

His mother chuckled. "She'll look less wrinkly in a couple of hours, honey. Do you think she's cute?"

AJ shrugged. "I s'pose, but she's fuzzy," he answered honestly, and then pointed at the top of her head. "Mommy, why's her head bumping?"

Melinda took his hand and moved it across the pulsing area on his sister's head. "That's called a soft spot, honey. Your head was just like that when you were born. It will get hard after a while, but until then we'll all be very careful with her."

"So aside from the wrinkles, the fuzziness, her 'bumping' head, and the crying," Adam teased, "do you like her?"

The little boy's nose crinkled as his forehead puckered. "I love 'Lizbet, Daddy. She's my sister."

Adam gave his wife a questioning look. They had intended to call this baby Elizabeth if it was a girl, but they had always just said, "the baby," instead of giving it a name. A son would have been Benjamin William, but they hadn't used that beforehand either. "Did someone tell you your sister's name?" he asked the youngster.

"Gramma did," he answered quickly.

"Sadie probably mentioned it when she got back to the house after she knew we had a daughter," Adam offered as Melinda nodded.

"No, not that Gramma," AJ said while winding his sister's curls around his finger.

"Was it Grandma Margaret?" Melinda asked.

His head shook from side to side. "Nope. My gramma in the water told me."

Adam sent Melinda a bewildered look before asking, "What grandma in the water?"

"You know," AJ answered emphatically as he looked over his shoulder at his father. "When that mean lady dropped me in the water, a nice lady pulled me back up. She said, 'I'm your gramma, so don't be scared.'"6

Adam tried to keep his voice casual as he asked, "This lady was in the water with you?"

"No, Daddy," the child scoffed. "I was in the water. She was…" he looked puzzled, and finally shrugged.

"She told you about your sister?" his mother prodded gently.

"Un huh. She said I had to keep my mouth closed in the river, and to be a good big brother to 'Lizbeth when she got here."

"I see." Melinda looked over at Adam who shook his head and raised his eyebrows. "How long was your grandma with you?"

"Til she pushed me into Uncalla Howrse."

Adam felt his wife's stare, and looked over at her with a grin. "I'm not sayin' a thing," he vowed, as he leaned over to kiss AJ's head. He said softly to Melinda, "We'll never understand what actually happened that day, and the best way to acknowledge it is to love these two the best we can."

Melinda leaned her head on Adam's shoulder. "I think it's wonderful to have someone watching over all of us."

Their moment of heavenly connection was broken as AJ peaked beneath his sister's undershirt, and then looked up at his parents. "Grampa Abel says babies come from the pumpkin patch, so is that funny thing on Lizbet's tummy, her stem?"

The End

1 Brighidin Ban Mo Store by Edward Walsh, teacher and poet born in Londenderry, 1805, and died in Cork, 1850 Brighidin ban mo stor is in English 'fair young bride', or 'Bridget my treasure'. The proper sound of this phrase is not easily found in English-speaking Irish. It is as if written, "Bree-dheen-bawn-mu-sthore". The proper name Brighit, or Bride, signifies a 'fiery dart', and was the name of the goddess of poetry in the Pagan days of Ireland. (Information taken from )

2 Proverb 15:4

3 This happened in the Story: One Step Closer – Two Hearts Broken, when Adam was forced to help a criminal blow a hole into the side of a federal bank from a tunnel they'd built. Adam was able to see that there was an existing wall, not connected with the bank that he pretended to blow up. However, he set the charges to collapse the chamber and tunnel instead, and even managed to find a spot to keep from being killed in the blast and collapse.

4 In my story, Sunny With a Chance of Rain, Ben believes Adam is alive even when all evidence points to him being dead.

5 The character of AJ is a mix of two of my grandsons. They both spoke early and used full sentences by the time they were 18 months. The remarkable thing was that they knew what their words meant and could make convincing arguments, explain things well, and tell marvelous—but totally untrue—stories. It is the younger one who mouths, mommy…daddy even after he stops crying when he's truly upset, and put the h to r words and double pronounces his l's.

6 The story of the grandma in the water is another take from real life. My grandson (not one from the story above) lost his other grandma when he was about 1. I was caring for him the night she died, and am convinced that she was with him around the time that she passed. As he got older, he would often tell his mother that "Grandma" had told him things that he knew…and had no other way of knowing. That phenomenon stopped as he got a little older, and I doubt he remembers any of it now.