Author's Note: We've changed our minds and have decided to update more frequently than once a week.
Chapter 2
The Cartwrights and the two sisters walked into the house. They all took their hats and gun belts off. Sam sat down in the big red chair and Eddy sat on the arm of it. Hoss and Adam both sat down on the large wooded table, while Ben sat on the settee and Joe sat beside him on the arm of it.
"Pa told us all about you. What happened?" Adam asked.
Eddy looked at Sam and back at the Cartwrights. "Last fall my sis and I went to town. We needed to get some papers from the bank that Pa needed." Eddy said. She looked down at Sam and took a deep breath. "As we was ridin' back, we noticed thick black smoke rising up from Thunderbolt." Tears shone in her eyes.
Sam reached up and placed a hand on her shoulder. "When we got closer we knew something was wrong." Sam said, looking from Hoss to Ben.
"Once we got to the Thunderbolt we saw that the whole place was engulfed in flames. We found our folks in the house once the fire was out. What cattle wasn't rustled, was burnt alive, along with the other animals." Eddy explained, her voice cracking. She looked at everyone, then stood up. "Excuse me." she said and headed outside.
Sam watched her go. "She's the one who found Ma and Pa."
Joe looked at everyone and then took off after Eddy.
Sam had always been the stronger of the two and handled her emotions better than Eddy.
Ben looked at Sam. "I heard about a fire happening out in California. I just never imagined it was the Thunderbolt. I'm sorry."
Sam gave him a grim smile. "Thanks Ben."
"Did they catch who was responsible?" Hoss asked.
Sam sighed. "No, they never did."
"Any idea who it could have been?" Ben asked.
"The only fella who ever gave us trouble was Mark Dawson." Sam replied. "He kept pestering Pa to sell him the Thunderbolt."
"That could be a motive right there." Adam stated, as the cogs in his mind started to work.
"What'd he want the Thunderbolt for?" Hoss asked.
"The land." Sam simply replied. "He's determined to own everything in Trinity."
"The Thunderbolt is..." Ben paused as sadness washed over his face. "...was the largest spread in California."
Sam looked down at her hands, swallowed the lump that had once again formed in her throat and then looked back up at the three men. "Dawson was gonna buy Pa out, then tear everything down for the land. Pa spent his life building up that ranch. He wasn't selling out to Dawson or nobody."
Ben sat watching Sam. He remembered his trip out to California. Frank Parker was just as proud of the Thunderbolt as he is of the Ponderosa.
Adam looked at her, sympathy etched on his handsome face. "Did the Sheriff ever look into Dawson?" he asked.
Sam snorted and shook her head. "What would be the point? Dawson has the entire town of Trinity in his pocket. Including Sheriff Walker. He doesn't make a move without Dawson's approval."
Ben sighed. "I wish Frank had of come to me for help if things were getting that bad out there."
Sam smiled at Ben. "Aw, Ben, you know my Pa. He liked to take care of his own troubles."
"Sounds like another man I know." Adam said, glancing at Ben.
Hoss chuckled. "Yeah, ain't that the truth."
Sam smiled at the three men before her. She already had a particular soft spot in her heart for Ben and she knew that Hoss and Adam were slowly staking out their spots as well. She also knew that Joe wouldn't be far behind his Pa and older brothers. The Cartwrights were all wonderful men. She looked over to Adam, he was definitely a handsome man. He had those dark, brooding looks and a mysterious nature about him. Hoss, on the other hand, while he wasn't dark and classically handsome like Adam or boyishly cute like Joe, he was just as handsome as his brothers. With his sandy brown hair and the most amazing blue eyes that Sam had ever seen. When he smiled, it lit up his entire face and you couldn't help but smile yourself. Sam also got the feeling that, although Hoss was a giant of a man, he was kind and gentle.
"What are your plans now?" Ben asked.
"Eddy and I have been drifting from ranch to ranch lookin' for work. Hopin' to get enough money to start our own spread." Sam answered.
"You never thought to rebuild the Thunderbolt?" Adam asked.
Sam shook her head. "No, we couldn't stay there. Not after what had happened."
Adam nodded. He completely understood what she was saying. He wasn't sure if he would stay on the Ponderosa if something tragic happened to his family and home.
Ben looked at the boys and then back to Sam. "You two are welcome to stay here. We have plenty of room."
Sam smiled. "Thank you, Ben, but really we're looking for work."
Ben remembered being at the Thunderbolt and how amazed he had been with Sam and Eddy. They worked on the ranch as hard, if not harder, than most of the men he knew. He smiled at Sam and so did his two sons. "Well, I usually don't hire female hands..."
Sam interrupted. "Ben, me and Eddy can work as hard as any man..."
Ben held his hand up to stop her. "Let me finish. I've seen what you and Eddy can do when I was at the Thunderbolt. We always have plenty of work to do around here and I never turn away good hands. Plus, I pay a fair wage."
Sam could feel tears pricking the back of her eyes. She knew what Ben was doing. "We're much obliged to you."
"Your family treated me well at the Thunderbolt. Now it's my turn to return the favour."
Eddy walked up to Cashe who was tied to the hitching post. She ran her hand over the horse and took a shaky breath. She wished she was strong like her sister. She had watched Sam go through all the emotions of what happened, but unfortunately, Eddy could never get to the point of being able to talk about it without crying. Even to Sam.
"Eddy?" Joe asked softly, walking up to her.
She turned around. Her hair flung over her shoulder and a couple of strands fell in her face.
Joe was taken aback. Even with tears staining her cheeks, and her hair a mess, she was beautiful to him.
He walked closer to her, slowly brushed the hair out of her face and pulled her into a hug. A tight, comforting embrace.
Eddy couldn't help but fully break down.
Joe guided her over to a tree, where they sat down and he held her close. "You wanna talk about it?" he asked softly.
Eddy shook her head. "I c-can't even t-think about it w-w-without..." she sobbed.
"Hey, it's okay." Joe gently interrupted her. "I understand."
"I d-didn't even get to say g-g-goodbye. That's w-what h-h-hurts the most."
Joe continued to hold her close. He knew what she was going through. He may have only been five when his mother died but he could still feel the heartbreak and devastation when he realized that his beloved Mama was never coming home again.
"I know. Even though you didn't get to say goodbye, they're not really gone as long as you remember them and keep them in your heart forever." he replied and handed her a bandana from his pocket.
"Thank you." Eddy said.
Sam looked at everyone and smiled. "Y'all said you were mending fences?"
Ben smiled. "Yes, and you boys..." he paused.
Sam smiled in turn. "Ben, I was volunteering. Besides, Pa raised us to be one of the boys."
Adam and Hoss looked at her.
"Alright, you find Joe and Eddy and get movin' on that fence." Ben stated.
Hoss, Sam and Adam walked to the door and put on their gun belts and hats. Sam grabbed Eddy's gun belt and hat, while Hoss grabbed Joe's.
Eddy was wiping the tears when Joe looked at her. "Listen, I'm not always the best at understandin' things. I mean, I still need my Pa and brother's guidance sometimes. But Ed, I'll always be here." he said and gave his best comforting smile. "You don't have to hide things from me."
She didn't know what to say. Her sister was the only one she could talk to before. But she always hid some things from her, for she didn't want Sam to think any less of her.
"Thank you, Joe." she said and hugged him.
Joe smiled and returned the hug. After they parted, Joe stood up, "C'mon." He smiled and helped her up. They started walking back to the house holding hands when the rest of the group walked up.
Sam snickered and handed her sister the gun belt. "I don't wanna know." she said to Eddy.
"Good." Eddy replied and started putting on her gun belt.
Hoss, Joe, Sam and Eddy went to their horses and mounted up. Adam went to the buggy and got ready.
They made it back to the fence that Hoss and Joe had been mending earlier and stopped at the last section they had been working on. Everyone jumped down from their mounts and tied them up.
Adam hopped down from the wagon and helped the group unload the fence posts. Once that was done, he jumped back into the wagon and started back for the Ponderosa.
"Hey, Adam?!" Joe yelled. "Where you goin'?!"
Adam stopped the wagon and looked back at the group. "Don't you worry about me, younger brother. You just get that fence mended. I got some things to take care of back at the house."
The group watched Adam leave and then turned to their impending task. "Well, what say we get started." Sam said.
"No time like the present." Eddy replied.
Joe removed his green jacket and hung it on his saddle horn. Then he removed his hat and rolled up his sleeves. Hoss took off his vest but kept his hat on.
Then the four fence menders got to their task at hand.
Adam pulled the wagon into the yard, jumped out and handed it off to one of the hands to take care of. He walked toward the house and entered.
Ben heard the door open and close and got up from his desk. He was surprised to see Adam. "What are you doing back here? I thought you were going to help with the fence mending."
"They can handle that, Pa. I wanted to talk to you." Adam replied.
Father and son sat down at Ben's desk. "What's on your mind, son?"
"It's about Mark Dawson and the fire at the Thunderbolt."
Ben looked at his oldest son. "Alright." he replied, he knew where Adam was heading with this.
"I'd like to look into things. Take a trip out there and see what I can find out about it."
Ben sat back. He knew that Adam would be the one to take it upon himself to find out if Dawson was really the one behind it. "Are you sure this is wise, Adam?"
"Pa, you saw the look of devastation on Sam's face when she told us everything that had happened. What's even worse, is that Dawson and his men were never held accountable for what they did."
"Adam, you don't know that it was Dawson."
"Pa, who else could it have been? Dawson had the motive. He wanted their ranch. And from what Sam said, he's the type of man to get what he wants at all costs. No matter who gets hurt."
Ben sighed. He knew Adam was right. If Dawson was behind this, he had to be brought to justice for what he had done. "You're right, son. Frank and Loretta Parker were good, honest, hardworking people and they need justice for what happened to them."
"And Sam and Eddy need some peace of mind." Adam added, thinking of the devastation and heartache he saw on the girl's faces.
Ben nodded his head in agreement. "Alright, look into it." he said.
Adam stood up and headed upstairs to his room to start packing for his trip out to California. Ben watched his son disappear around the corner with a worried expression etched on his face. Something deep down in the pit of his stomach told him that Adam may be getting in over his head with this one.
Sam, Hoss, Eddy and Joe were all working hard, and have been now for a couple of hours. Eddy stopped digging the hole for one of the posts. She looked at the other three who were still working and then took her hat off and wiped her forehead. She took a deep breath, walked up to Cashe and pulled the canteen off the saddle horn. Taking a drink, she walked over and handed it to Sam. "It's been a long day." She said to her sister.
Sam nodded and looked up at the sky. "Boys, think we should have enough daylight to get back?"
Joe smiled, "Why don't we head back now. Call it a day."
"Well, let's finish this section first." Sam suggested.
Hoss stopped, sniffed the air and looked at everyone. "Mmm, mmm, I can smell Hop Sing's cooking from here."
Sam dropped the post she was holding which landed on Eddy's foot. "Youch!" Eddy cried out in pain as she jumped and fell backwards, knocking Joe back and onto the ground to. Eddy was now sitting in his lap, holding her foot. Everyone started laughing.
Sam reached out to help Eddy up. Eddy took hold of her right hand, just as Joe grabbed Sam's left and they pulled her down.
Hoss looked at the scene before him and started laughing. His full on thundering, belly laugh. He walked over to the group to help Sam and Eddy. They looked at each other and smirked. They each took one of his hands and pulled him down. It was easy to take the big man down because he hadn't been expecting it.
After laughing for a couple of minutes, Hoss, who had Sam leaning against him, as Eddy was leaning against Joe, smelled the air again. "Yep, that's Hop Sing's cooking alright."
The two girls gaped at him. "Now, there's no way you can smell food cooking all the way from the house!" Eddy said.
"Don't underestimate Hoss' nose, ladies." Joe said, smirking at his older brother. He learned a long time ago to never bet against his big brother's nose.
Sam, who was still leaning against the big man, looked back at him and smiled, amused at this new talent she had just discovered. "Okay, what's he cooking?"
Hoss sniffed the air for a third time and smiled. "Mmm, mmm. My favourite. Fried chicken. With some biscuits, gravy, mashed potatoes and homemade apple pie for desert."
Eddy's jaw dropped. There was no way he could smell all that. She shook her head in disbelief as she stood up and started to walk over to the horses. "We better get going. 'Cause this I gotta see."
Joe jumped up and followed quickly behind Eddy. As Sam was getting ready to move, she realized that she was still pressed firmly against Hoss. She blushed as a warm feeling enveloped her. That warm feeling was Hoss' arms around her, helping her off the ground.
When she was back on her feet again, she looked up into his stunning blue eyes and smiling face. She smiled back. She was right, when Hoss smiled you couldn't help but smile with him. "Thank you, Hoss."
"My pleasure, ma'am." he replied, in a deep silky voice.
An over whelming feeling came over Sam and she wanted desperately to kiss him. Unbeknownst to Sam, Hoss was having the same feeling but the moment was broke when they heard Joe's voice calling out. "You two comin' or you just gonna stand there all day gawking at each other."
"Ain't nobody gawking, little brother." Hoss said, as he and Sam reluctantly tore their eyes away from each other.
They made their way over to the horses, where Joe and Eddy were already mounted up. Hoss and Sam then climbed up on their own horses and the four of them started back to the Ponderosa. Sam and Hoss were in the lead and Eddy and Joe followed behind.
Ben knocked on Adam's bedroom door and then opened it. "Adam." he said, entering the room. "I've been thinking about things."
Adam finished closing his carpet bag and then turned to his father. "What is it, Pa?"
"I'm not entirely comfortable with you going out there..."
"Pa," Adam interrupted. "I've heard you talk on numerous occasions about how great the Parkers are. Don't you want the man who destroyed them to pay for it?"
Ben sighed. "Of course I do, Adam. And you didn't let me finish what I was saying before you decided to interrupt me."
"Sorry, Pa. Finish what you were saying."
Ben looked intently at his oldest son. "What I was saying, is that I'm not entirely comfortable with you going out there alone. I've decided to go with you."
"Are you sure?"
Ben nodded. "I have a bad feeling you're going to be in for a fight and I'm going to be there along side you to fight it. The Parkers were friends of mine and I feel a responsibility to Sam and Eddy to get them some closure. So, yes, I'm sure."
Adam smiled. In the back of his mind he knew that after he told his Pa what his plans were that Ben would insist on accompanying him to California. And in truth, he was sort of relieved that he wouldn't be dealing with this alone.
