-Part 3-
It had been about a month since Abbie had been living with the Cartwrights, and one day, when she Adam were walking in town, she felt like she was being watched. She looked around, eventually catching sight of who she though was someone familiar. If it was him, then, it could only mean trouble.
"Abbie, are you alright?" Adam asked. He could tell that something was bothering her.
"It's... I just thought I saw someone. Let's just... go back to the Ponderosa." she said, walking slightly faster. Adam could tell that something clearly had her shaken.
"Abbie, wait." Adam said, following after her. It was then that they heard a voice behind them.
"Abbie."
They turned round to see a man following them. It was the man who was watching her, and he was exactly who she thought he was.
"Tom." she said as the man took a few steps towards her.
"Fancy seeing you here." the man said, then, turning to Adam, "I'm Tom Cooper, the man Abbie was supposed to marry."
"Adam Cartwright." Adam said, looking suspiciously at the man, Tom. Adam had a bad feeling about him.
"Adam Cartwright." Adam introduced, though his tone of voice was not friendly.
"I know who you are, Cartwright. Everybody in Nevada knows who you Cartwrights are." Tom said.
"What are you doing here, Tom?" Abbie said, her tone of voice cold.
"Well, let's just say, I saw opportunity in this town." Tom said.
"You stay away from her. I'm warning you."Adam said. Tom looked at Abbie, then glared at Adam, and walked away laughing. Abbie was silent the whole ride back to the ranch-house, and when they got there, she went straight up to her room.
"What's going on, Adam?" Ben asked at seeing Abbie's odd behavior.
"Yeah, what'd you do to her?" Little Joe said.
"Joseph." Ben scolded.
"We ran into the man Abbie was supposed to marry." Adam said.
"What do you mean, the man she was supposed to marry?" Joe asked.
"Her father wanted her to marry a man who had struck it rich in the mines. But, apparently, he was no prize. She refused to marry him, and her father kicked her out. That's why she went to Virginia City." Adam explained.
"Where was she from before?" Joe asked.
"Reno." Adam answered.
"Where did you two see this man?" Ben asked.
"In Virginia City." Adam answered.
"And seein' this feller upset her that much?" Hoss asked.
"Yeah." Adam said, "Like I said, the man is no prize. We'll just say it wasn't a friendly meeting. I think he's planning on causing trouble."
"Poor thing. She really seems bothered." Hoss said.
"I'm going to go talk to her." Adam said.
"Alright." Ben said. Adam walked up the stairs and down the hall to Abbie's room. She was laying face down on the bed with her face buried in the pillow.
"Abbie." he said as he entered the room. She lifted her head up to look at him.
"Oh, Adam. I didn't hear you come in." she said. She sat up straight on the bed, and Adam sat down beside her.
"I never meant for this to happen, Adam. I never meant to drag you and your family into this. You're the best man I've ever met, and you deserve someone who's not going to drag you into a bad situation." she said.
"Abbie," he said, placing a hand on her cheek, "If you want to leave because it's what you want, as much as it would hurt, I won't stop you, because I want you to be happy. But, damn it, I care about you. And I won't let you leave just because you're worried about me. My whole family is capable of taking care of ourselves. And, I won't let him hurt you."
"Adam." she said, smiling and wrapping her arms around him, hugging him tightly, "Thank you so much." He smiled as he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her.
A couple of days later, Adam was riding back from town when he thought he heard a gunshot right behind him. He looked around, and he didn't see anybody, so, he just shrugged it off and kept riding in the direction of the Ponderosa. A moment later, he heard the sound again, and this time, he felt something graze his shoulder. He got down off of his horse, and took cover behind some large rocks. He tried to see where the shooting was coming from, and he could see someone with a gun up on a cliff. A second look told him that it was Tom Cooper. They shot at each other for a few moments until one of Adam's shots hit Tom. Tom fell to the ground, and Adam rode back into town to tell the sheriff.
When Adam finally got back to the ranch-house that evening, Abbie ran over to him.
"Adam," she said, "Where have you been? What happened to you?"
"Abbie..." Adam said, gently touching her shoulder. That was when she noticed his arm.
"Adam, what happened to your arm?" she asked.
"Tom Cooper." Adam said.
"What did he do to you? Did he shoot you?" she asked, her grey eyes widening.
"Abbie," he said, gently touching her face, "It's alright. The bullet only grazed me."
"That's not the point, Adam. He shot you, and it's my fault." Abbie said.
"Abbie. It's not your fault. And, Tom won't bother anybody anymore." Adam said.
"What?" Abbie said.
"Tom is dead. I shot him." Adam said.
"Dead?" she said. Adam nodded.
"Yeah." he said. She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him.
"Adam, I'm glad you're alright." she said.
