Disclaimer: I don't own the Cartwrights or Bonanza. Darn.
A/N: Sorry for the wait. I've been working on the other chapters though so don't worry. They'll soon be up. Hope you enjoy this one.
Chapter 4
Adam scanned the bookshelf as he half listened to Anna and Joe behind him. There was a book he was sure the Cartwrights' owned but he wasn't exactly sure where it was located. It had been years since Ben had sat the boys down to hear the stories of adventure but it seemed just like yesterday to Adam. As adults, they seemed to have forgotten about the games they use to play as pirates of the high seas. He wouldn't admit it but Adam somewhat missed playing those silly games of yesteryear. Thankfully, their guest had reminded him of that long forgotten book from years ago.
To the right of Robinson Crusoe, he found it sitting still looking as if it was waiting for those childish boys to pick it up once again. Pulling it off the shelf, Adam found himself looking at it with awe once again. A General History of Pyrates was the title imprinted in gold onto the faded blue cover. The pages were yellowing in age and if he remembered correctly, a few had even been ripped. It was one of the oldest books on the Cartwright shelf and had been a gift to their father when he had begun work at sea. From what the boys had been told, Ben Cartwright's captain had given it to him so that the young man would know the dangers and the signs of piracy. He had no desire to join piracy and the book had served more of a purpose towards his sons and their imaginary games as children. With the book in hand, Adam walked towards the settee, leaving the memories of the past as he began to pick up Joe and Anna's conversation again.
"His name was Henry. Makes me think of you in a way," Adam heard from their young guest.
"Who are we talking about? A young love of yours?" he asked with a wink as he handed the old book over to her.
Anna laughed as she took it from him. "No. One of my younger brothers. Joe reminds me a lot of him." Adam nodded thoughtful to her before heading towards the sideboard to remove his coat.
"Thank you for the book," Anna told him as she began leafing through it with interest.
Curiously, Joe leaned over towards her to get a closer look at the title of the book his brother had given her. "The General History of Pirates? Hey, I remember this book. Pa use to read it to as kids," Joe said excitedly. "You know, I forgot all about it until now."
"So had I, Joe," Adam replied, setting his coat down before he began to remove his gun. "Anna reminded me of it on the way here."
"Don't tell me your interested in the romantic stories of pirates, m' lady?" Little Joe asked her with wink
Anna laughed.. "Actually, my father liked to boast that we were related to pirates. You see, my father's family came from a long line of seamen. I don't know if they were really pirates but I always thought it was a funny thing to brag about."
"Hey, you know, we have more in common than I thought," Joe said. "Adam's Grandpa use to be a sailor and our Pa was a sailor at one point too."
She looked at the young Cartwright curiously. "Adam's grandfather? Wouldn't that be your grandfather as well?"
Adam shook his head. "No. Joe and I have different mothers. My Pa remarried after my mother's death," he explained.
"I'm sorry. I had no idea," Anna told them softly.
"What you said about your father," Joe began. "Do you think he was proud of your grandfather for something else that he did?"
Anna shook her head slowly. "I don't know, Little Joe," she replied thoughtfully. "I never met him. All my Pa ever told my brothers and I about him was pirate stories. I never once heard a story about my Pa and him."
"Could be there weren't any stories to tell," Adam suggested, taking a seat in his father's red chair.
"That could be the case," Anna replied with a nod, furrowing her eyebrows. "He only said he met my Grandpa only once when he was older but he would never say much about it. Only that he had already married my mother and that my grandpa had given them a wedding present but they had lost it on the trip out here."
"Why did you ask Adam about that book?" Little Joe asked curiously.
"I wanted to see if the stories my father told me were true. He seemed to know an awful lot about pirates considering we didn't own any books on them. I figured that he had made most of it up but on the way here, Adam and I got on the topic of the sea and ocean life and he suggested that I take a look at your book to see how much my father had really known."
"Take as long as you want to read it," Adam told her as he leaned back, now comfortable in his father's chair. "You can get it back to us whenever you finish it. I'm surprised that old relic isn't covered in dust. It hasn't been read in ages. "
Anna smiled as she looked down at the book that would become her new teacher in the world of piracy. "Thank you very much. You know you really didn't even have to offer to allow me to stay here. I would have been fine. I'm quite capable of taking care of myself."
"That may be so but you seemed to agree quite quickly after I made the offer," Adam replied with a chuckle.
She laughed to cover her embarrassment that was beginning to show in her flushed cheeks. "I did, didn't I?"
"Well, I wouldn't blame you," Joe told her with a grin. "I'd prefer a soft bed to the hard ground anytime, if you asked me."
Anna shrugged, not wanting to tell that that she wouldn't be sleeping in their house that evening. "I suppose," she replied as the sound of hooves drummed outside of the Cartwright's house.
"That must be Pa and Hoss," Adam commented as he listened to the horses outside their home.
"Hoss who?" Anna asked curiously as she looked between the two brothers.
"That's our other brother," Little Joe replied.
Her eyes widened. "Another brother? You failed to mention that. How many brothers are there in your family?"
"There's just the three of us," Adam replied with a smirk as he looked between Anna and Joe. "Why don't you introduce Anna to them, Joe. I'm going to let Hop Sing know we'll be having a guest for dinner," he told them before rising from his Pa's chair and heading off towards the kitchen.
"Sure, Adam," Little Joe replied even though he felt that Adam should be the one to tell Pa that he had invited Anna to stay at their house for the night.
"I really hope your father doesn't mind me staying here," Anna said to him as Joe helped her off the settee.
"Nah, I think he'll be alright with it. We get lots of visitors at the Ponderosa. There's always someone stopping by," Joe told her with a smile as they made their way to the door.
"Sounds like your ranch is pretty busy," Anna replied, adjusting the dark brown hat that still sat atop of her head.
"Oh, Pa sees to that alright. There's always something to do even if we do have guests," he replied.
"That's understandable. You've got a lot of land to take care of, lots of things to get done," Anna told him with a nod.
Little Joe sighed tiredly. "You can say that again."
"Well, if your father will let me, I'd be glad to give you a hand tomorrow. I'd like to pay for the hospitality your family has shown me so far," Anna told him as they reached the door.
"You don't have to do that," Joe argued as his hand came to rest on the door handle.
"But I want to," she insisted before he could say anymore.
Little Joe looked down into her determined green eyes. He had only known Anna for only a short while but he already knew that she would fight for what she believed. Joe liked that about her, even though she most likely was as stubborn as he could be.
He smiled at her, giving into her request. "Alright, I'll let Pa know you'll be helping me tomorrow."
"What will we be doing?" she asked him as Joe finally opened the door for her.
"Same thing I was doin' today. Fixin' fence posts, then maybe after that, we could have a picnic...," Joe trailed off, his voice filled with hope as he lead her outside.
Anna smiled teasingly. "We'll see about that picnic."
Joe smiled back at the young girl, hoping that he could convince her. When he introduced her to his Pa, he hoped he would take a liking to her just as Joe had. Then she possibly could for more than a day to pay for her bed and board. If he played his cards right, maybe he could even persuade her to stay until his Pa gave that summer party next month. Joe could only hope that she'd want to stay that long.
