A/N: No reviews. That's a first for me. Disappointing. Please try to review this time? I can't improve without advice!

Chapter Seven

"What are you doing, Joe?"

Paige's voice, which had been as sweet as the honey Hoss liked on his pancakes a second ago, now sounded more reminiscent of winter's snow.

Joe looked up from the game. "What do you mean? I'm playing checkers."

Paige sat up straighter, wincing a little, and pushed away the book that Adam dangled in front of her. "Stop that," she ordered.

Joe looked nervous. "Okay."

Paige glared at him. She'd seen that, even if Hoss hadn't. Little Joe Cartwright cheated. Cheated his own brother! She felt her eyes narrow into little slits and kept them on Joe; fury practically radiated from her.

Hoss looked back and forth between Paige and Joe, puzzled.

Adam leaned back so he wasn't in Paige's line of sight and smiled just a little. Joe was famous in the family for cheating at checkers, and Hoss never seemed to notice. It was a kind of family joke, one that Paige naturally wouldn't know about. But frankly, Adam was just a bit too scared of her to explain.

Paige wanted to tell Joe off something fierce. She didn't approve of cheating at games. It was wrong of Joe to take advantage of Hoss, who, from what Paige had seen, was the kindest of the bunch but perhaps not the smartest.

They weren't playing any more, just staring at each other awkwardly—with the exception of Paige, who still had her eyes narrowed and her gaze glued onto Joe.

Hoss was bewildered as to what had set her off. Adam was beginning to feel slightly amused… and wary, too. Joe felt as he would if Pa caught him 'robbing the bank' again… Okay, admittedly he didn't feel quite that ashamed and scared, but the two experiences were similar.

Paige opened her mouth again, and Joe prepared himself for the verbal beating. Then, to his surprise, she closed her mouth. A funny look came over her face, and she sank slowly back into her seat.

I don't think it's right to cheat at games, but I cheat… in life?

Her heart fell a bit lower in her chest.

Paige choked a bit and sat straight up again. That settled it. She had to see Jacob. Not for another minute would she even allow her brother to think that she was willing to steal again. No more one-more-night nonsense; Jacob was getting the truth whether he wanted it or not. She was getting out now, never mind waiting two more days.

Before Adam could stop her, she rocketed to her feet, gasping a little as her side protested. She shot Joe one venomous look and ran for the door, leaving the Cartwright men dumbfounded behind her.

"Paige!" cried Hoss, standing.

Paige threw the door open, quickly but careful not to open her wound again, and ran into the yard. Riley was there, outside, walking his horse toward the barn.

"Riley!" she yelled to him, running forward, arms outstretched.

He stared. "What…? Paige, you shouldn't be walking…!"

She ignored him, and nearly ran into his horse when she tried to put on the breaks. "Give me Thunder," she demanded.

He stumbled backward from his horse, Thunder, automatically, startled to see tears in her eyes.

She grabbed the reins and, after one pained grunt, pulled herself up into the saddle. "C'mon, Thunder," she said, "ride!"

And he did.

Hoss flew out of the house, in time to see her urge the horse out of the yard, hunched over in her seat.

"Riley!" he cried. "Why'd you let her go?"

"Uh…" Riley still looked around, dazed.

Hoss muttered, "Dadburn it!" He switched directions and ran for the other horses as Joe and Adam busted from the house and ran into the yard.

"Where's he going?" asked Riley.

"Chub," said Adam wisely, still clutching Shakespeare.

"Paige… why'd she go?"

Joe looked guilty. "She got upset with me when she saw me cheating at checkers… and… I don't even know."

"Hoss'll catch her," said Adam, reassuringly.

Riley nodded. He wasn't sure why she was so upset, but then he'd never understood her – or any woman really – very well. But he hoped she didn't hurt herself in this wild little ride.

Break

It took a while for Hoss to catch up. Longer than Paige had expected it to, actually, so she took advantage of this time to cool down.

She told Thunder quite firmly that he was to stay still as she got down from his back, and then leaned against a tree, sinking slowly to her haunches. The moonlight danced brightly over the water before her, turning the waves to sparkly white where it touched. The part of the water in shadow, or covered by other waves, stayed a dull black. The moonlight stretched all the way across the lake and onto the trees, landing on Paige and tempting her to smile. She resisted the urge, but admired the paleness of her arms when in the light. Head down, she waited patiently for someone to find her.

It was a good five or ten minutes before the sound of horse hooves met her ears. She didn't turn her head, but listened in silence as the rider stopped his animal and dismounted. Feet made crunching sounds that grew louder as they got nearer.

"Now," said Hoss, "what was that all about, anyway?"

She smiled, glad. She had hoped it would be Hoss who came. "Joe just made me angry."

"So you ran out, despite being injured?" He sounded a little angry, but she didn't care.

"He was cheating. It… dagnab it— it irritated me."

Hoss came forward, found a place on the ground, and sat heavily. He was angry; she could tell by the way he held himself, the set of his shoulders and the way his big fists were clenched.

"I know," he said.

Paige was surprised. Of course, by now she knew well enough that Hoss wasn't one to argue with her. But… he knew?

"You did?"

"Joe always cheats at checkers, ever since he was a little kid, I reckon. It's a joke in our family; he thinks he's so sneaky, but Adam and Pa always see it." With every word he spoke, she saw the anger falling away.

"And they tell you?" she asked curiously.

"Nah, they just play along. When he was a little boy, he wasn't so good at hiding his cheating, and I always saw it. Nowadays I don't see him do it; I just know he does."

"You don't care? You might win some times if you called him out."

Hoss shrugged, staring out at the lake and not looking at her directly, as thought that kind of attention would set her off again. "I don't mind him winning. Of all the fights I could chose to pick, this one isn't the most important. But it makes him feel good."

She stared at him, uncomprehending. He didn't care? How could someone just not care? Paige wondered what he would say if she told him the truth about her and why she was upset. "Ahh, that's okay, I don't mind you having been a cattle rustler. It might not be fair, but heck, take our cattle too. It's not important. As long as it makes you feel good."

Well, perhaps not.

They sat in silence for a few minutes while he enjoyed the view and she mulled over his words.

At last he spoke up. "You chanced on my favorite spot in the Ponderosa, Miss Anton."

"Paige."

"Sorry?"

"Call me Paige."

He nodded and accepted it. "You chanced on my favorite spot in the Ponderosa, then, Paige."

"Did I? Why is it your favorite?"

He sighed. "It's quiet. And I like the water."

She studied him for a moment, waiting for more, and at last she said, "What? That's it, the only reason?"

He smiled, eyes still turned away from her. "Simple reasons are good. Complicated isn't always the best way, you know."

She looked down at the ground, the wheels spinning in her mind. Maybe he was right. She wished she had things simple.

Again there was no talking for a while, and at last Hoss broke it.

"If I told you to go back to the Ponderosa, you'd probably say no."

"Probably."

"And if I picked you up you'd get injured— you didn't hurt yourself already?"

"I'm pretty tough."

"I know. You'd fight like a wildcat, too, wouldn't you?"

She nodded, her eyes flickering over the moonlit water. Hoss wouldn't really pick her up… she didn't think, anyway.

He finally looked up at her, meeting her eyes. "You know, Paige, not everything has to be a battle."

"Maybe not for you."

"Why does it for you?"

She studied him again. "Because. It just does."

He knew that wasn't an answer, so he said nothing to her. Patiently he awaited her real response. She kept her mouth firmly shut for a minute, but at last decided it couldn't hurt anything. Why not tell him?

She looked down. "Because. If you're a Brick Wall, and stubborn, you… you don't get pushed around in little ways," she admitted. Then, realizing it made little sense, she rephrased: "You don't get much choice about what happens to you in life. Your parents die; you get shot…You get attacked. You just don't choose very much, and everything seems to push you around. I hate that thought. I… I want to control what happens to me. Even if it's just the little things. I want to be in control, to decide myself what happens. Who else knows what is best for me?"

"Ever heard of trusting people?"

She laughed with real amusement. "Don't get me wrong, Hoss. I believe that there is someone out there to trust. I know that the whole world isn't a bleak, bleary place full of people who want to swallow me whole. I know there are good people out there… I just doubt I'll ever have much to do with them."

Paige was talking to herself now; she'd forgotten that Hoss was listening. But when he stood up, she was brought back to the present. He stood over her, his face gentle, and softly said, "Paige, the Cartwrights are here to help you now. We're not going to turn you away, and you can trust us."

She stared up at him in astonishment.

"I hope," he said, coughed, and continued, "I hope you chose to."

And then he turned away. In that instant, she understood that he wasn't going to order her to come back. She was going to decide herself if she wanted to. He wasn't going to force this trust on her.

"Hoss?"

He turned back to face her.

"Help me up? I want to go ho— Uh, I want to go back to your house."

Hoss smiled, his face growing rounder, and offered his hand, which she took. She liked how strong and warm it felt, like her whole hand could disappear inside of it. Hoss was an easy person to trust. Paige just hoped that she could be worthy of his trust in return—as soon as she could get rid of the cattle rustlers, she would work on being more trustworthy.

Who knew? She might even decide to try and only pick the important fights.

Maybe.

"I'll get Chub," he told her. "Would you mind getting up on Thunder? I'm sure Riley wants him back."

"I'm sure he does. I'll wait for you here, on Thunder."

Hoss nodded and made his way to Chub. He wasn't far, maybe ten, fifteen steps, but it was enough of an opportunity for Paige to hop on Thunder and ride away, if she so chose.

She waited for him, as she had promised.

Just that little fact made Hoss smile.

Perhaps he didn't know much about her, and she was still just a stranger. He had many questions about her that were as yet unanswered. But he knew a little. She was strong. She was pretty. She felt tossed around by the world.

And he knew that she was, at the end of the day, a woman, a human. She couldn't live on brawls, verbal or otherwise. She needed some trust, and it seemed that she was beginning to trust him.

That was good for her, Hoss felt sure. This whole little stay at the Ponderosa could do her good, and in time he would be able to count her among his dearest friends.

Or, he couldn't help thinking, maybe even more. If she wants. More than friends.

And he recalled that she had almost called the Ponderosa 'home' a few moments ago.