Forget Me Not

Chapter Ten

Adam sat in front of the fireplace in his family's home. He could hear the rain coming down once more. He was so deep into thought that it took him a few moments to realize someone was knocking at the door. He stood up just as Hoss appeared at the top of the stairs.

"You gonna get that, or do I have to come down and answer it?" Hoss sounded a bit annoyed; he'd been climbing into bed when he heard the knocking.

"Sorry, I'll get it." Adam hurried over to the door and opened it up. He was shocked to see Roy Coffee standing on the other side. What on earth was he doing out in this storm? "Roy? Come on in," said Adam as he stepped aside and let the lawman in.

"That rain was easin' up." Roy took off his hat and coat. "It would start back up jist when I got too far away from town to turn back." he grumbled, though typical of Roy it had a bit of odd humor to it. The fact that Adam and Hoss all saw that humor could be seen as grins appeared on all three faces and the short chuckle that had slipped out from them too.

"So, what brings you back out here?" Adam asked with apprehension in his voice. He was almost afraid of what the lawman had to tell them.

"In two words; Mark Sanders! One of the men had him in my office when I got back from my own 'fishing trip'..." Roy went on to explain how Mr. Hunter, the man who had brought Mr. Sanders in, had been heading into town due to the storm and had run across Mr. Sanders. The man's horse had taken a stumble and Mark had busted his leg. "He had a lot of money on him and…" Roy paused knowing what effects his next words would have on Ben's sons and then continued speaking, "Your father's pistol and pocket watch." He wasn't surprised when Adam and Hoss both exploded.

"What!" they hollered at the same time and took a step forward only to find Roy begging them to 'jist quiet down and listen!" He was glad when they both did.

"He claims he doesn't know where your father is now." He went on to explain what the man had said about James Kendall and the kidnapping, along with the fact that Mark had, without prompting, told them about Trace Hilman. "Apparently, the man was killed by someone who thought he meant to kill your father right there and then."

Adam liked James Kendall and Mark Sanders as much as he liked the flu. If what Mark said was true, then his father was out there someplace being hunted down by the poorest excuse there was for a man. "We best all start looking once this rain stops." The fact that the rain kept hampering their efforts upset him greatly, and he didn't try to hide that fact as he scowled while making the statement.

Hoss sat near the fireplace and watched the flames dance up and down; he was only partially listening as Adam and Roy continued talking. He wasn't sure what to think, but he did know Adam was right. They would all be out looking as soon as the heavy rain stopped.

~oOo~

Hoss wasn't the only one watching flames dancing back and forth. Joan threw some more wood on the fire she and Ben had going in the cavern and then sat down in her rocking chair. Her mind was on Ben's repeated pleas that she leave this place, and any other campsite, to go back and live with his family. "This is no way for you to live," Ben's voice and words rang in her ears once more, "neither one of us can stop the bad in life from happening, but we don't have to hide like hermits either."

Joan sighed as she again thought on the truthfulness of his words. While she wasn't going to say she was sorry for the past couple of months; she wasn't, Joan realized, that Ben was right; she needed to move on.

Looking over to where Ben lay sleeping in his bed roll, she wondered if she could really live under the same roof as he and still hide what was in her heart. And hide it she'd have to, for his sake. How could she do otherwise? He cared for her only as he would a daughter. She might not like it; she might wish he felt differently, but that wasn't going to change anything. That being the case, why do or say anything that would put the guilt she'd seen roll off his shoulders back on? He was too good of a man for her to do that. She may have to live with the pain of a broken heart, but he should not have to live with the destruction that guilt brought with it.

Unbeknownst to Joan, Ben wasn't sleeping. Yes, he was lying down with his back towards her, but he was wide awake. He too was thinking on his attempts to get her to accept his offer, only for the first time he was doing more than hearing her say she'd be fine where she was. He was seeing the non verbal messages she'd been very unintentionally sending him every time they'd spoken on the matter. The way her eyes would turn away every time he mentioned how his sons wanted their "sister" back, or to at least know she was in a safe place, or a faint longing that would appear in the back of her eyes when the two had laughed and talked about how she'd given him a run for his money when she first came to live with them. Those things, along with others, were making it so the truth of her feelings was becoming all the more clear, but there was a similar glow brightening his heart, especially when she laughed or tried to explain one of her adventures. He realized he had missed her more than he had ever thought possible or dared to verbalize.

I'm old enough to be her father; she'd be better off with one of my sons than me, and it just wouldn't work out were a few of the things. Maybe I'm wrong and she doesn't have any hidden feelings for me. Those were the things Ben kept telling himself as he finally fell asleep. Only thing was, his dreams began to make him doubt his own words.