(A/N): Hey guys! I'm so sorry I haven't added chapers in foooorever, I have been very busy taking care of my 6 siblings while my mom is in Spain, also, I have been trying to get off the electronics so that I can train, and spend time with my siblings. I'm just telling you guys this bc if you see that I haven't been on for a while, I haven't given up writing. I really do appreciate the reads! Thanks!
After Breakfast:
Emma's POV:
After breakfast, I got up and walked over to Ben, who was doing paperwork at his desk.
"Emma!" He said, smiling when he saw me, "What can I do for you?"
"Well, I was wondering...is it ok if I shoot some targets?" I asked. For a minute, Ben looked surprised. After a few seconds he nodded his head, giving me permission to go. I smiled, and was about to turn around, when Adam stopped me.
"Hey Pa," Adam said, turning to look at his father, "Since I don't have any work today, I'm going to go with Em. Also, is it ok if we go into town later today? She needs some other clothes."
"Of course! I'm so sorry Emma! I should have gotten some clothes for you!" Ben apologized. I laughed and nodded.
"It's ok, Adam let me borrow some of his clothes for now." I said, looking down at my boots.
Ben nodded and smiled, "Well, I better finish this paperwork, have fun you two!"
I turned around and ran up the stairs, followed quickly by Adam. When I reached my room, I grabbed my gun, and loaded it. I was just about to leave before something caught my eye. I look at my nightstand, and hesitated for a moment. After a little debate in my head, I grabbed Helen's dog tags, and stuffed them in my pocket, then I grabbed mine and put it around my neck.
"You ok?" Adam asked, walking up behind me.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I answered, turning towards the door, "Let's go practice."
We walked out the door, and into the yard. I grabbed a board I found, and went towards an open area. Once I made sure there was nobody around, I put the board on a tree.
"Ok," I said, taking my gun from the ground, "I'll shoot it first, just so you can see it, and then I'll teach you how to use it."
"Alright." Adam said, resting his hands on his gunbelt. I put my hand on his arm, and gently pushed him farther away. Once he was at a safe distance, I knelt down, tightened my shoulder, and aimed. I took a deep breath, and fired. The impact of the bullet shattered the board, and made a hole right through the tree.
"Wow, good shot!" Adam said, and walked over to the tree I shot. After inspecting the hole, he came back over to me. I smiled, and signaled for him to come closer.
"Ok, your turn." I said, grinning, "First, kneel down, and rest your elbow on your knee, just like I was doing."
Once he had done what I instructed, I handed him the gun.
"Now," I said, walking over to his other side, "Place the gun to your shoulder, and make sure to tighten your shoulder, because...well you probably know what would happen if you don't tighten it."
Adam nodded, and followed my instructions. I helped guide the gun to his shoulder, and made sure it was placed in the correct part of the shoulder.
"Now," I whispered in his ear, "look through the square glass thing, called a scope, and aim. All you have to do now, is pull the trigger."
Adam concentrated for a couple of seconds, before firing. His bullet hit the tree, and I smiled.
"You did great!" I said, as I took the gun, "All I have to do now is to teach you how to load it! I'll do that another time though, I don't think you need to know how yet."
After about an hour of shooting, Adam stood up. "That was fun, but I think we should head to town now, to get you those clothes. It's a long ride, and if we want to get back home early, we should go now."
"Ok." I said, while unloading the gun. We headed back to the house, to put the gun away and to get some horses. Once we arrived, I headed to my room, and put my gun under the bed. I went back outside, and walked over to Adam, who was in the barn, hitching the wagon up.
"I could ride a horse instead, if it's easier." I said, placing my hand on his shoulder.
"No, it's fine." He said, as he finished hitching the horses up, "We have stuff to bring home, anyway."
I nodded and smiled. I was just about to climb on, when Adam stopped me.
"Allow me to do the honors." He said, winking. I laughed and allowed him to help me up. Once I was seated, Adam climbed up next to me. As we went to town, I admired the scenery, there were flowers, mountains, and streams.
"Wow..." I whispered, as my mind tryed to process everything I was seeing, "It's so beautiful here..."
"Yes, it's very beautiful." Adam said. I looked over at him, smiling. I observed him, as he focused on the road, his black hair, tan face, and those eyes... wait, what? What the hell am I thinking? I quickly looked away, and felt my cheeks warm up. I hope he didn't realize I was staring! I thought, as I nervously played with the end of my braid.
Once we got to town, Adam helped me down, and we headed towards the dress shop. I froze, and shook my head.
"No way am I wearing a dress!" I said, still shaking my head, "Do you have any stores that sell pants?"
Adam looked at me like I grew two heads, before he answered.
"Not wearing a dress?!" He asked, crossing his arms, "Yes we have stores that sell pants, but no way-"
"Alright, show me to the store that sells pants!" I said, cutting him off.
"Young lady, you are going to wear a dress. End of subject." He said, grabbing my arm.
"Who are you to order me around?" I asked, glaring at him, "I will not wear a dress! I can't move correctly in them!"
Once Adam realized that there was no point in arguing with me, he shook his head.
"Fine. We can get you some pants," He said, still not letting go of my arm, "But, we have to get you a few dresses as well, because you might need them for special occasions."
I glared at him and rolled my eyes. "Fine, but don't expect me to wear them everyday!" I said, reluctantly. He grinned, and lead me towards the store. Once inside, a french lady came up and attempted to measure me.
"What the hell are you doing?!" I asked, shoving her hands away "AND YOU SHUT UP ADAM CARTWRIGHT!" I yelled, when I heard Adam laughing from the other side of the door. That only served to make him laugh even harder, I glared at the door and shut my mouth. After the lady finished measuring me up, she pulled a dress out of a closet. It was light blue dress, with some lace around the edges, and it would have been pretty to any other girl, but to me, it was way, way, way, too fancy.
"Oh la la!" The dressmaker exlaimed, when she stepped back to look at me, "What a beautiful young lady you are! And this dress brings out your beautiful blue eyes!"
"Thanks, but how do you breathe...or move in this thing?" I asked, grabbing my skirt. She just laughed, like I was just making a joke. I rolled my eyes and stared at the mirror. I look like a totally different person, with my hair in a bun, instead of in a ponytail or braid. As I stared in the mirror, I didn't notice the dressmaker go to the closet, and pull out 10 more dresses.
"Ten?!" I exclaimed, when I turned around, looking horrified at the stack of dresses in front of me. "Are you kidding me? I'm already wearing one, and now I have to have 10 more?"
I groaned, as she nodded and packed the dresses up. I walked out of the dressing room, hobbling all the way. These shoes suck! I thought, as I started to get the hang of walking...again. I opened the door, and walked over to Adam, who was reading the newspaper. The moment he saw me, he stood up, and stared at me with his mouth slightly open.
"Uhg..I'm going to die in this!" I complained, "And close your mouth, you'll catch flies!"
At that, Adam quickly closed his mouth, and remembered his manners. He walked over to me, and held out his arm.
"Well, you look great." He said, as I took his arm to make sure I didn't fall because of my shoes, "Would you like to go eat something? It's noon, and I'm sure you're hungry."
I glared at him for a minute, then shook my head.
"You said we could go get me some pants!" I said, as he grabbed the packages of dresses. To tell you the truth, I was really hungry, but I wanted to get some pants first. I tried to look convincing, but my stomach betrayed me. I winced as my stomach let out a growl, and I slowly looked up to see Adam grinning.
"Alright! Fine!" I said, while rolling my eyes, "I guess we can eat something first."
"I thought you'd change your mind." Adam said, as he carried my packages to the wagon. Once he had put them in the back, he led me towards the hotel, where we sat down at a table.
"What would you two like?" A waitress asked, walking up to the table.
"Well, Emma?" Adam asked, looking over at me, "What would you like?"
I thought for a moment, before answering. "Could I have a sandwich please?" I asked, smiling. The lady nodded and turned towards Adam.
"And for you, Mr. Cartwright?" She asked. My eyes widened in surprise when she said his name. She knows Adam? I wondered, observing her. She had long brown hair and green eyes, but there was something strangly familiary about her... I shook my head to clear my thoughts, No, I couldn't have seen her before. It's not possible.
"I'll take the same as Emma." Adam said, snapping me out of my thoughts. The waitress nodded, then left to get our food.
"So," Adam asked, as he took his hat off, and placed it on the back of his chair, "How do you like Virgina City so far?"
"It's pretty nice!" I answered, "But, do all the women wear dresses here?"
"Yes, I'm afraid that most of them do." He said, chuckling. I groaned and placed my hands in my hands. When I looked back up, I saw Adam observing me carefully. I raised one eyebrow, as I wondered why he was looking at me. He shook his head, and looked towards the waitress, who was bringing our food now.
"Here you are." She said, placing a plate with a sandwich on it, in front of each of us. Adam and I thanked her, and began eating. Once we finished, Adam paid, got up and head to the door. When we had gotten outside, he started heading towards the wagon. I grabbed his arm and shook my head.
"You promised. Remember, the pants?" I reminded him, pulling him in the other direction. He sighed, and nodded.
"Oh. Right." Adam said, turning around, leading me towards the General Store. When we entered the store, I looked around. Boy, an antique seller would be in Heaven right now... I thought, as I observed the objects. As I walked around the store, I suddenly froze and gasped.
"Emma?" Adam asked, concern in his voice, "Are you ok?"
I ignored the question, and walked up to a table, where a music box was sitting. I picked it up and looked at it from every angle.
"My parents used to have one of these...it was exactly the same!" I said, a smile forming on my lips. "I wasn't allowed to touch it, probably because it was too fragile... But, now I can!"
Adam chuckled, and took my arm, "Well, are we going to get you your pants, or not?"
I nodded, and let him lead me towards a table stacked with pants and shirts. After a few minutes of looking at the clothes, I picked out 5 pairs of pants, and six shirts. I walked over to Adam, who was holding three nightgowns.
"What are you holding?" I asked, looking at the night clothes.
"You didn't have any night clothes, either," He replied, as he paid for the clothes, "I thought you might want some."
"You don't have to get them, if it's to expensive." I said, as he picked the boxes up, "I can continue borrowing-"
"Emma," Adam cut me off, chuckling, "Stop worrying so much!"
I immediately shut my mouth, as I felt my cheeks turn pink. Adam laughed when he saw my reaction, and I glared at him, only to cause him to laugh harder. When we got to the wagon, he put all the stuff in the back, and helped me into my seat. The ride back to the Ponderosa was quiet, but not an awkward type of silence, more like a peaceful one.
"Did you enjoy today?" Adam asked, when he felt me rest my head on his shoulder.
"Yeah, it was fun..." I mumbled, as my eyes started to close. The last thing I remembered, was the scent of wildflowers, and somebody's arm wrap around me, as I drifted off to sleep.