I do NOT own Bonanza or any of the original Cartwright characters.

The mine that is mentioned, as far as I know anyway, is just a name I threw in for the sake of the story. If one by the name was actually in the show I want to know how on earth I remembered it! Hehe

Affairs of the Heart

Chapter Eleven

Scene Twenty

Kyle saw the movement down near the mine, but he couldn't see who it was; that made him nervous. He had thought for sure he'd be able to get a clear view of the mine from where he was. Now, he was more than a tad bit upset to realize that wasn't the case.

"Come on!" he undid Heidi's ropes and took a hold of her arm, holding it quite tight. It reminded her of her late husband's grip. "We're goin' fer a walk."

Heidi kept her mouth shut as they headed for the mine. She assumed it was Tyrell her captor had seen and wasn't looking forward to seeing that man again. If Adam, or one of the others didn't find her soon, she was afraid of what the man would do.

"Tyrell!" Kyle shouted; he now stood behind Heidi. 'What a coward!' She couldn't help but think, 'Has to hide behind a woman's skirt 'just in case it's someone besides his brother'. Adam would never do such a thing. She shocked herself by automatically thinking the last thought and, once again, started praying for a second chance with her husband.

"Tyrell!" Kyle shouted again only to have Adam step out into the open. It didn't take Kyle but a split second to have his arm around Heidi's neck. "Where's Tyrell! How did you know where to find us?" Kyle backed up looking like a fox looking for an escape from its hunter.

Adam glared at him; "He got bored so my friend is having a foot race with him." If the man couldn't figure out how he'd known where to go Adam wasn't about to take the time to enlighten him any further. Again he took a step towards Kyle.

Kyle started lifting his pistol, "You had your cha..." he started to speak only to have his eyes widen in shock. Adam looked behind him. Flying Eagle stood not a hundred yards away. It was his arrow that had imbedded itself into Kyle's back.

"No good inju.." Kyle's grip on Heidi loosened, dropped the pistol and he fell to the ground dead.

Heidi started shaking hard; it took Adam less than a second to be by her side and have her in his arms.

"Thank heavens you're alright!" Adam's voice shook as he spoke and held her close.

"They said you only cared about the baby," Heidi pulled back and looked into her husband's eyes, "They said affairs of the heart was something you no longer knew anything about. They were wrong, weren't they?" the question sounded more like a statement. Adam smiled as he was grateful to realize she no longer believed that lie anymore; that is, she no longer believed it was only the baby that kept him near her.

"Very wrong." Adam lowered his head and covered her mouth with his.

CLOSING SCENE

Heidi stood on the porch watching seventeen year old Jacob chasing his four year old brother, Benjamin Tyler, while carrying his two year old sister, Anna Elizabeth, on his back. Her nieces and nephews were also getting in on the fun.

Adam walked out the front door and up to her side. "About ready to round all these youngins up and into the house. Miss Mariah is about ready to light Pa's birthday cake." His elderly father might be having a lot of health issues, but he wasn't so bad off they'd miss celebrating 'his day'.

Heidi slipped her arms up and around her husband's neck, "As long as we can go have our own little party later." Thanks to her husband, Heidi no longer worried about having 'fun' while she was carrying a baby, and she wasn't due for another five months. Adam chuckled, even more so when he started kissing her only to hear one very disgusted Jacob holler, "PA! MA! Do you HAVE to do that?"