Adam continued rocking Lizzie and as usually happened the tears stopped and she fell asleep. Adam stood quietly and put her softly on the bed face down and crept out of the room. He closed the door behind him and breathed a sigh of relief that the spanking was over. He walked back down the stairs, and after putting a pillow on Lizzie's chair; he picked up the bridle and got back to work. He had been at it for about 10 minutes when Hoss opened the door and peered around it.

"All clear?"

"Yes, all clear." Adam frowned at him. He put his head in his hand.

Hoss turned and motioned to Little Joe to come in. "You did what you had to do, Adam. We both know that. We just both care about that little gal and well when she gets herself in to trouble…well, you know." He said as he walked over to Adam's chair.

"I do know, Hoss. I feel exactly the same way, except I can't go and hide out in the barn until it's over." Adam said looking up at his brother with a sad half smile.

"No, I expect you can't," Hoss clapped him on the shoulder and smiled sympathetically. "Come on Joe, what do you say to a game of checkers before supper?"

Hoss threw himself on the couch and Joe took a seat on the table by the board. Adam watched for a while before starting to work on the bridle again. They were settled into quiet concentration when the door opened and Joshua came in dragging Sally, with Ben and Ruth coming in behind him.

"Ruth, you and I need to go for a little walk." Joshua said firmly. "Sally, I want you up in your room. Mr. Cartwright is in charge, if that's alright with you, Ben, and if I hear about you misbehaving, I'll spank you again." He jerked her arm a little to emphasize his words.

Ben walked around to stand in front of Joshua. Reaching out he put an arm around Sally and pulled her towards him. "Ah, Sally will be a good girl, I'm sure. There'll be no need for another spanking. Right, Sally? We'll be just fine." He spoke reassuringly and stroked her arm. Keeping an arm around her shoulders, he walked her up the stairs. She walked with him, stopping at the foot of the stairs to look back at her grandpa. Ben looked back at Joshua too. He saw only a frowning face. He patted Sally's arm again and kept his arm firmly around her shoulders.

At her father's words, Ruth had blushed beet red. Those were the same words that he had always used when she had misbehaved as a girl. Her father would take her out on a walk and scold her for whatever she had done. She had never gone out on a walk without knowing what it was that he was angry about and she had never come back from a walk without feeling very sorry for her behavior. This time was no different. She knew exactly what he was going to say and she was already sorry.

Adam, Hoss and Joe watched Ruth follow her father out of the door and then glanced at their own father taking Sally upstairs.

"What got into Joshua?" Asked Joe, looking at his brothers.

"I don't know," said Adam steepling his fingers. "Something must have happened in town. They had to turn back for some reason. I suspect Sally did something to make Joshua angry." Adam frowned. He had thought Sally needed a firm hand, but Joshua seemed to be taking it a bit far.

Ben walked Sally to her room and sat down on the bed. He reached out and stroked her arms up and down.

"Are you alright up here by yourself? We put some picture books on the desk over there and you can look out the window if you want to. I think you can see the palomino from here. He likes to run around in the late afternoon. Puts on quite a show." Ben smiled and nodded.

"Your grandpa wants you to think about what happened today. That's why he wants you up here in your room. Do you think you can do that?" Ben said seriously. He stopped stroking her arms and reached out to cup her face in his hands. "I know it's hard to be punished and then have to think about what you did that was naughty. Your grandpa loves you. He is just trying to help you be a better-behaved girl." Ben reached out to push her Sally's hair out of her eyes before standing. He stopped for a moment to look at the little girl who was staring at the floor before leaving the room.

Ben walked down the stairs and felt the eyes of all his sons looking at him. He took a pillow from the couch and went to the dining room table and placed it on Sally's chair, then walked over to his chair by the fireplace and sat down. He folded his hands in his lap and looked at the fire.

"What happened in town, Pa?" Little Joe finally asked.

Ben sighed before answering. "Well, Sally behaved atrociously the whole day and finally ended up stealing a toy from the mercantile. We went back to town so that she could return it and Joshua spanked her for stealing and not apologizing."

"Was he too hard on her, Pa?" Asked Adam.

"No, I don't think he was too hard on her, but he made her sit next to him on the ride home, sit mind you, after a spanking, and has been gruff with her ever since. You saw how he was just now. I fear he is trying to make up for eight years of letting her get away with things too quickly. I'll talk to him tonight. I don't want you boys mentioning anything."

They all nodded and tried to return to what they had been doing, but they all eventually ended up staring at the fire and thinking about Sally.

Joshua and Ruth walked out into the yard and headed down the trail to the lake, they walked silently for a little while before Joshua said, "I think I owe you an apology, Ruth."

"Why, Pa?" Ruth asked surprised.

"I should have helped you raise that little girl. I feel like the fact that she is poorly behaved is my fault. You were barely more than a girl yourself when you gave birth to her. I shouldn't have expected you to do it all yourself. I aim to change that. I never thought I would be parenting another child, but I expect whether or not I expected it, I am a father to that child. I intend to learn everything I can from Ben and Adam and I'm going to do my best to raise Sally to be a good woman. You're going to have to do your part too. I'm willing to play the part of disciplinarian, but she can't come running to you for sympathy." Joshua stopped talking and turned to Ruth taking her arms in his hands. "Your defense of her stealing was downright embarrassing today. Whatever possessed you to defend her like that?"

"Pa, I…" Ruth started and then went silent.

"I need an answer, Ruth," Joshua demanded.

"I just feel so bad for her and guilty I guess." Ruth started again. "I feel like she should have had a father, a real father. I should never have trusted Jack to marry me. It's just not right that she should suffer for my mistake. I feel like I owe her something that I can never repay." Eight years of bottled up words exploded out of Ruth. "I am ashamed. I know you're ashamed of me too." Ruth started to cry.

Joshua was taken aback at those words. He had always blamed Jack for the situation that Ruth found herself in. "Ruth, I never blamed you for what happened. Yes, you should never have given yourself to Jack like that, but he seduced you and left you. I'm sorry if I ever made you feel that I was ashamed."

Joshua stopped and took a deep breath. He let go of Ruth's arms and put his arms around her. He rarely hugged her. He was stand offish by nature, but having spent the day around the Cartwrights, he realized touching his girls was something else he was going to have to learn to do.

He felt awkward, but he kept his arms around her as he said, "Things are going to have to change. Lizzie doesn't have a mother, but Adam doesn't let her misbehave because of that. We can't let Sally misbehave just because she doesn't have a father. If anything, she is better off than Lizzie. She has a mother and a grandpa. You're going to have to grow up, Ruth. You're going to have to start acting like her mother."

Ruth nodded. "I know, Pa, and I will."

Joshua took his arms from around her and they walked back to the house side by side.

As they walked through the door, Hop Sing came out of the kitchen clapping his hands. "Supper time, you go get ready." Everyone stood and went to wash up. Adam went up the stairs to Lizzie's room.

He opened the door without knocking and found her awake and lying on her side looking out the window.

"Time for supper, honey," he said warmly.

"I'm not very hungry. Can I stay up here?" She asked without turning around.

Adam sat on the bed and patted her hip.

"I think you know what I am going to say." Adam waited a moment. "You're expected at the table even after you've been punished, not to mention the fact that we have guests. Come on. Let's wash your face and comb your hair."

He patted her hip again and waited for her to get up before walking over to the washstand and getting a damp cloth. He gently wiped the tearstains off her face and picked up her comb to restore her princess style hairdo. He placed her between him and the washbasin and putting her hands in the basin he used his hands to wash hers. After washing his own, he dried them and taking her hand, he walked her down the stairs. His father and brothers were already at the table and the food was on the table. Lizzie blushed and ducked her head when she saw the pillow, but she climbed into her chair and sat down carefully. Joshua, Ruth and Sally joined them shortly thereafter. They began the meal in silence, but Adam finally spoke.

"So, we went to the restaurant in town today. Lizzie and I wanted to try out the new cook. Tell them what you had, Lizzie."

"Gumbo," she said.

Lizzie had taken small servings of everything, but as she talked Adam slipped a couple of spoonfuls of green beans onto her plate. He knew that she liked those. She looked sideways at her father, but he just gestured for her to keep talking and smiled.

"It had green things in it. What were they called, Papa?'

"Okra," he said as he put a small piece of chicken on Lizzie's plate.

"Hey, I remember okra," said Little Joe. "What was the name of that widow that lived next to us in New Orleans? Boiled everything?"

"Mrs. Dubois," Ben said in a low voice, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, that was it, Mrs. Dubois." Joe laughed. "I remember we used to have to go to her house and choke down all that boiled food and okra; she had boiled okra with every meal: slimy, nasty stuff."

"She was the one I was telling you about, Lizzie," laughed Adam. He nudged her with his arm. "Lizzie liked the okra in the gumbo, but I told her how it wasn't very good boiled. I dreaded going over to her house for dinner knowing that there was going to be boiled okra. I never hated the clean plate rule as much as I did at Mrs. Dubois's."

"You hated the clean plate rule? I was the pa and had to set a good example for you boys. In addition, I had to compliment that woman on her cooking," laughed Ben. "I accepted her invitations as infrequently as I could. She was a kind, sweet woman, but she could not cook!"

"I thought she was a fine cook," said Hoss.

"You never met a meal you didn't like Hoss," teased Little Joe.

Hoss smiled and kept eating. Everyone else laughed except Sally. She kept her head down and didn't stop eating.

"How about you, Sally. Have you ever had to eat slimy okra?" Adam asked, raising his eyebrows.

When she didn't respond immediately, Joshua said sternly, "You were asked a question, Sally. Answer Adam."

Sally looked up with sad eyes, "No," then went back to eating.

When supper was finished and the table was cleared, Adam said, "Grab some pillows girls. I intend to beat every one of you at Chinese checkers."

Lizzie smiled and ran over to the couch to get a pillow. Sally, who was seated next to her mother on the couch didn't move.

"You too, Sally. I'll bet I can beat you at Chinese checkers too." Adam said encouragingly. "Come on now. It'll be fun," he said when she didn't move. He pulled a pillow off the couch and took her hand pulling her over to the floor near the fire. He pulled the red chair up close to the table, putting himself between the girls. He didn't want a repeat of the other night.

"How about you, Ruth? The game is open to everyone."

"No, thank you, Adam. I'll just work on my embroidery and watch."

"Have you ever played Chinese checkers before, Sally?" He asked brightly turning to Sally. "It's Lizzie's favorite game." He then proceeded to tell her the rules and how to play.

Joshua had gone out to the porch after supper and Ben had followed him. They sat staring at the stars for a while.

"I was never very close to my father," Ben said. "We always kept a sort of distance between us. It was never worse than when he had tanned me. I guess he wanted to give me some distance so that I could lick my wounds. It left to me feeling especially awkward around him for a while. Don't get me wrong, he was a good man and I know he cared about my brothers and me. We just weren't very close. He taught me to do things and watched over me, but I could never really confide in him. I guess I was sort of the same way with my own boys. I wanted them to respect me and obey me. I watch Adam and I am glad that he is not following in my father's or my footsteps in that regard. He is very close to Lizzie and when he spanks her, I think he gets even closer."

"What are you trying to tell me, Ben?"

"Adam spanked Lizzie today."

"For what? How do you know?"

"I don't know, but I saw the pillow on her chair when I was putting one on Sally's. Now Adam is in there playing Chinese checkers. It is not a game he particularly enjoys, but it is Lizzie's favorite game and he will play it with her when she asks. Tonight he suggested it."

They both turned to look in the window at Adam and the girls.

"Hey, you have more marbles in the triangle," Sally yelled. She reached out to upset the board, but Adam grabbed her hands before she could do it.

"I am going to wear that child out," Joshua said and started to rise.

Ben laid a hand on Joshua's arm and said, "Let's watch to see how Adam handles it."

Adam pushed his chair back and pulled Sally into his lap.

Releasing her hands and putting his arms around her, he said softly, "Sally, when you play with others you take the chance that you might lose. That's part of what makes is fun. It's not as much fun if you always win."

"I always win or I don't play."

"Well, Lizzie and I want you to play with us, but we are all trying to win. So, if you don't want to play if you might not win, we'll just take your marbles off the board and you can go play by yourself. What do you want to do?"

Sally was quiet for a long moment. She looked up at her mother, Ruth, who had stopped embroidering and then she turned to look up at Adam.

"If you decide to keep playing with us, there will be no tantrums if you don't win."

"I want to keep playing with you," she said slowly.

"Good! Will you promise no tantrums?"

"Promise," Sally said.

"I know you are a good girl and are going to keep that promise, especially since I am going to win."

Lizzie laughed and when Sally saw her laughing, she joined in. Adam put her back on her pillow, scooted the chair forward and asked, "Whose turn is it?'