Cat looked around the empty house with dismay. Every time she returned it was in worse shape. There must have been a storm recently. Most of the shutters on the west side of the house were broken. She could see where someone had attempted to board them up. Her Uncle Louis, she thought gratefully.

She checked the kitchen and found it stocked with a few dry stores. She smiled. She'd written to Louis and Marie a few weeks before telling them she'd be home around this time of the month with her new family.

Mrs O'Leary was working in two of the bedrooms upstairs to get them ready to occupy. Cat would go up and help as soon as she checked the house was still sound.

She worried about Adam as she walked around the house, opening doors and windows, checking for any other repairs that needed doing. Tucson had always been on the edge of lawlessness. The fact that he would be asking about her past wouldn't do him any favors. Yet she knew how smart he was. Maybe he could help her solve the mystery and put the past behind her.

But now, looking at the worn, sad state of the ranch and house, she didn't feel at home. It would take her a while to love the place again. She hoped once Adam returned and they settled in properly she'd feel comfortable. Right now she felt like packing everything back into the buck board, collecting Adam and returning to the Ponderosa.

"Ranches for sale? Gee, I don't know of none. There's only a couple of small outfits around besides The Riviera Ranch."

"The Riviera?" Adam glanced up at the barman as he sipped his second beer.

"Big new place. Biggest spread around. But they won't sell. They've only just bought."

"They might be willing to sell some."

"Nah, doubt it. The new owner, he come by most of that land due to that unpleasant business some years ago."

"What business?" Adam tried to act cool, but it was hard as this could be a lead.

"It's a long story, but we had our very own gang of outlaws holed up in Tucson for years. They was lynched!"

"Really?" Adam kept his poker face, simply raising one curious eyebrow.

"Yep. The owner of the big Saguaro Ranch were found to be guilty and were lynched. After that, the spread went back to the bank. Just recent it's been bought up again by a man from back east. Now let me think . . .a man named Marquette. Called it the Riviera Ranch and have just built one mighty big house further along the valley. Outshines the old Saguaro which is almost a tear-down now."

"You know this Marquette?"

"Na, some big shot from Louisiana way I hear. Supposed to be comin' out here soon though. Got a foreman in place. I think the outlaw's brother arranged it. Louis De'Maine. He still lives in town and owns a dry goods store."

A shiver ran down Adam's back. This was most suspicious news. Cat's Uncle had something to do with the new owner of the land she'd lost.

"French names, aren't they?" he continued trying to sound nonchalant.

"Hey yeah, you're smart mister."

Adam sipped his beer and waited for more information. He didn't want to be too obvious.

"So the brother wasn't an outlaw?"

"Nah, I heard they didn't always get along too good. Maybe Louis turned his brother in, eh?" He winked and chuckled.

"So the law took the ranch?"

"Nope. De'Maine, the bad one, had a daughter. They treated her innocent but I reckon they was wrong about that."

"A daughter?"

"Yeah. She was there that day of the lynching. She watched 'em swing. But the law said they didn't have any evidence against her so she ended up with the place. Didn't take her long to run it down though. The bank took most of it when she couldn't pay the bills."

Adam felt sick hearing someone talk about his Cat like this.

"So, what happened to her?" he asked as casually as he could.

"She was still there, off and on for a few years, but hadn't seen her for a good long while now. But just yesterday, wouldn't you know it, she drove through with a parcel of brats. She lost most of the land as I said. Many a time we decent folks tried to drive her off but she wouldn't go."

Adam had to count to ten so as not to deck the barkeep for his insulting mouth.

"But you said she wasn't convicted of anything."

"Nope, but that don't mean she's not guilty. We figure anyone living with a family like that has to be some bad."

Adam continued to try and control his temper and destroy his cover, but it was hard. "Another beer," he said to the loose lipped bartender.

"Sure. Say, why don't you try and buy that last scrap of land off her? I'm sure she's ready to sell by now especially if she's got youngin's to feed without no man. You might get it dirt cheap. Might be right useful for your breeding stock that place. The house would come up all right with a bit of work. Solid barns too."

"That's an idea," Adam said slowly. "Anyone else in town I can ask about the place?"

"Sure. The sheriff will tell you all about the history. And Jed Evans at the land office can tell you if there's any taxes owing and the size of the land."

"I might ask them both tomorrow."

"You do that. We'll be mighty pleased to get a good, upstanding citizen like yourself out there instead of that outlaw's issue."

"Right." Adam forced down another swallow of beer, willing his fist not to ball and smash the barman's face in. "I need a room for the night."

"Sure thing. Through that door near the faro table. Daisy'll help ya' out."

Adam ignored the wink the barkeep gave him along with Daisy's name. As he went through the motions of getting a room and brushing off Daisy's eager advances, he couldn't help thinking of Cat and the children all alone out on that ranch. If the attitude of all the townsfolk was the same as the bartender's, she'd truly led a miserable life since that lynching. He felt even more determined to find out the truth and re-establish her good name. Maybe coming down to Tucson to live hadn't been such a good idea after all?

And what did her Uncle have to do with it all? Why would he be involved with a man who'd purchased all the lost ranch land? Adam had managed to buy back some of it, the land he'd deeded back to Cat the previous Christmas. But he'd been told the rest had been sold off. Obviously it had already gone to the new Riviera property.

Cat rode out the next morning toward her Uncle's house. She couldn't wait to see Louis and Marie again. She'd spent a restless night in the house - even more so than the babies. A place she'd always considered home, for once she'd felt almost like a stranger.

"Every time she came home, she felt as though she'd lost a bit more of her past life. Things seemed less and less familiar and fond. Now, the rooms, furniture and once treasured family heirlooms all seemed just like objects collecting dust. Cat thought about the Ponderosa, teeming with life and love. In comparison, The Saguaro was currently devoid of life. She didn't want to become one of its ghosts.

Cat pulled her newly purchased cow pony up and looked back at the house she'd always called home. Maybe one day soon it would breathe life again. Adam would help her bring it back to its former glory. With barely any land left around it, making a success of it would be tough. But if anyone could accomplish that task, Adam Cartwright could!

Cat smiled and waved her hat as she topped the hill that gave her the first glimpse of her Uncle Louis's house. The town had expanded and it was now surrounded by other prosperous houses, but his house, called the Little Riviera, was the grandest. Marie was in the garden and waved back with a flutter of her hat's straw brim.

Cat's mount broke into a canter soon reaching the small yard and house with the grand name.

"Catherine!" Marie De'Maine called in her heavy French accent. "You are home!"

"Yes, at last." Cat jumped down and hurried across for a hug. Marie squeezed her affectionately then kissed her on both cheeks in the French tradition.

"I thought maybe you would be here soon. Come inside. Tell me all about your summer! Where is your family? Your new husband? We so wish we could have come to your wedding."

"Adam had to stay back a few days on business. The children are at the ranch with their nurse."

"Oh my dear, it sounds as if you have caught yourself a wealthy gentleman, no?"

"He's a rancher like me and he comes from a beautiful spread up north in Nevada." Cat found herself gushing about Adam and the Ponderosa for ages and was delighted when her Uncle Louis finally showed up.

"Little Cat, you warmed our hearts when you wrote you were coming home, and with a family too."

She found herself repeating her stories of the Cartwrights again.

"You look so happy, my child," said Louis.

"She is in love of course," gushed Marie. "We wish to meet him as soon as he arrives."

"Yes, of course Marie."

"And your babies, too. So lovely to have little ones around again."

Louis sat beside her and took her hand. "I suppose you are here to sell the rest of the ranch then. I will do all I can to assist of course."

"I thought after my wedding that might be the case as I wrote you then, but in fact Adam wants to stay here a while and get the place back into shape."

For a moment, a strange look flashed over Louis' face. "Ah yes, there are many repairs needed. Good idea to get it back to working shape before you sell."

"No, Uncle. We've decided to work the ranch again as a family. Adam even bought back some of the old land to the north that was lost. He's been the most wonderful support. We have decided to give it at least a year to see if it can be revived."

Louis frowned and looked shocked. "But surely he will want to stay on his family's ranch? You said it was very successful."

"And it is, but Adam wants to be his own man. I'm happy to return and try again here."

"But, but, the townsfolk will drive you out again," returned Marie.

"Perhaps but I have every right to stay, and you know how stubborn I can be? Adam's worse, can you believe it?" She smiled at their worried faces. Cat almost told them about Adam's plan to find out who the real outlaws had been so they could restore the family pride, but she refrained. The less people that knew the better, even if they were her kin. She didn't want to put him in any danger. "Besides, you have managed to stay here without being driven away. I have your example to live up to."

When she returned to the Saguaro in the afternoon she still had an empty feeling. How long would it take her to feel at home again? She and Mrs O'Leary worked hard on cleaning the house and getting it liveable over the next couple of days. The twins needed constant attention too, which halved their working time. At night when the others were asleep, she sifted through her father's records and journals as Adam had suggested. There was nothing out of the ordinary, nothing to show he'd been in any way involved in criminal activity. In fact, they proved just the opposite. The ranch ledgers showed every dollar and where it had been earned and spent over the years. Cat kept them out to show Adam. Perhaps there was a way they could be used as evidence to show no ill-gotten gains had been spent on the ranch?

On the third afternoon, Cat heard a horse approaching the house. Cat's heart pounded as she went to the window and saw that it was Adam riding up on a tall black. His solid form rocked easy in the saddle. She longed to have his arms around her, longed to kiss him. It had only been a few days but already she missed him more than she could have thought possible. She opened the door and stepped onto the porch.

Even though he appeared to be alone, Cat stayed in the shadows by the door. There was no telling whom he'd been speaking to in town, nor what he'd told them he was up to. She remembered his warnings and decided it was best to heed them until she knew what had gone on in town.

As he drew up to the hitching rail, he smiled down but turned and scanned the horizon.

"Are you alone?" asked Cat warily.

"Not entirely sure. Come out into the light, bring your shotgun. Act like I'm not welcome. Can't be too careful."

Cat did as she was told. It was maddening to think that someone could be watching the ranch this closely. Obviously Adam had cause to worry about it.

Cat fetched her shotgun from the gun cabinet inside the front door and walked out into the morning sunshine. She stared up at Adam, still mounted.

"Have you found out anything?"

"Bits and pieces. Nothing conclusive, but I've got a few theories."

"Sounds promising."

"How are you and the babies?"

"Missing you," she blurted without thinking.

"In that case, lower that gun and invite me in." Adam half smiled.

"Well, I don't usually invite strange men into my home," she teased.

Adam dismounted and walked past her. Cat took a deep breath and continued the act of walking him in under guard. As soon as she made it in the door, she closed it and put the gun down. Adam turned and she leapt into his outstretched arms.

"Ah, you feel so good," he whispered into her ear. She shivered as he squeezed her tight and nuzzled her neck.

"You too, mmm," was all she could bring herself to say, halfway between a purr and a sigh. She felt his lips on her cheek then turned sideways so she could capture them with hers.

She snuggled against him as their mouths merged. She kissed him long and deep. Her body tingled at the low groan he let out. His chest rumbled against her breasts making her want him right there and then.

"Stay tonight," she sighed against his lips as they finally parted.

"Where are the children and Mrs O'Leary?"

"She's just put them down for their nap upstairs."

"Good. We have to talk."

Cat knew that tone. Adam had something unpleasant to tell her.

"Do you want to see the house first?"

"Yeah, sure," he answered, but Cat knew his thoughts were pre-occupied.

She took his hand and walked him through the downstairs rooms. "It's a handsome house from the road. Just like you described it."

"Yes, although you can see how it's deteriorated close up."

"Nothing that can't be fixed." Adam smiled at her and wandered through the drawing room, the dining room and kitchen. "It's built more in the European style."

"And a little Mexican thrown in for good measure," Cat added, trying to delay his 'talk'. "In the summer we throw all the French doors open and the cool breezes from the verandahs flow through."

"I can see how you would have loved growing up here. Cat, let's talk." He stopped at the dining table and pulled out two chairs.

"Are you staying at the saloon?" she asked, taking a seat.

"Yeah."

Adam smirked at her look of disapproval. He took her hand in his and rubbed her fingers. Cat swallowed nervously. She had waited so long to glean any information about the lynching. "What did you find out?"

"I think the sheriff's up to no good, along with a couple of the wealthier citizens in town. I think they might have had something to do with setting up your father and brothers."

"That's good, isn't it?" Cat felt the lead weight around her heart begin to lift. "There's hope that we can find them innocent?"

"There's hope, yes."

"Then why so serious?" She grabbed his hands in return and squeezed tight.

"Because of the person I think is truly guilty and was behind it all."

"Who?" She couldn't think of a single person in Tucson that she'd be sad to see accused in place of her father.

"I have reason to believe . . .your Uncle Louis could have been behind it."

Except him! Cat's heart skipped a beat. Had she heard right? They were the only family she had now. They'd helped her, treated her as their own daughter. Comforted her, grieved with her. She thought of their fond greeting on a couple of days earlier. No . . .no!

"That's not funny, Adam. Why would you even consider accusing him?" She frowned and wrenched her hands away from him, folding her arms in protest. "You're wrong, dead wrong!"

"Calm down and listen."

"No! This is madness."

"There's good reason to suspect him. Listen to my findings and you can make up your own mind about it."

She narrowed her eyes at him and tried to curb her temper. "I'm listening."

"Louis De'Maine is now one of the richest men in this territory and has connections with the governor."

"So? He's worked hard for many years at his store. It took him a long time to find his calling, but after he went into shopkeeping he flourished."

"And do you know exactly when he went into the store?"

"When he came back from Phoenix. About three years before . . . the trouble.

"Did you ever see the charge list for your family?"

"No, I couldn't see it. They withheld it from me."

"I've seen it."

Cat chewed her lip, heat rising in her body.

"The charges started when he returned and started being so successful."

"Co-incidence."

"His wealth increased much more quickly than it should have with just one dry goods store."

"That still doesn't prove anything. Papa lent him money, lots of people helped him."

"Don't let loyalty blind you," Adam countered.

"You don't know anything about Louis and Marie."

"That's why I can be impartial."

"And I'm not?"

"No, you're not!"

Cat felt betrayed. She stood and paced up and down trying to control her temper.

"Cat, sweetheart, I knew this would be hard for you to accept. Will you please just listen, hmm?" Adam grabbed her hand when she passed him.

"No!" She yanked her hand away. I'm not listening to one hurtful, damning word! Don't you dare suggest they could be responsible again, or . . ."

"Or what?"

"Or . . .I'm packing up and taking the children back to Nevada without you!" Cat wanted to take back the words as soon as she'd said them, but she couldn't stand the thought of the only kin she had left being responsible for destroying her life. This idea wounded her deeply. At that moment, she hated Adam for even putting the suggestion in her head. She narrowed her eyelids and sent him an icy stare.

"You don't mean that," he said steadily.

She felt tears sting her eyes as he stood up and took her back into his arms. It only took a moment before she hugged him back, resting her head against his chest.

"No."

He turned and walked her back to a chair. He sat down and guided her onto his lap. He smoothed the escaped strands of hair from her face and made her take a deep breath.

"There's a new ranch been formed to the south. All the land you lost except for the acreage we bought back to the north has gone to it. It's been purchased by a man from Louisiana.

"See, it's nothing to do with Louis."

"This man is a business partner of Louis."

"The land was bank owned. There's no reason for him to not tell a business partner it was available for sale."

"No, but I've been told Louis has a part share."

Cat swallowed and frowned. It was suspicious. He'd always told her he would have helped her with the ranch debt if he could. "A small share?"

"At least half, but I haven't confirmed that yet."

Cat nodded, signaling retreat.

"I could be wrong. I haven't proved anything yet."

She shrugged, needing to digest the information.

"I've told them in town I'm looking for land to breed cattle. They told me to come see you and try to buy this place. I plan to take a ride out to The Riviera to see what I can find out, so it's a going to be a few more days before I can reveal my identity in town.

"The Riviera?" Cat's mouth went dry.

"That's the new ranch's name. There's a foreman out there awaiting for the arrival of a man called Marquette."

"Oh." The fight went of out Cat and she lowered her head.

"What's the matter?"

"Louis and Marie's house in town is called The Little Riviera."

"Cat, I'm sorry things are turning the way they are. I can stop if you want. We can forget it and just get back to our plans."

"No, no." She shook her head and collected her thoughts. "We can't stop now. If there's something more to know I want to know it. Just be careful in town. I don't want anything happening to you."

"And you be careful too. I don't like you all being here without me."

"I can look after myself. What I can't do is look after two crying babies at the same time." She smiled and he grinned back.

"Let's go see them," he said gently. I've been missing Cassie and Ryan like crazy."

"And them you." Cat led Adam to the stairs. But as they climbed Cat felt the weight of the world crawling back onto her shoulders.