Chapter 9: All's Well That Ends Well, Part 5

"The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together."

IV, iii, 83

The weary traveler pulled his horse up to stare.

At first, his tired eyes had seen the dark line of shadows gathered along the edge of the road as some kind of oversized beasts, settled to sleep for the night, but closer examination showed that they were, in fact, a collection of vehicles of all kinds - wagons and buckboards, carriages and surreys. A frown gathered between his brows as he studied them.

So many.

The only reason he could think of for so many people to be gathered in one place would be a wedding. He paused. Or a funeral.

His heart beat a little harder and he nudged his rented horse to a faster pace. He didn't believe any one would have a wedding without him…or a funeral, really, for that matter, but perhaps…a wake…?

Oh, dear Lord.

He moved the horse a little closer to the string of equipages, studying them for clues, but in the uncertain light from the thin sliver of a waxing moon, they gave nothing away. He pushed his flagging mount faster still.

As he rounded the bend, he caught a far glimpse of bobbing strings of bright colored lanterns and felt himself relax. Surely no one would hang Chinese lanterns for a wake. A mystery, to be sure, but perhaps not a sinister one. As he drew still closer, the breeze brought him the sound of merry voices and the faint whisper of music and the last of his tension left him to be replaced by curiosity. What the devil were those unaccountable boys of his up to now?

He dismounted, walking his beast the rest of the way to cool it, noting on approach the scattered tables, still covered with half-eaten dishes, the couples wandering together in the moonlight, the collections of chatterers enjoying the soft night air. He looked about for a free spot at one of the hitching rails but there was none to be found, so, with a grunt of irritation, he picketed his horse to a handy tree, pausing to loosen the cinch and untie his carpetbag. He'd get one of the boys to put the animal up for the night - right now he wanted to get to the bottom of this. If he didn't know better he'd think he'd come to the wrong home.

He hefted his bag and started toward the porch - stopped at the sound of familiar voices. The front door was partly open to show a wedge of light and he could just make out three shadows silhouetted in front of it. A little annoyed with himself to find that he was, after all, relieved to see them all standing and in one piece, he paused to listen.

"…saying is that you might want to put it in the safe until the party's over - just so that nothing happens to it. If it gets lost in this crowd you'll never find it."

Adam. And, from the sounds of it, they were arguing. Oh, he was home all right.

"I - figger on keepin' it with me fer the time bein'. Just so's I know where it is."

Hoss now. And he sounded a little…evasive. Hm.

"Oh, and you're really going to be able to keep a close look on it while you're dancing with Sarah Jane."

Sarah Jane? That was a new one. He'd have to look into that.

"And just how many girls have you been dancin' with while we were sweatin' out the details, huh, Adam?"

Joe this time. And his argument was about girls. Well, it was nice to know that some things remained constant.

"A gentleman never tells, Joe."

He could almost see the sly twinkle in Adam's eyes and smiled a little in spite of himself.

"Dadburn it, Adam, you said it was up to us, and I - well, I wanna hang onta it."

"That's right, Adam."

Joe's answer was a little too quick. Hm again.

"All right, all right - " he could barely make out Adam's gesture of surrender. "Just a suggestion. That piece of paper is worth a lot of money, is all."

"I'll remember."

Hoss sounded relieved and uneasy at the same time. Hm and hm.

"Don't know why every darn thing has to go into that old safe anyway." Joe's grumble made the traveler's smile broaden.

The wedge of light widened to spill in a pool on the porch floor as the door was pushed inward and he decided it was time to make his entrance. He stepped out of the shadows and trod deliberately up the porch steps, stopping in front of them. Their frozen expressions were worth everything.

"Jumpin' Jehosaphat," he rumbled, after an adequate dramatic pause. "What the devil is going on around here?"

He hadn't seen them so universally share that look in a long time - that "caught red-handed and without an alibi in sight" look - and he found it deeply amusing.

"Well?" he continued sternly. He could almost see them trying out and discarding explanations in their minds as they stood.

Adam seemed to come to life first. "Hi, Pa," he said faintly.

"Pa," Hoss wheezed.

"Pa," Joe echoed.

Ben gave them a wide, forbearing smile. "Good. You remember who I am. Now, perhaps, you'd like to tell me what's going on around here?" His voice rose on the last words and they cringed a little.

Joe forced a hopeful smile. "Why - a - a party, Pa."

Ben's eyes bored into him. "Thank you, Joseph," he said with icy politeness. "That was the one thing I had managed to ascertain for myself. So maybe now you'd like to tell me who in thunder all these people are?"

Since both his brothers seemed to have suddenly gone mute, Joe straightened his shoulders and tried again, attempting a cavalier laugh that came out sounding more like an asthma attack. "Oh - you know. Nobody special. Friends. Neighbors."

"The men," Hoss added quickly.

"Townspeople," Adam provided.

"Neighbors…" Joe trailed off.

"I see." Ben's jaw worked as he remembered the endless row of carriages. "ALL the neighbors?"

"Well, not quite all of them, Pa," Adam interjected judiciously. "Dooley Jaspers had to work tonight, so he's not here."

Ben turned his narrowed gaze on him. "'This is not the time for levity on your part, young man!"

Hoss tossed an uneasy look over his shoulder at the house full of guests. "Pa," he lowered his voice. "Mebbe we wanna take this someplace more private?"

Ben followed his gaze and sighed, nodding his head. "I suppose you're right. My desk - "

"Uh - Pa?" Joe wrinkled his forehead hesitantly. "We - we put the musicians over there."

Ben looked at him. "All right," he said slowly, after a pregnant pause. "Then how about upstairs?"

Hoss cleared his throat. "Actual, there's a few guests what's staying up there, Pa - "

Ben ground his teeth. "Then tell me this. Is there anyplace left in this house where we can have a few seconds of privacy? Other than the woodpile?"

"Um, the woodpile's real popular for spoonin', Pa," Joe commented. Then, seeing the thunder gather on Ben's face, "Not that I - I mean - that's what I've heard."

"There's the kitchen," Adam jumped hastily to Joe's rescue. "Hop Sing and Hop Ling are in there, of course, but - "

"Fine." Ben shoved his carpetbag at Hoss and pushed past them to lead the way. "Glad to hear Hop Sing is back. At least you had enough sense not to try to have this party without him."

Hoss and Joe exchanged a silent, petrified glance and then quickly went to follow their father and brother into the kitchen.

The warm, moist air of the kitchen, redolent with the smells of good things to eat, had a softening effect on Ben despite himself and he looked around with interest.

Hop Sing and Hop Ling both looked up from their work and froze in surprise.

"Boss!" said Hop Sing uncertainly.

Hop Ling just stared.

"Gentlemen." Ben sniffed appreciatively. "Something certainly smells good."

Hop Sing hurried to prepare a plate.

The three brothers' eyes followed him with determined interest.

Ben cleared his throat to regain their attention. "So." He studied them severely, his eyes stopping abruptly on Joe. "What - where on earth did you get that black eye?" His brows lowered. "Have you been fighting?"

"No!" Joe protested hastily. "It was an - an accident!"

"That's right, Pa," Hoss asserted anxiously. "Just a silly…accident."

"Hmph." Ben eyed them suspiciously. He looked more closely at Adam. "And what's that on your arm?" he demanded.

"My - ? Oh…" Adam laughed a little as he tugged self-consciously at his sleeve, trying to cover the bandage. "Oh, that. It's nothing, Pa - just a - nothing."

Ben leaned back, eyeing them cannily. "Have you two been fighting each other?"

"No!" Adam looked honestly surprised. "No, we - it's just a - a - "

"Accident, Pa," Hoss insisted helpfully. "A little - "

"Accident," Joe finished for him, nodding.

Ben scrutinized them in turn. "Well," he said at last. "You certainly seem to have been accident prone while I've been gone."

"Yeah - " Hoss snorted at the memory. "Yeah, it really was kinda…" He caught the warning looks his brothers were aiming at him and swallowed and sobered quickly. "Uh - yeah."

Hop Sing handed Ben a plate and fork and he dug in gratefully.

"Hop Sing, Hop Ling - perhaps this would be a good time to pass some of those trays you have ready among the guests?"

Hop Sing and Hop Ling nodded to Ben and, gathering up their trays, made a grateful exit. The Cartwright brothers looked after them, a little wistfully.

"Now," he continued briskly. "About this party?"

"It's - just a party, Pa," Joe explained tentatively. "For morale - y'know - to celebrate finishin' the brandin'."

Ben snorted. "Just a party. I've seen smaller Founder's Day celebrations."

"Well, you know how it is, Pa - invite one person and the next thing you know…" Joe pinned on a smile. "Wouldn't want people to think the Cartwrights weren't…"

"…neighborly." Hoss valiantly took up the slack.

"Neighborly." Ben's eyebrows climbed. "Well. I have to hand it to you boys - I don't think there's any danger of anyone for miles around thinking that. And I do mean anyone. Save for a couple of Paiutes and of course - " he nodded sarcastically to Adam, "Dooley Jaspers, everyone else in the Territory is bound to think that the Cartwrights are the most neighborly folk this side of the Rockies!"

Joe raised wide, ingenuous eyes to his. "Yeah, but - that's good, isn't it, Pa?"

Ben just managed to stop himself from rolling his own eyes.

So that's how it was, heh? The whole arsenal, innocent look and all. Whatever it was they were conspiring to hide, it must be a doozy.

He chewed and swallowed.

Still. It was hard to stay angry with your stomach full.

"All right," he continued more mildly. "But I don't understand. Your brother's birthday is in two weeks. If you wanted to have a party, why didn't you just wait for that?"

His younger sons gaped at him in utter consternation. Hoss's face went slack. They looked wordlessly at each other, then back at Ben. Joe's jaw moved as though mouthing an explanation, but nothing came out.

Adam had to turn quickly away to smother his laughter. "Well, you know, Pa - " he finally stuttered out unsteadily. "I've never been much of one for big parties."

Hoss and Joe gazed at him as though he'd thrown them a lifeline.

"That's true, Pa," Hoss declared forcefully. "You know ol' Adam - likes them small get togethers."

"That's right, Pa," Joe agreed, his smile brilliant with relief. "And a party for the brandin' would have to be a big one - you know, what with all the men - and - and - neighbors - "

"Townspeople…" put in Hoss helpfully.

"All right! I got it!" Ben held up a hand to stop them before Adam could chime in, pausing to take another forkful. "But it still doesn't make any sense. Isn't the horse sale tomorrow morning? Early? How on earth do you expect to manage this party AND that?"

There was a breathless silence during which they seemed to be choosing a spokesman almost without looking at each other.

Adam finally stepped forward, bracing himself. "Well, to tell the truth, Pa - "

"Yes," agreed Ben pleasantly. "That would be refreshing."

Adam gave him an injured look, then continued. "To tell the truth - the horse sale is done. Contract's all signed."

That caught Ben off guard. He looked sharply from one to the other. "Done?"

"That's right, Pa," Hoss assured him.

"Signed, sealed and everything," Joe put in.

Ben turned his penetrating gaze on Adam. "How many?"

"Thirty," answered Adam promptly.

"Thirty!" Ben was reluctantly impressed. "I thought you were only expecting him to take twenty."

"Well, I was hoping to push him to two dozen. But thirty it is."

Ben shook his head, confused. "But how - when did the Captain get here?"

"Late this afternoon," Hoss supplied briskly.

Ben wrinkled his forehead. "And how on earth did you have time to show those horses, make a deal and still prepare this party of yours?"

"Well, Pa - " Hoss squirmed, looked at his boots, then took a deep breath and opened his mouth to explain.

"Pa, you know - " Adam interrupted artlessly, "I think the party is what clinched the deal?"

Ben's eyes narrowed still further. "Really. And how do you figure that?"

Adam shrugged lightly. "I don't know, Pa, but I've heard about a lot of big businessmen who use social gatherings to close deals. Not at all uncommon in some circles."

"Is that so." Ben was not in the least convinced, but the combination of the food and the prospect of a contract for thirty horses were having a wonderfully mellowing effect on him. "And so you thought you'd try it out."

"Oh, not me, Pa." Adam shook his head modestly. "It was all Hoss and Joe's idea."

"Really." Ben raised his brows at his two younger sons, who were trying to decide whether they had just been thrown a laurel or just plain thrown in. They met Ben's gaze nervously. "Well." He eyed them appraisingly. "Well, maybe you two are starting to turn into a pair of real businessmen."

Hoss and Joe let out simultaneous gusts of relief, which they quickly tried to turn into sounds of enthusiastic assurance.

He shook his head at them, glancing wistfully at the back stairs, then reluctantly at the door that led back into the great room. He sighed. "I suppose I should mingle a little with our guests - at least say 'hi' to Roy - "

An alarmed look ricocheted among the brothers and Adam moved surreptitiously between their father and the door. "Now, Pa - " he smiled with strained nonchalance. "Now, Pa - you don't want to face all that crowd - you - you look tired out."

"You - you really do, Pa," Hoss agreed fervently.

"Just - just downright peaked, Pa," Joe swore devoutly.

"Do I." Ben watched their faces closely. "Well, your concern for my well being is very touching. But I can't imagine how rude it would be to have all these guests in my home and go to bed without even saying 'hello'."

"B - but, Pa!" Joe tried to distract his father from the door. "It's not like they even know you're here!"

"That's true, Pa." Hoss took up the argument. "Why, in all that big crowd I bet nobody even saw ya arrive."

Ben looked at them in combined amusement and exasperation. "Well, that doesn't make it any more polite. I'm sure I taught you better than that."

"Well, Pa, it is late - " Adam was not above grasping at straws. "And the party will be breaking up soon. By the time you get cleaned up everybody will be leaving anyway."

Ben crossed his arms and looked consideringly from one son to the next to the next.

The united front. He'd never get anything out of them as long as they were taking that route. No, he would have to divide and conquer. That would call for a little strategy. And to tell the truth, he was tired.

"All right," he said at last, trying not to laugh at their visible relief. "Perhaps you're right. It has been a long ride. I'll turn in on two conditions - that one of you puts up my livery animal - he's tied to a tree outside - and that you help Hop Sing and Hop Ling clean up. Understood?" Their rush to reassure him was almost his undoing, but he did manage to keep a straight face. "Good. Then I'll see you in the morning." He took his carpetbag from Hoss and started up the back stairs.

"Pa," Adam's voice made him pause. "Aren't you home kind of early?"

"Yeah, Pa," agreed Joe, trying not to sound put out about it. "We didn't expect you for a couple of days."

"That's right, Pa." Hoss eyed him quizzically. "What brought ya home sa soon?"

"Oh." This time Ben looked embarrassed. His eyes sought out Adam. "I - kept thinking about our - conversation - before I left and I thought…" He took off his hat and absently loosened his hair from his scalp. "I thought if I hurried up negotiations some I might get home quickly enough for you to - start your trip right after the horse sale."

The look on Adam's face touched and amused and gratified Ben all at the same time. Well worth the breathless rush of the last few days, he decided. His mood became more jocular. "But since you tell me the horse sale is all taken care of, I guess you can start out first thing in the morning if you've a mind to."

"Oh." Adam rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck. "Thanks, Pa - I mean, it means a lot, but - " He raised sheepish eyes to meet his father's. "About the hunting - I think right now - "

"Right now, he really cain't handle a gun too good with that there arm, Pa," Hoss volunteered.

Adam gave him a quick glance, grateful for the rescue.

"That's right, Pa. It's all a mess. Right now he can barely make a fist," Joe contributed promptly.

Adam grinned, a little apologetically, and shrugged. "So for right now, Pa - I guess I'm going to stick pretty close to home."

"Hmph." Ben leaned over the banister, trying to get a better read on them. "What on earth went on around here while I was gone?" he asked at last.

The boys looked at one another.

"You know, Pa?" Hoss rested a broad elbow on Joe's shoulder, then the other on Adam's. "I'm thinkin' that's a story that's just plain best told - later."

"Yeah," Joe nodded sagely. "Later."

"Later," Adam concurred with feeling.

"Later," grumbled Ben. "Later. Well, maybe by tomorrow you'll all at least have remembered how to talk without repeating each other. Good night."

They watched until he had disappeared around the bend in the stairs, then counted to twenty and waited a little longer.

"Whew," Joe sighed gratefully. "That was close."

Adam didn't smile. "It's just delaying the inevitable. First trip into town and it all comes out." He leaned against the breakfront, kneading his forehead. "Well. My part of things, anyway. Once Struthers talks to Roy and Roy talks to Pa…"

Hoss slumped against the pantry door next to him, idly chewing on a stray cookie. "Well, that's a cryin' shame, Adam. Reckon Joe and me can keep our part quiet anyway."

Joe's face took on a peculiar expression. "Ahem - he - uh - might be able to find out just a LITTLE about our part in town, too, Hoss…"

Hoss threw him a peevish look. "You an' that mouth," he growled.

Joe stiffened indignantly. "I would like to point out that this time my mouth got us out of just as much trouble as it got us into!" He pondered a moment. "Well, almost as much," he amended. "Hey!" he brightened. "Maybe we can just keep Pa out of town for a few days! By that time everybody's bound to be talkin' about somethin' else!"

"Oh, and that should be easy," drawled Adam.

Hoss held up his hands. "Well, I ain't thinkin' o' nothin' else tanight, that's fer sure. I'm gonna go see if Sarah Jane's still talkin' ta me and enjoy what's left of the evenin' until we have ta clean up."

Joe yawned and stretched. "Yeah. Me too. See you guys back here later."

Adam raised his brows at them. "You aren't talking to me? It's your party, after all. I'm just an invited guest."

He decided, belatedly, that he should have realized that the last few days had taken a toll on his speed and waited until he was a little further away from their grasp first.

"All right, all right, all right - " he held up his hands in quick surrender to allay any possible damage to his dress shirt, trying to shake them from his arms. "All right. For Pa's sake, then, and for Hop Sing's sake - " He attempted to pry Joe's finger's from one arm, glaring, "…and for my shirt's sake - I'll put up the livery horse - and if you're not done with the dishes by then I'll even help you in here."

Hoss released his other arm and he took a step back away from them. This time he judged the distance more carefully while pretending to dust fastidiously at his sleeves. "Look at that," he grimaced with calculated distaste, indicating where they had gripped him. "Don't either of you ever wash your hands?"

He sauntered with assumed coolness toward the door leading outside, but when they made a dash for him this time, he was ready - and finished his exit at a very undignified, but effective, run.

End of Chapter 9

TBC

Well, I'm sad too. All that's left is the epilogue. But everyone who was expecting Ben to show up now knows they were right!

Yeah, Tauna, Adam's just full of surprises!

Me too, drmweaver. Adam's such a complex character with so many sides - one reason I enjoy writing him.