CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN
FITTING IN AND HELPING OUT
Although summer was far from over, the late afternoon sun seemed particularly stifling as Adam rode from Virginia City to the Landry's ranch, Amanda's satchel tied securely to his saddle. He'd accomplished all he could in town, including sending two telegrams to friends in the financial industry in San Francisco and arranging for Nate Gilbert to hand-deliver the replies directly to Ben or himself later that evening at the Ponderosa. As he rode the trail, visions of Hoss blinked over and over into his mind and remorse filled his heart at the thought that in his five-year-absence from the Ponderosa, Hoss's appearance might have changed, making those visions of his brother seem even further in the past.
Well before hearing the murmur of the gathered crowd of volunteers or seeing the charred ruins of the Landry barn and home, Adam's nose tingled from the smell of ash still lingering in the air. As he rode closer, he heard the thud of hammers against thick, metal nails and the slap of heavy pine boards falling against structural supports. He smiled and nodded, remembering his father's words that morning as he'd scooped up Adam's initial drawings for the new Landry barn and slipped them into his saddle bag. "Do all that needs to be done in Virginia City, Adam," Ben had said. "I promise that not one board or nail will be used beyond what you've drawn here on these papers. This new barn is your project, and it will be waiting for you when you're finished in town. And remember, everything you do or say in Virginia City could lead Jackson Findley to the Ponderosa, so be careful, son. Be very careful."
As he approached the gathering, Adam's heart sank at the sight of the singed shells that were, just days ago, the Landry house and barn. True to his word, Ben had supervised the work on the barn, ensuring that the only work done on that first day was the main framing and the stacking of tomorrow's supplies. To Adam's liking, the debris from the barn and house was being loaded into several buckboards and carted out of sight and the support structure for the house was already standing tall and sturdy. Virginia City sure can come together for one of its own! Guess I shouldn't be surprised. It's one of the things I missed while I was away. Adam rode closer, slid down from Sport's back, and tethered him alongside Buck. From what Joe tells me, people did all they could for Pa and him when . . . when Hoss died. Damn it! Those words just don't ring of reality in my head, or in my heart. After washing out the mounting ash-prickle in the back of his throat with several gulps from his canteen, Adam screwed the cap onto the spout and slung the strap over his saddle horn. Let's hope that Virginia City finds a way to accept the gift Hoss left behind. A loving woman and the child he'll never know. Leaning against Sport, Adam sighed heavily.
"Adam!" Ben called, waving from across the yard and rushing through the mass of volunteers and supplies toward his son. "How are things in town?" he asked, lowering his voice and looking about for prying ears.
Adam folded his arms, his wary eyes darting from side to side as he explained all he'd learned from Roy and what he'd done about Amanda's hotel suite. "And as soon as there's a reply, Nate will bring it to one of us at the ranch."
Ben looked pleased, but the lines around his chestnut eyes creased deeper with his every thought. "That's good, Adam," Ben said. "I don't think we have to worry about Amos or Nate. They're both good men and a promise of discretion from both of them is good enough for me."
Adam scratched the side of his neck. "There is one thing, Pa," he said. "Clem brought it up, but I'd been thinking about it, too."
"What is it?" Ben asked.
"Amanda," Adam replied. "How long are we going to be able to keep Findley's escape a secret? She hasn't been confined to bed rest and from what I've seen, she isn't going to be easy to fool. She's learned a harsh lesson in trusting Jackson Findley, and right now . . ."
"She has no reason," Ben interrupted, "other than Hoss's word, to trust any of us."
"Exactly," Adam agreed, "and if she senses that we're keeping something from her, it will only serve to make matters worse."
They paused in silence and neither Ben nor Adam heard the soft footfall of Bo Landry. "Excuse me, Mr. Cartwright," the boy said.
Both men answered, "Yes?" and quickly broke into grins despite the somber stare from the elder Landry son.
"I guess it don't matter which one," Bo said. "My ma wants to see ya both." The boy turned hurriedly and stomped his way back to his mother's side.
"That one is going to take a lot of patience!" Adam remarked as he snatched the rest of his drawings from his saddle bags.
"Do what you can, son," Ben said, clapping a strong hand firmly against Adam's back.
"I will, Pa," Adam said as they dodged several men toting thick, wide boards toward the house. "But right now, I have something much more important on my mind, and I know you do too."
Ben nodded and moved in closer. "We have to be careful, Adam," he whispered. "It has to appear as though there's nothing out of the ordinary, nothing to concern us except the running of the ranch and the rebuilding of the Landry homestead. But you're right. Every fiber of my being says that we should all be together at the house until that murderer is behind bars!"
"Well, for now," Adam said, "let's get these plans over to the men working on the barn and find out what Mrs. Landry wanted to see us about. We still have a little time before supper. Maybe we can get one of the walls up before everyone heads home for the day."
"Adam," Mrs. Landry said, staring up at his smiling face as he approached the beginnings of her new barn, "I still can't believe that you've come back home after all those years! I'll bet your father and brothers . . . um, I mean your . . . Oh, Adam, I'm so sorry."
Ben cringed as Mrs. Landry's horrified eyes pleaded for forgiveness from Adam.
"It's alright, Mrs. Landry," Adam assured. "Pa and Joe were quite surprised when I showed up on the doorstep. And I must say it is good to be home again."
Ben watched as, once again, Adam quickly buried his feelings and turned on his natural, protective charm.
"I'm thankful that you and your sons were spared from the fire," Adam said, "and I'm glad that my homecoming coincides with helping to rebuild your home. And speaking of your sons, I was hoping that Bo might be willing to help me with some of the details for the barn."
"Oh, Adam!" she cried, excited at the prospect of her wayward son spending time with the stalwart Adam Cartwright. "That would be wonderful! Would you like me to get him now?"
Adam grinned, his eyes sparkling at her enthusiasm. "If you wouldn't mind, and then we can get started with that north wall. With any luck, we'll have it up before we call it a day."
"Bo? Bo?" Mrs. Landry called. "I'll go find him, Adam." She took three steps before spinning to face Adam. "Thank you!"
Adam smiled and nodded as she turned again and went off in search of her eldest son.
"You've made a young widow very happy," Ben said, startling Adam from behind.
"Geez, Pa!" Adam said, searching for his breath. "You shouldn't sneak up on a body that way!"
"I don't sneak," Ben said, "I tread lightly!"
Father and son enjoyed a brief laugh before Mrs. Landry returned with a reluctant Bo in tow.
"Here he is Ada . . . Mr. Cartwright," she said, nudging the boy when he failed to show respect to an elder.
"Hello, Mr. Cartwright," Bo said. "My ma says I gotta work over here now."
Ben made himself busy with the papers Adam had spread across the table. He fought back a grin as he wondered how Adam would handle the young boy and his worrisome attitude.
"Bo, I hear you're good with numbers," Adam said, looking purposefully at the boy doing his best to avoid Adam's gaze.
"Bo!" Mrs. Landry shouted. "Look at Mr. . . ."
Ben grasped Emma's forearm, shook his head, and waited for Adam's first move.
"I'm speaking to you, Bo," Adam said calmly, "and I expect your attention when I do so."
Bo's body stiffened and his eyes darted back and forth along the ground.
"I know you heard me, boy," Adam said, raising his volume slightly.
Bo raised his eyes to Adam's. "Sorry, sir," Bo whispered, surprised when the older man's gaze softened considerably.
"That's better," Adam said, reaching for the plans to the barn. "Now, if you'll look here and here, you'll see that I've worked three stalls into the space where your old barn had only two. This line shows the separation walls here and here and here. Now, do you think that will serve your mounts as well as the old design?"
Bo was speechless. Not only did he understand what Adam Cartwright had said, but he was pretty sure he understood the drawings, the figures, and the spacing that Adam referenced.
"It's alright," Adam said, "if you don't understand . . ."
"Oh, but I do, Mr. Cartwright!" Bo announced proudly. "I really do! And it's good that the stalls are the same size, even though Matt's pony is much smaller than my horse and Ma's, too, 'cause his horse will grow to be almost as big as mine and this way, the stall will fit him when he's grown!"
Adam grinned and his eyes beamed. "That is very good, forward thinking, Bo!" Adam said, leaning one elbow against the corner of the paper plans. "Now, if you look over here," he said, fighting off a chuckle as Bo mirrored his position, "we could move the feed bins to the left, or we could leave them as they are. Since you and Matt will be the ones doing most of the feeding, which side do you think would be best?"
Ben hooked his arm in Emma's and pulled her toward the empty Ponderosa buckboard.
"Oh, Ben!" she cried. "I haven't heard that boy utter a civil sentence in weeks! And in just a few minutes, your son has my son looking up at him the way he used to look up to his own father!"
"Yeah," Ben agreed watching Adam and Bo as they conversed in the distance, "Adam did a real fine job of . . ."
A soft blubber escaped Emma's lips. Embarrassed, she quickly covered her face in her hands.
"Oh, Emma," Ben said, his hands on her shoulders. "I'm so sorry. I know how much you miss Asa, believe me, I do."
"Oh, Ben," Emma cried. "Of all of the people in Virginia City, I know that you truly do understand. And I'm trying to move forward as best I can, but with the boys showing their grief by acting up and the fire and . . . and now, everyone being here to help and Adam taking Bo under his wing!"
Ben slid his hand into his pocket and when his fingertips touched the edge of his handkerchief, he pulled it loose and handed it to Emma.
Gently, he touched her arm and led her out of view of the neighbors and friends working at the ranch and further between the Ponderosa wagon and the one hitched to a team of skittish horses.
"Thank you, Ben," she said, dabbing at her eyes. "I didn't mean to . . ."
The remainder of Emma's comment was lost as, without warning, the agitated horses tethered to the wagon adjacent to Ben's spooked and suddenly bolted, shifting the rotten and charred boards that had been stacked in the wagon.
"Ben, watch out!" Roy yelled from across the yard as the load leaned and then toppled toward Ben and Emma. Roy watched in desperate horror as Ben grabbed Emma's waist with one arm and raised the other in a vain attempt to shield them from the cascading lumber. But it was no use. What seemed a mountain of criss-crossed, charred planks covered Ben Cartwright and Emma Landry.
"Pa!" Adam shouted as he sprinted between the wagons. Several pairs of hands groped and grabbed at the fallen wood, and shouted orders and pleas stifled the workers gathered around the wagons and debris.
"Pa!" Adam cried as he grasped one of the final three boards that covered his father and Mrs. Landry.
"Ma!" Bo yelled as Roy caught and held the boy at bay, his shoulders wriggling in the sheriff's strong hands.
Matt Landry pushed his way through the small crowd, stopping next to his older brother.
"I'm alright!" Ben yelled as Adam helped him from the ground.
"Emma?" Ben cried as he reached down for the woman he'd sheltered from the falling rubble with his own body. "Did I hurt you?"
Emma coughed and pushed her shoulders from the ground. "No, Ben!" she said. "I'm fine. Just a little shaken."
Ben raised her effortlessly from the ground, and as she brushed off her skirt and blouse, he watched her for any signs of distress. "Are you sure you're alright?" he asked.
"Yes, yes, I'm fine," she replied.
"Pa, are you sure . . ." Adam asked, halting mid-sentence as his hand slid into a warm, wet spot along Ben's left upper arm. "Pa, you're bleeding!"
"What? Huh?" Ben said, craning his neck toward his arm. "I thought I'd just bruised it."
"Oh, Ben!" Emma cried. "You were so busy protecting me and now you're hurt!"
Ben held Emma back from her advances toward his injury. "It's alright, Emma," he insisted. "Just a flesh wound."
Roy released Bo, gathered a bucket of clean water and several torn strips of fabric, and appeared next to Adam. "Let's get that arm cleaned up, Ben, and then I think we should all call it a day. It's getting close to supper time and those of us who can will meet back here in the morning." Roy handed the bucket and cloth to Adam. "Why don't we get him into the buckboard and do what we can for that arm?"
Adam nodded and together they reached for Ben, ready to hoist him into the buckboard.
"Adam, Roy, I'm fine!" Ben grumbled, shaking his head. "It's just a flesh wound. I'm perfectly capable of standing right here until we're ready to go."
Emma, Bo, and Matt stepped close to the wagon. "Oh, Ben," Emma said, "I'm so sorry this happened! Is there anything my boys and I can do?"
"Now, Emma," Ben said, "don't you worry yourself over this. I'll be just fine and I expect I'll see you and your boys back here first thing in the morning! And Bo, I'm sure that Adam's going to need your help again, isn't that right son?"
"My father's right, Bo," Adam replied, keeping a watchful eye on his father's bleeding arm. "I would appreciate your help in the morning, unless you've got something . . ."
"No, sir, Mr. Cartwright!" Bo said. "I'll be here!"
Adam smiled, leaned against the buckboard, and winked at his father.
"Oh," Ben added, "and Matt, Joe and our foreman, Mr. Canaday, will be needing some help rounding up your strays. Do you think you could recommend someone to help them?"
Matt stared at his feet and kicked at the dirt on the ground.
"They'll need someone who's familiar with the animals you lost during the fire," Ben said, wincing as he rested his back against the side of the wagon, "someone who knows the area and would be willing to . . ."
"Could I do it, Mr. Cartwright?" Matt asked shyly. "Could I go along with Mr. Cartwright and Mr. Canaday?"
Adam grinned at Emma. "Oh, I don't know about that, Matt," Adam said, turning his attention back to his father. "Pa, don't you think they'll be needing someone that can ride tall in the saddle and keep on riding for several hours at a time?"
Before Ben could answer, Bo walked closer and stopped next to Ben. "My brother Matt's a real good rider, Mr. Cartwright. And he knows all of the livestock we lost better 'en me or Ma!"
"Thanks, Bo," Matt said. "Can I, Ma? Can I, Mr. Cartwright?"
Adam's eyebrows lifted as he shook his head. Well, whatdaya know! Pa was right. Again. Sounds like these boys just needed to know someone believes in them the way their pa did. Guess I've always known how good that feels.
"Emma," Ben said, suddenly looking tired and uncomfortable. "If you have no objections, I'd say we've found our third rider!"
"No objections, Ben," Emma said, her voice catching on every word.
"Well, then," Adam said, "Joe, Candy, and I will be back first thing in the morning, and before you can protest Pa, you'll be staying at the Ponderosa until that arm is healed."
"Ben," Roy said as Adam tied Sport and Buck to the back of the buckboard, "I'll be watching for that uh . . . package you ordered and as soon as I get word that it's on its way to Virginia City, I'll let you know."
"Thanks, Roy," Ben replied as his vision teetered slightly from side to side. He grasped onto the edge of the wagon and with his uninjured arm, reached up to wipe the sweat forming on his brow.
Roy watched as Adam folded a blanket into a rectangle and placed it against the back corner of the buckboard. He waited while Adam walked his father to the back of the wagon and when Ben lurched forward, Roy scrambled next to his friend.
"Ben?" Roy whispered. "You look a might fevered, my friend."
"I'm sure it's just the heat of the late afternoon, Roy," Ben said.
Roy offered his hand and together, he and Adam steered a willing Ben to the back of the wagon, and once inside, Adam slid the make-shift cushion behind his father's back and gently examined the injury to his arm. Ben winced and drew in a sharp breath as Adam ripped his shirt to expose the puncture wound near his shoulder.
Roy crawled into the wagon next to Adam. "How's it look, Adam?" he asked.
Adam glanced at Roy, their eyes silently agreeing that the wound had been caused by a nail from one of the rotted, burned boards from the Landry barn.
"Not too bad, Roy," Adam said, his worried face belying his words. "Hand me that bucket and those bandages, and I'll get this cleaned up a bit before we start for home."
Ben flinched when the fabric surrounding his wound was ripped loose from his sleeve. "Sorry, Pa," Adam said as he carefully wiped the area with a clean, wet cloth and quickly wrapped it in a bandage. Adam hopped down from the wagon and with one last look at his father, turned toward the front of the buckboard.
"He doesn't look too good, Adam," Roy said quietly as they walked forward. "I'll send Paul out just as soon as I git back to town."
"Thanks, Roy," Adam said, looking over his shoulder at his father.
Ben's eyes were closed and the bandages Adam had used to dress his wound already showed signs of blood soaking through.
"Roy," Adam said, "I think you'd better hurry."