Here's a weekend treat for our wonderful readers.

"Of course," Adam smiled after a moment. "Of course I will." He made his way to the bed and unwrapped the steaming poultice. "Here, let me." He pulled back the blankets to reveal Griff's ugly wound and healing incision and he cannot suppress a wince of sympathy for the boy. He also noticed a few faint, trailing scars that Adam could only assume were from previous beatings. He idly wondered if Griff had acquired them before or during his incarceration. "This is going to sting a little at first, but it'll help the pain, I promise."

Griff bit his lip to keep from groaning when Adam laid the poultice over his stomach. Summoning all his effort, Griff twisted himself so Adam could wrap it around his back. "Thanks." Unable to keep himself upright anymore, he slumped back, towards the wooden headboard.

Adam was quick to react and caught Griff's head with ease. "Not so fast!" He gently let it fall safely against the pillow. "You've got a hard head, but I think one concussion is enough for a while, huh?"

"Yeah, thanks," Griff sighed.

Adam wiped his hands on a piece of cloth then picked up the tea cup from the tray. "You better have some of this before you get too comfortable. Hop Sing's herbal tea. Doesn't smell or taste real good but it should help you get some sleep." Assisting Griff to hold his head up so he could sip at the tea, Adam then slowly allowed him to relax against the pillows once Griff drank as much of the bitter tasting tea as he could.

Feeling the medicine on the poultice seeping into his skin, he relaxed a little. "I talked to your father. I'm sorry I didn't trust you."

"I should be saying the same thing," Adam added. He saw that Griff's blinking was getting more frequent and it appeared he was having trouble keeping his eyes open. He felt a surge of gratitude for their cook and admiration. Hop Sing always knew the right combination for pain relief and sleep. This time was no different. The youth probably did not even know how easily he was succumbing to the effects of the medicinal tea. "I know you were innocent."

"Thanks," Griff said after a couple of tries. "Means a lot." Talking was suddenly an effortful action. He didn't even bother to question why Adam had changed his mind, but at that moment, he couldn't bring himself to care. "Wish I didn't run away… L-like it here," he lethargically stated with blatant petulance.

Now Adam was sure the calming effects of the tea had a powerful effect on Griff. "Ponderosa is t-the best place I ever seen…" Griff shut his eyes and retreated back into sleep.

Just then, the stack of books Adam had been fiddling with dropped to the floor with a slam. Adam nonchalantly went to pick up the books, hiding Griff's journal on the bottom of the stack. He planned to tell the boy all about it, but he knew that Griff could not handle such a serious conversation right this moment.

Griff startled awake at the noise.

"Sorry about that," Adam whispered. He collected the books and re-stacked them

"Whatcha readin'?" the boy slurred.

"Nothing, nothing," Adam answered, concealing the journal. He held on to the assumption that Griff wasn't going to be too observant anyway in his current condition. "I've read all these before. Just doing a little organization. Maybe you oughta try going back to sleep for a bit."

"I'm not tired," Griff yawned. He shifted his weight and rubbed at the poultice. "Will you do me a favor?" he finally got up the courage to ask.

Adam was taken back by how young Griff sounded and looked when his guard was let down and the walls the young man had spent his whole life building to keep emotions in suddenly disintegrated, even if it was because Griff was a lightweight when it came to drugs. "What do you need, Griff?"

Griff pointed to the general direction of the bookshelf. "Can you read something to me?" He lazily jutted his head in case Adam did not understand him the first time. "Like to read. Love to read," he quickly revised. "But I can't when I get sick. Never could, even as a kid. The words all blur when my head's all fuzzy." Memories of his lonely childhood came rushing back to Griff and a lump in his throat developed. "It was always just me, y'know? So I never read when I was sick. Usually that was all I wanted to do. Ain't that funny?" He let out a short delirious laugh.

Adam sadly nodded along, although he found nothing humorous about that situation.

"But now you're here, and I just thought, maybe, you would..." Griff mumbled weakly.

"I'd be happy to," Adam sighed, squeezing Griff's arm. "What do you want to hear? I have a lot of books."

Griff took a moment to comprehend Adam's statement. "Umm… The Three Musketeers? It's m'favorite…"

Adam smiled at the small, timid request. "Mine, too." He retrieved the book and began to read.

Griff closed his eyes and was carried off to sleep by the soothing sound of Adam's voice narrating his favorite tale of brotherhood and friendship.

Adam continued until Griff's breath evened out. He quietly folded the page to keep his place, as he certainly planned on reading to the boy more often if it calmed him into a peaceful slumber.

It wasn't long before Adam, too, felt himself drifting off in his seat until footsteps jarred him out of sleep.

"He already asleep?" Candy whispered objectively, standing at the foot of Griff's bed. "It took me three extra hours coming back with Thunder. He is the most temperamental beast I have saddled. Threw me off twice today!"

Adam rose and used the excuse of putting the book back on the shelf as a distraction. "Listen, Candy, about last night and this whole thing with Griff, I…" He broke off in mid-sentence and turned to look at Candy, who stood with his arms crossed and a smug expression on his face. Okay, guess I deserve that, he thought.

"Go on," Candy authoritatively permitted. "I'm listening."

"I just wanted to say that…that I was wrong," Adam honorably apologized. "And I'm sorry. While I had my reasons for doubting the kid, I had no right to jump to conclusions without knowing all the facts."

"Well," Candy quipped. "That wasn't so bad, now was it?"

Adam became a little irritated and started to say something to that effect, but Candy's friendly slap on the shoulder and grin broke the tension.

"It takes two to argue. I think I put in my share. I did a lot a thinkin' on the ride to Carson City and by the time I made my way back, I realized I couldn't lay all the blame on you. I wanted to clear the air. I think we both needed to," the foreman acknowledged. His tone grew more serious when he added, "There is one thing, Adam, that I think Griff deserves to know."

"What's that?" the eldest Cartwright brother asked with intrigue.

"What on earth knocked sense into you? If you don't want to tell me, that's fine," said Candy. "But don't you think you owe it to Griff to tell him the truth?"

"You're right and I will tell him but not until he can stay awake longer than a few minutes." Adam took another look at Griff, who was in a deep, medicated sleep. The dark-haired youth's mouth hung open slightly. "Let him get his strength back."

Candy wondered what secret Adam could be hiding, but he decided to let it go for now. "Alright. Look, why don't you get some rest? I'll take over for a while."

Adam smiled tiredly and left Candy to watch over Griff, relieved that a heavy weight was lifted off his shoulders.