CHAPTER SEVEN

When Josie returned to her dormitory that evening, she rushed into her room, ready to burst over her news.

"Michaela! You're not going to believe this!" She cut off when she realized her roommate was sobbing face-down on her bed, her coppery hair swirled over the covers. She raced to her friend and sat on the bed next to her. She placed a tentative hand on the other girl's shoulder. "Michaela? Whatever's the matter?"

Michaela lifted her head just enough to blurt out the word "DAVID!" before she dropped her head into her arms and commenced sobbing once more.

Josie's heart dropped. She knew Michaela's fiancé, also a doctor, was joining the Army like Papa planned to, but surely he couldn't have already met with tragedy. The war was only eighteen hours old.

"What about David?" Josie shook her friend's shoulders, hoping to snap her back to her senses. "What happened? Michaela, you're frightening me."

Michaela raised her head and slowly pulled herself into a seated position next to Josie, who put an arm around her and drew her close. She handed Michaela her handkerchief, and Michaela dabbed at her eyes while she tried to catch her breath.

"I'm sorry," she hiccupped.

"It's all right." Josie smoothed Michaela's hair and brushed it off her forehead. "Whatever it is, we'll work it out. Just take a few deep breaths and tell me all about it."

"David's postponed the wedding," Michaela sniffled.

"What? Why?"

"He said it wouldn't be fair to me for us to get married and then him immediately go off to war, so he's postponing the wedding until it's over." She took a long, shuddering breath as she fought to hold back a fresh round of sobbing.

"Oh, Michaela, I'm so sorry. I suppose you can't change his mind?"

"I tried. He says the war couldn't possibly last more than ninety days, so it makes more sense to wait."

"I'm so sorry," Josie repeated. She didn't know what else she could possibly say, so she simply sat there, her arm still around her best friend.

"Anyway," Michaela changed the subject. "What's your news? It sounds exciting, and I could use a little happiness right now."

Josie felt guiltier than she ever had in her life. Michaela was already losing her fiancé for God knew how long, and now Josie had to break the news that she was leaving, too.

"Oh, it's– it's nothing, really." Michaela gave her a look that said she knew Josie was full of it. Josie sighed. "All right. My father refuses to let me return to Washington after graduation. He wanted to send me to my aunt's in Boston, but I persuaded him to let me return to the Nevada Territory with Adam." She couldn't hold back a smile. "I'm going back to the Ponderosa."

Michaela had pulled a face when Josie mentioned her aunt—she had met Rachel Stoddard and resolved to avoid the woman's end of town when she returned to Boston—but her face lit up when Josie said she would be heading home with Adam.

"Josie, that's wonderful!" Michaela's tear-stained face now glowed with excitement. "You talk so much about Nevada and your cousins, and now you get to live there with them!"

Josie was amazed that Michaela could be excited for her amidst her own sadness, and her heart broke as she realized she would soon be saying goodbye to the dearest friend she had ever had.

"I know," she said, still in disbelief over her luck. "And I'll be useful. They need more doctors out west." She caught Michaela's eye. "But I'll miss you," she whispered as a tear trickled out of her eye.

"I'll miss you, too, Josie," Michaela said, embracing her friend. "But this is the right path for you. I can feel it."

Josie smiled through her tears. She felt it, too.

Ponderosa Ranch
Nevada Territory
April 1861

Ben stepped into his oldest son's bedroom to see a pair of long, denim-clad legs sticking out from under the cherry-wood bed.

"Adam?"

The half-concealed figure jumped, smacking the underside of the bed with a yelp of pain. Adam wriggled out from under his bed dragging a slim traveling trunk behind him. Both the trunk and his black shirt were coated in a fine layer of dust. He sat up, scowling, and rubbed the rising lump on the back of his head.

"You could have knocked," he said.

"You would have jumped anyway." Adam shrugged his shoulders, and Ben continued. "Packing for your trip?"

"Seeing as how I'm leaving tomorrow, I thought it would be a good idea."

Ben smiled, but Adam had a pensive look on his face that told his father he had more on his mind than his upcoming journey. Ben pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and knelt next to his son to dust off the trunk while he waited for Adam to release the bee in his bonnet.

Adam knew Pa was onto him and decided not to beat around the bush. "There's something I need to tell you."

Ben sat on the floor next to Adam and leaned against the bed.

"There's been a lot of talk in town," Adam continued. "Now that the war's broken out, a group of men are heading east to join the Army to fight for the Union. After Josie's graduation next month, I intend to join them. I'll already be near Washington, so I can join a regiment there. I've given this a lot of thought, Pa, and as a native New Englander, I feel it's my duty." He nodded once for emphasis and waited for his father's rebuttal.

Ben was stunned speechless. He'd expected to have to talk Little Joe out of joining the war, but not Adam. Never Adam. He gave himself a moment to collect his thoughts. He'd need to appeal to logic to get through to his eldest boy.

"Adam, I understand wanting to fight for a cause you know is right, and I commend your sense of duty to your nation. But consider this: You are in a unique position to be of much greater assistance to the Union by staying here in the territory than by joining the Army back east."

"How so?"

"What will the Army need to fight this war?" Ben said. "First of all, money, and lots of it. You are overseeing mining operations that could contribute tens of thousands—possibly hundreds of thousands—of dollars to the Union war effort. Second, timber for ships and fortifications. You've been doing a spectacular job these past few years negotiating the timber contracts, and I see no reason why you couldn't negotiate a few with the Army. Finally, food. We have ten thousand head of cattle here on the Ponderosa, which we can drive to market to help feed the Army. And clothe it, too. They'll need miles of leather just for shoes! Trust me, there is plenty you can do to assist the war effort right here from the Ponderosa."

Pa's cool reasoning caught Adam off guard. He'd expected Pa to shout at him, and he had to admit his father had made some good points.

"I don't know, Pa. Thousands of other men will be giving their lives for their country. It feels cowardly to stay home."

"Thousands of other men don't have access to the resources we control here." Ben plucked a dust bunny from his son's hair. "But it's up to you, son. You can ease the burdens of those thousands of men, or you can be just another dead soldier on a battlefield far from home." He paused to let his words sink in, and then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper that he passed to Adam. "But here's something that might help you decide."

Adam looked at his father quizzically as he accepted the paper. He unfolded it and saw that it was a telegram from Uncle Jacob. His eyes grew huge as he read the short message:

"Washington unsafe STOP Hannah going to Boston STOP May I send Josie home with Adam STOP"

Adam leapt to his feet and bolted for the door.

"Where are you going?" Ben called.

"Virginia City to wire Uncle Jacob back, of course!"

Ben laughed. "You think I didn't already do that?"

"Oh. Right. I suppose you would have." Adam ran a hand through his wavy hair and began pacing the floor. "Josie gets the bedroom at the end of the hall. She loves getting the daylight, and that room has windows on two sides. Please have Hop Sing wash the windows while I'm away, and don't let Little Joe help. He always leaves terrible streaks on the glass."

"Adam-"

"Maybe we should get new curtains in that room. You should ask Mrs. Larson. She'll know what would be nice. Maybe a new bedspread, too…"

"ADAM!"

Adam stopped abruptly and looked over at his father, who was still sitting on the floor against the bed.

"Breathe, son." Ben rose and placed a hand on Adam's shoulder. "I will make sure everything is taken care of. The house will be shipshape by the time you get back with Josie. You just enjoy your trip."

Adam grinned. "I will, Pa."

"You know, it's funny," Ben mused. "Don't get me wrong, Josephine is certainly welcome here, and I'm thrilled she's coming, but I wonder why Jacob doesn't just send her to Boston with Hannah."

"Probably because he doesn't want to see Josie stand trial for the murder of one Rachel Stoddard."

"No love lost between those two, eh?"

"That's putting it mildly."

Ben chuckled, patted Adam's shoulder, and left his son to pack. As he headed toward the stairs, he broke into a wide smile. Adam had started whistling, all thoughts of joining the Army forgotten.

Adam woke before dawn the next morning and wolfed his breakfast. Hop Sing shook his head.

"You get sick, not Hop Sing fault."

"Don't you worry about my stomach," Adam said between mouthfuls of scrambled eggs. "You just worry about getting Josie's bedroom ready."

Hop Sing shot Adam an annoyed look and headed back into the kitchen, muttering Chinese words that would have been impolite in any language. He didn't need reminding to prepare Josie's bedroom. He was just as excited as the rest of the family that Josie was coming to stay. Ben had let Adam tell his brothers and Hop Sing last night that he'd be bringing Josie home with him after her graduation, and the hooting and hollering that followed the announcement nearly tore the roof off the house. Little Joe had shed a few tears of joy, but when Hoss called him out on it, he insisted he had a speck of dust in his eye.

The entire family accompanied Adam into Virginia City that morning to see him off on his stagecoach to San Francisco. Adam had never been so excited to board a stage. He'd been thrilled two years ago when he and Little Joe headed east to see Josie and her parents, but he'd known that visit would be far too brief. This time, he was bringing her home with him. While no one knew how long Josie would stay at the Ponderosa—the war would determine that—he felt confident they'd have her at least through Christmas, and he hoped there would snow. Josie had a good arm as well as a good eye, and Adam desperately wanted to see her crack Little Joe in the back of the head with a snowball.

His stage ride to San Francisco was uneventful, and Adam arrived in good spirits. Before checking into his hotel, he stopped at the telegraph office to wire his father and Josie to let them know he had arrived safely and his ship to Panama would be departing on time the next day.

San Francisco had mushroomed since the gold strike of 1848, and he wasn't surprised to find the telegraph office busy. He stepped into line and settled in to wait. As he stood there, he couldn't help overhearing bits of the conversations of the people around him.

"Virginia's seceded…"

"…say there's been a riot in Baltimore…"

"The troops can't get to Washington…"

His concern mounted, and as soon as he sent his telegrams, he dashed to the street corner to buy a newspaper from the boy he'd spotted there when he got off the stage. He stepped into the shade of a general store's awning to read the front page, which revealed that Virginia had, indeed, seceded four days earlier on April 17. Then on April 19, there was a riot in Baltimore when troops headed through the city to protect Washington had clashed with Confederate sympathizers there. Four soldiers and twelve civilians had been killed, and there was concern that this riot would prevent enough federal troops from reaching Washington, DC, in time to protect the city from the rebels. As Adam refolded the newspaper, he thought he couldn't get east soon enough.