LOST & FOUND - PART 2
UNEXPECTED
CHAPTER 16
Adam's family and his four friends were seated around the large table in the Sage Brush the next afternoon when Adam walked in. Joe was the first to spot him and he nudged Hoss. They both watched their older brother go directly to the bar and speak to the bartender who put a shot glass down in front of him and filled it with whiskey. Adam picked it up, tossed it back, dropped some money on the bar and then came over to the table.
As soon as he sat down his father asked, "What's wrong?"
His eldest son just looked at him blankly.
"Is Thea alright?" Ben asked and Adam nodded mutely.
All the men were giving each other puzzled looks and then Nate spoke up, "I haven't seen that look on his face since he found out Thea was carrying twins." They all laughed.
Adam groaned and let his head fall forward, banging his forehead on the table. "Damn," he said and banged his forehead again.
Everyone stopped laughing. "Is your missus carryin' twins again Adam?" Hoss asked.
With his forehead still on the table he said, "No."
"Then it's one baby," Ben said.
Again, Adam said, "No."
Still not catching on, Joe said, "What is it then?"
His oldest brother raised his head and gave Joe an irritated look. "If it's not one and it's not two, then what does it have to be Joe," he said sarcastically.
Ben put his hand on Adam's shoulder, "Are you saying that Thea is carrying triplets?"
His son flinched, "Oh God, it's even worse when you say it out loud," he said then put his hands over his face and leaned back in his chair.
No one, except Ben, even tried to hold back their laughter. Adam rolled his eyes and expelled an angry breath, "This is not funny." Obviously, his friends and brothers did not agree, they were laughing so hard everyone in the room was staring. Ben was looking at his son in commiseration, but didn't say anything. Adam wouldn't have been able to hear him anyway.
When the others at the table finally quieted down Ben said to his son, "I'm sorry, but I have to do this, it's a once in a lifetime sort of occasion." He called to the bartender, "Larry, a round for the house on me."
The packed room burst out into whistles and cheers; Adam was still staring at the ceiling with a stony glare, "Damn," he said again. His brothers and friends were thoroughly enjoying his distress.
"What's the occasion Mr. Cartwright?" one enthusiastic drinker yelled. Ben glanced at Adam and said, "It seems I can expect even more grandchildren in November; triplets." Adam lowered his eyes and gave his father a dark look.
The room filled with laughter, shouted congratulations, and a few already drunk patrons rushed over to clap Adam on the back. He put up with the well-wishers, but his jaw was clenched and his eyes narrowed in ill temper.
Joe was still laughing helplessly when Adam pinned him with a glare, "Joe, this is not funny." His brother just laughed all the harder. "Yes, it is," he managed to choke out, then stood to yell to the bartender, "and after that, one more round for the house on me!" then he sat down limply, trying to get his breath.
More men were coming through the front door, drawn by the noise. All were quickly informed about the reason for the uproar and they joined the throng to celebrate. Adam was getting more furious every minute.
"I know three more is a lot at one time, but why are you so angry?" Ben said low to his oldest son.
Adam sat up and shot a glare across the table at Joe, "Because every single one of them is going to be a boy and every single one of them is going to be just like him," he gestured toward Joe, who burst out laughing again. "I already have one, now I'm going to have three more. Don't ask me how I know, I just do," Adam finished then looked at the ceiling again and said, "I'm too old for this crap." This time even Ben couldn't help laughing.
When Joe could speak he gave Adam a smart-aleck grin, "Hey Adam," he chuckled, "they know what causes that now."
Adam's eyes went wide with rage and he lunged across the table at his younger brother. Joe pushed back so hard his chair went over, but he managed to get to his feet and took off running, straight out the door with his brother in hot pursuit.
The four deputies stood and three of them dashed after the two brothers. Nate paused long enough to say to Ben, "Don't worry, we'll keep him from killing Joe," and then he ran out the door.
Ben just shook his head while Hoss put his head back and roared with laughter.
Thea came out of the new office space across the street from the Sage Brush and saw her new brother-in-law burst out the front and run down the alley beside the saloon. Her eyebrows rose when she saw her husband rush after him.
"Oh no," she said under her breath. Just as she was about to cross the street she saw Mike, Jerry, and John do the same. She was still standing there when Nate ran out. He looked at her and she pointed to the alley and he dashed away. Thea followed at a fast walk.
When she reached a fenced in area behind the saloon she saw the first three men hanging on Adam, the smallest one dangling down his back with an arm around his neck and the other two desperately holding onto his arms. Nate was in front of him with his hands up reasoning with Adam, whose entire attention was focused on Joe who was lying on the ground still laughing hysterically.
Nate saw her and came over. "He's starting to calm down, Thea; he'll have himself under control in a minute. Has he been in a bad mood a lot lately?"
"Not really," she said, "But he hasn't had anybody to fight for a long time and it's getting on his nerves."
The detective shook his head, "Well, we were talking and we're willing to spar with him for a while. We figured we'd each fight him for five minutes on a rotation. He shouldn't be able to severely hurt anyone in five minutes."
"You know, Nate, you four have to be the best friends he's ever had," she was smiling at him gratefully.
He flushed slightly pink, "We owe him," was all he said and walked over to the other three who had let go of Adam who was now helping Joe up.
"You boys ready to fight?" he said and was answered by three nods.
When the two walked back Nate said to Adam, "Would you get out of this nasty mood if the four of us fight you?"
Grinning, Adam looked at each man for a second then he said, "You are truly my friends."
"We will fight you at five-minute intervals on a rotating basis."
Adam nodded, "That's a good idea. Joe can be the timekeeper, and this fenced in area can be the ring." He cracked his knuckles and rolled his head. "Who's first?" he said, smiling in anticipation.
"Me," Nate said, "this was my idiot idea." They took off their gun belts, hung them on the fence, and then climbed through.
Thea came to stand next to Joe who pulled out his pocket watch. She put a hand on his arm to stop him from starting the fighting. "Adam," she called, "give me your wedding ring. Last time you bent it so badly we had to cut it off." He came to her, handed over his ring with a grin and a wink then went back to Nate. She turned back to Joe and handed him a whistle she had taken out of her pocket. The piercing sound when he blew it made her jump.
Adam immediately raised his fists and focused on Nate, walking around him and taking stock of the other man. Nate was the first to attack, but Adam parried his blows easily, then went on the offensive with a flurry of different punches, most of which connected. Adam kept on the offensive until Nate rushed him again. Adam stepped nimbly to the side at the last second and the other man got a face full of dirt, but scrambled to his feet and started to turn to face the attack he knew was coming. He hadn't even completely turned around when he took a fast combination of blows to the body. He sat down, hard, and the whistle blew.
John climbed in as Nate limped up to the fence and painfully pulled himself through. Thea went right to him and began to look him over.
Adam rolled his shoulders and shook out his hands as John approached cautiously. When they heard the whistle Adam immediately attacked. John managed to avoid Adam's fists by ducking and barreling forward, catching his opponent in the midsection with his shoulder. Both went down, John on top, but he immediately scrambled away before his opponent could get a hold on him. Adam rose easily to his feet and came after John, inflicting short bursts of punishment when he managed to get near him. He managed to surprise Adam once by rushing him. Being unprepared for this attack, all Adam could do was crouch down and flip the smaller man over his shoulder.
Everyone flinched when John hit the ground, hard and he lay there for a while, the wind knocked out of him. His opponent came over to help him up then backed away. He didn't move until John raised his fists, a signal he was ready to continue. Adam was still circling John when the whistle sounded.
Adam helped John over to the fence. The smaller man slipped through the opening between the two rails and Jerry climbed in. Thea began examining John while her husband came over to ask Nate how he was. Nate tried to grin, but couldn't quite manage it with his badly split lip and said a muffled "Fine."
Joe blew the whistle just then and Jerry attacked Adam from behind. When he felt the other man grab him, Adam pushed back as hard as he could to knock him down. When they hit the ground Adam swung his legs up and over then pushed up with his arms into a handstand. He landed on his feet. As soon as Adam was off him, Jerry had rolled quickly to the side and scrambled up.
Until then, Thea hadn't been aware of people coming out the back door of the saloon. They were ranging themselves around the fence and she looked up to see Ben standing on her right and Hoss on her left.
Jerry furiously forced his opponent back into the fence. Adam ducked out from under his arms and danced away backward. When Jerry turned around Adam began to launch short attacks, connecting with a few short, powerful blows then backing away. Each time, Jerry came after him only to receive the same punishment, just in different combinations. At the whistle, Jerry staggered over to where Thea was standing. Nate helped him through the fence.
Adam bent over to stretch his back as Mike climbed in. The two men grinned at each other, aware that the strategy was to save the strongest of them for last.
Ben asked Thea, "How many has he fought so far?" She sighed, "This is the fourth." Ben shook his head as his daughter-in-law asked, "I take it he wasn't this aggressive six years ago?"
"No," his father answered, "but I imagine that after what he went through he had to become aggressive to survive."
"That's true," she nodded. "He also learned what you are seeing out there sparing with professional fighters, and it's kind of become a hobby for him now." She sighed again, "His abilities are so well known in San Francisco he has a hard time finding someone willing to fight him except for Wes and Charlie."
Joe was so excited the whistle was even more piercing when he blew it this time. Thea jumped.
Adam slowly began to circle Mike, his eyes gauging the other man's fighting stance. He quickly saw that Mike was a flat-footed fighter and would be hard to knock down, so he began to make the other man come to him, trying to tire him out. But Adam stayed in one spot too long and took a massive blow from his opponent. He hit the ground hard and didn't move. Mike stood there for a moment then came over to see if Adam was all right.
Thea tugged on her father-in-law's sleeve, "I can't believe Mike is falling for that."
Mike was bent over the prone man when Adam's eyes popped open and he grabbed Mike by the front of his shirt, drew his legs up, and flipped him over his head. The ground shook when Mike hit and Adam vaulted to his feet to the crowd's applause.
"That's one of his favorite moves," Thea said to Hoss and her brother-in- law shook his head. "Adam sure has changed."
Mike was out and Adam gestured to Nate to come in. They picked Mike up and brought him over to the fence, then passed him through to John and Hoss. Mike's eyes opened as Thea bent over him, "Ma? Is that you?" he said, his unfocused eyes only seeing a female form. She laughed and gestured for the men to take him inside.
Nate nodded at Jerry and he climbed in. When Adam saw this he started to laugh, "Two this time?" Nate nodded, "We want to make sure you get this out of your system." Their opponent smiled, "I won't forget you doing this for me."
Nate rolled his eyes and Jerry shook his head when the whistle came.
The two deputies began to circle Adam until Jerry was in front and Nate was behind. They rushed him at the same time. Adam knew what they were doing and waited for the last second before launching himself into a back flip over Nate. His opponents crashed together and went down. The crowd watching roared with laughter.
Adam rushed forward and grabbed Nate, who was on top, by the back of his shirt and threw him into the fence headfirst. Jerry tried to roll away, but couldn't escape so he kicked Adam's legs out from under him. The two men rolled on the ground as Nate sat by the fence trying to shake his head clear.
Jerry was on top when Adam managed to get a powerful blow in that knocked the gray-haired man out. He pushed the unconscious man off and rolled to his feet; Nate was coming fast. He caught Adam around the waist and crashed him backward into the fence. Adam brought his fists down on Nate's back and kneed him in the stomach. The other man slid down his legs; Nate was now down and out. Adam sat down next to him to catch his breath and started laughing when Joe forgot the whistle and called "Time!"
Nate stood groggily while Adam bounced to his feet then the two of them moved over to Jerry and helped him up. The three men came over to Thea who was back in between Hoss and Ben. Adam leaned on the fence in front of her, grinned, then put a hand to the back of her head and pulled her forward for a kiss. "Thank you," he said and chuckled when she shook her head at him.
"Well, I guess that's it unless anyone else wants to come in," he said hopefully and looked around. No one offered, but then Adam's eyes fastened on Hoss. He raised his eyebrows at his brother. Hoss shook his head.
"Come on, Hoss, you won't hurt me, at least not too much. Come on," Adam said, "I'll never ask you to do it again."
Hoss looked at his father then back at his brother. "I figure you'll never leave me alone until I do." Adam nodded. "All right, then," he said grudgingly and climbed over the fence. Chatter and catcalls swept through the crowd.
Joe was about to blow the whistle when Adam called, "No, we won't be timing this one," and he smiled wickedly at Hoss.
The two men began to circle each other and Thea felt pain in her hands. She had them clenched so hard her nails were drawing blood from her palms. She let go and tried to relax, but still jumped at the sound of the two men crashing together.
Hoss somehow managed to get a hold on Adam from behind, so he let himself go limp, becoming dead weight. Hoss didn't expect that and he loosened his grip; Adam slid out of his arms, pushed himself behind Hoss through his legs and jumped on his back. He had Hoss's neck in the crook of his elbow and he began to squeeze as hard as he could. His younger brother grunted then started moving backward, fast, to slam Adam into the fence. Adam let go of Hoss's neck and used his hands on the other man's shoulders to vault over him and out of the way. Hoss stunned himself when his back crashed into the fence and Adam was right in front of him when he hit, connecting several very powerful punches. The crowd began to applaud as Adam danced away backward.
Hoss shook his head and fastened his blue eyes on Adam who had the sense to be a little afraid. In a few minutes he found himself being stalked and then Hoss managed to corner him. He braced himself for the punches he knew he wasn't going to avoid this time. But each time Hoss landed a punch Adam landed two and the bigger man began to tire.
Adam reached up and swept the back of his hand across his forehead to flick away sweat, and blood from a cut over his eye; he saw that Hoss was looking just as rough. He feinted to his left and spun around Hoss to the right, the larger man wasn't fast enough to catch him. He was backing away when Hoss rushed him. Adam knew it was now or never because he couldn't go on much longer. He waited until Hoss was closing in and launched himself, throwing his whole body into a right cross.
Everyone flinched when the punch connected. Hoss went down on his back and his brother landed next to him on his right side. The two men lay there breathing hard, for a bit, then Adam sat up. He staggered to his feet and looked down at his brother, holding his hand out to help Hoss up. Hoss stared at the hand for a moment then looked up at Adam, taking in the cuts, bruises, and abrasions, but also noting the fierce light still shining in his eyes. He sat up and took Adam's hand who pulled as hard as he could, putting his whole weight into it to help his brother up. When Hoss was standing, he kept a hard grip on his older brother's hand and looked at him without any expression. Adam grinned back impudently. The silence stretched for a few awkward moments then Hoss's face broke into a smile. He almost jerked Adam off his feet as he pulled him forward into a hard, backslapping hug. The crowd applauded, whistled, and cheered.
"Hoss," Adam grunted, "I can't breathe."
"Oh, sorry," his brother said as he let go, then threw a heavy arm across Adam's shoulders, almost knocking him down as they walked over to where the rest of the family was standing.
Thea looked at him anxiously, "Are you all right?"
Her husband grinned at her and nodded, slipping through the fence. She gasped in protest as he threw his arms around her covering her with sweat, blood, and dirt.
"Oh, thank you very much," she said, then laughed at his pleased expression. "Did you have a good time?"
"The best," he chuckled and turned to Hoss. "You are truly my brother. I appreciate what you did for me."
"Just don't ever ask me again," Hoss said.
"Not a problem, I don't think I want to."
Ben was shaking his head when Joe said, "Well, what about me?"
Adam gave him a narrow look saying, "You are a royal pain in the ass."
Joe actually looked hurt until Adam reached out and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. "But you're my royal pain of a brother and I wouldn't ever want to lose you." Joe looked mollified.
"Come on inside, I want to look you over," Thea was tugging him toward the back door of the saloon by his hand.
"All right, I'm coming, you don't have to pull my arm off," he said and the two went in.
Hoss looked at his father and shook his head, "I'm glad he stopped Pa, he almost had me."
"That's hard to believe, Hoss," his father said in surprise.
"It's true," Hoss assured him as he turned to Joe. "Now if you have any sense, Joe, you'll remember that and try not to rile him agin'."
His younger brother just grinned, and Hoss looked at his father. "Oh well, can't say I didn't try."
Joe said, "I know we were harassing him, but why did he get so mad at what I said?"
"Well, Joe, think about it. Do you know what the chances are for a woman to survive the birth of triplets?"
Joe's face paled as he answered, "No."
"They aren't all that good and I'm sure Adam knows that and is feeling guilty as well as afraid for his wife." Ben shook his head and pinned his youngest son with his dark-eyed gaze. "Your thoughtless comment definitely emphasized the guilt he was no doubt feeling."
"Oh," Joe said, feeling contrite and already starting to worry about Thea. "I think I better go apologize to him right now."
"I think that would be a good idea," his father answered so Joe rushed up to, and through, the back door.
Ben sighed, "That boy's got a good heart, but..."
Hoss nodded, "Yeah... but..."
The two exchanged a knowing look, then Hoss laughed and Ben put an arm across his shoulders. "Come on," he said as he steered his son toward the back door. "I'm buying."