Sally's days were now busy working for the Peters, however during this time, Hoss became increasingly aware of how much he missed spending time with her. A little over two weeks after she started working, the Cartwright brothers headed to town on a Saturday night. Hoss begged off going directly to the saloon in the hope of sneaking in a quick visit with Sally before it got too late. Tom Harmon spotted him walking down the boardwalk alone and followed from a distance. Since Hoss had not given the Peters notice that he would be stopping by, he asked if Sally could step out on the porch to chat. This was the first that Harmon had seen the two together in weeks. Now he knew what had happened to Sally. With a satisfied grin, Harmon turned around and headed for the Bucket of Blood.

Hoss did not keep Sally long, Mainly he just wanted to see her and know that she was doing alright. She had nothing but good things to say about the Peters and that she was happy to be busy. To Hoss it did not appear that Sally had strong feelings for him, yet he was somewhat cheered by her genuine gratitude for his help in getting her the job. He bid her goodnight and walked back to the Silver Dollar uncertain what he should think about Sally.

It would have pleased Hoss to know that he had been part of Sally's discussions with Mrs. Peters. The older woman's motherly ways frequently gave Sally opportunities to open up. It grieved Martha Peters to hear Sally relate her feelings of inadequacy and unworthiness when it came to having a husband in the future. It was obvious to Mrs. Peters that Sally had all the right qualities to be an excellent wife. One morning after the breakfast rush, the women were chatting as they prepared for the lunch crowd.

Martha stood at a work table cutting out biscuits. "Your day will come, Sally. The right man will love you for you and be able to look beyond what happened."

"I sure hope you're right, ma'am, and I could almost believe it except for the baby. What man is going to want to deal with that?" Tears pooled in Sally's eyes.

"Yes I can understand why you would feel that way. Now I'm going to say something you might find a little hard to accept, but I believe it's something you should think about."

"What's that?"

Mrs. Peters drew in a deep breath. "Have you considered giving up the baby?"

"You think I should give up my baby? Really? How could I do that? No one would want this child, not if they knew who the father was and what he was like."

"I think you might be surprised that there are a couples even around here that can't have children who would be interested in adopting a newborn baby."

"I don't know. Maybe you can't understand this, but I do love this baby. It's not his fault how he came to be. I just don't think I could give him up."

"I do understand, Sally. I'm a mother of five children. Six times I carried a little one in my womb. There's no other feeling like it in the whole world."

"Six times - so you lost one - early on or after you delivered?"

"Early - but it was still one of the saddest times of my life. So believe me when I say that I understand what I'm asking you to consider when it comes to giving up the child, but I think it could be what's best for both of you."

"How so?"

"Well for one thing, this child will be a constant reminder of the past."

"Yes, I've thought about that."

"And the other thing which might be hard to see right now is that there could be times you'll hold a grudge against this child for keeping you from having the life you always wanted. LIke you said, it isn't the baby's fault who his father is, but you still might blame him when times get tough."

"I suppose you could be right about that as much as I hope I wouldn't do that."

Mrs. Peters wiped her hands on a towel and went over to where Sally was seated at a table cutting vegetables for stew. The older woman placed her hands on the sides of Sally's shoulders and gave the girl a comforting squeeze. "You're a fine girl, Sally. You've already faced more in your young life than any girl your age ought to. You know Harold and I will do anything we can to help you. Just say the word."

Sally rose and threw her arms around Mrs. Peters and sobbed. After a few minutes, she collected herself. "You've helped me more than you know, ma'am. More than you know."

Mrs. Peters held Sally at arm's length. "Don't you think it's about time you started calling me Martha?"

Sally smiled through her tears. "Thank you, Martha. Thank you for everything."

On the Ponderosa, Adam and Hoss were checking fence and making repairs. Hoss had been uncharacteristically out of sorts of late; so Adam thought some time working together might give them a chance to talk.

When Hoss just about took his brother's head off pitching a bale of wire from the buckboard, Adam had had enough. "Hey! Watch it! You've been grouchier than an old bear who just woke up from his winter nap! What on Earth is eating at you?"

"Why should I tell ya, anythin'. You, Pa, probly even Joe, will jest tell me I'm crazy!"

"Well don't go lumping me in until I've heard the problem!"

"I'm sure yur smart enough ta figure it out without me tellin' ya!"

Hoss was accurate in his assessment. Adam was pretty certain that his brother's foul mood had something to do with Sally. However, Adam refused to let on figuring that the more Hoss talked things out the better chance there would be for him to find resolution.

"Well why don't you just spill it and not worry about how smart I am." Hoss remained silent for a moment as they got set up for making some repairs. "I'm waiting."

"Doggone you, Adam. Why do you have ta be so dang persistent!" Hoss kicked the wheel of the buckboard causing the team to jump.

"Well, for one thing I'd like to keep my head attached to my shoulders and for another I'm just plain getting tired of your attitude. This isn't like you, Hoss. Come on now. We've always been able to talk."

Hoss looked at his older brother with chagrin and spoke so softly that Adam could not make out for sure what he had said. "I want ta marry Sally."

"What was that?"

"I said I want ta marry Sally! There now, are ya happy?"

"I guess the question is why aren't you happy about that?"

"Aren't ya gonna tell me I shouldn't be thinkin' like that! Aren't ya gonna tell me marryin' her will bring us nothin' but grief!" Hoss stripped off his gloves and forcefully threw them into the back of the buckboard. He stood gripping the side panel while trembling in anger and frustration.

Adam blew out a big breath before tipping back his hat to massage his forehead while trying to determine how he should proceed with the conversation. "Look, Hoss, whatever concerns Pa, Joe, or I may have about Sally, it has nothing to do with her as a person. By everything I've seen, she is a fine young woman, but she is young and she is expecting another man's child. It would be one thing if you were planning to move to a place where no one knew either of you or the situation about the baby, but we all know you are here for the long haul. The Ponderosa is where you will always be. People are people. That means that you, Sally, and later the child will have to face gossip and slurs. There may be tough times ahead. We just want you to be happy, brother. That's all any of us want."

"Why do folks hafta be so damn hateful? Why Adam? Ain't Sally suffered enough. She lost her whole family. She cain't help what happened with that bastard Bolton. She needs someone ta love her and care for her. I wanna do that. And I kin love that baby. I know I kin."

"If any man can, I'd put my money on you, Hoss. All I ask, and I believe the same would be true for Pa and Joe , is that you search your soul and make absolutely certain that you would be marrying Sally for the right reasons. If you do that and still decide to ask Sally to marry you, I'll be one hundred percent behind your decision."

"But I have bin thinkin' on it, Adam. It's all I think 'bout of late."

"Have you discussed this with Sally?" Hoss shook his head and turned away. "Am I missing something? How can you be so certain you want to marry her if you haven't even talked to her about it?"

"She's been so dadburn busy now helpin' the Peters. It's tough ta find a good time fur us ta talk."

"Look Hoss, if Sally is on your mind as much as you say she is, don't you think it's about time to find out what she's thinking? Granted it wouldn't seem that a girl in her situation would be happy to accept your proposal, but you'll never know for sure until you ask her."

"Yeah, I know."

"How about Sunday? The Peters only serve breakfast at the cafe on Sundays. Sally should be free after church. Get Hop Sing to pack you a picnic lunch and go somewhere quiet and talk."

"Ya think?"

"Yes I think. Now let's hurry up and get this fence mended, and then I want you to get your sorry backside on your horse and get into town to make the arrangements so that the rest of us don't have to put up with your sullen attitude any longer, you hard-headed Missouri mule!"

Hoss gave his brother a toothy grin before retrieving his work gloves and throwing himself with gusto into the work at hand.