I do NOT own Bonanza or any of the original Cartwright characters.
Star's Hope
Chapter Eight
The door to the small two bedroom home was propped open, despite the fact that the weather outside was starting to cool down. The brown haired, hazel eyed Lyndie Mitchell stood in front of the small, black cook stove her husband had hauled home the day before. He'd traded a few items he had for it. The two of them had to do that a lot, barter for what they needed that is. They weren't making much off the small ranch; in fact, if Lyndie had her way they'd have sold the place and moved into town.
From where she stood, Lyndie could see her husband lying on his bed; the bedroom door was open. She sighed. Jason was not a bad man, but he wasn't happy either. When she first met him she thought he was the kindest, gentlest man she'd ever met and, in a way, he was. It's just that he had so much heartache and grief inside, pain he'd hid from her until after they were married, that he didn't seem to know which way to go. When he dismounted and started walking towards the house, Lyndie knew right off the bat he'd been drinking.
Alcohol! How she was learning to hate it. Oh, it wasn't that Jason was a mean drunk; well, not to her anyway. He just said the dumbest things when he'd been drinking, things he didn't remember when he sobered up. He also did things that boggled her mind. She stayed because, despite the alcohol, he did manage to pay the bills and had not hit her or done anything illegal.
"W-e-lll, hel…lo th..ere…beau-ti-ful!" Jason mumbled in his sleep. Lyndie told herself he was dreaming about her; it was the only way to stay in denial about the affairs he had in the saloon. "I…tr..ied…to g..et… wo..rk in to..wn li..ke you sugg..est…ed," Jason's speech was slurred and sounded terrible. Lyndie continued cooking. "On…ly on..e h..ir..ng is the mer…mer…can..mercan..the store and B..e..n Car…wr…ight and th..dat s…quaw of h..is go th…er..e."
It was all Lyndie could do to control her own temper. She had met Brooke and admired the woman's ability to take on a readymade family, even if the boys were full grown. She'd still had to adjust to being part of the family and to raise the orphan girl she'd brought into the marriage? Lyndie knew that took a lot of love. She knew, in his state of mind, it would do no good to talk to him; still, she spoke up and said, "Her name is at least Mrs. Cartwright." She expected her husband to blow; he did.
Jason surprised her by answering, "Ca…ll her wh…at you wa…n…t! She's a h…alf…br…ee…d! It a..i..n't ri..ght!" He pounded his fist up and down on the bed. "If an…y…th..ing..sh..sh..she shou…ld be so…me..on..e's s..erv..ant!"
She went back to cooking until she heard her husband slurred speech again. Only this time what he said gave her a bad feeling. "..uke…ome…oon. He…n…eed….sq…uaw." He then slipped into a deep sleep. Her husband was planning something and it didn't sound good. Someone needed to warn the Cartwrights.
0000
Brooke was upstairs putting Star to bed when the knock came on the door. Hoss opened the door and was shocked to see Mrs. Mitchell on the other end. "I need to talk to your father." She stepped into the house.
Ben was surprised, but stood up and pointed to the couch. "Have a seat." He was surprised again when the woman shook her head, fear in her eyes.
"I can't stay. I just came to warn you." She went onto to relate what had happened when her husband came home. "Mister Cartwright, maybe I'm just over reacting, but I highly suggest you keep an eye, or have one kept, on your wife. I don't know why my husband should hate her so, not after all this time, only he does."
Ben was shocked by the revelation, not only to realize Jason's hate went that deep, but that it should be Mrs. Mitchell to warn him, along with the realization that the man had to have been intoxicated while in their barn. It was amazing he hadn't come out the front door and that he had made it home before Hoss and Little Joe. "Your husband doesn't know you're here does he?" he asked as he stood next to the couch talking with the woman. He felt like it was a stupid question; still, he asked. He wasn't surprised by the answer he received.
"No, he doesn't. He's drunk and passed out. I have to get going. I can't risk him waking up and finding me gone." She turned to leave only to find Ben's arm on her upper arm.
"If you ever need anything let one of us know. We'll be glad to help you." He and his family would too. It took a lot of courage to do what she had done. It's not like going against your own husband was easy and that's what she'd done. He prayed the woman got home before her husband woke up.
Lyndie knew it and appreciated it. Still, she'd been raised with it driven into her head that once you made your bed you slept in it. No one had forced her to marry Jason and, as long as he didn't hit her or cheat on her, she'd stand by him. "Thanks you, Mr. Cartwright." She turned and left the house.
Ben turned to see his wife standing at the top of the stairs, an unreadable expression on her face. Had she heard what Mrs. Mitchell had said? He didn't know, but he knew he had to go to her. He had to reassure her things, one way or the other, would be all right. They had to be.