Blue Spanish Eyes
We, Tauna Petit-Strawn and Ghostwriter85, do not own the copyrights to Bonanza.
Chapter Seven
Hop Sing rushed between the kitchen and dining room muttering something in Chinese as he hurried to put out a special breakfast for Adam and Rosita, who were now standing in front of the preacher they had sent for. The small, private, ceremony was a compromise between Adam and his family when it came to his marriage.
"I don't condemn common law," Ben had stated at dinner, "but I'd feel better if you two were legally wed." It was a request Rosita didn't fight as she preferred the same thing herself. Adam could have cared less; the man was just happy Rosita had found a way back.
"Thanks Reverend Sands for coming with Hoss when he met you on the road, before you left the area." Ben shook hands with the man who then left saying he had to get on his way as his business would not only take him away from Virginia City, but out of Nevada as well.
"Time to eat. Make most special meal." Hop Sing spoke as soon as the preacher was gone.
"Adam," Ben said as he looked at his son, "take your bride go hide somewhere on the ranch. Your brothers, our help, and I can take care of the work for a couple of weeks."
"You sure, Pa?" Adam asking in his old tone made Ben smile.
"I'm sure." It was only when Adam and Rosita left the house did Little Joe speak up.
"What about the town folk? Surely, they're going to attack Rosita, claim she heard about the pictures and such." Little Joe had, after his initial bad reaction, had taken a sincere liking to having Rosita as a sister and didn't like the idea of anyone hurting his brother's wife.
"Reckon Joe's right?" Instant lines turning down appeared on Hoss' face as he too had swallowed any negative feelings and felt very protective of his new sister-in-law.
"Just stand by your brother no matter what." Ben looked at his sons. "I think worrying about the people in town right now is borrowing unnecessary trouble. " Ben laid down his napkin and stood up. "Let's get to work." Truth was Adam's father had thought about the very same thing; it had been the main motivation for giving Adam and Rosita a two week honeymoon. If someone was going to attempt to create a fuss he hoped to be able to nip things in the bud before Adam or Rosita headed into town.
Giving Adam and Rosita an unplanned honeymoon had been a wise move as Ben found out upon going into town the next day. How the word of his son's marriage had gotten spread around so quickly was beyond him, but he found himself defending his son every time he turned around. And now he was doing the same to not only Dr. Martin, but to the sheriff as well seeing as how the two men were together. The whole situation would have been a bigger mess had Adam and Rosita gone to town with him instead of taking a short honeymoon.
"Look, Roy, trust me," Ben stood with his hands on his hips, "they're definitely married." He was glad Hoss had come across the traveling preacher because that way there was no one around to contradict him.
"Why did it take her so long to come out to Virginia City if that is the case?" Roy couldn't help but sense something wasn't being told to him.
"Her mother passed away and since her father had already passed on years ago she had to, being an only child, take care of legal matters." Ben repeated what Adam had told him to say when the two had come back due to forgetting a few items his son wanted to take with them on their two week honeymoon.
"She didn't have other relatives that could do it?" Roy knew he was being nosey, only he couldn't help it. Call it a side effect of being a lawman, he was used to asking questions.
"All her close kin died in a major fire." When Roy looked skeptical Ben told him the gal had had proof. "She said she knew we might doubt what they were telling us so she showed me a clipping telling about the incident."
"But why didn't they tell you before the accident?" Dr. Martin didn't know what to think.
Ben didn't like what he was about to do as he'd always been a very honest man only he couldn't see where he had any choice. He hoped the man upstairs would understand. "They planned on telling us everything when she got back; it just took her a little longer than expected and he wanted her to be here when he told us. Adam confessed last night he would have told us when the delay occurred, only he's had a dickens of a time thinking clearly. Said for the longest time the only thing he knew for sure was that he and Rosita were married, but nothing else. He also said things had just started coming back to him just a few hours before we got back to the house. My son also stated he'd decided to tell us when we were home eating lunch. Course when we got home she was there waiting for us and that's when we found out about the marriage.'" The whole family, at Rosita's suggestion, had already come up with a history for her the first night she'd been with Adam's family.
"Well, I'm glad he's not delusional." Dr. Martin smiled, "But I must confess I still think the whole things kind of crazy." Ben smiled wide and was glad the man didn't press for any further answers; Roy was a different matter. Once Dr. Martin had turned around and left, he pressed for more satisfying answers.
"What's really going on, Ben? None of that sounds like the Adam I know." Roy then pressed to see if Rosita was blackmailing them or something.
"No, Roy, she's not." Ben took his hands off his hips and crossed them over his chest. "She is who she says she is. I don't know about any extended family; they very well may be crooks, but she's not." Ben didn't mean to snap, but it had been hard enough adjusting to what Rosita had told them, and now with all the questions he'd been dealing with in town? Well, he'd simply had enough.
Since he had no reason to doubt Ben, Roy dropped the subject, but not before he said, "Just don't want to see your family hurt." Roy then watched as Ben climbed in his wagon.
"Don't worry; we know what we're doing." The silver-haired rancher softened his tone as he knew Roy hadn't meant any harm. Ben then drove out of town while Roy turned around and went back about his daily business.