Chapter Three

Adam, unfortunately, was unable to return to town on Thursday to collect Josie's gown. The shoring in one of their mines had become unstable, and Adam spent the rest of the week at the mine drawing up plans for new supports and instructing the men on how to install them.

"It should take a couple weeks to build these properly," Adam told the mine's foreman, Jeb, on his Thursday visit up to the mine. "No one does any more mining until these supports are in place. And whatever you do, don't blast anywhere near this site. You could bring the whole thing down."

Jeb was an experienced miner and agreed wholeheartedly with everything Adam told him.

"Don't you worry, Mr. Cartwright," he said. "I'll take care of everything. That new shoring will be up before you know it."

"Thank you, Jeb," Adam replied.

As Adam walked into the house that evening, he overheard Little Joe gushing to Hoss about Virginia City's new seamstress. In Adam's absence, Little Joe had ridden into town to collect Josie's dress.

"You gotta see her, Hoss!" Joe exclaimed. "She's got this long, brown hair and the brightest green eyes you've ever seen. Cute little freckled nose, too. Prettiest gal in the territory, if you ask me."

"Can't be more than third prettiest," Hoss insisted. "Ain't no gals prettier than my Patience and our Josie."

Adam grinned as he unbuckled his gun and laid it on the sideboard. He loved seeing Hoss and Patience together. The reverend's daughter brought even more light to Hoss's naturally sunny disposition, and the joy was infectious. The two went out on buggy rides most Sunday afternoons, and Hoss had been a guest at the Lovejoys' dinner table on several occasions.

"Best part is," Joe continued, waving a hand in greeting to Adam, "Josie already invited her to the party on Saturday. Can't wait to get some dances in with her, I'll tell you that."

"I wouldn't get too excited, Joe," Adam said casually, ambling over to the settee and sitting down. "I hear she's already got a suitor."

Little Joe's face crumpled into a scowl. It seemed he was always one step behind with the ladies lately. "Who?" he demanded.

Adam shrugged. "Just some rancher," he answered as he leaned forward to scratch Pip's belly. The massive hound had rolled over onto his back the moment Adam sat down and had been looking up at him hopefully. His tail brushed back and forth across the floor, and his tongue lolled out the side of his mouth with pleasure.

Rachel emerged from her bedroom just as Adam found the spot on Pip's belly that made his right hind leg kick. The three brothers chuckled as Pip's foot thumped against a leg of the coffee table, but Rachel let out a dramatic "Good heavens!" and clutched one of the dining room chairs for support.

Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe looked over at Rachel to try to figure out what was wrong. Seeing nothing amiss, they looked back at Pip, and Adam swallowed a burst of laughter. Pip was still on his back, his hind legs splayed, leaving nothing to the imagination. Having no sense of modesty, the dog lay there in all his glory.

"Pip!" Adam chirped. "Get up, boy. Go find Josie." Pip leapt to his feet and bounded up the stairs. "Sorry about that, Aunt Rachel," he apologized.

Rachel was still clutching the chair, one hand pressed against her heart. "Benjamin must be out of his mind, letting that beast live in the house!" she huffed. She spun on her heel and stormed back into her room, slamming the door sharply behind her.

Adam glanced over his shoulder at his brothers. Little Joe had his face buried in the back of Hoss's wide shoulder, his entire body quaking with mirth. Hoss had stuffed most of his left fist into his mouth and was biting his hand so hard that tears poured from the corners of his eyes. Adam sprang from his seat, grabbed both his brothers, and dragged them through the kitchen, ignoring Hop Sing's protests regarding their invasion of his space. He didn't let go until they were outside on the side porch, where they could safely erupt in laughter.

"Did you see the look on her face?!" Adam blurted as he drew a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed at his streaming eyes.

"Poor Aunt Rachel," Hoss said as sympathetically as he could between fits of giggles. "She was downright scandalized."

"I'm not surprised," Little Joe chimed in. "That was probably the first set she ever saw!"

Adam smacked Little Joe upside the head for this crass comment even as he doubled over in fresh hysterics so strong they made his stomach hurt, and he clutched at his midsection.

Five minutes later, the brothers were still hiccupping and wiping their eyes when Hop Sing poked his head out the door and ordered them in for supper. Josie cast Adam an inquisitive look as he took his seat at the table, his face still flushed from laughing. He shook his head at her and threw all his attention into cutting his steak into tiny pieces. Josie noticed how Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe all avoided looking at Rachel during the meal, but she decided it was safer not to ask questions. Ben took one look at his sons and reached the same conclusion. After supper, Rachel retired early, claiming that they had a big day ahead of them tomorrow as they prepared for Saturday's party. Josie pulled Adam aside and tried to ferret out what was so funny, but he refused to tell her. Annoyed, Josie stormed off to bed, too, calling for Pip to come with her. Watching Pip trot up the stairs behind Josie, Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe dissolved into hilarity again.

Rachel was perfectly intolerable the next day. Immediately after breakfast, she began ordering everyone around, telling them what needed to be done to prepare for the party the following evening. When Ben and Adam tried to leave to check on the progress Jeb was making with the mine's new shoring, Rachel snagged them each by an ear and dragged them back inside.

"Rachel!" Ben protested. "We have work to do!"

"You most certainly do," Rachel retorted. "This entire house needs a good scrubbing, and we have scores of decorations to hang. Now grab that scrub brush and get to work on these floors!" She stamped her foot on the floorboards as she pointed toward a bucket and brush near the fireplace.

Ben's jaw tightened as his face cemented itself into his famous steely-eyed glare. Rachel was unperturbed. She glared right back, hands on her hips. Hannah, Josie, and the boys watched the standoff, all of them curious to see who would emerge victorious. The tension was palpable. As the seconds ticked by, Adam saw a vein begin pulsing in his father's right temple. All three Cartwright sons knew from experience what an ominous sign that was. It meant that there were only about ten seconds left before Ben lost his temper. Hoss moved quickly to intervene.

"I'll get these floors, Aunt Rachel," he said. "Pa's the only one who can ever remember where we put the silk lanterns after the last party. He'd be better used taking care of those."

Rachel broke into a wide smile. "Thank you, Hoss, darling," she cooed, placing a hand on Hoss's elbow. "You are such a dear!" She kissed his cheek and then snapped a cold gaze onto Little Joe. "Joseph!" she barked. "Help him with the floors. Adam, take this rug outside and give it a good beating."

Ben choked on a snort of disdain, and Josie giggled. She knew full well what – or rather who – her uncle wished could be taken outside for a good beating. Ben lumbered over to where Adam was moving the coffee table off of the rug so he could drag it outside.

"Here, let me help you with that," he grumbled.

"Thanks, Pa."

Ben moved in close to his eldest son and whispered in his ear. "Adam, where do we keep the silk lanterns?"

Adam tried to keep the grin from spreading across his face as he replied. "Attic. Next to the Christmas decorations."

Ben grunted in acknowledgement and helped Adam carry the heavy rug outside and drape it over one of the hitching posts. Little Joe scampered along behind them with the carpet beater, which he handed to Adam with a grand bow. Adam took it, gave Joe a light whack on the head with it, and turned reluctantly to his task.

Inside, Rachel had shooed Pip out and was now supervising Hoss's floor scrubbing. She nodded approvingly as she watched the biggest Cartwright throw his weight into the task. Josie watched the huge muscles in her cousin's shoulders shifting under his shirt as he worked, and she shook her head in amazement. She felt so small sometimes that it was amazing to think she could be related to someone so big.

When Ben and Little Joe reentered the house, Ben headed upstairs to the attic to find the silk lanterns while Joe grabbed a second scrub brush and got down on his hands and knees to help Hoss scrub the floor. Josie smiled as she remembered a day thirteen years earlier that she and Joe had spent scrubbing the floors in the old house as punishment for disobeying their fathers.

She knelt next to Joe. "Glad I don't have to help you this time," she muttered in Little Joe's ear. Joe snickered as he rolled up his shirtsleeves. Josie grabbed his right arm and ran her finger lightly down the faint scar Little Joe still bore from their childhood adventure in the oak tree. "I did a good job," she observed. "You'd never notice this scar unless you were looking for it."

Joe grinned and kissed her cheek. "You better find yourself something to do before Aunt Rachel makes you wash all the windows," he advised. He jerked his head in Rachel's direction. Josie looked over and saw her aunt eyeing the front windows critically, her lips pursed in disapproval. Josie cast about desperately for something to do, but was coming up blank when a clatter from the kitchen gave her an idea.

"I'll go help Hop Sing," she announced as she sprang to her feet.

"Yes, do that," Rachel said absently, still glaring at the windows as if each of their smudges was personally offending her.

Josie scuttled into the kitchen just as Hop Sing was turning around. He jumped in surprise, the large stockpot he was holding nearly flying out of his hands.

"Sorry," Josie apologized sheepishly.

"No, it's fine," Hop Sing said with a little laugh. "I'm just glad it's you and not Miss Stoddard."

Josie giggled. "What can I help you with?"

"Lemonade," the cook replied, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. "We have to make gallons and gallons of lemonade." He pointed to a towering pyramid of lemons perched precariously atop the small prep table in the middle of the kitchen.

Josie groaned and grabbed a knife to start slicing. Hop Sing plucked a cone-shaped juicer from a cabinet and set it next to her.

"You slice, I'll juice," he said. He paused, clearly trying to make a decision about something.

"What is it?" Josie asked, her knife poised to cleave the first lemon she had plucked from the teetering pile.

Hop Sing gave her a shy smile. "Hang on a second," he said. "I want to show you something." He grabbed a large box from the shelf under the table and scurried over to the side door. "Don't let anyone come out this way, and don't peek!" he ordered.

Josie nodded even as she furrowed her brow quizzically. Hop Sing darted outside with the box and slammed the door behind him. A couple minutes ticked by, and Josie returned to her lemon. She had two dozen lemon halves waiting to be squeezed when the door creaked open again, and Josie snapped her head up. There in the doorway stood Hop Sing decked out in Boston's finest formalwear. He was wearing a pair of striped black trousers, a matching black tailcoat, and a fine, crisp white shirt with a red-silk vest and black cravat. Josie glanced down and saw he also wore a brand-new pair of black shoes that were so brightly polished she could see her reflection staring back at her. She looked back up at Hop Sing's face and saw that he was grinning proudly.

Before she could stop herself, Josie burst out laughing.

Hop Sing's face crumbled, and his cheeks shot crimson.

"You don't like it? I thought it looked pretty sharp."

Josie felt terrible as she watched the disappointment swimming in her dear friend's black eyes.

"Oh, Hop Sing," she sputtered, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to laugh at you. It was just such a surprise! Wherever did you get that tuxedo?"

"Where do you think?" he replied. "Miss Stoddard. She wanted me to look – how did she put it? – 'properly civilized' for the party tomorrow. It's not my usual style, but I kind of like it." He brushed an imaginary crumb from the front of his vest.

"I think you look very dashing," Josie said, giving him a kind smile.

"Thank you, Dr. Cartwright," Hop Sing said, giving Josie a low bow. Josie giggled. "I better change back, though," he continued. "Miss Stoddard will have my hide if I get lemon juice all over this getup."

Josie giggled again as Hop Sing dashed outside to change back into his usual silk shirt, pants, and pillbox hat. When he reappeared a few minutes later with the tuxedo once more safely ensconced in its box, the pair of them dived into the pile of waiting lemons. They spent the rest of the morning slicing and squeezing lemons into huge pots of water. Hop Sing laughed aloud when Josie tasted their creation and instantly puckered her lips.

"I think it needs more sugar!" she squeaked. Hop Sing dumped in more sugar, and after some vigorous stirring, he and Josie declared the lemonade perfect.

After lunch, Josie plunked her hat on her head and volunteered to help Adam and Joe sweep the barnyard.

"What a ridiculous job!" Joe complained as he raked his broom viciously across the dirt. "It's dirt! We're sweeping dirt!"

"You want to go inside and help Aunt Hannah and Hoss polish the silver, you go right on ahead," Adam replied, carefully sweeping his section of the yard into neat rows. "At least we're not under scrutiny out here."

"Poor Uncle Ben," Josie said, shaking her head. Ben had managed to hide in the attic all morning pretending to search for the silk lanterns, but after lunch, Rachel had roped him into ironing all of the curtains. Little Joe had peeked in the front window and spotted Ben hunched over the ironing board. Rachel was peering over his shoulder, glaring at his work and jabbing one long, bony finger at places Ben had missed.

Josie twirled around with her broom, brushing swirls in the dirt as she told Adam and Little Joe about Hop Sing's tuxedo.

"You should see him, Adam!" she exclaimed as her final spin slowed to a dizzy stop. "He looks just like Aunt Rachel's butler! Well, except that he's Chinese."

Adam and Joe chuckled at the image.

"What is her butler's name anyway?" Little Joe asked. "I've only ever heard her call him 'Butler.'"

Josie and Adam stared at each other for several seconds.

"You know something?" Adam said. "I have no idea!"

"Me, either!" Josie giggled. "That's terrible! I really should know. He's been working for her for twenty years."

"Odd, though, isn't it?" Adam asked. "Usually employers call their butlers by their last names, not by their job title."

"His name's 'Butler,'" Hoss piped up from the porch. Adam, Josie, and Little Joe all jumped. They hadn't heard Hoss come outside. The big man stepped over a dozing Pip and draped a few freshly washed polishing rags over the porch rail to dry.

"No, Hoss," Adam corrected, "that's his job title."

"No, it's his name," Hoss insisted. "His name's 'Edward Butler.' Kinda funny, ain't it? His name's Butler and he's a butler."

"Suppose it would be like a Cartwright being a cartwright," Joe mused.

Josie wrinkled her nose. "I'm glad we're ranchers."

"And doctors," Adam said, tipping Josie's hat brim over her eyes. She giggled and recommenced sweeping.

After a few more minutes, Josie and Little Joe grew bored with their pointless sweeping and started drawing pictures in the dirt with their brooms. Joe snuck up behind Adam and drew a giant pig right across his older brother's meticulously straight lines. Adam sighed in exasperation and brushed a puff of dirt onto his brother's pants.

"You were right," Adam said, throwing his broom to the ground with a clatter. "This is a ridiculous job. Let's go hide so Aunt Rachel can't give us something else to do."

Josie and Little Joe grinned and dropped their brooms. Josie laughed with delight as Little Joe swung her onto his back. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and held on as Joe trotted out of the barnyard after Adam with Pip following closely behind. Ten minutes later, the four of them were lying under a draping willow tree on the edge of the duck pond. Little Joe had pulled off his boots and socks and was dandling his toes in the cool water, jumping every so often when a minnow nibbled at one of his toes. Josie used his stomach as a pillow and laughed every time one of Little Joe's hops made her head bounce. Adam dropped his hat over his face and dozed off, his right hand resting on Pip's shaggy head. By the time they finally returned home just before supper, Ben and Hoss had finished ironing, polishing, dusting, sweeping, and scrubbing. Rubbing the bags under his eyes, Ben glared at his well-rested sons and niece as they strolled into the house and headed upstairs to wash up. Rachel tried unsuccessfully to block Pip from entering the clean house, but the wolfhound shoved right past her and followed Josie up the stairs.

Dinner was a quiet affair as Adam, Little Joe, and Josie dodged questions about what they had worked on that afternoon. They avoided looking at one another, knowing that eye contact would make them break into incriminating laughter. Somehow they made it through the meal, and they were all relieved when Aunt Rachel ordered everyone to bed. Even though the party was not set to begin until six o'clock the next evening, she insisted they all retire early.

"You heard the lady, Josie!" Little Joe called out, swinging Josie onto his back once more. "Let's go!"

Josie was laughing so hard that Little Joe had borne her halfway up the stairs before she could remind him that he was still sleeping in the bunkhouse.

"Oh, right," Little Joe said. He turned around and saw Adam standing two steps below them. "Here you go, Older Brother!" he hollered as he swung Josie around to his front and tossed her to Adam. Josie screamed with laughter as she flew through the air from cousin to cousin. Adam caught her neatly, swung her onto his own back, and charged up the stairs. Little Joe jumped over the last four steps and landed lightly on the ground floor, where he kissed Rachel's and Hannah's cheeks, gave Hoss a big bear hug, and then pulled a straight face and solemnly shook his father's hand before darting out of the house and over to the bunkhouse for bed.

Hannah was in stitches by this point, but Rachel shook her head in displeasure.

"What has gotten into the three of them?" she asked. "I certainly hope they work it out before the party tomorrow."

"Oh, dry up, Rachel," Hannah ordered, still laughing. She kissed Ben and Hoss goodnight and headed up the stairs herself, leaving Rachel standing in the living room, her hands glued indignantly to her hips.

Adam smiled when he peeked out his bedroom window the next morning. The sun was just stretching up over the horizon, casting pink and orange rays across the cloudless sky.

"Perfect," he sighed. Good weather would allow the party to take place outdoors, which meant that Adam and his brothers would not have to move the furniture to the perimeter of the living room like they always did for the Christmas party. Even with Hoss's help, that settee was heavy.

Adam rolled out of bed and stretched, his long fingers nearly brushing the ceiling. He pulled off his nightshirt and shivered as the cool morning air hit his bare chest. The days were getting hot now, but the mornings were still chilly, so Adam hurried to pull on his jeans and a clean black shirt.

Adam grinned at his reflection as he peered into his mirror and combed his hair; he was looking forward to seeing Molly again. And, if he were honest with himself, he was also looking forward to watching his father dodge Widow Hawkins all evening. Yes, Adam thought, this would be a good day. He skipped his usual morning shave, opting to save it for an hour or so before the party, just in case a certain young Irishwoman got close enough to notice. He smiled at his reflection one more time before leaving his room to head downstairs for breakfast.

Adam stepped into the hallway only to be stopped by Little Joe, who was leaning against the doorway to his own bedroom.

"I wouldn't," Joe said, grabbing his older brother's arm.

"What do you mean 'I wouldn't'?"

Little Joe pointed over his shoulder toward the staircase. "Right now, this is Yorktown, Bunker Hill, and Valley Forge all rolled into one."

That's when Adam heard the shouting.

"I will NOT have that savage beast running rampant through our party and ruining it!" Rachel bellowed.

"Aunt Rachel's winning," Little Joe told Adam.

"Forget it!" Josie screeched back. "I'll wear that stupid gown and let you put my hair up in ringlets, but I will NOT tie my dog up in the barn! And he's NOT a savage beast! He's a civilized animal, and a hero, too. He saved Uncle Ben's life this winter."

"I wouldn't count Josie out yet," Adam countered. He and Little Joe grinned at one another and crept down the hall so they could watch the argument unfold. When they neared the stairs, Adam beckoned to Joe to drop to the floor, and the brothers belly-crawled to the edge of the top step and peered around the corner so they could see the show without being spotted themselves. A loud creak from the floorboard outside Adam's room signaled the arrival of Hoss, who dropped to the floor, too, and wedged himself between his brothers.

"What're we watchin'?" he asked.

"Josie and Aunt Rachel," Little Joe whispered. "They're really havin' it out."

The three of them watched as Josie and Rachel stared each other down, both their faces scarlet with rage. Hannah was standing nearby with one hand outstretched, though the brothers could not tell whom she was attempting to calm. Ben was in the dining room slouched down in his chair at the head of the table, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. When Josie mentioned his name, Ben sank so low that his sons were certain he was about to slide underneath the table next to Pip, who was already cowering there.

Rachel took one step closer to Josie and lowered her voice menacingly.

"I would not care if he had saved President Abraham Lincoln himself!" she seethed. "That animal will NOT be present at our party, and that is final!"

Rachel failed to intimidate her niece. Josie, too, took a step closer and drew herself up to her full height. She was not particularly tall, but she stood a couple inches above Rachel and used her height to glare down at her aunt.

"She's furious," Adam observed, shaking his head. Even from this distance he could see Josie shaking with rage.

Josie drew in a deep breath to settle herself so her next statement would be perfectly clear.

"That isn't your decision," Josie said coolly, almost too quietly for her cousins to hear. "This is not your house, this is not your ranch, and this is not your party. Uncle Ben and Adam began planning this party before we ever knew you were coming to Nevada. I believe this is their decision."

Adam winced when Josie mentioned his name. He did not want to be involved in this argument. Fortunately, Rachel wheeled around to glare at Ben, who was now trying to nudge Pip out of the way with his foot to clear more space under the table. As soon as he felt Rachel's piercing stare, Ben snapped up straight in his chair. Josie was casting him a pleading gaze, and Hannah was on the verge of tears. Ben sighed and heaved himself from his chair, looking just like a man entering a den of hungry lions. Rather than approaching either of the angry women, however, he went over to Hannah and put his arm around her shoulders.

"All right, ladies," Ben began. "Let's just calm down."

At the top of the stairs, all three brothers cringed. Fewer actions were more dangerous than telling Josie to calm down when her blood was up.

"Calm down?!" Josie shrieked. "Uncle Ben! This woman has invaded our home, ordered us around like we were her servants, forced us to spend time with the most irritating woman Great Britain has ever produced, and now she has the audacity to tell us who is and is not invited to our own party! No, I will not calm down!"

Ben bristled at Josie's disrespectful tone, but before he could respond, Rachel thrust herself into Josie's face.

"How DARE you!" she snarled. "How dare you speak to me that way? After everything I have done for you!"

"Everything you've done for me?!" Josie cackled. "What have you ever done for me besides insinuate that I'm a disgrace to the family? In fact, what have you ever done for anyone in this family besides hurt their feelings? All you do is make snide comments and blame everyone for things that aren't their fault.

"Do you want to know why I came out here instead of going to Boston? Because of YOU! Because of the way you've told me since I was a little girl that I'm not ladylike enough, I'm not refined enough, I'm just not enough for you. But you know what I've discovered? I'm more than enough here. Right here, right in the 'savage wilderness' of the Nevada Territory, I am more than enough. I have a medical practice full of patients who trust and respect me, I have friends, I have a beau, and most importantly, I have Uncle Ben and Adam and Hoss and Joe. What do you have? Nothing but a big, empty house and a head full of sad memories. Well, I hope you enjoy them, because that's all you'll ever have. When this war is over, I'm not coming back. I'm staying right here."

Rachel looked like she had just been slapped. A silence fell over the room as Josie caught her breath and Hannah and Ben tried to figure out what to say. Hannah was not shocked by Josie's admission; after the carriage ride home the day Hannah and Rachel had arrived in Virginia City, Josie had privately confessed to her that she would not return to the East after the war. Hannah had long suspected that Josie would want to stay in Nevada with her uncle and cousins, especially once Simon entered the picture. She did wish Josie had chosen a more tactful way to announce this decision to Rachel, but she could not blame her daughter for losing her temper. She herself had once shoved Rachel against a wall for hurting Adam's feelings, and if Josie had not taken matters into her own hands, Hannah might have repeated the performance just now.

"Well, I guess that takes care of telling Aunt Rachel Josie ain't leavin' the Ponderosa," Hoss observed.

"I don't get it," Little Joe said. "What's the big deal with shutting Pip in the barn during the party? If we give him a bone, he won't care."

"This isn't about Pip," Adam replied. When Little Joe raised an eyebrow at him, Adam continued. "Josie's right. Aunt Rachel has never tried to hide her contempt for her. Aunt Rachel rejecting Pip is just one more way she's rejected Josie. I don't blame Josie for being upset."

"Why doesn't she like Josie?" Little Joe inquired. "You'd think she'd love her seeing how much she looks like your ma and all."

"I don't know," Adam admitted. "Maybe it's the Cartwright personality that irks her."

"Or maybe the resemblance is too much," Hoss suggested. "It is a little spooky. You shoulda seen the funny look Pa got on his face when Josie first stepped off that stagecoach two years ago. Looked like he'd seen a ghost."

Adam shrugged, but Joe sat up and leaned against the wall, looking thoughtful.

"Let's make a pact, us three, right now, that we'll always be kind to each other's children," Joe said. "No matter who they look like."

Adam and Hoss grinned. "Agreed," they said in unison.

Adam could not fathom ever being unkind to either of his brothers' children. "Maybe if one of them acted just like Little Joe," he thought impishly, then shook the idea from his mind. He glanced at each of his brothers and knew that he would walk straight through Hell itself for their children, as he knew they would do for his.

The brothers returned their attention to the first floor where Ben had finally gained control of the situation.

"All right, here's what's going to happen," Ben announced. "Pip has been a part of our parties ever since he was a puppy, and tonight will be no different." Josie nearly cheered, but Ben shot her his warning look. "However," he continued, "Pip will stay outside in the yard; he will not come into the house. Agreed?"

This was good enough for Josie. With the weather they were having today, no one would want to be inside the house anyway. "Agreed," she chirped, smirking smugly at her aunt.

"Agreed," Rachel whispered. She had not lost her shocked expression and continued to stare at Josie.

"Then it's settled," Ben said. "And as far as I'm concerned, this whole discussion is over. Now, let's just sit down and eat our breakfast." His arm still around Hannah's shoulders, Ben guided Hannah over to the table and pulled out her chair for her.

Rachel and Josie, however, stayed put in the middle of the living room and stared at one another, Josie's eyes still blazing with anger and Rachel's softening with regret. She reached a hand out toward her niece in supplication.

"Josephine, I-"

"Save it," Josie snapped, resisting the urge to slap her aunt's hand away. "I'm not interested in false apologies." She spun on her heel and stormed up the stairs. Pip leapt from his spot under the table and followed his mistress.

At the top of the staircase, Adam, Hoss, and Joe jumped to their feet and dived into their bedrooms so no one would know they had been eavesdropping. Not that Josie would have noticed. She was so intent on reaching her bedroom that she could have walked right across her cousins' prone bodies and not realized it.

Josie stalked down the hallway and into her bedroom. As soon as she slammed the door behind Pip, she threw herself face-down on her bed, plunged her face into her thickest pillow, and screamed into it at the top of her lungs.

Adam heard the muffled shriek through their shared wall. He counted slowly to twenty to give Josie a moment to collect herself before he slipped over to her room. He met Joe and Hoss in the hall and waved them toward the stairs, indicating that they should go eat breakfast as if nothing had happened. Adam raised a hand and rapped on Josie's door.

"Go away!"

Adam smiled to himself and opened Josie's door a crack. "You know," he said, poking his head into her bedroom, "that's the second time in as many months you've told me to go away. You keep it up, I just might take it personally."

"Oh, sorry, Adam," Josie mumbled, her face still pressed into her pillow. "Thought you were the Shrew."

"Harsh, but good literary allusion." Adam was pleased that Josie remembered her Shakespeare. During Adam's second summer in college, one of the theaters in Washington had put on several of Shakespeare's plays, and Adam had taken Josie to see every single one. She was only eight years old at the time, but she impressed Adam with her comprehension of the plays. She then further impressed and amused him by speaking in nothing but iambic pentameter for a solid week.

Adam stepped all the way into Josie's bedroom and closed the door gently behind him. Josie did not even look up at him, so Adam sat down on the edge of her bed and laid a comforting hand on her back.

Josie inhaled deeply and let out the breath in a loud huff. "I'll apologize to Aunt Rachel later," she grumbled.

"I didn't come in here to tell you to apologize. I just wanted to see if you were all right."

Josie rolled over onto her back and gazed up at Adam. "Yeah, I'm all right," she said, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I've been so on edge ever since she and Mama arrived. When she ordered me to tie Pip up during the party, I just lost my head."

Adam smiled at her. "No one blames you for losing your temper. Happens to the best of us around Aunt Rachel."

The corners of Josie's mouth twitched upward. "Yeah," she agreed, "but at least I had the good sense not to run out into a snowstorm."

"Never gonna let me live that down, are you?" Adam rejoined, jabbing Josie in the ribs.

"Nope." She giggled and sat up, pulling her legs up close to her body and resting her chin on her knees. She sighed and cast her eyes up at her cousin. "At least I'd already told Mama I'm not leaving. It would have been terrible if she had found out like this."

"Yeah, it would have been," Adam agreed. "I doubt you surprised her when you told her. She had to have guessed by now."

"She did," Josie said, and then she smiled up at Adam. "You know, when I was little, whenever I would get upset with her or Papa, I would tell them I was going to run away to the Ponderosa."

"That's funny," Adam said with a chuckle, "because whenever I'd get mad at Pa, I'd threaten to run away to Boston or Washington."

"And then you met Aunt Rachel and crossed Boston off your list."

"I never even thought about her when I was a child," Adam confessed. "Grandfather Stoddard was always the first person who came to mind. He used to write us letters all the time, and I thought it would be a grand adventure to go to Boston and help run his business."

"He used to tell me about you," Josie remarked. "Every time I saw him, he always had a new letter from you or Uncle Ben, and he'd tell me stories about my brave cousin Adam and how he was taming the frontier. Single-handedly taming the frontier, to hear him tell it." She smiled at the memories.

Adam straightened up at this bit of information. "Do you remember him well?" he asked eagerly. Adam had no memories of his maternal grandfather; after Ben took Adam west as an infant, the two of them never saw Abel Stoddard in person again. The old sea captain had died less than a year before Adam arrived in Massachusetts for college, and Adam regretted not getting to know him.

"Bits and pieces," Josie said, stretching out her legs. "Mostly his stories about you. Though in retrospect, I am pretty certain he made most of those up. You didn't kill a mountain lion with your bare hands at the age of twelve, did you?"

Adam's laugh resonated through the house. "No," he admitted, still laughing. "Though I'm touched he thought so highly of me."

"So I'm guessing you didn't swim the whole twenty-two mile length of Lake Tahoe, then, either."

"Oh no, that one's true," Adam said as he tried – and failed – to keep a straight face.

The cousins dissolved into laughter, and Adam pulled Josie to him and put his arm around her shoulders. As her laughter faded, Josie rested her head against Adam's chest and listened to the familiar and comforting thump of his heart.

"Thanks," she whispered.

"For what?"

"Cheering me up."

"It was my pleasure." Adam planted a kiss on the top of her head and stood up. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving. How about I go downstairs and make us up a tray? We can eat breakfast up here. I'll tell everyone you have a headache and don't feel like coming down."

"Adam, you're a lifesaver."

He smiled at her and treaded downstairs to fetch them some breakfast. When he reached the dining room, Adam was pleased to observe that the addition of Hoss and Little Joe had lent some normalcy and levity to the morning meal, and Ben, Hannah, and Rachel's spirits were greatly improved. He muttered his line about Josie's headache and filled two plates with pancakes and bacon. Placing these on a tray with a small pot of coffee and two cups, he carried it all upstairs to Josie's bedroom.

Josie had thrown open her windows to let in the fresh air and sunshine, and she and Adam enjoyed a quiet breakfast together. As they ate, Josie considered how if she were eating with Hoss or Joe, or even Ben, the silence would be awkward, and they would feel compelled to fill it with banal chatter about the weather or the ranch. But being able to enjoy each other's silent company was one of the things she loved best about Adam. The two of them could pass an entire day together without uttering more than one or two sentences and still feel it was a day well spent.

Adam caught Josie staring thoughtfully at him and was about to offer her a penny for her thoughts, but he, too, was enjoying the cheerful silence and opted not to break it. Instead, he grinned at her and refilled her coffee cup.

When they finished eating, Adam gathered up the dishes and told Josie just to hide out in her bedroom for the morning. "By lunchtime, no one will remember you and Aunt Rachel ever quarreled," he assured her.

Josie was more than happy to oblige and flopped down on her bed with yet another of Adam's Wilkie Collins novels. He smiled at her and carried their tray out of the room.