Thunder Rolls

Chapter Two

Thunder could be heard rattling through the sky as lightening bounced off the reflection from the large window of the Cartwright dining room. Hoss was standing in front of the fireplace feeling rather uneasy. "What do ya mean he's not here? He left before I did! He shoulda been the first one home!" He didn't like this at all, none of them did.

"We need to get out there and start lookin' for him! I don't see why we're just sittin' here!" Little Joe jumped up and headed for the door only to be stopped by the voice of reason.

"And just what good could we accomplish at the moment? Have you looked outside lately? Are you suddenly deaf?" Adam leaned back in his father's chair, put both his hands to his chin and tapped them against the clef there, while he stared at his little brother. He knew how the kid felt, but couldn't see how going off half cocked would do any of them any good, especially their missing father.

A scowl appeared on Little Joe's face. He wanted to argue with is oldest brother only problem was…the man had the nerve to be right. Adam's words may have been the voice of reason, but over all of his twenty years, Little Joe knew enough about his oldest brother and his mannerism to recognize the depth of his concern. Yes Adam was worried and he was right; all they could do was wait until the storm was over. Maybe by that time, their pa would be home.

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Ben groaned as he turned his head and tried to open his eyes. Why could he not open them? "Lie still mister." A voice reached down into the fog that he seemed to be in as two hands were placed upon on the lower part of his arms. "You've been hurt; you need rest." The voice announced with a forthright concern.

Who was speaking to him? Where was he? He wanted answers but he couldn't open his eyes and he slipped back into unconsciousness and a dream. "Give us that money!" Two men with masks blocked his path and held their guns on him. He gave them the money and then heard the shot. Everything went black.

Ben didn't know how much time slipped by when he finally opened his eyes and saw the black sky with rain hitting a window, framed by a raggedy curtain. He let out another groan as he tried to sit up, sending a bolt of pain through his shoulder. However, he stopped when a dark haired woman who looked to be around thirty-five opened up the door and stepped inside. She wore simple gingham dress and her pitch black hair hung to her waist unrestrained. "I wouldn't try that alone," she gently chastised.

"Who are you? Where am I?" Ben asked, as the woman knelt down and helped him off the travois and onto the nearby cot. After readjusting the pillow she helped help lay back down. She then pulled the thin blanket that had been left behind up and laid it across his chest.

Then women waited until her patient settled and she could see the dizziness dissipate from his expression "Folks call me Callie,"She went back to the table and rinsed a cloth and returned to his bedside. "Don't be moving too quickly mister. You've had a nasty knock to your head. I found you wounded by the side of the road. We're in a deserted cabin. What's your name? What happened? Do you know?"

Ben went to nod, but quickly changed his mind and put his hand to his forehead as he went onto explain. As he finished, he told her, "My name is Ben Cartwright. I was heading back to my home, the Ponderosa." He closed his eyes, his shoulder and head hurting, though his shoulder felt much worse.

Callie stiffened slightly, but said nothing except for the fact that she needed to get fresh water from the well outside in spite of the rain. She disappeared back out the door leaving Ben to his thoughts.

It didn't take Ben much to figure out it was just him and Callie in the cabin. He might have wondered how she managed to get him here, and then into the cot he now sat in only the woman was approximately five feet six inches at least and, while she was by no means fat, she was quite a robust built woman who was obviously quite strong.

Ben's thoughts turned to his sons and his horse. His sons would be out looking for him, but he wondered if the men who had robbed and shot him had taken Buck or perhaps he'd run off. If the latter was the case, he hoped someone would find Buck and perhaps attempt to return him to the ranch. After all, the horse did bear the Ponderosa brand. He lay back down as it was the only way to get the throbbing head and shoulders to reduce to a dull roar.

Callie watched Ben from outside one of the windows in the cabin. The last thing she'd needed was a patient on her hands. She'd had one of those for the past five years. Her older brother had fallen ill and never truly recovered from it. Since the man had never married, it had fallen upon her to take care of him. Then after he'd passed on, she'd left New England and traveled out west. What for was something she was still trying to figure out. Though, tending to the well known Nevada rancher, Ben Cartwright, had definitely not been on her list of things to do.

"You sure know how to get in a fix don't you?" She chided herself and then went back inside. What else could she do? It was getting late and she needed to get some rest. That is, as long as Mr. Cartwright didn't develop any problems. If he did that, she'd have no choice but to stay awake and sit up with him.

OOOOO

While Callie made herself comfortable on the second cot and got some rest, Ben's sons were doing just the opposite. All three boys knew they should get as much sleep as possible as most likely, they would find themselves talking to Roy and then heading out to look for their father, by first light. The only problem was none of them could seem to relax enough to get the sleep they needed.

When Adam heard a noise downstairs, he hurried out of his bedroom hoping to find his father home. Instead he found Hoss sitting at the table eating a late night snack.

Adam would have told him that this was an insane hour to be eating, but Adam figured it wouldn't change anything. Instead he left Hoss to the comfort and distraction of his food and went and opened the front door. The rain had finally stopped and Adam needed fresh air. He made his way to the front porch and stood simply staring into the dark. "Where are you, pa?" He asked the question quietly as he did not want Hoss to hear, nor to disturb Little Joe. He was sure the boy was sleeping with his window slightly opened and his room was right above the porch. "Where are you and how are we going to find you?" Naturally, those two questions went unanswered as he turned and went back inside the house.