Thunder Rolls
Chapter Three
Callie again stood outside the cabin while Ben was once more sleeping. Her mind wandered back to her childhood and her father's tales of the sea. Could the man she found injured be the same Ben Cartwright her father had often talked about? The Ben Cartwright who served as first mate on the same ship her father had worked on until Captain Stoddard had been forced to retire? She could hardly believe it. If she remembered it rightly, Ben Cartwright was Captain Stoddard's son in Law. As she continued to think on it, Callie couldn't help but start laughing. This small world was all just too funny to her. Only when she heard movement inside did she go back in.
Ben was sitting up on the side of the bed doing his best to get his boots back on, not easy with his one arm in a sling. She hurried over and helped him. She stepped back and asked him, "Why did you leave the sea?"
Ben was unprepared for the question. This young woman had to somewhere around Adam's age, maybe a little older how did she know about his early life? He snapped out of his thoughts. "I had a dream." Ben went on to explain about the death of his first wife Elizabeth and his subsequent journey to fulfill his dream of owning and running a ranch."How do you know about my sea days? He asked.
"My father was a shipman with Captain Stoddard while you were first mate. He would often talk about the voyages. He was not much younger than the Captain, and a little put out at first that one as young as you had gained seniority over him, but he eventually conceded that you were a good seaman." She smiled.
"Who was your father?"
Without hesitation, Callie told him who her father was. Ben's jaw hit the floor. "Brian Adams was your father?" He added only to himself, 'That old sea dog who didn't have a lick of sense when it came to women? He was your father?' Okay, so the man had a heart of gold; still, he had always been a bumbling fool around women. The fact that the man had indeed been married and had a daughter astounded Ben beyond measure and he said as much.
Callie nodded, "I'm not surprised you weren't aware of father's marriage. Mother died while I was young and when he was at sea I, my older sister and my brother stayed with an aunt. She said father seldom talked about mother as it hurt too much. Now," she looked at Ben as she nodded towards the front door at the same time and asked, "Are you up to traveling? From what you just said, your home really isn't all that far away. We could be there by nightfall."
Ben smiled. "Sure I am." He slowly stood up only to find the room spinning and Callie grabbing him before he could fall. "I think," Callie told him as she helped him over to one of the chairs that set by the table, "that we'd best spend at least one more day here in this cabin. You need more time to recover before we do any traveling. It's not like anyone is using this cabin so we can stay here." The last thing she wanted or needed was to find herself nursing a patient that had pushed himself too fast and too hard. Besides, she had plenty of dried jerky in her saddle bag…along with a good supply of bullets that could be used to hunt small game. That being the case, it's not like they'd starve to death.
Ben didn't want to spend another day away from his sons or his ranch. He laid his uninjured arm on the one in the sling as it was still hurting him quite a bit. He'd been in worse shape and still been able to travel, but the woman had a point. He needed rest, and they had a way to satisfy one's basic needs. "My sons are going to be worried." Ben fought what his head knew as he stood only to find himself having to sit right back down.
"I told you," Callie spoke firmly as she planted her hands on the table and looked at him with a firm glare, "You need rest. We will stay here until you have your strength back. Once you have that back, we can travel straight to your home and back to your sons." She saw nothing else to do and hoped, for both their sakes, this man would not argue with her. She wasn't really up to a fight at the moment.
Luckily, Ben decided that he needed to listen even if he didn't like it. He just hoped his boys wouldn't worry too much.
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Roy had just stepped outside his office when he saw the Cartwright boys riding his way. The serious looks upon their face left no doubt that something was wrong. Since Ben wasn't with them, he was going to take an educated guess and say whatever the trouble was had to do with their father. He waited in front of his door while Adam and his brothers stopped their horses in front of him.
"Hello boys." Roy smiled hoping his guess was wrong. "How are you today?" Fine and great were just two answers the lawman hoped to hear. Too bad hopes and reality are often two separate things.
Adam glanced at his brothers before answering their friend. "Pa hasn't returned from a business trip to Carson City." Adam then quickly explained where his father and Hoss had gone, why they'd gone and how come the two had headed off at separate times. "The thing is," Adam said as he finished, "Pa should have made it home before Hoss and he's still not home. He had quite a bit of money on him. We're afraid it might have something to do with him not being here."
"Yea," Hoss spoke up, "he had other business to take care of at home. I told him I didn't mind stayin on and sittin' a spell and jist visitin' knowing he was real eager ta get back ta the ranch."
Roy rubbed his chin. He never could understand why Ben would often travel with that much money. It was an open invitation to troublemakers in his book. Mentally he ran through the things he had to do that day. There was nothing that required his urgent attendance or that someone else could deal with. "Tell you what. I'll send a wire to the sheriff in Carson City; let him know to keep an eye out. After that, let's get a few men together and start searching."
"We'll head down the road to Carson City." Adam said as he turned Sport around. "We'll send a wire if we get there and haven't found him." He and his brothers then rode away leaving Roy to gather the men he needed to start his own search.