Chapter Two

Ben sat behind his desk with the letter he'd been handed earlier. Adam's sons, five year old Adam Jr. and his brother, three year old, Thomas, were in the living room. Adam Jr. was learning to read. Thomas sat in the middle of the room playing with some blocks. Ben could hear Adam's step-daughters, eleven year old Tabitha and nine year old, Kristine; they were upstairs. When Adam walked in the house, Ben looked up from the letter.

If his father didn't look so shaken up, Adam wouldn't have thought anything of the paper his father held in his hands. As it was, he lengthened his stride and hurried over to his father's work area. "What is it, Pa?"

Ben took a deep breath and handed the letter to Adam. "Maybe nothing," he said, as he leaned back in his chair once Adam had the paper in his hands, "maybe everything."

Adam started reading the letter. Dear Mr. Cartwright, My name is Mary Wagoner Vandervort. My husband, Fredrick, has asked me to write as I have easier time putting my words onto paper. At first it looked to simply be a letter of introduction by Mrs. Vandervort, which it was.

My husband I have been told to contact you if we wished to purchase a parcel of land that is for sale. I am told you are a wise man and would negotiate a fair deal, upon a formal introduction and a little knowledge of our backgrounds.

Only, as he continued reading, Adam felt shock waves go through him as he read:

You should know up front, Frederick Vandervort is not my husband's real name. The truth is, we do not have it, nor do we have any of his past. My husband suffered an injury ten years ago…Klaas and Christina Vandervort took him in….large man, two hundred eighty pounds, thin hair…some might say he's on the slow side; though that is not the case, he just has an appreciation for simplicity. He has a heart of gold…Therefore it is unfortunate that I cannot legally a test to his background, but references from our lawyers would guarantee our good will and honesty.

Upon reading this section of the letter, Adam sat down on a chair that sat off to the side of his father's desk; his own face paling a bit.

Seeing his father's face pale, five year old Adam Jr. put down his book, climbed off the blue chair his father used when they were staying at his grandfather's house and ran over to Adam. "Pa?" Adam Jr. put his hands on his father's knee and looked up with concerned filled eyes. "Are you okay?" When Adam said nothing, Adam Jr. turned and yelled, "MA!" That snapped Adam out of it and he laid the letter down upon Ben's desk and looked down at his son.

"I'm fine, son." Adam gave his son's hand a small squeeze. The action calmed his son down, but his wife who had been in the kitchen had still hurried out of the kitchen to see what her oldest child was yelling about. It didn't take someone with a high I.Q. to see that both her father in law and husband had had some sort of shock.

"Go play up in your room son, and tell your sisters to stay in their room until I come up." Laura Ann laid her hands upon the back of her son's shoulders and gently moved him away from his father. Adam Jr. would have argued only his grandfather's eyes still held a lot of pain in them…and he didn't know what to think about the look that once again appeared in his father's. That being the case, he hurried up the stairs and id as he was told.

Once Adam Jr. had disappeared Laura Ann turned to her husband and father in law. Before she could say anything, Adam was on his feet and standing over by the window.

"What is going on?" Laura Ann looked from her husband to her father in law; they were scaring her. She didn't like being scared.

"There's a chance that Frederick Vandervort and Hoss are the same person." Adam answered as he turned away from the window and saw his father with the letter in his hand once more, but saying nothing.

Hoss? Laura Ann felt shock waves go through her as she thought on the brother in law she'd never known, the one whom Adam had still been grieving for when they met. Those early days of their relationship had not be easy, as Adam's moods had swung back and forth quite badly only, over time, he had worked through the grief and she'd been at his side the whole time. Now they were telling her they thought the brother they'd assumed dead all these years just might be alive? "You'd best tell me the whole story." She pulled the chair that Adam had been using and sat down.

~oOo~

"Frederick!" Mary, who had been busy packing since receiving a letter from Ben Cartwright; one in which he agreed to sell them the land they'd inquired about, turned around and playfully slapped her husband of five years. He'd just walked up behind her and gently jabbed his fingers into her sides. "You're lucky I didn't swing around and hit you with my fist. You know better than that!" It was a statement that only met with laughter, as her husband wrapped his arms around her and waist and pulled her to him.

"I keep forgettin'?" Frederick laughed and then grew serious. "I never thanked ya for not arguin' bout' moving back out west." He had been so nervous when he'd approached her with the idea; he was sure she was going to fight him on it. After all, Holland, Michigan, had been her home since the day she was born. That and he thought she might just tell him he was only running away from the pain of losing the couple who had become like parents to him. They had taken him in when he'd awoke with no memory. What he was unaware of was that, due to the many conversations she'd had with Klaas before the old man had died, Mary had actually been trying to think of a way to approach her husband with the idea of moving back to Nevada when he approached her instead.

"Don't worry about it. Besides," she said as she let out a sigh, "It's not like we'll have to worry about dealing with any children as we make the move."

Frederick pulled his wife to him and held her close. He knew how badly she wanted a child as he too longed for the same thing. Only what could he do? Life had been cruel when it came to that aspect of life and had withheld that blessing from them so far. "We don't have ta have children fer me to love ya." Frederick ran his hands up her back, leaned over, and traced her cheek with his mouth. It didn't take long for him to pick Mary up and carried her into the bedroom they'd shared since they first married. The packing would just have to wait.