Chapter Eleven

Adam, Laura Ann and nine year old Kristine sat in their surrey a hundred yards away from the cabin; they could see Tabitha sitting on the porch talking with her Aunt Mary. Once again, both had their minds on the conversation they'd had with Hoss a few hours before he while his wife and Tabitha were away from the cabin.

"Exactly how much time are we talking about?" Adam looked at his brother and asked; Laura Ann's teary eyes were asking the same question.

Hoss shrugged his shoulders. "That will depend on Tabitha. Iff'n she chooses to grab the bull by the horns and deal with things, I dare say it won't be more than a week. However, if she fights it at every turn, it could be longer. The thing is Adam, iff'n she shows her temper with just her aunt and me, ten to one she'd do ten times worse to you. Iff'n she's to live in the main house, she can't be feeling sorry for herself and turnin' to all of you fer help at every challenge."

Adam looked at his wife and daughter; they'd shed a lot of tears the past two weeks. He might not have shed as many; still, he'd cried plenty. "Shall we try again?" He asked tentatively. Things had not gone well the first time they had been there. Tabitha had made the first week that she, Hoss and Mary had been at the cabin anything but pleasant, and their visit hadn't been any better.

"No!" Tabitha cried and pounded her fist into her father as he tried to embrace her after being told that, no, they hadn't come to take her home. They'd simply come to visit and see how she was doing. "I don't want to stay here! I want to go home!"

"We already talked about this." Adam forced himself to stick to the decision he and Laura Ann had made. Taking a hold of her good hand, Adam told her. "You will stay here and learn what your Uncle Hoss can teach you. We will worry about what we'll do later when that time comes." He wasn't surprised when Tabitha screamed that she hated him and then hurried to make her way to her room.

Hearing Tabitha yell that she hated him had hurt Adam, but he prayed that, given time, she would come to see it had all been for the best. When his wife did not answer, Adam again asked if they should try again, doing his best to smile for his wife and daughter's sake. Laura Ann felt like asking what he thought, but she didn't. Instead, she simply nodded her head and prayed for the best, as did Kristine.

Hoss, Mary and Tabitha all turned their heads when they heard the sound of someone approaching. Naturally, Tabitha was the first to speak. She'd been feeling pretty bad when it came to her actions the week before and desperately wanted to visit with her parents this time. "Is it my pa and ma? Is my sister and brothers with them?"

Hoss couldn't blame his niece for wanting their visitors to be her whole family only, from what he could see, that wasn't the case today. "It's your parents and sister this time, pumpkin."

Tabitha quickly stood up and, slowly, made her way off the porch. By the time she was standing on the ground, Adam was stopping the surrey and helping his wife and daughter down. "Ma? Pa?" The young girl took a step forward and started calling out the names of her family only to find her mother embracing her and Adam laying his hands upon her shoulder while Kristina stood nearby waiting; they told her that her brothers had stayed with their grandfather.

Adam looked at Hoss who gave him a look that shouted 'ask me your questions once Tabitha is somewhere else.' Adam didn't know whether that was good or bad, though he didn't demand an answer right then and there. Instead, he gave his daughter a strong embrace and then stood back up. The moment he let go of his oldest daughter Mary offered to take the girls around back and watch them while they visited. It was an offer no one turned down.

Adam and Laura Ann turned to his brother once Mary and the girls were out of sight, making sure he wasn't so loud they could hear him, as the "backyard" really wasn't all that far way. "How is she doing?"

"She's doin' okay everythin' bein' the way it is." Hoss answered as he rested his hands on his hips. "In all honesty, I reckon she'd do just at good at your home now as here." He might has well have added the word 'but', for Adam and Laura Ann both heard it anyway.

"What are you saying?" Laura Ann asked just as her husband went to ask the exact same thing.

Hoss lifted a hand up and rubbed the back of his neck before placing it back on his hip. He figured the woman, he now knew to be his sister in law, wouldn't be happy with what he had to say, and doubted Adam would like it much either. Still, truth was truth, and it needed to be said. "I don't know if her blindness will last long or not." Hoss locked his eyes on Laura Ann's, needing her to accept the truth of the words he'd say. "Only, as long as she stays blind, I really think ya should reconsider sendin' her to the school for the blind."

Hoss wasn't surprised when Laura Ann looked as if he'd pulled the rug out from her and hurried to continue on. "I have taught her as much as I can, but she needs to know she ain't the only one who has gone and lost their eyesight. Yeah, she has family here and is getting great support and comfort, only..." Hoss paused, as he glanced towards the cabin and then back at his brother and sister-in-law, "Ya got to think about her other needs, like the need to know fer herself she ain't the only one who has no sight, not just be told it…and bein' able to read those bumps they call Braille and write." He quit speaking wondering if this brother whom he was only beginning to know again would listen and what his sister in law would say and do.

Adam and Laura Ann looked at each other, each could see how hard of a time the other one was having with the idea…even if they both knew Hoss was right. "We'll talk about it later. For now, if she's doing so well, she's coming home." Adam said.

Adam then waited until his wife, who had quickly headed for the backyard after hearing her husband's words to tell Hoss what else he'd come out to the cabin for. "Little Joe and his family are home," he said, as he made his way to the porch and sat down. He looked at Hoss in order to gage his response.

Little Joe, it still sounded like a strange name to give a full grown man. Hoss frowned slightly, as he tried to get a picture of the man who was supposed to be his baby brother. The fact that nothing came didn't surprise Hoss in the least. "Does he know about me? Does he know about what happened to Tabitha?" He asked the questions, even though he felt they weren't really necessary.

"Yeah," Adam leaned back in his chair and listened to the sound of Tabitha's laughter, mingled with her sister's, aunt's and mother's that was drifting around the corner of the small cabin. "We told him. He's eager to see you again." He wasn't surprised when Hoss fidgeted and looked uncomfortable.

"What if I don't recognize him?" Hoss didn't know why he asked the question as he had recognized his father and Adam enough to know that he should know them, surely it would be the same with his other brother.

"We'll worry about that bridge when we come to it. Now," Adam said as he stood up with a twinkle in his eyes, "I'm going to see my daughter."

Moments later, Tabitha's delighted squeals could be heard as Adam picked her up and twirled her around in circles…she had loved her stepfather doing that from the moment he'd started courting her mother. Needless to say, Adam got plenty of exercise before his wife helped Tabitha get ready to go back home, after that Adam continued talking with Hoss…assuring him that, no matter what, Little Joe would be happy to see him.