Chapter Seven

In the following days, as Josie and Little Joe recovered from their shipwreck, Ben, Adam, Hoss, Hop Sing, a dozen hands, and several thousand Ponderosa cattle rolled into San Francisco. It had been a long, hot, laborious drive, and all the men were glad to finally arrive in the city.

"I'll tell you what, Pa," Hoss said as he slid, exhausted, from Chubb's saddle and wiped his brow. "We gotta pick a more hospitable time of year to do these drives."

"That's a good idea, son," Ben said as he dismounted a lathered-up Buck. "When we get home, you ride out and talk to our reserved cattle about it. I'm sure they'll be happy to adjust their breeding schedule to accommodate you."

The bone-weary Cartwrights wasted no time making their way to the cattle buyer and relieving themselves of their bovine burden. Ben was pleased with the price they got for their livestock and gave Hoss and Adam their shares of the take. Hoss seemed unusually eager to dart off into town to spend his money, but Adam persuaded him to come to the hotel for a bath and a meal instead.

"I've got some shopping to do, too, but we've got three days in town," Adam reasoned. "Let's just wire Josie and let her know we got here all right, and then spend the evening relaxing. We'll have a better time shopping tomorrow when we're rested."

Hoss pulled a face but agreed. "First thing tomorrow, though. You promise, Adam?"

"Sure, sure."

Reluctantly, Hoss followed his father and older brother toward the telegraph office.

That night, after a hearty supper and relaxing baths, the brothers lay stretched out in their beds in their shared hotel room. They could easily afford separate rooms, but life on a ranch as large as the Ponderosa didn't leave any of the Cartwrights with a lot of one-on-one time with each other, and the brothers liked to take advantage of whatever opportunities came their way.

"I'm thinkin' about skippin' breakfast in the mornin'," Hoss confessed quietly.

Adam jumped so hard that he nearly fell out of bed. "What?! Are you feeling ok?"

Hoss chuckled. "Yeah, I'm feelin' fine. Better than fine, actually. Just want to get an early start on my shopping, that's all."

Adam stared up at the dark ceiling in confusion. "What in the world could possibly have you so excited about shopping, Hoss? There a new bonnet you're just dying to have?"

"Oh, shut your head, Adam."

"Come on, you can tell me."

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"Of course I won't laugh! I'm not Joe."

Hoss chuckled again and then drew in a deep breath. "I'm buyin' an engagement ring for Patience," he spit out all in a rush.

This time, Adam really did fall out of bed. He hit the floor with a loud "THUD!"

"Adam!" Hoss cried, springing out of bed to pick up his brother. He grabbed his brother's arm and hauled him back onto his bed. "Are you ok?"

"Am I ok?!" Adam grabbed Hoss's right hand with his and pumped it vigorously. "Hoss, this is wonderful! Have you told Pa?"

Hoss was grateful the dark room hid how brightly he was blushing. "Naw," he drawled. "I ain't told anybody yet, 'cept you. Well, and Reverend Lovejoy. Wasn't gonna buy a ring without gettin' his blessing first."

"Have you and Patience been talking about getting married?"

"She's dropped a few hints, but I ain't said anything official to her yet. I was waitin' until I had the ring."

"Are you sure she'll say yes?"

Even in the dark room, Adam could see the horror cross his brother's face, and he immediately wished he hadn't teased him with this cute line.

"Oh, Hoss. Hoss, I'm sorry. I was just joking. I'm sure she'll say yes." Adam sputtered a few times more before Hoss shushed him.

"S'alright, Adam. I know you didn't mean nothin' by it. Let's just go to bed."

Adam nodded in agreement and turned to tuck himself back in, but Hoss grabbed his arm and gripped it so tightly Adam thought he would leave a bruise. "Don't say anythin' to Pa in the morning, you hear? I don't want anybody knowin' about this until Patience says yes."

"I won't breathe a word," Adam swore. Hoss released him, and the brothers returned silently to their beds.

Hoss was soon snoring away, but Adam lay awake for quite some time, grinning from ear-to-ear.

Adam woke shortly before dawn to the sound of Hoss stumbling around their room as he got dressed.

"Shops aren't even open yet, Hoss," he groaned as he rolled over onto one side and pressed his pillow over his head in a vain attempt to block out Hoss's one-man symphony.

"Changed my mind about skippin' breakfast," the big man replied as he plunked noisily onto his bed to pull on his boots. He held up his left boot and examined it thoughtfully for a few seconds before leaning forward and yanking Adam's covers off of him. He cracked Adam across his nightshirt-clad behind with his boot. Adam yelped and leapt out of bed, one hand massaging his sore rear end.

"What was that for?!"

"Tryin' to be clever last night. And since you're up now, you may as well come down to breakfast with me."

Adam scowled – he'd intended to treat himself to a bit of a lie-in – but it was clear that Hoss wouldn't allow it, so he shuffled to the other side of the room and yanked on his jeans. After buttoning his shirt and pulling on his own boots – resisting the urge to throw one at his younger brother's giant head – Adam toddled blearily after Hoss as the big man led the way to the hotel's dining room.

When Ben came down to the dining room thirty minutes later, he was surprised to find his sons already finishing their breakfast.

"Good morning, boys! Didn't expect to see you up this early."

Adam leaned back in his chair and crossed one ankle across the opposite knee. "Well, you know how it is, Pa. That cattle drive money is just burnin' holes in our pockets."

Ben raised an eyebrow. Adam was judicious with his money; it was unlike him to spend it as soon as it came in. He suspected the real eager beaver was Hoss. Ben looked over at his large, blond son and bit back a smile. He had an inkling what Hoss might be so itchy to spend his money on, and he fiercely hoped he was right.

Hoss and Adam rose, and Adam offered Ben his chair. "Sorry to rush out on you, Pa, but San Francisco awaits."

Ben sat down in Adam's vacated seat. "You two just be sure to stay out of trouble," he warned. "This family's already had its share of that this year!" The three Cartwright men had no idea that Josie and Little Joe had recently added to that tally, but Hoss and Adam agreed with their father all the same.

"We'll be fine, Pa," Adam assured him. "Just shopping. We'll keep well clear of the Barbary Coast."

"See that you do."

Hoss and Adam turned to leave, but Ben grabbed Adam's arm and held him back while Hoss scurried out the door, unaware that Adam was no longer behind him. "Adam," Ben muttered. "Help him pick out a pretty one."

Adam merely raised an eyebrow. "A pretty what, Pa?" A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, and Adam had to wrench free of his father's grip and scuttle after Hoss before he blurted out his younger brother's secret. Not that it was much of a secret. Ben, apparently, had cottoned on some time ago, and Adam felt a little guilty that he'd been so preoccupied with courting Molly and comforting Josie – "his ladies," as he was beginning to think of them – that he hadn't noticed what was happening with Hoss and Patience practically right under his nose. But he reminded himself that he was here now, and he could help his younger brother select the perfect ring. "This will be fun," he thought to himself as he burst through the hotel door and out into the warm morning sunshine onto the bustling streets of San Francisco.

It was not fun.

The brothers visited three jewelry shops in the first hour and a half, and Hoss was displeased with the selection at all of them. "They just ain't right, Adam!" he'd exclaim while looking at the displays of rings. Hoss shot down every suggestion Adam made, and when Adam asked him to describe his ideal ring, Hoss threw his hands up in frustration and shouted "I don't know, but these ain't it!" Adam spent a lot of time that morning apologizing to the jewelers of San Francisco.

Finally, in the early afternoon, they tumbled into their sixth and final shop of the day. Adam knew it was their final shop because it was the only jeweler in San Francisco they had not yet visited. His stomach protesting at having missed lunch, Adam glowered as he watched Hoss peer intently at the engagement rings. It was a tiny, dingy shop, and Adam didn't expect they would have any luck there, either. In an attempt to distract himself from his mounting irritation, Adam wandered to the side of the shop opposite Hoss, glanced down into a case boasting a half a dozen necklaces, and gasped.

"This is it, Adam!" Hoss shouted excitedly from the other side of the shop. "It's perfect!"

"It sure is," Adam muttered, still gazing down at the necklaces. There in the very front of the case was a beautiful white-gold and diamond necklace. It was a series of white-gold daisies linked together, each with a small diamond in its center. At its center were two white-gold leaves connected to two larger diamond-encrusted daisies. From these hung a small pendant, also encrusted with diamonds, in the shape of a star. It was the most stunning piece of jewelry Adam had ever seen.

But before Adam could beckon for the salesman, a short, weedy man who looked like he didn't get outdoors very often, Hoss grabbed his arm and yanked him over to the rings. He jabbed one meaty finger at a delicate rose-gold band with a single diamond at its center.

"Ain't it pretty, Adam?" Hoss asked, his eyes shining. "It's just perfect! Patience loves pink."

Adam grinned at his brother and examined the ring. It was quite pretty, but not ostentatious – just right for a modest young lady from Virginia City. Adam looked back up at Hoss. "I think you better buy it before someone else does."

Hoss looked nervously over his shoulder as if another customer might be coming up right behind to snatch away his perfect ring. Seeing no one, he turned back to the salesman and asked him to box up the ring.

While they waited for the jeweler to package the ring, Adam led Hoss over to the necklaces and showed him the one that had caught his eye.

"Now that's downright beautiful," Hoss agreed. "Would look real pretty on Molly." He gave Adam a sly grin.

Adam barked out a surprised laugh. "Oh dear, I hadn't even thought of Molly. I was thinking of Josie. I owe her for helping me out this spring." Adam had thought he'd get Josie a few bars of perfumed soap as a thank-you for helping him connect with Molly during Rachel's visit, but this necklace had swept all thoughts of toiletries from his mind.

"You should get it for her," Hoss encouraged him. "Imagine how beautiful all those diamonds will look against that black hair of hers." He paused. "Besides, I think she deserves to get a nice piece of jewelry from a man who will always love her."

"I hadn't thought of that, either," Adam replied. It suddenly occurred to him that he was once again in the same city as Simon Croft, and the young man would probably be easy to find if Adam took a notion to seek him out and give him a good thrashing. He wished he hadn't promised Ben they would stay out of trouble. Adam returned his attention to the necklace case. "It would make a pretty spectacular birthday gift," he mused. Then his face lit up. "And I could give it to her when we go to Sacramento for her birthday! We could go out for a fancy dinner, just so she could wear it."

"Now you're usin' your head, Older Brother," Hoss said, slapping Adam on the back.

The jeweler returned just then and handed Hoss a small box wrapped in discrete brown paper. Hoss traded him for a wad of bills.

"See something you like, sir?" the jeweler asked Adam with a friendly, hopeful smile. He didn't typically pay much mind to the cowboys who occasionally breezed through his shop, but these two men were different. After the big one hadn't even blinked at the price of the engagement ring he'd just purchased, the jeweler realized that these cattle wranglers could actually afford his wares.

"Two things, actually," Adam replied. His eyes had just landed on another necklace toward the back of the case. This one had a plain silver chain that allowed the magnificent pendant to attract all the attention. It was a large emerald surrounded by small diamonds, and it perfectly matched Molly's eyes. Adam gestured to both necklaces. "How much?"

The jeweler must have been a terrible poker player because the smile that erupted on his face told everyone within a two-mile radius that he was staring down the barrel of the biggest sale he would make all year. He swallowed and composed himself. "Those are two-hundred and fifty dollars apiece."

Adam gave no immediate outward reaction to the jeweler's announcement. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and pulled an expression of uncertainty as he gazed back down at the necklaces. He waited several long seconds before looking back up at the jeweler. "I'll give you four hundred for the pair."

The jeweler's watery eyes bugged out. "Four hundred?! I couldn't possibly let them go for so little!" Adam gazed evenly at him without blinking, and the man shrank back a bit. "Four ninety," he offered.

"Four fifteen," Adam countered.

"Four eighty."

"Four twenty-five, or my brother and I walk out of here."

"Four seventy, and that's as low as I can go."

Adam grabbed Hoss's elbow. "Come on, Hoss. We got what we needed." The brothers started for the door.

"Four sixty!" the pale man cried desperately.

Adam grabbed the door latch.

"Four fifty!"

Adam stopped and turned back toward the sweaty little man. "Now you're talkin'," he said with a grin. "Box those up for me."

Having learned the hard way not to flash money or valuables around in public, Adam and Hoss kept their purchases tucked in their pockets until they returned to their room after a quick lunch in the hotel's restaurant. But once in their room, they ripped into the little paper-wrapped boxes to admire their treasures. Adam held Patience's ring up to the light to inspect it more closely.

"If Patience says no to this, she's gone mad," he proclaimed as he handed the little circlet of gold back to Hoss, who tucked it carefully back into its box.

Hoss gave Adam a sly smile. "Kinda surprised you didn't look at any yourself." The look Adam shot him let Hoss know he had stepped over the line. "Sorry, Adam," he mumbled. "Didn't mean to pressure you."

Adam rewarded Hoss with a small smile. "Don't worry, Younger Brother. If I decide to start looking at rings, you'll be the first to know."

Hoss grinned. "Lemme see those necklaces again." Adam handed him the two boxes, and Hoss admired Molly's necklace first, commenting on how the emerald would complement the young lady's eyes. Josie's necklace, however, commanded most of his attention. He draped it across one wide hand and examined it from every angle, smiling at the way the diamonds caught the sunlight coming in their bedroom window and sent little rainbows dancing across the ceiling. As he handed it back to Adam, however, thoughtfulness crossed his face. "Hey Adam?"

"Yeah?"

"Ain't you and Josie ridin' to Sacramento?"

"Yeah."

"Then how's she supposed to take a big ol' gown with her so you can go out for a fancy dinner? She can't roll one of them big hoopskirts up in a bedroll."

Adam slapped his forehead and groaned. "I hadn't thought of that," he said for what seemed the hundredth time that day. "I'll have to work that out."

Adam puzzled over it the rest of the day, but he still couldn't figure out how to get one of Josie's gowns to Sacramento while keeping the dinner the surprise he wanted it to be. At supper that evening, Ben noticed the pensive look on his oldest son's face and wondered if perhaps two engagement rings had been purchased that day. During dessert, when Adam was so lost in thought that he missed his plate of apple pie and plunged his fork into the back of Hoss's hand instead, Ben thought he had better speak up. First checking that Hoss was all right – fortunately, Adam had barely broken the skin – Ben turned to Adam.

"Son, what in the world is eating you?!"

Adam apologized to Hoss and explained to his father about the necklace he had bought for Josie and his current dilemma with the gown and the planned dinner.

"I spend a small fortune to educate my oldest son, and he can't even solve a simple problem," Ben grumbled. Adam looked up indignantly and opened his mouth to reply, but Ben held up a hand and continued. "The young lady you're courting is a seamstress, no? So one could presume she knows a good deal about ladies' fashion."

Adam furrowed his brow. "I don't follow you, Pa."

Ben sighed. "So you bring Molly over to the house sometime when Josie's not home, have her box up one of Josie's gowns and whatever else she might need…" He blushed slightly and continued. "And then you ship the whole kit and caboodle ahead to whatever hotel you plan to stay at in Sacramento. Problem solved."

Adam's mouth dropped open in awe. "That's brilliant, Pa! Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because you were making it more complicated than it needed to be," Ben replied, chasing one last bit of pie around his plate with his fork.

"Don't you think Josie will notice one of her gowns missin', though?" Hoss asked.

"No," Ben and Adam replied in unison. They caught each other's gaze and laughed.

"The only time Josie notices one of those gowns is if it's blocking the path to her jeans," Adam said, still chuckling.

Hoss joined in the laughter, and the three men finished their pie in good spirits.

Three days later, Josie received a telegram from Ben saying they were leaving San Francisco and expected to be home by the end of the week. Josie brightened at the news; she had been feeling lonely and downcast again since she and Joe had returned from the lake, and having Adam home would make her feel better. Little Joe helped distract her over the next few days first by driving her into town so the two of them could buy new hats (they were careful to get ones identical to those they had lost) and then by taking her down to the duck pond and teaching her how to swim. Joe was an excellent instructor, and by the day the other Cartwrights were due back, Josie was paddling expertly all around the pond.

"We'll have to take a trip to Washoe Lake so you can try out some deeper water," Joe said.

"So long as there's no canoe involved, I'm all for it!" Josie replied with a grin.

By the time Ben, Adam, Hoss, Hop Sing, and the hands rolled into the front yard that Saturday, Josie had perked up considerably and raced out to greet them. She flung herself into Adam's arms, not caring that he was soaked with sweat and covered with trail dust. He swung her around and planted a big kiss on her forehead before passing her off to Hoss to do the same while Adam led Sport into the barn.

"How was your trip?" she asked as Hoss's hug lifted her more than a foot off the ground.

"Great!" Hoss replied as he swung Josie around until she was dizzy. "Best trip I ever took!" He beamed at her, and Josie thought he must be up to something, but she couldn't ask just then because Hoss and Ben had to tend to their horses.

Hoss grinned even more than usual all through supper that night, but when Josie commented on his extra exuberance, especially given the long, exhausting journey he had just had, Hoss merely smiled and said how nice it was to be home.

Throughout the meal, Josie and Little Joe had cleverly kept the other three talking about their trip, but as Josie served up the blueberry pie she had made for their homecoming, Ben finally broached the topic that the two youngest Cartwrights had been dreading.

"It was hot as blazes out on that trail! Did the two of you manage to keep cool back here?"

"Oh, yeah, Pa," Joe said casually as he stabbed his pie with his fork. "We went swimming."

Josie's eyes bugged out as she nearly dropped a slice of pie onto Pip's head instead of onto her plate. "That's right!" she recovered. "Spent a good deal of time in the water, actually." She caught Joe's eye, and the pair of them turned purple with repressed laughter. Fortunately, no one seemed to notice.

"Good," Ben said. "It's clear you did a good job with the ranch, too, Joseph. Baxter tells me everything ran very smoothly while I was away."

Joe beamed at the compliment. He often felt his father and older brothers didn't give him the credit he deserved – he was a lot more responsible and competent than they often made him out to be – and his father's comment was vindicating.

After supper, Josie lay flopped on her stomach across Adam's bed as he unpacked his carpetbag. He had ended up buying her a small sachet of perfumed soaps after all so he would have something to give her upon arriving home, and she squealed with delight when he handed them to her. She was tempted to run off and have a bath right then but realized that the first shot at the bathtub that night belonged to Ben, and then Adam and Hoss in turn. She would have to wait until tomorrow. She rolled over onto her back, held the sachet up to her nose, and inhaled deeply.

"So," Adam began as he slipped the necklace boxes out of his bag and into his sock drawer before Josie could spot them. "You gonna tell me what you and Joe really got up to while we were gone?"

Josie sat up, all wide-eyed innocence. "Whatever do you mean? We went swimming, like Joe said."

"Sure you did." Adam pulled a copy of The Last Days of Pompeii out of his bag and replaced it carefully on his bookshelf.

Josie narrowed her eyes at Adam's sarcasm. "I'll tell you what Joe and I did if you tell me what Hoss is up to." Adam still had his back to her, and Josie smiled triumphantly as she watched his shoulders sag.

"That's not my secret to tell," he said as he turned around to face her.

"Then it looks like we're both going to bed disappointed." Josie leapt from the bed and alit lightly on the floor. Rising to tiptoe, she kissed Adam's cheek. "Goodnight, Cousin-Cousin. Glad you're home." Giggling, she skipped from his room, her new soaps clutched tightly in her hands.

The next week passed quietly as the three oldest Cartwrights rested up after the cattle drive. Josie had discovered through Adam that Molly's birthday was coming up on August 17, and she and Hoss rode into town one afternoon so Josie could purchase a Derringer for Molly and Hoss could invite the Lovejoys to dinner that Friday. Despite Adam's refusal to give Josie any insight into Hoss's recent enthusiasm, Josie had a good inkling that she felt was confirmed when Hoss mentioned the dinner invitation.

At breakfast Friday morning, Adam mentioned that he had a meeting in town Tuesday morning with John Billings, the banker.

"I thought since Molly's birthday is on Monday, I'd go into town that afternoon, take her to dinner, and then just stay the night at the hotel. No sense riding all the way home just to turn around eight hours later and ride back."

"That sounds fine, son," Ben agreed.

Josie's eyes glistened with excitement. Adam had shown her the emerald necklace he had bought in San Francisco – though he had kept Josie's necklace safely hidden in his sock drawer – and she could hardly wait to hear about Molly's reaction to it.

"Oh, Uncle Ben!" Josie exclaimed. "Joe, Fionn, Sally, Patience, and I have decided to have the Fall Festival on October 31. We're going to use the meadow just outside of town where the Fourth of July festival is always held."

"Sounds like a great idea, Josephine!" Ben's dark eyes sparkled at his niece. "Convenient that Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, isn't it?"

"Sure is!" Josie agreed. "We're going to have apple bobbing and baked goods for sale, and lots of games!"

The Cartwright men grinned. They were all excited about the idea for the library, and planning the Fall Festival had given Josie a new spring in her step. Adam saw her renewed perkiness the most in her eyes and hair. When Josie was happy and healthy, both her eyes and her hair fairly glowed. After Simon's departure, her hair had gone lank and her eyes dull, like they had when she was sick with typhus, but now the shine had returned to both. Adam wondered how much of that had to do with the library and how much had to do with the amount of time Josie had been spending with Fionn as the quintet of friends worked on their plans.

Hoss, however, had been very quiet throughout the whole meal, and Josie now noticed that his plate was still nearly full – he had hardly touched his pancakes and bacon.

"Hoss, are you feeling all right?" Josie asked, wrinkling her brow.

Hoss blushed, and then sputtered, "Oh, yeah, I'm fine, Josie. Just ain't all that hungry this morning."

"That's why I asked."

"He's all right, Josie," Ben interceded. "Just had such a big supper last night it's a miracle any of us are hungry this morning!"

Hoss beamed gratefully at Ben and then excused himself. Josie caught Adam's eye, but he just shrugged his shoulders at her and dropped his gaze back to his plate. Josie stuck her tongue out at him; Adam knew something, and it vexed her to no end that he wasn't sharing it.

"I should go, too," she said, pushing back from the table. "I promised Doctor Martin I'd reorganize the medicine cabinet, so I better get an early start if I plan to have time to take Molly out to lunch."

Adam's eyebrows shot up. "You're taking Molly out to lunch?"

"Yes, for an early birthday treat. She's my friend, too, you know."

Adam smiled. He was glad his ladies were growing so close; he couldn't imagine the difficulty it would cause for him if the two of them didn't get along. He stood up as Josie rose from her seat and gave her a hug. "Have a good day. We'll see you at supper."

Josie hugged him back and then gave him a peck on the cheek. "You, too." She kissed Ben and Joe goodbye as well and then skipped out the door to saddle up Scout for her ride into town.

Josie did have a good morning. She didn't have any patients, so she got the medicine cabinet reorganized well before lunch, when she met up with Molly at Annie's Café. Molly shrieked with delight and threw her arms around Josie when Josie presented her with the new Derringer. Molly immediately strapped it to her right ankle. When she dropped the hem of her skirt, no one could tell she was wearing it.

"Perfect!" Josie cheered. "And don't be afraid to use it on Adam if he gets out of line."

Molly giggled and hugged Josie again.

Having treated only one patient that day – and that one needing only a couple stitches – Josie closed up the clinic a half hour early to give herself a little more time to clean up for what she felt sure was going to be a momentous supper. She pawed through her wardrobe when she got home, looking for just the right dress. She sighed a bit wistfully as she came across the sapphire silk gown she'd worn to the captain's dinner as she and Adam steamed away from Philadelphia two years ago. Much as she hated corsets and hairdos, Josie really did love that gown. But it was certainly too fancy for tonight, so she selected her nicest day dress – a ruby-red cotton number that contrasted brilliantly with her black hair. And the best part, in Josie's opinion, was that the dress required neither a corset nor a hoop skirt.

She had just finished battling her hair into submission when Ben called for everyone to come downstairs. The Lovejoys were due to arrive any minute, and they all needed to be on hand to greet their guests. When they were all congregated in the living room, Josie glanced surreptitiously at Hoss, who was pale and sweaty. She nudged Adam, who frowned when he looked over at his younger brother. He reached over and straightened Hoss's string tie. Hoss swayed a little and Josie was certain he was going to fall backward onto the floor, but the big man steadied himself just in the nick of time. Adam gave him a sharp little pat on each cheek, and Hoss regained a bit of his color.

By the time the Lovejoys' wagon rolled into the front yard, Hoss had pulled himself together and greeted the Reverend and his family at the door. The rest of the Cartwrights greeted each of the Lovejoys as they entered the house, Josie and Patience exchanging a warm hug, and Little Joe flashing his most debonair smile at Patience's eighteen-year-old sister, Hope. The greetings completed, the two families crowded around the dining room table to enjoy the feast Hop Sing had prepared. Everyone but Hoss had a hearty appetite, and soon there was nothing left of the enormous roast beef than a few gelatinous specks of fat quivering on the serving platter.

Afterward, when everyone else retired to the living room for coffee and brandy, Hoss asked Patience if she'd like to take a little stroll down to the duck pond. Josie shot Adam a glance and was finally rewarded with a wide grin that told her all she needed to know. She had to bite her lower lip to keep from beaming the entire time Hoss and Patience were gone.

Adam's stomach fluttered on his brother's behalf. He remembered the nerve-wracking feeling of proposing to a young lady – it was almost vomit-inducing, really – and he could only hope that Hoss would stay cool under the pressure. Hoss was unflappable in a true emergency, such as when Ben had gotten lost in the blizzard earlier that year, but he got the worst performance anxiety in less life-threatening situations. Adam remembered vividly the Carson City Christmas pageant when Hoss was ten years old and had burst into tears when it was time for him to sing his solo of "Silent Night." He had rushed off the stage and into the audience, where he had buried his face in Marie's lap. Fortunately, Adam had been holding four-year-old Joe in his own lap just then or the little boy certainly would have been squashed. Shaking his head, Adam now sat down on the settee next to Josie and draped an arm around her shoulders while he sipped his brandy and waited for Hoss to return.

They didn't have to wait long. After only thirty minutes of pleasant conversation, the Cartwrights and the Lovejoys all snapped their heads up as the front door banged open so exuberantly that the mirror over the sideboard rattled and Ben held his breath, expecting it to fall off the wall and smash on the floor. Hoss's jubilant voice thundered through the room.

"PA! Pa, I'm gettin' married!"

Hoss escorted a blushing, smiling Patience into the living room as the two families leapt to their feet to congratulate the couple. Josie nearly knocked Adam's brandy into his lap as she launched from the settee with an ear-piercing squeal and flung her arms around Patience. After a quick hug, Josie grabbed Patience's left hand and held it up to the light to inspect the ring Hoss had selected. Adam and Little Joe barreled past Ben to congratulate their brother. Hoss had expected Little Joe would tackle him, but he hadn't counted on Adam succumbing to the excitement, too, and when both his brothers pounced on him at the same time, Hoss toppled, taking Adam and Joe down with him. The three men hit the living room floor so hard the house shook, and Josie glanced over in alarm, worried that she would have to set a broken bone. The brothers lay in a laughing heap on the floor for several moments as Adam and Joe congratulated Hoss and all three of them tried to untangle their arms and legs. Caught up in the exuberance, Pip jumped on top of the pile, barking madly.

Tears of joy and relief rose to Ben's eyes as he shook hands with Reverend Lovejoy. An unexpected wave of sadness swept over him, too. It would be difficult to see one of his sons move out of his home, but even more than that, Ben suddenly missed Hoss's mother Inger very much and wished she were there to share in their son's joy.

When the Cartwright brothers had sorted themselves out and regained their feet, Ben hugged his future daughter-in-law and then poured another round of brandy for everyone.

"So when's the wedding, Hoss?" Little Joe asked after they had all toasted the happy couple.

"Aw, geez, Joe, they wouldn't have worked THAT out already," Josie said.

"Actually," Patience said, "we have! We want to get married December 26 when the church is still decorated for Christmas." She took hold of Hoss's hand and beamed up at him.

"Yeah," Hoss said. "And that gives me four months to build us a house."

"Down in Hoss Heaven?" Ben asked, referencing a little corner of the Ponderosa Hoss had always loved.

"I was hopin' to talk to you about that," Hoss replied.

"Nothing to talk about. It's all yours."

Hoss's bright blue eyes filled with tears as he gathered his father up in one of his enormous bear hugs. "Just don't split it off, Pa," he said as he released Ben so the man could breathe again. "We've all worked too hard to make the Ponderosa what it is to go breakin' up the old gal now. Let's keep things the way they are. Only thing that changes is me livin' in a different house."

Ben had to turn away to wipe his eyes, and Adam stepped in to deflect the attention.

"Can I design your house?" he asked eagerly. Adam had recently gotten his plans for a new, sturdier schoolhouse approved by the Virginia City schoolboard, and he was keen to draw up another blueprint.

Hoss grinned at him. "Wouldn't want no one else doin' it, Older Brother."

"And of course we'll help you build it," Little Joe interjected.

"I'll help, too," Reverend Lovejoy broke in. "I used to do some carpentry before I became a minister."

As the men got carried away daydreaming about the house Hoss and Patience would have – Adam was already fantasizing about three stories, seven bedrooms, two washrooms, and an enormous kitchen – Patience turned to Josie.

"Hope will be my maid of honor, of course," she said, gesturing to her younger sister. "But I was hoping you and Sally would be my bridesmaids."

Josie squealed with delight and threw her arms around Patience again. "Of course I will! I'm sure Sally will say yes, too. And I know just the seamstress to make our dresses."

Patience smiled. "I plan to make my own wedding gown – with Ma's help, of course – but Molly will do a beautiful job on dresses for you and Sally. I was thinking something in a dark red. It'll look real pretty against the Christmas tree we always put up in the church."

The two families spent the next hour discussing plans for both the house and the wedding, and it was reluctantly that Reverend Lovejoy finally stood and announced that they needed to head home. After several rounds of hugs between various family members, during which everyone got licked a lot by Pip, the Lovejoys finally tumbled out of the front door and loaded up in their wagon for their drive home. The Cartwrights waved until the wagon had completely disappeared into the night.

Led by Pip, the five Cartwrights filed back into the house. Adam, Josie, and Little Joe flopped onto the settee, and Ben collapsed in his leather armchair. Still glowing, Hoss stood behind the settee and bid his family goodnight.

"Goodnight?!" Josie exclaimed. "How can you possibly sleep now?! I'm so excited I won't sleep for at least a week!"

Hoss chuckled. "You go right on ahead and stay up then, Little Sister. But I'm plumb tuckered out. That proposal took a lot outta me." He leaned over and kissed the top of Josie's head before lumbering up the stairs toward his bedroom.

The family laughed as Hoss exited, and Little Joe leaned his head back on the top of the settee and grinned.

"What a good day this has been!" he sighed.

"It certainly has been," Ben said.

"I can't wait to order my dress from Molly!" Josie said, and then she giggled. Adam asked what was so funny, and Josie looked up at him, her hazel eyes shining with delight. "I just thought how devastated Widow Hawkins will be. One less eligible Cartwright man to choose from!"

Overjoyed by the day's events, even Ben joined in the laughter.