CHAPTER 8
Adam stared down at the ranch house. Surely, she's gone. Like I told Pa, patience was not one of her virtues. She might have come... Adam pushed the remainder of the thought from his mind as he had repeatedly over the weeks he had been gone. He did not think that Katherine would have approached his father with a tale of their lost love, but the thought that she might have still prodded him like a hot poker. What version of the truth would she have told him? His chuckle was dry and mirthless. If she has told him anything, it will mean I have to tell him what I did. He chuckled again and heard the voice of a schoolmate whose name he had long ago forgotten, Skeletons, Cartwright my good fellow, when shoved into closets, rattle loudly and pop out at the most inconvenient times. His heels touched Sports flanks and tugged at the pack horse's lead. The horses eagerly moved toward home.
"You're back!" Hoss' voice carried a degree of pleasure that struck Adam as rather too deep for the circumstances.
"Yeah. The trip went well." He swung his leg and dismounted. "Things go well here?"
"The ranch is fine. I'll see to the horses for ya." Hoss reached for the reins.
Noting his brother's words and the expression in his eyes, Adam shook his head. "You can do Sagebrush; I'll see to Sport."
Hoss was quick to agree. "Okay." He led the pack horse into the barn.
The brothers worked efficiently and without speaking. When the chore was complete, Adam said, "I guess I better go in and report to Pa."
"Umm, Pa's in town. Probably won't be back until supper."
Adam paused at the door and looked back at his brother. "Hadn't you better tell me what the trouble is before then?"
"I did want to talk to ya."
Adam searched his brother's face but saw no warning of trouble for himself. He braced for it anyway. "What about?"
"Little Joe."
Recognizing his own relief, Adam silently cursed himself. "What's he gotten himself into this time?"
"Well, there's this gal..." Hoss began and watched Adam roll his eyes.
"Who?"
"You wouldn't know her. She's new in town and older than little brother. When Pa heard all Joe's trips to town were to squire her around, well, he put his foot down and told Joe he had to stay on the ranch and see to his responsibilities."
"I'm surprised I didn't hear Joe howling!" Adam delivered his comment with a smirk.
"Yeah, well, umm, thing is..." Hoss reached up to scratch his neck.
"Joe didn't..."
"Naw, he has more sense than that, but..."
"But what?"
"Well, next day he had her out for a picnic." Hoss scratched his neck again.
"Which Pa didn't know about?"
"Nobody knows; I just happened to see."
Adam studied his brother's face as his hands slid into his armpits. "Just what did you see?"
"A little sparkin' is all. I was a bit away, and they didn't hear me."
"You didn't talk to Little Joe?" Hoss shook his head. "She's older. Is that all you know about her?"
"She's been staying at the International Hotel. She's real pretty and from back East, least that's what Harvey said."
The color slowly left Adam's face. He forced one more question from his completely dry throat. "What's her name?"
"Katherine Cummings." Hoss had been staring at his hands and did not observe the changes in Adam's face and demeanor. When he did look up, he exclaimed, "Adam? What in tarnation! Adam!" Hoss reached out, but his brother stepped back.
"Anything more?" Adam demanded.
"Joe's been sneaking out the past two nights." The words were a low mumble, and Hoss jammed his hands into his pockets. "I thought maybe you could talk to Joe." When Adam did not answer, Hoss added, "I'm afraid, well, if Pa finds out... well, Pa sees Joe as a kid..."
"He is a kid!" Adam snapped.
"Yeah, but he's feeling a man about this and... I think Pa taking it out on his hide, well, this time I think it would, well, make things worse."
Worse! Brother, you don't know how bad things are let alone how much worse they could get. Adam managed to keep his observation from actually leaving his lips, but Hoss was now watching his elder brother's face.
"Adam, I told you; now you tell me why you're looking like I just whupped ya up aside the head with an ax handle."
"I know Katherine Cummings." It was a flat statement, but Hoss saw the shadows in his brother's eyes and recognized them. Shame was something he had seldom seen there, and its presence chilled Hoss to the core. The silence lasted several seconds. Then Adam said, "I'll deal with it. Just don't say anything to anyone else."
"Okay." Hoss' agreement was automatic but brought no relief. For his elder brother, fixing things and dealing with them were horses of different colors.
Little Joe slipped into the barn and closed the door behind him. He struck a match and lit the lantern turning the wick as far down as possible. Hanging his dim light on the appropriate hook, he strolled over to Cochise's stall. "Hey, boy," he whispered softly and patted the nose that turned toward him. Then he turned to grab his saddle from its stand and stopped breathing. His eyes grew to resemble those of a barn owl as he swallowed hard before uttering a single word, "Adam."
Adam's hands moved from his armpits to his hips. "Going for a ride, little brother?"
"Ummm, well, ummm, I ... I came to check on Cooch." Little Joe gave a slight shrug and a sheepish smile.
"And he looked like he'd be more comfortable with his saddle on?" Adam's voice went from silky to sharp. "Since when do you think you can get away with lying to me, kid?"
"I was just going for a ride. You like to ride at night, you know!" Little Joe went from a nervous stammer to weak indignation.
"You were headed into town." Adam's glare demanded that Joe acknowledge the fact.
"Well, maybe." Joe shifted nervously. "But I could just go back upstairs now, I guess." He took two steps forward before Adam stepped directly into his line of retreat.
"We talk first."
"Nothing to talk about." Joe's attitude had become slightly surly.
"If we have nothing to talk about, I'll have to have my discussion with Pa."
"No!" The word shot out of Joe's mouth. "If you want to talk, I guess we'll talk."
Adam motioned for Joe to take a seat on an overturned barrel and leaned his own body back against the half-wall of the nearest stall. Joe complied and dropped his eyes to the straw-covered floor. When Adam did not speak, Joe kicked at a clod of manure and straw and demanded, "What did they tell ya?"
"For one thing, I know Pa forbade you to leave the ranch without his express permission. Two, I know that you've been sneaking out. Three, I know why."
"Well, if you already know everything, what's there to talk about?" Little Joe raised his head and jutted out his chin.
"A great deal, little brother, including the foolishness of disobeying Pa. You've beat the odds up to now, but we both know that even if I cover for you tonight that won't last much longer."
"So don't!" Joe retorted and sprang to his feet. "Pa's got to learn that I ain't a little kid anymore!"
"Then stop the tantrum!" Adam straightened and stepped closer to his brother. "You're seventeen, you're not of age, and our Pa is still quite capable of whipping you in a fair fight before he takes a belt to your behind."
Joe surged forward in fury but stopped short. "I wouldn't fight Pa."
"At least you haven't completely lost your senses." Adam's tone was one that Joe had heard often, and it popped his anger like a pin in a balloon.
"Pa's not being fair; he lets you and Hoss pick the gals you court," Little Joe whined kicking at another clod.
"Katherine Cummings is not a girl; she's a woman."
"Well, I'm a man. I do a man's work, and..."
"I've heard this song before, Joe, so spare me. Katherine is..."
"Too old for me. I've heard that before too, so you can spare me." Joe started toward the door, but Adam caught his arm.
"She twelve years your senior, buddy; hell, she's six months older than me." Adam watched the surprise slap Joe speechless. "She's beautiful as beautiful as she was years ago in Boston, but time has passed for her as well."
Joe swallowed his shock and retorted, "I don't care how old she is; it doesn't matter. Just because you knew her and got mad at her..."
"That has nothing to do with it."
"Sure." Joe could be as sarcastic as Adam when he chose to be.
Adam's next words held his most acerbic tone, "Do you really want to spark a woman old enough to have changed your diaper and wiped your runny nose? One who was pleasing men before you were wearing britches?"
Adam saw the punch coming, dodged it, grabbed his brother's arm, and pinned the boy against the stall wall. Joe struggled for a minute and then stilled. "Let me go!"
Adam loosened his hold and stepped back. "How far has it gone between you?"
Joe took in a ragged breath before he spit his answer at Adam's feet. "Katherine's a lady!"
Adam knew his brother well enough that the words and the look in Joe's eyes allowed a small tendril of relief to uncurl in his chest. You won't believe it if I tell you otherwise, will you, baby brother, not unless I tell you how I know. I'd rather face the devil than do that. He glared down at Joe and spoke calmly. "Then a gentleman wouldn't risk sullying her name with clandestine visits in the night. There are folks in Virginia City with both sharp eyes and sharper tongues."
Joe's gaze flitted nervously about the barn. "I want to court her in the open, Adam. It's just Pa; he doesn't understand."
"Sneaking out like a kid set on playing a prank is not the way to convince him of your maturity."
"Are you going to tell him?"
"Not about tonight, not if you walk back into the house and go to bed."
"A man would go to Pa tomorrow and ask him to at least meet Katherine, to allow me to invite her here." Little Joe spoke to his own conscience as well as to his brother.
"He may allow her to dine here, but there's a snowball's chance in Hades that he'll change his mind about you courting her."
Joe raised his eyes to his brother's. "I know. Still, it's what a man would do." Joe straightened his shoulders. "I won't be sneaking behind Pa's back anymore."
"Fine." With that single word, Adam slipped his arm around his brother's shoulders. And if I can help it, Katherine will be gone before you can issue that invitation of yours.
