At breakfast the next morning, Adam told Cat she had to finish her exams. Everybody laughed when she made a face that looked like she had just bitten into something sour. "It's not that bad Cat," said Adam. "All you have left are your grammar and history exams. You've got to get them done before Uncle Matt and Kitty go back to Dodge."
"Adam is right Cat," said Matt. "I have to take your exams back to Dodge and give them to Miss Jackson so you can get your grades. Your new teacher will want to know what you need help with."
"I wish Dodge wasn't so far away. Then Miss Jackson could still be my teacher. Anyway, I don't have to go to school anymore because I'm going to be living here and I only had to go to school so I could spend my vacations here."
Once again, everyone had a good laugh at Cat's expense.
"No Cat, you still need to go to school," said Matt. "In fact, if you skip school, you won't be allowed to spend your summers in Dodge."
"That's not fair. I don't like school. It's boring and I don't want to go. I only went because Uncle Ben said I couldn't come here on my vacations if I didn't. I'm going to be living here now, so I shouldn't have to go to school any more."
"That's not the way it works Cat," said Lucas. "Mark is only a few months older than you and he has to go to school. Everyone here had to go to school when they were young. Little Joe just graduated a few weeks ago. You are supposed to come and spend a week with me in the summer after you spend time with the Apaches. If you skip school, you will not be allowed to come and visit me and that will make me very sad because I want you to come and visit. So does Mark."
Ben was about to tell her that if she wasn't allowed to go to Dodge, her summer would be spent doing extra chores and school work when his sister put her hand on his arm. "Let them handle it," she whispered. Ben nodded and listened to the conversation.
"It's not that bad Cat," said Joe. "You already have two friends in school. I'll go with you on the first day and introduce you to some friends of mine who are still in school. They'll look after you and keep some of the other boys from teasing you about wearing your buckskins. That way you won't get in trouble for fighting."
Cat could see that she wasn't going to win the argument so she said, "I'll go to school but I won't like it."
"You don't have to like it Sweetheart," said Ben. "But you do have to go every day unless you're sick. Now, if you get your last two exams done right after breakfast, you and Mark will have the rest of the day to do whatever you want. You can even take two extra horses over to the Ingalls' house and see if Laura and Mary want to go for a ride."
"I'll even let you pick which one you want to do first," said Adam.
"I'll do grammar first. I don't do real good in it, so I may as well get that one finished first."
"Very well," said everyone else.
"You don't do very well on it," said Adam. "It looks like we're going to have to work extra hard on arithmetic and grammar when school starts again."
Once breakfast was finished, Cat and Mark helped Hop Sing clear the table and then Cat did her exams. She got five questions wrong on the grammar exam but got all of them right on the history exam. Then she and Mark saddled four horses and rode over to the Ingalls' farm. Cat knocked on the door and asked if her friends could go for a ride. Laura was out the door as soon as her father gave his permission. Mary hesitated and, with encouragement from her father and a promise from Mark, Cat, and Laura that they wouldn't go very fast, decided to join the others. They had a lot of fun, enjoyed the picnic Hop Sing prepared for them and, since Mary didn't want to get her dress wet from swimming, went wading in Lake Tahoe. When they returned to the Ponderosa, Cat and Mark helped Joe with his chores and helped Hop Sing set the table for supper.
Once Cat and Mark were in bed, the family discussed the following day's birthday celebration for Cat. It was decided to hold it after supper and the ladies offered to help Hop Sing make the cake.
The next morning, Cat and Mark woke up extra early to do Joe's chores as his birthday gift. They filled the wood boxes, gathered the eggs and brushed Cochise until they could see their reflections in his coat. Just as they finished, Lucas came out to the barn to milk the cow for them and even carried the pail of milk into the kitchen. Then he told them, "Ok you two, back to bed before Joe catches you and ruins your surprise."
When Joe woke up and came downstairs, he was surprised to see that nobody else was awake but all of his chores had been done. The wood boxes were full. The eggs and milk were on the table in the kitchen and Cochise had been brushed so much that he almost glowed in the dark. Since it was still more than an hour until breakfast, he decided to go back to bed. At breakfast he told his father, "Something very strange happened this morning. When I woke up to do my chores, everyone was still in bed but all of my chores had been done. Cochise had even been brushed so much I could see myself in his coat."
Cat and Mark listened to him and finally broke out in laughter. "Happy Birthday Little Joe," they said together.
"We did your chores and Uncle Luke milked the cow for us," said Cat. We wanted to get you something for your birthday but didn't have any money, so we decided to do your chores."
"We're going to do them tonight too," said Mark.
Joe was so moved, there were tears in his eyes. He got up from the table, hugged both Cat and Mark and thanked them profusely.
Because it was Cat's birthday too, Hop Sing made her favorite breakfast, flapjacks, bacon, sausage, eggs and toast. She and Mark had juice and milk to drink while everyone else had coffee. Cat decided to take advantage of her birthday and ask if she could try some coffee. Ben was about to say no when, to everyone's surprise, Matt gave her his cup. She took one sip, made a funny face and said, "EWWWWWW YUCK! That tastes awful. I'm never, ever going to drink coffee, even when I'm a grown up." Everybody, including Mark laughed at Cat's expression and comments.
After breakfast, everyone went out to the pasture to see how well Fury was doing with his adopted mother. Since he was only about a week old, they were all surprised when he left Lady and ran up to Cat begging to be petted. Even Nick admired how well Cat had been taking care of him and how shiny his coat was. They all laughed when Cat started to walk around the pasture and Fury followed her like a little dog. "I can tell now that those two are going to be very good friends," said Heath. "I've never seen a one week old colt take to a human like he's taken to Cat. Are you sure she isn't sneaking him into her bedroom after everyone goes to bed?"
Ben laughed at Heath's question. "No Heath, she isn't sneaking him into her room. I've been getting up in the middle of the night to check on her and Fury isn't in her room. Maybe it was that first night when she slept in the barn with her arms wrapped around him. I don't know what would cause a colt that's barely a week old to leave his mother and follow a human child around. It is obvious that the two of them love each other and are going to be great friends as they grow up."
Mark had told Cat not to expect her birthday celebration to be much more than a special meal and dessert because adults don't have celebrations right after funerals. He said it was something about not being disrespectful to the dead person but that didn't make sense to either him or Cat. The way they saw it, once someone was dead, you couldn't be either respectful or disrespectful to them, but adults were funny that way. Cat was disappointed because this was the only birthday she would be celebrating with the whole family and not just Uncle Matt. So, she was very surprised after supper when Aunt Victoria and Audra carried a very large birthday cake out of the kitchen and everybody sang 'Happy Birthday' to her and Joe. Her eyes got as big as saucers when she was led into the great room and saw all of the presents. "Are all those for me?" she asked, not believing her eyes.
"Yes Cat," said Joe. "Those are all for you. Pick one and open it."
Once Cat had opened most of her gifts, Ben whispered to Adam and asked him to ask Hop Sing to join the family. He knew how much Hop Sing loved Cat and wanted him there with the family when he gave Cat the envelope containing the adoption decree.
When Cat finished opening her gifts, she had been given clothes, some dolls, a colorful saddle blanket, a fancy saddle, bridle and halter for Fury when he grows up, a pretty blanket to cover him with when it got cold outside, a new fishing pole, and some books. After she had thanked, hugged and kissed all of the adults, Ben told her that he had one more present for her. He handed her an envelope and told her to open it and read what was inside. Cat opened the envelope, took the paper out and read it. There were a bunch of legal words that she didn't understand, but read aloud the words she did. "Adoption Decree. Benjamin Cartwright of The Ponderosa Ranch, Virginia City, Nevada is hereby given full legal custody of his niece, Catherine Michael Cartwright in the form of adoption." It was signed by the judge and dated June tenth, eighteen hundred sixty nine.
Cat stood there, reading the paper over and over again, not completely believing what she was reading. Finally, she took the paper over to Mark and asked him to read it. "Is this really saying what I think it says?"
Mark read the paper, hugged Cat and said, "Yes Cat. It does. You're going to have a real family. Uncle Ben is going to be your Pa and Adam, Hoss and Little Joe are going to be your brothers."
There were tears in Cat's eyes when she asked, "Really Uncle Ben?"
"Really Cat. You're going to be my little girl now."
Cat ran over and hugged Ben around his neck. Then she ran over and hugged Hop Sing, who picked her up and hugged her back. "Hop Sing very glad Missy Cat going to live here now and be part of family. Mr. Ben should have adopted Missy Cat long time ago! She too skinny. Now I cook extra food and she get big like Mr. Hoss."
Everybody laughed at that last statement. "Hop Sing, I don't want to get as big as Hoss. I'm a little girl, not a big man."
"Missy Cat no eat enough. Hop Sing bring out rest of cake and everybody eat some. Missy Cat get very big piece." With that, he walked back to the kitchen and brought out the leftover cake, coffee for the adults and milk for Cat and Mark.
After everybody ate more cake, Cat said, "I want to show Fury his new blankets."
"It's dark outside and it's almost bed time Cat, Why don't you wait until morning?" asked Matt.
"But I want to show them to him now."
"I know, but right now, it's time for you to go to bed. Fury will be able to see his new blankets better when it's light outside. Now go up to bed and I'll be up shortly to say goodnight."
Even though it was her birthday, Matt's tone warned Cat not to argue any more, so she went up to bed. A few minutes later, he went upstairs to say goodnight. When Matt came back downstairs, Ben went upstairs, read to her for a while, then kissed and hugged her, tucked her in and blew out the lamp.
When Ben came back downstairs and everyone was sitting around the table, Matt said, "Now that Cat is going to be living here, there are some important things you need to know. First of all, she will not lie to you. I broke her of that when she was five. If she says she did something, she did it. If she says she did not do something, she did not do it. If you accuse her of lying, you will lose her respect and may never get it back.
Second, Cat is very independent. Because I was not always able to be there for her, she has had to depend on herself a lot. She is very good with her bow and arrows. She isn't big enough to kill a deer yet, but she will kill, clean, cook and eat small game. The Apaches taught her how to build a fire and she knows how to ensure it stays contained and make sure it is out. Third, part of her being independent means that she is allowed to go hunting or fishing as long as her school work is done and I know where she is at. If I am not in town, she can tell Kitty, Quint, Doc or Festus where she is going. If they are not available, she is allowed to leave a note for me. If I am not expected back soon, she is allowed to leave a note for Quint or Doc. Since Kitty is often busy in the Long Branch and Cat isn't allowed in there when it's open, she can give a note to a cowboy and ask him to give it to Kitty."
Adam scowled. He didn't think that nine year olds should be able to go anywhere without asking an adult first and Cat was not going to get away with just leaving a note when he was in charge.
"If you want Cat to do something, tell her what you want her to do and trust her to do it. Do not expect her to do everything perfectly every time. Give her credit for trying her best. Remember, she is only nine years old and isn't used to being part of a family. Also, don't forget, she hasn't grown up on a ranch and will not know everything that is expected of her. If she does something wrong, and she will, do not yell at her. Explain what she did wrong, show her how to do it right and give her a chance to do it again. Help her if she needs help. Even if she disobeys, do not yell at her and do not punish her the first time. Explain what she did wrong and why is was wrong. Then tell her what the punishment will be the next time she does it. If she does it again, follow through with the promised punishment and explain what will happen the next time. Spanking should be used as a last resort when nothing else has worked. The Apaches have taught Cat how to deal with pain so physical punishment won't be effective if it's used all the time. She hates being confined, so keeping her restricted to the house or yard and not letting her go riding are very effective. Making her stand in the corner is also very effective. Above all, make sure she knows exactly why she's being punished and that her offense doesn't affect your love for her."
Ben wasn't used to being told how to raise his children and frowned but didn't say anything.
"Adam, I watched you boss Joe around several times when he was Cat's age. She isn't used to being bossed around like that. If you start bossing her around, she will rebel and that will cause problems. She might even run off and you will have a very hard time finding her, if you ever do. She is very good at not being found if she doesn't want to be. Also, if she runs off, she may try and find her way back to Dodge or Arizona, which is a very dangerous thing for a young child, especially a girl, to do. Do not tell her she cannot spend the summer in Dodge for any reason except skipping school. That will make her very angry and she will attempt to reach Dodge on her own. Riding from Dodge to the Tanners on her own was dangerous enough when she was five. Riding from Virginia City to Dodge can be dangerous for a grown man. It could be deadly for a nine year old girl."
Adam decided he was going to treat his new sister the same way he treated his brothers and didn't need any advice from anyone. If Cat tried to run off, she would get a spanking just as Hoss and Joe had.
"Doc said to tell all of you to expect mood swings for quite a while. We have been keeping her busy for the last two weeks, but that is about to change. She was standing right next to her mother when she was killed and despite being told otherwise many times, blames herself. We just buried her mother last week and she is still trying to adjust to the fact that she found her mother, only to lose her forever. When she starts feeling sad and blaming herself for her mother's death, try and reassure her that it was not her fault. In the last two weeks, Kitty and I have both told her that it was not her fault. Cat was only eight, so we did not tell her the whole reason her mother stayed in Dodge. She is much too young to have to deal with something like that. We told her that her mother stayed in Dodge to divorce her husband because he was not a nice person and did not treat her the way a lady should be treated. I will leave it to you to decide when she's old enough to understand the truth, but I think you should wait until she's at least twelve."
"Please pay attention to what Matt just said," Rip added. "The last thing either of us needs is a telegram telling us that our brother's daughter has disappeared. We agreed to the adoption because you can give Catherine what we can't, a home and a family. Matt and I are both going to give her money so she can send us a telegram if things here get too bad and one of us will come and get her. We both pray that she won't need to send a telegram because we want her to be happy. Do not take that money away from her. We debated whether or not to tell you about the money but we were afraid that if you found it, you would accuse her of stealing it and punish her, which would cause her to run away. She has learned many things from Matt since Kate left her with him, and from the Apaches, among which is a very good sense of right and wrong. She also learned how to fight. Our little Wild Cat has a very quick temper and, as Matt can attest, it gets the best of her a lot."
Everyone chuckled at Rip's last comment. "Rip is right," said Matt. "Cat doesn't mind getting into fights and wears every black eye like it's a badge of honor. If one of the boys at school pulls one of her braids, she will hit him. She knows I don't approve of her fighting, but I do not want you to punish her for defending herself. And yes Adam, I consider hitting someone who's pulling your hair, to be self defense," he said at Adam's frown. "When she turned eight, Cat started defending some of the youngest children who were being bullied by the same boy who used to bully her. He settled down some when his father was sent to prison and his uncle started raising him, but once Cat got big enough to defend herself and others, he stopped picking on her and the little ones so much. I also do not want you punishing for defending someone who cannot defend themselves. In fact, I'm thinking that we need to go to town tomorrow so I can have a talk with her teacher. I don't want her punished by the teacher for defending herself or someone who cannot defend themselves."
"Why don't you wait until the day after tomorrow to talk with Cat's teacher?" asked Ben. "You'll already be in town to get the stage, so there's no sense in making an extra trip."
"Don't try and get her to wear a dress all the time," said Kitty. "I have a hard enough time getting her into a dress for church on Sundays and had to do some fast talking to get her into a dress for the funeral."
"She's a girl and she's going to start dressing like a girl," said Ben.
"No Ben, let her wear her buckskins," said Matt. "If you push too hard on what she wears, you'll lose her. I almost did when she came back from being with the Apaches when she was four. She spent almost a year living with them and wearing buckskins. When I tried getting her to wear dresses all the time, she got on her pony and started trying to go back to Arizona. If Quint hadn't seen and stopped her, I don't know how far she would have gotten or what would have happened to her."
"I'm sure that when she gets older and the boys start getting interested in her, she'll start wearing dresses more," said Kitty. "In the mean time, let her wear her buckskins. Before Matt and I go back to Dodge, I'll make her promise me that she'll wear a dress to church. She tries very hard not to break her promises. When you start taking her to dances, if you talk to her calmly beforehand, she might wear a dress to the dance."
"They're right Ben," said Roy. "From what I've seen of Cat over the years, you're going to have your hands full. You're going to need to pick your battles and her clothes are a little one that can be avoided. Let Kitty convince her to wear a dress for church and when she's old enough to start going to the monthly dances in town, maybe I can convince her to wear one."
"Alright, she can wear her buckskins except for church," said Ben.
"In case you haven't already noticed, there is one more thing you need to be aware of," said Matt. "Cat is very good with horses. Quint says she has quite a way with them and can calm a nervous one just by petting and talking to it. He says that she'll make a great blacksmith when she grows up."
Everyone had a good laugh at that last remark. "I don't want my daughter growing up to be a blacksmith," laughed Ben. "I don't even want her wearing buckskins. I always envisioned having a daughter running around in pretty dresses, not buckskins. I don't know why Rip and Matt let her escape from the fort when she was four," he teased. "Now, do I send her to Arizona for her two weeks with the Apaches and does she go to Lucas' ranch this year or not?
"Yes," said everyone together.
"When they brought her back, I promised the Apaches that Cat could spend two weeks with them every summer," said Rip. "That promise has been kept and I see no reason to keep her from going there again this year. They may also be able to help her deal with her grief and the guilt she's been feeling. If Lucas is willing to take her for a week this year, I see no reason why she shouldn't go there also. Mark seems to have a calming influence on her."
"I'd love to have her for a week this year," said Lucas. "I know that Mark will be thrilled. It will also give her the opportunity to see how a family functions without being overwhelmed with three older brothers."
"Ok. That's settled," said Ben. "But when do I send her?"
"We're leaving for Arizona the day after tomorrow," said Grant. "Why don't we take her with us?"
"That soon?" asked Ben. "I had hoped to have her with me for a few weeks before sending her off to Arizona."
"I think it will be better this way Ben," said Lucas. "This will give Cat more time to adjust to what happened to her mother and the fact that she's going to be living here now with three older brothers to order her around. It will also give you and the boys time to adjust to the fact that you're about to have a very independent nine year old girl living here all the time. It will also allow you time to come up with rules for her to follow, how you're going to tell her about those rules, and what the consequences will be for breaking them. As Matt said, exhaust all other avenues before resorting to physical punishment. Mark is only a few months older than Cat and I have never laid a hand on him. Cat is a very intelligent child. Give her time to adjust to living here and having new rules to follow before you start punishing her for breaking rules. In the beginning, try and use broken rules as teaching opportunities. For example, if one of your rules is that she has to come straight home from school and she doesn't, explain why it's important for her to come straight home. She's wild, but she's a sweet child with a big heart but it's going to take her time to adjust to being here instead of in Dodge with Matt. Remember, she is grieving the loss of the mother she just found. Give her the chance she needs to adjust."
"That will also give us a chance to talk to her about what being part of a family is all about," said Julia Grant. "I know that she's been helping Little Joe with his chores but that's because she's only been here on school vacations and thinks helping her older cousin is fun. We can talk to her about how family members all have to help each other every day, not just on school holidays and that everyone has things they have to do to help the other family members."
"It's getting late and I need to get back to town before the good citizens of Virginia City decide I've deserted them for the Ponderosa and elect someone else to do my job," said Roy. "It was a pleasure meeting all of Cat's extended family and I hope I get to see all of you again sometime."
"Why don't you come out here for supper tomorrow night?" asked Ben.
"Thank you for the invitation Ben. I never turn down an invitation to eat Hop Sing's cooking, especially when my favorite Cartwright is here. Now that she's going to be living her all the time, I may invite myself to supper every night. Goodnight everybody. I will see all of you around five tomorrow evening."
After saying goodnight to Roy, everybody else sat around the table for a little while longer, talking and giving Ben advice on how to deal with his new daughter. Knowing that Adam would also play a role in disciplining Cat, they all stressed that she needed time to adjust to her new life and that physical punishment should be used as a last resort when everything else had failed. Neither Ben or Adam were happy about being told how to discipline Cat but they realized that the others, especially Matt and Rip knew her much better than they did and over the years, had learned what worked and what didn't, so they agreed to what they had been told. They sat and talked for a while longer before going to bed.
At breakfast the next morning it was decided to spend one more day riding around the Ponderosa as everybody would be leaving the following day. Ben had convinced Matt to wait and talk to Cat's teacher before leaving the next day. Hop Sing packed a large picnic dinner, which was loaded into the buggy as soon as Adam hitched it up. Since Cat and Mark as well as her Godfathers wanted to go fishing, enough fishing poles for all of the men and the two children were also packed along with cans for worms and a shovel to dig them with. They also packed towels in case everyone wanted to go swimming.
While horses were being saddled and the buggy hitched and loaded, Cat decided to show Fury's new blankets to him. Nick watched, amused as his younger cousin showed the colt each blanket and put it on him, declaring how handsome he looked with his new "clothes" on. He trotted around the pasture with each blanket like he was showing off for the other foals. Heath had joined his brother at the pasture fence and both of them had a good laugh at the foal's antics. "You know Nick, I think that colt's going to be just as big a handful as our little cousin is."
"I think you're right Heath. Once he's old enough to ride, Ben's going to have his hands full trying to contain them both. Look at him, he's barely a week old and he acts like he owns the pasture."
"He's fast too. I've been watching him this past week and he's faster than all of the other foals in the pasture, including the ones who are older than him. Once Cat starts riding him, if she doesn't want to be caught, Ben, Adam, Hoss, and Joe aren't going to have an easy time keeping up with her. I also have a feeling that she's going to be the only one who will be able to ride him. Well, everybody's waiting for us, so I'd better get Cat so we can leave." Heath called Cat and told her everyone was ready to leave so she needed to put Fury's blankets away because everyone was ready to leave. She ran to the house, put the blankets with the rest of her birthday gifts and joined the rest of the family.
When they reached the lake, Nick proposed a fishing competition between the Barkleys and Cartwrights. "What are the stakes?" asked Adam.
"If you win, I'll give you a good mare to be Fury's mate when he grows up. If we win, you give us that bull I've been admiring."
"It's a deal," said Ben. "Cat, get your fishing pole and join the boys and me."
"I'm going to fish with Jarrod, Nick and Heath," she replied. "There's four of you and only three of them, so it will make it even if I fish with them."
"What are we going to do with all of the fish we catch?" asked Sheridan.
"We'll keep them and take them home for supper," said Ben. "However, with all of us fishing, we're going to have to help Hop Sing clean them or we won't be able to have them for supper."
By dinner time, both sides of the competition had caught the same amount of fish. During dinner, Ben told Cat that she would be leaving with her Godparents and Rip for Arizona the next day and when her two weeks were done, she would be spending a week with Lucas and Mark. When she worried about who would take care of Fury while she was gone, Adam, Hoss, and Joe all promised to take care of him for her. After dinner, Mark and Cat wanted to go swimming. Kitty decided to join them, so they walked up the shore away from the fishing competition where they splashed each other, swam, laughed and had a good time. When it was time to go back to the house and the fish were counted, the Barkleys had lost by only two fish.
"Well, you won, fair and square," laughed Nick. "We've got a real pretty filly that's only a few weeks older than Fury. She's all white and her name is Angel. I'll bring her out to you after she's weaned. I'd also like to bring a few heifers for that bull to service. I'd love to add his bloodlines to our stock."
When they got back to the house, Ben, Adam, Hoss, Joe, Nick, and Heath took care of the horses while the rest of the men, Cat and Mark started cleaning the fish for Hop Sing to cook. As there were a lot of fish to be cooked, the ladies offered to help Hop Sing prepare supper. They picked, washed, and cooked the vegetables and kneaded the bread dough. They also took the cooked fish and put them in the warmer and helped make a large chocolate cake for dessert. Audra helped Cat and Mark set the table. Roy arrived at five and everyone sat down to supper at six.
After supper, Adam played his guitar softly while everyone talked. Mark and Cat read books by the fireplace until it was time for bed. When Roy left, Ben walked out with his friend. "I'm not very happy at being told how to raise Catherine," Ben said. "I've raised three sons, I'm sure I can raise one girl without unsolicited advice."
"How much time have you spent with Cat since her mother left?" asked Roy. "Stop and think about it. She has only been coming here for school holidays since she was five. So, you've had her for about three months total a year for the last three years. That's a total of nine months time you've spent with her in the last eight years. On the other hand, Matt has raised her since she was only about eighteen months old. Except for those nine months, the year she was with the Apaches, and the times he had to be gone searching for outlaws, he has been with her every day since Kate left her with him. Matt is trying to make the transition easy for both you and Cat. She is very independent for a nine year old. If you and Adam start punishing her the way you punished Hoss and Joe when they were young, you will lose her. She may or may not send a telegram to Matt or Rip but I am quite certain she will get on a horse and ride toward Dodge or Arizona. Either way, you will never be allowed to have her here again. Remember, Matt and Rip are her father's brothers and that gives them the right to terminate the adoption. So, you have a choice to make. You can listen to what Matt had to say, or you can do it your way and risk losing her forever. If you do choose to listen to Matt, do not let Adam take that money away from Cat. I know he's planning to do it because he said that nine year old children do not need and should not have money. If Adam takes that money away from her, she will tell Matt and/or Rip and you and he will lose their trust as well as Cat's. Think about it long and hard Ben. Is your pride worth losing that little girl forever?"
"Thanks Roy. You're right as always. It is just my stupid pride getting in the way. I love that little girl and don't want to lose her. I'll take Matt's advice and raise her his way. And I'll tell Adam not to touch the money they gave her."
"I'm glad Ben. I know how much you love that little Wild Cat and I'd hate to see you lose her. Matt's advice will make things a little easier for you, but you're still going to have your hands full. You know from raising the boys that she's going to test the boundaries you set for her. In fact, since she is so independent, she may push against them harder than the boys did and may even try to find ways to go around them. Just remember, she was raised in a totally different environment than the boys and will look at everything from a different point of view. It's late and I've got to get going. I'll see everyone in town tomorrow before they leave. Oh yes, I just thought of one more thing. When she comes home again, you had better take Cat out and introduce her to the tribe of Shoshones who live on the Ponderosa. You'll never hear the end of it if you don't and she finds them on her own, which she eventually will."
"Good night Roy. Thanks for coming out here for supper. You know that you have an open invitation. I'll see you tomorrow, and I will take your and Matt's advice on how to raise Cat."