Matt and Rip carried the sleeping children upstairs and put them to bed. They joined the rest of the family in the great room, laughing about how the pair wanted to stay out on the sleigh ride all night but were sound asleep before they returned to the house.

At breakfast, Victoria asked, "Why don't you wear your new dress to church this morning Cat?"

Before Cat could reply, Ben said, "Yes Cat. That is an excellent idea. You should wear your new dress this morning."

Cat couldn't believe her ears. She hated the ugly pink thing and had planned on throwing it in the fire as soon as she could. Now she was going to be forced to wear it. She vowed this would be the only time the hateful thing was on her body. She would get it dirty after church and hide it until after Hop Sing did the laundry. After her aunt went back to California, the dress, pantaloons, and petticoats would be burned. Mark thought the dress was just as ugly as Cat did and whispered, "Maybe it will be too small. They can't make you wear it if it is."

Cat and Mark finished their breakfast and went upstairs to change into church clothes. She was thrilled to find that the pantaloons and petticoats were too small and was overjoyed that the dress was also too small. She knocked on Mark's door and when he opened it, she hugged him and said, "You were right. Everything is too small. I am so happy I want to shout."

"Don't do that. You'll hurt Aunt Victoria's feelings and then you'll be in trouble. Let Uncle Ben tell her that you hate pink clothes. Put everything on and I'll go downstairs and tell Uncle Ben that you need him."

Ben walked upstairs and into Cat's room. It was hard for him to keep from laughing her. "Please don't make me wear this Pa. Everybody will laugh at me and I'll get into lots of fights. Then you'll be mad at me for fighting at church."

He hugged her and said, "Don't worry Kitten. I'm not going to make you wear those things. I would never make you wear clothes that are too small or too large. Since it's still Christmas, why don't you wear your Christmas dress and I'll tell your aunt that the dress and underthings are too small for you? Here, I'll help you take the dress off." He walked back downstairs and said, "Catherine will not be wearing the dress you gave her Victoria. It is too small for her and I would be a very poor parent if I were to force her to wear clothing that is too small. Also, if I were to make her wear it, there would be no end to the teasing she would get from the other children. As Matt can tell you, Catherine does not react well to being teased and would most likely get into several fights."

"I really wanted to see her in that dress. Can't you make her wear it?"

"Victoria, that dress is at least a size and a half too small and I just finished telling you what would happen if she wore it to church. I will not subject her to that kind of teasing. Forcing Cat to wear that dress would be tantamount to giving the school bullies permission to tease her to the point where she starts a fight and I do not want to have to punish her for doing so. If you want to buy her a dress get it two sizes larger, with fewer ruffles and in any color but pink. She hates pink. Her favorite colors are green, blue, and gold. You can get her something when you return home or we can all go to Carson City during the week and you can see if you can find something she likes while we're there."

Since the sleigh was so crowded with everyone in it, Adam, Hoss, and Joe decided to ride their horses to church, allowing Cat to drive the sleigh sandwiched in between her uncles. When they reached the church, Ben introduced the family to everyone and, after saying good morning to everyone, Cat and Mark ran off to find their friends. Laura and Mary were surprised to see that Cat was wearing her Christmas dress instead of the pink one she had gotten from the Barkleys. "It's almost two sizes too small," she said excitedly. "Pa said he'd never make me wear clothes that are too small so I don't ever have to wear it. I was going to throw it in the fire after everyone went home but now I don't have to."

"That's good," said Laura. "Your aunt can take it back to California with her and you won't get in trouble for throwing it in the fire."

"Next time she gives you something that ugly, don't think about throwing it in the fire," said Mary. "Instead find a way to ruin it that won't get you in trouble. You could slip and fall into a mud puddle or catch it on a nail in the barn and rip it bad enough so it can't be mended. Just don't throw it in the fire or rubbish heap because you could get a spanking if you did that."

"What are you girls talking about?" asked Jasper.

"Oh that's right, you didn't see it," replied Mary. "Cat's aunt gave her the ugliest pink dress I've ever seen. It was full of lace and ruffles and so were the petticoats and pantaloons. I know money is tight for Ma and Pa and clothes are expensive, but if anyone ever gave me a dress like that, I'd find a way to destroy it without getting in trouble. Fortunately for Cat, the dress is much too small and Mr. Cartwright said she didn't have to wear it."

"I'm glad he didn't make me wear it," added Cat. "If he did, I'd probably get into fights with Tommy and Billy. Then I'd be in a lot of trouble for starting fights, especially at church. All of the grownups would probably spank me and I'd be twelve before I could sit down again."

"When do you want to go ice skating and sledding?" asked Mike.

"How about tomorrow?" replied Cat. "I've never been ice skating before so I'm going to have to ask Joe how to use them."

"Me too," said Mark. "We don't get a lot of snow in New Mexico and money is always tight for Pa, so he'd never spend it on something like ice skates for me." The children talked for a few more minutes when Reverend Long rang the bell. They walked into the church and headed for the front to sit with Joanne Long as they did every Sunday. "Where are you going?" asked Mark as Cat started to walk past the family.

"We sit up front with Mrs. Long," replied Mike. "We sit with her every Sunday."

"Catherine," said Ben.

"Yes Pa?"

"We have guests and I think you should sit with the family today. Your friends will just have to get along without you for a change."

Cat sighed. She really wanted to sit with her friends but didn't want to get in trouble. So she simply said, "Ok Pa," and sat between her uncles.

Before beginning the service, Reverend Long reminded everyone of the New Year's dance coming up on Friday night and said that Andy Walker had requested permission to speak to the congregation.

"It's good to be back home again, even if it's just for a few weeks. Some of the children have asked me to give a concert they can attend since most of my singing is done at night or in saloons. I spoke with Reverend Long before the service this morning and he has given me permission to hold a concert for the children here on Wednesday afternoon at two o'clock. This concert is only for the children so the only adults I want here are Reverend and Mrs. Long as they are new to Virginia City. I haven't completely made up my mind yet, but we may have a sing-a-long of some of the children's favorite songs."

Cat sat through the service, blaming her aunt for her current situation. "It's all Aunt Victoria's fault," she thought. "If she wasn't here, I could sit with my friends. First she gave me that horrible pink dress and now I can't sit with my friends because of her. I wish she'd go home and never come back here. It's probably her fault my mama and daddy are dead. She said she never liked mama and probably didn't like my daddy, so I'm sure she wished they were dead. I know she started that nasty old war so my daddy would get killed and mama would have to go away and get killed. She probably doesn't like me either and that's why I got that awful dress and Audra was so mean to me after mama's funeral."

Abel looked at Cat sitting between her uncles, saw the expression on her face, and, having raised a daughter, knew she had something on her mind besides the sermon. After church, he hugged her and asked quietly, "Is there something bothering you? If there is, we can talk about it when we get home. You and I can go up to my room after dinner, close the door and talk. Nobody will bother us. In fact, if you'd like, we can invite Kitty to join us. I know that she's the closest thing to a mother you ever had and the two of you are close."

"Can we really Grandpa? Just you and me and Miss Kitty? I don't want Pa to know because he'll probably get mad at me and spank me."

"Yes Granddaughter. Just the three of us. However, if there is something Benjamin needs to know about, he will have to be told."

"You can't tell him. He'll say I'm being rude and disrespectful and give me a spanking. Remember, he said that the last time I said I wanted to go back to Dodge."

"Yes, I remember. I spoke with him about it and told him he should not be threatening to punish you for the way you were feeling. Now, go and talk with your friends before Benjamin is ready to leave."

While Cat and her friends were making plans for the week, Ben was introducing the visiting family members to everyone. He saved the parents of the five boys who had been so mean to Cat for last. "Where are the boys?" he asked Mr. Davis.

"They're in the church with the judge and Reverend Long. The judge is telling them how lucky they are it's Christmas and he's in a good mood so they don't have to go back to the jail until tomorrow. I believe Reverend Long has come up with something for them to do that they will consider torture."

"Ben," said Mr. Roberts. "Why don't you bring Catherine's uncles and cousins over to the jail tomorrow so they can talk to the boys? I'll have Thomas there also so they can talk to all five boys at once. From talking to them, I can say that Richard, David, and Ronald are truly sorry for what they did and have sworn never to intentionally hurt anyone ever again. However, Thomas and William still persist in blaming Catherine for their actions. Catherine will be glad to know that Thomas has been accepted at Virginia Military Institute. I will be taking him there in a few weeks to take his placement examinations and he will start right after Easter. Neither he nor William will be allowed to write to each other. I will ask the superintendent to confiscate any letters from the boys to each other and forward them to me. Perhaps in a few years when they have learned to take responsibility for their own actions, they will be allowed to correspond with each other."

"That's an excellent idea Richard. We need to have the boys at the jail by nine so why don't you meet us there then?"

"I don't think tomorrow or Tuesday are going to be good days," replied Ben. "Santa brought ice skates and a sled to Cat and she and her friends are going ice skating tomorrow. As this will be her first time on skates, I'm quite certain that the entire family's presence will be required. We'll also have to be there the first time she uses her sled."

The boys' fathers laughed. "How about Wednesday afternoon while the children are at the church listening to Andy Walker sing?" asked Mr. Davis.

"That should be just fine Bill. We'll see you on Wednesday."

After receiving permission from their parents to go ice skating the next day and knowing that Laura, Mary, Cat, and Mark had never been ice skating before, everyone decided to go skating on the pond on the Ponderosa. That way the four beginners could learn without being teased by the older boys. They also decided to go sledding on Tuesday. The parents talked and decided that all of the children could spend the entire week at the Ponderosa. Charles said he and Caroline would bring Carrie over on Thursday or Friday so she could spend a little bit of time ice skating with her sisters and their friends.

After dinner, Abel said, "Go on upstairs and change Cat. Kitty and I will be up there shortly."

After Cat went upstairs, Ben asked, "What is that all about?"

"Cat has something on her mind she needs to talk to Kitty and me about."

"Why can't she talk to me?"

"Because she's afraid if she tells you the way she feels about something, you will punish her."

"Where did she get that idea? I would never punish her for that."

"Benjamin, the last time Cat said she wanted to go back to Dodge, you threatened to spank her if she said it again."

"That's because she only says it when she doesn't get her own way."

"That ain't true Pa and ya know it," said Hoss. "Cat's frustrated about the way you and Adam been treatin' her."

"Hoss is right Pa," added Joe. "You're either treating her like she's me, trying to enforce rules she didn't know existed, or not wanting her to do anything unless you're there with her. You didn't want to go to the Fall Festival so you weren't going to let Cat go until Grandfather said he wanted to go. We had a hard time getting you to let her camp out the night after Thanksgiving so we could show her that she couldn't take care of herself yet. I'm sure that if it hadn't been for Grandfather, you wouldn't have let us follow through with Thaddeus' plan. Adam's been treating her like he treated me when he came home from college, so she doesn't trust either of you yet." Seeing the angry looks on his uncles' faces, he added, "You've both gotten better but she's not sure how long that will last. She knows that Grandfather and Kitty will listen to her and not scold or punish her for expressing her feelings, but she's not sure that you and Adam won't."

"I think I know what she's upset about," said Abel. "You sprung a last minute rule change on her today and I know that made her angry. I could tell by the look on her face when you told her she couldn't sit with her friends."

"I'm tired of her acting like a spoiled brat every time she doesn't get her own way and I intend to stop it right here and now!" exclaimed Ben.

"You will do nothing of the sort!" exclaimed Matt angrily. "You could have told her before we left for church this morning that she would have to sit with the family, but you waited until she was going to join her friends. I told you in June that you need to explain the rules to her and give her time to get used to them. You had from the time we sat down for breakfast until we got to the church to tell Cat you wanted her to sit with the family but you waited until the last possible moment to tell her. I wasn't going to say anything until after she was asleep, but Rip and I have talked. If you and Adam persist in treating our niece the way you have been, we will nullify the adoption and Cat can live with me until she's too old to share that little room and then she can go and live with Rip."

"Ben, you were wrong this morning and you're wrong now," added Victoria. "You have raised three children. How often did you wait until the last moment to change a rule or tell them they couldn't do something they had either always done or had planned on doing? And I'm not talking about something like telling one or more of the boys they couldn't go riding because it was pouring rain. I know my four didn't react well to last minute changes of any kind. Catherine is not acting like a spoiled brat. She is acting like a nine year old child who was planning on doing something she's been doing for a while now, only to be told at the last minute she couldn't do it. Even though she was not happy with your decision, she did as she was told without arguing. I can guarantee that if that had been Nick at the age of nine, they would have heard him yelling all the way in New York, even if we were in church, but Cat didn't say a word and just sat between Matt and Rip. You can't spring last minute changes like that on a young child, especially a girl and expect them to like it. Joe, how long has your sister been sitting with her friends in church?"

"Ever since her second Sunday here after Pa and Adam brought her home from Dodge, so about four months now. In fact, because Pa didn't tell her that we attend church every Sunday, she didn't want to go to church that day, and if it hadn't been for Reverend Long, she would have been punished for arguing about not wanting to go."

Victoria sighed. "Ben, when are you going to learn that you can't punish a child for not following a rule they didn't know existed? Did you do that with your sons or are you just doing it with our sister's daughter?"

"Mr. Cartwright and Adam doing better with Missy Cat," said Hop Sing, joining the conversation. "Not great yet, but better. Mr. Matt and Mr. Rip no cancel adoption yet. Hop Sing tell them if it need to be done. Remember, Hop Sing know everything that happen on Ponderosa. It take time but family eventually come together. Mr. Abel big help. Make Mr. Cartwright and Adam take long look at how they treat Missy Cat. But Mr. Cartwright wrong not to tell Missy Cat before church she need to sit with family. She still little girl and not used to quick changes."

Abel and Kitty went upstairs and found Cat sitting on her bed with her back against the headboard, reading to her puppies. They sat down on the edge of her bed and told her to sit between them. They both hugged her and Abel asked, "What is bothering you Cat. I could tell from the look on your face in church that something was wrong. Won't you please tell me and Kitty what is bothering you?"

"It's all Aunt Victoria's fault."

"What is?" asked Kitty.

"Everything. That horrible pink dress, I couldn't sit with my friends in church, my mama and daddy being dead, Audra being mean to me after mama's funeral, everything. I wish she'd go back to California and never come back here ever again."

Kitty was concerned about Cat's words but, having raised a daughter, Abel just smiled and hugged Cat tightly. "Let's start at the beginning, shall we? Why do you think your aunt is responsible for your parents being dead?"

"Because she didn't like my mama and she probably didn't like my daddy too so she started that awful war so daddy would get killed and mama would go away without me and get killed too."

Kitty hugged Cat. "No Cat, your aunt is not responsible for your parents being dead. That war was started by people in the south who thought Mr. Lincoln was going to make them give up their slaves when he became president. He didn't think it was right for people to buy and sell other people like they do cattle and horses. He also didn't think it was right to force people to work for others without being paid and to treat them very badly. However, he was not going to free the slaves, at least not right away. He wanted to find a way to get the southerners to agree to give up their slaves voluntarily, but he had no plans to free them at that time."

"What's voluntarily mean? But Aunt Victoria said she didn't like my mama."

"Voluntarily means to do something on your own without being told or forced to do it. For example, when you wore a dress to church last Sunday, nobody told you that you had to, you did it because you wanted to. That's what voluntarily means, to do something because you want to do it. Your aunt said was that she was jealous of your mother," replied Abel. "She was the eldest and the only girl at the time. She was eleven years old when your mother was born and because her mother was thought to be too old to have another baby, all of a sudden, her father stopped paying attention to her and spent all of his time paying attention to the new baby. Also, when she was nineteen, your Uncle Tom asked permission to marry her but her father said she had to take care of your mother and couldn't get married until she was twenty one, which made her very angry. Although your aunt was jealous of your mother, she did not hate her. Nor did she wish she were dead. Your aunt is not that kind of person. It is also not her fault that Audra was so mean to you after your mother's funeral. She is not the kind of person who would let one of their children be mean to a much younger child at any time, let alone following that child's mother's funeral. The fact that Audra is not here should prove to you that your aunt was very upset with her daughter about what she did."

"Matt and I were here for your mother's wedding and your baptism," added Kitty. "Victoria was your mother's maid of honor and gave her some very nice wedding gifts. She also gave your parents some very nice gifts when you were baptized. She didn't hate your parents. Nor did she want them to die. Now what else is bothering you?"

"It's her fault I couldn't sit with my friends today. She doesn't like me so she told Pa to make me sit with the family just because she knew it would make me mad."

Abel and Kitty laughed. "No Granddaughter," said Abel. "Your aunt had nothing to do with Benjamin telling you that you couldn't sit with your friends today. That was his decision and nobody else's. Everybody, including your aunt and Hop Sing have been downstairs scolding him for waiting until the last minute to tell you he wanted you to sit with the family today. Your aunt likes you, she just doesn't know you very well."

"Aunt Victoria scolded Pa?"

"Yes she did. Remember, she has raised four children and knows that you can't change the rules at the last minute and expect them to understand and not be upset about the change. What else is on your mind?"

"That awful pink dress is all Aunt Victoria's fault too."

"Of all the things we have talked about, that is the only one that is your aunt's fault. She bought that dress before asking what you like, what your favorite colors are, or even what size you wear. Even though I could tell that you didn't like the dress when you saw it, I am very proud of you for saying thank you and not saying that you didn't like it."

"Grandpa?"

"Yes child?"

"Was Adam jealous of Hoss and Joe?"

"I don't think so Sweetheart. For one thing, Benjamin did not ignore Adam in favor of Hoss or Joe. When he wrote to me, he would tell me how Adam would sit on the wagon seat next to him and sometimes he would have Adam sit in his lap and help him drive the team. He also used to read to Adam whenever he got the chance. When Inger died, Adam had to help take care of Hoss, so no, I don't think he was jealous of Hoss. I don't know if he was ever jealous of Joe or not. You would have to ask him. Now, why don't you go outside and play with Mark? He'll be leaving shortly after the first of the year and you won't see him again until June or July."

During supper, Ben said, "Catherine, I owe you an apology. I should have told you at breakfast that I wanted you to sit with the family at church today instead of waiting until you were ready to join your friends and Mrs. Long. I am truly very sorry I did that and it upset you. I promise not to do it again and I hope you will forgive me. Let's make a new rule so it never happens again. From now on, whenever the family or any of your Godparents are here on a day we go to church, I would like you to sit with the family instead of with your friends. Since the family will only be here for Christmas and your Godfathers are very busy and will rarely visit so you will probably only have to sit with the family four or five times a year. I also promise that if we ever have special company and I want you to sit with the family, I will tell you the night before."

Cat thought for a minute. She didn't mind sitting with the family, she just hated being told at the last minute that she had to. "Ok Pa. I'll sit with everyone when the family or my Godparents are here. Who would be special company? Uncle Matt and Uncle Rip are here now and the only one more special than them is Uncle Sam and that's only because he's the president."

Everyone laughed at Cat's statement. "There are lots of special people in the world Cat," laughed Lucas. "What about me? Aren't I special?"

"Sure you're special Uncle Luke. But Uncle Matt and Uncle Rip are the specialist people in the whole world."

Rip and Matt hugged Cat. "There are a lot of people who are more special than we are," said Rip.

"No there aren't. You and Uncle Matt are the specialist people in the whole world. Once I take Uncle Sam's job when I turn ten, he won't be specialer than you any more."

"I don't know how I managed to raise such a silly little girl, but I did," laughed Matt.

When Hop Sing served dessert, he brought a small chocolate cake that he cut in four pieces. He gave a piece each to Cat, Mark, Matt, and Rip. "Hop Sing," said Ben. "Those pieces of cake are entirely too big for those children. You should have given them smaller pieces."

"Hop Sing no care. Pieces not too big. Missy Cat and Mark be able to eat all of cake. Missy Cat always have room for chocolate cake even after big holiday meal."

"He's right Ben," said Rip. "You should have seen the piece of chocolate cake my sergeant major bribed her with to get her to wear her dress again so I would have to wear my dress uniform to supper the day I was promoted. It was larger than the piece Hop Sing just gave her. She ate a large meal, that piece of cake and asked for more cake."

"I hadn't heard about that," said Matt. "What did a piece of chocolate cake have to do with you wearing your dress uniform?"

"Everybody wanted Uncle Rip to wear his dress uniform to supper," replied Cat. "But he hates his dress uniform almost as much as I hate wearing dresses. So Uncle Rip told the sergeant major that he would wear his dress uniform if he could get me to wear my dress again. The sergeant major told me what Uncle Rip said and said that he would ask the cooks to give me a really big piece of chocolate cake if I would wear my dress again. So I said I'd wear my dress because Uncle Rip looks nice in his dress uniform and I love chocolate cake. Since my Godfathers laughed when I said I'd wear my dress so Uncle Rip would wear his dress uniform, Aunt Julia made them wear their dress uniforms too. Supper was really special. All of the soldiers were in their dress uniforms and when we went into the dining room, there were a bunch of officers standing across from each other and they crossed their swords over the middle and Uncle Rip and I walked under them." Rip endured some good natured teasing about Cat getting bribed so he would wear his dress uniform.

Once Cat and Mark were asleep, Ben asked, "Abel, what did you and Kitty talk with Cat about?"

"Before I tell you what the three of us talked about, Victoria, I'm going to ask you to remember that Cat is only nine and to not get upset."

"Let me guess. She blamed me because Ben made her sit with the family in church this morning."

"That and some other things." He told everyone what they had discussed and said, "We explained everything and she understands that most of what she thought was wrong."

"I'm not angry Abel. I'm sad because Cat doesn't know me and it's my own fault. I'm going to have to work on fixing that problem. Maybe I'll accompany Nick and Heath in the spring when they bring that filly for Fury and the heifers they want to breed to Ben's bull. That will give Cat and I a little bit of time to get acquainted. Ben, you were right when you said I should have written and asked you what Cat likes and what her favorite colors were. That trip to Carson City sounds nice. I would enjoy taking Cat shopping. When do you think we can go?"

"It will have to be Thursday or Saturday. The children are going ice skating tomorrow and sledding on Tuesday. As this will be Cat's first time doing either thing, I know she's going to expect all of us to be there. Andy is singing for the children on Wednesday afternoon and the New Year's dance is on Friday. That leaves Thursday and Saturday for a trip to Carson City. Or we could wait and go next week before you leave."

"Since Cat's friends are going to be here all week, a lot of baths are going to have to be taken on Saturday so Thursday would be the best day to go," said Kitty. Victoria and I have already told Hop Sing we'll help with heating the water and putting it in the tub. However, we would like some of you men to empty and clean it after each use."

The next morning, Cat was excited about going ice skating for the first time. After feeding and grooming Fury, she ran into the house, only to be stopped by Ben's voice. "Catherine Michael, are you running in the house again?"

"It wasn't me Pa. It was someone else."

"Who was it?"

"It was Adam."

"Catherine."

Cat sighed. Now she probably wasn't going to be allowed to go ice skating because of some stupid rule about running in the house. "Yes Pa. I was running."

"Come here." Cat walked over and stood in front of Ben. "What have I told you about running in the house?"

"I can because I'm in a hurry."

"Catherine."

"Not to."

"Then why are you running in the house?"

"'Cause I'm in a hurry."

"Cat?"

"Yes Heath?"

"You're only nine. Why are you in such a big hurry?"

"Because I might miss something important like a rainbow or a shooting star, or a pine cone falling, or a cloud shaped like a duck or..."

Before Cat knew what was happening, Ben pulled her over his knees and gave her two hard smacks on her bottom. "Those are not good reasons for running in the house! I'm letting you off easy this time because I know you are excited about everything that's happening this week. However, the next time you are caught running in the house, we will have a discussion in the barn, you will spend a lot of time standing in the corner, and will be restricted to the house for the remainder of the day. Do you understand what I am saying?"

"Yes sir."

"Good because I don't want there to be any misunderstandings about what will happen the next time because not running in the house is a safety rule and it has been explained to you too many times. I truly hope there will not be a next time because I do not want to have to punish you."

After Cat went upstairs with Mark, Andy said, "I wonder if Cat knows she's only saving a minute or two of time by running through the house. We could show her by doing an experiment similar to the one you did by letting her camp out by herself. It worked with me when I was around her age."

"What do you have in mind?"

"One of us could time her both walking and running up to her bedroom from the barn. There are enough adults here to keep her from getting hurt if she falls on the stairs while she's running. The person at the barn would show her their watch just before she starts and when she returns to the barn. Hopefully she'll realize that she's not saving any time by running and risking getting hurt and/or punished. We'll have her walk first so she can't say she was all tired out from running."

"That's an excellent idea," said Jarrod. "I hope it works because I sure don't want to see anyone get hurt or worse because Cat is running through the house."

"Alright, we'll do it now before all of her friends arrive" said Ben. "Joe, would you please go and get your sister?"