Better Loved, Part Eight

by J. Rosemary Moss

Genre: Fan-Fiction (Bonanza)
Rating: PG

LINK TO PART ONE

~

Clementine Hawkins stared at Charlotte as the girl grew quiet. “Well then, what happened?” she demanded.

Charlotte smiled. “Monique recovered. The boys stayed with us as long as they could—until Adam finally had to leave for school.”

She paused and sighed. “I gave him a gift before he left. It was a small pillow that I embroidered for him. A beautiful, intricate piece of work, if I do say so myself. I wrapped it up and made him promise not to open it until he got to Boston.”

But the widow had little interest in embroidered pillows. “What about the Irisher?” she asked.

“He left for Boston with Adam, but he died two years later. Adam wrote to me—well, to all of us—about it. Kevin got caught up in some nasty brawl in New York and ended up with a knife in his stomach. Adam was right there with him. He bandaged him up and carried him to a doctor but they couldn’t stop the bleeding in time.”

Clementine watched the girl frown. “Something changed in Adam’s letters after that. A spark went out of them. It didn’t come back until years later—not until he went out west again and settled back with his family.”

She paused again as her frown disappeared. “In fact, it came back when he started telling us about Little Joe! I feel like I know him already from his letters. I suppose it’s Joe’s job now to keep Adam from being too serious.”

Clementine smiled. “Very likely.”

She would have liked to ask Charlotte more, but the girl excused herself and made her way to bed. Oh well—there was time yet to bring her around.

~

Two nights after he met Miss Corday Adam was sitting in his room, reading. His eyes strayed from his book over to his bed. He smiled as they rested on the pillow that Antoinette had made for him when he left New Orleans.

She had embroidered two lines she filched from the song about Charlie:

Better loved ye cannot be
Will ye no come back again?

He tried to visualize Antoinette now, all grown up. He thought of Miss Corday again and a strange possibility flitted through his mind. But he brushed it aside—at least until Joe barged into his room with a message from town.

Someone had wired Adam from New Orleans. He waited until Joe left before reading the message. It was from Therese.

God love her. Federal troops might be crawling all over the city but that hadn’t stopped her from wiring her message. Adam shook his head. Good luck to the Yankee who stood in her way.

He was up in an instant after reading the words. He felt his mouth twist into a startled frown. He would have quite a bit to say to ‘Miss Corday’ when he got his hands on her.

He stared at the pillow again and managed a weak laugh at his own expense. He would have to convince Hoss and Joe to cover his chores tomorrow so he could ride for Virginia City.

LINK TO PART NINE