The New Hand, Part Four

by J. Rosemary Moss

Genre: Slash Fan-Fiction (Bonanza)
Rating: PG-13

LINK TO PART ONE

~

“Why did you want to come up to my room?” Abby asked as she sat down at her tiny, cramped vanity table.

David raised his eyebrows at her. “Isn’t that obvious?”

She shook her head as she took the pins out of her hair, letting it spill over her shoulders. “I’ve been watching you tonight. I know your type, my friend. You’re not interested in me—or any other woman. In fact, I’d guess that you hold us all in contempt.”

He smiled at that as he helped himself to a seat on her bed. “You’re wrong. I don’t hold women in contempt—I’m just indifferent to them.”

“So why did you want to come up here?” she repeated, staring at him through her mirror.

“I think you and I can be of use to each other,” he answered. “You don’t want to remain at this wretched saloon, do you?”

She turned her chair around so that she was facing him. “Do you have another offer for me?” she asked.

He nodded. “Yes,” he said softly. “I do.”

~

Abby twisted her hands together. It was one of the rare days when David was coming home to spend the evening with her—usually he stayed at the bunkhouse on the Ponderosa rather than face the ride to and from Virginia City. So she had the flat to herself most nights.

She picked up her mending—at least that was something to do to pass the time and one of the few ways that she could repay David for providing for her. After all, he not only paid for this flat; he also gave her a generous amount of pin money besides. Well, at least his shirt cuffs wouldn’t be frayed.

She sighed. And now she had to ask him for even more money. She hated to do that. She would have to find some way to repay him apart from mending his shirts.

At length the door opened and David stepped inside. He took off his frock coat and tossed it on a chair and then greeted Abby with a kiss on the cheek.

She smiled up at him and grinned at the frock coat. David might be working as a ranch hand at present, but he always dressed well when he came into town. He didn’t run around looking like a cowboy.

She asked him how the past few days had treated him and he recounted a funny story about a mistake he made as a ranch hand. Thanks to him, apparently, a number of cattle had broken loose and he and Adam had spent a whole day rounding them up again.

She narrowed her eyes at him, knowing how he felt about Adam Cartwright. "It was an honest mistake, wasn’t it?"

He rolled his eyes and nodded. "Absolutely. Trust me—none of my plans to ruin Adam involve me spending nine hours in the saddle chasing after a stubborn herd. I’ll say this for Adam, though. He didn’t mind helping me round them all up."

"I wish you would give up this idea of ruining him," Abby commented, going back to her mending. "You two seem to get along well enough—you ought to bury the hatchet."

But he gave her a reproving look at that. "That’s enough—there’s certain things I won’t discuss with you, Abby."

"Will you at least tell me what he did?"

"No," he said with a cold finality in his voice.

She shrugged and gave up—at least for the moment. She wasn’t the least afraid of David, so she would pursue the topic again. David might give her a sharp reprimand or the cold shoulder for her impudence, but she knew that he would never physically harm her.

And that, she reflected, made him a much better person than some of the other men she had known.

She glanced up at him to find him narrowing his eyes at her. "Are those my shirts?" he demanded.

She nodded and continued her mending.

He grinned as he pulled up a chair and sat on it backwards. "How charmingly domestic of you. It’s not necessary though—I didn’t hire you to serve as a tailor."

"You didn’t hire me to do anything useful, as far as I can tell."

Seeing the look he gave her she smiled and continued. "Oh, I know you need me to keep up appearances. I suppose all the other hands could prove dangerous if they knew you’ve no interest in women. So I’m useful for that. But I don’t do anything to earn my keep, David. And I don’t like being merely decorative."

He shrugged. "Well, I won’t object to you keeping house for me. In fact, you can look around town and see if you can find a flat with a proper kitchen. You might as well cook for me as well."

She smiled again. "I know you’re teasing but I would like that."

He smiled back. "I’m not teasing. I won’t be in town often, but it will be nice to have home cooked food when I am."

Abby bit her lip. Now she had to tell him that she needed even more money. "Well, if I’m to look about for another flat, I need respectable clothes," she managed. "This is the only nice dress I own. Everything else are those dreadful dresses I wore at the saloon."

"You ought to burn those," David said with distaste. "I’ll leave you a blank marker—you can draw whatever you need from my account to get a suitable wardrobe."

Abby felt her mouth drop open. "You can’t give me a carte blanche!"

David laughed. "Why not? I’m not going to have you running around town looking like a saloon girl."

"Why shouldn’t I?" she asked wryly. "Living under your protection isn’t exactly respectable either."

"But it’s not the same as working in a saloon," he pointed out. "I mean it, Abby. Get rid of all those dresses."

She let out an exasperated sigh. "I can’t—I might need them again. One way or another you and Adam Cartwright will settle things and then you’ll leave."

She looked into his eyes and found that he was regarding her quite seriously.

"Whatever happens between me and Adam," he said, "I promise you that you won’t have to go back to the saloon. I’ll provide you with enough of a parting gift to ensure that."

She sighed. "This feels like robbery on my part. I’m just living like a leech off of you."

He laughed again. "Well, you’re a delightful leech. Besides, you deserve it for putting up with me."

She couldn’t help but to smile again—and to breathe a sigh of relief. The last thing she wanted was to return to the saloon.

She stared at David for a moment and then came to a decision. She would go see Adam Cartwright herself. She didn’t know him well, but he had a reputation for being a decent, honorable man. Maybe he would shed some light on David’s anger toward him—and maybe he would help her figure out a way to bring David to his senses and bring peace between the two men.

And that, she thought to herself, would be the best way to repay David for his generosity.

LINK TO PART FIVE