The New Hand, Part Seven

by J. Rosemary Moss

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

LINK TO PART ONE

~

Adam paused to glance at the afternoon sun as he led Sport toward the barn. It was an unseasonably hot day—even now he could feel the sweat gathering underneath the brim of his hat.

He was about to reach for the barn door when he heard another horse approaching. He turned in time to watch David Griffin ride up toward the house.

David reined his gelding to a halt and nodded at Adam. "Do you have a moment?" he inquired.

Adam nodded back. "What can I do for you?"

"I need help tracking an injured coyote," David informed him.

Adam cocked his head at him. "What happened?"

"Todd Burton and I were coming back from riding fence. He spotted a coyote about a mile from here and took a shot at it—but he only wounded it. The animal high-tailed it out of there and Burton didn’t think it was worthwhile to give chase. He figures it’ll die from the gunshot sooner or later."

Adam sighed. He’d never much liked Todd Burton. The man was a reliable and experienced hand, but he seemed to lack a basic capacity for compassion. "I see," he said at length, folding his arms across his chest. "And you, ah, feel differently?"

David shrugged. "I’d as soon not let the animal suffer," he owned. "I think we should find it and put it out of its misery, at the very least."

"I agree," Adam said, giving David a level look. "We’ll see if we can still pick up the trail."

David frowned at that as he leaned forward in his saddle. "I should have gone after it immediately—but somehow being born in Manhattan and raised in San Francisco didn’t prepare me for tracking coyotes."

Adam grinned as he turned Sport around and swung back into the saddle. "Don’t worry—you’ll learn quick enough."

~

Adam found the trail without much trouble, but the animal had managed to cover quite a distance considering its wounds. When he and David finally ran it down it was exhausted and bleeding profusely—it must have been surviving on sheer fright alone.

Both men were still mounted—the creature couldn’t run any further, so there was no point in getting closer on foot.

David sighed. "I suppose there’s nothing to do for it, is there?"

Adam shook his head grimly. "Nothing but put it down. He might lie there in pain for a few hours longer—but he won’t make it to his feet again."

He pulled out his gun as he spoke and took careful aim. One shot finished the poor creature off.

David stared down at the corpse for a moment. "How necessary is it to hunt the coyotes?" he asked. "They don’t seem like much of a threat to cattle."

Adam shrugged. "We hunt the ones that come around the house—they snatch the chickens and such otherwise. Plus if you don’t discourage them properly you’ll find them begging at your door each night."

David smiled at that, but said nothing.

"As for the ones further out—" Adam broke off and shrugged again. "Use your judgement. You’re right, though. Most won’t bother the cattle. They tend to stick to smaller game."

He paused for a moment and stared at David. "Since you have this much compassion for an injured coyote, is it safe for me to assume that your plan to ruin me doesn’t include bodily harm?"

David laughed. "Bodily harm is a crass form of revenge," he assured him. "I wouldn’t sink to that."

"But you’d sink to garnering inside information on contract bids," Adam pointed out.

David took no offense at that statement. "And yet, you prefer my company to Todd Burton’s."

"Infinitely," Adam owned. "But that’s not saying much."

"He’s a much better ranch hand," David pointed out.

"Oh, you’ll catch up with him there," Adam assured him. "But you were right—we might be wasting your talents out here. I don’t mind teaching you the ins and outs of being a hand, but I know what you can do with numbers and I’d rather put you to work with me on some of the accounts—"

David raised his eyebrows at that. "You’d trust me with the Ponderosa
accounts?"

Adam leaned forward in his saddle and looked him in the eye. "Can I trust you with them?"

He grinned. "Yes," he admitted. "I want to ruin you—not the Ponderosa."

Adam nodded. "Good. But I don’t want you to be, ah, creative with the bookkeeping—not even to benefit the Ponderosa."

David solemnly lifted his right hand. "I’ll keep everything on the up and up," he promised.

Adam couldn’t help but smile at that. "All right," he said as he turned Sport around. "We’ll keep you working as a hand this month and start you on the accounts next month."

"Fair enough," David agreed, following suit with his own horse. "Perhaps if I make myself valuable enough, your father will keep me on after I’ve ruined you."

Adam laughed. "We’ll see how that works out for you."

LINK TO PART EIGHT