by J. Rosemary Moss
Genre: Fan-Fiction (Bonanza)
Rating: Mature Content
LINK TO PART ONE
~
"Joe, have you plum lost your mind?" Hoss demanded.
Adam put his head in his hands as he prepared himself for Joe's response. He didn't expect it to be any different this time around.
They were back at the house now. Once Little Joe agreed to marry her, Bess dropped the charges against him. Even her brother Frank had looked satisfied.
Joe rolled his eyes. "I haven't lost my mind," he said as he leaned back against the edge of the fireplace. "I've just decided to get married, that's all."
"And raise a child that's not yours?" Hoss persisted.
"It's not the child's fault," he retorted. "And don't worry—I'll make a good father."
"We know that," Adam said soothingly as he forced himself to look up. "But you won't do the child any good if you marry a girl you despise."
"The child will be better off than if Bess raises it by herself," Joe argued. "Look, it's settled. I mean to get her to a justice of the peace as soon as possible."
Adam raised his eyebrows at that. "A justice of the peace?" he repeated, frowning. "Isn't she a Catholic, like you?"
He shrugged. "What if she is?"
"Well, she ain't likely to agree to a justice of the peace then, is she?" Hoss asked. "I remember Pa saying that your Ma refused to get married outside the Catholic Church. She wouldn't even compromise on a Protestant ceremony, like he wanted."
"Bess ain't my Ma, Hoss," Joe answered with a short laugh. "She'll take what she can get."
Adam narrowed his eyes at his little brother. "Joe, are you planning to divorce her?"
Hoss gasped as he caught up with Adam's thoughts. "That's why you won't marry her in the Church! You don't mean for this to be a real marriage."
"It won't be a real marriage as far as the Church is concerned," Joe acknowledged. "But it will still be legal."
"But if you divorce Bess, you can still marry the filly of your choice at St. Mary's," Hoss put in. "Is that it?"
"Yeah, that's it," Joe owned.
"If you think this will end in divorce, why marry her at all?" Adam demanded.
Joe's eyes hardened at that. "Because, older brother, you tell me if there's a better way to get revenge on a woman than to have her completely in your power."
Adam didn't respond to that. He just stood up and stared at his little brother. From the corner of his eye he could see Hoss doing likewise.
"Bess—Bess doesn't want me," Joe continued, stammering suddenly. "She just wants my money and my name."
He paused and took a deep breath. "Well, she can have both—but they come at a price. I want Bess to wake up every day knowing that I can divorce her out of hand and keep her from ever seeing her child again. And no court in this country would stop me."
Adam inhaled sharply. Bess's betrayal must have cut Little Joe much deeper than he realized. He almost felt as if he were staring at a stranger.
"Joe," he managed, "don't do this. She's not worth this."
"Yeah," Hoss agreed. "A marriage like that will leave you both miserable."
Joe shrugged again. "I can't be more miserable than I am right now. Now I don't want to talk about it any more. If you two will excuse me, I'm heading up to bed."
Adam watched him trudge upstairs. He just stared after him—he couldn't bring himself to react until Hoss spoke up again.
"I tell you what, older brother," Hoss said. "We need to stop Short Shanks from ruining his life."
"Well, we can't let him go through with this marriage," Adam agreed.
"I think I should ride for town tomorrow and send a wire to Pa in Sacramento," Hoss suggested. "He should be able to talk some sense into that boy."
Adam nodded. "I think you should," he said as he wiped his brow. "In the meantime, I'll do what I can to delay the ceremony."
LINK TO PART FIVE
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