A Pair of Black Eyes, Part One

by J. Rosemary Moss

Genre: Fan Fiction (Bonanza)
Rating: Mature Content

~

"Aw shucks, Adam! It weren't our fault."

Adam sighed as he looked at Hoss, wishing that iron bars didn't separate them. Well, at least Pa was away in Sacramento. With any luck he'd never have to hear about this.

"Yeah, Adam," Joe put in. He was standing right next to Hoss—inside the same jail cell. "We can explain."

"Start explaining, then," Adam invited.

Hoss took a deep breath. "Well, that sweet little filly that Joe had his eye on—Bess Griffin, that's her name—she, uh, she made a false accusation."

Adam looked back and forth between his two brothers. Hoss was staring downward, blushing and shuffling his feet, while Joe was clutching the bars so hard that Adam was almost surprised they didn't break. He felt his stomach start to churn as he looked into Joe's eyes—they were devoid of their usual mischief and full of anger instead.

Bess must have made quite an accusation.

"I thought you two were arrested for disorderly conduct," he said, noting their torn clothing and the bruises forming on their faces. "Roy said something about a brawl in the Silver Dollar."

"Oh, there was a brawl all right," Joe said, his eyes flashing.

"Yeah," Hoss added. "Bess told her brothers that Joe compromised her and—and got her into a fix."

Adam didn't need a translation for 'into a fix.' He raised his eyebrows at Joe.

"I never laid a finger on her," Joe assured him. "We did walk away from the crowds at the picnic, but she was so skittish that I didn't even hold her hand. Hell, I didn't even offer her my arm!"

Adam sighed again. "Any idea who the real father is?"

Both of his brothers shook their heads.

"Well, I'll talk to the girl," Adam said as he leaned up against the bars. "I'll try to convince her to tell the truth. Meanwhile, if you two cool your heels overnight I'm sure Roy will let you out in the morning."

But Joe shook his head at that. "He'll let Hoss out—not me. Adam, Bess is saying that I forced myself on her."

It took Adam a few seconds to catch up with that. "Forced yourself on her!" he repeated.

"Yup," said Hoss. "I reckon that little filly is so mixed up and frightened right now that she don't know what she's saying."

"Oh, she knows, all right," Joe said.

Adam gave his little brother a quick, penetrating glance. He was surprised at the savageness in Joe's voice, even considering the circumstances.

"Well, I still mean to talk with her," Adam said, struggling to keep his own voice calm. "Look, in the end it's her word against yours. I don't know what she means to gain from this—"

"A Cartwright husband," Joe supplied.

"Maybe, but this is just about the worst way to go about it," Hoss pointed out.

Adam nodded his head in agreement. "Don't panic yet. Let me talk to her and see what happens."

Hoss pointed his finger at him. "You just watch out for those brothers of hers."

"I'm not the one they have a problem with," Adam said with a shrug.

Joe let out a short, mirthless laugh. "Don't count on them being that reasonable," he said.

"Yeah, older brother," Hoss agreed. "They ain't exactly calm right now. Make sure you watch your back!"

"I'll be careful," Adam promised.

And with that he took his leave of his brothers. He paused when he reached Roy's desk, however, and folded his arms across his chest as he cocked his head at the lawman.

"Before you say a word," Roy said, holding up his hand, "you can be sure that I don't believe a word that girl is saying. And she doesn't have anything in the way of proof."

Adam let out a sigh of relief. "That's good," he said. "But then why are you holding my brothers?"

"For their own protection," he explained. "I don't want them tangling with the Griffin boys again. And I don't want Little Joe doing anything stupid or reckless—in case you haven't noticed, he's about ripe for murder."

"Yeah, I noticed," Adam owned. "Fair enough. I'm heading over to the Griffin place now—I want to have a talk with Bess."

"Not by yourself, you're not," Roy informed him. "Hold on, I'm going to send a deputy with you. That ought to keep everyone from losing their temper."

Adam was about to argue, but he changed his mind as he thought over Roy's words. There was a certain amount of sense to them.

He contented himself with taking a seat on the edge of Roy's desk and waiting. One way or another, he told himself, he had to get through to this girl. Otherwise she could wreck Joe's life.

LINK TO PART TWO