Fare Thee Well, Part Three

by J. Rosemary Moss

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

LINK TO PART ONE

~

Little Joe stood outside of Adam’s door, poised to knock. His brother had just returned from dropping off Charlotte at the Widow Hawkins’ boarding house.

Hoss was already asleep and snoring. Pa was downstairs pouring over the timber contract—that would keep his attention for at least another hour. This was the perfect time to have a private conversation with older brother.

To Joe’s own surprise he paused before knocking on Adam’s door—he was more nervous about this chat than he had thought. But after swearing under his breath he forced himself to knock. There was an answering grunt, which he took as leave to enter.

He found Adam sitting up reading. He had sunk himself into the plump, overstuffed armchair that he refused to part with despite its worn fabric and misshapen cushions. He seemed engrossed in whatever book he held.

Joe walked up to the chair and crouched down so that he was eye level with the book. “Moby Dick,” he said as he read the title.

“Yup,” Adam answered, keeping his eyes trained on the page.

Joe grinned. “I read some of that. The first few chapters were a riot—Melville had me in stitches. Then I skimmed my way through the sermon—Catholics aren’t good at long sermons—but I lost interest once they were out to sea.”

Adam returned his smile. “This is my second time around with this book. I read it when it was first published, but I couldn’t decide what to make of it.”

“And now?”

He shrugged. “Now I can tell that it’s brilliant—but I still don’t know if I like it or not.”

Joe laughed as Adam tossed the book aside and stood up. He got to his feet as well, feeling a little bit better about the question he was about to ask.

“What can I do for you?” Adam asked as he walked over to his dresser and poured himself a glass of water from the pitcher that was sitting there.

“I, uh, I was wondering if you’d tell me how you found out about my mother’s past,” he managed. Then he held his breath—Adam had a heap of mixed feelings about Joe’s mother. He had been, ah, in his cups the last time he spoke of her at length. He might not be willing to discuss her sober.

He watched Adam set his glass down without taking a sip. At length he turned to face him. “Why do you want to know?” he asked.

Joe shrugged. “It’s so much to take in. I suppose I want to know why she confided in you when she wouldn’t dare tell Pa or me.”

Adam was silent for a long moment, but finally he sighed. “You probably remember the day she told me,” he said. “It wasn’t long before I left for college. In fact, I’m pretty sure you overheard part of our conversation…"

LINK TO PART FOUR