The New Hand, Part 107

by J. Rosemary Moss

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

LINK TO PART ONE

~

Adam finally made good his threat to chastise David—and David, for his part, decided to let him get away with it. There was something irresistible about Adam when he was in one of his tyrannical-correcting moods, so David didn’t even put up a fight.

Well, not much of one. He couldn’t let Adam get away with his ‘masterful’ act without some token resistance and a brief wrestling match had it's charms. In fact, he might have put up a little more resistance if he had realized just how strict Adam would be. But that was the price for falling in love with such a delectable tyrant.

David leaned up against Adam on the bed afterward, resting his head against Adam’s shoulder. “I suppose I deserved that,” he mumbled.

“Every stroke,” Adam agreed, giving David’s backside another firm smack for good measure. “You were impossible to all of us while you were recovering.”

“I was always an irritable patient,” David owned.

“So I’ve heard,” Adam said as he kissed the top of David’s head and pulled him closer to him. “Oh, Lord—I’m going to miss this,” he whispered.

David bit back a grin. “Chastising me?”

“No,” Adam answered in a voice that plainly said he was rolling his eyes. “But I’m going to miss sharing my room with you.”

David sighed. It was Wednesday night: the start of his last official week as a guest on the Ponderosa. By next Wednesday morning he and Abby would be moving into the cottage.

“It won’t be the same,” he admitted. “But we’ll always make time for some privacy, Adam. And we’ll have business trips to see to.”

“True enough,” Adam agreed, stroking his hair with an almost unbearable tenderness. “But you’re right—it won’t be the same.”

David pushed himself up a little and stared down hungrily at Adam. “Then we’d best make the most of the time we have.”

~

Hoss took a deep breath as he set his tools down and stepped away from the anvil. It was hot this Thursday afternoon—summer was almost here. He was almost sorry now that he and Joe hadn’t gone to San Francisco. At least the fog and the rain kept everything cool there.

Of course, they still meant to go. It’s just that cutting a deal with Gregory Miller had changed things a bit.

Joe still had a plan, though. Even with Gregory Miller’s testimony, it was going to be tough to nail Ed Niles for attempting to have David murdered. But now that Niles was awaiting trial, the buzzards were beginning to circle him. They had caught a whiff of weakness and they meant to close in.

Various members of the business community were bringing others charges against Ed Niles—and there was no doubt that some of them would stick. Niles had made plenty of enemies.

And Joe thought they had one more resource—a girl named Marty. Hoss wasn’t sure about approaching this girl, though.

This Marty was Ed Niles’ illegitimate daughter—probably. Well, Niles acknowledged her, at any rate. Joe didn’t think Marty knew anything explicit about the attempted murder, but she might well have heard things from Niles. And she may have picked up bits and pieces here and there about her father’s business practices.

Marty had been a dear friend and something of a little sister to Adam. But how did she feel about Adam now? That’s what Hoss wondered. After all, thanks to the Cartwrights, Ed Niles was now charged with trying to arrange the murder of David Griffin. The man could hang for a thing like that.

He probably wouldn’t hang—like as not he had enough influence to prevent that. Nonetheless, Hoss couldn’t see the man’s daughter being happy about his circumstances.

But things were even more complicated than that. Marty had been secretly married to Gregory Miller—the would-be assassin. True, they were divorced now, but still…

Hoss knew that Adam had written at length to Marty and planned a trip out to San Francisco to talk to her face to face. But Adam had no intention of dragging her into the trial.

Hoss shook his head. Little Joe was convinced that they could use Marty’s help in bringing Niles to justice—and that she would voluntarily lend them aid.

But Joe had only told this to Hoss. He hadn’t confided in Adam, Pa or David yet.

Hoss sighed as he took off the heavy leather apron he was wearing. Then he made his way over to the trough to splash some cool water on his face. Only time would tell how Joe’s scheme would work out—and only time would tell if they really would get Niles.

Hoss stood over the trough for a long moment, trying to puzzle things out. It seemed that his world had gotten twisted and convoluted in the last little while. And it wasn’t just about Ed Niles and Gregory Miller.

There was Adam and David, for starters. Well, maybe that wasn’t as bad as Hoss first thought. It still seemed unnatural, but the two men were well matched as friends. Hoss would just have to view their relationship as a more intense friendship than usual; that was all.

And then there was Joe’s relationship with David. Those two were getting to be the best of friends themselves. Hoss knew for a fact that Joe intended to confide in David next about Marty—he was hoping to have David in his camp before approaching Adam.

Hoss wasn’t sure how he felt about this friendship between Joe and David. The pair of them were often up to some good-natured mischief together and that had Hoss feeling jealous. After all, he’d always been Little Joe’s partner in crime.

Well, ok—he hadn’t always been Joe’s willing partner in crime. But that was beside the point.

Hoss sighed again. He knew what the problem was: Joe had accepted David as a brother-in-law and Hoss couldn’t quite bring himself to do that. Maybe once he really started seeing David as family, he would stop feeling jealous.

Of course, in another sense, David was family. Pa was going to marry David’s mother, after all. That didn’t bother Hoss—he was happy for his father. And he liked Josephine. She would keep Pa on his toes.

Hoss felt his mood lighten somewhat. Maybe he couldn’t quite see David as his brother-in-law, but he could see David as a step-brother. And that amounted to the same thing. Family was family.

Hoss sighed once more—this time in relief. Maybe now he wouldn’t mind seeing Joe and David get on so well.

LINK TO PART 108