by J. Rosemary Moss
Genre: Fan Fiction Crossover (Bonanza-Gone With The Wind)
Rating: PG
Link to Part One
~
Hoss swallowed. “Do you want to tell him?” he asked, staring at the front door.
“Oh yes,” Joe answered, rubbing his hands together.
“Pa’s going to be hopping mad,” Hoss warned him.
Little Joe nodded. “He sure is. But he’ll be angry with older brother—not with us. I only wish older brother were here so that he could witness Pa’s reaction.”
“He doesn’t have to be here,” Hoss said with a sigh. “I reckon he’ll hear Pa explode all the way down in Atlanta.”
Joe bit back a grin. “Probably,” he owned.
“Do you suppose we can calm him down afterwards?” Hoss persisted.
Joe gave the matter some thought. “I think so,” he said at length. “If Adam marries a divorcée the world won’t come to an end. But it might take Pa some time to see that.”
Hoss sighed again. “I reckon that’s why Adam sent you that letter. He wants us to soften Pa up for him.”
“Yup,” Joe agreed. “And that’s what I’ll do—but I think I’ll let Pa have his explosion first.” He paused to hit his brother on the chest. “Wish me luck!”
“Good luck, short shanks,” Hoss said solemnly.
And with that Joe squared his shoulders and made his way inside.
*
As Joe expected, Pa was sitting behind his desk, frowning at a mound of paperwork. Joe shook his head. Pa had been working too hard of late, but there was no talking to the man.
He could read his Pa’s thoughts. He was wishing that Adam was here instead of wasting his time in Atlanta. Pa would feel better if his oldest son was at hand to peruse their investments—especially in the wake of the stock market crash.
Of course, Adam was making himself useful in Atlanta. He’d been looking into new investments that weren’t likely to be affected by the crash. But Pa still wanted him home.
Oh, just wait till Pa heard what was keeping older brother in dear old Georgia!
“Hi Pa!” Joe called out as he removed his hat, coat and gun belt. “We got all the supplies from town—and all the mail.”
“Anything from Adam?” Pa demanded.
“As a matter of fact, yes,” Joe answered. “A nice long letter. He expects to be coming home soon. But Pa—”
“Thank the Lord for that!” Pa said. “It’s high time he stopped worrying about what was going on in the South and started thinking about what’s going on here. When does he expect to be home?”
“He doesn’t know, exactly,” Joe said with a shrug. “He’s, uh—well, he’s waiting on someone.”
Pa furrowed his brow. “Waiting on someone? Who?”
Joe grinned. “A girl, of course. Well, not exactly a girl,” he corrected. “I should say a lady.”
“A lady?” Pa repeated blankly. “Do you mean to tell me—is your brother engaged?”
“No, but he has hopes,” Joe explained. “But Pa—”
“Why, that’s wonderful!” Pa exclaimed, jumping up from his chair. “What is she like? How did he meet her?”
Joe cleared his throat. “Well, apparently her little girl was lost. Adam found her and brought her home. But Pa—”
“Little girl?” Pa repeated. “The lady must be a widow.”
Joe nodded. “Yeah, she’s a widow, all right. In fact, she’s been widowed twice. She has a son from her first husband and a daughter from her second one. But Pa—”
“Wonderful!” Pa said again. “Oh, I’m sorry that she lost two husbands—I imagine the war had something to do with that—but I’ll be gaining two grandchildren!”
Joe sighed. “Only if this works out, Pa.”
“Why shouldn’t it work out?” Pa asked as he picked out a pipe from his collection and broke open a new tin of tobacco. “Adam has everything to offer a lady.”
Joe took a deep breath. “But Pa, she’s married,” he said in a rush.
Ben looked up from his pipe. “Married? I thought you just said that she was widowed—twice!”
“She was,” Joe agreed. “But then she got married again. And husband number three is still alive.”
Pa’s face transformed before Joe’s eyes. His expression went from sheer delight to thunderous rage.
“Do you mean to tell me that your older brother is courting a married lady?” he demanded.
Joe nodded, making sure that he kept a straight face. “But don’t worry, Pa,” he said reassuringly. “Adam thinks that Mrs. Butler will obtain a divorce.”
“Oh he does, does he?” Pa asked, tossing his pipe down on the desk. “Does he also think that I raised my sons to court married women? Or to encourage a woman to disgrace herself with a divorce?”
Joe managed another shrug. “I’m not sure, Pa. He doesn’t say.”
Pa glared at him and stalked over to the door. Joe watched him put on his hat, coat and gun belt.
“Where are you going?” he risked asking.
“To town,” Pa answered. “I mean to wire that older brother of yours and bring him to his senses!”
And with that Pa marched out the door, slamming it behind him.
Little Joe let out a low whistle as he shook his head. Well, that went about as well as he expected. Hopefully by the time he got to town, Pa would calm down. He’d probably think better of sending the wire. He’d at least decide to come home and read Adam’s letter first.
That’s when he and Hoss would get to work on him. Between the two of them, they could make Pa see reason.
Still, it was nice to see older brother as the object of Pa’s rage. “Better you than me, Adam,” Joe said with a smile.
*
Pork entered the dining room slowly. Scarlett was seated at the head of the table with nothing but a single glass and the decanter of brandy in front of her.
She looked up at him as he entered. Her eyes were sparkling, as if daring him to reprimand her. She wasn’t drunk, but he knew from experience that she’d had just enough liquor to make her impossible to reason with.
“Why don’t you go on up to bed Miss Scarlett?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No, I’m not tired. Pork, do you know where Adam Cartwright lives?”
“Yes, I do,” he answered, narrowing his eyes at her.
“Go get the carriage then and—and bring me to him.”
He raised his eyebrows at that. “Miss Scarlett—you can’t go to his place! You know what folks would think—even if it were daylight. But it’s almost eleven o’clock at night!”
“Fiddle-dee-dee,” she responded as she poured herself another glass. “Do you think I care about one more scandal? Let the neighbors talk. They’ll be gossiping soon enough, regardless, if I end up divorced.”
“Miss Scarlett, let me help you upstairs,” Pork pleaded.
“Mother of God, I’m not drunk and I’m not a child! Now kindly bring the carriage around or I’ll find his home myself.”
Pork sighed. Scarlett was right—Atlanta folks would talk about her now no matter what she did.
Pork knew that Ashley Wilkes was hoping Scarlett would accept Adam’s suit. Ashley had liked Adam straight off and thought he’d be good for her. For the first time, Pork found himself agreeing with Ashley.
Maybe Scarlett should get her divorce after all and let Adam Cartwright take her and the children away from here. Maybe a fresh start out west would be the best thing for all of them.
Of course, that would put Pork in a bind. He was as much an O’Hara as Scarlett and he had no mind to seek employment with a new family. So either he would have to return to Tara and put up with Suellen or he and his own family would have to make the long journey to Nevada.
He would talk it over with his wife Dilcey, of course. But of those two options, Nevada looked more promising.
Besides, he had his own children to think of. The world would always be difficult for them, because of their race. But looking down the long years ahead, Pork thought that perhaps the West would offer them more opportunities than the South.
“You stay right where you are, Miss Scarlett,” he said at length. “I’ll bring him here.”
LINK TO PART FIVE
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