Welcome to Our Fair City

by jfclover

In the Springtime, a young man’s fancy likely turns to thoughts of, well, many things, anything, in fact, that will make him forget the long, hard winter and think of all the fun and good times that lie ahead.

Love often blooms in the spring and after a long, hard winter, I was hoping something exciting might happen and when a young lady came into my life unexpectedly, I relished every minute we were together.  Love was in the air.  We clicked from day one, and I grabbed hold of that special feeling with everything I had.

I thought she loved me too.  I thought we’d be married and live happily ever after, but she took me down a path I wasn’t aware of until it was too late to confront the woman I planned to spend the rest of my life with.  The love affair had been fashioned long before we met, and I was just a pawn in her prearranged plan.

My injuries were severe, and Doc said another two weeks in bed at least.  What else could I do but lay around and think about what a naïve fool I’d been and how closely I came to losing my life over a love affair that never should’ve been. 

She wasn’t the first girl I’d courted, but she was different than most, and I had difficulty making it through the day without thinking about everything that happened.  My brothers sympathized, but it was hard to let the memories of a foul and vicious woman go and move on with my life. 

Night and day, my father and brothers worried.  The looks on their faces gave entry into their minds, and the whole world knew what they were thinking, but it wasn’t just my family.  Roy Coffee, Doc Martin, and the reverend Holcomb stopped by the house during my recovery, never sure if I’d pull through or leave my family devastated by my demise.  It was common knowledge throughout all of Storey County that Joe Cartwright’s girl was behind all the chaos that went down on that lovely spring day.

Chapter One

I prided myself on welcoming pretty gals who’d chosen Virginia City as their new home.  Christine and her aunt, Iona Mae Lancaster, were traveling west from Ohio looking for a better life when a busted down stage led to an unexpected stay at the International House in Virginia City.  This led to a chance meeting after Pa offered to buy my lunch in the restaurant adjacent to the hotel where the two women happened to be dining.

The ladies were a noticeable pair.  Dressed in Eastern garb—too la-de-da for women of the West—made them stand out as travelers and not residents of our fair city.  When I caught Pa’s eye, I motioned with my head in their direction.  He leaned forward and smiled. 

“Lovely ladies,” he said.”

“I didn’t think you noticed.”

“How old do you think I am, Joseph?”

“Sorry, Pa.”

Lunch was served, but I found it hard to concentrate on my meal.  The young lady was a looker and the best part was that I caught her glancing my way.  When the waiter removed our plates and left the bill on the table, Pa reached inside his vest and pulled out his wallet.

“Shouldn’t we have another beer before we go?”

“Haven’t you had enough, Son?”

“One more might be nice.”

“All right.”

I didn’t want to leave before the ladies, and Pa wasn’t stupid.  He knew exactly why I wanted one more beer and he played along.  The ranch could run itself for a few more minutes.

After the ladies paid for their lunch and headed for the front door, I let Pa know it was time to leave.  I kept my eyes on the younger one and wondered if Pa might be interested in the old lady.  She was a looker too, and I wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t beat me across the room.  My father was a handsome man and maybe it was time he enjoyed what life had to offer.

I didn’t usually think of my father in that way, a man who might be interested in a woman, but it wasn’t a farfetched idea either.  There were plenty of women in town who’d like to get their hands on Ben Cartwright, but he was cautious, maybe too cautious when it came to the opposite sex.  He put all of his energy into the ranch and into raising his sons, but we were grown, not little boys who needed correction and guidance at every turn.  Perhaps it was time for Pa to kick up his heels and have some fun.

When we came upon the ladies, I reached out to open the front door and then touched the brim of my hat.  Joe Cartwright, “Ma’am.”

“Excuse me?”

“Joe Cartwright.  That’s my name.”

“That’s all well and good, Young Man, but do you mind letting us pass?”

I loved a challenge although I wanted to push the old lady out of the way.  She wasn’t the one I was talking to, but she was the one who answered. 

My father stepped between us and tried to save the day.  “What my young son is trying to say is welcome to our fair city.”

“Fine.  May we leave now?”

“It seems we started off on the wrong foot.”

“Maybe so, but if you don’t mind, my niece and I would like to get back to the hotel without the obvious distraction you and your son have presented.”

While the old lady rattled on, the younger one pressed a gloved hand to her lips to suppress a smile.  I didn’t dare smile back.  If the old lady thought bad of me already, I didn’t want to displease her any further.

“I assure you that my son and I had no intention of holding you up, Ma’am.”

“Then we’ll be on our way.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Oh,” said the old lady.  “I don’t think I caught your name.”

Pa looked surprised, but he doffed his hat and said, “I’m Ben Cartwright.”

The old lady offered her gloved hand.  “Iona Mae Lancaster and this is my niece, Christine.  We were on our way to San Francisco when the stage line failed to keep its carriage in working order, and we were forced to spend time in, as you choose to call it, your fair city.”

“There’s plenty to see and plenty to do.  I doubt you’ll be bored during your unscheduled visit.  In fact, my son and I would be honored to escort you to some of the more pristine sites.”

“I honestly don’t think we should.”

“I insist, Ladies.  Dinner at seven?”

The old lady looked to her niece for help but was offered nothing in return.  “I suppose—”

“Good.  We’ll ring for you at seven.”

This wasn’t at all like the father I knew.  Assertive and not giving the old lady a chance to fight back was a genius move, but I was stunned by his persistence.  After the ladies left the restaurant, Pa and I gazed at them walking down the boardwalk to the hotel.  He turned toward me.

“It seems we have plans for the night, Son.”

“So it seems.”  I crossed my arms and tried not to laugh.

“We won’t have time to make it home and back, and I doubt we’ll want to ride late tonight.”

“So what’s the plan?”

Pa pursed his lips as he rumbled around for a solution.  “We’ll book a room at the hotel.”

“The same hotel as the ladies?”

“Why not?”

I held back my smile.  “Oh … no reason.  We’re not going dressed like this, are we?”

“You’re right.  We’ll both need a new suit of clothes.”

My father must’ve had a touch of spring fever too and by late that afternoon, we’d secured a room at the hotel, bought new attire, and sent a boy out to the ranch with a missive for my brothers.  Pa didn’t offer any details.  He only stated that we’d be home sometime tomorrow.  My brothers would be dying of curiosity and I chuckled at the thought.

“What possessed you, Pa?”

“I don’t want to seem repetitive, Son, but your old man isn’t ready for the grave just yet.”

“I never said—”

“No, not in so many words.”

“Should be an interesting evening, don’t you think?  The old lady is full of vim and vigor, isn’t she?”

“Old lady?”

“I can’t win, can I?”

“No, Son, and your attitude better change before this evening.”

With a grin my father knew well, I said, “Not another word.”

We headed out the door together.  Pa looked quite dapper in his new, gray suit and creamy white vest. I didn’t look too shabby myself in a dark blue suit that fit me like a glove.  Even though we were well into spring, there was still a nip in our thin, mountain air and it would give Christine a good reason to snuggle up close.

Staying at the International House didn’t mean we could take the ladies for granted.  It didn’t seem right to knock on their door so we traipsed downstairs to the lobby and waited for our dinner companions to show.

Would they think it was too forward of us to take rooms at the same hotel?  The reason was simple.  Riding home in the dark of night was the problem.  A horse could stumble and fall and cause his rider serious injury.  It was an easy explanation if the women seemed perturbed by our actions.

Christine and her aunt entered the lobby at a quarter after seven. I suppose that was the Eastern way of doing things.  Always late.  Never on time, but it didn’t bother Pa or me.  We each took our lady’s hand and placed it in the crooks of our arms before heading down the boardwalk to Rizzo’s Italian Café.  Frank Rizzo was new to Virginia City, but the food was delicious and we were hoping to impress our stranded visitors with his fabulous cuisine. 

“I hope you like Italian food,” I whispered to Christine.

“Oh, very much.”

“Good, then I think you’ll enjoy the evening.”

I’d never courted a girl with my father by my side.  Not even one of my brothers had been a supper companion when a young lady was involved.  This was a whole new experience, and I can’t say it was something I’d ever choose in the future, but I was pleasantly surprised by how the evening fell into place.

As much as the situation felt strange at first, I enjoyed myself and I believe Christine did too.  She laughed at my jokes, but more importantly, she looked at me with—I don’t know—that look a woman gives a man, and by the end of the evening, I invited her to go riding, and she accepted.

I didn’t sleep much that night.  Christine was the kind of girl that made a man glad he was a man.  I couldn’t wait to see her again.  I wanted to feel her hand in mine and run my fingers down that soft, white skin she’d kept hidden from the sun.  She was a real Eastern lady, and I had every intention of making her my own.

After the first night at Rizzo’s, Pa and I went our separate ways.  He courted the old lady in a manner that suited him, and I took Christine to all the familiar places I wanted her to see.  She was an excellent horsewoman, and we rode everywhere.  To the lake.  To the overlook that Hoss and I named our happy place a million years ago.  We had fun together.  We enjoyed each other’s company, and I didn’t want to go a day without Chris by my side.

My brothers found humor in our situation, Pa, and his woman, and me and Christine.  They took both of us on, kidding each of us mercilessly.  First Pa, and then me, but underneath all the jokes, I think they were happy—or jealous.   But Pa was the man to watch.  We hadn’t known him to take on so and enjoy a relationship with a woman.  Miss Iona Mae Lancaster suited him well.

After four or five weeks of casual courting, Christine became fearless and her Eastern beliefs went by the wayside as she reached up and kissed me straight on the lips.  At first,  the connection was short and sweet, but moments later she gave herself permission to enter a territory that bore no retreat.  I succumbed to her wishes and let her have her way with me.  I wasn’t a saint and she wasn’t the naïve little princess that entered my world during an unexpected luncheon date with my father.  

Our relationship changed that day.  Casual wasn’t a term I could use any longer.  We became intimate, lovers without limitations, but I still had a job.  I still had to complete a day’s work before I could see my princess, take her in my arms, and make love to the woman of my dreams.

Pa worked his magic on Iona Mae.  They were seen together every Saturday night, and she would accompany him to church on Sundays.  A match made in heaven?  It seemed so.  It seemed that my father and I hit the jackpot on that unexpected spring day.  Fate challenged us, and we each took a leap with eyes wide open.

Chapter Two

“I’ll need some money, Sweetheart.”

“Sure.  How much?”

“A hundred should do it.”

“How much?” 

I’ll admit the amount nearly bowled me over.  I didn’t know what a wedding dress cost, but I was taken aback when she blurted out one hundred dollars like it was petty cash.  Even though we’d been together for months, there were times I wondered if Christine thought I was her golden boy, that I was made of money.  I tried to explain that I was just a working stiff.  Sure, my father owned a good portion of land and we did quite well as a family, but that didn’t mean I was a never-ending fountain with deep pockets.

“I’m sorry.  I thought you’d want me to look—”

“Of course I do, Chris.”  I reached into my jacket pocket and ended up handing her two hundred dollars.  “I don’t want you going without.”

Pa would have my hide if he knew what kind of money I spent on my fiancée.  It seemed to be something new every day—a trip to the mercantile or the haberdashery, a few hours spent with the dressmaker—and my savings account was beginning to strain.  I couldn’t continue handing out money much longer, but it was hard to say no.  A beautiful woman deserved beautiful things.

It wasn’t only her beauty that lead me down the road to a dwindling back account.  Christine wanted to make love night and day.  She was insatiable, and I accommodated her the best I could.  I wasn’t paying for her ability to seduce a man.  It wasn’t like that.  If I only wanted sexual favors from a woman, I could go to the nearest saloon and hand over one silver dollar for an hour of entertainment, but I wanted Chris to be happy, and if a few dollars did the trick, then I was happy too.

Pa was a smart man. If the old lady tried to pull his strings, he’d cut her off before she had a chance to con him out of his hard-earned wages.  Or, in my case, half a year’s salary was going for the likes of a pretty dress.

It was time I played it smart.  Christine knew I was a pushover, but things had to change.  No more doling out hundreds at a time.  Enjoying life didn’t always come with a hefty price tag.  On the ride home from Virginia City, I had plenty of time to contemplate how I’d shut down the constant flow of money.

“Hey, Little Brother.”

“Hey, Hoss.”

“Ain’t seen a whole lot of you this week.”

I threw my hat and jacket on the sideboard and rolled up my gun belt.  “I’m sorry.  A lot going on with the wedding and all.”

“You look beat.”

I flopped down next to Hoss on the settee.  “Yeah, I’m tired.”

“Something bothering you?”

“Nothing I can’t handle.”

“It don’t look that way to me, Little Brother.”

“Then look somewhere else.” 

Fuming, I pushed up with both hands and headed upstairs to my room.  The engagement party was three days away, and Christine needed new attire to attend.  Although I wasn’t about to tell Hoss about my financial problems, I wondered if I would’ve felt better getting it all out in the open.  I’d let go of another hundred dollars.  I was a fool who couldn’t say no.

Chapter Three

“Dinner was lovely, Sweetheart.”

“We’ve exhausted most of the finer establishments in Virginia City.  Maybe next time, we’ll go with the familiar and eat at Miss Daisy’s Café.”

“Oh, Joe.  Be serious.”

“I’m very serious.  This fancy dining has to stop.  We don’t need outlandish foods to make us happy, do we?”

She bowed her head.  “No, I suppose not.” 

I could tell she was disappointed but the constant spending had to end.  “It’s been fun, but it’s not real life.  We need to dine like real people, not kings and queens, right?”

“No, but when we travel, we’ll want to try some of the finer places, won’t we?”

“I’m sorry.  Travel?”

“You know, decide where we want to spend the rest of our lives.”

“The Ponderosa is my home, Chris.  I never planned on leaving.”

“But I’m a city girl, Joe.  How could I possibly live in the country?”

I dreaded the conversation from day one.  Seeing the clothes she and Aunt Iona Mae wore to travel in were finer than most, and nothing a rancher’s wife would ever own.  How would I convince her that living on the mountain wasn’t a hardship, but a pleasure?  How would I make a country girl out of my precious Christine?

“What about our children.  You want to have children, don’t you, Joe?”

Her question pulled me back into the conversation.  “Of course, I do.  I want to have as many as possible.”

“What about their education?”

“What do you mean?”

“Surely you don’t think I want my children attending a backwoods schoolhouse with …”

“With what?  With people like me?  I’m a cowhand, Chris.  Nothing more.  If we leave the Ponderosa, I’m still a cowhand who averages thirty dollars a month, bunk, and beans.  I’m not a rich man, and I never will be.  If money and city life means more to you than living with a fella like me, we’ll have to part ways.”

As she bit her bottom lip, tears formed in her eyes.  I stepped closer, reached for her slender arms, and held her tight against me.  “I love you Christine, but if that’s not enough …”

“I’m pregnant, Joe.”

I nearly fell to the ground.  My mind swirled with thoughts of living in the city and working at a bank or mercantile so our children could attend the proper school.  No!  That wasn’t the plan, but is that what she expected of me?  A suit and tie and regular hours.  No!  I couldn’t spend the rest of my life inside a brick-and-mortar building.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t say that.”

“You’re upset.”

“No … stunned a little but not upset.”

Tears filled her eyes.  “I never thought … I didn’t know it would be so easy to … I don’t know what I thought, Joe.”

With the back of my index finger, I wiped away her tears and made her look at me.  “Listen.  Let’s get through the party on Saturday night.  We’ll move the wedding up a few weeks and no one will know.”

“I love you so much.”

“Come on.  Let’s think happy thoughts.”

Chapter Four

Hop Sing fixed us a snack so we’d have enough energy to greet our guests who began to arrive right after seven.  The spread he laid out for our friends and neighbors was an impressive masterpiece.  More food than a party of twenty-four could handle, but that was his way.  Hop Sing never learned how to hold back.

I wore the same blue suit I’d bought for our first evening together, and the rest of my family was dressed to the nines.  Christine would call me a sentimentalist at heart and maybe she was right though I wanted to look my best.  It wasn’t every Saturday night that a man invited everyone he cared about to his engagement party.  Even though we’d been seen around town at restaurants and plays and on shopping ventures, not everyone had met my bride-to-be.

While Pa and I readied ourselves, Adam and Hoss drove into town to pick up the ladies and escort them out to the ranch.  Not only would the old lady chaperone her niece, but she’d also plant herself on my father’s arm for the entire evening.  Although they didn’t have marriage plans that I knew about, they seemed to be as serious about each other as Chris and I were.

I was as jittery as hot grease in a skillet.  My collar felt too tight, and my tie looked like a five-year-old kid did the honors.  After pulling it loose for the third time, I gave up and went to find my father.

In front of his dresser mirror, Pa stood, brushing his hair one last time before heading downstairs.  I held up both strings.  “I can’t seem to—”

“Let me try.”

“Thanks.”

“Nervous?”

“Whatever gave you that idea?”

Pa’s smile, and his large, warm hand on my shoulder calmed me from feeling like a skittish young colt, and I was ready for our guests to arrive.

“Maybe a breath of fresh air, Son.”

“I’m right behind you.”

The clean mountain air was just what I needed.  I breathed in deeply, and realized how lucky I was to live in such a great part of the world.  Though I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else, but what about my bride-to-be?  When their coach broke down just east of Virginia City, they were heading for San Francisco, not some country hideaway on top of a mountain.  Even though she marveled at the Ponderosa’s beauty, I didn’t know what our future held. 

Roy and Paul were the first to arrive.  The four of us shook hands, chuckled some, and turned to walk inside, and that’s when we heard a horse traveling at breakneck speed.  Adam jumped off the rented horse and grabbed Paul Martin’s arm.  “You’re needed, Doc.”

I stepped forward, but my brother stopped me.  “What’s going on?  Where’s Christine?”

“Let’s get Doc on his way first.”

The doctor moved toward my brother.  “What happened, Son?”

Adam glanced my way.  “It’s Joe’s fiancée.  She’s been hurt.”

“Badly?”

“Very.”

“Would you follow me back to town?”

“Sure.”

“I guess you’ll have to bring Joe.”

“I guess.”

Chapter Five

The rental was too tired to make the return trip, and Adam saddled Sport while I readied Cooch.  Pa and Hoss would stay behind and deal with the guests who were beginning to arrive just as Adam and I rode out toward Virginia City.

“Take care of Joe, Son.”

I overheard Pa’s words to my brother.  Of course, Pa was worried, but if he couldn’t trust me to go into town and take care of Christine, then how did he think I’d ever handle marriage or a family?  It seemed like a low blow, and I became overwhelmed with anger.  Someone had hurt my fiancée and Pa’s words hit me the wrong way.  The flame under the frying pan grew more intense.

Even though Adam kept right on Cooch’s tail, riding at the crest of dusk was tricky, and neither of us wanted to hit the ground if our mount stumbled and fell, but I couldn’t seem to slow down.  Christine had been injured, and I was miles away.  I needed to be by her side until the doctor arrived. 

After hitching our horses to the rail outside, I ran up the stairs and burst through the front door of Doc’s office.  The air was stale, and the lights turned low, but I found my way to the bed and sat down on the edge.

“Joseph?”

“Who’s there?”

Mrs. Lancaster sat in a darkened corner of the room and after hearing her voice, I realized she wouldn’t have let Chris lay in Doc’s office all alone.

“I’m sorry.  I didn’t see you.”  I glanced over at Adam who remained standing in the doorway.  He hadn’t noticed her either, but none of that mattered.

Dressed in her party clothes, the old lady stood and walked toward me and Christine.  “Where’s the doctor?”

“He’s coming.  He was invited to the party, but he and the sheriff are on their way.”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to go back to the hotel and change my clothes.  I feel a bit silly dressed like an empress after all that’s happened.”

“Go on.  Adam will walk you to the hotel.  I’m not going anywhere.”

My brother hesitated.  “I don’t want to leave you like this.  As soon as Paul gets here, I’ll head out.”

“No.  I’m fine.  Go on and help her home.”

As soon as the two of them were gone, I looked down at my beautiful Christine.  Her eyes were closed and her mouth had fallen open as she forced herself to breathe.  The bruises that covered her face made me want to turn away.  A swollen and discolored cheekbone and black eye marred the left side of her face.  I’d never seen her hair in such disarray—tangled and matted—in dire need of a good brushing. 

“Sweetheart.  Can you hear me?”

After leaning closer, I pressed my cheek against the side of her face.  I needed to let her know I was there and would never leave her side.  Whoever thought they could beat a woman like this would pay dearly.

“Mother …”

“What’s that, Sweetheart?”

When Adam returned, he rested his hand on my shoulder, but I didn’t turn around.  Nothing could help this time, and I wanted to be alone with Christine.   Sometimes, Adam didn’t understand much of anything.  With all his book smarts, he never learned much about people.

What did “Mother” mean?  What was she trying to tell me?  I didn’t understand so I stroked her tangled hair and kissed the back of her hand.  I wanted her to feel my presence, and maybe the next time she spoke, her words would make sense.  But that never happened.

The only thing that kept me from running through the front door and finding the man who hurt her was that she was still breathing and hope was a precious thing.  Roy would form a posse, but before he rode away, he’d need information. Hair color, eyes.  Maybe a scar or a distinctive horse.  Anything that would make the man stand out.

The ticking clock was the only sound in the room.  Its rhythm made me drowsy, but I had to keep alert.  I had to watch over my sweet girl.

“Joe?”

“Back here, Doc.”

“With his bag in hand, Paul and Roy Coffee rushed into the room.  “I’ll take over now, Son.”

I stood and backed away from the bed.  Christine hadn’t moved or said another word.  Though I was ready with all the answers, Doc never asked, and not only was I afraid, I felt useless.

Adam motioned toward the door.  “There’s nothing for you to do here, Joe.  Come on.  Let’s go talk to Mrs. Lancaster.”

Roy overheard our conversation and said he’d follow along.  He needed answers my brother and I didn’t have, but he’d give us a shot first before he questioned the old lady.

“Any ideas, Little Joe?”

“Chris mumbled ‘Mother’ although I don’t know what it means.”

Maybe the old lady knew something we didn’t.  I thought Christine and I revealed everything.  I told her my life story, and she told me hers, and that was long before we’d made any marriage plans.  We knew each other inside and out, the good and the bad, the light and the dark.  We shared it all.

Adam and I let Roy take the lead.  He knocked on the lady’s hotel door, and we stood off to the side like scared little boys.  Neither of us wanted her to feel any worse than she did already.

Roy knocked as he called out her name.  “Mrs. Lancaster, it’s Sheriff Coffee.  May I have a word?”

“Sheriff?”  Still dressed in her formal attire, she opened the door wide and stepped forward.

“It’s about Christine.”

Adam and I stood behind Roy so she could see the three of us.  “Please come in.  I’ve been waiting for you to call.”

“Doc’s with your niece.  I assure you she’s in good hands.”

“I need to get back to Christine, Roy.”  I plopped my hat on my head and turned to start down the hotel hallway. 

“Wait here, Son.”

“No, Roy.  She needs me.”

“No, she don’t.  Doc’s doing all he can.  You stay here with me and Adam for now.”

I was stuck inside the hotel room with my father’s new companion and waiting for answers when I needed to be with Christine.  The question that haunted me most was whether I’d be burying my fiancée or taking her home.  I lost two women to uncalled-for deaths before I turned eighteen, but would a merciful god let that happen again?

Roy’s hat hung between his knees and, he fingered the soft felt while he questioned the old lady.  “Do you have any idea what happened to your niece?  Do you know who did this horrible thing?”

She covered her mouth with a lace handkerchief that was marked with initials stitched in the lower right-hand corner.  Though I didn’t much care about anything I saw in their room, I stared into the old lady’s eyes as we waited for a simple answer.  If she knew the man who hurt my fiancée, I wanted to know just as much or more than the sheriff.

Tears began to fall.  “He was a small man, short.  He wore a black hat and sported a beard.  A rather untidy soul.”

Roy glanced at Adam and me.  “Any clue?”

“No,” we said in unison.

“Do you know a man named Dale Mercer, Ma’am?”

“No, should I?”

“I ‘spect not.”

“Who is this man, and why would you ask me a question like that when you already know the answer?”

“He doesn’t sound at all like the man you saw, but he’s not a man you want to have dealings with either.  Mercer is a gunslinger, Ma’am, but I’ve heard rumors that he is vicious and heartless when it comes to the ladies.  He’s also been seen around Virginia City this past week.”

“If it’s him, he’s a vile, unpleasant human being, and I shouldn’t think you’d want a man like that in your town.  Why isn’t he in your jail?” 

“He ain’t been on any wanted posters for weeks, Ma’am, but I can’t have any man running around beating up innocent women.”

“He should be horsewhipped.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“One more question if that’s okay.”

“Go ahead.”

“Have you ever seen the man before?”  The old lady tightened her lips and turned to face the window.  “Ma’am?  Did you hear my question?

Chapter Six

As I walked through the front entrance, Paul had just closed the door to Christine’s room.  His facial expression gave nothing away, so I had to ask.  “Well?”

As he rolled down his shirtsleeves, he smiled.  “She’ll be fine, Joe.  Her injuries are superficial.”

“What’s that mean?”

“Just surface wounds, Joe.  The damage looks worse than it is.”

“So, she’s not hurt that bad.  She wasn’t hit that hard, right?”

“That’s right, Son.  She’ll be up and around in no time.”

Part of me wanted to jump up and down and savor the moment, but my other half still worried and wouldn’t be satisfied until I heard the story from Chris.  Iona Mae wasn’t much help.  “Small.  Short.”  That only eliminated half the men in Virginia City including my brothers.  I hope Roy wouldn’t include me in his list of short men, but if that’s all she could tell the sheriff, no one would ever pay for hurting Christine like he did.

“She’s awake, Little Joe.  You’re welcome to go inside.”

Paul didn’t understand my hesitation.  He thought I’d bolt through the door, but I had questions that needed answers.  Was now the time, or did I wait and let Chris fill in the blanks when she was ready to talk about the attack?  What happened next confused me more than the rest of the evening’s events.

“What about the baby, Doc?”

“What’s that?”

“The baby?  Is the baby okay?”

“I’m sorry, Son, but I don’t know anything about a baby.”

“Didn’t you tell Christine she was with child?”

“I’m sorry, Joe, but I don’t know anything about a baby.  How far along is she?”

“I don’t know, but she told me she was … I mean, I thought.”

“Sit down, Son.”

I backed away from the doctor.  “No.  Something’s wrong here.”

“Wait a minute, Joe.  Maybe there’s a simple explanation.  Just because she didn’t come see me doesn’t mean she isn’t with child.  If you give me a few minutes, I can give you an honest answer.”

I dropped my head.  I didn’t know what to think, but I needed to know.  I looked up at Paul Martin.  “Do what you have to do, Doc.”

I tried to sit down in the waiting room, but with my mind racing more than ever, I moved toward the window facing C Street and glared at the two drunks stumbling out of the saloon.  The fellas couldn’t walk a straight line if their lives depended on it, and part of me wished one of them was me.  A bottle of rotgut sounded like heaven right now. 

When the doctor stepped into the room, he turned my world upside down.  “I’m not sure how to tell you this, Son, but Christine isn’t with child nor was she before the beating.”

“What do you mean, Doc?  She told me she …”

“I’m sorry, Joe, but I’m giving it to you straight.  Christine isn’t pregnant.”

The news of an outright lie made my head spin and my stomach lurch in five different directions but even in the dim light of Paul’s surgery, I remembered what I saw and tears burned my eyes.  The woman I loved looked like she’d fought off a Grizzley bear, but I didn’t know truth from lies.  With one simple statement from Paul, my life was ruined.  Chris and I would never be together.  The fantasy of marriage and children had been ruined by one tiny detail.  I couldn’t spend the remainder of my life with a boldfaced liar.

The new information was too much to bear and instead of doing what was expected—consoling my fiancée behind closed doors—I left the doctor’s office, vaulted onto the saddle, and rode Cooch as fast as I could down C Street and out of Virginia City.

I didn’t understand anything anymore.  We had marriage plans anyway.  There was no shotgun involved so the lie didn’t make sense.  Was it to drag more money out of my savings account at the bank.  She’d nearly bled me dry, and I wondered what would’ve come next.  I had nothing else to give but my name.  Was that it?  The Cartwright name?

I planned to get as far away from everything and everyone as possible.  I’d been taken for a fool, and I wanted no part of Christine or Iona Mae.  It wouldn’t be long until Pa heard about the deception.  The old lady had to be in on it too, and I hated that Pa had to find out what kind of women they were.

I rode fast and hard, but I wasn’t heading home.  I rode through a long desolate valley and up the rocky incline known as Suicide Ridge.  More than one of Storey County’s good citizens had jumped to their death from the large granite rock that sat on its edge.

Why I rode in a northerly direction was anyone’s guess.  I wasn’t ready to go home and face the family and discuss the embarrassing nature of my evening.  It wasn’t something I fancied.  By now, the partygoers would be making their way home, and Pa and Hoss would be waiting for Adam and me to arrive, but Adam could do the explaining.  The story was too painful for me to tell.  

There were so many areas on the Ponderosa a man could pull up his mount and stare at the beauty of the land, but this wasn’t one of those places.  The terrain surrounding the ridge was rocky and more barren than the rest of the ranch.  The trees were sparse and the grass was dry and brown, but it fit my mood.  I led Cochise up the final grade of loose shale and reached the large slab of granite that had caused grief to so many families and loved ones, but that wasn’t my plan.  I had no intention of harming myself or hurting my family.  I just needed time.

Chapter Seven

Confusion grabbed hold and wasn’t about to let go.  Voices surrounded me although I was unable to comprehend what they were saying.  There wasn’t a part of me that didn’t scream out in pain, and I didn’t know why.  The last thing I remember was leading Cooch up the rocky trail …

“He isn’t responding like I hoped he would.”

“What does that mean, Paul?”

“There could be internal bleeding, but I can’t be sure.  I can’t see inside his body.  I’ve done everything I can for the boy.  It’s up to him to fight his way back.”

“There’s nothing more you can do?”

“I’m sorry, Ben.  I know he’s hurting but until he regains consciousness, I don’t dare give him any painkillers.  Keep him comfortable the best way you can and get water into him as soon as possible.”

“I’ll walk you out, Doc.”

“Thank you, Son, but I know the way.  Stay here with your brother.”

“Yessir.”

So many voices.  So many words I didn’t understand.  Sleep was my only salvation, and I fell back into an existence that kept me from wishing I were dead.

When I came back into a world that held nothing but agony, I began having flashes of the final seconds that brought me to the painful reality I lived with night and day.  Had it been hours or minutes?  I didn’t know but I was beginning to see more clearly what happened.

Stranger.  Cocked hammer.  Lost footing.  Distant laughter.  Air born.  Fear.  Silence.  Voices.  Pain. 

“Can you hear me, Son?”

I hear you, Pa.

“Open your eyes, Joseph.”

Can’t, Pa.

“Come on, Joe.  You can do it.”

I wanted to scream.  Dale Mercer.  But my eyes and my voice didn’t feel the need to cooperate.  Old poster.  Gunslinger.

My left hand felt warmer than the rest of me, and I didn’t know why.  There was only one voice now.  Pa’s, and I treasured every word he said.  His tone was clear and welcoming, and I tried to do as he asked.  I always tried to please my father, but fear held a mighty grip and forced me to feel off balance.  I wanted to do as he asked, but I was afraid of what the light of day might bring.

“Please, Son.  Do it for Pa.”

His voice seemed so sad and discouraged, that I couldn’t hold back and hurt him any longer.  I didn’t want him to give up on me and leave, and I did as he asked.  I opened my eyes.

“Oh, Joseph.  We were so worried.”

Though I couldn’t find my voice, I forced a smile for my father.  And then it hit with a vengeance.  Pain.  More pain than I’d felt in my life.  When I tried to roll away from the agonizing torment, Pa steadied me on the bed.

“No, Son.  Don’t try to move.  You need to stay still.”

But Pa, you don’t understand.

Sleep.  I wanted to sleep and never wake up. 

“You’ve got some broken bones, Joe.  Paul thinks there might be some trouble inside that he can’t see, but he left some laudanum.  Maybe it will help you rest.”

Anything.  Laudanum.  Rotgut.  A punch in the face by Hoss.  I didn’t much care what would give me a measure of relief but the sooner the better.  The spoon hit my lips, and I sucked the medicine down like it was Hoss’ favorite candy.  If I could just go back to sleep, maybe I could silence the pain.

Chapter Eight

She was such a pretty girl.  My mind wandered from thought to thought and vision to vision.  I remembered the good times.  The fancy dinners and long walks down the boardwalk when I held her close. Then a memory of how she glanced at everything displayed in the shop windows caused a moment of distress. 

I began to squirm, but Pa’s heavy hand on my chest cautioned me from moving any further, and I didn’t have the strength to complain.

“Window dressings,” she said.  “It’s a way to get ladies to admire the store’s best wares and convince their husbands they didn’t know they needed the item until they saw it displayed in the window of the mercantile.  It’s an old trick, and I wonder if it will work on you?”  I gave her a skeptical look.  “I’m teasing, Joe.  I would never pull such a stunt.”

Yes, you would, my dear, and you did.  How many times did you mention something you wanted and didn’t have quite enough funds.  I always handed you more cash than you needed but when we began planning the wedding, you sucked me dry.  You deleted my bank account as if you knew the exact amount.

I should’ve been suspicious, but I loved you so much that none of that mattered.  I wanted you to be happy, and if making that happen cost a bit more than most proper ladies would demand, I was willing to go the extra mile.  I loved you Christine, and you betrayed me in the worst way possible.

My eyes flitted open.  The lamp burned low, but I could see my father’s form sitting in my bedroom chair.  His head rested on a fisted hand, and he had to be as uncomfortable as I was.  I must’ve moved or said something aloud without realizing, and Pa nearly jumped out of his chair.

“Joseph?”

“Sorry, Pa.”

In a matter of seconds, my father had moved from the chair to the edge of my bed.  He took hold of my hand, and I remembered a similar warmth from a while back.  A pleasant memory and my appreciation was deeper than my father would ever know.

I didn’t know how much he knew about the situation with Christine and me.  I didn’t know if Roy or Doc had mentioned the whole stupid mess to my family, but I wasn’t eager to do it myself and thought it might be best if the whole story was behind me, and I wouldn’t have to relive the ordeal of learning the truth about my fiancée. 

“Would you like to talk?”

“No, not really.”

“You don’t have to spare me, Joseph.  Roy told your brothers and me everything that happened.”

“Everything?”

“I think so.  Is there something you want to say?”

“How did you find me?”

“Thank your brother, Hoss, for that.  After he heard about Christine, he had a theory, but none of us wanted to believe it could be true.”

“Go on.”

“He’s the one who suggested we ride to the ridge.”

“Suicide Ridge?”

“Yes.  Why, Son?  Why did you think that was the—?

“You don’t think I tried to … my, God, Pa.  It was Mercer.”

“What do you mean, Joe?”

“Dale Mercer followed me and turned his gun on me.  He backed me off the cliff.”

“All this time we thought—”

 “You really believed that of me?  You thought I rode out there so I could take my own life?”

“What else were we to think, Son?”

I turned my head.  “I’d like to be alone.”

“No.  Not until this is settled.”

“It’s already settled, Pa.  You thought the worst.  It’s been said, and there’s no way you can take it back.

“Joe.  Please don’t—”

“Not now, Pa.”

Chapter Nine

By week’s end, I was allowed to sit up in bed, but the hurt my father brought on when he thought I’d go to that extreme had settled deep inside me.  Pa tried his best to apologize, but his words had damaged the closeness we shared, and I couldn’t get past the notion that Pa and my brothers believed it was true.  I thought my family knew me better than that, and all this time, they thought the worst.  Perhaps I picked the wrong place to go that night, but the ridge is a desolate and lonely place and it fit my mood. 

I was followed, and the man who held the gun, cocked the hammer, and moved toward me until I lost my footing and fell, was a gunman named Dale Mercer, but there was more to tell.  Much, much more.  Roy Coffee enlightened us all when he came out to get my side of the story.

Iona Mae Lancaster wasn’t who she said she was.  Her real name was Abigail Mae Mercer, and she was the gunman’s mother.  Christine—the love of my life—was his wife, and the three worked together as a team.  And that’s when it clicked.  The initials on the handkerchief were AMM.  I should’ve realized at the time, but my concentration drifted to the woman who lay wounded in Paul’s office.

Pa and I weren’t the first unsuspecting men to get caught in their web, but according to Roy, we’d be the last.  There had been many, but the connection wasn’t made until they arrived in Virginia City and Roy took the time to delve into the Mercer’s past.  And, with his keen eye, he studied the initials until it all made sense.  All three conspirators had been locked inside his jail and would be until Judge Crane was ready to hear the case.  No bail was set.

“You’re the fifth father and son victims I’ve found so far,” Roy told my father the last time he was in town. 

Since I wasn’t allowed out of bed—and enjoyed a constant bodyguard present in my room—I received all the news secondhand, but my pa doesn’t lie.  He’d been taken just as badly as I had.  We’d both been made fools of, and I nearly lost my life because of their murderous ways.

Maybe it was time to forgive and forget.  Holding a grudge forever wasn’t getting us anywhere, and that’s when Pa and I had a long talk and brought up everything we knew about the women in our lives.

When I told Pa how much money I’d spent on Christine, he didn’t reprimand me for being a sucker for a pretty face and after sitting in silence for nearly five minutes, he admitted I wasn’t alone, that the old lady had sweet-talked him out of a decent amount of cash also.  Even though I blurted out a sum I was ashamed of, my father did not.

The subject matter had been put to bed.  We wouldn’t discuss it again, but several weeks later when I was up and around again, I found that my father had deposited one hundred dollars in my penniless savings account. 

We’d both made a terrible mistake.  We’d been handled beautifully by a family of con artists who had crossed the country filling their pockets with enough money to get them to the next town.  Roy said he’d check on any bank robberies or stage holdups along the route they’d taken.  Since it was easy for them to hide in plain sight, he wondered what other types of chaos the threesome had accomplished with their deceptive and murderous ways.

I survived two broken legs and a fractured collarbone, and it seemed like once a day, Pa and/or my brothers apologized for thinking the worst of me.  I’d accepted their words of regret and, in time, I understood why they’d think such a thing.  If the tables had been turned, perhaps my thinking would’ve been the same.

Healing took time, and I still walked tenderly, favoring my right leg, which had broken in three places.  Doc said I was lucky to be alive much less able to walk without assistance. 

“It was your handiwork that got me this far, Doc.”  He smiled at my comment but didn’t have one of his own.  Let’s face it.  The man saved my life.  Without someone like Paul Martin putting me back together, I’d been a goner a long time ago.  I owed that man.

Epilogue: 

Today was the day.  Pa and I dressed for the trial and headed into town for the big event.  Since riding to and from town was still challenging, I let my father drive the buggy.  In time, I’d be back to normal but today wasn’t the day.  My body needed time to heal.

I’ll admit I was nervous about seeing Christine and maybe my father felt the same, but neither of us cared to discuss our lady-friends.  Weeks ago, when I ran away and let Adam fill in the sheriff and my family on what he knew at the time, there was another piece of information that was for my ears only.

“Since she and Mrs. Mercer shared a cell, Christine asked Roy if she could talk to me alone.  I nearly left the jailhouse but curiosity won out, and I stayed and listened to what she had to say.”

“I’m not interested, Adam.  She’s Roy’s problem now, not mine.”

“I think you might want to hear this.”

“Fine.  What?”

“She loved you, Joe.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Let me finish.  With circumstances the way they were, she couldn’t break away from her husband and mother-in-law.  She was a naïve schoolgirl who craved excitement and married into that way of life.  Months later, after pursuing unsuspecting men like you, and having her husband beat her in the end, she couldn’t see a way out.”

“I don’t understand.  If they were in it for the money, they didn’t get enough off of me and Pa to make it worthwhile.”

“I can’t explain everything, Joe, but I don’t think she was lying when she told me she loved you.”

“You can’t be sure.”

“No, but it was important for you to understand why she did what she did.”

“Okay, I’ll give her that much but love?  I’m not so sure.”

“I’m just the messenger, Joe.”

“Yeah, I know.”

““`

Even though Pa drove with caution, I felt every rut in the road but never complained.  That would only upset my father, and I had no intention of causing problems.  We had enough to deal with.  Roy said we’d both have to testify, and neither of us was looking forward to airing our stupidity out in the open.

I hadn’t told anyone about my conversation with Adam, but I was nervous to see the woman I’d planned to marry.  Whether she loved me or not, I remember how I felt and that wasn’t easy to dismiss.

After Pa pulled up and parked at the hitching rail, I climbed out of the buggy, steadied myself on my unstable leg, and moved to stand next to my father.

“You ready for this, Joseph?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Remember you’re not alone.”

“Thanks, Pa.  Come on.  Oh, one more thing.  The next time I see a pretty girl and she has an attractive chaperone, don’t offer to show them our fair city.”

With my father’s hand clutching my shoulder as we moved from our mounts to the saloon/courthouse, I could guarantee our day in court would be productive.

The End

Just Joe Spring Challenge:  4-2024