It was a beautiful, sunny day. Just perfect for what was undoubtedly going to be the best fair ever. Sixteen-year-old Adam Cartwright had money in his pocket and the company of most beautiful girl in the Nevada territory. He smiled at the pretty girl in front of him. Therese Fleming had just come to Nevada from the east coast, a fact that intrigued Adam to no end. He was hoping that one day soon he could convince his father to send him east to attend school. Until then, he avidly soaked up anything that had to do with the cities 2,000 miles away.

Therese was a beautiful girl, a year older than Adam. That made it all the more exciting when she agreed to go to the small country fair with him. Her long blonde hair was styled perfectly, and her clothes were of the finest material in the latest fashion. She looked out of place on the dirt streets of Virginia City and wandering around the crowds of plainer dressed farmers and ranchers, but Adam didn’t care. He was completely smitten.

He had dressed carefully for this day, choosing his newest shirt and string tie, polishing his boots until they shone, and making sure every strand of his thick dark hair was perfectly in place. He’d even tried to get some cologne from his Pa, but he had just chased Adam out of the room with a laugh.

She held his arm lightly as they wandered through the crowds, Adam listening intently as Therese chatted on about life in New York City. The main topic of conversation seemed to be how much better the fairs were in New York, and Adam was inclined to agree (even though he’d never been there.) He couldn’t wait for the opportunity to leave this small, dirty town and go to where the excitement was!

As they came to the stock pens, Adam paused. "Would you like to see the animals?" he asked. "There are some prize winning steers here today to be auctioned."

"Oh, no!" Therese laughed. "It’s smelly and muddy over there. I prefer my beef on my plate, anyway." She smiled at him coyly. "What I’d really like is something to drink. It’s so hot and dusty in Nevada!"

Adam smiled back at her, mesmerized by her light blue eyes. He did really want to see the steers; he knew Pa was thinking on bidding on some of them to improve the herds on the Ponderosa. He’d asked Adam to check them out, to give his opinion on which would be the best to buy. He was proud of the responsibility his Pa had given him and he wanted to show off. He was a little disappointed that she wasn’t interested. But, he supposed he could always do that later. Right now he would concentrate on entertaining Therese.

As they turned to go to the dining tent, a small figure detached itself from the crowd suddenly and ran towards them. Adam groaned inwardly as he recognized his 4-year old brother, Little Joe.

"AAADDDDAAAMMM!" the boy screamed as he attached himself to Adam’s leg, clinging to it as tightly as he could.

Embarrassed, Adam tried prying him off, but every time he got one arm loose, Joe just gripped on again with the other. It was a losing battle, so he gave up and leaned over. "Little Joe, what’s the matter?" he asked.

Little Joe took advantage of his brother’s position and switched his grip to Adam’s neck. "I got scared. I couldn’t find nobody," he sniffed, burying his face in Adam’s shirt collar.

Adam stood up, Joe in his arms. He grinned apologetically at Therese. "I’m sorry," he said to her. "This won’t take a minute." This was the last thing he needed; having to put up with his little brother on the one day he had to himself, and Therese. He could only hope to get rid of him quickly.

He turned his attention back to Little Joe. "Now, where is Hoss? Isn’t he supposed to be watching you?"

"Hoss is looking at the pigs. I don’t like pigs. They smell." Little Joe reported, his voice muffled against his brother’s neck.

"Does Hoss even know you are gone?" Adam asked. When 10-year old Hoss got involved with animals, he was apt to lose track of what he was doing.

Little Joe shook his head slowly. "No," he said, his voice barely audible. He sat up straight in Adam’s arms and extended one dirty arm. "Mama gave me money to buy candy," he added, opening up his fist to show a copper penny nearly embedded in the grimy palm. "Hoss said I had to wait while he looked at the pigs. I didn’t want to wait." Joe paused and fiddled absently with the buttons on Adam’s shirt. "A man knocked me down and I hurt my elbow," he finished finally, twisting his arm so his brother could see the torn shirt and scraped skin.

Adam glanced back at Therese, who was looking faintly annoyed by the whole exchange. "You look fine to me," Adam said, trying to put Little Joe back on the ground. He wasn’t quick enough and his brother put a death grip back around his neck.

"I wanna stay with you!" Little Joe cried. Adam sighed in frustration.

Therese definitely looked annoyed. "Come on, Adam!" she said impatiently, tapping her elegant boot on the ground.

At the sound of her voice, Little Joe peeked over his arm. "Who are you?" he asked, his green eyes suddenly bright with interest.

"Therese, I’d like you to meet my baby brother, Little Joe. Joe, this is my friend Therese," Adam said. "We were just going to get something to drink when you interrupted us."

"’Lo," Joe said. He stuck his hand in his pocket and drew out a sticky piece of candy. "Want some? Hoss gave it to me." He held it out to the girl, his smile bright.

Therese shuddered slightly and looked away. "No, thank you." She looked pointedly at Adam. "Adam, it’s time to go."

"Okay," Adam said, surprised at Therese’s reaction. Most women couldn’t resist his baby brother’s curly brown hair and mischievous smile. Joe, at 4, already knew how to charm his way into anyone’s heart. His eyes scanned the crowd for anyone who could take Joe from him. "We’ll have to find Hoss, or we could…"

"No!" Therese said quickly. "He’s not coming with us!"

Taken aback, Adam faltered. "Why not?"

"He’s so dirty, and small! He’ll just get in the way," she answered vehemently.

Taking a closer look at his little brother, Adam didn’t think he looked much dirtier than any normal 4 year old at a county fair would be. Maybe his face was a little sticky and gummy from the candy he’d already eaten, but a quick wash would take care of that.

"It would only be until we could find Pa, or Marie. They’re supposed to be meeting us at the auction tent," Adam suggested, surreptitiously wiping the worst of the grime off Joe’s face. He tried not to think what the dirty hands were doing to his new clothes.

"Who is this Marie? His nanny? She ought to be fired for letting him run around unsupervised and bothering people like this," Therese declared, opening up the parasol that exactly matched her rose colored dress. "This sun is just wilting me!"

"Marie is our,…his mother," Adam replied, still attempting to salvage the situation. "He doesn’t have a nanny. We all take care of him."

"Really? How interesting," she answered, as if she couldn’t believe it.

"If we go over to the stock pens, I’m sure Hoss will be there. It’s supposed to be his day to watch Joe, anyway."

"Adam, really! Can’t you just put him down and send him away, or something?"

"No, I can’t!" Adam exclaimed, now really shocked by Therese’s attitude. "He’s only four. He can’t be wandering around by himself."

"He managed well enough until he saw you," she said haughtily.

Adam just stared at her in amazement. He couldn’t believe what she was suggesting. Even Little Joe was still, his eyes focused on her face. "Therese, this is my brother!" he said, as if that explained it all.

"I know, I know," she said angrily. "And there are plenty of people here who could take care of him. Why does it have to be you?" She looked through her bag for a mirror to check her hair. "But if you don’t get rid of him right now, I’ll just have to find someone else to buy me a drink of lemonade."

It was meant to be a threat, but for some reason Adam didn’t feel like answering it. He felt his interest in the blonde girl starting to wane. A lot of things about her were becoming crystal clear. "If that’s the way you feel about it…" he said, shifting Joe in his arms to a more comfortable position.

Now it was Therese’s turn to be shocked. "Adam Cartwright! You wouldn’t!"

"I’m afraid you’ve given me no choice, Therese. I can’t just "get rid" of Little Joe. It doesn’t work like that," he said sympathetically. He took her arm and pushed her gently in the direction of the dining tent. "I think I saw Roger Dawson in there. He doesn’t have any brothers and I’m sure he’d be happy to buy you a lemonade."

Therese stared at him a moment longer, then turned with a huff and headed toward the tent, her head held high and the feather on her hat bouncing along. Adam was surprised by how little regret he felt in watching her go. Just then Hoss rushed up, his face pale and anxious. "Adam! I sure am glad you got Little Joe! I turned my back for a second and he was gone!"

"Aw, don’t worry about it. He’s fine. I’ve had him the whole time," Adam replied, putting his hand on Hoss’ shoulder.

"Say," Hoss said, indicating Therese’s retreating back. "Ain’t that the girl you were supposed to meet today?"

"Yes, it is," Adam said as he set Little Joe down on the ground. He didn’t even turn to look.

"I’ll take Joe now, and you can go catch up with her," Hoss said, eager to make up for losing him earlier. He hoped Adam wouldn’t tell Pa or Marie that he’d lost Little Joe.

"No, that’s okay," Adam said, taking Joe’s hand. "She’s not the girl I thought she was." He smiled at his two brothers. "What do you say we go check out the horses?"

With Hoss’ and Little Joe’s delighted grins for an answer, the three brothers set out for the corral. And Adam couldn’t remember having a better time at the country fair.