Author's Note: Wrote this one for my buddy who really likes Little Joe Cartwright.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bonanza or any related characters.
You had come into Virginia City on you day off to do some shopping. Your work on Mrs. Schmidt's farm had been tedious that week so far, and you felt it was entirely in order to reward yourself with something.
You strolled down the sidewalk of the bustling Nevada town in your (currently) best yellow dress. All the other dresses in your possession were muddy or had been soiled in some way from doing your chores, such as feeding chickens or cleaning pens. Even this dress had a few stains that refused to come out no matter how hard you scrubbed the material. No matter, though. You were going to buy yourself a new dress—one that looked even better than any dress you'd ever owned.
It wasn't easy earning your keep with the Schmidts. They had so many animals requiring attendance and only so much money to pay you back for tending to them. You couldn't complain, however. They allowed you free room and board in their home. Besides, this was only a temporary setup for you. You would soon earn enough to buy your own place somewhere nearby. Which… you realized, is sort of counterproductive considering I'm about to spend a good chunk of my current savings on a new dress. Oh, well. You were a patient woman.
Or so you liked to think.
At that moment, a beautiful pinto stallion came whisking past you on the dirt road. Its brown patches and pure white mane shone in the blazing sunlight. Its rider, a young man wearing a tan hat and green jacket, grinned, as he skidded to a halt in front of the hitching post outside the general store.
You lifted your eyes to the sky, all the patience you had just been priding yourself upon floating away. Little Joe Cartwright. Of all the places he had to be on your day off, he had to be here in town… on this street… going into the general store, which was your predetermined destination.
Suddenly the new dress didn't seem so important to you. You would rather wait until later than risk the very likely chance of having to talk to Little Joe now. Unfortunately for you, he had already spotted you as you turned to move briskly in the opposite direction.
"Hey, Y/N!" He called out, flashing that perfect smile as he dismounted the pinto. He patted the horse's flank and tied its reins to the hitching post, then adjusted his green jacket and sauntered over to you. "Fancy meetin' you here."
"Fancy that." You should have thought of a more polite response, but were honestly drawing a blank. This guy was pretty persistent and you didn't have time for his not-so-subtle flirting.
"What's the matter?" Little Joe tilted his head innocently, a twinkle in his grey eyes. "Aren't you happy to see me?"
"Quite." You released an exasperated sigh. Might as well go into the store now; he's already seen me. You straightened out the skirt of your yellow dress and lifted your head high, trying to seem disinterested as you moved around the rancher's son and towards the entrance of the general store.
"Would ya look at that. I was comin' in here, too." Joe followed you into the store. "Pa wanted me to pick up a few things while I was in town. Buuuuut he didn't say he needed them right away. So hey, I can help you carry some stuff, if you want."
"I'm fine. Thank you." You answered stiffly, walking over to the corner of the store where clothes were on display.
Little Joe Cartwright was the son of Ben Cartwright, an extremely wealthy man who owned the Ponderosa, a very large plot of land just outside Virginia. He was called Little Joe due to the fact that he was the youngest of Ben Cartwright's three sons. He was clever, handsome, and extremely infuriating to you. He had tendencies to come into town and get up to some money-making scheme or flirt with one or more women. Due to the latter of those tendencies, it came as no surprise to you that he would talk to you frequently… as if he expected you to fall for his charm and his debonair, and his curly dark hair, and his deep… deep eyes…
Whoa, Y/N!
You shook your head, blinking at the dress in your hands. You couldn't believe what you had just been thinking about Little Joe. Maybe he was attractive, but he wasn't your type. He was far too impetuous and immature, whereas you were firmly sensible and grounded. With all the plans you had for your future, there was absolutely no time to allow yourself to be swept off your feet like a silly schoolgirl.
"Y/N?" Little Joe's voice was close. You could swear for a second that you could feel his warm breath on your ear. He had approached you again and was standing by your side. "Were you listening?"
You nearly jumped out of your skin and stepped to the side, backing away from him. "I'm… er… sorry, did you say something?"
"I asked how your day's been." He replied. You noticed that he had removed his tan hat, revealing his thick, curly locks.
You wondered if he had removed the hat out of respect for you and found yourself blushing slightly for some reason. "I… it's been a good one so far. It's my day off… I didn't have to do any chores at the Schmidts' farm today."
"Ah, that's right." Joe nodded. "You're staying with them. They're nice folks." His lips curved into a lopsided grin. "So, then, city girl. How are you liking farm work?"
Your slight blush faded while your brows knitted together annoyedly. You had migrated to Nevada from a well-populated town in the East a month or few ago, and up until that point, you had never done any farm work. The locals liked to tease you now and again about your big city origins, and each time it would chip away at your ego. "It's work. It's rough, but you gotta do it."
"True, true." Again Joe nodded. "You know, I respect a girl who works hard." Charm began to interlace his words.
"Sure." You pursed your lips together, recognizing the key signs of classic Little Joe Cartwright flirting. "Respect." You mentally shamed yourself for thinking his hat removal had been been act of the aforementioned ethic.
"Nah, I really do." He insisted. "For every guy working out and about, there's a girl who can take care of business around the house. Cooking, and cleaning, and all that…"
"What are you implying, Joe Cartwright?" Your right eyebrow suddenly cocked, triggered by his statement. "That women are good for nothing more than housekeeping? Cooking food for their husbands? Rearing children?"
"Huh?" Little Joe looked up at you, eyes blinking rapidly. "Ah. No, that isn't what I meant. Heh. What I was trying to say was—"
"Oh, I know exactly what you were trying to say." A strange sort of indignance bubbled up within you. "You were trying to say that I should be your perfect little housewife."
"What?..." Joe frowned, resting his hands on his hips. "Y/N, don't you think you're overreacting? You didn't even let me finish."
"I don't need to." You wrung your hands in frustration. "You're always running around town, up to mischief, flirting with every woman that walks down the street. Don't think I haven't noticed."
Both of Little Joe's eyebrows rose to coincide with his hairline. "… is that jealousy?"
"Jealousy?" You exclaimed, insulted. "Why, you… you are so full of yourself, Joe Cartwright! You think all it takes for a woman to fall into your arms is for you to wink your eyes and pucker your lips. I have news for you, Joe Cartwright. You're not as good as you and everyone else seems to think. If you think that I'm going to fall for your 'witty banter', you are sadly mistaken. Good day, sir."
You dropped the dress on the shelf, spun on your heel, and stormed out of the general store, leaving a bewildered Little Joe in your wake.
As you made your way down the street again, your mind kept reliving the previous moments. The words that had passed between you and the youngest Cartwright echoed in your mind. The nerve of that man! How dare he assume that you would even be remotely interested in him! How dare he assume that you would be jealous for him!
You were not jealous. You didn't like the way he flirted with other women, and you certainly didn't appreciate the way that they responded, but you were not jealous. Well, just the other week, you'd come into town and passed Little Joe chatting with one of those saloon girls. You clenched your fists, remembering the affectionate eyes she had been staring at him with. Why was everyone so smitten with this guy? None of them were right for him. He needed someone stable and mature… someone who could balance out his impetuosity and help him keep his feet firmly planted on the ground.
Someone like you…
You sighed, your heart sinking. You had severely overreacted. It wasn't likely that Little Joe would ever want to talk to you again after that. If there had ever been any chance… any chance even in the slightest… that Joe Cartwright was interested in you… you had just now completely ruined it.
A tall man roughly bumped shoulders with you. You stumbled backwards in surprise.
"I… sorry, sir." You squeaked.
"Hey, wh' don' you watch whur' you're goin'…" He slurred back at you. You winced as the distinct scent of alcohol came rushing out of his mouth. "Stupid girl. Imma teach you a liss'… lass'… lesson." He hiccuped and proceeded to lay his hands on you.
You were used to dealing with unsavoury characters in your own hometown. You tensed up, fully prepared to kick him or stomp on his toes. He had grabbed your shoulders, but your legs were free to defend yourself. Before you could do so, however, someone came flying past you and socked the drunkard square on his jaw.
The drunkard exclaimed in shock and tumbled into the dirt. Little Joe stood over him, his jaw and fists clenched in concentrated fury.
"Leave Y/N alone."
"'Eyyyy, I wasn't doin' nuffin'…" The drunkard struggled to stand to his feet, but he was already dizzy from the alcohol, and Little Joe's punch hadn't done anything to improve his condition.
Little Joe braced himself, getting ready to knock the drunkard back down if he managed to get up.
"Alright, what's goin' on here?" An aging man, with a golden star badge pinned to the front of his vest, stepped between Joe and the drunkard. "Joe, what are you up to this time?"
"It wasn't me, Roy." Little Joe scowled at the sheriff, and gestured down at the drunkard angrily. "This drunk idiot was about to hurt Y/N. I stopped him."
"Now, Joe, I don't need you starting no fights in the streets again!" Sheriff Roy Coffee reprimanded the rancher's son stiffly. "You understand?"
"… yeah." Little Joe reluctantly took a step back, crossing his arms.
The sheriff sighed deeply and bent down to seize the drunkard by the arm, forcing him to his feet. "Come on, Al. I'm taking you to the jail to sober up."
The drunkard attempted to protest, but his words were nothing more than an unintelligible slur and faded away into the distance, as Sheriff Coffee led him away.
Joe immediately turned to you. "Are you hurt, Y/N?"
"I'm fine." You answered simply, honestly still trying to process all that had just happened. Finally, you shook your head. "I… was absolutely fine. I could have defended myself."
"Yeah, yeah. I know." Little Joe frowned slightly, casting his gaze downwards. "You're a strong woman. You don't need no man to come to your rescue."
"I…" You regretted your brash comment. "I mean… I'm sorry, Joe, I didn't mean it like that. … Thanks. Thanks for coming to help."
"Uh-huh…" Little Joe kept his eyes fixed on the dirt beneath you both. "Look, Y/N, about what I said back in the general store… I didn't mean to underestimate you, or make you sound weak, or anything like that, alright?… That isn't what I was trying to say at all. I was trying to compliment you. You do all that farmwork, and earn your keep, and you're saving up to buy your own house… You're so capable and confident. And… I've never met a gal like that. So I just thought it would be worthwhile to let her know how much I respect that."
You stood there for several moments, stunned by his confession. "… wow. I didn't… know you thought of me like that."
"Yep…"
"… well…" You pushed some hair out of your face and behind your ear. "I overreacted. I should have let you finish."
"Yeah, it… wasn't easy to express that." Joe glanced around your surroundings, looking embarrassed. "But when I saw Al come after you like that… something just kinda… took over. Ya know? I didn't want anyone to touch you like that." He tugged at the brim of his hat, hiding his eyes beneath it.
"… I do know what you mean." Slowly you admitted this, fiddling with your stained skirt. "I… feel that way when you flirt with other women. I didn't want them to be around you."
Little Joe slowly lifted the brim of his hat, glancing up to meet his grey eyes with yours. "You… didn't?"
"Uh-huh." You were staring off at a stable down the road, refusing to let Joe see how embarrassed you were.
"Oh…"
The two of you stood in silence for a moment, unsure what to do now that all those things had been said. He rubbed his neck and you played with your hair. When you finally risked glancing back at him, you thought you saw a shade of crimson dusting his own cheeks.
"… oh!" Joe exclaimed in remembrance and turned to frantically scan the ground for something. He spotted a package wrapped up in ribbon in the dirt, racing over to grab it before it might have been trampled by a passing carriage. "I, um… I… got this for you." He returned to you and nervously extended the package to you.
"For me?" You repeated confusedly, and looked down at the package. You slowly accepted it and gently tugged the end of the ribbon, undoing the neat bow that had been tied at the center of the package. Peeling away the brown paper, you saw the soft, clean material of the dress you had planned to buy. It had been simple yet elegant, with none of the frills or tight seams to restrict your movement, and yet had long sleeves and a pleated skirt to add just a touch of femininity… and it was in your favourite colour.
"I… saw you lookin' at it in the store." Little Joe's voice cracked slightly with anxiousness. He cleared his throat, playing it off. "I'm kind of responsible for running you out of there, so… I wanted to get it for you. To make up for what I said…"
"Joe Cartwright…" You spoke his name softly, observing the dress in awe and then looking upwards at him. "You are… so full of surprises, aren't you?"
"I try." He grinned slightly.
"Thank you." You moved forward and pressed a kiss to his cheeks.
"Uh… no… no problem." Little Joe blinked. Now you were sure there was crimson dusting his cheeks.
Your own cheeks matched as you backed away, in disbelief that you had done such a thing. "So, uh… I'll… see you around."
"Yeah…" Joe still looked dazed. He finally shook his head. "I mean, yeah! Like… tonight? You could… come to the ranch for dinner."
"Sure… I think I have time for that…" You fingered the packaging around the dress, unable to resist the smile playing at your lips. Suddenly you didn't mind his forwardness anymore.
"Great!" Little Joe's face lit up with a smile of pure delight. It was not his usual smirk or playful grin—it was a genuine smile. He cleared his throat again, realizing he had spoken a bit loudly that time. "I mean, great. See you tonight."
You nodded, finally allowing the smile to spread across your own face. "Bye, Little Joe…"
"Bye, Y/N." Little Joe beamed.
You backed away to the other side of the street, leaning against a pole and watching him run back to his horse. You giggled to yourself when you saw him click his heels for joy and leap onto the back of the beautiful pinto.
Yet, as he rode away out of Virginia City and back towards the countryside, and as you headed back to the Schmidt farm with your new dress in hand, you wondered if Little Joe had remembered to get that thing for his father from the general store.