Bonanza: Western Justice
Written By LockBox22
Disclaimer: I don't own Bonanza or anything else recognizable. I only own my original storyline/plot and any original characters.
Authors Note: This is one of those stories that has been dusted off and polished up a bit. If you follow my work, you might have read it already.
o0o
Chapter 1
The mid-day sun rose high above the Nevada desert. The light bounced off the sand, making it shimmer; looking almost liquid as the sun beat down on the desert. On the Pondarosa, a group of men rode their horses hard; hollering and yelling as they drove a group of wild horses towards a corral.
The sun made both man and beast sweat as they worked to complete their tasks.
Ben Cartwright pulled his horse to a stop and twisted in the saddle to watch the horses. He let himself smile as he looked over the horses. They were all fast, magnificent beasts. They would fetch a good price once tamed. They were good stock.
A frown fell over his brow as he looked towards the left side. There was a pure, midnight black horse that kept ducking the cowboy's control; bucking and prancing, the horse tried to get away from the rest of the group.
Ben gave a whistle. "Joe! Keep that one in line!" He called to his youngest son.
With a whistle and a whoop, Joe got the horse in with the others. Ben nudged his horse forward as the group continued to move towards the ranch.
o0o
"I just don't know what we're going to do with the black bronco." Joe said. "He's a mean one."
Joe, Hoss, and Ben were all sitting at the dinning room table enjoying a well deserved breakfast after a well deserved sleep from the events of yesterday.
"Oh?" Ben asked putting his fork down. "What do you mean by that, Joe?"
"I mean that no one can get within an inch of him without losing something." Joe answered. "Samuels tried to stick a bridle on him and just about lost a finger." He hungrily eyed the serving plate in front of him and stabbed a piece of bacon; sticking it straight into his mouth.
Hoss shot a look at his younger brother to mind his manners. "Joe's right, Pa." He chimed in. "That horse is a mean one. I don't know if we'll be able to break him."
Ben adopted a thoughtful look. "Adam should be back from riding fence this afternoon." He spoke aloud. " Do you think the three of you could do something with him?"
Joe looked at Hoss questioning. "I don't know; maybe?"
"I'm sure we'll figure out something, Pa." Hoss replied confidently. "We've got more then enough men who have been breaking horse since before Joe was born."
"Well, we can talk more about it at lunch." Ben said getting out of his chair. "Come on, Hoss. We better get going if we're going to make into town and back by lunch. Joe, I want that stack of wood chopped by the time we come back. It's been sitting there for a week and I think it's about time someone did something with it."
"Yes, sir. I'll get right on it." Joe replied, stabbing another piece of bacon.
o0o
Out on the outskirts of the Pondarosa, the sun was shining high in brilliant blue sky. Adam, the oldest of the three, was riding along the property line looking for broken fences. Hoss had said that he had found a couple last week and Adam wanted to make sure that none of the cattle had managed to get out. The Pondarosa was vast, and it was easy for the fences to break down.
In the distance, he saw a lone horse standing beside a rock face. Frowning, Adam nudged Sport into a gallop. As he got closer, he saw a rider standing behind the horse's shoulder. Brown boots and a black hat were all that Adam could see of the other rider.
As he rained his horse to a stop, the rider stepped out from behind the chestnut, reins clasped in one bare hand. It was a woman. She wore a red shirt, a blue neck scarf and a brown skirt. Her black hat looked well used, but clean.
"Good afternoon." She greeted him. "I was wondering if you could give me hand."
"What seems to be the trouble?" Adam asked.
"My horse threw a shoe and I was hoping you could tell me if there's somewhere nearby I can go to get some help." The rider replied; green eyes stared intently up at him within a pretty face with high cheekbones and a clear complexion.
Her horse shifted slightly, clearly favouring one of his forelegs.
"Let me take a look." Adam said, swinging his leg over the saddle horn. He dropped lightly to the ground beside the woman. Her horse stepped sideways and eyed him nervously.
"Ho, boy." The woman muttered quietly laying her hand on the neck of the chestnut and he stood still. "It's the left foreleg." She told Adam.
Adam laid his hand on the horse's shoulder and bending down, picked up the foot. Sure enough, the shoe was missing.
"You're not going to get very far." Adam told her dropping the foot. "Your horse has a bad stone bruise. My father owns a ranch not too far from here. Let's see if we can't fix that shoe."
"Thank you." The woman replied with a relieved smile.
"No problem, Miss?" Adam asked in question.
"Carter. Sarah Carter." She replied, holding out her hand.
"Adam Cartwright." Adam said taking the hand. It was small in his suddenly large hand and he could feel it was slightly calloused. "I'll give you a ride." He took the rains from her.
Adam attached the chestnut's rains to his horse's saddle and then held out a hand for Sarah. With a slight hesitation, she took it and climbed into the saddle with ease; quickly grabbing the reins before Sport decided to try out the experience of the new rider behind him.
Quickly placing a calming hand on his mount, Adam swung up behind her and wrapped his arms around Sarah, taking the reins. Then with a gentle nudge, Adam sent his horse into a trot.
o0o
Virginia City was as busy as usual with men and woman bustling this way and that. The saloon was busy and there was a small fight taking place in the alley beside the saloon. Ben rode his bay towards the general store with Hoss following in the wagon.
Raining his horse to a stop, Ben dismounted and tied his rains to the hitching post. Hoss pulled the wagon to a stop and threw on the brake. They walked into the store together and after confirming that their supplies had indeed been shipped in; Hoss took the wagon around back and Ben stayed inside to pay.
The store owner was more chatty that usual this morning. "Heard you got a wild one there, Ben. A couple of your cowhands were up here this morning. The black bronco, I believe they called him."
"Huh." Ben grunted. "We'll tame him. No horse is untameable."
The store owner leaned forward. "Have you heard of Sarah Carter?" He asked.
When Ben shook his head, the owner continued. "Seems she's a horse whisper, and a pretty good one at that. A couple men have sent their horse's over to her ranch. They have nothing but good things to say about her. Word is she's not bad looking either." He finished with a slight grin.
"A horse whisper." Ben repeated absentmindedly. "Sounds interesting." He picked the small bag off the counter. "Thanks, Jake."
"See you later!" Jake called as Ben walked out of the store.
Once on the street, Ben shook his head. Just what Virginia City needed; more men chasing after a pretty lady. Her claiming to be a horse whisperer interested him, but not enough to let her work with any of his horses. After all, they had been breaking horses in these parts for almost fifty years; his cow hands knew how to get it done.
"Hey, Ben!" Someone called, interrupting his musings. Ben lifted a hand in greeting.
The man walked over. "Heard you got a wild horse on your ranch." He commented. Ben sighed quietly; this was going to be a long afternoon.
o0o
Ben and Hoss galloped into the yard and pulled their horses to a stop in front of the front porch.
Joe was alongside the porch; just finishing chopping wood from one of the old trees that they'd taken down a few days ago. As Ben dismounted, Joe stuck his axe in the chopping block and walked over to his father.
"Hey, Pa. How was town?" Joe asked.
"Fine." Ben grunted as he took the reins of his bay. He looked around the yard. "Where's Adam?"
"Oh, he's in the barn." Joe said with a small grin.
Ben glanced towards the barn just as his eldest came out, leading a chestnut horse. Walking beside him was a young woman. As she turned Ben caught sight of wavy brown hair cascading down her back underneath the black hat.
"Who's Adam talking too?" Ben asked turning back to his youngest.
"Sarah Carter." Joe replied. "Her horse threw a shoe and Adam put a new one on. Why?" He asked in concern seeing the look on his Pa's face. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Ben muttered darkly taking the reins and leading his horse towards the barn, and Adam.
"What's up with Pa?" Joe asked looking up at Hoss.
"Word got around town that we have a wild horse and I reckon Pa got more advice then he wanted." Hoss replied getting off the wagon seat. "Now, help me get these supplies unloaded before supper."
"But I have to finish chopping the wood!" Joe protested. "Unload it yourself."
"I loaded it up." Hoss protested.
"Life's tough." Joe replied, grinning.
"If a certain somebody wants any supper, he'll help me unload." Hoss threatened. "Now come on."
"Alright, alright." Joe grumbled, reaching for a bag of flour. Hoss disappeared into the house and Joe glanced over to where Adam and Sarah were talking. He shook his head before continuing towards the house. That was just like Adam.
o0o
"He's a beautiful animal." Adam said to Sarah as he patted the chestnut's neck. The horse started to lean into him, indicating that he was starting to trust Adam.
"Thank you, but he's not mine." Sarah replied gathering up the reins in her hands. "Goldenboy here belongs to Paul Grayson."
"Goldenboy?" Adam exclaimed in surprise. He looked over at the horse beside him. "This is skittish Goldenboy?"
"Hard to believe, isn't it?" Sara asked smiling with pride.
"How long have you had him?" Adam asked as Goldenboy bobbed his head towards Sarah's lowered hand.
"A week and a half thereabouts." Sarah replied as the horse felt her hand with his lips. "He's come a long way."
"He certainly has." Adam agreed eyeing the horse beside him. "What was wrong with him?"
"Goldenboy used to be a cow horse and the boys would beat their hats against his flank." Sarah explained. "It got so bad that every time he saw a hat he would shy away. I just threw a hat into the corral and let him play around with him for a while. Once he was used to it, the problem was solved."
The sound of hooves came towards them and they looked up to see Ben walking towards them leading his bay.
"Pa. How was town?" Adam greeted his father
"Fine." Ben replied shortly stopping in front of them.
There was a pause as Adam looked his father over, trying to figure out what was wrong. Finally Adam spoke; breaking the awkward silence. "Pa, this is Sarah Carter. Her horse threw a shoe."
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Cartwright." Sarah said. Goldenboy nudged her shoulder with his nose, pushing her slightly forward.
"Likewise, Miss Carter." Ben said giving her a quick glance over. This was Sarah Carter, horse tamer? Her head barely come up to Adam's shoulder and she looked like the wind would blow her away if it got too strong.
Goldenboy nudged Sarah again and she turned to quiet the horse. Adam shot his father a confused frown. Ben ignored the glance and led his bay towards the barn.
"I should be going." Sarah said, looking up at him. "Goldenboy wants his supper. Thank you again for your help."
"No problem." Adam replied with a smile. "Isn't that what good neighbours do?"
Sarah smiled in return and grabbed the saddle horn. She swung onto Goldenboy with ease and nudged him into a canter.