My entry for the 2018 Camp in the Pines over at Bonanza Brand.

My words were: a singer, unrequited love, in surgery and after the roundup. A bonus fish from the pond gave me the word kiss.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

The Long Way Home

Hoss clenched his hand around the brush and kept on brushing down his sweat-streaked horse as if his life depended on it. Well, maybe it would be more honest to say that Little Joe's life depended on it because if he stopped, he might just use that same meaty fist and pound his little brother right into the ground. It wasn't like Hoss was easily riled, but lately it seemed that the youngest member of the family was bound and determined to act before thinking and in doing so, wind their pa up. That meant the effect always spilled over onto the rest of the family and quite frankly, Hoss was getting tired of it.

For months, Joe had been working on his father to get him to agree he was old enough to finish school. By the time he had finally agreed, Joe had been fit to bust. It seemed his little brother had himself already figured as a man as he reached the ripe old age of fifteen and he had set out to prove it to everyone else, especially their pa. And next up, to ol' Adam. Except in everyone's eyes but his own, the kid was still just a kid. It didn't help that the hands ribbed him mercilessly about his skills or lack thereof. Hoss knew that he'd come through it as both he and Adam had done before him, but Joe was different. His smaller stature was a source of torment to the boy and he found himself trying twice as hard to prove his point or show himself capable.

Hoss sighed as he worked out the last of his short-lived anger and he gave Chub a long scratch up behind his ear. The horse responded with a snort and Hoss found his lips curling into a reluctant smile. It wasn't like Joe intended to get their pa riled up. Fact was, he was trying to get his pa's respect, but Hoss thought he was just trying too hard and needed to let it come, natural like. Hoss put the brush back where it belonged and reached for the bucket to fill it with a measure of oats. As he finished off the job, Hoss found himself musing over how he had managed to earn his pa's respect. It wasn't something he'd given much thought to, but now that he did, he knew it was mighty important to him to have it. He knew how important it was to Joe too and he smiled to himself as he headed for the house. He had some figurin' to do on how to help Joe help himself and figurin' always made him hungry. Good thing that Hop Sing already had that roast beef on the way for dinner.


Ben watched as his youngest son slowly hauled himself up the stairs after only three games of checkers with Hoss. The usual spring in his step was missing and he knew the boy was aching. Not that Joe wanted to let anybody know that, but it was clear to all of them that he was exhausted. It had been less than four weeks since he had reluctantly agreed to let Joe finish up his studies. Adam had openly shared his thoughts that Joe was capable of more and as too often happened, his youngest barely took in his eldest's words and flared up with anger. It wasn't that he didn't agree that Joe was smart enough to take on a college education, but it was abundantly clear that the boy's interests lay outside of a schoolroom.

Adam barely acknowledged Joe's departure and Ben wondered how they had fared for the second day in a row out on the fence line. The two had been decidedly cool towards each other over dinner and he had barely stopped himself from commenting on it. They needed to work out their new work arrangement themselves and he would stay out of it as long as the work was getting done in a timely manner. Of course, there were ways to check without letting on that he was checking and several of his trusted hands would subtly drop information as they felt necessary. As always, it was a juggling act in allowing Joe to find his feet while bringing correction or reining him in when required.

Ben rubbed his hand along his jawline as he thought back on the last few weeks. Of his three sons, Joe was by far the most obstinate. While Adam could also dig his heels in, he had at least earned the right to stand his ground. His ideas were usually thoroughly thought through whereas Joe's were so often spur-of-the-moment. He had yet to earn his place among the hands and chafed under his older brother's direction. Ben glanced over to where Adam was supposedly reading a book and noted his eldest was not reading a thing. He seemed more focused on the flames in the fireplace and Ben felt his mouth twitch into a smile as he carefully weighed his words.

"Something on your mind, Son?"

It took Adam a few seconds to look up at the sound of his father's voice and Ben knew he'd guessed correctly. Hoss paused as he held the last of the checkers in his hand and almost held his breath. Adam's next words could cause his little brother a world of grief if he'd managed to rile Adam again. He'd also picked up on the tension between them and thought he had a fair idea what was behind it. He wasn't prepared at all for what actually came out.

Adam shook his head and closed his book. He had no idea what the pages said anyway. He'd spent the last few hours trying to decide how he would handle what had happened earlier in the day and now his father's question hung between them. When he didn't reply, his father tried again.

"I noticed things were a little tense between you and Little Joe tonight. Anything I should know about?"

Adam felt himself caught between loyalty as a brother and wanting to protect Joe from himself. In the end, protection won out. He knew that Joe would consider it as a betrayal, but it wasn't something he could just ignore or hope would go away on its own.

"Pa, I know that Joe needs to carry a gun, but …"

The boy had been taught by all three of them to respect guns since he was old enough to pick one up. Safety had been drummed into him over and over. The Ponderosa was a big place and Ben fully understood that his boys needed to know how to defend themselves and despite some misgivings, had given Joe his first gun along with a strict lecture. He wasn't sure that Joe had been listening as his hands ran all over the finely crafted weapon. His felt his heart rate lift as Adam paused and he thought he knew what was coming next.

"What did he do?"

Adam twisted his fingers together and thought back to what had happened hours earlier. Joe was determined to be the quickest draw in Virginia City or even the whole of Nevada. Some months ago he'd seen a professional gunslinger pull his pistol and twirl it around his finger before shooting another man down. Adam still felt his gut churn at the admiration on his younger brother's face at the man's skill and apparent lack of concern at another man's needless death. Of course, Joe had been suitably contrite about it after Adam gave him a dressing down, but nothing had settled his fear over that look on Joe's face.

"He was practising his draw and he …"

Ben shifted forward in his seat and frowned at Adam's words. "He what?"

Adam felt uncomfortable under his father's gaze and tried again. "We'd taken a break to eat lunch and I went down to the creek to refill the canteens. Joe didn't hear me coming back and he … well he had his gun aimed at me … no … that's not fair … aimed in my direction when I came back out of the treeline."

Adam heard Hoss suck in a sharp breath as Ben's brow creased into more of a frown. There might be a difference in intent, but there would be no difference in outcome if Joe had fired and they all knew it.

"I've warned him already about this fool idea he has. I didn't raise my sons to be gunslingers!"

"Pa," Adam began and found himself cut off by a wave of his father's hand.

Ben got up and walked across to the credenza where four gunbelts lay, neatly coiled up beside each other. He lifted the newest and shiniest one and pulled the Colt from the holster. He made sure that Joe had already emptied the chamber of its bullets before walking towards his chair with the pistol.

"I thought he was ready for this responsibility, but it seems I was mistaken."

"Pa, you can't …" Hoss stopped as his father looked up at him. Joe had begged for the right to carry a gun and it counted as a measure of his manhood as far as he was concerned. "It was his birthday gift!"

"I can, Hoss and I just did! He has proven he's not ready for the responsibility yet. I will return it to him when he's earned my trust to carry it again."

Adam rubbed his hand across his face, knowing full well that Joe would place the blame squarely on his shoulders.

"Don't worry, Adam. I will deal with the boy in the morning."

Hoss looked at his older brother and could almost read his thoughts. They had all agreed that Joe was a natural with a gun and it was a skill that needed to be refined since it needed no encouragement. Joe's enthusiasm and recklessness had led to enough arguments already and now he would see Adam as the reason he'd been punished. Hoss was once again very glad he wasn't wearing Adam's boots!