Epilogue
Griff sat on the couch in the middle of the living room, gazing at the marvelous Christmas tree in the corner which was decorated with golden ornaments and candles. Growing up, Griff never had the chance to appreciate the holiday season. Between the colder weather and shorter days, he struggled to find the joy that everyone else had insisted came along with them. After all, it was not as if he had much to celebrate.
But Christmas with the Cartwrights? It was unlike anything he could ever imagine.
He had been so happy to have the chance to spend time with the family, especially since Adam had arrived for a lengthy visit.
The front door opened, breaking Griff out of his reverie. Hoss's infectious jovial laughter filled the room and resonated throughout the entire house in no time.
"Say Adam, you remember the time when Joe and I put them coals under the tree and took away all your presents?" Hoss reminisced.
Adam rolled his eyes as he closed the door behind them. "Yeah, I remember. You had them in a box with a ribbon and bow."
Right on cue, Joe Cartwright bounded down the stairs ahead of his Pa and younger brother, Jamie.
"You did what!?" gaped Jamie. "That's so mean!"
"Unlike you, Jamie," Adam explained with a glint in his eye. "Hoss and Joe had a rotten sense of humor. But they couldn't go through with it when push came to shove."
"Oh? What happened?" Jamie asked, looking from brother to brother until he got an answer.
"I opened up the first box and was so surprised," Adam remembered.
"And he looked so disappointed," Joe added. "Confused, too. But Hoss and I suddenly didn't see anything funny about what we did. Adam was just about to ask Pa if his coal were some kinda joke…"
"And then?" Jamie prompted when it looked like no one was willing to finish the story.
"And Joe started bawling his baby blue eyes out," Hoss finally finished. He rubbed at his eyes and raised his voice an octave. "Joe just started crying and wouldn't stop. It was us, Adam. We're so sorry." Hoss giggled at the memory. "Turns out Joe's got quite the soft spot for his brothers."
"Hey," Joe interjected. "You were close to tears, too! Don't leave that part out!"
"Oh, I don't believe that for a minute," Jamie dismissed.
"Believe it!" Adam asserted. "I saw it with my own two eyes."
The light-hearted banter ended but the atmosphere remained a merry one as all eyes came to rest on the grinning face of the dark haired young man seated on the couch.
"Well, Griff, what're you grinnin' about?" Adam teased.
"Me? Oh, nothin'. Nothin' at all," Griff answered innocently. He held up his hands in surrender. Just seeing all ten fingers without a bandage made Griff feel relieved at the healing.
A loud rumble redirected everyone's attention to the one person capable of producing such a sound at that time of day.
Hoss turned bright red and shuffled his feet. "What're ya all lookin' at me for?"
Joe planted his hands on his hips, arched an eyebrow and grinned lopsidedly. "Oh, I don't know, Hoss. You tell us what all that stomach gurgling is about, huh?"
"Well, what makes ya think it's me, Little Joe?" Hoss countered, crossing his arms across his body self-consciously.
A bell tinkled loudly, followed by Hop Sing's timely entrance. "Dinner is served!"
By way of acknowledging the cook's announcement Hoss's belly let loose the loudest rumble yet.
"Ah, Mr. Hoss, see, I hear you from kitchen. I always hear you and know you are ready to eat!" Hop Sing declared amid peals of laughter.
As the group made their way to the dining table, the front door opened once more, this time revealing Ben Cartwright and their foreman, Candy, shrugging out of their coats.
"I thought I heard Hoss's rumbling! I figured that turkey was just about ready," Ben quipped much to Candy's amusement.
"Dadburnit, Pa, you're gonna make fun of me, too?" Hoss feigned a hurt expression.
"Oh, come on, Hoss, there ain't nothing sensitive on you at all except maybe that stomach of yours!" Joe scoffed and the hearty laughter erupted once again as everyone followed an impatient Hop Sing to the table.
"And Griff?" Hop Sing summoned his friend closer as everyone took their seats. "I keep a slice of sweet potato pie, just for you." The older man pointed to an overturned pot on the counter.
Griff took the Oriental man's cue and lifted the pot gently to reveal the pie. "Gee, thanks, Hop Sing," Griff beamed.
"Now go sit," Hop Sing sternly ordered with a wink.
As Griff took his place, Candy sidled up to him and gave him a one-armed brotherly hug. "Merry Christmas, buddy."
"Merry Christmas, Candy," Griff returned the greeting then sat down.
Once everyone was seated, Ben motioned for Jamie to say grace.
After the final words left Jamie's lips, Ben decided it was time to disclose something that he had kept to himself until the right moment. "Everyone, I have something I'd like to share with you and I hope you will understand that I did what I did because I felt it was the right thing to do." Ben paused until his words drew in everyone's attention. "I met with Judge Raynor a few days ago and asked him to consider pardoning Billy on account of his age and how he had to risk his life to save mine, Harold's, and Larry's. I also argued the fact that Billy wasn't the one who pulled the trigger on Carl and that it was Carl who had shot the boy with the intent to kill him which cost him his life. While he had every right to protect his family and property, if he hadn't fired his gun, he'd be here today."
Joe listened to his father and nodded thoughtfully.
"What happened, Pa?" Hoss prodded impatiently.
"Billy will have to serve out his time," Ben continued carefully.
Hoss hung his head in disappointment with Griff while Joe looked angered with the merciless decision made by Judge Raynor. Jamie and Hop Sing gave each other a look of sadness before Hop Sing returned to the kitchen with the tray of empty coffee cups. Only Adam kept a skeptical eye on his father, suspecting there was more to this announcement to come.
Ben's face twitched, unable to contain the news he was eager to share. "But, he'll be serving out his entire sentence on the Murdock cattle ranch up north."
Candy's head perked up in confusion. "What does that mean?"
"You mean he don't have ta go to jail, Pa?" Hoss piped in.
"That's right, Hoss. John Murdock and I have been good friends for a long time, and he's got the best cattle ranch in Nevada. Next to the Ponderosa, of course. He's also been known to hire a few of his hands as part of an experiment the governor is running to reform convicts who deserve that chance. Of course, it's only the beginning and we don't know how successful it will be in the long run, but it's a start and I can't think of a better man to start the program than John."
Candy raised his glass and proposed a toast, a wink in Griff's direction signifying this was as much for him as it was for Billy. "For second chances."
Everyone followed suit, approving Candy's choice of words and the reasons behind them.
Later that night, as everyone enjoyed coffee by a roaring fire in the living room, Adam hovered around the Christmas tree. "Well, looks like we got one more present under the tree!" He knelt down and picked up a wrapped gift from under the tree's lower, thick branches.
"Must be Santa had a last-minute delivery!" joked Joe, removing the lit pipe from his lips to speak. "Probably for me!" Standing up, he wasted no time in reaching over and stole it out of his older brother's grasp.
Adam cocked an eyebrow and sighed. "Really, Little Joe?"
Ben chuckled, shaking his head then prodded Joe to read out the name scrawled on the wrinkled paper.
"Grff?! Well, I coulda sworn this was mine!" Joe scoffed then passed the parcel over to the young ranch hand in front of him, albeit reluctantly.
"Me?" Griff was equally surprised to have received another gift. In fact, he'd already been surprised to receive his other presents.
"It has your name on it, but if you don't want it, then I'll…" Joe began to retract his arm but Griff quickly closed his fingers over one side of the package and pulled it toward him.
"If it says it's for me, it's for me!" Griff playfully admonished. He carefully untied the twine and removed the brown paper to reveal a hardcover book bound in black leather. Griff flipped open the cover and scanned the title page. "Moby Dick by Herman Melville," he read in awe. "This is…" He thumbed through the thick book, noting the fine print style of the text. "This is just like the one that got-" He could not bring himself to say 'burned.'
Adam nodded, sensing Griff's distress. "Pa told me what happened to the copy here," he explained. "I know it's a story you enjoy."
"This edition," Griff exclaimed softly. "The binding, it's all so expensive." He closed the book and enclosed both of his hands over it like a precious treasure. "You didn't have to do this, Adam."
"I know I didn't, but I wanted to. Besides, who else in our family is better at making sure Jamie is keeping up with his reading than you? I figure this is as much a gift to you as it is to the rest of the family," Adam declared.
Griff was at a loss for words. Not because of Adam's generosity but for Adam's inclusion of Griff being part of the family.
"I don't know what to say," Griff croaked.
"You don't have to say a thing," Adam chuckled.
"Thank you. All of you," Griff finally managed. "For making me feel a part of this family. Your family."
Adam clapped a hand on the younger man's shoulder and gave him a nod of acknowledgement.
"Our family," Jamie cheekily corrected from the couch, sporting a grin a mile wide.
END
AN: We would like to take this moment to say a HUGE AND HEARTFELT THANK YOU to all of our wonderful readers, reviewers and followers! We hope you enjoyed the ride as much as we did. It has been an absolute pleasure bringing you these untold adventures featuring Griff King and giving you an alternate take on what life could have been like on the Ponderosa had the characters who left the series co-existed when new ones were introduced.
Stay safe, keep well and God Bless! Until our next journey...
All the best!
VCS