Sheriff's Office- Monday
Mitch and Ethan are in the middle of a conversation when the door is suddenly thrust open by a very angry shopkeeper. "I demand you to catch the thief!" Axelrod shouts.
"Calm down and stop shouting please. We will be happy to help you but you need to tell us what you are yelling about." Mitch says.
Glaring at the two men seated before him, Axelrod growls "Someone is robbing my store. I took inventory today and I am missing several items that have not been sold. I keep books of all non-food purchases and there are items missing that have not been purchased!"
"Mr. Axelrod, we will need a list of those items you wish to report stolen. Please write the name and a description of each item on this paper." Ethan replies calmly handing him paper and a pen. Reading over Axelrod's shoulder he tells Mitch "Two ceramic bowls, one silver horse head tie clasp, one small braided rug, and three saddle blankets."
"That seems to be an unusual collection of stolen items. Usually if someone steals they take things they can use and the things are related in some way." At Axelrod's confused look Mitch explains "The things they take go together. I can see blankets and bowls being taken by someone needing them for eating and sleeping. I just can't figure out how a tie clasp and a small rug fit with someone stealing things to use for eating and sleeping."
"We'll be checking around Mr. Axelrod. If we find anything we'll let you know. Thank you for coming to report this." Ethan says holding the door for Axelrod to leave. Closing the door he turns to find Mitch sitting with his head cocked and a grin on his face. "What are you grinning about? You find robbery amusing?" Ethan asks.
"You are amusing. All that politeness for the one person in town you absolutely despise! Ethan you should have gone into the theater as your sister did! You are good at acting!" Mitch teases.
"Mitch?" Ethan says.
"Hmm?"
"Now would be a great time for you to go on your daily walk around town." Ethan tells him.
"Trying to get rid of me are you? Just because I teased you a little?"
"Yes!" Ethan answers
Back at the ranch
"Joseph? Now that we have the case made don't you think we should see if the guns will fit?" Ben asks as the boys finish their barn chores.
Joseph pitching clean hay into the stall, stops and looks over at Ben. Ben continues raking out the stall he's working in as he says "I think we need to check and make sure the case is big enough."
"That sounds like a good idea Ben except you seem to be forgetting something." Joseph tells him. Hearing this Ben stops working to turn and look at his brother.
"What am I forgetting?" Ben asks.
"We are not allowed to handle the guns! How do you expect to check to see if the guns fit in the case if we are not allowed to touch them?" Joseph asks somewhat crossly. I'm old enough to be trusted with a gun. Most of the boys I know handle guns! Uncle Ethan is just being unfair! Joseph thinks as he waits to see what Ben will say.
"You know Joseph, I think you should be allowed to handle a gun. You're almost thirteen and most of the guys your age get to use guns. Why don't you just bring the gray box here to the barn and we can carefully take the guns out. Then we'll put them in the case." Ben says.
Joseph gapes at his younger brother wondering How did he know what I was thinking? "Ben, I'll think about it. I don't want to get us into any trouble. If Uncle Ethan caught us with the guns we would be in for a whipping! You know that don't you?"
"Yeah I know. I don't want a whipping any more than you do but how else are we going to get the guns in the case? Didn't we decide to put the guns in before we give the case to him?" Ben asks.
"Yes we did, but at the time I wasn't thinking about how to get the guns into the case! I'll just have to think on it some. There has to be a way without you or me touching the guns." Joseph tells him going back to pitching the clean hay.
"Joseph, I have an idea. Why don't we ask Mitch to put the guns in the case? That way we can tell the truth if we are asked if we touched the guns!" Ben says excitedly a few minutes later. "He's coming over tomorrow afternoon to get the new horse Uncle Ethan has been training. We can get him to do it then!"
"That sounds good to me. We'll let Mitch in on our secret and I'm sure he'll help us. He won't tell Uncle Ethan when we tell him it's a secret for his birthday/Father's Day present." Joseph agrees.
Tuesday
"Uncle Ethan is Mitch coming to pick up the horse today?" Ben asks during lunch.
"Yes, I'm taking the wagon back to town and we'll both be back somewhere around four o'clock this afternoon. He wants to get the horse back and settled in to his barn before dark." Ethan answers.
"We were hoping he would stay for supper tonight and then go home. We haven't seen him much lately." Claire says as she places the bowl of soup in front of her uncle. "I made your favorite soup today Uncle Ethan. It's potato and green onion. We have ham sandwiches too."
"Thank you Claire. Why are you fixing my favorite soup? Are you all trying to get me in a good mood for some reason? Just tell me the bad news. What did you do? " Ethan teases as he looks around the table.
"Papa! We haven't done anything bad!' George tells him.
"It's just that we want to do special things for you because it's your birthday week. We're giving you all your favorite foods this week." Claire says.
'Well that's going to take a lot of work Claire. If you plan to fix everything I like to eat you'll do nothing but cook all day the rest of the week. Let's see I like ribs, pork chops, bacon, fried chicken, chicken soup, chicken with dumplings, chicken with vegetables in a pie, fish, apple pie, chocolate cake and that's just the beginning." At the look of horror on Claire's face he says "I'm teasing Claire! You know I wouldn't want to have you cook all of that!"
"You were beginning to make me worry there for a minute! I sure can't fix all of those things. I don't know how to cook some of that." Claire says smiling back at him.
Later that afternoon
Joseph and Ben are watching as Ethan shows Mitch how much the horse has learned since he last saw him. The big stallion is much more gentle and agreeable to having a saddle on his back than he was a month before when Mitch bought him. The boys watch as Mitch carefully puts his foot in the stirrup and mounts the horse. After several minutes of riding around the corral, Mitch pulls up and stops. "Ethan, you are a natural with horses! I didn't think I could get this fellow to ever except me on his back. I really thought I'd have to sell him. I tried everything I knew to break him to saddle and nothing helped. I appreciate you taking him on."
"I don't know if you should call me a natural but I appreciate the compliment. I don't "break" horses Mitch I gentle them. There's a difference. In gentling a horse, you teach the horse to accept what you want it to do. In breaking the horse, you use force to demand it to conform to your will. I do not believe in breaking horses and I don't believe that method works all that well." Ethan says quietly.
Noticing the two boys watching, Mitch walks over to the fence. Leaning over he asks them "Can you boys gentle horses as well?"
"Uncle Ethan doesn't allow us to get near the horses that aren't gentled yet." Joseph says with just a touch of disgust in his voice. "I probably could if he would just let me try." He says loud enough for Ethan to hear. Mitch glances over to see Ethan shaking his head at Joseph's pleading.
"Don't even think about it Joseph. You are not to go near any horses unless they are saddle trained. I won't risk you getting hurt." Ethan responds to his nephew's pleading looks.
"Oh come on, Uncle Ethan! I'm old enough to know how to keep myself safe around horses. You could at least let me try! I can prove it to you." Joseph argues back before he can stop himself. Then seeing the look on his Uncle's face and realizing just how disrespectful he sounded, he immediately wishes he could just pull the words back into his mouth.
"Joseph!" Ethan scolds his voice deep and quiet. "You are very close to being sent to your room for the rest of the day. If you don't control your mouth that is what will happen. Understand?"
"Yes Sir." Joseph says quietly, looking ashamed. "I'm sorry for answering back."
Mitch deciding to break up the tension asks "Ben? Didn't you say you had something you wanted to show me? I can come now if you'd like."
"Okay, come on. Joseph, you come tool" Ben says grabbing his brother by the arm and pulling him.
Joseph looks over to check for permission from his Uncle. At Ethan's nod he lets out the breath he didn't know he was holding. Boy, I almost caught it there for a minute. I've got to do a better job watching my mouth! he thinks as he follows Ben to the barn.
Inside the barn Ben goes into the tack room and brings out the case the boys have been building. "Joseph put the glass in yesterday and we used leftover fabric from the shirt Claire made to cover the board for the bottom of the case."
Mitch examining the case says "This is very well built boys. It's quite a handsome case. What exactly do you need me to do? I don't see anything that needs doing."
Walking over to where Mitch and Ben are sitting on the hay bales, Joseph says "We made this case to use for displaying two of Uncle Ethan's revolvers. We are not allowed to touch the guns so we were hoping you would place them on the display board for us. If you don't mind that is."
"Not wanting to get in trouble are you?" Mitch teases Joseph.
"No Sir! After what happened with our botched up job of capturing bank robbers, I don't want to be in trouble for a very long time! It took two days before my backside quit stinging that time!" Joseph answers grinning back at Mitch.
"I'll be happy to help you out. Just show me the guns and where you want them on the board." Mitch tells the boys.
After the guns are placed on the board, Mitch uses twine to tie them on. "There! How do they look boys? " He asks as he holds up the board.
"They look perfect!" Ben says. "Let's put the board in the case and look at it that way."
Mitch places the board into the bottom of the case and closes the glass top. After he fastens the brass clasp on the front he holds the box up for the boys to see.
"Joseph! Look at it! It looks fabulous!" Ben says so excited he can't help bouncing up and down on his toes.
"Yes, it does look great Ben. I hope Uncle Ethan likes it as much as you seem to!" he can't resist teasing his little brother.
"He will Joseph! I can't wait to give it to him." Ben answers still bouncing.
"It's only three more days Ben. You can wait that long." Turning to Mitch, Joseph says "Mitch, thanks so much for helping us with the guns. We couldn't think of any way to get them in the case without risking getting in trouble. I thought even if we just picked the guns up to put them in the case, Uncle Ethan would get mad at us."
"Yes, knowing how Ethan feels about you children handling any guns I believe you were right to think he would be upset. I'm happy to have helped you out. Anytime you need me to I'll come help. Just think of me as an honorary uncle." Mitch answers.
Just then they hear Ethan calling for Joseph. "Quick, hide the case!" Joseph tells Mitch as he goes to open the barn door. Glancing over his shoulder to make sure the case is hidden he opens the door.
"What are you and Ben up to in there?" Ethan asks sternly. "I've been calling you for several minutes! Didn't you hear me?"
"No Sir, we didn't hear you. We were talking to Mitch." Joseph says.
"Why did you need to talk to Mitch inside the barn with the door closed? Just what are you two involved in? Mitch isn't going to cover for you boys, you know that." Ethan says firmly.
"Ethan?" Mitch says coming out of the barn in time to hear Ethan scolding Joseph. When Ethan looks at him he continues "I've just been made an honorary uncle! The boys were welcoming me into the family. We are now sharing good secrets and you don't need to worry."
"Honorary Uncle hmm? Well does that make you and I brothers you suppose?" Ethan says smiling.
"I guess we are honorary brothers anyway! I've always wanted an older brother." Mitch says teasing Ethan just a little.
"Well, Little Brother, we need to get your horse home and see if we can find clues for the thief we're after. Somewhere out there someone has horse blankets, a tie clip, ceramic bowls and a rug that Axelrod wants back!" Ethan says.
Ben standing just inside the barn door turns pale at the mention of the missing items. He quietly closes the barn door and runs to the ladder leading up to the loft. Carefully he climbs up to the middle loft and steps off the ladder. "Hey there Ginger, how do you like your new bed? Is it soft enough? I couldn't get anything softer. The babies seem to like it okay." Ben whispers to the big Mama cat. "I'm going to be in big, big trouble Ginger if anyone finds these things up here. You had to have something to put water and milk in so I got you these bowls. I can't take them back to the store now that I've used them. I can take that tie clip back though."
Wednesday
As soon as Ben is done with his morning chores he asks "Claire, can George and I go fishing? We're done with our chores."
"Has Joseph checked to see if you're all finished?" Claire asks knowing how the boys tend to skip things if not checked up on.
"He said we did a good job today, Claire." George answers. "Now can we go? We'll be careful and we'll come back by noon. PLEASE!" he begs using his big eyed look.
Laughing at the face he's showing Claire says "Alright boys you can go. Be sure to stay out of the water and be home in time for lunch. Promise?"
"We promise!" Ben and George say together.
"George, you take my pole and the bait to the pond. I've got to go into town for a little while but I'll be back to fish before lunchtime. I can't tell you why I have to go to town. I just have to go. Okay?" Ben says as soon as they are far enough away from the house so he can't be seen.
"Ben! You know we can't go into town without Joseph or Claire with us. If Papa catches you, you'll be in a lot of trouble! Are you really sure you want to do this?" George asks.
"It's something I just have to do, George. I'll be really careful not to get caught. Now go on. I'll catch up with you later." Ben says as he runs off towards town.
Town
Hiding behind the big oak tree across from the mercantile, Ben sees Mitch walking away from the store. "Good, if he's leaving he won't be coming back in any time soon. Maybe I can sneak in without anyone seeing me." Ben thinks feeling the tie clip in his pocket. Looking both ways for his Uncle or Mitch he runs across the street to the front of the store. Slowly he pulls the door open and crawls inside on his hands and knees to hide behind the nearest barrel.
"Mr. Axelrod, I'll take three two pound sacks of flour and one of white sugar. I need two of those small cans of spices too. Let's see now. I need one can of ground ginger and one can of pepper. I'll take a dozen eggs also." Ben hears a woman say.
When Mr. Axelrod turns his back to get the spices and sugar, Ben quickly moves to the display of hair and tie clips. He eases the glass top open and is just about to put the tie clip back in when he feels someone grab his arm.
"I caught you! You little thief! Planning to steal something were you?" Mr. Axelrod says holding Ben firmly around the top of his arm.
"NO! HONEST! I wasn't trying to steal anything!" Ben pleads.
"Come with me. We'll just let your Uncle straighten you out on stealing and lying!" Mr. Axelrod informs Ben as he drags him by the arm out the front door.
Sheriff's Office
Once again the door is shoved open as Ethan sees an angry shopkeeper come inside. This time however he's holding Ben by the arm. "Cord! This time there's no doubt. I caught him red handed! He was standing at the display case with the top open and his hand was inside the case. He has the item he stole in his pocket! You are not going to talk your way out of this one Boy!" Axelrod says angrily.
"Ben? What do you have to say for yourself? Who brought you to town?" Ethan asks reaching out and pulling Ben to stand between his legs as he sits in the chair.
"I'm not with anybody. I came by myself. I wasn't trying to take anything, honest!" Ben answers
"Tell him to empty his pockets then. He has something you should see." Axelrod says snidely.
"Ben, put everything you have in your pockets on this table." At Ben's hesitation, Ethan says more firmly "Ben! Do it now."
As tears start to slide down his cheeks Ben puts two marbles, a fishhook, some string and the silver horse head tie clip on the table.
Seeing the tie clip Ethan says very sternly "Where did you get this tie clip young man?"
Ben whispers "from Mr. Axelrod's store."
"Did You Pay For It?" Ethan's voice is very stern.
"No Sir." Ben answers beginning to sob.
"Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Mr. Axelrod. Rest assured I will see to it that Ben does nothing like this again. Please accept my apologies for his behavior." Ethan says handing the tie clip to Mr. Axelrod.
"That boy wronged me. He stole from me. I think I deserve to see some kind of punishment here!" Axelrod says angrily as he accepts the tie clip.
"You know, I agree with you Mr. Axelrod. You should be part of the punishment. We'll be in tomorrow for him to apologize and accept whatever other consequences you wish to give him. I will be handling the main punishment in private, once I get him home."
After Axelrod leaves Ethan lifts Ben from the chair where he was placed. "Let's go home Ben. You and I have some things to discuss." He tells him.
The ranch
Hearing the sound of a horse coming into the yard, Joseph looks out the window. "It's Uncle Ethan and he has Ben with him!" he tells Claire. Both children go out on the side porch. "Uncle Ethan how did Ben wind up with you? Is George still at the pond? Why didn't you bring him too?" Claire asks.
"Ben was in town not at the pond. I haven't seen George. You say Ben was supposed to be at the pond with George?" Ethan asks looking angrily at Ben.
"Yes sir. They told me they were going to the pond and would be back by lunchtime. They left an hour ago." Claire answers also looking at Ben. "Ben where's George? Did he go into town too?" Claire asks.
"He's at the pond I guess. He was going to wait for me there while I went to town." Ben answers
"Joseph, please go to the pond and get George. Ben and I have some things to discuss in the barn privately." Ethan tells Joseph and Claire.
"Yes Sir, I'll bring George home." Joseph says as he sees Ethan take Ben by the arm and turn towards the barn.
Inside the barn Ethan says "Ben, I am very disappointed in your behavior today. You have been to town by yourself without permission, you were caught stealing, and now you have deceived Joseph and Claire. Your brother and sister thought you were at the pond fishing when you were actually in town. We put rules in place for your safety. One of them is to always tell Joseph, Claire or myself where you will be if you are not at home. What if something had happened to you in town. No one knew where you were. We couldn't have helped you if you needed it!"
"George knew where I was." Ben says quietly.
"Your eight year old brother is not one of the people I told you to tell is he?" Ethan asks sternly.
"No Sir." Ben whispers.
"Ben, stealing and lying are both things that we have talked about as being two of the worst offences you can commit. Do you remember what the consequences are for stealing or lying?"
"Yes Sir." Ben whispers. At Ethan's questioning look he adds "a whipping."
"Before we get to that I want to know. Did you also take two bowls, a rug and three horse blankets from Mr. Axelrod? You can't make your offense any worse so you may as well tell me now. Did you take these things, Ben?"
"I took everything except the blankets. I didn't take any blankets." Ben answers looking at the ground.
"Benjamin Ethan Cord! I am very ashamed of you right now. You know better! Ethan says his voice deep and stern. "Why did you take those things? We have bowls and rugs here at the house already."
"A friend needed them Uncle Ethan." Ben says quietly.
"What friend? Where is this friend?" Ethan asks thinking Ben has been helping a hobo or someone similar. Ben has doen that in the past. When he doesn't get an answer from Ben he says "Aren't you going to tell me?"
Seeing Ben shake his head No, Ethan sighs and says "Alright then come stand here by this hay bale. Ben, as I already told you lying and stealing are two of the worst things you can do. Your punishment will be worse because of this reason." At Ben's nod, Ethan unbuckles his belt and slips it off. " Ben, I want you to unbutton your pants and pull them down then bend over the hay bale."
Ethan folds his belt in half and applies six licks to Ben's backside. After he is finished he helps Ben fasten his pants and just holds him in his arms waiting for Ben to stop sobbing.
"I'm sorry Uncle Ethan. I won't ever do it again. I promise you I won't ever steal again. Please don't hate me." Ben says through his sobs as he hugs Ethan tightly.
"Ben, I could never hate you. I love you very much. Everyone makes mistakes and you have made quite a few today. When you make a mistake you have to accept the consequences. In your case that means getting a whipping. I do this not because I hate you but because I want to help you remember to never ever steal something again. If you do think about stealing just remember how your bottom feels right now. I really don't think you want it to feel like this again now do you?"
"No Sir, I sure don't. I think it's on fire!" Ben says rubbing his bottom.
"I imagine it feels that way. Tomorrow we are going to go to town and you are going to apologize to Mr. Axelrod. Whatever punishment he wants to assign, you will accept without complaint. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes Sir, I will." Ben says.
"Now, let's go inside and see if Claire needs help getting lunch ready. After lunch you are to go to your room for the rest of the night. George and Joseph will do your share of the chores tonight. You will do theirs tomorrow."
Ben sighs to himself thinking "I hate having to stay in my room. I'd rather take another whipping than be in my room all night!' He isn't about to say this out loud though.
Ben wakes up several hours later to the sound of his Uncle's voice and the smell of supper cooking. Getting up, he walks out of his room intending to go to the outhouse. "Stop right there Ben! " Ethan says seeing Ben at the side door. "You're confined to your room tonight so where are you going?"
Ben answers "I have to go to the outhouse really bad! I can't hold it in much longer."
Ethan seeing the boy shift from one foot to the other says "Go on but come straight back to your room and no dawdling out there."
When Ben comes back in Ethan tells him "Remember Ben, being confined to your room means just that. You have chamber pots to use if you need the outhouse. You are not to come out of your room again until morning. I will bring your supper to you in your room. Now go on." Ethan says pointing to Ben's room.
Ben flops down on his bed fighting to keep the tears from falling. "I hate this! I hate being in trouble! I hate having to stay all by myself in this stupid old room with nothing to do!" he whispers to himself. Feeling the tears start he flips over on his stomach and puts his pillow over his head.
When he hears his door open, he pretends to be asleep. When the door closes he rolls over to check to see if he's still alone. There's no one there but there is a tray with his supper on the nightstand between his bed and George's. "Just great, now I have to eat food I hate! We're having venison with beets tonight and I get warm milk with it. I know Claire made lemonade today and I wanted some. It'll be all gone by tomorrow!" Ben complains to himself. "Maybe if I just ask I can have some." He thinks going to his door and walking out to the front room.
"Claire, can I please have a glass of lemonade and some butter bread with sugar?" Ethan speaks up before Claire can answer "Ben! You were told to stay in your room. Now go back and finish your supper."
"But, I don't like warm milk or venison! I want lemonade and bread with butter and sugar! I DON"T want to be in that room anymore either!" Ben says loudly, stomping his foot. He sees George looking at him with his mouth open and Joseph shaking his head sadly. Then he sees his Uncle put his napkin on the table and stand up. Ben quickly turns to run back to his room. Not being quick enough he feels a strong hand grab him by the arm and then his bottom feels two hard whacks.
"That is enough of this tantrum. Go to your room and stay there. Do not let me see you out of your room again until morning! If I do you will be very sorry! GO!" Ethan tells Ben as he delivers one more smack to the boy's backside.
Ben sits carefully on his bed. Making a face he picks up his glass to drink but it slips out of his hand and crashes to the floor. Jumping up to avoid being splattered Ben accidentally knocks into the nightstand and the supper tray tilts. Before he can grab it everything slides off onto the floor making a lot of noise.
Hearing the sound of dishes crashing, Ethan comes in to investigate. When he sees the supper dishes and the food splattered all over the floor he asks sternly "Ben, how did this happen?"
"It was an accident. I didn't mean to. They fell." Ben says not looking at his uncle.
"BEN! I would think after the day you've had, you would be a little more careful about how you behaved. Twice tonight you have defied me by coming out of your room after being told to stay in it, then you have a temper tantrum because you don't like the supper you were given and now I find you with that same supper you were complaining about all over the floor. Since you already lied to me today, I find it hard to believe that this was an accident."
"It was an accident! I didn't mean too! I DIDN'T!" Ben yells.
"Now we add shouting at me to the list. Come here Ben!" Ethan says as he sits on George's bed. When Ben reaches him he pulls the boy over his knee and spanks him. After five hard swats to his backside, Ethan lifts the crying boy and lays him on his own bed. He picks up the broken dishes and takes them back to the kitchen. Coming back in, he cleans the food off the floor with a wet cloth.
Before leaving the room he sits down on the bed and says "Ben, I love you even if you have been obnoxious today. I brought you a sandwich and some milk in case you get hungry later." He says as he gently rubs the boy's back. When he feels Ben has calmed down enough that he can sleep he says "Good night Ben. We'll have a good day tomorrow. Everything will be better then. Just go to sleep."
Seeing his Papa come out of Ben's room, George asks "Is Ben alright Papa?"
"Yes George, he's fine. He's going to have a sore bottom for a while but other than that he'll be fine. Finish your checkers game and then go get ready for bed."
"Boys, has Ben mentioned anything to either of you about having a new friend? I'm thinking he's found a hobo somewhere that he's giving bowls and blankets to. Do either of you know anything about this?"
"No sir, I haven't seen him take anything anywhere. Up until today he's been staying close to the house." Joseph answers.
"He hasn't told me anything about any new friend Papa." George answers. "The only new friend we have is Ginger." When he realizes what he said, George slaps his hand over his mouth.
"Ginger? George, just who and where would this Ginger be?' Ethan asks.
Looking at Joseph first, George answers "Ginger is our new cat Papa. She has four kittens and they are really cute. They are in the loft in the barn."
"I wasn't aware we had a cat." Ethan says giving the boys a look.
"UM, well we were waiting to see if she was going to stay before we told you about her." Joseph says hoping his Uncle won't be upset.
"I understand Joseph. Tomorrow morning, I would like you to introduce me to Ginger. After all if I'm going to be feeding her I should at least get to meet her. Don't you agree?" Ethan asks smiling.
"Yes Papa and you'll like her. She's very sweet and a good mama too." George says.
"That's good to know George. Alright children, it's been a long day. It's time for bed." Ethan says.
Joseph thinks "Claire and I are supposed to get to stay up until ten o'clock. It's only nine right now. I guess he's punishing us too. I should have said something about the cat."
Ethan notices the look on Joseph's face and stops him before he can leave the room. "Son, you're not in any trouble. I'm not sending you to bed as punishment for anything. I'm just really tired tonight and thought we would all go to bed early. Do you understand?'
"Yes sir I understand. You know I'm kind of tired too. All this worry over where Ben was tired me out. The boys are hard to deal with some days." Joseph tells him.
"You won't hear me argue about that, Joseph! Good night, I'll see you in the morning." Ethan says giving Joseph a one armed hug.
"Night, Uncle Ethan. Thanks for not being mad at me for not telling you about the cat." Joseph says hugging him back.
"You're welcome Joseph. But please don't keep secrets from me. I need to know what's happening with the boys."
"Yes sir, I'll do better." Joseph says as he walks to his room.