~CHAPTER 6~

Joe didn't even have to lift his head from its resting position on his arms to know that his brother Adam had gotten back from town. Sport's prancing gait was enough for his ears to make that determination on their own. He wasn't sure if he wanted his brother to spot him over by the corral fence behind the barn. All he wanted to do now was just think. So many thoughts were running wild in his mind that he needed to harness, and he wasn't sure if his brother would help or not. His boot was propped up on the bottom board of the fence and his arms criss-crossed on the top one, his chin resting on them comfortably. The hoofbeats disappeared inside the barn. After a minute or so, his ears picked up the sound of boots on the hard-packed ground, but he couldn't tell whether they were coming or going. Soon they stopped altogether. The edge of Joe's mouth turned upward in the tiniest of smirks. Why, do I get the feeling... he picked his head up from the top of the fence and turned it to see Adam leaning up against the corner of the barn, looking at him.

"You ok, Joe?"

"Yeah, I'm ok."

"How did things go today?"

"Oh, as fine as could be expected," he said with an edge to his words that he had not intended.

"It doesn't sound like it," Adam replied, walking over and putting his own foot up next to his brother's.

"Well, I went out to check up on the hands," Joe said turning his gaze away from his brother and out across the never-ending countryside.

"And?"

Joe did not respond right away. Adam stood patiently, leaning against the fence, not wanting to push Joe when he knew something was bothering him but knowing that he would reveal what it was in due time.

"I... I feel like I've betrayed them," he finally spoke. "Checking up on them like they were common criminals. They're our friends, every one of them, people we've trusted for years." He paused. "You know why we didn't see any of them yesterday? Because they all agreed to stay behind and watch the herd for us, all day. All of them were there and accounted for," Joe said harshly, acting more and more guilty as he spoke.

Adam turned toward his brother, "Well, Joe, you should be happy then. That means none of them are involved in any of this." Adam himself was quite relieved at the news, although not surprised, but he couldn't understand why his brother still seemed so disturbed.

Joe looked down at his hands, unconsciously picking apart a blade of grass as he tried to collect his thoughts. "Charlie wasn't there," he said softly as if his own words betrayed him. "No one knows where he was yesterday afternoon."

"How do you know he wasn't there?"

"Because I asked them!" he almost spat out the words, flinging the remaining bit of grass away from him. "After I talked to Charlie, just like we were old friends, not a doubt in the world, I went behind his back and asked the rest of the hands where he had been," his breathing was coming quicker. "I know I have to be wrong. I know he can't have anything to do with this, but why won't my mind just accept that? What am I turning into, Adam... that I can't trust these people anymore? What did they do to take that away?"

Adam took a deep breath and chose his words carefully, knowing that Joe was suffering from more than just a guilty conscience. He looked over at his brother's pained and confused face, and doing something he realized, with regret, he hadn't done since the day of the funeral, put a comforting hand on his youngest sibling's shoulder. "Nothing, Joe. They didn't do anything. But... I know exactly how you feel. It's the circumstances... strange events that make people suspicious of others they would never normally question. We checked up on them more for their sake than for ours, though. Don't you see that?"

"I don't know," Joe said hanging his head. "I thought so at first, but now I just don't know anymore."

"Well, what are you going to do?"

"Charlie's supposed to help me get lumber tomorrow. I'll... I'll try to talk to him then. See if I can find out where he was."

"Do you need help?"

Joe shook his head no.

"Hoss and I are always here if you need us. You know that." The warmth and softness of Adam's tone in that simple statement cut through Joe's worries and spread through him like the warmth a wool blanket gives. For some reason he had thought he'd been all alone in his troubles, but now he realized he wasn't. He knew that no matter what they lost, they would always be there for each other, and nothing would ever change that.

Not getting a response, Adam figured Joe needed some time to think for himself, so he turned to leave.

"Adam..." Joe called in a voice barely audible.

Adam stopped and turned back to his brother.

"...thanks."

Adam felt he didn't deserve Joe's gratitude. He should've been there more for his brother, for both of them actually. He vowed then and there that he would be, always.

Slowly, Adam turned and left his brother alone, letting the soothing sounds of nature keep him company now.

Joe hadn't been able to find a way of talking to Charlie by the time they left the next morning. What was he going to say, that he suspected him of stealing the payroll, and possibly rustling the cattle? Since Joe wasn't even sure he believed it himself, he didn't know how he was going to confront Charlie with anything. Needless to say, as they rode for town the next morning, both men remained fairly uncommunicative. Several times Charlie glanced over at Joe trying to figure out why he would be so quiet because usually his boss was a pretty talkative fellow. He decided to put the blame on all of the pressure he knew him to be under and spent of his time on the way in scouring the hills for signs of possible trouble.

His fears were allayed, however, as they arrived in town with no trouble or occurrence. Stopping the horses in front of the lumber yard, Joe hopped down and walked inside. "Mr. Greenly?"

"Oh, Joe. I wasn't expecting you this early," the graying man said as he turned and looked over his spectacles at his customer. "I got your order out back. Bill'll show you where it is."

"Thank you," Joe replied, starting for the back room.

"Charlie," he heard Greenly call in greeting behind him.

"Hello, Mr. Greenly," Charlie answered nicely.

Just as Joe was through the back doorway he heard the storekeeper ask, "Still want that job, Charlie? Got it open for you."

Joe froze. Turning back, he peered through the crack in the door he had just come through. He didn't mean to eavesdrop, but for some reason this conversation seemed all together too important to miss. He saw their foreman look around as if nervously searching for someone. Then, with a lowered voice that Joe could barely make out, he spoke to the store owner. "Yes, I would, but like I said it can't be very much. I'm still workin' for the Cartwrights."

"Oh, yes of course, but how are you gonna find time to be foreman for them and work another job at the same time?"

"I'm not sure, but I'll find a way. I've got to. My family needs the money. "

"Why? You've gotten along before."

"Things have changed," was all he responded with. "If I can have the job I'd be much obliged, Mr. Greenly."

"Of course, Charlie. Start whenever you want to and we'll figure out your exact times later."

Joe was sitting in the wagon after the lumber was loaded, his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands, thinking. Could it really be that simple? Is that all it is? The wagon jolted as Charlie jumped up beside him after making sure the last of the supplies were loaded. Reaching over, Joe released the brake before flipping the reins over the horses' backs and starting them on their trip back home.

It was as uneventful as the trip there until about halfway home when Joe suddenly looked over at Charlie and asked, "Charlie what were you doing the day you were supposed to have off?"

The question caught the foreman completely off guard. "What?" he stuttered.

Before he had time to say more, Joe continued. "You were looking for another job weren't you," he said without doubt.

Charlie looked a little sheepish and embarrassed as he responded, "Well yeah, I was, Joe. But I never intended to lea..."

"Charlie, why didn't you tell us?" Joe didn't ask it accusingly, as Charlie would've thought, but almost as if he were relieved and somewhat disappointed.

"Well, I... I don't rightly know. I guess I didn't want you thinkin' I was runnin' out on you just because you're havin' some problems."

Joe nodded his head slowly. "You never have to worry about that, Charlie, but thanks. You don't know how much that means to me." You really don't, he added softly to himself. To Joe, it felt like the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders. Adam was right; their friends hadn't done anything. The circumstances that made him think and act the way he did, but never again. He would never get caught like that again. Joe straightened his shoulders. Even in these troubling times, it was a comfort to know they had friends around them that they could trust whole-heartedly. Flicking the reins, Joe set the horses into a livelier gait home.

Little did either of them know that as they were yet driving, a pair of watchful eyes gazed down at them from one of the tall rocks above. The lone figure silently followed them along the ridge until he knew they were undoubtedly going to the Ponderosa. He patted his mount with a hand stiff from cold before tucking it back inside his jacket for warmth. The length of his turn of watching had drained all the warmth from him, and he wished he could go into town for a refreshing drink that would burn its way down his throat and warm his insides. It'd been far too long since he'd been able to indulge in the pleasure. The thought of a drink was altogether too tempting, and he turned his horse around and headed for town. "I got me plenty of money now," he said with a vindictive chuckle.