Summary: This first story of a series called It’s Just a Year didn’t come through from the old library. This episode tells of how Adam received and education that allowed him to enter a prestigious Eastern university while living in the wilds of the west where there wasn’t a school or people with a formal college education. Adam has studied hard with a Harvard professor he found on the Ponderosa and is ready to leave for Boston when Ben asks him to remain home another year. Marie’s death has left him reeling and in need of his son’s help while he finds men to work the growing ranch.

Rating: K   Word Count: 10,321

It’s Only a Year Series, links to stories within the series are included.

Summary: Marie and Ben’s attendance at a funeral in town leaves Adam at the Ponderosa to watch six-year-old Hoss, and seven-month-old Little Joe. The day of babysitting gets started with only minor difficulties, but takes a frightening turn as a late-season thunder storm hits the area, trapping the parents in town overnight, and making the boys rely on all that they’ve learned to get by alone.

Rating: K   Word Count: 12,862

Summary: A story of Cartwright family love:   When Adam refuses to fight for his life…or his limb…after his Mountain of the Dead experience, (The Savage) Hoss and Joe return to the camp where they found him and figure out what really happened there. Hoss confirms that Ruth was real, but in following his Adam’s journey, he also finds truths his older brother couldn’t see. Twelve years later, Adam is a happy husband and father living in Boston at the time he travels to San Francisco where he meets his father and brothers there for a reunion. Another “unexpected” reunion sheds more light on the past.

Rating: T      Word Count: 22,384

Summary:  A “What might have happened” story for the Crucible, this story tells of Adam’s experience as a 12-year-old with a madman who played games with his mind. It begins with a prologue from the Crucible, but then switches back 20 years to the time when Ben returns from New Orleans after completing a sacred promise made to Jean DeMarigny before he died. The boys have been living with a widow in the town near the Ponderosa, eagerly awaiting Pa’s return. Neither expect the surprise Ben brings back with him, but Hoss adapts easily to Marie, while Adam likes her, yet feels he doesn’t need a “mother.” A sacred promise Adam has made to his own mother puts him at odds with Ben. Adam leaves home and sets out to prove himself a man after hearing a conversation between Marie and Ben that indicates his father plans to send his oldest son away since he won’t do as he’s told. All goes well until a man named Levi shows up and unleashes his own personal war against Adam.

Rating: T               Word Count:  30,000

Summary: Adam and his wife, Melinda, are living in England, and getting ready to welcome their first child. After a fall on the stairs, Adam must face the fear of losing his wife and child, and he comes to terms with his own lingering grief over his mother’s death. We also see the family back on the Ponderosa waiting impatiently for the arrival of a new Cartwright. The story returns the young parents to the states where a number of surprises await – including a visit from some Nevadans, and one old foe who leaves them reeling.  

Rated: T  WC  45,000

One Step Closer Series, links to all the stories within the series included.

Summary:  Adam has been home home from school for a short time when he witnesses 11 year-old Joe “stealing” from a store in town. After finding out that his brother had been pressured into doing this by two brothers who are new to the area, he tries to help. His assistance is met by Joe’s anger, resentment, and profession that Adam means nothing to him anymore. Adam still promises that he will protect Joe from these boys…or die trying. His words prove prophetic.  

Rating: K+                     Word Count: 21,463

Summary: Following a harrowing experience in Boston, Adam and his new wife head west to the Ponderosa for a visit, hoping to relax where they feel safe. Unfortunately Little Joe is not happy with their presence. Hoss helps sort things out between his brothers, but when one problem is solved, the Cartwrights “welcome” two more unexpected visitors. A misguided act by one of these guests brings near tragedy. This is a story of new lessons learned while old feelings are dealt with. It ends with Melinda and Adam in London, still wondering whether they can ever escape the trouble that seems to shadow them.

Rated: T  WC 36,000

One Step Closer Series, links to all the stories within the series included.

Summary: Adam is back in Boston after a 12 year absence. His career has taken off in a prestigious engineering firm; he’s happily married to his college sweetheart, and he’ll be a featured performer at an upcoming choral production. But the life he’s made is destroyed in three weeks after a beautiful stranger hires him to build a wine cellar. He loses his job; his wife thinks he’s having an affair with the stranger, and he’s forced to participate in a federal crime, knowing that he won’t live through it, but hopes to stay alive long enough to protect the people he loves.

Rated: T  WC  28,000

One Step Closer Series, links to all the stories within the series included.

Summary:  Adam’s getting married! He’s moved to Boston to help his grandfather, and has begun to build a good life there, including an engagement to the girl he fell in love with during college. Their wedding is set to coincide with a unexpected visit from Ben Cartwright. All is well until Adam’s fiancee disappears and Ben and his son set out to find her. Adam battles a worsening illness along with the lies of those involved. He must rely on help from those more familiar with the city and at one point despairs as he asks his father why the women who love him…die. Will there be a wedding or will Adam sink further into loneliness and pain as another opportunity for love is torn away.

Rated: T  WC  82,700

One Step Closer Series, links to all the stories within the series included.

Summary:  Adam has never worried about his father’s faith and trust in him. That changes dramamtically after a woman drops an 11 year-old at the Ponderosa, telling Ben that the boy is Adam’s son, conceived before he left for college. After repeated attempts to defend himself against th accusation, Adam leaves home, angry and hurt by his father’s seeming refusal to accept that the woman is lying. Once Adam confronts his accuser, he is forced to look further to find out how he and his family became targets for her ploy, and pays a high price for trying to find the truth in her life of lies.

Rated: T  WC  60,000

Summary:  Ben is trying to sleep after laying his son to rest and is visited by memories of a life well lived. In another room, Joe is struggling with similar thoughts as he tries to quiet his mind to sleep. And in a place far removed, Adam receives the news that sends his heart reeling. This is a story about Hoss’s passing, but it is not about death. It’s about a family coming to terms with loss while rejoicing in the man they knew. and figuring out how best to honor the life that was lost.  

Rated: K+  WC  9000

Summary:   A stage crash has killed everyone on board…including Adam Cartwright. While Paul Martin has made a “best guess ID” of the “remains,” and even though Adam’s most personal possessions were found in the wreckage, Ben refuses to believe it is Adam. Hoss and Joe begin a journey of discovery with their father as a mystery develops that includes another man in black, attempts at blackmail and the eventual acceptance of what seems ovious – that Adam is gone. It becomes the story of two families facing the loss of a child and a woman whose care of a deathly ill stranger may restore one of these families to completeness.  

Rated: T  WC  45,000

Summary:  This is the last story in the Circle of Family saga, but enjoying this one is not dependent on having read the others. Adam has been in Boston for a year and all his careful planning has done him well…until an accident while staying with Abel puts him flat on his back for a few days. It is during this time of infirmity that Marie’s Bible arrives along with letters from home. After reading them, Adam makes a heart-rending decision that leaves his grandfather reeling. This story has its comedic moments along with some sweet takes on Adam’s relationship with Abel and the family he left behind.  

Rated: K+  WC  11,400

A Circle of Family Series, links to all the stories within the series included.

Summary: This is the third of the four stories revolving around Adam’s Bible (the Bible Elizabeth had used when she was young.) The Bible was thought ruined in The Book of Joseph, but was restored in The Book of Ben, and is now ready to be sent to Adam in Boston. Ben tells his middle son that he should write Adam a letter to enclose along with the Bible. But after Hoss has a particularly miserable day tending his sick brother and father, he pens a letter to Adam letting him know exactly how he feels.

It is not necessary to read the other stories to enjoy this one. Each book provides a look at love and lessons learned in the young Cartwright family. Thank you for reading.

Rating: K  (6,565 words)

A Circle of Family series, links to all the stories within the series included.

ummary:  This is the second story in the A Circle of Family saga. Adam’s Bible, nearly destroyed in The Book of Joseph, has been returned in better shape than thought possible. After an thoughtful conversation with Hoss, Ben opens the Bible to the story of David and Goliath and relives a memory from a Sunday in the past when a reenactment of that story went awry. We see a young David (Hoss) smite the powerful Goliath (Adam) with a heavy wooden sword, leading to an interesting exchange between Marie and Ben as they decide how to patch the mighty Philistene’s gaping lip.

Rated: K  WC  8300

A Circle of Family Series, links to all the stories within the series included.

Summary:  Days before Adam is scheduled to leave for college, Little Joe “borrows” his older brother’s Bible and leaves it outside in the rain when his attention is drawn elsewhere. The Bible had belonged to Elizabeth and was one of the few tokens Adam had of his mother. We watch as he discovers the seeminly ruined text, and comes to grip with his loss and tries to find forgiveness. This is the first of a four part story of family love, sweet memories and the Cartwright’s way of living life to its fullest.  

Rated: K  WC  1800

A Circle of Family Series, links to all the stories within the series included.

Summary: The final episode of the prequel series, It’s Just a Year. Adam has remained home for a year longer than he’d planned before heading for college. In that time, he’s been hazed, poisoned, almost killed and now we find him healthy and camping with Hoss for a final brother’s weekend before leaving for Boston. The idyllic time takes a ominous turn when Adam realizes that someone’s been watching their camp and must soon face his worst fears again and save his brother from the same fate. As with all theses stories, this can be read without reading the others first. This concluding episode brings the two oldest Cartwright boys together for some defining moments.  

Rated: K+  WC  17,000

It’s Only a Year Series, links to all the stories within the series included.

Summary:  17 year-old Adam has been in his first gunfight and although his wound seemed minor, it worsened as he continued to work, until he lost so much blood that he was near death. We now find out what happerned that night and who helps to heal a family wrought with sadness, guilt and decisions.  there is no need to read the previous stories to enjoy this one. A young Abigail Jones makes her first appearance and Hop Sing makes a friend.  

Rated: K+  15,000

It’s Only a Year Series, links to all the stories within the series included.

Summary:  17 year old Adam has proven himself to the Ponderosa ranch hands after a summer of hazing, and is finally enjoying his his last year home before leaving for school. But his life takes a dramatic turn when he is menaced by a new addition to the crew, and must decide whether the man is serious in his sinister intent, or it’s just another attempt to test his mettle. Once Adam decides which it is, he makes choices that  bring him into conflict with his father and lead to the worst of consequences.

Rated: K+  WC  16,000

It’s Only a Year Series, links to all the stories within the series included.

Summary:  17-year-old Adam is learning some hard life lessons. He returns home from a cattle drive where he’s been forced to subsist on beans and endure hazing by the hired hands intent on making him prove his worth, to find his father away, Hoss ill and Little Joe in a state of panic. The results involves some very bad decisions, a dose of castor oil given in an all-out battle of wills, and hurt feelings. This story takes a serious turn when Hoss’ attempt to give his brother a “taste of his own medicine” goes horribly wrong.  

Rated: K+  WC  11,300

It’s Only a Year Series, links to all the stories within the series included.

Summary:  This WHN for the Honor of Cochise actually begins when Marie tells a very young Joe that he owes his oldest brother a debt of gratitude for looking after him so well. Joe’s early attempt to repay Adam go comically awry, but finally has the chance as he sees his brother wounded in the battle with Cochise. Adam recovers from the gunshot, but struggles deeply with choices he made that put his family in jeopardy that day.

Rated: K+  WC  7200

Summary:  Adam’s return from college has Ben saying and doing everything wrong, with no clue as to why he’s acting that way, yet unable to make any adjustments in his behavior to stop the building crisis. The tension in the house comes to a head as Adam is severely injured in a fall and Ben finds out that his son has made plans to leave the ranch and take a job as an engineer in San Francisco. As Adam’s condition unexpectedly worsens, Ben finds the right words to say, but fears it may be too late to make a difference. Paul Martin and Hop Sing play important roles in easing these two powerful Cartwrights back together.  

Rated: K+  WC  9200

Summary:  This WHN for A Journey Remembered looks at a “missing page” from the journal chronicling the journey West with Inger. After reading the story to Hoss while they waited for a horse to foal, Ben finds evidence of a page that was removed and remembers that it’s kept with personal papers. When he finally has a chance to do so, he rereads the missing page and recalls what he witnessed the night after Inger died.  

Rated: K+  WC  2600

Summary:  Ben stands vigil as thirteen-year-old Adam lies near death with a raging fever. The father blames himself and questions his ability as a parent while offering a prayer to give his own life to spare his son’s. A stranger helps Ben face his fears and understand that parenthood takes courage and help from unexpected places.  

Rated: K+ WC  4600

Summary:  Adam promised Laura that he’d be back for their engagement party. But he’s delayed and during that time, he unexpectedly meets his first love – a young woman he knew in Boston. After an evening spent talking, they realize that they still love each other, yet they know that it can’t make a difference. Life and time have sent them in opposite directions and they part again, while wondering what might have happened if they had taken one step closer.  This is a what happens during, and after the episode, Triangle.

Rated: K+ WC 10,000

One Step Closer Series, links to all the stories within the series included.

Summary: This story takes place the evening after Adam’s first day filling in for Miss Scott in the episode Right is the Fourth R. While that story took a very serious turn, I thought it might be fun to examine how Adam would deal with the antics of youngsters after living in a household of adults for so many years. After facing a day of student illness, crazy questions, a black eye and a crush by a young student, Adam has to confess some shortcomings and learn a few lessons from his family.

Rating:  K+  3,700