Bonanza
~*~*~ Advent Calendar ~*~*~
* Day 9 *

Summary: Some debts cannot be repaid; they must be paid forward to others. A tough day for Joe leads to revelations for both Ben and Adam.

Rating:  G
Word Count:  2,340

A Debt of Kindness

It was well past the time he should have been home and Joe could just see his pa and brothers debating the need to saddle up and come looking for him. It wouldn’t be the first time and he figured it certainly wasn’t going to be the last either. He could just see the light ahead of him and knew it was only another twenty minutes or so and he’d be able to bring himself and Cochise in from the cold. He was thankful for the moonlit night and even more thankful that the snowfall had been light so far. He hoped Hoss would get his annual wish for snow on Christmas day, but right now, he was very grateful the snows had mostly held off. By the time he reached the barn and slid out of the saddle and began the tasks of bedding his horse down for the night, his frozen hands were fumbling with the job.

“Let me do that and you get on in the house and warm up, little brother.”

Hoss had appeared behind him and he hadn’t even heard a thing.

“I saw the lantern. Been watchin’ for ya to get home.”

Of course he had. The whole family would have been waiting and Joe smiled as Hoss led Cochise into a stall and took over from his brother.

“Get on inside.”

“Thanks.” It was all he could muster as he nodded and turned for the door. He was too tired to say anything more. Before he reached the front door it swung open and his father was silhouetted against the light.

“Joseph, are you alright?”

“Fine, Pa. Just need to warm up.” He felt his father’s hand on his shoulder as he shucked his filthy jacket and headed for the fireplace and the roaring fire. Hop Sing was already bringing coffee and Adam had a blanket ready to drape across his back. His hands prickled as the warmth slowly seeped into them and they began to return to a normal colour. Finally, Joe settled himself on the hearth and looked up to see expectant faces watching him. Hoss had come back in at some point and he hadn’t even noticed.

“Sorry I’m so late. I got caught out on the trail across Hanson’s north pasture. That storm last week took a few trees down and I had to backtrack a ways.”

“What one earth were you doing up at the Hanson’s place? You were supposed to be coming straight back from town.” The tone wasn’t quite a rebuke, but Joe looked up to see his father’s concern cloaked in harsh words. It wasn’t where he should have been and he suddenly realised if his family had set out to find him, they would have been searching miles from where he actually was.

“It’s a long story. Do you think I could wash up and eat before I tell you?”

Ben mentally kicked himself for allowing his relief to spill over into questioning and not taking care of his son’s needs first. As he nodded, he noted the fatigue on Joe’s face.

“Of course. Hop Sing kept your dinner warm for you. We were just getting worried, that’s all.”

Joe dragged himself up from his warm spot and headed for the kitchen where he could wash the grime from his hands and face. His clothes could wait until later. As he did so, Hop Sing was already setting a plate for him at the table and his stomach growled at the scent of meat and gravy.

Hours later, Ben sat by the fire, enjoying his pipe and wondering on the things his son had told them. The Hansons were fairly new to the area and had been ill prepared for the onset of Winter. He hadn’t realised just how much until Joe recounted his tale of running into the family who were stuck in a slushy ditch with a deeply bogged wagon wheel. The children were huddled together on a nearby log with a blanket wrapped tightly around them while their father and mother tried desperately to free the wagon. Sissy Hanson was due to have her third child some time in the new year and was not able to do much more than urge the horses forward while her husband pushed from behind with all his might. As Joe happened upon the scene, she almost cried with relief.

Ben could envisage his son taking charge and getting the wagon clear as he had far more experience in such matters. He had then decided to ensure the family reached home safely before turning and riding for home himself. It didn’t surprise him at all, given the lessons he had instilled in his sons over the years. Still, that didn’t stop a father from worrying when his son was very late home on such a cold night.

As the weight of the day settled over him, Ben felt his eyes slipping closed and the hand holding his pipe came to rest in his lap. As sleep overtook him, so did the memories.

It wasn’t hard to find where Adam was, given the loud voices carrying out from the mercantile. The fledgling town was growing on an almost daily basis and Will Cass had arrived a few months earlier with plans to provide for the area via his new venture. It was still getting established and there had been some issues with those who wanted to operate on credit and Will arguing that he couldn’t afford to extend credit. It was a delicate juggling act as many got paid in sporadic fits and spurts and Will knew he needed to grow his customer base while staying financially viable. Ben tried to stay ahead of his own account, but it wasn’t always easy. Cattle prices could fluctuate due to unexpected things and driving a herd to a buyer didn’t always deliver the expected return. Still, he needed to buy supplies to feed not only his family, but also his ranch hands. He had sent Adam to attend to the supplies while he took care of other business. Hoss had been allowed to go with his brother while Joseph had been kept very close at hand. There were times to allow his youngest son to roam and times to keep him on a tight rein and he had learned that coming to town was time for that tight rein. As he hurried into the mercantile, he unconsciously had a firm hand on his son’s collar.

“It’s not my business. It’s enough for a man to understand his own business, and not to interfere with other people’s. Mine occupies me constantly. Good afternoon, gentlemen!”

Will looked angry and Adam looked uncharacteristically flustered. Hoss hopped from one foot to another with his head down in a sure sign he was distressed. Just what had he walked in on?

“Ben, I’ll thank you and your sons to stop pestering me to contribute to this darn fool fund of yours!” He pointed a meaty finger towards Adam and Hoss before swinging it Ben’s way. “I barely have enough coming in to keep the roof over my own head!”

“Pa, I was just …” Adam began and clamped his mouth shut as his father raised his hand.

“Will, I’m sorry. I know we have had this discussion already. I’m sure Adam didn’t realise that, did you, Son?”

Adam looked at his father for a moment, as if he was about to challenge the question before thinking better of it.

“I’m sorry, Mister Cass. We were just trying to increase the Christmas fund. We won’t bother you again.”

It was barely enough to placate the irate businessman, but then he realised he was talking to one of his better customers who actually paid his account and he lowered his hands onto the bench.

“Well see that you don’t. Now Ben, let’s see about this account of yours.”

Ben barely contained a groan as he had hoped to hold off until the following week with settling things, but clearly that wasn’t going to happen now.

A hand began to nudge his arm and he startled awake.

“Pa, why don’t you go on to bed? You look done in.”

As he stretched and sat more upright in the chair, Ben glanced around to see the room was almost empty. Everyone else had gone to bed except Adam who had been reading on the other side of the fire. His son had already banked the fire, saving him the trouble and he nodded in appreciation.

“Thank you.”

“For what?” Adam watched him with that calm expression that so often belied deep thoughts and emotions underneath.

“Taking care of the fire. Saving me the effort.” It was a longstanding rule that the last one to bed banked the fire.

“Pa… are you alright?”

“Of course. Why do you ask?”

Adam settled himself on the hearth where Joe had sat only a few hours earlier.

“Well … you were dreaming. You seemed … agitated.”

The comment certainly explained the unsettled feeling and Ben shook himself as if shaking free of something unpleasant. It seemed that he wasn’t going to get a response from his father and Adam was about to stand up when Ben reached for his arm.

“I was thinking about the year you and Hoss tried to set up a Christmas fund for the families who were doing it tough. You got a lot of blunt knockbacks and I was proud of you both for your persistence.”

Adam’s face changed as he thought back on that plan. It had been hard work trying to convince people to give to something when most of them were finding it hard enough themselves. It would be years before mining and other commercial enterprises made Virginia City prosper.

“You set us the example, Pa. Just like Joe tonight going the extra mile for the Hansons. You always taught us that.”

Ben glanced around the room and noted the comfort of his home. It hadn’t always been that way.

“When you know what it is like to go without and how it feels as a parent to be unable to provide for your child, it stirs something inside you that never goes away. When things grew easier for our family, it was only right to give back.”

“Is that why you donated all the money to our Christmas fund that first year?”

Ben’s head shot up and he stared at his eldest son. It was so long ago and he had no idea that Adam even knew. He had watched his boys trudge from one business to the next and one family to the next and take knockback after knockback. Some had been kind enough, but some had been angry and a few were downright aggressive. In the end, he had taken matters into his own hands while trying not to squash the generous intentions his sons were developing.

“How could you possibly know that?” He thought he had been discreet about cashing a check with the bank in Carson City and seeing the money delivered to the church via a roundabout means.

“Joe.”

“Joe?”

Adam smiled at the bewildered look on his father’s face.

“He told us how you made him stay in the wagon while you went to visit the Widow Brooks and how he thought that was unfair since he usually got cake from her. Not long after, she told me she had been given a generous donation from several people who liked what we were trying to do. I knew nobody in town had agreed to anything and then I put the pieces together. I just never knew why you didn’t just tell us.”

Ben could barely contain a smile as he thought back on that long-ago day. Joe had been very put out about being told to stay in the wagon and had only been consoled with a blueberry muffin as his father emerged from the widow’s house.

“It’s not always possible to repay those who show you kindness. There were many times on our journey here where I had to rely on the generosity of others. It grated on my pride, especially when I could not provide for you and then Inger and Hoss.”

Adam watched as his father seemed to drift off for a moment. He may not have been very old, but he remembered his father’s anger when Inger had overstepped some invisible line his father had drawn that protected his pride. He didn’t know why his pa was angry, but eventually he had come to understand.

“One day I was about to refuse something because of my foolish pride. I told the person I was leaving the area the next day and could not repay what they were offering. He was a man of considerable wealth and timely wisdom and he told me to take the gift and use it and one day when I was able, I should repay his gift by giving to someone else in need. That lesson has stayed with me. That was why I wanted to encourage you and Hoss in your endeavours to set up your Christmas fund. I didn’t want to see you discouraged that others didn’t share your vision and passion.”

Adam smiled once more at his father. That man’s wisdom had been repaid many times over as the Virginia City Benevolent Fund had grown and become well established in the area. It had fed and clothed orphans and widows and the sick and those who had fallen on hard times. It had been a lifeline to many and it would never have gone anywhere beyond an idea if not for his father’s secret gift all those years ago.

“Thank you, Pa. For everything.”

Author’s note: in honour of all those who have helped me along the way with no expectation of anything in return.

 

Link to 2019 Advent Calendar – December 10:

The Christmas Tree Surprise by wx4rmk