Most Recent Story: Five Sundowns to Sunup #2 – Just One More Date – 1/10/2026see summary below.
A Cruel Sort of Kindness – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: “Pa’d once told us boys that a person shouldn’t go into marriage thinking that they could change their spouse; they’d only tear each other apart in the end. It was a piece of advice that I’d nearly forgotten.” A missing scene from the episode The Courtship.
Rating: K+ Word Count: 625
A Double-Negative Escapade – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Take Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe; add a touch of grammar, confusion, and silliness and you end up with…
Rating: K+ 985 words
A Grave Tale – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: A dare, a graveyard, and something evil lurking within, makes for a night that Little Joe Cartwright will never forget. A pre-series Halloween tale.
Rating: K+ Words: 1,368
A Howl in the Night – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: A WHN/WHI for the episode My Brother’s Keeper. Joe finds himself lost and alone in a forest, but is he really as alone as he thinks he is?
Rating: T – 1,300 words
A Main Character’s Nightmare — Is an Author’s Delight – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Joe has a decision to make when the most beautified–which is a vile phrase according to Polonius–Annie K asks him to do something for her. Basically a ridiculous story for the author’s own enjoyment.
Rating: K+ 770 Words
A Matter of Guilt – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: A WHIB (what happened in between) for the episode “A Matter of Circumstance”. Ben and Hoss worry and wait for word of Joe’s condition.
Rated: K+ Word Count: 975
Summary: Gone was the awkward school girl I’d once known. In her place was an enticing young woman….Joe’s thoughts after his first encounter with Amy. A missing scene from The Truckee Strip.
Rating: T (a mild T for light language and hormonal, teenage thoughts) Word Count: 554
A Cruel Sort of Kindness (by Annie K Cowgirl)
Summary: “Pa’d once told us boys that a person shouldn’t go into marriage thinking that they could change their spouse; they’d only tear each other apart in the end. It was a piece of advice that I’d nearly forgotten.” A missing scene from the episode The Courtship.
Rating: K+
Word Count: 625
A Prickly Problem – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Little Joe learns a lesson the hard way. Chaps and Spurs inspired story.
Rating: K+ Word Count: 1, 371
A Question of Mercy – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: A What Happened Instead/What Happened in Between for the episode A Question of Strength.
Rating: K+ Includes one instance of mild language and mentions of violence Word Count: 1,466
A Simple Life – by Annie K Cowgirl Summary: Marie takes a moment to contemplate her life: past, present, and future.
Rated: K+ for mentions of death
Word Count: 592
Argument (The) – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Ben and Adam argue over Adam’s education.
Word count: 1,045 Rating: K+
Boss (The) – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: A WHIB for the episode The Boss. Just how did Little Joe make it home after being shot by Gus Hannah?
Rating: K+ Word Count: 910
Curiosity – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: They say that curiosity killed the cat, but what happens when one of the Cartwright boy’s let’s his nosiness get the better of him?
Rated: K+ 1,010 Words
Curse of Black Crow (The) – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: A journey home turns into a nightmare that will never be forgotten.
Rating: T Word Count: 3,618
Dock of the Bay – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: A dock, a boat, and a conversation between brothers. Tissue Warning.
Rating K Words 1156
Dogwoods in Bloom (The) by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: A WHN for “The Newcomers”. Hoss finally visits the canyon.
Rating: K+ Word Count: 913
Epilogue: The Quality of Mercy – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: A WHN/alternate ending for the episode The Quality of Mercy. Joe goes to see Seth Pruitt in jail.
Rating: K+ Word Count: 613
Everybody’s Wrong – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: A WHIB for the episode The Jury. Adam and Hoss have another heart to heart. This one would take place before the one in the episode, but after the scene where Adam comes home with a busted fist.
Rated: K+ Word Count: 959
Fevered Sea – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Adam, a boat, and a storm at sea. A poem about Adam’s fever dreams while he lay ill in “Elizabeth My Love”.
Rating: K Word Count: 482
Five Sundowns to Sunup #1 – The Fifth Sunup – by AnnieKCowgirl
Summary: To fall meant capture. Capture meant death. And I wasn’t ready to die; not yet, not when my life had barely begun. Joe’s thoughts as he flees from the Lassiters in Five Sundowns to Sunup. Rating: K Word Count: 563
Five Sundowns to Sunup #2 – Just One More Day – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: “The whole town’s plum full of yellow bellies,” I muttered under my breath as I prodded Chubb into a ground-eating gallop, leaving the disgraced major in the dust. Hoss rides out, determined to find Joe before it’s too late. A WHIB for the episode “Five Sundowns to Sunup” and a Part Two to my previous story, “The Fifth Sunup” from Hoss’ point of view.
Rating: K+ Word Count: 699
Girl Can’t Help It (The) – by AnnieKCowgirl
Summary: Three young women, three moments in time, one man. A look into the thoughts of Elizabeth, Inger, and Marie as they contemplate the man known as Benjamin Cartwright. Rating: K Word Count: 1,033
Greatest Gift (The) – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: A Christmas surprise turns out to be most welcomed.
Rating: G 1020 Words
Note: This story was written for the Bonanza Brand 2020 Advent Calendar, posted in the Forums.
Hard Headed Woman – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Marie would do anything to protect her sons, anything…including this.
Rating: K+ Word Count: 737
He’s Gone – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Joe’s thoughts as he rides after Billy Chapin. A missing scene from The Legacy.
Rating: K+ Word Count: 575
Hooked on a Feeling – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: One minute he was standing there and the next, he was sprawled face down in the dirt….Booth Shannon’s thoughts after the shootout between him and Little Joe.
Rating: T (for mentions of blood) Word Count: 834
Hunt for Danny Miller (The) – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: When Little Joe searches for a friend against his father’s wishes, he gets into more trouble than he bargained for.
Rated: K+ 9,570 words
I Met a Friend of Yours Today – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: When Joe Cartwright drags Candy over to the doctor’s office after a bar fight, he bumps into one of Hoss’ old friends.
Rated: K+ for brief mentions of violence Word Count: 1,189
I Saw Her Again – by AnnieKCowgirl
Summary: Of love, loss, and hope for the future. A poem from Ben’s point of view.
Rating: K Word Count: 202
I Will Remember You – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: “…if anyone in the wide world had a reason to be angry it was me.” A WHB (what happened before) for the episode “The Stranger”. Leduque’s POV.
Rating: T (for language) Word Count: 600
If I Could Turn Back Time – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Foolishly, I had thought I’d have more time; there were places I wanted to see, things I wanted to do. Now, due to my stupidity, I’d never get to.
Rated: T (only for mentions of death) Word Count: 1,167
Last Minute Miracle by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: A WHIB (What Happened in Between) for the episode The Honor of Cochise. What was happening back at the camp while Ben was riding as fast as he could to Fort Barry? Read, and find out.
Rated: T (a strong T for racism, gore, and minor bad language)
Word Count: 1,313
Let’s Stay Together – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: A thunderstorm brings two brothers together. Pre-series story.
Rating: K Word count: 897
Letter (The) – by Annie K. Cowgirl
Summary: News received will change the course of young Adam’s life forever.
Written for Day 3 of the 2021 Advent Calendar.
Rating: G Word Count: 907
Like Father Like Son – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Post show story. While on a trip to Abilene, Texas, Joe’s son goes missing.
Words: 693 Rating: K
Long Ago and Far Away – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Ben’s memories of the past and dreams of the future all revolve around a simple pearl ring.
Rated: K 679 words
Long Road Home (The) #1 – Missing – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Ben receives a telegram about his eldest son that brings despair to the whole Cartwright family. Written for November’s C & S Challenge.
Rated: K+ 1,600 words
Long Road Home (The) #2 – Father’s Gift – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Ben’s thoughts as one of his sons lies in an Army hospital.
For June Chaps and Spurs. An SAS Suffering Adam Syndrome Posse story.
Rated: K+ 1,515 words
Long Road Home (The) #3 – A Well Deserved Comeuppance – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: The Jessup Gang get a little more than they bargained for when they pick a fight with a certain stranger. A slight AU story that could tie in with “Missing” and “A Father’s Gift”, but you don’t have to read them first to understand what’s going on. A Chaps and Spurs tale.
1,890 words Rating: K+ for a bit of violence.
Long Road Home (The) #4 – Someday Never Comes – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: A few months after the Union defeat at Fredericksburg, a disillusioned Captain Adam Cartwright writes a letter to his family. A prequel to my other Adam in the Civil War stories.
Rated: T for the horrors of war Word count: 1,830
Maiden with the Chestnut Hair (The) – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: A Poem. The captain’s daughter as seen through the eyes of a young, handsome sailor. Ben/Elizabeth.
Rating: K Word Count: 172
Man in Black (The) – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Response to the 2013 Pernell Roberts writing challenge. Why does Adam dress in black almost all of the time? Here’s a possible reason for that…..
Rated: K 880 words
Mending Fences – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Adam, Little Joe, a strained relationship, and one stupid school essay. A prequel story.
Rating: K Word Count: 1,190
My Boy – By Annie K Cowgirl Summary: My boy was late. He was never late. A different POV for the episode “Elizabeth, My Love”.
Rating: K Word Count: 1,057
My Dearest Husband – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: The year is 1848, and Marie Cartwright writes a letter to her husband for Valentine’s Day.
Rating: K Word Count: 649
My Dearest Mother – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Adam writes a letter to his mother during his last year of college.
Rated: K 585 words
Of Knights and Cowboys by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Abigail Jones always considered herself to be a sensible woman except when it came to Adam Cartwright, her knight in shining armor.
Rated: K Word Count: 642
Of Love and Loss – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Ben and Hoss have a heart to heart about lost loves.
Rating: K tissue warning 1,500
Of Mothers and Fathers – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Ben’s announcement of his upcoming marriage to a young, widowed woman brings about a serious talk between a ten-year-old Joe and his older brother, Adam
Rating: K 1,625
Picker (The) – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: “I-I’ve come to ask you for your daughter’s hand, Sir.”
Rated: K+ 1,244 words
Pickle (The) – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Just how did Hoss end up being the caretaker for two, little, troublemaking girls? The opening scene we were denied in Gallagher’s Sons.
Rating: K+ Word Count: 1,259
Please Don’t Go by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Joe’s thoughts about his own death. An extended/AU scene from the episode “Second Chance.”
Rated: T (for mild language) Word Count: 920
Polka-Dotted Cowboys (The) – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: When an epidemic of Chickenpox and the Measles breaks out, no one on the Ponderosa is safe!
Rated: K+ 5,885 words
Saying Goodbye – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Marie visits Ben one fateful night and he must say goodbye to someone he loves. My ML Birthday Challenge story.
Rated: K+ 1,440 words
Scars on the Inside – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: In memory of the beloved episode My Brother’s Keeper. It’s been five years since the accident and Adam still hasn’t forgiven himself for shooting Joe. Chaps and Spurs Challenge story for September.
Rated: K+ 935 words
Scent of Posies (The) – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: One never forgets their first scent of posies…and Hoss Cartwright is no exception!
Rated: K+ 1,010 words
Someday We’ll Be Together – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Hoss and Little Joe go fishing…or do they?
Rating: T Word Count: 988
That Changes Everything – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: After Joe takes the sheriff position in Rubicon, Adam decides to head up there to knock some sense into him. But Ben isn’t about to let that happen. A WHIB/WHN for the episode “The Tin Badge” with a little bit if “The Honor of Cochise” thrown in for good measure.
Rating: K+ Word Count: 1,400
What Do You Want in A Man? – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: A poem I wrote for the Man In Black’s birthday.
Rated: K+ 260 words
What Kind of a Man Would I Be? – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: A bullet, a question, and the unconditional love of a brother.
Rating: K+ Word Count: 978
When I Wake Up – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: One of the Cartwright boys finds himself in a tight spot.
Rated: T 3,050 words
Where Spiders Fear to Tread – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: “Don’t look down, don’t look down, don’t look down…” I repeated the phrase over and over again under my breath, as I took another careful step forward. A Little Joe story.
Rating: K+ for mild swearing and angst 1,475 words
You Are Not Alone – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: Just a little poem from the perspective of the three mothers: Elizabeth, Inger, and Marie. Rated: K Word Count: 243
Your Time is Gonna Come – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: I dug my fingernails into the flesh of my palms as the ground reeled beneath me like the deck of a ship in a summer squall. A trickle of dust and small stones rained down as the walls of the Ophir Mine creaked and groaned like an animal in its death throes. A WHIB for the episode “The Philip Diedesheimer Story”.
Rating: K+ Word Count: 755
You’ve Got a Friend – by Annie K Cowgirl
Summary: After the scandal surrounding his fiancee’s death, Clem Foster isn’t sure if he has anymore friends left in Virginia City. So he’s determined to do the one thing he feels he can: leave town and never come back.
Rated: T Word Count: 995
