Summary: On a quiet\u00a0night\u00a0after a rough afternoon that could have taken their little brother from them, Hoss and Adam ponder Joe’s\u00a0instincts and … athleticism.<\/p>\n
Rated: K \u00a0\u00a0Word Count: 1,846<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze<\/strong><\/p>\n XxXxX<\/p>\n Hoss Cartwright returned to the chuck wagon to get one last helping of Cookie\u2019s stew. When his plate was full once again, he didn\u2019t bother retaking his place by the campfire. Instead, he started eating right where he stood and glanced over to where his little brother was already stretched out in his bedroll. He marveled to see that Joe was sleeping sound as could be, as oblivious to the conversations going on around him as he was to the notes Slim was strumming on his guitar.<\/p>\n Adam noticed, too. He joined Hoss beside the chuck wagon, his eyes following Hoss\u2019s line of sight.<\/p>\n \u201cLook at him lyin\u2019 there,\u201d Hoss said, \u201csleepin\u2019 all peaceful-like.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam scrunched up his eyes and crossed his arms in front of him. \u201cLike he doesn\u2019t have a care in the world,\u201d he said with a touch of cynicism.<\/p>\n \u201cGuess I sort of figured he\u2019d have one of them nightmares of his tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe doesn\u2019t have to,\u201d Adam said tersely. \u201cI\u2019ll have enough for both of us.\u201d Taking a deep breath, he added in a softer tone, \u201cHe scared the hell out of me today, Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah. Me, too.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then he laughed<\/em> about it!\u201d Adam\u2019s jawline tightened in anger, reminding Hoss that Joe wasn\u2019t the only one whose emotions could shift like dust devils in the desert. The difference was that Adam held tight rein on his, revealing them only to those who knew where to look in his posture and his eyes, while Joe let his<\/em> run where they would.<\/p>\n \u201cPart of me wanted to punch him,\u201d Adam added. \u201cAnother part\u2026.\u201d He sighed so heavily Hoss saw all that tightly reined anger seeping right back out of him. \u201cWell, another part wanted to hug him.\u201d Adam turned a sheepish look Hoss\u2019s way, one that Hoss had seen less and less as Adam left his childhood further and further behind him.<\/p>\n Hoss liked that look. It was familiar and comfortable and \u2026 brotherly. It was also enough to release a good dose of the fear Hoss had been left with in the wake of the stampede they\u2019d encountered that afternoon. \u201cIf you would have hugged him I reckon that would\u2019ve scared him a whole lot more than all those beeves runnin\u2019 at him.\u201d Hoss even found himself laughing. It felt good to laugh.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m serious, Hoss.\u201d Adam argued. \u201cHe could have died out there and there wasn\u2019t a damned thing I could do but watch it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n Suddenly, Hoss didn\u2019t feel cheerful at all. \u201cNo, there sure wasn\u2019t. But there wasn\u2019t anything you needed<\/em> to do, either. He handled it just fine. Better than fine,\u201d Hoss decided. He even felt a smile creeping back in. \u201cYou know, I could almost believe I was watchin\u2019 one of them circus fellas when he grabbed onto that tree branch like he did.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe was lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe was smart. Thought right quick about what he had to do.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe was reckless. He shouldn\u2019t have been out in front of the herd like that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe was tryin\u2019 to turn \u2018em, just like any good wrangler would do.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe should have known better. He\u2019s too young, too inexperienced.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cInexperienced? Adam, that boy\u2019s among the best wranglers I\u2019ve ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam gave a slow, calculating nod. \u201cHe\u2019s good, I\u2019ll grant you that. I\u2019ll even admit he\u2019s better than I am when it comes to horsemanship.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNah,\u201d Hoss countered. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI would.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re the one who taught him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWorking with horses comes naturally to him. But<\/em>,\u201d Adam took in a deep breath, \u201che\u2019s still got a lot to learn about driving cattle.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe not as much as you think.\u201d Hoss looked at his sleeping younger brother again. \u201cHe already knows enough to teach them new hands we took on, and they\u2019re comin\u2019 along just fine. Face it, Adam\u2026.\u201d He returned his attention to his pensive older brother. \u201cYou ain\u2019t mad at Joe for doin\u2019 what any good drover would do. You\u2019re mad at him for doin\u2019 what no good little brother<\/em> ought to do.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not mad.\u201d Adam\u2019s eyes made him look both cynical and sheepish.<\/p>\n \u201cThen why\u2019s your fist clenched like that?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam opened his hand and started looking at it. \u201cI already told you.\u201d Shaking his head again, he folded his fingers loosely and took a long, hard look at his middle brother before continuing. \u201cHe scared the hell out of me out there,\u201d he said softly then. \u201cWhen I saw him trying to head off that stampede, I thought\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know what you thought,\u201d Hoss finished when it was clear Adam wasn\u2019t going to. \u201cSo did I. But just when I knew he was gonna go down with that horse of his, he grabbed hold of that branch. Sure was a sight to see,\u201d he added, letting his smile return. \u201cMight even have been downright entertaining, if we hadn\u2019t been so dadblamed scared about what might happen if Joe lost his grip.\u201d Hoss thought about that for a moment. \u201cYa\u2019 think maybe he learned to balance on the branch like that from watching that circus fella?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat circus fellow?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe one on that swing, way up in the air.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe trapeze artist?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss grinned. \u201cYeah, that\u2019s the one. Joe used that branch like a trapeze. I half expected him to swing head first around it like that fella did.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam still wasn\u2019t sharing his good humor. \u201cThat would have been one sure way to get himself killed. Joe\u2019s life depended on keeping a firm grip. It was hardly time for play.\u201d<\/p>\n Now it was Hoss\u2019s turn to get angry. \u201cYou think I don\u2019t know that? You think I wasn\u2019t as scared as you watchin\u2019 him?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen why are you making light of it now?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause it worked! Joe took a chance that was a whole lot more daring than any of them circus fellas, and it worked. He wasn\u2019t hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou sound like you\u2019d encourage him to try it again!\u201d Adam\u2019s shout turned a few heads their way. Joe didn\u2019t so much as twitch.<\/p>\n \u201cHe sure is tired,\u201d Hoss said. \u201cAin\u2019t he?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam let out another long sigh, releasing some of that tension again and pulling back in some of that cynicism. \u201cMaybe being in a circus is harder work than driving cattle.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe was scared, too, you know.\u201d Hoss gave his attention back to Adam.<\/p>\n Adam didn\u2019t believe him. \u201cHe laughed<\/em>, Hoss!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot \u2018til it was over. Not \u2018til the cattle settled down. You weren\u2019t as close as I was. You didn\u2019t see him clear as I did. I ain\u2019t never seen that boy\u2019s eyes so wide or his face so white.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam scrunched his eyes up at Hoss for a moment. Then, looking back at Little Joe, he leaned back and crossed his arms again. \u201cWell \u2026 good.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s good?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m glad he at least had sense enough to know—\u201d Startled by something, Adam turned toward the campfire. \u201cWhat on earth\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n And suddenly Adam tensed up again; his shoulders strained against the fabric of his shirt and both his hands balled into fists. \u201cYou play one more note of that song,\u201d he shouted toward Slim, \u201cand I promise you it\u2019ll be the last thing you play!\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s when Hoss heard it. The song Slim was playing. The song Slim went right on playing, as though Adam hadn\u2019t said a word. \u201cLittle Joe the wrangler will wrangle never more, his days with the remuda are all done<\/em>\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n The mess that followed had Hoss\u2019s head spinning worse than one of his little brother\u2019s dust devil emotional outbursts ever could. When it was over, Slim\u2019s guitar was in splinters and three cowpokes had more bruises on their faces than callouses on their backsides. Several others were wearing whatever food had still been on their plates, and everyone was gaping slack jawed at Adam Cartwright, a man known for always keeping a clear head.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat are you staring at?\u201d Adam confronted one of the new men, who only shook his head and backed away. Then the eldest and usually wisest Cartwright brother turned his temper on the entire herd of cowpokes. \u201cIf anyone ever plays that song again within earshot of me or anyone else in my family, you\u2019ll end up in as many splinters as that guitar! Is that understood?\u201d<\/p>\n His answer came in muttered words and nodding heads.<\/p>\n \u201cI said, \u2018is that understood<\/em>?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Shouts of, \u201cYessir, Mister Cartwright, sir,\u201d echoed around the camp.<\/p>\n \u201cGood!\u201d Adam shouted back. \u201cNow bed down! We have an early start tomorrow. We need to make up for what we lost with that stampede.\u201d<\/p>\n Moments later, a much more familiar, reserved Adam rejoined Hoss by the chuck wagon, and it was Hoss\u2019s turn to sound sheepish. \u201cYou know Slim didn\u2019t mean anything by playin\u2019 that, Adam. It\u2019s just another song to him.\u201d The glare Adam shot his way made him regret saying a word.<\/p>\n \u201cA song<\/em>,\u201d Adam answered, \u201cabout a wrangler with our brother\u2019s name who ends up mashed to a bloody pulp after a stampede.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss shrugged. \u201cThat song\u2019s about a boy a whole lot younger than Joe with a whole lot less experience.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam\u2019s glare both hardened and narrowed. \u201cAre you saying you like<\/em> that song?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHeck, no! Makes me sick every time I hear it. But ya\u2019 didn\u2019t have to smash Slim\u2019s guitar.\u201d<\/p>\n It took a whole lot of deep breaths before Adam relaxed again. \u201cYep,\u201d he said then. \u201cI did<\/em> have to.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause if I\u2019d tried to do that to the cattle that tried to do that to Little Joe, I\u2019d <\/em>have ended up mashed to a bloody pulp.\u201d<\/p>\n The strangest thing happened then. Adam grinned. \u201cYou know, it really was<\/em> somewhat entertaining, wasn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss felt his eyebrows go clear up to his thinning hairline. \u201cThe song?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam shook his head but did not lose his grin. \u201cJoe\u2019s little trapeze act. He might even be able to find a job in a circus if we ever get tired of him.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss looked back at his little brother while he pondered his older brother\u2019s transformation. \u201cLook at that,\u201d he mused. \u201cAll that ruckus and he slept right through it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s our Little Joe, for you. Create havoc and then leave the mess for everyone else to sort out.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThings sure ain\u2019t boring with him around.\u201d<\/p>\n Crossing his arms again, Adam looked more relaxed than Hoss had seen him for a long time. \u201cI guess the circus will have to wait.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause \u2026 as exasperating and infuriating and downright irritating as he can be, he sure isn\u2019t boring. I don\u2019t imagine that we\u2019ll ever really get tired of him.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss grinned. \u201cNo, I don\u2019t reckon we will.\u201d<\/p>\n Moments later, Joe\u2019s older brothers bedded down beside him, and all three slept like they didn\u2019t have a care in the world. Not a nightmare disturbed a single one of them. Instead, their dreams were filled with visions of a daring young man on a flying trapeze.<\/p>\n XxXxX<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tags:\u00a0 Adam Cartwright,\u00a0Family,\u00a0Hoss Cartwright,\u00a0Joe \/ Little Joe Cartwright,\u00a0Stampede<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Summary: On a quiet\u00a0night\u00a0after a rough afternoon that could have taken their little brother from them, Hoss and Adam ponder Joe’s\u00a0instincts and … athleticism.<\/p>\n Rated: K \u00a0\u00a0Word Count: 1,846\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":10711,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-full-width-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[23,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-humor","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-4-id"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/flying-trapeze.jpg?fit=598%2C768&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10710"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10710\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10711"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}