{"id":13772,"date":"2017-02-05T04:58:51","date_gmt":"2017-02-05T09:58:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=13772"},"modified":"2026-07-29T11:33:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T15:33:05","slug":"shirtless-joe-by-jc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=13772","title":{"rendered":"Shirtless Joe (by JC)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary: <\/strong>One man\u2019s “Field of Dreams” is another woman\u2019s fantasy.<\/p>\n

Rating: \u00a0PG \u00a0 (1,010 words)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Author\u2019s Note \u2013 I\u2019m mostly an Adam fan, but this was just too much fun not to write. With special thanks to W.P. Kinsella for the inspiration.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

SHIRTLESS JOE<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMom, there\u2019s a man in our backyard.\u201d<\/p>\n

My son\u2019s words raised the hair on the back of my neck.\u00a0 I dropped the laundry basket and ran to the window.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s him. It\u2019s really him,\u201d I whispered.\u00a0 \u201cThe Voice was right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHim who?\u201d my son asked.\u00a0 \u201cWhat Voice?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCould it be the same Voice that told you to fill in the swimming pool and build a pasture?\u201d My husband has a way of making everything sound so negative, but then, he has always been a \u201chalf-empty glass\u201d kind of guy.\u00a0 I\u2019ve learned to ignore him for the most part.\u00a0 Besides, it wasn\u2019t a pasture; it was a corral, certainly no reason for him to resign his post as Vice-President of the Homeowners Association.\u00a0 That was his idea, yet somehow it had become my fault.<\/p>\n

\u201cShirtless Joe Cartwright, that\u2019s him who.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 If you build it, he will come.\u00a0 <\/em>That\u2019s what The Voice had said, and here he was. I couldn\u2019t help but be awestruck at the sight of him, so young and bronze and full of classic television goodness.\u00a0 The Ingalls clan wasn\u2019t even a gleam in his eye yet.<\/p>\n

I was only vaguely aware of my spouse\u2019s continued grousing. \u201cDid The Voice happen to say anything about dinner?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Was he kidding?\u00a0 Who needed food while the eyes feasted?<\/p>\n

My son interrupted my gawking reverie. \u201cHe\u2019s wearing a shirt and a jacket, so why do they call him Shirtless Joe?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, you see it\u2019s because he\u2019s hot\u2026I mean, sometimes it\u2019s hot\u2026and he gets all sweaty and\u2026\u201d\u00a0 I balked at the prospect of trying to explain mid-life female fantasies to an eleven-year-old boy.\u00a0 Some things are better left unsaid.<\/p>\n

Apparently, my husband agreed with me on that point.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s no use, son.\u00a0 I would say you\u2019ll understand when you\u2019re older, but if you do, you\u2019ll be a better man then most. Come on, let\u2019s go get a pizza and watch the All-Star game on the big screen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan we get a horse, Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n

With the two of them off to seek solace in deep-dish pepperoni, baseball and other man things, I got up the nerve to go outside and greet the handsome but bewildered looking cowboy gracing my back lawn (right after I fluffed my hair,\u00a0 pinched my cheeks, checked my teeth, glossed my lips and popped a breath mint.)<\/p>\n

\u201cHello,\u201d I said, assuming my most charming demeanor, trying to act natural.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowdy, ma\u2019am.\u201d\u00a0 He took off his hat, seeming relieved to see another person.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m a little confused.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure where I am or how I got here.\u00a0 Is this\u2026heaven, or Iowa?\u201d<\/p>\n

I shook my head. \u201cIt\u2019s Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I figured it was too hot for either one.\u00a0 Texas, huh?\u00a0 Looks a lot different from the way I remember.\u00a0 It\u2019s a lot prettier.\u201d\u00a0 He smiled at me.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m Joe Cartwright.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I know.\u201d\u00a0 I felt my face flaming under his green-eyed gaze.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI mean, nice to meet you.\u00a0 I\u2019m\u2026uh\u2026\u201d I couldn\u2019t even remember my own name for a moment.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m JC.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJC, like me.\u201d\u00a0 He grinned.\u00a0 \u201cNice place you got here.\u00a0 You wouldn\u2019t happen to have a horse I could borrow, would you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks,\u201d I said.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry, I don\u2019t have any horses. I only built this place because the Voice told me to.\u201d<\/p>\n

He raised his eyebrows.\u00a0 \u201cYou hear voices?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust one.\u201d\u00a0 It was always so hard to explain to someone else.<\/p>\n

He was looking at me the way the neighbors used to before they started avoiding me altogether. \u201cYou don\u2019t think you\u2019re a fish or a tree or anything like that, do you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not crazy or dangerous, if that\u2019s what you mean.\u00a0 The fact that I do things for no apparent reason just seems to annoy some people. I didn\u2019t know it before, but I think I built this for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The notion seemed to please him as he surveyed his new surroundings once more.\u00a0 \u201cThere is something about this place\u2026I think my father and my brothers would like it, too.\u00a0 Would it be all right if I brought them here, and maybe a few friends?\u201d<\/p>\n

For the love of Zachary Pete Taylor, would it ever!\u00a0 I tried not to sound too excited. \u201cOf course. That would be perfectly fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I guess I\u2019d better be headin\u2019 back.\u00a0 Pa worries if I\u2019m late.\u00a0 Do you have any idea which way\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTry the cornfield.\u201d\u00a0 I had a feeling it would come in handy somehow.<\/p>\n

As I watched him disappear between the tasseled rows swaying in the breeze, I was tempted to follow but decided against it.\u00a0 After all, a little mystery adds spice to life.\u00a0 Besides, I really wanted to retouch my roots before anyone else happened to show up.<\/p>\n

That was only the beginning.\u00a0 Of course, not everyone sees what I see.\u00a0 My poor blind husband sees only the piles of laundry and the dishes in the sink and a vacant lot where a swimming pool should be.\u00a0 But there are a few people who think like me.\u00a0 Someone once said, \u201cIf you can imagine it, you can achieve it.\u201d\u00a0 If you build it, people will come. <\/em>\u00a0It was true.\u00a0 Just ask Kevin Costner.<\/p>\n

A voice calls to me from across the fence.\u00a0 \u201cHey, wanna play with us?\u00a0 Come on over!\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m still not too good at horseshoes, but I\u2019m always game.\u00a0 Hoss grins and Adam winks at me as I walk by.<\/p>\n

My pitch is a perfect ringer this time, earning me a rousing cheer from the growing number of spectators and a congratulatory hug from my teammate Joe, in all his glistening shirtless glory, giving me a whole new appreciation for the Texas heat.<\/p>\n

My husband stares and shakes his head. \u201cHoney, I\u2019m really gonna miss you, because they\u2019re gonna to take you away one of these days. You know that, don\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could be right, dear.\u201d\u00a0 I smile as I accept Hop Sing\u2019s offer of lemonade, blushing as the Cartwrights toast me in unison.\u00a0 \u201cBut what a way to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

~END~<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For a complete, up to date list of my stories, check out\u00a0JC’s Author Page<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary: One man\u2019s “Field of Dreams” is another woman\u2019s fantasy.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Rating: PG\u00a0 (1,010 words)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10253,"featured_media":3932,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","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":[2,7,4,1007,687],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-actionadventure","category-a-u","category-humor","category-joe-cartwright","category-modern-day","wpcat-2-id","wpcat-7-id","wpcat-4-id","wpcat-1007-id","wpcat-687-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\/2014\/04\/joeshirtone.jpg?fit=350%2C311&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13772","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\/10253"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13772\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}