{"id":14401,"date":"2017-06-18T21:36:31","date_gmt":"2017-06-19T01:36:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=14401"},"modified":"2025-09-25T15:41:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T19:41:09","slug":"surprise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=14401","title":{"rendered":"Surprise! (by AC1830)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary: \u00a0<\/strong>Young Hoss and Joe have decided that Ben deserves a day off so they plan a special day with him, but Ben soon discovers it’s more special than anyone anticipated.<\/p>\n

Rating K \u00a0Word Count 678<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Surprise!<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

On a warm Saturday morning in late June, Ben Cartwright was working feverishly on his log books, trying to finish so Hoss and Little Joe could take him on a picnic and fishing trip.\u00a0 The boys had been planning this day for their father for quite a while.\u00a0 They said he deserved to get away from the ranch work for a few hours.\u00a0 He readily agreed but had to catch the books up first.<\/p>\n

Suddenly loud, rapid boot steps and the bang of the front door against the credenza broke the silence of the house.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa!\u00a0 Hey Pa. Come quick!\u201d\u00a0 Little Joe Cartwright skidded to a stop in front of his Pa\u2019s big desk.<\/p>\n

Ben stood up, concern on his face over the sudden pronouncement by his ten year old son.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph, what is it?\u00a0 Is Hoss hurt?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo Pa.\u00a0 But it\u2019s somethin\u2019 wonderful.\u00a0 Somethin\u2019 you gotta see.\u201d\u00a0 Little Joe grabbed his father\u2019s hand and pulled him out the front door toward the barn.<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle Joe, I\u2019ve already seen the new kittens.\u00a0 Your brother showed them to me yesterday.\u00a0 This needs to be quick.\u00a0 I have to finish those books before we go on our picnic.\u00a0 You boys said you wanted to take me fishing today.\u00a0 This will only slow us down getting our special day started.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll be quick, I promise.\u00a0 Hoss told me to come get ya as fast as I could.\u00a0 So I ran my fastest and, oh sorry about banging the door, but Hoss said to be quick so I was.\u00a0 Wasn\u2019t I Pa?\u00a0 Was I quick to get ya to come?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben stopped outside the barn and steadied his youngest son.\u00a0 \u201cJoseph you need to calm down and tell me what\u2019s happened.\u201d\u00a0 He looked sternly at his son as Little Joe gasped for breath.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa it can\u2019t wait.\u00a0 Come on, I just gotta show ya.\u00a0 You\u2019ll see.\u201d\u00a0 The boy tugged on his pa\u2019s arm and pulled him into the barn.<\/p>\n

\u201cSee, what\u2019d I tell ya.\u00a0 Are you surprised Pa?\u00a0 Didn\u2019t I tell ya it was important?\u00a0 Pa? Ain\u2019t ya gonna say nothin\u2019?\u00a0 You okay, Pa?\u00a0 You don\u2019t look so good.\u00a0 Pa, why are ya crying?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben didn\u2019t hear a word Little Joe was saying.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t take his eyes off the tall, dark headed man standing in front of him with a big grin on his face and a fishing pole in his hand.\u00a0 He hadn\u2019t seen him in four very long years and didn\u2019t expect to see him for another two weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cHello, Pa.\u00a0 Want to go fishing?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss and Little Joe wore grins the size of Nevada as Ben and Adam hugged and broke into tears of greatest joy.<\/p>\n

Late that evening, long after Little Joe and Hoss had finally gone to bed, Ben and Adam sat in front of the fire, sipping brandy.\u00a0 Adam had to remind his father he was old enough to have the strong drink.<\/p>\n

\u201cSon, I still can\u2019t believe you planned all this without me finding out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam chuckled with a twinkle in his eye.\u00a0 \u201cWhen I found out I could come home earlier than planned I wired our neighbors, the Bakers, and asked if they could help me and Hoss surprise you. They handled all the communication with Hoss and even picked me up in town.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t tell Little Joe I was coming until the last minute so the surprise wouldn\u2019t get spoiled.\u00a0 I suggested the fishing trip so we could have some fun together.\u00a0 Hoss wrote and told me how busy you\u2019ve been with the ranch so we decided you needed a break and a surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ben raised his glass toward his son.\u00a0 \u201cIt was a nice surprise and gift, son.\u00a0 Thank you for this special day.\u00a0 It\u2019s good to have you home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adam raised his glass too.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s good to be home, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tags:\u00a0 Family<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/g><\/svg><\/i> \"Loading\"<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary: \u00a0Young Hoss and Joe have decided that Ben deserves a day off so they plan a special day with him, but Ben soon discovers it’s more special than anyone anticipated.<\/p>\n

Rating K \u00a0Word Count 678<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8333,"featured_media":14402,"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_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[30,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-prequels","category-short-stories","wpcat-30-id","wpcat-8-id"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":2124,"today_views":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Pondarosa-House-3.jpg?fit=564%2C401&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":22994,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=22994","url_meta":{"origin":14401,"position":0},"title":"Jeremiah (by Hart4Ben)","author":"Hart4Ben","date":"June 26, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: Hoss has an unusual gift for Little Joe. A prequel challenge piece. Rating: K WC: 510","rel":"","context":"In "Hoss \/ Joe"","block_context":{"text":"Hoss \/ Joe","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=1092"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/bullfrog-2.jpg?fit=694%2C451&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/bullfrog-2.jpg?fit=694%2C451&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/bullfrog-2.jpg?fit=694%2C451&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10359,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=10359","url_meta":{"origin":14401,"position":1},"title":"Hoss Defined (by bahj)","author":"bahj","date":"September 15, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: You'll find it under \"H\" in the dictionary :0) Rated: Family Friendly \/ Word count: 1140","rel":"","context":"In "Prequel"","block_context":{"text":"Prequel","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=30"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Hoss.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Hoss.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Hoss.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7631,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=7631","url_meta":{"origin":14401,"position":2},"title":"Tarnished Armor (by DJK)","author":"DJK","date":"May 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0Hoss's deceit tarnishes his armor in Emily's eyes. Rated:\u00a0K+\u00a0 Word count:\u00a02843 Emily's Sir Eric Series, links to all the stories within the series included.","rel":"","context":"In "Ben \/ Hoss"","block_context":{"text":"Ben \/ Hoss","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=1017"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Cherry-Tree.jpg?fit=500%2C375&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6617,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=6617","url_meta":{"origin":14401,"position":3},"title":"August Moon (by Rider)","author":"Rider","date":"May 4, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: \u00a0Little Joe Cartwright celebrates his 21st birthday with his family on the Ponderosa Ranch. Rated:\u00a0K+ (830 words)","rel":"","context":"In "Drama"","block_context":{"text":"Drama","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/B_TLCSJoe1-1-1.jpg?fit=395%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12768,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=12768","url_meta":{"origin":14401,"position":4},"title":"Christmas Comes Early (by DonnaM)","author":"DonnaM","date":"December 22, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: \u00a0 Joe's story about Santa getting lost in Texas is based on \"Santa Got Lost In Texas,\" a song from the \"Christmas on the Ponderosa\" album. Rating:\u00a0 K\u00a0 (6,500 words)","rel":"","context":"In "Drama"","block_context":{"text":"Drama","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Christmas.jpg?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":25624,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=25624","url_meta":{"origin":14401,"position":5},"title":"Christmas Spirit (by AC1830)","author":"AC1830","date":"December 25, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: Little Joe learns something special about Christmas, with the help of his brothers. 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