{"id":2870,"date":"2011-03-24T15:27:55","date_gmt":"2011-03-24T19:27:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=2870"},"modified":"2025-02-27T12:23:33","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T17:23:33","slug":"trust-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=2870","title":{"rendered":"Trust (by frasrgrl)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary:\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span>This was written as part of the March 2011 Chaps and Spurs challenge.<\/p>\n

After being injured, Joe questions his belief in trust and second chances.<\/p>\n

Word Count: \u00a0968\u00a0\u00a0Rated:<\/span> K+<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Trust<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Joe slowly opened his green eyes, but immediately closed them with a groan. The light was blinding, causing agonizing pain to shoot through his head. From what seemed like a vast distance he could hear something, but because of the fury of the nails being driven into his head, all he could hear was an abstract noise. He tried to adjust his position, but only succeeded in causing the crew of men driving those to increase their tempo, forcing a moan to escape him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph?\u201d<\/p>\n

The voice finally filtered through the rhythmic pounding in his head and he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. As awareness penetrated through the pain, he could feel the soothing comfort of the cool, wet cloth on his brow.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa?\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m here, Son. Can you open your eyes for me?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHurts\u2026 Lights.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThere you go, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Another voice sounded in the room. Adam?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cTry to open your eyes now, Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Slowly Joe cracked his eyes open. The drapes had been drawn, blocking out the bright July sun, and the lamp was turned down low, bathing the room in a soft, golden glow. Joe blinked a few times, trying to focus his eyes. When he was finally able to make out his fathers face, a weak smile graced his lips.<\/p>\n

\u201cHi, Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHi, yourself.\u201d Ben smiled at his son. \u201cHow do you feel?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLike there\u2019s a whole crew driving nails into my head.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLet me in there, Ben.\u201d Dr. Martin pushed his way to the bed carrying a glass filled with a cloudy liquid. \u201cI want you to drink this, Joe. All of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Martin helped support Joe\u2019s head while he drank the medicine. When he was finished, he was gently lowered back down onto the pillows. \u201cYou must be feeling pretty bad if you\u2019re not going to argue with me about taking that,\u201d he joked.<\/p>\n

Joe cleared his throat. \u201cHow long have I been out?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA couple of hours,\u201d Adam answered from the foot of the bed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t remember?\u201d Ben asked.<\/p>\n

Joe closed his eyes for a minute as he searched his memory. Opening them again, he stared at his father. \u201cI came home early. I had run out of nails, so I came back for more. I saw Jack\u2019s horse out front and the front door was open,\u201d Joe paused for a minute, hoping the nails would relinquish their hold on him. \u201cI came inside and found Jack at your desk, Pa, going through the drawers.\u201d A look of profound sadness filtered across Joe\u2019s face. \u201cI trusted him, I\u00a0believed he had changed – and then, he was going to betray me like that? I confronted him about it. I couldn\u2019t believe it, Pa, he pulled his gun on me, and started laughing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The medicine was starting to take hold and with its sedating effect also came a loss of control of his emotions. Unshed tears shimmered in his eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2026He wanted to know how I could expect anything from him. He told me how stupid and naive I was to believe that after all this time he would just up and repent his sins because the righteous, high and mighty Joe Cartwright convinced his daddy to forget his convictions and give him a job.\u201d<\/p>\n

A tear trickled down from the corner of Joe\u2019s eye, and he angrily wiped it away. \u201cHe said he only took the job so he could get his hands on your money. He wanted me to open the safe, but I told him I couldn\u2019t, I didn\u2019t know the combination.\u201d Joe gave a slight shrug when he saw the look of astonishment in everyone\u2019s eyes. \u201cI got angry, Pa, I felt like such a fool. So what did I do? I acted like one and went after him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDidn\u2019t you say he had a gun?\u201d Adam asked. He knew it was a rhetorical question. He also knew what Joe\u2019s answer was going to be before he even finished the sentence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told you I acted like a fool. I didn\u2019t think about what I was doing or what could happen.\u201d Joe smiled a smile that was self-depreciating. \u201cThe next thing I knew I was waking up here. That\u2019s all I remember.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carefully, Ben brushed back the curls that hung down on Joe\u2019s forehead, an action he had done countless times over the years. \u201cWhen we came home, we found you tied up in front of my desk. By the look of the blood on your face, not to mention the gash on your forehead, my guess would be he hit you with his gun, knocking you out cold before tying you up. We saw Jack on the road, riding hard and fast, heading south. When we found you we put two and two together and came to a pretty accurate conclusion of what happened. I sent Adam to town for Dr. Martin and to report this to Roy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, Pa. I never should\u2019ve believed in him\u2026\u201d Joe started to say before Ben cut him off.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoe, there\u2019s no reason to be sorry. That\u2019s the kind of man you are. You believe in people and you believe in second chances. It\u2019s a wonderful quality to have. Sometimes it doesn\u2019t work out, as in Jack\u2019s case, but sometimes it does. Look at Sam Kirby. You put your trust in him to turn his life around, and he didn\u2019t let you down.\u201d Ben saw Joe\u2019s eyes starting to close. \u201cYou get some rest, Son. We\u2019ll talk more later.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe smiled at his father and let his eyes drift close. He was content in the knowledge that his family loved him and would always support him. What greater gift could a man ask for?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The End<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

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

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

Summary:\u00a0 \u00a0After being injured, Joe questions his belief in trust and second chances.<\/p>\n

Word Count: \u00a0968\u00a0\u00a0Rated: K+<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":11268,"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_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[39,23,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chaps-spurs","category-drama","category-short-stories","wpcat-39-id","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-8-id"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":2587,"today_views":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Marie-My-Love.jpg?fit=400%2C266&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4460,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=4460","url_meta":{"origin":2870,"position":0},"title":"The Gift (by JoeC)","author":"JoeC","date":"April 28, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0 Joe get's a special birthday present Rating:\u00a0 K\u00a0 (553 words)","rel":"","context":"In "Chaps and Spurs"","block_context":{"text":"Chaps and Spurs","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=39"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/joe-chaps-21.jpg?fit=314%2C547&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2979,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=2979","url_meta":{"origin":2870,"position":1},"title":"Captain Joe (by frasrgrl)","author":"frasrgrl","date":"November 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0 \u00a0This story is in response to November's Chaps and Spurs Challenge. 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