{"id":3362,"date":"2009-02-19T13:19:24","date_gmt":"2009-02-19T18:19:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=3362"},"modified":"2026-07-22T12:14:04","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T16:14:04","slug":"to-hoss-with-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=3362","title":{"rendered":"To Hoss With Love (by karilyn)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary: \u00a0\u00a0<\/span>After being rejected in romance, Hoss is amazed when the person he least expected revives his spirits.<\/p>\n

Rated K+ (1,070 words)<\/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 \u00a0To Hoss With Love<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hoss Cartwright sat at his favorite spot, a particular flat rock overlooking Lake Tahoe.\u00a0 Both the water and sky were as blue as his own eyes, and the sun set off sparkling white flashes on the rippling water.\u00a0 There was a warm breeze blowing, and it should have been a glorious day for anyone alive.\u00a0 For Hoss, who was glumly throwing pebbles methodically into the water, it was anything but.\u00a0 He was still stinging from the latest in a string of rejections by women to whom he had given his heart.\u00a0 He had thought\u2014oh, he had really thought\u2014that this time he had captured true love.\u00a0 His heart had dared to soar, only to discover, as usual, that his feelings were not honestly reciprocated. The fresh footprints were still imprinted on his heart.<\/p>\n

Why did this romantic pattern dog him the way it did?\u00a0 Sometimes he thought that his friend, Waldo Watson, had the right idea all along; just end it all.\u00a0 Things might be easier all around that way.\u00a0 Hoss and Waldo were a lot alike: oversized, clumsy, and in the way, even if they were well-meaning. But Waldo had found true love in the end, dadburnit. Today Hoss felt like leaping off the edge of a cliff, just like Waldo was trying to do when Hoss first found him.\u00a0 His most recent rejection had only reinforced what Hoss already knew: he was big and ugly, he wasn\u2019t good with words, he wasn\u2019t charming, and he wasn\u2019t smart.<\/p>\n

He knew that Pa and his brothers felt bad for him.\u00a0 He knew they cared about him, but sometimes the love of a family didn\u2019t make up for being a big loser.\u00a0 He took off his big hat and slapped it down on the rock.\u00a0 He ran his fingers through his hair and stared out at the water.\u00a0 He very nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a voice beside him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoss, you are a wonderful person.\u00a0 Very few people are as fine as you are,\u201d the soft, lilting, feminine voice spoke to him.<\/p>\n

He looked up sharply to see a lovely young woman sitting just a few feet away, on the same rock, in the shade of an outcropping.\u00a0 She was smiling sweetly at him, and her wavy, yellow hair fell softly over one shoulder.\u00a0 A cream colored shawl was wrapped around her and her legs were curled beneath her.<\/p>\n

He knew he was slack-jawed.\u00a0 \u201cMa\u2019am, who are you?\u00a0 How\u2019d you get here?\u00a0 I ain\u2019t heard nothin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

She threw her head back and her honeyed laughter was caught on the breeze.\u00a0 \u201cI have been here for a very long time.\u00a0 I watch you often.\u201d Now he thought he recognized an unfamiliar accent in her speech.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you know me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have loved you since the first moment I saw you.\u00a0 The Fates took me away from you much too soon, but you must believe me, I have always been with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

He gaped again.\u00a0 \u201cAre you my Ma?\u201d\u00a0 He whispered the words almost reverently.<\/p>\n

\u201cJa, I am Inger,\u201d her smile wreathed her face and sent a glow of warmth toward Hoss.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut how can that be?\u00a0 You died on the trail in the Indian attack.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJa, that is true.\u00a0 My body died, but my spirit and soul, they are very much alive, and I take great pleasure in watching my beautiful son,\u201d she assured him.<\/p>\n

\u201cAin\u2019t nothin\u2019 too beautiful about me,\u201d he muttered, hanging his head.<\/p>\n

She reached out and put her hand under his chin, lifting his face.\u00a0 \u201cHoss, my Eric, I have something very important to tell you, and you must pay attention to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

She had touched him!\u00a0 He had felt it.\u00a0 He looked up, giving her every ounce of his attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are a very special man.\u00a0 You have in you a heart so big that very few people can manage one like it.\u00a0 You are kind and gentle and strong.\u00a0 You care about right and wrong.\u00a0 You see the good in people.\u00a0 You can heal with your hands, and you love nature.\u00a0 Animals trust you naturally, so strong is your sense of goodness. You protect others.\u00a0 There are very few people like you walking this Earth.\u00a0 I know what your sadness is right now, but you need to know that it is fleeting.\u00a0 The time is coming when people the world over will know Hoss Cartwright and love him.\u00a0 He will live on and on for generations in their hearts, a model and a tribute to true human goodness and love.\u201d\u00a0 She stroked his cheek lightly with her hand<\/p>\n

Mesmerized, he stared at her, trying to take in what she said.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t understand it all, but he knew he was being infused with a warmth and joy that could only come from true love. He knew that his earlier worries were not going to hang over him.\u00a0 He reached out to his mother, and she took his hands.<\/p>\n

\u201cKeep being strong, my special son.\u00a0 Tell your father I love him and I am often with him, too.\u00a0 Whenever you need me, just call out.\u00a0 I am always near you.\u00a0 I love you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The hands he held melted away from his grasp, and he was again alone on the rock. He thought for a long time about what she had said, and slowly a happy grin stole over his face.\u00a0 He nodded his head once, proudly, and his heart began to swell.\u00a0 Yes, he could do that, and he would.\u00a0 It felt right.<\/p>\n

Hoss got up and made his way across the rocks to his horse, Chubb, who received some heartfelt nuzzling and a big hug around the neck. The world was beginning to right itself again.\u00a0 He mounted up and headed off toward home.\u00a0 Maybe sometime he would tell Pa about this day, but for now it was his private treasure.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love you, too, Ma.\u00a0 Thank you,\u201d he said softly as he rode slowly home.<\/p>\n

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

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

Summary: \u00a0\u00a0After being rejected in romance, Hoss is amazed when the person he least expected revives his spirits. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Rated K+ (1,070 words)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":2181,"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":[23,1006],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-hoss-cartwright","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-1006-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\/hoss.jpeg?fit=188%2C235&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3362","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\/98"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3362"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3362\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}