This is the second in the series of stories following the Adam\/Hoss\/Joe “Destiny” stories.<\/p>\n
This story examines the relationships between brothers, some ordinary and some life and death.\u00a0 The brothers are the sons of Adam, Hoss and Joe.<\/p>\n
Rated K+\u00a0 (7,415 words)<\/p>\n
Destiny Series:<\/strong><\/p>\n Blizzard of Destiny<\/a> <\/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 \u00a0Brothers<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n There was only one week of school left until summer vacation, and to eighteen-year-old Eric Cartwright, it was the week that would never end.\u00a0 At the end of this week, he would be done with school forever and would become a full-time rancher, working side by side with his father, Hoss, and his cousin, Logan. It felt like he had been waiting for this his entire life.\u00a0 His earliest dreams were to work on the ranch and be a cowboy.\u00a0 He\u2019d certainly done his fair share of ranch work in his lifetime, but he never could quite see why going to school was so important.\u00a0 However, every time he raised the subject, it seemed like every member of his family jumped down his throat.\u00a0 At least the adult ones.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Even his mother, Erin, who was usually so kind and understanding got a hard look on her face and told him in no uncertain terms that he would<\/em> finish school.\u00a0 His father backed her up, and so did Grandpa Ben.\u00a0 Uncle Adam and Aunt Mary Lynn had each told him how much better his life would be if he completed his education.\u00a0 Aunt Amy had told him quietly that he\u2019d never be sorry he finished school, and even Uncle Joe told him it was the right thing to do.\u00a0 Sheesh.\u00a0 Only Logan really understood how he felt, but he had finished school himself.\u00a0 Well, at least Eric was done now, and he was one happy cowboy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In fact, all the Cartwright cousins were happy that school was ending.\u00a0 They were looking forward to a summer of riding, fishing and swimming.\u00a0 In addition to their chores, of course.\u00a0 But only Eric and Elizabeth were graduating.\u00a0 Eric knew a party was being planned, and this would be one party he really enjoyed.\u00a0 He would be celebrating his emancipation.\u00a0 At least that was how he looked at it. His family was happy for him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eric frowned, though, as he thought about his thirteen-year-old brother, Gunner. He was the one person that didn\u2019t seem very happy, now that he thought about it.\u00a0 Gunner had been mopey for the past couple of weeks and hadn\u2019t spoken much.\u00a0 He\u2019d done his homework and his chores, and then usually went off to spend time by himself. As far as Eric knew, his parents hadn\u2019t noticed anything amiss.\u00a0 Gunner was a good student and a nice all around person.\u00a0 Although not as outgoing as Logan or Uncle Joe\u2019s boys, Gunner had a lot of friends and generally seemed happy.\u00a0 It was kinda hard being thirteen, though. \u00a0It hadn\u2019t been the greatest time in Eric\u2019s life, he recalled.\u00a0 Maybe he would make a point of having a private conversation with Gunner.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n That opportunity came Monday evening after dinner and homework.\u00a0 Since it was the last week of school, homework was a short reading assignment for a play they would act out at school.\u00a0 Always doing homework together at the dining room table, most of the children were finished in twenty minutes or less, except for Hunter and James.\u00a0 Much to their mothers\u2019 distress, those two just didn\u2019t seem cut out to be bookworms.\u00a0 Nevertheless, Gunner finished quickly and headed outside since there was still daylight left.\u00a0 Eric followed and saw that he was headed up a grassy knoll beyond the barn where a stand of mature trees grew.\u00a0 Gunner headed straight for one in the middle and climbed up about halfway.\u00a0 The tree had thick branches and Gunner leaned back against the trunk, stretching his legs along the limb.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eric reached the trees and stood underneath Gunner, looking up.\u00a0 \u201cHey Gunner, what are you doing up there?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cGo away, Eric,\u201d he certainly didn\u2019t sound like a happy kid.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u00a0 Wanna talk about it?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gunner just made a face and snapped off a twig, throwing it to the ground.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Looking around him, Eric realized that the tree next to Gunner\u2019s offered a strong branch that would place him facing his brother.\u00a0 He scaled that tree quickly and in minutes he was facing his youngest brother, who was scowling.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHey,\u201d he said softly.\u00a0 \u201cI just want to help if I can.\u00a0 You\u2019re not in trouble, are you?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cGood.\u00a0 I knew that, actually. Maybe if you told me what\u2019s bothering you, I could help you somehow.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cProbably not.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWell, try.\u00a0 Sometimes talking just helps.\u00a0 That\u2019s what Ma says.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gunner sighed and looked directly at his brother.\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t play on the baseball team this summer,\u201d he stated flatly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Of all the things Eric had been imagining, this wasn\u2019t it.\u00a0 He blinked a couple of times.\u00a0 \u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gunner looked like he wanted to cry, but he was really fighting it. \u00a0\u201cBecause I\u2019m too big and I can\u2019t run the bases fast enough,\u201d he plunked his chin into the palm of his hand.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n So that was it.\u00a0 Eric felt anger rise in defense of his brother.\u00a0 How could Gunner\u2019s friends do that to him?\u00a0 They\u2019d known him all his life.\u00a0 It was the \u201cHoss curse\u201d that the family sometimes joked about.\u00a0 The same way that Nolan and Logan looked just like Adam, and Joey looked just like Uncle Joe, Gunner was the spitting image of his father, in every way.\u00a0 He not only strongly resembled Hoss, he had his gentle personality and in this case, the offending characteristic was his size. Gunner was big.\u00a0 He was as tall as Eric right now, and he would definitely match, if not exceed, his father\u2019s height some day.\u00a0 He was also strong and powerful.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWell, why can\u2019t you be catcher or umpire or an outfielder for Pete\u2019s sake?\u201d\u00a0 Eric was exasperated.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u00a0 That\u2019s just what Toby told me a week ago.\u201d\u00a0 More twigs snapped.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n That told Eric more of the story.\u00a0 Toby Hastings was the son of Tobias Hastings, the man whom Ben Cartwright and his sons had not supported in last year\u2019s mayoral election.\u00a0 Perhaps there was a bit of payback going on.\u00a0 Then Eric had an idea.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cGunner, tomorrow at lunchtime, you, me and Ben are going to play us a game of baseball, just the three of us, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gunner stopped ripping a leaf to shreds and looked at his brother.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cOK\u2026why?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBecause you\u2019re a good baseball player, and if the guys don\u2019t want you on the team, we\u2019ll just play our own game.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gunner shrugged, but he was intrigued.\u00a0 Eric was up to something.\u00a0 He began climbing down, and Eric followed suit.\u00a0 They headed back toward the house.\u00a0 Eric would have bumped against him good naturedly, but since his brother was as big as he was, he could plow him down if he had a mind to.\u00a0 So Eric was satisfied just to walk home side by side with him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The following day at school, Eric, Ben and Gunner played a game of baseball after they finished their lunch.\u00a0 Ben had been filled in on the details and he was game for Eric\u2019s plan.\u00a0 Eric had brought a baseball bat, catcher\u2019s mitt and ball to school with him.\u00a0 They moved away from where the other children were eating and playing.\u00a0 Eric recruited their cousin Eli to be catcher.\u00a0 He was the pitcher, Ben was the batter, and Gunner played the entire outfield.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eric threw a mean ball, Ben was a dependable batter, and Gunner grabbed the ball no matter where it was in the air.\u00a0 After that, it was whipped back to Eli, who served as all basemen in addition to catcher.\u00a0 The four of them had a lively game going within just minutes, and they attracted a crowd of onlookers.\u00a0 Some cheered Ben, who needed the moral support since he never got very far once he hit the ball.\u00a0 But most of the kids were cheering for Gunner, impressed by his powerful throwing arm.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHey Gunner,\u201d yelled one boy.\u00a0 \u201cYou should play baseball this summer.\u00a0 You signed up?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNope,\u201d Gunner was keeping his eye on the ball.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m too big.\u201d\u00a0 Gunner knew that Toby had stayed away from the crowd, so he comfortable revealing this excuse.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSays who?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSome people think I can\u2019t run fast enough.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWell, so what?\u00a0 You can throw faster than Goliath!\u201d\u00a0 The other boys raised their voices in agreement.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eric and Ben said nothing as this played out.\u00a0 They simply pitched and batted the ball.\u00a0 Just before the teacher called everyone back into class, several of the boys fetched Toby Hastings, the team captain, over and beseeched him to put Gunner on the team.\u00a0 Toby pretended to consider, but then shook his head.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAre you crazy?\u00a0 He throws faster than lightening!\u00a0 I want him on my team!\u201d\u00a0 They were all talking at once.\u00a0 But Toby was firm.\u00a0 He turned and headed for the school house.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWell, why can\u2019t we form our own team?\u00a0 Gunner shouldn\u2019t be left out.\u00a0 He\u2019s big, but he makes up for it in strength,\u201d one of the boys reasoned, and he was echoed by a chorus of assent from the other boys, who simply didn\u2019t see a problem.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Toby, hearing his confederates start to bail, began to slow down.\u00a0 He turned around and looked back.\u00a0 Most of the team was gathered around Gunner, and they waved him back to include their friend.\u00a0 He slowly retraced his steps in disgust.\u00a0 His father had really exhorted him to exclude any Cartwrights.\u00a0 Aw heck, he didn\u2019t know why; that was his<\/em> problem.\u00a0 Why couldn\u2019t his father keep old Ben Cartwright out of a poker game if it was so important to him?\u00a0 When he reached the boys, Toby nodded when they encouraged him to add Gunner to the team.\u00a0 Both he and Gunner received slaps of congratulations on the back.\u00a0 And then the bell rang.\u00a0 Time to go back to school.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As everyone trudged back into class, Eric moved next to Toby.\u00a0 \u201cThanks, Toby.\u00a0 That was a real nice thing you did.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAw, it was nuthin\u2019,\u201d Toby smiled. \u00a0\u00a0\u201cHe\u2019s a real good player anyway\u201d<\/p>\n Chapter 2<\/p>\n Joe Cartwright\u2019s boys were celebrating their freedom from school by swimming in Lake Tahoe.\u00a0 The water was cold, but they didn\u2019t care.\u00a0 There was a special swimming rock their father and uncles had used when they were boys, and it was perfect for splashing yourself right into that clear, blue water.\u00a0 It was also good for laying out on afterward to warm up or dry off before heading for home.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Young Joe, now 14, and his brothers Jon, 13, and James, 11 had finished their chores quickly after lunch, saddled their horses and headed directly to the swimming rock.\u00a0 Some of their cousins would probably join them later, but for now they had the whole lake to themselves.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n They skinned out of their clothes and threw towels off to the side.\u00a0 Then Jon leapt off the rock ledge, his arms wrapped around his knees. \u00a0It was a dive bombing competition.\u00a0 When he hit the water, he knew he had created a masterful splash.\u00a0 When he surfaced he heard Joe laughing at him and saw him give a thumbs-up sign.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cGood one, Jon!\u201d\u00a0 He sounded exuberant.\u00a0 He turned to his brother and bragged, \u201cWatch this one, James.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As soon as Jon had moved out of his path, Joe plunged in himself, shouting \u201cYee ha!\u201d as he went.\u00a0 He was pretty sure he had beat Jon since he was a little bigger, but James had to be the judge since he had watched both jumps.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When Joe surfaced, he shook his head, whipping his wet hair out of his eyes.\u00a0 He squinted up at his youngest brother.\u00a0 \u201cWell?\u00a0 Was it bigger?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n James had to think about that.\u00a0 Frankly, they had seemed about the same to him.\u00a0 Both his brothers had displaced a lot of water when they hit the surface.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI was pretty good,\u201d called Jon from the shore.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m not sure you beat me.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n James was still thinking it over.\u00a0 Finally he said, \u201cIt was a tie.\u00a0 They were the same.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n His brothers booed and hooted, and then boasted they were each the winner.\u00a0 James grinned.\u00a0 It happened this way every time.\u00a0 It just so happened that Joe and Jon were about the same size.\u00a0 All of Little Joe and Amy\u2019s children were the shortest of the cousins.\u00a0 They took after their parents; they weren\u2019t the size of Uncle Hoss, and they never would be.\u00a0 But they were wiry and quick, so that compensated, they felt.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Leaving his brothers to boast it out, James took his plunge.\u00a0 The chill of the water almost took his breath away.\u00a0 But he was prepared for that.\u00a0 For a while he swam under water before he broke the surface.\u00a0 He wanted to get used to the temperature.\u00a0 He was a strong swimmer, and he always had been.\u00a0 He could remember his father holding him under his belly while he propelled his arms and kicked his feet in the water.\u00a0 He had already known how to float on his back.\u00a0 That was the first thing his father taught him, because it was easy and he could see his papa as he coached him.\u00a0 Once he overheard his father telling his mother that he was just a natural fish in the water.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For a while he turned and floated on his back, looking out at the expanse of Lake Tahoe. It was smooth and peaceful on this clear day.\u00a0 James thought it might be his favorite part of the whole Ponderosa.\u00a0 He turned over and swam back toward shore.\u00a0 His brothers were still jumping off the swimming rock, only now in unison.\u00a0 They sure were competitive, only being a year apart in age.\u00a0 He loved being in their company, but he was enough younger that he never felt the need to compete with them.\u00a0 He usually palled around with his cousin Hunter, who was also eleven.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Coming back close to the shore, James stood and walked back up to the swimming rock.\u00a0 Joe and Jon were back in the water, so James moved farther down along the rock\u2019s ledge.\u00a0 He decided to try a dive this time.\u00a0 He\u2019d been diving for at least three years, and he loved it.\u00a0 His father had taught him this water skill along with all the others.\u00a0 He wanted all his children to know how to swim; it was an important life skill.\u00a0 He had listened carefully when his father explained that when he dove, he needed to launch himself far enough out so that he landed in deep enough water.\u00a0 James had never forgotten that.\u00a0 Of course, Joe and Jon could push farther out that he could, but he would catch up as he grew.\u00a0 In the meantime, he managed and his father said he did a good job.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Staying away from his brothers, who were throwing wet sand at each other from the lake bottom, James selected his launching spot.\u00a0 He bent his knees, put his arms over his head and pushed off.\u00a0 As he pushed off, one foot slipped against the rock and he didn\u2019t get as strong a push as he wanted.\u00a0 In the air, he kept his wits about him and tried to scan beneath himself to see where he was going to land.\u00a0 As his body arced and moved downward, he saw some stones and rocks where he was headed.\u00a0 He tried to kick his legs and twist his body, but there wasn\u2019t enough time.\u00a0 His voice froze in his throat, and he was left only with hope for the best possible landing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe and Jon had progressed from throwing sand to wrestling each other in the waves that lapped the shore.\u00a0 They were trying to pin each other, but they were each laughing too hard to do it.\u00a0 They kept slipping and at times they would just lie on the shore, letting the water wash over them, catching their breath before starting all over again.\u00a0 It felt good to horse around after a long year of school.\u00a0 Jon finally pulled himself up into a sitting position.\u00a0 His brother lay on his back next to him, his long legs fully in the water.\u00a0 Jon opened his mouth to call to James to toss down the stick they usually brought to throw to each other in the water.\u00a0 James wasn\u2019t on the swimming rock, however.\u00a0 Jon levered himself up higher to see if he was still black floating further out on the lake.\u00a0 Not seeing him, Jon stood up quickly and walked around to the area where everyone climbed up the rock.\u00a0 Nothing.\u00a0 He felt the first wash of alarm.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJoe, I don\u2019t see James,\u201d he first roused his brother into action, and then cupping his hands around his mouth he shouted, \u201cJames! Where are you?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe was on his feet in one fluid motion.\u00a0 He went through Jon\u2019s earlier checks, and then ran up to the top of the swimming rock while Jon stayed in the water, scouting.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n James\u2019 clothes were still on the rock, and his horse was still with the others.\u00a0 Joe moved to the edge of the rock.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t see James from the usual jumping spot.\u00a0 He moved to one side and didn\u2019t see anything there.\u00a0 He moved in the opposite direction, and caught his breath when he saw the unthinkable.\u00a0 James was floating face down just under the surface.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t moving, and the water was stained red near his head.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJon!\u201d\u00a0 Joe bellowed and pointed at the same time as he leapt.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jon sprinted the few yards to where Joe landed and felt nauseated as he took in the same sight his brother had just seen.\u00a0 Together they carefully lifted their youngest brother.\u00a0 There were some rocks in this area\u2014why hadn\u2019t James pushed out further?\u00a0 Joe cradled his brother in his arms.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJon, is he breathing?\u201d Joe was eyeing a gash in his forehead that continued into his scalp.\u00a0 It was bleeding heavily.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jon bent his head close to James\u2019 face.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t think he\u2019s breathing, Joe, and I\u2019m not sure if I feel a pulse or not,\u201d Jon\u2019s voice was trembling.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe stood and moved away from the water.\u00a0 Telling Jon to get the towels, he lay James face down on the wet sand, turning his head so that the wound wasn\u2019t filled with wet sand. Joe straddled James and began pushing on his back and then pulling up on his shoulders.\u00a0 This was a basic life saving technique, and it was about the only one Joe could think of.\u00a0 However, by the time Jon returned with the towels, which were used to stanch the flow of blood, small amounts of water were trickling out of James\u2019 mouth.\u00a0 Joe pumped a few more times until nothing further came up.\u00a0 He felt at the base of his brother\u2019s neck and thought he detected a thready pulse.\u00a0 Joe turned him carefully, with Jon naturally holding his hands out to cup his head.\u00a0 Then Joe bent down, opened James\u2019 mouth and breathed into it.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t know if that was good or bad, but he did it by gut instinct.\u00a0 After several repetitions, he put his cheek to his brother\u2019s mouth and heard a slight gurgle.\u00a0 Water.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cTurn him on his side, Jon,\u201d and as they were in the process of doing this, James gagged and vomited, mostly water.\u00a0 His older brothers held him carefully for several moments to let anything that wanted to come up drain out of his mouth.\u00a0 James moaned but did not wake up.\u00a0 But he was breathing!\u00a0 It felt like a victory to Joe.\u00a0 Bolstered by this positive turn, he left Jon holding their brother while he ran up to the swimming rock.\u00a0 He grabbed his pants and Jon\u2019s along with their shirts.\u00a0 On his way back down, he untethered two of the horses.\u00a0 Leading them to his brothers, he stopped to pull his pants on, then he held James while Jon pulled his on.\u00a0 They weren\u2019t going to take time to dress James, but together they wrapped him in the bloody towels.\u00a0 Joe mounted his horse and had Jon hand James up to him.\u00a0 Joe sat him across the saddle with his head resting on his shoulder, the shirts pressed to the wound.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cJon, ride as fast as you\u2019ve ever ridden.\u00a0 Get the doctor and bring him as fast as you can.\u00a0 I\u2019m taking James home. If you run across anyone<\/em>, tell them where I am and send them back with a wagon.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jon nodded, kicked his heels against his horse\u2019s sides, and took off at a gallop.\u00a0 Joe took off too, but at a much slower pace.\u00a0 With James in his precarious condition, the horse could be allowed to do no more than walk, and Joe was on pins and needles about even that much movement.\u00a0 He clutched his brother against him as he guided the horse slowly, longing to cut him loose into a full gallop.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After what seemed an eternity of time, Joe saw riders coming toward him in the distance.\u00a0 His Uncle Hoss reached him first, followed closely by his father and then, thank goodness, Hop Sing and Aunt Erin driving a wagon.\u00a0 Hoss came over quickly and\u00a0 reached up for his nephew.\u00a0 Joe handed him down gently and then sagged in his saddle.\u00a0 His father, looking pale, hurried over to Hoss and examined his son.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t hold back his tears.\u00a0 He looked up at Joe, his eyes questioning.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHe was diving.\u00a0 Somehow he didn\u2019t push out far enough.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t see it happen.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t breathing.\u00a0 I\u2026we\u2026some water came up and he started to breathe again\u2026\u201d he stopped because his tears were falling freely now and he covered his face with his hands.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hoss nodded and quickly moved to lay James in the wagon.\u00a0 Thank goodness someone had thought to put a mattress in it.\u00a0 Little Joe immediately climbed in beside his son, and was joined by Erin and Hop Sing who began ministering to him.\u00a0 Hoss climbed into the wagon, having tied his horse behind it.\u00a0 He tossed reins to Joe.\u00a0 Cochise, his father\u2019s horse.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hoss took off as if to a fire.\u00a0 Joe put out an arm and shouted pointlessly, \u201cDon\u2019t jostle him!\u201d Then he lit into his horse and followed, pulling Cochise along behind.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Later, James was upstairs in bed and the doctor was with him.\u00a0 Little Joe and Amy were there too, as well as Erin and Hop Sing.\u00a0 Joe was pacing back and forth downstairs.\u00a0 Jon was sitting in a chair just staring.\u00a0 Someone had thought to bring them both shirts which they had partially buttoned.\u00a0 Adam had returned from the mines as soon as he got word. The whole family was there except for Nolan, who was away at school.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A door opened upstairs and quiet voices were heard approaching the stairs.\u00a0 As the downstairs was silent, all eyes were on the group of adults who descended with the doctor.\u00a0 Grandpa Ben came forward immediately.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDr. Henderson, please tell us how James is.\u201d\u00a0 Dr. Henderson had replaced Dr. Paul Martin in the last two years following the latter\u2019s retirement.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWell, the young man received a fair number of stitches and is going to have a most interesting scar.\u00a0 He is suffering from a concussion, certainly, and he is still unconscious.\u00a0 We also don\u2019t know what, if any, brain damage he may have suffered while he was submerged.\u00a0 Who treated him at the site?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe looked up miserably and lifted his hand slightly.\u00a0 When questioned, he haltingly explained what he and Jon had done for their brother.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dr. Henderson looked sympathetic, and moved to lay a hand on Joe\u2019s shoulder.\u00a0 \u201cWell, then, I would say you most likely saved that boy\u2019s life.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe said nothing, feeling his eyes fill with tears.\u00a0 Please, let it be enough.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDoctor, when will we know if he did suffer any\u2026brain damage?\u201d\u00a0 Little Joe hated to say the words.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ll know pretty quickly after he wakes up, but I want to examine him as soon as I can after that happens.\u00a0 Send someone for me right away.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dinner was the most silent meal any Cartwright could remember.\u00a0 The only sounds were those made by flatware and dinnerware.\u00a0 James\u2019 parents were at his bedside.\u00a0 Joe couldn\u2019t eat.\u00a0 It all felt like a death vigil and that sickened him.\u00a0 Glancing at his brother, he knew Jon felt the same way.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Later Grandpa Ben tried to comfort him, but he wasn\u2019t to be comforted.\u00a0 He felt responsible and haunted.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t speak at all.\u00a0 Hoss and Erin praised his efforts, and Adam and Mary Lynn dispensed sage wisdom, but Joe was mute.\u00a0 Finally, when keeping watch became unbearable, he went upstairs to the room he shared with Jon and James.\u00a0 He stopped at his parents\u2019 room, where James had been placed.\u00a0 Other than the bandage on his forehead, and the high paleness of his skin, he looked like he was sleeping.\u00a0 Joe didn\u2019t make eye contact with his mother and father.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t think they would want to look at their child\u2019s killer.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He and Jon lay awake in the dark all night, reliving the events of the previous afternoon over and over.\u00a0 For Joe, everything kept repeating itself in slow motion.\u00a0 What if he had done something to James that would paralyze him or actually cause brain damage?\u00a0 He damned himself worse that the devil himself could have done in the bowels of hell.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A persistent knock on his door woke him up.\u00a0 He had no concept of day or time.\u00a0 He may have slept for five minutes or five days.\u00a0 Glancing across the room, he saw that Jon was gone and daylight showed through the window.\u00a0 Joe groaned and put his head under the pillow.\u00a0 The knock came again and this time the door opened.\u00a0 He peeked out from under the pillow to find his mother standing in his room.\u00a0 She was smiling at him although she looked as tired as he felt.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSomeone would like to see you,\u201d she said softly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He sat up like a shot.\u00a0 He knew what that meant.\u00a0 He was out of bed and down the hall in his nightshirt, directly to his parents\u2019 room.\u00a0 James was sitting up in bed with plenty of pillows behind him.\u00a0 Their father was sitting in a chair close by and he smiled at Joe, who stood looking from his father to James.\u00a0 Finally, James smiled at him, shyly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHi, Joey,\u201d he said, using the nickname they had called him for years.\u00a0 \u201cI remember what happened.\u00a0 I could see it coming, but I couldn\u2019t stop it.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe moved to sit in the chair closest to James.\u00a0 \u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI moved down the swimming rock so I wouldn\u2019t land on you or Jon.\u00a0 But when I pushed off, one of my feet slipped, so I didn\u2019t get a good launch.\u00a0 I tried to twist in the air, but it didn\u2019t help.\u00a0 I could see the rocks.\u00a0 I knew what might happen.\u00a0 I just hoped I missed them.\u00a0 That\u2019s all I really remember until now.\u00a0 You must have saved me.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI tried, buddy, but I was really scared.\u00a0 You weren\u2019t breathing,\u201d Joe reached out and took his brother\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n James\u2019 eyes went wide.\u00a0 \u201cI wasn\u2019t breathing?\u201d\u00a0 If it wasn\u2019t so serious it would have been funny.\u00a0 In his own eyes, James had reached a new status.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYour brother saved your life, James.\u00a0 He started your breathing again and he and Jon got help for you,\u201d Little Joe confirmed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHow do you feel right now?\u201d\u00a0 Joe was anxious about the brain damage question, although James seemed very coherent.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWell, my head hurts, and I\u2019m hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI should think your head hurts,\u201d his father chuckled, rubbing his son\u2019s leg through the bed covers.\u00a0 But he stopped himself suddenly to look over at his oldest son.\u00a0 Joe had dropped his face into his hands and he was crying.\u00a0 Loud, uncontrollable sobs, his shoulders shaking.\u00a0 His father moved over close to him and put his arms tightly around him.\u00a0 Joe turned into his embrace, and they held each other for several minutes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jon appeared in the room to witness this, and although James just looked at him quizzically, Jon moved over to rub his hand up and down Joe\u2019s back.\u00a0 He understood all too well.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dr. Henderson arrived later in the day, and after a thorough examination diagnosed James with a concussion, a sound brain, and hunger.\u00a0 Bed rest for a week, and food.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Joe and Jon ate all their meals upstairs with James during the following week.\u00a0 One night as food was being carried up to them, Adam gave his brother the ultimate compliment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Resting his arm around Little Joe\u2019s shoulders, he commented, \u201cIt must be nice to have two sons who show you at such a young age what good fathers they\u2019re going to be some day.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Little Joe smiled.\u00a0 It did feel good.\u00a0 Really good.<\/p>\n Chapter 3<\/p>\n \u201cI hate Ross.\u201d\u00a0 This disgruntled remark came from Hunter Cartwright as he heaved a rock from the shore line of Lake Tahoe.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n His brother, sixteen-year-old Eli, engaged in the same task, stopped and stared at his eleven-year-old brother.\u00a0 \u201cWhere did that<\/em> come from?\u201d Rarely did he hear grousing from his siblings or cousins about each other.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Other than a grumpy sound, Hunter didn\u2019t respond.\u00a0 He picked up another rock and threw it into a growing pile.\u00a0 Most of the Cartwright cousins were standing knee-deep in the lake near the swimming rock where James had had a recent diving accident.\u00a0 After that frightening, life and death experience, the parents had all decided that it would be time well spent for the cousins to spend a day combing the area for potentially injurious rocks and stones and remove them from the swimming and diving area.\u00a0 With twelve of them working on the project, the work was going quickly.\u00a0 Elizabeth and Eric, the oldest cousins present, were being vigilant about making sure that the job was thoroughly done.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t take much policing, however.\u00a0 No one wanted to relive that awful day when they all waited to see if James would recover or not.\u00a0 And in three hours they had built an impressive pile of rocks in an area of sea grass just beyond the swimming rock.\u00a0 Even Gunner had voluntarily skipped a baseball game to participate in the family project.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eli glanced over to where Ross was running after stray rocks and placing them on the pile.\u00a0 He did not appear to have heard his brother\u2019s complaint. He was only six, going on seven, and he couldn\u2019t throw anything very far.\u00a0 It made more sense for him to run after the strays and place them properly on the pile.\u00a0 And Elizabeth had put the fear of God into everyone about making sure he was out of the way before they tried their shot put skills with a rock.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When the job was pronounced properly completed, most of the cousins piled into the wagon for the ride back to the ranch.\u00a0 A few had ridden their horses to the lake, including Eli, Eric, Ben, Joe and Hunter.\u00a0 Eli deliberately spent time checking Hunter\u2019s cinch and stirrups so that the others could get ahead of them.\u00a0 He wanted some time to talk to his brother.\u00a0 As they began a slow amble along the path home, Eli began to probe.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSo how come Ross is getting under your skin?\u00a0 He\u2019s just a little guy.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hunter scowled.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s right.\u00a0 So what makes him so special?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSpecial?\u201d\u00a0 Eli\u2019s eyebrows rose like his father\u2019s did sometimes.\u00a0 He had been expecting a complaint about their little brother\u2019s behavior, not his status.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hunter rolled his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cHe goes everywhere with Logan.\u00a0 They fish together, they do errands together, they do chores together.\u00a0 The only thing Ross has to do by himself now is go to school since he\u2019s old enough.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eli was cautious.\u00a0 Ross and Logan did have a special relationship, and it really wasn\u2019t surprising that someone might resent it.\u00a0 It was actually more surprising that someone hadn\u2019t before now.\u00a0 And Hunter was right in the middle of the family; vulnerable to feeling left out.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWell, you know why that is, Hunter.\u00a0 You know how Joe and I were kidnapped when we were younger.\u00a0 Logan helped rescue us.\u00a0 He was brave, but he got in trouble for disobeying Grandpa and Uncle Joe.\u00a0 To teach him responsibility and respect for human life, Mom made him take care of Ross for a month, and Ross was only a baby then.\u00a0 Logan didn\u2019t want to do it at all, but you know what happened, right?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThey really liked each other,\u201d he mumbled, with his chin dropped.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cExactly, and they\u2019ve been good buddies ever since.\u00a0 But Logan still has work to do.\u00a0 Ross came to help us today, but Logan didn\u2019t because he had to work.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThey still spend every minute they can together.\u00a0 Heck, Ross even sleeps in Nolan\u2019s bed now so he can be right next to Logan!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eli felt a pang of guilt.\u00a0 He usually hung around with his cousin Ben, but he should probably be spending more time with his own brother.\u00a0 He would plan to do some special things with him. In most cases, though, the cousins made room for anyone who wanted to join their escapades.\u00a0 Groups fell together naturally by age, but Eli had never seen anyone deliberately excluded.\u00a0 He would also put a bug in his dad\u2019s ear.\u00a0 Hunter needed some special father-son time.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n They rode on in silence for a while.\u00a0 Eli got an idea.\u00a0 Hunter would probably see through it, but hopefully it would make him feel good about himself.\u00a0 Then he changed the subject and they talked about the baseball game planned for Sunday after the church picnic.\u00a0 Just as they reached home, Eli asked Hunter if he wanted to ride to Virginia City the next day to get ice cream.\u00a0 Hunter agreed immediately; he was a magnet for anything with chocolate in it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eli got busy later that day.\u00a0 He spoke privately to Logan and to his father.\u00a0 Both agreed with him, and a plan was hatched.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The following afternoon Eli and Hunter rode into town after lunch.\u00a0 Their first stop was the ice cream parlour with its red and white striped awning.\u00a0 They both sat on tall stools and ordered double scoops of chocolate ice cream.\u00a0 There were other flavors, but they both agreed that chocolate was the best.\u00a0 Eli always tried to eat his slowly to savor it, but even if he started out slowly, he generally wound up gobbling it toward the end.\u00a0 Hunter, on the other hand, chowed it down from the first second it was set before him.\u00a0 There was a large mirror that ran across the back of the parlour, so they could see themselves as they ate.\u00a0 Eli noted how much he and Hunter looked alike.\u00a0 There was no question that they were related.\u00a0 He\u2019d never really noticed it before, since he was a twin himself and because Nolan and Logan were identical twins. \u00a0He smiled at his brother in the mirror.\u00a0 They both had straight brown hair, brown eyes, and their father\u2019s mouth.\u00a0 And they were skinny.\u00a0 Susannah, Eli\u2019s twin, had blue eyes and long wavy brown hair, but of course, she was a girl.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Eli dipped a napkin into a glass of water and handed it to his brother whose face was pretty chocolaty.\u00a0 Hunter took it and scrubbed his face and hands.\u00a0 No point in ruining a good leather saddle with sticky ice cream, Eli thought.\u00a0 They\u2019d definitely hear about it if that happened.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n They stopped by the general store and browsed for a while.\u00a0 Eli bought a neckerchief and Hunter bought\u2026chocolate drops.\u00a0 After that they got their horses and headed companionably back home.\u00a0 They talked about swimming and roping calves, and the new puppies in the barn.\u00a0 They were easy together.\u00a0 It was just the afternoon Eli had pictured.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Two days later at breakfast, out of the blue Adam said, \u201cHunter, how about coming with me to the mines today?\u00a0 I don\u2019t have to stay all day and we can fish when we\u2019re done.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hunter didn\u2019t say anything, but the smile that nearly split his face was enough of an answer.\u00a0 And most of his family worried about his head staying on his neck, he was nodding it so hard.\u00a0 Later, his mother and aunts would chuckle that he virtually glowed after that.\u00a0 And as she said goodbye to her husband and son that morning, Mary Lynn would have given anything for a picture of her husband, dressed in black, with his arm around his shorter son, also dressed in black, walking to the barn.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Adam knew his son didn\u2019t really need to see the mines, although oddly he seemed to hang on his father\u2019s every word.\u00a0 Adam introduced him to his foremen and some of the miners.\u00a0 He gave Hunter a hardhat and they went into the mine some distance.\u00a0 Hunter even had an opportunity to try his luck with a pick and hammer.\u00a0 They went to three of the mines before Adam declared it was fishin\u2019 time.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n They were heading for a special spot on Lake Tahoe that was rich with fish.\u00a0 Adam realized that this particular son and he didn\u2019t talk together that often.\u00a0 He wondered briefly how they would pass the time.\u00a0 He needn\u2019t have worried.\u00a0 Hunter chattered like a magpie.\u00a0 He talked about things he had learned in school, things he liked to do, having ice cream with Eli, the baseball game coming up on Sunday, and how his father had known how big to build the ranch house once all the cousins started being born.\u00a0 Periodically, Adam glanced over at him to make sure he was stopping to breathe in between sentences.\u00a0 With a pang of regret, he realized how much was bottled up in this young boy, just waiting to come out.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When they reached the fishing spot, they were both amazed that someone had left a picnic basket there was filled with delicious things to eat.\u00a0 And were they ever hungry!\u00a0 They ate first, fished second, and then ate again.\u00a0 Adam liked to recline when he fished, but Hunter sat up eagerly, waiting on tenterhooks for the first bite.\u00a0 When Adam realized the boy wanted desperately to catch the first fish, he steadfastly ignored the pull he felt on his line.\u00a0 Hunter, who was still chattering, didn\u2019t notice either.\u00a0 Adam reached over for him and pulled him close, one arm around him.\u00a0 His heart felt constricted that although his family wanted for nothing, this son felt alone in their big family.\u00a0 He would turn that around.\u00a0 God bless Eli for noticing and telling him about it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Amazingly, Hunter caught the first three fish before his father even caught one.\u00a0 He was excited and proud.\u00a0 Adam was amazed at his son\u2019s proficiency in catching trout and said he thought he must be getting rusty.\u00a0 They needed to go fishing more often.\u00a0 Hunter agreed.\u00a0 That would help his father a lot.\u00a0 By the time the sun was in the western sky, they had at least two dozen fish between them.\u00a0 Hop Sing had a good fish dinner for tomorrow now.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n On the way home, Hunter peppered his dad with questions about his boyhood.\u00a0 Adam guessed his son resembled a young Adam who had constantly been asking his own father \u201cwhy\u201d this and \u201cwhy\u201d that.\u00a0 Adam felt he\u2019d been given a second chance.\u00a0 He had a bright boy not to be overlooked, and Adam would make sure that didn\u2019t happen again.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The chattering magpie kept going throughout dinner, to the amusement of his family, but he ran out of energy after dinner.\u00a0 His cousins wanted to stage races with their horses, and Hunter knew he couldn\u2019t lift a saddle again that day.\u00a0 His mother found him asleep on his bed, fully dressed, at 8:30 that evening.\u00a0 She kissed his cheek, pulled his boots off, and covered him with a quilt.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The day before the church baseball game, Hop Sing required Ross\u2019 help making cookies to take to the church picnic.\u00a0 Ross was willing because he knew he\u2019d get first pickings at what came out of the oven.\u00a0 They started baking after lunch, which was when Logan found Hunter at the corral watching Eric work with a young colt.\u00a0 He came up behind his brother and squeezed his shoulders.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHey buddy, how\u2019re you doin\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m good.\u00a0 You?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a long week.\u00a0 I\u2019m hot and tired.\u00a0 You want to go swimming with me?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hunter\u2019s head turned so fast Logan thought he might have hurt himself.\u00a0 \u201cJust me and you?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYeah, you and me.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat about Ross?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAw, he\u2019s makin\u2019 cookies with Hop Sing.\u00a0 He loves that.\u00a0 Let him do that today.\u00a0 You game?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSure!\u00a0 I\u2019ll tell Mom.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou saddle your horse.\u00a0 I\u2019ll tell her and grab some towels,\u201d and off he went, smiling to himself.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n By the time Logan got to the barn, Hunter had saddled his own horse and was working on Rocket for his brother.\u00a0 Logan took over and within minutes they were on the path to the lake, racing of course.\u00a0 Logan always won horse races.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t help himself.\u00a0 He just loved his horse so much.\u00a0 But that was all right with Hunter, he was just a head behind his brother, and that was respectable.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When they reached the swimming rock they stripped as fast as they could and with the standard \u201cyee ha\u201d they each launched themselves out into the cool water.\u00a0 They alternated between floating lazily and pranking each other all afternoon.\u00a0 Logan would lift his brother above his head and toss him out into the deeper water.\u00a0 Ross loved that game, and so did Hunter, although he wasn\u2019t quite as easy to throw.\u00a0 But he could ride his brother\u2019s shoulders out as deep as Logan could walk, and it was fun when he was dumped off.\u00a0 Finally, they rested and sunned themselves on the swimming rock.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t talk much, but it was nice just to be together.\u00a0 It was an afternoon that could have gone on forever.\u00a0 Just for good measure, when they got home as the family was sitting down to dinner, Logan carried Hunter in the house upside down by his ankles.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDad, I lost track of Hunter, but I brought back the closest thing I could find.\u00a0 If you turn your head kind of upside down they look a lot alike.\u201d\u00a0 This dissolved Hunter into giggles as he was deposited on the floor close to his chair in the dining room.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll drag the lake after dinner,\u201d Adam replied mildly.\u00a0 \u201c\u201dIn the meantime we\u2019ll keep this fellow.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The following day after church and after the picnic, the baseball game got underway in earnest.\u00a0 Eli quietly made sure that Hunter played on the same team as Gunner.\u00a0 He was betting on the fact that whatever team Gunner played on would win.\u00a0 And he was right.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n By Sunday night, Hunter was still floating on a cloud.\u00a0 He had enjoyed himself so much that week he hadn\u2019t really realized how much his family went out of their way to spend time with him.\u00a0 He just felt happy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The following day, Monday, work began all over again.\u00a0 That evening after dinner, Hunter headed out to the barn to groom his horse.\u00a0 He passed Ross playing marbles on the porch.\u00a0 His parents and Grandpa Ben were sitting nearby enjoying the pleasant evening air.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHey Ross, you want to help me groom Thunder?\u201d\u00a0 He stopped near his brother as he was passing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ross\u2019 head snapped up.\u00a0 Hunter had never asked him to do anything like that before.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSure!\u201d He scooped his marbles into his pockets as fast as he could and hurried after Hunter.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Their parents exchanged glances and a smile as they watched the boys head for the barn together.\u00a0 Adam stretched his legs out on a bench in front of him and reached for his wife\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cLife\u2019s a circle, Mary Lynn,\u201d he said, watching his youngest boys turn into the barn.\u00a0 His eyes were warm and he was smiling.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n THE END\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Next Story in the Destiny Series:<\/strong><\/p>\n No More Birthday Parties, Thank you<\/a> This is the second in the series of stories following the Adam\/Hoss\/Joe “Destiny” stories.<\/p>\n This story examines the relationships between brothers, some ordinary and some life and death.\u00a0 The brothers are the sons of Adam, Hoss and Joe. \u00a0<\/p>\n Rated K+\u00a0 (7,415 words)<\/p>\n Destiny Series, links to all the stories within the series included.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":1242,"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":[7,1009,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-a-u","category-brothers","category-drama","wpcat-7-id","wpcat-1009-id","wpcat-23-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\/bonanza31.jpg?fit=573%2C389&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3424","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=3424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3424\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nDesert Destiny<\/a>
\nDestiny Next Door<\/a>
\nBrothers<\/a>
\nNo More Birthday Parties, Thank you<\/a>
\nIt’s Just for Now<\/a>
\nThe Homecoming Part 1<\/a>
\nThe Homecoming Part 2<\/a>
\nLogan’s Bride<\/a><\/p>\n
\n
\n
\nIt’s Just for Now<\/a>
\nThe Homecoming Part 1<\/a>
\nThe Homecoming Part 2<\/a>
\nLogan’s Bride<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"