You Ain’t My Brother!<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Hoss stood in the open doorway of the barn and watched his older brother industriously brushing the coat of his mount, whispering softly to the animal as he did so. It was a necessary, daily ritual but each long, sweeping stroke screamed the young man\u2019s frustration.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Hearing footsteps behind him, Adam paused and turned his head. On recognising the newcomer, he said nothing but resumed his task, the firm set of his back signalling that he did not want to get drawn into a conversation. Hoss approached and made himself comfortable on a barrel.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t mean it,\u201d he said eventually.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Adam continued to work in stony silence.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know what he\u2019s like, Adam. He says summat before he\u2019s things through,\u201d Hoss pushed, hoping that he was going to get some kind of response. \u201cJest you watch. A couple of hours and it\u2019ll all\u2019ve blown over.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The words came out in a rush of forced jollity and reassurance but the bitter tirade of their twelve year-old brother rang in his ears and he knew that Adam, the sole recipient of the vitriolic attack, was trying to hide the hurt foisted upon him by the youngster.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ever the peacemaker, Hoss hated it when his brothers were at odds with each other, an occurrence that seemed all too frequent these days since Adam\u2019s return from studying back east. Hoss had been delighted when his older brother came home for he had missed him so much; four years was an awful long time, but they had also been Joe\u2019s more formative years of growing up and now the younger boy seemed to resent the homecoming, although Hoss did not doubt that his brothers loved each other.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Still he could not understand their constant warring, especially when he saw the pain it gave his father. Ben had been so proud of Adam\u2019s success at college and had been beside himself with joy when his precious firstborn son had stepped from the dark recesses of the stagecoach into the dry heat of Virginia City\u2019s Main Street, the gangly youth of four years earlier having matured into a broad-shouldered, intense young man.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The growing tension between him and his little brother had escalated, culminating in today\u2019s outburst. Joe\u2019s aged dog had been showing distinct signs of failing health for a couple of weeks but on this particular morning, the mongrel\u2019s back legs had collapsed under him, his breathing laboured and his pain-filled eyes dull with cataracts. Ben was in town on business at the bank so it had fallen on both Adam and Hoss to try to reason with the distraught boy, patiently explaining that the kindest act of all would be to put the dog out of his misery. His life \u2013 longer than Joe\u2019s \u2013 had been fulfilled but now he was suffering and there was to be no miracle cure.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Tearful, Joe had at first refused to let them anywhere near Lucky, an unfortunate name for the creature in the circumstances but one that had been appropriate when Joe had rescued him from an abusive ranch owner. As the morning had progressed, it was clear that the animal was rapidly deteriorating and Hoss had pleaded with the boy again to let them intervene. By mid-afternoon, Lucky lay helplessly on his side in the straw in a stall in the barn. Joe tried to coax him to take a little water and even resorted to wetting his fingers and holding them to the dog\u2019s mouth but Lucky was beyond even weakly licking his young master\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
After a hurried and whispered consultation, Adam and Hoss stepped in, gently but forcefully, and Joe eventually relented to their suggestion. They allowed him a further few minutes with Lucky and then Hoss led the devastated boy back to the house and sat on the sofa, hugging him close as the single shot rang out. It was another half an hour before Adam had entered the house, his duty done in ending the animal\u2019s pain and giving it a proper burial, somewhere that Joe could visit when his grief had waned.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
That was when Joe had launched his attack, four years of pent up frustration and belief that his brother had abandoned him spilling out amidst the accusations of the cold-bloodied murder of the dog. His grief knew no bounds and he screamed his hatred of Adam, flinging himself at him and pummelling his older brother with his fists until Hoss dragged him away. Kicking and struggling in one brother\u2019s grasp, Joe spat out his contempt for what his older brother had done and delivered his final blow.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cYou ain\u2019t my brother!\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Stunned by the boy\u2019s words, Hoss released him and Joe had run upstairs, slamming his bedroom door behind him. Adam had stood and watched, his eyes narrowing, his mouth set in a grim line and his facial muscles clenching as he gritted his teeth.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cAdam \u2026\u201d Hoss began, but Adam turned on his heels and strode out of the house, the front door slamming in a mocking echo of Joe\u2019s action.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Hoss let a suitable period of time elapse before he followed Adam out to the barn and assumed his role of mediator once more.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cHeck, I reckon he\u2019ll have forgotten what he said,\u201d he added lamely.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe,\u201d Adam said, throwing down the brush and wiping his hands on the seat of his pants before picking up a bucket and heading out to the trough to fill it with water. \u201cI guess I\u2019m expected to forget what he said too,\u201d he threw out as he went.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Hoss waited for him to come back in and watched as the horse drank greedily as Adam tidied up where he had been working.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was upset, Adam. His dog had just died.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Adam gave him a wry smile. \u201cVery tactfully put, Hoss. His dog had just been murdered, remember? And I was the one who did the murdering.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cAw, Adam, it would\u2019ve been Pa, had he been here,\u201d Hoss pointed out.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he wasn\u2019t, was he? It was big bad Adam who was the villain of the piece and I don\u2019t think little brother is gonna let me forget that in a hurry.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cYou gonna tell Pa?\u201d Hoss asked quietly.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI won\u2019t be telling any tales, if that\u2019s what you\u2019re worried about, but if Pa asks \u2013 an\u2019 he will \u2013 I\u2019ll explain then. He can\u2019t miss Joe\u2019s mood and he\u2019ll be wondering what happened to Lucky.\u201d He folded up a horse blanket and set it on a shelf.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t mean to hurt you,\u201d Hoss tried again.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Adam paused and straightened, sadness prevalent in his dark eyes. \u201cI know he didn\u2019t, Hoss, but that didn\u2019t male it any easier to hear what he had to say. I did what I had to do and some day he\u2019ll understand that. Right now he\u2019s hurting and so am I, Hoss; so am I, but I\u2019m the eldest, old enough to know better and I\u2019m expected to take everything that little brother decides to dish out.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The sound of a horse\u2019s hooves entering the yard reached them; it could only be Ben returning from town.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cWell maybe this time it\u2019s not as simple as that,\u201d and Adam went out of the barn to greet his father.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n