Summary:\u00a0 Will Hoss ever encounter his True Love?<\/p>\n
Rating: G, Word Count: 1090<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
True Love Changes Everything<\/strong><\/p>\n Hoss Cartwright wandered aimlessly around the Ponderosa on Chubb in a depression. Today was supposed to be his wedding day to Helen Layton. Because of Adam\u2019s and Joe\u2019s interfering it wasn\u2019t to be. It had been a week ago when his brothers had taken Hoss to the saloon to find Helen gambling. Hoss became angry and hit both of his brothers though they tried telling him they were trying to protect him. The biggest hurt was when she saw another man and told him she hated violence and left with him. He had been cheated on by someone he loved and thought loved him. He felt like a knife had been stabbed into his heart.<\/p>\n Though he had been all right around his family which made them think he was over Helen, Hoss wasn\u2019t all right. He was, in fact, still hurting. He kept it all inside. He felt that if he were to talk to his father or brothers about it they would tell him to get over her. Right now, he couldn\u2019t. Right now, he had to mourn a loss. A loss of a love. Helen loved gambling more than he. Hoss vowed he\u2019d never fall in love again.<\/p>\n The Cartwrights held a dance three months later. Hoss dressed and got ready, but he didn\u2019t go downstairs to welcome the guests with his family. He wasn\u2019t ready to be around festivities and women. He sat on his bed thinking and unconsciously rubbing his hands together. There was a light tap on the door.<\/p>\n \u201cCome in,\u201d Hoss said.<\/p>\n Adam opened the door and poked his head in.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you coming down?\u201d Adam asked walking in.<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d Adam asked concerned.<\/p>\n He sat on the bed next to his brother. Hoss was quiet.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can tell me,\u201d Adam said gently.<\/p>\n Hoss drew in a deep breath and blew it out. \u201cAdam, I don\u2019t want to be around women anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause of Helen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAh,\u201d Adam replied nodding his head understanding.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to get hurt again.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHoss, I know you don\u2019t want to. Who knows? Maybe you\u2019ll find a wonderful young lady downstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss snorted not believing him.<\/p>\n \u201cAt least make an appearance for a little while. For Pa, at least,\u201d Adam coaxed.<\/p>\n Hoss sighed and got up following his older brother.<\/p>\n Hoss tried to be social with everyone but it just wasn\u2019t in him and he grew tired. He started to leave but a young lady around twenty-three came up to him.<\/p>\n \u201cMay I have this dance?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n Hoss was shocked. Women never asked the men to dance.<\/p>\n \u201cUm, yeah, sure,\u201d he stammered.<\/p>\n This girl had curly blond hair and bright green eyes and a dimple in her cheek when she smiled. Hoss wanted to melt at the sight of her but he would not allow himself to. She could have some secret addiction.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m Jennifer Hardy. You can call me Jenny,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m Hoss.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI like that name.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss smiled still not knowing what to do. She took his hand and led him to dance. They danced in silence.<\/p>\n \u201cHoss, I\u2019ve seen you around Virginia City,\u201d Jenny said trying to make conversation.<\/p>\n \u201cI go there at times to get supplies for the ranch,\u201d Hoss replied.<\/p>\n He didn\u2019t know how to really answer her statement. She made him nervous.<\/p>\n \u201cHoss?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI was wondering if you could help my father with the house? He tried putting new shingles on the roof and fell off. \u201cYeah, sure. Would you like me to bring my brothers also?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, just you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen would you like me to come?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow about Monday?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAll right.\u201d<\/p>\n Jenny told Hoss where she lived as the music ended and they parted ways.<\/p>\n Hoss helped at the Hardy\u2019s home as the weeks went by. Hoss noticed Jenny was always helping him with the roof and other small tasks she asked him to do. He got to know her very well. They had talked quite a bit. Hoss was falling in love with her. He was happier and even Adam noticed it.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you going to Jenny\u2019s house tomorrow?\u201d Adam asked when they were in Hoss\u2019 bedroom.<\/p>\n It was private and Adam wanted to talk to his brother.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, I am,\u201d Hoss replied.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you developing feelings for her?\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss hesitated then smiled.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, I have.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI thought so. You\u2019ve changed.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss looked up confused. \u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n Adam smiled back. \u201cYou\u2019re eating more, your smile has come back. Your smiles aren\u2019t fake. How does she feel Hoss shrugged. \u201cI don\u2019t know. She hasn\u2019t said.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure she will soon.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure she will.\u201d Hoss smiled.<\/p>\n The next day, Jenny helped Hoss again.<\/p>\n \u201cHoss?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes?\u201d He asked not looking up from his hammering the nails in the barn that were coming out.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to make a confession,\u201d she said shyly.<\/p>\n \u201cYes? Ow!\u201d Hoss had looked up and ended up smashing his finger.<\/p>\n \u201cHoss, are you all right?\u201d Jenny asked worriedly.<\/p>\n Hoss shook his hand and went to suck on his finger when Jenny grabbed it and checked his hand. It was starting to \u201cCome, let\u2019s put it under water to get the swelling down,\u201d Jenny said pulling him to the pump.<\/p>\n She pushed the pump handle and the water poured out and over Hoss\u2019 hand.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat was your confession?\u201d Hoss asked curiously.<\/p>\n Jenny looked at him confused then remembered what she wanted to tell him.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2026I wanted to tell you that I like you,\u201d she mumbled the last part.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry, I didn\u2019t hear you,\u201d Hoss replied.<\/p>\n \u201cI like you,\u201d Jenny said louder as her face turned red.<\/p>\n Hoss smiled.<\/p>\n \u201cI like you, too.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cReally?\u201d she asked in surprise.<\/p>\n Hoss nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cI was so scared to tell you and think you didn\u2019t like me either. I mean, more than a friend.\u201d<\/p>\n Her face went a deeper shade of red. Hoss chuckled and pulled his wet hand out from under the water, wiped his hand dry on his pants and took her hands.<\/p>\n \u201cJenny, I love you,\u201d Hoss admitted.<\/p>\n Jenny smiled.<\/p>\n \u201cI love you, too!\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss smiled and leaned down and kissed her.<\/p>\n Later, that evening he was laying in bed thinking about the day. He and Jenny decided to start courting. Hoss hadn\u2019t been so happy in a long time. He was glad that he didn\u2019t marry Helen Layton and met Jenny. Adam was right, Hoss did find a wonderful lady at the dance and he saw how true love can turn everything around.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Brandsters.\u00a0 The story was originally written and published on the Bonanza Trail Riders site.\u00a0 Brand is happy to offer this story a new home.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Summary:\u00a0 Will Hoss ever encounter his true love?
\nHe broke his leg.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nabout you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\nturn purple.<\/p>\n
\nRating: K, Word Count: 1090<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12475,"featured_media":62121,"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_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23,1006,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-hoss-cartwright","category-romance","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-1006-id","wpcat-3-id"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/BTR.png?fit=442%2C255&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48037","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\/12475"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48037"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48037\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/62121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}