Summary: Adam learns the importance of his promises.<\/p>\n
Rating: G, Word Count: 1445<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Promise<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The summer sun hit Adam Cartwright on the back as he joined the rest of the hands for the cattle drive. He could feel the sweat trickling down his back.<\/p>\n \u201cKeep \u2018em moving!\u201d he yelled out at Jason.<\/p>\n Jason Hansen was one of the ranch hands and a hard worker. Jason waved quickly acknowledging that he had heard Adam and turned to the cattle. Jason whistled at the cattle and kept them moving. Since Adam had just returned from school and was getting used to ranch work again he wouldn\u2019t be joining the drive, but he still helped gather the cattle. Assured all was going well with the herd, Adam decided to head back to the ranch for a cool drink of water and talk to his pa about the cattle drive.<\/p>\n Adam walked in the house, put his gun holster and hat on the credenza and walked in the kitchen. He grabbed a glass and filled it under the pump at the sink. The water filled the cup and he gulped it greedily. He sighed contently as he put the cup on the counter.<\/p>\n \u201cAdam!\u201d a young voice cried out.<\/p>\n Adam turned and saw nine-year-old Joe standing in the doorway.<\/p>\n \u201cYes?\u201d Adam asked.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you wanna go fishin\u2019?\u201d Joe asked in excitement.<\/p>\n \u201cSorry, Little Joe, I\u2019ve got work to do. Maybe later,\u201d Adam replied and walked out of the kitchen.<\/p>\n He didn\u2019t see Joe\u2019s small shoulders slump in disappointment. Joe had been so excited that Adam was coming home and had wanted to go fishing with his big brother. He headed back into the dining room and flattened himself against the wall, trying to listen to his father and brother talk.<\/p>\n \u201cThe cattle are just about ready and there are plenty of men to take them to Texas,\u201d Adam said to Ben.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve done a good job. Thank you, son. Are you going back out there or do something else?\u201d Ben asked.<\/p>\n \u201cI need to get working on the contract for Abe Miller for the cattle,\u201d Adam replied.<\/p>\n \u201cSounds good.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam turned and walked up to his room. Joe walked outside. When would Adam have time for him? Joe hadn\u2019t seen Adam for four long years. Joe had written Adam about Christmas and New Year\u2019s and told his brother he hoped to go fishing when he came home from school. Adam had written back and promised to go fishing with him. Joe was excited that Adam would be coming home for good and would be able to spend time with him.<\/p>\n \u201cSo much for that promise,\u201d Joe grumbled as he kicked the trough.<\/p>\n That was a bad idea. It had hurt his foot. He limped to the porch and sat down in a huff. He stayed outside until the throbbing stopped and he slowly got up and walked around to make sure he didn\u2019t limp. He didn\u2019t want to have to explain to his pa why he was limping.<\/p>\n Days had gone by and Joe kept asking Adam to go fishing and every time the answer was \u201cI\u2019m busy\u201d and Joe would slink off in disappointment. Ben had noticed the change in Joe. He wasn\u2019t his happy self. Ben wanted to know why he wasn\u2019t happy or running around with Hoss. Hoss had tried getting Joe to play with him but Joe kept telling him no and would sit on the settee staring off into space. One morning, Ben went looking for his youngest son. He went outside and saw Hoss on the porch whittling.<\/p>\n \u201cHoss, have you seen Joe?\u201d Ben asked.<\/p>\n Hoss looked up.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he was in the barn.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThanks.\u201d Ben walked into the barn but didn\u2019t see Joe anywhere.<\/p>\n \u201cJoe?\u201d<\/p>\n No reply.<\/p>\n \u201cJoseph?\u201d He called again.<\/p>\n He heard rustling up in the loft and saw bits of hay falling through the cracks then he saw Joe\u2019s head peek over the \u201cYes, sir?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCome down here, please. I need to talk to you.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe hesitated then climbed down the ladder.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d Ben asked.<\/p>\n \u201cNothin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow Joe, I know something is wrong because you haven\u2019t been running around and causing me a headache,\u201d Ben asked in a soft tone.<\/p>\n Joe looked at his pa and heaved a heavy sigh for one so young.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat about Adam?\u201d<\/p>\n Ben led Joe to bales of hay and set him on one to see him eye to eye.<\/p>\n \u201cHe promised he\u2019d go fishing with me when he\u2019d come home. He promised me when he wrote me after Christmas. Now he\u2019s too busy,\u201d Joe explained.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy don\u2019t you go with me or Hoss?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause I want to go with my big brother. I haven\u2019t seen him in a long time and we haven\u2019t gone fishin\u2019 in forever,\u201d Joe said stubbornly.<\/p>\n Ben hid a smile.<\/p>\n \u201cHow about I go talk to Adam about going fishing with you for a while. I\u2019m sure he needs a break from all the work,\u201d Ben offered.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019d do that for me?\u201d Joe asked, not sure if it would really work.<\/p>\n \u201cSure. I\u2019ll go right now. You stay right here.\u201d Ben patted his sons leg and left.<\/p>\n Ben walked to his oldest son\u2019s room and could hear the scratching of his quill against paper. He knocked.<\/p>\n \u201cCome in,\u201d came the muffled reply.<\/p>\n Ben opened the door and saw Adam hunched over his desk writing. He noticed Adam\u2019s hair was disheveled. He wondered how long he\u2019d been working on the contract.<\/p>\n \u201cAdam.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam looked up and saw his father standing in the doorway.<\/p>\n \u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to talk,\u201d Ben said walking to Adam\u2019s bed and sitting down.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n The sooner they got to talking, the sooner Adam could get back to the contract.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about Joe,\u201d Ben said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat about him? Is he all right?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, he\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d Adam asked slightly alarmed.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is sad.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMe?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes. You promised him in your last letter to him that when you came back you\u2019d go fishing with him. You haven\u2019t had any time for him,\u201d Ben explained.<\/p>\n \u201cPa, I\u2019ve been busy and have had no time for fishing,\u201d Adam retorted.<\/p>\n \u201cBut you made a promise and need to keep it. And before you ask, he doesn\u2019t want to go with me or Hoss. He wants to go with you. I\u2019m sure you can take a break from this and spend time with your little brother.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI can go next week.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAdam, he won\u2019t want to go next week. He wants to go now. He won\u2019t trust your word if you make any other promises,\u201d Ben replied then got up and walked out.<\/p>\n Adam sighed. He did promise Joe he\u2019d go fishing with him. He set his quill down and went downstairs.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere\u2019s Joe?\u201d Adam asked Ben who was now at his desk.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s in the barn.\u201d Ben replied and watched Adam walk out.<\/p>\n Adam walked out to the barn and saw Joe sitting on the bales of hay kicking his feet against the hay.<\/p>\n \u201cJoe?\u201d Adam asked.<\/p>\n Joe didn\u2019t look up and Adam walked closer.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you want to go fishing?\u201d Adam asked.<\/p>\n He watched his brother\u2019s reaction.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen?\u201d Joe asked still not looking at Adam.<\/p>\n \u201cHow about now?\u201d<\/p>\n Joe straightened up and looked at his brother.<\/p>\n \u201cReally?\u201d He asked in surprise.<\/p>\n \u201cReally. Let\u2019s go.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe jumped off the hay and ran to grab their fishing gear.<\/p>\n Within an hour they got their things and went to the lake.<\/p>\n \u201cAdam, I\u2019ve got one!\u201d Joe shouted in excitement when he finally caught a fish.<\/p>\n \u201cLook at the size of him,\u201d Adam said helping Joe.<\/p>\n They continued fishing and Joe would dance in excitement when either one would catch fish. Adam looked at his youngest brother and was glad he had gone fishing. He needed to get closer to Joe and he learned to keep his word with the young boy. When they finally headed home, Joe could hardly stay awake on his horse. When they got home, Adam helped Joe off his horse and he carried Joe inside.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything go all right?\u201d Ben asked.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was really fun. We caught a lot of fish. Joe\u2019s tuckered out. I\u2019ll take him up to bed and be back down to take care of the fish,\u201d Adam said.<\/p>\n He took Joe upstairs.<\/p>\n \u201cAdam, thanks for a really fun day. I hope we can do it again,\u201d Joe said sleepily.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will. That is a promise,\u201d Adam said helping him get into his pajamas and tucked into bed.<\/p>\n Adam gently rubbed his brothers head then walked out. Adam promised himself they\u2019d go again on Saturday.<\/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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Summary: Adam learns the importance of his promises.
\nedge of the loft.<\/p>\n
\nRating: K, Word Count: 1445<\/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":[1005,23,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adam-cartwright","category-drama","category-prequels","wpcat-1005-id","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-30-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\/48041","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=48041"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48041\/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=48041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}