Summary: When Joe gets into big trouble he expects a punishment, but a family conference? That’s worse than any punishment.
\nRating: G, Word Count: 1365<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Family Conference<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ok he was too old for a tanning. That was good wasn\u2019t it, but was this really a good alternative? Joe took in a ragged breath. He really didn\u2019t mind mucking out the barns, that was fitting punishment but a family conference?<\/p>\n Ben had been furious to find money missing from the safe. Joe only took a few dollars and owned up immediately but that did nothing to curb Ben\u2019s fury. He said that Joe must work all day mucking out the barns and feeding the cattle. Joe did that all day anyway, but he remained wisely mute on the subject. Ben also said that Joe\u2019s latest misdemeanour was beyond him and he must call on Adam and Hoss to help choose a suitable punishment. Hence the family conference. Joe tried to be brave on the subject at least to himself. He huffed at the idea of older brother Adam lording it over him at such an event but the truth of the matter was, Joe was 16 and mortified at the idea. He hated being the centre of attention. The idea of having a family conference filled the young man with dread.<\/p>\n He had taken 20 dollars to buy candy for Becky Rose. It was a box of candy decorated with a ribbon and coloured paper flowers. A stupid thing but that\u2019s what girls like. He couldn\u2019t risk Spike Withers going in there and getting it for her. He would too. Spike cared not if a girl was going around with someone particular. He\u2019d just dive right in there. Joe had to get those chocolates. He couldn\u2019t even ask for the money because inevitably Pa would ask what the money was for. Joe\u2019s face would colour up and then they\u2019d all know. They would all know that Joe was trying to impress a girl and Adam would laugh. They would all laugh.<\/p>\n Joe continued to sweep out Bucks stall. The aging horse looked back at him with kind old eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cSoon be finished boy.\u201d Joe gave him a ghost of a smile.<\/p>\n He was about to lead the horse into his stall when he noticed the horse had a slight limp.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with your shoe,\u201d Joe muttered as he lifted the horses foot.<\/p>\n \u201cAw you\u2019ve got a stone caught. Hold on and I\u2019ll free that for you.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe frowned. The implement they use to wedge stones out was in the kitchen. Don\u2019t even ask how it got there. It was supposed to be in the tack box. Joe saw it in a drawer in the kitchen. He patted Bucks behind as he passed him to head out of the barn.<\/p>\n \u201cJoe, You suppose to help me in kitchen. Your Pa say you help me today.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe nodded to Hop Sing. When he returned Adam was in the barn just removing the saddle from Sports back.<\/p>\n \u201cBuck was out of his stall Joe.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know. He\u2019s got a stone caught I was just getting something to prize it out.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, I didn\u2019t notice. Is he alright, Do you want help?\u201d Adam asked.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, it\u2019s fine. He\u2019s easy to manage. You go ahead. I\u2019ll brush and feed Sport.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThanks Joe, I\u2019m supposed to work on figures with Pa before dinner. I\u2019m late.\u201d<\/p>\n Adam hurried out leaving Joe alone once more.<\/p>\n ~o~<\/p>\n There was to be no supper for Joe that night, well stealing money was a serious crime. After he had helped Hop Sing serve the food he was to start in on the dishes.<\/p>\n Just as he was about to start washing plates Hop Sing went to stand beside him Hop Sing spoke quietly as he held out the roast beef sandwich to Joe.<\/p>\n \u201cFather is right, you bad boy but you also growing boy.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe smiled his thanks to the little man from China.<\/p>\n Once he had finished in the kitchen he reluctantly headed into the main room. His family were waiting for him.<\/p>\n \u201cJoe, I have told Adam and Hoss of my discovery this morning and your admittance of guilt.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe could only nod. They were all seated around the fire. Only he remained standing.<\/p>\n Ben went on, \u201cI needn’t tell you that they are just as shocked as I am. I never thought in all my years that I would have a son who would openly steal money from under my nose. What have you to say for yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry Pa,\u201d Joe\u2019s voice squeaked slightly as he spoke.<\/p>\n \u201cI should think you are sorry. It\u2019s not as if I have left you wanting for anything. You want money for those dime novels or liquorice you need only ask. And yet….\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe needs his own money.\u201d<\/p>\n All eyes turned to Adam.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s at an age now where he needs his own money.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAdam!\u201d Ben frowned deeply at his oldest child.<\/p>\n \u201cNo come on Pa, he does. Joe works hard around here. He works as hard as any man and he gets the odd dime for candy here and there. I don\u2019t for one minute condone what he did but it is time he was paid a wage.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss joined in. \u201cHe\u2019s growin’ out of all his clothes too. Joe your pants are too short. If you need pants I can help you out. I have pairs that don\u2019t fit no more.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I think I should help him out with that Hoss. I\u2019m more his size.\u201d Adam put in.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can have my pants and I have a pair of boots you can use.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe didn\u2019t know what to say. He was so filled with gratitude for his brothers.<\/p>\n Ben looked from one to the other. \u201cWhat is this, I call a family conference because Joe took money from the safe and you\u2019re all giving him things.\u201d<\/p>\n Just then Hop Sing came in carrying a tray of coffee and home made cookies.<\/p>\n \u201cNo thank you Hope Sing we’ve just had dinner and…\u201d<\/p>\n Ben frowned as Hop Sing handed a cookie to Joe. \u201cAlright that\u2019s it, will someone please tell me what this is about?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPa, he sees me working and on Friday I take my money from the safe. Hoss works all week and he takes money from the safe. Pa, look at Joe\u2019s clothes. Just look at him.\u201d<\/p>\n Sure enough Joe\u2019s check shirt was faded and threadbare in places. But worse still his left boot had a good-sized hole where his sock was peeking out. \u201cRight Now,\u201d Ben pointed a finger towards his youngest son.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s the unanimous decision of this family conference that you should smarten yourself up. An allowance of 30 dollars a week…”<\/p>\n \u201cThirty-five.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben turned and gave Adam a withering look before continuing.<\/p>\n \u201cAn allowance of thirty-five dollars a week will be yours to buy some new clothes and whatever else you need.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe was beaming all over his face. This was not what he had expected at all. He suddenly felt all warm and loved. He hadn\u2019t felt like that in a long while.<\/p>\n But this family conference wasn\u2019t over yet. Not by a long mile.<\/p>\n It dragged on for another two hours.<\/p>\n Ben raised both his hands to his oldest son.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry Adam. If I\u2019d known that you felt guilty over Ingar’s death I would have done something, but you never told me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou never asked Pa.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut son, you should have said.\u201d<\/p>\n Hoss joined in \u201cYou were always so busy Pa. We practically had to raise ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh Hoss. That is so not true. Me and Adam did our very best.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah Hoss. You got the best of everything. Me and Pa did everything for you. Pay no heed Pa. That\u2019s just pure ingratitude.\u201d Adam sniffed.<\/p>\n Joe left them to it. After all the work he had done all day, he was bushed. But at least in future he’d be getting paid a wage. Perhaps family conferences weren\u2019t so bad after all.<\/p>\n The End<\/p>\n In trying to find a date to post this story, we realized it would have been great to post it on Family Day (February 19, 2026).\u00a0 Our apologies for missing the date.<\/em> <\/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: When Joe gets into big trouble he expects a punishment, but a family conference? That’s worse than any punishment.
\n\u201cI know, I\u2019ll be with you in a minute. I gotta go finish in the barn.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI cannot serve this to family. There\u2019s too much roast beef.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nBen suddenly felt uncomfortable. Joe never asked for anything. He never demanded like other youngens.<\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/em>~The Brandsters
\n<\/em><\/p>\n
\nRating: G, Word Count: 1365<\/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_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":[23,1008,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-family","category-prequels","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-1008-id","wpcat-30-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\/2026\/02\/BTR.png?fit=442%2C255&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48069","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=48069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48069\/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=48069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}