{"id":4946,"date":"2014-04-29T17:13:37","date_gmt":"2014-04-29T21:13:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=4946"},"modified":"2026-07-29T14:39:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T18:39:14","slug":"the-jacket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=4946","title":{"rendered":"The Jacket (by pjb)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary:\u00a0 <\/span>When twelve-year-old Joe comes home from school without his jacket, it’s up to Hoss to find out why.<\/p>\n

Rated:<\/span>\u00a0K \u00a0WC 1700<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/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 \u00a0The Jacket<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Hoss looked up as the front door opened,<\/strong> letting in a blast of chilly late-autumn air. His genial smile faded as he saw his twelve-year-old brother slip in and slam the door tight behind him. The boy had been wearing a jacket when he\u2019d left that morning, but he wasn\u2019t now.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the\u2014dadburnit, boy, where\u2019d you lose your jacket this time?\u201d He was on his feet and across the room before the skinny kid could have a chance to escape. \u201cYou get over here and get yourself warmed up,\u201d he scolded as he shepherded the shivering boy over to the fire. He snatched the rough Indian blanket from the back of the settee and wrapped it around Little Joe, setting him on the edge of the table, right in front of the fire.<\/p>\n

\u201cPa\u2019s gonna have your hide,\u201d Hoss continued. \u201cThat was a brand-new jacket\u2014and it was expensive. You\u2019re gonna be cleanin\u2019 out the chicken coop for a month of Sundays to pay for a new one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can wear my old one,\u201d said Joe, but his teeth were chattering so hard that Hoss could barely understand him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow\u2019re you plannin\u2019 to do that?\u201d demanded his big brother. \u201cYou could barely fit into it last spring! \u2019Sides, you pretty much wore it out. Even if Hop Sing can find it, it ain\u2019t gonna be good as much besides a cleaning rag.\u201d<\/p>\n

Little Joe bit his lip. \u201cDon\u2019t tell Pa,\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n

Hoss fought the urge to roll his eyes. \u201cI ain\u2019t gonna have to tell,\u201d he said. \u201cPa\u2019s gonna know next time you go to put your jacket on and it ain\u2019t there. Now, where was the last place you had it? Maybe we can go out and look for it before it gets too dark.\u201d<\/p>\n

Little Joe shook his head. \u201cNope,\u201d he said, not looking up. \u201cWe ain\u2019t goin\u2019 after it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss\u2019s brow furrowed. \u201cSomebody take it from you? That Grover boy givin\u2019 you trouble?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe shook his head again. \u201cHuh-uh.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen what\u2019s goin\u2019 on?\u201d Hoss sat on the hearth, knee to knee with his little brother. \u201cJoseph, do you know where that jacket is?\u201d Joe didn\u2019t look up. \u201cJoseph. Look at me.\u201d Joe raised his chin, equal parts nervousness and defiance in his eyes. \u201cDo you know where your jacket is?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes.\u201d A direct answer to a direct question.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere is it?\u201d<\/p>\n

But Joe shook his head again. \u201cI can\u2019t tell you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wouldn\u2019t be right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cReverend Miller says the right hand\u2019s not supposed to tell the left hand what it\u2019s doin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHuh? What are you talkin\u2019 about?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe sighed as if his big brother were a little slow. \u201cIt\u2019s like Pa says\u2014when you do stuff for people, you don\u2019t go talkin\u2019 about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss peered at his little brother. Something was going on that was bigger than just a jacket. \u201cJoe, what\u2019d you do?\u201d he asked. Joe shook his head, and then it clicked in Hoss\u2019s mind. He rested his hand on the boy\u2019s knee. \u201cJoe.\u201d He waited until the boy looked up. \u201cWho did you give the jacket to? An\u2019 don\u2019t worry\u2014I promise, it\u2019s okay to say,\u201d he added when his brother hesitated.<\/p>\n

\u201cMatthew Greer,\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think I know him,\u201d said Hoss.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re new in town,\u201d said Joe. \u201cIt\u2019s just Matthew and his ma and his little sister. I don\u2019t know where his pa is. A couple of the kids said his ma cleans houses for some of the rich ladies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s good honest work, and it ain\u2019t nothin\u2019 to be ashamed of,\u201d said Hoss firmly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know,\u201d said Joe. \u201cBut I guess it doesn\u2019t pay too good. So\u2014you know how cold it was this morning, and Matthew came to school without a jacket, and\u2014well, I told Miss Jones to give him the one I had, \u2019cause I didn\u2019t figure he\u2019d take it from me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMiss Jones let you just give away your jacket on a day like this?\u201d Something didn\u2019t sound right. The ground had been thick with frost when they got up, and the day had never gotten much warmer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told her it was an extra one,\u201d Joe admitted.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you told your teacher a lie.\u201d Hoss did his best imitation of Pa\u2019s stern glare.<\/p>\n

Joe bit his lip. \u201cI\u2014I had to, Hoss. I knew she wouldn\u2019t let me give it away if she thought I didn\u2019t have another one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss looked down for a moment to hide his smile. Abigail Jones might have her blind spots, like her inability to see that Adam didn\u2019t cotton to her, but she was no fool. She wouldn\u2019t have allowed Little Joe to ride home without a jacket, unless.\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid she think maybe Adam would be pickin\u2019 you up in town?\u201d he suggested.<\/p>\n

Joe nodded, eyes downcast.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2019Cause maybe that\u2019s what you told her? That Adam was bringing in your other jacket?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe nodded again.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn\u2019 you told her that even though you know it\u2019s wrong to tell a lie.\u201d<\/p>\n

A hesitant nod.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn\u2019 you know you\u2019re gonna have to tell her the truth tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another nod, still slower.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn\u2019 if she thinks you should be punished for lying, you\u2019ll take that punishment, and you won\u2019t complain about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

One more reluctant nod.<\/p>\n

Hoss patted the boy\u2019s knee reassuringly. \u201cYou know, Little Brother, if you\u2019d waited \u2019til you got home and asked Pa, I know he\u2019d have bought that boy a jacket.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I wouldn\u2019t have seen Pa until tonight, and then we couldn\u2019t have gotten the jacket until tomorrow,\u201d said Joe, his eyes earnest. \u201cAnd Matthew was cold today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matthew was cold today.<\/em>\u00a0Dadburn Little Joe, anyway. Headstrong little cuss. Always leaping before he looked, and then it was up to somebody else to get him out of trouble. Hoss just knew the boy hadn\u2019t thought for an instant about what Pa would say when he came home without a jacket, or whether he\u2019d get in trouble for lying to the schoolteacher. He could have caught himself a humdinger of a cold, or worse, riding home in his shirtsleeves in this weather, but Hoss would have bet a month\u2019s wages that Little Joe hadn\u2019t thought about that, either.<\/p>\n

The only thing that boy had thought about\u2014the only thing that had mattered\u2014was that Matthew Greer was cold today. Hoss squeezed his little brother\u2019s knee, his throat thick with pride.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on,\u201d he said, rising. \u201cWe gotta get going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe looked up, confused. \u201cGet going where?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI reckon we got some shopping to do before Pa and Adam get back from the timber camp,\u201d Hoss said. \u201cCan\u2019t have you runnin\u2019 around in the cold without a jacket. Pa\u2019d have my hide if I let you do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have to tell him what happened to the other one, do we?\u201d Joe asked hopefully.<\/p>\n

Hoss frowned. \u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t we?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe sighed impatiently. \u201cI told you,\u201d he said. \u201cPa says that when you do stuff to help people, you don\u2019t talk about it. I only told you \u2019cause you asked, but if I already have a new jacket, Pa won\u2019t know to ask.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss chuckled. \u201cPa don\u2019t mean you have to keep what you did a secret from everybody,\u201d he explained. \u201cHe means that you don\u2019t go spreadin\u2019 it around about what you did so\u2019s folks\u2019ll be impressed. That\u2019s a whole lot different from telling the family. Besides, I think Pa\u2019d want to know about this.\u201d He tousled the boy\u2019s hair. Pa would most definitely want to know about this.<\/p>\n

Little Joe stood, the blanket still clutched around his shoulders. \u201cIs he gonna be mad at me, do you think?\u201d he asked warily. At Hoss\u2019s perplexed look, he said, \u201cI gave away my new jacket and I don\u2019t have the money for a new one, so now he has to spend money on another one\u2014and plus, I lied to Miss Jones.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss draped his arm around the boy\u2019s skinny shoulders. \u201cI don\u2019t reckon he\u2019s gonna be too mad,\u201d he said. Pa wouldn\u2019t be mad at all. Well, maybe a little about the lying, but he\u2019d likely be too busy being proud of Joe to think about that very much.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s get the buckboard hitched up,\u201d said Hoss. \u201cIt\u2019s gonna be colder once the sun sets.\u201d He considered the boy for a moment and said, \u201cWait here.\u201d He disappeared around the corner, into the kitchen, returning a minute later with Hop Sing\u2019s coat. \u201cWear this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Joe slipped his arms through the sleeves. He and Hop Sing were nearly the same height, but the little Chinese man was much stockier, and so the coat hung comically on the boy. Hoss winked as he rolled up the sleeves until Joe\u2019s fingertips appeared. \u201cYou look just fine,\u201d he said before Joe could ask.<\/p>\n

As he opened the door, Joe said, \u201cHoss?\u201d He turned back, and Joe ventured, \u201cCan we maybe get some shoes while we\u2019re in town?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss immediately looked down, but the boy was wearing his boots. \u201cWhy do you need shoes?\u201d<\/p>\n

Joe shook his head. \u201cNot me,\u201d he said. \u201cMatthew\u2019s sister\u2014she doesn\u2019t have any, and\u2014well, my boots would have been way too big for her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoss had to swallow hard at that one. \u201cYep,\u201d he said when the lump in his throat eased. \u201cI reckon we can get some shoes, and probably even some other stuff.\u201d He patted his little brother\u2019s shoulder, his mind already busy figuring what this family might need to help them through the winter.<\/p>\n

As he and Joe hitched up the team and headed into town, Hoss reckoned that he might need a new jacket, too, because every time he looked at the skinny kid in Hop Sing\u2019s coat, he thought it was just possible that the buttons on his own might bust right off.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Disclaimer:<\/span>\u00a0All publicly recognizable characters and settings are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary:\u00a0 When twelve-year-old Joe comes home from school without his jacket, it’s up to Hoss to find out why.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rated:\u00a0K \u00a0WC 1700<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":142,"featured_media":440,"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":[23,1092,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-hoss-joe","category-prequels","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-1092-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\/2014\/04\/Joe-Hoss.jpg?fit=505%2C638&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4946","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\/142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4946"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4946\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}