Summary:\u00a0 Inspired by a Pinecone Challenge.\u00a0 A conversation between two brothers.\u00a0 One we were never privy to hear.
\nRating:\u00a0 G\u00a0 (955 words)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Dreams Series:<\/strong><\/p>\n Chasing Dreams<\/a> Chasing Dreams<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n After dinner, while all the Cartwrights were enjoying a cup of coffee before leaving the dining room table and Hop Sing cleared away the empty dishes and platters, the announcement was made. Its ramifications on the youngest member of the family weighed heavily on the others, especially after the angry departure and the slamming of the front door.<\/p>\n #####<\/p>\n The longcase clock in the great room had finished chiming one o\u2019clock before he heard the door quietly open; his father and middle brother had retired to bed hours earlier.\u00a0 From where he sat at the dining room table, he witnessed his youngest brother enter the great room and walk to stand in front of the fireplace.<\/p>\n Before acknowledging his brother, he heard the gentle shutting of an upstairs bedroom door. “Pa, he’s back.\u00a0 He’s safe.\u00a0 I know I hurt him, but I have to do this for me.”<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cJoe\u2026\u201d Adam quietly called, pushing himself up from the table.<\/p>\n Wishing the room was as dark as the night outside, Joe softly answered, \u201cAdam, I don\u2019t want you to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n Walking towards Joe, Adam sighed, \u201cI can\u2019t stay.\u201d\u00a0 He knew this proposed departure was harder on this brother; the still lit fire illuminated the remnants of tears that had streamed down his sibling\u2019s cheek.\u00a0 “My leaving isn’t a spur of the moment decision over anything that’s happened recently.\u00a0 For a long time, I’ve had this… desire?\u00a0 Feeling?”<\/p>\n \u201cI know.\u201d\u00a0 Turning to face the man who for so long had been like a second father figure.\u00a0 A father figure, but still, an aggravating older brother who could easily find fault in anything he did.\u00a0 \u201cBut that doesn\u2019t mean that I can\u2019t wish you would stay.\u201d<\/p>\n Shaking his head, Adam began to speak.<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Joe quietly spoke.\u00a0 He’d thought long and hard about the events of the past year or so.\u00a0 \u201cWhy didn’t you leave after Will and Laura?\u201d<\/p>\n Of any question, Adam never expected that.\u00a0 Taken aback, he lowered himself into the chair so frequently claimed by their father.\u00a0 In reaction, Joe sat down on the low table, facing his brother.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to.\u00a0 You don\u2019t know the number of nights I packed my bags only to talk myself out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy?\u201d Joe asked.<\/p>\n \u201cAt first, I was still healing from the paralysis.\u00a0 Then, I felt if I left, I would be seen as a coward, running away from my failure.\u00a0 Another failed romance.\u201d\u00a0 Sitting back in the chair, Adam inhaled deeply before letting it out slowly.\u00a0 \u201cOne thing a Cartwright doesn\u2019t do is run.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not a reason, Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d struggling with how the truth would be accepted.\u00a0 Slowly, he began speaking, \u201cI wanted to make sure that when I truly decided to leave, to follow my dreams\u2026\u201d Looking deep into iridescent green eyes, \u201cI wanted to make sure you had learned everything you needed so that you would succeed.\u00a0 This was the one thing I knew couldn’t become a failure — Pa was going to need someone to take over my role as his right-hand man.\u201d<\/p>\n Cocking his head, to look anywhere other than his brother, Joe squeaked out, \u201cMe?”\u00a0 Then, continuing in a whispered, yet hurt voice, “I\u2019m the irresponsible one, if you\u2019ll remember our past.\u201d<\/p>\n Reaching out to place a hand under his brother\u2019s chin, turning Joe slowly to face him, \u201cMaybe when you were younger.\u00a0 But steel becomes stronger when it is tempered.\u00a0 I know I pushed you, more than I probably would have, had I planned to stay.\u00a0 Joe, you\u2019re the heart and the strength that the Ponderosa, and Pa, needs.”<\/p>\n Silence stretched between the two brothers.<\/p>\n Adam quietly pleading for Joe to understand and not go off half-cock or lash out at him.<\/p>\n Joe, thinking of the words his brother spoke and what they truly implied.\u00a0 It had been a long time since he felt Adam would really<\/em> talk with him, not since Vannie Johnson’s murder had the two shared such a meaningful conversation.\u00a0 And now, the words Hop Sing spoke made even more sense.\u00a0 He’d been surprised to hear the quiet “Lit’le Joe” called as another father figure walked around the corner of the house towards him after he’d stormed from the dining room and home.\u00a0 Now, ashamed of his earlier outburst, he felt a need to give his brother his blessing.\u00a0 To let him know he understood.<\/p>\n \u201cHop Sing followed me out.”\u00a0 Resting his elbows on his knees and interlocking his fingers, “He told me of a Chinese Proverb. \u2018To believe in one\u2019s dream is to spend all of one\u2019s life asleep<\/em>,\u2019 which didn\u2019t make any sense to me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, it doesn\u2019t make sense to me either.\u201d<\/p>\n Quirking a smile at the confused look reflected back at him, Joe continued, \u201cHe explained that, simply believing in your dreams without taking steps toward them is like living in a state of inaction \u2013 \u201casleep<\/em>\u201d.\u00a0 I guess your steps\u00a0<\/em>was making sure I was prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n The brown eyes looking at him were different; the hope that had been absent for so long was beginning to shine again.<\/p>\n \u201cAdam, I\u2019m going to miss you, but I understand.\u00a0 If you got a dream, chase it, ’cause a dream won’t chase you back.\u00a0 Well, maybe someday your dream will chase you back to the Ponderosa.\u201d<\/p>\n “Maybe Joe.\u00a0 I don’t know.\u00a0 I just know that there’s a dream out there, calling me.”<\/p>\n “Like when Pa left Boston with you to head west?”<\/p>\n “Yeah, something like that.”<\/p>\n “I hope you find your dream Adam.”\u00a0 With merriment in his eyes, “I’m glad I’m the reason you chose to not sleep your life away.\u00a0 Pa’d of been really mad at that.”<\/p>\n “Oh, you scamp!” Adam stood quickly and surprised Joe by pulling him into a hug.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The End… or is it?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A Pinecone Challenge is limited to less than 500 words, but there was more my muse wanted to convey.\u00a0 So, we expanded the story a little bit more.\u00a0 Okay, so it’s almost double the original word count.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Phrase:\u00a0 “If you got a dream, chase it, ’cause a dream won’t chase you back.” — from the Cody Johnson, song \u2018\u2019Till You Can\u2019t\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Summary:\u00a0 Inspired by a Pinecone Challenge. A conversation between two brothers.\u00a0 One we were never privy to hear.
\nEpoch of a Dream<\/a><\/p>\n
\nRating:\u00a0 G\u00a0 (955 words)
\nPart of the Dreams series, links included within.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":12958,"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_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Summary:\u00a0 Inspired by a Pinecone Challenge.\u00a0 A conversation between two brothers.\u00a0 One we were never privy to hear.\r\nRating:\u00a0 G\u00a0 (955 words)","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},"categories":[1091,23,61,8,40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adam-joe","category-drama","category-missing-scene","category-short-stories","category-challenges","wpcat-1091-id","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-61-id","wpcat-8-id","wpcat-40-id"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Adam-and-Joe-Desert-Justice-2.bmp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68825","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\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=68825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=68825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=68825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=68825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}