{"id":7449,"date":"2011-10-17T12:33:05","date_gmt":"2011-10-17T16:33:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=7449"},"modified":"2025-02-27T12:25:10","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T17:25:10","slug":"a-spoke-in-the-wheel-joes-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=7449","title":{"rendered":"A Spoke In The Wheel &#8211; Joe&#8217;s Story (by slaine89)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"label\"><strong>Summary<\/strong>: <\/span>This story looks at Joe&#8217;s early life based on the events told in The Wheels of Fate and how it was for him growing up outside of the Ponderosa&#8217;s protective wing. Alone as a boy Joe deals with rejection, prejudice, and loneliness.<\/p>\n<p>Rated:\u00a0 T (12, 230 words)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Story Notes:<\/strong><br \/>\nAs stated before, this story is attached to The Wheels of Fate. If you want to read this story without reading Wheels Of Fate all you need to know is that Joe was taken from the Ponderosa at an early age and was raised by a family completely different from his rightful one.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Wheels of Fate Series:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=7434\">The Wheels of Fate<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=7449\">A Spoke in the Wheel: Joe&#8217;s Story<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u00a0<strong>A Spoke In The Wheel &#8211; Joe&#8217;s Story<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Daylight squeezing through the cracks in the roof to lay a pattern of stripes across his face woke him, but he didn\u2019t move. Not yet. First he listened, straining his ears for any sound coming through the paper thin wall that separated his tiny bedroom from the rest of the shack. The term bedroom was used loosely since there wasn\u2019t a bed and it wasn\u2019t so much a room as a lean to attached to the shack to store wood in that he had closed in with miscellaneous bits of wood, but it was his, and it was better than sleeping in the shack with his drunken father and short tempered mother.<\/p>\n<p>It was his father that he was listening for now, a habit that stretched back as far as he could remember. He couldn\u2019t hear the shallow wheezing of his snore, but he couldn\u2019t hear anyone moving about either. His mother must have already left for the hotel. Carefully Joe stood and eased himself out of the lean to. Not a board creaked beneath his feet, and soon he was running long and low into the line of trees along the road, ignoring branches that whipped against his sore shoulders.<\/p>\n<p>Away to his right the sun was just peering up over the line of hills that Durham was nestled against. Joe still had a few hours before school started. He sank to the ground and contemplated not going at all, but that meant a day of skulking in the woods without anything to eat. At least at school he might have a chance of wrangling some food away from some of his schoolmates. With a heave Joe stood up, still ignoring his tender shoulders that had been a result of last night\u2019s drunken rage, and he set out through the trees, taking the back way to the Miller farm. If Mr. Miller was around he would run him off, but if he wasn\u2019t there his wife usually let him milk their two cows in exchange for food. Not too much, in case her husband suspected, but enough to get him through the morning.<\/p>\n<p>Joe paused at the edge of the trees and watched the house for a few moments. He hated skulking around like a thief, but he wasn\u2019t in the mood to have a rake swung at his head like the last time he\u2019d walked up to the front door when Mr. Miller was around.<\/p>\n<p>Hypocrite. Joe thought. Just because he has money. He\u2019d grown to get used to the attitude in his short eleven years, but it still rankled.<\/p>\n<p>The barn door opened and Mr. Miller came out leading his mule. Joe watched as they disappeared from sight toward the fields and then moved forward toward the house.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of these days.\u201d He muttered. One of these days he wouldn\u2019t have to creep around \u2018respectable\u2019 folk. Both of his fists clenched as he lifted one to knock on the door.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>~*~<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The school bell clanging through the trees made Joe pick up his pace as he jogged over the carpet of pine needles toward the schoolhouse. Then there was silence once again except for the sound of a sparrow chipping merrily. He glanced up at it with a glare and then paused at the top of the hill and looked down at the small schoolhouse, paint chipping from its sides, silent and somber in the clearing. He was late again. Last time Mr. Herron had kept him in at lunch and made him do lines, which kept the rest of the class from playing their favorite game of stomp-Joe-into-the-mud, but he wasn\u2019t in the mood to write line after line under Mr. Herron\u2019s hawk-like eye while his stomach reminded him that all the other students were outside eating. He turned around and cut back through the woods.<\/p>\n<p>Now the sparrow\u2019s chirps echoed his silent footfalls over the pine needles as he jogged back down the hill. He inhaled the scent of the pine trees. It was his favorite scent in the world, and for a moment he slowed to a walk and just let it soak into him. He didn\u2019t know why, for some reason it always calmed him even though it stirred something up inside him, something he couldn\u2019t put his finger on. It made him restless almost. Joe pushed the thought aside and started to jog again, reaching up to hit branches aside with his hand as he ran. He knew exactly where he was going.<\/p>\n<p>After a few minutes he broke back into a walk and crept forward until he could see the edge of the woods. He dropped to his stomach and inched forward, not even noticing the damp earth that clung to his clothes and hands. He settled under a bush and as he peered forward into the clearing his heart leaped.<\/p>\n<p>There were two corrals about fifty feet in front of him, one empty and one with several horses in it. His eyes rippled over them and took in the earth tones of their colors, their impatiently flashing hooves, and their curious eyes. They knew something was about to happen. Joe tucked further under his bush as several ranchers arrived. With an easy motion one of them haltered the first horse, a chestnut, and led him over to the other paddock. The horse glanced back and nickered, curious but not too alarmed.<\/p>\n<p>Joe tensed with the horse as they saddled it and held it, not prancing slightly against the fence so one of the cowboys could climb on. For a moment the horse froze. Then it leaped forward, kicking its hind legs up toward the sky. Joe\u2019s breath caught in his throat as he watched the animal snort and kick, plunging the rider forward and back in the saddle until he finally rolled off. But then he was up and back on. Joe had to grin at the look on the horse\u2019s face. It was just like one he\u2019d worn countless times. A look that asked just how many times they were going to try to knock him down. But there was a glint to the horse\u2019s look too. This time the cowboy\u2019s seat had barely touched the saddle before the horse was off again.<\/p>\n<p>After a few more falls, the horse had decided it wasn\u2019t worth the fight, and the cowboys pulled in a bay. It didn\u2019t matter how many times Joe watched, he never got tired of seeing the struggle between a person and a wild beast. And while he knew that the horse had to be broken and admired the cowboys for continually getting back up after being knocked on their rear ends, backs, and sometimes heads, part of him couldn\u2019t help but cheer for the horse as if fought back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHey!\u201d A hand grabbed him roughly by the shoulder and hauled him to his feet. Joe wrenched away, and he heard a rip from his shirt. He glared up into a pair of dark brown eyes above a brown beard that were returning the look of defiance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d the man demanded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNothing.\u201d Joe snapped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re the Greyer boy, aren\u2019t you?\u201d the eyes softened when the man saw how young he was, but his voice remained hard. \u201cWhat are you doing? Looking for something to steal?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, actually, I was just sizing up your barn and trying to decide how many trips it would take for me to cart it away.\u201d Joe retorted.<\/p>\n<p>A cuff on his ear knocked him sideways in answer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGet out of here!\u201d the angry look was back. \u201cI don\u2019t need young scamps skulking about my ranch and running their mouths off.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLearn to hit harder.\u201d Joe muttered as he took off through the woods. His ear was ringing slightly, but it wouldn\u2019t last very long. That wasn\u2019t what made him take a swing at the first rotted out tree stump he saw. The broken wood cracked under his fist. And Joe swung again. He punched until it splintered beneath his blows.<\/p>\n<p>Smoke was drifting lazily toward the sky from the stovepipe of the shack when Joe went home that afternoon. He\u2019d spent the day throwing a \u2018borrowed\u2019 knife at a tree and wishing he had an actual throwing knife. He\u2019d contemplated the faces he could\u2019ve drawn instead of a target and then had changed his mind and drawn a simple target. Before going home he\u2019d snuck into the barn he\u2019d gotten the knife from and returned it. His fingers had itched with a desire to keep it, after all, who knew that he\u2019d taken it? And it was just a cheap knife, not more than fifty cents and probably a lot less. But he\u2019d taken it back. Maybe being accused of stealing so much had made him determined not to become a thief. Who knew? He shrugged and pushed open the flimsy door, hoping that the smoke indicated that food was being cooked and not just coffee.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re late.\u201d His ma said. Joe barely heard her; he was staring at the flapjacks she was cooking on the stove and inwardly calculating how many he\u2019d be able to eat.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s always late.\u201d A voice growled from a chair in the corner. Joe glanced over at his Pa and took note of the bottle beside him. Only a quarter empty and no empty bottles beside him. He wasn\u2019t drunk yet, which meant not to argue. Joe bit his tongue and scooped a ladle full of water from the bucket by the stove.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDrink it all and you\u2019ll have to get me more to clean up.\u201d His ma said. For a moment Joe was tempted to drain the bucket if only for an excuse to be outside. But the flapjacks were almost done and he didn\u2019t want them all eaten before he got back. So he sat at the table and stared at the scratches on it. One of them looked like an arrow.<\/p>\n<p>His ma banged around getting out tin plates. From the amount of noise she made, Joe could tell she was trying to get on his pa\u2019s nerves. She usually did when she had enough food to keep him happy. In the meantime his pa was sitting in the corner tapping his boot and scowling. Joe went back to looking for shapes in the table.<\/p>\n<p>A knock at the door made them all jump.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho\u2019s that?\u201d His pa growled. His lip curled up like a bulldog\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>His ma went over to the door and opened it a crack. Joe tried to peer around her and then nearly fell off his chair when he heard a female voice asking if she could come in.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell\u2026\u201d his ma glanced back at his pa, who was still glowering in the corner, and then stepped back so the woman could enter.<\/p>\n<p>She paused in the doorway to take in the scene, and Joe couldn\u2019t help but notice how absurd she looked in her finely tailored dress and shoes with shiny blonde hair swept neatly under a stylish hat all while standing next to his mother in her patched and faded dress and ragged dark hair. For a moment the woman was silent, as if unsure what to say, and then she seemed to draw herself together.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy name is Miss Olivia West. You must be Cal and Elena Greyer?\u201d she waited for a slight nod from the speechless Elena. Joe\u2019s pa sat in stony silence, unwilling to acknowledge the interloper.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m the new schoolteacher.\u201d Miss West continued. She glanced at Joe. \u201cI\u2019m here because Joseph wasn\u2019t in school today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Joe flinched and then flinched again as his pa leaned forward in his chair.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell then where the hell was he?\u201d his voice was too loud for the tiny shack.<\/p>\n<p>Miss West and his ma both glanced at him, but Joe didn\u2019t answer though several lies occurred to him. But he didn\u2019t want to have it out in front of his new schoolteacher and then have the church ladies all stare at him with a mixture of pity and fear again. He kept his mouth shut and glanced at the new teacher as if she hadn\u2019t said a word yet.<\/p>\n<p>She cleared her throat. \u201cMr. Herron spoke to me before he left about Joseph; he said he wasn\u2019t a bad student, but that he has a tendency to skip school frequently.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Joe fought the urge to close his eyes as his pa stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell if he doesn\u2019t want to go to school, he can just stay here and work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Work what? Joe wanted to ask. Panic leaped into his stomach though, and his mind raced to think of something to say. Anything was better than being stuck in with his father all day.<\/p>\n<p>Miss West pursed her lips. Clearly she hadn\u2019t been expecting this when she\u2019d decided to drop in. But once again she pulled herself together.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hardly think that\u2019s necessary, Mr. Greyer. I just wanted to stop by and see if there was anything I could do to help keep Joseph coming to school. I suppose it was all a little misunderstanding.\u201d She turned to go. \u201cI\u2019ll see you tomorrow then, Joseph?\u201d her eyes flickered to his pa who was still looming like a storm cloud.<\/p>\n<p>Cal Greyer eyed Miss West for a minute, but she didn\u2019t blink. Joe had to be impressed. Whoever this Olivia West was, she had guts. Then, barely perceptibly, Cal nodded.<\/p>\n<p>Miss West turned to smile at Joe. \u201cHave a good evening then.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The door shut, and Joe and his ma both unconsciously sidled farther away from Cal. There was a storm brewing, but you never knew who was going to take the brunt of it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy did you let her in?\u201d Cal finally snapped. He took two steps and was pushing his wife against the wall.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou asked who it was!\u201d she snapped back. \u201cNext time should I peer through a crack in the door and whisper so she thinks no one is home?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI never told you to open the door! We don\u2019t need meddling teachers poking their noses around. And you!\u201d he whirled, and Joe, who had momentarily been counting his blessings that he\u2019d been ignored cringed. He should have known he\u2019d be dragged in to this. \u201cNo more school for you. I don\u2019t want her\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy son will go to school!\u201d Elena interrupted. Her dark eyes flashed dangerously. \u201cI won\u2019t have him brought up stupid and ignorant like his Papa.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Joe flinched at the stream of curses that followed, English from his pa and Spanish from his ma. The flapjacks were slowly turning black, but Joe peeled one off the pan and shoved it in his mouth despite his burnt tongue and fingers. Then Elena noticed the ruined dinner and began to yell even louder. Joe slunk around them, slipped through the door, and then sprinted away from the shack.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI guess that\u2019s the last time I\u2019m skipping school.\u201d He muttered.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><br \/>\nTrue to form, Joe plodded down the hill to the schoolhouse the next morning and stepped inside the open door just as the last toll from the bell faded. Just because he\u2019d been blackmailed into being here didn\u2019t mean he was going to arrive in time for any before school harassment. Miss West glanced up at him as he slid into his desk next to Andy Kale, a skinny boy with red hair and more freckles on his face than warts on a toad. Andy didn\u2019t look up, and Joe\u2019s heart sank. He glanced around. The smaller boys were avoiding looking at him and some of the bigger ones were grinning. He was in for it.<\/p>\n<p>Joe spent most of that morning\u2019s arithmetic lesson trying to figure out why. Usually there was some reason, no matter much sense it didn\u2019t make. Maybe his pa had made it to town yesterday. If that was so he was sure to have done something socially incorrect and it was sure to have become the subject of everyone\u2019s supper table discussion. Maybe he had tried to buy a beer with his shirt buttons again. Joe glanced at Ernie Miller, the son of the saloon owner. He was bent over his slate copying down numbers with his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he tried to make sense of his own scribbling. He didn\u2019t look over at Joe. Maybe not.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJoseph? Do you know the answer?\u201d Miss West\u2019s voice made Joe\u2019s head whip around to face the front. For a moment he froze. Mr. Herron never called on him. He never knew the answer. Everyone knew that.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFour.\u201d He ignored the giggles coming from the girl\u2019s side of the room and the snorts from behind him.<\/p>\n<p>Miss West paused. \u201cJoseph, where is your slate?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Joe clenched his jaw and didn\u2019t answer. More giggles, and the boys behind him were starting to sound like a herd of pigs. He felt his ears turn red.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you leave it at home?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Why wouldn\u2019t she drop it? Joe was saved from answering by a particularly loud snigger.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs if you can call that falling down shed a home!\u201d Jack Davis\u2019 comment was met by laughter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s enough.\u201d Miss West seemed to finally realize her error. \u201cJoseph, I\u2019ll talk to you at lunch. Jack, maybe you know the answer since you seem so eager to talk?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Joe kept his eyes glued to the wooden top of his desk the rest of the morning.<\/p>\n<p>He didn\u2019t move when Miss West dismissed them for lunch. As the rest of his classmates filtered past, Joe felt their varying looks, pity, embarrassment, scorn. He lifted his eyes and met them all with a glare that quickly made them look away.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJoseph.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He stood and walked forward. He had a hunch as to what this was about. Well she could keep her pity. He set his jaw as Miss West looked up at him from her desk.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe general store usually lets the school borrow a slate if there\u2019s a child who needs one. I can speak to\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s alright.\u201d Joe interrupted. Miss West raised her eyebrows, and Joe shifted uncomfortably. She might as well learn now though.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey won\u2019t lend you a slate for me.\u201d He said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Joe didn\u2019t answer. The silence seemed to stretch for miles then Miss West finally cleared her throat.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll see what else I can do then.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He wanted to tell her not to bother, but he got the feeling she wouldn\u2019t listen. What did it matter anyway? She\u2019d find out sooner or later that no one in this town was friends with any Greyer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs there anything else you need? Books maybe?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, ma\u2019am.\u201d Joe looked down at his shoes. Maybe if he stared at the floor long enough, it would open up and swallow him. He could take the looks of anyone staring down at him, but Miss West\u2019s warm, careful gaze made him wish he was invisible.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlright.\u201d She said at last. \u201cYou can go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He turned without a word and let out a large breath as the door shut behind him. The last half came out as a groan when he saw the group of boys waiting at the bottom of the steps.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGot in trouble, Joe?\u201d Jack smirked.<\/p>\n<p>Joe considered his options. He could try to push past them and be knocked down or he could stay on top of the steps until lunch was over. Or he could make the first hit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBoys! Boys!\u201d Miss West\u2019s angry yells cut through the air several moments later. Joe rolled out from under Jack and Henry\u2019s grip, swiping at his bloody lip. Henry\u2019s mirrored it, and another boy, Will, had a black eye. But there was no doubt in Joe\u2019s mind that he\u2019d gotten the worst of it. He hobbled inside and slid gingerly into his seat, his hand pressed against his side. Someone had kicked it hard. Several times.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ll all sit here for the rest of lunch period.\u201d Miss West\u2019s skirts swished as she sat back at her desk. Her eyes glanced up at the group darkly before she went back to her papers. Joe settled back into his seat. As he\u2019d thought earlier: she might as well learn now.<\/p>\n<p>He slipped out the door the moment school was over and hightailed it through the woods until he reached the road that wound into Durham. Right in town, nestled next to the blacksmith\u2019s and a slightly dilapidated mercantile was a small yellow house. Joe always paused to look at it before walking up the spotless steps to the door. It stood between the two much larger buildings like an old yellow cat sitting primly between two shaggy dogs, not caring at all. Kind of like the woman inside, actually.<\/p>\n<p>Ellie Goodwin had lived in Durham as long as anyone could remember. Her father had built the house for her mother, and the town had grown up around it alongside his rather large family. They had all either died or moved away, all except for one. No one was getting rid of Ellie Goodwin despite the fact that the blacksmith wanted the land to build a small stable and the mercantile owner wanted the house for himself so that he didn\u2019t have to walk across three streets every morning. But Ellie Goodwin and her house weren\u2019t going anywhere.<\/p>\n<p>Joe had first met her one Saturday after having been sent by his ma to look for his pa, who hadn\u2019t come home the night before. He\u2019d trudged reluctantly into town, not at all looking forward to the prospect of having to drag his hung over father the whole four and three quarter miles home. She had hollered at him from her porch as he\u2019d past, and he\u2019d nearly jumped out of his skin. He hadn\u2019t even seen her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBoy! Where are you going?\u201d she\u2019d asked, hands on her hips while wearing an apron.<\/p>\n<p>Where indeed? In a moment Joe decided that if she didn\u2019t recognize that he was Cal Greyer\u2019s son and couldn\u2019t put two and two together, he wasn\u2019t going to enlighten her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNowhere.\u201d He had said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood. Come help me then.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She\u2019d turned back around to face him, and this time her lips pursed angrily. \u201cWith what? As if! When I was a girl I was taught respect for my elders. Now get up here and I\u2019ll explain it to you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Curiosity piqued, Joe had climbed up onto the porch. After all, it wasn\u2019t like he was in any hurry to search the alley behind the saloon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI need someone tall to reach those cobwebs with this broom.\u201d She had said.<\/p>\n<p>Joe had looked at her for one incredulous moment. Tall? He\u2019d been called many things in his life, but tall had never been one of them. He had always been the small, shrimpy one. But he had to look down a couple of inches to meet her eyes, so he supposed in this instance he was tall, relatively speaking. But that still didn\u2019t mean he had to spend all morning knocking cobwebs into his eyes.<\/p>\n<p>She must have sensed his hesitation because she rambled on, \u201cThen you can chop my wood, paint my steps, and test to make sure the batch of cookies I\u2019ll be baking came out alright.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was the last chore that had really caught his attention.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ve got a deal.\u201d He said.<\/p>\n<p>Now Joe came out a few times a week to do some manual labor and testing of her cooking. But it was more than that that brought him there, and it was why he always paused before pushing through her bright blue door. When he stepped inside the yellow house, he always felt like he was stepping out of himself and into someone else. And for some reason he always liked to stop and savor the moment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs that you, Joe?\u201d she called when he entered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, Miss Ellie.\u201d He called her by the same name everyone else did, from the oldest senior to the youngest toddler.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was wondering if you would come today. The weeds out back have been growing like\u2026 good heavens! What on earth did you do now?\u201d she\u2019d come around the corner and had caught sight of Joe\u2019s torn clothes and swollen lip.<\/p>\n<p>Joe shrugged self consciously and tried to straighten his shirt, albeit a bit tardily.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s nothing.\u201d He said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh really? Who have you been trying to beat up this time?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo one. It was\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou young folk. Always rolling around in the dirt like young savages. It\u2019s as if you forgot that God have you a brain inside your head as well as two ears to listen with.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd two fists.\u201d Joe muttered. But despite Miss Ellie\u2019s sharp words, she\u2019d somehow managed to pull Joe into the kitchen and sit him down at the table. He pulled back as she dabbed at his face with a damp cloth. \u201cI\u2019m fine.\u201d He said.<\/p>\n<p>She snorted. \u201cWell I daresay you deserved what you got anyhow. Fooling around like a bunch of ruffians.\u201d She let the rag fall into the water with a flat slap. Then her voice softened. \u201cI hear you have a new teacher.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Joe shrugged.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI suppose she\u2019s the one that gave you the split lip. You don\u2019t take long to drive people crazy.\u201d This time she managed to get a small grin out of him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll get to those weeds.\u201d He said.<\/p>\n<p>She nodded and let him go. He was a tough one, too firmly withdrawn into himself to recognize when it was safe to come out. But he had a good heart. Ellie watched him out the window for a moment before turning to the stove to make him a platter of biscuits.<\/p>\n<p>The sun was painting the horizon with streaks of red and pink when Joe left Ellie\u2019s. Instead of going down the road toward home, he turned and went farther into town, and a few minutes later he was in front of The California Hotel. It was a lofty name for a slightly crooked building, but the food there was good. That\u2019s not what Joe was here for though. He waited outside, watching the last of the sunset\u2019s vivid colors fade away until his Ma came out. She glanced at him, and then, without speaking, they fell into step with each other. Joe didn\u2019t mind the silence. Once upon a time, when he\u2019d been young, he\u2019d tried to fill the silence with empty chatter, but slowly he\u2019d learned that what his ma really wanted after a day of endless bustle and talking was quiet. The only reason he came to walk her home was because she\u2019d been stopped several times by men who either didn\u2019t want to pay or thought that because they had paid her once they were entitled to her forever.<\/p>\n<p>She hadn\u2019t told him the first time it had happened. Instead he\u2019d found out from a schoolmate; Benny Jenkins had hollered an insult about her to him before school. Joe had brimmed in rage and had broken his nose. If they hadn\u2019t pulled him off of Benny who knew how much damage he would have done? It hadn\u2019t been rage at Benny; he was used to slurs against his mother\u2019s \u2018second job\u2019 and smacks about his legitimacy (which he personally didn\u2019t think was an insult anyway). No, what he\u2019d really been mad at was something he couldn\u2019t hit, a shadow, the thing that always hovered at the back of his mind, whether it was thrown up in his face at school or not. It was the fact that he was nothing, worth less than the dirt that had clung to his shirt and elbows as he\u2019d been shoved to the ground and held there by the hollering of his teacher. But he couldn\u2019t fight that, so he\u2019d fought Benny instead.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Herron had told Joe and Benny to shake hands, and Joe had been able to see Benny\u2019s resistance. He hadn\u2019t wanted to touch the son of Elena and possibly Cal Greyer. But he had, and when they\u2019d locked eyes, he could see just as easily as Joe that nothing had ended; the shadow was still there. If anything it had grown.<\/p>\n<p>They reached the shack, and Joe held open the door. Elena stepped inside and then put a finger over her lips. A low snore was coming from the chair in the corner, and Cal\u2019s head was tipped back, mouth slightly open, oblivious to the world. Joe shut the door softly behind him. Despite the shadow, for the moment he was content. He\u2019d eaten at Ellie\u2019s, and Elena was pulling some bread out of the cupboard. It didn\u2019t do to look for a large miracle, he decided. Better to be grateful for the small things. And at the moment, he was extremely grateful for the sound of snoring accompanied by the sweet echoes of silence.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p>The next day Joe and Jack avoided each other, but they gave each other looks across the room so hot that they would have ignited dry kindling. Miss West, blissfully ignorant of the death glares being slung across the room, continued to teach and didn\u2019t single Joe out again, for which he was grateful. She must have figured out that he was a lost cause.<\/p>\n<p>During lunch he kept to himself, but he stole looks at Jack sitting next two to or three others. At one time, their eyes met, and a line of tension crackled between them. Joe grimaced. The fight may have been paused, but it wasn\u2019t over.<\/p>\n<p>He didn\u2019t wait for Miss West to ring the bell that afternoon; instead he leaped out of his chair and bolted for the door. Before the others were even out of their seats he was gone, sprinting through the trees. But he wasn\u2019t headed toward home. Instead he took to the mountain.<\/p>\n<p>It was only a seven mile climb, a tiny step at the foot of a much larger range, but it was his mountain, and he knew the way up by heart. Joe paused at the bottom of his trail to make sure no one had followed him and then began to climb. After several minutes his mind was empty of everything except the struggle to continue uphill. His legs burned gloriously, and his breath came in gasps, but he didn\u2019t stop. The mountain was one of the few things he could fight against and conquer, and he enjoyed the battle almost as much as the victory when he reached the top and saw Durham spread below like a scrunched up blanket. He slumped against a tree, giving in to his tired body at last, and closed his eyes to let the breeze wipe away his sweat.<\/p>\n<p>This is where I belong. He decided. In the mountains with the sounds of squirrels scolding him for sitting under their tree, not cramped in a town where every time you turned you bumped into someone.<\/p>\n<p>He sat and watched the sun shift closer and closer to the horizon. He could make it back in the dark. Finally, when his shadow had stretched to nearly four times his height, Joe got up and started to climb back down.<\/p>\n<p>~*~<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere were you?\u201d his ma grabbed him by the shoulders as Joe entered the shack.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNowhere.\u201d He glanced around. \u201cWhere is\u2026\u201d then he understood her irritation. His pa was gone. Which meant he was out causing trouble.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGone. Somewhere, who knows. I got paid today, but he took that. And then you go off running around into the wild blue. Every day I work and cook and clean while you and he do nothing!\u201d her fingernails bit into his shoulder, and Joe squirmed away. But that only made her madder.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou think you can be without me? Who earns the money in this house? Me! And what do you do, hmm? Nothing! You\u2019re as worthless as he is!\u201d she moved to grab his shoulder again, but Joe sidestepped and left the shack. He stopped himself just before he slammed the door. With his luck it would break.<\/p>\n<p>It was starting to rain, and Joe looked up at the sky. His stomach felt like a waterlogged sponge. She wasn\u2019t mad at him, but her words still cut like a whip. And her whip had hit a nerve. Because he knew that no one would ever see him as anything other than no-good Cal Greyer\u2019s no-good son. For a moment he considered leaving things be, but he knew he couldn\u2019t. If his pa had money that meant he was drinking, and not the cheap stuff, which meant that if Joe didn\u2019t go get him, he\u2019d end up breaking something he couldn\u2019t afford to replace. Joe straightened his shoulders that had slumped forward and started to walk slowly towards town.<\/p>\n<p>No one told him to leave when he entered the saloon. Any other kid would have been kicked out, but they all knew why he was here. The bartender nodded to a table in the corner, but Joe didn\u2019t need the help. He could tell from the noise coming from the table, and by the one voice rising above the rest. Joe pushed through the crowd of men, his frown growing deeper. They were egging him on. They knew that Cal was only a few minutes away from exploding and breaking things he couldn\u2019t afford to replace. Did they care? No. He shoved past the last person and grabbed his pa\u2019s arm.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCome on.\u201d He said wearily. It always played out the same way, but he hadn\u2019t come up with a better system.<\/p>\n<p>Cal jerked away and the movement nearly made him fall out of his seat. \u201cI ain\u2019t goin\u2019. Go tell that whore she can find another man to bring home her bacon.\u201d He took another drink and Joe resisted the urge to smack the mug away from his lips. Instead he followed the familiar sequence and grabbed his arm again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s raining. The road will turn into a mudhole in a few minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI checked into the hotel. Hear they have some pretty ladies that make sure your room is com-for-table.\u201d The carefully enunciated last word met with laughs all around. Joe sent a glare like a scythe around the circle of onlookers. But it was one against many, and Cal Greyer was good entertainment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCome on, Cal.\u201d One of them slapped him on the back. \u201cBuy another beer and tell us about that one gal you\u2019ve got your eye on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Joe snapped upright. He\u2019d had it. Normally he avoided confronting an adult, but this was getting old. He shoved against the man\u2019s chest. Hard. The man teetered backwards into the bar.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou little\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShut up!\u201d Joe snapped. He turned back to Cal, who was buried in his drink. \u201cWe\u2019re leaving.\u201d His voice but like a whip, but Cal was too numb to notice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan\u2019t go. Can\u2019t pay.\u201d He mumbled.<\/p>\n<p>Joe dug into Cal\u2019s pockets and pulled out some coins. He slapped them down, not bothering to count.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThief! You can\u2019t steal my money!\u201d Cal\u2019s hands met Joe\u2019s chest like a horse kick, and this time it was Joe that went flying. But he didn\u2019t hit the bar.<\/p>\n<p>Glass fell around him, and Joe froze, covering his head with his hands. He could feel blood trickling down the back of his neck, and the glass crunched under his boots as he stood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCome on.\u201d This time Cal let himself be led away, having gotten his ire out of his system.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKid.\u201d The bartender called, but Joe waved him off.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d He didn\u2019t want to think about how much the window cost. Instead he let the doors swing shut behind him, blocking him from the view of those in the saloon. But the doors couldn\u2019t block the sound of laughter that followed him out into the black street.<br \/>\n<!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>He didn\u2019t go to school the next day. Instead he slunk into town as soon as the sun rose, slipping from street to street and trying to avoid meeting anyone\u2019s eyes. It wasn\u2019t that hard; everyone was avoiding his eyes as well. They\u2019d gone back home and had had a chance to start to feel bad about last night, and now they just wanted to forget about it. Lucky for them, they had that option.<\/p>\n<p>Joe paused in front of Ellie Goodwin\u2019s house. His stomach felt like there was a snake coiled inside it, and his throat went dry. He hated this. He tried to raise his hand to knock, but he couldn\u2019t move. He shouldn\u2019t have to do this. But he couldn\u2019t leave either. So he stood, frozen on the doorstep until the front door opened.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Ellie hesitated before speaking, taking him in with one look. Tired eyes peered wearily out of his small face, and his arms had cuts on them. She had heard about last night, and she\u2019d been expecting him, but she didn\u2019t want him to know that. This was already hard enough for him as it was.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCome on in, lad.\u201d She said. \u201cDo you want tea?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Her words made him remember that he hadn\u2019t had any breakfast, but the snake inside him twisted, and he shook his head. Even if there had been food in the house to eat, he wouldn\u2019t have been able to.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo school today?\u201d Ellie asked as she started making tea. He would want some once he had things cleared up, she knew.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. I mean yes.\u201d Well at least his mouth was still working. He\u2019d been starting to doubt. Quickly, before it stopped again, Joe blurted out, \u201cI was wondering if you needed more work done around here.\u201d He knew the answer already, knew that the house didn\u2019t require enough work to justify paying off a window, but he hadn\u2019t had anywhere else to go.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Ellie thoughtfully poured tea into a cup and put some biscuits on a plate. \u201cI suppose you\u2019d be needing money to pay for that window.\u201d She said.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>He nodded, his eyes fastened on the floor.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>She pursed her lips. He wouldn\u2019t want to take the money for free; he still had some pride that hadn\u2019t been beaten out of him. And she wasn\u2019t about to help society do the beating.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCome springtime I\u2019m planning on widening my flower garden.\u201d She said. \u201cCan I count on you to work?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d He lifted his head slightly.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell then I suppose I can pay you in advance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut spring is\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet me get your money.\u201d She stood, ending the conversation. As she left the room, Joe reached forward for his tea cup and blew on it softly. He still felt slightly sick inside, but it was a different kind of sick. He took a sip of tea. Maybe it would help.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>~*~<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo where were you yesterday, Greyer? Hiding?\u201d Jack asked the next day.<\/p>\n<p>Joe didn\u2019t look up from the book Miss West had loaned him. She hadn\u2019t said much, just slipped it onto his desk, and told him he might enjoy it. Joe had studied the cover while she talked about history and he had read the title over and over. Gulliver\u2019s Travels. At lunch he\u2019d settled himself against a tree and had opened it. For a while he\u2019d been able to lose himself in the words, but Jack\u2019s hiss in his ear made him come back.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy do you care?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou hit my Pa that night in the saloon.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Joe inwardly cringed. That had been unfortunate. He\u2019d thought the man was one he knew, but he hadn\u2019t stopped. He\u2019d just pushed. That would teach him. He looked up at Jack.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo what?\u201d he demanded.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t go around hitting people, that\u2019s what.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLike you?\u201d Joe regretted the words instantly as Jack\u2019s fists clenched. He sighed and stood, Gulliver\u2019s Travels forgotten. \u201cYou want to take a swing? Fine.\u201d He didn\u2019t care anymore. Let them hit him. It didn\u2019t change anything, and if it would make Jack leave him alone then it was worth it. But Jack didn\u2019t move.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou need more than hitting, Greyer. You need to be taught a lesson. My Pa said you attacked him out of nowhere. So that\u2019s what I\u2019m going to do to you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo you\u2019re warning me that you\u2019re going to attack me without warning?\u201d Joe wondered what had gotten into him today. Normally he wouldn\u2019t let his tongue wag like this, but the thought of not talking didn\u2019t even occur to him right now. He sat back down. \u201cLooking forward to it.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou won\u2019t be so cocky after I\u2019m through with you.\u201d Jack stalked off, and Joe retrieved his book, but after reading a few lines, he tossed it to the side. Why bother reading about other places? The only place that mattered was here, and there was no escaping it.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>~*~<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The sound of coughing woke him. He had been hearing it in the back of his mind all night, not quite loud enough to wake him from a restless sleep, but still able to echo in his dreams. Then as the sun was just starting to peer over the horizon, the sound leaked into his consciousness, and he opened his eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Elena didn\u2019t even turn when he put his hand on her cheek. It was like touching a flame. He got her some water and helped her sit up to drink it. By her side, Cal snored on, lost in slumber. Joe wondered briefly what he dreamed about, if anything. Probably drinking.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As the water touched her lips, Elena tried to rise and then sank back against the mattress.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou should rest.\u201d Joe said.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe hotel\u2026\u201d she moaned and let her head fall sideways. Joe knew what she meant. Daniel Thomas, the hotel\u2019s owner, wasn\u2019t a man given to generosity.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll take care of it.\u201d Joe stood. It was later than his ma would have usually left, and he ran all the way to town.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Thomas looked up when Joe pushed through the hotel\u2019s doors, breathing loudly and holding his cramped side.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere\u2019s your mother, boy? There\u2019s plenty of work today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo tell me what to do.\u201d Joe said.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Thomas eyed him for a minute. He\u2019d heard rumors about the Greyer boy. Sullen, angry, prone to fighting. But he also needed his hotel cleaned.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can start in the kitchen.\u201d He said.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>~*~<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Elena\u2019s fever lasted two weeks, and even after it broke it left her too weak to do much, so Joe kept working in the hotel. Ellie Goodwin had let her disapproval of his missing school be known, but Joe had simply shrugged. Truth be told, he wasn\u2019t all that upset about the arrangement. There was no one at the hotel to shove or trip him, and as long as he did his work, Mr. Thomas left him alone. His world had dwindled down to a mop and bucket, and he wasn\u2019t all that upset about it. At least with the dirt he was fighting a battle he could win.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>He was on his hands and knees scrubbing the floor when Miss West came in. His back was to the door, and he didn\u2019t look up when he heard it open. Hotel guests ignored, and he enjoyed the blissful invisibility. But a pair of ladies\u2019, button-up boots stopped in front of him, and his eyes journeyed up along a dark red skirt to the face of his school teacher. Joe sat back on his heels, unsure if he should get up.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>She saved him the trouble and sat on a chair in the corner. \u201cKeeping busy?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, ma\u2019am.\u201d What else was there to say? He knew why she was here, but it wouldn\u2019t make any difference. Even if he had wanted to go back to school he couldn\u2019t. Money didn\u2019t grow on trees. Besides, what was the point? It wasn\u2019t like he was ever going to use the stuff he learned.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo this is what you do now, Joseph? Instead of learning?\u201d There was no harshness in her words, no judgment. It was as if they were discussing the weather over tea. But Joe still bristled.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy name is Joe.\u201d He snapped. \u201cAnd I\u2019m learning enough.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow to scrub a floor?\u201d Her eyes swept over the small foyer. It was small, and though it was tidy, there was no disguising the fact that it was a small time hotel in a small time town. A stable business, but only because it was the only one in town. Joe frowned and let his rag fall back into the bucket with a wet slap.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell it\u2019s more useful knowledge than anything I learned at school.\u201d He said in a challenging tone. But she only let her thoughtful glance flicker around the room once more before landing on him.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy do you say that?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Her conversational tone put him off guard. He was used to being hollered at, not being asked to explain himself. Why did she care so much? Even Mr. Herron had been happy when he wasn\u2019t in school; it meant less trouble. He fumbled mentally for the words that would make her understand, but he couldn\u2019t get past the image of her, with her shiny boots and neatly styled hair under a hat that matched her form fitting dress. She was sitting primly on the edge of shambles asking why, and Joe didn\u2019t have an answer except that it was the way things were. He felt a surge of anger.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do you mean why?\u201d he spat. \u201cIf anyone should be asking why, it\u2019s me. Why should I learn math or reading or writing? It\u2019s not like I\u2019ll ever need to write a letter to anyone or read a contract. It\u2019s not like I\u2019ll ever have cows or sheep or even chickens to count. So why should I sit in class and learn how much I don\u2019t need to know while other kids shoot spit balls at me? Why should I have to take that?\u201d he stopped himself; he\u2019d said too much. That last question was a little too close to what he\u2019d been feeling, and he looked down at his bucket of dirty water. It was enough, he decided, to be able to scrub a floor. Maybe for most people it was less important than learning how to do long division, but it was something he could do without being frowned upon. It was his place.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Miss West didn\u2019t answer for a long time, and Joe remained staring at his dark reflection, wishing that the emotions swirling behind his eyes would just vanish. Then she finally broke the silence.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you finish the book I lent you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d She knew he hadn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFinish it, Joe. Please.\u201d She stood. \u201cAnd if you have the time when you\u2019re done with it, write down some of your thoughts about it. I\u2019d like to read them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Why?<\/em> He wanted to ask again, but he didn\u2019t. He remained silent as the door shut behind her.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>~*~<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>November had settled in with a vengeance, and Joe found himself finding more and more excuses to hover around Miss Ellie\u2019s warm stove in the following days after Miss West\u2019s visit to the hotel. Occasionally the thought of bringing the book there to read tickled the back of his mind, but he never did. What was the point?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo how\u2019s your ma?\u201d Ellie asked him one afternoon. Joe had been tracing the design of the tablecloth, his mind several hundred miles away. He looked up with a start.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlright. She should be able to go back to work soon.\u201d He knew she wouldn\u2019t stay at home long now that she was able to walk without swaying dizzily. It wasn\u2019t just the money; she couldn\u2019t stand to be home all day under her husband\u2019s thumb. Joe didn\u2019t blame her.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd then you\u2019ll go back to school?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Joe sighed. She asked the question lightly, but it was an old argument that he didn\u2019t want to open up again.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI suppose.\u201d He mumbled.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you get to be my age, Joe, you realize when people are lying to you.\u201d She opened the stove to check on the cookies inside. The smell wafted through the kitchen and made Joe\u2019s stomach stir restlessly, but she didn\u2019t take them out yet. Joe dropped his head onto his hand, resigned to the fact that he would be here for a while longer.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI might as well do something worthwhile like getting a job.\u201d He said. Not many people would hire him; Cal Greyer had burned all those bridges long ago, but maybe he could stay on at the hotel. Or work in the stables. He\u2019d rather spend the day surrounded by horses than people.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh, I see. Get a job and work your life away in this town. Stay here until you die.\u201d She nodded.<\/p>\n<p><em>Is there any other choice?<\/em> Joe wanted to ask. More than anything he wanted to leave this town, but where could he go? It was impossible, and so there was no point in trying. At the very least he could make life here more bearable.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Ellie seemed to sense that she\u2019d gone too far. She reached forward and covered his clenched fist with her hand. For a moment Joe stared at it, noticing as if for the first time how frail and paper like it seemed. Miss Ellie had always been a pillar of strength to him, but looking at her careworn face lined with wrinkles, he realized how old she was.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn life it\u2019s better to regret the things you have done than the things you haven\u2019t.\u201d she said gently. \u201cAnd it\u2019s often better to try and fail than not to try at all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Joe looked back down. It was easy for her to say, he decided. She was at the end of her life looking back, but he was still at the beginning, looking down a long, dark tunnel with no end in sight and no twisting back toward the surface. As much as he wanted to accept her words, he couldn\u2019t. He couldn\u2019t believe that it was possible to change things for the better.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p>As he\u2019d expected, Elena got up the next morning to go to the hotel. Joe walked with her in silence, trying to figure out how to convince Mr. Thomas to let him stay on. Elena\u2019s lips were pursed in a frown; she didn\u2019t want him working. But she was too weary to argue.<\/p>\n<p>The hotel lobby was empty, and Elena went to the kitchen while Joe went back to Mr. Thomas\u2019 office. The hotel owner looked up at his knock on the open door.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat is it?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy ma is back to work today\u2026\u201d Joe began. Mr. Thomas cut him off.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood. Go on then, back to school or wherever you go.\u201d He looked back at the papers in front of him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cActually, I was wondering if I could stay on.\u201d Joe shifted nervously.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Thomas snorted. \u201cAnd do what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnything.\u201d This wasn\u2019t going very well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t need anyone else, and more importantly, I can\u2019t pay anyone else. Now get going.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He still didn\u2019t look up, the light from the window shining brightly on his bald head, but Joe didn\u2019t move. Finally Mr. Thomas raised his eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy would I want Cal Greyer\u2019s son working for me?\u201d he demanded. \u201cIt\u2019s bad enough having his wife, but at least she keeps the occasional cow hand coming back. What could you possibly offer me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Joe\u2019s throat went dry. \u201cI can work. Hard. I can\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo Greyer knows the meaning of the word. You\u2019re your father\u2019s son whether you know it or not. Give it a few years and you\u2019ll be just like him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI won\u2019t! I\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust get out.\u201d Mr. Thomas looked back down, and Joe knew the interview was over. He turned, trembling with rage. For a moment he considered knocking his fist into Mr. Thomas\u2019 bald head, but instead he let the door slam shut behind him as he stalked out onto the street.<\/p>\n<p>He had known it was coming, but it still didn\u2019t make the blow any less painful. But he wasn\u2019t giving up; not yet. Maybe Miss Ellie knew someone who would hire him. Sure, she didn\u2019t want him to get a job, but she would help him anyway. She had to. Joe bit his lip against the hope and took the porch steps in one stride.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan I help you?\u201d an unfamiliar woman opened the door, and Joe stepped backwards, startled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2026\u201d he glanced around to make sure he was at the right house, though he didn\u2019t know how he would have gone to the wrong one. \u201cIs Miss Ellie here?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The woman\u2019s eyes clouded over, and Joe felt as if he\u2019d been struck by a blast of icy wind.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d She said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d he didn\u2019t want to know, but the word slipped out before he could stop it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHer heart just stopped.\u201d The woman didn\u2019t seem to want to talk about it anymore than Joe wanted to hear. He turned and walked back down the street away from the house.<\/p>\n<p>The rage that had been burning inside him had been destroyed by the chill that had swept through him. That was gone now too, and all he felt was empty and flat. He wandered through the woods aimlessly, not really seeing where he was going. It wasn\u2019t like it mattered anyway.<\/p>\n<p>His feet carried him over the rise to the schoolhouse, but he paused at the top of the hill. Miss Ellie had wanted him to go back. For a moment he considered descending the hill and joining his classmates, but it was like his feet were rooted to the ground like the trees around him. He sniffed the air. A storm was coming. He couldn\u2019t be inside right now. Couldn\u2019t sit by other children who shuffled slightly to the side, as if sitting to close to him would give them a contagious disease or who looked down their noses at his patched clothes and worn out boots. Not today. Miss Ellie may have had good intentions, but she hadn\u2019t known everything. No one did; Joe made sure they didn\u2019t. He\u2019d take scorn over pity any day of the week and twice on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>Still, Miss Ellie had known more than almost anyone, not necessarily because Joe told her things but because she\u2019s been able to read his silences and put paragraphs behind his short sentences. And she hadn\u2019t offered him pity or scorn; she\u2019d offered him a refuge, a momentary reprieve from being Cal Greyer\u2019s son, a place where he could go and simply be. Now, with a weight heavier than the storm clouds overhead threatening to crush him, Joe wondered if he would ever find another person who offered him the same thing.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019d never told her that. Joe turned and went back into town. The same woman answered the door when he knocked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPlease.\u201d Joe cleared his throat. \u201cCan I see her?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She hesitated. \u201cWho are you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t let him in.\u201d A man stepped forward, and Joe frowned, trying to place the face.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s the son of the town drunk, the boy who\u2019s been leeching off my aunt for almost a year now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Joe felt temper flare, and he opened his mouth, but then another person was at the door.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMr. Travis, if I can be of service\u2026\u201d then the reverend looked down and saw Joe. \u201cOh, it\u2019s you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Joe bit his cheek. \u201cI just wanted to tell her something.\u201d He said. Reverend Foster had always treated him with a sort of detached kindness; surely he would understand. But Miss Ellie\u2019s nephew was shaking his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re not coming in so that you can make off with any more of her things when I\u2019m not looking. This has been hard enough for us without having to deal with worthless rascals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we\u2019re going to start calling names\u2026\u201d Joe started, but Reverend Foster stepped between him and Mr. Travis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJoe, just go. Please. I realize you\u2019re upset, but so are these people.\u201d There was understanding mixed with compassion in his light blue eyes. Joe looked away. Miss Ellie wouldn\u2019t have wanted a ruckus; she had always hated when people got worked up over nothing. If her nephew wanted to dishonor her memory, that was his business. But Joe wouldn\u2019t. He shot one last withering look at the lofty man and then retraced his steps. Thunder rippled overhead and echoed inside his mind. His eyes swam with a darkness that didn\u2019t come from tears, but from anger. It didn\u2019t matter though; he didn\u2019t need to see where he was going. His feet took him right where he wanted to go: back to the schoolhouse.<\/p>\n<p>He stopped halfway down the hill and waited. Thunder rolled again, but the rain held off. He knew it would. If it rained the students would eat inside instead of outside, and then he wouldn\u2019t see Jack, but the world had always been against him, and it wouldn\u2019t avoid another chance to beat him down, even if this time it was what he wanted.<\/p>\n<p>The bell rang, and students began filing out into the yard, but Joe didn\u2019t move. When one of them looked up and hollered, pointing, he still remained where he was. A few of the boys separated from the rest of the students and started up the hill. Joe felt his fists clench, but other than that he remained the way he was.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat are you doing here, Greyer?\u201d Jack demanded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t call me that.\u201d Joe said. He\u2019d never let anyone know how being called by his pa\u2019s name irritated him like salt rubbed into a cut, but suddenly he didn\u2019t care. As Jack and the other boys circled like stray dogs, Joe felt the rage inside him begin to swell like a cloud with too much water. It was three to one, but he barely thought about the odds as he struck the first blow.<\/p>\n<p>He barely felt the retaliating punches, or if he did it was like wind to the flame of wrath that burned inside him. There was a red haze in front of his eyes, and he struck out like a madman, not caring where his fists landed as long as they made struck skin.<\/p>\n<p>Suddenly he was on the ground with the others on top of him. He rolled away, kicking back against their blows, but they were punching in earnest now. He stopped hitting to cover his head, and the blows stopped. He could see again. Joe glared up at the boys and staggered to his feet. His fists remained clenched.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat, you want to go again?\u201d Jack\u2019s eyes glittered behind a slight swelling. He stepped forward and knocked Joe down with three punches that Joe couldn\u2019t move fast enough to avoid. Joe spit out some dirt and then dragged himself to his feet again. This time he didn\u2019t wait for Jack to hit him; he simply swung out. Another fist, this time right below his ribs. The air went out of him, and once again Joe was on the ground, gasping for breath like a fish out of water. The air went through him like a knife, but the pain only made him stand back up. Jack\u2019s eyes widened, and he knocked Joe down again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust stay down, Greyer.\u201d A boot covered his head, pressing his face into the dirt. Joe closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. It felt like his nose was being driven into his skull. But he pushed back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNever.\u201d He muttered. He grabbed the leg and pulled himself free. And then he was up again, staggering slightly. His heart was pounding inside of his head, and Jack\u2019s image swam before his eyes. It only took one punch to send him back to the ground.<\/p>\n<p>It felt like he was pushing up against the world. For a moment he didn\u2019t think his arms would support his weight. Then he straightened and stood. His legs shook beneath him.<\/p>\n<p>Jack grimaced slightly, and Joe took a step forward. It nearly sent him crashing back to the ground, but somehow he remained upright.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat? You don\u2019t have the guts to keep fighting?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not fighting when you can barely stand.\u201d Jack snapped. But he punched again, and Joe didn\u2019t bother trying to dodge. Instead he let it hit him and push backwards, down once more. As he staggered up, Jack was walking away. There was another roll of thunder, and Joe looked up. It had started to rain.<\/p>\n<p>He dragged himself back a little to where he could lean against the tree. Within minutes his clothes was plastered to his skin, and he wrapped his arms around himself and drew his knees up. He didn\u2019t think he was up to walking very far even if he\u2019d wanted to \u2013 which he didn\u2019t. He was already wet; no point in going inside now. Besides the only shelter around was the schoolhouse, and there was no way he was going in there.<\/p>\n<p>Water rolled down his forehead and over his nose where it dripped down onto his drenched arms. He shivered and then winced as the movement required using his aching muscles. His bottom lip felt like twice its size, and it along with his left eye were on fire, but every other part of him felt cold.<\/p>\n<p>After a while the bell rang again and the children ran from the schoolhouse, not bothering to look anywhere but where they were going. Joe remained unnoticed huddled under his tree.<\/p>\n<p>It really wasn\u2019t fair, he thought. They were all going home to warm fires and hot meals and parents who wouldn\u2019t smack them across the face. What did he have to go home to?<\/p>\n<p>Nothing. He decided. He might as well just sit here for the rest of his life. At least the tree didn\u2019t seem to mind his company.<\/p>\n<p>Eventually the rain dwindled away to a fine mist. Joe shivered again, but he barely noticed his protesting muscles now. In fact his whole body was numb. It wasn\u2019t a bad thing, he decided. By now the cold had seeped from the ground and the air right into his bones, and he didn\u2019t feel cold anymore, just heavy. He closed his eyes. Maybe in the morning he would wake up and be dead too. Because it seemed like the only way to get out of this place.<br \/>\n<!--nextpage--><br \/>\n\u201cJoe? Joe?\u201d someone was gently shaking him. He wanted to tell her to stop, to leave him be. He\u2019d been floating somewhere in his dream, but now he felt the leaden weight of his body again, and it felt hot. He moaned and made a half hearted attempt to brush away the hand on his shoulder.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJoseph Greyer, wake up!\u201d another shake. Joe\u2019s eyebrows furrowed at the use of his full name, and he wearily looked up. It was Miss West.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do you think you\u2019re doing, sleeping outside during a thunderstorm? Get up.\u201d She helped haul him to his feet. For a small woman, she was surprisingly strong. Or maybe it was just because Joe felt so weak. Too weak to even protest when she started walking with him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere are we going?\u201d he mumbled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI live on the other side of the hill. You\u2019re just lucky I decided to take the shortcut over it instead of going by the road this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He wasn\u2019t sure how lucky he was. In another few minutes he might have reached wherever he\u2019d been floating to in his dream. But he didn\u2019t answer. It took too much effort.<\/p>\n<p>Once inside she let him sink onto her sofa while she stirred up the fire. He barely noticed when she disappeared into the other room and then came back with several blankets.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan you get out of your clothes alright or do you need my help?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Her voice sounded like it came from several miles away, but he shook himself out of the dreamlike trance he\u2019d been slipping into.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can do it.\u201d He said. He didn\u2019t need her help to undress.<\/p>\n<p>Several minutes later he was curled up amidst the blankets slipping back into the floating feeling. The warmth from the fire was making him sleepy. He closed his eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot yet, young man.\u201d Miss West\u2019s voice woke him up again. He scowled as best as he could with his painful face. Why did this woman never let him sleep?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHere.\u201d She lifted his head and began feeding him some broth. It slid down through his throat and settled in his stomach like a warm flame.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ll be lucky if you don\u2019t catch pneumonia from that little stunt.\u201d She talked as she fed him, but Joe was too tired to focus on her words and eat at the same time, so he picked the latter and let her rambling drift over him like smoke. Finally after the bowl was empty she let him lay back down.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGet some sleep.\u201d She said. \u201cI\u2019ve got to go back to the schoolhouse in case anyone is still there, but I\u2019ll send the doctor over. I\u2019ll be back later.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Joe didn\u2019t hear her. He was already oblivious to the world.<\/p>\n<p>~*~<\/p>\n<p>When Joe woke up he was curled up in a cave of blankets on a couch that was softer than anything he\u2019d ever sat on in his life. And he had absolutely no clue where he was. He opened his eyes, but all he could see were the flickering shadows of a fire across a wooden floor. He shifted and tried to sit up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell look who decided to wake up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Miss West\u2019s voice made Joe snap upright.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow did I get here?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI found you sitting on the hill and brought you home.\u201d She sat next to him and put a hand on his forehead. \u201cNot much of a fever. The doctor said that as long as you get plenty of rest you should be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe doctor was here?\u201d How long had he slept?<\/p>\n<p>She nodded. \u201cYou\u2019re lucky it\u2019s not worse. Just what were you doing out there anyway?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Joe didn\u2019t answer, and she put a finger under his chin so he couldn\u2019t look away.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJoe? What happened?\u201d Her eyes were warm like the fire, warm like Miss Ellie\u2019s kitchen had been. For a moment he just stared, losing himself in them. It was nice to see a pair of eyes without malice in them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJoe?\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n<p>Joe exhaled. \u201cMiss Ellie died.\u201d He said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEllie Goodwin?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He nodded. The words stuck in his throat and threatened to choke him. \u201cI wanted to tell her\u2026 to say goodbye, but they wouldn\u2019t let me.\u201d He forced a shrug. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDoesn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d But he was lying and they both knew it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat will you do now?\u201d she finally asked.<\/p>\n<p>The question could mean several different things, and he hesitated. Then he decided that whatever way it was interpreted, there was still only one answer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d He could go back and sit on the hill again, but the blankets were extremely comfortable, and his body was threatening mutiny if he tried to make it go anywhere.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell\u2026\u201d she paused for a moment and then met his gaze again. \u201cWhat do you want?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Once again he didn\u2019t know the answer, but he didn\u2019t think it mattered. She didn\u2019t want an answer; she wanted the question to be there, hovering in his mind.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople control so little in their lives, Joe. It\u2019s best to choose wisely about the things they can control. Especially for you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He frowned and remained silent as she stood up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou shouldn\u2019t be going anywhere tonight and probably not tomorrow. Do you want supper?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He nodded, but his mind was miles away as he pondered her question. What did he want?<\/p>\n<p>To walk down the street without being treated like a stray dog. He thought. To not have my name be like a disease. But he didn\u2019t know how to achieve those things other than leaving town, and he didn\u2019t know how he could do that. It was all a big mess, one he\u2019d rather not think about. Joe rolled over and closed his eyes, trying to shut out his thoughts. But the questions was still there, buzzing like a fly. What did he want?<\/p>\n<p>~*~<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019d gone to sleep with the crackling of the fire in his ears, and it persisted in his dreams, growing slowly until it was a roar. A house was burning around him, one he didn\u2019t recognize. Someone was holding him, keeping him from running. There was a scream. Then hoofbeats. The wind beat against his face and the noise of the fire grew faint. Joe jerked and woke up. It was dark; the fire had been banked for the night. He was in Miss West\u2019s house on her couch. He couldn\u2019t see the clock in the dark, but it had to be early morning. He exhaled slowly, wondering where his dream had come from. For some reason the house had been familiar. He shook his head. Dreams were like that. You couldn\u2019t trust them.<\/p>\n<p>You couldn\u2019t trust any dream, sleeping or waking. Once he\u2019d had a dream about leaving behind Durham for good. Then he\u2019d grown up and realized just how impossible it was. You couldn\u2019t live without food, and food cost money, which you couldn\u2019t get without a job. And no one was going to hire a twelve year old. It was impossible to try and leave.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s often better to try and fail than not to try at all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Joe could hear Miss Ellie\u2019s voice again; one of the last things she\u2019d said to him. What would she think of his giving up and coaxing Jack into a fight before sitting out in a thunderstorm? In the darkness Joe flushed.<\/p>\n<p>She would have called me eight kinds of an idiot. And each one would have been more right than the last.<\/p>\n<p>She\u2019d always been right. About everything. Why should this be any different?<\/p>\n<p>But you don\u2019t know how hard it is, Miss Ellie. He thought. You don\u2019t know what it\u2019s like to be in a place where everyone thinks more of the mud on their boots than they do of you.<\/p>\n<p>No, not everyone, he corrected himself. If it were everyone then he would still be sitting under a tree instead of curled up on a couch.<\/p>\n<p>Ok, so one. Still, it was one against an entire town. Not very good odds.<\/p>\n<p>There hadn\u2019t been good odds in his fight with Jack either, and he\u2019d still managed to stand at the end of it, if only because he\u2019d wanted to prove that he could.<\/p>\n<p>And I can. He thought. He didn\u2019t like the idea of wading back into the struggle, but sitting on the bank didn\u2019t seem to be an option. And as Miss West had said, he could control so little, he might as well choose his manner of fighting. And he\u2019d better choose well.<\/p>\n<p>He swung his legs around and stood up, shakily at first. It felt a little odd to be on his feet after lying down for so long. But after a few steps he managed to get his balance, and he went out to the porch. He sat there in the dark, wrapped in the blanket he\u2019d taken with him until the sky slowly began to lighten and the sun slipped up into the sky. The door opened behind him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow are you feeling?\u201d Miss West asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBetter.\u201d In more ways than one. She sat next to him, and there were a few minutes of silence before Joe broke it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was wondering if you could let me keep that book for a little while longer so I can finish it.\u201d He said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI should probably be going home today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWill you be alright?\u201d\u201cYes.\u201d He wasn\u2019t sure about that one, but maybe if he believed it enough it would happen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTake it easy then; you still need plenty of rest.\u201d She paused, as if unsure about whether or not to say what she wanted to. \u201cOnce you\u2019re better, will I be seeing you in school again?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Joe took a deep breath. What would he do if he didn\u2019t go to school? As Miss Ellie had said, he\u2019d stay working in this town until he rotted. It was a long shot, but if he wanted out of this town, he needed to be ready. So he nodded. \u201cYes, you will.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After all, who knew what fate had in store for him?<\/p>\n<p>The End<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_7449\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"7449\" style=\"\"><i class=\"pvc-stats-icon medium\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" version=\"1.0\" viewBox=\"0 0 502 315\" preserveAspectRatio=\"xMidYMid meet\"><g transform=\"translate(0,332) scale(0.1,-0.1)\" fill=\"\" stroke=\"none\"><path d=\"M2394 3279 l-29 -30 -3 -207 c-2 -182 0 -211 15 -242 39 -76 157 -76 196 0 15 31 17 60 15 243 l-3 209 -33 29 c-26 23 -41 29 -80 29 -41 0 -53 -5 -78 -31z\"\/><path d=\"M3085 3251 c-45 -19 -58 -50 -96 -229 -47 -217 -49 -260 -13 -295 52 -53 146 -42 177 20 16 31 87 366 87 410 0 70 -86 122 -155 94z\"\/><path d=\"M1751 3234 c-13 -9 -29 -31 -37 -50 -12 -29 -10 -49 21 -204 19 -94 39 -189 45 -210 14 -50 54 -80 110 -80 34 0 48 6 76 34 21 21 34 44 34 59 0 14 -18 113 -40 219 -37 178 -43 195 -70 221 -36 32 -101 37 -139 11z\"\/><path d=\"M1163 3073 c-36 -7 -73 -59 -73 -102 0 -56 133 -378 171 -413 34 -32 83 -37 129 -13 70 36 67 87 -16 290 -86 209 -89 214 -129 231 -35 14 -42 15 -82 7z\"\/><path d=\"M3689 3066 c-15 -9 -33 -30 -42 -48 -48 -103 -147 -355 -147 -375 0 -98 131 -148 192 -74 13 15 57 108 97 206 80 196 84 226 37 273 -30 30 -99 39 -137 18z\"\/><path d=\"M583 2784 c-38 -19 -67 -74 -58 -113 9 -42 211 -354 242 -373 16 -10 45 -18 66 -18 51 0 107 52 107 100 0 39 -1 41 -124 234 -80 126 -108 162 -133 173 -41 17 -61 16 -100 -3z\"\/><path d=\"M4250 2784 c-14 -9 -74 -91 -133 -183 -95 -150 -107 -173 -107 -213 0 -55 33 -94 87 -104 67 -13 90 8 211 198 130 202 137 225 78 284 -27 27 -42 34 -72 34 -22 0 -50 -8 -64 -16z\"\/><path d=\"M2275 2693 c-553 -48 -1095 -270 -1585 -649 -135 -104 -459 -423 -483 -476 -23 -49 -22 -139 2 -186 73 -142 361 -457 571 -626 285 -228 642 -407 990 -497 242 -63 336 -73 660 -74 310 0 370 5 595 52 535 111 1045 392 1455 803 122 121 250 273 275 326 19 41 19 137 0 174 -41 79 -309 363 -465 492 -447 370 -946 591 -1479 653 -113 14 -422 18 -536 8z m395 -428 c171 -34 330 -124 456 -258 112 -119 167 -219 211 -378 27 -96 24 -300 -5 -401 -72 -255 -236 -447 -474 -557 -132 -62 -201 -76 -368 -76 -167 0 -236 14 -368 76 -213 98 -373 271 -451 485 -162 444 86 934 547 1084 153 49 292 57 452 25z m909 -232 c222 -123 408 -262 593 -441 76 -74 138 -139 138 -144 0 -16 -233 -242 -330 -319 -155 -123 -309 -223 -461 -299 l-81 -41 32 46 c18 26 49 83 70 128 143 306 141 649 -6 957 -25 52 -61 116 -79 142 l-34 47 45 -20 c26 -10 76 -36 113 -56z m-2057 25 c-40 -58 -105 -190 -130 -263 -110 -324 -59 -707 132 -981 25 -35 42 -64 37 -64 -19 0 -241 119 -326 174 -188 122 -406 314 -532 468 l-58 71 108 103 c185 178 428 349 672 473 66 33 121 60 123 61 2 0 -10 -19 -26 -42z\"\/><path d=\"M2375 1950 c-198 -44 -350 -190 -395 -379 -18 -76 -8 -221 19 -290 114 -284 457 -406 731 -260 98 52 188 154 231 260 27 69 37 214 19 290 -38 163 -166 304 -326 360 -67 23 -215 33 -279 19z\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/i> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/plugins\/page-views-count\/ajax-loader-2x.gif?resize=16%2C16&#038;ssl=1\" border=0 \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Summary: This story looks at Joe&#8217;s early life based on the events told in The Wheels of Fate and how it was for him growing up outside of the Ponderosa&#8217;s protective wing. Alone as a boy Joe deals with rejection, prejudice, and loneliness. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Rated:\u00a0 T (12, 230 words)<\/p>\n<p>The Wheels of Fate Series, links to all the stories within the series included.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":216,"featured_media":14681,"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_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2,7,23,30],"tags":[16],"class_list":["post-7449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-actionadventure","category-a-u","category-drama","category-prequels","tag-joe","wpcat-2-id","wpcat-7-id","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-30-id"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":3268,"today_views":5},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/images.jpg?fit=275%2C183&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2897,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=2897","url_meta":{"origin":7449,"position":0},"title":"Terror of the Night (by frasrgrl)","author":"frasrgrl","date":"June 16, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0\u00a0Little Joe has a nightmare.\u00a0 Rated: T (750 words)","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Chaps and Spurs&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Chaps and Spurs","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=39"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/normal_TQoM2-JC11.jpg?fit=400%2C320&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12136,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=12136","url_meta":{"origin":7449,"position":1},"title":"The Rebirth of Joe Cartwright (by DebbieB)","author":"DebbieB","date":"August 1, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"DebbieB passed away Christmas 2021. Any reader wishing to read this story should e:mail the Brandsters:\u00a0 Brandsters2020@gmail.com","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Drama&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Drama","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/feature-2.jpg?fit=338%2C338&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7118,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=7118","url_meta":{"origin":7449,"position":2},"title":"A Sacrifice of Love (by Rona)","author":"Rona","date":"September 11, 2002","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: \u00a0When a man from Ben's past returns, the Cartwrights are plagued by accidents. After Adam is badly injured, Ben decides to do something about it. But the worst is yet to come. Rated:\u00a0 T (9,840 words)","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Drama&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Drama","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Ben-and-Adam-1.png?fit=629%2C435&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Ben-and-Adam-1.png?fit=629%2C435&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Ben-and-Adam-1.png?fit=629%2C435&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13939,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=13939","url_meta":{"origin":7449,"position":3},"title":"To Be or Not to Be (by Susan G)","author":"SusanG","date":"December 12, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0 A traveling medicine show arrives in Virginia City. Word Count: \u00a038,000 \u00a0Rated: \u00a0T","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Drama&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Drama","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12135,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=12135","url_meta":{"origin":7449,"position":4},"title":"Prelude to Rebirth (by DebbieB)","author":"DebbieB","date":"August 1, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"DebbieB passed away Christmas 2021. Any reader wishing to read this story should e:mail the Brandsters:\u00a0 Brandsters2020@gmail.com","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Drama&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Drama","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/4Cs.jpg?fit=400%2C401&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7350,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=7350","url_meta":{"origin":7449,"position":5},"title":"Seafarer Blood (by Sibylle)","author":"Sibylle","date":"May 7, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: \u00a0It\u00b4s a\u00a0brief\u00a0glimpse\u00a0at a time Joe needs his oldest brother to prevent him\u00a0from a big mistake. \u00a0 Rated:\u00a0K \u00a0WC 600","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Adam \/ Joe&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Adam \/ Joe","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=1091"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7449","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\/216"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7449"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7449\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}