{"id":7633,"date":"2014-02-25T12:45:51","date_gmt":"2014-02-25T17:45:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=7633"},"modified":"2026-07-31T08:27:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T12:27:18","slug":"sweeter-than-pie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=7633","title":{"rendered":"Sweeter Than Pie (by DJK)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary:\u00a0<\/span>A simple vignette about Little Joe, a girl, and a watchful big brother.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rated:<\/span> K+ Word\u00a0count:\u00a0<\/span> 624<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sweeter Than Pie
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\n

He swallowed hard and managed to get the last bite of dry, overly sour apple pie down his throat. He set down the plate with a smile. Of course, the smile came more from relief than pleasure, but Susannah wouldn\u2019t know that. So, the pie was sour, <\/em>Little Joe thought and shrugged. I didn\u2019t buy her basket for the pie anyway. What I\u2019m after is sure to be sweet!<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cDid ya like it, Little Joe?\u201d Susannah leaned forward setting the curls around her face bouncing gently. Her pansy eyes sparkled, and her voice tinkled like bells.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Reaching out and taking her hand in his, Little Joe Cartwright answered smoothly. \u201cCould anything touched by this be less than angel sweet?\u201d He lifted her hand, turned it upward, and pressed his lips to her palm. \u201cMmm, even better.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNow, Little Joe,\u201d she murmured tugging back her hand but not hard enough to make him release it. \u201cSomebody might be watching.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He was on his feet in one swift move still holding her hand in his. \u201cThen let\u2019s walk a little further on.\u201d He had her on her feet and his arm around her waist before she finished saying, \u201cLittle Joe, if my pa. . .\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Little Joe leaned close and whispered into her ear, \u201cHas me horsewhipped, you can tend my wounds and kiss them better.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Her blush deepened the pink of her cheeks, but she kept walking until they found deep shadows and the cover of sweet-smelling lilac bushes. He wrapped his arms around her and managed three kisses before he felt the tug on his collar and surrendered to its pull.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHoss will be walking Susannah back to her folks.\u201d Since Adam\u2019s hand was still on his collar and Hoss had already taken Susannah\u2019s arm, Little Joe let his elder brother\u2019s statement go unchallenged. Susannah gave him one lingering look over her shoulder as she walked away. When they were out of sight, Adam released his hold on Little Joe.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll wait a few minutes before returning.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Little Joe sent Adam a petulant glare. \u201cYou just had to do that, didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam\u2019s answer was simple and direct. \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou just waited and watched.\u201d It was an accusation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI know you well, little brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t. . .\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cEver think. Her father is a church deacon and swings a fifty pound hammer all day.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Little Joe\u2019s body slumped with his attitude. \u201cI spent three dollars on her basket.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you got three kisses in return; it seems a fair deal to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Little Joe realized the import of his brother’s words, studied Adam\u2019s face, and noted the absence of any anger. \u201cYou gonna tell Pa?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He cocked his head. \u201cBecause you\u2019ve done the same?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Adam shook his head and put his finger over his lips. Then he slipped his arm around his little brother\u2019s shoulders. \u201cCome on. Let\u2019s get back.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Little Joe took a few steps before he mumbled, \u201cYou wouldn\u2019t think it so fair if you\u2019d had to eat Susannah\u2019s pie.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBad, was it?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cTerrible!\u201d Adam turned in time to see the expression on Little Joe\u2019s face. He laughed and slapped the boy\u2019s back. Little Joe returned a giggle.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOur basket\u2019s got one of Hop Sing\u2019s peach pies. Of course there\u2019s only one piece left.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cRace ya for it!\u201d Little Joe took off before the words left his mouth. Adam smiled for a second and then dashed after him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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

Summary:\u00a0A simple vignette about Little Joe, a girl, and a watchful big brother.<\/p>\n

Rated:\u00a0K+\u00a0 Word count:\u00a0 624<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":143,"featured_media":4674,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-full-width-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[1091,23,4,3,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adam-joe","category-drama","category-humor","category-romance","category-short-stories","wpcat-1091-id","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-4-id","wpcat-3-id","wpcat-8-id"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/gooseberry-pie.jpg?fit=300%2C235&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7633","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\/143"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7633\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}