{"id":894,"date":"2003-04-19T15:25:50","date_gmt":"2003-04-19T19:25:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=894"},"modified":"2025-02-27T12:08:05","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T17:08:05","slug":"fulfilling-the-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=894","title":{"rendered":"Fulfilling the Legacy (by the Tahoe Ladies)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"label\">Summary:\u00a0 <\/span>A WHN for &#8216;The Legacy&#8217;<br \/>\n<span class=\"label\">Rated:<\/span> K\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Word Count:\u00a0 500<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Fulfilling the Legacy<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>from the 5th Season and the episode &#8220;The Legacy&#8230;&#8230;..<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The sun was burning off the night&#8217;s chill as I rode into the yard, my father&#8217;s prized rifle in my hand. Pa, Adam, Hoss and the peddler Roy Coffee had told me saved my father&#8217;s life came out into the yard to greet me &#8211; a cautious, fearful welcoming home. I could read it in their faces &#8211; all of them &#8211; but most predominantly in Pa&#8217;s. I gave him the words I had been practicing on the ride home from the sheriff&#8217;s office.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;No one needed killing any more than Billy Chapin but I couldn&#8217;t do it. Maybe because of whose gun it was but I couldn&#8217;t pull the trigger.&#8221; I prayed he would accept the words at face value. They were true but not the complete truth. They did take the fear out of my father&#8217;s eyes, his body seeming to sag to one side as he favored his wound. I looked over his shoulder into the eyes of my brothers and saw something else there. As Pa moved away to talk to the peddler, we three Cartwright brothers moved closer.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Pa was plenty worried about you, little brother,&#8221; Hoss murmured as he stared down at the rifle he held in his own hands &#8211; hands I saw were trembling slightly.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Afraid that you wouldn&#8217;t follow the lessons he&#8217;d taught you . . . us.&#8221; The tone Adam used was guarded, soft, yet he held my eye firmly.<\/p>\n<p>For several long heartbeats our eyes met. I could see the fear, the exhaustion and the sheltered secret in theirs. They saw the same in mine. I am sure. &#8220;You too?&#8221; I whispered.<\/p>\n<p>Pa&#8217;s chuckle made us turn as one and watch as the peddler&#8217;s wagon moved out of the yard. Thankfully, he stayed where he was, not coming back to us until the wagon had rumbled passed the barn.<\/p>\n<p>That was all the time we three brothers needed. The answer to my cryptic question wasn&#8217;t given in words. It didn&#8217;t need to be. It was somewhere deeper than sound. It was in our blood.<\/p>\n<p>With sagging shoulders and tired feet, we all turned to go into the house and I moved away from Pa, not wanting his hand to touch me. I couldn&#8217;t have kept the blood-bourne secret if he&#8217;d touched me.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, all three of us had held to our father&#8217;s teachings. There had been no soul-satisfying revenge inflicted upon the men each had thought responsible for his death. We had done as he had taught us &#8211; let the law handle it. Yet that had been secondary.<\/p>\n<p>First had come the response we carried in our souls as a family. We were brothers.<\/p>\n<p>And the only reason our prey had gone to the law was that blood-bourne secret held by each of us. We couldn&#8217;t kill our man &#8211; the man we truly believed responsible for our father&#8217;s death- without our other brothers there to watch him die.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The end<\/p>\n<div class=\"pvc_clear\"><\/div>\n<p id=\"pvc_stats_894\" class=\"pvc_stats all  \" data-element-id=\"894\" 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:\u00a0 A WHN for &#8216;The Legacy&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Rated: K\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Word Count:\u00a0 500<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":902,"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":[23,8,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-short-stories","category-whn","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-8-id","wpcat-13-id"],"a3_pvc":{"activated":true,"total_views":2502,"today_views":1},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Pdvd_028.jpg?fit=720%2C576&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":46841,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=46841","url_meta":{"origin":894,"position":0},"title":"The First Day of Spring (by Adamfan16)","author":"Preserving Their Legacy Author","date":"December 6, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0This is an expanded Bonanza Bit I did this spring, to the title prompt. Adam deals with homesickness while away at college. Rating:\u00a0 G Words:\u00a0 550","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Adam Cartwright&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Adam Cartwright","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=1005"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45159,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=45159","url_meta":{"origin":894,"position":1},"title":"Someone Watching (by VRON)","author":"Preserving Their Legacy Author","date":"March 25, 2000","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: A brief and fanciful 'what if'. Rating:\u00a0 \u00a0G\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Words:\u00a0 1,240","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Adam \/ Joe&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Adam \/ Joe","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=1091"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":38608,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=38608","url_meta":{"origin":894,"position":2},"title":"He&#8217;s Gone (by Annie K Cowgirl)","author":"Annie K Cowgirl","date":"March 1, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: Joe's thoughts as he rides after Billy Chapin. A missing scene from\u00a0The Legacy. Rating: K+ Word Count: 575","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\/04\/Joe_Racing_Cochise.jpg?fit=840%2C725&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Joe_Racing_Cochise.jpg?fit=840%2C725&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Joe_Racing_Cochise.jpg?fit=840%2C725&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Joe_Racing_Cochise.jpg?fit=840%2C725&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":49897,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=49897","url_meta":{"origin":894,"position":3},"title":"Hoss&#8217; Meditation (by Katie)","author":"Preserving Their Legacy Author","date":"July 25, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary:\u00a0 I think we underestimated Hoss Cartwright Rating: G\u00a0 (690 words)","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Hoss Cartwright&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Hoss Cartwright","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=1006"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45166,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=45166","url_meta":{"origin":894,"position":4},"title":"Wash Day (by VRON)","author":"Preserving Their Legacy Author","date":"March 25, 2000","format":false,"excerpt":"Summary: Ben's thinking again and Hop Sing's doing the washing. Just what could go wrong? Rating:\u00a0 G\u00a0 \u00a0Words:\u00a0 1,365","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Family&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Family","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=1008"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":50559,"url":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=50559","url_meta":{"origin":894,"position":5},"title":"Night Guard (by Sadie Spinner)","author":"Preserving Their Legacy Author","date":"March 21, 2002","format":false,"excerpt":"Synopsis:\u00a0A young Adam is determined to take part in guarding his father's new herd of cattle. But is determination enough? Rating:\u00a0 G\u00a0 (1,025 words)","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Action\/Adventure&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Action\/Adventure","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?cat=2"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Preserving-Their-Legacy.png?fit=732%2C477&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/894","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\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/894\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}