Chapter Ten

Adam and Hoss had both tried and Annie had even threatened to get Tiny to physically remove him to the other room to rest, but Ben had refused all suggestions that he leave his son until he knew for certain he would be alright. Adam had reluctantly taken turns to catch some sleep after Hoss had all but manhandled him out of the room the day before. He had to admit that his arm throbbed intensely and the painkillers the doctor had left were helping some, but each time he hauled himself back into Joe's room, nothing had changed. Joe was far too pale and he seemed so very small and fragile under the mound of blankets that Annie had tucked around him. The doctor had said to keep him warm so they would keep him warm. The doctor had also advised them to pray and Adam knew he'd used every prayer he knew, including a few thinly coated bribes. Joe would have hated Adam's evaluation as he stared down at his youngest brother, but right there he looked like a small child again. Adam did a double-take as he could not reconcile what he was seeing with what he knew of Joe.

The boy who lay so quietly in the bed was not his brother. He was never totally still as his boundless energy just kept him in an almost constant state of motion. Even when he sat and played checkers, his boot was drumming time against the table leg or his hands were flicking pieces back and forth across his knuckles in a trick that Hoss had taught him. His mind was a whirl of activity that often preceded what Adam considered his hare-brained schemes. Little Joe was never still. Even in sleep, he seemed to be in a state of motion. The bedding would be half off the bed by the time he awoke in the morning and Adam smiled softly as he recalled many nights where he had tucked his brother into bed all over again after Joe had destroyed it. He had teased his brother and called him a hurricane, but the truth was, Joe was never still and Adam felt his chest constrict in physical pain.

"We need to move him onto his side again. Stop him getting those bedsores the doctor warned us about."

Adam glanced up to see Annie beside him and he nodded as she pulled back the blankets. His father was asleep in the chair beside the bed and he hoped to do what they needed to do without waking him. The man might seem indestructible, but every man had a breaking point and he was worried his father was edging closer to his.

He gently gripped at Joe's arms, trying to lift him without hurting him and eased him from his back onto his side. A mop of hair dropped across his face as he seemed to slide down into the pillow and Adam slid his hand under Joe's cheek to lift his head back up. He thought at first that he'd imagined it, but then he heard it again. The faintest whisper of a word had him kneeling on the floor with his face only inches from his brother's.

"Joe, c'mon little buddy, say that again." His own voice wavered as he tried to draw something more.

"A'am?"

"Yeah, Joe … I'm right here." A sob caught in his throat as he saw Joe's eyes flicker open briefly. He felt his father's hand gripping tightly onto his shoulder and he edged away a little to allow him room.

"Joseph?" Ben leaned over Adam's shoulder and held on tightly. He wasn't sure if he was giving encouragement or trying to keep himself steady, but either way he held on.

"Pa."

It was the one word he'd almost allowed himself to believe he'd never hear again from his youngest son and Ben reached out a hand. Adam was reluctant to let go, but he knew he was relinquishing his brother into the best of hands and he smiled as his father leaned down and lifted Joe into an embrace. Ben settled himself on the edge of the bed and allowed tears to run unchecked down his cheeks as he whispered something into the curls that were squashed up beneath his chin.

Adam felt Annie slip an arm around his waist and he returned the hug with gratitude. He saw tears in her eyes and he grinned at her as she smiled back.

It would be almost another day before Joe was really awake again and Adam noted that the change in his father was astounding. Hope was a powerful force and it could override all manner of things, including exhaustion. Of course, a sound few hours of sleep had helped, but nobody was going to challenge his father on that point again.

In the time in between, where Joe slept for long hours at a time, conversation had taken another turn. Where before it was stilted and focused on immediate need, suddenly it opened up and stories were shared. Tiny explained his first sight of Joe and the mixture of defiance and fear as the boy had boldly offered his services in exchange for his horse's needs.

"I knew right off there was somethin' about him. Cared more about that horse o' his than he did for himself."

Ben nodded as he could envisage what Tiny was describing. "When he first got Cochise, he spent the first two nights in the barn with him. I made him go to bed and during the night he dragged a blanket out there and bedded down in the stall with him." He chuckled at the memory as he had tried to sound stern when he'd found his son sound asleep in the straw, twice.

"Pa threatened to feed him raw oats for breakfast if he insisted on bein' a horse!"

As more tales of his little brother flowed across the room, Adam sat on the window ledge and was barely listening. His arm ached and he wrapped a hand around his elbow as if he could hold off the throbbing. His conversation with the big man had risen up several times and he looked across the room once again. Guilt still nibbled at the edges of his mind and each time he made eye contact with the man, he saw the same thing in his eyes. It wasn't until Joe had actually woken up for real and proven he was on the mend that either of them seemed willing to really let it go.

"Of course, it's his poor teacher I pitied the most." Ben laughed as he recalled some of the parent and teacher conversations he'd had over the years.

"I had boys like that in my classroom. They were the ones I loved the most because they showed the most passion for life. Not everything is measured in a report card, you know."

Hoss looked up to see Annie smiling at them. "You were a teacher, Miss Annie?"

"Many years ago. Before I came here and married Tiny. And even then, this town once had enough children for a school house." The memory seemed to cause her pain and Hoss looked across at her husband. His face was a neutral mask and he wondered what they were missing.

"What happened? To the town, I mean. There are so many empty buildings."

"The mine closed. Simple as that." Tiny rubbed a hand across the back of his neck as he joined in the conversation. "The town of Sunset is dyin'. Pretty name, but sad story. The mine closed after the owner went bust and people have been driftin' out ever since."

"But you chose to stay here. You must see some future in the town." Ben realised he was treading on sensitive ground and he stepped carefully.

"Our past is here. Neither of us wants ta go nowhere else."

It was clearly all they were going to get and Ben allowed the subject to drop. It would be another conversation on another day where Annie told him that their son was buried in the town cemetery. Another victim of a flu epidemic that was so much worse when there were no doctors willing to help. She smiled a sad smile as she explained that she would never ask Tiny to leave his boy behind and Ben had nodded in total understanding. It was a hard thing for a father to bury a son.

Joe lay on his side, propped up on a couple of pillows and watched intently as Hoss and Tiny squared up to each other. He'd seen Hoss take on any and all comers and had never seen anybody beat his brother before. With an extra couple of inches and a good few pounds on him, Tiny was shaping up to be the first. Annie ran her hands over her husband's shoulders and did an impromptu massage, as if warming him up for the challenge.

"Hey, Hoss."

Hoss turned to see Joe smirking at him.

"You need Adam to give you a warm up too?"

"Ain't never needed one before, little brother."

Adam grinned at the look on Joe's face and felt his own mood lifting. It was the first genuine spark he had seen in days and he could not look away.

Hoss leaned his elbow on the table and clenched his fist opened and closed a few times. He twisted his neck from side to side and popped his knuckles before leaning his elbow down again and taking Tiny's hand in his. The arm-wrestling match had come out of comment that Joe had made about his brother and both men had jumped at the chance to bring a smile to Joe's face.

"You ready to get crushed?" Tiny grinned at his opponent and Hoss narrowed his eyes.

"Ain't gonna happen."

As the two men grasped at each other's hand, Joe called out again.

"C'mon Hoss! You got this."

For the better part of five minutes, the two of them grappled against each other. The competition ebbed and flowed as both men tried to force the other one into submission. Hoss wasn't used to any such competition taking so long and he screwed his face up in concentration. Behind him, Joe kept up a running encouragement. Suddenly Hoss felt his hand being crushed and he frowned as his hand went the opposite way to where he thought it was going.

"Yeehaa! Hoss! You did it! I knew you could, brother!" The sheer elation in Joe's voice made Hoss turn back and grin at him before he turned back and frowned at Tiny. The big man shook his head slightly before he raised a two-fingered salute to his forehead.

"Well, don't that beat all, Annie? First time anybody done took me down and in my own back yard too."

Annie reached across and kissed him on the cheek as he rose from the chair. "Well you'll always be my hero."

"Good enough for me. Now I need to get on down to the livery and see that them animals is fed and watered."

"Let me give ya a hand with that. Least I can do." Hoss rose too and pushed his chair back in. As the two men made their way out into the street, Hoss stopped in his tracks. Tiny turned back to look at him and smiled slightly as he knew what was coming.

"Now s'pose you wanna tell me why you did that?"

"Did what?"

Hoss snorted back at him and shook his head. "You and I both know I didn't win that match. You forced my arm down to make it look like I won. Don't know if I coulda taken you down, but now I'll never know."

Tiny crossed his arms across his chest and pursed his lips. Finally he thumbed his hand over his shoulder and turned to move. "Let's keep movin'." It was a few more minutes before he continued on again. "That brother o' yours has got three heroes in his life. Your pa, your older brother and you. I ain't about to take away any o' his heroes."

"But bein' a hero is more than winnin' a wrestlin' match!"

"Course it is. But that boy's been through a tough time and he needs his big brother ta stay his hero for a mite longer."

Hoss nodded as he walked. He'd talked with Adam and both of them felt they'd let Joe down so badly. If he could restore something in his brother, then he'd do that in whatever way it took. Including taking credit for a thrown challenge.

Joe felt a lump forming in his throat as he halted at the threshold of the barn. It had been almost a month since he'd returned home and while his body was healed, his mind was still carrying the scars of his ordeal. The three Hamilton brothers were no threat any more and Roy had assured him that no charges were hanging over his head. Ed Longman had seen to it that any kind of slur against Joe was as dead and buried as Stan Hamilton was. The night Ben had told Joe that Ed and Becky were on their way over, Joe had wanted to object. He wanted to head back upstairs and bury himself in the bed he'd fought so hard to be allowed out of. The man's wild fury still haunted him and he half expected the father to come barreling through the door with a shotgun aimed his way. The meeting had been far more civil than he'd anticipated and he'd been shocked to see Becky's father twisting his hat in his hand and trying desperately to apologise. Becky had tears in her eyes as she watched him squirm and finally she had crossed the room and kissed Joe on the cheek. Her demeanor had changed and she seemed older somehow. The air of innocence was gone and he felt it keenly. Without realising immediately what it was, he later considered that his had been stripped away too. He might not be as grown up as he had once thought he was, but he would never again be the boy he had once been either.

"You going in or are you going to keep your date waiting?" Adam's voice broke through his thoughts and Joe jumped.

"I don't have a date!"

"Sure you don't. I saw Becky in the mercantile yesterday and she blushed a lovely shade of pink when I mentioned the dance. And your name."

"She's not my date." Joe tried again, but realised his brothers would only tease him more if he didn't suck it up and walk through the door. The sound of music carried through the night and increased in intensity as he finally tugged the door open.

Hoss winked at Adam as the two brothers watched their little brother make his way across the room. Not for the first time, he drew admiring glances from many angles and Adam tipped his hat back on his head as he groaned.

"How many potential dates does one little brother need?"

Hoss laughed at him as he pointed towards the back end of the room. "Just one. One right pretty one with red hair and freckles."

The band struck up a lively tune and before long, many couples were out on the floor. Joe found himself caught up in the atmosphere of the room as he pulled Becky along beside him. Her hair was pinned in a simple style and he could not take his eyes off her as she spun past him. The smattering of freckles across her nose still called out to him like some kind of siren and he eventually found himself edging her into an alcove. His heart was pounding wildly as he looked around for her father and noted the man was deep in conversation across the room. It seemed he was no longer concerned about leaving his daughter in Joe's hands.

Maybe he should have been.

Joe climbed up onto his horse and smiled as his father followed suit. It felt good knowing that by the end of the day they'd be delivering some very welcome news to some very good friends.

It was a fine day for riding and the four riders enjoyed the time together as well as the purpose for the trip. The last time any of them had set out from home had almost ended with tragedy and each of them seemed caught up in their own thoughts as they rode.

"Pa?"

"Yes, Son."

Joe swallowed the thick lump that almost kept him from breathing and he looked across at his father riding beside him.

"I never said I'm sorry."

"Sorry?"

"For running … instead of coming home."

There had been many parts of the story that had come out in various ways, but Ben had hung back on this particular part. Joe had kept it tucked tight to his chest and his father figured it would come out in its own good time. He held his tongue as he waited.

"It wasn't that I …" Joe twisted his reins in his hands as he struggled to find the right words. He trusted his family, but something had driven him away from them instead of towards them. "It all happened so fast. Becky was so upset and then her father … and I just figured that nobody would believe me. I wasn't really thinking. He said they'd take my brothers outta revenge and I just …" Joe found he could barely breathe as he remembered the look of pure hatred on Stan Hamilton's face.

"And you believed a credible threat." Ben watched his son try to compose himself and he continued on. "As it turned out, you were right. Those men were capable of hunting you down and trying to kill your brothers. If you'd come home, we could have faced it together, Son."

"I know." Joe hung his head in misery.

"Joseph … while we are being honest and open here ... we may not have believed they were a credible threat. So before you go carrying any more guilt or tormenting yourself any further, things could have gone very badly if you had come back too."

Joe lifted his head to stare back at his father. He hadn't considered that point at all.

"Son, I'm just profoundly grateful you found a man who did right by you and I'm proud of you that twice you stepped in to help somebody in spite of the danger you faced. By all the ways that I measure a man, that counts for a lot."

Joe felt his cheeks flaring as he took in his father's praise. It wasn't the way he would have chosen to receive it, but it carried enormous weight nonetheless.

It would be hours later that the four of them sat around a table in the small dining room of the Sunset Hotel. It felt surreal to be back in the building and Joe smiled across the table at familiar faces. Tiny and Annie had rounded up a handful of locals, including Matt Sanders and sat and listened as Ben outlined his plan.

"I have a consortium of backers who are interested in this project, but we want local input and ideas. This is your town. You know what you need most."

Joe sat and listened as the conversation flowed back and forth. Hope was moving for the first time in a long time and he smiled as he saw his father in his element. He could not have anticipated what would happen when he pulled his tired horse into the small town of Sunset all those weeks ago. The changes the town had wrought in him. The shift in his relationship with his brothers. New found friends who felt like family. Hope being restored as the plan to re-open the mine was unveiled. He knew his father would do whatever it took to bring the plan to fruition and he knew why. He smiled again as Adam stepped up to talk about assay results and timber shoring and new mining practices and things that bored him to tears, but brought his brother to life. Hoss sat with his hands across his belly as he considered the fine meal he'd just devoured. He glanced across to see Joe smiling at him and he grinned back.

By the time the meeting concluded and people slowly drifted out of the hotel, Joe was outside, leaning up against the hitching rail. He stared up into the night sky and noted the stars overhead. The mud had long since dried up, but the main street still bore the scars of deep wheel ruts. There was not enough traffic to smooth out the road, but that could soon change. The derelict town could soon live again. He nodded a thank you to the heavens as he thought back over all that had happened. A dastardly act had almost destroyed a young girl's life and the follow on consequences could have destroyed many lives. Instead, a town was about to be given a new life. He was lost in thought when he felt heavy footsteps behind him and he knew who was there.

A hand dropped onto the back of his neck and he smiled into the darkness. "Well boy, seems that pa o' yours is gonna bring a miracle to this place. I never could leave here, 'slong as Annie's heart was tied to our young'un. Couldn't make her leave our boy behind. Now she don't have to ever worry about that again. We'll be in your family's debt forever, I reckon."

"No. The debt is mine." Joe turned to see his father and brothers behind them with Annie on Ben's arm. "You gave me a gift that no amount of money could ever repay."

Joe smiled as he considered his father's heartfelt words. Tiny squeezed his shoulder, suddenly uncomfortable under the scrutiny and praise.

"If this one ever gives ya any more trouble, you send him right on back here. I could do with a new apprentice once folks start movin' inta town."

"So, we could just let you ride off into the sunset after all." Adam grinned at him as Joe threw a mock punch.

"You'd miss me too much!"

"Maybe." He shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe not."

Ben patted Annie's hand as he chuckled at the comments going back and forth. "I think the more things change, the more they stay the same!"

"So were you serious before when you said you want to re-open the school?" Adam had heard her talking about it, but not spoken directly about it.

"Well, this town is going to need one don't you think?"

"I think this town is going to need a whole lot of things. Just as soon as we get back home and get this thing rolling."

As the four of them rode out in the early light of the next dawn, Ben looked back over his shoulder once more. He thanked God his son had found this forgotten town and he smiled at the irony of it all. The sunrise brought new hope to a little town called Sunset.

Well, that's all folks. I managed to get "dastardly" in there after all for SierraGirlBZ and I hope that Criminally Charmed approved of the arm-wrestle. Sorry, but I just couldn't wangle Muttley as much as he tried to sneak in! Thank you so very much for your kindness and encouragement along the way. Thank you to anonymous reviewers that I can't reply to. I always think a good story needs good OCs and I'm glad you liked mine enough to take them to heart. Having said that, I'm working on a sequel to Prodigal Sons that is based on Harry's revelations about a plot against him and how a certain other big brother might be needed to help out. Yes, Joe and Stacey are back, and we'll see how things pan out with them. It's not behaving itself yet as far as a plotline goes, but hopefully it won't be too far off.