Chapter Text
"Joe?" Adam yelled. He paused for a response, but when none came he pulled on his boots and stormed out the front door. It was ten o'clock, far past Little Joe's bedtime, and the troublesome child was missing again. Adam paused outside the barn, where he always looked first whenever Joe disappeared, and took a deep breath to force his annoyance from his face. Slowly, so as not to disturb the animals inside, Adam stepped into the barn.
The silhouette of his youngest brother could just be seen beside the shadow of his pony. Joe's little boy hands reached up and tugged at the reins, as if he were about to mount.
"Joe."
Joe jumped at the sound of Adam's voice, spinning around to face his oldest brother. "I wasn't doing anything," he said quickly, yanking the reins behind his back and making the pony neigh in surprise.
Adam sighed, crossing the space between them with carefully measured steps. It had been three days since Pa had gone for Sacramento, leaving twenty-two-year-old Adam to take care of things. This wasn't the first time he had stepped in when Ben had had to leave, but this was the longest amount of time Adam had ever had to be in charge. Joe was rebelling, which was nothing new, but Adam was finding it harder and harder to keep his patience with his ten-year-old brother.
"Come on now," Adam said, keeping his voice light. "You can tell me."
Joe looked skeptical, his green eyes narrowed cautiously. "You'll get mad."
"Maybe," Adam admitted. "But maybe I won't. Maybe I'll be happy."
The boy paused, looking anywhere but Adam's face, fiddling with the reins. "I just wanted to help, honest."
"Help what?" Adam pressed, though he was pretty sure he knew.
Joe glanced up, and Adam almost laughed at the look he read in his brother's face. It was the look of a child who knows more than the adults think he does. A look that said clearly I know you know, and I know you just want me to say it.
"Help catch the robbers," he finally answered, a slightly annoyed edge in his voice. "You and Hoss were out all day, and Hoss isn't that much older than me."
"You helped us look," Adam pointed out.
"I rode with Hoss," his brother corrected. "It's not the same. I want to help look! It doesn't do any good to ride with Hoss—he's a better tracker than anyone else. I won't find anything that he doesn't already see."
Well, he's right there, Adam admitted silently. "Then you can ride with me."
"You can track too," Joe frowned. "And so can the Sheriff. And so can I! I found that fox, didn't I? I tracked it!"
"Sure you did," Adam soothed, deciding not to bring up the fact that the fox had been shot and had left a very obvious trail of scarlet through a field of untouched snow. "I know you can track, it's just that…"
The boy's chin rose, his green eyes hard, as if knowing what Adam was thinking and daring him to say it. When he didn't, Joe said it for him. "Just that I'm too little."
Adam inhaled, trying to buy time to think of some other way to word it. He couldn't. "It's only for your own safety. You know that, don't you? I couldn't do anything when I was your age either, and neither could Hoss. But we can now. It made us mad, too, but there was nothing we could do but wait. Don't worry; in no time at all you'll be riding off all alone, and no one will tell you you're too little."
Hoping fervently that his answer would pacify his little brother, Adam patted Joe's shoulder and steered him toward the barn door. "And see? You got to stay up later than Hoss. He's already in bed!"
"I didn't get to stay up later, I just did." Joe pointed out sullenly, allowing himself to be directed out the door. He'd already defied Adam's authority by staying up and sneaking out (even if Adam did find him), and bed didn't seem like such a terrible sentence. Besides, there was always tomorrow. Maybe he could talk Hoss into helping him.
Adam could practically hear the wheels in his youngest brother's head turning, but he stayed silent. It was just the way that Joe was, and he really didn't mean any harm by it. Besides, there was always tomorrow. Maybe he could talk Hoss into helping him.
"Good night, Joe," Adam said, pushing him gently into his room. "Don't forget to clean up before you get into bed."
"I know." Joe tried to sound irritated while stifling a yawn. "G'night."
With a sigh, Adam shut his brother's door and prayed that Pa would be home soon.