joe's Guestbook

"Hey, my sweet boy," Marie said with excitement in her voice. Just hearing Joe's voice made her smile even more. Then she went on speaking to Little Joe using the same excitement in her voice. "How is my little Joey?" she asked him. "Is everything okay with you? Is Lynda still making you do things that you know I wouldn't approve of?" she asked him, knowing from his and Jennie's emails, that he was miserable. "And don't lie to me Little Joe," she said now using her stern and protective mother tone. "Because I will know if you are," she told him. "And you don't have to protect Lynda either. Both your father and LeRoy are going to take care of her, so you and your sister will be safe," she said with a smile now.

Andrew smiled as he liked hearing what Little Joe had to say. In the back of Andrew's mind, this really was a good day. Just him and his little brother riding their horses to town, talking and basically getting to know each other again. It made Andrew's heart smile with joy and swell with pride. Andrew also knew this was something that they wanted and this time, Andrew wasn't going to let anything come between him and Little Joe again. Andrew was silent as a couple of cars went past them, but Andrew didn't care, he was enjoying this ride with his brother on his beautiful, sunny day. Finally, Andrew began to speak to Joe, replying to everything that he had told him. "I know that school can be a lot, especially for someone like you, who well, has trouble focusing on things," Andrew said hoping that Joe didn't take offense to what he was saying. "But you have plenty of people to help you and I believe in you and I have faith in you that you can do it," he said with a smile on his face.

Then Andrew chuckled when he heard Joe say he'd seen his fair share of scrape knuckles and sore backs to know what he was in for. "Yeah, I guess Adam, Pa and I, plus the ranch hands, had come home plenty of times looking like we've been in a bar brawl," he said laughing. "But I can tell you right now, it's well worth it. Being out in the fresh air and wide-open sky and being alone with your thoughts," Andrew said as he looked away for a few minutes and then back at Joe. "That's what it's all about Joe," Andrew said. "And once you start working with us full time and not having to worry about school, then you will understand what I mean and, in some ways, it will make you a better person and man," he said with a smile as they were just now riding into town. Then Andrew went silent for a little bit as he looked around, enjoying the people talking and laughing before turning back to his brother.

"I'll give you then chance little brother, because like I said, I believe you can do it and I have faith in you," he told Joe. "But I want you to talk to Lynda and tell her what the plan is. I want you to promise her that you are going to try to see what she was trying to teach you about the value of money and how hard you can work to earn things rather than just having them handed it to you," he told Joe. "I'm not asking you to do this for me but do it for yourself. Let her see that even if you do get something handed to you, that you can take care of it as if you did buy it yourself," he added still in his big brother voice. Then Andrew smiled as they were now making their way through town. And even though he still had his big brother's voice on, it sounded much happier. "So little brother, where would you like to grab lunch?" he asked with a smile on his face.

Lynda smiled as she felt Joe leaning slowly into her to the point that he laid his forehead on her shoulder. Finally, she had earned his trust, and she planned to keep that trust, no matter how hard she had to work or what she had to do. After holding him for a little while, she felt him break the embrace and move back so that they were looking at each other deep in the eyes. Lynda then listened to everything that Joe had to say, and she couldn't help but smile proudly as she listened. Once he was done, she softly and gently began to reply to him, starting with him calling her mom sometimes. "I would like it if you called me mom from time to time. And this might sound a bit crazy, but I think that will make us a little more connect," she added with a sweet smile on her face. Then she went on to reply to the rest of what Joe had just told her. "I know you didn't mean what you said or even called me, and I don't want you to give it anymore thought about it," she told him as they turned and began to walk to the kitchen to get some ice cream.

As Joe went over to sit at the kitchen table, Lynda got the Rocky Road ice cream out and began to make a bowl for each of them. As she was doing this, she couldn't help but continue to speak about the rest of what Joe told her in the living room. "Joe, honey, when I look at you, I see a beautiful tree that is ready to grow and become a strong tree for the world to see," she told him honestly as she got both bowls of ice cream fixed and then began to put away the ice cream. Once she put the ice cream in the freezer, she grabbed the chocolate syrup and the maraschino cherries out of the fridge before turning back to Joe to finish her thoughts. "But before you can become that strong tree, you need to be watered and sheltered from the rain," she said as she took the cherries and syrup and placed it on the table. Then she went back and got a couple of spoons, stuck one in each bowl and then took them over to the table, placing one in front of Joe, while sitting across from him with the other. As Lynda put the chocolate syrup all over her ice cream and then covered it with cherries, she continued her thoughts.

"You can never have enough chocolate and cherries," she said getting a bit sided tracked. Then she went back to her train of thought. "Anyway, what I'm saying is you are going to learn a lot of lessons in your life to help you grow and I think today, was one of those lessons," she added. "And I am proud of you for coming to the realizations that you have come to," she added as she mixed her ice cream up before getting some on her spoon. She took a bite and slowly began to eat it but once her mouth was clear, she began to talk to him again. "As for the believing in family, well, that takes a bit of time, but I think you are on the right track and let me tell you, the more you lean on your family, especially when you start having those feelings and thoughts that you can't control, the more you see and believe in the power of family strength and love," she added. Then Lynda smiled as she then changed the subject. "But enough about all of that," she told him as she got another spoonful of ice cream. "Tell me, do you have any ideas on how you want your room?" she asked him as she ate the spoonful of ice cream while she waited for Joe to answer her.

Marie and LeRoy were in the shopping mall looking for gifts for Joe and Jennie when the thought of calling Joe popped into her mind. So, after going through a few more stores, they decided to hit the food court for a cold drink and maybe a snack. After ordering what she wanted, she told Gibbs that she was going to go find a table and call her kids just to make sure that they were safe and doing okay. Gibbs nodded and gave her a kiss and watched her go find a table. Once Marie found one, she pulled out her cell phone and went down to Joe's name. She hit the green call button and then placed the phone up to her ear and listened to Joe's cell phone ring, waiting patiently for her son to answer his cell phone.

"Oh, is that what it is?" Andrew asked with a laugh as he too was trying to catch his breath. And for the first time in a very long time, all the problems that Joe and Andrew faced had melted away and it was just like old times again. As they let the horses rest for a few minutes and they themselves were catching their breaths, Andrew managed to continue to speak to his little brother. "Well, Cochise is a fine horse indeed," Andy said with a chuckle as he was now starting to breathe a lot easier. "You did a good job of picking him out when he was just a colt," Andy said with a smile as they were soon on their way to town, now taking it slow and easy. "Say, you're getting really good with the colts," he told his little brother. "How would you like to earn some money by working with me this upcoming weekend with the new colts?" he asked Joe as they kept riding nice and slow as they were passing the sign showing the way to Viriginia City

Then Andrew went on to speak of what he just asked Joe. "Now, mind you, Pa doesn't know that I'm asking you this, nor will he be paying you. I will be using my own money to pay you," he added and then went on, not hiding everything that comes with working with colts. "Before you say yes, and believe me, I want you to think long and hard on this," he told Joe as he went onto describe some of the work that Joe would be doing. "What will be required of you is helping with the branding, going on roundups, which will include sleeping outside under the stars, but that's more of a summer thing," he told Joe. "But the most important thing that goes with the job is your grades must stay up. If you can do all of that without complaining, then I will talk Pa into letting you do more ranch work and have him put officially on the payroll," he added. "But like I said, give it some much needed thought because going to school and having a weekend job isn't as easy as you might think," he said as he remember his collage days.