Lies do Hurt
part 3

By: Lynne G.

At the Devlin ranch, Mitch had just arrived home from school and he went to find his father, Charlie. Luckily for Mitch, he didn't have to look long for his father as Charlie was in the barn.

" Pa, I need to talk with you about a friend of mine," Mitch started. " Hi son. Sure what can I help you with, and oh, how was school today ? Charlie replied as he motioned for his son to come and sit next to him on a bale of hay.

With his father's arm around his shoulders Mitch began to answer his father's questions before he started with his own question.

" School was fine Pa. I do have a question that I really need to ask you. Pa, if you made a promise to a friend that you wouldn't tell anyone what he is really going through and that friend is really having a hard time, like he isn't sleeping, eating and he thinks that his family hates him and that they want to send him away, is it wrong to break that promise cuz it hurts to see him suffer like that ? Mitch softly explained, hoping that his father would say " yes " it was alright to break that promise.

Charlie looked at his son and he saw the worried look on the boy's face. He took a deep breath and began to answer the question.

" Well son, a promise is a promise, but if that friend's life is in danger then yes by all means that promise should be broken. It's Little Joe isn't it ?" Charlie stated which really surprised his son.

" Pa, how did you know I was talking about Little Joe ?" Mitch asked as he looked at his father wondering if his father could read his mind.

With a smile, Charlie quickly replied, " Mitch, Ben has been telling me how Little Joe has been acting for the last several weeks and they are all worried sick about the boy as am I. Mitch, do you know what is wrong with Little Joe and if you do, please tell me so we can let the Cartwrights know so they can help the boy."

With a feeling of relief, Mitch replied, " Yes I do know what is wrong with Little Joe and so does Seth. Little Joe made us promise not to tell anyone, but Pa he is hurting so much that I can't stand to see him like this anymore."

" You know Skip and Henry Copelund don't you ?" Mitch asked. " Yes I do son and they are nothing but trouble. Their parents are good people and they try their best with those boys, but nothing they do seems to help," Charlie told his son.

" Anyawy, for some reason they love to torment Little Joe and he hasn't done anything to them at all. Everytime they see him they try to get him to fight with them and they are telling him some really nasty lies. They push him to the ground and tease him all the time too."

" They told him that his family really does hate him and that they want to send him away, far away from them forever," Micth explained.

Needless to say, Charlie was shocked at what he had just heard from his son. " Why in the world would they say all those mean things to Little Joe ? My God, poor Little Joe ! It's no wonder the boy is so depressed. Is there more son ?" Charlie asked, hoping that there wasn't anymore lies that had been told.

" Yes there is. They have forced Little Joe into fighting with them and at first Little Joe controlled his temper, but he finally couldn't take it anymore and he fought them. They are so much bigger than he is too Pa."

" Little Joe got into so much trouble with his Pa for fighting. He was put on restriction and he was also tanned by his Pa too. He didn't deserve any of that either."

" Now for the last few days Skip and Henry have convinced Little Joe that even his mother hated him and that she really didn't die in that riding accident. They told him that even his family had lied about that not wanting him to hear the real reason why she left, and that was that she couldn't stand the sight of him and that she went back to New Orleans to live again."

" Oh Pa, you should have seen that look on Little Joe's face. It just broke my heart. He started to shake so bad and then he jumped up from the log that we were sitting on and he ran over to his horse and he rode away. Then Skip and Henry stood there laughing so hard at him. Seth and I shouted for Little Joe to come back, but he never looked back Pa. He just rode so fast to get away from us,"

" Pa, I am so worried about him," Mitch softly said as he was now crying. Charlie just held his son and let him cry, as he too had tears running down his face and he was very angry at what the Copelund brothers had done to Little Joe.

After several minutes, Mitch finally was able to get his emotions under control and he looked up at his father and quietly suggested that they ride over to the Ponderosa and tell the Cartwrights what he had just told his father. Charlie agreed and they rode to the Ponderosa.

Dr. Paul Martin had given Little Joe a shot to keep him sleeping for the next several hours. Then Paul, the Cartwrights and Hop Sing all went downstairs to talk. They were all extremely worried about the young sleeping boy upstairs.

" Paul, tell me how is my boy ?" Ben nervously asked. " Ben, boys, Hop Sing, I am very concerned about that boy. He has been deeply hurt and upset in some way. He is also extremely emotionally exhausted, plus he is slowly starving to death and he is also very weak. He is heartbroken. I wish to God I knew what has happened to him so I could help him, so we could help him," Paul sadly said.

They were all startled when they heard a knock on the front door. Hoss went to see who was there and when he saw Charlie and Mitch Devlin standing there, he smiled at them and asked them to please come in.

" Mitch, Charlie how are you two doing ?" Ben asked. " Hi Ben, Adam, Hoss, Paul, Hop Sing. Ben we need to talk to you about Little Joe. Mitch told me what is bothering the boy and you need to be told so you can help the boy recover from this. How is Little Joe doing Ben ?" Charlie asked.

" He's not doing very well. When he came home a little while ago he collapsed, and we are all extremely worried about him. Please Mitch, please tell us what is wrong with my son," Ben begged.

For the next several minutes Mitch told the Cartwrights, Paul and Hop Sing what the Copelund brothers have done and what they had told Little Joe.

They were all in shock at what Mitch had just told them.

" I can't believe what those two have done to my son. I hope to God we can help Little Joe get through this and make him understand that everything those boys told him were all lies. For the life of me, I don't understand why and how they could destroy a child's life the way they have," Ben sadly said.

" Don't worry, we'll help Little Joe . That boy certainly didn't deserve any of those hurtful words the Copelunds told him," Paul replied as he was so upset at what had happened.

Infact, they were all so upset that if the Copelund brothers had just walked through the front door of the house, they would have been beaten up and taken to jail.

As they all talked about Little Joe, there was another knock on the door which Hoss went to answer. To his surprise it was Seth Pruitt and his father, Ed.

" Seth, Mr. Pruitt what are you doing here ?" Mitch asked as soon as he saw his friend and his father. " Mitch I told my Pa about Little Joe so we came to tell the Cartwrights. I just couldn't stand to see him suffer like that anymore," Seth said.

" So did we Seth. Little Joe isn't doing good. He collapsed as soon as he got home this afternoon," Mitch told the Pruitts which shocked them too.

" Ben if there is anything we can do to help Little Joe, just let us know," Ed told Ben.

" Thank you Ed, Seth. I am so very thankful for Mitch and Seth being there for my son and for all of you offering to help us out. We certainly can use all the help we can get to undo all the hurt that has been done to my son. I hope and pray that we can get that boy back to normal again," Ben replied sadly.

After everyone had gone home, Ben, Adam and Hoss went back up to Little Joe's room. Adam and Hoss were so mad they they couldn't think of anything to say. They loved their little brother more than anything else in the world and it just broke their hearts at what this young boy had been put through.

Even though youngster was deeply asleep, they wanted to talk to him, knowing that what they had to say could be heard by Little Joe.

" Little Joe, son I can't tell you how sorry I am that you had to go through all those horrible lies that the Copelund brothers told you. They are all lies sweetheart. Just horrible lies. Little Joe, we all love you so very much, more than you will ever know and we hate to see you you so deeply hurt."

" You are the heart of our family son and we would all die for you just to keep you safe and happy. Please Little Joe, you need to believe what we are saying to you now. We love you sweetheart and don't you ever forget that son," Ben pleaded as he held his son in his arms.

" Little brother you are the best little brother in the world and ya know what Short Shanks, you are my best friend too. I love you so much Punkin. Please believe me, and tomorrow when ya wake up and will tell ya the same things again and that you are my world, my life and everything. I love ya little brother," Hoss cried as he kissed his little brother's forehead.

" Little buddy, like Hoss said, you are the best little brother in the world and I thank God everyday for giving you to us. I can't think of life without you. You make life worth living. I love you so much Little Joe. Please come back to us, please," Adam tearfully told his baby brother as he too gave the boy a kiss on the foreheard.

Then Adam added, " I love everything about you from your silly giggle to all of your mischief too. You are the most important member of our family."

"Little Joe, your mother loved you more than anything in her life. You were her life baby. You were also her pride and joy and you brought her so much happiness. Oh please dear God, please make my baby believe us, please," Ben pleaded as he was now in tears.

Even though he was in a deep sleep, Little Joe could hear his family talking to him, which he thought was a dream and he liked it. He wanted to stay in this dream forever as he felt so much love around.

The Cartwrights spent the night at the boy's bedside and they talked to him all night. They didn't want to leave his side for anything.

Hop Sing knew his family had spent the night in Little Joe's room so he brought their breakfast up to them so they could stay with the boy they all loved so much and also incase he woke up too.

" Family need to eat. Hop Sing stay here too," Hop Sing said. " Thank you Hop Sing. I don't know what we would do without you, and I am so glad that you are up here with us too. It shouldn't be long now before he wakes up, " Ben told Hop Sing.

With a big smile, Hop Sing replied, " Hop Sing know this. We all make Little Joe feel better and make him feel much love." He ran his fingers through the boy's hair and gave him a kiss.

After they had eaten their breakfast, Hoss helped Hop Sing take the dishes down to the kitchen so they could soak in the hot water that Hop Sing had sitting on the stove, and they quickly headed back up to the boy's room.

Several minutes later they heard a soft moan from the bed which instantly caught their attention.

" Little Joe, time to wake up son," Ben softly said as he brushed some soft curls off his son's forehead.

Little Joe slowly moved his legs and he attempted to open his eyes that seemed to be stuck shut. " That a boy, open your eyes little buddy," Adam urged.

As the boy was finally able to open his eyes, he saw his family and Hop Sing all smiling at him. He felt nervous and he started to tremble which everyone noticed right away.

" Good morning sweetheart. How do you feel ? Little Joe, son, you don't need to feel nervous. No one is going to hurt you I promise you," Ben said trying to reassure his young son. In his mind, Ben asked God to help convince the boy how much they loved him.

" Hey Punkin, it's so wonderful to see those big green eyes of yours open again," Hoss happily said as he took both his Little Joe's hands and he looked directly into the boy's eyes as he held the boy's hands up to his mouth and he gently kissed them.

" Little brother do you know how much I love you ?" Hoss said. Little Joe looked up at Hoss with tears in his eyes now. " I love you more than anything else in this whole wide world. That's how much I love you and I thank God everyday for him giving you to us. I love you baby brother and don't you ever forget that Punkin !" Hoss said as he was crying.

He picked up the boy and held him tightly as he whispered in the boy's ear, " I love you Punkin."

" Little Joe, Hoss couldn't have said that any better. We love you son and I hope and pray that you believe us when we say that. You are the heart of our family sweetheart. Hoss please let me hold my baby," Ben begged.

The youngster found himself in his father's loving arms as he continued to cry. He felt the love around him, but at the same time, he was slightly confused and he felt very very tired and soon he fell into a deep sleep still in Ben's arms.

Later that day, Ben rode over to the Copelund's small farm they were renting in order to talk to them about what their sons had done to Little Joe.

Ben was nervous about how the Copelunds would react to what he was going to tell them and he prayed that he would be able to say the correct words to them.

" Mr. Cartwright, what a lovely surprise to see you. Please come and in," Bert Copelund suggested as he and Ben shook hands. " Thank you Bert," Ben replied.

As soon as Ben sat down, Bertha Copelund joined her husband and Ben.

As soon as Ben began to explain why he was there, he was actually dreading at what he was about to say. He like Bert and Bertha very much and he knew that this would hurt them and he that made him feel bad.

Taking a deep breath, Ben looked at Bert and Bertha before he began.

" This is hard for me to tell you why I have come over to see both of you and I hope that you don't think badly of me, but this concerns your sons, Skip and Henry," Ben started to say. The Copelunds had no idea what Ben was going to tell them.

" Your sons have been tormenting my youngest son, Little Joe for over a month now. They have been telling my young ten year old boy all kinds of very hurtful lies. They have convinced my boy that his family all hate him and that we are going to send him away from us."

"For the last few days they have convinced Little Joe that his mother even hated him and that she really hadn't died in a riding accident five years ago."

" They told him that she had really gone back to New Orleans to live because she couldn't stand the sight of him anymore. Then they kept telling him that we had lied to him about that too."

" They forced Little Joe into fighting with them for which he was punished at school and at home. My son didn't tell us anything about this. It was his best friends at school who told us what had been going on. My son had made them promise not to say anything about this, but they couldn't stand to see my boy so deeply hurt so they told us earlier today."

" My son has been deeply depressed, he's not sleeping at night, he's not eating, and when he came home from school yesterday he collapsed. I am so very sorry that I had to explain all of this to you. I know this must be awful to hear," Ben sadly said.

Bert and Bertha were in total shock at what they had just heard and the were totally ashamed of their sons. They had no idea that their sons had done this and at first they were both speechless.

" Ben, we are so very sorry for what Skip and Henry have done to your little boy and to your family. We hope to God that Little Joe will be alright, and we promise you that both Skip and Henry will be severely punished for what they have done," Bert replied as he felt numb.

" Ben, I don't know what to say. I can't understand why Skip and Henry would want to hurt your little boy, but as Bert said, they will be severely punished for what they have done. I promise you that. I am totally ashamed of my sons," Bertha softly told Ben.

" I want to thank both of you for being so understanding about why I needed to let you know about this and I truely am so very sorry it needed to come to this," Ben explained

" Ben we are very thankful that you did tell us about this. We hope and pray that Little Joe will be alright. Would it be possible if we could come over and talk with him ?" Bert asked. They really wanted to talk to the little boy hoping it might help him.

" Yes, I would really appreciate that and it just might help Little Joe as well," Ben said as he thanked them again for being so understanding, and he also felt very bad for them too. He hoped that none of his sons would ever do something like that to anyone, but then he knew that his sons would never do something like that anyway.

The End of part three.

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