Mitch Cartwright couldn’t cope with the recent loss of his family members. Hereby he began to wander around. He hardly ate or not at all anymore and wanted to be left alone by his father Adam, grandpa Ben or Uncles Hoss and Little Joe Cartwright. His twin sister Pam didn’t get no contact with him.
One evening Mitch was too late home for supper. Ben kept on looking at the clock and wondered where his grandson remained. Nobody had seen the boy since breakfast.
“Let’s go to the table before supper is cold”, the rancher said after a long time.
Just around nine o’clock the eldest Cartwright grandchild came home. Adam was reading a book when the door opened and Mitch came in.
Adam looked up and asked, “And where do you come from?”
“I have just forgotten the time. That is all”, the boy replied without turning a hair.
“You know that we always eat at six o’clock and that you and your sister must come home straight after school. It is now nine o’clock so where have you hung out all that time?”, Adam asked strict after he had put away his book.
“Everywhere and nowhere. Is there still something from supper left?”, Mitch asked as innocent as possible.
“You appear just at nine o’clock without giving a good reason of where you have been and then you have the nerve to ask for something to eat? Straight to bed before I give you rattle off”, Adam said angry.
The boy fled to his room. Ben looked at his eldest son questionable.
“What? Did I have to close him in my arms and say, “How nice that you are here again?” No way. He won’t get away with it so easily as he might think”, Adam said moody.
“Adam, he has just lost his mother and sister by an attack where he was witness of. That is a whole lot for a boy of his age. You know that he hardly speaks about his feelings. I suggest that you stay at home with him tomorrow and that you talk to each other”, said the rancher.
Adam agreed reluctantly. Somewhere he had the feeling that it would end up in a disaster.
Pam heard her brother rushing upstairs and came to meet him.
“Gees, you are here again?”, she asked.
“Unfortunately for you and the others yes. But not for long”, Mitch groaned.
“At school it is now much more fun without you”, said Pam.
“What do I care about that stupid school? It is sure a waste of time”, her brother reacted.
Their quarrel was to be heard downstairs so Adam went upstairs.
“To my room! Both!”, he asked strict.
The twins walked along.
“Where are you rowing about?”, Adam asked strict.
“Mitch hasn’t been to school all week. I had to lie for him”, Pam said.
“Is that so? Are you playing truant the whole week without that I know that?”, Adam asked his son.
Mitch nodded.
“Pam, you go back to bed. Mitch, I deal with you now”, Adam said.
Pam went straight to her room while Mitch stayed behind worried.
“I give you two weeks home arrest. Each time you don’t keep it another week get added to it. To bed!”, Adam said.
In his room Mitch crawled in bed directly and he started to cry enormously.
“Daddy hates me. Well, I hate him too”, the boy said to himself.
Slowly he fell asleep.
The next morning everyone except Adam and the Chinese cook Hop Sing had left early. Hop Sing was in the kitchen busy with the dishes and Adam was reading the newspaper when Mitch came down stairs shy to have breakfast. Adam looked up and watched his son. Soon Mitch noticed this and didn’t trust it.
“Is there something?”, the boy asked a bit hostile.
“I may look at my own son?”, asked Adam asked at his turn.
Mitch looked amazed around him but said nothing. He walked to the dining room and went to sit on his place.
“If you are waiting for breakfast you can do that for a long time because we already had breakfast”, Adam said after a while.
“Let that breakfast be anyway. I am not even hungry!”, Mitch replied.
He had the feeling that he was completely unwanted at the ranch. Adam put the newspaper away and got up. He walked to the dining table and went to sit oblique opposite Mitch. The boy turned his back at him.
“Mitchell Jonathan Cartwright, we need to talk to each other desperately. Why are you behaving so strange?”, asked Adam asked as calm as possible.
Though Mitch didn’t give an answer. Adam turned him around harsh.
“I asked you something so I expect an answer from you”, Adam said strict.
“You do hate me and I hate you. Just go sailing”, Mitch said suddenly very fierce and angry.
Adam looked up strange from this answer.
“Do you want me to go sailing? Then you hardly will see me ever again”, said Adam.
“Just go. I don’t care about it”, Mitch said careless.
He got up and went outside.
At the yard it was quiet and empty. ‘I hope that daddy goes to sea as soon as possible because then I have got rid of him. Then I can easier runaway too’, the boy thought while he walked to the corral.
In the ranch house Adam thought about the words Mitch had said to him. ‘Maybe I must go sailing. But I don’t want to leave the growing up of Mitch and Pam over to pa’, he thought.
Near the corral Mitch went to sit down on the ground. Adam saw him sitting because he had gone outside too. He walked to him and went to sit next to him.
“Kid, what is the matter?”, Adam asked worried and concerned.
“Nothing. Leave me alone”, the boy said.
“Come here”, his father said.
Mitch came but kept on silent and Adam still didn’t understand why the boy behaved so contrary.
“What would you say if we were going to live somewhere else?”, Adam asked after a while.
Mitch looked at his father stupefied.
“Who must cook then? You for sure? Thank you very much”, the boy said.
Adam looked amazed at his offspring.
“Are you doubting my culinary arts?”, he asked.
Mitch nodded.
“The I will let you see and taste that I can cook quite well. Come on”, Adam said while they got up and walked to the kitchen.
“Can I still get away?”, the boy asked sneaky.
“No, you are my guinea-pig”, said Adam.
“Where is Uncle Hoss? He rather eats than me”, reacted Mitch.
“That can be so but your Uncle is not here now but you are so come on”, said Adam.
Mumbling out loud the boy walked along.
“Shut up! You aren’t so popular right now at the ranch”, Adam said strict.
Mitch looked up and asked then striking fierce, “You ain’t either too, are you?”
Adam didn’t take that question and gave his son quite a beating. Just as Mitch yelled it out Adam stopped. He let Mitch go at once.
Adam looked amazed at his son.
“Mitch, now you tell first what is bothering you”, Adam said somewhat calmer.
“I miss momma and Lisa so”, Mitch said shy.
Suddenly Adam understood everything.
“Kid, you do know that you can everything but then also everything tell to us?”, he asked serious.
The young Cartwright nodded.
“Why didn’t you tell that right away?”, asked Adam.
“I didn’t dare it. There are already so much problems at the ranch”, his son sighted shy.
Adam went to sit at the porch and pulled his son near him.
He said laughing, “Silly boy. Even though there a millions of problems at the ranch, you and Pam always go first by us.”
Mitch looked shy at the ground but said nothing. Adam noticed that there was still something. But before he could ask it the boy pushed himself loose and went to his room. Quickly he packed his bag and fled via the backstairs. At least, that was the meaning. But Adam stopped his son and held him very tight.
“I wish I was dead instead of mom”, Mitch said suddenly.
“What gave you that idea?”, Adam asked amazed.
Mitch told, “Uncle Burt came by unexpected. he made a hateful remark about me which mom didn’t take. Hereafter she hit him and he shot momma dead. Because we saw it he shot down me, aunt Lily, Lisa and Amber too.”
“Darling, your mother said to me that her whole family hated you and Pam. We do love you”, replied Adam.
Mitch began to cry and Adam let him cry out. The eldest Cartwright boy noticed that he still had to deal with everything yet and needed him badly with that.
When Mitch calmed down Adam said, “Bring your bag to your bedroom and come then here.”
Mitch did that and in a second he was outside again.
“What are we going to do?”, asked the boy.
“We are going to ride together. I want to show you something”, said his father.
The horses got saddled and mounted on.
Adam and Mitch kept silent on the way until the eldest said, “We must be here.”
They dismounted and Mitch saw a couple of gravestones.
“What is that here?”, he asked amazed.
“This is our private cemetery. Only the Cartwrights are getting buried here. So also your mother, your sister, your aunt and cousin. But gran is here buried too”, Adam explained.
“Your mother?”, asked Mitch.
“No, she lies in Boston. The mother of Uncle Joe”, answered Adam.
He walked to the graves of his wife and daughter and kneeled down. Mitch went to sit down.
“I wait by the horses”, Adam said after a while.
He left his son alone and went to the horses.
“Mom, I am sorry that because of me you are gone but I hope that you wait for us up there”, the boy said softly.
Then he got up and he walked to his father.
“Daddy, now you are watching us here and momma from up there Pam and I cannot get into mischief at all anymore”, said Mitch.
“Indeed not. But you will try to do anyway”, his father said.
Mitch nodded. Adam noticed that his son was bit himself again but needed him too.
Now Adam knew what the matter with his son was he could receive him better and hereby their relationship got better again.