Newest stories by Bakerj

  • Thankful

    For Joe and Ben, the ride home isn’t always the hardest part of the journey. Written for the 2026 Round-Up Challenge Rating: PG Word Count: 1,216

  • The Letter

    One letter shatters Joe’s hopes and forces him to decide what kind of man he wants to be. Rating: G Word Count: 1,725

  • Wink of an Eye

    A wink that meant more than he realized — and a consequence Joe will never forget. Rating: PG Word Count: 1,365

  • The Christmas Gift

    All Joe wanted was to get through Christmas Eve without making things worse. Finding the girl in the snow changed everything. Written for the Just Joe 2025 Christmas Challenge. Rated: G Word Count: 4,374

  • The Kindness of Strangers

    On the frontier, a simple kindness can change a life. Sometimes, it changes two. Rated: R Word Count: 7,510

  • Room Thirteen

    What’s waiting behind the mirror in Room Thirteen? Written for the Just Joe 2025 Halloween Challenge. Rated: PG Word Count: 1,665

  • A Friend in Need

    Of all the people to be in need, Silas Davis was the last on Joe’s list to help. 2025 Just Joe Summer Challenge. Rated: PG Word Count: 10,077

  • The Kingdom Beneath

    Joe discovers a secret. Now, he must survive it. Rated: PG Word Count: 31,800

  • A Fall From Grace

    One man’s obsession could be another’s funeral. Written for the 2025 Spring Challenge Round Robin. Rated: PG Word count: 16,165

  • The Greatest Gift

    The task of bringing home the Christmas turkey brings unexpected challenges for Joe and Hoss. Written for the 2024 Just Joe Christmas Challenge Rated: GA Word Count: 6,700

  • The Hollow Pit Mine

    Checking out an old mine, Joe and Hoss find more than they bargained for. Written for the Just Joe 2024 Halloween Challenge. Rated: PG Word Count: 3,630

  • Friendships, Failure, and Forgiveness

    A friendship sends Joe on a path to discovery and heartache. Rated: PG Wordcount: 16,760

  • The Stagecoach Incident

    Joe takes a vacation right into trouble. Written for the Just Joe 2024 Summer Challenge. Rated: PG Word Count: 10,650

  • Bad Luck Can Be Lucky

    The spring dance is the first big event after a long, hard winter, but not everyone gets to go. Written for the Just Joe 2024 Spring Challenge. Rated: PG Word count: 4,367

  • Claire

    Everything in Joe’s life was about to change. Written: January 2024 Rated: PG Word Count 13,370

  • The Fancy Sleigh

    Do we ever grow too old for the wonders of Christmas? Written for the Just Joe 2023 Christmas Challenge. Rated: G Word Count: 7397

  • The Root Of All Evil

    Being a man means standing by your choices. Whether good or bad. Written: Jan 2022 Rated: PG Word Count: 18,950

  • Mrs. Etta Harding

    The visit of a medium proves timely for Joe. Written for the Just Joe 2023 Halloween challenge. Rated: PG Word Count: 6,024

  • The Schoolmaster

    Adam’s interference dashes fourteen-year-old Little Joe’s hopes to leave school. Then, the substitute schoolmaster takes Little Joe’s relationship with his family to breaking point. But will something far darker in the man prove even more dangerous for the youngest Cartwright? Written: 2019 Rated: R Word Count: 17,178

  • Justice in Limbo

    When Horace’s trial doesn’t go as expected, Joe must face his anger and guilt. A WHN to S8 Justice. Written: April 2022 Rated: PG Word count: 15,783

  • What Brothers Do

    How different can brothers be? Written for the Just Joe 2023 SJS (Suffering Joe Syndrome) Challenge Rated: PG Word: Count 8,822

  • Charlotte

    Joe must decide what kind of man he is when doubts invade his marriage. Written: July 2023 Rated: Mature Word Count: 21,580 Sequel

  • New Beginnings

    After years away, Adam returns to the Ponderosa, where danger stalks Joe. Written: June 2020 Rated: PG Word Count: 23,837 Sequel

  • Jinx

    A tragedy forces Joe to face his darkest fear. Written: April 2019 Rated: PG Word count: 5016

  • My Son

    Joe is missing. But more than one man is looking for a son. Written: Oct. 2019 Rated: PG Word Count: 13,025

  • Loss

    Joe Cartwright is married! The marital bond brings love, joy, and children but also change, challenges, and heartache. Faced with the shattering of his own expectations for the man he will become, how will Joe deal with these dark times? Rated: M Word count: 45,310

  • Proof of a Man

    For most of the family, the affair of Adah Menken and John C Regan has been forgotten and left behind, but for one, this is not the case. A WHN for S8 The Magnificent Adah. Written: March 2021 Rated: PG Word Count: 4,620

  • The Gifts

    Joe’s eagerness to hunt a wolf, just before Christmas, lands him in the middle of trouble and we learn that gifts can come in many forms. Written Dec. 2019 Rated: PG Word Count: 2,869

  • Seeing is Believing

    A rescue shouldn’t be this hard. Should it? Written for the Just Joe 2022 Fall/Halloween Challenge Rated: PG Word Count: 4,098

  • Promises

    Not all promises can be kept. Written for the Just Joe 2022 Spring on the Ponderosa Challenge Rated: PG Word count: 4,788

  • Hidden Star

    A Christmas tale of loss and discovery. Written: Dec. 2018 Rated: G Word Count: 1,010

  • A Cartwright Christmas Story

    Not all visitors at Christmas are welcome. Written: Dec 2021 for the Just Joe Christmas Challenge. Rated: PG Word Count: 3255

  • The Gifts of Christmas

    Christmas on the Ponderosa isn’t always a smooth road. Written for the Just Joe 2022 Christmas Challenge. Rating: G Word Count: 3,538