Fatherhood, For Idiots

John returns to Pronghorn Ranch frustrated by ranch work, telling Abigail that the only things he knows are criminal. Abigail suggests Beecher's Hope, a bank loan and a happier life, but John says the price on his head makes that impossible. Their argument unsettles Jack. Abigail sends John to Strawberry for supplies and mail for Geddes, asking him to collect a parcel as well. John takes Jack along in the wagon and lets him practise driving across Big Valley.

At Strawberry, John parks near the Post Office and collects the ranch deliveries. He tries to use the name Jim Milton, but has to give his real name and Abigail's name to receive the parcel. The load is put aboard, and Jack drives them back towards Pronghorn Ranch. Uneasy about revealing himself, John tells his son to change their pace if anybody asks. Before long, three riders begin following the wagon out of town.

John stops the wagon and tells Jack to hide while he faces the riders. Their leader asks whether John killed a man in Roanoke Ridge months earlier, saying the dead man was his brother. John says the man had tried to rob him, but the rider rejects the explanation. A shootout follows, and John kills the pursuers. He returns to Jack, who is shaken by what he has seen, and gets him back into the wagon.

As they ride to Pronghorn Ranch, Jack sees the bodies and breaks down crying. John tries to settle him by talking about Beecher's Hope and says he is considering buying the place. At the ranch, Jack pushes past Abigail and runs inside. John admits that men who knew him had shot at them, and Abigail angrily confronts him. John blames the parcel, until Abigail tells him it was not for her at all, but a gift for him.