All usual disclaimers apply.
Chapter One
Every summer since he'd turned sixteen, Jim Kirk had worked at the Washington County Fair, which amounted to roughly five summers of his life spent catering to the local populace and the occasional group of outsiders who wandered through to sample "country living". He usually worked the gaming-booths, which drew some real dim bulbs, and their attractive but dumb girlfriends. Jim liked smart, pretty girls, usually in that exact orders. He knew his share of smart, pretty girls, but he'd never sleep with any of them. Now, he had dated the sheriff's daughter for a year, which had probably not been the smartest thing he'd ever done, but at least it got the law off his back for a while. Jim had quietly shown Sheriff Wilkinson that he wasn't just a rabble-rousing, repeat-offending genius, he also had manners and knew how to treat a girl like a queen. Despite their quiet parting of ways, Jim would never call it a breakup, he was still on good terms with Kitty's father and with Kitty herself. Hell, just last year he'd given Kitty away at her own wedding because she asked him to. Sheriff Wilkinson had said sure, if that's what his baby girl wanted, she'd have it. One of the weirdest things he'd ever done, but Jim didn't mind. Kitty deserved the best and now she was married to a lawyer in Dallas. And happy. Jim, on the other hand, remained stuck in Riverside scratching a living out of the quarry except for the three months of the year when he worked at the County Fair. At the moment, he was leaning on the counter of his gaming-booth and watching the fair-goers ebb and flow past his vantage-point. Next to him, his buddy David was bellowing and hollering to get people to come and play.
Suddenly, Jim straightened up and stared. He'd seen a girl in the crowd who was no townie, she sure wasn't a local. A family-group passed by and Jim saw her. Smart, pretty girls. Jim's jaw dropped open and the primal part of his brain sat up and begged like a puppy. This girl was definitely not from Iowa, she couldn't be! She was a city-girl for sure, and one fine specimen of the fairer sex. She stood maybe five foot even, without those boots that gave her an extra six inches. Small, but definitely no damsel in distress. She wore knee-high boots with a six-inch block-heel, a pair of blue denim skinny-jeans tucked into those boots, and a black cap-sleeved blouse that revealed slender curves and a tattoo on her lower back. Her skin was a smooth, flawless brown, like melted chocolate, her eyes a few shades darker than her skin, and her hair was shiny, curly black. There were two girls, he noticed, his goddess's companion was a feisty-looking ginger with taunting green eyes and a peppering of freckles. The ginger wore boot-cut distressed jeans, Jim could tell she was wearing cowboy boots with them, and a sleeveless red and black striped shirt tied above the belly-button. Both girls wore cowboy hats, but it was pretty obvious these were city-girls out for some fun. Jim was yanked out of his daydreaming by the appearance of Doctor Booth, the rodeo coordinator.
"Good morning, Doctor Booth."
"Jim." Booth didn't even acknowledge David, "Can you ride, son?"
"Ride, sir?" Ride what, exactly? He could ride horses, that included broncos, he could ride bulls. Not that anybody knew that.
"Can you ride or can't you?"
"I can ride anything you put me on, sir. Is there something I can do for you?"
"Danny Stilers broke his arm in a test run, I have to replace him."
"Not to sound stupid, but what makes you think I can replace Danny Stilers?"
"Because you're his alternate, Kirk. If something happens to him and he can't ride, you're the one who goes in for him. And since he can't ride, you're up. Get moving, you're on in an hour." Booth turned and walked away, leaving Jim to pinch himself.
"Hey, Jimmy, what did Doc want?" David hadn't heard a single word of that. Jim shook his head and shoved away from the counter.
"I've gotta go, David. Find Jack and tell him he gets to fill in for me."
"Where are you going? Mr. Wimer won't let you leave!"
"If he has a problem, he can go to Doctor Booth." Jim slipped out the back and ran to the rodeo arena. Crashing into Danny Stilers' dressing-room, he found one of the medics mending a clean break, "Danny!"
"Jimmy. Take a seat, son." Danny didn't look very comfortable, Jim sat in a corner and just watched. Once the medic was gone, Danny uttered such a long string of curses Jim had to laugh. Danny turned to him and smiled, sad, "I'm sorry, Jimmy."
"Don't be sorry for breaking your arm. I'm just surprised Booth found out my dirty secret." Jim shrugged and looked around the little room he'd pretty much lived in when he wasn't working the gaming booths. Actually, he did live here. The narrow bed he was sitting on was his. Getting up, he went to the closet and pulled it open, looking at the clothes hanging inside and remembering all the times he'd sit in here before a show and watch Danny get ready.
Jim remembered the first time he'd met Danny Stilers. His mom had brought him to the Fair with his stepdad and his brother, and Jim had wandered off. Nobody had really paid that much attention to an eight-year-old by himself, wandering around the fairgrounds. He'd found the rodeo arena and snuck around the back where he found the horses. One of the grooms had scared him off, Jim had run behind the first pair of legs he saw. Those legs, encased in denims and battered leather chaps, had belonged to Danny Stilers, champion bull-rider, roper, and barrel-racer. That had been the beginning of something beautiful. Danny had taken Jim under wing and kept him safe until his mom got worried enough to wonder where the blazes her son had gotten off to and Doctor Booth found him happily kicking his heels in Danny's dressing-room, licking an ice-cream cone and wearing Danny's lucky hat which made eating the ice-cream a little difficult because the hat was way too big for an eight-year-old boy. After a few such visits, Danny shocked Jim, and Jim's mother, by filing for joint custody of Jim as his legal guardian. The filing assured Jim a safe place to go when he needed one and it wasn't all that unusual for Jim to call Danny when it got really bad at home, which was pretty much every night, and Danny would come and get him. Since Danny was Jim's legal guardian, there wasn't much Frank could do to stop Danny from coming to get him, which made Jim happy.
"What are you thinkin', kid?" Danny's voice pulled him back to the present and Jim looked over his shoulder.
"I was just remembering when I was little, all the times I'd sit in here and watch you get ready for shows like this one. You used to put me up on Lightening just before the show and let me sit up there, you said it made Lightening calmer to have me up there right before a big show. Doctor Booth thought you were nuts."
"Still does think I'm nuts for making you my ward."
"He doesn't know you saved me by doing that." Jim leaned against the wall and folded his arms, "Danny, I don't know if I can replace you."
"You're not replacing me, Jim." Danny got up and came over to him, "Even Booth knows that. You're going out there to make a name for yourself. If this gig works, you'll never have to work those damned booths again as long as these fairgrounds hold a rodeo arena."
"Do you think I'm that good?"
"You are that good, Jim. You've been riding for five years, you can do this." Danny smiled and hugged him with his good arm. It was the kind of hug Jim had never gotten from his mom or Uncle Frank, the warm, loving hug that reminded Jim that even when it felt like the world hated him, there was somebody who cared. When Danny pulled away, he gave Jim a shake, "Hey, I want to show you something. Come 'ere, I had this fixed up a few months back for you. Never told Booth about it." Jim was shown a white box.
"What's this?"
"Open it."
"What's in it?"
"Open it and see." Danny had something up his sleeve, he looked too pleased with himself. Jim shrugged and opened the box. Inside was a pair of Wrangler jeans, the slim-fit cowboy cut jeans Jim had drooled over the first time he'd seen a pair, a pair of leather chaps to go over the jeans, black roping boots, and a tri-color long-sleeved shirt in gold and black with a solid white yoke-stripe that extended down the sleeves to separate the other two colors. The placket, button-down collar, and cuffs were black. All of this was his, Danny had obviously foreseen some future for Jim in rodeo and done this all for him. He wouldn't replace Danny, he'd join him. Jim looked at the man who had been a father to him, always would be, and smiled.
"All of this is mine?"
"Yep. I knew you were destined for greater things than pandering to the dimwits who try to knock over milk-bottles with a baseball." Danny just smiled and motioned for Jim to get dressed. Jim tossed off the ratty jeans and short-sleeved polo he'd been wearing before, kicked off the scuffed tennis-shoes, and gladly exchanged them all for the new clothes. Danny liked buying him nice clothes, Jim wore them only rarely, these would be for the most special of occasions. Once he was dressed, he did something with his hair, which he'd grown long to piss off his stepdad. Or he tried to. Danny shook his head.
"You'll be wearing a hat, and besides, the girls like boys with long hair these days."
"Sure hasn't gotten me many compliments. Kitty Wilkinson said she liked it, I looked like a surfer is what she said."
"You've always been close to that girl, haven't you?" Danny smiled.
"Hard not to be when she asked me to do her dad's job at her own wedding." He blushed, "She would have loved this." There was a loud, obnoxious knock at the door and somebody yelling that they had five minutes. Jim wondered where that time had gone and didn't care. He left the dressing-room with Danny and headed for the staging area. He could hear the roar of the crowd and rubbed his hands together briskly, "Damn nerves." Danny laughed at him.
"You'll be fine, Jim! You're riding Ronin this time."
"Oh, great." He groaned, "I won't be fine, Danny! Ronin throws me five seconds in!"
"Not today he won't." Danny smirked and they reached the starting gate. Ronin was fighting three handlers as Jim slipped into the gate. He touched Ronin's flank and startled the feisty roan into utter stillness.
"There you go, Ronin. No throwing me five seconds in today, got that?" He mounted carefully, knowing Ronin could unseat him in the starting-gate without a care for the world. The handlers buckled on a pair of blunt spurs to Jim's boots and he looked out at the packed stadium. There was a loud, resounding boo as it was announced Danny Stilers would not be riding today due to a training injury and Jim ducked low. He'd seen the crowd from the other side of the fence after this kind of announcement. They weren't usually very nice to the unfortunate soul coming after or replacing Danny. He looked up as Danny came to the side-gate, "Danny, I can't do this! They hate me already!"
"They won't hate you. Here, wear this and go show 'em how you can handle a crowd."
"Not a crowd that hates me! Look at them, Danny!" Jim didn't even realize what Danny had done until something slipped over his eyes a little. He paused and reached up, pulling off the hat. A battered black Charlie 1 Horse felt hat with a decorative band set with a decorative concho medallion, feather, trim, and beaded tassel. The band had been replaced at least twice in Jim's memory, always the same set as before. He brushed the feather with reverent fingertips and looked at Danny, "Your lucky hat."
"I want you to wear it, Jimmy. You need it a little more than I do today."
"Get ready, Kirk, you're up." One of the handlers whispered as the crowd began hollering and cat-calling for Danny's unfortunate replacement to come out and show himself. He tightened his grip on the reins, glad for the leather gloves, and leaned over Ronin's neck. The gate opened and Ronin literally exploded into the arena. Ronin, in his usual fashion, did everything in his power to throw Jim before the announcer got through his introduction, Jim wasn't putting up with it this morning.
"Ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys! Put your hands together for our next rough-rider! Give a warm Riverside welcome to James Tiberius Kirk! Today he rides our feisty Ronin!" Who was three seconds from pitching his stubborn rider. Jim decided to give these people a real show, not a staged farce like Booth usually gave them. At the thirty-second mark, he suddenly let go and let himself fall. But, on his way down, he'd pulled off the lariat coiled behind the saddle. Most people used it for roping calves, Jim had a different use for it. As the rodeo clowns ran after Ronin, Jim quietly swung the lariat, waiting for Ronin to come back his way. Ronin came alright, at a full gallop. The crowd yelled for him to get out of the way, he was standing directly in Ronin's path. Jim turned to the side as he threw out the lariat, the loop landed softly around Ronin's neck and he gave a hard jerk. It tightened and Ronin was forced to turn. On the come-back, Jim reached out, grabbed a handful of mane, and used Ronin's momentum to pull himself into the saddle. Lariat and reins in hand, he kept his balance with his knees. As he raced past the stands, the crowd was hollering and screaming, going absolutely wild. Ronin, pissed that he'd gotten back on, tried and tried to buck him off, Jim held on. Two minutes had passed since they'd left the gate when Ronin finally gave up and contented to gallop past the crowds. Jim did some trick-riding, showing off what he knew Ronin was capable of when he wasn't being an ass.
When he brought Ronin to a halt, the crowd was on its feet and going absolutely nuts. The first two rows in the bleachers were full of screaming girls who threw trinkets onto the sand of the arena like some people threw roses onto a stage after a star tenor's performance. One came high and Jim caught it mid-air. Opening his hand, he was stunned by the thrown trinket. Most girls threw little things like charm necklaces and fake flower circlets with ribbons, Jim was holding a beautiful silver-and-turquoise bracelet that looked purely exotic. Leaning over, he dropped from the saddle and picked up a few small things from the sand, tucking the bracelet out of sight. Who would throw something that valuable? Why? Mounting again, he faced his chief admirers and caught sight of the city-girls he'd seen from the gaming-booth. He did a slow walk, the girls screamed and touched, and when he passed by the city-girls, his goddess slipped him a note. He angled Danny's hat back and looked up at her, giving her his best smile. The note passed as he kissed the back of her hand, no one knew about it. He returned to the starting-gate and slid to the ground with a casual flourish. The handlers were going crazy, Danny was shaking his head.
"I told you!" Danny scolded him once they were back in the dressing-room, "You crazy, reckless kid! You did it! You won them over!"
"I just thought I'd mix things up a bit. Besides, I've been thrown off by Ronin one time too many." Jim shrugged and set out the trinkets he'd picked up.
"I saw you catch somethin', what was it?"
"Somebody in the crowd threw me this." He set down the bracelet, "I've seen worthless stuff thrown out for the younger riders, this has got to be worth a small fortune."
"Somebody threw you this?"
"Yeah. I think I know who it was." He sat down on his bed and unfolded the note he'd tucked into his glove.
To: The Rogue.
From: A Very Secret Admirer.
I have a bet with my friend that I'll find some cowboy to sweep me off my feet. I think not. She's ready to prove me wrong. And so, it seems, are you. Take my bracelet as a down-payment. I'll come for it when the time is right. Keep it safe until then.
Your most secret of admirers.
Danny put the bracelet in the lock-box for safekeeping until it's owner came for it, Jim had no idea when that would be. He tucked the note under his pillow as the door flew open and Kitty Wilkerson swept in with her husband two steps behind her. Jim erupted off the bed, shocked to see her but not that surprised.
"Kitty!"
"Jim, that was probably the stupidest thing you've ever done but it was brilliant!" Kitty was all over him, showing him just precisely how stupid she thought that was. Jim was just glad Andrew liked him, or he'd be in serious trouble for that kiss. Danny just rolled his eyes. Kitty and Andrew didn't stay very long, just long enough to congratulate him on making his entry into the world of rodeo. Doctor Booth roared in after Kitty was gone and asked Jim what the hell he thought he was doing pulling a stunt like that. Jim just admitted that he wanted to give his crowd a good show. For whatever reason, that satisfied Booth. Jim then had an hour to rest for his next performance. Next up: bull-riding. That was a six-second ride Jim didn't mind falling off from. You were supposed to fall, and the harder the fall the better they liked it. Jim took off the outfit and slept in a pair of old sweats and a tee-shirt. He slept half an hour and spent half an hour mentally preparing himself. When he was called up, he said a quick prayer and got ready for the wildest six-second ride of his life.
The bull was older, Jim knew this one from practice runs and having watched the younger riders. This was the one they gave the younger riders because he wasn't as jerky and antsy as the young bulls the real professionals rode for anywhere from six to twelve seconds. He looked to one side as he waited in the starting-gate, and saw his goddess. She looked mighty worried to see him sitting on a bull, he just tipped his hat to her and focused. Jim held on for ten seconds, not bad for his first public performance, and the fact that he didn't break anything or get trampled when he fell was a miracle. As the clowns chased the bull back into the gate, Jim got up and waved to the crowd. A side-rider came up with Ronin and Jim mounted, groaning. That ride had hurt a little more than his first go, he hoped Booth didn't expect anymore performances out of him today. He did a short circuit of the arena for his truly adoring fans, and when he reached the girls from the city, he stopped. He touched his hat to them and smiled his best.
"Ladies."
"How long did you hold on?"
"That was ten seconds right there, ma'am." He smiled at the girl, "I've known bull-riders hang on for twelve. It's when you're on the ground you've gotta worry." He took her hand and kissed it, and he knew this was the girl who owned that bracelet. He saw the faint red marks from where it usually rested on her wrist. Ah-hah. Feeling rather bold, Jim kissed the closest mark and looked up at her, "You'd better come for that bracelet of yours real quick, darlin'." She must have turned three or four shades red. When Jim got back to the room this time, he was one hurtin' man. Ten seconds had just about killed him.
"Jim, that was brilliant! Ten seconds your first ride?" Danny smiled as he collapsed on his narrow bed, "That was perfect for your first day!"
"Just don't tell me I have to go out again, I'll be covered in black-and-blue for days as it is." Jim folded his hands behind his head, "That did feel pretty damn good, though. They loved me."
"They always like fresh blood. Somethin' new to look at." Danny smiled, "And you, Jim, are a fine sight to look at." Jim rolled his eyes. Booth came by to tell him he was off the hook for the rest of the day, go enjoy yourself. Jim had never really "enjoyed" the fair, and pulled on a pair of clean relaxed-fit jeans and a denim jacket with sherpa lining over a blue long-sleeved button-down. He wore his roping boots since he didn't have anything else to wear, and set off to enjoy himself. Jim took the bracelet on a whim. The chances he would run into that girl were pretty good.