Author's notes: Why yes, I do have two other stories to finish. Blame it on Brian and his insistence that I write. Remember, review make happy authors.

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The crowd at the bar was heavier than normal. A new band was playing and that coupled with the warmer than average spring night, the younger people in Murphys had come out in droves. The open windows allowed the music to filter out into the gravel parking lot. An old International pickup pulled into the driveway and circled the lot to find a parking spot.

Finding an open place at the far end of the lot, the driver parked and shut off the engine. The door opened with a creak and a lanky cowboy slid from behind the driver's seat. Adjusting his hat, he walked across the lot to bar's door.

Opening the door to the bar, a smile crossed his features as he saw his friends standing near the bar.

"McFadden!" A stocky looking man yelled. "About time you got your ass to town. I figured you were on babysitting duty again!"

Several others took up the good-natured teasing.

"Get tired of seeing all of them cows?"

"Hide all the women, McFadden is here!"

"All right you jackasses. Knock it off," the woman behind the bar admonished them good-naturedly. "Can't you see that this boy is thirsty?"

"Thanks Donna." Brian reached for the beer that she had poured. "You think that they'd get tired of pestering me like that."

"Naw Brian," the stocky man pushed Brian's hat down on his head. "You're our favorite sport."

"Glad to know that you ain't got nothing better to do with your time Paul." Brian pushed his hat up and took a deep drink of the beer. "God. That hits the spot." He turned and leaned his back against the bar, looking at the crowd gathered in the bar.

"So where you been hiding out Brian?" Paul inquired.

"Been logging more hours on horseback than I care to think about. With Crane at Davis, it sure makes more work around the place."

Another man, Jim, smiled, "I knew you were going to miss him when he graduated last year."

"Yeah, don't tell him that though. He keeps telling Adam he should come home and take correspondence courses."

"He'd be crazy; full ride to Davis. Hell, he should have taken the offer to UCLA." Paul had graduated with Brian and had lived in Murphys all his life, so he was aware of the happenings around the McFadden house. "My old man would have been turning cartwheels if I had gotten an opportunity like that."

"Yeah, your old man would be happy just to have your ass out of his basement." Jim shot a grin at Paul.

"Laugh it up. Could be worse, I could be sleeping with your mom."

The others laughed loudly. Jim had made the mistake several years ago of telling the group how he had walked in on his mom and one of her "dates". Since then, the running joke was which one of them would be sleeping with her next.

"Ha, ha, ha." Jim had tired of the joke. "Ain't like you haven't tried."

"No way in hell," said Paul. "Even Brian here wouldn't nail her, and that's saying a lot."

"Go to hell." Brian glared at Paul. He didn't want his dating habits scrutinized by this group. He took another drink of his beer.

"I hear there's a new gal moving into Sally Linderman's place. She is going to work at the beauty shop." Andy, who hadn't spoken much since Brian arrived, chimed in. He had been in the class between Adam and Brian's and he worked for one of the logging companies in the area. He was friends with Jim and Brian didn't classify him as one of his own friends.

"Probably bucked tooth and bow-legged if she's coming to a town like Murphys." Paul raised his glass. "A toast to ugly women, if it weren't for them who would Jim sleep with?"

"What? Hell, I get good looking women. Remember last fall when we met those girls from Stockton?"

"God, you going to bring that up again? I told you that they were probably doing some sorority initiation and had to screw the ugliest son of a bitch they could find." Paul laughed. "Good thing Brian wasn't along for the ride that time or you wouldn't have even got a second look."

"You know McFadden's got more than just his looks going for him. All them girls want to be sweet to that poor little orphan." Andy chimed in.

Brian pushed himself away from his beer and glared at Andy. He could take the ration of shit his friends would dole out, but no one would ever talk about the fact that his parents had died. "I would suggest you shut your mouth."

"Awe, come on Brian." Andy obviously didn't know enough to shut his mouth. "Why else would the women around here slide up to you so quick? They see you and want to make it all better."

Brian's face turned red and he took a step towards Andy, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Come on Brian. Let me buy you another drink." Paul steered his friend back to the bar. He shot a look back to Jim and Andy indicating that they should back off. Once back at the bar rail, Paul spoke quietly to his friend. "Don't let him get to you. He was being an ass earlier too. Seems like he thinks that his girl is stepping out on him."

Brian took a huge swallow. "Could see why."

"Yeah." Paul looked around at the bar that had been filling up steadily all night. "There ain't too many in here tonight that I want to hang around with. What you say we head over to Angels Camp and hit Claussen's?"

Brian looked around the bar, seeing the same faces that he would see every time he came to town. "Sure, you driving?"

"Better me than you. I want to get there tonight. That old truck of yours is only just faster than walking."

"Hey, it gets me where I need to be."

The two men downed their beer quickly and nodded good bye to Donna the bartender. Twenty minutes later Paul pulled his truck into the parking lot behind Claussen's. The crowd at this bar was even larger; obviously the warm weather had lured them as well.

Both men grabbed a drink and with beer in hand, they turned to scan the crowd. There were a few familiar faces in the crowd, since the younger crowd in the small towns normally did not restrict their partying to one spot. The jukebox was blasting a current hit song and there were quite a few people dancing to it. Several young women had already spotted the two men and had cast friendly smiles their way.

"Looks like you've got a couple of admirers already." Paul nodded towards the women, returning their smiles.

Brian smiled towards them and laughed lightly as the one blushed furiously and turned away. "I don't recognize either one of them."

"Probably a good thing you don't. If they had been talking to Sherry Wilson they might not be smiling."

"I can't help it. If Daniel hadn't washed my jeans without checking the pockets, I would have had her number. There was no way for me to have called her and even if I did, I was out fixing fence for a week."

"Brian, you have an excuse for everything." Paul shook his head. "You should just straight up admit you don't want to get serious. Look them in the eye and say "Darling I want to bed ya, not wed ya."."

"Right," Brian snorted, "girls would be good with that."

"Least they would know what they are getting from you."

"Why is this suddenly an issue about me? I've seen you take home plenty of women."

"Yeah, but I'm an asshole and those girls know it. You, my friend, are a nice guy and they think that they are going to take care of you. Kind of like when they find a little lost puppy." Paul's voice took on a falsetto, "Oh that poor cowboy. I better take him home and feed him. Whoops, he ended up in my bed."

"Screw you." Brian polished off his beer and signaled for another.

"As much as your rugged outdoorsy look turns me on, I'm going to pass."

"You can be a real dickhead sometimes."

Paul smiled brightly, "Yes I can and that redeeming quality keeps girls from wanting to settle down with me. They just want me for my body."

Almost by magic, two of the dancers approached the men and asked them to dance. Allowing the ladies to pull them over to the dance floor, both men pulled their respective partner into an embrace as they started dancing to a slow Conway Twitty number.

As the night wore on and the drinks continued, Brian found himself dancing closer and closer to the young woman who had claimed him as her dance partner. During several lulls in the music, Brian had learned that her name was Linda and that she lived in the little town of Copperopolis, about fifteen miles to the south-west of Angels Camp. She had come to Claussen's with her friend Debbie. Looking at how Debbie and Paul were pawing at one another, Debbie would probably not be heading home that evening.

Paul had bought a round of shots and it was this final drink that tipped Brian past the point of caring about anything. He and Linda found themselves alone at the table as the other two slipped out the door; Debbie nodding at Linda as she left. Linda had spoken with her friend earlier and Debbie had already planned on going home with Paul.

"Go ahead and take Brian to your place. No one will know and when Paul brings me home, he can pick Brian up." Debbie had encouraged.

"Alright, but make sure you get back earlier than last time. It's no fun sitting around with a hung over cowboy."

So as she saw the couple depart, she slid her hand down Brian's arm in a caressing manner. "So you want to dance some more?"

Brian smiled a slow smile, "No ma'am. I'll not sure as if I still feel my legs."

"In that case, we better head to the car while you can still walk."

"Car? Paul's got a truck."

"Paul and Debbie took off a while ago."

"Damn him. He's always leaving me like this."

"Don't worry Brian; you can come over to my place. I'll take good care of you."

"You will, will ya. Well darling, that sounds like the best plan I've heard all night."

Linda stood up and offered a hand out to Brian. He grabbed it and rose up out of the booth. Wrapping his arms around the woman, he kissed her deeply. When he broke the kiss, both were somewhat breathless.

"Come on, my car is out the back."

They headed out the back exit and several of the cowboys at the bar snickered watching them leave. One sitting on the corner shook his head. "Looks like Linda caught herself another one tonight. I hope Craig isn't coming home tonight. That would be quiet the surprise for all three of them."

Another man replied, "Don't see how he can't figure out that she is screwing everything that moves when he's on the road."

"I just don't want to be the one warming that bed when he finds out. Craig Hayes is a mean son-of-a-bitch on a good day."

"Like my granddaddy always said. If you are going to dance, someday you are going to pay the piper."