Jessie stood from where she had been kneeling on the rocky ground. She wiped her sleeve across her forehead, and pressed her hands onto her lower back as she arched her spine. She breathed a sigh of relief as the vertebrae released a popping sound; once more she eyed the long line of fencing that stretched on before her. The enormity of the task pulled a sigh from the cowgirl and she slumped forward, frustrated. The fenced boundaries of her ranch stretched on for acres and she had been working on the minor repairs since the sun had risen. Buzz had arrived late the night before, and she was hoping to coerce her friend into helping, but he and Woody had both been absent when she rose that morning.
Jessie cast a look at her horse, "Y'know…if it weren't for the fact that I didn't wanna risk losin' ya to the canyon, I would just let this fence rot."
Bullseye whickered and nudged her with his nose, as if in apology. She laughed and gave his neck a rub and a pat, "I know you wouldn't get lost; it's the other horses. Oh well, back to work, I guess; at least jus' to finish up this one patch. The sun's getting mighty high, and I don't wanna be caught out here when the afternoon heats up."
She crouched down, set to continue her repair work when a strange shot echoed from the nearby canyon. She held her hand out to signal that Bullseye should remain where he was and climbed over the slatted fence, quietly creeping towards the edge of the land. She lay down, peering over the edge and squinted as she saw a group of three…well, one was a human, but she could not tell the species of the other two. One of the aliens was holding a weapon and fired it at a far-off target, hitting it with total accuracy. Jessie's eyes widened in admiration at the skill; she turned her attention to the group as one of them spoke.
"You can do that every time?"
The alien who had fired the weapon nodded, "As long as the pay is good."
"You'll get your money. Half now, half when the job is done, just as we discussed," spoke the only human of the trio. "To make sure the terms are clear: you are shooting to kill. Lightyear cannot be alive if you want the rest of your money, or your reputation to remain intact."
"I'll be taking that half, then," the alien held out his hand, tossing the offered pouch in the air a few times before pocketing it. "Gentlemen, it's a pleasure doing business with you. Rest assured, Lightyear won't know what hit him."
"Good," the human spoke up. "We should get to town and get in position. He'll be there by now; his sheriff friend asked for his help on an anonymous tip." The trio laughed, mounted their horses, and set off for the old western town where Woody was sheriff.
Jessie's heart leapt into her throat as she hurried back to Bullseye. "Come on, boy; time to ride like the wind!" She urged the horse back to the farmhouse, in case Woody and Buzz had returned. The house stood empty and Jessie knew time was running short. She jumped back into the saddle and spurred the horse along the three-mile trek to town. They skidded to a halt in front of the Sheriff's office, Bullseye panting hard. Jessie tossed his reins over a post and gave his neck a quick pat, "Stay here." She poked her head into the jailhouse, but there was no sign of Woody or Buzz. "Where in tarnation can they be?" She stepped out onto the porch and shaded her eyes with her hand. The town was slightly more empty than usual; the rising heat of the summer day kept people in doors. Some were out, milling about the streets as they did their business with the general store or the post office.
Jessie inhaled sharply as she spotted Buzz; he was standing by the corner of the feed store, looking as if he was waiting on someone. She did not wait to see who or what that might be and ran up to him, "Buzz!"
The Space Ranger's blue eyes revealed his surprise at seeing her, "Jessie! What are you doing here?" He did not maintain eye contact, instead he looked around the town.
"I gotta tell ya somethin'," she panted.
"Not now, okay? Go back home, you can tell me later," he seemed agitated by her presence, something Jessie was used to and, normally, amused by; at that moment, however, it only made increased her frustration.
"No, I ain't got time for your nervousness! It's important! Buzz, please!"
The desperate tone of her voice made him look back at her and he sighed, catching sight of the worry in her eyes. He gently maneuvered her so she was standing with her back to the store. "All right, all right. What is it?"
She took a deep breath and told him what she had overhead, "An' he's a good shot, Buzz, I saw him. They were comin' here, to town, knowin' you'd be here, too. I don't know what-" Her sentence was cut short by a bullet ricocheting off of the wall right beside her head. She let out a yelp as Buzz pulled her into the sheltered alley next to the building, and pressed himself close to her, shielding her with his body. She squeezed her eyes closed as the sounds of ammunition, some familiar, some not, filled the air.
The shooting ceased and the following silence was almost deafening. Jessie's heart pounded as a scratchy voice sounded from Buzz's pocket, "Captain?"
He stepped back just enough so he could retrieve a small communicator from his shirt, "Status report."
"We got him, sir, and the men who hired him. Any casualties?"
"Negative. I'll meet you back at the rendezvous point shortly," he looked down at Jessie with an expression that was hard to decipher.
"Understood, sir," the communicator fell silent.
Buzz's hand ghosted Jessie's cheek momentarily before it came to rest on her shoulder, "Are you all right?"
She nodded and licked her lips; she was finding it hard to breathe with him in such close proximity and her heart was still pounding. She looked up at him in sudden wonder, "Ya knew?"
He nodded, "The question is, why didn't you?"
"What d'ya mean? Buzz, I only heard what I did because of dumb luck!" she was confused by the quiet fury in his voice and in his eyes as he gave her a leveling gaze.
"I have to go take care of this. I'll see you back at the house later," he turned and walked away without offering any explanation.
Jessie took a step after him, softly calling his name, but without effect. She swallowed hard, confused by the anger she saw in his eyes. "How was I supposed to know?" she mumbled to herself as she walked back to Bullseye. In all of the years they had been friends, Jessie had never once been the recipient of Buzz's anger. Her heart sank as she thought about facing him later; he seemed unreceptive to her pleas for understanding. What am I going to say? How am I gonna make him understand when he won't even explain why he's mad?
The rendezvous point turned out to be at ranch, and Jessie remained in the barn for as long as she could. When she heard the engines of the ship as it took off, she sighed and rubbed Bullseye's nose, "Guess I can't put this off any longer." She trudged up the steps to the back door; her hand was just on the doorknob when she heard shouting coming from the living room. Instead of going inside, she crept around the side porch and stopped short, realizing the voices belonged to Buzz and Woody.
"How could you not tell her, Woody!?" Jessie took a step back at the raw anger she heard in Buzz's voice. He ain't mad at me; he's mad at Woody!
"I didn't tell her because I didn't want her getting involved! You know how she is, Buzz! The minute you tell her not to do something, she goes and does it! The best way to keep Jessie out of danger is to not even tell her about it!"
"Do you even know what happened?! Woody, she overheard the bounty hunters and came to warn me. Right up to me, while I was bait. Craters…you…she's not a little girl, Woody; she's a grown woman and you need to trust her!"
"You know what I think? I think you're lettin' your feelings for Jessie cloud your judgment!" Woody's statement caused Jessie's heart to flutter, Feelin's?
There was a deadly calm to Buzz's voice, "She was almost shot, Woody; she could have been killed. All because you didn't see fit to trust her."
"That…that isn't true," the confidence in Woody's voice faltered.
"It is true; ask her yourself when she gets home. If that's not enough to satisfy you, I'll take you to town and show you the scar on the wall next to where she was standing. She could have died, Woody; maybe that should cloud your judgment."
Jessie was still processing what she heard as the screen door slammed and Buzz suddenly rounded the corner. He stopped suddenly; the shock on his face mirrored that on Jessie's. They stared at each other for a few moments before Jessie cleared her throat; she knew there would be no use denying she heard everything. "Gu-guess it was kinda a close shave today, huh?" She attempted to speak lightly, but her mouth suddenly went dry and the words fell clumsily from her mouth.
Buzz closed his eyes and sighed heavily. A moment later, and without a word, he closed the distance between them; taking her face in his hands, he claimed her lips with his.
Jessie stiffened in shock, but only for an instant before her eyes fluttered closed and she brought a hand up to cover his. As a girl, she had had a crush on Buzz, but as time and distance grew between them, she gave it little thought. When she was of age, suitors came to call and she did little to discourage them, however none of them lasted long; she would not let them. After a few outings, she politely declined any further attentions. One evening she was watching a particularly hopeful suitor walking away from the house, his head hung in dejection. Woody had come into the hallway and crossed his arms, "What was wrong with that one?" She had looked at him and shrugged, unable to explain it herself.
She looked at Buzz as she felt him break away from her; in his eyes was an uncertainty about what just passed between them. Her face broke into a wide smile and that was all the confirmation he needed. She threw her arms around his neck; as she pulled him into another kiss, Jessie realized what had been wrong with all of the men who had courted her: they were not Buzz. Her heart belonged to him, it always had; and she knew, from that moment forward, it always would.