AN ;

I had been trying to put up this fic for a while. I would continuously get the inspiration for it, and then as quick as it came it was gone. I took the time now to write and put out the first chapter.

I'm currently working on the second chapter of Ttobba's requested fic as well, not to mention, balancing life, work, sleep, yadda yadda. Anyway, I'm eager to present to you the first chapter of my new multi-chapter fic of a sweet cowboy romance.

Red dead redemption and it's characters, plotlines, ect do not belong to me. They belong to Rockstar.

This was inspired by me singing the chorus of " Compass " by Jamie Lidell over and over again, and by Nate, for if he wasn't here I would be a lost soul in Odd Fellow's.

Enjoy.

Chapter 1.

[ The Sun. ]

I can remember when I was just a kid. The summer sun in New Austin were so blistering you could cook almost anything on the rocks. It made the ladies hike up their skirts, and the men sweat as bed as pigs in their pens.

Still to this day the heat would always get to me.

I rubbed my eyes and tilted the brim of pa's hat back as I gazed up into the sun. I absent mindedly spit into the sand before I turned back to my steed and shoved my boot into the stirrup, mounting the horse.

It was almost noon. I tilted the hat back down to shield my eyes from the suns rays before I forgot to make my daily visit to ma, pa, and uncle. I dismounted and walked past the horses in the corral and up the small hill on the side of the ranch. The graves looked as they always did, withering wood tarnished by the harsh weather, but each had new flowers gracing them thanks to myself.

I stepped over to Uncle's first. Took of pa's hat, which I now called my own..or had for a while since he passed back when ma was still alive and held it in my hands over my heart. I closed my eyes taking a deep breath and whispering a small prayer for the old bastard. He never helped much from what I remember but we loved his ass anyway.

I moved towards ma's, the newest of the bunch. I smiled down at the grave, hat still in my hands I kneeled, again, whispering a prayer for her and using one of my gloved hands to stroke against the smooth wood before I made my way to pa's. I always found myself spending a bit of extra time at pa's for some unknown reason.

When he was out, I spent the time to really get to know ma and uncle, pa was a stubborn, rough, hard working man though. I realize this more now then I had when I was a youngin'. I sighed, eyes closed again as I whispered a longer prayer. Pa had been a bad man in his time, but repented enough to make it into heaven I hoped. When I was finished I replaced the hat on my head and headed back down the hill, giving a final look over my shoulder at the three before I reached the gate to the horses corral.

Grumble. Grumble. Gurgle.

I looked down at my cotton shirt tucked beneath my leather jacket. I was starving.

I glanced to my horse, it looked in my direction and stared as if to say " Get on me and ride you shit head. " but I couldn't without grabbing a bite to eat.

Don't get me wrong, ma's cookin' was terrible. But it wasn't as bad as mine was. I entered the empty house and made my way to the kitchen. I looked around finding nothing much to eat I decided it was time that I went hunting.

I made my way out to the barn to fetch my hunting gun. Or pa's hunting gun if that's how you wanted to think of it. In all senses it was pa's but just like his hat and most of his stuff, after he passed, it was mine. I examined it to make sure it was loaded and ready for the short trip into the woods to kill a few deer or elk...whichever caught my eye first.

I grabbed some extra gun powder before heading back out and to my horse who was waiting impatiently today. After mounting, I made my way away from the ranch and down the trail into the woods, it wasn't long after that I saw my first deer nibbling on some grass. After I aimed and shot, it fell dying. I waited and saw another one, killing it as well. I waited until they were both dead before I tied them up and mounted them on my horse, taking them back to the house.

Hitching the horse to the fence I went inside and prepared some deer stew throwing the rest of the usable parts into a bucket for now, I'd go through it later. Ma had taught me this recipe before she passed. Deer, salt, pepper, carrots and a certain mixture of mints and herbs she found appealing. Marston family secret.

After it simmered for a while, I had been reading a few books while that happened, I got myself a bowl and practically swallowed it whole. I still had some stale bread left over from when I shopped a while back and had that with it as well, not to mention, some whiskey. I had been meaning to go into town to fetch a newspaper and some more food, not to mention, get a tailor to fix one of my cotton shirts since only women sewed, but after I ate the soup I felt extremely lazy.

So lazy in fact I took a nap outside in the old gazebo. I woke around sun set and made my way back into the house promising myself I would make my way to Blackwater in the morning. The rest of the night went by simple, a book, some whiskey, more deer stew, more books, and then I had fallen asleep on the sofa in front of the fire.

The sun's rays woke me up early the next morning as the began to peek into the sky. I stretched before standing and heating up some deer stew. I gobbled the rest of it down before I got dressed in my normal bounty hunter attire, topped it off with my hat and made my way outside. I did the normal chores of feeding the animals, taking the cows to pasture, and collecting some of the chickens eggs before I saddled my horse, who was a Hungarian half bred and rode into Blackwater.

I brought my torn shirt to the tailors, bought some groceries from the general store, medicines from the doctor, headed back home to drop them all off before I came back up to check on the tailor. They weren't finished yet since they were busy with orders today so I headed into the center of town, turned to the saloon and bought myself a paper. I was reading it, leaning against the wall and listening to the drunk bastards swear and spit in the saloon when all of a sudden a person came running out of the train station, people began to scream which meant a bandit. I watched as they stole a horse from the hitching post and galloped out of town.

Alarmed I whistled, mounted my own and followed, hollering " Don't worry, I'll get'em! " as I rode out of town as well. Catching up to them was easy, they seemed like a novice riding, I whipped out my lasso and tossed it out, grabbing a hold of their horse, they tumbled to the ground somewhere close to Armadillo and began to run on foot. I jumped off and chased after them, drawing my revolver and holding it by my side.

They had run for a while, I nearly lost them once when they ran through a deep brush, but I saw them and began the chase once more. I chased them all the way, infact, to the edge of a very very steep cliff. If either of us fell, well, you'd see us in Odd Fellows for sure. They turned, alarmed.

" C'mon mister. Stealing money and horses isn't worth riskin' your hide for it. Is it now? " I spit. They just stared at me, backing up. They were clad in cotton shirt, pants, leather boots, leather jacket, and a red bandana around their mouth. Their cowboy hat hid most of their head. They stepped back.

" Don't be dumb now mister. " I aimed my gun towards them as they stepped back again. My eyes averted to their feet, so close to the edge, and then...that's when it happened, a single rock shifted, and they lost their balance, tumbling backwards over the side of the cliff. I tossed my gun, thankfully it sent a bullet into the air instead of into us and I dove forward, hands reaching out to grab theirs, our fingers almost grasping...

End.

[ So, that was the end of chapter one, who wants a chapter two? Tee hee. ;D ]

Reviews and comments appreciated, constructive advice only. ~