Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?
You've been out ridin' fences, for so long - now.
Ohh you're a hard one.
I know that you've got your reasons.
These things that are pleasin' you
Can hurt you somehow.
Don't you draw the queen of diamonds, boy,
She'll beat you if she's able.
You know the queen of hearts is always your best bet.
Now it seems to me, some fine things
Have been laid upon your table.
But you only want the ones,
That you can't get.
It may be rainin', but there's a rainbow above you.
You better let somebody love you…
- Desperado, The Eagles
Kevin McCallum unfurled the worn wool blanket onto the scrubby grass of the hard plains that surrounded him for miles in every direction. Helios, a golden palomino stallion, the pride of Elysion Ranch, whickered nearby. Both man and horse were glad to be done after another strenuous day on the range. Kevin managed to start a small fire and stretched out next to it, glad for the warmth.
"Think it's time to head home?" he asked his mount.
It was nearing the end of the scouting season. Like the steady points of a compass, Endy, the ranch boss, had sent his four lead cowboys out into the field – ensuring the property and some 10,000 head of steer were protected and safe. Kevin looked now to the west, where the sun was disappearing under the horizon, and the stars were beginning to wink into existence. West was home, the direction of the Elysion, of town, of her…
As much as he tried to wear himself to the point of exhaustion, at night, images crept unbidden into his mind. The cornsilk blonde hair, the laughing blue eyes fringed in delicate lashes, the pale pink smile… He moved his wide brimmed hat over his face, attempting to block out what he was powerless to stop.
Would she be waiting for him?
Did she think of that in the night in the Spring as often as he did?
Proving he wasn't as tired as he thought, his right hand dipped below the faded waistline of his dungarees, past the point where his skin switched from deep tan to pale tones and sought the only release he could.
(Author's note: this is intended as part of some epic I'll probably never write… I had an idea of the shitennou recast as cowboys working the Elysion ranch and would be equal parts Australia / Oklahoma / Dark Tower / Laura Ingalls Wilder / Oregon Trail).