"Armando said he saw you and Jeffers get into it a little bit last night…"

Jordan's soothing voice appeared by his ear as he leaned over the stall wall to refill a water bucket. Without her around, he'd spent the night on the cot in the tack stall, being woken up every hour when a certain unhappy equine next door decided to kick the walls for fun.

As a matter of fact, his concentration was fading so fast he couldn't remember every detail of the morning chores he'd already completed.

"It was just a misunderstanding. You are right, he's a hell of a guy."

Never bothering to ask for permission, she reached under his flannel shirt, her warm hands slowly massaging his rigidly stiff back and easing some of the pain from his involuntary tumble the other day. Leaning his forehead onto the arm holding the water hose in place, Steve relished her gentle touch until she reached his shoulder, causing him to jerk back up.

"That still hurting, eh?"

"Just a little. You know how us young kids are, can't handle a little bump…", he teased, only to watch her dart around the corner to dig in one of the tack boxes, before returning with a snifter full of light-brown liquid.

Or liquor, as he presumed.

"Here's something that'll make you feel better. After all, I need you in working condition tonight. Here, I'll take a shot with you."

Bypassing his better judgement for the second time in two days, Steve watched Jordan gulp two shots worth of whiskey, then hand him the bottle to do the same.

The unusually bitter taste made him cringe and he took a couple of breaths to fight the nausea, his body balking at the latest concoction thrown at it.

"What…what is this?", he croaked, feeling his eyes well up with tears until the horrible taste finally left his tongue.

"Whiskey…and a surprise.", Jordan replied cheekily and took another swig, before hiding the bottle back in the tack trunk.

A surprise.

Unfortunately for Steve, that could only mean one thing.

Wrapping both of her arms around his neck, the uppity rodeo girl pulled him into a long, passionate kiss, clearly eager to avoid the topic altogether.

Steve felt his body relax as she ran her slender hand through his hair, curling it around her fingers, then proceeded to caress the back of his neck.

With one hand was still holding the hose; Steve reached around her lean waist with the other, pressing her warm body against his for a moment of shameless affection.

"I'm sure you've got a couple of minutes to step into my trailer and we could have some fun if you'd like…", Jordan teased and ran her hand along his refined jaw, before letting her index finger slide down his chest toward his belt.

Steve was about to answer when he glanced up and noticed Tanner standing nearby, trying to appear interested in a gray gelding that was eating on his hay. Briefly making eye contact with the African American Inspector, he kissed Jordan one more time and took a step back, much to her confusion.

"I am not quite done yet for the morning.", he lied and smiled broadly, "Boogie kicked a hole in his stall wall and Savage came up lame this morning. Jeffers said to cool his hind with the hose every two hours and it's time again."

"Alright."

Unable to hide her disappointment, Jordan pulled her hands off him and shoved them back into her tight jean pockets.

"I'll see you this afternoon. I want to go over some stuff for the parade tonight. Say around 4?"

Nodding at her as she spun around, Steve took a second to appreciate the beautiful sight of her backside walking away from him, before focusing back on Tanner.

Dressed in his beige trench coat, Bill had positioned himself near a nook along the outer wall of the pavilion, giving them some privacy in the busy area.

"Man, Steve, when you go undercover you go undercover…", the African American inspector chuckled with a wily grin, before looking around nervously.

"Gotta make it look convincing.", he lied, hoping that Bill would choose not to bring the topic up when talking to Mike again.

The African-American Inspector shook his head in obvious amusement before putting both of his hands in the pockets of his coat, absent-mindedly fumbling with his car keys.

"Mike wants me to tell you that the bracelet you found…Mitch Howard knew nothing about it. He thinks it may have come from a secret admirer. Also, Lenny says that your killer would be an authoritative figure, somebody who may have wanted to force Sally into a relationship. "

Steve nodded faintly, when the effects of Jordan's surprise hit him unexpectedly fast and hard this time around. Swaying slightly, he hoped to hide the symptoms by casually putting a hand against the nearby wall to steady himself.

"Oh, and we arrested Gerry Reeds last night.", Bill continued undisturbed, "But it looks like he'll be out again by the end of the day. Mike was out of his mind last night worrying about you. Did anybody hear the newscast down here?"

"Hm?", he asked sheepishly, not having heard Tanner's question over the rushing of blood in his ears. Knowing well enough that the effects would last at least a couple of hours, he kept his expression neutral, as his vision began to double in front of his eyes.

Steve desperately tried to focus, using his chore list to keep his brain going, remembering everything that still had to get done before he could take a break to sleep off the side effects.

"Mike wants to know if you are still safe. Did anybody overhear the newscast?...Steve, are you alright?"

Looking back up at Tanner when he felt the Inspector's hand on his shoulder, Steve nodded, trying to blink away the dizziness that was quickly putting him into a whole new level of drug-induced high.

"All is well here. Tell Mike not to worry. I got this. He worries too much."

Pushing himself away from the wall, Steve proceeded to stumble down the aisle, where a lame Savage was awaiting treatment, never even giving Tanner a chance to ask what he'd found out.

Somewhere, hidden in the back of his sluggish mind, a nagging voice was questioning if he was getting far too deep into this mess for his own good.