Author's Note:

This story was inspired, as always, by the incredibly talented Robert Fuller's intensely moving portrayal of Jess Harper.

There were also two other influences for this story: a mention in one of my previous stories (A Time and A Time and Forever) where Slim wonders about Jess's birthday, and a person I know whose attitude about their birthday is the same as Jess's.

Special thanks to SonoraDesertBloom for making time in her schedule to take a gander at this story and offer some very thoughtful feedback. Thanks, pard!

The Honor of the Man

Chapter One

Daisy stood, hands on hips and a big smile on her face, surveying the results of the preparations for the event. Colorful decorations made from paper, ribbons, and strips of material graced the whole room, forming garlands and streamers around furniture and along the mantelpiece. A big banner hung from the rafters above the dining table. She had worked on that largest of the decorations secretly for the past week, while Jess and Slim were out on the range herding cattle, mending fences, and catching mustangs. Using remnants of materials, provided to her by the seamstress in town and various other friends, she had intricately woven them together to form the beautiful, scalloped eye-catcher. The colors were vibrant and varied, lending additional cheerfulness to the cozy main room.

"Well, Slim, what do you think? Does everything look festive enough for a big celebration?"

The tall rancher stepped up beside her, studying the scene along with her. "Mighty fine, Daisy. Everything looks real good. He'll sure be surprised."

Daisy giggled. "He will, won't he? Oh, I can't wait to see the look on his face. He has no idea we know the date."

Slim puzzled again over the way Jess so adroitly sidestepped discussing his birthday anytime someone brought it up, how he avoided letting anyone know the date or even the season. He always cleverly steered any talk of it in an entirely different direction. It seemed strange behavior for a guy who loved to have fun and thought any excuse for a party was a good one. Except, apparently, when it concerned his birthday. Slim shrugged and just chalked it up to the shyness Jess occasionally exhibited about having attention drawn to himself.

Mike came from his bedroom, carrying a two-foot-square placard. "The paint's dry, just in time, Aunt Daisy. Where should I put it?"

"Let's stand it up right here on the table, beside the cake." They positioned the sign, and Daisy gave the boy a hug. "You did a wonderful job, Mike! So neatly lettered. It's very easy to read. And such lovely bright colors!" Mike blushed a light shade of pink at the compliments, but smiled broadly and stood tall as he accepted the earned praise.

Slim smiled, reading the sign aloud. "Happy Birthday, Jess!" The grin progressed to a chuckle. "He's gonna be downright shocked we found out."

"How did ya find out when his birthday is, Slim?" Mike asked. "When I asked him last November after my birthday, he just told me his was 'a while ago.' And then when I asked him again a couple months back, he just winked at me and told me to get busy on my chores."

"I know what you mean, Mike." Daisy patted the child's shoulder. "I've tried pulling the information out of him a few times too. Never got anything more than that sly grin of his. How did you go about it, Slim?"

Slim glanced at her, then at Mike. "You remember, don't ya, that a few months back I sent a letter to Jess's sister out in California asking her for the date?"

Mike nodded. "Oh yeah."

"Now, Tiger, you'd better make sure everything's ready outside to get the horses out of sight when people arrive, like we talked about."

"Yes, sir. I know the plan." Mike grinned and ran outside.

After watching the boy let the door slam behind him, Daisy turned back to Slim. "But you told me you'd never heard back from Francie."

"I didn't. And that worries me a bit. I hope she and Ben are okay." He shrugged off the concern. "It's probably just a matter of a letter not coming through. The mail between the frontier in Wyoming and the frontier in California isn't all that reliable."

"But then, how did you discover the date?"

"When I didn't hear back from Francie, I tried a different way to track it down. With Mort's help."

"Mort? How did he find it?" Daisy's curiosity peaked, and she wondered why she hadn't thought to ask about this earlier, as she, Slim, and Sheriff Cory planned the party.

"Well, first he wired some courthouses in the Panhandle, but he didn't find a record of Jess's birth from any of them. Then he and I thought about other places that keep official information. Another round of telegrams from Mort did the trick."

At Daisy's raised eyebrows, he explained, "Do you recall I told you that shortly after Jess came here, Jack Slade tried to fire him? And he said it was because Jess had been in trouble in Abilene, Fort Worth, Emporia, and a few other places? He said Jess had a record. So…" Slim smiled sheepishly. "Mort contacted the marshals in those three towns, plus a couple of state authorities in Texas. Finally got two answers, one from Fort Worth and one form the state. And both gave the same date."

Daisy glanced askance at him. "I see. And I understand why you didn't want to bring up the rather… shall we say… less admirable aspects of Jess's past in front of Mike. But, Slim Sherman," she added in a teasing admonishment, "I never thought I'd hear you tell an untruth. Not even a small fib to a child."

"I didn't, Daisy. I never said Francie gave me the information. I just asked if Mike remembered that I sent a letter asking her for it."

The sweet lady shook her head and smiled in amicable acceptance of the fine line of truth Slim had straddled. But then a concerned look replaced it. "And how are you going to explain to Jess that you found out? Our snooping is going to be pretty obvious."

"If he asks, I'll just deflect it like he does, using the same phrase he uses. I came across the information 'a while ago.'" Slim smirked mischievously.

"You'd better hope that satisfies him. Or you could be in for a dunking in the water trough!"

"If I end up there, I won't be the only one." Slim quipped, and they both laughed.

Daisy gathered up the spool of twine they had used to secure the banner. "Well, I'd better make sure all the food is nearly ready. It won't be too much longer before people are sure to start arriving, since we told them to be here by three-thirty. We want to have everyone in place when Jess gets off the four o'clock stage."

Slim scooted the chairs from near the fireplace to the side of the room to make way for guests. "Sure glad it worked out to send him to Cheyenne for a couple of days to take care of that contract business. Kept him away at just the right time. Otherwise, I don't know how we would have gotten everything ready."

"You were very clever in convincing him to take the stage instead of riding Traveller over there, so we could be sure of when he'd get back."

"It wasn't easy, Daisy." He grinned. "But it seems few things are when it comes to Jess."

"Oh now!" Daisy scolded good-naturedly, wagging a finger at him. You know he's settled down so much." She checked the clock on the mantel. "I just hope Mose will get that stage here on time. Not too late, and definitely not early. We need to be sure the guests and their horses and wagons are out of sight when Jess arrives." Her brow wrinkled. "Oh, Slim, maybe we should have told Mose what was going on, so he could adjust the pace of the team as needed. I hope he won't feel left out."

"Nah. Old Mose will just be glad to enjoy the party. If there aren't any passengers besides Jess, he can even stay a nice long while. And really, Daisy..." Slim cocked an eyebrow. "...you'd want to trust a secret like this to Mose?"

Shaking her head, Daisy gave another giggle as she bustled into the kitchen. Slim smiled and headed to the barn.