Disclaimer: Jack, Spot, David, Racetrack, etc are not mine... though if Disney wanted to perhaps give them to me for Christmas I wouldn't mind at all!

Of Cowboys and Dreams

A couple weeks passed and Jack continued to see Leigh on a regular basis. He still was adamant on the fact that they were only friends and didn't like each other more than that, though no one actually believed it. He had taken to walking her home after work, knowing her father didn't want her doing so alone.

She had long given up arguing that she was able to get home alone. It was just an excuse for her to spend more time with her new friend. When she would work, every other day or so, she would eat either lunch or dinner with the newsies at Tibby's, even if Jack wasn't around. She was happy to find they'd accepted her with open arms and didn't treat her differently at all. Racetrack had even been trying to teach her how to play poker, saying she need to learn how to play if she came to the upcoming poker night with them. She was terrible at the game but still made an effort to at least try much to the amusement of the boys.

One day Jack walked Leigh home early in the evening. Medda had only needed her for a couple hours so she got off work early. Jack having nothing to do insisted on walking her home even though it wasn't dark outside yet. As they approached her house Leigh spotted her father taking out the trash. She smiled cheerfully, wanting to finally introduce Jack to him. Jack gathered that the man standing, waiting for them was her father and he mentally prepared himself to get called street trash and what not and to be told that Leigh was too good to be spending time with him.

"Papa!" Leigh addressed. Jack offered a small smile to the man.

"Papa, this is my friend Jack – he's the one that's been walking me home when I work at night" she introduced. "Jack this is my father Michael Wentworth" Jack just barely refrained making a surprised face when the man offered his hand. Shaking the older mans hand; Jack spared a glance at Leigh. He could see the laughter in her eyes. She could tell he was nervous. She's lovin' this he thought.

"It's nice to finally meet you Jack. I've heard so much about you... Leigh speaks of you all the time" Leigh's eyes immediately found the ground very interesting. When she looked up she blushed as Jack shot her a look that said 'oh really?' She rolled her eyes.

Inwardly laughing Michael Wentworth watched the silent exchange between his daughter and her friend.

"Nice ta meet you too Sir" Jack responded politely as they dropped hands.

"Would you like to stay for dinner Jack?" Leigh's father asked, feeling a sense of accomplishment as the boy fumbled for an answer, looking more than a little put off.

"I uh..." Jack shot Leigh a questioning glance seeing if it was okay with her.

"Of course he would Papa" She cut in much to Jacks gratitude.

"Then it's settled" Michael smiled. He didn't want to scar away Leigh's friend but it was appearing to be very easy to play with the boys mind. Chuckling at his own thoughts he held out his arm letting the two teens pass by him into the house. He went to the kitchen to tell Maria to make enough food for a guest as well, before going to read in his study.

"You were laughing at me" Jack leaned in and said quietly to Leigh as she led him to the living room. He noticed it was nicely furnished but not so extravagantly that it cried 'MONEY!'

"I did no such thing," she argued with a small grin.

"Ya were inside, I could tell" Jack sat on one of the couches, noting it was extremely comfortable. Leigh simply shrugged as she sat beside him. He narrowed his eyes for a moment before smirking. Running a hand through his hair and then letting his arm rest on the back of the couch, he looked at her keenly.

"So ya talk 'bout me do ya?" he teased. Leigh blushed and opened her mouth to respond but found she couldn't because it was the truth. Jack decided he liked the way she looked when she blushed and made a mental note to make her do it again in the near future.

"Do you know how to play checkers?" she changed the subject when she found her voice.

"Yeah" he watched her as she went and got the game and came back, sitting across from him in a chair. She placed the board on the coffee table between them.

"Red or black?" she asked, hating that her cheeks still felt warm from blushing before.

"Red" he chose, finding it quite interesting that his one question had had such an effect on her.

"Jack." she finally met his gaze.

"What?"

"Stop thinking about it, your ego doesn't need to be any bigger." Laughing he set up his pieces on the board and saluted her.

"Yes Ma'am"

Just outside the doorway Leigh's father smiled to himself. He was glad Leigh had found a good friend or maybe something more, to spend time with. Despite Jack's financial or social status, he was quite pleased with her choice.

Dinner seemed to go smoothly, most dominated by conversation between Jack and Mr. Wentworth. Leigh listened contentedly as Jack came out of his shell and spoke passionately about his own opinions and such, of the topics discussed.

At one point Leigh noticed her father give her a look and a small nod. His silent approval of Jack made the butterflies in her stomach start dancing. She smiled at her dessert and tuned out the current conversation.

Once the dishes from dessert were cleared, Leigh's father said goodnight and retired to his office to work. Leigh and Jack went back into the living room where the housekeeper had lit a fire in the fireplace.

Jack sat on a chair by the fire as Leigh went to a large window and looked up at the stars. He watched her for a bit before he got up, his curiosity getting the best of him.

"Watcha lookin' at?" Leigh jumped as she felt Jack's breath on her ear. She hadn't heard him approach and was now acutely aware of just how close he was standing to her.

"The stars" she answered meekly. He moved to lean against the windowsill beside her so he could face her. He watched her face as she roamed the infinite sky with her eyes.

"When I was little, just after my mom died, I would cry all the time because I wanted her back." Leigh began so quietly that if Jack hadn't been listening for it he would have missed it. He continued to listen carefully since she's never spoken of her mother before to him.

"One night Papa took me out into the yard and we lay on the grass looking up at the stars. He said that that's where she is and if I ever needed her to just look to the stars and she would be there" She smiled softly. Jack gently found her hand and intertwined their fingers.

"I talk to her sometimes... ...you probably think I'm crazy" she laughed at her self. He shook his head.

"Nah I don't... Why do you talk to her?"

"Just when I've got things on my mind... when I'm confused or something I guess" she answered before returning her gaze to the darkness outside.

"So what are you confused about?" he pried. The uncertainty in her eyes met the confidence in his.

"Just stuff," she mumbled quietly, looking at their joined hands curiously.

"What kind o' stuff?" he wanted to know. Leigh considered him closely, wondering where he was going with this, Jack watched emotions flicker over her eyes as she looked back at him. It's now or nevah Cowboy.

He tugged gently on her hand bringing her closer to him. Though he was leaning on the windowsill he was still considerably taller then her, making her turn her head upwards to see his face. His face descended to hers, his lips softly pushing against hers. It was short and sweet but seems like an eternity to Leigh. He lifted his face a bit so he could gauge her reaction. As he pulled back, she went with him and he felt her stretch up to meet his lips once more. Jack smiled into the kiss, bringing his hand up to cradle her cheek, the other hand still holding hers. After a few moments they parted. Jack pushed a strand of hair from her eyes. She had a small smile playing on her lips.

"Still confused?" he asked quietly, fearing speaking any louder would ruin the moment.

"Not so much" she shook her head. Jack pulled her into an embrace, resting his chin on the top of her head. Leigh savoured the new feeling of his arms around her, breathing in his scent. She felt his chest vibrate as he chuckled. Tilting her head she wanted to see what was so funny.

"So ya wanna be my goil?" he asked. She snuggled her face back into his shoulder.

"Already am Cowboy" her answer was muffled by his shirt but he heard every word and a huge grin broke out across his face.

Thanks for reviewing LadyRach. :)

I know this chapter is considerably shorter than the other ones but I felt it was best to end it there and continue on in the next chapter...
The story may be moving quickly but it's not about Jack and Leigh getting together... that's just a small part... anyways, please review... let me know what you think.