Disclaimer: I own none of the characters of this story. The WWE or themselves own them. No profit is being made from this story. It's purely for fun!
A/N: Wow, thanks for all the reviews. I'm glad that everybody is enjoying the story. There's plenty of story left to tell so on to the next chapter and if you will, please review. Thanks!
The tall dark man stopped his horse looking around to check out the scenery. It had been a long time since he had been this close to home. Pain flashed on his face as memories started to take over. He mentally pushed them out of his head; he was not ready to deal with the pain the memories caused. He wasn't sure if he would ever be ready for that.
At well over 6 feet tall, most people didn't consider him human. With his long dark hair and wicked green eyes, his presence intimated everybody he met. It didn't bother him; he had learned a long time ago that he was not a 'people' person. Besides, it gave him the nickname 'Deadman' which suited him to a 'T'.
However, the small Oriental man coming up on the horse beside of him was a different story. Dressed in typical Oriental fashion, he looked strange sitting on the horse but that didn't bother Taker. The man was one of the very few men that Taker considered a friend. He smiled a smile as he turned to his friend. "Well Tajiri, which way did he go?"
Tajiri turned to look around taking in the surroundings. Learning the secrets of the ancients had been easy to him; listening to the earth and hearing what she had to say was all he had to do. He turned to his friend and said, "He go that way." He pointed towards the town not noticing the pale look on Taker's face.
Taker shook his head as he saw which way he had to go. "Well, hell," he muttered rolling his eyes and an almost anxious look on his face. He looked at Tajiri with a hopeful look on his face. "Could you be wrong?"
Tajiri gave him a look of disbelief. "Earth never lie to me." He gave Taker a squinted look and grinned. He had been around Taker long enough to read him pretty well. "You no want to go there."
"Damn it," Taker said turning his head. "No, I don't."
"Have to, it where he went," Tajiri said with a shrug of his shoulders.
Taker took off his black hat and wiped his brow. Normally the heat did not bother him but being this close to his past was bringing up too many memories to the surface; too many emotions that he had not laid to rest yet and did not know if he ever would. Granted he was at least 100 miles from his past but that was still too close for comfort.
However, he had a job to do and that dumb son of a bitch that they were looking for had what was coming to him. He had been hunting him for a long time and knowing that he was so close to catching him made him push the painful memories out of his mind for the time being.
Tajiri quietly looked at Taker noticing the look on his face. In all the years that he had known him and rode beside of him, this was the most emotion that he had ever seen him show. He also knew that they had a job to do and it was time to finally end the chapter on this man they were chasing. Maybe once they did, Taker could finally lay to rest whatever it was that was eating him alive inside.
"Come Marshall," Tajiri said pulling the reins on his horse and turning the animal towards the town.
Taker opened his jacket and smiled as he saw the shining badge staring back at him. He had been a US Marshall for a long time now but this capture was going to be the sweetest one out of all of them. He turned his reins and followed Tajiri with a small smile on his face while thinking, "John Bradshaw Layfield won't know what hit him."
Chris rode out to the Evolution ranch with determination showing in his eyes. Everything that he had hoped to find out was all based on his ability to get a job at the ranch. He had to be working there; he really didn't have a choice. It was the only way to find out everything that he needed to find out.
He got off of his horse noticing the half-breed brother staring him down from the porch. He calmly walked over to the front of the house and stopped. He couldn't help but think there was much more to the man then what met the eyes. There was sadness in Dave's eyes that only somebody like Chris could see. It was the look of wanting a family and not having one. It was strange to see that same type of look in Dave's eyes but even people with families sometimes did not feel wanted.
"Can I help you?" Dave asked quietly. He had noticed the stranger in town the night before. He wasn't really shocked to see him there. Most people ended up working on the ranch at some point and time. Their ranch was the only working ranch for miles.
"I'm looking for a job; I know a lot about cattle and was told that this was pretty much the only cattle ranch in this town," Chris said politely.
Suddenly the door opened and a white haired man walked out onto the porch. He looked a little tipsy and Chris couldn't help but notice the pained expression on Dave's face. The older man looked at Chris and said, "Who the hell are you?"
"Chris Jericho sir," Chris said with a polite tone to his voice. "I came to inquire about a job."
"Well Dave, show him around," Ric said pushing Dave towards the man. "You'll have to excuse my son. He's got Indian in him."
Chris couldn't help but feel sorry for Dave. He had heard that his father treated him differently but had never seen any evidence of that until now. He could help but notice the look of anger on Dave's face before he quickly hid it. He nodded his head towards his father and came off of the steps quickly for such a large man. "Follow me."
Chris followed Dave taking in the ranch. It was a rather large ranch compared to others that he had seen in his time. His keen eyes noticed a building that was quite a bit of ways out away from the ranch. He memorized it for future reference. He didn't know exactly what all he was looking for so everything counted.
Dave stopped at the edge of the fence. He turned and looked at Chris. "The cattle graze out in the south pasture. They're put up in the north pasture towards dark."
"Does this mean I have got the job?" Chris asked.
"I reckon it does. Name's Dave by the way," Dave said holding his hand out.
Chris took his hand in his and shook the man's hand. He couldn't help but notice the callused hands that were different from Hunter's hand the night before. Evidently, Dave had done a lot of hard work around the ranch while Hunter hadn't done much at all. "Where do you want me to start?"
"Ride out towards the south part of the ranch. Kurt's our foreman and he'll tell you what to do," Dave said turning to walk back towards the house.
"Thank you," Chris said quietly to the back Dave's head.
Dave walked back up to the house while Chris got back on his horse. He noticed that his father was still out on the porch and mentally groaned. He hated it when Ric got drunk; he was hard enough to deal with sober. He was just downright evil when he was drunk and Dave had the scars on his back to prove it.
"Did you show him where to go?" Ric asked with an ill look on his face. There wasn't a day that didn't go by that he wished to wake up one day and Dave would be gone. It would make things a lot easier on him but Hunter wouldn't hear of it. Ric wished he could deny it but Hunter was right; Dave was a good size man and he was real good at intimidation.
"Yes sir," Dave said quietly. He could see the look of disgust on his father's face when looking at him. After all these years, he figured he would get used to it but he never did. The pain was still as sharp as it was when he was a young boy trying desperately to get his father's attention. The pain never really went away completely; it was like a bad nightmare that one would have over and over and over again. The torture of Dave's life had made him feel as though he was living a nightmare on a day to day basis.
"Good, I'm going to go take a nap. Make sure that I'm not disturbed," Ric said staggering back inside the house.
Dave breathed a sigh of relief that his father had not gone on yet another tirade about his mother. His face softened as he thought of his mother, Sun Walking the Earth. She was a gentlewoman that didn't deserve the life that she was given. She worked hard and found herself pregnant with a white man's child with no family to help her.
It wasn't really her fault that she had been attracted to the white haired man that promised her the world. She didn't care about the world but she did love Ric with all her heart. He remembered the years of his father quietly visiting after dark and leaving before the sun rose the next day.
As he glanced out at the old shack, it was hard to believe that was his home at one time. It hadn't taken very long for Ric to move his mistress onto his ranch and into the shack: the shack was a very nice house for Dave and his mother compared to where they had been living before. Hunter's mother had died years ago from an illness so there was nobody to stop Ric from moving her onto his land.
He walked towards the shack knowing it looked the same as the last time he was there.
He walked inside and smiled. It still smelled like her after all of this time. He walked over to the kitchen table and sat down wishing his mother were here. She had died a couple of years ago of a broken heart; a heart that Ric had stomped and crushed right before his own eyes.
He shook his head of his memories and stood up. He walked over to the stove and reached down into a secret compartment that was on the side. He pulled out the bag and opened it up looking at the money he had saved away without his father's knowledge. "Soon," he said tying the bag back up and putting it back where it belonged. "Soon, I'll be out of here Mother."
"Mmm, that was wonderful," Trish said hugging up to Hunter.
They had just finished another of their daily trysts. She closed her eyes and put her arm around his waist loving the feel of his body against hers. He was a beautiful man without his clothes on and Trish would know; she was an expert on naked men's bodies.
"Yes it was," Hunter said chuckling. He was rubbing her shoulder with his hand admiring the silky smooth feeling of Trish's body. He glanced down at her and smiled. "But then again baby, it always is."
"You know," Trish said looking up into his brown eyes. "It's about time that you moved me to the ranch isn't it?"
"Soon baby, real soon," Hunter said kissing her on her forehead. "As much as I would love to stay here with you, I had better get back to the ranch."
Hunter sat up on the bed and started putting his clothes back on. Trish was one hell of a woman and he loved meeting her but he had no intentions of moving her to the ranch. His intentions were to screw her and leave her as always. She had gotten the notion in her head a few months ago and he played along. There was no need to ruin a good thing.
Trish pouted a little as she watched Hunter get dressed. She knew he had no intentions of moving her out to the ranch. Hell, she had no intentions of moving to the ranch herself. She planned to get out this town as soon as possible. This one hick town was just too boring and she couldn't stand being bored. At least bugging Hunter about moving to the ranch gave her something to do. She loved watching him squirm every time she brought it up.
Hunter turned around and smiled. She was a beautiful woman lying there naked as the day she was born. Her voluptuous body was made for sex. With the curves in all the right places and her firm delectable breasts, she was a sight to behold. Her blonde hair was messed up but not enough to make her look unkempt. He leaned down and kissed her softly. "I don't think I'll be able to make it tomorrow."
Trish's eyes narrowed immediately with suspicion. She knew that there was no other woman in town that had his interest other than herself. "Why? Are you meeting another woman?"
Hunter laughed as he sat down on the bed. He pulled her onto his lap and pushed her hair behind her ear enjoying rubbing his hands on her naked body. "No, you are more than enough woman for me. I've got business out of town that I have to attend to."
"When will you be back?" Trish asked content with his answer. She noticed the look on his face and knew it had something to do with his 'shady' business deals. She had never been able to get him to tell her exactly what it was that he did. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense to drop it. She didn't really care about it. All she cared about was the physical pleasure that she could receive from him.
"I'm leaving as soon as I can get back to the ranch to pick up a few things. I should be back sometime late tomorrow if everything goes accordingly," Hunter said bending down and kissing her softly on the lips. "I'll be seeing you."
"You bet your ass you'll be seeing me," Trish said with a spunky grin. "Now, get out of here. I've got to get cleaned up before Christian comes home."
Hunter watched as she slid off of his lap. His eyes drank in her naked body, memorizing every detail of her. A little thought of regret passed thru his mind that he didn't have enough time for one more round with her. He shook his head of his thoughts, grabbed his hat, and set it on his head. "I'll let myself out."
"You do that," Trish said grabbing her robe off of the door and slipping it on. She watched as he exited her house out the back door. She sat down on her bed and pondered what her next course of action would be with an evil smile on her face. Hunter was going to be one sorry man for lying to her; it was just a matter of how sorry she was going to make him.
Kurt turned his attention from the cattle to the rider coming up the hill. He noticed the long blonde hair and knew immediately who it was. He stood there with a smile on his face as he watched Chris come up to him.
"I take it from that smile on your face that you were hired," Kurt said with a smile.
"Was there ever any doubt?" Chris said grinning from ear to ear.
"No, not on my part," Kurt said. "I guess I had better head over to the south pasture and check on the cattle."
"I'll ride with you. Dave explained the basics. He said that you could fill me in on the rest," Chris said grabbing the reins of his horse. He watched as Kurt got on his horse and they took off riding towards the south pasture.
Chris was quiet for the ride taking in all the scenery. It was a nice ranch with a lot of trees spread out. "Perfect for meeting somebody in the dark," he thought to himself. The whole point of the job was to find out the entire layout of the ranch and that was exactly what he was going to do.
Ivory and Lita sat at the kitchen table getting the vegetables ready for supper. As they sat there, each had their minds on certain men in the town. Finally Lita sighed as she peeled the last potato. She couldn't help but wonder why Randy was so attracted to her and why she was having an even harder time fighting her attraction to him.
Ivory sat there watching the emotions playing on Lita's face. She knew the girl was thinking about Randy. She also knew the girl was fighting herself and Ivory just couldn't stand to see her do it anymore. "I bet I know what you're thinking about," Ivory said with a knowing look on her face. "I don't know why you don't give that boy a chance."
"I don't know what you are talking about," Lita said with defiance in her voice. She didn't want to take that kind of tone with Ivory but she was sticking her nose in her personal business. She didn't like it when people did that. She didn't like it at all.
"Oh pish-posh," Ivory said with a smile. She could tell that Lita was irritated but she didn't care. Lita was the type person that had to be pushed to open up. If there were no pushing, then there would be little to no talking. "You like Randy and he likes you. What I don't know is why you try and hide it so much."
Lita waited a second before answering. If Ivory wanted to play that way, then she could too. She knew how Ivory felt about a certain man on the Evolution ranch. "Oh yeah, like you don't hide your feelings for Kurt," Lita said with a smug look on her face. "Deny it, I dare you."
Ivory was surprised that Lita brought it up. She supposed it was the way she talked about Kurt to Lita that lead her to that conclusion. Maybe if she admitted it, then Lita would admit to her about how she really felt about Randy. "No, I won't deny it. Kurt is a very nice man who isn't hard on the eyes," Ivory said with a smile. "But I don't think he would be interested in an old widow woman like me."
"Are you kidding me?" Lita said with shock in her voice. She couldn't believe that Ivory had said that about herself. Most women Ivory's age looked to be at least 20 years older than they really were. Ivory looked as young as Lita in a lot of ways. "You don't look like any 'old' widow woman that I know."
"Oh yes I do, and besides, quit changing the subject. We're talking about you and Randy, not Kurt and I," Ivory said. She could see by the look in Lita's eyes that she was weakening. She hoped the girl would talk to her. It was driving her mad to see Randy looking at Lita with hopeful eyes all the time.
Lita sat there quietly wishing Ivory would just hush. She liked Randy but she was tainted goods thanks to that no good, lying, cheating, stealing dog named Matt Hardy. Looks of anger on her face flashed letting Ivory know exactly what she was thinking about.
Ivory noticed the agony on her face and knew exactly whom she was thinking about. She didn't like to bring him up but Lita needed to get over it and soon. She was going to waste her life beating herself up over one mistake. Matt Hardy wasn't worth a second thought, let alone several. "You've got to forget about that Matt Hardy. He was nothing but trouble then and he's still giving you trouble after all this time. You've got to let it go," Ivory said quietly.
"I gave myself to him. Foolish me thinking that Matt Hardy was the man that I was going to marry. Look where it got me and besides, 'why buy the cow when you get the milk for free'?" Lita said with an angry look on her face. Every time she thought of it, it just made her angry. How could she have known that he would do that to her after everything that they had been through together?
"Now you listen to me, you made a mistake," Ivory said putting her hand on Lita's and patting it. "Everybody makes mistakes but you don't have to keep beating yourself up over him. He's been gone for a long time and hardly anybody knows what really happened between the two of you."
"Randy doesn't know," Lita said quietly. It was the one thing that stayed in her mind the most. Randy didn't know what had happened between her and Matt. If he did, he probably wouldn't even give her the time of day. She was a loose woman with a past. What man in his right mind would want to deal with the headache of it all?
"He doesn't have to know," Ivory said with a serious look on her face. "I'm not asking you to marry the man, just go out with him. He's a sweet man and I think you two would be good for each other."
Lita sat there quietly thinking about what Ivory had said. She liked Randy; she really did but she didn't want to hurt anymore. "What about when the time comes and he wants to be serious?" Lita asked.
"You tell him what happened and let the cards fall where they may. I think you just might be surprised at how he reacts," Ivory said with a grin.
Lita sat at the table quietly pondering Ivory's words. She knew that she should let the past go. It wasn't going to do anything but bring her pain to think about it so why waste the energy thinking about it? Maybe it was time to give Randy a chance. Maybe it was time for a new start.
"Damn, that has got to be, hands down, the most stubborn cattle I think I've ever worked with," Chris said glad to finally finish up the days work.
"Yip, just like their owners," Kurt said with a wink.
"Speaking of owners, look who's on the porch?" Chris said with a harsh look in his eyes.
Hunter sat on the porch watching the new man and his foreman come towards him. It was time for Kurt's daily report. Kurt was a good foreman, the best and that's what the Evolution ranch was all about; being the absolute best ranch that it could be. He didn't care much for his 'good guy' personality but Kurt got the job done and that was all that mattered.
Kurt dreaded talking to Hunter. It was the one part of the job that he hated. Hunter was always so smug and cocky. He just wasn't a nice person and Kurt got tired of his 'I'm better than you' attitude. "Hey boss, just wanted to let you know that they are all accounted for tonight," Kurt said bringing his horse to a halt.
"Good. Did you see anything wrong with any of them?" Hunter asked always the businessman first. The one thing he could count on with Kurt was the fact that the man knew cattle like the back of his hand. He checked each and every head of cattle every day.
"No, they all looked to be in fine shape," Kurt said.
Chris sat there on his horse quietly taking in the conversation. It seemed as though Hunter was very concerned over his cattle. Of course, he had quite a bit of money sitting out there. Chris, in all his years of experience, had never seen a ranch with as many cattle as the Evolution ranch.
Hunter noticed the new man listening tot he conversation. "How did you like working with Kurt?" Hunter asked turning his attention to Chris.
"I liked it just fine," Chris said with a small smile.
"He's good Hunter, real good," Kurt said with a bit of pride in his voice. "He definitely has experience."
"Good, glad to hear it. I've got some business matters to attend to so cut yourself a trail," Hunter said dismissing them.
"Sure thing boss," Kurt said with a fake smile. He turned his horse towards the bunkhouse not waiting for Chris to catch up with him. He needed distance from Hunter and he needed it now before he exploded.
Chris noticed the fake smile and knew why. He also knew that Hunter was just an out and out asshole who did not know how to treat people. He quickly caught up to Kurt hearing him vent to himself.
"That pompous asshole, dismissing me like I weren't nothing," Kurt muttered.
"I agree with you on that one partner," Chris said coming up beside him.
"Sorry, I should be used to it by now," Kurt said with a slight blush on his face. "You know, I'm just going to head to the bunkhouse and crash tonight."
"Come on, Randy's buying the first shot tonight remember?" Chris said trying to talk him into coming to the saloon later. "Surely you're not going to miss that."
"You know what, you're right," Kurt said straightening his back a tad bit. "I think I just might pull me a good one. I've got to go get cleaned up a bit; I'll meet you at the saloon."
Chris smiled as he watched Kurt entering the bunkhouse. His smile slowly turned to a frown as he remembered Hunter saying he had business to attend to. He knew in his gut that he was pretty close to finding the answers that he needed; he was just going to have to get a little more help first.