Second Chances: New Sheriff In Town
After a month on the job, Sheriff Robbie Simon thinks he's seen it all, but a modern-day cattle rustling gang spells trouble not just for the town, but for all the Simons.
(Simon & Simon, The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman are all owned by Universal Studio and are only being borrowed. No profit will be made off these characters. All other original characters are created and owned by me and you can't have them.)
"That's it, ride em, cowboy!".
A.J. Simon yelled encouragement to his son Ricky, desperately trying to stay on a very active bull named "Whirlwind". Around them, hundreds of people cheered as the young rider managed to hold on for the requisite eight seconds, then one last toss of the bull's head landed Ricky on his seat.
"Way to go, Simon! Let's give him a hand, he stayed on for 8.5 seconds!" the announcer boomed, then a couple of rodeo clowns ran out and distracted Whirlwind until Ricky got up and jumped the entry gate to safety.
"Good work, son!"
A.J. grinned as the clowns retired behind the fence, then went to greet Ricky.
"Thanks, Uncle Rick, thanks Uncle Ron! I'm glad you guys were there!" he panted, as the two older men hugged him. Waiting until he caught his breath, Rick helped him unbuckle his chaps, then followed him out of the chute to the bleachers.
"Only for you, Ricky, would I put on makeup." Rick chuckled, then made way for A.J. and Linda to embrace their son. Ron stood, beaming as his wife Abby joined them.
"We are so proud of you!" Linda exclaimed, as A.J. added, "You really hung on there, I thought Whirlwind was going to toss you right out of the gate."
"So did I, but my boot got stuck in the stirrup and I shifted the right way when he tried to buck me off!" Ricky laughed as Rick added, "All those times on the supermarket horse ride really paid off, son."
"And Grandma's training, don't forget that!" the young man smiled.
"She won't let you, son!" Abby needled, then turned and planted a kiss on Ron. "As for you, I'll let you "clown around" any time, mister!"
Amid the groans over the pun, a cheer went up from the crowd as the final rider came out of the ring, then there was buzzing as the scores were totaled by the trio of weathered former riders. This annual Christmas Carnival Rodeo had gotten so large it now occupied the fairgrounds arena in Phoenix, and as Rick sat for a minute and cleaned off his makeup, he missed the days of the smaller park corral where Ricky had learned under his wife's practiced eye.
"We have a winner!" Loud whistles and catcalls sounded for a moment, then died down as the head of the rodeo judges stood.
"With the highest score of any first timer, the Christmas Carnival Rookie Champ is….Ricky Simon!"
Laughing and applauding, Rick and A.J. hoisted Ricky on their shoulders, then paraded him over to the judges, where he accepted his award buckle with red-faced pleasure.
Once he returned to receive more hugs and congratulations, A.J. threw an arm around his son. "Come on, Champ, we need to go find your grandmother. She's going to bust when she hears you won!" As Rick gave his namesake another pat on the back, Abby handed her son Joey some money for the rides, then rejoined him.
"Where's my buddy, Rick? I saw her climbing down with Melly a moment ago." Abby wondered, then a familiar voice answered her question. "I'm right here, guys, we had a little …uh…problem."
Rick turned at once, seeing his wife Laurie come toward them, his niece in tow. Both of them were thourghly wet.
"Honey, what happened?" Linda asked, as she took Melly's hand and fished a fresh t-shirt out of her tote to put around her.
"A bad boy ran into me, Mommy. Auntie Laurie yelled at him, and he threw a whole cup of soda at us! Unca Robbie is chasing him." The shivering little girl explained.
"I'd better catch up with A.J., Laurie, thanks for taking care of her." Linda said, then hurried off. Abby shook her head. "I'm going to get Ron, he's got to crack down on these punks." Instantly she took off in the opposite direction.
"And I hope he catches him, I thought that boy might have hurt Melly, but she's just….awwwwchoo!" Laurie sneezed, then giggled as Rick fished a bandana out of his pocket and mopped her nose.
"Bless you, sweetheart. Here…" he pulled his jacket off and insisted on putting it on his wife.
"Thank you, Rick. That feels better." She smiled. "I'll have to change at the house, tho', that soda is sticky!"
"Well, it looks like we'll be going, Laurie, here comes our Sheriff with someone in tow." Rick replied, scowling at the sight of a scruffy teenager, his plaid shirt torn and a defiant look in his eye. Robbie had him by the arm, and his scowl told his father that he was more then upset.
"Folks, thank you for waiting. Mam'm, is this the guy who threw the soda?" He jerked his head at the boy. Rick tried not to smile at the way his son addressed them professionally.
"Yes, he sure is, Sheriff. Mister, you may have gotten away with a warning if you'd stopped and apologized for nearly injuring my niece, but throwing that drink with ice.."
"I didn't hurt anyone, your brat shouldn't have been in my way." The teenager snarled, then his face fell as Robbie barked, "That's enough, you had your chance and you blew it! I'm having you taken into custody; your parents will have to come get you and you can explain your actions to them and a judge!"
"Wait a minute…just for throwing soda? You're crazy!" the kid choked, then a fearful look crossed his face as Robbie got on his radio. "Andy, can you come to the right side of the Center arena? I caught up with Soda Boy."
"I'm right here, seems he's got sticky fingers too, Robbie." Andy's wry tone sounded in back of them and he put a firm hand on the boy. The reply seemed to agitate him even more. "You can't hold me, I'm a juvenile!" he yelled, as the deputy dragged him toward the fairgrounds police station. Laurie shivered again then kissed her son's cheek.
"Thank you, Robbie. You handled that just right. I'm going to try to dry myself off a bit, Rick. Meet me at the gate?" she arched her brow at him, and he laughed.
"I can't remember the last time we had this kind of trouble, son." Rick sighed as she walked away.
"Me neither, Pop. Everyone's saying the Christmas Carnival is getting too big, but maybe it's just the weather." Robbie replied, a disappointed look on his sunburnt face.
"Yeah, who wants to celebrate peace and goodwill in 80 degree heat." His father agreed, stopping to snag a cool drink and handing it to his son.
"Thanks, Pop." Robbie grinned and downed it gratefully. Just then a chorus of "Daddy, Daddy!" told them David and Lala had spotted him, and he just had time to toss the empty cup before his hands were full of children.
"Hey, you two, where's your brother? Did you wear him out all ready?" Rick teased, waiting until they had hugged their father, then scooping them up in his arms.
"No Grandpa, we ran ahead…..oh, oh.." David stopped when he frowned.
"Now what did we tell you about running away from your brother in crowds?" Rick asked, sternly. Just then he caught sight of his upset nephew.
"Andy, it's okay, I've got them." He called, then saw relief on the teenagers face.
"Thanks, Grandpa. Lala, Davie, why did you run off? You could have gotten lost!" he yelled as he ran to them.
Rick gave the eye to Robbie, who was just about to rebuke the two children himself, when Lala spoke up. "I'm sorry, Andy. I saw Daddy and forgot. I won't do it again, promise."
"Me neither, Andy." The youngest Simon wrapped his arms around his brother's waist, and at once he hugged him back.
"It's okay, Davie. Lala, you know better, but I guess you learned your lesson. Dad, Mom's ready to go, what time will you be home?"
"In about an hour, son. Thanks for keeping your temper with your brother and sister, you're a big help." Robbie patted his son's shoulder, bringing a smile to his face.
"Thanks, Dad. Come on, you two, or Santa's going to bring you coal."
At once Lala and David grabbed Andy's hands and dragged him toward their mother as Robbie laughed.
"That's one way of getting them to mind."
