The Cowboys

Jade:
For the second time that day, Jade entered the restaurant, this time sitting out in the open. Nobody would bother messing with a bounty hunter.

Jade had learned that the bounty hunter's name was Bethany, or BJ. The man's name was Jack, and for a bounty hunter and a cattle rustler they really weren't that bad. Jade was still on her guard, though. She was mainly looking for a job and a place to stay, and maybe BJ would pay for the meal, giving her a free lunch. Jade looked at Jack curiously.

"You know anywhere I could stay?" she asked. It was a little brash, she knew , but she was desperate.

*sorry, all I got.

Jack

He shrugged, "If you can stomach honest work, you could come out and work on Tyrel's farm, he'll give you room and board in exchange for that. Of course, watching cows graze isn't the most interesting work."

She gave him a suspicious look, "You - a cattle rustler - are watching your friend's cows for him?"

He held up his hands with a smile, "I only dabbled in that line of work, and I'd rather you didn't mention it to him. Ranchers are...touchy about these things. But I'm not even wanted for that, I hit a train." He jerked his head in BJ's direction, "'Course, she doesn't believe me."

"Why not?"

He gave her a wide grinned, "I've got too pretty a face to be a criminal." He clapped his hands together, "Alright, so what's everyone having?" He smiled to Jade, "I'm buying for BJ, and since you're her guest, that means I'm buying for you as well."

Jade:

Jade grinned, her prediction of a free meal had come true, but she noticed the abrubt change in subject. She didn't blame him. She picked up the menu and glanced over it.
"I suppose I'll just have the beans and sowbelly." She glanced up at Jack.
"Do you think anyone down at the ranch will turn me in if they recognize me?" she asked. He seemed to weigh the possibility, and said,
"You're disguise will probably cover you, but those eyes might give you away. You'd prob'ly be all right, but have a fast getaway just in case." Jade nodded. She had a feeling that would be the case. She looked at BJ and asked,
"What are you having?"

Bethany shrugged and leaned back in her seat, trying to hide the blush that came to her cheeks. "Dunno. I guess I'll just have whatever ya'll are havin'."

**Sorry it's so short. I can't think of anything else to add.**

Jade:

At that moment, the waitress came around to their table and took their orders. Jack and BJ ordered the daily special, and Jade ordered the beans and sowbelly. They chatted until the meals were brought and when they finished eating they stood up and began walking out.
"I'm gonna go get my horse from the stables and grab my stuff. Could you lead me to Tyrel's ranch? I'm gonna ask if I could work there." Jack nodded and said,
"I'll meet you at the front of the saloon." He turned to BJ and asked,
"Where will you be going?"

*Billy, if you don't want to lead my character home, you don't have to; I'll just change the dialogue.*

Bethany shrugged. "I thought it would be obvious; to find Billy Cook. He doesn't need to be wandering around everywhere where he can hurt people." She gave him a flirty smile. "Thank you for lunch, Jack. I really appreciate it." She walked up to him and gave him a light peck on the cheek, then turned to go.

Jack

He blinked as she kissed him, and then suddenly broke out into a wide grin. He felt so good, it took him a second to register the rest of what she'd said. He doesn't need to be wandering around everywhere he could hurt people.

"Hang on a sec, BJ." He said, grabbing her hand and turning to face him again. She smiled again, obviously thinking differently to Jack. He held up a hand, "I hate to ruin a perfect moment, but what if Billy Cook isn't as bad as you think he is?"

She frowned, "The poster said he killed people, Jack, I think that's -"

"The poster said I robbed a train," He said with a sad smile, "Which I did, but you seem to think that doesn't make me a bad person. Tyrel certainly doesn't. What if Cook's not so bad?"

"Jack, murder and robbery are different. You didn't kill anyone." She seemed to be getting impatient.

He held up his hands apologetically, "Sorry. I just meant, maybe there was a reason for it. Self-defence or something. But, if your heart's so set on it, maybe you could check with Tyrel again. He might be able to tell you which way the guy we saw went."

He wasn't entirely comfortable with this plan, it could mean losing anything he might have with BJ. But Billy Cook had seemed to be a nice guy, and Jack didn't want to see him hang. And he knew Miss Georgia Lawson certainly wouldn't, either. Maybe if BJ could just meet him, she'd change her mind.

Jade:

Jade turned away at the kiss, but not before she saw a tension cross his face at the mention of Billy Cook. She stored the incident away in her mind and went to the stables to get her horse. She found Grant napping patiently at the end of Stonewall's stable and rubbed him behind the ears. He got up and eagerly greeted her.
Jade saddled up Stonewall and hopped up onto him, motioning for Grant to follow. She walked her horse out to the front of the barn and waited for Jack to arrive.

Bethany held her head high. "Fine. I'll go check back with Tyrel. Are you friends with Cook or something?"

Jack seemed taken aback by her question. He ran a hand through his hair nervously.

Jack

Her question took him by surprise, had he really been so transparent? He supposed he wouldn't normally have defended a stranger with such ardour, so it was fairly obvious. Most people featured on wanted posters had committed their crimes, so why try and justify Cook's crimes unless he knew him.

He decided to come clean, Bethany seemed pretty pissed off with him, even if she hadn't said such clearly, he could tell. And he liked her, she was much more interesting than any other girl he'd met.

"Yeah, I guess you could say I'm friends with him." Jack said, sighing, "Although I've only spoken to him properly once, I don't think he's a killer." He looked straight at her, "If it's any consolation, and if it makes things any better between, y'know, us...I wouldn't have told another bounty hunter." He shook his head sadly, "Shoot, I probably wouldn't have even told Tyrel, if he'd asked."

Jade:

Jade waited for about fifteen minutes, but her patience wore thin and finally she trotted off in the direction she had came. She rounded the bend, but before she could she heard BJ saying, "Are you friends with Cook or something?" Jade gasped and pulled her horse back around the corner, sensing by her tone that an arguement might break out soon. She listened intently, trying to pick up any scraps of information she could. She heard Jack's voice.

"Yeah, I guess you could say I'm friends with him." he said. Jade brows knotted together in confusion. What was with this Cook guy? "Although I've only spoken to him properly once, I don't think he's a killer." Jade sat back in her saddle, somewhat surprised. Well, she thought, birds of a feather... "If it's any consolation, and if it makes things any better between, y'know, us...I wouldn't have told another bounty hunter. Shoot, I probably wouldn't have even told Tyrel, if he'd asked." Jade bit her lip. She felt like she had intruded on her two new friend's relationship. She backed her horse up and quietly walked her horse back to the front of the stables, mulling over the conversation she'd just heard.

"So you lied to me," Bethany snapped, her eyes flashing with anger. "I'm not very fond of liers." She strode towards Jack so she was right up in his face. He had to take a few steps back. "Are you really trying to hide a killer?"

**Don't worry. She'll calm down. Just trying to make it interesting. ^_^**

Jack

He stepped back from Bethany, a hurt look flitting across his face, "BJ..."

"Don't call me that! Only my friends call me that!" She shouted at him.

He ran a hand through his hair, "I already told you, though - he's not a killer. He's too nice to be a killer, he's no different to me."

"Of course he'd act that way - he doesn't want to get caught!"

Jack gritted his teeth, he was really starting to lose his patience here, "BJ, as much as I like you, I would never condemn a friend to death just for that."

She sneered at him, "Oh, so there is honour among thieves then?"

"Yeah, apparently." He shot back, face dark with anger now. He knew he really shouldn't be losing his temper, but he didn't care any more. "If by honour you mean I don't want to kill someone. You try to say that you're just trying to keep him out of trouble, but you're taking him to be hanged! What makes you any different to him, if he even is the killer you think he is?"

Bethany looked taken aback, then her eyes steeled a little, "What he did was unprovoked - what I do is-"

"Under colour of law, I know." He laughed, "It's just sanctioned murder, nothing more. Kid yourself as much as you want about it, but I'll bet you've taken more lives than Billy."

He turned on his heel and stalked back in the direction of his horse, calling out over his shoulder, "I've had enough of this, I'm going back to Tyrel's farm. And from there, I dunno. And if you come after Billy there, you might as well come after me as well. Unless you only feel like taking one life, in which case," Jack gave her a cold look as he stepped into Maverick's saddle, "Just come for me."

He turned Maverick back towards the road to Tyrel's farm and started riding. He wasn't about to wait for Jade, he'd seen her lurking around the side of the stables anyway. Now she'd seen which road he'd taken, she'd be able to get to the farm without him, there weren't even any tracks leading off it.

But he needed to get back and tell Billy to run for it, he was having doubts that his words would stall BJ at all. She was hurting as much as he was, and in his experience, that was the time people were most likely to act irrationally.

Jade:

Jade looked up in surpirse when Jack's horse went galloping past; BJ wasn't following. Jade bit her lip, knowing that something had gone on between the two. She sighed and urged her horse into a gallop after Jack. She would be able to follow his tracks to the ranch.

At the thought of the ranch, a nervous pang hit her stomach. What if they turned her in? She shook the thoughts out of her head and continued following Jack's tracks until she reached the ranch.

She stopped her horse about a hundred feet from her destination and surveyed the the farmhouse and its surroundings. It looked cozy, the kind of place she'd settle down in if she had a chance. She took a deep breath and walked her horse up to the house. She dismounted and secured her horse to a post outside, then walked up to the door and listened. She could hear a lot of voices inside the farmhouse. She knocked on the door and waited, the sounds of footsteps meeting her ear.

The door opened to reveal a young girl, not much older than she was, if not younger. She had life written all over her, and her eager face lit up at the prospect of another guest.

"Uh, hi." said Jade, barely remebering to stay in character of her disguise. "I was wonderin' if perhaps I could get me a job. You know, working around the ranch. Jack said they're might be work available, and I figured..." She was cut off by the young girl.

"Why of course you can!" she said, ushering a surprised Jade inside. "You wait right here in the living room and I'll get Tyrel." She left Jade standing in the living room; thankfully no one was there, and Jade sat in a chair to wait for Tyrel.


*** Should we just play the rest of the crew? No one else had posted for a while.***

Jack

He tied Maverick just outside the farmhouse itself and went in, giving Pippa a friendly smile as he passed her. She fell in step behind him as he made for the kitchen, apparently needing to talk to Tyrel as well.

They found him sitting at the table with Adriane, the two of them talking over lunch, having come back in from working with the horses for a time.

“Ty?” Pippa said immediately, “There’s a girl in the living room who wants a job.” He nodded and started to get to his feet, then he saw the look on Jack’s face.
“What is it?”

Jack looked to Pippa for a moment. He didn’t want her to hear the truth about him, and especially not what might be the truth about Billy, “It’s about what I talked to you about before. Billy and I might need to leave.”