Within Your Crowd
written by:
Jake Rivers

Within Your Crowd by Jake Rivers ©

Author's Note:

This is my sixth semi-annual "invitational." The initial one was based on the Statler Brother's song, "This Bed of Rose's." The second used the Marty Robbins El Paso trilogy: "El Paso" "El Paso City " and "Faleena." The third had stories based on the various versions of "Maggie May" or "Maggie Mae." The fourth invitational was based on any Country & Western song and the fifth on songs by Merle Haggard.

The current invitational is based on any song written or performed by Willie Nelson. I've chosen, "Within Your Crowd".

"Do you remember how they warned you once before? They made it clear you weren't to see me anymore. Within your world of riches poor boys aren't allowed, And you must learn to love someone within your crowd."

I've always liked Garth Brook's rendition of "Friends in Low Places" (written by Dewayne Blackwell & Bud Lee). This story also gives a nod to that song:

"Blame it all on my roots, I showed up in boots, And ruined your black tie affair. The last one to know, the last one to show, I was the last one you thought you'd see there.

And I'll be okay. I'm not big on social graces. Think I'll slip on down to the oasis. Oh, I've got friends in low places"

Chapter One

She was Madison Townsend and I'm Billy Ray Lamar.

She lived in the best part of town. I lived ... to hell and gone way west of town - so far out that even bothering to give it an RFD address was optimistic. The town was Austin but to be honest she didn't actually live there. Madison lived in a mansion on Lake Travis a way's west of Austin. Her dad, Bradford, had a number of patents for computer processor chips and the chips put him in the chips ... so to speak.

Now let's be clear about this: Bradford was in no way some cultured descendant of antebellum Georgia whose ancestors lived in some white mansions surrounded by moss draped Live oak trees. And maybe those non-existent, cultured southern gentlemen had non-paid workers (think slaves) to keep the cotton coming so the south could have fancy carriages and debutante balls.

Well, to be honest (I could be nothing less!) he did come from a cotton background. However, his antecedents as far back as anyone could tell were sharecroppers making a hand-to-mouth existence in the Pine Barrens of East Texas. Now ole Bradford's dad did one smart thing - he just hated fightin' off those damn boll weevils to get a cotton crop in that could new shoes for the winter. Therefore, when Uncle Sam said he needed some help for a little Police Action in Korea, he joined right up. Somehow he kept his ass from being shot off during the retreat from "Frozen Chosin" and got out to an updated GI Bill that gave him twenty-six dollars of unemployment payment for twenty-six weeks.

That plus a nice hundred and ten bucks a month for college did him right fine to get a degree at the college nearby in Beaumont that led to a scholarship at University of Texas in Austin where he eventually wound up as a professor in their Electrical Engineering department. As the electronic industry eventually got started Bradford very kindly (for small sums and founder's stock options) helped fledgling companies get started. Now I really do have to Mr. Townsend dad his due, he is one smart SOB. He helped design a processor chip called the 4004 for Texas Instruments which Intel very reluctantly picked up and turned it into the 8008 which led to the x86 processor series and made a whole bunch of people filthy rich. One of those nouveau rich was a sassy kid named Bill Gates, who eventually redefined the term rich.

Bradford's dad invested well, and when he up and left to meet his maker, good ole Bradford inherited a bundle of money he had done absolutely nothing to earn. And that lead him to feel certain that he was one important SOB. It didn't hurt his ego to have married an oil heiress from Dallas with her inherited millions.

Well, you get the idea. When a sharecropper (or his get) becomes rich you would swear that in an alternate universe, he would have been knighted by the queen. Since that didn't happen, he just acts like it and expects his daughter to marry a Prince. The Prince in this case was Thomas Martin Kendall whose lucky father was an early sales manager for Ross Perot's EDS. He was never Tom, or Tommy or even Thomas but always Thomas Martin. Thomas Martin lived in Dallas in his family's mansion. I always thought he was a pretentious jerk (I'm being kind) but then that's just me.

Anyway Madison (always Madison except for me - somehow I got away with Maddie) lived on Lake Travis. My folks lived out a few miles from LBJ's place; fact is my granddad knew him well. We had a good sized ranch on the Perdernales River northeast of Johnson City. Where we were located was on the south side of the river inside a funny loop which looks from the air just like Snoopy in profile, facing left.

We have about 2200 acres and mostly breed thoroughbred horses and registered Black Angus bulls. Lately, dad has taken about half the northern side of the property and set up a hunting business. I love to hunt but I hate to be around when other people are hunting ... they don't always know what they are doing. Therefore, we worked it for me to take over the ranching part and dad the hunting. I did okay and dad was making tons of money.

So we weren't poor and somewhere back in history lurked Mirabeau Lamar, the third president of the Republic of Texas. He was noted for wanting to keep Texas as an independent country. His vision was to expel all the Native American tribes and expand Texas to the Pacific Ocean. If he had gotten his way maybe I would be a high-muck-a-muck like Bradford Townsend pretended to be.

My problem wasn't that we were poor (we were actually doing quite well, thank you), but that I had no pretensions whatever. It's just that my idea of a good time was a few (well, more than a few) beers with my buddies at the nearest tavern or honky-tonk place. I wore jeans and flannel or tee shirts depending on the season and always wore Justin boots, usually either Justin's work boot or their rancher with an extra pair of their black Westerns for when I wanted to kick my heels up.

I did go to school at the prestigious Texas A&M in College Station ... oh, wait, that was West Texas A&M in Canyon, Texas a few miles south of Amarillo. I majored in their Equine Industry Program, since I liked working with thoroughbreds more than bulls. It was actually a great major and supplemented nicely the years of hands-on work I had while growing up. After college, I bummed around on the professional rodeo circuit for a couple of years but finally grew out of it.

Chapter Two

I met Maddie when her dad bought four horses from us. He wanted gentle horses for Madison and her friends to ride around his ranchette - he had about twelve acres surrounding his admittedly nice mansion. I'd picked out two mares and two geldings. I was sure the two wannabe stallions had been gelded because when they were about twelve months old I'd personally watched the vet take his emasculator and ... well, maybe that's too much information.

Anyway these were horses I'd personally trained and knew they would be great for anyone with even a basic level of experience. The mares were both bays, one almost brown. One of the geldings was gray and the other a glossy black. I delivered the horses myself, taking the side road around the mansion as directed. There was a large barn with stables attached on each side. There were eight stalls in each section of the stable.

Madison was waiting for me; I'd called ahead to let her know when I was down the road a piece. When I pulled up, I have to confess I sat and stared at her for a minute. She looked tall, though just how tall was hard to tell because of the expensive looking western straw hat she had on (I later found out she was a couple of inches under my six foot). Long curls of strawberry blonde hair leaked out of the hat swirling down around her shoulders (some months after that I found out she wasn't dying her hair - I mean she was naturally a strawberry blonde ... in other words, oh, hell, you know what I mean).

She had a sleeveless white blouse knotted under her ... well, somewhere around her navel - with a pair of very short raggedy jean shorts (in this case, there was no question why they call them shorts). This was all topped off - bottomed off? - with what looked like a pair Dan Post Genuine Deer cowgirl boots. Taken altogether it should have looked tacky, but she looked nothing short of spectacular.

I sorta fell out of the truck and almost on my face but saved my pride with a gracious introduction, "Hi. I'm Billy Ray here with the horses." Damn, that sounded like the punch line for a very lame joke.

She smiled and answered, "Yeah, I figured that horse trailer might have some horses in it. Let's put them in this corral." She was standing in front of an open gate in the corral to the side of the stables.

I backed the trailer up and led the horses into the corral. I saw her looking at the logo on the horse trailer, "Lamar Ranch" with my folks' names underneath, "Dell & Angie Lamar". Looking at me with a funny expression on her face, she asked, "Is that your mom, Angie Lamar?"

That was about the last thing I expected her to ask. "Yeah, do you know her?"

She didn't really answer, just a short, "Mmmm." She put out her hand, and added, "I'm Madison, by the way."

I took her hand, holding it in mine for a couple of hours. Well, maybe a few seconds. I was surprised to feel the calluses on her palms. Now that I was closer I could see that she had emerald green eyes that seemed to suck the life right out of me. On the other hand, maybe I just needed a beer. "Great," I said as I walked back to open up the trailer. "Can I call you Maddie?"

Those bright green eyes turned to that pale icy green sometimes seen in glaciers, and I debated crawling under a large pile of the odoriferous stuff shoveled out of the stalls. Just in time her face lit up with a smirk, and her almond shaped eyes widened a little. "No one calls me anything but Madison, not even my parents. Why should I let you?"

Then, answering her own question, she murmured with a soft, lazy drawl, "It does have a nice ring to it. Go ahead and call me Maddie until I decide whether I like you or not. I probably won't, but we'll see."

From the look she gave me, I wasn't sure whether she was going to kiss me or kill me. I wondered whether I should press my luck and ask her to show me her hay loft ... maybe not. We got the horses out of the trailer and into the corral where they romped around, loosening up after the drive. I spent a good half hour telling her about each of the horses. I carried a bitless bridle that I liked to use in training horses. One at a time I put it on one of the horses - these were all around two years old - and led them around the corral, so she could look at them.

When I finished, I said, "They are all really first rate riding horses." Out of curiosity, I added, "Which one do you like?"

She looked them over again, and answered, "The lighter colored mare is really pretty." She looked at it judiciously for a moment, adding, "Yeah, she's real pretty."

I was a bit disappointed, since I know the black gelding was in all ways a much better horse. I was still madly in love with Maddie/Madison ... I'd known that as soon as I'd seen her green eyes. But I guess I loved her a bit less since it was clear that a horse was just another toy for a RB (rich bitch!). However, I had to ask.

"So she's the one you will use as your personal horse?"

"Oh no, she's really pretty, but I'll keep the black for my use. He's gotta be one of the best geldings I've seen."

I'd just been infatuated before; now I was in love.

She added, "I want to ride him for a while, maybe twenty minutes or so. Just to see if I have any questions." She saddled the black and mounted. "We're having a barbeque tonight, around five or so. I'd like for you to come. Wait for me and I'll show you around."

She took off, easing him into a canter. I closed the back of the trailer and walked over to the corral, sitting on the top rail while I waited. I looked around and was impressed how well organized and maintained the place was. I could see a large patio/pool area behind the house. A man walked out of the house down towards the stable area. He stopped in front of me and pushed his hat up from his eyes.

He looked to be somewhere around the middle years of the forties, well built with broad shoulders, tall, and just a hint of mid-life spread bulging over his wide leather belt. The sun was behind him, shading his pale blue eyes, but I didn't think that was what made them look so uninviting. He watched Maddie cantering away then turned to me. After a long minute of trying to stare me down, he asked, "You belong to that truck and horse trailer?"

I didn't think he was expecting a long speech from me, so I gave him a spare nod.

"If you're finished up you can go ahead and hit the road."

"Well, Maddie is taking a ride on one of them, and I want to make sure everything is okay."

His mouth scrunched up a bit like he found a pit in the prune he must have been chewing. His face flushed an angry red, and he said in a tight, quiet voice, "Mister, you do my daughter disrespect by being so familiar with her. To you, she is Miss Townsend, and you will never call her anything but that. Now you get off this ranch just as damn as soon as you finish your business."

He turned and started to walk away, and I foolishly said, "Uh, Mad ... uh, Miss Townsend asked me to stay for a barbeque."

"Son, that get-together is for friends and family. You are not family and you damn sure ain't a friend. You leave now of I'll have you escorted off the place. If there's anything wrong with the horse, I'll take care of it. Now git!"

I didn't need this kind of grief, and I didn't know her well enough to go through the hassle involved. Yeah, she was cute as hell, but I was clearly wrong when I thought I loved her.

I sashayed over to the truck and fired it up, easing it over to the driveway. Just as I turned onto the drive, Maddie - excuse me, Miss Townsend - reined her new black gelding to a stop in front of me. I looked at her for a minute then decided, what the hell. I stepped out and walked over to her, tipping my hat nice and polite.

"I thought you were going to stay, did you change your mind?"

Exaggerating my west Texas drawl, I replied, "Wal Miss Townsend, yore pappy done introduced himself and made it plain to me that the barbeque was for friends and family. Since he felt I was clearly neither, he kindly suggested I get the hell off his property."

I opened the door and started to step into the truck but Maddie had other ideas. She jumped off the horse and grabbed my arm. "Wait a damn minute. Did he really say that?"

"Yeah, and I have to say he wasn't very nice about it."

She looked over at the patio where her dad was talking with a woman, most likely her mom. She let go of my arm and took the horse over to the corral and wrapped the reins around a post. Striding back she took my hand and pulled me along at a fast clip. "Let's get this straight right now."

Her parents stopped talking and watched us as we approached.

"Mom, Dad, this is Billy Ray Lamar. His father runs the ranch we bought the horses from. Billy is my friend and I invited him to stay for dinner. If that's not okay, Billy Ray has asked me to dinner at Hudson's on the Bend in town. Do you want me to stay tonight or to go out to eat?"

Her dad started, "Damn it Madison, this is your welcome home party from college. All of your friends will ..." then her mom cut in, Billy, I'm Amanda Townsend, and we'd be happy to have you stay."

Maddie gave her dad a hard look, and said, "Good." Turning to me, she said, "I need to get ready. If you want to freshen up, there is a bathroom just inside the patio door."

Since I started delivering horses for my dad, I'd gotten into the habit of taking along a change of clothes and a leather dopp kit my dad had given me when I turned sixteen. I never knew when something would come up while doing a delivery, and I'd have to stay overnight. I got a rag from the back of the truck, and after I did what I could for my boots, I took my stuff to the designated bathroom. After brushing my teeth, I shaved while taking a shower and then got dressed. What I had with me this trip was a pair of black jeans and a light blue shirt with a modicum of pale yellow flowers on it ... looking in the mirror, I looked better than I'd expected. My medium brown hair was a bit shaggy around the ears and neck but not too bad.

I took my dirty clothes back to the truck and when I got to the patio Maddie was standing by a long galvanized horse trough filled with beer and ice. As I got there, she handed me a wet bottle of Rahr's Bucking Bock.

"Is this okay, Billy?"

"That sure is fine, Miss Townsend."

"Damn it, will you quit that ‘Miss Townsend' crap. What happened to Maddie, anyway?"

"Well, your dad made it clear that it would never be appropriate for me to call you anything but ‘Miss Townsend.' He was quite definite about that."

"Billy Ray Lamar, I decide what I want people to call me. And speaking of that, I do want you to call me. By the way, you clean up real nice."

"Maddie, you looked like a dream before, but now, gosh with that white dress you look ready to walk down the aisle with me." Damn, did I really say that?

She looked at me for a minute, then shaking her head with an exasperated look, she took me over to a table, and we sat down. There were a few people walking around setting things up, but it didn't look like any guests were there yet. After we were seated, she put her hand on mine and said, "I just graduated from Rice and tonight is kind of my formal welcome home. I'll try to spend as much time as I can with you. If it's okay, I'll have my brother Eddie hang out with you. I'll be sure to save you the last dance."

I had this vision of a twelve year old squirt following me around, so I asked, "How old is he?"

She laughed, seeming to read my mind. "He's nineteen, a couple of years younger than me. He went one year to Texas here in town, but he refuses to do more. He wants to do the rodeo full time. He's actually pretty good."

"What events does he do?"

"Oh, he likes best bronc riding, both saddle and bareback. However, he competes in most everything, but he hates the steers. He tried it in high school a couple of times, but he comes right out and says he's afraid of them. More than anything, though, he loves horses, and I gather you do too."

"Yeah, my dad tells everyone I was riding before I was weaned. I did rodeo in high-school and at West Texas A&M. I usually did Tie-Down Roping and Team Roping."

"What did you major in, Billy?"

"I did their Equine Industry Program. Our ranch has over the years been about breeding - split about evenly between thoroughbred horses and registered Black Angus bulls. I was planning on taking over the horses and dad the bulls, but dad got this bug in his head about setting up a hunting operation. I have to admit that it makes more money a lot easier that the breeding program. To be honest I love to hunt, so it's not all bad for me. I'm trying to talk dad into getting someone take over the bulls, and I'll just do the horses and help him with the hunting.

"I gave her a quick glance, "And what did you do at Rice?"

"I was at the Shepherd School of Music. I play the cello more than anything, but I dabble around with the piano and fiddle, sometimes the guitar. I also sing some once in a while."

"I'm impressed. I'd like to hear you play sometime. Apropos of nothing, my mom also went to Rice and is a first rate piano player."

"Yeah, I know. They had an alumni event a couple of years ago, and she played Gershwin's ‘Rhapsody in Blue.' It was lovely. Because of something she said, I talked to her later and wound up going out to dinner with her."

I raised my eyebrows at that and gave her a look.

"Everyone, especially my dad, has been pushing for me to perform professionally. I don't really want to - I love music, and I love to play but I don't want to be work. Dad is putting a guilt trip on me for all the money he spent for college but, damn it, I don't care. When I talked to your mom, she told me she went through the same thing: she loves to perform, but for fun. So she just decided to do what she felt was right and that gave me the backbone for myself.

"Dad's mad at me and now he's pushing me to go out with this guy I really don't like. He'll be here tonight and I guess I'll have to dance with him, but I won't enjoy it. I do like your mom; she's both talented and sweet. I never saw her again after that dinner."

Guests started arriving and she took off. I sat by myself over a beer then Maddie came back with a nice looking young couple. The young man was obviously her brother. I assumed the lady was his girlfriend. He was tall, slim, but with a hint of being like a coiled spring: relaxed but ready to explode into movement in an instant. He had short, ash blond hair that curled close to his scalp. The girl was medium height, with a cute face and a look of the pixie in her.

"Billy, this is my brother, Bobby and his friend, Katie. Bob, this is Billy Ray Lamar. He and his folks have a ranch over by Johnson City. Please take care of him, maybe bore him by talking about rodeo, like you do with me all the time," she finished with a twinkle in her eyes and a sassy grin. She flounced away and left me alone with the couple.

Bobby grabbed a couple of cokes and another beer for me, and we sat back down at the table.

I asked him in a teasing voice, "Maddie says you really like riding bulls?"

He grimaced at the thought and then realized what I'd said. "You call her Maddie? She doesn't let anyone call her that. She even makes me call her Madison."

"She said it was okay. I didn't know there was anything wrong with it," I said, laughing to myself remembering what her dad had said.

He looked at me for a minute, trying to figure me out. He shrugged and answered my question. "I guess Madison told you I hate the bastards! I'm not ashamed to say they scare the shit out of me. I can ride the meanest, orneriest bronc and feeling nothing but an affinity for it and the thrill of becoming part of something so wild."

He blushed at this as he looked at Katie. I don't know if was from the mild profanity or from what he had said.

"Well, you can have anything that bucks. Sure, I can ride, but I'm useless without a lasso in my hands."

We talked about rodeo stuff for a while. It turned out that Katie was a serious barrel racer. From what Bobby said, I gathered she also like pole bending: riding between six stakes something like a slalom course.

Maddie came back and sat with us, and we chatted, all of us getting to know each other. Katie was real sweet but painfully shy. A band set up and started playing.

Maddie took my hand, "Come on cowboy, and show me how light on your feet you are."

It was a two step, a dance I actually did well. We went around the floor a couple of times, and then stopped for a minute in front of the band. When the number finished, the band leader looked down at Madison and lifted an eyebrow. Maddie shook her head no, then when he gave her a "come hither" motion with his hand, she looked at me, shrugged, and stepped up on the stage.

With his arm around her, he told the crowd, "We are here tonight to welcome Madison back home after her years of college." He whispered something in her ear, she nodded, and then he continued, "Madison and I are going to do the George Jones, Emmylou Harris duet of "Here We Are."

The band led off and they started the song:

"Did you say that you've been searching for a place you've never been, Here it is darlin', here it is. And when you're down there on the bottom, and you're looking out for friends, Here I am darlin' here I am."

I was really impressed, not with the band leader, I'd been listening to his vocals, and he was first rate. However, Maddie really surprised me. She sang with a clear, sweet contralto, lower than her speaking voice. They performed well, together. It was clearly something they had done before.

After that, the guy playing the fiddle handed it to her. She tuned it quickly and stood by the mike with the woman that had been playing keyboard. They did Sara Evan's "Coalmine" with the keyboard player doing the vocals and Maddie on the fiddle with the band filling in behind them. She sang well, but she was great with the fiddle.

She stepped down as the band moved on to a waltz. Moving right into my arms we moved slowly around the flow. Her face was flushed with some beads of sweat around her hairline. All in all, she looked ravishing and felt even better. After that number, she led me back to the table.

"I have some things to do," and after giving me a quick kiss on the cheek, she walked towards the house. I chatted with Bobby and Katie for a half-hour or so and then saw Maddie dancing with a guy. I didn't like how close he was holding her - though it did look like she kept trying to push him away. I watched for a couple more minutes, wondering what the hell I was doing here.

Bobby could see I was getting aggravated, and said, "That's Thomas Martin Kendall. He lives in Dallas and has a lot more money than dad does. I think he's a pompous ass, every time he introduces himself, he says Thomas Martin, like anyone cares. Dad wants Madison to marry him, but I don't think she really likes him. It's making all of us kind of pissed off at dad.

I looked out at the dance floor and saw them standing talking instead of dancing. I had enough of this and walked over to where my truck and trailer was parked. I saw two large, beefy guys standing there and two more materialized behind me. Madison's dad stepped out from behind the trailer and stood in front of me.

"You dumb shit, I told you not to stay here tonight. Did you think I was bullshitting you? Madison is going to be engaged later tonight, and you are not going to be there for that. I don't ever want to see you around here ever again." He nodded to one of the men and walked away.

I could see what was going to happen, so I tried to be proactive. I kicked out at the one to my right front and caught him solidly in the knee. I tried to swing at the other one in front when what felt like a sledge hammer landed on my kidney. I fell to the ground and felt boots kicking at me. I tried to cover up but saw a boot coming at my head and couldn't stop it.

Chapter 3

I woke up feeling like shit. I was dizzy and had a hard time reading the clock on the dashboard. The numbers finally swam into focus: 9:07. I'd been out for a couple of hours. I felt nauseous and opened the door, falling out as I did. I was able to get on my hands and knees splatter my dinner and several beers all over what felt like asphalt. Finally, I was able to grab hold of the truck and pull myself up.

Looking around I could see I was in the parking lot of an office complex. I was under a light pole and could see myself reflected in the window of the truck. There was no way to make light of it - I looked like shit! My shirt was seriously torn, and I had a couple of rips in my almost new black jeans. I always traveled with a large bottle of water and used most of it to drink and clean up as best I could. I hurt all over, with scraped skin over one side of my face, one ear was much larger than normal, some ribs that were giving me much more pain than I liked and places hurt that I knew were going to produce a kaleidoscope of colors on my body.

I was still feeling dopey, and pulled out of the parking lot over to FM 620 Road South towards Bee Cave. I knew there was a hospital on Highway 71, and I had thoughts about stopping there to get checked out. I drove for a couple of minutes getting more and more pissed. I saw an open tavern by the side of the rode, so I pulled in, thinking a beer might perk me up.

It was a slow night; the place was almost empty. I sat on a stool at the dark end of the bar and held a finger up to ask for a beer. I took a long pull from the mug, thinking about what had happened. Yeah, I was really attracted to Madison, but I didn't need this kind of grief. Hell, the reality was that I hardly knew her. I was highly pissed at her dad and the jerk-off that was probably engaged to her by this time. I had another beer then went back out to the truck. I sat there, not really thinking, then took off driving back to the ranchette.

I parked a ways off from the entrance; I was sure they would be watching for me. I cut straight across the grass to the pool area, which was in back of the temporary stage that had been set up. I wound up at the back of the stage which was about three feet off the ground. The equipment and drum set was blocking the way, but I could see dip shit on his knee saying something with a glass of what must be champagne in his hand. Madison was standing there looking embarrassed and her parents were standing next to them.

I jumped up on the stage and walked over to them. Madison gasped, "Billy!" and Thomas Martin looked scared. I took the glass from his hand and toasted the presumably soon to be affianced, "Maddie, I hope you have a long and happy future with this piss ant. I thought there was something between us, I guess I was wrong. I'm not big on the social graces, so I'll leave. You're not for me. I'll have a few beers, and I'll be okay."

I took a sip of the sparkling wine. Not bad! I threw the rest in dip shit's face and turned to walk away. Her dad grabbed my arm and yelled something, but I was past giving a shit, way past. I grabbed his offending arm and caught him on the point of his chin with a short uppercut that had my weight behind it. I jumped off the stage leaving ...I didn't know what carnage behind me. I walked directly towards my truck expecting someone to come after me, but no one did.

I was wired now. I'd figured on stopping at the Lakeway Regional Medical Center, but I didn't feel like I had anything seriously wrong. My ribs were hurting but they couldn't be broken, or I'd never have been able to get that punch off. I drove straight home and found that mom and dad had already gone to bed.

I had a hunch that Mr. Townsend might sic the police on me so it would most likely be best for me to skip out of town for a while. It didn't seem like things were going to be fun for a long time anyway. I grabbed a couple of suit cases and packed whatever. I went to bed, lying awake for a long time. I tried to figure out what had happened, but I didn't seem to be able to put it together. Everything was fuzzy and the shot of Jack I'd taken for the pain hadn't helped.

I knew immediately what I was going to do. I had always liked performing at the rodeos, but I began to feel guilty, that I should be helping dad. Life on the road had starting paling, even if I liked the rodeo itself. Sometimes crappy motels and eateries were all there was. I wasn't the best but I was pretty good. I wouldn't make a lot of money, but I was sure I'd get by. I finally dozed off but woke early when I heard mom downstairs.

I took a quick shower, got dressed and carried the suitcases down the stairs. Mom heard the noise from the kitchen and came into the living room, just as I was setting the suitcases down. She gasped when she saw the marks on my face, walked over, and gave me a tight hug but didn't say anything. I finally pulled back and could see she was crying. I took her hand and led her to the kitchen and asked if she could fix me some breakfast.

I told her what had happened, at least the highlights. "I don't think anything will come of it, but I feel like taking off for a while. I'm going to be on the rodeo circuit in the northwest and Canada. I need to find a partner for the team roping. I know a couple of guys, one that's a good friend that might be able to work with me. So I'll drive up to Sheridan first and talk to him. If nothing else he can work with me while I get my form back.

Dad came in from taking care of the horses, and I gave him a short version of what had happened. I told him what he was going to do. He shook his head, and said, "I'll miss you boy! I learned a long time ago that a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. Do you need anything, money?"

"No, I'm okay. I'll call you every week or so. I'll find a couple of horses up there, but I would like to take the small horse trailer, the blue four stall one, okay?"

"Sure son." He shook my hand then hugged me. Mom didn't want to let go, so finally I picked her up and set her back a step.

I took the suitcases out to my own truck. It was a Ford 250 with a diesel engine and a club cab. I grabbed a couple of saddles, tack, horse blankets, and all the other stuff I would need, and threw it under the lid in the back of the truck. I jumped in the truck heading over to I-10. I figured I'd take that to I-25 and north to I-90 and on up to Sheridan. I was on the road by seven.

During the day, I was able to keep my mind off Madison - I wasn't thinking of her as Maddie anymore. At night, in the dark loneliness of some anonymous motel room, she was with me almost as a physical presence. I couldn't explain an interest in her that was almost obsessive. The reality was that I'd known her only a very few hours. There was something about her that struck a chord in me. I gave up worrying about her and let my mind slip into nighttime fantasies that left me with vague longings when I woke up each day.

I took my time; stopping frequently and stretched my legs. I felt a little better each day and the bruises and swelling gradually went down. Part of my not being in a hurry was I wanted to look more respectable, not like some down and out cowboy brawler. I arrived in Buffalo on the first of June and went straight to my friend's ranch. The ranch was about halfway between Buffalo and Sheridan and a few miles west at the end of the road. He, along with his folks and a younger brother had a nice horse ranch on 285 acres.

Rick, Rick Klein, was glad to see me - we chatted with his parents for a while - then we went to the Lodore Saloon in Story, a couple of miles west of the interstate. It's a great place with a lot of character. It was the better part of a hundred years old. From the thirties to through the fifties they had all the great bands in: Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Lawrence Welk, and many others.

We had a couple of beers in the bar, and I told Rick what my plans were. "Anyway, Rick, do you think you could break free and hit the circuit this summer?"

"Billy, I'd sure like to. But I'm getting married in a little over a month. I'm sure Debra wouldn't want to spend her honeymoon at the Calgary Stampede."

"Damn, that's good news, Rick. Is she from around here?"

"Yeah, her dad owns the ranch just south of us. It's quite a bit larger, and they mostly work cattle. They are real nice folks and Debra is a Western girl all the way. You'll probably meet her tomorrow. She got a mare she's had since she was a kid and wants to put her out to pasture. I've got a couple of mares she wants to ride. It's gonna cost me some money though; I don't think she'd be too happy if I made her pay. How ‘bout you? You'll need a couple of horses too. I've got some I've been training, but they need work.

"I'll make you a deal, you help me train horses when you have time, and you can use what you want for the summer. Hell, you train roping horses better than I do anyway."

"Well, if you're sure. That would work well for me. I've got some money but I'll need to win some by the end of the summer."

"Okay, Billy. I've got another idea. I can't go but talk to my brother, Eddie. He finished high school this year, but he was the state champ at tie-down and second in team roping. He's a big kid with large hands and a big ego. Don't misunderstand, he's a great kid, but he thinks nothing can stop him."

"Sure, I'll talk to him. We can trade off on the team roping, taking turns being the header and heeler so that he gets more experience, and enter individually for the tie-down and help each other with the horses. We'll need two horses for each event and maybe trade one off once in a while."

We went back and I met his brother. We chatted for a bit then got down to business and worked on roping. I wanted to see his skills and attitude. He was an artist with the rope, and I didn't see any problem in working with him. I saw I few things he could work on to shave a little time here and there. The horses needed a lot of work.

The next day we tried some tie-down. I was impressed, that kid was stronger than hell. I was better than him on the horse, but we could work on that. He knew he was good but still had a positive attitude about getting better. He was eighteen and I was twenty eight, but he acted like I was in my thirties. Me, an old man? Again, the horses needed a lot of work.

In the end, we decided on working with four horses for each event. Whenever we were in the area we could come back and swap out horses. I met Debra and liked her a lot. She was very level headed, knew what she wanted out of life and in marrying Rick. She had some ideas of how the two ranches could work together and make more money.

After a couple of weeks of hard work, we felt like we were ready to give a try at real competition. We decided on the one at Belt, Montana, a small town a little way east of Great Falls. I thought I'd feel strange after not having competed for several years, but it was like old home week. Between Eddie and me, we knew enough people to always have someone to talk to.

We got fourth in the Team Roping for a little under two hundred fifty dollars and both of us were just out of the money in the Tie-Down. Basically, that would just cover expenses, but still we were pretty happy. The following week we were at Chinook, Montana. We went directly there; it was too far to drive back to the ranch. Eddie did great with a third in Tie-Down for almost four hundred dollars, but we were out of the money on Team Roping. We had agreed that we would pool the winnings and expenses and split anything left down the middle.

We decided to take a couple of weeks off and work with the horses and then take a shot at the Sheridan Rodeo in mid-July. Rick was glad to see us, and we talked over more than a few beers about how things went. We thought we could pick up time by working with the horses on a few things. We decided to change mounts for the Tie-Down but keep the same two for Team Roping. We also decided I'd stick at header and Eddie would stay at heeler.

We worked hard on the horses doing everything we could to improve our times. We knew Sheridan was a favorite stop of some of the big name pros, so if we were to wind up in the money, we'd best have everything just right. The horses were looking good, and we slept the sleep of the just each night. We were close to the ranch, so we wouldn't need to spend anything on hotels or restaurants so anything we won would be gravy. We knew there would be tough competition, but we had high hopes.

I called home every four or five days. No one had ever stopped by or called about the "incident" at the Townsends. I was getting more successful at blocking Madison (I refused to think of her as Maddie) out of my active thoughts and to some extent my dreams, but I knew I was kidding myself. I'd really tried to figure out why I was so hung up on her. At the rodeos in Montana, I'd met a couple of girls - drank beer with them and danced - but somehow I couldn't work up the enthusiasm for going any further.

Eddie, on the other hand, was some kind of chick magnet. It seemed a point of honor for him to bed every woman he met. For some reason, the older ladies seemed to really like him. He reminded me of that old saw, "The worst I ever had was wonderful!" I wasn't exactly jealous of him, but I did feel lonely. It was funny in a way; girls were looking for a man that would commit. I had a girl I was sure I wanted to commit to ... but it wasn't in the cards. Maybe I should ride the bulls - shake up my life a little.

Shortly after I finished my first run at the Tie-Down at the first night's events in Sheridan when I heard a voice behind me, "I didn't think they would let a broken down cowboy from Texas enter a real rodeo like this."

I turned around, it was Bobby Townsend. "Damn, Bobby, how are you?"

"I'm good. I'm entered in the saddle and bareback broncs here. I've been doing well this summer. I'm up about twelve grand over expenses." He looked down at the ground, and then looked me in the eyes, "I'm sorry about that BS at home. No one talks much with my father any more, not even my mom. I think they are going to separate."

"I've been looking over my shoulder, but I haven't heard anything."

"Yeah, it was funny. Dad was going crazy, calling the police and lawyers. Then one of the workers that hates the old man told the police about how he had you beaten. So instead of the police looking for you, they wanted to prosecute him. Everyone saw him grab your arm. If they could have found you, you could have filed a complaint. Probably still could, if you wanted."

"No, I don't want anything to do with him." We chatted for a few minutes, both studiously avoiding mention Madison. Seeing him brought her to the forefront of my mind. Later I watched him take a second - he was really quite good.

Eddie and I did okay, making as much as Sheridan as we had previously made total. I did wrench my knee, nothing serious, but I would have to take a couple of weeks off. Eddie decided to stick around Wyoming. I left him my truck and trailer and drove his Ford 150 down to see my folks. I made arrangements to meet him at the Pawnee Bill Memorial Rodeo in Pawnee, Oklahoma in early August, then we would work Texas and Oklahoma for a couple of months.

Chapter Four

Mom was happy to see me but dad acted like he was mad at something. Not really mad but not happy either. After a couple of days, I'd had enough and drove him to a small bar in Johnson City, gave him a chance to have a beer, then asked, "Okay, Dad, what's on your mind?"

He looked somewhat abashed, and said, "Hell, I didn't think I was showing anything. Well, I hate to admit it, but the ranch is getting too big for me. If you don't come back pretty soon I'm gonna have to hire a manager. That'll be pretty expensive, but I don't know what else to do."

Damn, that made me feel bad. "I'm trying to work something out. Can you hold on for a few months, say the end of September?"

"Yeah, I can do that. I won't book any new hunts ‘til you give me the word. That will ease things up enough, I think."

We drove back after a couple or three beers, and as we walked to the house, I could hear music coming through the open windows of the room where mom kept a piano. I recognized it as something from "The Magic Flute," by Mozart.

Dad chuckled, and told me, "That filly is here again. She and your mom are going to play a duet at the next Alumni meeting at Rice. She's damn good on that cello of hers."

I was pretty sure I knew which "filly" he had been talking about, although I'd thought it was a piano and violin playing. Shows what I know about it. But to make sure, I asked dad, "What girl is that?"

"Oh, that girl we sold the horses to. She came over to tell us how much she liked them. Turned out, she knew your ma, and she wound up staying for lunch. They got to talkin' and decided to put together a performance for their next meeting of people that went to that music school at Rice."

I turned to walk back to the truck, thinking another beer sounded real good about now, but dad grabbed my arm. "Hey, you ain't leavin' me to go in alone, are you?"

Giving up, I walked in with him. Actually, I did want to see Maddie ... Madison. We walked up to the porch and into the house. The music was louder now, and was quite nice. We walked over to the doorway of the drawing room, and watched them play. Once again, I was drawn to Madison's beauty.

They stopped, mom having seen us. We walked over, Madison staring at me. Quietly, she asked, "Hello, Billy Ray. Bobby mentioned that he'd seen you at Sheridan. How come you came back home?"

"Madison," I nodded at her. "I hurt my knee tossing a calf on his side on my last event. It didn't hurt my time - fact is I got a third in the finals. I got it x-rayed and there is nothing serious, but I do have to skip competing for a couple of weeks. By the way, Bobby's got the skills that he can be first-rate if he works at it."

She looked at me for a minute, and then looked at mom, "I think we've got it as good as we can. Let's get together for lunch next week, and plan the trip." Turning back to me, she said, in a ‘don't sass me' voice, "Walk me out to my truck." She packed away her cello, and went out the front door, waving a hand at my folks.

I followed, not saying anything. She put the case in the passenger seat and fastened the seat belt over it. She came over and stopped in front of me. "What happened that night at our place?"

"What do you mean?"

"Damn it, don't pussy foot with me."

I thought it over and shrugged. "I saw you dancing a lot with that guy you're getting married to. I didn't see any reason to stay after that, so I walked over to my truck to drive home. Four of your dad's goons grabbed me, and he told me to stay away from you ... and not to call you Maddie ever again. After that they kicked the shit out of me and drove me over to the business park and left me there. I decided it wasn't worth the hassle to try to see a girl that's engaged. Then when I woke up, I was pissed enough to come back and let everyone know how I felt."

"I have to say you did a bang up job of that! I'm sorry that happened. I don't think my dad will ever apologize, but I certainly can. Dad wanted to have you arrested but mom said she would leave if he did. I understand there were a couple of witnesses that pretty much said what you did. So will you accept my apology?"

I shrugged, and nodded, not saying anything. She looked at me for a long moment, then leaned forward and kissed me quickly on my lips and then jumped into her truck. I stood there watching as she rolled down the window. "Call me. Your mom has the number."

After she drove off, I stood there for a while trying to figure out how I felt. I still had a lot of resentment, but if I were honest with myself, I was still strongly attracted to her. There wasn't much I could do about it, with her getting married. All in all, I wish I hadn't seen her - the old longings were pulling at me again. I didn't see any reason to give her a call.

A week or so later, about the time that I needed to start thinking about driving up to Pawnee, mom asked me if I had anything planned that night.

"No, just ice my knee a couple of times. It almost feels like normal, but I don't want to take a chance with it."

"Your dad and I have a friend coming over for dinner. Is that okay?"

I really didn't have anything to do, so I couldn't see any reason not to. This was a fairly common occurrence with mom, some friend or neighbor dropping over. "Sure. I'll clean up a little ... put my good boots on." She smiled at that and went back to her kitchen.

I puttered around through the afternoon, icing my knee several times under mom's watchful eye. I'd been lounging around the house looking like a bum all week, so I thought I'd look nice for mom. I shaved the three day growth off my face and put on some clothes that I might go dancing in ... though at best I might whirl mom around the dining room table once or twice.

I was getting ready to go down the stairs when I heard the front door open. As I turned on the landing for the last couple of steps, I saw mom giving Madison a hug. That was the first inkling that a plot was afoot. Mom saw me and smirked, "Dad and I decided to go out tonight. I didn't want you to go hungry, so I found someone to take you out."

Madison stepped up and kissed my cheek. Taking my hand, she said, "Come on. I have a reservation for Poodie's Hilltop Roadhouse in Spicewood for a half hour from now."

I let myself be pulled along, trying to figure out what was happening. Clearly, I'd been hoodwinked, but I was having trouble getting upset about it. Madison looked quite nice, thank you, in black jeans tucked into what looked like new boots and a white shirt and a black hat. The way those jeans fit around her ... well, her derrière, like, they were sprayed on. Quite enchanting.

"You know where this place is, right? It should take about forty minutes to get there." She looked over at me with a smile, "If you would have called me, I wouldn't have had to kidnap you." Her smile slipping a bit, she added uncertainly, "You're not mad, are you?"

I gave her a smile of my own, "No, not really, Madison."

"Madison, what happened to Maddie?"

"Well, I'm a lot of things, and I've done some things I'm not proud of, but one thing I've never done is try to poach some other man's fiancé. I think only Thomas Martin Kendall should be the one to call you Maddie." I looked out the window, trying to get a speck of dirt out of my eye.

"You don't know, do you? Billy Ray, look at me!"

I turned and looked quickly at her, then turned my head forward so she wouldn't see how the dirt had made my eyes watery.

"Billy, after you ran away that night after humiliating Thomas Martin and almost breaking my dad's jaw, you missed seeing me throw my champagne in Tomas' face also. I detest that man and always had. The next morning I ripped into my father and told him to quit trying to run my life." She put her hand on my arm and continued, "Billy, I liked you right away, you're nice looking, a good man, and I love the way you treat horses. Can we start over?"

I stared at her, trying to take it all in. She seemed to be waiting for an answer, so I replied, "yeah, Madison, let's start over."

"Uh, Billy Ray, you weren't listening, I said, let's start over."

I smiled at that, and added, "Sure, Maddie."

We ate a nice dinner, she ate a small filet, and I had a huge t-bone. It was Friday night and fairly crowded as a band started playing. I didn't want to chance any stress on my knee, so we danced the slow numbers and talked a lot. This was the learning about each other we never had a chance to do the day we met. Each number we danced Maddie seemed to hold herself a little closer to me. It was clear that my instincts that I liked her a lot were right. I was falling for her like a ton of bricks.

When we got in her truck, she looked over at me with a question in her eyes. "Would you like to have breakfast with me?"

She clearly didn't mean what it sounded like and looked horrified when I replied, "Every morning, Maddie, every morning."

Blushing, she replied, "God, I didn't mean that. I'd like to show you something, and then I'll fix you breakfast. Would seven-thirty or so be all right?"

I had no idea what she had in mind, but it sounded good, and I had no other plans. "Sure, what should I wear?"

"Just some work clothes and boots."

She started the drive back to my folk's place and rested her hand on the seat. I put my hand on hers. She smiled but didn't say anything. Whenever she needed to lift her hand for driving, she put it back when she finished. When we stopped, I leaned over to give her a quick kiss. She put her hands behind my head and pulled me tight. The kiss went on for some time, dueling tongues and all. She finally broke away and said, "I've wanted to do that all night. See you in the morning."

The next morning she was early, and I was ready, so we had a cup of coffee before we took off.

My mom asked, "What you have planned this morning, Madison?"

"I'm going to show him my place."

"I think he will enjoy that."

When we were on the road, I asked, "Your place?"

"Yeah, after that night I didn't want to put up with dad's pushiness anymore. I'd been planning on moving out anyway, but he kept asking me to stay for a while longer. I think his plans were that I'd move in with Thomas Martin instead of going off on my own."

"What kind of place do you have?"

"You'll see. Be patient. Do you know where Onion Creek is, west of Dripping Springs?"

"Yeah, I do. A few years ago my dad delivered some horses there, and I rode along with him."

"Well, I've got a little place just north of Gainor Mountain and south of the creek, right where Mt. Gainor Road loops around Mount Gainor. You'll see."

We turned off 290 onto Holder Lane and took a left onto Creek Road. When Creek merged with Mt. Gainor she waved to the right. "That's my pasture area there."

After a half-mile or so we turned into a dive that led back to a large single story house with the outbuilding and corrals strung along the base of the mountain to the west. I say mountain, but it was about eight hundred feet above the creek level. The house was fairly modern design with a tile roof. It was really quite attractive. We pulled up in front of it and Maddie parked and let out a sigh. "Well, this is it. What do you think?"

"Well, it's obviously quite nice. Uh, why are we here, and what is this place, anyway?"

"Oh, Billy, I'm sorry. I call this place ‘Mi Casa' since it's mine, and it's the first time I've been on my own. Dad bought this for me when I turned twenty-one. It came along with a trust fund that will give me enough money to keep the place up and live fairly well. I haven't really decided what to do with it. I mean, I'd like to make it productive. I know a lot about horses, and but I really don't know anything about running a ranch."

We got a couple of horses out of the barn and rode around the place. There was a good sized spring that drained across the pasture to the creek. Someone had ditched it so that it watered all of the pasture area and the hay was a lovely, dark rich green, starting to brown in places.

"I also have water rights to the creek, and it has water year round. There is more hay than I can ever use."

You don't run all this by yourself, do you?"

Laughing, she said, "No, when dad gave me the place I hired a Mexican couple. They live in the house to the left of the main one. It's small, but they like it. He takes care of everything outside, and she takes care of the house. They have two boys, eleven and thirteen and a girl, ten. The boys are a big help. Benny, that's Benny Garcia, is handy, and he hires out some of the work, like harvesting the hay. We get two crops a year."

After looking at the main parts of the ranch, we took a trail to the top of the mountain. Maddie was riding the black gelding I'd turned over to her. There was a great view from the top. We could see Dripping Springs two or three miles to the east, and several other "mountains" across the south east to the south west. Her ranch was laid out below us.

We stayed up there longer than we had planned and when she heard my stomach rumbling, she laughed, "Okay, let's head down. Pork chops and eggs okay?"

Breakfast was good, with the additions of some great biscuits and a large pot of coffee. Afterward we sprawled out in her living room, relaxing and talking about this and that. I fell asleep in the big, leather easy chair I was sitting in, and woke up with a start. Maddie was sitting on the sofa with her legs curled up.

"Well, at least I know you don't snore. That's useful knowledge," she said, laughing.

"God, I'm sorry." I stood up, "I guess you'd better get me back home. I'm heading up to Pawnee tomorrow morning for the Pawnee Bill Memorial Rodeo."

She walked up to me and put her arms around me, her head in my chest. She squeezed me tight and then lifted her head for a kiss. Not disagreeing with that I enthusiastically participated. I could feel her breasts against my chest and felt her nipples harden. Damn, she must not have a bra on. I dropped my hands down to that lovely bottom and pulled her against me. After a few minutes of that she broke free, breathing hard with her face and neck a bright red.

"Unh, I guess I'd better take you home. That was just supposed to be a goodbye kiss."

A half hour later I was home. The feel of her body against me was just a burning memory. That afternoon I packed up and headed up to Ponca City. It was about an eight hour drive, so I stopped overnight at some no name motel in Ardmore. I pulled in to Ponca City and the motel we had reservations with, but Eddie already had a new roommate. After a short discussion, I looked for new lodgings. The only thing I could find was a B&B that had a small three room guest cabin with a private garden in the back of it.

It was really quite nice, but I thought it would be too pricey. The sweet woman that owned the place looked me over, and said, "You look like a nice cowboy. My Harold lived for the rodeo, and he would want me to take care of you. I'll let you have it for half-price."

I argued with her half-heartedly, but she was adamant. The place was well done; it even had a handmade pre-civil war bed carved from walnut. The whole suite was like a display room for antiques. I settled in, and then picked up Eddie to get the entry forms for the events they wanted to enter filled out. This wasn't a big money event but, hopefully, we could cover costs.

Eddie and I had a good time on our team roping, but I aggravated my knee and had to scratch the rest of my events. I ran into Bobby and he asked if I could watch him on the saddle bronc. I had no more than sit down when I felt someone slide into the seat beside me. I turned and saw Madison.

"Hi, Billy. I wanted to see Bobby. It's okay if I sit with you, isn't it?"

"Sure, Maddie. I banged up my knee again and had to drop out of the rest of my events. I guess I'm going to have to give up on a rodeo career. My dad needs my help ... and I don't think I need this anymore."

"You did this ‘cause you thought I was engaged to Kendall, didn't you?"

I looked away, embarrassed, then back at her, "Yeah, Maddie, it was pretty awful."

I was saved from further discussion on the topic when Bobby broke out of the chute. He had a great ride and made his time. When he was ready, the three of us went out to dinner. It was fun and we laughed a lot. I took Maddie to a tavern where they had a band playing, and we danced a couple of slow ones as my knee had tightened up and I couldn't do more than that. We had another make-out session when I took her to her room. Damn, I could get used to that. Two days later I was on my way to Wyoming to give the horses back to Rick. Eddie took his own truck and went ahead.

Chapter Five

It was a quick drive to deliver the horses, and I was back home in a week. Dad and I sat down and talked it over. Dad was going to do the hunting stuff, and I would do everything else, the cattle and horse breeding. I hired a kid that had graduated in the spring from Abilene Christian with a degree in Animal Science. I'd still manage the overall effort, but I hoped he could, over time, do most of the work on the Black Angus breeding.

My knee healed quickly, once I quit abusing it. Things quickly settled into a routine. I was seeing Maddie two or three days a week, and we were becoming close. I wanted to spend my life with her, but I wasn't sure how I'd fit into her world. I didn't know any of her friends, her dad hated me, and I'd met her mom only the one time. I finally decided to talk to her. We were at her place after a night of dinner and dancing, shortly after Thanksgiving.

We were sitting on her sofa, with her next to me, leaning on my shoulder. I put my arm around her, and said, "When we've gone out, I've introduced you to a number of my friends, and we've gone out to dinner with a couple of them."

She yawned, stretched, and in a half sleepy tone, said, "Yeah, they are nice. It's was a lot of fun."

In a quiet voice, I replied, "Maddie, why haven't you introduced me to your friends?"

Without thinking, she answered, "Well, I didn't really feel like you would fit in with them." She pulled back, and looked at me, "Damn, that's not what I meant."

"Yeah, I think you did. Maddie, I don't think I'd fit within your crowd. I'm not poor, but I'm certainly not rich. My friends are down to earth - some of the places I go with them might even be seen as ‘low places' by someone like your dad. You know I love you, but I think you should find someone from your crowd to love ... I just don't belong."

"Billy, you're wrong! You are a much better man than any of them. When I said you wouldn't fit in, what I meant was that you wouldn't like them. To be honest, I mostly don't like them much either. I've really liked spending time with you these last few months, just being together and doing simple things.

"I love you Billy Ray, you are right about that. And I know you love me, you are sure about that, right?"

"Pulling her close, I wrapped my arms around her and said, "Yes, Maddie, I love you very much. I will always love you." After much kissing she took my hand and stood up, looked at me for a long thirty seconds.

"Come with me," she said, pulling my hand. I walked with her to her bedroom, where she stood next to the bed. She started unbuttoning her blouse, and said, in a teasing voice, "Hey, I could use some help here."

With some alacrity, I complied. She was as beautiful as she had been in my imagination, even more so. We tumbled into bed and lost ourselves to the moment. It was sweet, intense, and something I would remember the rest of my life. We fell asleep for a couple of hours and made love afterward in a slower and more relaxed manner. We learned what we liked, what gave each other pleasure.

As I was leaving, she held me tight, and whispered in my ear, "Billy, you are my crowd. You are all I need, and I do need you."

My life changed from one day to the next. Mom and Maddie started planning a wedding, and I faced my work on the ranch with more commitment and interest. I gave a lot of thought of how we could work both ranches and told Maddie my initial thoughts, "Let's focus on using your place to grow hay for the larger ranch. I want to do something for fun and my idea is to pick the horses I think will work from what I raise and move them to your place. There I'll train them for rodeos - my friend Rick in Wyoming does that and he both makes money and has fun.

"I'm not interested in selling horses for the bucking events, but all the other events, including women's events such as barrel racing. I'd also like to work with the local high schools, training the kids how to rope and ride. We could get the kids to do some of the work in caring for the horses. You ride a horse, you take care of it. It also teaches them responsibility."

We liked the idea and we started planning for it. I called Rick to have him send down a couple of stallions and some mares to use for breeding stock. It worked out well - both ranches made good money and Maddie, and I had a lot of fun. Her brother, Bobby helped us during the rodeo off-season, and through his contacts helped sell a lot of horses. We enjoyed having the high school kids around all the time, and I think we helped a lot of them improve and to learn to love horses the way we did.

The wedding and reception took place on her ranch. Her family was all there; her dad, thoroughly chastened, was even half-way pleasant. Maddie's "crowd" showed up and most of them really weren't too bad. Thomas Martin Kendall was not invited and thankfully had not shown up.

I looked very sharp in my white Tuxedo with a new pair of Lucchese Shoe Boots. (Maddie bought them for me, and I wasn't too happy when I found they were almost five-hundred dollars. Then she told me that she thought about buying Lucchese's Limited Edition 125th Anniversary belly alligator boots for over twelve thousand. That was a bit too much - I didn't care how much money she had.) The shoe boots were three-quarter's the height of regular western boots and looked very nice.

I look back over the years as our love has grown and matured, and remembering the black days of that long ago summer always fill me with a sense of melancholy.