Lubbock, Texas, armpit of the US, dustpile of the ages. Flatland. Legendary miles and miles of miles and miles, where woodpeckers carry sack lunches. Where you can say good-bye to a traveler at 6PM, and stroll out for the morning paper at 6AM, and still have time to wave one last time. 21 year old Stef Grainger mucking the stalls of the Happy Trails Dude and Horse Ranch wandered what ever had possessed her father to move them from the beautiful Brazos River bottom country of Bryan to this god forsaken piece of earth that could wake you with rain, progress to sleet, and end the day engulfing you in a dust storm. Her father, Robert Grainger had moved them here 5 years ago, to start the Ranch, and he insisted that she and her sister Raquel, work the Ranch during the summers. He had built the Old West Town park 2 years later, and over 20 westerns had been filmed there already. This summer some opera kid was here, filming his debut to the silver screen. She hadn't seen any of the cast, but she was hopeful.
She and her sister always ended up mucking the stalls on Saturday mornings. Guests slept in on Saturdays, so usually no one was out riding, they could move the horses, do their work, then move them back,groom them, and they were ready for the day. Stef was moving hay into the current stall, pitchfork in hand, her sister in the stall arranging and packing the hay. Stabbing the hay, she turned to dump it, when a man came riding up, she couldn't see his face, he rode well, maybe a little inexperienced, but he kept his seat well. Reigning the horse in, he dismounted, walking the horse into the barn. In the bent over position, she saw his boots first, black Justins, the pointy kind, you could kill a cockroach in the corner with. Smooth, black leather chaps. Snug fitting Wranglers. Black belt. Silver buckle. Long-sleeved charcoal grey Cinch shirt, tapered fit, sleeves rolled up, top 2 buttons undone, chest hair peeking out. Black leather riding gloves. Black felt hat. Silver conch hatband. His head was down, he was talking to the horse, rubbing it's nose, he seemed to be walking towards her in slow motion.
"Holy moley." Her sister breathed through her teeth as she peered at the cowboy clad Adonis that walked toward them, not caring that she was looking at him upside down and through her legs.
"OOH, mama, tie up the horses, there is gonna be a stampede." She breathed in appreciation as he stopped in front of her. His head coming up, still in slow motion, she saw a chin with 3 or 4 days of beard, a smile, deep, soulful brown eyes, with the longest lashes she'd ever seen. And curly dark brown hair, one curl resting on his forehead, like he could never get it to do what he wanted it to do. The hat low on his brow, he scrubbed his chin with the riding glove, then reaching up pushed the hat back, just a touch so he could get a better look at her.
He spoke, "They told me to leave the horse with you."

 

Realizing she was still presenting her hind quarters to the vision in Wranglers, and chaps, Stef stood, the pitchfork dropped, turning to take the reins from his outstretched hand. He smiled at her, she couldn't take her eyes off him, he was...he was...he was HOT! Her head and body already giving him a standing ovation, she moved a little closer, pulling the reins out of his hand, her hand lingering on his gloved one for a moment. He took his hat off, wiping the sweat off his brow with his sleeve, the one curl falling back down on his forehead as he stood in front of her. Leaning closer to him, she dusted off his shoulder.
"You got a little dirt there, " She said stepping back.
"Yeah, I got caught in that little dust storm that blew up about an hour ago." He laughed, smacking his shirt with the gloves, plumes of dirt billowing out around him.
"That's Lubbock for you." She smiled wryly, thinking to herself, "That's LUBBOCK for you! What are you, 12? Can't you think of anything better to say?!!!"
He held out his hand, "I'm Josh, I've seen you around, do you work here?"
Looking like a post shock mental patient, she put her hand in his, thinking to herself, "SAY something! Anything!!!!"
"Hi, Josh. I'm ...uh...I'm...(thinking to herself, "I knew my name a minute, ago, don't tell me, I can get this right")
"Stef, her name is Stef." Her sister Raquel spoke up.
"Stef." He repeated, looking her in the eyes, then looked over at Raquel,"And you?"
"I'm Raquel." She said, moving forward to shake his hand.
"Stef," she said, "You can let go of his hand, now."
Snapping back to reality, Stef let go, Raquel stepping forward gave Josh's hand a quick shake and let go.
"She's not normally like this." Raquel said. "Usually I can't get her to shut up."
"Hey!" Stef said, her brain finally functioning again, she smacked her kid sister in the arm. She turned back to Josh.
"Our dad owns the ranch, he makes us work here every summer, he thinks it will build "character"."
Josh smiled again, "She speaks!"
Blushing, Stef grinned, "Sorry, I don't usually see young men my age here, it's usually 40 somethings, trying to get in touch with their inner cowpoke."
"That's good," He laughed. "Well, Stef, Raquel, maybe I'll see you around." He turned and walked off, the rear view as nice or nicer than the front.
Raquel leaned against her sisters shoulder, arms folded, as he walked out of view she let out a long, low whistle.
"They should bottle that." She said.
"I'd give up Yoo-Hoo for that man!" Stef said, the memory of that sweet backside burned forever on her retinas.

 

Slowly sitting in the hay, Stef hung her head in her hands.
"Oh, God, did I look as stupid as that felt?" She whined.
Raquel sitting beside her, "More, much more, it was an inspiration to see the way you totally and completely humiliated yourself over that hunk." Sarcasm dripping from her words like honey from a hive.
Dropping back in the hay, she moaned in desperation.
"I am such a DORK! I can't believe I went so BRAIN-DEAD! He probably thinks I'm a complete idiot!"
Smiling wickedly at her sister,Raquel said,"Oh, I'm sure he doesn't think you're a COMPLETE idiot."
Grabbing her little sister, Stef drug her back into the hay, tickling her until she begged for mercy.
"You are not helping me, shorty." She said, letting her sister up once she had apologized for the idiot remark. "I noticed you didn't act like a tongue-tied groupie."
"You know I like dark, rapper types, he's just too clean cut for me. Too "boy next door"."
Stef raised her eyebrows smiling at the memory of him walking away, "He is cute though, right?"
Raquel nodded solemnly, "Oh, yeah, that's a given. Very nice eyes,..."
"And the curls..."
"Yeah, and his mouth, did you see..."
"The way it curled up when he smiled at me..."
Stef stood helping her sister up, they continued to talk as they continued their work in the stables.
"And did you see his hands..." Stef said.
"They WERE nice, his Wranglers fit REALLY nice, too."
"And those chaps."
"I love a man who can carry off chaps."
"Or carry you off?" Raquel snickered.
"He could carry me off anywhere he wanted to."
"Amen, sister, amen."
They finished the stables in time to clean up for lunch. Stef walked out of her bathroom, wrapped in a towel, her hair blown dry, looking through her closet, she took out a dozen tops, thumbing through them she tried not to make it too obvious that she was trying to get Josh's attention. Finally settling on her favorite pink western shirt, with the little diamond cut-out in the front, so you could see her cleavage. Putting the shirt on, she examined herself, it is an impressive cleavage, she thought to herself, smiling at her reflection in approval. She put on her tan Rocky Mountains, and her tan Justins. Checking herself in the mirror, she knew she looked hot enough to kill, and went down to lunch, hoping Josh would be there.
Scanning the dining room, she didn't see him right away, then she saw him, he was in the buffet line, getting a salad, slowly she walked over to the salad bar, and picked up a plate, pretending not to notice him.

 

Walking around the salad bar until she was beside him, Stef still maintained the aloof air, pretending she hadn't seen him, as she moved around to stand beside him, he stepped next to her. He had cleaned up too, dressed in a black shirt , jeans and sneakers, he looked incredible. Leaning over to pick up some lettuce, she could smell his aftershave, kind of a soft spicy, citrus scent, his hand reaching across hers for the cherry tomatoes. Their hands touched, and their eyes met.
"Sorry," Josh said, smiling down at her 5"2" frame, eyes glancing south of her face for just a moment. Then straight back to her eyes.
"Ha-gotcha!" Stef thought to herself, he had glanced at her cleavage.
"That's okay. Did you get all of our crappy Texas dust out of your hair?" She said, trying to make light conversation when all she wanted to do was toss aside their salad plates, grab him and run her fingers through his hair...for starters.
He laughed.
"Damn! What a smile!" Her inner monologue keeping polite chit chat extremely difficult.
"You cleaned up really..nicely, too." He said, the smile showing he appreciated just how well she had cleaned up.
"Yes, hay isn't the most attractive fashion accessory." She laughed.
"I don't know it looked pretty good on you."
Was that suggestive? BINGO! He liked ANYTHING on her!
"The Texas dust didn't look too bad on you either." She smiled, her eyes teased with a gleam.
"So you like "dirty" men?"
She laughed, "Depends on the dirt."
Josh had moved a little closer to her, taking a deep breath as he leaned over more to talk to her.
"Oh, yeah, he just took a whiff of my hair!" She thought to herself.
"What would bring someone as young as you to a dude ranch? Did you tick God off? Or is this just a personal torture session? You get off on torment, is that it?" She asked, her voice soft and low.
He chuckled, "No, I'm shooting a movie."
"Oooh, impressive. What part are you playing?"
"Well, the lead."
Realization, "You're the one my dad was talking about? The singer?"
"Guilty, you've never heard of me?"
"Culture is not exactly one of the byproducts of life on a dude ranch. I'm lucky I know what year it is. My dad would have us cooking on wood stoves wearing bustles and corsets if he could."
Obviously viewing a mental picture, Josh smiled at her.
"Bustles and corsets, huh?" He said.
She looked at him in surprise, realizing what his reference and the look on his face meant, she blushed.
"That's not ALL we'd wear!"
Josh laughed at her, and after a moment she was laughing with him.
"Listen, I have to make an appearance at a radio station this afternoon, would you like to come along?" He asked, hopefully.
"Which station?"
"WTAW."
"That would be cool, what time?"
"We'll be leaving about 3. Is that okay?"
"3, that would be great, okay, we'll meet in the lobby at 3."
"Great." said Stef
"Great." said Josh
"Can I come, too?" Asked Raquel.

 

Stef met Josh at the lobby right on time, well, really she was 15 minutes early, she had tried to ditch her little sister, but Josh had said she could come along, and no matter how many noogies, and indian burns she gave her the little brat still wanted to tag along. Dressed in a black sweater, and jeans, Josh met them with the biggest smile on his face. The limo was out front and they were off.
"Besides working at the ranch in the summers, what else do you do with your time?" Josh asked Stef.
"I'm a student at Texas Tech." She answered, just noticing how long his lashes were, oooh!
"What's your major?" He asked, putting his arm on the back of the seat, right behind her head.
"I'm a psychology major. I like to understand how people's minds work."
"Yes, my sis the head shrinker." Raquel quipped.
"Psychology, I guess I'd better be careful what I say." He said, smiling sweetly at her, whoo, nice smile, very nice, maybe top 10 nice, oh, yeah, nice...
"Do you need to be analyzed?" She asked, playfully.
"What do you think, doc, do I need some time on the couch?" He asked, a wicked gleam in his eyes.
Stef, her brain frozen for a second, visions of Josh on a couch,...okay, don't go there, had to shake herself mentally before she could answer.
"That depends, have you been bad?" She asked, thinking to herself, "I can't feel my body, am I drooling, that would be very embarrassing, ooh, mama, I am in deep, deep trouble."
"Oh, GOD!" Raquel moaned,feeling tortured as they openly flirted with each other, "You 2 are pathetic, is there a TV in this thing?"
Laughing, Josh pushed a button, and a small TV rose up out of the console next to Raquel, he handed her some headphones, so she could ignore them, then turned his attention back to Stef.
"Have I been bad? I don't know, how would you define bad?" He asked leaning close to her, she could smell his aftershave, swallowing at his closeness, and resisting the urge to pounce on him, she sighed.
"Bad, I would say you're being bad right now!" She said softly.
"I don't get the chance to talk to girls my age very often, I guess I wanted to take advantage of the situation."
"Poor baby, is it lonely at the top?" She asked, teasingly.
Smiling wickedly, he answered, "Very."
Sighing in frustration,"If we were alone, I could do something to help you out with that."
His eyebrows raised in interest, Josh moved closer and kissed her on the cheek, the beard stubble brushing her cheek as he moved away.
Thinking to herself, "Oh, boy, yep, deep, deep trouble, so in trouble, not good,...what the heck, I'm a goner anyway."
Grabbing Josh's sweater, she kissed him on the lips, hard, not wanting to let go.

 

"Ooooh, mama,..." Stef whispered as she let Josh go from the kiss. He was smiling at her reaction, and not in a bad way, clearly he had enjoyed the kiss as well. Glancing over at her little sister, clearly she had NOT enjoyed witnessing the kiss, a look of mixed horror, and revulsion on her face.
"God, get a room!"
Josh and Stef laughed at her little sister's reaction, Josh put his arm around Stef's shoulders and they sat back that way until they pulled up to the radio station.
WTAW was a nice station, Rhino their top DJ had a nationally syndicated show, Rhino's Playhouse from 7PM-10PM every Saturday night. Raquel was a big fan, and was looking forward to meeting her favorite DJ, there was a crowd of people with We Love You Josh, banners in front of the radio station, as the limo pulled up, they started jumping up and down. An older man in glasses stepped up to the door, opening it as they came to a stop.
Josh stepped out first, "Hi, Brian." He said to the older man.
"You're about 10 minutes late." Brian said, as he started to close the door.
Josh stopped him, "I brought some friends."
Stef and Raquel got out of the limo, "Stef, Raquel, I'd like you to meet my manager Brian."
Intros all around, Grobanites rushed forward, Brian rushed them into the radio station with apologies, promising individual time once they were done in the studio.
Riding up to the third floor they stepped out, posters of the radio DJ's all along the walls of the reception desk.
They met Rhino, Raquel going brain-dead at the sight of her idol. They all got to go into the studio, and Raquel got to sit on Rhino's lap for half of the interview as they talked about holey underwear, Josh's album, and the movie.
"So tell me about the movie, Josh." Rhino said.
"Well, it's called "Brother's Keeper", and it's about a young stuck up, self-destructive singer who finds himself sentenced to six months on a working ranch to try to reform himself after being arrested for possession."
"That's a bit of a departure from your clean-cut "boy next door" image isn't it?" Rhino asked.
Josh laughed, "That's kind of the point, to show that there are many sides to me."
"And how are the Grobanites? Are these lovely young ladies you brought with you some of their number?" Rhino asked, patting Raquel on the knee.
"No, they'd never heard of me. They're the daughters of the owner of the ranch where we're filming." Josh answered, smiling at Stef.
"And they'd never heard of you?"
"Yeah, it was actually kind of nice, Stef was checking me out this morning cause she liked the way I looked in my riding clothes." He said smiling wickedly in her direction, Stef turning red.
Rhino laughed, "And how did he look?"
Stef answered a little shyly, "Nice, really nice, the chaps looked really good."
"So you are really soaking up the Texas culture then, Josh?"
"More than you know." He answered, looking squarely at Stef.

The interview over, meeting with the Grobanites, they were back in the limo, Brian off to handle some other projects, Stef, Josh and Raquel all talking about the meeting and how nice the Grobanites were. It was nearly 1AM when they got back to the ranch, as they pulled into the drive, they saw the night sky lit up with blinking red and blue lights. At least half a dozen sheriff's cars were all around the entrance to the lobby of the main house. Employees, and guests wandered around being questioned by deputees. They were stopped by a couple of deputees, when Stef identified them, they were allowed into the lobby. Rushing to her parents, both of the girls were engulfed in hugs.
"Mom," Stef started, "What happened?"
"We've been robbed, and they nearly killed Mark."
"Who's Mark?" Josh asked.
"Our stable manager." Their dad answered.
"I'm so glad you kids weren't here." Her mother said, squeezing them tightly.

 

The guests at Happy Trails were finally all questioned, and sent off to their rooms, her parents hustled Raquel off to bed, under great protestations, after all she was 14. Josh and Stef found themselves alone in the kitchen at 3:26AM, drinking iced tea, and talking off some of the shock of the evening.
"What exactly was stolen?" Josh asked, taking a sip of the tea, fresh mint leaf floating in the glass.
"Jewelry." Stef answered, a little worried about her parents.
"Jewelry?" Josh asked, trying to get a little more information.
"Mrs. Van Haven comes here every year at this time, she loves it here. God, only knows why. Anyway, she always travels with a lot of her jewelry."
"How much?"
"Usually about a million dollars worth." Stef said, getting up to refill Josh's glass.
Josh grabbed her hand, making her look him in the eyes, "What are you worried about?"
"This could affect my parents business, if Mrs. Van Haven sues us, or the insurance company drops them, it could be really bad." She bit her lip, even Josh's dreamy eyes couldn't ease the stress she felt, well, maybe a little, cause ooh, mama, those are really long lashes.
"I know it will work out. Everything will be allright." He said, still holding her hand.
She didn't know why but looking into his eyes, hearing those words, "Everything will be allright," it made her feel like it would be alright. How could those eyes, that face, the soft touch of his hand on hers, how could these things possibly make it better? But they did. He stood in front of her, pulling her close in a hug, her hands on his waist, his around her shoulders, rubbing the spot between her shoulder blades. The spot that always tensed up whenever she was stressed out, how could he know? His personal scent filling her senses, the softness of his shirt, the firmness of his chest beneath, she could feel the gentle beat of his heart.
Looking up into his eyes, "Are you sure?" She asked.
He smiled, "Yeah, I'm sure." Leaning down, his eyes closing, his lips met hers, softly, sweetly he kissed her. Pulling her closer, the kiss grew firmer, seeming to last forever.
All clear thought gone from her head, Stef could only think to herself, "Oooooooh, mama!"
The kiss ended, leaving Stef a little dazed, Josh was talking, and she found herself agreeing when she had no idea what he'd just said.
"What?" She asked, trying to regain control of her hormones.
"I wanted to know if you wanted to go riding with me tomorrow? I have to go riding everyday to stay in practise, and I was wondering if you would like to go with me?"
"That would be great. I'd love to. What time?"
"How about after lunch?"
"Okay, meet me at the stables, I'll have the horses ready to go."
"Great, it's a date."
"Yeah, a date."
They walked out of the kitchen, arms around each other's waist, and went to their rooms.

 

You know how time seems to slowly crawl by when you're waiting for something specific to occur, the Event Anticipation Time Dilation Effect. Stef was experiencing it, to the nth degree! Even though she had gone to bed after 3AM, and she was dead tired, she found sleep evading her. If she had tried to count sheep, they would have rolled on the floor laughing at her, there was no way she was going to do any sleeping that night. What with the robbery, and Josh being so sweet, and she had a DATE! She had a date with a celebrity! And he was....HOT!
"Ooh, mama, " She groaned thinking of the sweet kiss he had given her, then the one he had given her as they parted in the hallway, then the one he had given her when they had both come back to say goodnight again, cause they just couldn't seem to walk away from each other. Throwing the covers off she got up at 6:15, and drew a warm bubble bath, sinking into the rich, Patchouli scented suds, she imagined Josh in the tub with her, and giggled. Closing her eyes, her fantasy grew arms and legs, engulfing her, as she drifted off to warm, sultry dreams in the soothing water.

"Stef!!!!" Her sister was yelling at her.
"Go away." Stef mumbled, rolling over to go back to sleep, nearly drowning herself in the now cold water, sputtering, and coughing, she sat up in the tub, fully awake, realizing from the sun coming in her window, that the morning was nearly gone.
"Could you cover "The Girls" before they blind me here?" Raquel said, throwing her sister a towel. Stef stood, wrapping the towel around herself, squishing her upper anatomy to make the towel fit around her.
"What time is it?" She asked.
"12:30, I can't believe you fell asleep in the tub again, you're gonna drown yourself one of these days. Mom and Dad sent me to get you up. You missed breakfast."
What her sister had said sinking in, Stef jumped out of the tub,"Did you say 12:30!!!???? Oh, mama, I'm gonna be late!"
"Late for what, lunch?"
Scurrying about, Stef started throwing clothes on the bed, "No, I have a riding date with Josh! And I have to get the horses ready!" Throwing herself together, hoisting "The Girls" into their tight fitting enclosure, pulling on her jeans, she came over to her sister. As she zipped herself into the jeans she talked to her sister.
"Could you ask mom to pack a really big lunch, drinks and everything for me, so we can take it with us?" Zipped now she grabbed her sisters arms, begging, "Please, I gotta be gorgeous in 10 minutes!"
Her sister laughing at her, "Okay, but you owe me big time!"
"Anything, my first born...anything, just go, NOW!"
Raquel turned to leave, "What you won't do for a pretty boy."
Stef braided her long dark chestnut hair, put on her favorite felt, cowgirl hat, the deep tan one that looked great with her hair and her dark brown eyes, pulled on her riding boots, checked her Cruel Girl jeans, and the violet Cinch shirt, and ran for the stables.
She had the horses saddled, and cinched, Raquel and her mother dropping off a picnic lunch packed in saddle bags big enough to feed Hannibal's army, she was ready! She shooed them away, and stood non-chalantly adjusting a bridle that was already fine, when Josh walked in. He had the black chaps on again, and the tight Wranglers, but this time, he wore a black shirt, long sleeves, rolled up, top 2 buttons undone, ooh, mama, those top 2 buttons! And the black hat again, he still hadn't shaved, he looked like something out of a rodeo magazine, and Stef had to hold onto the bridle to keep her feet, weakness of the knees threatening to overwhelm her.
"Ready to go?" Josh asked, stopping in front of her, left hip cocked higher than the right, left thumb hooked in his belt loops. Oooh, mama!
Thinking to herself, "If he keeps getting better looking, I am not gonna be able to stay in my own saddle!"
"Yeah, let's go," She managed to make her mouth say, handing him the reins to his horse.

 

It was a perfect day for riding, the sun not too warm, clouds rolling lazily by providing sometimes shade from the June sun. They rode side by side, the horses walking, not in any hurry, making "getting to know you" small talk as they rode. She studied him in quiet moments, totally amazed that he was as cute as he was, and totally amazed that he liked her. They had been riding for an hour when they came across a ravine, the only interesting geo-physical occurence in the otherwise flat, bland plains.
"Can we go down there?" Josh asked, leaning forward in the saddle.
"Sure, just let me go first, I'm used to this trail." Stef said, leading the way down into the ravine, it wasn't deep, but they couldn't be seen by anyone on the plain unless they were right beside the ravine.
"This is really beautiful." Josh said, taking in the scenery.
"Yeah, it's nice to come here every now and then, it's quiet, no one to bother you." She sighed.
"Like little sisters?" He asked.
Stef smiled, "Yeah, she's cool most of the time, but sometimes, I could just..." She made a head smacking motion.
Looking at her saddle, Josh asked, "Is that a shot-gun?"
Stef laughed at the nervous look on his face, "Afraid I'm going to hold you hostage, or do something worse than death to you, your virtue is safe, for now."
Josh laughed, "Why do you carry it?"
"Snakes, dad doesn't like us to be unarmed when we're this far from the ranch. Help can be a long time coming out here. Better to be prepared." She smiled evilly, "Are you prepared, Josh?"
He laughed, " I can be prepared anytime, anyplace, just let me know."
"I'll file that away for future reference."
"But seriously, you can shoot that thing?"
"Yeah, I could shoot straight within a year of coming here, dad taught us. Besides, I noticed you brought your rope."
"Yeah, I was hoping to get some lasso practise in."
"And what were you planning on roping?"
"A few things came to mind." He teased, looking purely innocent, with the devil's gleam in his eyes.
She looked impressed, "So you can really use that thing?"
"I had to take lessons for the film, I'll show off for you when we stop."
She clapped her hands delightedly, "Ooh, a show!"

 

It had been a few hours when they decided to stop, they found an overhang big enough to shield them and the horses, Stef spread the blanket on the ground, and they ate, Stef realizing she was starving.
Josh stood as Stef cleared up the remains of the picnic, packing their trash to be thrown away at the ranch, Josh pulled the rope off his saddle, standing away from her to give himself room to throw. He lassoed the horses a few times, Stef giving appropriately pleased applause at his expertise. She stood up as the show was ending, and Josh threw the rope around her, pulling her over to him, she laughed as he drew her closer, dropping the rope, and pulling her close.
Taking her hat off, she looked deeply into the beautiful brown eyes.
"Why, sir, whatever are you going to do with poor little ol' me?" She said in a southern accent.
"Well, ma'am, I thought I'd put a lip-lock on you." He said, pushing his hat back, he kissed her, a soft breeze blew from what seemed to be a wall of rock behind them.
"What was that?" Josh asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
"There are caves under this area, there are openings all along the ravine."
"Can we go in?" He asked, looking into the dark opening.
"Well, yes, but it's not a good idea."
Straightening and looking at her, "Why not?"
"They're unexplored, we could get lost, or fall into a chasm, lots of nasty things, it's not a good idea."
"What if we tie off the rope, and only go in as far as it goes." He suggested.
"I don't know, Josh, it's not a good idea." She said, looking into those beautiful, pleading brown eyes, how could you say no to those eyes?
"Please?" He asked.
"Okay, I think I have a flashlight." She got the light, they anchored the rope to a small outcropping, and went inside. They couldn't see much, but it was exciting, what if no one had ever seen these things before?
"This is cool, " Josh said, squeezing her hand, pointing out a stalagmite formation.
"Hey, look, someone's camping in here." He said, they were a little beyond the end of the rope, he went over to examine the campsite.
"Stef, you should come look at this." He said, his light shining on a bag.
"Then I have to let go of the rope." She said a little nervously.
"We can find it, I really think you should see this." he beckoned her over.
Stef walked over to look at the bag, it was the safe bag from Happy Trails! They had found the stolen jewels!
"Do you know what this is?" She asked Josh.
"The jewels, right?"
"Yes!"
She started to gather them up, feeling very uneasy. She had them all in her arms when they heard voices approaching from the other direction, voices that were between them and the exit, they were trapped! Stef stood, looking in the direction the voices were coming, then looked up at Josh, who put his arms around her.

 

Thinking quickly, Josh walked over to the camping equipment on the cave floor, grabbing the 2 canteens he handed them to Stef, who mindlessly put the straps over her shoulder. He searched the rest of the equipment, and took the 2 flashlights, a rope, and a saddle bag full of food. Under the saddle bag was a revolver.
"Can you fire one of these?" Josh whispered to Stef.
She nodded, too scared to speak, he shoved the weapon into his belt, and moved back to her side.
"We have to get out of here, we have to go deeper into the caves." He whispered, moving past her into the tunnel.
"Are you crazy?!" She whispered back, "People have disappeared in these caves!" Her voice shook with fright.
"We know these are the men that robbed the ranch, right?" Josh asked her, his face inches from her.
"Yes." She whispered back.
"They beat the crap out of your stable manager, right?"
""Yes, what's your point?"
"They're about to come in here, and find us with the jewels they stole."
She hung her head, "I see your point."
Grabbing Josh's shirt, she kissed him, quick and hard.
"What was that for?" He whispered smiling.
"If I'm gonna die, I want a happy memory to take to the other side."
Grabbing her hand, Josh led them into the darkness.
One hand on the walls of the caves, the other clinging to Stef, Josh felt his way forward into the caves, they didn't dare use the flashlights, it would give away their position.
"Then why did we take the flashlights?" Stef asked.
"To keep them from being able to find us. It levels the playing field." Josh answered.
It felt like they'd been running for ages when Josh stopped.
They listened hard for several minutes, no sounds, Josh turned on the flashlight. Handing it to Stef, he uncoiled the rope.
"What are you doing?" She asked.
Making a loop, he slipped it over Stef's head. "Making sure we don't get separated." He tied another loop on the other end of the rope and slipped it over his own head. Keeping the rest of the rope coiled, he gathered it in his hand, then took the flashlight from Stef.
"Maybe we could wait here until they leave, and then sneak back out." Stef whispered.
"I don't think they're going to just go away when they know we're trapped back here." Josh whispered back.
"How would they know that we're here?"
"Our horses, the missing jewels, it's not hard to figure out."
Josh continued moving forward, Stef right behind him.
Up ahead there was a light.
"What's that?" Stef whispered.
"It looks like an opening to the surface, come on, maybe we can climb out there." They hurried forward, almost to the light, they heard a noise behind them. Moving behind her, Josh urged Stef forward feeding out the rope, so he could keep a watch for the robbers.
"Josh, there is a big hole here, we can climb out!" Stef whispered. Continuing to move toward the light, she saw that the ceiling of the cave had fallen in, probably years before, and it wasn't too far up, maybe they could climb it. She got within 6 feet of it, when suddenly there was no ground beneath her feet, she felt herself falling, and screamed.

 

Yanked off his feet, Josh found himself approaching the side of a really wide hole in the earth, digging his heels in, he managed to slow Stef's descent to the center of the earth. Grabbing a rock that was thankfully still attached to the cave floor, Josh dug his heels in the ground, and pulled on the rope.
"Stef!" he whispered urgently,"Are you alright?"
He could hear quiet whimpering from the hole, getting a little louder as he pulled her closer to the surface. When he had enough slack, he wrapped the rope around the rock, tying it off. Peering over the edge, he saw Stef swinging to and fro about 3 feet below him, her hands over her eyes.
"Stef?" he whispered softly, "Are you okay?"
"No," She whimpered.
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Can you at least look at me?"
She looked up, her eyes red from crying. Josh laughed with relief.
"Can you get your feet on the wall so I can pull you up?"
She moved around silently, Josh pulling til he had her over the edge, every inch of her body trembling with terror, she fell into his arms, and cried like a baby.
"I thought I was gonna die." She said quietly.
Josh shook his head, "Never gonna happen, if you died, I would have to die, too, and I have a movie to finish."
She smiled, his hand under her chin, he pulled her face up and kissed her softly.
"We gotta go, if they're in the caves, they'll be on top of us any minute."
They looked at the collapsed ceiling, the only way out right now, and only over a possibly bottomless hole. There were 2 branches behind them, they picked the right one, and continued on into the dark.

 

Resisting the urge to run, since holes had a nasty tendency to just appear beneath ones feet in this place, Josh and Stef continued on, in near hurried panic. Trying to put as much distance between themselves and the robbers as they possibly could. They had given up any hope of marking their route, marks meant they could be followed, followed meant they could be caught. Caught was bad.
"Do you know how far these caves go?" Josh asked.
"They've never been fully explored, they're too unstable. I only know they go on for miles." Stef answered.
Josh nodded grimly.
"Look, I know we're lost. I'll try to do better." She said, her voice quavering with emotion.
Sensing resignation in her, Josh stopped, and grabbed both her arms, looking her right in the eyes.
"Don't. We are getting out of here. I am not going to let these jerks win. We ARE getting out of here, do you understand?" He spoke with determination, confidence, the tone in his voice making her believe every word that came out of his mouth. She looked at him, into his eyes, and smiled.
"Okay. We're getting out of here." She repeated, actually believing it.
"That's better." He said, smiling back at her. "Don't be such a girl."
Indignation in her voice, "Excuse me?"
He laughed, "You do better when you don't act like a girl."
"Okay, I'm gonna let that slide since you saved my butt at that hole, but when we get out of here, I am SO going to pound you for that."
"Warning duly noted." He laughed, taking her hand, continuing their involuntary spelunking adventure.
At that moment, they came to a cave in, the tunnel they were in had completely collapsed, and there was not way around it.
Sighing heavily, Josh said, "We have to backtrack, and take the other fork."
Fear evident in her eyes, Stef nodded, and they went back the way they had come. Eyes and ears working at full capacity, looking for any sign of their pursuers.

 

As they drew closer to the big hole, and the second fork, they could hear voices. Hurrying, they rushed past the big hole, and ran down the other fork. There was some light shining through spots in this fork, making it easier to see, easier to run, until they came to a large chasm, with a single, narrow log, bridging the ominous expanse. The voices that had been pursuing them were closer now, urging Stef forward, Josh drew the pistol to guard as she ran across the log, once she was over it, he followed. Halfway across, a shot rang out, startling Josh, he barely kept his balance, and jumped the last 2 feet, Stef grabbing his shirt, pulling him away from the precipice that had nearly claimed him. Looking at each other, knowing what they had to do, they bent together, and shoved the log into the darkness. Not looking back, they ran, as more shots rang out, echoing in the unkown depths they were now trapped in with no way out. Stopping to catch their breath, leaning against the cave wall, Stef almost gave into the panic threatening to render her "girl-like" again.
"Oh, God! Oh, God!" She whispered, her hands in her face.
"They can't follow us, now. We just have to keep going til we find a way out of here."
"That WAS the way out!"She whimpered.
"You know we had to do that!" Josh said, moving to stand in front of her.
Dropping her head on his chest, holding his shirt for moral as well as physical support, she nodded, "I know, I'm scared. Why aren't you?"
"Scared? I've been through some...interesting... things lately, so this is almost like a walk in the park." He smiled wryly.
"Do you think they'll leave?"
"Eventually, but they're going to try every way they can to get to us before, so we have to try to find a way out."
They continued walking, looking for anything that would get them out of this mess. It had been several hours walking when Stef noticed something on one of the walls.
"Josh, look!" She said.
He came over to take a closer look, they were old Native American cave markings.
"Do you know anything about these?" Josh asked.
"We've been studying about them in my American History class. These are the kinds of drawings that were made by hunting parties."
Josh looked at her, smiling hugely. "Hunting parties wouldn't come this far into a cave to make their drawings would they?"
Stef smiled back, "No, these would be pretty close to their living quarters."
"Which means..."
"We must be close to an opening!"
Fighting weariness, they continued on, finally finding an opening to the surface. Gratefully breathing the air, Stef almost bent down and kissed the gorund, but she didn't think it would look very dignified. Then she thought, "What the hell." And did it anyway. Josh laughed, and helped her to her feet. It was after dark, they both looked around.
"Do you have any idea where we are?" Josh asked.
Looking around, and up at the stars,"Well, we rode south of the ranch, and there's the north star," she pointed behind them. "So we would need to walk back that way to get back to the ranch. And the highway would be over there," She pointed off to the left.
"If we head back to the ranch, we run into the robbers. I guess we need to head for the highway."
"Should we walk in the dark?" Stef asked.
"We have food and water, we could camp here tonight, and start fresh in the morning."
"Maybe the sheriff will catch them before they catch us."
"We can always hope."
They settled in the caves, there was no wood, so they settled for flashlights while they ate, then turned them off, using the saddlebags for pillows, they snuggled down, to wait for the morning.
"You've been really amazing." Stef said, her head on Josh's arm, her hand resting on his chest.
"Just trying to stay alive." He laughed.
"I wouldn't have made it if you hadn't been here."
"It's okay, really."
"It's just,...I didn't properly thank you for saving my life."
She reached up, kissing him on the neck.
"That's really...um..."
Leaning up on her elbow, she leaned over him.
He looked into her eyes, one arm sliding around her, pulling her down to him, he kissed her, then kissed her again. The excitement and the stress of the day needing some kind of release, their lips blending, her hands on his chest, his on her back. The light of the full moon shining brightly through the doorway of their little haven as she thanked him throughout the rest of the night.

 

Sunlight creeping like a tiny animal across the cave floor, slowly warming their feet, pulled Josh and Stef to awareness. Stretching, and yawning trying to work out the kinks from spirited activities on the cave floor the night before, they rose to meet the day. Gathering their things, they thought it best to carry their supplies with them, just in case.
Emerging from the cave mouth, Stef got her bearings.
"It's old highway 24, before the Interstate came in, but it still goes to the ranch. We can hitch a ride there."
"Can't we just walk back to the ranch, I think we've had enough adventure for awhile. I don't want to get picked up by a serial killer."
"Josh, it's almost 5 miles back to the ranch from here."
"I'm up for it. How about you?" He smiled at her.
"Okay, but we're gonna have blisters on our blisters by the time we get there."
They started the walk across the plains to the road. The morning sun not too bad. They walked in silence for the most part, conserving their energy. They had both managed to retain their hats, which protected them from the hot summer sun as it rose high in the sky. Reaching the road, they continued on, back to the ranch. They had been walking for a couple of hours, when they heard a car coming up the long deserted road.
Looking at each other, they had to make a decision.
"Should we flag it down?" Josh asked.
"It would be nice to ride." Stef said longingly, her blisters talking to her. "What if we just walk, and if they stop, then we see if they'll give us a lift."
Too tired to argue, Josh agreed. They continued to walk, it was a red pick-up, which slowed to a stop beside them.
"Need a ride?" A male voice asked.
"Andy?" Stef said, recognition in her voice.
"Hey,Stef." Andy answered, "What are you doing way out here?"
"Don't ask, can you give us a lift back to Happy Trails?"
"Sure, hop in."
Josh and Stef jumped in the back of the truck, stretching their legs out in grateful relief. They were off.
"How do you know these guys?" Josh asked.
"Andy was a high school boyfriend, he worked for my dad for a couple of years. Then he left, I don't know why. I don't know the other man."
The truck slowed at an intersection and made a turn. They continued on, both of them tired, they dozed a little, startled awake when they hit a bump in the road.
Stef looked around, concern and confusion on her face.
"What is it?" Josh asked.
"This is not the way to Happy Trails, we should have made a right at that intersection."
"Are you sure?"
The sound of a revolver hammer pulling back froze them both, Andy leaning out of the window as the truck slowed to a stop, pulling into the drive of an old mobile home, gun in hand, pointed at Josh's head.

 

Josh turned his head to find himself looking at the business end of a very large Virginia Dragoon, .44. Big enough to effectively blow a hole in a man, and take out the neighbor if the houses are close enough together.
"I know you took the other gun from the cave, if you don't mind I'd like it back."
Taking it carefully from his belt, Josh handed it to the man.
"It was you?" Stef asked, shocked. "My dad gave you a job! He helped you, why are you doing this?"
"It doesn't have anything to do with your dad. It's a million dollars in jewels! It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out."
"We were friends."
"We're not gonna hurt you, we're just gonna tie you up til we can get away, now that we have the jewels back." He said taking the saddle bags away from Josh. He motioned for them to get out of the truck.
Prodding them with the gun, he herded them into the mobile home.
They walked in the door, and were greeted first with an odd odor, one of those stale, maybe there's a sandwich rotting under the sofa smells. The house was far from tidy, obvious give-away that 2 sloppy bachelors lived here. Old pizza cartons, and dirty clothes strewn all around, empty, and half-empty big gulp cups in odd places. Andy forced them to sit on the sofa, the stinky smell stronger here than when they came in the door.
His partner walked in the door.
"You haven't tied them up?" He demanded.
"Come on, Ron, we're almost ready to go, I'll tie them up before we leave."
" I'm taking care of them before we leave." Ron said.
"What do you mean?" Andy asked.
"Yeah, what do you mean?" Josh echoed.
"We're not leaving you to identify us." Ron said.
Stef swallowed hard. She and Josh looked at each other, thinking maybe they would have been better off in the caves.

 

Andy walked over to face his partner in crime.
"I'm not going to hurt them, it's bad enough you nearly killed Mark Johnson, I've known him since I was a kid."
Ron getting right back in Andy's face, "And it's a good thing he's still unconscious, he can identify us!"
"If we'd gone when I wanted to, we wouldn't have this problem!" Andy yelled back.
"We had to hide out, til we could make a clean getaway!"
As the 2 men argued, Josh glanced surreptiously around for something to use to defend himself and Stef. He spotted a tire iron at his feet, and slowly started to inch his hand down to grab it. Just as he had his fingers around it, Ron cocked his gun, aiming at Josh's heart!
"I wouldn't do that, pretty boy." Ron said the meaning clear in his voice. Josh dropped it, his hands moving back to his lap.
"Look," Josh said, standing to face the two men, "You don't want to kill us. I'm a public figure, they would double the hunt to bring you to justice, and believe me, you DON'T want to piss off the Grobanites!"
"Sit down!" Ron ordered, but Josh stood his ground.
"Andy, listen to me, you know it will only be 10 times worse if you hurt us. They'll hunt you til they catch you, no matter how long it takes. Just let us go, we'll walk back to the ranch, you could be hundreds of miles from here by then."
Andy, willing to listen to reason, was swayed.
"Ron, it's a good idea, by the time they get back to the ranch we could be 2 states away from here."
Fury showing in his features, Ron advanced on Andy,"We are NOT leaving witnesses!" He swung at Andy, and the 2 men fought, falling over, knocking over furniture, and nearly knocking Josh and Stef over in the process. The men were between them and the door, no matter how much they tried, the 2 could not get past. Just as it looked really bad, Josh managed to reach the tire iron, and hit Ron over the head with it. Ron fell in a heap on the ground, Andy standing, still in possession of one of the guns.
"Don't get any funny ideas." Andy said, pointing the gun at them.
"Just let us go, we'll give you a headstart." Josh said as he laid the tire iron on the stinky sofa.
Stef stood close to his side, holding his shirt, "We promise Andy, just go, we'll wait 10 minutes then start out for the ranch."
Grabbing the bags from Happy Trails, he started for the door.
"You always were nice to me, Stef, you take care of yourself, okay?"
"I will, Andy, just go."
He left them, Josh pulled the rope out of the saddle bags, and tied Ron up.
"He's unconscious, why are you tying him up?"
"If he wakes up before we get back to the ranch, I don't want him coming after us, we've had enough trouble for 2 days." Josh said, wrapping Ron's hands and feet in the rope, tying them together in the front.
Stef admired his handy work, and didn't argue.
"Not bad."
"Roping lessons." Josh said.
"I just wish Andy hadn't gotten away with the jewels."
Looking a little smug, Josh pulled open the saddle bags that had been full of food, and dumped out the jewels.
"I switched them this morning before we left the caves."
Throwing her arms around his neck, she smacked him on the lips, "YOU are amazing!"
Pushing his hat back, he smacked her back,"Thanks, ma'am."
They gathered the canteens, and the jewels and set out for the ranch.
As per Stef's predictions, they had blisters on blisters by the time the finished walking back, media people were everywhere. As they walked up to the ranch house, they were engulfed in a sea of reporters demanding to know what happened. The sheriff managed to part the crowd, and Stef's parents and Brian made their way to the exhausted young people.
Josh handed the saddle bags to Mr. Grainger, "You were looking for these?" He said.
Mr. and Mrs. Grainger opened the saddle bags, their faces filled with amazement.
"It's the jewels!" Mr. Grainger exclaimed.
"How did you find them?" Mrs. Grainger asked.
Raquel came running up, "You 2 look like you've been rode hard, and put away wet!" Then she ran up and grabbed her sister around the neck, "Don't ever scare me like that again!"
Despite their weariness, Josh and Stef answered questions and posed for pictures for the next 3 hours. Brian finally dragging them away for some peace and quiet.

 

Things went back to normal at the Happy Trails Dude Ranch, Stef went back to mucking stalls on Saturdays with her sister. Josh went back to shooting the film, he would be here for another 4 weeks, he and Stef spending lots and lots of time together. But staying away from the caves on their Sunday afternoon rides.
Finally the day came that the movie was finished, Josh had to return to Los Angeles, and his travelling to promote his CD, and the new movie. His plane would be leaving in a few hours, he and Stef went for a final ride.
"This has been fun." Stef said.
"You made my first movie an incredible experience." He said, holding her in his arms.
They had ridden back to the caves to say good-bye with some privacy.
"It's time to get back." He said, reluctantly.
She couldn't look at him. Nodding her head, they mounted the horses, riding the distance back to the ranch in silence.
Josh changed, his bags already packed, Stef met him at the limo, still leading her horse.
He held her in his arms, not wanting to let go.
"I'll call you." He said.
Her smile was sad, but bitter-sweet, "I know you will."
His heart was troubled, "Stef, this wasn't some famous person, one night stand thing, I really like you."
"I know you do, and I really like you. Different worlds, Josh, I know how it works. We'll stay in touch for a little while, and the distance will work against us. It's okay."
"I don't want it to be like this."
"Neither do I."
"Josh." Brian called from the limo, "It's time to go."
"You gotta go," Tears filled her eyes, but Stef was proud, and she kept them from spilling.
"I don't know how to say it."
"Sure you do, you have to say it to people you love all the time." She smiled for him.
"Good-bye, Stef, I love you."
"I love you, too. Take care of yourself, and write to me, okay?"
He nodded, "Okay."
He pulled her to him crushing her in one last heart-wrenching good-bye kiss, his mouth barely able to separate from hers.
Looking into his eyes, those deep beautiful brown eyes, ooh mama!
"I'll never forget you, Josh Groban." She whispered, giving him one last hug, her arms not wanting to let go.
She mounted her horse as Josh got into the limo, Stef trotting along beside them as they pulled out of the drive, then galloping along the highway til her horse could no longer keep pace, she reined him in, the horse rearing as she waved one last good bye, the tears finally came, streaming down her face. Josh watched her out the back window until she was out of sight, then he turned around facing the future, knowing he would always leave a piece of his heart at the Lubbock city limits.

The End