#toyp

Dime Store Cowgirl - Kacey Musgraves

Like a Rose - Ashley Monroe

Slow Burn - Kacey Musgraves

We Should Be Friends - Miranda Lambert

Wild One - Faith Hill

Ladies Love Outlaws - Waylon Jennings

Wild Love - Ashley Monroe

Golden Hour - Kacey Musgraves

The Highwayman - Stevie Nicks

Wildflowers - Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris

Cowboy Take Me Away - Dixie Chicks

Strawberry Wine - Deana Carter

Who I Am - Jessica Andrews

This Land is Your Land - Woody Guthrie

Leave the Pieces - The Wreckers

The House That Built Me - Miranda Lambert

Outlaw Women - Hank William, Jr

I Want To Be A Cowboy’s Sweetheart - Patsy Montana

All-American Girl - Carrie Underwood

Song of the South - Alabama

           Josie couldn’t help but stare. She watched his fingers first, the was they picked the strings so delicately, but so firm, bending them to his will and making them do exactly what he wanted, emit the noise that hewanted them to. Her eyes wandered up to his lips, the way the crafted the words, almost like a language she didn’t understand. And his eyes, focused only on the instrument in his hands. It was truly beautiful.

“That’s Javier… In case you’re wonderin’.”

She looked up to meet Arthur’s gaze. “I… I wasn’t,” she leapt to her feet, the bottom of her skirt instantly staining in the mud. “I didn’t mean to-,”

Arthur waved his hand as if to push away her worries. “Just tellin’ you his name. You hungry? Pearson’ll have the stew done soon.”

Josie tossed a look back to Javier, whose eyes had now fallen on her. She looked back to Arthur. “I think I oughta go introduce myself, but thank you.”

           Arthur simply nodded as they both turned away from each other. Josie was not a nervous person, and she had always been able to hold her own with men, and she expected now to be no different. She approached him with her signature sly smile, her hands falling onto her hips.

“Hola.The sleeping princess awakens,” he greeted. “You know we thought for a minute you might be dead.”

“Oh, it’s gonna take a whole lot more than a rough night to take me down,” she smirked. “Whatcha’ playin’ there?”

“Oh just, some old song from… childhood,” He smiled up at her. “Take a seat, let me play you something.”

“Well, now, nobody’s ever serenaded me before,” Josie took a seat on the log next to Javier, lightly brushing her thigh against his, a move that did not go unnoticed by the outlaw.

“What is your favorite song, hermosa?”

           Josie thought about it for a moment. No one had ever asked her that before, and telling the truth, she had never paid much attention to music she heard in the saloons and towns she had been to. Kate was the musical one, always humming or singing. She tried to think back to songs her grandmother had taught her as a girl, but her grandmother did not sing much, either.

“The only song she knows is Oh, Shenandoah, and trust me, you don’t want to hear her sing it,” Clay remarked.

“Oh, like you know many more?” His sister retorted.

A sly smirk grew on his face, “Oh, the years creep slowly by, Lorena,” he began. “Oh, please, Clay, no. Not this song again.”

“The snow is on the ground again. The sun's low down the sky, Lorena,”

           Javier began to play along, apparently knowing well the song Clay was singing. Josie couldn’t help but feel a bit betrayed again. Her siblings couldn’t leave her alone, they couldn’t let her have just a moment with a handsome man who wanted to play hersong. They made her come west when she would’ve been just as content to stay in Virginia working for the judge – who probably would have made a wife of her eventually. A second wife, but still a wife. She sure as hell wouldn’t be in the middle the Heartlands with a bounty on her head then.

“We loved each other then, Lorena, far more than we ever dared to tell,” a pretty blonde woman joined in, though her speech slurred a bit more than Clay’s.

           Josie looked over at Javier as he played the music for their accompaniment. He caught her eye and flashed her a beautiful smile. It was only then that she realized he was the man she heard laughing on the ride back last night. The man with the beautiful smile. She gave him a shy smile and neither bothered to break eye contact.

“'Tis dust to dust beneath the sod; But there, up there, 'tis heart to heart.”

“You wanna take a walk?” Javier whispered as the song came to a close.

“Mhm.”

           The blonde lady laughed and took a swig from the bottle in her hand before offering it to Clay. He took it with a thanks and took a large drink. The taste of it churned his stomach and burned his throat. It was some strong shit. He coughed as he handed it back to her.

“You’re sure a good singer, Mister Carter,” She laughed. “I’m Karen.”

“Well, it is nice to meet you, Karen. That is some… some strong stuff you got there.”

“Why thank you!” Karen took another drink as she walked away.

           That is when Clay’s eyes landed on the young woman behind her. She was quite possibly the loveliest thing he could ever remember seeing – and he was real sure that wasn’t the whiskey talking. She had a soft, kind smile and the biggest, sweetest brown eyes. He was quite taken with her immediately.

“H-Hi,” he stuttered, mentally cursing himself for being so taken aback by her.

She giggled. “Guess you ain’t near as smooth as your sister, huh?”

“Who, Josephine? Oh, nah. That girl was born to be a- well, she’s just always been a real eye catcher.”

           The girl laughed again, and Clay never wanted it to stop. Her laugh sounded like rain on the tin roof of a home – not a house or a hideout, a home, a home that had a warm fire crackling and good food cooking and dogs and kids and happiness – and a whole lot more of that laughter.

“I’m Mary-Beth Gaskill.”

“I’m Clay Carter.”

“Well, we’re real happy to have you here, Clay Carter.” She smiled. “I better get back to my work, but I’d like to hear you sing some more later.”

“Of course.” One last flash of that smile, that smile, and she was gone, but Clay didn’t ever want to leave.

           The sun was starting to heat the camp up and Kate was wishing to anything that her hat wasn’t back in Valentine. As she sat with Dutch and Hosea at a table in the camp, she couldn’t help but get lost in a daydream in which she’d simply kept her mouth shut and stayed home in Virginia. The preferable “V” at the moment.

“And where do you and your family intend to go, Miss Carter?” Dutch’s voice pulled her from her fantasies.

“I’m sorry?”

“Well, we will not be staying here forever, Miss Carter. Where do you and your siblings intend to go from here?” Dutch asked again.

“Oh, well, we hadn’t thought on it much, but before we go, we would like to help you rescue your friend, Sean.”

“We could not ask that of you, Katherine.” Hosea said, placing his hand gently on her’s.

“Please, you all have done such a kindness to us, it’s the least we could do to repay you. My brother is such a sweet talker and my sister is the surest shot I know, I’m sure we could be of some assistance.”

“It would be a very dangerous job, Katherine. They’ll be rescuing him from bounty hunters and the like.”

“I don’t doubt that is, but I also don’t doubt my family. We want to prove to you our value to you.”

“Well, they can ride out with Arthur and the men first thing tomorrow morning, then.”

The Gambler - Kenny Rogers

Rhinestone Cowboy - Glen Campbell

Jolene - Dolly Parton

Luckiest Man - The Wood Brothers

Mammas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys - Waylon Jennings 

The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia - Reba McEntire 

Hello Darlin’ - Conway Twitty

Ring of Fire - Johnny Cash

Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind) - Loretta Lynn

I’m a Lonesome Fugitive - Merle Haggard

           The sweetness that had started the three siblings’ lives though, did not last. When Kate was ten and Josie was five, that big beautiful home they’d been born into burned down. The family, who had been so proud of their home and the fact it had been spared in the war, was devastated. Not long after, their daddy died, some say of heartbreak, some say of poison. Their mama, not knowing where to turn, took up with a Maryland man and moved away, leaving the kids with her own mother. She sent money back every week and would come back and visit when she could, but as they got older, those visits became few and far between until they stopped entirely.

           Eventually, their grandmother died and Kate decided it was time she live up to the vow she made and take care of those kids. Even at fifteen and seventeen, they were still kids to her. So she did the only think she knew to do, she met a railroad man and agreed to be his wife, his caretaker, as long as he agreed to provide for her and the kids. The man told her of all the riches they would find out west, out in California. We can be whoever want to be, Katie, we can start over and make it rich! We can be somebody! Empty promises, she soon realized. The man left her and Josie and Clay just outside of New Austin with nothing but a dollar and their clothing. They never saw California.

           Clay didn’t think they needed the man to take care of them, anyway. He did find working in a saloon and Josie, the only one of them who could read or write, managed alright working as a secretary for a local judge. Though there were some vicious rumors, they lived a fairly quiet, fine life. The way Clay figured it, the girls would likely soon find husbands and then he would head west on his own, see what he could make of this wild world. But Kate had wanted better for them, and had insisted they all go, and Clay would be damned if he let her go alone, or let Josie stay alone with that judge. So, they all went west.

           Kate felt like she was in a similar situation now. These men promising them safety, but was it just more false promises? Clay had a similar feeling, a man standing here saying “Come with me, I’ll keep you safe,” sounded a lot like that man back in Virginia saying, “Come with me, I’ll make you rich.”

The second man stepped closer to Kate. He was a rather handsome man, now that Josie could see him better. On the grayer side, but he didn’t look old. He looked wise, and kind. Like someone you could easily trust. He extended his hand to Kate.

“We won’t harm you, miss. Please, you look tired. Let us help you.”

           Against, what was probably her better judgement, Kate lowered her gun and cast a look to her brother and sister. Josie kept her rifle pointe at ol’ deep voice’s temple, but Clay caught her eye. She sensed his hesitation, but he gave her a small nod.

“Josie, put the gun down,” she instructed.

“What?” Josie spat. “Are you cr-,”

“Put it down, Josie,” Clay interrupted.

           And there was Josie’s betrayed feeling again. She lowered the weapon, but kept a tight grip on it. They always did this! They always bossed her down and never took her opinions into-

“It will be ok, ma’am.” The deep voiced man said, stepping forward and placing his hand on her shoulder. “Arthur, show this young lady to your horse, please.”

Kate took the hand of the handsome man. “Come on, dear.” He said. “My name is Hosea.”

“I’m Kate Carter.”

           Josie had no intention of telling her own white knight her name, and he didn’t seem very interested in speaking much with her either, until they got to his horse.

“You can pout all you want to,” he said as he lifted her onto the horse. “We ain’t gonna hurt you.”

She adjusted her rifle in her grip causing the metal to glint in the moonlight. “Whatever you say, Arthur.” She spat his name like it was piece of rotten meat, but she gripped him tight as the horse took off.

           It’d been a while since she’d rode with someone. She, for a very brief moment, allowed herself to relax and take in the scenery that they passed. It wasn’t often that the heartlands got snow, but damn, was it beautiful. The way it glittered in the moonlight. Every once in a while, she would catch site of a rabbit bounding out of the way of the horses and hopping away into the horizon. She couldn’t help but smile.

           She heard a vibrant laugh from behind her. She turned her head to look, but couldn’t plainly see the man in the sporadic light that cut through the trees. She did catch his smile, though, and the way his eyes danced with laughter. Shame she may have to shoot him, she thought.

           Clay felt a bit awkward riding behind a young man named John, but the two quickly fell into a back and forth, joking about the situations one finds themselves in on the run. John told him about the wolves he faced up in the Grizzlies, how he got his scars, and Clay told him about the con they were trying pull when they had to run. They agreed to play a game of poker in the morning, John mainly wanted to see if he was as good as he claimed to be.

           Kate had saddled up with the man called Hosea. She held him tightly and let him do the talking. Before long, she found herself admiring the line of his jar and the straightness of his nose. And before she knew it, she was lost in a fantasy of what it would be like to curl up in front of a fireplace with him in one of those big homes like she used to have in Virginia, noses in books, on a snowy night just like this one. But Kate could not read and they were a long way from Virginia.