A/N: I own nothing.

A/N: A/U.

"There's my handsome cowboy," River said, climbing into the hayloft. He was stacking hay for winter.

"Hey, girl," he replied. "Come to watch me do all this hard, manly work?"

"Yeah, so hot," she chuckled.

He looked at her and smiled, "What's up?"

"We have a problem. We got the yearly assessment from the power co-op," River said.

"So?"

"It's an extra 200 dollars that Iron River doesn't have."

"We'll pay it," Rooster shrugged.

"Yeah, I wouldn't suggest that," River said. "Your dad made it clear that we aren't to do that anymore. Roger at the feed store has a big mouth."

"Damn."

"Besides, it wouldn't matter. He's already called the power company and had the power scheduled to be shut off," she said, grabbing a hay bail and throwing it on the pile. "I was just letting you know to tread carefully tonight."

"So, we have the money to pay the bill but we have to sit around in the dark, why?" Rooster asked.

"He's your dad," River shrugged. "I'm just saying, he's already pissed off. At the very least, I'd wait a few days before suggesting we pay it."

"He's such an asshole sometimes," Rooster said shaking his head. He threw the last hay bale on the stack. "What are we going to do for six weeks with no electricity?"

"Well," River smiled, pulling him close. "There is a reason most ranch kids are born in summer..."

He laughed before kissing her.

"Yes, sir," River said into her phone while tapping on her computer on the desk while Rooster and Colt were in the living room, arguing about herpes of all things. After about five minutes of talking overly loud, she finally put the phone on mute and turned to glare at them.

"Jameson, Honey," she said, sickeningly sweet. "I'm talking to a man who wants to pay me 15000$ dollars to do his taxes this year. Could you two PLEASE go talk about HERPES elsewhere!"

"Oh, shit, Baby, I'm sorry," Rooster said. He tapped Colt on the knee. "Come on, let's go outside."

Colt followed him out. "Is she for real?"

"What?" Rooster asked.

"Somebody pays her 15000$ for one day of work?"

Rooster shrugged. "Well, its actually a few weeks, but yeah, she has some crazy rich clients in Telluride."

"Then why are y'all living with Dad? And why the hell does she still work for Dale?" Colt asked, taking a sip of his beer.

"Dad was drinking himself to death," Rooster said. "We moved in to help him."

"Yeah, right," Colt scoffed. "He said you got evicted."

"He thinks we did," Rooster replied.

"So why haven't you told him you didn't?" he asked.

"For the same reason River still works for Dale," Rooster said. "Because grown ass people take care of their families."

"You're not grown," Colt scoffed again.

"Fuck you," Rooster replied, rolling his eyes.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Colt asks, "Doesn't it feel strange that your wife makes more than you make in some years?"

"To be honest, it used to piss me off, but then I realized that she's doing what she loves, I'm doing what I love, so who the hell cares who makes more," Rooster answered. "You know, more grown ass people stuff."

"Maybe I need to find a rich woman to take care of me too," Colt teased.

"Damn it, Colt, she doesn't take care of me," he growled.

"I thought you didn't care," Colt smirked.

"I don't, but she doesn't take care of me. I take care of shit too," Rooster snapped.

"Sure," he chuckled. "Just one more question. If River is rich, why the hell are we sitting in the dark with no TV?"

The calf sell came not a moment too soon. They didn't have electricity in the house, and with Beau delaying the sell, they were down to three days of fuel for the generator. While it hadn't been that bad, though she could only work at home for as long as her laptop and cellphone held out, she was more than happy to have the lights back on. It had also cemented the fact that she was ready to move out in her mind. They were going to talk to Mr. Peterson about selling his ranch this afternoon, but she already knew that his asking price was more than they could afford. She did alright working for Dale and a few other people, but Rooster, well, sometimes the ranch did well and he made more than she did. Then other times, like this past year, they barely broke even, and if not for the EPA spill, this year's sell wouldn't have even covered the expenses. While they were doing okay, in fact by Garrison standards they were doing well, they weren't doing well enough to get a loan for a 2500 acre ranch. That's why she needed the job she was interviewing for today. A Hollywood producer had bought the old McConnell ranch and he was looking for someone to keep the ranch accounts for him, since all he really wanted to do was come down every few weeks and play cowboy for a couple of days before heading back to L.A. This job would put them over the top and give them breathing room when the ranch wasn't doing so well.

She felt overdressed in a business suit and heels while sitting at Charlie's Steakhouse, but it was the only restaurant in town that didn't have a drive-through. She was fidgeting in her seat, trying not to let her nerves get the better of her. She was about to bolt when she noticed a tall, muscular man in a cowboy hat walking towards her with a grin on his face.

"Of course you're R. Bennett. I should have known that you would be a Bennett by now," he said as a greeting. "They had you listed as a mister, though. It threw me off for a minute."

"I'm sorry? Do I know you?" she asked, looking around.

"Ouch," he laughed. "You're killing me. You really don't remember me? I bet Beer Pong would have." He reached up and removed his hat, revealing sandy blonde hair and green eyes.

"Byron," she laughed. "Byron Williams? I haven't seen you in forever." She stood up and hugged him. "Where have you been?"

He shrugged. "Well, I went to Denver State and never really came back."

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I work for Neumann's Hill," he explained. "They sent me out to interview you before taking you to the old McConnell Ranch to interview with Mr. Johnston. Apparently, he thinks anyone who wants to interview with him just wants to meet him and he wants to keep 'looky-loos' off his property."

"He does know that everyone in this town over fourteen knows how to sneak on to the McConnell ranch, right? He bought make out hill, I mean, at least half the town was conceived in his back field," River laughed. "Looky-loos are the least of his problems."

"Well, you know, he likes to believe that he's more famous than the make-out hill," Byron laughed, sitting down next to her. "I can't believe you are still in Garrison. I thought you were going to be a World Champion barrel racer and be long gone by now."

"I still race," she shrugged. "I'm racing next weekend in Telluride. Do you still rope?"

He looked down and shook his head with a small smile. "Not often. I hire the people who do the roping now."

"Well, you know, you did lose your partner when Beer Pong became a policeman," River said, charitably.

"Yeah," he agreed before looking up and smiling. "Listen, River, I have no idea what I am doing here. I'm not actually interviewing you. I'm supposed to be making sure you aren't some crazed fan dying to meet Jason Johnston. If I had known it was you, we could have skipped this part, but since we're here, why don't have a good steak on Neumann's hill and catch up."

"Okay," she agreed with a smile.

He called over the waiter and they ordered.

"So how long have you been a Bennett?" he asked.

"Um.., fifteen years," she answered.

"Wow. You must have gotten married right after graduation," Byron said.

"Pretty close," she replied.

"Is that why you didn't go to CSU?"

"In a roundabout way," she said. "What about you? Are you married?"

"Not anymore," he said, looking away.

"I'm sorry," she replied, patting his hand.

"Don't be," he smiled taking a drink of his coffee. "We're still friends and we're parents to an awesome little boy so I can't regret anything."

"Oh? How old is he?"

"He's five," Byron replied. "What about you? You and Rooster must have a houseful by now."

She shook her head. "We don't have any children yet."

"Really?" He was surprised by that.

"Yeah, even though half the town would still swear that we got married because I was pregnant," she laughed. "Even though we've been married for years now. For a solid year, every woman in town looked at my stomach before looking at me."

"Well, I think you were the only girl who graduated from our class who wasn't pregnant or already had a kid," he replied.

"I was not," she laughed again.

"Almost," he conceded, then he smiled. "God, River, you look great. That smile..., that smile was always my undoing."

"Yeah, right," she scoffed as she blushed and looked away.

"You have no idea," he chuckled before falling into the 'do you remember' conversations of old friends before taking her to the McConnell ranch to meet the owner.

River had to rush to meet Rooster at the Peterson ranch.

"Hey, Babe," he said, kissing her. "How did it go?"

"I got the job," she said. "Or a trial of the job anyway."

"Awesome," he said.

"You'll never guess who they sent out to interview me," she said.

"Who's that?"

"Byron Williams," she replied. "Apparently he works for Neumann's Hill now."

He groaned, "Fake ass cowboy."

River laughed. "Quit calling him that. You've been saying that since high school."

"It's been true since then," he countered. "Come on, let's go buy a ranch."

Please R and R.