Introducing the "Jack with Ennis" Fan Fic Game - the BetterMost Edition

[Luvlylittlewing]

Riding through the notch in the forested hills, they gazed at the ranch spread across the green valley floor before them.  As a rule, he kept his emotions in check, but not now, not riding up here alone with his one and only. Ours, he thought, with his heart swelling, not bad for a rodeo fuckup and a dirt-poor orphan. Sure am glad I said 'yes, sir' and not 'no way in hell' last time he asked about that sweet life.  Laughing he spurred Cigar Butt and yelled, "Beat ya home!" "Not a chance," Jack yelled back, spurring Twister forward. 

[100 words; Drabblefest prompts: yes, sir   notch   rule]

This is a beautiful image, cwby30!  You never cease amaze me - you can paint an entire canvas with just 100 words.  I feel like I'm there with them!  Gorgeous, gorgeous writing!  Thanks so much for posting this here for us!

[Toycoon]

Riding through the notch in the forested hills, they gazed at the ranch spread across the green valley floor before them.  As a rule, he kept his emotions in check, but not now, not riding up here alone with his one and only. Ours, he thought, with his heart swelling, not bad for a rodeo fuckup and a dirt-poor orphan. Sure am glad I said 'yes, sir' and not 'no way in hell' last time he asked about that sweet life.  Laughing he spurred Cigar Butt and yelled, "Beat ya home!" "Not a chance," Jack yelled back, spurring Twister forward. 

[100 words; Drabblefest prompts: yes, sir   notch   rule]

I love the name of Jack's hourse, "Twister". So clever, cwby30! Where do the Drabblefest word prompts come from. Do you make them up?

[cwby30]

Afternoon, Toy.

Well, wish I could take credit for the name, but it's been used by others before, particularly in "A Love Born From Steel", one of my favorites and an early fanfic. 

The prompts come from the Drabblefest thread on this website.  Mariez posts them almost every day, and I've posted some once in a while.  There are three at a time, and you can use all or one or two, whatever fits.  The idea is to do it in 100 words or less, which is a real challenge, but you won't get thrown out if it goes over!  Take a look, there are a lot of good writings over there. 

As there are here!  Can't hardly stand it waiting for your next installment of "Right". 

Thanks again. 

[Luvlylittlewing]

Can't hardly stand it waiting for your next installment of "Right". 

Thanks again. 

Its coming! 

[Luvlylittlewing]

Jack once told him, “It can be a real sweet life!”  Ennis picked up his bologna sandwich and took a bite.  He didn’t have any mustard or mayo, but fried the mystery meat to make it juicy.  “The sweet life, huhn?” Ennis mumbled as he looked around him.  He shrugged.  Anything outside of his hot, close trailer and bad food would be sweet.  Ennis finished his sandwich and plopped down on his couch.  That Jack Twist was a dreamer of the first order.

Ennis folded his hands on his lap.  He was bored.  Steve at the ranch told him that the place may fold in the next few months, and until then, his hours would be cut.  He was only allowed to work 4 days a week.  Alma understood when she heard that the child support may be late, and the amount may be short by a few bucks.  Ennis thought back to Jack and his proposal.  “Can you make it right, Jack?  Can you really make life sweet?”  Ennis spoke the words out loud and hesitated, almost as though he expected an answer.

The next day Ennis reported to work early.  He had more than 8 hours of sleep and a real treat: Jack appeared to him in a dream.  He dreamed of Jack often, but this time was different.  This time Jack took him on a tour of a dazzling ranch.  Ennis would never describe a ranch as dazzling, but here the word fit.  The place was positively glowing! And Jack was beaming with pride as he led Ennis around by the hand.  Ennis smiled at the very though of it!  After the tour, Jack handed him a deed to the place.  If owning a spread like that wasn’t the pathway to heaven, Ennis couldn’t image what was.  He walked over to Steve to check in and get started with the day’s tasks.  Ennis looked around the ranch and grinned.  It wasn’t the gleaming paradise that Jack showed him in his dream, but it was where he made his living.  For now.

[Luvlylittlewing]

“So you’re actually going to drive all the way down to Riverton to see him, huhn?”  It was Randall.  Jack and Randall were having lunch at a roadside diner just outside Childress.  Jack placed a soiled napkin in his lap and took a swig of his coke.  “Of course I’m going to go meet him!”  Jack exclaimed.  Why shouldn’t I, you jerk?  Jack thought as he looked at Randall.  Randall Malone was certainly a handsome man and he enjoyed his company.  But he could be a royal pain when it came time to go visit his real significant other.

“I just thought we could go up to the cabin this weekend, is all!”  Randall looked mighty cute when he was jealous.  Jack almost enjoyed watching him pout.  But he had to learn!  Ennis was his number one; always had been and always will be.  Jack watched Randall devour his double cheeseburger.  He was a decent time filler - he actually liked him a lot - but he knew very well how to quit him.  Hell, there was really nothing much to quit.  Randall did all the work.  When they met, which was very infrequently, Randall took the initiative while Jack lay there daydreaming of another man with sandy colored hair and hazel eyes…

Jack was finishing up his burger when Randall began talking about all the fine things he could do for him.  “I would leave her for you!” Randall almost shouted, desperate.  Jack chuckled under his breath.  He was getting bored and Randall was beginning to irritate him.  Jack rose from the table and placed his napkin down.  Randall watched, silent, as Jack opened his wallet and pulled out a $20.00 bill.  “Here," Jack said as he placed the money on the table.  “This should cover the bill and the tip.  The rest you can use to buy yourself something nice.”  Jack walked away from Randall just in time.  If he had lingered a second more, Randall would have decked him, and Jack knew it.  Jack walked to his car and headed for home.  He had 1400 miles to cover starting tomorrow morning.

[Luvlylittlewing]

Jack waved goodbye to his dad and pulled off down the road.  “Where we headed?” Jack asked, his eyes fixed on the dusty road ahead.  Jack cut his eyes toward Ennis for a brief second.  “Got any place in mind?”  Ennis mulled it over.  “No,” he whispered.  “I have no idea.”  Jack gripped the steering wheel.  The day was clear and cold, just the way he liked it.  Ennis looked at his lover.  “You have a place you want to visit, Jack?  There must be some place close that you’ve always wanted to see but didn’t get the chance?"  Jack said nothing.  He did have a destination in mind: a place he needed to visit one last time before they headed out of town.  Jack turned the truck toward his tree house.

Ennis was silent as the tree house came into view.  Jack looked dead serious, somehow ready for business, and Ennis knew better than to question him.  To Ennis the tree house meant only one thing.  Did it have a deeper meaning for Jack?  Jack pulled up at the base of the tree and killed the engine.  He didn’t wait for Ennis to join him, but was scaling the ladder to the tiny house atop the tree while Ennis, almost at his heels, was breathless, trying to catch up.  Neither man spoke as they climbed the rope ladder to the small house that was nestled safely in the arms of a tree.  Jack was inside first, of course, and he turned around and gently pulled Ennis in.  Ennis sat still for awhile and caught his breath.  “Why we need to stop here, Jack?”  Ennis asked, once he composed himself a bit.  Jack didn’t answer but rummaged around under his old sleeping bag.  He pulled out a small bag shaped like a man’s shaving kit.  “What’s that?” Ennis asked.  “I thought you packed everything you need for our trip back at the house?”  “Not everything!” Jack answered as he pulled the bag’s zipper open.  Ennis leaned forward and looked inside the shaving kit.  It was full of coins and wadded up paper money.  “Jack, what is this?” Ennis asked, wide eyed now.  “Where did you get all that money?”  Jack shrugged and turned the bag upside down, spilling his treasure onto the sleeping bag.  Ennis and Jack were both silent as they stared at the cash and coins.  “I’ve been saving this for as long as I can remember,” Jack stated.  “Whenever ma gave me an allowance or I took an odd job at one of the other ranches, I put the money aside here.  Guess I could have put the money in the bank, but I don’t rightly trust banks.”  Ennis laughed at that.  “I even have all the money Aguirre paid me last year, right here,” Jack exclaimed as he pointed to the cash.  “How much is there?”  It was Ennis, as he picked up a coin and examined it.  “I don’t know.  C’mon, help me count it.”  Ennis and Jack counted Jack’s stash and were delighted when the paper money totaled $710.00.  They didn’t even bother with the coins.  “Quite a nice sum, Jack!”  Ennis whistled as Jack replaced the money into the bag.  “Not bad,” Jack agreed.  “It will keep us in food and a place to stay for awhile until we find work.  “We..Us!”  Ennis liked the sound of that.  He looked down at the sleeping bag.  “You’re going to share with me, Jack?"  Jack chuckled and lifted Ennis’ chin with a finger.  “You know I will, Friend.  Why do you even ask?”  Ennis shrugged, but still couldn’t look Jack in the eye.  Jack smiled at his lover.  “You would do the same for me, I’m sure.”  Ennis was able to meet Jack’s baby blues when he heard that.  He nodded, and it was settled.  When Jack had the paper money and coins safely back in his shaving kit, he rose a bit and moved for the door of the tree house.  But Ennis had other ideas.  He grabbed Jack by the wrist and pulled him close.  Their mouths were drawn together in a kiss both desperate and urgent.  It had been too long!  Ennis and Jack made love that afternoon to the music of the birds singing in the tree right outside Jack’s tiny retreat. 

When they were ready to go, the day was almost done.  Jack started the truck and waited while Ennis took a leak behind the tree.  When Ennis was aboard, Jack took one last look at the tree house and stifled a sigh.  He would return here before too long.  But for now, he had a life to build.  “You ready, Cowboy?” Jack asked as he smiled at his lover.  “Let’s ride,” was Ennis’ answer.  They drove in companionable silence right to the edge of the tiny hamlet of Lightning Flat.  Jack stopped at a light and glanced over at Ennis.  He wondered how he could ever keep his mind on the road with such a hunk seated beside him.  “Watch what you’re doing, Jack!” Ennis spoke as he noticed Jack’s eyes on him.”  “The light is green.”  Jack turned his sights back on the road and gave the truck some gas.  But just as he was about to pull out into the intersection, a teenaged boy ran right out in front of them.  “Damn!”  Jack screamed as he stepped on the brakes.  Ennis almost hit the windshield as Jack’s truck stopped on a dime.  “Hey, Cowboy, you alright?”  Jack was frantic as he saw Ennis seated there, holding his head.  “Yeah, I’m fine,” he managed.  “You?”  “ I’m okay,” Jack muttered as he attempted to steady himself.  He looked out the window and was panic stricken when he didn’t see the boy.  He hoped to hell that the child wasn’t under his front wheels.  “Did you see that boy?” Jack screamed.  “Where the hell did he go?”  But Ennis was already out of the car, looking for the young man.   

[cwby30]

Evenin', Little.

Well, that was all and more than expected.  Was pleasantly surprised that Jack had been saving as much as he could for years, so he would have the means to get away when he had to.  And, already they are "we", sharing everything, including a wonderful last afternoon in the treehouse. 

then, again, WHAM! another adventure gets in the way [so to speak] just as they reached the outskirts of town.  Hope this doesn't derail their get-away.  Would like to see them on their own and away from that town; it's been almost nothing but trouble from day one.

Great chapter, glad to see it.  Toy's turn now?!

Thanks again. 

[Luvlylittlewing]

Evenin', Little.

Well, that was all and more than expected.  Was pleasantly surprised that Jack had been saving as much as he could for years, so he would have the means to get away when he had to.  And, already they are "we", sharing everything, including a wonderful last afternoon in the treehouse. 

then, again, WHAM! another adventure gets in the way [so to speak] just as they reached the outskirts of town.  Hope this doesn't derail their get-away.  Would like to see them on their own and away from that town; it's been almost nothing but trouble from day one.

Great chapter, glad to see it.  Toy's turn now?!

Thanks again. 

Thanks, cwby30!  I'm really anxious to see where Toy takes this.  If he can't contribute right now, I'll be happy to continue the story until Toy can join in.  Thanks for your kind words.  It means a lot to me!

[cwby30]

Before he met Jack Twist, he'd always trod the straight and narrow, eyes down, doing his job, no questions, knowing his lot in life, not a rabble rouser unless someone started in on him.  When he met Jack Twist, he'd looked up into deep blue eyes, and saw another life before him, one that scared him. But the thought of life without Jack scared him more.  Their argument last month cut him to the core.   So, it was time to say and do some things that needed saying and doing before one of them kicked the bucket and it would be too late.  He picked up the phone and dialed Childress for the second time in his life. 

[118 Words; Drabblefest prompts: straight and narrow, rabble rouser, kick the bucket]