Chapter Text
Sunrise has always been Steve’s favorite time of day. Morning chores are already done, the wranglers are out and about, but the day still feels quiet. Fog lifting off from the ground can give the whole ranch an air of magic before the real hustle of the day begins. Almost every day starts the same: checking the herd in the corrals and then grabbing a coffee before heading across the road to the other field and watching the sun come up. It moves differently here, Steve thinks. Comes up slowly and then all at once, bursting from behind the peaks and bathing the entire valley in gold. His valley, his herd of horses grazing in the field in front of him. His favorite view of his favorite place.
And while he’d love to just stay there all day, it’s one of the busiest weeks on Harrington Ranch and no matter how much he enjoys the slow start of the morning, he knows there is no time to waste. It’s the Fourth of July and between the parade he’s riding in at 1:00 and the rodeo he’s competing in that night, not to mention the normal work of running a guest ranch, Steve has a to-do list a mile long, and neither Nancy or Robin will let him forget it.
“Hey Boss Man! You know you're basically a walking cliche, right?” Steve looked down and realized he’d been leaning up against that fence post, coffee in hand, hat pulled down tight, collar of an old buffalo plaid pulled up to block the wind. Hell, no matter how he tried to talk himself out of it, he really was the very picture of ‘rugged cowboy’ that their guests were looking for. Nancy and Robin were making their way down the dirt path towards the gate. A slow smile started to spread on Steve’s face as he looked down awkwardly at his feet. Every once in a while he was taken aback by how lucky he really was to be running the family ranch, doing what he loves with people he loves.
“Yeah, yeah… don’t…”
“Don’t move. You know this is going straight to the ‘gram. We’ve got to build some hype and Nancy is going to use your ‘rugged charm’ to do it.” Robin dissolved into giggles, but Steve held still as Nancy snapped a couple pictures with her phone and tapped away at the keys as she posted the photos.
“Yeah.. I know. Hype up the ranch online, lean into the fantasy. I got it. Now let’s get back to work, we’ve got a shit ton to do today and not a lot of time to get it done.” Steve can’t help but smile at Robin and Nancy, even as he’s complaining a bit at them. When his parents took off for warmer climates and left Steve the ranch he thought it was over. He was only 22 at the time, and was overwhelmed by the thought of being in charge. He began to believe that the goal he had of living under the mountains forever, riding horses and welcoming families to the ranch for a vacation of their dreams, was actually just a dream of his own that would never come true. He wallowed in it for a bit before Robin pulled him out of it. Her and Nancy had gone behind his back and together they had worked up an entire business plan and suddenly reinvigorating the Harrington Ranch seemed attainable. It was hard, a lot of long hours and massive mistakes, but with Nancy on marketing and Robin heading up all the events, it stopped being so overwhelming and bit by bit they built up a program that Steve was proud of.
“Alright mom. Let’s go get ready for the day. The parade’s not going to parade itself, I guess”
Steve let another smile slip in Robin’s direction before turning towards the ranch, thanking his lucky stars again that this was the life he got to live.
//
Sunrise was Eddie’s favorite time of day. Sunrise on the Fourth of July was a whole other level of perfect. He woke up as the sun peeked over the mountains and could already smell the coffee being made, hear the bacon sizzling on the stove top. Wayne was nothing if not consistent, breakfast and coffee ready to go most days before Eddie even woke up, which honestly was a miracle, because even though Eddie wasn’t naturally a morning person, he had gotten used to waking up early years before. There was always work to be done, horses to be taken care of, or a rodeo to get on the road for. He didn’t love sliding out of bed this early but the promise of food and the chance to watch the sun burst through the sharp peaks made it worth it.
Wayne looked like he was ready to head out the door when Eddie slipped into the kitchen, buttoning the last snap of his shirt closed and pulling his hat off the wall. “Going already Wayne? Bit early even for you?”
The look Wayne shot Eddie was an even mix of exasperation and adoration, “Early? Son, if you don’t…”
“Geez old man, just kidding. I know, Fourth of July,” Eddie snagged some bacon and ate it straight off the pan before grabbing Wayne’s old trucker hat and stalking around the room, “‘got lots to do, moving horses, parade, setting up, rodeo, not enough hours in the goddam day’… I know.” Wayne huffed what sounded suspiciously like a laugh at the impression, but quickly covered it with a scowl, so Eddie popped the hat off his head and threw it at Wayne, giant smile splitting his face.
“Alright kid, enough of that. I’m headed to the arena to double check everything’s ready for the parade. Meet me there when you pull yourself together and try not to get too distracted., We’ve got a million little riders to get ready and you’re the only one that can seem to keep them all moving in the same direction.”
With that, Wayne was out the door and Eddie was left to finish up his breakfast, clean up, and get ready for the day. Summers were always full of tourists who wanted the true western experience and Eddie was more than happy to play his part, hamming it up at the rodeo as a sometimes announcer (when he wasn’t riding in his event), working with Wayne to teach young riders, and spending the rest of his time up at the Harrington Ranch leading trail rides and cattle drives for tourists from all over the world. But the Fourth of July buzzed in an entirely different way. While he wanted to go bigger on the rodeo circuit, maybe make up for the life Uncle Wayne had given up for him, days like today made him content to shine big in the small town, making people smile by cracking silly jokes or telling campfire stories, watching them fall in love with the place he loved and the mountains he called home.
It wasn’t a big life, but it was his life, and if you had asked 12 year old Eddie if this was possible, he would have probably laughed in your face while trying not to cry. Wayne had given him a second chance at happiness and he was grasping it with two hands and pouring as much joy as he could back out into the world. And the Fourth of July was the best time to show off and show out. Parade at 1:00, Rodeo at 7:00 and right now, Eddie needed to finish eating and get to gettin’; he knew Wayne had tasks upon tasks lined up for him at the arena.
Eddie allowed himself a few moments of respite, leaning on the rail of their porch, coffee in one hand, bacon in the other, before taking a deep breath, smiling up at the sun and heading inside to get ready for the day.
//
Pulling into the arena is a weird experience. No matter how many times Steve’s made the turn under the sprawling gate (and he’s been making that turn since before he could drive), he still gets a spike of adrenaline and his heart smacking around his ribcage for a few beats. The rodeo doesn’t even start for another 7 ½ hours, and there’s a whole parade to handle first, but still… he can smell the breeze blowing across the dirt and hear the horses shifting by the fence even before he turns his truck off, the sounds of the arena settled somewhere deep in his brain.
Before he’s opened the door he can hear Eddie from across the lot, yelling at some kids to get their horses ready, joking with Wayne about something and a smile tugs at Steve’s face unbidden. “What are you smiling at, Dingus? Thinking about some buckle bunny that might get lucky tonight after the rodeo? Some sweet doe eyed tourist that can pull the king?”
“Jesus, Robin, seriously? Don’t we have better things to think about than that?”
“No we most certainly do not. There is nothing important happening right now.” Robin rambled on as they headed to the back of the trailer to grab their horses and start getting ready. “But seriously though… what were you smiling at? I know it wasn’t the radio, that was an old sad song, you didn’t get a text message and I for sure know you weren’t smiling at me.”
Steve backed the horses out of the trailer and handed both leads to Robin and then climbed out behind them. “Just smiling at life Robin, can I not just be happy? Speaking of happy… when is Nancy bringing the guests down?”
The look Robin leveled his way was epic, but nothing new. “I’ll let you change the subject Steve, but only because I love to talk about Nancy and you know it, but I’m keeping an eye on you and I’m going to figure that secret little smile out. And you better not let whatever crush this is keep us from taking the buckle tonight”
“Again, Robin, I wasn’t smiling at anything specific, seriously. Anyway, Nancy?”
“Do you two ever stop bickering?” Eddie’s voice carried across the lot from where he was perched on the edge of his flatbed, soda in hand, with about 8 little rodeo students piled in around him. “Don’t you have some horses to get ready, we can’t have the parade without King Steve on his mighty steed!”
Steve pulled his hat down and turned towards his horse, Sam, before answering “Don’t you have some work to do, Eds… aren’t you and Wayne basically in charge of the thing this year. Marshal of the parade and his jester?”
“Touche big boy” Eddie called back “What do you say kids, should we go finish getting ready? About an hour until we have to get this show on the road and show all these fancy east coasters what Wyoming is all about. Say goodbye to King Steve and the lovely Robin!”
Steve smiled into Sam’s shoulder when he heard the kids shouting at him and Robin as they clambered down from the flatbed behind Eddie and ran off towards the rodeo school corrals.
“No shit” he heard Robin say softly from over Sam’s back.
“No shit what?” Steve said, looking around.
“No shit, you.” She ducked under Sam’s neck and waved her hand dramatically around her face before flapping her hand up at Steve. “No shit, not smiling for any reason.” She laughed before ducking back behind Sam to focus on her own horse, Coal.
“It’s not… that’s not what that was, Robin…okay?” The tone of his voice was aiming for something like joking, but missed by a mile. The thing was he didn’t even know what it was. He and Eddie had known each other since they were like 12 years old and Eddie started coming with Wayne up to the ranch. They had been fast friends and stuck together ever since. Robin was his best friend, Platonic Soulmate and all that, and there was no one he was closer to. He and Eddie flirted, a lot, but both of them were notorious flirts, they flirted with everyone, and Steve always thought that maybe if he was someone different, someone a little more brave he might take a chance and see what would happen, but as it was he was too scared to take that leap yet. He was happy with what they had, so he just let it ride and never really worried about putting a name to what he was feeling. So what if he had a smile that was specifically for Eddie?
So he just shook it off like he always did and spent the next hour making sure that he was good to go before he and Robin rounded up the staff from the ranch to line up for the parade.
//
Eddie never could help himself. If there was an audience, he was performing. Steve’s comment about being the jester was a bit of a dig, but not entirely inaccurate. After getting the kids all set on the rodeo float he hopped up on his horse Jackson and yelled for Uncle Wayne. “Big man! Let’s get this show on the road, we don’t got all day and your adoring fans await!”
Wayne rode up on his horse, grumbling the whole way. Wayne was a bit of an everyman, had held down jobs all over the place, and it seemed like everyone Eddie ever met had some story about how Wayne had saved the day in ways both big and small, earning him the role of reluctant town celebrity. Eddie has a sneaking suspicion he could have been something big on the PRCA circuit but he had traded it all in the day Eddie showed up on his doorstep, beaten down and scared, hoping that Wayne would let him stay. It had never been a question, Wayne pulled him inside, gave him a hug and a home and traded the long drives and rank horses for parent-teacher conferences and breakfast with his nephew. It didn’t matter how many stories Eddie heard, they only served to prove what he already knew, that Wayne Munson was a goddamn hero, and the best thing that had ever happened to him. He liked to needle the old man whenever he could, but always out of love, because as far as Eddie was concerned, Wayne hung the moon.
“Let’s roll!” Eddie let his voice carry over the arena grounds where groups of people were lined up waiting for the parade to start. He knew once they turned out of the arena and towards the town center the streets would be lined with tourists and locals alike, all there to celebrate the Fourth and see a fun parade and Eddie aimed to give them a show. It drove Wayne a little nuts, but the rodeo float that the littlest students rode in sported a big speaker and Eddie kept the music flowing the whole time from his phone, belting out lyrics the whole route, singing to the crowd, hopping off Jackson at different points to hop up on the rail and serenade the crowd, running to catch up and make a flying leap back on Jackson, who would just keep walking next to Wayne, bomb proof and used to Eddie’s antics.
The parade only lasted about 2 hours from start to finish but the halfway mark was Eddie’s favorite. It was a bit of a tradition now, had started when Eddie was 16, riding his first parade with Wayne and didn’t have the forethought to consider the consequences of his antics. Luckily it had worked out and the crowd loved it, so he just kept doing it. The parade doubled back on itself about half way through, and as they circled the town square the front end of the parade where Eddie rode would pass by the tail end where the Harrington Ranch assembled. For about 20 yards Eddie and Steve were close enough to interact and Eddie never missed the opportunity to drag Steve into his shenanigans. This year was no different. As they made the turn he spotted Robin and Steve and made to change the music, a smile spreading across his face.
“Son. Don’t you dare. Not this nonsense again.” Wayne started to complain, but Eddie knew he didn’t really mean it. More than once he had caught Wayne smiling along as Eddie acted like a fool.
“You know I can’t help myself Wayne” Eddie stood up in his stirrups and looked across the crowd before yelling “Do my eyes deceive me? Is that King Steve and the lovely Robin?” His smile grew when he caught Steve’s eye for a half second before Steve ducked his head with a laugh.
“Friends. You’ve come from all over the US, and maybe even the world, and just your luck, you get to see King Steve in the flesh. Hero of the Harrington Guest Ranch!” Eddie hopped off Jackson and dramatically tipped his head to the side “Where families can enjoy a real western experience for a great price” he added conspiratorially while walking through the crowd towards the Harrington Ranch lineup.
Eddie pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of Steve and Robin sitting on their horses, slowly walking towards him. “I think it’s time for a song!”
“Eddie, no!” Steve’s voice rang out.
“I think you mean Eddie, yes. Besides, I’m not singing to you. Robin, my dear. Can I hear an ‘Eddie, Yes’” Eddie leaned on the shoulder of the nearest tourist, “How about you, Eddie yes?”
The tourist nodded in agreement and yelled out “I’m voting yes”
“She votes yes!” Eddie walked towards Robin and Steve who were still a half dozen yards away and hit play. Within seconds the opening notes to Shooter Jennings Fourth of July rang out.
Eddie climbed up on the nearest rail and threw his arms wide before belting out “Alone, with the morning burning red, one the canvas in my head…” He hopped off the rail and slid up next to Robin’s horse “Painting a picture of you, and me…”
The song continued on with Eddie serenading Robin, leaning into Steve’s horse dramatically to call out the lyrics “and I’m singing to you, you’re singing to me” before looking up at Steve to belt out “You were out of the blue to a boy like me. You were pretty as can be…” before giving him a quick wink and taking back off into the crowd and getting the tourists to sing along to the chorus with him as he worked his way back towards Wayne and their horses. Eddie felt electric, buzzing with energy from the parade crowd and basking in the fact that it didn’t matter what he did each year, Steve played along. Calling out for him to knock it off, while also egging him on, and inevitably blushing when Eddie finally turned his attention to him.
Throwing himself back on Jackson, Eddie turned to catch Steve and Robin making their final turn into the square before he sank down and sang the last part of the song, where George Jones took over “Come on old man. You know this one.” Eddie swatted at Wayne who was doing his damndest to not smile. “Sing with me”
As they headed out of the square Wayne and Eddie crooned “He stopped loving her today, they placed a wreath upon her door…” to the delight of the gathered crowd.
“Someday you’re going to cross a line Eddie” Wayne said looking over at him.
“Today’s not that day, Pop.” Eddie scoffed. “Not yet at least.”
“Hell of a way to get a guy to notice you though.” Eddie shot a quick side-eye at Wayne. He wasn’t stupid, he knew that Wayne knew Eddie had been nursing a crush on Steve for going on 10 years, ever since he first went with Wayne to the ranch when he was 13. Steve was everything he wasn’t. Confident in a way that felt genuine, none of the charade that Eddie put on. And he was so good at everything he did, Eddie could watch Steve work or ride for hours, even if he tried to keep it contained to small glances between cracking jokes at him, trying to get him to give that smile that Eddie liked to think belonged just to him. When Eddie started to help out the ranch too, Steve had taken him under his wing and taught him the ropes, and over long hours they really got to know each other. Eddie had never felt like he belonged before, but with Wayne at home and Steve at school and the ranch, he felt safe for the first time in forever. Being friends with Steve had offered him a shield at school, no matter how nerdy he was, everyone just knew that if you went after Eddie, you were also getting Steve and that wasn’t a risk people wanted to take.
Eddie shook off the serious bend to the question and instead said “Everyone notices me Wayne, it’s a gift really. Just wait until tonight, I’m planning on taking the buckle and the money and enjoying the heck out of the fireworks.”
Wayne let him dodge the question and instead turned his focus to the rodeo. Fourth of July was the biggest rodeo of the year and had the most moving parts. It was a busy night for them, and as the parade wound its way back to the arena,Eddie and Wayne went through the to-do list and made sure they were on the same page for the rest of the day.
Eddie’s mind was mostly focused, but who could blame him if his mind kept drifting back to Steve’s face during the parade. Maybe tonight would be the night he got up the guts to make a move.