#McCoy 🤝 Chapel

[thesconesyard]

Yeehaw! I really, really enjoyed writing this one!

When the Cactus Blooms

5. Stampede

“You ready?” Christine called across to McCoy.

“You serious?” McCoy asked back.

“Always,” Christine grinned.

McCoy gave a dramatic sigh and a shake of his head. They had finished in town, enjoying a visit and lunch with their friend Geoff, before finishing up in a couple other shops. McCoy was looking forward to the evening when he could relax and finally have a taste of the bottle he’d bought.

“Fine. Where to?”

Christine wanted to race.

“That lone tree up there?” She pointed into the distance.

McCoy squinted to follow her finger. He settled his hat snugger onto his head.

“You’re on. Honey’s been in fine form lately.”

“Well, Pepper is always the fastest,” Christine smirked at him.

McCoy waved the comment away. He looked over at Christine securing her own hat. She was sitting astride, skirt draped over Pepper’s back.

“Ready…” he said slowly.

Christine picked up her reins again.

“Set…”

McCoy leaned forward getting ready.

“Go!” They both yelled at the same time.

McCoy dug his heels into Honey’s side and urged her forward. In seconds they were speeding across the ground, dust kicking up behind them, the sound of hooves pounding. A glance to the side showed him Christine and Pepper just steps behind them. He grinned, and urged Honey to move faster.

Laughter next to him made him glance again. Christine’s hat had blown off, and her blonde hair was streaming behind her. McCoy gave his own laugh, and tipped his head a little further down so he wouldn’t have the same issue.

The lone tree was coming closer and he kept up a stream of encouragement to Honey. They were nearly there when he looked again and saw Christine leaning forward, tight against Pepper, beginning to pull in front of them.

“Ah-ha!” Christine cried out as they passed the tree. Both pulled up on their reins to slow the horses. “We won! Told you Pepper is the fastest!”

“Sure,” McCoy said amiably. It had been fun. “Suppose we have to go back though.” McCoy gestured to her bare head and Christine laughed again.

“Damn right,” she said firmly with a smile. “That’s my best hat.”

“Why Miss Christine!” McCoy pretended to be shocked, “such unladylike language.”

They turned the horses and walked back along their race path. The hat was easy to spot; a bright blue against the dusty ground.

“I got it,” McCoy said.

“Show off,” Christine muttered at him.

He swung low on one side of Honey and stretched down to the ground, catching the hat easily in his fingers.

“Look,” Christine said, pointing behind him as he handed the hat back.

“What is that?” McCoy said, frowning as he turned in the saddle.

A large cloud of dust was rising in almost the direction they had come from. McCoy stared hard.

“Is that thunder?” Christine asked, looking at the sky in puzzlement.

“Oh hell!” McCoy cried as realized what was happening. He reached over for Pepper’s bridle and pulled the horse and Christine back around.

“What—”

“Stampede!”

McCoy caught a brief glimpse of Christine’s eyes widening.

“Come on! Ranch is that way!”

McCoy waited until Christine had started Pepper running the way he indicated, then dug his heels into Honey again and began racing behind her. The pounding of the horses' hooves on the ground matched the rhythm his heart was pounding in his chest. By himself he wouldn’t have felt so worried, but with Christine… He knew she was an excellent rider, but it didn’t stop his worries.

He risked a glance behind and saw the dust cloud was closer. The animals stampeding were lost in the cloud.

He pushed Honey faster and caught up to Christine.

“Angle that way!” he hollered and nudged Honey towards them. Christine turned Pepper’s head. “We’ll cut across and they’ll miss us hopefully!”

Christine looked at him quickly and he saw the fear in her eyes, but determination was there too. He gave her a grim smile.

[thesconesyard]

Yeehaw!! McCoy flowed so easy, even if it is from Scotty.

When the Cactus Blooms

6. Wide Open Spaces

Scotty looked out at the night and couldn’t help the small sigh of awe that escaped him. The sky was velvety dark and the stars were shining and twinkling. The moon was just beginning to break the horizon.

“Beautiful night.”

“Aye,” Scotty agreed. He turned around to face the fire and McCoy sitting across from him.

They had left the ranch midafternoon to ride up the creek that flowed through the north pasture and into the river. Its waters had lowered to nearly half its usual depth, though there had been no dry spell yet. Jim was worried something had blocked it and so Scotty and McCoy were riding to see.

Uhura and Christine had sent them plenty of good food, easy to cook in the open. Scotty looked over again as McCoy let out a laugh.

“What?” he asked.

McCoy was pulling something out of the bag. One of the horses snorted over where they had tied them up to graze for the evening. They’d bring them back and hook them to the wagon when they went to sleep.

“Chris,” McCoy said with a shake of his head. “Where on earth did she…? Must’ve got’em from Geoff when I wasn’t looking.”

“What is it Doc?” Scotty couldn’t see it in the firelight. McCoy was stretching over to hand him something.

“Pair of peaches,” McCoy said happily. “That gal is a peach,” he chuckled. “She knows how I miss them.”

“Oh,” Scotty said, his chest tightening for a moment. “Thank you.” He held the fruit gently before finally taking a bite. “Oh!” he said in surprise with his mouth full.

“Yeah, they’re good alright,” McCoy said, holding his own.

“No, no, I just got juice all over me,” Scotty laughed. He wiped a hand down his front. “Ye coulda warned me Doc.”

McCoy grinned at him. “Now I’m gonna have to think of something to get her,” he said, looking thoughtful.

Scotty felt his hand shaking just the tiniest bit as he looked at McCoy again. He swallowed then spoke.

“Ye pair are close.”

“Known each other a long time,” McCoy nodded. “Came out here together you know.”

“What brought ye two?” Scotty looked at him curiously.

McCoy took the last bite of his fruit, then turned and threw the pit away. He gave his mouth a quick wipe with the back of his hand, and got to his feet. Scotty blinked in surprise.

“I-I didn’t—” he stammered.

“Nah,” McCoy waved a hand at him, as he dug into one of his saddlebags. “Need a little of this if we’re gonna get into that.” He came back to the fire and sat down holding a bottle.

“Come on,” he said, leaning forward, “where’s your cup?”

Scotty looked around himself in surprise, but found his cup and held it out. McCoy poured a full measure of an amber liquid, before pouring one for himself. Scotty nodded thanks.

He heard McCoy take a deep breath.

“I was married,” he said. “Before I came out here.”

“Oh.” Scotty was watching now. He hadn’t known that. “Was?” he asked.

“Yep.” McCoy’s tone changed. “Thought everything was good. The way it was supposed to be. Just finished my training to be a doctor; was starting to establish my own practice. Jocelyn Darnell was the prettiest thing around. Thought I had it made.”

McCoy stopped and took a drink from his cup. Scotty remembered he was holding his and took a drink too.

“I thought wrong,” McCoy said in a dark voice. “My father got sick. Real sick. Met Chris then. She was a nurse and came in to help take care of him.” McCoy’s voice got quiet. “Did everything we could but we couldn’t save him.”

He tossed back the rest of his drink and filled his cup again. He held the bottle towards Scotty, but he waved it off.

“Jocelyn got jealous. Thought there was something between Chris and me, no matter how many times I told her there wasn’t. Chris was engaged to a fella named Roger. Good man.”

“What happened?” Scotty asked after McCoy had been silent, looking in his cup.

“She divorced me.” McCoy shrugged. “Took off with a friend of mine. Roger was in a train accident and died. Chris and me, all we had left was each other. So we decided to pack up and find somewhere new together.”

“Why didn’t ye set up a new practice? When ye got here?”

“I tried for a bit, before you came. Worked with Dr. M’Benga in town, but never could get past doubting myself. I couldn’t save my own father, how could I save others?”

“Oh Doc…”

McCoy shook his head. “I like this. Being outside, working hard.” He looked up at the sky and the stars spread above them. “It’s good and we’re happy.”

Scotty sipped his drink. It was a good whisky and he wondered where McCoy had got it. ‘They’d had nothing left but each other; they were happy.’ The phrase repeated itself in his mind, eating at him. His heart began to pound, but he couldn’t stop his mouth.

“So… ye two… are ye- are ye together?” His tongue was thick getting the question out.

McCoy frowned gently.

“Me and Chris?” He laughed. “She’s my best friend and I love her to the ends of the earth. She’s the sister I never got to have. She still misses Roger and no one’ll ever replace him in her heart.”

Scotty breathed a silent sigh of relief.

“Besides,” McCoy continued, “there’s…there’s someone else I’ve got my eye on.”

“Oh.” Scotty’s chest tightened again. Deep down he knew it’d been too much to hope for. “Someone in town?”

“No. Someone a whole lot closer than that.” McCoy winked at him. “Think I’m gonna turn in,” he said quickly, getting to his feet.

“Right,” Scotty said flatly, as his heart began to race and his face warmed. Maybe he did still have that chance…