LJ Idol, Prompt 9: “All Hat, No Cattle”

Luke sat at his desk, swiveling the comfy chair slowly left and right. His long legs were stretched all the way out, sneakered feet touching the wall, and his arms were loosely crossed behind his head.

He was always early to the Ten-Gallon Club, since the clubhouse was in his parent’s backyard. With a last name like Stetson, the name was a perfect fit.

Heavy footsteps sounded outside, thumping up the ladder.

Beau - code name Bowler, partly for his rounded physique - strode into the room and plopped his bulk onto the sturdy couch. “Hey, Stetson! How goes it? Any more info on the missing livestock?”

“Not yet, but the twins should be here soon, and they’ve been following up on a promising lead,” Luke said.

He rose and got the six-pack of Dr Pepper out of the mini fridge, and offered a can to Bowler, who took one and immediately popped it open.

“Nothing quite like fizzy prune juice,” Beau quipped with a smile, taking a satisfying sip.

Luke just shook his head as always. There was no prune juice in Dr Pepper - it was an old wives tale; everybody knew that.

He opened his own can just as the twins came up the steps, herded in by a stubborn black and white Border Collie.
( Read more... )