The Cowboy Code, Alive and Well
Let's get past
the rippling muscles, the slouch of the Stetson, the jingle of spurs and
exactly what those chaps seem to be highlighting. Let's forget about The Virginian's mysterious
smile, the twinkle in Rowdy Yates' eyes, or the dimple in Paladin's chin. I'm talking about the man within here, whatever the heck he looked
like, the man you really fell in love
with. After all, if these guys had been
wimps, two-timing city sidewinders or snakes-in-the-grass, would you have
fallen for them?
Cowboys live by a
code. Over the years, the code has taken many forms and been written, so to
speak, by many of our heroes. Zane Grey was the first to actually put the creed
in print in his 1934 book, Code of the
West. While ranchers and cowpunchers would break virtually any territorial,
state, or federal law if it suited them, they were actually living by their own
code of ethics; after all, they wouldn't shoot a man in the back, would
they? Although there are often
variations on the theme, most of the code follows a sort of western version of
the Ten Commandments. Think about "Remove your guns before sitting at the
dining table" and all that that implies. Or how about "He must always
tell the truth?" I'm afraid that
when I read "He must always keep himself clean in thought, speech, action
and personal habits" I saw the code stretching a bit as well as 99% of
western romances flying out the window. It might have worked back in Hopalong
Cassidy's day, but by the time we get to Smith & Jones or Maverick, it's
adios. It is pretty biblical.
Some of the more
famous cowboys of television fame had their own codes that paralleled the
traditional one. The Lone Ranger believed, "That God put the firewood
there, but every man must gather and light it himself."
Roy Rogers had a 'prayer' that included the
words, "…when trails are steep and passes high, let me ride it straight
the whole way through."
On the
website Old West Legends
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-codewest.html
there is a long list of what constituted the code of the west. It includes such
advice as, "Cuss all you want, but only around men, horses and
cattle" and "Always drink your whiskey with your gun hand to show
your friendly intentions." More recently, in the book
Cowboy Ethics: What Wall Street
Can Learn from the Code of the West by James P. Owen, we have "Ride
for the Brand" and "Talk less and say more."
So think about
the man this code projects. Strong,
trustworthy, well-mannered, respectful of women yet a fighter and a doer, a
defender while still being excitingly hard-living and a little bit of rough. Is
the code alive and well? Yup, sure is—and living in Wyoming. Back in 2010, Wyoming Governor Dave
Freudenthal passed a state code based on the tenets put out in the Owen book. Although
the bill entails no penalties or fines, as a gesture it is an admirable
doctrine to have in this day and age.
And, of course,
if you package all that with the mysterious smile and the slouched Stetson,
well…what could be better than that? I
have no idea if my current hero, Chay Ridgway in Bad Boy, Big Heart,
follows the Code of the West, but he’s a well-read, generally well-mannered
young man so I like to think so. Why not meet him yourself and decide?
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Bio:
Andrea Downing has spent most of her life in
the UK where she developed a penchant for tea-drinking, a tolerance for rainy
days, and a deep knowledge of the London Underground system. In 2008 she
returned to live in the city of her birth, NYC, but frequently exchanges the
canyons of city streets for the wide-open spaces of the West. Her love of
horses, ranches, rodeo and just about anything else western is reflected in her
writing.
Log
Line: She’s a New Yorker escaping her
parents. He’s a Wyoming cowboy supporting his dad. One summer, two young
people—three months to find love.
Short Blurb:
New Yorker K.C. Daniels feels the strain of being her
overbearing parents’ daughter. Chay
Ridgway feels the strain of being his father’s sole support. As these two find
their way in the world during three months in Wyoming, will it be a summer
romance or a love that will last for years?
Excerpt:
K.C. was licking her lips over a piece of
cheesecake when Breezy ambled over.
“I heard,” she said in an undertone. “I’m so sorry,
K.C. I really didn’t know or I certainly would have told you. All I knew was
Jamie could be very unpleasant but nothing like that. You know, spoiled brat
unpleasant.”
K.C. gulped down another mouthful. “Well, he
certainly was ‘unpleasant’ and a ‘spoiled brat.’”
“Are you all right? You know if you ever want to
talk about it or need a shoulder, mine is at the ready. And you know where to
find me, though I suspect you have another shoulder in mind.” She tipped her
head toward Chay, who had just come in and was chatting with one of the guests.
K.C. glanced across as he squatted down to speak
with a little girl, tilting his hat back off his face and giving the child a
wink as he rose again. Her stomach did a back flip.
“So how do you like the cheesecake?” Breezy was
saying. “It’s my own recipe—chocolate mocha cheesecake. You seem to be doing
pretty well with it but, of course, you may only be eating it to be polite.” She
sauntered off in a stream of giggles.
And then a second fork was coming from above into
that cheesecake.
“Do you always just take what you want?”
“Oh, shit, I’m supposed to ask! Sorry.” Chay slid
into the chair opposite her at the long refectory table. He looked her in the
eye. “May I please have a bite of your cheesecake?”
“Why don’t you get your own? In fact, shouldn’t you
be starting with lunch and then dessert?”
“Had a sack lunch and got in earlier than expected.”
His fork dangled threateningly over the waiting slice before he swung the fork
like a pendulum.
“Oh, go on then. I guess you deserve it.”
Chay shoved a forkful into his mouth, having
obvious difficulty chewing as he was smiling so much. Finally he got it down,
stretched to grab a napkin from another clean place setting, and gave a wide
grin to K.C. “Am I your hero, then? Riding in to save the day? How are you?”
“I’m fine. Thanks. Fine, but reluctant to keep
telling everyone I’m fine.”
“Okay then, message received.”
K.C. studied him for a moment, melting at his pale
green eyes. She suddenly reached across and gently poked the small dimple in
his chin. Oh dear, what was she going to do about this man?
“You’re supposed to ask, aren’t you? You can’t just
go around poking people in the chin, can you?”
“Golly. What have I started?”
“I don’t know. What have you started?” The smile
was replaced by a very direct look.
“I…I’ve been told things about you. I don’t want to
be a summer romance. And I do have to leave at the end of the summer, and the
summer is fast fading.”
“It’s only June, K.C.” He hesitated before, “What
sort of things were you told?”
K.C. looked around to make sure they weren’t being
overheard. “That you like to…to date the girls who work in the office because
we leave at the end of the summer, and it makes for a clean break.”
“True.”
K.C. blinked at his honesty.
“But it doesn’t mean it will always be the case.” Chay
fidgeted on his chair. “What time do you get off? Let’s go for a ride. You do
ride, don’t you?”
“I ride…English.”
“Oh, yeah. Bob said something about that. That can
be fixed. So what time?”
“Five-thirty weekdays, Saturday noon as long as the
check-outs are complete. Sunday is hit or miss; I work virtually all day until
all the check-ins are done.”
“Hmmm. I’m taking out a pack trip tomorrow, back
Friday. Meet me down at the barns as soon as you’re off Saturday.” Chay swung
out of the chair and stood, then leaned in and stabbed one more bite of
cheesecake. “Saving you calories,” he said. “You’d be amazed at what goes into
this.” And with that, he stuffed the piece in his mouth and was off.
K.C. sat there, turning over Chay’s words in her
mind: ‘It doesn’t mean it will always be the case.’ Yet the fact was, her
Master’s degree meant two years…oh, what was she thinking? That was way ahead
and, while she knew she was deeply attracted to Chay, it didn’t necessarily
mean…. She stared at the remaining cheesecake on her plate, then pushed it
away.
What was ‘the
case’?
Twitter: @andidowning
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