Coyote (CSNY)

Suite: Judy Blue Eyes

The sun beat down mercilessly on prairie. The blonde haired man riding on his horse took a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow. He looked over at his traveling companion. Her brown hair was soaked with sweat and plastered to the side of her face.
"Do you need a drink or a rest?" He asked.
The woman on the other horse shook her head. The blonde's brow furrowed. "Are you sure?" He asked.
"I'm fine. You don't have to baby me," The woman said finally. She wiped the beads of sweat off her forehead and stood up in he saddle. "We'll be there soon."
"Oh, how are you sure of that?" The blonde man asked.
"I remember this land," She said spurring her horse on.
The man spurred his horse to keep up. He looked across the wide open plains and smiled at the beautiful woman on the other horse.
"Judy, what're you going to do once we're there?"
Judy looked at him from her mount. She frowned ever so slightly. "What do you care?" She asked.
"I don't really. I'm just making conversation, ma'am."
"Well, Stephen, I may be a dance hall girl," Judy said turning away from him.
"You're too proud for that."
Judy turned to look at him. "Like you were too proud to let that man go," She snapped.
Stephen frowned. "Not too proud, just not ready to die, ma'am," He said.
"You've said that before. He was hardly a threat. He was just one man," Judy said.
Stephen sighed. "Just one man can get more men," He said.
Judy ignored him and kept riding. She stood up in her saddle and looked across the vast prairie. Past the land distorted by heat waves she could see a mining town. She smiled and spurred her horse again.
Stephen spurred his horse and caught up with her. He grabbed her reigns. "I know you're excited, but you'll push your horse too hard if you have him galloping too much," He said.
Judy shot Stephen a dirty look. "It's only a mile or so away," She said.
"The prairie can be deceiving," Stephen said, "so keep it at a trot would ya."
Judy flicked her reigns and started her horse forward at a quicker speed. Stephen kept with her on his own horse. Just as he predicted the ride took much longer than if it were only a mile. They reached the mining town after an hour of riding.
Stephen rode with Judy to the boarding house. He dismounted and helped her down from her horse. He tied their horses and entered the establishment with Judy.
"So, when are you gonna pay me?" Stephen asked as they drew nearer to the counter.
Judy stared at him like he was some type of heathen.
"Ma'am, I've got to eat too."
Judy put her hand down her dress and pulled out a small coin purse. She opened it and angrily placed a hundred in Stephen's hand.
Stephen lifted his hat. "Thank ya, ma'am," He said.
He walked out of the boarding house and across the street to a saloon. When he entered the bar was silent. He couldn't stand the silence. He walked to the bar and placed a silver dollar down on the counter. "Whiskey," He said glancing around the bar.
A dark haired woman approached him. She smiled at him and sat down beside him. "Want to buy me a drink?" She asked.
Stephen shook his head as his bottle of whiskey was delivered. He poured himself a glass just as another man walked into the saloon. The other man looked like a mountain man. His hair was dark and long, and he had the most impressive side burns Stephen ever saw. He saw the woman standing beside Stephen and walked towards Stephen.
"What're you doing with my girl?" The mountain man asked.
Stephen looked up at the man. "I ain't doing nothin'. She asked for a drink and I said no."
"Buy me a drink Neil," The dance girl said walking towards the man.
Neil smiled and went to the bar. "Get her something fancy," He said placing a large bill on the counter.
Neil walked back towards Stephen. "You're new in town," He commented.
Stephen downed a glass of his whiskey and nodded his head. "Rode in not ten minutes ago," He said.
Neil took a seat beside Stephen. "Are you staying long?" He asked.
"I don't know yet," Stephen replied.
Neil nodded and went back to the dancing girl he left alone with a bottle. As Stephen went back to his drink he heard shouts and laughter outside. Cattlemen, he thought.
Two men walked into the saloon. One of them saw Stephen and smiled. Stephen's eyes widened as he recognized the man.
"David?" He said in amazement as the man walked towards him.
David smiled behind his silly red mustache. "Stephen Stills!" He exclaimed.
David slapped the shoulder of the man beside him. "Willy, this was the man I was just telling you about. He saved my life," He said.
Stephen stuck out his hand to David's friend.
"Graham Nash, Stephen Stills. Stephen Stills, Graham Nash."
Graham shook Stephen's hand. "It's nice to meet you," He said.
Stephen raised an eyebrow at Graham's accent but didn't say anything about it.
"What're you doing here David?" Stephen asked.
"Cattle drive," David replied.
"Through Indian territory?"
"Lost a few men to Indians a few weeks ago. We're running short handed," Graham said.
"Do you need another hand?" Stephen asked looking at Graham.
"Yes, we do actually," Graham said.
Stephen looked at David then back at Graham. "I just got off a job, but I need another. How much can I get with this?" He asked.
"We were all promised a dollar of each of the cattle sold," David chimed in. "We've got one thousand head of cattle out there."
Stephen whistled. "How many men are on the drive?" He asked.
Graham and David glanced at each other. "We're really short handed..." Graham said.
"Including us..." David began.
"There's seven..." Graham said slowly.
Stephen's eyes widened. "Where are you driving the cattle to?" He asked.
"Well, we were trying for San Francisco," David said.
Stephen shook his head slowly. "Well, I've always liked a challenge," He said.
"So you're on?" Graham asked excited.
Stephen shrugged. He took another shot of his whiskey then looked back at Graham. "Sure. How can I say no to a dollar per head of beef?"
Neil wandered towards David and Graham. "A dollar a head?" He said without introducing himself.
David smiled and nodded. "You interested?"
"I have a herd myself. Only a hundred head..." Neil said slowly shaking his head.
"Add them to the herd. One hundred more won't make a difference," David said smiling.
Neil frowned slightly. "Won't that be a lot of cattle?" He asked.
Graham smiled. "We've already got a lot of cattle," He said laughing.
Neil smiled nervously. "I've worked with cattle before, though not on a cattle drive per. I think I could do it though," He said.
"Graham's on the drive and he hardly knew what cattle looked like before we added him on," David said.
"I still call them cows," Graham said.
Neil smiled slightly. "A dollar a head is mighty tempting. If you don't mind another hand I can do it," He said.
"We'll use all the help we can get," David said.
Stephen left his whiskey where it was, and David, Graham, Neil, and he walked to the large herd just outside town. Stephen never saw so many cattle in one place before. He could hardly believe that only seven people drove them this far. It was even harder for him to believe that only nine men would have to drive them to California.
Neil smiled looking over the cattle. "Good god," He said. "Look at all the bovine."
Graham started laughing and looked over the cattle. "Bovine..." He chuckled. "We gotta get all these bovine to California."
Neil shook his head slowly. "Has this ever been done before?" He asked.
"Don't know," David replied, "but we're gonna do it."
"By the way, my name's Graham Nash, this is David Crosby and Stephen Stills. What's your name?"
"Neil Young."
"Well Mr. Young, welcome to the drive."

(And welcome to this story! I hope you're as excited about this as I am! Another Western! Not only that, but one about one of my favorite bands!
I didn't think I'd be saying this again... Adde Away!)