CHAPTER 01

"Hey Sam, can we grab another round?" says Luke with a shy, playful smile on his face.

It's a typical Friday night in Rigley, South Carolina in the bar at "Thompson's Cattle House: Feed and Drink" where Samantha "Sammy" Jacobs has been tending bar for just over a year now. 

Sammy is dressed in black slacks, with a black long sleeve button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, the typical bartender uniform.  She has dirty blonde hair that flows halfway down her back accompanied by ocean blue eyes that you could lose yourself in.  She stands 5 foot 7 inches tall and has an impeccable body.  She has a slim, fit figure with curves in all the right places.  She wears very little makeup, but with her natural beauty, the little she wears isn't even needed.  She could easily be on the front page of a magazine or an InstaChat model overnight, but she is from a modest, humble upbringing and really doesn't like all the attention that her looks bring to her.  With that being said there isn't a man in town that doesn't secretely have a crush on Sammy, and maybe even a few of the ladies too.

Sammy just turned 22 last month in April where her friends had thrown her a small party at "The Blind Cowboy" or "BC" as the locals called it.  The "BC" is a small square dance tavern towards the outskirts of town.  Of the three places in Rigley that serve alcohol, "BC' is the only one that stays open late until 2am.  While Thompson's and Mama Mia's, the Italian eatery that sits across Main Street to Thompson's, only stays open until 10pm.

"Sure thing Pookie!"  Sammy fires back as she answers Luke while simataneously sticking her tongue out at him with a playfu smile on her face.  Sammy is naturally beautiful, but when she smiles... she can light up the whole room and Luke is no stranger to Sammy's charm.

Luke has short blonde hair with hazel eyes and stands 6 foot 2.  The word handsome doesnt seem like a fair word when describing Luke.  Luke grew up working on his family's farm when he wasn't in school, so he has always been "farm boy strong."  Later on in high school he got involved in sports and began to work out regularly and really got in shape.  During the summertime, half the town cools off at the community pool since most residents don't have pools of their own and when the ladies see Luke with his shirt off, they can't help but to stare as they pick their jaws up off the floor.

"Ah, come on Sam!" says Luke embarrassingly "You know I can't stand that name.. especially in public...  You know Nana Jan is the only one who can get away with calling me that!"

"Haha, I'm sorry.. You know I can't help myself" says Sammy apologetically but not really as she continues to giggle.

"Yeah, yeah.. Now that you've had your fun.. How about another round?" Luke responds with his arms crossed while shaking his head back and forth.

"Ah, chill out..Hold your horses, I have em' coming" Sammy says earnestly as she winks at Luke and begins to make his drinks.

Rigley is a small town in rural South Carolina that is home to around 1,800 people with many families owning working cattle farms and other small businesses.  Sammy's family is no different and her family's history can be traced back for generations in Rigley.  Sammy's parents own a smaller 150 acre farm plot along Ridgeland Road, with the Grant family owning the adjoining property that is also around 150 acres which is Luke's family's property. 

Sammy and Luke have grown up together in Rigley and have been by each others side ever since they were three years old.  Growing up in the small town, you could always find the two of them out in the woods together hunting whatever was in season or find them at the Jacobs family's pond fishing for Largemouth Bass and Crappie.  Sammy still holds the record amongst all her friends for the biggest Bass caught amongst them which hurts a few of the boys' egos still to this day.  When they were teenagers, they were all fishing at her family's pond in early Spring when Sammy reeled in a massive 11 pound 5 ounce Largemouth Bass that was spawning.  None of her friends have yet to come close to the behemoth fish she caught years ago, but they all sure as hell have a lot of fun trying!

Growing up, it didn't matter what they were doing as long as they were outside and doing it together.  As Sammy and Luke grew a little older, the group of friends expanded with bringing Sammy's best friends; Jenny Moore and Kate Gulf into the mix, which are always by her side... Luke also has his two best friends; Steve Walker and Jimmy Bennett who were brought into their "inner circle".  Sammy and Luke have been best friends for as long as they can remember, however a few years ago when they were 18, they decided to give dating each other a try since they had been so close for so many years.  On top of that, with living in such a small town in the South, there's not as many "fish in the sea" as you may find in a larger city. 

After a short few months, Sammy and Luke decided to end things amicably and stay just friends. They realized that they were both better off being friends and didn't want to ruin the close bond that they had forged over so many years.  Things were a little weird at first between Luke and Sam when they first broke up, but they quickly got back to their old selves and started hanging out again with each other along with their group of friends with little to no awkardness.

"Here ya'll go" says Sammy as she sets Luke's rocks glass of bourbon along with a couple beers for Jimmy and Steve down on the bartop...  "I'll just put these on your tab."  says Sammy intently as she turns to the computer system to add the drinks.

"Thanks Sam" Luke responds "You know, you really are the best bartender in town!'

"Well, seeing as I'm one of what..  FIVE bartenders in town?.. Hey, I'm doing pretty good then!....TOP 5" responds Sammy as she laughs and shakes her head from side to side while adding the drinks to Luke's tab.

"Hey, Sam!" Luke says honestly "On a serious note, when are you gonna give me another shot?"

"What do you want? Tequila? Vodka?" Sammy asks Luke knowing full well that this isn't what he's talking about in the slightest.

"Samantha Lillian Jacobs , you know damn well that I'm not talking about booze...  I'm talking about you and me" Luke says seriously with a rigid look on his face.

"Wow, pulling out my full name now?" Sammy asks questionably with a shy smile on her face knowing she really doesn't want to have this conversation.

"I usually only hear that from my parents when I do something wrong!"  Sammy says seriously hoping to change the subject.

"So?" asks Luke

"So what?" Sammy asks back with a solemn look on her face while holding her arms off to each side as if gesturing "I don't know."

"Come on Sam! I'm being serious here." Luke says meaningfully and then cracks a small smile and continues on while saying "You gotta admit, we did make a cute couple back then!  So, what do you say... Can I take you out on a date again?  Just the two of us?  It's been a couple years since we dated, things could be different this time, ya know?"

Sammy looks on at Luke from across the bartop and after thinking to herself for a moment, she says to Luke earnestly  "Aww, I get it.. We have history together, but do you remember what happened last time!?!" Sammy continues on sincerely "We tried giving dating a a go.  It just didn't work out between us... You gotta admit, we are so much better being best friends.  I don't want to mess that up by trying to date again. Plus, you know I want to travel the world to see and experience new things and you, well you're happy staying here in Rigley...Which is completely fine.. It just isn't for me!  On top of that, you know I overheard Kate saying how cute you looked the other day and she's had a crush on you for awhile now!... You should give her a chance!"

"I can't help it, I still have feelings for you!" Luke says humbly "And what's wrong with making a honest living in our hometown?"

"Luke, I may have to cut you off tonight.. you've obviously been drinking a little too much." Sammy says jokingly as she continues on, "But I get it, I have feelings for you too..I always will, but those feelings for a friend.... And there's nothing wrong with Rigley, I just know there's so much more out there for me to see and experience...  Plus..If I occupy too much of your time, who is going to babysit those two idiots over there?"  Sammy asks while starting to smirk as she points over to Steve and Jimmy who have been playing pool with the Beard brothers across the bar.

Just like every Friday night at Thompson's, the 16 seat bar is full with all of Sammy's regulars.  There is Mr. and Mrs. Bennett, who own Bennett's Grocery Store towards the edge of town that come over on Friday's after their store closes at 8. Additionally, there also sits Jack Briar, who is the town Pharmacist for the last 40 years along with the group of guys from the oil drilling rigs that have been in town for the last 6 months.  In the bar section at Thompson's, there are also a few high top tables that sit another 20 people or so, along with a pair of old quarter ran pool tables  off towards the corner that seem to jam up every other game.  You can usually find the Beard Brother's hanging around the tables on the weekends trying to hustle anyone they can, but usually works out negatively for them!

The Beard brothers are none other than Jonathan "Johnny" Beard Jr and Jonathan "Sully" Beard III.  As you can tell, their parents were extremely creative in the naming process with them.  They are only a year apart in age at 22 and 23.  Sully had attended Rigley High School in the same graduating class as Sammy and Luke, while his older brother Johnny had skimmed by and graduated the year before.

Much like Sammy and her group of friends, the Beard brothers are also inseparable, however they are nothing like Sammy and her friends.  The Beard's are the town bullies and have been getting into trouble ever since they could stand up, while Sammy and her friends are all polite and grew up with a humble upbringing.  One time when Johnny was a Senior at Rigley High, he had stolen the Principals pickup truck, then went and picked his little brother Sully up from baseball practice while they both proceeded to go out for a joyride around town with a 12 pack in hand, all while causing mayhem across the community!

Another time they had stolen a couple goats from the Bennett's property, painted them red, and then tied them up in front of Bennett's Grocery for no reason other than they thought it would be a hoot.  With all of the havoc they have caused, the brothers have never once received more than a slap on the wrist.  This is due to their father, Jonathan "Cap" Beard Sr being the Sheriff in Rigley along with his brother Bobby Beard being his Deputy Sheriff.  Every now and again you'll see Johnny and Sully picking up trash along the roadways due to community service being served out, but that is about the worst of the punishment that they ever receive and that's only to ease the minds of the town folks to see some sort of discipline carried out.

Just as Luke turns around to take a look at who Sammy was pointing at, he sees Jimmy and Steve getting into an argument with the Beard's... Which is really not all that uncommon when they're all drinking.

"You cheating bastard!" shouts Steve while aiming his words at Johnny angrily

"What the hell you talkin' bout?  It was a clean damn shot!" Johnny shouts back at Steve accompanied by a strong southern accent

"CLEAN, MY ASS!" Steve yells back at Johnny as his anger grows, "You bounced the cue ball off my stripe.  MY DAMN BALL MOVED!!, that's a foul, which means YOU LOST! Be a damn man and give me the 20 bucks you owe me!""

"I ain't givin' you a damn thing" Johnny fires back angrily 

"T-tha -thats right, we ain't giving y-you shit."  Sully slurs as he manages to finally get the words out of his mouth.

"Oh, you're gonna pay me what you..." Steve starts to shout as.. "SMASH" Johnny's right hand makes flush contact with Steve square in the mouth before he is even able to finish his sentence.

Steve touches his mouth instinctively with his right hand only to notice a little blood on his fingers as his blood starts streaming down his jaw.  Steve doesn't say a word as he cracks a smile and without hesitation rears back and clocks Johnny right in his nose.  "WHACK" is heard as contact is made and blood begins to dribble out of Johnny's nose uncontrollably.

"LUKE, COME ON!!!... Get over there and break those idiots up before they break something or really hurt each other" Sammy pleads with Luke as she continues to point over at the group.

"What? It's just a couple guys letting off some steam in a bar fight." Luke says honestly as he holds his arms up as if saying "what's the big deal?" and takes a sip of his Bourbon.

"NOT IN THIS BAR LUKE!" Sammy shouts back while pleading with Luke and still pointing over to the comotion of the fight.

A "CRASH" is heard as a pool cue manned by Johnny shatters across one of the pillar's in the bar area just as Steve ducks down in nick of time, narrowly missing his head by only inches.  Steve lets out a sigh of relief when he realizes how close the shot was and looks over to Johnny and shouts "YOU BASTARD!  YOUR ASS IS MINE!" as he starts to make his way towards Johnny swiftly.

Luke looks at Sammy and says seriously "OK, Now that's too much...  I got this!"  as he gives Sammy a wink and makes his way over towards the bar room brawl still going on between the Beard's and his two best friends.

Even though Rigley is a small town, there is still a martial arts studio there that Luke has been a part of ever since he could walk.  His Uncle Peter is actually the owner of this studio and much like his uncle, Luke loves martial arts and loves learning it from his uncle even more.  His uncle has been studying Karate for more than than 45 years and is a "Nanadan" or a 7th degree black belt in Karate.  While Luke has not been studying for as long as his Uncle Peter, he still holds a 4th degree black belt or "Yandan" himself.  Luke has competed in several competitions over the years and even won state championships in Karate.  He also trains in Jujitsu and holds a black belt in it as well.  Needless to say Luke is a well trained fighter, however he does not like to get involved in petty fights unless it's for self defense purposes and absolutely necessary!

Just as Johnny is about to hit Steve again, he feels himself immediately jerked backwards as Luke grabs ahold of his shoulders and yanks him back so abruptly it nearly makes Johnny stumble to the floor.

"BREAK THIS SH!T UP!" Luke shouts at them "If you're gonna act like fools, at least take it outside to the damn parking lot!"

"HEY..WHAT THE HELL?" Johnny shouted angrily at Luke "Why don't you mind your own damn business, eh?"

"These two" Luke says seriously as he looks over and points at Jimmy and Steve.. "Are my business!"

"I don't give a damn" Johnny shouts angrily and points at Steve saying "This bastatd called me a cheater."

"Well, now you've called him a bastard.  Guess you're even now, huh?!" Luke says with a sinister smile on his face knowing full well that there's no chance he'll consider them even.

"It da-don't work that way..and you know it!  Why dontcha go back over there and play house with the girls.  That's what your good at.  Let men handle this." Sully finally manages to slur his words out and complete a sentance.

Just as Sully finishes his jumbled sentence his brother Johnny figured it would be a good time to go ahead and sucker punch Luke.  While Luke is looking at his brother, Johnny rears back and aims his right hand towards Luke's nose.  With Luke being a trained fighter for so many years, he has impeccable instincts and was able to see the punch coming from a mile away.  Just before the punch was about to land, Luke swifly used his left arm to deflect the blow while counter attacking with a right punch of his own that landed flush across Johnnys face, all within a split second.  Upon impact, blood began to spew from Johnny's nose as he stumbles backwards, ultimately falling to the floor of the bar.  The punch had landed solid across Johnny's cheek and nose with a fair amount of impact even though Luke was holding back so he didnt seriously hurt anybody.  With the little force Luke did use, it still caused Johnny to be rendered unconscious by the time he hit the floor. 

"YA-YOU PIECE OF SHIIT!" Sully shouts with a slurred southern accent as he points to where Johnny is passed out on the floor, "THA-THAT'S MY BROTHER!"

As Sully attempts to finish his point, he stumbles forward towards Luke thinking in his drunk mind that he is somehow going to get payback on Luke for hitting his brother. However, instead as Sully takes his second step, he unknowingly trips over his own brothers feet and begins to lose control of his legs instantaeously.  As if Sully was already having enough trouble standing up on his own two feet, this only sped up the inevitable making Sully stumble uncontrollably, making his arms flail in the air all while trying to catch his balance somehow.  But, to no avail, Sully trips backwards almost as if in slow motion and bounces himself off the same pillar in the bar that his brother had smashed the pool cue on a short time ago.  It was hard to tell if it was due to the alcohol, the fall, or both..but as soon as Sully hit the floor, he was out like a light, just like his brother!

Just about everyone in the bar had been looking on throughout the ordeal, to them it's not all that unusual to see the Beard's raising hell or even to see them passed out together after drinking.  Hell, 6 months ago they were found in front of City Hall at 2am passed out together holding an empty fifth of Bourbon. 

As the altercation finally comes to an end, whispers could be heard amongst the bar patrons speaking about how much Sully looked like a bird flapping it's wings as they poke fun at Sully.  Some laughter could be heard in what was just, a not so great situation, as the tension in the air begins to finally lift!

"WHAT'S ALL THAT RUCKUS GOIN' ON OUTCHERE IM HEARING?" shouts an older man with a potent southern accent as he walks out from the office in the kitchen area.  The man is in his late 70s with gray hair that can be seen sprouting from under his usual straw hat along with a long gray beard to match.  Looking at him you'd probably think he's more wider than he is taller with his swole beer belly and typical jolly attitude.  It was none other than William Thompson, the owner of Thompson's Cattle House.

"Ah, We're sorry about that Mr. Thompson!" Luke says apologetically "The Beard's were causing a little trouble again and things got a little outta hand again.. Everything is fine now though!"  Luke says sincerly as showing respect to Mr. Thompson while rassuring him.

"Ahh ha, I see.  Seems like every other week those boys are causing trouble, eh?.  Those boys never seem to learn their lesson, do they?  You'd think that wit their daddy being the Sherriff they would have a little more respect!."  Mr. Thompson responds earnestly as he finishes by asking "What'd they break this time?" 

"No sir, they don't ever seem to learn" affirms Steve as he uses a napkin to wipe the little bit of blood still coming from his lip/. Luke follows up by adding  "Just a pool cue this time Mr. Thompson, but don't worry I'll replace it."

"Ah, don't you worry bout it son.. I picked those sticks up at.the swap meet awhile back.. Think I got 10 for 10 bucks!" Mr. Thompson explains with a chuckle to Luke while giving him a nudge with his elbow as he tells the story like older men do sometimes and follows up sincerely with, "You boys all OK though, right?

"Yes sir, we're all fine... Thanks!"  Luke responds seriously as he continues on while he points to where Johnny and Sully are still passed out, not so comforatably on the bar floor and says "The Beard's however, not so much... They'll wake up after awhile with one helluva headache and probably no recollection of what happened as usual.  I'm sure that'll be their typical excuse"

"Well, ya can't say they don't deserve it every now and again."  Mr. Thompson says in a serious tone as he checks his watch and says "It's looks to be just about closing time anyways."  Mr. Thompson looks over to the bar and asks, "Samantha, honey can you give Cap a call and ask him to come pick these boys up please?.. Oh and will you go ahead and get Luke and the guys a round on me for the trouble before we close up!"

"Of course Mr. T"  Sammy says sweetly as she smiles back at Mr. Thompson

Sammy instinctively pulls her phone from her back pocket, unlocks it quick with her thumb and scrolls through her contacts to find Cap, clicks "MESSAGES" and then types out quickly:

          "Sorry to bother you Cap, but can you come pick Johnny and Sully up from Thompson's? They've                been fighting again and they're both passed out on the floor together!"

Sammy quickly presses "SEND" to give Cap the update and before she can put her phone back in her pocket she feels "BZZZ, BZZZ, BZZZ" from her phone vibrating in her hand.  Sammy quickly looks at her phone to see a response from Cap already:  

    'I'm sorry Samantha, I hope they didnt cause ya'll too much trouble!  I'll send someone over to get em right away"

Sammy finishes reading the message and quickly moves on to making the drinks for Luke that Mr. T promised them.  In the midst of preparing the drinks Sammy yells out to the whole bar                                         "L-A-S-T---C-A-L-L ---FOR--- A-L-C-O-H-O-L... GET IT NOW OR GET IT ELSEWHERE"

Sammy finishes up and brings the drinks over to the guys and says with a smile on her face "Here ya'll go" as she sets the drinks down on the bar top.

"Thanks again Sam!" Luke replies with a smile of his own and asks "Hey, we're all gonna head over to BC after this.. I think Kate and Jenny are coming out too... You gonna join us, right?"

"It's Friday night, isn't it? Not much else to do in this town." Sammy says with a solemn look on her face and continues on by saying "But I'm not staying out too late tonight, I have to open the bar tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah heard that one before." Luke replies as he jokes and then says intently  "Once you get on "Bully" you know you won't be able to stop!"

"Bully the Bull" is the mechanical bull at The Blind Cowboy.  Most people in town take their turns on "Bully" due to the cash prize every Friday night, declaring the winner by who can stay on the bull the longest along with the most poise and style.  It doesn't matter if they are skillful or not, and it surely doesn't matter if they are sober or not... Seems like when it comes to "Bully", the drunker they are, the better they are seems to be a common trend. 

Growing up on her paren'ts farm in Rigley, Sammy has been around animals her whole life and has been riding horse, along with other animals since she was youhg.  Needless to say, Sammy's skills while riding "Bully" far exceed most everyone in town and she has won the weekly prize at "BC" more times than she hasn't....

"Luke Phillip Grant, I am serious!... See you're not the only one who can pull out the full name!"  Sammy replies with a slightly serious tone in her voice while smiling back at Luke 

Sammy continues on. "Come on.. Ya'll need to finish up anways.  It's closing time... the longer it takes you,  the longer it'll take me to do my closing side work!" 

Just as Sammy finishes speaking to the guys as she looks towards the front door opening to see two deputies from the Rigley Sheriffs Department walking in.  They walk into the bar, look around for a moment before proceeding directly over to where the Beard Brother's have been resting on the bar floor.  As the deputies make it over to where the brother's are, Johnny is starting to come to some as he hears:  "Come on boys, time to go home." coming from a familiar voice of Deputy Gerald Smith. 

"Let's get you boys up and out to the car... Come on!" can be heard coming from Deputy Smith's partner, Deputy Caroline Swanson.  Both Deputies lean over to help the brother's up one by one as the Beard's slowly make their way back to their feet.  While being assisted by the deputies, they all start to make their way towards the front door with the Beard's still stumbiling and finally make their way out to patrol car parked out front.

"Are they ever gonna learn?" Sammy asks Luke seriously

"From the looks of it, not anytime soon." Luke states unknowingly with a small smile on his face

"ALRIGHT, CLOSING TIME YA"LL!.. TIME FOR EVERYONE TO HEAD OUT.  SEE YOU NEXT TIME!" Sammy shouts to the remaining guests in the bar area.

"Hey Sam, we'll see ya in a few, yeah?" Luke asks Sammy seriously as he sets some cash down on the bar top for his tab.

"Yeah, I'll be over as soon as I'm done here." Sammy replies back quickly "Shouldn't take me long!"

"OK, see you in a little bit." Luke shouts back as he's walking towards the front door..

The last of the bar guests also make their way out of Thompson's too with Mr. T following behind them to lock the front door.  With all the patrons gone, Sammy immediately gets started on her closing side work for the bar with washing glasses, sweeping, and taking the trash out.  Sammy likes to keep her bar organized and clean, so when it comes to closing the bar, it doesn't take her near as long as it does for others.  So around 20 minutes later Sammy is finished up and is in the employee bathroom changing out of her bar uniform and into her "going out" clothes.

Knowing it was Friday night and there's always a better chance of going out than not of going out, Sammy was sure to bring a change of clothes along with her to work.  She pulls out her favorite pair of jeans from her bag and begins to shimmy her way into them.  The jeans have a tight fit that perfectly hug all of Sammy's curves in just the right way.  Sammy turns to look at herself in the mirror and can't help but to think to herself "Gosh, I love these jeans!  They make my butt look so good!" Sammy giggles to herself and continues getting ready. 

Sammy brought along her cowboy boots that go perfect with her jeans and about everything else.  She also brought a cute spaghetti strap pink sparkling top and a light jacket in case she needs it.  As if Sammy's appearance in her all black Thompson's uniform didn't already bring her more attention than she would care to admit, but the "Pièce de Résistance" is how Sammy looks outside of her work uniform.  With her natural beauty and all of her features accentuated, she really is a show stopper!  Even though Sammy is typically a shy person, she can't help to admit to herself that she doesn't always hate all the attention she gets.  So Sammy takes one more look at herself in the mirror now that she's finished dressing, touches up the little makeup she has on, and says to herself "Alright, that'll do!  Time to go have some fun tonight!"

Sammy exits the bathroom and heads to the back door and says "Godbye" to Mr. T and leaves Thompson's for the night.