Cowboys are an new thing for me, but now... my goodness... *fans self* It's good the house is empty, kids are away at school, husband at work, even the carpenter isn't working here at the moment, so I don't have to worry about anyone reading over my shoulder and I could finish this one uninterrupted! Whew!

This little passage made me chuckle several times:

Angel stared at him. “It’s the Angelus devotion in memory of the Annunciation.”


Xander blinked back at him.


“The bell that rings three times a day to call for the Angelus to be…nevermind,” he sighed, seeing Xander’s shrug. “It’s a Catholic thing.”


Xander grinned, “I think my mom named me Alexander because that’s as far as she got in the baby name book before she got bored.”


“Alexander,” Angel said softly, rolling the name on his tongue, “From the Greek: ‘helper of mankind,’” The towel dropped from Angel’s waist, “So, Alexander…you feeling helpful?”


On a more serious note, the very end, where Angel is looking at the buckle and then back at Xander, I got the impression he's thinking that at the next rodeo Xander might beat Angel. If that's the case, it makes the ending even more sweet.

I know people are bugging you for a sequel already, can I add my voice to that? If it's not too annoying? Apologies in advance if it is...