lb_heartland | Fic: Big Time Cowboys 6-8/?

Big Time Cowboys
Chapters Six, Seven, & Eight
Word Count: 2,720; 2,729, & 2,815
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Kendall/Jo, Logan/Camille, Ty/Amy, Lou/Peter (but don't expect that to last, I chose this setting for a reason), Lou/Scott, and possibly a bit of Jack/Lisa. As scary as that list might seem, this story is mostly about humorous antics and none of the pairings are a big focus of it, I promise. I just like to cover all the bases.
Disclaimer: I'm never going to grow up. That means... I'm not legally responsible for anything, right?
Summary: Four teenage boys. Two weeks. One ranch. Who will survive?
Spoilers: Nothing past Eye of the Wolf for Heartland, season 2 of Big Time Rush, with a very minor one from Big Time Moms. I couldn't resist.
Author's Note: So... if fanfic "cliches" exist, I suppose having the boys sing one of their songs in the story is a BTR fanfic "cliche," and I don't mean that in a bad way. I just... couldn't resist them doing a little mini-concert, and it probably won't be the only time they do. Actually, I know it won't be. :)

Chapter Six
Author's Note: So... if fanfic "cliches" exist, I suppose having the boys sing one of their songs in the story is a BTR fanfic "cliche," and I don't mean that in a bad way. I just... couldn't resist them doing a little mini-concert, and it probably won't be the only time they do. Actually, I know it won't be. :)

Big Time Diner

"How did the chores go?" Lou asked as her sister came up to the house, followed by the two older girls. Mrs. Knight and her daughter had gone off, fighting, and Lou wasn't sure either of them would survive the day.

"Well..." Amy began.

"I almost feel bad," the brunette one—Lou thought her name was Camille—said. "It was so sweet of Logan to be such a gentleman and volunteer to do my part so that I didn't have to get dirty."

"Kendall would have done that for me, I'm sure, but he still hasn't come back from the walk/talk thing he's having with Mr. Bartlett," Jo added. She smiled. "It was really sweet of Carlos to offer in his place."

"Right up until James joined in and they all started fighting over which one of them got to do it," Camille shook her head. She looked amused. "It's so easy to manipulate boys when they're interested in you, but we didn't even have to try."

Lou blinked. Amy sighed. "James is still trying to impress me, so when Logan and Carlos made their offers, he had to join in. Then they started arguing, and we left them in Spartan's stall, covered in manure, straw, and dirt."

"Great. So I have to enforce a shower rotation again?" Lou asked, running a hand through her hair and trying to resist the urge to pull it out.

"The guys always come through when it counts," Camille assured her. "It may take a while for them to get there, but they never let anyone down or break a promise."

"Look on the bright side, Lou. They're nothing like the last star we had here," Amy said, patting her on the back. Lou nodded numbly. "The girls and I are going into town for a few things. And, no, I am not checking up on Ty. I am going to stop at Maggie's and see Soraya, though."

"You're just going to leave the boys in the barn?" Lou demanded, incredulous. "Are you insane?"

"They just need to get it out of their system," Camille said dismissively. It was nice that she was able to write it off, but then she was, what, seventeen? She wasn't responsible for the boys' safety or keeping Heartland and the dude ranch financially viable. "Kendall can probably handle them when he gets back."

"Probably?" Lou repeated. "From what I've seen of those four, a team of super heroes would have a hard time keeping them in line, and did you miss what he and his little sister did to Dad last night?"

"No, but—come on, Lou, can you blame them?" Amy asked. "I wanted to do something about the way he was flirting with her, and she's not my mother. He is my father, and it made me uncomfortable. I think, after Callie, I have a better idea of how to handle Dad dating, but he was really... blatant about the whole thing. In front of his kids and hers."

Lou started to argue with her sister, and Jo moved away from them. "Oh, hey, there's Kendall. I'm going to go tell him we're headed into town."

The boy still looked like he was confused about whatever Jack had said, but when he saw his girlfriend, he smiled big and wrapped his arms around her. They spoke quietly and kissed. Lou sighed at the sight. "Teenage love. So simple. Not at all complicated."

"Uh, I know you don't know them, but their relationship is not simple," Camille shook her head. "Between the difference in their interests, her acting career and his singing career, they have come close to breaking up several times already. It's complicated. Almost worse than me and Logan."

"Lou?" Amy began, looking at her sister in concern but also amusement. "Is this because Peter is in Dubai again?"

"That, and something Scott said," Lou answered. Judging from the look on Kendall's face as he turned to the barn, he had just heard about what his friends did. "It's not important. Go ahead and go into town. Call if you decide to get dinner there so that I don't end up making more than we need."

"Okay, as long as you're sure about this," Amy said, and Lou waved her off. Grandpa was back, around somewhere, if Kendall was back, and she'd get him to help her if she needed to.

Besides, dealing with the boys would give her something to think about that was not Peter, and not Scott.

"Long time no see," Soraya commented as Amy walked up to the counter. She couldn't help nodding guiltily. She hadn't seen much of anyone lately, not unless they came to the ranch. With all Soraya did at her mother's store and restaurant, she didn't make it out to Heartland much. "I didn't know you had guests."

"Well, with Mallory twisting her ankle, no one's really had a chance to start gossiping yet, but they will after today, I'm sure."

"I don't think I'm internationally famous yet," Jo said, sitting at the counter. Soraya looked at her, frowning as she tried to place her face. "New Town High. I play Rachel."

"I don't think I've heard of it."

"You might know her better as Kendall Knight's girlfriend. He's in Big Time Rush. Along with my boyfriend, Logan Mitchell," Camille said, sitting down next to Jo. "Really, it's no big deal. Can we get something to drink? And then we swear we'll be quiet and let you two catch up."

"I would have done it without the drink," Jo said, shrugging.

Amy smiled as Soraya filled them each a soda. They started talking, and she moved down to another stool, not too far away from her guests. Soraya brought a cloth over and wiped down the counter. "So, what brings you to town? And with apparent celebrities?"

"Lou agreed to another riding camp, only this time for four guys, the ones the girls just told you about. They're in a band, Big Time Rush. I thought Lou called you to ask you for help out at the dude ranch."

"She did, but she just said she had lot of guests, not that it was a new riding camp and not that they were celebrities who travel with their adoring girlfriends in tow," Soraya said.

Amy looked over at the girls. "They're not like that. Really. I kind of like them, and they came for a refresher course because they all have a part in some director's come back movie. The girls told me they're here to watch the boys make fools of themselves."

"Okay, they're growing on me, too," Soraya admitted. "Speaking of boys, what's going on with Ty? I thought he was going off to school."

"I don't know. I don't think he wants to go any more, but I'm hoping a talk with Scott will help him," Amy answered. The door dinged as more customers came in, but Amy didn't look back like most people did. It didn't matter. She didn't care who else was in the store. "It's been such a rush, everything happening so fast after the plane crash. It's crazy. I was hoping to let things settle down a little, but it just keeps going and going like a stampede or something."

"Well, that's life, I guess," Soraya said. She stopped, dropping her dishrag. "Uh, Amy, please tell me those boys do not sing as good as they look."

Amy turned, blinking in surprise. What were the guys doing here? How had they managed to get out of the barn, cleaned up, and into town so fast? Kendall hadn't been dirty, but he'd changed as well, cleaned up and looking like he'd come expecting a date with his girlfriend. James gave her a smile, trying to show how good looking he was, even with wet hair. Carlos had his helmet on, but he looked like James had dressed him. Logan seemed like himself, just clean. "What are you guys doing—how did you get here?"

"Didn't you notice who you passed on your way into town?" Ty asked, wrapping his arms around her from behind. "The guys convinced me to bring them into town. It was either that or watch them try and steal Jack's truck."

"I don't understand. We left them fighting in the bottom of a messy horse stall."

"They said something about quick changes for concerts and before I knew it, they were back. Honestly, I don't want to know," Ty told her, linking his hands together on her stomach. He looked over at Soraya. "Hey, Soraya. Nice to see that you aren't going nuts over the band."

"I don't think I've ever heard of them, to be honest."

"Oh, man, dissed. Okay, this is too good to resist," Ty said, laughing. "James, no one here knows who you are. In fact, Soraya here, she thinks you can't sing at all."

"What? I did not say that," Soraya tried to protest. "Really, I—I don't know who you are, and I'm sorry, but I don't know if you can sing."

The four boys exchanged a look. A mischievous grin overtook Kendall's face. He turned to the others. "Shall we?"

"Oh, yeah," James said, and he was about to start when Kendall held up a hand, turning to Soraya but taking Jo's hand in his.

"Before we do this, to avoid any confusion like a certain beach party a while back," he said, grimacing, as did Jo. "I have to make it clear that I do have a girlfriend."

"So do I," Logan added, and then he frowned as he looked at Camille. "I think."

"But I am single," James said, opening his mouth to sing again, but before he got anywhere, Carlos shouted,"Me, too!"

Amy shook her head. Soraya grimaced. "Really, you don't have to do this—"

"Here I am; there you are. Why does it seem so far?" James started singing, jumping over the counter to Soraya's side. "Next to you is where I should be."

"Where I wanna be," the other boys chimed in.

James leaned close to Soraya, and she blushed. "Something I want so bad, know what's inside your head, maybe I could see what you see."

Logan glanced at Camille as he started in on his part. She smiled at him encouragingly. "I gotta keep on believing that everything takes time. I'll make up any reason to make you mine. If you're staying or leaving, I'll follow your lead. So why keep pretending? Open your eyes. I can be what you need."

Kendall pulled Jo up from her seat and started dancing with her. Camille jumped up into Logan's arms, knocking him over. Carlos grabbed one of Ashley's old friends that was passing by, and she looked uncomfortable, which amused Amy. James was dancing with Soraya, who was still blushing and trying to pretend she wasn't enjoying every minute of it, and Ty was kind of swaying Amy to their beat. "Any kind of guy you want, girl, that's the guy I'll be. Turn myself upside down. Any kind of guy you want, girl. You know I'll agree. Turn your whole world around."

Around the diner and even in the store, Amy could see that people were getting into the song. Even without music, the guys had a good sense of rhythm, and they loved to sing. It was infectious. "Any kind, any kind, any kind of guy you want. You decide, change your mind. I will be there. Won't you try? One more try. Be my any kind of girl. You decide; it's alright. I will be there."

Carlos' captured dance partner finally pushed him away, and he pouted as he went into his solo. "You seem so hard to know. Say goodbye, say hello, then you say that it's time to go. Changing my point of view, every day something new. Anything to get next to you."

He tried to chase after the girl, but she'd gone outside, and the door hit him in the face as it swung shut. He stumbled backward, and Amy knew it was a good thing he went around in a helmet most of the time.

Kendall shook his head before wrapping his arms around his girlfriend and doing his solo. "I gotta keep on believing that everything takes time. I'll make up any reason to make you mine. If you're staying or leaving, I'll follow your lead. So why keep pretending? Open your eyes. I can be what you need."

Judging from some of the looks Jo gave him while he sang, he actually had done some of that while they were together or just to get to her. Amy smiled. That was kind of cute. Carlos and Logan managed to get to their feet, and the four of them went into the chorus again.

Still holding Jo, Kendall leaned over the counter to address Soraya. "Let me know if I'm getting through..."

And Logan picked it up, "...Making you understand..."

James took over, right in Soraya's face. "If it's wrong, I'll try something new. Don't look away, 'cause I'm here to stay. If it's a game, then I'm gonna play."

They went into the chorus a couple more times, complete with a synchronized dance that Amy wanted to laugh at because it was really not them, and then split up again to grab the girls, Carlos trying to fight James for Soraya but ending up with a stuffed horse as they finished with a loud, "I will be there."

The whole population of Maggie's burst out into cheers and clapping, and the boys looked around, unaware of how big their audience had gotten. They shrugged. Amy smiled. It was nice to see they weren't the typical type of celebrities, that they loved what they did. She looked up at Ty. "Really? You're clapping?"

"They get bonus points for the stuffed horse," he said, and she laughed. He shrugged. "It's not my kind of music, not really, but I have to admit, they can sing."

"Boys, boys!" Val Stanton called, coming over to them. and Amy exchanged a look with Ty. This could be bad. "That was certainly something. How would you like to join in the Hudson Rodeo Amateur Contest this Friday?"

"Oh, we're... not amateurs. We're actually... professionals," Kendall began, a bit uncomfortable with the word. "We're Big Time Rush. We had number one hit in Kerplankistan."

"Well, in that case, perhaps you'd like to give us a special performance before the contest and assist with the judging?" Val asked, never missing a beat.

Soraya looked at Amy, and she held up her hands in a shrug. She didn't know what to do. It wasn't like she really had the authority to stop them. It wasn't like the last time where she was sworn to secrecy, so they didn't have to keep the boys' presence a secret, and performing was up to them, not her.

The boys exchanged a look and then nodded. "Sure. What could go wrong?"

Chapter Seven
Author's Note: I couldn't resist them doing a little mini-concert in the last chapter, and that led me to an idea for this one that had me cracking up, but then I am sometimes easily amused...

Problem Solved?

"Weren't those boys here for two weeks so they could learn to ride?" Jack asked, looking over at his granddaughter. Amy fidgeted a little. Even though she'd been against them coming here at first, it seemed like she was starting to enjoy their company. At least she already had a boyfriend and Jack didn't have that to worry about, the long haired one's attempt to charm her notwithstanding. "How long have they been here? Have they even gotten on a horse yet?"

Amy shook her head. "No. It's not my fault. And this time it's not really their fault, either. When we were in town the other day, Ty told them Soraya didn't think they could sing, so they decided to prove her wrong. Their performance got taped and put up on youtube like that Miracle Girl video of me, and now there's all this publicity, people are flooding into town, and Val asked them to perform at the rodeo. They agreed. None of us knew that there were all kinds of legal issues to worry about with them performing in another country, and their manager has been out here trying to deal with all of that while the rest of us have been trying to keep the reporters off the ranch."

Jack glanced towards the gate. At least its sturdy frame kept most of the unwanted "guests" out, but it wasn't enough. The cameras were still going off as the boys argued with a woman who looked too young to handle that bunch. "This is the absolute last time that a star sets foot on my property."

"I completely agree," Amy said, and Jack looked at her. She shrugged. "The guys are sweet, and the girls are fun, but I can not do this again."

Jack smiled at her, then frowned at the crowd on the edge of his gate. "I suppose grabbing the shotgun would be a bad idea."

Amy laughed. "We don't need you getting arrested. No, we'll just ride it out. The boys won't be big news after a couple days, and their manager was talking about having them do a few select interviews with the local press to diffuse the situation, as she put it."

"I hope it works," Jack said, more than ready to get everyone off his land and get things back to what passed for normal around here. Things had changed so much since Marion's death, and he still struggled with all of those changes. It would do them all some good to slow down the pace a bit and remember what they were doing this for. It wasn't money, wasn't fame. It was about the land, the horses, and everyone that shared that love for both of them in their blood. The rest of it didn't matter. Heartland was his home. It was his family's ranch, and he'd made a promise to hold onto this place. He would fight for it until his dying breath, even if that fighting was just to keep his family sane and making them remember why they loved Heartland so much.

"Oh, come on, Grandpa. I saw you with Kendall. You've taken him under your wing like you did with Ty," Amy said, and Jack gave her a look.

"Giving a kid a few pieces of advice here and there is not the same as taking him under my wing. It's not the same as Ty," Jack insisted. "Ty... That boy's family. Kendall's still a guest—and one I didn't invite."

"You didn't invite Ty, either," she reminded him, stopping to give him a kiss on the cheek before she headed off to the barn. Jack shook his head again. He watched her for a moment, then turned back to head to the house.

Lou came storming out, bumping into him as she made an almost blind run towards the field. "Whoa, now, slow down. Where's the fire?"

"Nowhere... It's nothing," Lou said, and he looked at her. She sighed. "I got into another fight with Peter. It's not important."

"You look pretty upset. Seems to me that's not nothing."

She shook her head. "I guess the bad connection yesterday made him think I said I was going to see Scott when I told him that Ty was visiting him, and he's been mad about it ever since. I don't know why. It's not like he has any right to be jealous. He's over in Dubai. He could have dozens of women, and I would never know. I could go visit a friend if I wanted. And it wasn't even me. It was Ty."

"You taken a good listen to yourself lately, Lou? Seems to me Peter might be reading something in between the lines because of the confusion you're feeling," Jack told her. "Maybe you might try talking to Scott about it, clear the air between the two of you."

"With that out there?" Lou asked, motioning to the boys and their manager and then further away to the press at the gate.

"Hey, I'm all for running them over, and I've got the truck to do it," he offered. She rolled her eyes. "You did make an alternate entrance over by your equestrian retreat, you know. So the guests could come and go without bothering me, remember?"

"You're right. Thanks, Grandpa," she said, giving him a hug. Jack shook his head. He didn't know when this place had turned him into someone who gave out relationship advice—he'd never been all that good at it—but he did want to see his granddaughters happy.

And if he could get rid of some uninvited guests, then he'd be happy.

"Honestly, Kelly, and for the last time, we had no idea that there were all these legal issues in performing in Canada. Really," Kendall said, getting frustrated. Logan gave him a sympathetic look. They really hadn't expected it to be such a bad thing. They were just doing what they always did, goofing off and making friends, and singing to Amy's friend at the diner had seemed like fun. That was all they cared about. When that woman asked them to join the local amateur show, they'd wanted to, because it also sounded like fun. The rodeo didn't sound like fun, not at all, not to Logan. People did crazy things at rodeos like ride bulls or broncos. They could get killed doing that, but they did it anyway. They'd probably say that was what made it fun.

Logan didn't know how they got on the horses in the first place.

"You do realize that you were not supposed to give impromptu concerts? You're supposed to be here learning how to ride horses, not to sing to girls in diners and agree to sing at a local event without compensation or checking with me or Gustavo."

James shrugged. "Hey, I got me a date with a pretty girl. I've got no complaints one way or another."

Kelly rolled her eyes and tried to ignore him. He took out his comb and mirror, checking his hair. Logan wondered if he was doing it just to annoy her this time. It would have been funny if he was. Carlos shrugged. "I liked the food there. It was good. I want more. Can we go back to the diner? Please?"

"Not now."

"Kelly, please, bottom line it for us. Can we perform at their little concert—and we don't care if we're not getting paid—"

"Uh, I do," James interrupted. "I want to get paid."

"We all want to get paid," Logan agreed, and Kendall looked at him in surprise. He shrugged. "It would be better if we got paid, but we don't have to be paid. We like to sing, remember? Personally, I would rather sing for their contest—without getting paid—than get on a horse."

"I want to ride the horsie," Carlos added with a bit of a pout.

"You will. Tomorrow, probably, because we still have to do our chores," Kendall told him, putting his hand on the dejected Carlos' shoulder to cheer him up a little.

Kelly frowned. "You have chores? That wasn't in the contract."

"Well, we did kind of accidentally let Tim Fleming's herd onto the land, and they kind of ruined a few things, made a few messes—"

"We made a few messes."

"—And so we have chores to help with the mess and stuff. It's not that bad. I thought you'd be happy about us learning some responsibility," Logan finished. She looked at him, not impressed. Apparently, it was only okay if Gustavo made them work. He shook his head. He'd rather be cleaning up after the horses than riding them. Riding them was dangerous. At least when they were cleaning the stalls, there were no horses in them.

"Hey, while Gustavo couldn't teach us responsibility, that scary cowboy probably could, and that's without his gun," Kendall said, pointing to Jack Bartlett across the yard. He was getting stuff out of his truck, and he did have a gun. Logan looked over at Kendall. What exactly had the two of them talked about when they were alone the other day?

"I can't believe this," Kelly began, her eyes wide. "I should cancel this cowboy camp. Right now."

"You can't do that, though," Kendall reminded her. "It's a big role; it's in our contract. We're going to be the come back for another Hollywood has been—I mean, a big time director. Plus, no one else will take us. We... kind of made sure of that. So, if we're doing the role, we have to stay here. If we're not doing the role—"

"We can go home!" Logan shouted happily.

"I could use some more work on my tan," James began. "But I want that date first."

"I still want to ride a horsie," Carlos pouted again.

Kelly shook her head. They had frustrated her again. That happened a lot. Kendall looked at her. "Well? Are we going to do this role in the movie or are we going home?"

"You're not going home. I am going to have a talk with this Lou Fleming—"

"Uh, Kelly, she's not here. She left a while ago while we were talking. Mr. Bartlett's in the house now if you want to talk to him," Kendall suggested helpfully. Kelly glared at him.

"We should probably go find Amy now," Logan began, grabbing hold of Kendall's shirt and pulling him along with him. Carlos shouted something about horses again, racing past them. James shrugged and followed the others.

"So, Amy, tell me about this friend of yours," James began, leaning over the stall to talk to her. He was curious, and talking to her beat shoveling up manure any day. It was strange. He didn't think that Kendall wanted to leave the ranch, even as much as he didn't like the guy putting the moves on Mama Knight or the lessons in life he was getting from Jack Bartlett. James knew that Carlos just wanted to be with the horses, but Logan didn't want to ride. Still, most of them had their reasons for staying, even if none of the others knew what they were.

Everyone knew James' current reason. He'd been hoping to get Amy's attention for a few days now because, hello, how could she say no to the face? She had been playing hard to get, though, and her friend was cute. If he couldn't be with one, he had no objection to the other. He wouldn't mind getting to know Soraya better.

"You know she didn't actually agree to a date with you, right?" Amy asked, stopping in the middle of brushing the horse she had been grooming.

"Of course she did. Didn't she, guys?"

"You know, I don't remember when you asked," Logan began hesitantly. He looked over at Kendall. They were planning something. James could tell. He knew that look.

Kendall shrugged, looking over at his girlfriend. "Did you hear James ask?"

"You're kidding, right?" James demanded. "This is a joke, isn't it? I asked her. She said yes. I remember it clearly."

"You do know that we all have very active fantasy lives, right?" Logan asked, and James glared at him. He turned to Amy.

"When did you all cook this up?" James asked, looking around at his friends. He knew they were kidding. They had to be kidding. He had asked that girl on a date, and she'd said yes. Well, she'd said uh, sure but that was the same thing. She might have been a little bit older, but that didn't matter. She had still fallen for the Diamond charm. And the face.

"James," Kendall began. "None of us are kidding."

"Yes, you are. She's doing this to get back at me," James said, pointing at Amy, and then turned back to Kendall. "The rest of you are being mean. You know, I'd have proof if Kelly was in on this, but of course, she's not, so I don't have the horrible faker liar to prove that you're lying and that I have a date. Yes. I do have a date. Give me her number, Amy. I'm calling her right now, and I am going to prove that I have a date."

"Soraya would never go out with you," the young blond girl that reminded him a bit of Katie only less scary. "You're not her type."

"There's a boy that isn't Soraya's type?" Ty asked, coming down the barn stairs. "Or are you just saying that because you're hoping you'll get asked?"

"Ty! I would never!" the girl protested, too loudly, and her cheeks were red. James smiled.

"Maybe later. First I have to prove that I do, in fact, have a date," James said. He looked at the girl with the ankle. "You have her number, right?"

"Please, like I want to be second choice."

"You're not second choice," he began, and she rolled her eyes. "No, really, I need to make sure that they're lying, but that doesn't make you second choice."

"Yeah, it kind of does," she insisted, getting up with annoyance. She stumbled a bit, losing her balance and knocking James back into a pile of manure. He looked down at what had just gotten all over his hand and shook his head. "I am too pretty for this."

"You know what?" Kendall said, looking down at James. James hoped he was going to call off the joke now. It was only fair. James was covered in something that really stank. He deserved some pity. At least he had his Cuda spray with him. He took it out and gave himself a spritz. He felt a bit better now. "This is a perfect time for a song."

"A boy getting rejected by a girl song?" Camille asked. "I didn't know you had any of those."

"We have one we never finished recording, but no, I didn't mean that," Kendall said. He looked at Logan and Carlos, and they nodded. He snapped his fingers together, starting a very familiar beat. James shook his head, but he couldn't help but get pulled in as his friends started in on what would probably always be their favorite song.

"Oh, you're such a turd; yeah, a giant turd, and you look like a turd and you smell like a turd..."

Chapter Eight
Author's Note: I keep pushing back the scene I really want to do with this fic, but that's okay. I admit, I let Dark Side of Fame have priority, and this story hasn't gotten much attention lately, but I have never abandoned a story, and I don't plan on starting now. I am starting to wonder if I will ever get the boys to ride the horses, though...

Big Time Documentary

"Hey, guys, what's up?" Kendall said into the camera, having finally taken it away from James who was using it to fix his hair on screen. They were supposed to be filming a short video of the four of them doing the cowboy camp—and riding, Carlos thought excitedly—so that they could do something about the supposed damage they'd done with their concert the other day. "I'm Kendall, and this is—"

"—Logan—"

"—Carlos—"

"And James," Jame said, taking the camera away from Kendall again. Carlos grabbed it from him, turning it back on himself.

"We're Big Time Rush, and we are here at our Big Time Cowboy Camp," he said, turning the camera around to face the yard.

Kendall frowned. "Carlos, you can't call it the Big Time Cowboy Camp. This place has a name. It's a reputable business—for horse training and stuff and for the equestrian retreat. It's Heartland, not the Big Time Cowboy Camp."

Carlos looked at the camera. "Don't mind him. I think he's a bit sick of me calling the horses horsies for the past few days—I still say adults do it, too—and we're all a bit sick of the chores, but today we are actually going to ride, so that's exciting."

"Speak for yourself," Logan muttered. Carlos turned the camera back on him. Logan sighed. "Do you have any idea the kind of accidents that happen around horses? People get their legs crushed, their necks or spines broken—Remember what happened to the guy that played Superman?"

"Logan's afraid of the horses," James said, trying to take the camera back. Carlos held on firmly. "But that's okay because here, at Heartland—happy Kendall?—we have a great teacher who has started us on horses from the ground up. And we do mean the ground."

Carlos swung the camera over to the manure pile they had helped build into a giant stack, and James motioned for the camera to be back on him. He led the camera over to where Amy was filling a feed bin. She looked at the camera and then at them, and Kendall tried to give her an apologetic smile. James put his arm over her shoulder. "This is Amy Fleming. She's our teacher. Amy's been around horses all her life. You may know her from the Miracle Girl youtube video, and if you don't, check it out. She's a horse whisperer."

"Having seen Amy in action, we're all pretty stoked to work with her," Kendall added, and Carlos flipped the camera back to him. Amy was blushing, and it was probably a good thing Jo wasn't here for this bit of Kendall's. "We... kind of got ourselves into a bit of trouble with a horse, but Amy talked him down, rescued us, and we're very grateful. Amy, if you wouldn't mind talking about the work you do here at Heartland? We know it's not usually teach guys like us to ride."

"Well, sure, I guess," Amy began nervously. "I'm not that big on doing this in front of crowds."

"Just pretend the camera's not here, and you're talking to us," Kendall suggested. "Tell us about Spartan. He's like, the mascot or something around here?"

"We don't have a mascot," Amy began.

"What, Mallory doesn't count?" Ty teased, walking past her. "Or maybe Jack's truck."

She laughed. Carlos turned the camera back on himself. "That was Ty. He's the... What do you call him?"

"Stable hand," Amy answered, "and Ty is a lot more than that to Heartland. He's studying to be a vet. He's been here for three years now. He's family."

"He's her boyfriend," Kendall added. She blushed again. "Okay, Amy, back to the horses. Spartan. Or just tell us how you would get someone like Logan here to ride a horse."

"Kendall! You swore you would find a way for me not to have to do this!"

"I didn't say you were going to ride. I just asked Amy what she would do if she was going to teach you to ride, and she didn't say that she was going to use that. I gave her options."

Carlos focused the camera on Amy. She took a deep breath and looked up at the horse closest to her, Spartan. "I'd start with what you've already done, learning about the horse from the ground up. A horse isn't just about riding or jumping or racing. There is so much more to them than that. My mom, she could look at a horse and tell you what they were thinking. The shape of a horse's face can tell you a lot about their personality. The way the ears turn, the shape of the nose..."

She leaned her head against her horse for a moment, then raised her eyes to Logan. "It's good for someone who hasn't had a lot of experience with horses to get comfortable being in their company first. Cleaning the stalls, brushing them down, all of that is a part of the partnership you're forming with your horse."

"Partnership?"

"It shouldn't be a master-slave type relationship or a owner-pet one, either. The two of you are giving each other your trust," she went on. She opened the stall for Spartan and let him out. "The horse trusts you to lead, and you trust the horse not to drop you."

"Not dropping is good," Logan agreed. Amy smiled at him, but she turned back to the horse.

"What do you think, boy? You ready to get out of here?"

Spartan snorted, and Carlos thought he was nodding. Then she surprised them all by jumping up to the horse's bare back and urging him out in to the open space of the field. Carlos watched and let out a breath of wonder. "That is so cool. I want to ride."

"What is this?" Lou asked, frowning uncomfortably as a camera appeared almost right in front of her face. "Why do you have a camera? Who let you have a camera?"

"Oh, we're doing a documentary," James explained. He seemed to have recovered pretty well from yesterday, since she'd heard that he took the news about Soraya actually saying no rather badly. If Lou had been younger, she might have been tempted. She thought about the men she'd known since coming back to Heartland. Carl, her boyfriend from New York, Nick Halliwell, the expert jumper whose horse had helped save Heartland, Mark, the mountie, Peter, and of course Scott... She would probably have gone with James if it had been her. Not now, not with her complicated situation with Peter and Scott, but if she'd been Soraya...

"A documentary?"

"Kelly's afraid we got some bad press while we were 'goofing off' in the diner," Kendall explained. "So we have to do a video to show that we're really not goofing off and learning and putting not only Big Time Rush and our friends back into a good light but Heartland, too."

"Seriously, hire this guy to do your PR," James said, pointing to Kendall. "He's a fan."

"Knock it off, James. Just because you can't be in front of the camera all the time does not mean that you have to get mad every time I try to keep us on topic," Kendall said. He put his hands together. "Speaking of on topic, Amy kind of ditched us in the middle of explaining the relationship between a horse and its rider—"

"I got a really awesome shot of her riding bareback," Carlos said excitedly, and Lou folded her arms over her chest. Bareback? Really? What was Amy thinking?

"—But we no longer have a riding teacher because Ty went into town and Mallory's not here, so... Can you—"

"I am not a riding teacher. Amy does the work with the horses, not me."

"We want you to show us around the equestrian retreat," Logan said. "Tell us about the green aspect—we're very supportive of the environment. Kendall won a trip to talk to the government about being greener—because I understand that the whole renovation was made to cause a low impact on the environment."

Lou had the feeling she was in the middle of some kind of plot by four teenage boys that she should probably be worried about, but the equestrian retreat was her baby. Her plan. She'd created the concept and made it possible somehow. She was still a bit amazed that she'd been able to pull it off. She hadn't felt good about what she'd been doing around Heartland until she built the equestrian retreat, and she was proud of it. "Yes, actually. I have some pictures of the old ranch and the construction in the rooms, if you're interested."

"We are very interested," Kendall said, and she looked at him.

She stopped and faced them, putting a hand on her hip. "Really?"

"Okay, so I promised Logan he could have another day without riding if he asked you all about the logistics and science and business stuff, and James just wanted to be filmed in front of one of the cabins looking like a... what was it, lusty lumberjack?" Kendall asked, getting a nod from his friend that made him wince. "Carlos gets to run the camera, and you get some nice PR for your retreat?"

"We'll edit out this conversation later," Logan added helpfully.

Despite the confession, Lou nodded. "I'll try and make it as interesting as possible. By the way, where are the girls?"

"Kendall's mom is still pissed at him over what he and Katie did to your dad," Logan began, and Kendall glared at him. "So... when she found out about the singing and dancing in the diner the other day, she wasn't happy and took Jo and Camille with her and Katie to go shopping."

"And this is a punishment?" Lou asked. She hadn't been shopping in so long that she felt like she'd forgotten how to shop. She missed new clothes, the bustle of New York, the craziness of sales.

"It is for Katie because she hates shopping with my mom," Kendall began. He shuddered. "I love my mom, really, but her idea of fashion for her kids is a bit... old fashioned."

"Katie hasn't worn a dress since she was like... three, but if it was up to Mrs. Knight, that's all she would wear," James added. "Actually, Kendall, I think your sister would look less scary if she wore dresses."

"Are you sure you're not the one with the crush on my sister instead of the other way around?"

"Please, I can get girls my age. And older," James scoffed. He gave Lou a look, and she rolled her eyes.

"Guys, why are you fighting?" Carlos asked.

"I'm sorry. I'm just feeling a bit stressed," Kendall said. He rubbed his forehead like he had a headache. "Here we go. Heartland equestrian retreat film, take two."

"I think we have everything we need for the save our PR video," James said, trying to get the camera back from Carlos who had been hogging it all day. James had gotten some quality screen time, but he had wanted to make a bit of the magic behind the screen, too. "A bit of Amy with the horse, a bit of Lou with the the cabins, a lot of James Diamond looking rugged at the cabins, and we will be set. It's perfect."

"I don't know," Kendall said. "I'm starting to wonder if the stress got too much, and I caved and helped us make a video where we totally sold out again."

"I know what it needs," James said, catching sight of Jack Bartlett across the yard. He had just gotten out of his truck and was arguing "Our very own old time cowboy guide."

"What?" Kendall shook his head. "Do you realize what you're saying? That's... really selling out. All we'd have to do after that is find an Indian—"

"Native American," Logan corrected, and Kendall nodded.

"I know. I was—it was the stereotype was getting at, and we are not putting Jack in our video, okay?" Kendall said, shaking his head. James studied him for a moment. He had been acting kind of weird all day, and since when did Kendall get all concerned about what people thought about them? He was always saying that as long as they were themselves, that was all that mattered. So why had he made the whole video look like they were doing the right thing all the time? Where were the four of them acting like themselves? Why was it some great infomercial for Heartland? And if it was, why did he object to using the old cowboy?

"I know what it is," James said, surprised as it dawned on him. "You've gone native."

"What?"

"That's why you won't put Marlboro Man in our video. You've gone soft. Native. You like these people."

"I don't want to try and put Jack—who is not the Marlboro Man, by the way. I think that dubious honor goes the sleazy guy who hit on my mom—in my video because he scares me," Kendall had that look on his face, the have you used too much hair spray today and let the fumes go to your brain look. James didn't care. Proper hold was important, and he would never sacrifice quality to preserve quantity. Or something like that. He'd have to ask Logan which was which again later. "I have not gone native."

"Oh, yeah, and what are those?" James asked, pointing to Kendall's feet. That were not normal Kendall Knight issue footwear. In fact, they looked a lot like the type that James had seen worn by a certain cowboy bad boy that they'd all be scared of at first. The same cowboy bad boy that Kendall had apparently made friends with.

"Cowboy boots?" Logan demanded. "You have gone to the dark side! No wonder you were trying to talk Amy into getting me to ride earlier!"

"The boots were a gift. From Jo. She saw them at the store and decided I had to have them, and I wore them because she got them for me. Also because Ty said it was better to have boots instead of regular shoes when scooping out the stalls, and I have to say, I agree. I never want to see my socks from our first day doing that again. And there's nothing wrong with liking these people. They're nice people who have been pretty darn patient with us."

"Because they're being paid to be patient," Logan added, and James nodded in agreement.

"Are you sure you're not afraid of your mom really getting into this Marlboro Man because you'd actually like to stay here?"

"Do you see a pool here? Anywhere? Is this our room with the swirly slide? I miss Minnesota. I miss LA. This is a nice enough place, but I don't want to live here," Kendall said, gesturing again to the ranch all around them. The sun had just started to set, and the yellow fields in the distance looked like they were on fire. He took a deep breath. "All right, fine. You want a genuine cowboy in our video?"

James exchanged a look with Logan. That was not the good I have a plan look Kendall got when he was about to plot them out of trouble or into trouble. That was the kind of I have a plan and you're all going to pay for this look that came out on days like their prank war. This was going to be bad.

"No, wait, Kendall!" James called after him. "We didn't mean it!"