Jakeville USA

FADE IN:

COLD OPEN

INT. MUSIC STUDIO - DAY

The studio is dark except for the production booth.

Paintings and posters of music legend JAKE WILSON cover the

walls. The posters show a young Jake with a pompadour

haircut; a middle-aged, more distinguished Jake; and an older

Jake with a ponytail and beard.

Jake's country music plays overhead.

A poker table sits in one corner of the room. A small

refrigerator sits in another corner. Guitars, pianos,

microphones and stools are scattered around the room.

HARPER WILSON, a 30 year old beauty and Jake's daughter,

sits in the production booth reading a contract. She wears

business attire and her hair in a bun. She marks a line out

of the contract with a pen and jots something down.

HARPER

It's a good thing I'm here to

take care of you, Daddy. This

contract is a joke.

She marks another line out of the contract and shakes her

head in frustration.

RYAN BAINES, 23 year old nephew of Jake's, walks into the

studio carrying two 8 X 10's of Jake. He grins from ear to

ear. Harper smiles at him.

HARPER

What's up?

RYAN

Nothin'. I might get lucky tonight.

Two girls want Jake's autograph.

You got a pen so I can sign 'em?

HARPER

You know that's forgery.

RYAN

I write his signature better than

he does.

Harper hands Jake a pen. Ryan signs the photos.

2.

HARPER

Have you seen Daddy? I need to

go over this contract with him.

RYAN

He's down on the set.

HARPER

What's he doin' there?

RYAN

Watchin' 'em film.

HARPER

Film? We don't have anything

scheduled for today.

RYAN

He must've forgot to tell you.

HARPER

What are they filming? A

commercial?

RYAN

No.

HARPER

I hope it's not a music video.

Allyson Kraus wrecked the place

last time she filmed here. It

took us two weeks to get the set

back in shape.

RYAN

It's not a music video.

HARPER

Don't tell me it's a student film.

Ryan shakes his head no.

HARPER

Well, what is it?

RYAN

A reality tv show.

Harper is shocked. She stomps out of the production booth

and heads out the door.

HARPER

What? Reality tv? No way. That

is not happening on my watch.

3.

ACT ONE

INT. OLD WEST SALOON - DAY

The saloon is a typical old west bar. A mirror lines the

wall of the bar. A piano sits in one corner. Several round

tables with wooden chairs sit in the middle of the room. A

staircase lines one wall. A balcony looks down over the

saloon.

Several "COWBOYS", dressed in jeans, boots, vests and cowboy

hats, are fighting and hitting each other over the head with

bottles. CAMERAMEN film the action.

Harper stands in the doorway and watches. Jake walks over

to her and kisses her on the cheek. He wears shorts, sandals,

cowboy hat and his hair pulled back into a long ponytail;

the ultimate cowboy hippie.

HARPER

What the heck, Daddy? When did

this come about?

Jake shush's her.

JAKE

A few months ago. I forgot to

tell you.

HARPER

You always forget, daddy. This

is a huge liability. If someone

gets hurt we could be sued.

JAKE

I signed a contract that says

we're not responsible.

HARPER

Did you read the contract?

JAKE

No. But I trust them. They're

good people.

Two cowboys fight on the balcony overhead. A tall, handsome

cowboy, CHRIS JOHNS, swings and hits the other cowboy, BEN

HAYGOOD; a thin, frail young man. BEN flips over the railing

and lands on the ground below. A CAMERAMAN runs over to him

to get a close-up shot.

Harper GASPS when BEN lands on the ground. Chris looks over

the railing and LAUGHS.

4.

CHRIS

(in a thick New York

accent)

Sorry about that, bud.

Chris runs down the stairs as a cameraman follows him.

HARPER

See?

JAKE

He can't sue. It's part of his

contract with the show.

Jake walks over to Ben and bends down to shake his hand.

Ben smiles at Jake.

Chris reaches his hand out to Ben; Ben ignores him.

CHRIS

Sorry about that, little guy.

The other contestants surround Ben.

COWBOY #1

You weren't supposed to hit him.

Stunt men don't actually hit each

other, you know that.

COWGIRL CONTESTANT

Why did they give us lessons if

you aren't going to do what they

taught us?

COWBOY #1

He's had it in for Ben ever since

he found out Ben was a jazz dancer.

COWGIRL CONTESTANT

Yeah. You're jealous that he won

the last two challenges.

CHRIS

I am not. He's not a threat to

me. I can't help it if he can't

handle a little tap on the cheek.

COWBOY #2

A tap on the cheek? Look at him.

Ben's cheek is swollen and turning blue.

5.

JAKE

He's fine.

(to Ben)

Can you get up, tough guy?

Ben struggles to sit up. Jake takes his hand and pulls him up.

Ben stands...brushes himself off...stumbles. Cowboy #2 grabs

a chair and scoots it underneath Ben. Ben sits in the chair.

JAKE

That's it. See, he's fine.

CHRIS

Hey, man. I'm sorry about that.

It was an accident.

Ben and Chris shake hands. Ben is a little cockeyed, but fine.

A producer, LARRY PRIDE, walks over to calm things down.

LARRY

You okay, Ben?

(yells out to the crew)

Somebody get him some water.

BEN

Yeah, I think so.

LARRY

That's enough footage for today.

Let's go break for lunch and then

we'll do one-on-one's.

COWGIRL CONTESTANT

Don't even think about eating

with us, Chris.

CHRIS

What's your problem? It's only a

game.

A CAMERAMAN films the conversation.

COWBOY #1

You don't take anything seriously.

COWGIRL CONTESTANT

It's more than a game to some of

us. It's our lives.

6.

CHRIS

Whatever. Your lives? You're a

spoiled little rich girl from

Chicago. You're only on the show

because you wanna be famous.

COWBOY #1

You hurt the guy, Chris.

CHRIS

He's fine. What's the big deal?

Ben and the other contestants walk out the door, leaving

Chris behind. He looks around and sees Harper glaring at him.

CHRIS

Wow. Why the face?

Harper walks up the stairs as Chris watches her. He

obviously likes what he see.

Harper looks down at the broken railing.

HARPER

He fell a good 15 feet, daddy.

JAKE

That was a heckuva fall.

HARPER

More repairs that we can't afford.

JAKE

Eugene can fix it.

CHRIS

I should fix it. I'm the one

that broke it.

HARPER

Why can't we have a shoot here

where nothin' gets broken?

CHRIS

It's an easy fix. That's what I

do for a livin'. I work

construction. In New York City.

I've worked on skyscrapers.

Harper isn't impressed and ignores him.

HARPER

How much are they payin' you to

shoot here?

7.

JAKE

That's not important.

HARPER

Are they payin' you our base rate

of fifteen hundred dollars a day?

JAKE

It's not about the money. It's

about the exposure.

HARPER

Exposure?

JAKE

It's great publicity. They're

doing an interview with me and

I'm going to give a tour of the

place.

HARPER

A little camera time is all you

need, huh, daddy? Who cares if

they demolish the place?

Harper walks down the stairs. Jake meets her at the bottom

step and takes her hand.

JAKE

I'm sorry. From now on, you're

in charge.

HARPER

I'm tryin' to help you. I can't

if you refuse to let me.

JAKE

I know. You're the boss.

Chris watches Jake and Harper as they walk out of the saloon.

He walks over to the broken railing on the ground and picks

it up. He looks around and smiles.

INT. DINING ROOM - DAY

The room is large with long picnic tables down the middle of

the room. A buffet table is at one ed of the room and a stage

is at the other end of the room. The reality Show contestants

and crew are lined up at the buffet, filling their plates.

Jake, Harper, Bryan, and EUGENE (a 65 year old homeless man

that Jake took under his wing) sit at a table eating barbecue.

8.

EUGENE

It shouldn't take much to fix it.

I'll work on it after lunch.

JAKE

You can wait until tomorrow. I

think the reality show wants more

footage of the broken railing.

Chris walks over to the table carrying a plate of food and a

glass of tea.

CHRIS

You mind if I sit here?

Harper shakes her head no and opens her mouth to say no, but

Jake beats her to an answer.

JAKE

Sure. Have a seat. The more the

merrier.

CHRIS

Thanks.

(to Jake)

I'm a huge fan.

JAKE

Thanks.

CHRIS

I'm from New York, but I was

raised on country music. My

favorite song of yours is " Woman,

Don't Preach to Me When I'm Tryin'

to Love on Ya."

JAKE

I wrote that one for my first

wife. She was a Southern Baptist.

EUGENE

That's a good one.

CHRIS

And my dad's favorite was "I Fell

In Love When I Saw You Naked."

JAKE

My second wife was a stripper.

(to Eugene)

This is the man that broke your

railing, Eugene.

9.

Eugene shakes Chris's hand.

EUGENE

Nice to meet you.

CHRIS

Nice to meet you, too. I hear

you're the fix-it man around here.

EUGENE

Yeah. I guess you could say that.

I built this whole town.

CHRIS

You? How long has it taken you

to build it?

EUGENE

I've been workin' for Jake for

the past 12 years. The first

thing I built was this old barn.

JAKE

We renovated it and turned it

into a kitchen and buffet when we

realized there wasn't anywhere

for the film crews to cool off

and eat. It was Harper's idea.

CHRIS

Wow, beautiful and smart.

EUGENE

You ain't kiddin'. It was her

idea to add the showers and the

big bathrooms, too.

JAKE

And the stage. That way we can

rent it out for parties. She's

always thinkin' of ways to make

money.

CHRIS

Impressive. Are you married?

Harper frowns.

RYAN

No, she's not. She hasn't been

out on a date since she's been

here. That's been a nearly a year.

10.

JAKE

She's been at college earning her

master's degree.

CHRIS

If I lived here I'd ask you out.

You're just my type of girl.

HARPER

I'm sure everyone you've dated

has had their master's.

RYAN

Their masters in drinkin' and

partyin', maybe.

Everyone at the table LAUGHS.

CHRIS

Once you got to know me, you'd

love me. Women can't say no to

old Chrissy.

HARPER

Well, we don't have to worry about

that, 'cuz I ain't gonna get to

know ya.

Harper stands and picks up her plate and cup of tea.

JAKE

You leavin'?

HARPER

I've got work to do.

Harper kisses Jake on the cheek.

HARPER

See you at the studio. Vicky

Joy's coming to record at two.

Harper walks over to the trash can, dumps her plate and walks

out the door as the men at the table watch her.

CHRIS

How did you manage to have such

an uptight daughter?

11.

JAKE

She's like her mama. Takes a

while to find the soft center,

but it's there. You just gotta

find a way to melt the hard

exterior.

CHRIS

Hard is right.

JAKE

Darlene and I will be celebrating

our 30th anniversary this year.

She's my inspiration. Without

her I'm just a dried up old

musician with a banged up old

guitar.

RYAN

And millions of dollars in the bank.

The men LAUGH.

EUGENE

I'm gonna start tearing out the

floor in that old jail cell today.

JAKE

When we get that done more

Westerns will want to film here.

RYAN

Yep, you can't make a good Western

without a jail.

CHRIS

You gonna do it all by yourself?

EUGENE

I've done everything else by myself.

JAKE

You know you have plenty of help

when you need it.

EUGENE

I know. It just sounds better

when I say I built it alone.

Two young female crew members, twins, wearing jeans and tshirts and walkie-talkies approach the table. They giggle

and grin as they talk to Jake.

12.

FEMALE CREW MEMBER #1

Hi, Mr. Wilson.

JAKE

Hi.

FEMALE CREW MEMBER #1

I hope you don't mind us coming

over to meet you.

FEMALE CREW MEMBER #2

We're huge fans.

JAKE

Why, thank you, ladies. Have you

met my nephew, Ryan? He runs the

gift shop.

RYAN

It's nice to meet you. If you

wanna come have a beer when you're

done taping, you can stop by my

condo. It's just up the road a

piece.

FEMALE CREW MEMBER #1

We'd love to.

RYAN

I love twins.

JAKE

Don't we all?

FEMALE CREW MEMBER #2

So, has Chris been telling you

any of his conspiracy theories?

CHRIS

No.

FEMALE CREW MEMBER #1

Tell him your theories, Chris.

FEMALE CREW MEMBER #2

That's why he's on the show. He's

the "crazy" one.

FEMALE CREW MEMBER #1

You'd think he'd be the "hunky"

one, but he's the "nutty" one.

The hunk got kicked off last week.

13.

CHRIS

Do you girls mind? We were having

a nice conversation.

FEMALE CREW MEMBER #2

(to Jake)

Mr. Wilson, ask him his theory on

nine-eleven.

CHRIS

Why you gotta bring that up now?

JAKE

You got a theory on nine-eleven?

EUGNE

Lots of folks do. Some say that

George Bush himself had it blown

up to give him an excuse to go to

war.

RYAN

And some people say Sadaam Hussein

didn't have nothin' to do with it.

Can you believe that? What's

your theory, Chris?

CHRIS

I have proof that Donald Trump

had the World Trade Center

demolished because it was blocking

the view from his penthouse.

Jake, Ryan and the girls LAUGH.

CHRIS (CON'T)

Don't laugh. When you see the

proof it makes perfect sense.

EUGENE

Makes sense to me. Trump's always

been a little shady.

Larry's voice comes over Female Crew Member #1's walkie talkie.

PRODUCER (VO)

Five minutes. We need the whole

cast and crew back to the set in

five minutes.

Chris stands and picks up his plate and cup. The two female

crew members rush off.

14.

CHRIS

Gotta run. Wish me luck. I'm not

ready to get booted off.

JAKE, RYAN, AND EUGENE

Good luck.

Chris walks over to the trash can and throw his trash away.

JAKE

He's a goner.

RYAN

Yep.

ACT TWO

INT. MUSIC STUDIO + DAY

Harper sits at the poker table staring at her laptop. Her

hair is down, revealing long, flowing hair. Her friend,

VICKY JOY (a country comedian with a body like Dolly Parton

and a sense of humor like Minnie Pearl) drinks a beer and

shuffles some cards.

HARPER

I wish daddy would take me

seriously.

VICKY JOY

Oh, he does, honey. He just has

a lousy way of showin' it.

(looks at her watch)

I guess we ain't recordin' today.

HARPER

A reality show. Of all things

for him to let film here. And

they aren't even paying him.

VICKY JOY

I've opened for your daddy for

thirty years. He's got a big

heart and people take advantage

of that. He thinks he's doing a

good deed by letting them film

for free.

HARPER

I know. But those reality shows

make a killin'. They pay the

contestants next to nothin' and

they don't have writers to pay.

They could afford to rent this

place, believe me.

15.

VICKY JOY

Hey, you wanna go out with us

tomorrow night? We're going to

the Kill and Grill. Hondo shot a

hog last night out at the lease.

HARPER

No, thanks.

VICKY JOY

I tell you what, the Kill and

Grill is the best idea your

daddy's had in years.

HARPER

Yeah. Low overhead.

VICKY JOY

Go with us. We'll have plenty of

meat.

(beat)

I've been thinkin' of a good radio

spot for it.

(in a countrified

voice)

Do you get tired of cookin' the

same old meat? Do you ever wish

you could sit back and let someone

else cook your hubby's last kill?

Do you get tired of finding

bullets in your venison? Well

come on out to the Kill and Grill.

Let us cook your deer while you

sit and relax with your dear.

You kill it, we grill it!

HARPER

It's good. Needs a little work,

but it's a start.

(beat)

You wanna hang out to see who

gets kicked off the reality show?

I'm hoping it's this yankee guy.

VICKY JOY

A yankee, huh?

HARPER

Yes. From New York.

VICKY JOY

New York? I bet he feels like a

fish out of water.

16.

The door opens. Chris walks in carrying 2 sheets of plywood.

He doesn't see Harper or Vicky Joy sitting at the poker table.

He sets the plywood against the wall.

He notices the posters and paintings of Jake on the wall. He

looks at the photos and WHISTLES when he sees a poster of

Jake and Elvis Presley together.

HARPER

May I help you?

Chris, startled, turns to see the women.

CHRIS

Um, no. Eugene asked me to bring some plywood over.

VICKY JOY

Well, ain't you too handsome for words?

HARPER

This is the guy I was telling you about.

Chris shakes Vicky Joy's hand.

VICKY JOY

You can kiss it if you want.

Chris kisses Vicky Joy's hand.

VICKY JOY

Nice lips. What's your name, honey?

CHRIS

Chris Johns. Nice to meet you , Ma'am.

(to Joylyn)

Do you know how lucky you are to

live in a place like this?

Surrounded by history and music.

And your dad. He's the coolest cat I've ever met.

HARPER

A little too cool sometimes.

CHRIS

It's like meeting Jesus or

something. He's so wise. I could

listen to him talk all day. And

he smells like incense.

17.

VICKY JOY

That ain't incense you're smellin',

honey.

Harper and Vicky Joy LAUGH.

VICKY JOY (CON'T)

Has he told you any of his dirty

jokes? That man loves a good

dirty joke.

CHRIS

No, but he gives good advice. He

told me that our souls search

each other out and that we meet

who we're supposed to meet when

we're supposed to meet them.

VICKY JOY

That's one of his favorite things

to pass along. That and "if the

door hits you in the behind when

you leave, it's a sign you need

to lose weight."

HARPER

(to Chris)

Don't you need to go jump off a

building or something?

CHRIS

No, we're done competing for the

day. We vote at dusk. They wanna

get a shot of the sunset when

whoever loses drives away. I hope

it's not me.

VICKY JOY

You'll do fine, darlin'. What's

the grand prize?

CHRIS

A hundred thousand dollars and a

job as a stuntman for a major

motion picture.

VICKY JOY

I'll keep my fingers crossed for ya.

HARPER

Is that it? If so, you can leave.

Chris walks over to Harper. He squats down in front of her.

18.

CHRIS

You ain't foolin' nobody. I see

that glint in your eyes when you

look at me. You know as well as

I do that deep down inside you're

attracted to me.

HARPER

There is no glint in my eye.

Harper looks away.

CHRIS

Face it. Our souls have found

each other.

HARPER

My soul has not been looking for

a two-bit reality show contestant.

Chris reaches out and takes a lock of her hair into his hand.

CHRIS

You took your hair down just for

me, didn't you? You wanted me to

see your soft side.

HARPER

No, I took it down because I

always take my hair down in the

afternoon.

Harper kicks him in the knee.

HARPER (CON'T)

You need to back off before I

have you and the whole production

kicked off of our property.

CHRIS

Sorry. I didn't mean to rustle

your feathers.

Chris stands and straightens his clothes.

VICKY JOY

Honey, you can ruffle my feathers

anytime.

Chris LAUGHS and bows before he walks out of the room.

19.

VICKY JOY (CON'T)

The world's greatest stuntman?

More like the world's sexiest

stuntman. He's hot.

HARPER

Oh, you're just a horny old biddy,

Vicky Joy.

VICKY JOY

Yeah, but I got good taste.

INT. OLD WEST SALOON - NIGHT

The reality show contestants all sit on the stairs in the

saloon. They wear western clothes, and all have obviously

showered and shaved.

Ben and the Cowgirl Contestant sit on the front step, two

more contestants sit on the next step, Cowboy Contestant #1

sits on the next step alone and Chris sits on the step behind

him.

The host of the show, JOSH HURLEY, wears a cowboy hat, jeans

and boots. He talks towards a camera.

JOSH

Who will be the world's next

greatest stuntman?

(beat)

Who will go home tonight?

(beat)

Will gruff New Yorker, Chris, be

the next one to leave or will it

be gentle Ben?

(beat)

It's up to our contestants to

decide who will be the World's

Greatest Stuntman. We'll find out

after these messages.

Larry walks over to Josh and pats him on the back.

LARRY

That was great, Josh. Now let's

get the cameras on the contestants'

faces. We need close ups on Ben

and Chris, guys.

Four camera men scurry over in front of the stairs.

20.

LARRY

(to the contestants)

Now we need it to be dramatic

guys. It's all about conflict.

You know the drill.

Jake, Harper, Ryan, Vicky Joy and Eugene sit on the bar and

watch.

RYAN

Who do you think is gonna get

kicked off?

HARPER

I hope it's Chris.

VICKY JOY

Not me. I hope it's the girl.

Girls shouldn't be stuntmen. It

ain't lady-like.

EUGENE

I think it'll be that sissy, Ben.

RYAN

He wears eye makeup.

JAKE

You saw it?

RYAN

Yep. It was a little smeared

earlier.

VICKY JOY

He'll lose. You can't be a

stuntman and wear girlie makeup.

HARPER

I hate these shows. It's not like

they pulled the contestants off a

movie set and they're having a

real best stuntman in the world

contest. Whoever wins might do

one stunt in a low budget film

and then he'll be tossed to the

wayside.

JAKE

Bobby Joe Royal is the best stunt

man in the world. He stunted for

John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Burt

Reynolds, and...

21.

HARPER

We know, daddy. For you.

JAKE

He is the best there ever was.

RYAN

Was the best. He's in his

seventies now, ain't he? It's

hard to be a stuntman when you're

using a walker.

JAKE

Very funny.

EUGENE

Or when your prostate's

malfunctioning and you gotta pee

every five minutes.

Larry stands on a table and YELLS.

LARRY

Okay, this is it. One shot, guys.

We're going to do the vote and

then we'll film the loser getting

on the stagecoach. We'll need a

camera on the stagecoach to get

his final reaction.

CHRIS

Why do you assume it's going to

be a guy?

Harper looks out the window to see a stage coach.

HARPER

A stagecoach, daddy? I suppose

you're letting them use that for

free, too?

Jake shrugs his shoulders.

JAKE

Shhh. They're ready to shoot.

LARRY

Quiet on the set.

RYAN

I always thought the director

said that.

22.

JAKE

He's producing and directing.

Josh stands in front of the contestant and looks into the

camera.

JOSH

After an eventful day here at

Jake Wilson's Ugly Cowboy Saloon,

we're about to find out who will

be sent home.

(beat)

Ben, tell us who you feel should

be sent home and why.

The cameraman gets a close up of Ben's swollen cheek and

bruised eye. Ben takes off his cowboy hat and turns it over

to reveal a card that says "Chris".

BEN

I think Chris should be sent home.

Look at what he did to me. He's

a horrible man.

The Cowgirl Contestant removes her hat from her head, flips

it over to reveal another card that says "Chris".

COWGIRL CONTESTANT

I vote for Chris, too. He's a

bully.

COWBOY CONTESTANT #2

My vote is for Chris. Not because

of what he did to Ben, but because

he couldn't get the timing down

right on his punches. They looked

fake.

CHRIS

This is a conspiracy. They've

all gotten together and decided

to boot me.

Chris snatches the hat off of the contestant in front of him

and yanks the card out.

CHRIS

Chris. Again. See? Not one of

you thinks that I should stay.

Do you really think that Ben is a

better stuntman than I am?

23.

COWGIRL CONTESTANT

Well, he did fall fifteen feet

and survived.

CHRIS

I'm off the show. Am I right?

You all voted me out? It was a

conspiracy from the get go.

JOSH

The rest of you can turn your

hats over.

All of the hats have Chris's name in them. Chris takes his

hat off and throws it in the air. He stands up and makes

his way past the other contestants; down the stairs.

JOSH

Chris, I guess you know what this

means? You are not the world's

greatest stuntman. You need to

take your knee pads and your elbow

pads and go home.

Chris and Josh shake hands.

JOSH

You can make your way to the

stagecoach.

All of the contestants follow Chris and wave as Chris heads

out the door and towards the stagecoach.

Chris steps onto the stagecoach and shuts the door.

CHRIS

See ya later, suckers!

The stagecoach speeds away into the sunset as the contestants

hug each other and LAUGH.

Chris sticks his head out the stagecoach window and yells.

CHRIS

New York, here I come!

Larry shakes Josh's hand as they watch the stagecoach drive

away.

Jake and Harper watch out the windows as the cameramen gather

around the other contestants to get their reactions.

JAKE

I feel sorry for the guy.

24.

HARPER

He was a nut.

VICKY JOY

I think you two would've made a

cute couple. The lovin' you

could've had. What a waste.

Harper swats Vicky Joy's behind and they LAUGH.

JAKE

Who's up for some poker?

ACT THREE

INT. MUSIC STUDIO - NIGHT

Harper, Jake, Eugene and Ryan walk into the studio. They

are surprised to see HONDO, Jake's bus driver and friend of

30 years; and Chris sitting at the poker table. Chris is

dressed in a tight T-shirt and jeans.

HONDO

Look what I found on my way to

the poker game.

Jake walks over and shakes Hondo's hand and then shakes

Chris's.

JAKE

Hey, welcome back.

CHRIS

I decided to take you up on your

offer.

JAKE

Great. Welcome to Jakeville, USA.

We're glad to have ya.

HARPER

What offer?

CHRIS

I'm workin' for your dad, now.

HARPER

No, you're not.

JAKE

Yes, he is. He's gonna help

Eugene out around the set. The

sooner we get it built, the sooner

we can make money off of it.

25.

Hondo shuffles the cards. Ryan, Eugene and Jake take a seat

at the poker table.

HARPER

We can't afford another salary,

daddy. We're barely making

payroll as it is.

JAKE

That's a bunch of bull and you

know it. I have more money than I

know what to do with. Paying a

good man a decent wage is always

a good investment.

HARPER

Ryan and Hondo can help Eugene.

We don't need to hire another hand.

JAKE

Ryan manages the gift shop and

Hondo's gettin' the bus ready for

the tour. You know that.

HARPER

But...

JAKE

It's done, Harper. Now, let me

enjoy my poker game. Chris, you

deal.

Chris winks at Jake.

CHRIS

I believe you're right, Jake.

I'm where I'm supposed to be at

this moment in time. I was

brought here for a reason.

Chris deals the cards as Harper glares at Jake. She heads

out the door as Vicky Joy walks in.

VICKY JOY

The hunkster left his hat.

Vicky Joy hands Harper Chris's cowboy hat as they pass.

VICKY JOY (CON'T)

Where ya goin', darlin'? Ain't

you gonna play cards?

Harper doesn't answer.

26.

INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT

Harper steps into the hallway...shuts the door behind

her...leans against it and frowns.

VICKY JOY(OS)

New York! You're back. Hondo, I

see you met the hottie of the

reality show.

RYAN (OS)

Don't you mean the loser of the

show?

Harper can hear them LAUGHING.

JAKE (OS)

I hope you boys from New York know how to play Texas Hold 'Em.

Harper touches a lock of her hair...puts Chris's hat on...and

walks away smiling.

FADE OUT