Sidney and Mr.
Wiggins pulled up out front of our house at nine on the dot. We
were pleasantly surprise when Sidney’s dad got out of the huge Humvee
as well. He and Mr. Wiggins were all dressed in Western clothes
with boots and hats, and so was our little buddy. Damned if he
didn’t look sharp. It was obvious his trainer knew how to dress
like a cowboy and taught Sidney Junior the same. Mr. Wainright is
almost as an imposing man as Mr. Wiggins; however, Mr. Wiggins is about
half a foot taller than Sidney’s dad. They made a fine looking
pair of cowboys together. They both are strongly masculine,
ruggedly good looking men. Dwayne and I got to Sidney first.
“Damn, little
buddy, you look almost good enough to eat!” Dwayne laughed.
“He ain’t lying,
Sid, you look hot!” I hugged him next.
“Mr.
Wainright! Mr. Wiggins! Pleasure to see you gentlemen
again!” Dwayne was shaking their hands and I followed. Damn, I
wondered if Dwayne got hard shaking Mr. Wiggins hand. I looked
over an sure enough, my bubba was at full salute. I couldn’t help
but giggle.
“S’all right,
Son,” smiled Mr. Wainright, “he has that effect on a lot of
folks. Damn, Sticker,” he laughed, “we can’t take you
no wheres.” Mr. Wiggins broke up at Mr. Wainright. After
years of living closely with Sticker Wiggins, Sidney Wainright gave up
trying to talk proper English around his own. He found it much
more comfortable to lapse into his native tongue: Texas speak.
“Gentlemen,—
welcome!” my dad exclaimed coming down the front steps. He
shook hands all around but stopped to look at Sidney. He held him
at arms length, looked him up and down, and turned to me. “Pack a
bag, Case, I’m trading you to Mr. Wainright for this here,
cowboy!” Everyone broke up laughing. Sidney was in
love. He threw his arms around my old man and hugged him
close. He had no immunities against my dad’s outrageous
affections. “Come in, gentlemen! C’mon in,— sit,—
visit a’ spell! Glad to have ya.’ We live in the same damn
community, but I don’t git to see nearly enough of you men.”
“We feel the
same, Vince.” said Mr. Wainright as they followed dad into our
house. “It’s always a pleasure when we do get together, though.”
Mr. Wiggins was
lingering behind with us. That was fine with Dwayne and me.
We had school boy crushes on him big time, but we didn’t care and
obviously Mr. Wiggins was enjoying our attentions.
“You men gonna’
win Division this year?”
“We hope so, Mr.
Wiggins. Me’n my brother here, we figure we’re gonna’ be a pretty
hard team to beat with him as quarterback and me receiver. Hope
you’ll be there to cheer us on, Sir.” said Dwayne.
‘Or anything
else you might like to do for us.’ I thought wickedly to
myself. I swear, Sidney could read my thoughts, shot me a raised
eyebrow, and I couldn’t help but giggle like a school boy. Sidney
laughed at me. Mr. Wiggins wasn’t a stupid man and picked up on
our exchange. He dropped one of his huge arms over my shoulder
and pulled me close.
“And,— as for
you, Mr. Longhorn,—” he said in a booming bass voice, “I
been hear’n some good things about chu.’ Hear'd you been look’n
out for our boy here. Laughed my cowboy butt off when Logan told
me what you said to Gary Peacock.”
“Logan, Mr.
Wiggins?” I asked him.
“Yeah, ‘at’s
what I call him most of the time to keep him and his dad
separate. His third name is ‘Loganbotham.’ I jes’ dropped
the ‘botham’ out of it.”
For some reason
that struck me as funny and I laughed, so did Dwayne and Sidney.
We got to the
kitchen, the two men sat down and dad got coffee for them. He
went to town early that morning and bought a variety of fresh donuts
and sweet rolls,— enough for everyone. Us boys grabbed a donut
and a cup of coffee and headed up to my room to talk. We wanted
to let the men have time to themselves.
“Gees, Casey,
this is a great old house. It’s huge. How many bedrooms
does it have?” Sidney asked.
“Let’s see,
there’s four downstairs and six upstairs. It was built for a
large family, no doubt. Dad and I use one of the bedrooms
downstairs as an entertainment center. He uses one for a ranch
office. I have my bedroom and use another room at the end of the
hall to keep all my junk in. We don’t even use the other
bedrooms.”
“We’re so glad
you could come spend the day with us, little buddy.” Dwayne told him.
“You ain’t
gonna’ get chore’ nice clothes all messed up if’n we get to building,
are you?” I asked concerned.
“I brought some
older, work clothes with me. I’ll get them out of Mr. Wiggins’
truck before they leave. I didn’t have to do too much talking to
get Mr. Wiggins to come in. My dad insisted on coming. I
thought, at first, he was being his overprotective self and wanted to
check out everything; but, that wasn’t it. Come to find out, he
has a deep fondness for your dad, Case, I never knew about. He
came specifically to visit your dad.”
“Yeah, dad
surprised the hell out a’ me, too. He said a few things that made
me think they knew each other pretty well.” * * * * * * *
“So, Vince,
how’s the ranch coming along?” Sidney asked.
“Casey and I
made better profits this year than the last three put together.
If things keep going like they are we’re even gonna’ do better next
year.”
“Damn glad to
hear it!” allowed Mr. Wainright.
“Ya’ got a nice
place, here, Vince. It feels down right homey, comfortable like a
home should.” Sticker told my dad.
“Thanks,
Sticker, coming from you that’s quite a compliment. You men been
doing all right?”
“Oh,
yeah,—” Sticker took a deep breath, let out a sigh, leaned back
in his chair, locked his hands behind his neck, stretched out his long
legs and crossed his boots, “I keep hoping ole Sid here’s, gonna’
make an honest man out a’ me one a’ these days, but he’s still a bit
shy to the bridle after almost twelve years together.”
Dad almost fell
off his chair laughing at Sticker’s blatant honesty and terrible
pun. Mr. Wainright had a big smile and a smirk on his face.
“Shame on you,
Sid, making a fine cowboy like Sticker live in sin!” They shared
another laugh.
“That’s just the
problem. I think Sticker would settle for living in sin. Ain’t
none a’ Sticker’s fault,— it’s mine. I just can’t seem to get
over the stigma.”
“What
stigma? Two men love’n each other? Ain’t nobody’s business
but chore’ own. Stigmas be damned! I know that’s easy for
me to say, but it ain’t so easy for some folks. My advice, Sid,—
jump in the pool with ole Sticker here,— the water’s jes’ gotta’ be
fine.”
They all shared
another laugh.
“Well, I jes’
might, one a’ these days. I sure as hell think about it a
lot. We have a rule around the place we can walk around naked if
we want to. It’s just us men most of the time when help ain’t
there in the evenings. I wanted to expose Sidney to men being
naked, not being ashamed of his own body or being shy around other
men. Well, that’s all well and good, but I never counted on
getting an erection ever’ damn time I see my hired hand here, in the
raw.” Sidney threw back his head and laughed. “So
something’s gotta’ be going on with me. I told him to give me a
little more time. I'm sure it won't be long before he breaks me
to the halter.” The three men laughed again.
“Well, I done
told ‘em, I’ll stay a virgin until he decided. Ain’t many men can
claim to be a virgin to both sexes at thirty-eight years old, but I
am. Ain’t ashamed of it, though. I’m told I’m a fairly
decent look’n cowboy, but the opportunity jes’ ain’t never presented
itself. I ain’t never gone out and beat no bushes none for it
neither. However, me’n my right hand here,— ” Sticker held
up his right hand, “we’re awful damn close. We be on a
first name basis.” Sticker roared with laughter.
“I ain’t much
better, Sticker. If’n it weren’t for my boy taking pity on his
old man now and again, I’d be in the same boat.” Dad responded.
“You have a
remarkable relationship with your boy, Vince, and I for one have no
problem with it. I’ve learned a lot from you and seeing how you
and Casey relate. I think Casey’s one of the finest, most stable
young men in our community. On top of all that, you taught him
how to give of himself and how to love. What greater treasure
could any man ask from his father.”
“Amen to that,
brother!” Sticker strongly added.
“Thanks,
gentlemen. I appreciate that. I know it comes from your
heart.” Dad replied.
“Do you know
what’s going on with them boys, Vince? My boy ain’t been able to
talk to me or Sticker in weeks without mentioning your boy and his
brother. We’re beginning to think Dwayne really might be Casey’s
brother. We’s jes’ wondering if you know anything about what’s going
on.”
“Yeah, I do,
Sid,— not only do the boys think the world of your boy they’re
including him in their lives more and more. They had a dream
several nights ago; separate dreams, same subject, about chore’
boy. He was a’ helping them with some’um they’s going through
that’s really bad for ‘em right now, but they couldn’t tell in their
dreams what it was Sidney was a’ helping them with. They been
planning to git together with Sid Junior for several days, now.
They wanna’ tell him about some things to see if he can figure out what
they were dreaming about.”
Dad noticed Mr.
Wainright slowly turned to the big handsome cowboy, raised an eyebrow
and they both shook their heads.
“Something
wrong, gentlemen?”
“Naw,
Vince. Forgive us. Telling us about the boy’s dreams struck
a chord with Sticker and me, s’all. We believe in the power of
dreams, and if the boys dreamed the same dream, the same night, about
my boy, then there’s something they need from him. Believe me,—
after what them boys done for him a couple of times, he can’t wait to
help ‘em. My God, that boy’s almost driven me and Sticker
nuts. He’s told us no less than,— what Sticker,— how many
times he told us about Casey taking Gary Peacock down a notch or two
yesterday?”
“I lost count at
an even dozen.” Sticker laughed.
“Hell, nobody’s
told me a thing about it, I still don’t know.” Dad laughed.
Mr. Wainright
went on to tell dad how he found Sticker to be his wrangler for Sidney
Junior almost twelve years ago; how Sticker and Sidney communicated
through their dreams and bonded before Sidney’s dad ever met
Sticker. Dad was wowed. He knew these men well enough to
know they wouldn’t be joking about something that serious.
“Can you tell us
anymore, Vince? I’m not trying to be overprotective of my boy;
although, my wrangler here, is quick to tell me when I am. I
thank God for this man ever’ day, though; however, I think Sticker and
I agree we feel something heavy is going down.”
“Well, seeing as
how they’re bringing your boy on board with all this, h’it would be
irresponsible of me not to tell you what’s going on. As a parent,
I would certainly wanna’ know. I have no doubt you two men will
keep this to yourselves. I’ve know’d you too long and know the
kind of men you are. I would trust you men with my greatest
treasure, and that would be my boy.”
“We feel that
same about you, Vince. I told Sidney as long as he’s with you and
your boys he can stay over here as long as he wants, but to let you
know he needs to be home before his curfew of ten o’clock if he ain’t
gonna’ stay the night.”
“No
problem. We’ll git ‘em there on time.”
Dad went on to
describe what was going on in the Dunbar household. The more he
told the more upset he could see the big cowboy was getting until he
had to stop for a minute for Sticker to get himself together.
Sidney Wainright couldn’t believe what he was hearing, but he listened
to every word in a stoic manner.
“I never did
like that pompous son of a bitch!” Sticker barked wiping away a
tear.
“Please,— go on,
Vince. It hurts to hear it, but we need to get over the shock to
help the boys.”
“You’re
absolutely right, Sidney.” Dad told him.
* * * * * *
After we gave
Sidney a tour of the upstairs we went to my junk room where I keep my
larger computer, games, trophies, 4-H ribbons I’ve won and stuff I’ve
collected over the years. I had high school banners on the walls
from competing high schools and a couple of college banners I
liked. I had a student from Texas University I met on the
internet send me a Texas Longhorn’s banner. I was really proud of
it. Dad and I moved several overstuffed chairs in the room that
were old but serviceable. I spread clean sheets over them and
would wash them from time to time. Sidney loved the room.
He thought it was a total reflection of who I was. We sat down
and began to talk.
“I’d give
anything to know what them men’s talking about down there.” I
said.
“Mr. Wiggins is
pretty open with me. He’ll tell me most anything I ask him, but
we have an understanding. If I ever once betray his trust, I will
never have it again, and he promised the same with me. I don’t
ever wanna’ betray that big man’s trust. He means way too much to
me.”
“All bullshit
aside, the more I hear about him the more I think he’s probably a great
person as well as being a sexual icon.” I told Sidney.
“Oh, he
is. The funniest thing about him is, he knows he’s sexy and
attractive to a lot of people, but he has no interest in that sort of
thing. He’s not asexual, he’s just ain’t never done anything
before.”
“What?”
Dwayne choked on his coffee he brought up with him.
“I’m not
kidding. He’s a virgin. He’s never been with a woman or a
man. He’s not shy about it. He’ll tell you if you ask him.
He doesn’t see anything to be ashamed of and he really doesn’t know
what the big deal is all about.”
“How could a man
as hot as him not ever be propositioned or had it laid at his
feet? God knows, I have to hold my brother back sometimes from
making a complete fool of himself in front of the man.” Dwayne
motioned to me. I laughed and pointed a finger at him.
“He just never
had it offered and he never went out and looked for it. When he
first started working for my dad he used to take days off and one night
a week. That lasted all of about three months and then he just
stopped taking time off. He said he’d rather be with me and my
dad. Hell, my dad takes him and me with him almost everywhere he
goes when I’m not in school. During school Mr. Wiggins takes care
of me 24/7. He’s completely devoted to me and my dad.
If you wanna’ know the truth, I think he’s in love with my dad, but I
don’t know for sure. I know my dad loves him, but I think my dad
is terminally straight. There again, I’m not real sure of that
either. I know he looks at Mr. Wiggins sometimes when he doesn’t
know I’m looking, and I can tell there are nasty thoughts running
through his mind; however, they’ve never shared a bed together that I
know of, and I think I’d know. Besides, knowing them, they’d
never try to hide it from me anyway. I’d be the first they’d come
and tell.”
“I believe
you. You can look at me and tell what I’m thinking.”
“Well, Mr.
Wiggins and I share being a virgin in common.” Sidney had sort of
a half smile on his face.
“At our age,
there ain’t nothing wrong with that. I guess I’m a virgin too in
one area. My dad told me I couldn’t have anal sex until I was
eighteen. I trust him, and I ain’t gonna’ do it ‘til then.”
“But I thought
you and Dwayne,— ”
“Dad never said
nothing about oral sex or jacking yore' buddy off. Dad and I been
doing it since I was fourteen.”
“Your dad and
you? How great is that? Your dad’s a hunk, Case!”
Sidney exclaimed. “I told him the
same damn thing, Sid. I couldn’t believe it when Casey told
me. Mr. Longhorn is also one of the finest men I’ve ever known.”
Dwayne added.
“We can talk
about all that stuff later. I’ve been on pins and needles for the
last two days wondering what the hell you two had to tell me.
I’ve driven Mr. Wiggins and my dad nuts telling them about you two and
how Casey took Gary Peacock down a notch.”
“Well, Sid,—
what we have to tell you ain’t pretty and can’t go beyond us; however,
I don’t think you’ll have to tell Mr. Wiggins or you dad what we’re
gonna’ share with you, ‘cause I know my old man well enough to know
he’s a responsible man. He’ll figure if their boy is gonna’ be
involved in this they have a right to know, and he’s probably telling
them about it right now. I’d bet my lap top on it.”
“So what’s so
secret?”
“Remember we
told ju’ we’d tell you why my step-dad, the Colonel, gave your Uncle
Frank and Curley the weekend off.” Dwayne started.
“Yeah, I
wondered about it.”
“My step-dad
kept me tied up in the barn all that weekend, repeatedly raped me and
forced me to commit oral sex on him. The worst part is, it wasn’t
the first time. He’s done it to me off and on over the last six
months.” Dwayne sadly hung his head. Poor Sidney’s face
fell like a lead balloon.
“Oh, my God,
Dwayne, I’m so sorry.”
We told Sidney
everything. Sometimes we had to pause and take a break for Sidney
to recover long enough to go on. We had no idea it would affect
him the way it did. In a way, it was almost a reflection of how
Sidney cared for us. We had no idea Sidney felt the way he did
about us. It not only was a joy to Dwayne and I, it was a
humbling experience. After a couple of hours, we heard dad call
up to us to come down, Mr. Wainright and Mr. Wiggins were
leaving. Sidney was barely recovered, but when he saw his dad he
ran to him and held him. He was strong though, and didn’t shed a
tear.
“Be strong,
Logan, for your buddies.” his dad told him, “They need
yore’ help right now. We know what you’re capable of. We
know what chu’ can do. It’s time you started accepting some
responsibilities for others as well as yourself.” Sidney looked
at his dad and smiled.
“You’re right,
Dad, I’m ready. I can do this. I’m not afraid. Casey
and Dwayne are my buddies, they need me, I have to help them.”
Sidney went to
Mr. Wiggins and offered his hand.
“Ah, to hell
with that! Gimme’ a big ole hug and a kiss, boy! I done
taught chu’ better’n ‘nat!”
Sidney chuckled
and jumped into Mr. Wiggins’ arms. Dwayne and I would’ve traded
places with him in a minute. Virgin or no, we still wanted to run
jump in the big man’s arms.
We all said our
goodbye and dad promised to have them over for dinner soon to keep them
informed. Sidney got his small bag of work clothes and his lap
top out of the back of Mr. Wiggins’ Hummer. After having
another donut and talking to dad for a few minutes we returned to my
junk room for a while.
“You guys have
shared something with me I was unprepared for. I’m usually good
at figuring things out. I tried to imagine all sorts of things it
might be, but I never expected this. Dwayne, I don’t know what to
say except I’m so sorry and to offer you my love.”
A couple of
tears escaped Sidney’s eyes. Dwayne went to him and took him into
his arms, held him close and kissed him on his forehead.
“There, there,
little brother, I’m all right, but I gratefully accept your love. I
wouldn’t have made it this far if it hadn’t been for the love of three
wonderful men, Casey, Mr. Longhorn and Mr. Winchester. Now I have
your love along with theirs. Ya’ gotta’ know it really helps,
Sid,— thanks.”
“Has anyone come
up with a plan; any ideas you guys might have?” Sidney asked as
they sat back down.
“Not yet.
We’ve met with Mr. Winchester a couple of times but primarily he wanted
to talk with Dwayne to explain to him what his step-dad is doing to him
and for what reasons. I think he’s also helped Dwayne see why
he’s so confused and conflicted about the situation.”
“Yeah, he’s help
me a lot, Sid. At least I learned my attraction to my step-dad
and what he’s doing to me ain’t because I’m a bad man or can’t control
my sexual urges.”
“Of course it
ain’t, Dwayne! He’s a monster for God’s sake! The epitome
of all that’s evil!” Sidney exclaimed.
I wasn’t real
sure what ‘epitome’ meant, but I got the idea it wasn’t good. Sidney
was adamant. I think if Dwayne had any lingering doubts about his
step-dad, Sidney slammed the barn door shut on that one.
“So tell me what
you talked about. Bring me up to speed, here.” Sidney was
enthused to know more. He was taking it all in, and I could just
imagine the digital synapse in his brain taking info in at an enormous
rate, correlating, sorting, resorting, arranging and systematically
filing important bits and pieces for later use. Dwayne and I told
him everything including our meeting with Mr. Winchester last
night. We told him about Mr. Winchester’s startling revelation
about his conclusions why the Colonel was doing all this. It was
as big an ‘ah-ha’ moment for Sidney as it was for us. “That’s
incredible!” Sidney exclaimed, “Of course, it all makes
sense. He has bigger goals than getting back at Dwayne’s dad or
Dwayne for that matter. We can’t let him get away with it.
We won’t let him get away with it. Look, guys, if Dwayne goes to
his mom, all hell will break loose and it might get messy.
Dwayne’s mom may or may not believe him depending on how brainwashed
she already is by the Colonel. If she doesn’t react and kick his
ass out immediately, that still leaves Dwayne vulnerable. The son
of a bitch will still be free to make life miserable for Dwayne.
I think Mr. Longhorn’s right. He isn’t going to jeopardize his
ultimate goal. Besides, if Dwayne goes to his mom it becomes his
word against his step-dad’s. He doesn’t have any tangible proof
other than his accusation.
Even if he uses
his whip on Dwayne, he can come up with some lame excuse to get out
from under it. He can claim Dwayne came home from a night at your
house, Case, and showed him the lashes and bragged about them. If
he’s a true sociopath, which I have little doubt he is, he can think on
his feet faster than any of us, including me, and make another person
believe any garbage he wants them to. No,— going to Dwayne’s mom
isn’t an option. It just has too many loopholes to his
advantage. We need to get him by his balls. We have to come
up with a plan that’s neat, clean and can destroy him without Dwayne
being more involved that simply being his victim. We’ll have to
have proof positive that will nail his Jar-head ass to the barn door.”
“That’s
basically where Mr. Winchester left it last night. He wanted us
to consider actions and reaction. In other words, if we do this
or that, what will the consequences be. That’s what you’re doing
right now. I don’t think Dwayne and I would’ve ever thought about
those things you just brought up; not because we ain’t smart
enough but we’re too close emotionally to even reason rationally.”
“Exactly!
That’s why you need me. All right, here’s what we know. The
next chance he gets he’s going to continue his little plan by raping
Dwayne again. It’s inevitable; we know it’s gonna’ happen.
It’s just logical to assume he’s steadfast in his plan and doesn’t
think anyone’s the wiser right now. Let’s let him think
that. It’s to our advantage. Let’s let the son of a bitch
think he has everything under control, and everything is on track for
realizing his ultimate goal. Dwayne would it be too devastating
for you to submit to another session with him?”
“No, not at
all. Sidney, you have to understand, for all he’s done to me
against my will, I find myself enjoying it. Certainly, I don’t
want him to have that power over me, but while I’m going through it,
it’s wonderful. I know that sounds really sick, but I’m being
honest.”
“Of course it
sounds sick. It sounds sick to anyone who doesn’t know the
circumstances and can’t understand the situation. There’s a
psychological condition where victims who are held prisoners and
subjected to sexual or physical abuse fall in love with their
captors. It’s call “the Stockholm syndrome.” It’s quite
common, Dwayne. It’s the mind’s way of making sense out of chaos
in a situation a person just can’t comprehend.”
“Do I see a plan
forming in that fertile little mind of yours, Sid?”
“You do, indeed,
cowboy.” Sidney smiled at me. “It’s basically simple.
We set him up. We hide three video cameras in the barn in three
separate positions. I can control them from my lap top. We
burn a DVD of him forcing sex on Dwayne. It’s neat, clean and we
can decide what to do with the evidence later.”
“How you plan to
do that? Won’t you have to run cables all over the place. It
would take days to set it up and test it.”
“Nonsense, where
have you guys been? I’ll do it all through RF, radio frequency,
signals. It will all be wireless. Do you have a video
camera, Case?”
“Yeah, my dad
gave me one for my birthday last year.”
“I’ve got
two. There you go. We have the cameras. My lap top
burns DVD’s. I can even rig it to where the cameras will zoom in
and out of the shot from a command from my lap top. I can watch
and monitor all three cameras on the same screen. Simple, I do it
all the time to spy on our household help.”
“How long would
you need to set the cameras up in Dwayne’s barn.”
“Thirty minutes
max.”
“Son of a
bitch! How long to test the system?” I asked Sidney.
“Once we get the
cameras set up, we can test everything. Another thirty minutes,
maybe less. The main part will be hiding the cameras.
Testing is a piece of cake. There’s only one small hitch. I
have to be within three hundred yards of the barn to receive the
information and record it to DVD.”
“What about the
bunk house where your uncles stay?” Dwayne asked. “Is it within
three hundred yards?”
“Easy.”
Replied Dwayne. “Son of a bitch, Case. I think we just
discovered why we had our dreams about our little buddy, here.
Sounds like a plan to me.” Dwayne allowed.
“Yeah, it does
sound good.”
“Okay,
Dwayne. If we do this you understand you have to play it up like
he’s doing this totally against your will. Of course his is;
however, even though you may be enjoying it, you have to convince an
audience who looks at the DVD you’re not enjoying it; it’s totally
against your nature and convictions to be doing what he’s forcing you
to do. You have to make it difficult for him to take you.
Then when he does, no matter what he does, you have to make it seem
like he’s killing you and you aren’t enjoying it, understand?”
“Makes sense to
me little buddy. I just knew you’d come up with something.”
“Yeah, me, too,
Sid. I knew you were gonna’ make a great brother.”
“Well,— what’s a
brother for, guys?”
* * * * * * *
We didn’t
realize we’d been talking so long. It was noon and I was
hungry. Dad went for donuts and Dwayne and I didn’t bother to fix
breakfast. I knew he was hungry, too. We heard dad holler
from the kitchen to come down for lunch. After a group hug, we
bounded down the stairs laughing and in great spirits. Dad had
everything laid out on the kitchen counter for do-it-your-self
sandwiches; two different kinds of bread, sourdough and wheat, lettuce,
sliced tomatoes, pickles, mustard and mayo. He had a big bowl of
potato chips, too. There was a big pitcher of sweetened iced tea
and some mason jars set out. Dad and I didn’t mess with
finery. I noticed our use of appropriate crystal-ware impressed
the shit out of Sidney. He held his mason jar up to toast me and
Dwayne with a big, pleased smile on his face.
“Thanks, Dad,—
this is great.” I hugged and kissed him on the cheek.
“Yeah, Mr.
Longhorn. You should a’ hollered at us. We’d a’ come down
and helped ya.’” Dwayne insisted.
“I had a feeling
you men were in some kinda powerful pow-wow up there. I could jes’ feel
the vibrations coming from upstairs.”
We laughed at
him.
“This is really
great, Mr. Longhorn, thanks.” Sidney said as he spread mayo on
his sourdough bread. “I love sourdough bread.”
“You men came
down much too cheerful and happy not to have come up with
something. Less’n,— of course,— ya’ll been up there all this time
play’n hide the little green snake.”
“Daaad,—
!” I said indignantly, “That’s jes’ plumb awful.
Between you and my brother’s mouth, I’m a doomed man for sure!” I
laughed. I thought Sidney was going to choke on his iced tea and
Dwayne almost fell into his plate laughing. We finally calmed
down. He made his sandwich, got himself a glass of tea and sat
down with us.
“After that
statement, I don’t know whether we should tell him or not. What da’ ya’
think, guys?” they laughed again. This time dad laughed
with them.
“Well, he was
good enough to fix lunch for us.” Dwayne allowed.
“He gets my
vote, Case. Any man that can be that off the wall and up front at
the same time deserves to know what the hell we’re up to.” we all
laughed with Sidney.
“Why don’t you
do the honors, little brother, since it was your idea.”
Sidney basically
outlined for dad everything we discussed and the idea he came up
with. Dad sat there eating all the while. He nodded every
now and then, but he never asked a question or commented until Sidney
finished. He sat there quietly for a few minutes afterwards as if
he were running it over in his mind.
“Sounds like a
damn good plan to me, Son.” he spoke to Sidney. Sidney just
beamed from dad’s compliment. “You’ve convinced me,— now you have
three other men to convince. I don’t think Spencer Winchester’s
gonna’ be hard to convince, but you git’n involved with something like
this what might have a potential of danger involved, your dad and
Sticker ain’t gonna’ be so easily swayed.”
“You may be
right, Mr. Longhorn, but all I can do is try. Mr. Wiggins is all
the time after my dad to let me have more freedom— to give me more of
the reins, as he puts it. Besides, it’s important. It’s
important to me and my brothers.”
Dad smiled and
winked at me and Dwayne. We knew he picked up on Sidney’s use of
the word ‘brothers.’ He was pleased. He didn’t have to say
a word.
* * * * * * *
We helped dad
put things away and clean up the kitchen. It didn’t take but a
few minutes.
“What do you men
want for dinner? We gotta’ take the boys over to do chores at
Dwayne’s house about four o’clock. We can stop and get pizza on
the way back or I can fix something here for us?”
“Dad cooks good,
but I ain’t had pizza in a coon’s age. I vote pizza.”
“That would be
great, Mr. Longhorn.” Sidney said. “I ain’t had pizza in a
long time either. I love pizza.”
“Fine with me,
Mr. Longhorn.” Dwayne agreed.
We went back
upstairs to my room and Sidney decided to change into his work
clothes. He didn’t ask to be alone or go into another room.
He just stripped right there in front of Dwayne and me. When he
removed his shirt his upper body was more than impressive. Sidney
was perfect in his form, shape and development. He wasn’t massive
like his trainer but he was big where it counted, to say nothing of the
two, round mounds, he had for a butt. Holy Aunt Jemima! It
looked like two bowling balls were implanted into his ass cheeks.
They were breath taking. Made my tongue hard, they did!
Must have made quite an impression on my brother, too, he was drooling
out the corner’s of his mouth like an idiot.
Mr. Wiggins must
have trained Sidney good about being a cowboy. When he dropped
his Wranglers he wasn’t wearing any underwear. Dwayne gasped when
he caught sight of Sidney’s dick. I chuckled at Dwayne’s reaction
and my own surprise. Sidney was hung slightly smaller than a
Shetland pony. We’d never been in a gym class with him because we
were heavy into sports which counted for our gym time. We never
had an opportunity to see Sidney naked before. What a pleasant
shock-a-roonie it was for Dwayne and I.
“Some’um wrong,
guys?” Sidney asked with a smirk. He knew damn well what Dwayne
and I were chuckling about. I laughed and could barely get out my
next statement.
“We better go
back downstairs and tell my old man it weren’t no little green snake
what was chasing us around up here, brother!” I laughed. Dwayne
fell across my bed and rolled with laughter. Sidney had to sit on
the bed, he couldn’t get his pants on from laughing.
“Now that was
jes’ bad, Case.” Dwayne got on me.
“Yeah, I guess
it was. Sorry, little,— uh,— make that big brother, Sid!” We all
laughed again.
We went out to
start building the bird cage. Sidney was appalled we didn’t have
any plans drawn up. We didn’t know how big to make the damn thing
or what to build it out of. We were just going to start slapping
boards together. I was going to use a bunch of old two by fours
we had laying around for scrap after an addition to our barn the
previous year. We had a lot more two by threes, though.
Thankfully, Sidney took over. He got a piece of paper and started
sketching and labeling everything. He asked about bracing and
Dwayne and I just looked at each other in dismay. We need
bracing? Who knew? What’s bracing? Sidney smiled
patiently and just shook his head. As we watched Sidney finish
his sketch, Dwayne and I were beginning to see something of quality
coming together. By the time dad walked out to check on our
progress and tell us it was time to go do Dwayne’s chores we had all
the main structure built and only had the roof to go over the sheltered
area. Dad took one look at it and smiled. He knew we never
would’ve built it that good by ourselves. It was, indeed, an
impressive structure. He winked at Dwayne and I and just shook
his head. Once again he didn’t have to say a word.
“C’mon men, it’s
time to go do Dwayne’s chores. You come, too, Son.” he put
his arm around Sidney. “May as well meet the enemy.”
“I’ve met him a
couple of times, Mr. Longhorn. Once, here at your place at your
Fourth of July barbecue. I think he’s a good looking man.”
“Yeah, he is,
Son, I agree. Too bad that’s all that’s good about him.”
Dad commented.
In the truck, on
the way over to the Dunbar ranch, dad review our position like a
General briefing his troops.
“Dwayne, if I
tell you to get into the truck, don’t hesitate,— just do it.
Casey, in the glove compartment there’s a three by five card with the
personal telephone number of my buddy Leland Bard, our sheriff.
Use your cell phone and give him a call, but only if I tell you to,—
understand, Son?’
“Yes, Sir, we
understand, Mr. Longhorn.” Dwayne spoke for both of us.
“All you have to
do, Case, is tell the sheriff, Vince Longhorn needs him out to the
Dunbar ranch, muy pronto. Sid, you stay near me. You don’t
know what to do to help the boys anyway and it will go quicker if they
do it. They’re used to doing it. Don’t speak unless spoken
directly to, Son. Let me do all the talking. Be pleasant
and well met if I decide to introduce you to him.”
“Yes, Sir, Mr.
Longhorn. I understand.”
We pulled onto
the gravel road to the Dunbar ranch and Dwayne audibly gasp when he
caught sight of the Colonel’s pickup truck parked along side the
house. Dad heard him, too.
“Easy,
Son. You ain’t alone no more. You’re with three good men
who love you. Remember that. We won’t let nothing happen to
you. Got that, Son?”
“Yes, Sir, Mr.
Longhorn, and thanks, Sir.”
Dad pulled up
and around and headed the Bronco back out to the road so he wouldn’t
have to turn around. Smart man, my dad. We no sooner got
out of the Bronco than Brad Dunbar was coming out the front door of the
house onto the porch with blood in his eye. Dad motioned to
Dwayne and I to go do his chores. We heard dad hail the Colonel
as he walked toward them.
“Howdy,
Brad! Good to see ya’ again.” He stuck out his hand to
force Brad Dunbar to shake hands with him. The Colonel took his
hand and shook it like he was only doing it because he had to and
certainly not because he was glad to see my dad.
“Longhorn.”
was his only acknowledgment.
“This young man
here’s Sidney Wainright, Brad. Sidney this is Mr. Dunbar.”
Sidney stuck out
his hand and the Colonel took it. They shook hands.
“I believe the
Colonel and I met last summer at your place, Mr. Longhorn. Good to meet
chu’ again, Sir.” Sidney was pleasant but reserved.
“Huumph.”
Brad Dunbar commented on Sidney’s greeting. Sidney told us later
he hoped it didn’t cost him too much. Sidney had his own wicked
streak.
“I better get
down there to make damn sure that boy get his chores done right.”
“My boy’s with
Dwayne. I’m sure between them they’ll do a good job.” Dad
retorted. He saw the Colonel wasn’t going to be deterred.
“Well, I’m sick
and tired of him doing a half-ass job on his chores. I’m gonna’
go down there anyway and make damn sure they do it right!”
“Probably a good
idea, Brad. We’ll come along.” Sidney told us later he
could tell the Colonel wasn’t expecting that from my dad. He knew
he couldn’t rant and rave with my dad around. Brad stopped dead
in his tracks.
“Ah, what the
hell, I’ll just have Dwayne do it over again later. He won’t be
going back with you, anyway. I’m keeping him here. I’ve
decided he can’t go back with ya,’ Longhorn. He fucked up his
chores real bad last night so I’m gonna’ have to punish him by keeping
him home for the rest of the weekend. He’ll learn one of these
days I mean what I say. ”
“I’m real sorry
to hear that, Brad, but you’re gonna’ have to take that up with Sadie
when she comes home. She personally asked me to take care of her
boy until she gets back. Dwayne’s going back with us whether you
like it or not. Sorry to be that blunt with you, Brad, but if
you’re rude enough to push the situation I’m certainly rude enough to
push back.”
“You’re way
overstepping your boundaries here, Longhorn. Dwayne’s my Goddamn
step-son. I tell him what to do and when to do it, not you!
He’ll do what the fuck I tell him.”
“Let me remind
you, Brad, you have no legal say where that boy goes or what he
does. You’re not his legal guardian. His mother is and
she’s entrusted him to my care until she returns, whenever that might
be. Until then, I will tell Dwayne where he may go and what he
may do,— not you!”
“You’re really
pushing your luck, Longhorn!” The Colonel barked at dad getting
right in his face. Sidney said he never saw a man more calm and
collected than my dad in the face of such wrath as the Colonel was
projecting towards him.
“No, I’m not,
Brad. I’m just here to bring the boys by to do Dwayne’s
chores. After that, we’re out a’ here. You’re the one
what’s pushing his luck, Dunbar. I don’t think you really wanna’
take this any further. If you escalate this, I guaran-damn-tee
ya,’ you’re in for big trouble.”
“Yeah,
Longhorn,— from you and what army?”
“No army,
Dunbar, I ain’t planning on going to war with you. This is a
civil matter. I’ll just call my buddy Leland Bard, the sheriff of
our county and let him come out here and settle it. I don’t think
you’d fare very well with Lee. He hates tight-ass military
types. If you think you got the cahonnes, try me!”
“Harrumph.”
the Colonel barked out in frustration.
By that time
Dwayne and I had all his chores done and were heading back toward the
Bronco. As we came up to them the Colonel barked at Dwayne.
“You fucked up
you chores, big time, last night, boy! I ain't let’n you go back
with ‘um! I’m keeping you home the rest of the weekend to punish
you until you learn to do what the hell I tell you to and do it right!”
“Get in the
Bronco, Dwayne!” my old man barked. Dwayne moved to get
into the Bronco. I quickly moved to get into the other side.
“Ju’ hear me,
boy? I said you can’t go back with’um. I meant it,
boy! Get chore’ ass out a’ that truck right now!
That’s an order!”
Dwayne and I
were all ready in the back seat of dad’s truck. Dad motioned for
Sidney to get in opposite him. Sidney moved quickly for the door,
opened it and got in. Dad took his good time getting to the
driver’s side.
“You haven’t
heard the last of this, Longhorn. You think you’ve won, but you
ain’t. I’ll sue you for every Goddamn thing you’ve got!
I’ll own your fuck’n ranch!”
My dad stopped,
turned, looked at the Colonel and grinned a wicked grin.
“I don’t think
so, Dunbar,— for that you have to have two nickels to rub together, and
I don’t think Sadie will give ‘em to you.” Dad opened the door
and got in. He turned the key to the ignition, the engine cranked
over, and he spun out spraying Colonel Jar-head with rocks and
gravel. My old man had a mean streak to him once in a
while. At that moment, I thanked God he did.
End Chapter 10 ~
Texas Longhorns Copyright 2005 ~
Waddie Greywolf All rights
reserved ~ Mail to:
waddiebear@yahoo.com