by Jake Mactire
“I’ll look forward to that, Mike.”
“Just as long as you lead, Sandy; I don’t know how to follow, so I ain’t taught him to lead yet,” I said, and Sandy looked at Mike.
“No problem, Mike, I’ll start out leadin’, and then we can pull you into control.”
“Save me a dance, you two,” Renee said. I looked at Josh when Renee spoke.
He laughed and said, “I don’t know how to dance, and I reckon Renee will be safe with you guys. Not like this old wolf here.” He clapped José on the back. Before José could answer, Maria jumped to his defense.
“José is a gentleman except when he swears.” José was bright red. Hmmm… this is interestin’, I thought. I’m glad that they are getting close. Maria needs friends after her loss of Pedro.
“Hey, boss, Mike, I watched you two practicing with your lassos today. Are you planning on competing in a rodeo?”
“We were talkin’ about it. First one’s gonna be the Arizona Gay Rodeo in February.”
“There are gay rodeos?” Renee was intrigued by this.
“Yep, there is at least one a month about ten months of the year. They’re all over the country.”
“Josh, you’ll have to take me to one.” Everyone looked at Josh when Renee said this.
“There are plenty of rodeos near here.” He was beet red.
“Don’t you want to cheer Jeff and Mike on?”
“Of course I do, but….”
I jumped in. “But what, Josh?”
Mike picked up the teasing. “Yeah, Josh, what? I’d really appreciate you there cheerin’ me on. I know Jeff would too.”
“Damn right!”
“We’ll see.” Just then the waitress came. I decided to order pizza, and had one with pepperoni, Italian sausage, and ham. Everyone ordered, and I decided to take the pressure off of poor Josh.
“I reckon we’re gonna move ahead with the dude ranch idea. Tomorrow I wanna work on puttin’ together a business plan and gettin’ a website together.”
“What are you gonna do, Mike?” Sandy was looking at the two of us.
“I’m Jeff’s consultant, and proofreader, and all round gofer.”
“That’s great!” Sandy had always been enthused about the project. “I am ready to help in any way I can.”
“Great, what I wanna know from you, José, and Josh, is just how do you three feel you’ll fit in? I still wanna run the ranch, and we’re gonna need some new wranglers and a housekeeper. What do you guys want to do?” We had a lively discussion about that. Josh wanted to work with stock. José was willing to do whatever it might take to make the project a success. We went over how everything would fit together and being ready for Thanksgiving, which was only about five weeks away. The band had been settin’ up, and they struck up their first tune, an easy two-step by George Straight. Mike immediately asked Sandy to dance. Sandy looked at me, and I nodded. Renee nudged Josh.
“C’mon, cowboy, get your butt out of this booth. We’re gonna dance.”
“I can’t dance!”
“You’re gonna learn. C’mon!” She took him by the hand, and he let her lead him out onto the dance floor. Maria leaned over to me.
“You have been very good for Mike. He has really come out of his shell.”
“Sí, boss. You are a very good influence on him. He laughs now and jokes around with us. He does not act like a cabrón any more.” Maria gently slapped his hand.
“I reckon he’s good for me too.”
“I like watching the two of you together. You seem to understand one another and complement each other very well,” Maria said, smiling.
I decided to change the subject. “How are you doin’, Maria?”
“I try to take it one day at a time. It is most difficult when I am alone in Wenatchee. José and Sandy have been wonderful. And you, Mike, and Josh too. I miss Pedro very much. I am very lucky I have good friends.”
“We are your friends, Maria. We are here for you.” José said this kind of sheepishly. I raised my glass.
“To Pedro, may we never forget what a great guy he was.” They both raised their glasses. The song was ending, and Renee and Josh made their way back to the table.
“You look like you did a decent job out there, Josh.”
“At least I didn’t step on Renee’s feet.” Sandy and Mike stayed out on the dance floor. Renee asked me to dance. I looked at Josh.
He smiled at me, “Go ahead, Jeff, don’t worry about it.”
We stepped out on the dance floor. As we began to dance, Renee said to me, “You don’t have to ask Josh. He doesn’t mind.”
“I know, but it’s a cowboy thing. You dance with who ya brung to the dance. If you dance with someone else’s partner, you get both folks’ permission. It’s a good way to keep friendships intact.”
“I understand that. It’s really nothing to do with regarding a woman as property?”
“No, not at all. You’ll find most cowboys are really protective of and polite to women. I reckon it’s from workin’ around men all the time.”
“It seems kind of patronizing to me.”
“It works both ways. Did you see Sandy look at me when Mike asked her to dance?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“She did, and I nodded; that was when she got up and headed out on the dance floor with Mike.”
“So you’re saying that if Sandy asked Josh to dance, she’d make sure it was okay with me?”
“Yep, that’s exactly what I’m sayin’.”
“That’s interesting. I’d never thought of it as being so equal.”
“You’ll find that we cowboy folk are very respectful of where your rights end and mine start. We support each other in bein’ that way. There are certain unwritten rules that we all subscribe to. It keeps the peace that way.”
“Women are just as self-sufficient as men?”
“They have to be. If her husband is off on a cattle drive, or ridin’ fences away from home for a few weeks, everythin’ is up to her. And his friends will be there to help if she needs it. If someone were to insult her or somethin’, the friends would beat that someone to kingdom come. Believe the women protect their men just as fierce.”
“That explains a bit about Josh.”
“I reckon it would. I remember once when I was in high school, we had an exchange student from Germany. He described us as havin’ a whole different culture than the folks there or the folks in the cities here. He was right too. We are different. People don’t understand that, so they tend to see us as backward or hicks or rednecks. That just ain’t true.”
By then the song was ending. Renee was a nice lady. She considered herself a feminist, which was fine by me. I had a lot of respect for her. “Renee, what I said about city people havin’ a different culture is true. Look at Mary Grace and Rick, the owner of the bakery in town, for example. They live here, they have friends, and they participate in the life of the town, but not so much with the locals. Everyone likes them and respects them, but they still are on the outside. People consider ’em hippies and think they’re kinda weird. On the other hand, my family has lived in this valley for over one hundred and fifty years. I’m accepted for who I am because of that. And that acceptance extends to Mike ’cause he fits in and he’s with me. People may not necessarily embrace the fact that we’re an out and open gay couple, but they accept us because we belong here and we know and abide by all the unwritten rules I was tellin’ you about. For example, everyone in town knows Mike and I are a couple. No one says anythin’, but we wouldn’t dance together here in One Eyed Jack’s. Folks would see that as pushin’ it in their faces. There’s a little give and take on both sides.” Renee smiled and nodded.
“You’re right, Jeff; it is a different culture. I’m glad I’m getting to know it.”
“I’m glad you are also, and you’re always welcome here.” She let me pull her chair out for her when we got back to the table. We both smiled.
We were all having
a good time. Every one of us danced eventually. I had to chuckle, because when Mike and Sandy danced, she led, but backward, so it would look like he was leading. He enjoyed it quite a bit. Sandy and I made plans to get together next week with Mike to go over the business plan and get started. Although I reckoned we couldn’t start putting up cabins until the spring, we could get the plans, figure out what we wanted, and get it reserved and paid for. She and I danced quite a bit. I was surprised to find out Renee was staying in the bunkhouse with Josh, but she insisted it was her idea ’cause she wanted to see how real cowboys lived. I wondered what José thought about that, but since they each had their own room, I reckoned not too much. I didn’t reckon he’d be too fond of pulling on his pants to walk down the hall to the bathroom, but he wasn’t complaining.
I was sitting at the table after just having finished a dance with Maria, when Mike put his hand on my upper thigh and leaned into me to whisper in my ear, “Jeff, when we get home, you wanna dance with me a bit?”
“I’d love to. Hold ya in my arms all tight, rub belt buckles. Let’s do that.”
“I’m havin’ fun dancin’ with the ladies, but I like bein’ in your arms best.”
“Well, that’s where ya belong.” I leaned real close and whispered in his ear, “I bet you wanna get fucked tonight too.”
“Hell yes!”
“You’re a boy who just loves to get fucked, ain’t ya?”
“By you.”
“You got that right, bud. Your ass is mine, and I’m gonna take good care of it tonight.” I was half expecting him to try to make some excuse to leave right then, but he didn’t. We ended up ordering another round, and Mike asked for a Diet Coke. He was really good about not drinking and driving. It was one of the many things I really respected about him. When I was flirting with him, I’d put my hand on his leg. I kept it there.
It was a real fun time with everyone there. I was kind of surprised to hear last call. I had no idea it was that late. Sandy bought herself, me, Renee, and Josh shots of Yukon Jack. Mike and José were driving, and Maria usually didn’t drink that much hard alcohol. All too soon we were heading out into the cold. We were getting a hard frost every night now, as October was drawing to a close. November can be an iffy month, but I reckoned if it stayed this cold, we’d have snow for Thanksgiving. Mike and I walked close together, bumping shoulders on the way to his truck. He had on a Carhartt jacket, and I had on a fleece-lined denim one. We got into his truck and headed up the road. He was drivin’ like a bat out of hell. I reckoned his mind was on his ass, not the road. My big fear was that a deer would jump out in front of the truck.
“Slow down a bit, buddy, we don’t wanna hit a deer.”
“I just wanna get home and dance with ya and then get some good sack time.”
I put my hand on his. “We got all the time in the world. I’m gonna do ya on your back tonight.”
He grinned at me and took his boot off the gas pedal. We were coming to one of the places where the road crosses the river. Just past the bridge, there was a fairly sharp turn. He put his foot on the brake to slow the truck down to a safe speed to take the curve. Nothing happened.
“Brakes are gone!” I could hear panic in his voice. We were both buckled in. Mike’s truck was an older model that didn’t have airbags. He was slamming both feet against the floor hard enough to break through it, as if that would make the brakes start to work.
“Downshift!” I yelled this out. Mike shifted into second, and the truck lurched but slowed a bit. We were still going too fast for the curve. As we were reaching the bridge, he pulled it into first. Another lurch, and we were going more slowly. We were down to about forty from seventy. We were getting real close to the edge of the curve as Mike tried to control the truck. As we were headed into the curve, he pulled the emergency brake. I heard the squeal of tires, smelled burning rubber, and then the truck lurched hard as it stopped. I flew forward hard enough to hit my head on the dash; everything swam around and went black.
Chapter Seventeen
I FIRST became aware of the cold—a bone chilling, numbing cold that seemed to seep into every cell in my body. Just as I registered that and felt I would never be warm again, the pain in my head registered. Headache would be the understatement of the century. This was almost a physical presence in my skull, a pounding malignant entity that was so fierce even to breathe hurt. I opened my eyes. Everything was fuzzy. It slowly began to swim into focus. My arms and shoulders hurt, too, but nothing like the pain in my head. Even trying to think hurt.
I began to remember. The brakes failing, my shouting ‘downshift’ at Mike, the edge of the embankment and river coming closer, and then the smell, sound, and violent jerk of the truck as the emergency brake was engaged.
“Mike.” It came out raspy and like a croak.
“Mike.” This time it was louder.
“Okay. Be still there, bud, you’ve had quite a shock. Just lie still, and we’ll take care of you.” It was a paramedic.
“Mike, where’s Mike?”
“Relax, guy. He’s fine. He’s talking to the sheriff right now. Doctor’s here and he’s gonna look at your eyes.” Another man bent over me. He put a flashlight in my eyes. I closed them, and he asked me to leave them open.
“Well, young man, I’d say you’re lucky on several counts. It appears you have no broken bones, and just a mild concussion. I would wager you have one hell of a headache though.”
“Is Mike okay?”
“The guy who was driving? He’s fine. The truck is fine. You two missed the embankment by about six inches. Your friend has been asking about you, so I’ll go over and tell him you’re awake and more or less fine.” He walked away, and I took a deep breath. All of a sudden I heard footsteps. I looked over, and Mike was rushing toward me. The look of relief on his face was almost comical. Sheriff Johnston followed behind and had a worried look on his face. Mike grabbed my hand and just held it.
“What happened after I hit the dashboard?”
“You were out like a light, Jeffy. I couldn’t wake you, and I was afraid to move you in case you were bad off. I went over to the road to see if I could flag somebody down. Lucky for us, the first car that stopped was a doctor and his wife from Seattle heading to their cabin. They’d gotten a real late start, but still decided to come over. She called nine-one-one, and he made sure you were okay until the paramedics got here. I’m so happy you’re okay; I was really worried.” I could hear his voice crack.
“I’m fine other than the mother of all headaches. How’s your truck?”
“Other than no brakes, fine. The doctor said you’re okay to go home, but if you have any dizziness or blurred vision to get to the hospital right away. Sheriff’s gonna drive us home. They’re gonna tow my truck into the gas station/garage in Winslett.” Sheriff Johnston was peering over Mike’s shoulder.
“You okay there, Jeff? Looks like you got a nasty bump on the head.”
“I’ll survive. I just wanna get home, get some aspirin, and get to bed.”
“Give me a few minutes to finish up with all this, and I’ll give you boys a ride home.” It took more than a few minutes. I still felt really cold and a bit queasy. Before too long, a tow truck showed up and there went Mike’s pickup. Finally everything was done, and we piled into the sheriff’s cruiser to go home.
“You gonna pick up your truck on Monday afternoon, Jeff?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’ll ask Sandy if she can take you two down to Wenatchee if your truck isn’t ready by then, Mike.”
“Thanks, Sheriff.”
“No problem.” Luckily, we weren’t too far from home, and it was just a few minutes later that we pulled into the drive up to the ranch house. We got out, and the sheriff told us good night. We headed into the house. Mike was hovering over me like a cat with kittens. It was nice, but I wasn’t that bad off. We got in the house, and I kicked off my boots in the mudroom.
“You need anythin’, Jeffy?”
“Let’s go upstairs. You go to bed, and I’ll get ’em for ya.” I was undressing when he walked in with a glass of water and four aspirin. I took them all and drank all the water.
“Thanks, buddy.” He watched me undress. I was tired and in pain, so I just threw the clothes on the floor and let them lay where they fell. I finally managed gettin’ everything off. My head was pounding, so I slowly got into bed and slid to the far side. I lay there and waited for Mike. He was looking at me.
“You want me to sleep in the other room so you can get some rest, Jeffy?”
“No. I want you right here to keep me warm. Besides, I sleep better when you’re with me.” He smiled and began shucking his clothes. He jumped in beside me and reached over and turned off the light. I was lying on my back, and he threw his arm and leg across me and put his head on my chest.
“I was so worried when I couldn’t get you to wake up, Jeffy. I was starting to panic. It sure was lucky the doc and his wife stopped.”
“Yeah, not too many folks do that anymore.”
“When you woke up and was asking for me, I almost lost it again.”
“It’s okay, bud. You ain’t gonna get rid of me that easy.”
When he spoke again, his voice trembled. He was on the verge of breaking down from all the excitement and adrenaline. “It made me realize just how much I depend on you and what you mean to me.”
“You’re just upset ’cause I told you I was gonna fuck you tonight and now you gotta take a rain check.” I guess joking around might not have been the best thing since I heard him sob a couple of times.
“I’m such an idiot, Jeffy. If you hadn’t yelled downshift, I swear we would have just ended up in the river.”
“Hey, buddy. It’s okay, I’m all right, you’re all right, and your truck’s okay. Accidents happen. The important thing is we’re both okay and we’re right here all cuddled up together. Now let’s go to sleep, buddy. We done used up this day.” I rubbed his head and arm and tried to drift off to sleep. It was hard to do until the aspirin kicked in. Mike fell asleep before I did. Last sound I remember was his gentle snoring with his head on my chest. It was a comforting, familiar sound.