by Parker, Ali
“Y’all are here?” I said.
“Damn straight we’re here. You gave us a fright. After hearing that phone call yesterday—” Tanner said.
“How did you know where to find me?” I asked.
“Whoever you got into it with yesterday said the name Helen Larson. It didn’t take me long to put together why they would be talking about her. That was obvious,” Tanner said, putting his hands on his hips scolding me. He shook his head at me, disappointed.
“What happened?” My older brother Wyatt asked, pushing my hair aside a little to see the cut that was now bandaged on my temple. I wasn’t even wearing a cowboy hat because of it. The rest was highly visible, the busted lip, the shiner on my eye, busted knuckles, and various bruises.
“It’s a long story,” I said.
“And what the hell are you doing here? You’re supposed to be at the beach. You lied to us, Dylan. You lied to your own flesh and blood,” Connor said, with rage in his voice.
“You going to tell us what’s going on or do we have to beat you up, too, and beat it out of you?” Wyatt said. He was scolding me the way our father did. It occurred to me just then how much Wyatt looked like him.
“Does Father know?”
“No. We told him that the three of us were going to go meet up with you for a day of fishing at the beach, and then come back tomorrow. It was the only way we could get him to understand why we were all leaving at 3 in the morning.” Tanner said.
“You guys drove all night?” I said, surprised and honored that they would do such a thing because they were worried about me.
“You didn’t give us a choice. After what I heard on the phone and when you wouldn’t pick up again after that, we were afraid you might be dead in a ditch somewhere. Then when I figured out you were here at the ranch, we called all night, but no one answered the main line listed on the website,” Wyatt said. I smiled slightly, knowing exactly why no one answered. It was because Helen was too busy with me.
“Brothers, I am honored that you drove all night and came out here to find out if I was all right. As you can see, I am busted up, but I’m not too bad. You’ve seen me in worse shape.”
“You gonna tell us what happened now?” Tanner said.
“Come up onto the porch. I just made a fresh pot of coffee,” I said, turning and heading back to the porch. They followed me while mumbling angry statements about my reckless behavior.
A few minutes later we were on the porch with fresh coffee. I leaned against the rail while Wyatt sat down in a rocking chair. Connor and Tanner were too anxious to sit as they waited for me to tell them what had happened.
“It’s the Taylor brothers. Real mean sons of bitches. I first had a bit of a run-in with them at the livestock show and rodeo back home. Tanner, you remember,” I said. Tanner nodded his head.
“Y’all are right, I didn’t go to the beach. But I didn’t think anyone would understand that I wanted to be here to help Helen out with the ranch. This place used to be my second home. So instead of going to the beach, I came here, and I’ve been working on the ranch and helping her get it back on track. But it turns out those Taylor brothers own a competing ranch nearby, and they are the reason that she is nearly going out of business. They became fast enemies for me when they threatened to set fire to this ranch. Andy’s a mean son of a bitch, he’s even been in the pen. He called me out a while back and we settled it with a bull riding competition—a mechanical bull riding competition at the local dance hall. You’ll be happy to know I won that one and kicked Andy’s ass. They’ve got a baby sister that’s got a mouth on her. She told her brothers that I was trying to make a move on her, and I wasn’t. The opposite was true, and she got mad because I told her I wasn’t interested. The truth is my heart belongs to someone else. So, as you can see, there have been a couple of things between me and these brothers. Then yesterday I was coming out of the hardware store while I was on the phone with you, Tanner, and three of them started talking shit to me—about Helen. You know it’s hard for me to back down from something like that. It was the middle of the day and I wasn’t even drinking. But I got heated and punched one of them. Then the three of them jumped me. I was lucky the hardware store owner heard the racket and chased them off with a promise to call the cops. That’s the end of it, and here I am nursing my wounds,” I said.
“Three against one? They are not cowboys of honor,” Connor said.
“No, they are not. They are ruthless and cruel. They don’t play by any rules of honor brother. You’d have swung on them too, if you’d been there to hear their filthy mouths.”
Connor paced back and forth on the porch, angry as all hell now. “No one treats a Dawson brother like that and gets away with it!”
“A mechanical bull riding competition?” Wyatt asked, with a brow raised.
“Yep,” I grinned with pride. “One thousand dollars if I lost, against them leaving Larson Dude Ranch alone if I won.”
“I could hear them kicking the shit out of you on the other end of the phone. I swear my blood ran cold. I thought we were going to lose you. They’re not getting away with this,” Tanner said.
I looked at my brothers standing together now. They all had angry and determined expressions on their faces. They were pissed and they wanted blood.
“There are four brothers in all, and I know where they’ll be tonight.”
Connor punched his hand into his fist. “Then it’s time we met them.”
I grinned. Tanner and Connor nodded in agreement. I had never felt more proud to be a Dawson than in that moment.
“Alright, but we can’t let Helen know what we’re up to. She does not look kindly on fighting and dealing with the Taylors. It was all I could do to stop her from calling the cops.”
“So, just who the hell is this Helen, and why are you so ready to risk your life for her and her ranch?” Connor said, confused.
Just then I heard hooves galloping and headed this way.
“That’s Helen,” I smiled.
Helen was galloping on her horse toward the front porch. Her long raven black hair was loose and caught in the wind, spraying it around her like a goddess. She was wearing a tight tank top tucked into slim-fitting jeans. Her ample breasts bounced with every stride of the horse. The sun seemed to catch her grey piercing eyes perfectly against her pale delicate skin.
“God almighty—” Connor whispered as he watched her.
“Damn,” Wyatt said.
Tanner had a big grin on his face. He already knew what she looked like, since he had already met her, but he was obviously enjoying this enticing view as much as the rest of us.
“What do we have here?” she said, pulling the horse to a stop in front of the porch.
“Helen, I’d like you to meet the rest of the Dawson brothers.”
She looked at me, confused. Then she jumped off her mount and came up the porch. My brothers tipped their cowboy hats at her with a chorus of ‘howdy ma’am and ‘pleased to meet you.’
“Dylan, you didn’t tell me they were coming,” she said.
“I didn’t know. They surprised me.”
“Yes ma’am, we wanted to surprise him and see what he’s been up to. He talks so highly of this place and all,” Wyatt said.
“Thank you. Well, I’m pleased to meet y’all. Please join us for lunch. Y’all can stay in the bunkhouses with Dylan, as I’m afraid once the guests come later tonight the bungalows will be full,” she said, with her mind on hospitality almost instantly. “You are more than welcome to stay as long as you want. I’ve gotta take this one back to the stable. Please make yourselves at home,” she nodded, and then led her horse by the reins across the ranch.
“Say no more. I get it now,” Connor smiled.
I raised my brows, agreeing with him.
We headed across the property and I showed my brothers around the ranch with a sense of pride. They were impressed by the ability of this ranch to function both as a working ranch and a hotel. I showed
them everything that I could, including the bunkhouses and where I stayed.
As we walked, I took the opportunity to fill them in on more details about the Taylor brothers as well. It was necessary so that they could understand what I had been dealing with here in the Texas Hill Country. Then I told them a somewhat embellished version of the bull riding competition. We all enjoyed a good laugh and a good talk.
Later we ate a light lunch with Helen as she asked my brothers all kinds of questions. They were enjoying having a conversation with such a beautiful woman and appreciated the meal of pork chops and baked potatoes she had made us for lunch.
“I hear a lot about the Dawson Ranch from Dylan. Of course, I know it by reputation as well. It really sounds very impressive,” she said.
“Yes ma’am, we are proud of it. Though you have an amazing operation here as well,” Wyatt said, with a big smile for her. I furrowed my brows at him a bit, but in a playful manner. As though to say— don’t smile too big brother. She’s mine. At the same time, I knew that it was hard for any man not to smile around Helen. She just had that effect on people.
After lunch, the boys helped Helen and I around the ranch, getting it ready for the guests to arrive. I knew that they were having some fun. Then they retired to the bunkhouses to take a cat nap before going out later. They had driven all night after all. They took turns driving, so they could get some sleep, but their worry for me prevented them from getting any meaningful rest. Their catnaps turned into a good seven hours.
When dinner time came, I told Helen that we were going into town to eat a late dinner, get a few beers, catch up, and even show them around a bit. She was so busy with the guests arriving she didn’t give it another thought.
We grabbed dinner at Sam’s Burger Joint. It was good food to get ready for battle. Then we went straight to Mickey’s and waited in the parking lot for our prey to arrive. Sitting in the truck bed with my brothers, sharing a couple of six packs in the parking lot of a honky-tonk felt really good. This was the kind of support that only the bond of a brother could provide. This felt like old times too, since this was what we did in Safety, Texas. With the lie that had separated me from my family revealed, I was free to enjoy this with them and realized that I did miss these times.
An hour later, we were good and ready. The food had settled in our stomachs and the beer was helping numb my wounds and bruises from the night before. Having a few beers in me would be good for this altercation.
“And here they are,” I said, as I watched two jacked-up trucks pull into the lot. I knew they’d never miss a night at Mickey’s. They were as reckless as I was. I grinned.
“I’m ready,” Connor said, jumping out of the truck bed and stretching his arms.
“Remember, if the cops come, we run,” Wyatt looked at us seriously.
We all agreed to this longstanding brawlers’ rule.
“Taylors! You only fight when you have three against one?” I shouted.
The men turned toward us, and surprise crossed their faces. They looked at each other and fell in line. We fell into line across from them, ready to rumble.
“What’s this Dawson? You recruit some hired hands to fight your battles for you?” Andy said.
“No. You’re not the only one with brothers. These are mine. Now it’s a fair fight. Or are you just talking shit to get out of this? Scared?” I said.
“I ain’t scared of shit,” Andy spat.
“You should be,” Tanner said. I looked at my brothers. They were huffing like bulls ready to be released out of the shoot at the rodeo. I grinned. This was going to be good.
“You fuckers messed with the wrong guy. No one gangs up on a Dawson and gets away with it,” Connor said.
“Let’s see what you got then,” Brandon said, taking a step forward toward Connor. “You Dawson’s seem to be all talk and no—”
Whack! Connor punched him before he could finish his sentence.
Bam! I blocked a punch from Andy and punched him in the gut. Tanner and Wyatt went for two brothers of their own. But in the chaos, I couldn’t see them, only hear the carnage. I was concentrating on whaling on Andy.
“Is that all you got, Dawson?” he said, as I knocked him back and he stumbled. He swiped his sleeve across his bloodied lip.
“Just working my way up,” I said. I charged him like a football player, knocking him on the ground. The adrenaline took over me and I felt like I had more strength than I’d ever had in my life. Wrestling Andy across the ground, I was getting the better of him. I punched him in the face.
Just then Brandon landed on the ground next to us, as though he had just been thrown. Connor landed on top of him, immediately punching him. It only pushed me to beat on Andy even harder. The Dawson brothers were taking some much needed revenge.
Boom! The sound of metal clanging reached my ears. Someone had just been thrown against the truck. Looking briefly, I saw Tanner pinning Christian against the Taylor’s truck, and punching him. Was it this easy? Had the Taylors only seemed tough when I was alone?
“Fight! There’s a fight!” I heard someone in the distance shout.
“Fuck, alright, stop—enough,” Andy said breathlessly to me. I had him by the shirt with my fist in the air ready to punch him again. But fear crossed his eyes. It was real genuine fear and I realized that he wasn’t tough at all. He was softer than he looked.
“Police! Cops are coming!” someone shouted from the scattered crowd that had formed in the parking lot.
“Fuck. Let’s go!” Wyatt shouted.
“Damn it,” Andy rolled out from under me and got to his feet. He ran straight toward his truck. Probably because he couldn’t stand to violate his probation. The Taylor brothers quickly followed, each one bloodied and bruised.
“Dylan! Let’s go!” Tanner grabbed me and pulled me toward our truck. We all scrambled for the truck. I jumped in back with Connor, as Tanner and Wyatt got in front and drove us out of the lot. I looked at Connor.
“Get in some good punches?” he grinned.
“Real good. You? Are we all alright?”
“Yep. We’re all good,” he said, taking a peek inside the rear window to get a look at Wyatt and Tanner. Then he turned back to me, “Damn, I needed that. No one fucks with you, or they fuck with all of us,” he said, proudly.
“Damn straight,” I nodded.
The truck peeled out of Mickey’s parking lot and headed back into town. I had never felt more proud of a fight. This one was for the books. I needed it, too. Not just to blow off steam, but I needed my brothers at my side again. I needed to show this town that I was tough and show the Taylors I wouldn’t put up with their shady tactics. I remembered that look of fear in Andy’s eyes and knew I wouldn’t be having trouble with him again, no matter how many times I came to the Larson Dude Ranch. That look of fear would last forever and it was something that he and I both knew had happened.
Connor knocked on the rear window. “Tanner! We need a six pack back here!”
Tanner picked up his hand in recognition. He drove around town for a few minutes until we pulled into the gas station. I hopped out with Connor and we bought a couple of ice-cold six packs of Lone Star bottles. It was time for a celebration.
Fifteen minutes later, the Dawson brothers were sitting in my bunkhouse back at the ranch. We drank while we all told our own view of the fight.
“Did you see that mean one? Dylan got him good,” Connor said.
“Those fools didn’t stand a chance if we’d kept going,” Wyatt said, holding his cold beer against a bruise on his cheek.
“I just kept hearing that phone call in my mind. It kept playing over and over in my head, the sound of them beating him, and then I couldn’t stop punching that guy tonight. No one fucks with my little brother like that,” Tanner said, still full of energy. He was pumped with adrenaline like the rest of us.
“Guys—brothers! Well, tonight you have made this little brother proud. I know that we’ve talked about my reckless b
ehavior before, but this—this is different and y’all know it. Tanner heard that phone call. This wasn’t me picking a fight. Those bastards came for me. Having my brothers out here doing this solid thing with me. Well, it’s more than I could have ever hoped for,” I said.
“Dawsons!” Connor said, lifting his beer in the air.
“Dawsons!” We all said, lifting our own beers.
“What is going on here?” Helen asked when she appeared in the open doorway. We all grew silent as she stared at our bloodied and bruised faces in shock. Then the Dawson brothers burst into laughter.
32
Helen
The smell of eggs, hash browns, and sausage filled the kitchen. The commotion of having four brothers sitting around the table creating a buzz of conversation as they all talked over each other was enjoyable. My kitchen had not been that lively in a long time, and it felt like family. It made me miss my own family as well.
Coffee and orange juice was being had by all as they still talked about the fight they had been in the night before. Of course I was pissed that they went and did that, but glad they were all safe, including Dylan. I was secretly happy that his brothers were there to protect him. But Dylan was proving that he was reckless and young, something I should be cautious about. Still, there was a certain attractiveness to his nature. He was always protecting me, and I guess that type of boldness meant a little recklessness as well. His strong cowboy ways were what made him who he was. It was why he’d been so quick to rescue me from the runaway horse that time. It was because he was bold, reckless, and brave.
“Y’all ready for breakfast?” I said, as I started to put big pans of food on the kitchen table.
“Smells good. Thank you, Helen,” they said. Feeding these cowboys was making me feel really happy and proud. I missed doing things like this. My ranch was all about feeding and taking care of the guests, and I’d lost the opportunity to provide basic hospitality to friends and family. This was bringing it back.