by Shae Shannon
Aw hell. I am so screwed. If I don’t get a night out and laid soon, bad things are going to happen. He shook his head and headed over to where Dixon was examining one of the cows.
“Hey, bro. How does she look?” Lyndon began doing his own examination before Dixon could answer.
“The water sack is just starting to push out. Let’s just hope that she delivers normal this time. She is the one that was breach last season.” Dixon walked to the faucet and began scrubbing his hands and arms down. The others followed, preparing for whatever Mother Nature decided to offer them.
Dixon hollered that the sack was hanging out of the aforementioned cow. “Boys, get over here and help me get her in the head gate. Emmie, get the chains, we may need them.” Jeremy and the boys got the big girl positioned and secured in the contraption before speaking.
Dixon briefed them on the calf’s position over the loud moos of the distressed cow. “It is presenting in the four-leg-back position. Emmie, this one is your turn. What I want you to do is, on my go, push the calf back into the uterus. Grab ahold of the upper leg and pull it forward enough to bring the knee forward. When the knee is flexed, cup the hoof with your hand and gently but firmly bring it up to the normal position. We will help you as you go, but hopefully she will pop it out natural after that. Ready?” He met the two widest eyes he had ever seen. She looked scared to death. It shot a dagger straight through his heart. “Hey, it will be fine, we are here and will step in if we need to. Okay?” She nodded, squirted the lube in her palms, and began smearing it up her arms.
“You can do this, girl. This baby is going to be fine, ya hear?” Jeremy squeezed her shoulders in a reassuring hug. “Now boys, step back and let this little girl show you how it’s done.” He gave her a wink. When she turned to begin readjusting the calf, he gave each of the boys a nod, making sure they understood that she was to do this on her own.
Dixon spoke in soft, soothing tones as she started manually moving the calf. After each step she completed, he praised her with “good girl,” and “that’s it, just like that.” Her face was drawn in concentration, but the life seemed to be washing back into her soul. They all knew how much she loved the animals. Dixon had spoken with his dad before Jase and EmmaLee had made it to the barn. He knew that this was the best form of therapy for her right now. His dad had totally understood and agreed, but Lyndon had been harder to convince. He wanted her back resting, not out working herself to the ground. Deep down they all knew she wasn’t the type to give up and roll over. Working with the animals in the soothing pastures was the only way to get the spirit back in her they all so loved.
Lillian had called Dixon while EmmaLee had been in the “hot” shower earlier that morning. She knew EmmaLee better than anyone. Probably more than the poor girl knew herself. She’d told Dixon Emmie needed to be out with them for the day and worked to exhaustion. If they could get the poor girl out of her head and back into her normal environment, she would be back to normal in no time. With a little convincing, Dixon had agreed reluctantly. There was one thing all the boys did, and that was listen to Momma.
Dixon and Jeremy calmly guided her step-by-step until the calf came out. They assisted the proud new momma in cleaning it up and got the new little heifer nursing.
EmmaLee stuck by the newborn calf’s side, guiding it back to the tit when it would lose suction or get discouraged. The other expectant heifer gave a natural, easy birth, making the night easier. The boys were finally able to pull her away long enough to get cleaned up and drink a pop from the ice chest, courtesy of Lillian. She refused the sandwich, and went back over to the tiny calf. It still showed signs of weakness, and with every little fumble EmmaLee was there to catch it. The mother obviously saw the love in Emmie because she didn’t get upset or try to move the calf. She actually nudged her with her nose and licked her hand.
Jase’s heart swelled. It was the sweetest thing he had ever seen. He tried to stay inconspicuously by her, but his brute-ass brothers kept shoving him out of the way and barking orders. Finally, after picking up all of the gear and loading the saddlebags, Lyndon pushed too far. “Hey, Jase, you need to go get the yearling heifer out in the east side and corral her in the pasture beside the house. Doc Green will be by at eight in the morning to fix up that lame leg.”
“No, Lyndon, you do. I ain’t the only one with two legs around here. You can handle it just fine.” He kept his tone calm, but he could feel the rage washing in under the surface.
“No, little brother, you are going to do it. I fixed fence all day.” Lyndon sounded gruff and commanding, letting his normal dominance seep into every word.
Jase felt his face heat to a crimson. It wasn’t often his normal easygoing personality was pushed to the dangerous zone, but when it was, shit got real. “Hey Lyndon, as I remember, I helped fix said fence this morning, and had worked on it all day yesterday by myself. So why don’t you take that ‘I’m a big, bad wolf’ attitude and shove it up your ass. I. Ain’t. Fuckin’. Doin’. It. Understand?” His shoulders squared off, waiting for whatever Lyndon felt like dishing.
As kids, the boys settled everything with their fists. Even as adults, they still scrapped more than they should. Lilly would tear their ass up with a wooden spoon every time they all came in bruised, bloody, and battered. After a few true whoopins, they learned to keep all battle wounds in the areas that were hidden by clothing.
Everyone had turned to see what all of the hullabaloo was about. “Boys, that’s enough. It has been a long day. I will call Jennie in the morning and have one of the boys come and corral her. I think after morning feed, we all need a break. My nephews have been skipping out a lot on chores lately, so they can take over tomorrow, Saturday, and Sunday.” A smug smile tugged at Jeremy’s still handsome mouth. All three boys looked at each other in shock. Their gaze drifted to their father, and back between one and other. There were very few occasions that Jeremy Dennison ever gave free days off. There were no sick days or holidays in the ranching business. This was very out of his character.
“I don’t want to change your mind, Dad, but what is this sudden new you we are seeing? Are we going to the carnival or something?” Dixon stifled a snicker under his breath. Jase smacked the back of his head, erupting the two into a mock fight.
“All right, boys, that’s enough. Let’s head back to the house and surprise your momma. We might make it before supper has to be reheated even.” Jeremy gave the horses one last gulp of water before saddling them up.
“Can two of you ride back together? I want to stay with the baby a little longer. She is still pretty wobbly and having trouble nursing.” EmmaLee’s face was torn with concern.
“You guys go ahead on back. I will stay with her until she is ready to come home.” Jase attempted to nonchalantly offer his chivalrous services. It didn’t go unnoticed, however.
“I don’t need to be back right now either, I will stay, too.” Lyndon pulled the icebox back out of the saddlebag and plopped it on the ground.
Jase wrinkled his nose, but quickly shrugged it off. “Good. Grab the jackets. It is starting to cool off.”
Lyndon grabbed a heap of clothing and perched it on the fence.
Dixon had been watching his two pinhead brothers all day. Both were acting like teenagers with raging hormones. It was time to straighten this crap out before it got out of hand. “Hey, Dad, there is uh, a few loose boards in the backside of the barn. Come look at ’em with me.” Jeremy’s eyebrows shot up in a questioning look, but he quickly nodded and led the way around the privacy of the barn.
“What’s this about, son?” Jeremy wasn’t one to beat around the bush, and Dixon had always loved his straight to the point, skip the bullshit attitude.
“Emmie. The boys have been eyeing her like a cougar does a T-bone steak. It’s bullshit, Dad, and someone has to put a damn stop to it. She is our sister for fuck’s sake.” Irritation shook through and floated on every word.
“Dixon, simmer down. Emmie is no
t your sister. She has also changed into a gorgeous young woman and isn’t the little freckle-faced girl with the pigtails and a jar full of lightning bugs. Your brothers have probably just taken notice.” He dismissed the problem without any room for argument.
“Dad, she was practically raised with us. You and Ma are the only real parents she ever had. Those two asshats are going to mess up the only family she really has. Then, she won’t let no one help her. You have got to have a talk with them, or I will. This isn’t something to take lightly. Now, I respect you, and your word. But I have to tell you, I can’t just stand back and let them sabotage our relationship with her.” He leaned against the barn wall with his arm raised above his head. Dixon exhaled a few shaky breaths, trying to keep his hothead under control.
Jeremy stood in silence for a good long spell. He walked over to the fence and propped his elbows on the top orange metal bar of the corral. Dixon released a deep sigh of defeat, knowing that whatever his dad was rolling over so carefully in his head was sure to be something he didn’t want to hear. He took a lean beside the older man, and let his eyes wander over the fields before darting up to see the stars beginning to sparkle in the clear, dusky sky. Dixon knew that whatever his father wanted to say, there was no need rushing the man. He took his time, and no amount of prodding would jar the thoughts into words before he was ready.
The sun had already set, leaving soft magentas, purples, and oranges along the horizon. They stood until night had painted the air a deep, almost magical blue. It was like someone had flipped a switch and turned on a million twinkling Christmas lights above them. Finally, Jeremy turned to Dixon and swung his arm around his shoulders. “Son, what have you boys done to every other guy that has tried to date Emmie?”
“We ran ’em off. They were all shit bags and had no business around our Emm. Why?”
“Why were none of them good enough?” He dropped his arm from his shoulders and faced him, man-to-man.
“Because. All they were after was to get in her pants. They didn’t love her. I don’t see how this is relevant, Pops, help me out a little here.”
A long, deep breath exhaled from Jeremy as his features and tone softened. “Why did you boys feel the need to protect her?”
“Dang, Dad, you are going to have to be a little more detailed here. I don’t see how those two dick weeds staring at her like they are gonna eat her alive has anything to do with what you are saying. They aren’t good enough for her.” His tone began to sharpen, and his voice escalated. “Dad, they are her brothers! What don’t you get with that?”
Jeremy kept his calm, keeping his gravely Sam Elliot voice smooth and soft. “Son, is anyone good enough for her? You have ran every suitor off within a five hundred mile radius.”
“Because they didn’t love her. I am not going to let no one hurt her, Dad. She deserves better. Besides, none of those pussy willows could ever be enough. She is a complex girl. It will take someone that can tend to all of her facets to fill her heart totally.” Emotion clouded Dixon with each word.
“And you and your brothers do love her.” He simply stated a fact, not looking for an answer. Jeremy patted Dixon on the arm. “So, can’t you see that it is you three that are meant to marry that girl?”
Dixon flew backwards. “What? You can’t be serious, Dad! The three of us, all marry Emmie, who’s our sister. Do you know how lunatic that sounds? Besides the obvious polygamy laws, I am pretty sure that falls under the incest rules.”
Jeremy reached into the back pocket of his Wranglers, revealing his dip can. After shaking and thumping it a few times, he loaded his lip and placed it back in the worn ring of his jean pocket. He crouched down, propping his back against the red wood planks of the old barn side. “Pop a squat with me, boy.”
Dixon blew a raspberry, exhaling an overexaggerated sigh before he followed his father’s lead and plopped a dip in his lip before dropping on his butt beside the wise elder. “Okay, Dad, oh wise one, please, continue.”
“Your sarcasm is a bit over the top, even for you, son. Like you said, our Emm is a complicated lass. She has a lot of pain and hurt from her past. Who else to better understand that than you boys? She is an emotional, confusing, purehearted, delicate, yet tough as nails girl. No one man can handle her, you are right about that. The three of you are all in love with her, and have been since you were teens and sneakin’ down to the creek to skinny-dip in the middle of hot summer nights. I know it, your mother knows it, hell, all of Adair County knows it, son. She needs support, stability, and understanding more now than ever. She needs you boys, son.” After he finished speaking, he gave Dixon time to ponder over his words and plucked a blade of grass. He fiddled and appeared to have a deep interest to the green strand until Dixon answered.
“Dad, you might be right. You might not. I just don’t see how that would even be possible. I don’t see how we are the best choice for her neither. Shit, Lyndon is still in his world tour of sowing oats. He has worked through damn near every eligible female in town, half that weren’t available, and has made a good dent in the two towns over. He is not ready to consider long-term, much less forever. Them boys need to know that they best not screw around with her, before she is broke even more.”
“Just think on it, son. Roll it over a few days. You will come to see my point of view. I know she is broken, but it is going to take more than a brotherly relationship and us being parents to the poor little doe before she is right again.”
“You might be right, but I still don’t see it. There is no way she would ever accept such a wild suggestion anyway.” He squirted a stream of tobacco juice next to him on the ground.
“Don’t wait too long before you come to terms, boy. If you do, someone else is going to fill those shoes.” With that, he stood and brushed off before striding around the corner of the barn.
The three of us. Marrying the same girl. Emmie. Has he hit Alzheimer's already? Fuck. He, too, stood, and went around the building to face his troubled mind. What met him didn’t help his already irritable disposition. “You two goons want to explain why you are wrapped up on our sister like you are trying to cop a feel on the bleachers at the Small Town High football game?” Rage boiled from him, escalating until the final word was a borderline scream.
“You better watch that puddin’ hole of yours, big brother. Don’t you ever degrade Emm like that again, or I will bust every pearly white from that gaping hole that obviously now spurts a bad case of verbal diarrhea.” Jase remained seated, but his back and posture were as stiff and erect as a board.
Lyndon glared, obviously wanting to say something but keeping control. EmmaLee slumped down lower, watching him wide eyed. “We will discuss this later, Dixon. For now, you better go getting your ignoramus fuckhead ass trotting back toward the house.” His eyes were narrowed into deathly slits, giving off the look that daggers were going to start shooting from them at any moment.
“What I have to say won’t last, Lyndon. If I let it simmer there isn’t going to be anything left of you after I tear you to shreds, you stupid fuck.” Tension was quickly escalating. Dixon had erupting tremors wracking his body in anger. His voice lowered to a deep, dangerous, dominating sound. Each word he spoke had so much anger it could have been bottled and sold. They were in the calm core of the storm, and shit was about to hit the fan. “Both of you get the fuck away from her now.”
That was the final straw. Instead of one of the boys popping their cork, EmmaLee did. “You three have filled up my ‘give a shit’ card. It is now busted. I have no clue why you all seem so damn weird today, but I am out. Jeremy? Can you take me back to the house, I changed my mind about staying.” She hopped up and stomped over to the horses.
“Come on, girl. Boys, you straighten this out before you go home and upset your momma, you hear?” Their dad’s normal cool voice had morphed into a gruff growl.
Jeremy sat EmmaLee in front of him and took off. As soon as they were out of earshot, the three boys flashed back into t
heir adolescence and started in a verbal wrestling match to the death. It soon snowballed, and right and left hooks were the cause of a chain of groans, curse words, and spattered blood.
When they finally had no energy left to lift their own pecker to piss, they rode back to the house. EmmaLee had already eaten, soaked in the hot Jacuzzi tub, and gone to bed. Lilly had also retired, but Jeremy had kicked back in his favorite recliner and was watching old “Green Acres” reruns. All three didn’t even attempt to head upstairs before confronting their jury hearing. The judge muted the television as they all moved to stand front and center, ready to take whatever execution he was going to order.
Jeremy sat staring at them in pure silence. The anticipation had always been the hardest when their dad was pissed, and even as grown men it still made Dixon’s stomach sick. Finally, he spoke. “You three get your heads yanked out of your asses and your testosterone in check now?”
“Yes, sir.” They all answered in unison. It was a built-in reaction from their childhood.
Jeremy nodded at them. “Good. Go get you some supper and clean up your mess. Emmie is downstairs, so take turns in our shower upstairs, and this one here. I am headin’ to bed. Goodnight, I love you all.” He kicked the footstool back into place and stood, hugging each boy before walking up the stairs without another word.
Confusion filled the room, but they all turned and left to the kitchen to grab a bite to eat before hitting the sack.
Chapter 4
The next morning, EmmaLee woke late. With a quick glance to the bright red numbers, she flew out of bed. Shit! It’s almost 7:00! Knowing that the Dennisons were usually always up before the sun and woke the roosters, she hurried to get a shower and get dressed for the day. Throwing on her normal jeans and a V-neck white T-shirt, she stepped back into the bathroom to brush her long brown locks into a ponytail. She slapped on her makeup, and stood back to examine her reflection in the mirror. “Ugh. I don’t know why I try.”