Three months later
Connor and Murphy sat on the couch in the family room while they watched a movie on the television and Ebony was sleeping on top of the couch near Murphy's right shoulder. The cat's tail lightly tapped the right side of his head every now and then and Murphy lightly brushed the tail away.
"Hey guys," Diego said, walking into the room and he went to sit on the recliner. Devil went to settle next to the recliner and Diego reached down to pat the top of the wolf's head. "What are you watching?"
"One of my favorite action movies," Connor said.
"Which we have seen over a hundred time," Murphy grumbled and Connor glared at him.
"Well, if you guys want to see some action…," Diego said.
"What sort of action?"
"Remember when we went to the rodeo last week?" he asked and they nodded. "Well, I have a friend who trains people in bull riding and bronco busting. Wanna go?"
Connor and Murphy looked at each other when they had a silent conversation and Connor used the remote to turn the television off.
"Let's go!" Connor said, getting up.
Startled, Ebony fell off the top of the couch and Murphy picked the cat off the floor.
"Sorry," Murphy said, holding the cat in his arms and Ebony growled. "Yeah. Yeah."
Placing the cat on the back of the couch, he scratched Ebony's ears then he, Connor and Diego left the room.
Houston
The white truck stopped near a red Ford as the door opened and Diego got out of the truck. Devil followed him while Connor and Murphy got out of the back of the truck and they went to catch up with Diego. They headed for the gate and Diego walked to a man with blonde hair and green eyes.
"Hey, Pat," Diego said.
"Hey," Patrick Archer said as he glanced at Connor and Murphy. "Who are they?"
"This is Connor and Murphy MacManus. They're Annie's brothers."
"Cool," he said with a nod. "So, what brings you here?"
"Wanted to show them what it takes to ride a bull."
"You guys into bull riding?" he asked as he looked at Connor and Murphy.
"Yeah," Connor said, dropping his accent, and Murphy nodded.
"Well, follow me."
They walked by the gate as they headed down the path and the sound of cheering, snorting and clapping filled the air. They headed for the bleachers as they walked up the stairs and they sat down. They watched some of the trainers as Connor smiled and Murphy slightly flinched when one of the trainers fell off the bull.
"How long does it take to learn to do that?" Connor asked.
"For some, it takes a few months. Other? It might take a few years," Pat explained.
"Did you ever do it?"
"Yeah. Started when I was fourteen. Won a few junior rodeos then went full time."
"Why did you stop?" Murphy asked, dropping his accent.
"Got really badly hurt a few years ago. Broke both legs and wrecked my right shoulder."
They watched a few more trainers as one of the trainers nearly got slammed into the wall and Connor and Murphy flinched.
"Wanna try a little training?" Pat asked.
"Sure," Connor said and Murphy nodded.
Getting up, they followed Pat down the stairs and they headed around the corner. They looked at the straw littered around the dirt and the metal fencing where three bulls were waiting their turn and Pat walked to a man with dark hair standing next to the training dummy.
The training dummy was a curved piece of metal mounted on a device which allows them to move the metal around to simulate riding a bull and green and blue padding on top of the metal made a mock saddle. Rope was welded to the metal so the trainer could hold on and the rope was looped at the end so the trainer could secure their feet.
"Jack, got some friends who want to try bull riding training," Pat said.
"Ever do this before?" Jack Lance asked.
"Nope," Connor said and Murphy shook his head.
Jack explained what they had to do while Connor and Murphy looked at the training dummy then they looked at each other.
"Who wants to go first?" Pat asked.
"Me," Murphy said.
Murphy walked to the training dummy as Jake helped him sit and Murphy slid the rope in his right hand. Murphy slid his feet into the loops while he settled down on the training dummy and he slowly raised his left arm.
"Ready?" Jake asked.
"Ready," Murphy said.
Slightly startled, Murphy held on as they moved the training dummy and he remembered to hold up his left arm to keep his balance.
"Wanna stop?" Jake asked after a few minutes and Murphy nodded. They stopped the training dummy as Murphy slowly slid off the training dummy and his legs and bottom screamed in pain.
"Are you ok?" Diego asked.
"Kind of," Murphy said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Most of the new trainers' legs and butt hurt for a few days," Pat said then he looked at Connor. "Your turn."
Connor walked to the training dummy as Jake helped hm sit and Connor slid the rope in his right hand. He slid his feet into the loops when he slowly lifted his left arm and he gave Murphy a sly grin.
"Ready?" Jake asked.
"Hell yeah," Connor said.
Jake nodded when they started moving the training dummy and Pat and Diego were surprised with how well Connor handled being on the training dummy.
"Damn," Diego whispered and Pat nodded.
"Wanna stop?" Jake asked after a few minutes and Connor nodded. They stopped the training dummy as Connor hopped off the training dummy and he stretched his arms over his head.
"That was wild! Are you sure you never did this before!?" Pat asked.
"I'm sure," Connor said when a man with red hair walked to Pat and Pat turned to look at him.
"What's wrong?" Pat asked.
"It's Angus," Archie Gray said.
"Not again," he said with a sigh.
"What's wrong?" Diego asked.
"It's this new bull. For some reason he won't let anyone ride him."
"Can we see him?" Connor asked.
"Sure."
After thanking Jake for letting them train, Connor and Murphy followed Pat and Diego and they headed for the barn. They walked by the stalls when they arrived at the stall at the back of the barn and they looked at the bull with a black hide and tail and the bull had tan hide around its nose, mouth and around its eyes. The horns were black and curvy and soulful, dark eyes looked at them.
"How old is he?" Diego asked.
"He's just over two years," Pat said.
"How long has he been here?"
"It's been two months."
"And he doesn't let people near him?"
"No. He's fine around people. Just doesn't want anyone riding him."
"Has the vet looked at him? He might have back or legs problems."
"Yeah, the vet has looked at him. His back and legs are fine."
"What are you going to do if he doesn't allow anyone to ride him?" Connor asked.
"We'll have to sell him."
Nodding, Diego looked at Angus when he thought of something then he walked to one side of the barn. He removed the cellphone from the pocket of his jeans when he pushed the buttons then held the cellphone to his right ear.
"Lisa? It's Diego. I'm fine. Yeah. Connor and Murphy are with me. Took them to see some bull riders training. Anyway. They have this bull that doesn't want anyone riding it. No. It's tame. Pat said they'll have to sell the bull if it won't let anyone ride him. That got me thinking. Would it be ok if I buy it? Hold on. I'll ask."
Diego motioned for Pat to come over as Pat walked to him and Pat had a confused look on his face.
"What's up?" Pat asked.
"I was thinking. If Angus doesn't want to have anyone ride him, would you mind selling him to us?" Diego asked.
"I thought you had a bull."
"We did. Brutus died a few months back."
"Well, I'll have to talk with the boss."
"Ok."
Pat walked off as Connor and Murphy walked to Diego and Diego sighed, leaning against the wall.
"What's going on?" Connor asked.
"I called Lisa and ask if she wouldn't mind if I bought Angus," Diego said then he held the cellphone up to his right ear. "Lisa? Yeah. He's gonna go talk to his boss. Ok. I'll call you back."
He ended the call as they looked at the bull and Angus made a low mooing sound.
the Golden Cactus Ranch
The white truck came to a stop as the larger truck stopped behind the truck and the doors opened. Diego and Devil got out of the truck as he closed the door and Connor and Murphy got out of the back of the truck. They walked to the larger truck as Pat and Jake got out of the truck and closed the doors. They walked to the back of the large truck when Pat opened the doors to the back of the large truck and they looked at Angus.
"Hey!" made Diego turn while Annie, Lisa, Darcy and the kids walked closer and Lisa walked to Pat.
"Are you sure the bull is tame?" Lisa asked.
"Yeah," Pat said with a nod.
Lisa walked up the ramp as she looked at the bull and Angus lowered its head. Something told her Angus was harmless as she smiled and moved her right hand for Angus to sniff. The bull sniffed her hand then nuzzled her hand with its nose and she lightly stroked her fingers over the soft hide.
"Let's get him out and into his new pen," Lisa said, walking down the ramp.
Jake and Pat headed up the ramp as Pat opened the gate, but the bull didn't move.
"Come on, Angus. It's ok," Pat said.
"Yeah. This is your new home," Jake said.
Angus stood still and was slightly shaking.
"What's wrong?" Annie asked.
"I don't know," Lisa said.
Connor looked at the bull when he walked up the ramp and he headed for the bull. Angus had a rope lead around its neck as Connor locked eyes with the bull then Connor slowly knelt down to pick up the rope lead.
"Easy now," Connor said in a soft voice and gently pulled on the rope lead. "No one's going to hurt you."
Angus inched closer while Connor slowly walked backwards, headed for the ramp and he led the bull down the ramp. Angus looked around as the bull sniffed the air and its ears perked up at the sound of the cows mooing.
"See?" Connor said as he lightly patted the bull's nose. "Everything is fine. You are going to have room to roam around and it sounds like you are going to make friends with the other cows. Also, you are going to have nice people to take care of you."
He barely pulled on the rope lead as the bull moved and he led Angus toward Lisa and the others. He stopped as Annie walked closer and she barely patted the bull's neck.
"He looks like a real sweetie," Darcy said, lifting Nichole off the ground and Darcy walked to the bull.
"It won't bite?" Nichole asked.
"Nah!" Connor said.
She carefully moved her left hand toward the bull's head as she quickly patted its right ear and Angus made a soft mooing sound.
"See? He said hi."
"What's his name?" Peter asked.
"Angus."
"Cool," Chandler said.
"Thanks for letting us have him," Lisa said and Pat nodded. She watched Pat and Jake get into the large truck after putting the ramp back up and closing the doors to the back of the large truck. Pat started the engine then put the large truck in gear and the large truck headed down the path.
"Where are we going to put him?" Darcy asked, looking at Angus.
"I think Paddock Thirteen," Diego said.
"We demolished that after Brutus died, remember?" Lisa asked.
"Then I guess we'll put him in Paddock Eleven."
"Well, let's get him to his new home," Connor said, lightly pulling on the rope lead and Angus started walking. They headed down the path until they came to an empty paddock with a small barn and Diego opened the gate. Connor led Angus into the paddock while the bull looked around and Connor removed the rope lead. The bull walked away from him as the bull sniffed the grass then the bull started grazing.
"Seems like he likes his new home," Lisa said.
"Looks like," Connor said, watching Angus' tail swinging happily back and forth.
"You do know you and Murphy are going to have to get the barn ready for him, right?"
"Aye, aye, Captain!" he said as he gave her a small salute. "Murphy!? Come on! We gotta get th'barn ready fer Angus!"
Nodding, Murphy followed Connor as they walked to the barn and Annie noticed the amused look on Lisa's face.
"He is something, isn't he?" Lisa asked after Annie walked over to stand next to her.
"Are you talking about the bull or my brother?" Annie teased and Lisa laughed.
"I'm talking about Connor."
"Yeah, he is," she said while watching Connor hop over the top of the fence and she softly laughed.
In the barn, Connor used a long handle broom to sweep the floor and Murphy was filling the water trough. Connor placed the handle against the wall when he went to place some feed into the feed trough and he frowned. The dream he had back at the motel moved through his head when he realized something and he looked at Murphy.
"Do you remember me tellin' you I had that strange back at th'motel?" Connor asked.
"You never told me what it was about," Murphy said.
"Like with yers, I was somewhere I've never seen before. Now I know I was here. Th'buildings… What I was wearin'…. All of it."
"Was I there?"
"Nope."
"What were you doin'?"
"I was jus' walkin' around. Th'next thing I know? I was standin' in front of Paddock Thirteen. Th'gate opened an' I walk inside. I had no idea why I was in there. That's when I heard this snortin' sound. When I turned around, there was this bull standin' behind me."
"You dreamt about Brutus?"
"At first, I thought it was. But, now that I think about it, the hide was all wrong. Brutus had a brown hide. The bull in my dream had a black hide."
"Like Angus?"
"Jus' like Angus."
"Were you scared when you saw th'bull?"
"More like surprised. That's why I woke up."
"Hmmm…"
They finished cleaning and setting up the barn when they heard something entering the barn and they saw Angus heading toward them. They stood still while the bull explored the barn and its tail moved slowly back and forth.
"Looks like he likes it," Murphy said.
Nodding, Connor walked to the bull as Angus looked at him and Connor slowly held up his hands. He stopped in front of the bull when Connor lightly patted the side of the bull's neck and Angus barely nudged him in the chest.
"Glad you like it," Connor said in a soft voice. He nodded his head toward the door as they left the barn and Angus went to nibble on some of the feed in the trough.
Later that night - the farmhouse
The first thing Connor noticed was the soft, double beeping sound.
The second thing he noticed was someone was holding tightly onto his right hand. He looked down to see Murphy's left hand and their knuckles were white.
The last thing he noticed was they were standing in what appeared to be a hospital hallway and they were wearing hospital gowns.
"What th'hell's going on?" Murphy asked with a sound of fear in his voice.
"I dunno," Connor said.
The air was ice cold and the lights in the ceiling flickered on and off. A thin mist moved over the floor and around their bare feet. The mist soaked into their skin as they glanced at each other and a soft sound of angelic music started playing.
"No," Murphy whispered.
"Easy," Connor whispered.
They started walking down the hallway as the music grew louder and Murphy held on tighter to Connor's right hand. They moved by the doorways when Connor saw the bright light coming from the doorway at the end of the hallway and the soft, double beeping sound grew louder.
"Connor…," Murphy moaned.
"It's alright. Keep walkin'," Connor said.
The bright light flared as they covered their eyes with their hands then Annie, Diego, Lisa, Darcy and the kids appeared and the bright light shimmered around them. Connor and Murphy watched images of Annie and Diego getting married, Lisa interacting with Peter and Chandler and Darcy interacting with Mark and Nichole and they saw themselves in the images.
"What is this?" Murphy asked.
"What could be," startled them as they spun around, but they didn't let go of each other's hands.
"What could be," Connor repeated, blinking his eyes a few times.
The soft, double beeping grew louder as they stood in the hallway and the mist started to grow thicker.
"Conner…!" Murphy moaned
Connor felt the fear and worrying coming from his twin as Connor squeezed Murphy's fingers and they started walking back up the hallway. They stopped when a pair of metal doors appeared at the end of the hallway and they glanced at each other.
"No!"
"Easy," Connor said, pushing on the door to his left.
Murphy pushed the door on his right as they walked in the room and they looked at the wall with metal doors.
"No," Murphy repeated over and over and Connor pulled him closer. They held onto each other while two of the doors in the wall slowly opened and two metal slabs move toward them.
The soft, double beeping sound grew louder as the white sheets covering the bodies lying on the metal slabs started moving and Murphy buried his face in Connor's neck. Connor held onto the back of his brother's head as he felt Murphy shaking and he could just see dark brown hair and light brown hair appearing from under the sheets.
"What might be," filled their ears as the bright light flared and the soft, double beeping sound stopped.
Connor and Murphy gasped as they sat up in their beds and they breathed hard and fast. Getting out of bed, they headed for the doors when they opened the doors, went into the hallway and nearly crashed into each other. Connor held onto the sides of Murphy's head as they breathed hard through their noses and Murphy held onto Connor's shoulders. Both of them were drenched in sweat as their hearts slammed in their chests and they pulled each other in for a hug.
In the other room, Annie's eyes snapped open as she felt something was wrong and she got out of bed.
"Where're you goin'?" Diego asked in a sleepy voice.
"I need to check on something," she said, kissing the side of his head. She headed for the door as she opened the door and she walked down the hallway. She could just see Connor and Murphy standing in the hallway when she carefully walked closer and she heard Murphy's sobbing. She stopped near them when she carefully touched Connor's left forearm and Connor gasped.
"Annie?" Connor whispered.
"Yeah. It's me. What's wrong?" Annie asked as she touched Murphy's hair.
"No," Murphy whimpered.
"It's ok. It's Annie," Connor whispered.
"Guys, what's going on?" Annie asked.
"We… We had a bad dream."
"About what?"
"We were in a hospital. Don't know why."
"There was this… This beepin' sound," Murphy said.
"Like from that thing they had Romeo hooked up to."
"The beepin' kept gettin' louder an' we were bein' covered with this mist."
"We headed down th'hallway t'this doorway."
"What did you see?" Annie asked.
"We saw you, Diego, Lisa, Darcy an' th'kids," Connor said.
"Were you there?"
"Aye, an' this voice said what we were seein' is what could be."
"What could be?"
They nodded and Murphy wiped his eyes on the back of his right hand.
"We turned around an' went back down th'hallway," Murphy said.
"That's when we came t'these other doors," Connor said.
"Where did they lead to?" Annie asked.
"We think it was th'morgue," Murphy said.
"The morgue?!"
"There were these doors in th'wall an' th'room was ice cold," Connor explained.
"Two of th'doors opened an' these metal slabs came outta th'wall," Murphy said.
"An' there were two bodies covered with sheets on th'metal slabs."
"Th'sheets started movin' an' a voice said this is what might be."
"That's when we woke up."
Annie sighed when she moved closer and she hugged her brothers. She rubbed their backs while their heads touched and she felt their bodies shaking.
"Do you have any idea why you had that dream?" she asked and they shook their heads. She had a feeling they did know, but weren't ready to tell her. She moved back as she held onto Connor's right shoulder and Murphy's left shoulder and she could just see the tears in their eyes. "Well, whatever it was, it's over. Think you can go back to bed?"
"Only if I can sleep in Connor's room," Murphy said.
She knew Connor and Murphy used to sleep in each other's beds if one or the other or both were scared and she lightly patted their shoulders.
"I don't think that's a good idea. Someone might wonder why you were sleeping in his room or why he was sleeping in your room," Annie said.
"She's right," Connor said.
Nodding, Murphy sniffed and Annie rubbed his shoulder. She thought for a few seconds when she took hold of their hands and she started pulling them down the hallway. They carefully went downstairs as she led them to the family room then she let go of their hands.
"What are you doin'?" Murphy asked.
Holding up her left index finger, Annie carefully headed for the couch when she walked around the couch, picked the remote off the coffee table and she pushed the button. The television came on as they walked to Annie and she handed Connor the remote.
"I'll just say you guys fell asleep watching a movie," she said.
Nodding, Connor walked to the couch when he went to stretch out on the cushions then used the remote to find a movie he wanted to watch. After putting one of the cushions under his head, she covered him with the blanket which was on top of the couch.
Murphy walked to the recliner when he sat down, pulled the lever to make the foot rest lift up and she used the other blanket which was on the couch to cover him.
Kissing the tops of their head, she watched them close their eyes and she waited until she was sure they were asleep before she left the room.
As she went upstairs, Annie hoped they would tell her what was really going on and she wiped away some tears which were rolling down her cheeks.