The red truck pulled into the parking lot as it came to a stop and the doors opened. Diego and Hank got out of the truck as Kenny, Jeff, Connor and Murphy got out of the back of the truck and Jeff closed the hatch. Connor and Murphy heard gunfire as Connor looked at the sign hanging from the tall post and he saw they were at a gun range.
"What are we doing here?" Connor asked, dropping his accent.
"Just thought you'd like to do a little target practice," Diego said.
Connor wondered why he thought he and Murphy needed any sort of practice when it came to using a gun and Connor barely nodded his head. They headed for the gate as a man with shaggy, black hair and brown eyes looked at them and he smiled. He was wearing a black t-shirt with Elvis in white letters on the front, tight jeans and brown work boots.
"Hey, Diego," the man said.
"Hey, Buck," Diego said.
"Who are these guys?" Buck asked, looking at Murphy and Connor.
"This is Connor and Murphy. They're Annie's brothers."
"Hey," Connor said and Murphy nodded.
"Do you have an available spot of us to do some practice?" Diego asked, looking at the red brick building.
"Yep. Follow me," Buck said.
They headed for the red brick building as they waked down the sidewalk to the back of the building and the gunfire grew louder. They walked by the other men, women and some teenagers and kids doing target practice when Buck stopped at a practice area and Connor and Murphy looked at the handguns, shotguns and boxes of ammunition sitting on the tables.
"What is that?" Connor asked, dropping his accent and he pointed at one of the targets.
"That is a Texas Star. You're going to be using the shotgun on that. Once you hit the first plate, the star will start spinning," Buck explained.
"And we have to hit all the plates after it starts spinning?"
"Right."
"What about those plates over there?"
"Those, you will be using the handgun."
"Will we be timed?"
"How else will we know who's the best?"
Nodding, Connor looked at Murphy and they had a silent conversation. They knew they would be in trouble if they did better than Diego, Hank, Kenny and Jeff, but they didn't want to look like they had no idea what they were doing either.
"So, who wants to go first?" Buck asked.
"I'll go first," Diego said.
He walked to the tables as Diego looked at the targets, checked the handgun, took aim then he nodded to Buck. Buck pushed the button on the stop watch. Diego fired the handgun as the six plates fell then he quickly placed the handgun on the table and he and Buck headed for the other table. Diego picked up the shotgun as he took aim at the Texas Star, fired the shotgun and the targets started spinning. When Diego had hit the targets, he placed the shotgun on the table and Buck pushed the button on the stop watch then he wrote Diego's time on the piece of paper on the table.
"Who's next," Buck asked.
"Me," Hank said.
Hank walked to the table after Buck reset the targets and he handed Hank the handgun. Hank checked the handgun when he took aim and Buck pushed the button on the stop watch. After the six plates fell, Hank placed the handgun on the table, moved to the other table, checked the shotgun, took aim and he fired the shotgun at the Texas Star. When he hit the targets, he placed the shotgun on the table and Buck pushed the button on the stop watch then he wrote down Diego's time on the piece of paper on the table.
"Who's next?" Buck asked after he reset the targets.
"Me," Connor said, dropping his accent.
"This is gonna be good," Jeff whispered.
"Yeah. He's gonna fuck it up," Kenny said.
"Wanna bet?" Connor asked.
"Yeah. Twenty bucks," Jeff said.
"You're on."
Connor picked up the handgun as he checked the handgun then he took aim at the targets.
"Ready?" Buck asked.
"Ready," Connor said and Buck pushed the button on the stop watch.
Connor knew he couldn't hit all of the targets in one go as he fired the handgun and he purposely missed the third target, fired again, hit the third target then he hit the remaining three targets. He put the handgun on the table when he headed for the other table, picked up the shotgun, took aim then he fired the shotgun at the Texas Star. After he hit the targets, he placed the shotgun on the table and Buck pushed the button on the stop watch then he wrote Connor's time on the piece of paper on the table. Connor walked to Jeff and Kenny when he removed two twenty dollar bills out of his wallet, handed the money to them then he placed his wallet back in his jeans pocket.
"Who's next?" Buck asked.
"Me," Jeff said.
Jeff walked to the table as he picked up the handgun after Buck reset the targets and Jeff took aim. Nodding, he watched Buck hit the button on the stop watch then Jeff fired the handgun. He missed the targets a few times as Jeff swore, took aim and tried again then he placed the handgun on the table after he finished. He headed for the other table as he picked up the shotgun when he took aim and he fired the shotgun at the Texas Star. He missed a few times as he growled, fired again then he placed the shotgun on the table and Buck hit the button on the stop watch. He wrote down Jeff's time on the piece of paper on the table then he looked at Kenny and Murphy.
"Ok. Who's next?" Buck asked.
"Me," Kenny said.
Kenny walked to the table as he picked up the handgun, checked the handgun, took aim then he fired the handgun after Buck pushed the button on the stop watch. After Kenny hit all the targets, he headed for the other table, picked up the shotgun, checked the shotgun, took aim and he fired at the Texas Star after Buck pushed the button on the stop watch. When he was done, Kenny placed the shotgun on the table as Buck hit the button on the stop watch and Buck wrote Kenny's time on the piece of paper on the table.
"Guess you're up, Cowboy," Buck said to Murphy and Buck smiled.
"Yeah," Murphy said, dropping his accent.
Murphy walked to the table as he looked at the handgun and Kenny and Jeff noticed the puzzled look on Murphy's face.
"Have you ever held a gun before?" Jeff asked and Murphy looked at him.
"Yeah," Murphy said with a nod of his head.
Murphy picked up the handgun as he checked the handgun, took aim and Buck pushed the button on the stop watch. Murphy fired at the first plate when he missed, tried again and the plate fell. He fired the handgun again, but the handgun jammed when he fried at the third plate.
"Hold on," Buck said as he checked to see what happened. "You touched the magazine. Try again."
Nodding, Murphy fired the handgun at the third plate then the other plates and he smiled. He headed for the other table when he picked up the shotgun, checked the shot gun and he fired the shotgun at the Texas Star. After he was done, Murphy placed the shotgun on the table and Buck pushed the button on the stop watch. He wrote Murphy's time on the piece of paper on the table then he looked at them.
"So, who won?" Diego asked.
Buck looked at the information as he leaned against the table and they waited for him to speak.
"According to this… You won," Buck said.
"Who came in second?" Hank asked.
"Connor came in second, you came in third, Kenny came in fourth, Murphy came in fifth and Jeff came in last."
"Damn," Jeff grumbled.
"Want to try another round?"
"Can't," Diego said.
"Well, come back soon."
Buck shook hands with them then they headed back to the red truck and Diego and Hank got into the truck. Kenny, Jeff, Connor and Murphy got into the back of the truck while Diego started the engine then the red truck headed out of the parking lot. Hank looked back at Connor talking with Murphy when Hank turned around and he frowned.
"I saw the times. Connor only beat you by a fraction of a second," Diego said.
"Makes you wonder where he learned how to shoot like that," Hank said.
"Maybe he's like me."
"You mean he used to be a cop?"
"Maybe."
"But he said he and Murphy used to work on a sheep ranch."
"Doesn't mean he wasn't a cop at some point."
"What about Murphy?"
"What about him?"
"Not sure, but I felt like he was faking."
"You mean he knows how to shoot, too?"
"Yep."
Diego looked at the road while he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel then he sighed.
"You're right," Diego lied.
"They used to be cops?" Hank asked.
"Yeah."
"Damn," Hank said then he smiled, shaking his head. "That explains why they were able to help Lou out when we found that dead cow."
"Yep!"
Hank softly laughed as Diego looked at the road, glanced at Connor and Murphy talking and Diego smiled.
the Golden Cactus Ranch
The red truck stopped in front of the farmhouse as Kenny, Jeff, Connor and Murphy hopped out of the back of the truck and Diego and Hank opened the doors. They got out of the truck and closed the doors when Hank, Jeff and Kenny headed down the path toward the ranch house and Diego, Connor and Murphy headed for the stairs. Diego opened the screen door then the front door as they went inside and Murphy closed the front door.
"How did it go?" Annie asked, walking to Diego and she slid her arms around his waist.
"Diego won," Connor said.
"Won what?"
"He means I'm the best shot," Diego said.
"I came in a close second," Connor said.
"What about you, Murphy?" Annie asked.
"I came in fifth," Murphy said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Fifth?!"
"We didn't want Hank, Jeff or Kenny t'know how good we are with guns," Connor explained.
"Makes sense."
"Well, Hank did wonder if you two were faking it," Diego said.
"What did you tell 'im?" Murphy asked.
"Told them you used to be cops."
"Did he buy it?" Annie asked.
"Yeah," Diego said with a nod.
"Well, dinner's almost ready. Go get washed up."
Diego gave her right cheek a kiss then he, Connor and Murphy headed up the stairs and Annie smiled.
Later that night, Annie saw Lisa and Darcy standing in front of the doorway to the family room and she wondered what they were looking at. She walked closer as she stood next to them and she saw Murphy sitting on the recliner with Nichole sitting on his lap and he was reading her one of her storybooks. Connor and Diego were sitting on the floor next to Mark, Chandler and Peter and they were playing a video game.
"They seem to be having fun," Annie said in a soft voice and Lisa and Darcy looked at her.
"Yeah," Lisa said and Darcy nodded.
"Mind telling me why you look so serious?"
"Um…," Darcy said.
Lisa pointed with her right thumb toward the kitchen while they walked down the hallway and they entered the kitchen. Annie and Darcy headed for the kitchen island while Lisa went to get some wine glasses, opened a bottle of white wine, poured the white wine into the wine glasses, placed the cork back in the bottle, picked up the wine glasses then she walked to the kitchen island.
Annie wondered why they needed some wine, not that she was complaining, as she took the wine glass and Lisa sat on one of the stools. Annie and Darcy sat on the other stools as Annie sipped on the wine and she waited for them to say something.
"Ok. Will one of you please tell me what's wrong?" Annie asked.
"Are Connor and Murphy gay?" Lisa asked and Annie nearly choked on the wine. After she calmed down, Annie started laughing and she shook her head.
"No. They are not gay," Annie said.
"Then why aren't either of them married? Connor…. Connor's hot," Lisa said.
"You think he's hot?!"
"Yeah."
"So's Murphy," Darcy said.
Annie blinked her eyes a few times then she took a drink of wine.
"The one thing you have to know about my brothers when it comes to women is they are both picky. It doesn't have to do with looks. It has to do with what is inside. I have seen them go through girlfriends growing up and it was always the same thing. 'She's pretty. I'll give you that. But she's shallow.' "I like her, but she's two-faced.' 'I was gonna get serious with her, but I found out she sleeps around.'," Annie said and she switched into her accent while she talked like Connor or Murphy.
"Did they ever say what they were looking for?" Lisa asked.
"Besides what's on the inside? Yeah. Connor wants someone who is like him. Someone who doesn't take shit from anyone. Someone who can stand up for themselves, but still stands next to him if need be. Someone who likes to be silly from time to time as well. Murphy? He liked to take his time. To get to know someone. And that someone needs to accept him for all his faults as well as his good qualities," Annie explained.
"Sounds like Connor's looking for someone like Lisa," Darcy teased.
"Wouldn't mind," Lisa said.
"But…"
"Darcy, it's ok. We know you're still not ready," Annie said.
"You think I would be. It's been four years since… Since Anthony died."
"Yeah, it has."
"And I don't know if Murphy even likes me. I know he's been a big help with Mark and his art projects."
"Murphy used to draw and paint."
"Why did he stop?" Lisa asked.
"Connor and their friends used to tease him about it."
"Do you think Connor likes me?" Lisa asked.
Before Annie could say something, Connor walked in the room and he headed for the refrigerator.
"Sorry t'interrupt," Connor said, opening the refrigerator door and he removed the plastic water bottles. He closed the refrigerator door when he noticed how they were looking at him and he frowned. "Is there summat wrong?"
"Well, I was wondering if you were going to go after Sam," Lisa said.
"Yer ex-husband? No, we're not."
"What if he comes back?"
Connor leaned against the edge of the counter behind him when he placed the plastic water bottles on the counter and he crossed his arms over his chest. Annie noticed how Lisa stared at the muscles of his arms and Connor pressed his lips into a thin line.
"What would Murphy an' I do if he came back?" Connor asked and Lisa nodded. "We'd deal with him, I guess."
"How?" Lisa asked.
"I guess it would depend on what he did. He mouths off at Chandler or Peter? He an' I would have some words. If he takes a swing at me? Then that's his problem."
"What if I tell you not to fight him?"
"Then I won't."
"What if he mouths off to me?"
"That, I would let you handle," he said with a grin.
"What would Murphy do?" Darcy asked.
"Not sure what he'd do if Sam mouthed off. But he would join in if Sam swung at me."
"Would he fight Sam if I told him not to?" Lisa asked.
"No, he wouldn't."
Connor picked up the plastic water bottles as he headed for the doorway then he turned and looked at them.
"Is that it?" he asked with a puzzled look.
"Yeah," Lisa said.
Nodding, he turned and walked out of the room. Annie noticed Lisa was staring at Connor's ass as Annie smiled and Lisa snorted a laugh.
"Can't help it. He's got a cute ass," Lisa said, taking a sip of wine.
"Not as cute as Murphy's," Darcy said.
"Oh please," Annie said with a sigh and she rolled her eyes. They broke out laughing when Lisa stood, got up and she went to pour them some more wine.
Later that night, the house was dark while Murphy slept on his left side and the fingers of his right hand were bent over the edge of the mattress. Sighing, Murphy snuggled under the bedding when his eyes opened and he looked into the semi-dark room. He listened to the silence as the feeling something was wrong moved through him and he moving the bedding back. Ebony growled in protest as Murphy sat up, reached back to scratch the top of the cat's head then Murphy got out of bed. He carefully moved toward the door, quietly opened the door and he heard the soft grumbling of Connor's snoring. Smiling, Murphy slowly headed down the hallway when he could barely see Darcy in the hallway and he walked to her.
"What are you doing up?" Darcy whispered.
"Not sure. Jus' have a feelin' summat's wrong," Murphy whispered.
He scanned the hallway with his eyes when he looked at the door to Nichole's room and Darcy followed his gaze. Murphy held up his right index finger then he headed for the door and he slowly opened the door. He slid into the room as he listened and he heard a soft sniffing sound. He walked to the small bed when he knelt down and he could just see Nichole from the pink light coming from the star night light. Nichole whimpered and he felt a knot forming in his chest.
"Hey," he whispered and Nichole opened her eyes.
She could just see him as she sniffed and he reached over to brush the hair out of her eyes.
"What's wrong?"
"I had a bad dream," Nichole said.
"Do you remember what it was about?"
"The bad man was hurting Peter."
"You mean his daddy?"
"Yeah. Then he was hurting Chandler."
"He was?"
"Yeah. Then he was hurting Mark."
"He was hurtin' Mark?!"
"Yeah. That's when the bad man came at me."
"What did you do?"
"I ran. I tried to find you, but I couldn't."
She started crying and he looked back at the doorway. He could just see Darcy standing in the doorway and she headed for the bed.
"Hey, Honey," Darcy said, kneeling next to Murphy.
"Mommy, the bad man was hurting Chandler and Peter," Nichole said.
Murphy barely saw the tissue box on the night table as he handed Darcy a tissue and Darcy wiped Nichole's eyes and nose.
"Chandler and Peter are fine," Darcy said.
"An' th'bad man's gone," Murphy said.
"But he comes back," Nichole said with a sniff and Darcy wiped Nichole's nose.
"And Miss Lisa will make him go away," Darcy assured her, brushing her fingers through Nichole's hair and Nichole yawned.
"Hey," Murphy said and Nichole looked at him. "Th'next time th'bad man shows up? You imagine me bein' there. I'll kick his butt."
"Promise?" Nichole asked.
"I promise. No one hurts you, yer brother or anyone else as long as I'm around."
Smiling, she closed her eyes as Darcy kept moving her fingers through her daughter's hair and Murphy started humming a lullaby.
"Night, Honey," Darcy whispered.
"Night, Mommy," Nichole whispered.
Darcy got up when she headed for the doorway, turned and she looked at Murphy.
"Night, Princess," Murphy whispered as he stood up.
"Night, Papa," Nichole whispered.
Murphy headed for the doorway as Darcy moved back so he could leave the room and he could just see her smiling at him.
"Thanks for the help," Darcy whispered.
"No problem," Murphy whispered.
"What was that you were humming?"
"It's…"
Murphy blinked his eyes for a few seconds when he suddenly realized the lullaby was something his father used to hum when he was little.
"It's summat my dad used t'do t'get me an' Connor t'go t'sleep."
She heard the pain and sadness in his voice as her finger brushed against his finger and he sighed.
"Well, I guess we better go back to bed," Darcy said.
"Yeah," Murphy said with a nod.
He could just see her heading for her bedroom as she went inside and she closed the door. Taking a quick look into Nichole's room, Murphy headed down the hallway and he softly started humming the lullaby again.
He went in his bedroom when he carefully walked to the bed, sat on the mattress, slid under the bedding and he went to rest on his back. He looked at the dark ceiling for a while then he rolled onto his left side, slightly moved the pillow up and he closed his eyes. He started to drift off to sleep when his eyes opened and he sat up.
"She… She called me "papa"," Murphy whispered, looking at Ebony. The cat grumbled at being woke up again and he reached over to scratch the top of the cat's head. Murphy sat against the pillows as he looked into the darkness and Connor walked in the room.
"What's wrong?" Connor asked, carefully heading to the bed. He had felt Murphy's distress and he sat down on the mattress.
"I… I woke up with this feelin' summat was wrong. Got up. Left th'room. That's when I saw Darcy. She felt like summat was wrong, too. We went into Nichole's room. She was really upset,' Murphy explained
"Nichole was upset?"
Murphy nodded.
"I asked her what was wrong. She has this bad dream."
"What was it about?"
"Sam."
"Sam?"
"Well, she said the bad man was hurtin' Chandler," Murphy said then he felt the anger coming from his twin.
"He was hurtin' Chandler?"
"An' Peter an' Mark. When he came after her, she went lookin' fer me. She couldn't find me."
Connor felt the guilt coming from him as he lightly patted Murphy's left leg and Murphy sighed.
"Darcy an' I calmed her down. Darcy left th'room an' I told Nichole goodnight. That's when… When…"
"When what?"
"Jus' before she went t'sleep, Nichole called me "papa"."
"She did?!"
Murphy nodded then rubbed his face with his hands.
"This isn't fair," Murphy grumbled.
"I know," Connor said with a sigh.
"Do you like Lisa?"
"Yeah, I do. What about you? Do you like Darcy?"
"Yeah."
"An' you are enjoyin' bein' there fer Mark an' Nichole."
Murphy knew he wasn't asking a question.
"Yeah," Murphy said with a nod then he tilted his head to one side. "Do you think this is a part of it? Like we're bein' tested?"
"If it is, then I think I know what I wanna do."
"Me, too."
Connor patted Murphy's left leg again before he got up, headed for the doorway then he left the room. Sighing, Murphy slid down onto the mattress then he rolled onto his left side, moved the bedding up, closed his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.