Two weeks later
Connor and Murphy walked outside when they saw the trucks parked near the front of the house and Lisa, Darcy, Annie, Diego, Devil, Nichole, Hank, Jeff, Kenny, Mark, Peter and Chandler were standing near the trucks.
"What's goin' on?" Connor asked, walking closer.
"We're going to the grain and feed store," Annie explained.
"Us, too?" Murphy asked.
"Yes," Lisa said.
"Who's goin' with who?" Connor asked.
"Diego, Hank, Jeff and Kenny are going in that truck," Annie said, pointing to the large Ford truck.
"The boys, Annie and I are going in that truck," Lisa said, pointing to the red truck.
"You two can go with me and Nichole in that truck," Darcy said, pointing to the white truck.
"Let's go," Connor said.
They headed for the trucks as Murphy and Connor got into the back of the white truck and Darcy placed Nichole in the child's seat. Darcy closed the door when she nodded to Connor and Murphy then she got into the white truck. The sounds of engines starting filled the air as the trucks headed down the road and small puffs of dust blew out from under the tires.
Woods' Grain and Feed
The trucks pulled into the parking lot as the trucks came to a stop in the parking spaces near the front of the two-story red brick building. The archways opened into the large warehouse and people led the pallets or shopping carts filled with bags and containers of feed or grain to the other trucks out of the warehouse. The truck doors opened as Connor, Murphy, Lisa, Darcy, Annie, Diego, Devil, Nichole, Hank, Jeff, Kenny, Mark, Peter and Chandler got out of the trucks and the doors made a soft slam after being shut.
"Now what do we do?" Connor asked, placing on the blue lens sunglasses.
"We go inside," Annie said, lightly nudging him and he snorted a laugh.
"Brat," Murphy said.
"Eejit," Annie said.
"Do I have to separate the two of you?" Lisa teased and they smiled at her.
They headed for the archways as the glass doors hissed open and the cool air of the air conditioning moved over them. They headed for the shopping carts and pallets as Nichole held onto the fingers of Murphy's left hand and he smiled down at her. Connor watched Diego, Hank, Jeff and Kenny walk over to the pallets and Diego talked with the man standing next to the pallets. The man was heavy set with thinning black hair and dark eyes and he wore jeans, work boots, a slightly dirty white t-shirt. The man glanced at him and Murphy then he looked at Diego and the man nodded.
"Who's that?" Connor asked, looking at Annie.
"That's Andy Woods. He owns the place," Annie explained.
"Looks like Diego's tellin' him about us."
"Don't get paranoid. It's fine."
Nodding, Connor saw Diego, Hank, Jeff and Kenny push a few of the pallets toward the shelves of feed and grain and Devil followed close behind Diego. Murphy was scanning the rows of shelves, the cross beams and fluorescent lights on the ceiling and he listened to the country music playing over the speakers.
"Mister Murphy," made him look down at Nichole when he went onto his haunches and she placed her left hand on his right knee. "Don't forget. You gotta use your other voice."
"You mean this one?" Murphy asked as he curbed his accent.
"Yeah!"
Smiling, he stood up while Lisa, Darcy and Annie looked at the lists and Nichole took hold of the fingers of Murphy's right hand.
"Right….," Lisa said as she looked at them. "Connor, you and Murphy will be going with Annie. I'll take the boys with me. And Darcy will take Nichole with her."
"Why can't we go off on our own?" Connor asked.
"Do you know what type of feed we need?"
Connor opened his mouth to say something then he closed his mouth and Lisa smiled.
"We could show 'em what we need," Chandler said.
"Yeah," Peter agreed while Mark nodded his head.
"I don't think so," Lisa said.
"Mom….," Chandler moaned.
"Do you want to go in there?" she asked and Connor looked over at the small room with glass walls framed in black metal and he saw a woman with blond hair floating around her shoulders standing near a large desk. Small children were playing with toys, watching a video on the television or coloring at a circular table and he looked at the white door. The sign over the door read The Coop in bright blue neon light and a small grin spread over his face.
"Let me guess. That's where they put the really little kids," Connor whispered to Annie.
"Yep," Annie whispered.
"Let's roll," Lisa said and the boys followed her. She was pushing a pallet as she went down the aisle and Murphy knelt down on his haunches, looking at Nichole.
"You stay with your mommy, ok?" he whispered.
"I will," Nichole whispered and he stood up. Darcy placed Nichole in the child's seat of the shopping cart then Darcy walked off and Annie looked at Connor and Murphy.
"Come on." Annie said, nodding toward the pallet. She showed them how to operate the pallet as they headed down the aisle and she checked the list. They headed by the shelves as she introduced them to the people who worked at the warehouse and she noticed a few of the women were smiling sweetly at Connor and Murphy.
"Looks like you're getting a few admirers," she whispered. They turned around to watch the women walking away and Annie had to stop Murphy from walking into a support beam. "Eejit."
"Brat," he whispered and Connor smiled.
They headed down the aisles as they got help getting the feed sacks when Annie noticed a look in Connor and Murphy's eyes and she shook her heard.
"No."
"No what?" Connor asked.
"It says right here children are not allowed to ride or play on the pallet."
"Is she calling us children?" Murphy asked.
"I think she is," Connor said with a hurt look on his face.
"Come off it. You know you two want to either ride on this or you want to find another one and race them up and down the aisles," Annie said.
"That thought may have crossed our minds," Connor said with a smug look, crossing his arms over his chest. "But we were not going to do it."
"No. We weren't," Murphy agreed.
"Then I apologize," Annie said. They all looked at each other when they snorted a laugh and Annie pushed the pallet down the aisle.
"Do you remember when we raced shopping carts up and down th'aisles at the grocery store?" Connor asked, glancing at Murphy.
"I think it was just before we left Ireland," Murphy said.
"It was and Ma told me she still can't go to that store," Annie said.
"We apologized after we nearly slammed into that toilet paper display," Connor said.
"You still crashed into several shopping carts and scared some kids."
"She's right," Murphy said.
"I thought Ma was going to disown us," Connor said.
"Nah. Ma loves us too much to do that."
"Yeah. She does," Annie said with a nod.
They headed down the aisle when she stopped the pallet and she looked at the man standing near the shelves with cow feed on them. The man was tall and he looked like he worked out. His arm muscles were bulky and he had broad shoulder and a barrel chest. His brown hair was down to his shoulders and he had a full beard. His brown eyes glared at them and he flexed his large fingers in and out. He was dressed in jeans, work boots, a black t-shirt with RIDE OR DIE written in white letters on the front and a denim vest.
"Oh shit," she grumbled.
"What's wrong?" Connor asked.
"That's Denny Mils."
"Who is he?" Murphy asked.
"He's Greg's cousin."
After Greg and Carl Wilson were released on bail, Lou had received a phone call from a local gun shop. The owner told him Greg had been to the shop, asking about buying a gun. The owner refused to sell him a gun and Greg had stormed out of the shop. The deputy who was watching him had confronted him about what he was doing and Greg told him to mind his own damn business before shoving the deputy. The deputy arrested him for assaulting an officer and they had gotten a warrant to check Carl's apartment. Greg had moved in with his brother after he had been fired from the ranch. When they searched the apartment, they found a one-way bus ticket to Dallas in Greg's name, the money Greg removed from his bank account and a packed suitcase. After they questioned Greg at the station, he finally broke down and confessed he was going to Dallas to see Angel. When asked why he needed a gun, he confessed he was going to kill her. Greg was arrested and put on a suicide watch.
Connor and Murphy watched Annie move the pallet when Denny stood in front of the pallet and she stopped.
"Get out of the way," Annie said.
"What will you do if I don't?" Denny asked, locking eyes with her. "You ain't got yer boyfriend with you."
"She's got us," Connor said.
"Who th'fuck are you?"
"They're my brothers," Annie said.
"You think you can take me on?" Denny asked, glaring at Connor and Murphy.
"Faced bigger assholes than you," Murphy said.
A low growl filled Denny's throat. He walked around the pallet when he stood in front of them and Connor tilted his head to one side. Flexing his large fingers, Denny looked from one to the other as he waited for either of them to make the first move and he snorted a breath of air.
"Is there a problem?" made Denny turn to look behind him and Andy Woods gave him a blank look.
"No problem," Denny grumbled. He walked by Connor and Murphy as Andy looked at Annie and Annie sighed.
"Sorry about that, Andy," Annie said.
"Ain't nothing to be sorry about," Andy said, looking at Connor and Murphy. "Hello."
"Hello," Connor said with a nod.
"Hello," Murphy said.
"Finding everything ok?" Andy asked Annie.
"Yeah. Though it looks like you're out of this," Annie said as she showed him the list.
"Been out of that for the last week. I suggest people use this," Andy said as he pointed to a large bag of cow feed. "It's cheaper, but the cows don't notice the difference."
"Then we'll take a few bags."
Nodding, he helped Connor and Murphy load the bags of cow feed onto the pallet then Andy walked off.
"Let's go," Annie said and they headed down the aisle.
A short time later, everyone met at the front of the warehouse as Lisa pointed toward the check-out area and they moved the pallets and the shopping cart toward the second check-out line. Diego noticed the angry look on Annie's face as he walked to her and she sighed.
"What happened?" Diego asked.
"We ran into Denny Mills," Annie said.
"What did he do?"
"He stood in front of the pallet and wouldn't move."
"Did he threaten you?"
"Kinda. But Andy showed up and Denny walked off."
"We were going to take him on if he tried something," Connor said.
"That wouldn't have been a good idea," Diego said.
"He's right," Annie agreed.
People started moving in the line as they bought their purchases and Lisa motioned for the boys to move. Connor noticed the boys looked angry as he walked to Lisa and she saw the concern on his face.
"What's wrong?" Connor asked.
"Mom wouldn't let us ride on the pallet," Peter said.
"Annie wouldn't let me an' Murphy ride on it either."
"You wanted to ride on it?" Lisa asked with a grin.
"Yeah."
"It's not a toy."
"I know. Just wanted t'have a little fun."
"That's what we told her," Chandler said.
"But…," Connor said, holding up the index finger of his right hand. "It's still dangerous."
"Yeah," Mark said with a nod.
"Then knock off th'gloomy faces. Ok?" he asked, arching his eyebrows up. The boys nodded as he walked back to Murphy and Murphy gave him a puzzled look.
"They wanted to ride on the pallet, but Lisa said no," Connor explained.
"Ah," Murphy said with a small nod.
"Mister Murphy!" Nichole called out and he walked around the pallet then he walked to the shopping cart. He noticed she had something in her hands and he moved the teddy bear up to prevent the teddy bear from falling out of the shopping cart.
"What do you have there?" Murphy asked.
"Mommy said I could have these stickers 'cause I was good. They're bunnies."
She showed him the package of bunny stickers and the bunnies were dressed in farming clothing, straw hats and some of the bunnies had farming tools.
"Did you say thank you?" Murphy asked and she nodded her head.
"Were you good?" she asked.
"Um….," he said, glancing back at Connor and Annie. "Kind of."
"What did you do?" Darcy asked.
"Connor an' I wanted t'take a ride on th'pallet. Annie said no."
"That's not a toy," Nichole scolded, wagging her right index finger at him.
"I know."
"Well. I'm glad you didn't," Darcy said with a small smile and he lowered his head before he gave her a shy grin. She watched him head back to Connor and Annie as Darcy sighed and Nichole shook her head.
"He's gonna have t'go t'his room when we get home," Nichole said.
"Yeah. He does," Darcy agreed then moved the shopping cart.
Diego paid for his purchases as Hank pushed the pallet toward the front door and they headed outside. They headed for the large Ford truck when Diego saw Denny standing near the gray truck with a few rust patches and Diego gave him a blank look.
"Get the truck loaded," Diego said then made a small whistle. Devil followed him while Diego walked to Denny and Denny placed his hands in the pocket of his jeans. "Heard you were bothering Annie."
"Was just talking," Denny said.
"Look. Neither Annie, Lisa or Darcy had anything to do with what happened with Greg. That was his own damn fault."
"He wouldn't've gotten arrested if Lisa hadn't pressed charges."
"He killed one of the cows."
"Damn thing got in the way."
"What about Angel? He was going to kill her."
"Damn slut deserved it."
Diego knew there was no talking to Denny. Shaking his head, Diego walked back to Hank, Kenny and Jeff as they loaded the bags of feed into the truck and Diego noticed Denny getting into his truck. The loud roar of the engine filled the air as Denny back up the gray truck, nearly slammed into the large Ford then the gray truck roared away.
"Gonna call Lou?" Hank asked.
"I might," Diego said, getting back to loading the large Ford truck. He saw Lisa, Darcy, Annie, Connor, Murphy and the kids walking toward them as Lisa watched Denny's truck exit the parking lot and she sighed.
"Asshole," Lisa grumbled as she moved the pallet to the red truck. Jeff ran over to help her load the red truck while Kenny ran over to help Darcy, Connor and Murphy load the white truck then they took the pallets and the shopping cart back to the warehouse. They walked back to the trucks while the boys got in the back of the red truck and Darcy placed Nichole in the child's seat. "Let's go."
They got into the trucks as the doors closed and the engines started. The trucks backed up then headed for the parking lot exit and the trucks left the parking lot. Connor watched the scenery go by and Murphy felt the anger, frustration and worry coming from his twin. Connor looked at him as their eyes locked and they had a silent conversation. Nodding, Connor started to relax as he pushed the blue lens sunglasses up and dust blew out from under the truck tires.
the Golden Cactus Ranch
The trucks came to a stop at the storage buildings and barns as the engines were turned off and the doors opened. The other ranch hands came to help unload the trucks while Connor walked to Lisa and he saw the furious look on her face.
"He's not worth it," Connor said.
"What?" Lisa asked.
"That eejit from th'warehouse."
"You mean Denny Mills?"
"Aye."
"He threatened Annie."
"He did. But she handled it."
"He nearly crashed into the truck."
"Did you notice th'truck at th'side of th'road on th'way back to th'ranch?"
"No."
"It was his truck. Looks like he was pulled over by one of Lou's deputies."
"Hunh."
Connor went to help Murphy with one of the feed bags while she watched him and she smiled, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Everythin' ok?" Murphy asked after he glanced at Lisa and Connor helped him carry the feed bag into the storage building. They placed the feed bag on the pile on a shelf near the door and Connor dusted off his hands.
"Everything's fine," Connor said.
"Still think we coulda taken him."
"We could. But it might have ended up with us gettin' arrested."
"Which would alert Smecker to where we are."
"Right."
They left the storage building when they walked back to the white truck then stopped. Nichole stood near the white truck as she held the teddy bear to her chest and Murphy knelt down on his haunches.
"What's with th'grumpy face?" Murphy asked.
"You an' Mister Connor have t'go t'your room," she said, frowning.
"Why do we have t'do that?" Connor asked, kneeling down on his haunches.
"We wanted t'ride on th'pallet," Murphy explained and Nichole nodded.
"An' that was bad," Nichole said.
"I see," Connor said while trying to not smile and he looked at Murphy. "Guess we better get goin'."
Nodding, Murphy stood. Connor stood as well as they turned and they headed for the farmhouse. Murphy glanced behind them as he smiled and Connor arched an eyebrow.
"She followin' us?"
"Yep," Murphy said.
They kept walking when Nichole appeared between them and she held her right hand out. Murphy took hold of her hand as he wrapped their fingers together and they headed down the path.
Later – the farmhouse
Connor and Murphy stood near the porch railing while they smoked the cigarettes. They looked up at the starry sky while the smoke floated into the air after they made smoke rings and Connor flicked some ashes from the end of the cigarette.
"That was a fun day," Connor said.
"Aye. It was," Murphy said.
"What do you think we should do about that Denny asshole?"
"Dunno. Annie said he's no threat."
"We know that isn't always th'case. Guys like him tend t'show up when we least expect it."
"Think we should go into town, hit th'bars an' go look fer him?"
"That is exactly what I think we should do."
Going down the stairs, they dropped the cigarettes onto the ground, stamped the cigarettes out with the toes of their boots and they headed for the white truck.
"Hey! Where are you going!?" made them turn around while Lisa walked outside and she closed the screen door behind her. She headed down the stairs as she headed for them and Murphy leaned against the side of the white truck.
"We were goin' into town," Connor said as she stopped in front of him and he saw the puzzled look on her face.
"Mind telling me why?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips.
"We wanna have a few words with that Denny asshole," Murphy said.
"Where were you going to go look for him?" she asked as she looked at him.
"Gonna hit th'bars until we find him," Connor said.
"I see," she said with a small nod.
Murphy noticed the hard looks Connor and Lisa were giving each other as he sighed and crossed one ankle over the other.
"Are we goin' or not?" Murphy asked.
"Only if you let me go with you," Lisa said.
"Why do you wanna go?" Connor asked.
"Someone's got to drive you home."
"I can drive."
"Yeah. Now. But I don't like the idea of bailing either of you out of jail if Lou or one of his deputies arrest you for a DUI. Or explain to Annie why you two are in the hospital after you crash the trunk."
Connor saw the challenge in her eyes as he sighed then he reached into the pocket of his jeans and he handed her the keys to the white truck. Smiling, she took the keys and Murphy went to get in the back of the white truck. Connor and Lisa got in the white truck as they closed the doors and she started the engine. She glanced at him as Connor looked straight ahead and she started the engine. She placed the truck in gear as the white truck headed down the drive and Connor leaned back slightly in the seat.
The Wild Bull Bar
The door opened while Lisa led the way and they headed for the bar. They had gone to several bars before heading to the Yellow Rose and both Connor and Murphy were slightly drunk.
"There he is," Lisa said after she saw Denny at the end of the bar and he was talking with some biker friends.
"Right," Connor said as he stood his full height and Murphy followed him while he walked to Denny.
"Aw shit," Denny grumbled after he saw them and he sipped on the whiskey in the glass in his left hand. Connor and Murphy stood near him when they sat on the barstools and the bar tender walked closer. The bartender was tall with green eyes and spikey red hair and he was dressed in jeans, a black and white checkered shirt and black leather boots. He had a straight nose and thin lips and an egg-shaped face.
"What can I get you?" the bartender asked.
"We'll have whatever beer you got," Connor said with the surfer accent.
"Gotcha."
The bartender walked off while Denny glared at Connor and Lisa walked to Murphy, standing next to him.
"You got something to say to me?" Denny asked.
"Yeah. I gotta lot of things to say to you," Connor said.
"Well. I ain't stopping you. Go on. What do you wanna say?"
Connor locked eyes when Denny as Connor flexed his fingers and Denny waited for him to say something. Murphy had been scanning the room when he saw Lou and some of the deputies walking in the room and he reached out with his right hand to touch his twin's left shoulder. Connor felt someone touching him. The anger he felt, as well as too much alcohol, cause Connor to spin around when he balled his left hand into a fist and he punched Murphy in the face.
"Christ!" Connor shouted after he realized what he had done.
Murphy blinked his eyes a few times.
Blood rolled out of his nose and his right eye started to swell.
"Lord's name," Murphy grumbled and his eyes rolled into his head.
Connor caught his brother in his arms as they slid to the floor and Connor saw Murphy's eyes were closed. He held onto Murphy while Lou ran to Lisa and she held her hands up to stop him from coming any closer.
"What the hell happened?!" Lou demanded.
"Connor wanted to talk to Denny. Murphy saw you. I guess he wanted to warn Connor not to do anything. Connor spun around after Murphy touched Connor's shoulder and he punched him," Lisa explained.
"What did he want to talk to you about?" Lou asked Denny.
"Dunno," Denny said.
"He wanted you to apologize to Annie for being a jerk at the Woods' Grain and Feed," Lisa said then she told Lou what happened.
"She's right. You need to tell Annie you're sorry," Lou agreed.
"I was gonna do that the next time I saw her," Denny said, but Lisa knew he was lying.
"Let's go," Lisa said, looking at Connor and she swore he had tears in his eyes.
Connor carefully slid his arms around Murphy before he stood up and Lou watched them head for the door. He then looked at Denny as Denny shrugged and Lou sighed, walking over to his deputies.