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2515 Words
He hit the ground with a hard thud jarring his shoulder. Steve groaned in pain as he rolled onto his back and looked up at the laughing faces staring down at him from over the fence. “You are getting rusty.” Liam teased. He got thrown three times unable to hold on for more than three or four seconds at a time. “You are going to have to do better than that if you are going to win.”
“You are riding like a girl.” Josh teased.
“No way, girls ride better.” Dawson laughed.
“If you think you can do better city boy, by all means, show me.” He snarled climbing back up on his feet.
“Alright, I’ll give it a go,” Dawson said swinging his leg over the fence and dropping down on the other side.
“I dare you to run up and slap the bull on the butt.” Liam joked watching his brother creep up on the bull.
Steve stepped up on the fence and climbed up over dropping down on the other side. “Do you think he will slap the bull?” John asked watching Dawson reach the rear of bull.
“No way,” Liam smirked. “He is not that crazy.” They all watched as Dawson pulled his hand back, wound up and slapped the bull hard on the rear. The animal let out an angry sound and turned to face Dawson. The guys let out a shocked cry and watched as Dawson ran back to the fence as fast as his boots would carry him; the bull right up his rear. They guys shouted words of encouragement egging him on to run.
Dawson leaped up finding a footing on the fence and fell over the other side landing on his bottom. Everyone was laughing and cheering. Liam offered his hand to help Dawson back onto his feet.
“You are one crazy bastard.” John laughed patting Dawson on the back.
Steve had to admit Dawson had shown some real courage and stupidity. Had that bull caught him he wouldn’t have been able to sit for a month. He was starting to see what Brook saw in Dawson; the guy was as crazy as she was.
“That was awesome.” Josh chuckled.
“Would have been funnier if the bull had caught you,” Steve added with a rueful grin. “No wonder I couldn’t shoot you. You and those feet fly when something’s chasing you.”
They were all ribbing him in good humour when a black truck pulled in to Liam’s drive. “Hey, it is Nick.” Liam noticed the young man coming up the drive. It was strange to see him at this hour since he usually worked at the Iron Horse around this time.
They watched the young man get out of his truck and with one hand he pushed back his dark blonde hair and placed his hat on his head. Steve couldn’t help but notice that Nick Julies wasn’t smiling. He looked disturbed. Nick strolled over to them, and Steve got a terrible sinking feeling in his gut. His smile faded as Nick reached them.
“Why so serious?” Josh asked Nick.
“I got some bad news, you guys. I was on my way to work, and I passed the Gas and Go.” Nick said pausing as if he did not want to say what came next.
“Spit it out, Nicky,” Steve demanded.
“I saw a red Ford, long box and crew cab with four huge mud tires, and a vanity plate that read Griffin.”
A strained silence fell over the men gathered. That truck could only mean one thing. It was impossible; Steve felt the panic and rage grow inside him. He had to be mistaken about what he saw. “No.” He said shaking his head. “They are locked up.”
“Just calm down.” Liam piped up. “He could be wrong about what he saw.”
“No, I saw Kyle and Yukon walking into Margie’s Bar,” Nick confirmed. “And they looked like they were going to do some celebrating.”
Steve clenched his fists at his side. The justice system was a joke. It had failed Brook twice now. “I don’t understand what is going on?” John asked.
“What is going on is that the courts in this country are useless.” Steve ranted. “They protect no one but the guilty and sacrifice the victims.” He growled heading for his truck.
“What are you doing?” John asked.
“If the courts won’t do something I sure as hell will,” Steve growled throwing open his driver’s door.
“I’m coming with you.” Dawson snarled rushing over to the passenger door of Steve’s truck.
Josh reached for his keys. “I’m with you.”
Liam rolled his eyes. “Ok, I’m coming. You guys are going to wind up arrested if one of us doesn’t keep our head.” Steve and Dawson got into the truck. His friends are piling into their vehicles to follow.
***
Taylor was watching a movie on TV waiting for John to come home when her cell phone rang. She picked it up and looked at the caller ID. It was John. She took the call wondering what he had found out. “I’m listening.” She said as she turned down the TV.
“Taylor, go get your camera and get to Margie’s Bar in town right now,” John said his tone urgent.
She stood up and started searching for her small handheld video camera. “Why?” She asked finding the tiny device and stuffing it in her pocket.
“Something big is about to go down. Be there in ten minutes.” Taylor hung up the phone and reached for her keys. She didn’t know what was about to happen, but she would floor the gas getting there.
***
Steve pushed open the doors to Margie’s Bar. The place wasn’t that busy, and across the room, at the pool tables, he saw them. Kyle and Yukon Griffin drinking and shooting pool. These two men had assaulted his sister with their brother’s help. They had never been the brains of the operation, but in Steve’s eyes, they were as guilty as sin. They should have been strung up same as Sam.
They were supposed to be serving time. Locked away with the other scum. Here the Griffin boys were free as birds, enjoying a cold beer and having fun. Steve saw red, his blood boiling at the sight of them laughing. As they walked into the bar everyone there fell quiet, they all understood why Steve and his friends had arrived.
Margie Usher, the proprietor, came out from behind the bar and confronted them. “Don’t you boys start something. I’m not going to have you wrecking up my bar.”
“How can serve this scum?” Steve snarled.
“Their money is as green as yours.” She said stepping out of the way as he pushed past her.
“Hey Griffin,” he shouted as they advanced on the two brothers, “you got a lot of nerve coming back here.”
“This is our home too,” Kyle growled. “We got every right to be here.” Both Kyle and Yukon were tall, broad men who had spent their better part of their lives working up in the oil sands and following their big brother around like loyal lap dogs. They were never too bright. Simple brutes, lackeys. With their shaggy blond hair under those stained, worn ball caps and their old faded jeans with holes in the knees. Yukon was sporting some shabby facial hair now, but besides that, they hadn’t changed over the past two years.
“Oh, you think so?” Dawson snapped. “Like you got the right to lay your hands on my wife?”
“Man, that b***h was asking for it.” Yukon snickered foolishly without thinking. Suddenly the smile vanished from his thin lips when he saw the violence in Steve’s eyes.
Steve jumped over the pool table and attacked Yukon viciously. Dawson came around the table and went after Kyle. A violent fight broke out. The Griffin boys doing their best to defend themselves while outnumbered two to one. Steve yanked the pool stick from Yukon’s hands and beat Yukon without mercy. Striking him, kicking him, hurting him in every way he could. “That b***h is my sister you SOB.” He growled kicking him and broke the stick across Yukon’s head causing him to bleed. “How do you like it?” He screamed, knocking Yukon to the ground and climbing on top of him. He continued to beat the man beneath him. “You like that? Does it feel good? Does it get you hot you sick bastard?”
Steve felt someone pull him up off Yukon and hold him back. “He has had enough,” Liam yelled to break through the angry haze. He calmed down enough to watch Nick and Josh dragging a furious Dawson from the bar. Both Kyle and Yukon lay bloody and barely conscious on the floor of Margie’s.
“I’m going to call the cops.” Kyle breathed spitting blood.
“Go ahead; if they are as competent as they were with you, we’ll be out by morning to come to kick your ass again.” Liam snapped.
“You better leave town if you have any brains,” Steve growled. “If I so much as find out you came within a hundred yards of Brook I swear to god you will find yourself swinging from the street lights.” He growled as Liam pushed him back toward the door. Steve turned around to leave and stopped short. Taylor was standing beside the door with her father watching what had happened. She had seen Steve become a madman with her own eyes. Watched him beat a man bloody and threaten his very life.
What was worse, her father had seen it too. Any chance of her father approving of Steve chasing after Taylor was long gone. There was no way the man would allow his baby girl to get involved with a hot head like him. That was if she would even give him the time of day after this.
Steve looked away and left the bar with Liam. His rage replaced with regret for Taylor having seen him in such a negative light. It would take some serious sucking up to mend the damage done.
***
Taylor watched Steve and the other’s storm out of the bar. John was still at her side. She had come in and couldn’t believe what she had been seeing. She immediately turned on her hand-held camera. It was small enough to palm and go unseen, but she had gotten the whole vicious attack on tape. Everything, including Steve’s threat to string the surviving Griffin brother’s up like the victim.
“Did you get that?” John whispered watching the Griffin’s trying to pick themselves up.
“Blow by blow.” She replied with disappointment.
“Still don’t think he is capable of doing it?” John asked.
“At this moment I think every one of them is capable.”
“I bet you that tape gets us a warrant.” Her heart sunk. John was right, the tape she held was incriminating, and it portrayed Steve Giles in a very bad light. “I’ll send the video to the chief and get the ball rolling on that warrant.”
***
Steve sat on the porch drinking a beer with a six-pack by his feet. Dawson had headed home to give Brook a heads up that the Griffin boys were back in town. Nick had headed into work, and Josh had gone home. They were all just killing time until the inevitable.
Steve had drunk most of his beer listening to Raven yell at Liam inside. She was furious that he had involved himself in the brawl at Margie’s. It was only a matter of time before the RCMP came to collect them. After the argument, Liam had come out onto the porch to sit with Steve. “She is really mad at you?”
“She’ll get over it.” Liam smiled. “I know how to make her forgive me.”
“Well, that is one of us.” Steve sighed lifting his beer to his lips.
“I saw the look that passed between you and John’s daughter. You have been seeing her, haven’t you?” Liam asked.
“Yeah, but I doubt she’ll see me after she watched me lose it.” Steve sighed.
“Been sleeping together?”
Steve shook his head. “You know that is the funny thing. We haven’t. Not that I’m not willing, but things keep coming up and put it off.”
Liam chuckled. “Wow, I’m impressed you’re not all over her yet. Patients were never your strong point.” Liam teased.
“It doesn’t matter. I’m not going to make any headway with Taylor now.”
“Why not?” Liam asked.
“She saw me acting like a nut.”
“Girls like bad boys. I’m sure if you explain to her why you did it she will understand. She doesn’t seem like an unreasonable person.” Liam assured him. Maybe he was right. Maybe he should go over and talk to her. “I would do it before the RCMP comes calling.”
The sound of engines drew their attention. A squad car was driving up to the house. Steve placed his beer on the railing of the old wooden porch. “I would say that ship has sailed.”
Liam stood up and tapped on the screen door to draw Raven’s attention. “Hey baby I’m going now, get the bail money out.”
“Your wife takes this so well.” Steve grinned as the officers got out of the car to arrest them.
“Love will do that to you,” Liam smirked. “At least we’ll be out in time for the rodeo.”
- Writer
