Take Me Instead

Kill the Messenger pt. 2

A/N: Graphic scenes to follow that include sexual harassment. Please be warned and aware of your triggers if you choose to proceed.

Chapter 6: Kill the Messenger pt. 2

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That damn beast had me impressed, going as long as it did. All the while I sat up on that hill in the grass, the sun baking my shoulders and thighs. The warmth felt good on my wrapped hand that ached every now and then. I wasn't one for meditation and all that crap, but I spent a lot of time thinking up there. Some about my family, some about myself, but mostly about Lee.

"Ok, Lee," I muttered in my lap. "I'm not being dumb and wallowing anymore. But I need a sign. You need to tell me what to do."

I didn't believe one bit in the supernatural or religion, but I believed in my brother. But at that particular moment, he failed to solidify my faith in him. Nothing answered my call but the sun peeking around the clouds and the occasional breeze that carried up a whinny or grunt from the horse down below.

It wasn't until the evening that they pulled that poor boy down, writhing and retching, and put the horse in the stables. I thought about how much time I had been spending alone lately. Something in my gut told me I needed to take a chance at this moment. Though I knew it was dumb, I mustered up the courage to wander down the hillside to join Rip and Daddy alongside the corral.

"There might be a little cowboy in him after all," Daddy remarked with a chuckle.

"Who is he?" I asked their backs. I caught Daddy off guard, who promptly lowered his eyes as if something in the dirt fascinated him.

"That's just Jimmy", Rip answered, much to my surprise. Part of me expected some kind of snide comment about how I didn't belong down here, but then again, he wouldn't say anything like that to me in front of my father. "I'm gonna go make sure he doesn't give that creature colic," he muttered and strode toward the barn doors, his chaps creating clouds of dust in his wake. I couldn't help but watch his ass squeeze in the tight denim as he left.

"What are you doing tonight?" Daddy's voice startled me.

"I, uh," Hell, I didn't even know. Probably mope around in Lee's cabin like I had been sulking all day.

"'cause if you're not busy you can come with me," he finished after I was unable to produce an excuse.

My eyes tilted up to the sky, my eyebrows raised in surprise. You think you're so funny, don't you, Lee? I mocked in my head.

"Can I ask where you're going?" I gingerly prodded. I was in a state of shock that he asked me if I wanted to go anywhere in the first place. I was nervous I was about to blow it by asking too many questions.

He nodded and adjusted his sunglasses. "Meeting a buddy of mine down at the rodeo tonight. You can tag along."

'You can tag along,' something so trivial to say, but I couldn't remember the last time my father asked me to tag along anywhere with him. My insides writhed with confliction. Going to the rodeo meant seeing all the rodeo boys who might recognize me from old flings, but it also meant spending time with Daddy.

I couldn't pass the opportunity up. If this was Lee's godforsaken sign, I couldn't take it for granted. Maybe he really was up there looking out for me. I nodded my acceptance, trying not to seem too eager about it.

He returned the gesture and began to trek up the hill. "Meet me at the truck in fifteen," he hollered over his shoulder.

Holy shit, I gasped in my head. "Lee, you have a sick way of giving me signs, bud," I looked toward the sky again, smiling slightly.