"The Denton Boys
Part 20
A few nights later at the bunkhouse, Tom poured a beer and challenged Sawyer to a game of checkers, but Sawyer declined not being in the mood for checkers.
"I'll arm wrestle with you," said Sawyer.
"Yeaah, like you could beat me. Golly bill, I'm older than you," said Tom.
"Golly bill, nothing. Older by a couple of mangy ole years, that's nothing."
"Well c'mon then Denton, let's see who's the dandiest," exclaimed Tom, waving a tin cup of beer around in the air.
"I'll be glad to explain it, or better yet show yuh." Sawyer barked back sounding a little cocky.
Jesse sat next to Chad feeling closer to him than ever before. He was not interested in men, but if he was, Chad was his type. This was only a passing thought, but at least they were friends. Getting naked was a bonus and truthfully unforgettable.
What confused Jesse was Chad wanting sex with men. He had not one speck of homo about him. I guess a man has to go where his body takes him. Anyhow, he thought that Chad was poking good stuff.
"Do you think Sawyer can take Tom?" asked Chad.
"Just watch," replied Jesse.
They, Tom and Sawyer, clasp hand together struggling, and Sawyer irreversibly won. It took some effort; then again, Sawyer had spirit and determination to be number one. There was cheering and back slapping for the winner in the room.
"Try your brother, cried out Tom, "let's see the strongest Denton."
"Nope, I already know that Jesse is tougher than me. We have arm wrestled in the past, and he always wins. So I ain't gonna do it."
"Let me in there," said Hank. "C'mon Jesse, try this old man.
They used their arms for a show of strength, and Hank lost to more hurrahing. Jesse was amazingly strong believing he was top hand.
They were having a good time and everybody did their share of showing off, except for Chad, who chose not to wrestle. "C'mon Chad, said Jesse. Wanna try me?
"You'll lose."
"Nah, you gotta prove it. I'll wager five bucks, I can get your arm down to the table first thing," bragged Jesse.
"You'll lose – save your money."
"Sawyer nodded for Chad to go ahead and take on Jesse. He loved his brother, but pleasurable seeing him knocked down a peg or two. Chad was just the man to do it. He had an arm of steel, from swinging a pick axe and pushing wagons of rock, in a Nevada mine.
Sawyer knew Chad's body like a roadmap, and it was hard as a rock. This would be a good one.
When they grasped hands, Jesse looked into Chad face. He never realized the magic in his piercing dark eyes ejecting rays of coco rich color. Chad was a hunk of wonder. No wonder Sawyer trailed behind him like a sick puppy.
Jesse was grasping the hand of a cowboy stud that he recently bent over and butt fucked. It was not just a casual poke, but a bang roaring ass rip, filling his man hole with cum. The goal now was only to win, not the homo stuff.
Jesse took a hefty swig of beer and tighten his grip around Chad's hand. Chad was much different form the other men. His hand felt like a vice and somebody not to challenge, if you had any sense.
With little effort coming from Chad, Jesse lost and his hand laid on the table in defeat. Everybody cheered, of course – it was the right thing to do and nobody declared being the best. Cheering was part of the game, and they were all friends having fun.
"That's quite an arm you got there brother Chad. You shore not tender on the vine," Jesse babbled, rubbing his wrist and smiling. Then he plunked down five silver dollar coins, on Chad's bunk.
"Nah, here, I don't want your money. We are just horsing around." Chad tried to give it back, but Jesse wouldn't take it.
The next morning Chad gave the $5.00 to Hank and told him to buy grub or beer for the bunkhouse crew.
The hired wranglers never knew that Chad was the owner of a silver mine in Nevada. Ezra Denton never spoke of it. Chad insisted on being just one of the boys. He was usually broke like everybody else until payday. He stood in line for his paycheck, just like the rest of the wranglers.
He worked as a farm hand, to be with Sawyer. It was a tangled web of deceit with no way out. It tormented Chad around the clock and he had to do something about it. What good was having money if it couldn't bring happiness? His heart ached to sleep with Sawyer in bed like real people. He kept thinking of a way to be happy where he was, and have Sawyer beside him to love.
After breakfast, he saddled his horse Thunder, and rode into town. He walked into the bank and asked for Mr. Hadley, the bank owner.
"Well, well, well, my boy, what brings you into town today? Is there something I can do for you?" he asked.
"Am I correct in saying the bank owns the Hicken's farm, next to the Denton ranch? My pa bought the cows, horses and animals from Lester. " Chad said to Mr. Hadley.
"That's right son, they moved on with a wagon train going west to California. Why do you ask?"
"I want to buy that farm and all the land," said Chad.
"Are you getting married and setting up for farming?" Hadley asked.
"How much?"
"It is a lot of money son; you will need papers and a loan from my bank."
"How much?"
"The land is prime grazing with water, house and barns. As I said, it is a lot."
"I have a lot. You can take the money I have on deposit. If it isn't enough, I will get more from the Bank of Houston."
"You have money in the Bank of Houston?" inquired Mr. Hadley surprised hearing that sort of news.
"I do."
Mr. Hadley got a wire confirmation over the Telegraph from the Bank in Houston to guarantee payment covering the entire price of the property.
"It appears, young man, you have a great deal of money," said Hadley.
"Yep, it appears so," replied Chad.
They went into Hadley's office signed papers in Ezra's name, and Chad paid for the land. Everything was settled in about an hour or so.
****** Back on the street, Chad sat in one of the chairs lined along the wooden sidewalk and looked at the name, on the paper deed, printed "Ezra Denton. A wonderful feeling came over him and he felt good. Owning land didn't interest him in the least; it was a means to an end.
Across the street set, the town's barber shop. Chad looked different from years back when he didn't care about his appearance. Things improved since coming back from Nevada. He had much to be proud of, so he fussed with his hair and face, especially the beard. He kept it short and orderly.
"Okay, young feller, hop up here, you're next," said Ken the barber. It was a silly notion running through his head, but he wanted to look perfect on this particular day.
Ken trimmed his hair cutting as little as necessary. He fussed more with his face getting the beard to look like a manicured lawn.
His boots were polished and his hat brushed clean after being sprayed with moisture. Splashed with witch hazel, Chad was fair game heading back to the street, smelling fine, looking lean with long legs and mouthwatering fitting pants. He sported a package of goodies between his legs. All one had to do was look.
With his neat black cowboy hat on his head, he strutted like the rifleman, feeling good inside. He was all together lip smacking good.
When he rode on to the farm, Ezra and Clara were sitting on the stoop. He tied THUNDER to the hitching rail, then dropped down in a chair beside them and mumbled -"Howdy."
"Howdy – my, you look spiffy," remarked Clara.
"I was in town, so I got a hair trim and decided to clean up a bit."
"I was tellin ma how deserted Lester and Pearl's property looked stripped down and empty," said Ezra.
"I can't understand giving up a settled farm, to start over again in California," added Clara always the practical one in the family. "Why they had such a lovely place."
"They ain't young-ins anymore," said pa.
"No, they certainly aren't," agreed Clara. "At least we have the boys to take over when we're gone."
"I have the Denton property fenced, so whoever buys that farm will know by looking, where the boundary is located." Continued Ezra.
"That was my idea," said ma. "I had your pa do the fencing years ago, just for this very reason. I liked the Hicken's, but those folks were not very neighborly – downright unfriendly," she continued. "Beat me how Pearl ever got Lester to pull up stakes and leave for California. I heard tell they were going to open a mercantile, and give up farming."
"Getting too old, huh?" said pa.
"That's the rumor, but I am not one to gossip." Clara added suggesting they change the subject.
"So what did you do in town," asked Clara?
"Where is Jesse and Sawyer?" Chad inquired ignoring Clara's question.
"They will be along shortly."
"Good," replied Chad.
"Why's that," asked pa.
"I've got something to tell the family and it's Denton business not concerning Hank or Tom."
"I recon you've got your reason," replied Ezra with an odd look on his face.
It is sobering and I am trying to get everything right," began Chad.
By looking at him, Sawyer didn't know if Chad was happy or nervous.
"Well," said pa, "Do I have to find a preacher with a sense of humor? You look a bit uncertain."
"Nah, nothing like that." said Chad, taking papers out of his pocket.
"Wait Chad, we have been jesting with you." said pa.
"What!"
"Yep, afraid so brother Chad," said Jesse, putting his hand on his shoulder. "We all know what you did today."
"Mr. Hadley just left before you got here," chimed in Clara, pushing closer to where Chad was sitting. "You bought Lester Hicken's place," she said.
"We don't want you as a neighbor. We want a son," said pa, quieter than usual. "Why the dickens are you going there?"
"Shucks Chad, the three of us look dang spiffy together, gotta admit we're brothers," added Jesse. "You can't bed down over there like a neighbor. You belong here with us on the Denton farm."
"All Sawyer said was, – "Yeah, you belong here." Looking as if he might cry. They had a role to play, and it was becoming more difficult all the time. The thought of Chad moving to the Hicken's farm was devastating.
****** "Wait, you have this all wrong. I am not going to live there. I don't want the place, I want pa to have the land.
"Oh, no, no, hold on there," pa interrupted. Chad ignored him and kept on talking.
"If we take down the fence separating the two sections, it will be one huge ranch stretching for miles. Why, the Denton farm could be one of the biggest in the valley. Our own ponderosa." bragged Chad.
"Much obliged, but can't accept it," said pa. "I intend to buy it eventually, but a piece down the road, after I sell the horses and stock up some cash."
"Now, you don't have to wait," said Chad.
"Nope, much obliged, but can't accept it," replied Ezra. "No, no, it's too much."
"That's true Chad," added Clara giving Chad's hand a little squeeze. "It is just too much – way too much."
"Hold on a minute pa, we got to talk about this, man to man. When I got my horse THUNDER, from you, do you recall what you said?"
"Of course, I said you have a good horse there."
"You said, you're a Denton now, and Denton's, adopted or not, don't pay for horses on this ranch – so take the dang animal and let's not Hee-haw over it."
I'm a Denton now pa, so take the dang land and let's not Hee-haw over it," Chad said rather forcefully.
"He's got you there pa," chimed in Sawyer finally smiling.
"Obliged, but when I sell the horses, the money is yours."
"I don't want the money, Pa. I own the rights to a silver mine. I don't need any money, I need a family. I only want the house for a hunting cabin, and you take the barn, buildings and land. The area is loaded with ducks on the river and deer in the woods, with a lot of wildlife. It's a perfect place to hunt and the house for shelter or a place to stay in bad weather," said Chad and I would like to own just that.
"I would never leave here and live on that farm." He continued. "I'm still hankering down in the bunkhouse with the ranch hands and work for you every day. I gotta earn my keep. Our Pa doesn't pay us for just standing around," continued Chad feeling good.
"You've got a deal," said pa. "I like the way you think."
"For sure," added Jesse.
Chad was not an ordinary cowpoke. You gotta be plum out of your head, if you think he is ordinary. Sawyer knew instantly that the purchase was to get the farm house to guarantee them privacy for the colossal loving that Chad eagerly planned for both of them.
It cost Chad a pascal of money to get what he wanted. However it was worth every silver dollar. His once desire to be rich, took a back seat to being loved. Sawyer meant everything to him. In Sawyer's own words – "You (Chad) are my world."
The Hicken's house never became a getaway for hunting. The farm existed as a refuge for Chad and Sawyer, where they initiated crazy and often dirty sex devouring one another and blending their bodies spiritually into one. Jesse approved of their den of sin, as he jokingly called it, and covered for them whenever necessary.
They never knew who suspected their gayness and never cared as long as suspicions never went outside the Denton ranch. There were things that families just didn't talk about. This was "Golly Bill," number one.
Jesse worked hard getting back to the straight and narrow of being a ladies man. He was courting church goin women, and it looked like marriage was in the Denton future. The woman he fancied was a little too uppity, but Jesse would break her of that, so he thought.
The courting didn't deter him however from crawling between his brother and Chad lookin to get off. He liked what they had, and liked it more than he should have.
Sawyer became powerfully high on love, often staying overnight and sleeping in Chad's arms; a dream from which Sawyer never wanted to be awakened.
In the history of time - Sawyer and Chad lived yesterday in an era when the whole world was a closet. It was a time when gay cowboys settled for two sets of standards.
The Denton Boys may have lost the battle, but in Chad's heart he knew that one day gays will win the war. They anticipated that ln the next hundred year's people's thinking would be different - and it is...
END