Chapter Forty-One
chapter FORTY-ONE
B eau had been talking to CJ, Sawyer, and Zane for the last half hour. While he tried to keep up with them, his head was still spinning from what Ethan had done.
They were there to celebrate.
Not that Beau had any clue what they were celebrating. He figured it was anything from the fact that Ethan had finally come out to his family to the fact that the two of them were together. At first he suspected that Ethan might’ve mentioned marriage because of Zane’s reference earlier, but he found that difficult to believe.
Not to mention, he wasn’t going to believe that because Beau fully intended to propose—and he planned to beat Ethan to the punch as well. Although, based on the side of Ethan he saw tonight, he might need to kick his ass into high gear or he’d be the one saying yes.
“Woo-hoo!”
Beau swiveled around at the loud yell that erupted near the front door.
“Looks like a queer convention up in here, boys! What d’ya say we get the party started?”
Beau recognized the voice, although Jimmy was facing away from him as he continued to rant loudly to the group of rowdy men sitting at the table.
When the man turned, Beau met Jimmy’s gaze from across the bar.
“What about you? You’re Ethan’s new little girlfriend, ain’t ya? He turned another one into a faggot, didn’t he? How many is that now?”
Beau took a step forward only to be stopped by a firm hand on his shoulder. He glanced over and saw Curtis on one side of him. He felt a hand clamp down on his other shoulder and looked over to see Sawyer coming to stand beside him.
They were obviously prepared.
“Aww, look. Your little fuckin’ girlfriends are gonna hold you back? Don’t worry, ladies, you can have him back after I beat his ass. Just like I gave that one back when I was done.” Jimmy smirked, nodding toward Ethan.
This time, Beau wasn’t the only one being held back. Curtis was, too. Beau had to move in front of the older man in order to keep him from tearing across the room. When Sawyer growled, Beau knew it was all over.
“That’s right, ladies. Let’s do this.”
“Outside.”
Beau’s head snapped toward Ethan, startled at his instruction.
“Outside? You’re telling me to go outside? Lookin’ for a repeat?” Jimmy’s voice lowered, and a murderous growl took its place. “This time, I won’t go easy on you. I’ll take your life the same way you took my brother’s.”
“Out- fucking -side,” Ethan repeated, breaking the words down as though Jimmy was too stupid to understand. Maybe he was.
When Ethan took a step forward, Beau pulled away from the hands still holding on to him. “What are you doing?” he asked.
“I’m done,” he answered harshly. “He wants to settle this once and for all, I’m all in.”
“Bullshit,” Braydon argued, moving in close. “They aren’t here to play fair.”
That’s when Travis stepped up. “Neither are we.”
Beau found himself in the middle of the group, making their way to the door, following behind Jimmy and the others he brought with him.
Right there was where the organization stopped, and all fucking hell broke loose.
Ethan had just stepped outside, moving ahead of the crowd, when Jimmy lunged, slamming him back against the wall of bodies. Before Beau even had a chance to think, Ethan retaliated, and from the looks of it, every single ounce of anger and hatred he’d built up over the years escaped in a blur of motion.
Jimmy went down but got right back up, the two of them grappling as they fought for purchase on the gravel that lined the parking lot.
When it was clear Ethan was definitely not backing down, two others moved in, but Sawyer was quicker than anyone else, going after them both. From that moment on, fists were flying. Grunts and groans sounded from the bodies colliding, no one backing down. Beau had to beat off two, and he took a brutal blow to the head when he looked over to see Ethan on the ground, Jimmy on top of him.
He saw stars flash behind his eyelids, but he never stopped moving. His fists connected with flesh and bone as he refused to be taken down by the biggest bastard in their bunch. No longer capable of watching Ethan, Beau had to defend himself, but the shouting and arguing continued around him.
“You son of a bitch!” Jimmy yelled at Ethan. “I should’ve killed you when I had the chance.”
“Too late now,” Ethan spat, shoving Jimmy off him.
Beau had no idea how long the fight lasted, but the next thing he knew, there were red and blue lights flashing around them.
“Get the fuck inside,” Curtis barked, his deep baritone echoing in the still night air, effectively halting the fighting.
Beau searched for Ethan, unwilling to move until he had him right there beside him. He wasn’t the only one who didn’t move. There were two guys on the ground; one was holding his face, the other looked like he was out cold. Beau didn’t recognize either one of them, so that was a good thing.
He finally spotted Ethan, leaning up against one of the posts, rubbing his jaw. Beau moved with purpose, closing the gap between the two of them.
“What the fuck is going on here, Walker?” Sheriff Endsley asked.
Beau had no idea exactly who he was talking to since there were more than half a dozen of them there.
Not surprising, but none of the Walkers responded.
“Just a little payback, Sheriff,” Jimmy huffed.
“Payback?” the sheriff questioned.
“An eye for an eye.”
Sheriff Endsley looked over at Ethan, then back to Jimmy.
“This ain’t the Old West, you dumbass,” Sawyer remarked with enough bite to down a tree.
“Fuck you.”
Clearly this wasn’t going to be resolved anytime soon.
“I like the idea of an eye for an eye,” Beau spoke up, staring at Jimmy. “A little retribution is in order, if you ask me. Someone have a baseball bat handy?”
“What the fuck are you doing?” Zane asked, moving close to Beau.
Glancing back at his friend briefly, Beau ignored him.
“Clearly I didn’t use the bat enough,” Jimmy bit out, glaring back at Beau. “I shoulda killed him when I had the chance. Then my brother would still be alive,” he continued, pushing to his feet.
“Is that right?” Sawyer asked, taking a step toward Jimmy but coming to a halt when Curtis put a hand on his shoulder. “From where I stand, your brother was just another one of your victims.”
Ethan pushed off the post and moved to Beau’s side. It didn’t take long for the rest of the Walkers to move in around them. Surprisingly enough, the sheriff had moved off to the side, standing beside Mack, who had apparently decided to watch the show.
No one said a word for long seconds. That was when Sheriff Endsley must’ve gotten bored. “How do you suggest we resolve this?” he asked the group collectively.
“I’ll settle it my way,” Jimmy said, spitting on the ground. “I’d suggest you watch your back.”
Ethan took a step forward, and Beau stepped behind him, letting him know he was there. He would not take this away from Ethan. It was his turn to stand up, to let Jimmy know he wasn’t going to take his shit anymore.
Beau watched as Ethan notched his chin up, his eyes trained on Jimmy. “I didn’t kill Gavin,” Ethan said adamantly. “I loved your brother. You’re the one who made him watch while you tried to kill me.”
A series of gasps erupted. No one said anything. They didn’t have to. Ethan had just done what no one would’ve ever believed he could do.
“AND LET ME tell you this, you fucking piece of shit,” Ethan continued, his hands shaking as he stood just a few feet away from the man who’d sent his life into a spiral years ago. “You won’t get another chance at me. Gavin paid the ultimate price for your ignorance and your bullshit. I won’t let that happen again.”
Ethan had no idea what spurred him to speak up. Maybe it was the support he felt from his family, from Beau. Whatever it was, he couldn’t seem to contain all the words he had wanted to rant at Jimmy over the years.
“Gavin took his life because you embarrassed him. You’re the one who should be dead.”
That possessive, beast-like growl erupted from Beau, and Ethan moved one step closer to him. This was over; Ethan knew it, Jimmy knew it. Now it was just a pissing contest.
“Let me hear you say that one more time, and I’ll haul your ass in,” Sheriff Endsley growled in that raspy tenor that many folks feared.
“Me? What the fuck? He’s the one who should be punished. He’s a fucking queer. This ain’t over, Walker.”
“It’s over,” Curtis’s voice boomed from behind him, and the next thing Ethan knew, his father was stepping up beside him. “It’s fucking over because I say it’s over. If I hear one whisper that you’ve targeted anyone, I promise you that this ”—Curtis gestured toward Jimmy as he continued to lean against the truck—“will feel like a day at the spa. Got me?”
Everyone was quiet. Not even Jimmy was stupid enough to challenge Curtis Walker.
Ethan felt himself being pulled backward, urged back inside the bar. The fight was over. There was no winner. Not this round. There would never be any winners, either. After all that Ethan had suffered, after Gavin had paid the ultimate price, no one would ever come out on top.
“I want to press charges!” Jimmy bellowed as people were making their way back inside.
Ethan stopped suddenly, waiting to see what would happen next.
To his surprise, Mack took a step forward, glancing around at the people still left in the parking lot. “I’m the one who’ll be pressing charges if you come on my property again. You’re not welcome here.” Mack looked around at the men who had come with Jimmy. “Your kind ain’t welcome here.”
“ Our kind? Don’t you mean the fags? They’re the ones who—”
Mack cut him off with a snarl. “No, I was very fucking clear the first time.” With that, Mack turned and stormed back toward the door.
Sheriff Endsley, standing just a few feet away, glanced over to where Jimmy was still propped up against the truck and then over to Ethan. Then to Beau. Then over to Curtis. “What’s it take to get a beer around here?” he finally asked, deadpan.
Ethan breathed a sigh of relief as the feeling in his fingers returned. He’d been clutching his hands into fists for so long, he’d lost the feeling in his hands.
“Coming right up, Sheriff,” Mack called from just inside the open door.
Before walking inside, Ethan turned and made eye contact with Jimmy. He wanted to ensure the man understood he wasn’t putting up with his shit from here on out. He’d lost too many years of his life trying to protect those he loved from having to interact with people like that. Jimmy Reardon was a bully. Always had been. People had suffered, Jimmy’s own family included, by his actions.
It looked like Jimmy’s fortified wall of hostility was finally crumbling, because the men around him didn’t seem to be all that interested in backing him up any longer.
But more importantly, it looked like somewhere along the way, Ethan had gotten over his fear.
Making his way to Beau once they were back inside, he took a minute to check him out. And yes, Ethan touched his hands, his knuckles, the huge knot that had formed on his temple.
He wouldn’t lie, it wasn’t solely to make sure he was all right. He knew, by the way that Beau stood straight and tall, taking stock of Ethan’s injuries as well, that the man was just fine.
Ethan didn’t settle for just looking though. No, he touched Beau because he had to. That connection he found with this man would always be what kept him grounded. He knew without a doubt that he would heal with Beau’s help.
Looking around the room at his brothers, his cousins, and his father, for the first time in a long time, Ethan felt... relief? Yes, that had to be what he was feeling.
It seemed that, in a matter of minutes, maybe an hour, all the demons that had been lingering in Ethan’s life had been addressed directly. Maybe not resolved completely, but Ethan was stronger than he’d ever been, and it had nothing to do with physical power. No, he was stronger because Beau made him that way. Beau filled the empty space that had been eating at him, controlling his life for more years than he cared to admit.
He looked at Beau and noticed he was still staring back at him.
No, Ethan wasn’t in a place where he wanted to show public affection, wasn’t sure he would ever be in that place, but as he studied Beau, he hoped he could see just how much he loved him. Even without saying it or showing it, he knew it had to be written all over his face.
Beau leaned over slightly, still keeping some distance between them. “Yeah, I know.”
It was Ethan’s turn to cock an eyebrow at his lover.
“And the feeling is completely mutual.”