RINGERS

Chapter 10: A Man About A Horse

Chapter 10: A Man About A Horse

The Master Bedroom, The Talton Residence, West Pasture, Keedon, Georgia (1992)...

       The call of nature awoke a formerly slumbering J.W. Talton as he took note of his still-sleeping wife and smiled. She'd been the only woman in the world for him since that night in the old barn and he was quite content with what they had aside from his constant financial woes. Wilma Jean's body stiffened when she felt him move and she opened her blue eyes halfway to make a mental note that he'd still been home after his long absence and sighed.

"Where you goin'?" she asked in a heavily sleep-filled tone.

"I gotta see a man about a horse," replied J.W. with a smirk.

Wilma Jean seemed to accept this answer and drifted back off. J.W. slowly slid his wife off him and climbed out of bed feeling the pressure on his bladder and the anticipation of relief once he reached the bathroom. The Mid-day sun had been looming quite high in the open clear sky and the heat had begun to make people take notice. J.W. seemed to bask in being home again as he shuffled through the house and toward the bathroom on bare feet as naked as the day he was born.

Never one to be subconscious about his body, especially given that he'd been in excellent shape, J.W. made it to the bathroom at a good pace and saw his way to relieve himself. As he stood over the toilet bowl, his keen eyes caught sight of a rather familiar rover that came kicking up dust along the dirt road leading into the pasture where his house had been located.

He'd known all too well whom the rover had belonged to and a measure of rage filled him as he finished up and narrowed his dark eyes at the sight of the thing getting closer and closer to his property.

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The Front Porch, The Talton Residence, West Pasture, Keedon, Georgia (1992)...

J.W. Talton had managed to grab a pair of blue jeans and his magnum handgun before heading out onto the front porch after finishing up in the bathroom. His dark eyes remained narrowed as he fast approached the screen door and took note of the rover, which had been brown in color coming to a stop as the driver parked and stepped out of it.

"Just what in the fuck do you think you're doing on my property, Rusty?" growled J.W. glaring at the other younger and rather hulkingly built man.

Russell "Rusty" Vickerson, had been quite bold indeed to show himself on J.W. Talton's property as he stood at an impressive six foot in height and with long dark locks that trailed all the way down to his broad shoulders, wearing a white Stetson cowboy hat, dirty blue jeans, and brown cowboy boots. He seemed to be of the mind to leave an impression as he turned his attention to an annoyed J.W. who had visibly caught him by surprise.

"J.W.?" said Rusty scrambling to find his voice as he threw his hands up noting the gun in J.W.'s hand. "When did you get home?"

"None of your damn business, now answer my question what the hell are you doin' on my property?" growled the half-naked man narrowing his dark eyes at the man before him, who had been so bold as to come after his wife when he thought him to have been out of town.

"Wanted to talk to Wilma Jean," replied Rusty finding his courage despite the gun being in his line of sight. "You know we go way back."

"This ain't the time nor the place for civil conversation," growled J.W. knowing all too well that Rusty had hoped to worm his way into his wife's good graces and possibly her bed when all was said and done. "I suggest you climb your opportunistic ass back in yo truck and hit the asphalt."

Rusty gritted his teeth annoyed that his plans had been foiled at least for the time being. He had regretted every day that he had broken up with Wilma Jean due to her not putting out for him and it was only made worse when he found out she'd gotten pregnant by J.W. Talton of all people.

"Right," said Rusty slowly backing up and moving toward his truck so as not to set off the already annoyed older man. "Just tell her I came by."

"Bye Rusty," replied J.W. still visibly annoyed and aiming his gun at the would-be intruder.

Rusty climbed into the driver seat of his pick-up and took off back down the road where he'd come from. J.W. made his way back into the house and put away his gun before venturing back into the bed where a slumbering Wilma Jean had been none the wiser as to what had taken place.

He slipped back into the covers after discarding his jeans and she seemed to seek him out in her sleep resting her head against his chest as she had been doing before he climbed out of bed.

All in all, it seemed to be a pretty good night the sky was clear and it wasn't too hot or too cold. While he hated Lassauna, J.W. had missed his wife's home cooking and thought it once more amusing that she'd made his least favorite as punishment for his not being home for six months due to working on the oil rig without telling her.

"Where'd you go?" she asked with her blue eyes closed and sleep in her voice.

"To see a man about a horse," replied J.W. not at all mentioning the fact that Rusty Vickerson had decided to make a stop by their house in the middle of the night.

Rusty had broken Wilma Jean's heart and set everything in motion for J.W. to have the family he did, it had been only part of the reason for the animosity between them of course, the other part was the fact that Rusty had slept with J.W.'s girl in the first place. 

As far as J.W. had been concerned Rusty had gotten what he so richly deserved in the end with Stacy being his girlfriend and as annoying as ever when the years passed.