Cut and Run 6 - Stars and Stripes

here to meet the queer.”
    Ty stroked his chin, looking thoughtful as he gazed at the wall above Zane’s head. What was he waiting for? Zane wanted to see him beat the pulp out of these assholes. He knew Ty could do it, even with one arm in a cast.
    Stuart shoved Ty again, hard enough to tip him and his stool sideways. Ty managed to save his beer and avoid whacking his broken arm on anything, but the stool fell out from under him and clattered to the ground.
    The noise of the bar faded as the patrons noticed what was going on. The people at the table adjacent to them got up and moved away.
    Ty turned to look at Stuart, straightening to his full height. He was taller and wider than any of the four men heckling him, and they all seemed a little surprised at his size and stature. One man took a step back.
    Stuart puffed out his chest and sneered at Ty. “You gonna fight me, faggot?”
    Ty looked him up and down, then glanced at the men behind him. He shook his head. “Not until you make it a fair fight. Go get more friends. I’ll wait.”
    People around them laughed nervously. Ty hooked his foot on the bar stool and popped it back up. Then he righted it and sat down again, putting his back to them.
    “He thinks he’s fucking funny. Funny ain’t gonna help you here, boy.”
    When it didn’t appear that Ty was going to do anything but ignore them and let himself be shoved around, Zane pushed his stool back and stood. Stuart and the other three turned to face him, crooked smiles on their faces.
    Ty slid off his stool and stepped between them, putting a hand on Zane’s chest and shaking his head. “Not worth it, Zane,” he whispered.
    “Ty—”
    “Leave it,” Ty hissed.
    Zane looked into his lover’s eyes, and then at the men trying to pick a fight. He’d been lured right into it: poked and prodded with words and insults until he was ready to throw the first punch in front of a saloon full of witnesses.
    Ty patted his chest, waiting until he was sure Zane was calm before turning around to face Stuart and his posse. He raised both hands. “You gentlemen done?”
    “Why, you got somewhere to be?”
    “Yeah, we do,” Annie said. She got off her stool and tugged at Mark’s arm. “We’re leaving.”
    The others moved away from the table, giving them a wide berth. But Ty and Zane were hemmed in, unable to step away unless the men moved or they went through them.
    “What’s the matter, Garrett? You such a big man you got to hide behind your sissy boyfriend?”
    “I can’t wait until he shows you what ‘sissy’ means in his vocabulary,” Zane growled.
    Ty glanced over his shoulder, silently asking Zane what they should do. They could go through these four men with little effort.
    “All right, break it up over here!” a man shouted as he stormed over from the bar. He was carrying a shotgun and waving his beefy hand as if shooing a pack of dogs off his lawn.
    Stuart raised his hand, giving the proprietor an insolent smile. “No problems here, Bobby. We’s just making friends.”
    They backed away, staring at Ty and Zane with smirks that made Zane want to shoot each of them in the face. It was a good thing Ty had remained calm enough for both of them, or Zane would have been on his way to a jail cell somewhere.
    As soon as the door swung shut on the last man, Zane put a hand on each of Ty’s shoulders and squeezed hard. “Thanks,” he whispered.
    Ty nodded and looked over his shoulder, his jaw set in a hard line, his hazel eyes flashing green. He was not as calm as he had seemed when facing the other men.
    Annie skirted around the table. “Are y’all okay?” She looked just as angry as Zane felt.
    “Fine,” Zane said through gritted teeth. “If stupidity was the worst thing we dealt with every day, we’d be golden.”
    Ty was still staring at the doorway, jaw set. Annie put her hand on his arm. “Ty?”
    He glanced at her and nodded, then looked back at the door. “Who were they? They work on a ranch close by?”
    “Yeah, they’re hands over at the Cactus Creek Ranch,” Joe answered.
    Ty nodded. “Word usually travel that fast around here?”
    “Depends,” Cody said. “Big news can, but not usually. They must have been talking to someone who works on the C and G.”
    Ty glanced at Zane and nodded, but Zane wasn’t sure what he was thinking. He put his arm around Ty instead of commenting on it. “Can’t believe you didn’t knock him on his ass,” he said as they filed out of