A incessant warmth burned against his skin, orange coloring the inside of his eyelids. He heaved a quiet sigh, calloused fingers running through the coarse mane of the animal below him.
The horse stiffened, head pulling up, through no fault of his own.

Beck opened his eyes, watching his horse's ears pin back. He looked down, spotting a heeler barreling toward them. The dog yapped at the horse's feet, tail wagging violently.

"Jesus Christ, Cassidy." Beck chastised, pulling the reins to the right, leading his horse away, only for the dog to follow. "What the hell is your dog doing?"

His younger brother looked away from the group of cattle, pushing his sunglasses further atop his nose.
"Duke, that'll do!" He shouted out a command.

The young dog showed no sign of understanding, continuing to bark, excitedly jumping around at the feet of Beck's horse.

"That'll do, Duke!" Cassidy shouted again, to which the animal finally responded, rushing to meet his master.
"Duke, come-by." He instructed, the dog jogging off to meet another at the left side of the herd. Cassidy looked to his older brother after a moment of watching the dog, being met with an unamused glance.

"What?" The younger bit out with a glare, embarrassed.

"Nothing." Beck spoke in an attempt to placate the other's anger. He watched the last remaining cow step through the gate, prodding his horse into a trot. He stopped just at the mouth of the opening, climbing off. He grabbed at the edge of the gate, walking it toward the latch.

"That'll do!" Cassidy shouted before four dogs bounded toward them, crawling under the gate, before stopping to stand at his horse's feet.

"Look," The younger man began as he watched the other move toward the blue roan. "You don't need to tell me how to train the dogs, alright? I don't lecture you about the horses."

Beck stuck his foot in the stirrup, grabbing at the saddle horn. He refrained from looking back at his brother, hoisting himself up and onto the saddle. "I don't recall your horse ever bucking you off." He spoke.

"Oh my God." Cassidy rolled his eyes, turning his horse around. "The dog's an idiot one time, give me a break." He spurred the horse into heading back to the house, the dogs just a short distance behind.
Beck followed, moving to ride just alongside the other. He looked down, eyeing the dogs beside them.

"Where's the other red one?" He frowned, craning his neck to look around.

Cassidy sat up, tugging at the reins to slow his horse. He swiveled in his seat, looking behind them.
"What the—" He muttered, moving to turn his horse back around. Beck did the same.

"Duke, here!" Cassidy shouted. He moved to cup his hands over his mouth. "Duke!"

Beck pressed his foot into the side of his horse, producing a clicking sound with his tongue as the animal began to pick up the pace.
"Duke!" The blond called, whistling sharply. Cassidy followed after, pushing his horse to keep up.

"Over there!" Cassidy pointed toward the property line, quite a long distance off, moving into a gallop. Beck frowned, squinting his eyes before quickly following.
The younger of the two, tugged on the reins, his horse skidding to a halt, before clambering off. Beck slowed his horse, furrowing his brows at the scene.

A rust-colored mound lay unmoving, a foot across the line. Beck climbed down from his horse, jogging toward the fence. His brother held a vice-like grip at the top of a wooden post, his knuckles a pale white.

"Jesus..." Beck murmured softly, peering over the barrier. Blood slowly ebbed from a wound in the dog's neck, soaking the fur around it, and coating the grass below. His eyes were half-lidded, staring at nothing.

"What the f—" Cassidy bit out, taking his ball-cap off to run a hand through his hair. "Did they fucking shoot him?"

Two of the dogs crawled under the barbed-wire, moving to sniff at their recently deceased friend. A blue mottled dog made a quiet grunt-whine beside the fallen animal, seemingly confused.

Beck moved to crouch down, reaching a hand through the fence to grab at the upper leg of the dog. He pulled the body across the grass and under the fence gently, eyeing the wound while placing a hand on the dog's side, stroking softly.

"Let's get him back to the house." Cassidy muttered, looking toward the Duttons' property, before moving to his horse.

Beck wrapped his arms around the dog's torso before he stood. He walked to the side of his horse, setting the dog on the seat of the saddle, and climbing up. He readjusted, letting the dog's still form rest against the front of his jeans, before leading the horse toward the direction of the house. Cassidy and his horse ran ahead, breaking away into a gallop.

When Beck had arrived, his father was already outside waiting alongside Cassidy.

"Jesus Christ," Billy had muttered, taking a few steps forward. He eyed the dog's body before fixing Beck with a frustrated stare.
"You knew John'd do anything to get in our way. Why the hell weren't you watching the dogs?"

"Me?" Beck reeled back, confused.

"Yes, you." His father scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief.

"How—" Beck began, taking a steadying breath before looking back at the other man. "Cassidy's in charge of the dogs, Dad."

"You're the older brother, Beck." Bill reminded him, frowning. "I expect you to start acting like it."

Beck didn't respond, eyes settling on Cassidy's folded arms. Cassidy shrugged his shoulders, clearly unwilling to help his brother if it came at a cost.

"I give you these responsibilities, and you can't seem to handle them." His father continued as Beck moved to get off his horse. He grabbed the dog's corpse quietly, setting it gently on the ground as Bill continued to berate him.

"Wyatt has showed me through his actions that he's set on keeping this ranch. Have you?" Bill questioned, leaning his head in an attempt to meet his son's averted eyes.
"All you seem to care about is the damn horses, nothing else." Beck looked up at that, tensing as his father fixed him with a small scowl.

"What is your life going to amount to, son? You ain't gonna have a wife, you and I both know that. No kids." Bill tilted his head.
"So let's see some initiative—Where the hell are you going?"

Beck turned toward the barn, leading his horse away silently.

"Beck, I was talking to you, goddamn it!" He shouted at the other's back.

The blond kept a strong grip on the reins, his other fist balled at his side. He breathed heavily from his nose, glaring at the gravel below him.

When they reached the horse's stall, he was quick to remove the tack. He didn't brush the animal down, opting to feed him and close the door.
"I'll be back," he had promised to the creature.

He stalked out of the barn, walking with fervor toward the driveway. He eyed the front of the house as he rounded the corner, finding Cassidy sitting on the porch.

"Where are you going?" The younger inquired, leaning up from his seat as the other man kept walking.

"Nowhere." Beck bit out, heading toward his pickup truck, pulling the door open.
"Thanks for the help back there." He spit out before wrenching the door closed.