[February 11] [Brokeback Mountain] Once Upon a Time - 11

[rhye.livejournal.com]

Title: Once Upon a Time - 11
Day/Theme: February 11th/A Pound of Flesh
Series: Brokeback Mountain
Character/Pairing: Jack Twist/Ennis del Mar
Rating: R

Chapter 11

Ennis squinted down at the brochure, holding it away from his face a bit to bring it into focus. "Ain't forty thousand little steep?" He was not buying into this scheme. "That's, like, what, forty a pound? What pound a bull-flesh you know costs forty dollars?"

"Them thousand pounds right there." Jack pointed out across the fence at the brown longhorn.

"We don't need no kind a fancy bull."

"Need, no. But what the hell else we gonna spend the money on? We got a ranch. We got a herd. We even got horses, though I guess we could use some that don't remember the sixties."

"Sixties weren't so long ago," Ennis huffed defensively.

"Yeah an' Pokey the old mare agrees with you."

"Then let's spend the money on horses."

"We got three hundred thousand. Sure's hell can buy the bull and whatever horses you've got your eye on. Maybe a few prize-winnin' heifer calves?"

"Yeah, but you think this the bull, hunh?"

"He won first place at the damned state fair! You see what kind a weight improvement we could give those calves?" Jack tapped the brochure in Ennis's hands. The truth was Ennis hadn't seen, 'cause he couldn't see that damn small print even at arm's length, but he didn't want to say so.

"Well, we ain't gonna show 'em, just keep a herd."

"Like hell. We're gonna show 'im! An' we're gonna breed 'im, an' we're gonna make a shitload a money off that bull right there."

Ennis sighed, knowing he'd already lost this battle, and admitting even to himself that, maybe Jack was right about this one if he won at the state fair. A good bull could make a good cattle ranch, and Jack'd said his daddy's bulls were shit and about ready for dogfood themselves.

"Forty dollars a pound, Christ," Ennis muttered to himself.

Jack was already writing out the check.