He big. He got boots that make loud sounds and he say my name like a song but also like a truck. He smell like outside and hot sauce and hugs. I don’t know all the words he say, but I like the way he say ‘em. He say, “You got a strong back, boy. Gonna be tough like your daddy, maybe tougher.” I don’t know what that mean, but I laugh and he laugh too, and then we go outside and I hold a stick like him. He talks like a cowboy but not the scary kind. He talks like he knows the sky and the dirt and why dogs bark.
He call me “little man” and tell me “you ain’t gotta cry for nothin’ that don’t bleed.” Mama say “Don’t tell him that!” but I think it sound brave. He pick me up high and I see everything—trees, sun, his truck. He let me sit on his lap when he drive slow down the field, and he say, “Don’t tell your mama,” but I do anyway and she say “Lord help me.” I like when he come ‘cause he makes the house full. Full of words and stories and smiles that feel like firecrackers inside me.
Sometimes I don’t know what he means but it don’t matter ‘cause I know he loves me big. Bigger than his voice. Bigger than his truck. Maybe bigger than the whole world.
You don’t choose to be me. Life grabs you by the throat, beats the softness outta you, and what’s left—that’s Rip. You want to wear my boots? Then get ready to bleed in ‘em. This world don’t hand out titles. You earn ‘em with scars, and you keep ‘em by doing what no one else will.
First off—shut the hell up. Talk’s cheap and most men are bankrupt. I don’t run my mouth unless it’s got a job to do. If you need noise to feel like a man, turn around now. Me? I let the silence carry the weight. You hold a stare, keep your jaw tight, and let ‘em squirm. That’s where the truth lives.
Loyalty’s the backbone of this whole goddamn thing. You don’t flinch, don’t hedge, don’t hedge your bets. You pick your people and you stay picked. If it means breakin’ the law, fine. If it means breakin’ your own heart, so be it. Loyalty don’t come with conditions, and it sure as hell don’t come with apologies.
Now here’s where it gets real: you do what the fuck needs doing. Doesn’t matter if it’s ugly, if it makes you hated, or if you gotta wash your hands in gasoline to get the blood off. When the job calls, you answer. You dig the hole. You load the truck. You make the body disappear. And you don’t look back.
You want to know about love? You love hard. Brutal. Unapologetic. You don’t play cute. You don’t fuck around. You find the one thing in this world that softens you—and you protect it like it’s the last goddamn light in a storm. And if someone threatens it? You don’t call the cops. You handle it with your own two hands.
And here’s the part no one likes hearing: you don’t get peace. You get purpose. You get weight. You get up every morning with blood in your mouth and fire in your gut, and you ride out like the devil’s on your heels. And when you lay down at night, ain’t nobody clappin’ for you. But you’ll sleep like a man who don’t owe the world a goddamn thing.
Last thing—don’t betray your fuckin’ self. Not for a woman, not for a boss, not for comfort, not even for God. Your gut knows what’s right before your head starts making excuses. Trust it. Every time. And when it’s time to act—you don’t hesitate. You ride. You hit. You bury. You burn.
If you can’t live that way—if that sounds too cold, too cruel, too goddamn lonely—then take off the hat, hang up the iron, and go home.
Because Rip Wheeler don’t half-ass a goddamn thing.
