My watch dog

So last night at three am I heard something ring. I wasn't fully asleep so I sat still and listened to see if it was my imagination. It rang again. It sounded like a cell phone. Brad, who was asleep, was silent but had woken up too. He asked if I heard it too. I had, so he got up put his robe on and grabbed the gun from the case. First- we both knew it wasn't our cell phones. We have had ours for a couple years and know all the noises they make and this wasn't one of them. Second- we are rednecks and country folk so yes we own guns. Third- it wasn't a toy. Turner only has a few things that make noise(to keep my sanity) and none of them make noises like this either. So Brad got up to look all over the house.
Was I scared? Yes, but not for the reasons you think. Was Brad scared? I am not sure if my husband has ever been afraid of anything. I was scared because my first thought was someone had broken in to kidnap my son. Utah seems to have a high child abduction rate, maybe because there are so many kids the rates just seem high. I don't really know what Brad's first thought was but I am sure it was along those same lines. What scared me was what could have happened if someone was in our house.
I have never been scared that Brad could be hurt by anybody. I have never seen Brad start a fight. I have seen him finish every one he's ever been around. He was a bouncer when we first dated. He's always been cool under pressure. He has never been manhandled. I was scared last night that some idiot had the stupid luck to pick our house to break into. Brad would kill someone who broke into his family's home and posed any sort of threat. I don't mean "Oh he'd kill someone" and think it might happen. I mean he'd shoot them and they would be dead, period. If he didn't have a gun he would beat someone to death and it would only take a second.
I have seen my husband pick up three grown men and pack them thirty yards. The men were in the bar where I worked, they had said something and Brad heard them. They were speaking Spanish so I had no clue what they were talking about. Brad sat and listened, then got up took his shirt off and grabbed three grown men to cary them outside. He put them down and asked them who wanted to die first. Over reaction, maybe but I still don't know what they said. It took seven men to hold Brad's arms. They held him but couldn't have stopped him. He agreed to let the guys go if they apologized to me and never came back. I was apologized to and the three men begged my then boyfriend's forgiveness and ran to their trucks, we never saw them again. This was the first time I saw the beast that lies behind my husband's beautiful blue green eyes. It was so out of character it startled me. But he said he didn't like what they were talking about and they were up to no good, and I believe he was right.
Brad never found any one or anything in the house last night, thank the heavens. We went back to bed, but not back to sleep. I often compare my husband to things- oak trees, giant apes, gentle giants. He is all of those things but under his sweet, loving, quiet outside there is something very dangerous. I have never feared him. I have never felt threatened by him. I am insane when my temper is spurred. It has only happened a few times but I have actually seen red and been unable to recall what happened when I was set off. My rage is quick and not calculated. I am loud and fear nothing and realize nothing as being dangerous to me. Brad is the opposite. I have felt his hand on the back of my neck so many times. It is when we are in a crowd and he senses something and pulls me close. He slides his huge hand down my arm and holds my wrist and I know to stay close to him. Now we are older and never out at night, in bars, or crowds but he is always watching the people around him.
My husband isn't the quick to explode type. He won't act irrationally over anything I have ever seen. When he thinks someone or something is trying to hurt Turner or I, I see the dangerous side of him. There is a part of him that is scary and I would hate to be at the other end of his gaze when he is in that zone. My life is ultimately more enjoyable because I get to float through and enjoy the good because my husband always has what could be the bad in his sights. Today Brad is being compared to a watch dog. I had to think what breed would be most like him. The obvious is the Rottweiler. They are massive, can be mean, but they are too clumsy and a little goofy. Then I thought of the Doberman Pincer. They are trained and calculating, but they are too much of a light weight and have never struck me as the loyal above all else type. Then I thought of the German Shepherd. They are built for stealth, loyal, and deadly, but also able to lay and let children crawl all over them, all the while watching for predators. That is my husband.
Like dogs men can sense who among them is dangerous. Dogs give a wide berth to the dominate males. Likewise, people have always given Brad plenty of space and not challenged him. He's never been a bully, on the contrary he'd rather diffuse a fight than have to start one or break one up. I love him. I love the silly him that only I see. I love the gentle him who handles new babies with such care and concern. I love the Brad who teaches my son new games and how to do things. I love the Brad who snores at night but can still hear the smallest noise that is out of place. I love the Brad who'd put himself between a moving train and our son. I love the Brad who would kill a man for coming in his home and threatening his wife and children. He'll always be my oak, my Clyde, my shepherd. I'll always be able to stop and smell the roses because Brad will be standing and watching making sure Turner, Tate and I are safe.