Another Chance

Disclaimer: This story is fictional. Some of the things that happened or will happen with Jim are inspired by bits and pieces of my life. Parts of the character are fictional as well. All other characters were made up and any similarities are just coincidental. This is gay romance between teenage boys, there may be sex, but for the most part, it's about their true love of each other so if that offends you, please discontinue reading. Also, if it is illegal for you to read such material, you have been warned. Continual reading could cause a knock at your door.

I hope you're enjoying it so far and that the story draws you in wanting more. This story was "inspired" by another story, a great story, here on Nifty, "Riding Lessons" by Andrew Todd. Some people have compared my writing style to that of Mr. Todd's and for that, I am flattered. While Another Chance does pay tribute to "Riding Lessons", it is a story of its own and has its own plot and agenda. If you have any suggestions or concerns, don't hesitate to email me at zarek@roadrunner.com mailto:zarek@roadrunner.com . Thoughts and suggestion are always welcomed and may or may not be implemented. Concerns will be considered and addressed as much as possible.

AND, if you enjoy the stories on Nifty.org, please give a donation to help cover their expenses. While the site is currently free, only donations from loyal fans can help keep it that way. Any amount will help.

Another Chance

Chapter 63

Joe picked Buster up on his way home. While Buster finished packing, his mom had a chat with Joe, "I don't know if you realize this, but before Buster met you, he was a bit shy. Now, he seems so friendly and free, you've sent his heart soaring."

"I'm glad that I've had such a positive impact on him. I guess that would have been why he did the secret admirer thing," Joe chuckled as he remembered how nervous he was that day.

"So it's only going to be you, Buster, Jim, Zac and Jake at the house, no adults?" Mrs. Jones questioned.

"Actually, it will be just Buster and I. Jim and Zac were asked to watch Jackson's house, but if you're worried about us having sex, we both agree that we want to wait until we get married to make it really special," Joe wanted to be a hundred percent honest with the woman he plans to be his mother-in-law.

"If one of you two were female, I might have worried, but I trust the two of you. I know that neither one of you will get pregnant. Your mom gave you permission before she knew about Jackson taking off, I hope she trusts the two of you enough to not get upset," Mrs. Jones declared.

"Jim, Zac and I talked before they decided to stay at Jackson's. We don't think that she will," Joe grinned. Buster was coming down the stairs with his bag. "You have the bear suit?" Joe asked.

"Oops," Buster blurted and went back upstairs.

"You really like cuddling up to him in that suit. He hugged me one day while he had it on and I want one for his dad," Mrs. Jones chuckled.

"Feels like a big teddy bear," Joe admitted. Buster came back down stairs, kissed his mom and started leading Joe outside.

"Have fun you two, but behave yourselves," Mrs. Jones stressed.

"I always behave myself," Joe responded and then smiled. "I do everything that I tell myself to do."

"I'll see you when you get home, Buster," she stated.

As they pulled out onto the street, Joe looked at Buster, "I noticed that your mom quit calling you Cornelius."

"Yeah, she said that if I prefer Buster, that is what she should call me. Dad tries, but he still calls me Cornelius most of the time."

"But at least he's trying. By the way, it'll be just us at the house. Jim and Zac are staying at Jackson's while he's away," Joe sprung on Buster.

"Seriously? I hope that doesn't mean you want to, you know," Buster looked nervous.

"We both want to wait until we get married for that, so no. I want our wedding day to be so special and that to be the icing on the cake, so to speak," Joe offered and smiled as Buster calmed down.

"I'm glad, it's not that I don't want to do it with you, I think about it all the time, but yeah, I want that moment to be really special when we finally do it," Buster confided.

"I think about it all the time as well. I did tell Jim and Zac that we won't do anything differently than if they were there," Joe admitted.

"And that would be my plan as well. I can't believe that we will be together for the rest of the week, just the two of us," Buster grinned.

"As far as I'm concerned, the only clothing you need is the bear suit. I'm planning for lots of cuddling," Joe squealed.

After looking at all of the rooms to decide which room they wanted to use, Jim noticed that all the bedrooms had a sleep number bed in them. "Looks like it doesn't matter which bedroom we take, and with there being five bedrooms, we can leave all of theirs untouched," Jim suggested.

"Which room do you want Jake? This one or that one?" Zac queried, pointing out the two vacant rooms.

"That one, it has a window looking out towards the barn and horseys!" Jake exclaimed.

Jim was getting ready to make a comment when his phone rang. He put it on speaker. "Hey Mom, I hope you're not upset but..." Jim started.

"I was a little surprised, but no I am fine. It's not the first time Joe had the house to himself for a couple of days, but this time he has Buster. He is seventeen and close enough to being an adult that I need to treat him as one," Heather interrupted. "He did say that your main concern was how I would feel about it."

"Well, I'm glad that you are cool with it. Joe does want us to come over at least once during the week and have a meal with him," Jim affirmed.

"I'm glad that you were concerned with my feelings, but note, you are married and Zac's feelings should be more important than mine," Heather lectured.

"I do understand that, but Zac would have been happy either way. He took in my feelings and yours as well when we discussed this," Jim explained.

"I'm glad. And what does Jake think of this?" she inquired.

"Hi Grandma, I'm glad you not mad. I get to stay with the horseys," Jake blurted.

"Well, I guess that answers my question," Heather chuckled. "Aunt Brenda, Zack and Austin will be coming home with me. Brandt will come down a week before the wedding, and Austin can't wait to meet Jake."

"How is the new baby, she named him Zack? Did you tell Austin that I gave my cars to Jake?" Jim asked.

"She hopes that Zac doesn't mind, but she loves how he loves you and thought it was a great name. The baby's name is Zack Allen," Heather started.

"She even gave him my middle name?" Zac asked.

"She knows, the only difference is she put the k on Zack's name. And I did tell Austin about the cars, he's hoping that Jake will share them with him." Heather finished.

"I will, we can play cars together," Jake beamed.

"You'll like Austin," Jim stated. "Hope you don't mind, but he may need to sleep in your bed with you."

"Can we make a tent in my room with sheets?" Jake requested. "When we did it at the home, Aunt Sallie always told us that we should have asked first but that she didn't mind us doing it."

"Did she ever spank you?" Zac asked.

"No, if any of the boys were bad, they had to stand with their nose in a corner. Or if they were really bad, they were sent to a room which only had a bed in it for the night. I had to stand in the corner once," Jake confessed.

"What did you do to stand in a corner?" Jim queried.

"I came back from one of the visits and a boy named Eric was teasing me, saying that no one will want a four-year-old baby and that was why my mom left me. He made me mad so I hit him. Aunt Sallie made us both stand in a corner for an hour," Jake admitted, looking down.

"Did she explain why you were in the corner?" Jim inquired.

"After the hour, she took us one at a time into her office. I don't know what she said to Eric, but she hugged me and told me that she hated having to do that. She said that she understands why I was mad enough to hit him but that I should have let her handle it. She asked if I understood and when I said yes, she hugged me again," Jake smiled.

"You respect Aunt Sallie, don't you?" Jim grinned.

"I didn't like being punished, but at least she was fair and let me know that it wasn't out of anger. She made me feel wanted. And when Eric left her office, he apologized," Jake giggled.

"If you ever want to visit with her, we can. She was like a surrogate mother to you for a while and I think she loved you," Jim offered.

"Thank you, but I'm good for now," Jake replied.

"OK, but you ever want to visit, we can, just know that. So did you and Eric become friends, then?" Zac questioned.

"Nope, he was a bully up until Aunt Sallie told him he needed to find his own place when he turned eighteen," Jake announced. "I always thought that was funny because everyone else, she helped them find a place. Eric, she seemed to just want out of the home."

"Wait a minute, he's about thirteen years older than you and picked on you?" Heather asked over the phone.

"Uh huh," Jake answered.

"And you hit someone that much bigger than you?" Jim exclaimed.

"He could have hurt you," Zac asserted.

"Aunt Sallie said the same thing," Jake chuckled.

"Well, I think Aunt Sallie punished you correctly, but I think Eric should have received more of a punishment," Heather growled.

"I'm with Grandma on that," Jim agreed.

"Aunt Sallie made him go to that room a couple days after he picked on me. He was picking on Timmy, calling him a baby and even poured water on his crotch to make it look like he peed himself. Timmy was three at the time and I wanted to hit Eric but went and got Aunt Sallie so I didn't get in trouble again. Eric didn't see her coming in and she caught him," Jake stated and then looked down. "Some of the kids called me a tattletale."

"What you did was right, there's a difference between tattling and getting an adult to stop bullying," Jim advised.

"What's the difference?" Jake asked.

"What you did was get an adult to stop someone from being bullied. If you tattle, you do it just to get the person in trouble, no one really benefits from it except you seeing the person get in trouble," Heather explained.

"Oh, so if I told Daddy that Daddy drank the last cold Coke and didn't put any more in the fridge, would that be tattling?" Jake questioned.

"It would, especially since when I drank the second to last cold Coke, I put another twelve pack in," Jim chuckled.

"And when I drank the loose can, there was already a twelve pack in," Zac chortled.

"I didn't mean that you did it, I was just giving an example," Jake huffed, then looking at Jim and he giggled.

"Well, I hope you boys enjoy your stay at Jackson's. It'll give you a chance to see what your life will be like when you do live by yourself. Uncle Brandt just got home and we're about to eat supper," Heather announced.

"Enjoy your meal, Mom. What are you having?" Zac asked.

"Chicken-bacon-ranch penne, I'm thinking of fixing it when I get home. I believe that you would like it and I'm sure Jake will. I may call before we head home, talk to you later."

"It sounds good, we love you," Jim avowed just before he heard his mom hang up.

"I can't believe that Aunt Brenda likes me enough to name her baby after me," Zac was astonished.

"Uncle Brandt was an only child and before Joe joined our family, I was her only nephew. We were really close before they moved to Japan, I guess she still feels that bond we have. It makes me feel good that she wanted to name her baby after you," Jim smiled.

"It tells me how much she cares about you," Zac said as he moved to kiss Jim. "And I can't wait to see Austin again. He's nine, right?"

"Yes, he turned nine in April," Jim replied.

The next day, Buster was with Joe and Chris when they showed up at the ranch. "I hope you don't mind Buster coming along. He didn't want to stay at the house alone and didn't want to go home," Joe explained.

"Technically, he's not allowed to work, but if he wants to hang around you and chat, I won't say anything if he pitches in once in a while. So what did you think about last night?" Zac asked looking at Buster.

"Joe is a very good host. He grabbed four pork chops, a packet of ranch dressing mix, a can of some kind of soup and made this delicious meal. He said that it was ranch pork chops. And then we had fun just cuddling and kissing. And sleeping beside him, we ended up spooning. I can definitely see living with him and enjoying it," Buster cooed.

"So, we are thinking maybe tomorrow night coming to the house for supper. What do you think about the two of you coming here on Friday?" Jim asked.

"If you want the ranch pork chops, we'll need enough chops for five people, and a sixteen ounce can of cream of mushroom soup, and a packet of ranch mix. That's actually for four chops, but I think we can stretch it for ten," Joe explained.

"Maybe get some mushrooms and add to it, and I can get two cans of soup," Jim suggested.

"That will work. You want me to serve it over pasta or rice?" Joe questioned.

"Either works for me," Jim stated. Zac agreed. "Friday, would you like Coca-Cola chicken or cheeseburger and fries pie?"

"Cheeseburgers!!!" Jake shouted.

Smiling, Joe answered, "I think someone would like the cheeseburger and fries pie. I bet that would be good with..." Joe whispered, "Bacon."

"BACON!!!" Jake exclaimed. Joe laughed, knowing Jake would get ecstatic.

With dinner plans set for the next two days, Joe went to the barn with Buster in tow. "So, we have tomorrow and Friday planned, what's for dinner tonight?" Buster asked.

"I'm thinking either steak or sausage," Joe grinned wickedly and licked his lips. Not catching Joe's meaning, Buster said that a good steak with a baked potato and some veggie sounded good to him. Joe laughed and explained what he meant to Buster and Buster's face started lighting the barn with a deep shade of crimson.

Jake came running in and noticed Buster's face, "Is Uncle Buster alright?"

"Yeah, I just embarrassed him," Joe winked.

"How?" Jake asked.

"It's personal between Buster and me so I can't tell you," Joe grinned.

"OH, if you say so," Jake looked down. "Is it something I may be too young to hear?"

"You are, but it's also something that is private," Joe explained. Buster was turning a deeper shade of red. "We may need to change subjects before we kill Buster."

"OK, we don't wanna do that. I like Uncle Buster so we don't wanna do that," Jake agreed.

"So, why did you come in here?" Jake asked.

"I forget, when I saw Uncle Buster, I got worried about him," Jake answered.

"Were you coming to see us or maybe the horses?" Buster finally spoke.

"Ummmm," Jake was thinking. "I think it was to see if you wanted to go riding. Daddy said that we'll be going in about an hour."

"Since you asked, we would love to go riding with you," Buster answered.

Jake went running back to Jim and Zac, "Uncle Buster said that they would love to go riding with us," Jake exclaimed.

"Riding? You were supposed to ask what time we should come over tomorrow. You, Daddy and I are going riding, but since you invited them, they can come," Zac mused.

"Oh yeah, Uncle Buster's face looked like a strawberry and I forgot," Jake explained.

"Why did Buster's face look like a strawberry? Jim asked.

"Uncle Joe said that he emberried him, but said that it was private," Jake giggled.

"Do you mean embarrassed?" Zac inquired.

"Yeah but we had to change topics to keep Uncle Buster's face from busting," Jake chuckled. "Want me to go back and ask them?"

"No, we can ask them when we go riding. They might be talking about some more private stuff," Jim responded.

When they were getting the horses ready, Zac explained what Jake was supposed to ask them. He also told Joe that he shouldn't "emberry" Buster. "What?" Joe questioned.

"Jake said that you emberried Buster and made his face look like a strawberry," Jim howled.

"Oh yeah, he almost caught us in a private conversation. And poor Buster was embarrassed. He looked so cute, but I was beginning to worry about him," Joe smiled and looked over at Buster.

"Was he embarrassed because Jake almost caught you guys, or by what you said?" Zac queried.

"Initially by what Joe said, but Jake coming in when he did, didn't help," Buster choked.

They went on their ride and chitchatted, keeping the conversation so Jake could join in. Jake felt special when he was asked what he thought.

As Jake and Jim were entering the house, Zac's phone ringtone played "This Cowboy's Hat" by Chris LeDoux, telling him that Jackson was calling. "Hey Jackson, I'm glad that you called. We talked it over with Joe and we are staying at your house," Zac answered,

"I'm glad. We never did discuss how much I'm supposed to pay you for watching my house," Jackson responded.

"Pay us? You're a friend, you don't owe us anything," Zac asserted.

"Are you sure? I mean, really, you aren't going out of your way, but I know people who charge like two to three hundred dollars a week for house sitting," Jackson countered.

"You are a friend, or really more like family. We are glad to help you out," Jim interjected.

"Then make sure you use the food at the house for your meals. If I come home and all the food is gone, I won't get upset," Jackson insisted.

"Jim was wanting to replace anything that we eat. He said that he didn't feel right just eating it," Zac confessed.

"If you guys do, you're fired," Jackson laughed.

"I don't believe that you would really fire us," Zac chuckled.

"No, I wouldn't, but you will make me feel bad if you replace the food you eat. I'm glad that you boys respect me enough to feel that way, but don't worry about it," Jackson sniffled a little. "Reason I called is Ryan came back from his first meeting with the U.S. Federal Judicial Board. It seems that there is a position in the U.S. District Court for Wyoming available. Ryan is one of many judges that they are looking to fill that spot."

"So where is that?" Jim asked.

"The court is in Casper, Wyoming. If Ryan gets appointed, it's too good of an opportunity for him to pass up," Jackson answered.

"So, will you move there? What about the ranch?" Zac showed concern in his voice.

"We're discussing it. Colt will already be in school by the time the board presents their choice to the President for nomination. Ryan doesn't like the idea of him transferring during the school year. Right now, we are discussing Ryan being in Casper through the week and Cody on the weekends. The rest of us will stay in Cody. Of course, that's all if Ryan gets the nomination. After the next school year is over, I may sell the ranch or keep it and ask the two of you to run it for me. We're not really sure at this time as we don't know what will happen. Anyway, Ryan has two more interviews and then we are heading to my parents."

"I'm torn. Part of me thinks that it would really be great for Ryan, but I will also miss you guys if he gets it and you move away," Zac jeered.

"I can appreciate that. I would miss you guys as well if I ever move from there," Zac could hear sadness in Jackson's voice.

"Jackson's talking about moving? What will happen to the ranch?" Jim was getting hysterical. "Who will he sell it to? Will we still be able to work here?"

"Calm down. Jackson's not planning to move any time soon. He doesn't even know if he will ever move. The Federal Judicial board is looking at Ryan to fill a vacant seat in Casper, but they don't even know if Ryan will be offered the position," Zac explained.

"But if he is, they will move to Casper," Jim grumbled.

"No, Ryan will get a place in Casper for the week and be here on the weekends. They don't want to pull Colt out of school to move, so IF Ryan gets the seat, Jackson won't move until after the next school year is over. Then, he is talking about you and me running the ranch for him. He'll still own the ranch and come to visit, but we will be in charge of it," Zac explained. "Once we graduate from college, we are wanting to run our own ranch. This could be better."

"I suppose, but I'm already missing Jackson and Colt," Jim whined.

"What about Ryan?" Zac chuckled.

"Yeah, him too, but not as much since we don't interact with him as much."

"Is Jackson leaving us?" Jake started to cry.

"No, at least not yet. It may happen, or we may leave him, but that's a part of life. Like when you turn eighteen, you'll want to leave us," Zac tried to explain.

"I'll never leave my daddy," Jake declared and ran, putting his arms around Jim as best as he can.

"I'd like that," Jim stated, "But when you get older, hopefully you'll find someone that you love and want to start your own family. When that happens, you will always be welcome to visit and we will miss you, but we will also totally understand you moving out."

"Nuh uh, I'll never leave you, Daddy," Jake assured. Jim didn't argue with Jake, he knew that the boy would eventually change his mind, but what was the harm in him thinking this for now.

As Zac prepared their supper, Jim started playing songs on YouTube. He came across a young man doing covers from many artists. "Who's the cute guy singing? He has an awesome voice," Zac inquired.

"His name is Leroy Sanchez, and he IS cute, very cute. He's almost as cute as you," Jim grinned.

"Do you think he's cuter than Taylor Lautner?" Zac teased.

"Ummm, if I have to choose, that would be a tough one, but I think Leroy might win. Bring both of them here and maybe I can decide for sure," Jim joked.

"Yeah, you just want to try them both in bed, don't you?" Zac snickered.

"Shhhh, Jake is right here. And you are the only one I want that way," Jim demanded.

"Sorry," Zac apologized.

"You want to watch them sleeping, Daddy?" Jake asked.

"I wouldn't mind watching them sleep, but I prefer to watch you sleep. You are so cute all the time, but really cute when you sleep," Jim answered and shot Zac a dirty look. Zac mouthed that he was sorry, again.

"Am I cuter than Taylor Lautner?" inquired the cute boy staring at Jim.

"Jake, you are by far, the cutest boy to ever walk on this earth," Jim stated as he kissed Jake's forehead. Jake asked if he could go play with the Legos and ran off to play.

"So what kind of pasta would you like for dinner?" Zac asked.

"What were you thinking, making a comment like that in front of him?" Jim snapped.

"I honestly didn't even think about it. I said I was sorry, what more do you want?" Zac looked so upset, Jim thought he was about to cry.

"A kiss would help," Jim chuckled.

Zac gave Jim a kiss and then whispered in his ear, "I am so sorry. I know I shouldn't have made that comment in front of Jake, I just wasn't thinking."

"OK, but let's not speak of this again. And for the record, yes I think they both are very cute, but YOU are the only one I ever want to try out in bed," Jim declared.

"But if I never existed?" Zac pushed.

"Then my life would still be missing a very important part," Jim grinned.

"Spoken like a true love," Zac responded. "Now, what kind of pasta would you like?"

"What are we having?" Jim questioned.

"I'm not telling you, but I'm serving it on pasta, so for the third time, what kind of pasta would you like?"

"Well what are my choices?" Jim inquired.

"Jackson has spaghetti, linguine, orzo, and ruote," Zac answered.

"Jake might get a kick out of the ruote," Jim gushed.

"He probably would, but if it were just you and I eating, what would you choose?" Zac begged.

"I like any of it. Without knowing what you are fixing, it's hard to say, but if I were making a dish to serve over pasta, I would probably go with linguine or spaghetti," Jim divulged.

"OK, I'll fix some ruote for Jake and linguine for us. You're right, Jake will probably get a kick out of it but we don't always have to eat something that we fix for him," Zac agreed. Smiling, Jim offered to help with the dinner. "You just want a sneak peek at what it is. Why don't you listen to Leroy sing, and turn it up a little so I can hear his golden pipes."

"I might do some reading, too. What are those sites that Joe's always reading stories from?" Jim asked.

"You mean nifty dot org or gayauthors dot org?" Zac responded.

"Yes, those. Joe was telling me about a real touching story called Priorities' that made him cry. He said that the author recently posted another story with the same title as a classic song. It's in his Kiss', I believe is what he said," Jim chattered.

"Yeah, he told me about `Priorities', and I would like to read that as well. Joe said that it made him cry, it was so good."

Jim read every chapter of Priorities on nifty.org while Zac finished dinner. When he was done, he wrote the author and jokingly called him a bastard for making him cry. He left his laptop open to http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/young-friends/priorities/ nifty.org/nifty/gay/young-friends/priorities/ so that Zac could use his laptop and read it instead of having to look it up on his own. When he told Zac this, Zac said that he appreciated it.

Jake came in the kitchen as Zac was placing the food on the table. "Why does one plate have wagon wheels and the other two have flat spaghetti?" Jake questioned.

"Well, the flat spaghetti is actually called linguine. Your dad and I thought it would be more appropriate. The wagon wheels is actually called ruote. We thought you might like them instead. Taste-wise, they are the same," Zac answered.

"I like wagon wheel spaghetti, can I call it that instead of wrotey?" Jake asked.

"As long as we know what you mean, you can call it any name that you like," Zac smirked.

"Mmmm, boneless breasts or thighs?" Jim queried.

"Well, I know that you prefer breasts, but Jackson only had boneless thighs. This was a simple recipe, just cook the chicken for two to three hours in a slow-cooker with a jar of marinara and then serve over your favorite pasta," explained the love of Jim's life.

"Sounds good, and speaking of slow-cookers, on Friday when Joe and Buster are here, I am thinking of making some Buffalo chicken dip. What do you think?" Jim inquired.

"I think that they would love it. Are we taking anything tomorrow to go with the creamy ranch chops?" Zac questioned.

"I was thinking of maybe taking asparagus with cheese sauce poured over it," Jim suggested.

"I know that you, Joe and I like asparagus, but does Jake or Buster?" Zac pondered.

"I have no idea, but Jake seems to like everything except liver. I say that we take it and if anyone doesn't like it, they don't eat it."

The next day, Jim was talking to Joe and Buster while helping to take care of the horses. He asked about bringing asparagus. "That's funny, we were considering making asparagus as a side but not sure if Jake would like it. Let us make it so that it's ready with the meal and doesn't get a chance to cool off during transport," Joe reasoned.

"You want us to bring anything?" Jim asked.

"Just yourselves. Let us take care of the food tonight and you guys can take care of food tomorrow," Joe affirmed. "And we were thinking of playing Monopoly after supper, but want Jake to be able to join us, so..."

"We can play Monopoly, Jake can help Zac or me. Not many games that we can play that would be fun for us AND Jake," Jim admitted.

After they were done taking care of the horses, Joe and Buster headed home. Joe said that supper would be ready at five thirty, and they would eat, then have snacks for the rest of the night.

At quarter `til five, Jim and Zac put Jake in their truck and headed to Wal-Mart. Jim decided to look at the games they have. He picked up a game of Sorry, a pack of Uno cards, and a few other games that he thought Jake might like. After making their purchase, they headed to see Joe and Buster.

Joe met them as they came in the door. "I hope you don't mind, but I picked up some games that would be more to Jake's liking. I have Sorry, Uno and..." Jim didn't get to finish.

"Chutes and Ladders? I haven't played this in ages, let's play it tonight," Buster begged, walking downstairs in the bear outfit.

"OK, it may seem childish to us, but I was planning to play with Jake anyway, so why not," Jim agreed.

"Yea, Jake, we're going to play Chutes and Ladders. We'll work together and beat those old fogies," Buster got excited.

"Old Fogies? You're same age as Jim and me and only a year younger than Zac," Joe exclaimed.

"Actually, I'm two months younger than Zac," Buster explained. "He only graduated a year before me because I'll turn eighteen after school starts.

"So that makes you seven months older than me and you're calling me an old fogie?" Joe looked puzzled.

"At heart, you have to admit, you act more mature than I do," Buster confessed.

"Sometimes," Joe agreed.

"Why are you dressed like a bear?" Jake questioned.

"Well, your Uncle Joe told me how much you like cuddling and thought that you might like to cuddle with a big live teddy bear," Buster responded.

"I do like to cuddle," Jake grinned. Buster picked Jake up and gave him a hug. "Ooooo, you feel so soft. Daddy, I want a bear costume."

"Which Daddy are you talking to?" Joe giggled.

"Both," Jake replied. "Or, whichever one will get me a costume like this."

"That reminds me, I was reading a story about a boy who was adopted by two dads. He called one dad Daddy and the other Dad so as to differentiate between them. Would you like to do that?" Jim asked.

"What did you think of `Priorities'?" Joe inquired.

"It made me cry, I loved it and can't wait for more to be released," Jim admitted. "So Jake, your decision, who is Daddy and who is Dad?"

"You are my daddy, Daddy, but can I call Daddy Zac Papa instead of Dad?" Jake requested.

"Yes, that would be totally acceptable," Zac answered.

"Well, supper will be on the table in five. After supper, do we want to play the game or watch a movie first?" Joe questioned.

"What movie did you have in mind, Star Trek?" Jim hoped.

"The 2008 Speed Racer movie," Joe grinned.

"OH, that's a good movie, too. I have some of the cartoons on DVD. What if we play a quick game and then watched the movie. I have a feeling that Jake might fall asleep watching the movie," Zac suggested.

"You might be right," Jim agreed.

"Sounds good to me, what do you think, Buster?" Joe inquired.

"I want to play Chutes and Ladders," Buster insisted and everyone laughed.

Everyone enjoyed the creamy ranch pork chops and Jake ate his share. After the table was cleared, Buster set up the Chutes and Ladders game. Much to his disappointment, Buster actually came in last. Jake barely beat Joe, but everyone thinks Joe cheated to let Jake win, though, they never shared that with Jake and Joe claims that Jake won fairly.

As the movie started, Jake cuddled against Buster. "I guess that's my fault for having him wear the costume," Joe conceded and he sat beside Jake.

"Yep," Jake chuckled.

"Cuddling with Buster, I bet you fall asleep about halfway through the movie," Zac joked.

"Nuh uh, I will watch the movie in comfy," Jake declared.

"OK, if you stay awake and watch the whole movie, I'll get you a bear costume like Buster's. But if you fall asleep, your bed time will be right after supper next week," Zac wagered. Jake gave the biggest grin.

"You know, he will do everything that he can to stay awake, now," Jim stated as he gave Zac a peck on the cheek.

The movie was halfway through and Zac heard snoring coming from Jake's direction. He looked and heard, "It's not me, Papa. Uncle Buster fell asleep." Zac just had to laugh, Jake was sitting there wide-eyed watching the movie. He didn't even look like he was fighting sleep.

As the credits started rolling, Zac heard Jake yawn. "I'm tired, I guess I lose `cause I'm going to sleep now," Jake mumbled.

"No, buddy, you won. The credits rolling means the movie is over. Instead of you going to sleep, how about we get ready to go to the ranch and you can go to bed," Zac suggested.

"I won? Does that mean I get a bear costume?" Jake perked up.

"Yes, I'll talk to the lady who made Buster's and have her make one for you. It'll be big on you at first so that you can wear it for a few years," Zac offered.

"Thank you, Papa, I love you," Jake stated as he started getting ready to leave.

"I love you too, my little cub," Zac responded.

"What's a cub?" Jake queried.

"Well, several animals' young can be called a cub, but in this case, it would be a young bear. Papa is calling you a little cub since you'll be getting a bear costume," Jim explained.

"OH, I like that. You can call me a little cub, Papa," Jake grinned. Jim was noticing Jake getting closer to Zac. Part of him was glad that they get along so well, but part of him wanted to keep Jake all to himself. Still, he was Jake's Daddy, so he tried to not let it get to him.

As they entered the house, Jake ran right to the room that he was using, took off his clothes and went right to sleep. Zac laughed as he watched him. After Jake was asleep, Zac looked at Jim, "You were quiet the whole way here, what's up?"

"OH, it's silly, really," Jim responded.

"No, if something is bothering you, I want to hear it. I don't care how silly it may seem," Zac argued.

"Really, it's nothing, just something that I need to work through," Jim assured.

"Babe, it's not nothing if you are being quiet while thinking about it. If there is even a remote possibility I can help, please tell me," Zac requested.

"Fine, you know how everyone says that I am the most generous person they know? Well, that doesn't fit when it comes to you and Jake. I don't want to share either of you, not even with each other. I know that I shouldn't feel this way, but..." Jim started.

"But you love us so much that it hurts seeing us get close?" Zac finished Jim's thought.

"He's our son and you should be able to get just as close, and it scares me that I don't want that to happen," Jim started to cry.

"Babe, it's going to happen. I think he will always love you more but as you said, he is our son. I can understand wanting to keep Jake to yourself, but there are many people in his life. I noticed that you kept looking over at him while we were watching the movie. Were you upset that he wanted to cuddle with the bear costume?"

"And that's just it, he wanted to cuddle with the costume, not so much Buster. I think I may need professional help," Jim announced.

"Babe, you're doing better about sharing Jake. You can't help it that you love him so much, he's just so loveable. I don't think you need professional help, you just need to talk about how you are feeling. When you love, you really love, and I can't fault you for that," Zac offered as he moved to hold Jim.

"You really think there's nothing wrong with me?" Jim sobbed.

"Only thing wrong with you is that you have a heart ten times bigger than your body. As far as I go, do you have problems with me having friends?" Zac questioned.

"Friends, no. I'm not crazy about seeing you kiss anyone, even on the cheek, but I know it is just friendship, so I don't let that bother me," Jim answered.

"See, you're already making progress," Zac smiled.

"I guess, but what about my feelings when it comes to Jake?" Jim begged.

"You've improved a lot when it comes to sharing Jake. I know that it's not easy. When you saw Jake cuddle with Buster, what ran through your head?" Zac inquired.

"I wanted to snatch that costume off of Buster and put it on myself," Jim replied.

"But you didn't. Biggest thing that you need to remember, I may talk to my friends and you have no problem with that, why?" Zac threw out.

"I know that you love me and they are just friends," Jim responded. "And I know that they are only after friendship."

"And do you think Jake is going to love anyone else as much as he does you?" Zac asked.

"To be honest, I'm hoping when he gets older that he will find someone that he loves more and wants to marry, but for now, no I don't so," Jim admitted.

"And he won't, at least until he turns fourteen at the earliest," Zac convinced.

"You're right, I told you that I was just being silly," Jim conceded.

"Do you feel better?" Zac asked.

"I have to admit, I do. You always seem to know how to make me feel better," Jim stated as he kissed Zac on the cheek.

"Only because I love you so much and you love me," Zac grinned.

"I do," Jim chuckled. "I guess, it really doesn't bother me so much seeing you and Jake get close. I am happy that the two of you love each other. And you should."

"Still think that you need professional help?" Zac asked.

"Only if that professional is you and I can pay with kisses," Jim smiled.

"OK, and your fee for this session will be ten kisses," Zac joked.

"Can I give extra as a tip?" Jim quipped.

"OH, you can give me your tip," Zac stated with a devilish grin. Jim stood up, picked Zac up and carried him to the bedroom.

The next day, Jim was doing work in the office and his cell phone rang. "Hello," Jim answered.

"Jim, are you busy?" it was Aunt Sallie

"I'm currently at work at the ranch, why?" Jim asked.

"I have someone here that would like to meet with you and Jake," Aunt Sallie stated. "It's Jake's birth mother."

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