Tales from the Ranch

Disclaimer: The following story is a work of fiction. If you are offended by descriptions of homosexual acts or man/man relations, please exit this page.

TALES FROM THE RANCH Copyrightc 2002 by Tulsa Driller 7. All rights reserved.

This is a story of men who have two common interests. You will see that they love the land where they live and work, but it is also the story of young men who love other men and their coming of age in a culture of prejudice and misunderstanding. It is a story, which deals with difficult and often disturbing issues but, nonetheless, issues which must be confronted in today's world.

This is a work of fiction and in no way draws on the lives of any specific person or persons. Any similarity to actual persons or events is entirely coincidental. This work is copyrightedc by the author and may not be reproduced in any form without the specific written permission of the author. It is assigned to the Nifty Archives under the terms of their submission agreement but it may not be copied or archived on any other site without the written permission of the author.

PLEASE: In a perfect world AIDS doesn't exist. My characters have unprotected sex. I hope you use proper precautions because I'd like you to be around the read the last chapter of this story.

Tales of the Ranch Chapter 17: Tuesday morning

Jason woke up just before the alarm rang. He and Kevin were intertwined in each other's arms. Jason's cock was hard, something he discovered was happening every morning now. He wondered what was causing it, although he knew he needed to pee, too. Maybe that was part of it. It felt good anyway, because from what some of the other boys had told him, it meant he was growing up, becoming sexually mature. He also was proud of the fact that he had a few brown hairs that were now visible above his cock, which was also getting a little larger. Kevin had discovered the hairs when he had sucked Jason's cock the other night after they went to bed.

He thought about Kevin and how much he loved him. They were great brothers. Some of his friends had brothers, both younger and older and he didn't think they were as close as he and Kevin. He knew he would do anything to protect and help his brother and knew Kevin would do the same for him.

His parents were wonderful parents, treating both boys as little adults, but seeing to it that they did all of the "kid things" they were interested in. He knew the family had money - lots of it - but they didn't flaunt it. In fact his father had come down hard on Jason when his son started to pay for something and Marty discovered that he had two $10 bills in his billfold. He had forgotten to take the second bill out of his billfold and put it in his bank when he'd received his allowance that week.

"Jason, I don't want you carrying that much money in your pocket," Marty had said. "It's more money that you should have with you unless you need to buy something that costs more than $10. It's not that you couldn't afford to lose it, but there is no reason to tempt the other boys, by them knowing you have that much with you. Not all of the kids are honest and there are those who would gladly try to take it away from you and then threaten you into not telling what they had done. If that ever happens, I don't care what they have threatened you with; you are to tell either your mother or me. Understand?"

"Yeah, Dad," Jason said, somewhat chastened.

"I hope you boys understand that we love you and would do anything to protect you, but you need to let us know when something is wrong, no matter what, so we can make it right. Okay?" Marty asked.

"Yes. I love you and mom, Dad," Jason said, hugging Marty around his waist.

"We love you guys, too. We're also very proud of you because we can trust you and you both work hard around here without us having to tell you to do your chores."

"Thanks, Dad. We are lucky to have you and mom as our parents."

About that time, the alarm rang and Jason leaned over to turn it off. Kevin stirred about that time as Jason's movements had disturbed his sleep. He was groggy, but awake. Jason leaned down and kissed him on the cheek.

"Morning, little brother. Did you sleep well?"

Kevin responded with an "Uhmm Mmm," instead of a real answer.

Jason took Kevin's hand and wrapped it around his cock and proudly said, "Hey bro, I woke up with a boner again this morning."

Again, an "Uhmm Mmm," from Kevin, who was slowly starting to awaken out of the fog. About that time he realized where his hand was.

"Hey, I think your cock is even bigger than the other day, don't you?"

"I hope so, Dale said that I was probably starting to go through puberty and I think that is why I've got some hairs down there. I think my cock is supposed to grow, too. At least I hope so."

"That's neat. I wish I were 11 and a half instead of 9 and a half. Then we'd be alike."

"You'll get there soon enough, you're not that much smaller than I am, anyway. Besides, I can show you how to do things because it's fun having you for a brother."

By this time they were climbing out of bed and headed to their bathroom. Sandy followed them to the bathroom door, wagging her tail, in hopes of some attention from the guys. Both boys saw her sitting there and went back. Kevin knelt in front of her, hugging the dog to him. Jason scratched her ears and she wagged her tail in reply.

"We'll be ready to go out after a bit. Can you wait for us?" Jason asked.

Sandy replied by holding up her right paw and Jason grabbed it.

"Good girl, Sandy. Good girl."

They went back in the bathroom and Sandy lay down at the foot of their bed so she could watch their morning activities.

While they were cleaning up, Jason was thinking about the upcoming scout campout. He was excited about it, as he'd heard his friend, John Clark, talk about how much fun they had. He had an idea and hoped he could get someone to take him to the campsite so he could see where they would be camping.

He then remembered that they had a Patrol meeting after school this evening to plan what was needed for each of the boys to bring.

"Hey, Kev, I won't be on the bus this evening. We have an important scout patrol meeting after school at Scott Maxwell's house. I told Dad that someone would need to pick me up there, but don't forget that I won't be on the bus tonight."

This was at least the sixth time Jason had made this announcement; he was so excited about it. Kevin didn't tell him he'd already reminded everybody. He just said, "Okay," and rolled his eyes. He was proud that Jason had "graduated" to the Boy Scouts and knew that he would, too, in two more years.

A little later as they were walking down to the highway to catch the bus, Dale came driving up in his new Blazer. "Hi, guys. How's it going this morning?" Dale wanted to know.

"Great. We thought you were already here. Your car is parked out where you usually leave it during the day."

"This is my vehicle now. Your Dad gave it to me yesterday morning."

"Cool," both boys responded at once.

"I'm going to be selling the old Mustang. The guy who sold this car to the ranch knows somebody who wants to restore it.

"Wow, maybe it's worth a lot of money," Kevin said.

"I don't know about that, but I was told they didn't build that many of that model. Anyway I'm glad to know it won't end up in the junk yard."

About that time, the bus stopped at the end of their driveway and Wade Harris beeped the horn to get the boys attention.

"Bye, Dale," they yelled as they ran the last hundred feet to the bus.

Dale waved out the window, but of course, they couldn't see him.

Dale knew that Mort was going to be late getting to the ranch this morning. There was a note from him reminding him of the meeting with Sam Jealso at 11 o'clock and another with Lee Baker at 2:30 to go over the cattle and horse operations.

He had several office tasks to attend to and finished them just as John, Michael and Pat arrived, this time in Pat's car. Dale thought they were great guys, hard working and dependable. He hoped they would all stay on as permanent help.

They came in the office after putting their lunches in the cooler. John was keeping sandwich material in Michael and Pat's refrigerator and could make his own sandwiches instead of stopping to buy one.

Dale greeted them and they responded.

"Have any of you guys had any experience in house construction?" he asked.

John was the only one. "I helped my Dad and brother add two rooms to my brother's house a couple of years ago. I know how to frame a wall."

"Okay, just checking. We're starting on the new living quarters this week and I may have you help on that project, depending on the builder's need in that area."

"Fine with me, I think it would be fun to work on it," John said.

"Okay, guys we are going to cut clover hay today and start baling it tomorrow. There is almost 600 acres in this field so I'm going to have two of you mow and one of you can rake, then when were are ready, two of you can start baling. We don't have to pick the bales up. The people buying the hay will do that, so it makes for a faster job for us.

"Two of you can mow, using the John Deere tractors you used before and the other can use the rake and pull it with the smaller John Deere. One rake won't be able to keep up with the two tractors, but when you are through mowing tomorrow, two of you can start baling while the other finishes raking. I think we can wrap this up in three days with just the three of you working.

"Get your thermos bottles, gloves and whatever else you need and I'll take the pickup and we can unload the supplies you need when we get there. I've got meetings all morning, so get a cooler and put some ice in it to keep your lunches cold. I'm not sure anyone can come get you to bring you back here to eat at noon.

"One more thing. I am going to make a change around here when you fellows are working in remote areas. I'll see to it that a pickup is in the field where you are working and that a cell phone is available for you guys to use in case there are problems. Right now, if one of you had an injury you are out of touch with me. Same thing if you broke a hydraulic hose. No way to let me know."

"Thanks, Dale. I didn't think about something like that," Michael said.

The other two, Pat and John, agreed.

"There is no need taking a risk. Yesterday when you fellows were working at the hay barn, you were 4 miles from here with no transportation at all and no way to contact anyone at the ranch unless one of you walked or ran back here. And then there is the possibility that only Mrs. Wood, who works in the house, would be the only one here - and she could be gone, too.

The crew gathered up the things they would need and got on their tractors. They had been fueled and the equipment attached last evening before the guys went home.

They started out with Dale following with the blinkers flashing on the pickup. He would have driven his new vehicle but there wasn't room to haul extra fuel and supplies the guys might need.

When they got to the field, Dale unloaded the things they needed and returned to the barn and his office.

He hadn't been back too long before his lover came driving in, parking in front of Dale's Blazer.

"Do you have your surveying rig ready to go?" he asked Craig after they kissed each other. They were in the office, so both thought it was safe to do so.

"Yeah. Actually that's Ray's job. I don't know if he does it or if he hires someone to do the work. Either way, it's just my job to verify the measurements and give them the `go ahead'," Craig said.

Almost, as if on cue, Ray Evans drove up and parked his pickup in front of the barn. Dale and Craig walked out to meet him.

"Hi fellows," Ray greeted them.

The three shook hands, Ray thinking how lucky Craig was.

"I think Jake Barnes is right behind me. He'll be doing the surveying and setting the elevations and marking out the basement for the excavator."

"We chose the site last week, so you can go look at it and see if you agree with us," Dale said.

About that time, a van came driving up with "Barnes and Sons" painted on the side.

Ray walked over to greet Jake and told him to follow the others to the building site. He got in his pickup and Dale and Craig got in Dale's vehicle, Dale leading the caravan to the site, behind a grove of trees about 100 feet beyond the other buildings. Dale made a mental note that he needed to order some gravel to put down where they were driving. It could get pretty muddy if it rained.

They arrived at the proposed site and all got out to look at it. Dale explained that they had picked this area because it was close to the other buildings, but somewhat out of sight because of the trees. The area was on a little knoll, just a little higher than the surrounding ground. It was a perfect place, as it should drain with no problem of water standing around it.

Jake had two young fellows with him, appearing to be college age. They quickly unloaded his equipment and started right in, with Ray helping them. Dale and Craig watched.

Jake quickly made his benchmarks and they set stakes with cross pieces to mark elevations, using string and levels to double check the measurements. Then he used a marking machine with orange powder to mark out the area to be excavated. It looked somewhat like the machines they used to stripe parking lots. All of the lines were about 2 feet outside where the basement walls would be, to give room for forms to be set. This area would be backfilled with river rock and some of the dirt retained from the excavation. The rest of the dirt was to be hauled about 4 miles away to fill some low areas of a field.

Craig verified the markings as they were made. Jake and his crew worked quickly and they were completely finished within an hour of starting.

Marty arrived just as they were packing up their van.

He greeted Ray, then Dale and Craig.

"I thought you guys would still be drinking coffee and wondering how you were going to accomplish all this," he teasingly told Ray.

"You couldn't afford for us to do this right the first time," Ray answered, laughing.

They all had a laugh. By this time Jake and his two helpers were in their van, ready to leave. Ray walked over to shake hands with Jake and thank him for a job well done and promptly.

The van was just leaving when a Williamsport Power Company pickup drove up. It was the crew bringing the construction meter. Ray showed them where he wanted the post placed. They had a gasoline-powered auger and made quick work of getting it set in the ground, then told Ray they were going to bury a cable from the main distribution transformer to the meter. They would leave enough extra cable to run to the meter on the side of the dwelling when they were ready to make a final hookup.

Dale and Craig both were amazed that things were progressing so quickly. It was just a week ago at this time they were all sitting in Marty's family room discussing the project.

The electric crew went to work and Ray left, telling them he would be back when the excavator crew got there. Marty invited Dale and Craig to join him at the house for lunch at noon. Dale told Marty that he was to meet with Mort and Sam Jealso at 11 o'clock. Dale remembered that his lunch from yesterday was still in the cooler. He wondered if there was any need to bring his lunch to work in the future. He and Craig would have to talk about that.

Marty said, "That's fine. After you get through with your meeting, bring Mort and come to the house."

Dale noticed that Sam Jealso wasn't invited, as did Craig.

"Okay, do I need to let you know if Mort is coming?" Dale asked.

"No, Mrs. Wood is used to the way we do things around here. She always has plenty available to eat. You might as well plan to eat at the house everyday, if you want," he said. "I'll tell Mrs. Wood, if you would like to do that. Sometimes it might be just you, and other times it may be a half dozen people. Just let her know by 10 o'clock if you are going to be there or not.

"Okay, we'll see you after my meeting," Dale said as Marty headed toward the house.

Dale and Craig got in Dale's Blazer.

"Wow, now you get a catered lunch," Craig teased, punching Dale in his ribs. I'm beginning to get jealous of MY Man," he added.

Dale said, "I had no idea they did this. I've not been aware of Mort eating at the house before."

"Well, that just shows how much they like you, otherwise you wouldn't know about it either, right?" Craig asked.

"Guess you are right. I just have a hard time believing the changes in my life since I met you exactly a week ago this morning."

By this time they were out of the vehicle and back in Dale's office

"Co' mere," Dale demanded as he shut the door. With that he buried his tongue in Craig's throat and they both felt their cocks twitch. They took turns swabbing each other's tonsils, until they heard a vehicle drive up on the gravel.

They each had gotten plump in the dick department, but Dale didn't care. He glanced down and didn't think it was apparent he had a hardon. Craig was a little more obvious because he had on faded Levi 501's. He sat down to hide his problem.

It was Mort and Dale smiled at Craig. "Your turn to be embarrassed," as he felt his own face turning red.

Craig was enjoying Dale's discomfort and stuck his tongue out at him.

Mort came in, greeting both of them. "Sorry I'm late. Margie and I went to an RV dealer in Austin this morning to look at retirement vehicles. Looks like we have a choice of spending anywhere from $50,000 for a pup tent on wheels to the sky's the limit'," he joked. "I can't believe the stuff that's available. We can get a tow-behind that will sleep two and has a gas burner and refrigerator and go up from there. I didn't realize that many RV's are available. We can either rough it' or buy a vehicle large enough to take all our friends along."

Craig spoke up. "I know you can spend some pretty big bucks out there. Guess it all depends on how long you are going to be gone and the comforts you want to take with you. I know some people who are happy to camp out in a tent and others that take an RV to a campground so they can have TV, air-conditioning, the wife takes her sewing machine and the husband can take all his power tools to build furniture for the RV."

They all laughed.

Mort said, "Well, I'm glad we have at least four months to make a decision. There are plenty of RV's out there to buy."

Dale spoke up. "Have you considered renting different ones and taking trips to see how you actually like them? You know, how they are to drive, how comfortable they are and if you even like living in one?"

Mort gave Dale a funny look. "You know, I think you just hit the nail on the head. Considering how much they cost, we'd be smart to rent one. Also, how many nights can we stay in a first-class hotel for what we would spend, and that doesn't even take into account the cost of operating it and insurance."

"Just throwing out the idea," Dale said.

"I think you just saved us thousands of dollars," Mort said, poking Dale in the side. "I hadn't even thought about trying to rent one of these. I can assure you that we will look into it."

Craig was looking on. Proud of his lover.

About that time Sam Jealso drove in, parking in front of the office.

Craig offered to leave, but Mort told him he was welcome to stay. He settled back in his chair.

Sam came in and Mort made the introductions. Dale had only met Sam a couple of times and then it was just in passing.

Sam congratulated Dale on his promotion. "I know that Mort thinks a lot of you and Marty and Martin certainly do of they wouldn't have given the job to you. I'm just glad they didn't ask me, because I would have had to tell them `no' in no uncertain terms. I'm happy with what I'm doing and I like my part of the operation."

Dale thanked him. Craig looked on with pride.

Mort was sitting behind the desk by then and started the meeting.

"Sam, I wanted to sit down with you and Dale to talk about the cattle operation. I've told Dale that you pretty much run it on your own, but I'm sure he would like a little more information on what goes on with it on a day-to-day and week-to-week operation. He knows that you run it, but he also needs to know, just like I do, what you are doing."

"I appreciate that, Mort. Basically, most of the cattle have already been bred and we will start calving in April of next year. The gestation period for cattle is about 283 days - that's about nine months, just about a week longer than for humans. We use a service from a company near here, the technicians have been trained at Texas A&M. They are on call during the month of July to breed our cattle using artificial insemination. Some cows, of course, don't become pregnant on the first try when they are in heat, so we pick up the stragglers during August and those, which don't conceive after September, are culled out to go to the slaughterhouse. As of the present time we have 8,580 cows, which we believe are going to calve next spring. There are another 7,900 yearlings, which won't mature for another year, and about 8,200 calves, which were born this past spring. That amounts to almost 25,000 head of cattle on the ranch today. Our boundaries are secure, so we don't brand cattle anymore, but they are all identified with ear tags, placed shortly after a calf is born. In July we separated out the bull calves and castrated them. We will be selling about 3,000 head to the packinghouses next month and another 3,500 or so in March. We've sold between 6,500 and 7,000 head so far this year and it will be close to 9,000 that we sell next year.

At the present time, I have two men working under me and we ride through the herds everyday to check for sick cattle, or those, which are injured. There is a local veterinary clinic on call - they have an office here on the ranch - to treat those that are showing signs of problems. Those cattle are isolated the moment we think they are a hazard to the herd.

We lose few cattle during the year, but that's only because we keep a sharp lookout on the herd and ward off problems before they start."

Dale was pleased with what he had just heard. He didn't know a lot about cattle, but it sounded like Sam was on top of what was going on.

"I have one question for you. Do your crews carry cell phones in case of an emergency?"

"Glad you asked that. We generally use horses when checking the herds and have never had any problem, but one of our guys got sick a couple of weeks ago. Turned out to be a hot appendix. We got him to a doctor in plenty of time, but it could have turned out to be bad. The answer is, no, we don't have cell phones, but I was about to ask for some."

"You've got them, as far as I'm concerned. We'll have them for you within a couple of days. How many do you think you'll need?" Dale asked.

Craig was sitting there thinking about how perceptive Dale was and that he was going to do all right in his new position. He was proud of him. This was a Dale who was concerned for the people who were going to work under him.

Sam thought a minute. "I think we can get by with two. One for me and one for the two fellows who are out checking on the cattle. This will speed up calling for veterinary help, too."

"Do they each need one?" Dale asked.

"No, they ride together all the time, so there's no use of each having one. Waste of money."

"Okay. Do you have enough farm vehicles to do your job?"

"I have my pickup and with the cell phones, I can be in immediate touch with the men, so that's a yes."

"Sam, I don't have any other questions right now. Is there anything else you need to tell me today?"

"The cattle part of the ranch seems to pretty much run itself. We generally don't have too many problems except with difficult births. We always lose a few cattle that way, but it's part of the hazard of cattle ranching."

Mort spoke up. "Sam, thanks for taking your time to talk to Dale. He'll have more questions as we go along, but I know you will give him the same good cooperation you've always given me."

Dale echoed Mort's words. "Yes, Sam, I'm looking forward to working with you and if you need anything, please let me know and I'll see you have it if I can."

"The offer of the cell phones is going to solve the only immediate request I have and it seems you already had that in mind."

The men stood up, shaking hands and Sam left in his pickup.

"Dale, that's a good job. You made some points with Sam in asking him about cell phones. That just shows how far behind I am because I don't have one myself."

"Mort, actually you can thank Morris Johnsmore for that. He suggested that I get one for myself. I happened to think that we were putting the farm crew at risk because if they had a problem, whether it be mechanical or medical, they didn't have any way to get immediate help. I'm going to see to it that they have both a vehicle and a cell phone from now on."

"Dale, I don't have to worry about you. You are already several steps ahead of my thoughts. You'll do fine in this position. I think I can leave the Bar-W without any worries."

Craig was sitting there thinking about his lover and how much he admired him. He wasn't the vulnerable man that he had first met a week ago.

Dale remembered the offer of lunch at the ranch house with Marty.

"Mort, Marty has invited all of us to have lunch with him at the house today. Can you join us?"

Mort whistled. "I've worked here for 37 years and I can almost count the times I've been invited to the house for lunch."

That made Dale feel good, as he'd been invited to eat there everyday.

Craig's chest swelled with pride. `Yes, Dale was going to do just fine,' he thought.

It was 11:50 and the three men headed to the house.

Mort spoke to Craig. "I don't understand all this gay thing. partners, lovers, whatever you want to call yourselves, but I want you both to know that I respect you as gentlemen and hope you have a good life with each other. This is coming from an old fart that used to think that guys like you should be run out of town. The two of you have proved to me that you guys are okay. What you do in bed is your business and not mine. I respect you for who you are - not what your preferences are."

Both Craig and Dale were surprised at what they had just heard and were quick to thank Mort for his kind words.

They entered the kitchen to the smell of good food. Bertha Wood greeted them and directed them to Marty's den.

Marty was reading a new text on cattle breeding that he'd just received from Texas A&M. It was the advance copy of a textbook being considered for next year, and had been sent out by the College of Bovine Studies for approval from people like Marty.

Marty stood to greet them, saying that Mrs. Wood would be serving their lunch in the kitchen in about 10 minutes. He asked how the meeting had gone with Sam Jealso and was pleased that Sam had taken the time to give Dale a good overview of the cattle operation.

"Dale, as I said the other day, the horse operation is the one where we really have to be careful and know what we are buying and selling. Lee Baker is good and he's easy to work with, but you need to be on your toes and get up to speed as quickly as you can. At least enough that he feels comfortable coming to you for decisions."

Mort agreed. "Lee is fair and knows his stuff, but don't go to him with anything that you haven't thought through. If you aren't sure, admit it. He'll take the time to explain it to you and give you a chance to make your decision. If he disagrees with you, he'll let you know and will discuss it with you. But, you may be assured that he will fight for his authority. Just be sure you are both happy when the meeting ends." He smiled.

Marty jumped right in behind Mort. "Yes, Lee is strong- headed, but fair. Don't let him run over you, but don't try to run over him, either."

At this point in time, Dale was almost having second doubts after getting off to such a good start with Sam.

"Have you met Lee?" Mort asked Dale."

"No, I've only met him in passing."

"He can be a little gruff, but he's fair and will give you a chance. He's strong-headed, but rightfully so. Just show him that you are willing to be fair, too," Mort replied.

"Hold your judgment until after you've met him this afternoon," Marty advised.

Mrs. Wood announced that lunch was ready about that time. They filed through the dining room and the four men were seated at the small table in the kitchen. Lunch was a mixed green salad with several chopped vegetables in it and hot beef sandwiches served with mashed potatoes and gravy, fresh sauteed green beans and apple cobbler for dessert. It tasted as good as it looked.

Marty asked that the men join hands as he said a blessing for their food and the good fellowship at the table.

The luncheon conversation was lively and covered a number of different subjects from current events to ranch business. Marty had questions for Dale about selling his house and car and questioned Craig about the Carriage House where the condo that he and Dale lived in was located. Marty asked Dale if he was aware that the Williamson Corporation had built the building then sold the individual units.

Dale knew that and told Marty that it was a fine building and he was impressed with the apartment.

Craig said, "Marty you've never seen our condo since I finished the unit, have you?"

"No, actually I've only been in one unit on the ground floor since the building was built. I'd like to see your unit. One reason is because we're thinking about building another building similar to the Carriage House."

"You are welcome to come look at it anytime. I'll be glad to show you what I've done and might even have some suggestions for another building," he said with a smile.

"I'll take you up on it sometime. Maybe Chris and I can get the `Happy Hour' tour some evening."

"Great. Dale and I'll be glad to show you what I've done."

Lunch was leisurely and about 12:45 they heard the noise of a heavy truck outside the house. Marty got up and looked out the window.

"I have to give Ray a lot of credit. So far his crews have been right on time. Here's the excavator and two dump trucks. Dale, do you know where you want the dirt hauled?"

"Yes, down in section 5, close to the river. We can use some build up along the river to help protect against higher water levels."

"Well, I guess you and Craig had better get out to the building site. I'll be along before too long. I need to give Ray some grief so he doesn't get overly confident."

Mort shoved his chair back and stood up. "Thanks for lunch, Marty. Dale, I'll see you at our meeting with Lee Baker a little later."

They exchanged farewells and left for the various places they needed to go.

Dale told Marty, "I'm going to take a pickup to check on the guys cutting hay and leave it in the field where the guys are working. Craig can drive my Blazer and bring me back here. That way they can get back here at 5:30 if we are all busy."

"Sounds like a good idea," Marty said.

Dale thought to himself. `It will be easy to get a cell phone for them and a pickup for them to use, too,' but he didn't want to discuss it at the moment.

Dale filled a large thermos with ice and water, then he and Craig set out for the field, Craig driving Dale's new vehicle and following his lover.

The three crewmembers had already eaten their lunch and were back at work. John came around on his tractor first and Dale stopped him to tell him that there was another large jug of ice and water in the pickup and that he would be leaving it there for them to drive back at their 5:30 quitting time. Then he got into his Blazer with Craig driving them back to the ranch buildings.

"Hi Sweetie," Craig said as they pulled out of the field. "Wanna go somewhere and play around?" he teased.

"Sure do, but it's going to be our place after 5:30, I'm afraid."

"That's what I thought, but you better be ready to go when you get there," he said with a leer.

"I'm ready to go now and I'll really be ready after thinking about it all afternoon," Dale replied. He wiggled his eyebrows and licked him lips.

They both laughed.

By the time they got back to the ranch buildings, the excavator was already unloaded and the first dump truck was half full.

Dale quickly gave directions to the truck driver as to where to take the dirt and then said he would lead the way for the first load. He repeated the directions to the other driver who seemed to know just where it was to go, reminding Dale that he had been a driver when they built the terraces the previous year.

Ray wasn't there yet, but Craig was impressed with the work accomplished so far. He signaled the operator that he needed to talk to him and crawled up to the cab.

"We need to save enough dirt to do about half the backfilling necessary. The bottom half will be filled with river gravel."

"Gottcha," the operator replied, giving Craig the indication that he didn't appreciate anyone interrupting him.

`And thank you, too,' Craig thought as he jumped off the tracks and walked back to where Dale was waiting.

Craig decided to let Ray deal with the guy when he got there.

Dale whispered in Craig's ear, "My, you looked so butch standing up on that great big machine," he teased. "I just now noticed that you are wearing boots today. That turns me on."

"If you think I looked butch, think what you would look like standing up there."

They both laughed, thinking how much they really loved their partner.

About that time Ray came driving in, parking off to one side.

They exchanged greetings and Dale realized that the first truck was ready to leave with a load of dirt.

"I've got to show this fellow where I want the dirt dumped. You want to ride with me?" he asked Craig.

Before Craig could answer, Ray said, "Lucky you!" and smiled.

Craig grinned and followed Dale to his vehicle. They drove off with the dump truck following. They started down the highway for about a mile and a half, then turned off on a dirt road for a couple of miles. They pulled up in front of a gate and Craig jumped out to open it.

"Just leave it open, there aren't any cattle in this pasture," he yelled at Craig.

Dale motioned for the dump truck to follow as Craig got back in the Blazer. It was still a mile across that field before they got to the river and the place Dale wanted the dirt dumped. He directed the driver to make the first dump, telling him that he would wait for the second truck to show him where his load was to go.

He showed the driver where to dump his next load, forming an arc along the edge of the field. Dale would have to bring a tractor with a front loader down to finish the job.

The driver dumped his dirt and left. Dale and Craig were in the Blazer. Dale got a gleam in his eye. "Hey, big guy, ya wanna play around and make out a little?"

"You know what the answer is to that question," Craig replied.

They wasted no time and were really getting with the program when Craig noticed the next truck coming across the field. They broke apart, a little out of breath and both very hard.

Dale didn't care if the driver saw he had a hardon or not. He got out of the Blazer and walked to the truck to tell the driver how he wanted the dirt dumped. The driver agreed and maneuvered his truck into place.

As he was dumping the dirt, Dale gave him thumbs up, got back in his vehicle and started across the field.

"That was fun," Dale said, referring to their make-out session.

"If I get you horny enough, you'll be home ahead of time," Craig smirked.

"Hey, I'm the General Manager. I can do that now," Dale said.

"Don't forget that we are due at Eddie and Tom's house at 6:30, Craig reminded him.

"That should be an interesting evening. It will be the first time I've been with another gay couple for a social evening - or any other evening for that matter."

"I think they are nice guys. We can probably learn some things from them since they've been together for three years. They have a whole different background than we do since they came from a large city."

"I'm looking forward to it. I've known Eddie slightly as he coached little league baseball the last two summers. I don't know Tom at all, except that Jason thinks he's a neat teacher."

"I'm sure we'll have a super evening. It will be interesting to see just how gay guys live as a couple," Craig said. "Maybe they can give us some pointers."

"You already have a pointer and it belongs to me," Dale grinned.

"As does yours belong to me and if I see you looking at another man, you won't have one anymore," Craig teased.

"Oh, torture, torture," Dale exclaimed, laughing.

By this time they were back at the ranch buildings. Dale dropped Craig off at the construction site as the third load of dirt was being hauled away. "See you later, I've got stuff to do," Dale said as Craig got out.

"Bye, stud," he said over his shoulder. "See you later."

Dale called the local company that sold gravel to place an order for putting down gravel from the end of the farm driveway to the new construction site. The fellow assured him that someone would be out tomorrow to determine how many loads would be needed.

He had other office work that needed to be attended to as Mort had left things he usually took care of for Dale's attention. It didn't seem that he had been working on it very long when Lee Baker arrived.

Dale stood to greet him, apologizing that Mort wasn't there yet.

"I'm about 15 minutes early," he said, "I'm sure Mort will be here by 2:30."

The two had an easy visit. Dale learned that Lee had worked for the Bar-W for 25 years and had never worked anywhere else.

"How much do you know about horses?" Lee asked Dale.

"Not much more than how to saddle one and ride around a little bit," Dale said.

"That's more than a lot of people know," Lee laughed.

"Seriously, do you know anything about our operation here?"

"No," Dale said. I'm counting on you to do what you've always done and show me as we go along."

"Good for you," Lee said. "I've heard good things about you, Dale. Everyone here respects you. You're honest and that's what we strive to be in the horse operation part of this place. I don't expect you to immediately be knowledgeable, but I'll keep you informed as to what we're doing and see to it there are no surprises for you."

"Lee, I can't imagine a better way to learn. Mort and Marty think a lot of you, Martin too, and I'll try not to do anything to infringe on your territory."

"We'll get along fine. I understand that you are going to Waco with us in another couple of weeks."

"Yes, Marty invited me to go along. I'm anxious to see how these shows are run and meet some of the people that the ranch deals with."

"This is a good place to get your feet wet. A lot of horses are bought and sold at these shows and the Bar-W is recognized as being one of the three top breeders in the area. We have a good reputation to uphold so you will be in the spotlight at everything we are doing, from buying and selling to the cocktail parties and banquet. You will represent the Bar-W as will Mort, Marty and myself."

"How many horses will we take to the show?" Dale asked.

"About thirty. Ten for the various contests and the other 20 will be for show and sale."

"How many men work in your part of the horse operation here?"

I currently have twelve and if we keep increasing our herd, I'm going to need another one next spring."

"Okay, I guess the next question is how many horses do we currently have?"

"Right at the moment, about 4,500. I plan to buy about 75 at the show, unless some idiot that doesn't know anything and has a pocket full of money shows up. We have our regular breeders that we buy and sell with, but from time to time we get a newcomer that has more dollars than sense and puts a monkey wrench in the works. The other people don't like it either, this is somewhat of a closed market, but anyone can show up and cause problems, either on purpose or because they are ignorant and show how much they don't know.

"Most of our sales are private with other breeders. They know our bloodlines and generally about 95% of our business is conducted right here on the ranch, but it's necessary to go to the shows to see what the other breeders have and for them to see our finest, too."

Mart showed up about that time, offering his apologies for being a few minutes late.

"I was just giving Dale an overview of what we do, why we go to shows and so on. I think he and I will get along fine."

"Lee, I assume you use horses to check on the various herds?"

"Right. We have two pickups, one of which I drive most of the time. The other is for our general usage, hauling feed and so on."

"Do you need cell phones for any of your crew members?" Dale asked.

"That might be something for us to check on later. I don't know that it's necessary now, but I'll think about it."

Dale didn't press the issue, he'd made his inquiry and there was no reason to push something Lee didn't feel was necessary.

The three talked for almost an hour, with Dale asking a lot of questions and making notes as the conversation went on.

Finally Mort indicated that the meeting was over. The men shook hands and said their goodbyes and Lee left in his pickup.

"Well, what did you think about meeting the `Great Lee'?" Mort asked.

"I think the Bar-W is lucky to have him. I wouldn't want to get in an argument with him at this point. He knows I don't know anything and could pin me to the wall with one thumb tack," Dale laughed.

"He's not really that bad. He knows his business and he knows that I don't know all that much about his operation. He's never given me any trouble and always has a valid reason for asking for his needs to be filled," Mort said.

"You mean you don't know everything about his operation?" Dale was surprised.

"No, and you never will, either, but act knowledgeable and interested and you will get along with him fine. Offer him little things from time to time and he'll take kindly to that. Like the cell phone thing today. He turned them down, but I can bet you that within a month he'll be asking for a couple and he'll remember that it was your idea, too."

"Gee, that makes me feel a lot better. Cattle I can understand, but the horse breeding operation is way beyond me," Dale said.

"It's not all that complicated. Lee will know that you are interested by the questions you ask. Have him explain bloodlines and he'll give you an oration like you've never heard before, but you'll learn from it."

"Thanks a lot, Mort. I was afraid that he would come to me with questions for everything he did, but it doesn't sound like it."

"No. He's honest. If he doesn't know, he'll tell you and expect you to help him with it, or if you can't that you will find the best solution, but he won't press you to make decisions where you have no knowledge. He knows that Martin and Marty would cut him down if they thought he was messing with you. They depend on him, too, because of his knowledge and expertise. They don't know a lot of the operation either, except that Lee makes a lot of money for them, and has made a good reputation for the Bar- W."

"I feel better about this already," Dale laughed.

"Dale, you'll do fine. The General Manager here is really nothing more than a coordinator of the various operations. Just use a lot of common sense and everyone will think you have the answers to every problem that comes up. Just don't bullshit them into making them do something that's not right."

Dale smiled. "Thanks for the advice, Mort. I feel a lot better about this than I did this morning."

"All right, fellow. Just show them your self-confidence and you'll get along fine."

Mort clapped Dale on the back.

"I've got to meet my wife. She wants to go shopping tonight and tries to make me think she wants my advice. All she wants is permission to write a check and it's her money to begin with," he laughed.

Mort left and Dale started to walk back to the construction site. About that time, Kevin came walking up the driveway by himself.

"Hey, Kev. How come you're alone this evening?"

"Jason had a patrol meeting to talk about their scout campout this weekend. Mom is going to pick him up at Scott Maxwell's house at 5:30."

"Well, I know this is a big event for him. I bet you wish you could go, too, don't you?"

"Yeah, but Mom said I could invite Terry for a sleep-over on Friday night and Jack can stay here on Saturday night."

"You'll have a good time with them. After all you and Jason are growing up and can't spend all of your time with each other like you have up to this time."

"Yeah, but I wish we were closer in age so I didn't have to wait to catch up."

"Kev, you'll be there soon enough. I know that time goes slowly for you right now, but you will get there before too long."

"I guess so."

"Say, do you need any help with your chores this evening? Do you want me to milk Star for you?"

"That would be great," Kevin said, getting brighter. "I can do it, but I can't get as much milk as Jason does."

"You will as your fingers and hands get stronger and bigger. I'll take care of it for you this evening," Dale said, thinking that he would get Craig in on this. He could pretty well guess that his city-born lover had never milked a cow, or if he even knew where milk came from.

"He was still smiling when he encountered Craig at the construction site.

"What's so funny," Craig asked as Dale walked up.

"Kevin needs help with his farm chores this evening since Jason is at a scout meeting. I told him that you would be glad to milk Star for him."

Dale wished he had a camera when Craig realized what he'd just said.

"I. I. don't. know. any. thing about that." Craig was almost stuttering.

"Oh, it's easy," Dale grinned. He thought to himself that Star was probably not going to have a good time, but he wouldn't allow Craig to harm her.

The excavator operator was through digging and all the dirt had been hauled away except what Ray had determined needed to be kept for backfill around the foundation. They watched him maneuver the huge machine onto the lowboy trailer, marveling at the way the fellow handled it. He soon had it on the trailer and he and the two dump truck drivers were securing it with chains. Dale was impressed. He'd never seen that done before and hadn't even given it a thought as to how they loaded equipment like that.

Craig had seen the operation before, but still was impressed with the operator's skill and the way he effortlessly handled the excavator's controls.

Ray came over to talk to Dale and Craig. "We'll have a crew out here in the morning at 8 a.m. to start working on the footings for the basement walls. They will rough in the little bit of plumbing that goes under the basement floor to the sewer line, and then they should be ready to pour concrete right after lunch.

Dale wasn't sure what all that meant, but Craig knew and nodded his approval. Dale told Ray that someone from the gravel company would be out to determine the amount of gravel that would be needed to make a road back to the driveway.

They said their good-byes and Ray left in his pickup.

"That was a good days work to get the house started. If the weather holds for a couple of weeks, they'll have a roof on it and the walls closed in," Craig stated.

"Sure impressed me," Dale answered. He got a gleam in his eye. "Come on, city slicker, it's time for you to milk the cow."

Craig walked with Dale to the barn where Star's stall was. Dale took him into the room where the cooler was. "I told you that we could help ourselves to fresh milk and eggs. Mrs. Wood has the priority on what's here, but Marty's parents and Mort and I can have access to them, too. Would you like to take some fresh milk home tonight?" he asked.

"I don't know if we need any right now, but maybe a little later when we start taking cooking lessons we might need it."

"I just wanted you to know that it's here and doesn't cost us anything. The milk is much tastier than what you can buy in the grocery and the eggs are brown eggs and larger. A lot of people think they are the best."

Dale got a milk pail out and washed it so it would be clean for the milk it would soon contain. He handed it to Craig, who got a funny look on his face. "Com' on, stud, let's see if your fingers can handle Star's teats as well as they do my cock," he leered. Craig wasn't sure about this and Dale was enjoying teasing him.

Craig followed Dale into the stall. Dale put several scoops of grain in the feed box and Star went to the stanchion. Dale secured the restraint and got the stool they used to sit on while milking the cow. Craig was taking all this in, not sure of what was happening.

"I'll be right back," he said. Dale went back in the cooler room, coming back with a small bucket with warm soapy water and a cloth. "The first thing is to clean her teats so we don't get dirt or other foreign objects in the milk. He quickly washed the teats and udder, setting the bucket aside. He took the milk pail from Craig and sat on the stool.

"I want to show you how full of milk she is," taking Craig's hand and showing him how to feel the bag. He showed him how to poke and gently push, then demonstrated how to milk Star.

He demonstrated how to wrap his hand around the top of the teat, then gently pulling while rolling his hand from the top to the bottom of his fist. There was a steady stream of milk. Craig was impressed as he had never seen this done before and wasn't even sure he had thought about where milk came from and how it was obtained.

Dale stripped out enough milk to have about a quart in the bucket. It didn't take very long.

"Do you want to try it?" he asked Craig.

"Sure." Dale got up and let Craig sit down and coached him in the technique. Surprisingly, Craig got a pretty good stream of milk on his first try. Dale was impressed because it had taken him several sessions to do it right when he was learning.

"That's better than I did my first time," he told Craig. "Now try it with both hands."

Craig went to the task and, again, Dale was surprised at how well he was doing.

"You've done this before?" he asked Craig.

"No, never, but you explained it well and I watched you. It's a weird feeling, though."

Craig continued and soon had about three quarts of milk.

"Okay, switch to the other two teats," he instructed.

Craig did and got about three more quarts before it was apparent there wasn't much more milk to be gotten. Dale showed Craig how to feel her udder again and the milk bag felt empty.

"Let me sit down and see if I can strip out any more milk." They traded places.

Dale didn't get more than a couple more good squirts from each teat. He was impressed because he thought he was going to pull a good joke on Craig and the joke turned out to be on him.

"I can't believe that you were able to do this," he said, standing up and handing the pail to Craig.

He directed Craig to go stand by the door to the other room and unfastened the stanchion so Star could leave as soon as she was through eating. He hung up the milk stool, and then picked up the pail with the soapy water and they went into the cooler room.

He showed Craig the container that was full and added the milk they had gotten to the other container.

After Dale put the lid on the container, he washed out the milk pail and rinsed the other bucket, turning them upside down to dry.

He gathered Craig into his arms and planted a toe-tingling kiss on him, rubbing their crotches together and their hands over the other's body. Neither saw Kevin watching them through the door.

They went out one door to go to the office. Kevin entered through the other to put the eggs that he had gathered in the cooler. He was surprised to catch Dale and Craig kissing each other. They were kissing each other like he and Jason kissed and rubbing their hands over the other. He wondered if they sucked each other like he and Jason did.

About that time the three crewmembers arrived and Michael parked the pickup with the other farm vehicles.

"Hi guys," Dale greeted them as they came into the office. "How did you get along today?"

I think we got about half the field cut and John managed to get about 2/3 of that raked up," Michael stated.

"Hey, great," Dale said. "We might be able to starting baling hay tomorrow afternoon. I'll look at it in the morning. We might be able to continue with one mowing, one raking and the other one of you driving one of the balers."

"He introduced Craig to the fellows, explaining that he was the architect that had designed the new housing unit they had started building today. They all exchanged handshakes.

Dale had them sign their time sheets and they left. He and Craig got into their vehicles and headed to town behind the other three men.

They parked their vehicles in the lot next to each other and headed toward the elevator to take them to their unit. They stole a kiss from each other as the elevator was moving to the 5th floor.

There were in each other's arms as soon as the door to their condo was shut behind them.

"I don't think I could stand having you around all the time when I'm working. I've been so horny all day that it hasn't even been funny," Dale said.

"I'm sure that all the making out we've done today hasn't helped, either," Craig replied.

Dale looked at his watch. "It's 5:45 and you said we're supposed to be at Tom and Eddie's at 6:30?

"Yeah, and I'd like a shower before I put on clean clothes," Craig said.

"I know I do. I've leaked so much precum today that my shorts are stiff, to say nothing about my cock being stiff a lot of the time, too."

"Do you want to take care of our problem now, or wait until we get home?" Craig teased.

"Common sense tells me that we'd better wait, but another sense tells me that I'd like to do something about it now," Dale conceded.

"I know, but I vote for later so we don't have to rush," Craig told him.

By this time they were in the bedroom, stripping their work clothes off. Craig led the way to the shower and started the water. When it was the right temperature they turned on all four showerheads. This had to be the best shower in town. It was fun to shower as they each had a washcloth and a bar of soap and spent more time washing the other than themselves. They shampooed the other's hair and rinsed it. Their shower took fifteen minutes and they had enjoyed the opportunity to play with each other, even if both were completely stiff, without the relief that would have to wait until later.

"What are you going to wear?" Dale asked as they were drying themselves and each other.

"Probably a pair of Dockers and a polo shirt. I assume since we are eating at their house, that it's casual."

"Sounds fine to me," Dale said.

By this time they were drying their hair and ready to apply deodorant and cologne. They decided to wear the same fragrance, Polo, which they each loved, but smelled differently on each.

They dressed quickly and each looked sharp. Dale's mustache was looking good, Craig thought.

"I'm going to take them a bottle of Pinot Noir wine. I don't know what they are serving, but they don't have to use it tonight," Craig said, heading to the cabinet under the bar. By this time it was 6:20 and they needed to start for Tom and Eddie's house.

"Which vehicle?" Dale asked as they exited the elevator.

"Let's take yours, I love the `new car' smell," Craig said.

Even though there were electric door locks, Dale enjoyed unlocking Craig's door and opening it for him.

Craig told him the address and it turned out that it was only about a mile from where they lived, although an older section of the town.

Dale parked the Blazer in front and they headed up the sidewalk. Craig rang the bell and Eddie answered the door.

"Hi fellow, glad you could make it this evening. Come on in," he said enthusiastically, shaking hands with each of them.

"Tom's in the kitchen. Come on back," he said, leading the way.

Craig was appreciative of the decor and the way the house was finished inside. Although the outside was a typical brick ranch-style house, the inside was totally unexpected. It was more Art Deco with some suggestions of something that Frank Lloyd Wright might have designed.

They walked in the kitchen and Tom greeted the two. "Hi Dale, Craig, we're glad you could join us this evening. It's going to be about a half hour before everything comes together. Can I get Eddie to fix you a drink? he asked.

"Sure that sounds great, what are you having?" Craig asked.

"I'm having a bourbon and water and I think Eddie is having scotch and soda. We've got a pretty good selection of liquor, so tell him whatever you would like."

"We brought this for you for your wine cellar," Craig said, handing the bottle of wine to Tom.

"Gee, thanks. You guys didn't have to do that, but we appreciate it."

Dale spoke up. What about a gin on the rocks?"

"Sure, we've got both Beefeater and Bombay Sapphire. Which would you like?" Eddie asked.

Craig came to the rescue, knowing that Dale might not know the answer. "Pour us each a Beefeater and if you have olives, that would be fine."

"Coming up." He took four Waterford pieces out of the cabinet and proceeded to fix drinks for all of them.

Tom said, "If you don't mind me working in the kitchen, why don't you pull up some bar stools and we can all visit."

"That's fine. Maybe be can learn something from you. Neither of us cook very much, but we are anxious to learn. I'm going to check into the cooking course that Wyler's offers," Craig said.

"That's a good one. They actually have two. One is oriented to men like the other is more of a gourmet course, although there were more men than women. We've taken them both and you will learn a lot," Eddie added.

"We need to start with the one for `amateur idiots'," Craig laughed. "Dale is excellent with the basic steak, potatoes and salad, but we both want to try other things."

"I suggest you start with the course for men. It's really basic food handling, how to use kitchen utensils and equipment. Everything you learn there will help you do anything you want to attempt later."

Eddie distributed the drinks and they all hoisted their glasses and said, "Cheers" before taking a sip.

Tom checked the pork loin roast. It was ready to come out of the oven as the temperature was correct and it needed to sit for about 20 minutes before slicing.

Craig and Dale both noticed how good it looked and said so.

"This is probably one of the easiest things you can fix," Tom said. "Be sure to use a meat thermometer whenever you fix a roast like this. You can't go wrong then."

He checked the dressing and the vegetables that were roasting in the oven, giving them a stir to turn the chunks of potatoes, carrots, celery, green pepper, zucchini and squash. Next, he drained the cooking juices that had accumulated in the roasting pan and separated the fat, having a nice rich broth for making gravy. Both of the guests were watching Tom's magic hands.

"So how was your day?" Eddie asked them.

Craig spoke up. "I actually got to spend the day with Dale at the ranch today."

"Oh?" Tom asked.

"The Williamson's are building a house for some of the crew members who work there permanently to live in and I needed to be there to check the building site, the surveyors and the excavation of the basement."

"I've always heard that it's a good place to work," Eddie said.

Dale spoke up. "As you know, I just got promoted to the position of General Manager a couple of days ago. I didn't think I had enough experience for the job, but everyone has encouraged me and I think it will be all right."

"They certainly treat their employees right," Craig said.

"Does your firm have a lot of work, Craig?" Tom asked.

"We've done pretty well in the three years we've been in business. Our first big project was the renovation of the rectory for St. James Church and we've done a couple of office buildings, several business buildings and are getting ready to design a strip mall for Warren Collins over on Bridge Street. We've consulted on several renovation projects in other cities, also."

"Don't forget the building we live in," Dale reminded him.

"Yes, that too, although we designed a shell building; the people who bought the condos were able to finish their units as they pleased. We did do the interior design on 6 of the ten units."

"Where do you live?" Eddie asked.

"In the Carriage House at 37th and Larcher, on the 5th floor," Craig answered.

"Yeah, I know the place. I like the outside and the landscaping is nice," Eddie said.

They were enjoying sitting there talking with each other. Eddie fixed another round of drinks for everyone. More conversation. The four seemed comfortable with each other and were all glad they had been able to get together for a meal and to get acquainted. Neither of the couples really knew any other gay people in Williamsport - socially anyway.

Tom started preparing the salad plates, then carried them into the dining room, checking to make sure everything was in order at the table.

He returned to the kitchen. "I think we'll begin with the salad in about 5 minutes and everything else should be ready when we're through with that course."

Craig was enjoying the ease with which the evening was going. He had been dreading that these guys might be a little "queenly" but they seemed like regular guys, like themselves.

They discussed Tom and Eddie's house and were promised a tour after they ate.

Tom removed several dishes from the oven that needed to sit for a little bit before they were served and the gravy was simmering on the stove. He went back in the dining room to light the candles and adjust the lights. He reappeared in the doorway. "I think we are ready to sit down. Eddie will sit at the other end and the two of you on the sides and I'll be next to the doorway."

They filed into the dining room. The table was beautiful, with a low arrangement of fresh flowers in the middle and four candle stems. The men seated themselves as Tom had directed.

Eddie asked that they join hands while he asked the blessing for the food and their friendship.

The salad was made of mixed greens, with juicy red homegrown tomato chunks, raw mushrooms, carrot shavings, green onion and cucumber chunks with a light Italian dressing.

"This is delicious dressing," Dale said.

"Thank you. I actually got the recipe for this from the cooking course you guys are going to take," Tom told them. "It's really easy to put together and keeps in the refrigerator."

"I'll call tomorrow and find out when the next session starts," Craig said, smiling at Dale.

They finished the salad and Tom and Eddie took the plates to the kitchen.

The guys were admiring the crystal, silver and china that was on the table. "You have some pretty tableware, too," Dale told Craig.

"'We' have some pretty tableware," Craig told him, squeezing his hand across the table.

About that time Eddie came in with plates for the guests. Tom was right behind him with their own plates. As Tom sat down, Eddie poured the wine for the meal. Hot rolls and butter were passed around the table.

Craig picked up his wineglass, asking, "May I make a toast?"

"Certainly," Tom answered.

"To our new friendship. May it last forever."

"Thank you," both Tom and Eddie replied, lifting their glasses along with Dale.

It was quiet as the men started eating. The food was very good and everyone ate with gusto. Finally the conversation started again. No one knew if it was because they were somewhat shy with each other or if the food truly had stopped the conversation.

"Tom, Eddie, this is wonderful," Dale said.

"The next time, it's our turn. Dale does do a good job with steaks, baked potatoes, broccoli and salad," Craig added. They all laughed.

"We'll look forward to it," Tom replied, with Eddie agreeing.

As the plates were emptied, Tom offered seconds and everyone had a small helping of the roast pork, dressing and gravy. After they were through eating, Tom and Eddie took up the plates, Eddie returning with coffee and Tom bringing in a dessert of strawberry mousse. Again, it was delicious.

As they enjoyed their coffee, the talk returned to their daily routines with questions to each other about working weekends, hobbies and other activities.

Craig explained that they were going to Ft. Worth and Dallas in a week and a half for a Builder's Trade Show and then would have a couple of days to see the sights and do things that they might enjoy in the two cities.

"I'm going to be able to take Dale to meet my parents and sisters," Craig proudly said.

A discussion followed as to their being out to parents and relatives. Both Tom and Eddie were out to their parents, but neither family had taken the news very well. Although they communicated with each other, they didn't enjoy a close friendship with either set of parents. None of the parents had visited them in Williamsport.

Tom stood up. Would you like to see the rest of the house?

"Certainly," Craig replied.

The house was a modern ranch-style that had been tastefully decorated after the men had bought it. On the ground floor was a formal living room off a front hall. Behind that was a family room with a fireplace and floor to ceiling windows across the back looking into the yard and pool.

From the front hall, if you went to the right, there were three bedrooms and two bathrooms. They used the third bedroom for an office. To the left of the living room was the small dining room and kitchen. Behind the house was a three-car garage, which set at a 90-degree angle to the house, closing in one side of the backyard.

The basement was large as it was full. There was another fireplace down there with a very comfortable den. There was a full bath down there with another bedroom. Half of the basement was not finished and the guys had a weight bench and exercise equipment set up. There was a laundry room under the kitchen area. It was a lot of house for two men but they had been able to buy it at a good price and it needed a minimum of work, other than redecorating, when they moved in. The outside had been the most work with repainting trim, the new pool and landscaping the yards.

Both Dale and Craig were impressed and said so. Dale mentioned that they had talked briefly about being able to build a house for themselves at a later time.

"I bet I know where you could find a good architect," Eddie kidded.

"Really, could you recommend him to us?" Craig laughed.

They all laughed about that.

Craig was curious about the art deco-like trim in the ground floor rooms.

"We were told that this house was built by a builder for he and his wife. There are a lot more cabinets and storage than you would find in most homes. He also was interested in the things Frank Lloyd Wright did and copied some of his ideas with the wood banding and leaded glass windows."

"I thought so. It's very tastefully done." Craig said.

Since they were downstairs, they settled in the den, sitting on two matched and very comfortable leather sofas. They discussed many things from the Dignity meeting to school, their jobs, trips they would like to take, sports and a brief history of each of their lives. They really had a great time visiting with each other and by the time the evening was over, felt that they had known each other for a long time.

Thanking their hosts, they left about 9 p.m. and were soon home.

After Dale and Craig left, Tom and Eddie cleaned up the kitchen and put everything away. Eddie liked to run early of a morning, so they usually went to bed by 10 o'clock. They discussed their new friends and liked both of them, thinking they were good down-to-earth people like themselves.

Dale and Craig also talked about Tom and Eddie and felt the same way about them. They were glad to have them as friends and thought they had a lot of common interests with which to build a solid, long-lasting friendship.

Jason went to his first Patrol meeting right after school, walking to Scott Maxwell's house with his friend, John Clark. The day had gone slowly for Jason because he was all excited about this meeting, realizing that he was finally having the chance to join some of the older boys in their activities. This meant to him that he was finally on the threshold of adolescence.

All eight boys were at the Wolf Patrol meeting. Scott Maxwell, the leader was the oldest at 16 years old and had most of the requirements completed to be an Eagle Scout. The other boys were Davis Horton, who at 16 had just attained the Life Scout honor. Mark Bryan was 15, a Star Scout. Skip Caton was 16 and a First Class Scout.

The other boys were Dustin Fields, who was 14 and a Second Class Scout. Fred Moxley was 13 and a Second Class Scout. John Clark, Justin's friend was 12 and has just completed his requirements to be a Tenderfoot. Jason, of course, had been a Cub Scout and had completed his Webelos badge just after turning eleven, making him eligible for the Arrow of Light award and then his transition to the Boy Scout Troop.

Scott called the meeting to order and gave out the assignments. Each boy was to contribute $10 toward food and the other things that needed to be bought. The scout troop owned the tents and they would have three 4-man tents for their Patrol. That meant there would be 3 boys to each of two tents and 2 in the other. Scott told the boys that they usually assigned the youngest boys to a tent with at least one older boy so Jason would be assigned to the tent he and Dustin Fields would be in. Davis, Skip and John would be in tent 2 and Mark and Fred would be in tent 3.

They were to each bring a cot, sleeping bag and an air mattress, if they wanted. Clothing was to be heavy shoes or boots, at least one pair of denim pants, underwear, socks, shorts to wear if it was hot, a couple of shirts, one short sleeve and the other long and a light jacket. Also, they would need toothpaste and brushes and whatever else they needed, such as deodorant. If they wanted snacks, they were to provide their own.

Food would be provided by the troop and one person from each tent would be assigned to help prepare and cook each meal. The boys were to meet at the Boy Scout Troop meeting place at the Methodist Church at 5:30 on Friday. Several parents with pickups would transport all of their equipment.

Jason was thrilled to be assigned to the tent with the Patrol Leader. John thought he was a good leader and watched out for all the boys under his leadership.

The meeting was over with at 5:30 and Jason's mother was waiting for him. He was excited and talked the entire trip to the ranch about the upcoming campout.

When he got home, Kevin greeted them. After he put his backpack in the house, Kevin took him to the construction site and then gave him the news that the chores were all done as Dale and Craig had helped by milking Star.

"Jase, you aren't going to believe this, but when I took the eggs to the cooler, I saw Dale and Craig kissing each other. They were rubbing each other and it looked like they were grinding their dicks into each other, too. They didn't see me because I ducked around the corner until they were through."

"Wow, maybe they love each other the way we do, too."

• • • • • Author's Note: This is my first attempt at gay fiction, and the only way I can learn whether or not I should continue is from my readers' feedback. I would appreciate your comments, criticism, suggestions, and anything else that you would care to say. All Email will be answered. If you wish to receive e-mail notification of subsequent posting, please let me know by sending your request to the e-mail address below. Contact me at: tulsadriller7@aol.com

Thanks for the overwhelming response to previous chapters. I received positive replies from all over the world. My special thanks to RW, whom I've known for many years and value his suggestions. Also for the proofreading help of Paul Daventon, author of "Turning the Page" found in the "Adult-Friends" section of Nifty. Please read it.