Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2017 00:48:21 +0000 (UTC)
From: jim ford <sojourn1950@yahoo.com>
Subject: Change of Heart chapter twelve

This story is fiction.

The characters are adults in adult situations.

Warnings: The only person you can ever hope to truly know is
yourself. Trust no one; use condoms.

If you are not of legal age or in a jurisdiction in which this document is
illegal, go way.

This is my story. Please respect the copyright. If you enjoy it, let me
know.




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Author's Note:

The overwhelming consensus was as reflected in this chapter. I thank you
for taking your time to email me. It is nice to know my efforts are
appreciated. It was a single email concerning "Gordy Comes Home" that got
me to writing again after all these years. So, if you think your opinion
won't matter, think again. Email me. I want you to feel guilty (only
slightly) if you read my story and don't email me with positive or negative
comments.




Sojourn1950@yahoo.com




Chapter 12




By the time Joe and Raymond arrived, someone had laid a tarp over the
body. The first thing Joe did was to pull Paul and Jeff into a massive bear
hug. When he stepped back, Raymond greeted Jeff warmly then placed a firm
grip on Paul's shoulders and searched his eyes. "I know you weren't shot,
but I have been in a similar situation. If you get to where what happened
here today is all you can think about, I want you to know you can call me
anytime. I am not only your attorney, but you and Maria are family now."




Paul swallowed hard to choke back the warm emotion he felt from both the
big mens' concern.




Raymond stepped back and took on the mantle of Paul's lawyer. He made it
clear that he was representing both Paul and Dave until they could engage
criminal defense attorneys. Neither man was to answer any questions if he
was not present. He made them repeat, "I refuse to answer any questions
unless my attorney is present". They had to repeat it several times until
he was satisfied. He explained that while to everyone present this was
clearly a case of self defense, the police might look for motives behind
the shooting. "A policeman may not always be seeking justice. They are
promoted based on their arrest record and not some intangible like `keeping
the peace'.




"Your statements should be made based on the facts. Even if asked, offer no
opinions, assumptions nor suppositions. Don't speculate on someone else's
motivations. You can repeat what they said, but don't guess about
anything. If you can keep yourself from expressing an opinion, you'll be
much better off. Remember, you are not a mind reader. You don't know that
Morgan was high, except that he told you. You didn't know the man, those
behaviors you ascribe to drug use may have been just the way he was. Let
the coroner do his job. Believe me, every test they conduct we will have
corroborated by an independent laboratory.




"Once you have given your statement the questioning begins. Just answer the
question. Talk too much and you could talk yourself into a prison sentence
for something that has nothing to do with the fire or the shooting.




"The fact that this involved a "gay love triangle" means it will receive a
lot of press coverage. The Sheriff and the District Attorney are both
elected officials. The right wing, holy rollers and homophobes will all
insist on bringing you two to trial, even if it's on trumped up
charges. So, don't ever be misled into thinking these elected officials are
seeking justice. They are constantly seeking one thing and that is
reelection. They may play nice. Just remember they don't care about you at
all. They go home every night to the only people they care about and those
people are housed, clothed and fed because they get re elected. "So, what
are you too going to say if the policeman or assistant DA gives you a nice
cup of coffee and tells you they have no problems with gays? Maybe their
cousin is gay, their neighbor is gay, hell, maybe their dog is gay... What
is your response?"




As one, Paul and David responded, "I refuse to answer any questions unless
my attorney is present".




With a surprisingly good British accent, Raymond responded, "By Jove, I
think you've got it."




Raymond coached Dave before allowing him to place the 911 call. He coached
him to give only the essential facts concerning his role as Paul's
bodyguard, the "carjacking" and the subsequent shooting. Joe had made sure
Dave could pass on the proper directions.




Paul called Mellie just to reassured Maria was safe. The joy he felt after
just hearing her sweet voice made his eyes tear up. He could tell from her
level of excitement that she was already well on her way to satisfying her
sweet tooth. It was reassuring to know that normal life still existed. He
let Jeff know by the time their shopping spree was over Maria would be in a
sugar induced coma. He confessed that she came by it honestly. He was
occasionally known to indulge in decadent desserts. Maria didn't know daddy
had kept a stash of Snickers on top of the refrigerator. He would,
occasionally, sneak one to take to work or indulge long after his Princess
was fast asleep. He felt he was being only a little hypocritical since he
carefully controlled Maria's sugar intake.




Jeff realized Paul was talking so much to try and hide his nervousness. He
did remind himself to keep Snickers on hand, from now on. That got him to
thinking about chocolate and sex together. Something else he had never
tried, but could see them exploring together.




The sound of sirens in the distance heralded the arrival of two Sheriff's
cruisers, a Texas Highway Patrol car as well as an ambulance followed by a
van and a couple of SUV's of what Paul most likely thought to be gawkers or
the press. Seems a lot of folks monitored the police radio band. As soon as
they turned off the highway all sirens were silenced except for the lead
vehicle, a Sheriff's patrol car. That car, as it turned out, was driven by
the Sheriff himself. Paul thought the siren heralded the arrival of an
enormous ego, too soon he was proven right.




When the Sheriff stepped out of his car he put on his Stetson and rested
his right hand on the butt of the six gun holstered on his hip. Paul
decided he was tall, dark, and handsome enough to star as some big screen
lawman. He scanned the scene as if this had all been set up just for
him. He didn't bother introducing himself. Instead he walked up to the blue
tarp and pulled it off with a flair, as a magician might reveal his just
vanished assistant. Paul noticed he was approached by a rotund little man
wearing latex gloves and carrying a rather large medical bag. The apparent
coroner signaled to an assistant with a digital camera.  They all conferred
for a moment in subdued tones.




The Sheriff scanned the crowd and made a decision. He swaggered up to the
group made up of Jeff, Paul, Joe, Raymond, Ilya and Dave. He took his time
sizing up each man. Paul felt a little uneasy with such blatant
scrutiny. He wondered if the man behind the mirrored sunglasses could tell
he wasn't wearing underwear.




Apparently satisfied, he demanded, "Which one of you called in the
shooting?"




Dave, remembering Raymond's counsel said, "I did."




The Sheriff waited.




Paul swore he could hear his own sweat trickling down his back in the
silence that followed Dave's cryptic response.




The Sheriff, clearly irritated that Dave didn't volunteer more information,
stripped off his sunglasses. Paul decided he really was a handsome man,
with his salt and pepper, mostly black hair and striking gray eyes. He
appeared to be in his mid fifties and in really good shape. Too bad he came
across as a complete asshole. There would be no mistaking this prick as a
friend! Free coffee or not.




"I am Rafford T. Johnson, Sheriff off this county. You will refer to me as
"Sheriff". You have a problem with that? Son."




Raymond signaled for Joe not to interfere.




Dave had spent more than his fair share of time with egotistical assholes
parading around as officers in the corps. He thought this guy's attitude
was so stereotypical he half expected the "General Lee" to come flying over
the dilapidated house with its horn blaring Dixie. He snapped to attention
and in his best enlisted man's voice shouted, "Sir yes Sir!" In the same
breath he relaxed and in a near normal volume added, "Daddy."




The blush and grimace were still noticeable under that well tanned
jawline. "Ok, smartass. Keep that up and you'll be spending the night in
with our county's finest."




"No thanks Sheriff. I have plans to spend the night in the arms of my
boyfriend. He's right over there. Wanta' meet him, Rafe?" Looking "Rafe" up
and down with an obviously lascivious leer, " He'd enjoy meeting a fine
looking Daddy like you."




After seeing the disgust on the Sheriff's face, Paul wanted to applaud
Dave's smartass attitude. Rafe's face twisted up like he had just witnessed
a loud and rancid fart in church. Paul could almost see steam coming out of
the man's ears. The Sheriff reached behind his back for what Paul thought
was handcuffs. Instead, the man seemed to change his mind and took a deep
breath.




He sneered his dismissal of Dave, then again scanned the group, and
demanded, "Which one of you is the queer veterinarian?" Paul cringed. Jeff
stepped forward but before he could speak, Raymond interjected, "Sheriff,
if you expect to get any cooperation from these gentlemen you might want to
change your approach. How might you know the sexual orientation of one of
my clients? Have you had gay sex with him? If you did, who was butt fucking
whom? Dave's boyfriend would certainly be interested in that?"




"I could have you all arrested for insulting and impeding a duly appointed
officer of the law in the performance of his official duties."




At that moment an even taller and broader State Trooper joined the
Sheriff. From the smile on his face it was obvious he had heard every word
of the exchange.




Raymond had obviously dealt with "big fish in a little pond" egos in the
past. "Before you do, you might want to call the Texas State Attorney
General. He and I play golf most every time he comes to Dallas. Teddy,
likes the courses at my country club. He'll tell you about the high cost of
false arrest and harassment of citizens by duly appointed officers of the
law even in the execution of their official duties. He'll advise you to
make sure your personal liability insurance has very high limits or you
might find yourself homeless AND unemployed. So go ahead illegally detain
any or all of us and continue to harass us. Just make sure your liability
and the county coffers are up to snuff."




Producing a business card, "I am Raymond Cargill, the attorney representing
any and all parties that were present when you arrived... excepting of
course the deceased." Raymond smiled what Paul could finally see resembled
a Tom Selleck `ah shucks' grin.




The Sheriff grudgingly accepted the card.




"Oh, remember me to Teddy and Margaret when you talk to him. What with the
holidays, I'm sure he's at home in Austin. I have that number if you need
it."




The Sheriff obviously had the wind taken from his sails. He started to say
something then changed his mind. Paul noted that was the second time the
man hesitated. In his line of work that could get a man killed. Obviously,
despite his bluster, this man doesn't spend much time in real law
enforcement. The Sheriff walked away with the same false bravado he had
when he first arrived. He spoke to his three deputies that had been
patiently trying not to annoy the coroner while keeping the gawkers/press
at bay. No doubt, he was glad none of his men heard the dressing down he
had just received.




The State Trooper introduced himself with a smile, "Mornin' gentlemen, I'm
Sergeant Bill Wilson, with the Texas State Highway Patrol. I'll be sharing
investigative duties with the County Sheriff's Department. I want you to
know I heard the exchange and stand ready to repeat what I heard to
anyone. The Sheriff and I are both professionals but we hold differing
viewpoints on a number of social issues."




Apparently the Sheriff dispatched his deputies to collect statements. There
were more than a couple of surreptitious smiles when Deputy Daniel Lovan
led the other two deputies over and introduced himself and his
colleagues. One Deputy was charged with bagging and tagging the weapons
involved as well as the two bottles of Morgan's piss. He also found
unspecified drug paraphernalia.




Deputy Lovan and Sergeant Wilson, after cordially greeting each other by
their first names, led Paul and Raymond to the State Trooper's patrol car
to take Paul's initial statement. Bill Wilson thoroughly enjoyed relaying
Dave and the Sheriff's confrontation to Danny. They agreed they would have
paid to see the Sheriff's face when Danny called him "Daddy". It was clear
to all present that Sergeant Wilson was at least "gay friendly" and
definitely no fan of Sheriff Johnson.




Then it was Dave's turn.




In the meantime Morgan's body was unceremoniously carried away in a
nondescript van, with "Coroner" painted on the side. Paul grinned at the
irony of that being the ride Morgan had predicted for himself and Dave.




At some point Joe had the foresight to call his cook, Rosa, and asked her
to prepare and send some sandwiches and coffee along with some bottled
water. Even though the Sheriff agreed to dismiss those not directly
involved in the shooting only the soldaty chose to leave. Ilya, Tink, Sam,
Joe, Fred and Jeff insisted they be allowed to hang around.




After hearing from the coroner and comparing Paul and Dave's statements,
taken by Deputy Lovan and Trooper Wilson, the Sheriff concurred there was
no reason to hold anyone at the present. He insisted that both Paul and
Dave be at his office at nine o'clock in the morning for further
questioning.




He left without partaking of the offered refreshments. On the other hand,
his deputies and Sergeant Wilson were most grateful and readily ate their
fill and took more sandwiches and coffee to go.




Danny took Sergeant Wilson and Raymond aside and let them know that
tomorrow, more than likely, someone from the D A's office would be in
attendance during the questioning. Raymond smiled and expressed his thanks
for the heads up. He explained that come tomorrow Dave and Paul would be
represented by very competent criminal defense attorneys out of Dallas. He
had already made the call. Sergeant Wilson, before departing, made it a
point to say he too would be there.




As the Trooper headed to his car Raymond turned to Danny and said, "As of
tomorrow morning I will no longer be Attorney of Record on this case. I
will again be Jeff and Paul's glorified accountant. Since there will no
longer be a possible conflict of interest how about you be a good boy and
have dinner with me tomorrow night?"




Danny suddenly found it very warm in his leather jacket. His heart started
pounding within his chest. He wiped away beads of perspiration from his
upper lip. His cock surged as it crawled down the leg of his boxers. He
could feel the cooling trail of precum it left behind. He wanted to look
down for any visible signs of seepage, but Raymond held his gaze. Those
hypnotic emerald green eyes stared into his soul and laid all his secret
needs bare.




Raymond dropped his focus to Danny's crotch. With a smirk that spoke
volumes, "Well? Are you going to be my good boy and say yes? Or should I
make you drop your pants and spank your bare ass, right here in front of
god and everybody." The smirk faltered as Raymond realized he had pushed
Danny too hard.




Danny shook his head in a double take trying to regain his composure. That
encounter in the stall, all those years ago, had been like a wet dream come
to life. His first wet dream had, in fact, involved the grown man that
stood before him. To actually be held in his arms, well, dreams didn't get
any better. It had felt like he had won every Gold Medal at the Summer
Olympics. The rush was almost overwhelming. Long after that encounter, his
jerk off fantasies swirled around what might have happened if they had not
been interrupted and if he had not run away.




He couldn't wait to see Raymond again and made every excuse to visit his
friends ranch. Jeff was definitely the best friend he had ever had. If he
could see his heart's desire while visiting Jeff, well that was just icing
on the cake. It had taken him almost two weeks to realize that Raymond
didn't want to see him again. Certainly the man went to great lengths to
avoid being alone with him and totally ignored him when in his presence.




When it had finally sunk in that Raymond didn't return his feelings it was
a crushing blow. For weeks on end, he felt numb, except for the aching void
in his gut. Offering the flimsiest of excuses, he had refused to visit the
ranch again until he knew Raymond was back in college.




As time passed he adjusted to the heartbreak. He cussed himself whenever
that memory fueled his sexual fantasies or daydreams of the
future. Eventually he found it was almost easy to keep his cool when
Raymond's name came up in casual conversation. His eyes even quit following
the man, on those rare occasions, when they were both in the same room. It
had been some time since he had really thought about Raymond Cargill. Until
the other night. Now, all these years later, at a crime scene no less,
Raymond's impact on Danny was, once again, debilitating.




He was furious with himself for reverting to that same hormone driven
adolescent. Yet, at the touch of Raymond's hand or the sound of his voice,
he was, once again, being backed into the corner of that stall. The sense
of calm he felt wash over him was the same as when a firefight broke out
during any of his Middle Eastern tours. His gut wrenched with that old
familiar pain, while calm resolve hid his fear of being hurt again.




He stared into Raymond's eyes, "Listen! I don't know who you think you are,
coming onto me like I was still that worshipful, wide eyed, walking hardon
that you molested in a horsestall. But, get one thing straight.




"I. Am. Not. Anybody's. Boy! So you can take your domineering attitude,
your J.D. degree and your C.P.A. Certificate along with your $160,000.00
Tesla and shove them all up your ass, sideways. And if all this is somehow
connected to that job offer the other night, you know where to stick that
too.




"As far as eating with you! There was a time when I would have killed to be
near you. Now, I'd sooner eat shit than share a filet steak dinner with you
at a five star restaurant.




"The next time you approach me, it had better be in a strictly professional
capacity. Cause on a personal level, I got nothing else to say to
you. Mr. Cargill!" Deputy Daniel Lovan turned and walked away without
waiting for a response. He left Raymond with a gaping mouth and a wide eyed
stare. He let Paul and David know they were free to go, but reminded them
of tomorrow's meeting.




Ilya took his leave and left, taking Tink with him.




Joe walked over to collect Raymond. "You coming with me son? Or are you
just gonna stand there gaping at his backside?"




Ray snapped his jaw shut so fast it hurt his teeth. He was about to deny he
had been watching Danny until he saw his Uncle's knowing smile. "Hell, I
knew how taken you was with him, back when it was illegal. It appears as if
things haven't changed much. How does he feel? I used to laugh at how the
kid would slobber just watching you walk by. You ought to let him know how
you feel. You're both good men you would make a damn fine team."




"Uncle Joe, I never told you this, but back when he was a freshman in
highschool and I was in law school, I kissed him. I think it was his first
kiss and he came in his jeans. Somebody interrupted us. Thank god. Who
knows what I might have done to him. I kept my distance after that. It
wouldn't look good for a future lawyer to have a charge of child
molestation on his record. I knew he was hurt when I started ignoring him,
but I really didn't have a choice. I knew if I was alone with him, the next
time, it wouldn't end with a single passionate kiss. In time, he got over
it and we both moved on.




"Or so I thought. Today, I asked him out to dinner and he went off on me
like a Fourth of July fireworks display. I guess I hurt him more than I'd
thought. He definitely remembered that kiss... But then, so have I."




Joe stuck his hands in his pockets and shuffled his feet. "Son, I don't
think you need to thank god for interrupting you two. It was me come
whistling through the barn. I seen you backing him into that corner, like
you was cutting out a calf from his momma. I saw that kiss. At first I
thought pretty harshly of you, a full grown man, taking advantage of that
boy. Then I heard him moan and watched him shudder with his climax. I left
and come back through quick like a whistling. I was relieved y'all broke it
up.




"I thought about reminding you of the age difference. I watched you deal
with it over the next couple of weeks and decided it was a one off thing. I
thought about Danny and remembered one time when I was younger than him,
out mending fence with an older cowboy. Hell, I wouldn't trade that memory
for nothing. It still gets my ol' hoss to prancing when I get to thinking
about it."




Paul was relieved when he learned his Explorer was impounded as
evidence. He was pretty sure he would never be able to drive it or ride in
it again. Due to his profession, the Deputy, searching the vehicle, allowed
him to take most of his equipment. Paul was grateful for Danny's
intercession on his behalf.




Jeff had been very attentive since arriving on the scene. It seemed to Paul
as though he was in constant physical contact. If he they weren't shoulder
to shoulder, then he could feel Jeff's hand at the small of his back. After
stashing the last of the supplies and equipment into the Tahoe, Jeff pulled
him into a possessive hug. "I know this has been a really rough day for
you. I want you to know that if he hadn't been dead when I got here, I
would have killed him myself. I was so afraid I would never see you or hold
you again. I don't ever, ever want to go through that again. I'm glad! he's
dead. Hell, I was tempted to put another bullet in him just to make
sure. Now, I can relax knowing I don't have to be afraid that bastard is
going to take you and Maria away from me.




"I know all this sounds selfish. I want to comfort you, to be whatever you
need me to be right now. I just want you to know how important you and the
Princess have become to me."




Paul stared into Jeff's glistening eyes, "Let's go home cowboy, we've had a
busy day and it's barely half way over and I feel exhausted."

End Note: I know a lot has happened in a short period of time. Maybe things
will settle down to a normal pace for this new family...... Naaah! Not a
chance.

Let me know what you think JimSojourn1950@yahoo.com