Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2012 07:24:51 -0500
From: Andrew Todd <atodd867@gmail.com>
Subject: Riding Lessons-Chapter 23

This story is an act of fiction involving sexual relationships between
teen-aged boys. If that bothers or offends you, please move on. If you are
under 18, I am supposed to tell you that you shouldn't be here, but if you
are here, you're not going to listen to me anyways...so consider yourself
warned.

Comments and constructive criticism are appreciated. Contact me at
atodd867@gmail.com

RIDING LESSONS

By

Andrew Todd

Chapter XXIII


"SURPRISE!!"

Zak nearly jumped out of his skin as everyone popped out of their hiding
places in the barn.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ZAK!!" they all hollered.

Zak looked around the barn. Someone had obviously spent a lot of time
preparing the barn today. The two horses that were usually in the stalls in
this section had been moved and the whole area had been scrubbed and
polished. All the stall doors were opened and two of them were set up with
buffet tables loaded with food. Some small tables had been set up in the
center of the hallway and balloons and streamers were hanging from the
rafters. There were lots of people there as well.

Mr. Jones and Zak's mom, Kate, were off to the side with Debbie, Dusty's
mom, Lu, and Dusty's grandmother. Joe and his wife, Megan, were there with
their little boy, Max, and their new baby, Tyler. Spin and Mattie came
running up to him with Nick Murphy and his boyfriend, Noah Ryan, in
tow. There were also a few of the kids that had taken lessons over the
summer along with their parents and some of the girls that took lessons
with Debbie.

Zak was turning bright red and trying not to tear up looking at the people
that had gathered for him. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around
to find Dusty grinning at him.

"Surprised?" Dusty asked.

Zak just nodded his head and jumped up on Dusty wrapping his arms around
Dusty's neck and his legs around Dusty's waist. He kissed Dusty on the
cheek and whispered, "Thank you. I love you so much," in Dusty's ear.

Dusty and Zak held each other for a few seconds and then Zak slid back to
the floor. Zak turned to Mattie and Spin and grabbed his two best friends
in a huge bear hug. The three hugged and danced around.

Then Zak walked over to Nick and Noah giving each of his new friends a
hug. "Hey, it's great to see you guys here," he said.

"Thanks; Dusty invited us right before you guys left the ranch," Nick
answered.

"Well, thanks for coming. But isn't that at long way to come for just a
couple hours?"

All five boys standing around Zak were grinning wide.

"What?" Zak asked.

"Once the party's over the six of us are going to hit the trail and spend
the weekend camping at the lake," Dusty explained.

Zak lit up. "That's awesome," he said.

Zak and Dusty made the rounds, spending time greeting all the friends who
had taken time to help Zak celebrate turning 16.

Zak was talking to a couple of the girls who took lessons with Debbie. At
the beginning of the summer they had treated Zak with disdain, partially
due to his inexperience in riding and partially due to their jealousy over
his relationship with Dusty. But after seeing him ride Jade in the arena
and watching him all summer with Onyx, the girls had come to respect Zak
and he had become friends with many of them.

Zak felt a tug at the leg of his shorts.

"Zaky...Zaky..." he heard a little voice.

Zak turned around and saw Joe's three-year-old son, Max, standing
there. Zak smiled at the little boy. Many people thought that Max was Zak's
little brother when they saw them together since Max was blond-haired and
blue-eyed like Zak. Whenever he was at the ranch, Max would seek out
Zak. Zak would take him on rides around the barnyard or out on the
trail. While Max was tiny, nothing thrilled him more than riding double
with Zak on Onyx.

"Maxie!!" Zak exclaimed as he scooped up the little boy in his arms.

Max threw his arms around Zak's neck. "Hap Birfday," he said. "I wuv you,
Zaky."

"I love you, too, Maxie," Zak laughed as he hugged the little boy. Zak
started to tickle Max.

As the little boy squirmed and giggled, he reached over and grabbed Zak's
cheeks in both hands. "Stop!!" he said looking very serious.

"Ok," Zak replied trying to look as serious as Max did.

"We ride Oxy now?" Max asked hopefully.

"Not right now, buddy," Zak answered. "Maybe later, ok?"

"Okey." Max looked at Zak. "Down," he ordered. Zak put the little boy
down. Max grabbed Zak's hand and started to pull him.

"Max where are we going?" Zak asked trying not to laugh at the very serious
little boy.

"Presents," Max said as he kept pulling on Zak.

Zak stopped and picked Max back up. "We'll do the presents in a few
minutes, ok?"

Max looked at Zak and nodded with a slight pout on his face. Zak kissed his
cheek and whispered in his ear, "You can help me open them, I promise." The
little boy lit up at the promise.

Zak carried Max over to where Mr. Jones, Kate, Lu and Gram had congregated.

"Mr. Jones, did you do all this?" Zak asked.

"No, Zak," Mr. Jones answered. "This was planned entirely by Dusty. He
asked if he could do it and I told him to do whatever he wanted to. He
enlisted Spin and Mattie to do most of the heavy lifting today."

Zak nodded. "That's why Mattie was so mad at Spin for thinking he was
coming with us."

Mr. Jones laughed, "Yep, Spin's little ADD'd ass was having a hard time
today, but Mattie seems to have a gift with keeping that boy in line."

Zak laughed and nodded.

Mr. Jones continued, "And Mattie also recruited those two boys, Nick and
Noah, to help as well. Nick's brother dropped them off about an hour after
you and Dusty left for the lake and they were working all afternoon to get
this done for you."

"Well, thanks for everything, Mr. Jones." Zak was getting emotional
again. "This summer has been amazing and I've learned so much and made such
wonderful friends."

Mr. Jones stepped up and hugged Zak. "Zak it's been my pleasure to have you
here. You boys have worked so hard this summer. I hope you're planning to
stick around."

"Oh, you couldn't get rid of me at this point," Zak laughed.

As Mr. Jones hugged Zak, a little voice came from between them. "Squished,"
squeaked Max.

Mr. Jones laughed and stepped back ruffling Max's hair. "Sorry, Max," he
said.

Zak walked over to his mom and Lu.

He hugged first his mom and then Lu. "Maxie," he said, "this is my mom and
Dusty's mom."

Maxie looked at Kate wide-eyed. "You Zaky's mommy?" he asked.

Kate laughed and nodded, "Yes, I am. Who are you?"

"I Max," the little boy answered proudly.

Kate smiled and took the little boy's hand. "It's nice to meet you,
Max. Are you Zak's friend?"

Max beamed and nodded his head furiously. "Zaky is my bestest friend!!" he
declared. As if to prove his point he turned and kissed Zak's cheek.

The two moms and Zak laughed.

"So Zak's your best friend, is he?" Kate asked smiling.

Max was very serious. "Yes, he takes me for rides on Oxy."

Kate had a confused look on her face.

"Onyx," Zak mouthed to her.

Kate nodded her understanding.

Zak leaned in and kissed Lu on the cheek. "Thank you for coming, Lu."

Lu kissed Zak back. "I wouldn't have missed it, Zak. It's not every day you
turn 16. And even if I wasn't pleased to come, Dusty would have made sure I
was here. This was a command performance for everyone," she laughed.

Zak shook his head. "He did way too much already today. Just giving me Loki
was enough."

"Loki?" Lu asked.

"My puppy," Zak answered.

"Oh, Ok. You named him Loki?"

"Yup, we thought it was fitting, since Loki is the God of Mischief."

Lu and Kate laughed.

"Where is the puppy?" Kate asked.

Zak looked around and saw Loki lying in one of the empty stalls being
guarded by Herc. He nodded in that direction.

"Looks like he's tuckered out and his big brother is watching over him,"
Zak said.

Zak walked over to Gram; he hugged and kissed her. "Gram, I didn't know you
were back."

"Yes, I came back a few days ago. Dustin was very insistent that I be here
for your birthday. I'm so happy that I was right about you and my
grandson. You belong to each other."

Zak blushed as Gram kissed his cheek.

She handed Zak a small bag.

Maxie squealed. "Ooh, presents," he squeaked.

Gram and Zak laughed at the toddler's excitement.

Zak had Max hold the bag while he removed the tissue paper and pulled out
his gift. It was a wooden circle about six inches in circumference. It had
what looked like a spider web in the circle. There were feathers and beaded
threads hanging from the circle.

"Ooh, pretty," Max cooed.

Zak nodded. "It's beautiful, Gram. But what is it?"

Dusty walked up behind Zak and wrapped his arms around Zak's waist. "It's a
dream catcher," he declared. "And unless I miss my guess, Gram made this
one herself."

"You know my work, Sweet One."

"Dussy!!" Max interrupted, holding his arms out for Dusty.

Dusty took Max from Zak. "Hey, Maxie. Are you helping Zak?"

Max kissed Dusty's cheek and nodded.

"But what's it for?" Zak asked, bringing attention back to the dream
catcher.

Gram looked at Dusty and nodded.

Dusty explained, "You take it and hang it on the wall of your bedroom,
right over where your head rests when you sleep. If you have bad dreams or
nightmares, the dream catcher will capture them and hold them before they
get to you and when the sun hits the web in the morning the light will
dispel the dreams and nightmares."

"Really?"

Dusty laughed. "Well, that's the legend. The other part is that is has to
be given as a gift. You can't make or buy one for yourself. It only works
when given."

Zak hugged Gram. "Thank you, Gram. I love it."

Gram beamed at her grandson and his boyfriend. The change in Zachary since
she had last seen him in May was startling. He exuded a confidence that he
had not had before. She was very happy for him and Dustin.

"You are most welcome, Little One."

The party continued on. Max alternated between Dusty's and Zak's arms for
most of the evening. Occasionally he would run over and spend a few minutes
with Mattie and Spin. All four boys had `adopted' Max as their little
brother.

After the party had been rolling on for about an hour, Dusty whispered into
Max's ear and sent him scurrying through the barn.

"Presents!! Presents!!" Max yelled excitedly as he ran from guest to
guest. "Presents!! Presents!!"

Everyone got a kick out of the toddler running around gathering guests so
Zak could open his presents.

The guests all gathered around while Zak, with `assistance' from Max,
opened his gifts. Most were the standard array of gift cards, DVDs and
clothing. Among the last gifts was a huge box. Zak opened the card--it was
from Mattie and Spin. He tore open the box and almost fell over. In the box
were a brand new English saddle, saddle pads and bridle.

Zak looked up at Mattie and Spin and just shook his head; he was
speechless. Mattie and Spin walked over to Zak and took him in a three-way
hug.

"We thought it was time you have your own tack," Mattie whispered to Zak.

Zak looked at them. "But it's too much."

Spin answered, "No, you and Dusty are our best friends. You're the glue
that holds us together and you deserve this so you can show the world what
you can do."

Spin was rarely serious, but this time he was. Zak grabbed him and Mattie
in a bone-crushing hug. "Thank you," he gasped. "I love you guys so much."

Zak looked around to show Dusty his new saddle, but couldn't see him.

"Where's Dusty?" he asked no one in particular.

Kate answered. "I think he's outside with another present."

"Outside?" Zak asked. Then everyone heard a car horn. Zak, Mattie and Spin
all looked at each other and grinned excitedly. The three made a mad dash
for the door.

"Hey!!" Max yelled after them.

Everyone laughed as Spin stopped, turned around, grabbed Max and ran to
catch up with Zak and Mattie.

All the guests followed the boys out of the barn.

When the boys came around the corner of the barn, they all stopped at the
sight. Dusty was standing next to a brand-new grey Ford Escape. The car had
a huge red ribbon on the hood. Zak ran over to the car and took the card
that was hanging from the ribbon.

He opened the card. It read: "To the greatest son a mother could ever wish
for...All my love, Mom"

Zak looked between the car and the gathered crowd of guests. He saw his mom
standing off to the side and ran over to her. He hugged his mom so hard,
she thought something might break.

"Thank you so much," Zak exclaimed. "But, what about your car?"

Kate laughed. "Well, seeing as how you need to be able to cart around your
new crew," she gestured to Mattie, Spin, Dusty and little Max as she
explained, "and probably tow a trailer, I decided that the Camry would
never do. So, Dusty and I went car shopping for you."

Zak's eyes filled with tears as he hugged his mom again. "Thank you," he
cried. "I love you."

Kate teared up as she returned the hug. "I love you too, Sweetie, and I'm
so proud of you."

Zak ran back to his new car, where Dusty, Mattie and Spin waited for
him. Spin still had Max in his arms.

Zak launched himself at Dusty and Dusty caught his little boyfriend in his
arms.

"I can't believe this day," Zak said as he hugged Dusty.

Dusty put him down and looked into Zak's eyes. "Do you think you could
stand one more surprise?" he asked.

Zak went wide-eyed. "Another one?" he asked excitedly.

"Come with me," Dusty instructed as he took Zak's hand and led him towards
one of the barns.

This time Mattie, Spin and Max were joined by Nick and Noah in following
the boyfriends. Most of the other guests stayed behind to admire Zak's new
car and return to the party.

Dusty led Zak and the entourage into Barn 2 and towards a stall at the back
of the barn.

He stopped in front of the stall and Zak looked at the horse in the stall
in confusion.

"Wait, isn't that Apollo?" he asked.

Dusty nodded. While the other boys waited for Zak to catch on.

"But, what's he doing here?" Zak asked still confused.

Dusty laughed, "We adopted him."

"WE?? Adopted him?" Zak asked.

"Yes, I knew how you had fallen in love with him when we were at the
ranch. So, I talked with Jeff on the phone and I agreed to adopt him for
us. He's officially ours. I know you have Onyx, but he's more suited to
dressage and eventing. While Apollo is a better trail horse and
hunter/jumper. Plus, Apollo needed a home--what better place than here? So,
when Nick and Noah came out today, they brought Apollo with them."

Zak hugged Dusty for what seemed like the millionth time that day. "Thank
you," he said again. "You are so good to me and so amazing."

Zak walked over to the stall and patted and scratched Apollo. The big black
Arabian remembered Zak and lipped and nuzzled at Zak's hand.

Zak heard another horse neigh in the stall next to Apollo. He looked at the
other horse. It was Whisper, the big paint horse that Mattie had ridden at
the Dream Makers Ranch.

He looked at Dusty. "Please tell me `we' didn't adopt two horses."

Dusty laughed, "No, Whisper was adopted by Mattie."

Zak looked at Mattie who was nodding. "Actually, he was adopted by my
parents. I told them about the rescue and how much good they were doing
there. I told them about Dusty wanting to adopt Apollo for you and they
asked me if there was any horse I liked in particular there. I told them
about Whisper and they said they'd adopt him. I told them I had Ash, but my
brother Carlos is in is his senior year at college and he likes to ride
almost as much as me, so they figured it would be good to have an `extra'
horse around for him when he came to visit and when he moves back here
after graduation."

Spin stood there still holding Max and rolled his eyes. "Sure," he
laughed. "Since I have two horses, you all had to go out and get a couple
more to keep up."

All six older boys laughed, while Max just looked at them all. "Down," Max
said to Spin, who complied and put the small boy down.

Maxie walked over to where Zak stood at Apollo's stall. "Pretty horsie,"
Max said as Apollo lowered his head to the small boy. Max patted Apollo's
head more gently than most three year olds would.

Zak picked up Max. "Maxie, this is Apollo."

Max reached over and hugged the horse's head. "Hi, `Pollo," he said. Max
turned to look at Zak. "What about Oxy?" he asked.

Zak laughed. "Don't worry, Onyx is still here and we'll still ride him."

"Yay!!" Max yelled.

The boys all laughed at Max. They stayed in the barn for a while, talking
and playing with the new additions.

Eventually, Dusty herded them all back to the party. It was getting late
and he knew some of the guests would be leaving soon.

When they returned to the party, they saw things were winding down.

Before people started to leave, Mr. Jones walked to the center of the
barn. "Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen," he started. "Can I have your
attention for just a few minutes?"

Everyone stopped talking and crowded around where Mr. Jones stood.

"First, I want to thank everyone for coming tonight to help Zak celebrate
his birthday," Mr. Jones began. "Zak and Dusty and Spin and Mattie have
become like sons to me. They are some of the best kids I've ever had the
pleasure of meeting and they make every day here a pure joy." He signaled
for Zak and Dusty to come up beside him. "Before Zak came here, I was
planning to do this in December for Dusty's birthday. But with Zak's
presence it seemed like we needed to do this now."

Both Dusty and Zak looked at each other questioningly. Each boy shrugged at
the other to indicate they did not know what was going on.

"As most of you know, before starting the ranch I was a rather successful
businessman," Mr. Jones continued. "I retired early, since business had
become boring for me. There's only so much money you can make before you
are looking for something more satisfying. I bought this land and started
the Triple J, more as a hobby than anything. As time went on, we became
more successful and became a gathering place for many of the kids in
town. This has been our most successful summer ever and much of the credit
for that success goes to these two boys."

Everyone clapped for Dusty and Zak, who stood in the center of everything
blushing.

Mr. Jones placed one hand on Zak's shoulder and the other on Dusty's.

"You boys have done so much this summer and made my life so much fuller
just by your presence that I had to think of something special for your
`summer bonus'." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out two
envelopes which he handed to the boys.

Dusty and Zak looked at the envelopes, Mr. Jones and each other. They both
tore open their envelopes at the same time and withdrew what looked like a
formal document.

As they each read their documents their eyes got wider and wider.

Both boys turned towards Mr. Jones.

"You're not serious?" Dusty asked.

Mr. Jones chuckled, "As a heart attack."

Dusty handed Zak his papers and grabbed Zak's. Each quickly scanned the
other's papers and then they both whooped and hugged each other and
Mr. Jones.

Everyone else in the room looked at the three curiously.

Mr. Jones addressed the crowd, "It seems like my choice for a `bonus' was
right on for these two." He pointed to the barn doors and yelled, "Mattie,
Spin come on in."

Everyone looked towards the door where Mattie and Spin were leading Onyx
and Phoenix into the barn. Mattie walked forward with Onyx who was wearing
a large red bow around his neck. Spin followed with Phoenix who had a blue
bow around his neck.

By this point, Dusty and Zak were both crying uncontrollably. They each
hugged Mr. Jones and then ran to their horses. In their excitement, they
each dropped the papers that Mr. Jones had given them.

The papers that stated that Onyx was now owned by Master Zachary Myers and
Phoenix was now the sole property of Master Dustin Crandall.

All the party guests cheered as Dusty and Zak hugged Onyx and Phoenix who
were finally their horses.

Both boys led the horses outside and set up an impromptu greeting line to
say goodbye to the party guests. Most of the smaller kids and their parents
were the first to leave along with their parents. The kids, who took
lessons with Dusty and Spin, were all thrilled that Zak had gotten his
horse, not realizing that Zak had actually become owner of two horses
today.

The girls, who were students of Debbie, left as a group, all stopping to
kiss Zak on the cheek and offer him a last `Happy Birthday.'

Soon, it was just the `immediate' family that was left. Kate, Lu and Gram
were the next to leave all giving Zak and Dusty hugs and kisses--they were
so happy for them.

Zak and Dusty led their horses back to their stalls and put them up for the
night.

When they returned to the site of the party, they found Spin, Mattie, Nick,
Noah, Debbie, Joe, Megan and Mr. Jones all finishing the clean-up.

Dusty and Zak walked over to Mr. Jones.

"Mr. Jones," started Zak. "We can't thank you enough for what you did. It's
like a dream come true for both of us, but what about the money you've been
making from the stud fees?"

Mr. Jones laughed, "Guys, my goal here was never to get into the stud
business; this ranch was supposed to be a hobby for me and it's just kept
growing. Part of the reason I got into the breeding part in the first place
is because of the work that Dusty did with Phoenix. If he hadn't trained
him so well, no one would have come looking to breed their mares to
him. Onyx, I ended up with more to protect him than anything and Ash, well
I know I said the plan was to breed, but it was more a similar situation to
Onyx. He was being mistreated and I wanted to protect him. But protecting
him is now Mattie's job."

Dusty looked at Mattie who was grinning. "Mattie's job?"

Mattie nodded. "My parents bought Ash from Mr. Jones yesterday. He is all
mine. That's why Whisper is for my brother. Cuz I already have my horse."

Dusty was concerned. "I guess I still don't understand, Mr. Jones. What's
happening to the ranch?"

"Dusty, nothing is happening to the ranch. My original plan in opening this
place up was to have a safe place for kids to go to after school and on
weekends," Mr. Jones explained. "You were the first youngster to come here
and you have changed so much from that angry young man that came here all
those years ago. And you've helped Zak come along and now, Mattie and Spin
are part of the family. This is all I've wanted. I don't need the money
from breeding Onyx and Phoenix and Ash. You boys have done all the work
with those horses, and I believe he that does the work, should reap the
rewards."

Zak spoke up, "Mr. Jones, we owe you, not the other way around. You've
given us all so much just by taking us all on and letting us have a place
where we belong."

"Zak, you boys don't owe me anything. You thank me every day in the way you
act, all the hard work you do here and the way you treat each other and all
the folks who come out here. Why do you guys think business has been so
good this summer?  It's because word has gotten around. Spin and Dusty are
great instructors, the kids love them; and you and Mattie make the trail
rides so fun for folks they come back week after week. So, as far as I'm
concerned, you boys more than earned your `bonuses'."

Zak went over and hugged Mr. Jones, followed by Dusty, Mattie and Spin. All
four boys thanked Mr. Jones profusely for his generosity.

"Well, boys," said Mr. Jones. "It's getting late; I'm gonna head back to
the house and if you're planning to go to the lake you need to head out."

Dusty turned to the others. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm wiped
out. Why don't we just camp here in the barn tonight and head out to the
lake in the morning."

All the boys agreed that was the best plan of action.

"There are some sleeping bags and blankets in the office," said
Dusty. "Mattie, do you and Spin want to take Nick and Noah and grab them?"

"Sure," Mattie answered. The four boys took off.

"So, where are we gonna sleep?" asked Zak.

"Well, all the stalls are cleaned out, so we can use those or the six of us
can just camp in the middle of the hall here," Dusty answered.

"Me, too," a small voice announced.

Both turned to see Max standing in the doorway of the barn.

"Maxie, you want to camp out too?" Zak asked.

"Yes, Zaky," Max answered.

"Where's your dad?" Dusty asked.

Joe came around the corner. "Right here guys. Look you don't have to do
this."

Zak interrupted, "Joe, we're fine with Max staying with us as long as you
are."

"You're sure?"

Dusty replied, "Of course; Maxie's like a little brother for us, we all
love him and we'd love it if he stayed."

Max heard the answer. "YAY!!" he exclaimed as he ran to Dusty and Zak. He
hugged both boys and leapt into Zak's arms. Max turned back to Joe and
said, "I staying, Daddy, you can go home now."

Joe and the boys laughed.

Joe walked over and took Maxie from Zak. "Max, you're going to be a good
boy and do everything Zak and Dusty tell you, right?"

"Yes, Daddy," the little boy agreed. "I stay with Dussy & Zaky."

"Ok." Joe gave Max a hug and a kiss and handed him back to Zak. "I'll be
back for him in the morning." Joe left to take Megan and Tyler home.

Zak and Dusty stood waiting for the other boys to return when Herc and Loki
came around to investigate.

When Max saw the two dogs he started to squirm in Zak's arms. "Down," he
said to Zak.

Zak put the little boy down between to the two Danes. Max went over to
Herc, who he knew.

"Hi, Herky," he said as he tried to wrap his arms around the big dog's
neck, which was difficult since Herc stood about a head taller than
Max. Undeterred, Max turned to Loki. "Puppy!!" he called as he walked up to
Loki. This one was smaller so Max was able to hug the puppy around the
neck.

"Gently, Max," Zak warned, not sure how Loki would be with the
toddler. "His name is Loki."

"Hi, `oki," Max said as he released his strangle hold on the puppy. Loki
licked up the side of Max's face and the little boy laughed a child's laugh
of joy.

Dusty and Zak stood of to the side watching the two youngsters interact.

"If this keeps up, you may need to call Jackie and get one for Maxie," Zak
said to Dusty.

"Oh, I'm sure Joe would just love that," Dusty laughed. "Two boys under
four and a Great Dane puppy--Megan would divorce him for sure."

Just then Spin, Mattie, Nick and Noah came back loaded down with blankets
and sleeping bags.

"Maxie!!" Spin greeted. "Are you gonna camp out with us?"

Max beamed. "Yes, `Pin, I sleepin' with the big boys." The `big boys' all
laughed.

Max walked over to Nick and Noah, Loki hot on his trail.

"Who you guys?" Max asked.

"Max, this is Nick and Noah," introduced Mattie. "They live on another
horse ranch."

"You have horsies, too?"

Nick nodded. "That's right; my family has a lot of horses."

"Ooh, I wanna horsie when I get big," Max declared.

Nick kneeled down to Max's level. "Well, when you are a big boy, you come
see me and we'll see what we can do."

"I a big boy now."

Zak interjected, "Maxie, you know you need to get bigger."

"I know, Zaky," answered a dejected Max.

Max walked over to Noah. He raised his hands up to the tall boy. "Up," he
ordered.

Having younger siblings, Noah was used to a toddler's demands and he picked
Max up. Max ran his fingers through Noah's hair. He turned to Zak.

"Zaky," Max declared. "He has ornge hair, like `Pin."

The boys all laughed.

"No, Maxie," Zak corrected. "He has red hair."

Max got a confused look on his face. He looked at Noah again and then
looked over at Spin and shook his head. "It ornge," he confirmed.

All the boys knew better than to argue with a three-year-old so they all
just laughed and nodded.

Mattie and Spin started spreading out the blankets and sleeping bags. It
was still quite warm overnight, so they would not need covering. They were
more concerned with having something to lie on.

The boys then stripped down to their jockeys.

Max just looked around. "Ooh, you guys all in your unnerpants."

"Yes, Maxie," said Zak. "None of us wear pajamas. We just sleep in our
underwear."

"Ok," Max said as he unzipped his pants and pulled them down, flashing his
Batman underwear to everyone. He looked over at Spin. "'Pin, why you
unnerpants red?"

Spin's face turned the same color as his hair and his jockeys. "Uh, cuz I
like them, Maxie."

Max nodded his head. "I like them,too," he stated. "But I like my Batman's
best."

"Maxie, do you need to go to the potty before we go to bed?" Zak asked.

Max nodded and offered his hand to Zak, who led him off to the office.

Dusty just shook his head. "Out of the mouths of babes," he said.

"He's gonna be a handful in a few years, just like..." Mattie declared as
he moved his eyes in Spin's direction.

"Hey!!" protested Spin. "I resent that; besides, he's a handful now."

All the boys grinned and nodded in agreement.

When Zak and Max returned, the boys decided it was time to go to bed. They
paired up on the sleeping bags and blankets. Max and Loki managed to
snuggle in between Dusty and Zak. Herc curled up at their feet. The other
boys spooned with their partners and everyone quickly fell into a peaceful
slumber.

***

Max and Loki, as youngsters are wont to do, decided that by 6 am everyone
had slept just about enough. The toddler and the puppy had made the rounds
during the night, snuggling at least once with each pair of boys before
ending up right where they had started--between Dusty and Zak.

"Zaky...Zaky..." Max whispered as he tapped Zak's forehead. When Zak didn't
respond quick enough, he took his finger and rolled up Zak's eyelid. He got
right up close to Zak's one open eye. "Zaky...wake up...gotta go potty."

Dusty was starting to wake up and heard the magic word. Wanting to avoid an
accident and the chance that his not-so-early-rising boyfriend might
actually kill a toddler, he grabbed Max and ran to the office.

Max giggled the whole way. "Dussy, don't squeeze," he warned. "I gonna
pee."

Dusty held Max lightly around his waist and out at arm's length in case
there was an accident.

While Dusty took care of Max, the other boys were waking up, thanks to some
help from Loki and Herc.

Max came running down the hallway.

"Zaky!!" he shouted excitedly. "Wanna ride Oxy, NOW!!"

Dusty came running up behind Max, shaking his head. "Zak, he says you
promised," he said, rolling his eyes.

Max stood right in front of Zak, who was still trying to wake up. The
little boy nodded his head and grabbed Zak's face in his little hands. "You
pwomised."

Zak sighed; he looked into Max's pleading eyes and then up at Dusty's
mischievous ones.

"Babe, help me here," he pleaded to Dusty.

Dusty walked over to Zak and helped him up and took him off to the
side. Mattie came over and distracted Max.

"Zak, why don't we call Joe and tell him we are taking Maxie with us for
the day."

"I thought we were camping?"

"We have the next three days. Nick and Noah have to be back on Sunday
morning and Mattie has to as well so he can go to Mass. But we don't have
anything to do until Monday morning. So, let's take Max for the day, then
one of us will bring him back this afternoon and we'll still have two days
for ourselves."

Zak beamed. "That's a great idea. Everyone loves having Maxie around and he
can get his ride in and swim and I'm sure Joe won't mind us running him
ragged for the day."

Dusty laughed, "That's for sure."

"Why don't you call Joe?" Zak asked. "And I'll take Maxie and get Onyx
ready. Mattie, Spin, Nick and Noah can do stalls and then we can all ride
out to the lake. Oh, but..."

"But what?"

"Well, I wasn't going to take Onyx; I was going to take Apollo."

"So, we'll take both."

"Both?!"

"Sure, Nick and Noah each need a horse. You take Onyx with Maxie, Nick and
Noah can take Apollo and Whisper. It will work out good cuz they already
know the horses."

"Perfect," Zak agreed and he wrapped his arms around his native boyfriend
and kissed him.

"Oooh," they heard. They turned and saw Max staring at them.

"You doing Mommy and Daddy kisses," the toddler declared.

"That's because he's my boyfriend, Maxie," Zak explained.

"Ok," Max replied as he ran off to play with the dogs.

Dusty just shrugged and grinned wishing adults and classmates were as easy
to convince as a three-year-old.

Dusty called Joe, who thought the six boys were outnumbered by his
three-year-old, but was nevertheless excited to have day with his wife and
new baby. He told Dusty he would be at the ranch to pick up Max at 6, if
they could last that long.

Zak went over and explained to the other boys what the plan was. The four
took off to take care of the feeding and stall cleaning, while Zak went and
found Max playing with Loki and Herc.

He watched unobserved, while Max got Herc to lay down and the toddler
climbed onto the big dog's back like he was a horse. Herc slowly rose to
his feet and walked around with the small boy clinging to his back.

Zak had pulled out his phone and was madly snapping pictures and a short
video to post later.

Zak waved Dusty over and pointed to the scene. Dusty laughed. Danes were
known for their mellow demeanor in spite of their size. Herc was going out
of his way to protect his small passenger, while Loki ran alongside the
two.

Zak snuck up on Herc and grabbed Max.

"Hey!!" protested Max. "I ridin' Herky."

"Oh, ok." Zak put the little boy back down. "I thought you wanted to ride
Onyx." Zak turned to walk away.

Max, hearing the `magic word,' ran after Zak as fast as his stubby legs
could carry him.

"Wait, Zaky, wait," he yelled after Zak. "I ride Oxy."

Zak turned around and grinned. "Well come on then," he said to Max as the
little boy caught up.

Zak scooped Max up and carried him off to find Onyx.

Zak let Max `help' him feed Onyx and clean out his stall. In reality, the
now calm horse stood placidly next to Max as Max held his lead rope. Zak
trusted Onyx to watch after Max, while he cleaned out the stall.

Just as he was finishing, Dusty walked up. "Hey," Dusty said. "The guys are
gonna finish things up so we can take off for the lake. They'll meet us
there later."

"Ok," Zak answered. "Let me just grab his bridle."

Max stood by `holding' Onyx while Zak grabbed his bridle and put it on the
horse. Zak picked up Max and placed him on Onyx's back then led the horse
out of the barn to wait for Dusty.

Dusty came around the corner with Phoenix, gave Zak a leg up, and then
hopped onto Phoenix's back. Dusty called to Herc, knowing that he would
stay with the boys and Loki would follow Herc.

Meanwhile, Mattie and Spin, having finished Barn 3 were heading into Barn 2
to see how Nick and Noah were doing.

They looked around and didn't see the boys so they assumed they were
done. Mattie, being a perfectionist, insisted on checking the stalls.

The last hall hadn't been finished, so Mattie and Spin went to the feed
room to get grain and hay for the horses. Mattie opened the door, took two
steps in and stopped short. Spin, not paying attention as usual, walked
right into Mattie.

"What the hell, Mattie!" Spin exclaimed. He looked over Mattie's shoulder
and saw Noah standing against the back wall shirtless with his shorts
around his ankles as Nick lovingly sucked Noah's oversized cock.  "Madre de
Dios, que es enorme," whispered Mattie.

"I don't know what you said, but I think I agree," replied Spin in his
usually loud voice.

Noah looked up and spotted the two in the doorway just as his orgasm was
hitting. He grunted loudly, unable to stop. He came spurt after spurt in
Nick's mouth. Nick swallowed as quickly as he could trying his best to not
lose a drop.

When Noah's spasms subsided, Nick, unaware of the audience they now had,
started kissing his way up Noah's flat stomach and chest.

"Babe," Noah stage whispered, trying to catch Nick's attention. "Hun, get
up," he said through clenched teeth as he reached down and grabbed Nick and
pulled him to his feet.

"That was so great," Nick cooed as he rested his head against Noah's chest.

"It sure was," interjected the ever-so-tactful Spin.

"Wha--?" blurted Nick as he spun around.

Nick and Noah both stood there turning bright red. Luckily for Nick, he was
dressed so only his face was visible. Noah, however, was bright red from
the top of his head to the tips of his toes.

"Sorry, guys," Mattie said quickly as he turned to leave the room and give
the other boys some privacy.

Mattie walked into Spin who was glued to the spot, his eyes locked onto
Noah's appendage. Mattie cuffed Spin on the side of the head, grabbed his
arm and dragged him out.

Mattie and Spin were just finishing the main barn, when Nick and Noah came
in.

Mattie looked over to them. "I'm so sorry about that, guys."

Nick shook his head. "No, Mattie, we're sorry. It's just that until we got
here yesterday we hadn't seen each other for a few days and that was the
first time we had a moment. We couldn't help ourselves."

Spin walked up to Noah who was still quite red. "Hey Noah," Spin
started. "How...ah...big is that thing, anyways?"

Mattie rolled his eyes and Nick giggled, while Noah just turned another
shade of red. "I don't know Spin; who the hell measures their dick,
anyways?"

Mattie grabbed his impish boyfriend and led him away cursing the little
redhead out in Spanish.