Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2002 16:55:11 EDT
From: Tulsadriller7@aol.com
Subject: Tales from the Ranch, Chapter 15/?
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 from the Ranch
Chapter 15: Monday morning
As usual, Dale woke up at 6 a.m. He had a woody and
needed to pee. They must have separated during the night as
the last thing he remembered was curling up with Craig in
front of him. Dale didn't think he had moved during the
night, but Craig was on his back on the other side of the
bed. He looked so angelic and delectable that Dale wanted
to kiss him awake, but he decided that he needed to relieve
his bladder before he could do anything else.
He slipped from the bed, making his way into the
bathroom, pulling back his foreskin and let it rip. It felt
good, but not as good as other things he'd learned he could
do with his dick. He finished peeing and decided not to
flush and risk waking Craig up. He had plans for waking him
up and noise wasn't one of them.
Craig hadn't moved and Dale eased his 185-pound frame
back
on the bed, trying to plan on his attack. He was trying to
decide about licking his face, his nipples or to pull the
covers down and inhale his cock. He decided to go for the
cock and was surprised when he moved the covers away from
his groin that he wasn't hard. All the better, he thought.
He worked up a mouthful of saliva, and then took the 4-
inch flaccid cock all the way into his mouth and started
running his tongue up and down and around it. He wasn't
sure what kind of reaction he would get, but Craig wiggled
around, thrusting against Dale's lips, his cock quickly
hardening. Next he felt Craig's fingers in his hair.
Craig sounded sleepy, but he was wide-awake. Who could
sleep through the action of a turbo tongue? "Mmmm, that
feels good. What a way to wake up." More thrusting and he
could feel Craig swelling even more and starting to twitch.
Time for more action from Dale. He used his left hand to
massage Craig's nipples, then his right fingers and thumb to
massage his nuts and ran them down to his rosebud and back
up. Craig was going to cum quickly and that was fine with
Dale. He needed an early morning
squirt of Craig to get his morning started.
Dale was hard, too. He was surprised that he was so
stimulated by what he was doing to Craig, but he could feel
the beginnings of an ejaculation starting in his groin, too.
Sure enough he could feel Craig starting to cum and the size
of his dick increased again, getting harder. Dale kept up
his assault and was enjoying listening to the "Craig noises"
he was hearing. He was so engrossed in what was going on
that he lost track of what his own body was doing.
About that time Craig went, "Uummp. uggg. aahhh and
erupted into Dale's mouth. Dale pulled back a little so he
could taste Craig and at that time realized that he was
starting to cum, too. He was at a right angle to Craig's
body and most of Dale's cum hit Craig's side just above his
hips and some of it even ended up on Dale's lips and Craig's
balls.
Wow!! That was a first for him. He'd cum a couple of
times when Craig had when they were fucking or having a 69,
but this was a first. His orgasm had been caused by what he
was doing to Craig with no stimulation from either of them.
He loved Craig and the effect they had on each other. They
were a good match, both sexually and more importantly, being
totally in love with each other.
He allowed Craig to finish his orgasm and cleaned the
last traces of cum from his dick. His beautiful 6 1/2-inch
dick. He even tasted some of his own cum that had ended up
on Craig's body. He wanted to share with Craig. This was
too good to keep just for himself
Dale moved up toward Craig, laying flat on top of him so
that they matched in all the right places. Dale was still
dripping cum. He ran his tongue around Craig's willing
lips, which opened so he could make a deposit. They shared
the harvest, mixing a cocktail with saliva and stirring it
with their tongues. This was the ultimate giving of one's
self, they each thought.
Craig couldn't believe that Dale had cum just from
sucking him, but realized that he could probably have the
same thing happen to him, given the right circumstances.
All he knew was that they could please each other,
regardless of the sexual act. And. they were good for each
other outside of the sack, too.
They lay there for a few minutes, enjoying the presence
of the other and regaining their thoughts and calming down.
Craig spoke first. "Hon, what a way to wake up of a
morning. I was dreaming and all of a sudden my cock felt
like it was in a hot, wet tunnel, being massaged and
stroked. I've never felt anything that could compare."
"That was fun. I couldn't resist doing that to you. I
love you, babe, and hope we can do stuff like this to each
other forever."
"You got my vote on that. I want that experience again.
And. I want to do it to you, too."
"Anytime, my lover, anytime."
Craig peered at the clock. It was 6:20. They needed
to get the day started. Too bad this wasn't a Saturday.
They could play with each other all morning. maybe even all
day. 'Oh well, it would happen,' he thought.
Almost as if they had discussed it, they rolled apart
and got out of bed, Dale offering his hand to Craig. As
part of the morning routine they had quickly established,
Craig headed to the kitchen, although he had learned to
prepare the coffeemaker the night before, so all he had to
do was turn the switch on. He had left two glasses on the
kitchen counter and he filled them with orange juice and
went back to their bathroom.
He really liked to shave before his shower - somehow he
felt cleaner that way. Dale was just lathering his face as
Craig started brushing his teeth. Craig was at the other
sink and was right behind Dale. His beard wasn't as heavy
so he could shave a
little more quickly. They finished about the same
time.
"Hey, the mustache is starting to look good.
Coming in thick and by this time next week it ought
to look really good. By the time you meet my parents,
it ought to look really great. Mom will go ape.
She's tried to get my dad to grow one for years.
He'll let it grow about two weeks, then shaves it
off. Mom will be jealous that my husband has a
mustache and hers doesn't."
Dale was proud of the progress and gave Craig an
orange
juice-flavored kiss.
"Thanks. It's going to be strange meeting your
parents and them knowing that we're having sex with
each other."
"I honestly don't care what they think. I love you
and I
think, from what I experienced this morning, that the
feeling is mutual. It's none of their business,
anyway."
"I know that. It just will be weird. I can't
imagine
taking you home to meet my family - that is if I had
one."
"Hey Hon, don't worry about it. This is now. that
was
then."
"I know. It's just that my life has had a lot
of changes
this past week and I'm glad you're here to help me
through them," Dale said with moist eyes.
Craig steered him toward the shower. "Get the
water adjusted and I'll get the coffee so it can cool
a little while we're showering."
He picked up the juice glasses, headed to the kitchen
to
rinse them and brought two mugs of coffee to the
bathroom. He crawled into the shower with Dale and
they opened all the showerheads. Craig was thankful
he had designed the shower like this, never dreaming
that he would share it with this stud of a husband he
had. HIS MAN!!
* * * * *
Dale arrived at the Bar-W about 7:30, his usual
time, and stopped at the end of the driveway to greet
Jason and Kevin. As per usual the school bus was
right on time and they had little chance to say
anything other than "hello" to each other and wish
each a good day.
Mort came driving in as Dale parked his car.
Dale got out with his lunch in his hand as Mort
parked his Blazer in front of the barn. They greeted
each other and Mort waited for Dale to walk to where
he was standing.
Dale started to speak, "I understand that you." when
Mort
interrupted him.
"Yes, it's true. My wife took care of an
elderly aunt for many years, not knowing that she was
worth a lot of money. It wasn't until after she died
that Margie and I found out she left it all to my
wife. We've decided to travel and are going to buy
an RV of some kind. mainly enjoy life while we're
young enough to do it."
"Congratulations. You've worked here a long time and
deserve to enjoy life," Dale replied.
"Dale, Marty called me right after you left here
yesterday afternoon. He was really happy that you
had accepted his offer to take my place."
"I don't know that I'm going to able to take your
place,
Mort. Nobody could do that."
"I'm not leaving here until after the holidays.
That gives us almost 4 months to work together so I
can show you what needs to be done. The priority
things for you are to get up to speed on the cattle
and horse parts of this operation and to find a crop
foreman to take your place, although that one is not
a pressing issue."
"Four months is an awful short time to show me what
it's
taken you 37 years to learn," Dale answered.
"That's true, but you have Martin and Marty to
rely on and they will be here for anything. anything
at all you need to know
about or to have help making a decision. I made
mistakes to begin with - Martin can tell you that -
and never received an unkind word for it. They just
don't treat their employee's that way. You know
that, Dale."
"Yes, but it's still a big responsibility. I
just hope I'm up for it."
"You are, I wouldn't have recommended you if I
didn't believe that. The Williamson's have had their
eye on you since you became crops foreman and they
like what you have accomplished in that job. The
soil conservation job got this place an award and I
know that was totally your idea."
"I appreciate your confidence - everyone's
confidence - but still will need all the help I can
get."
Mort punched Dale on the arm. "Put your lunch
in the cooler and come on in to your new office."
"Okay, but the three guys should be here in a few
minutes
and I need to get them started on the days
assignments."
"That's fine. Marty will be out here about 8:30
to talk to the two of us. What do you have planned
for the guys to do today?"
"We can start cutting the clover hay you sold
the other day or we can put the hay away that we
baled the other day. The barn is ready and the only
equipment that needs to be hauled is the conveyor to
get it to the second floor."
"Your decision, Dale, but why don't you store
the bales that are ready. The people who bought the
new hay crop aren't going to come get it until
Friday."
"Fine with me. I'll have the guys hook the
conveyor to the pickup and take them down to the
barn. I should be back by the time Marty is ready to
meet with us."
About that time, as if on cue, the three guys
drove in and John parked his car next to Dale's.
Dale had them sign their time sheets and took
them to the barn, arriving back at the ranch office
just as Marty was walking from the house. Dale
parked the farm pickup in front of the barn, facing
Mort's Blazer.
Marty was beaming as he greeted Dale and shook
his hand. "Well, Mr. General Manager, how do you feel
today? Can you get your hat on yet?" Marty teased.
It took Dale a minute to realize that Marty was
teasing him about having a "swelled head" and shook
his head 'no' as he laughed. "I still can't believe
that you're giving me this job."
"Only because we advertised in a 17-state area
and couldn't
find anyone else who was gullible enough to take it,"
Marty said, clapping Dale on his back.
They both laughed and were still laughing as they
entered
the office.
Mort looked up as if to ask what was so funny.
Marty said, "Mort, I had to tell the real truth about
his
promotion - that nobody else wanted the job -
including you!" They all laughed.
Dale loved Marty's sense of humor. It certainly
made him feel better that his boss was someone who
enjoyed a good time and that Dale could be
comfortable with him.
Dale and Marty settled down in the chairs in
front of Mort's desk. Mort started the meeting.
"I told Dale that the most important thing he
needed to do was to get up to speed with the cattle
and horse operations here. I'm going to set up a
meeting with Sam Jealso tomorrow morning to talk
about cattle and then Lee Baker tomorrow afternoon so
we can talk about the horse operation.
"Dale, the cattle operation isn't as complicated
as we breed and raise our own cattle here on the Bar-
W instead of buying young steers and raising them.
We can control bloodlines and bring in new strains as
needed. Our cattle have always brought top dollar
from several of the local processors and it's
generally graded as USDA Prime. As you know, we own
no bulls; all breeding is accomplished by artificial
insemination. Marty's degree in biology has helped
us a lot here on the ranch with all three operations.
"The horses are a different story. We buy a lot
of horses from good breeders across the state and
into Oklahoma, Colorado and New Mexico. Lee Baker is
good at what he does and can be trusted to make good
decisions when it comes to purchasing new blood
lines. I don't know if you've ever seen our
studbooks and inventory listing, but each horse
carries a pedigree showing its bloodline, sires and
dams. It's all documented and people buying from us
know they are getting what we say we are selling.
One sale of a horse with a questionable pedigree
could put us out of business. At least today, we
have DNA testing available, which makes it easier for
us - and everyone else - but we still tell the truth
about what we are selling. If we discover one bad
horse, then it's pulled from our catalog and sold to
someone who wants a good saddle horse, but doesn't
care about the ancestry. They're getting a good
horse, in every case, but we don't have to stand
behind that sale like the others."
Marty broke in. "We have an excellent
reputation here and we're going to keep it. If a
mistake is made, we admit it and guarantee anything
we sell; but we do our best not to make a mistake to
begin with."
Mort continued. "Marty and I attend a lot of
cattle and horse shows. We do buy some cattle, but
not many. The horses, as I said, are another matter.
We breed some of our own from exceptional bloodlines
we've developed, but it's a whole different operation
than cattle ranching.
"You will be expected to go to some of the shows
and it's a really great way to get to know other
breeders whom we buy from and sell to, but it also
will help you get an eye for picking good stock,"
Marty added.
"There is a horse show in Waco in three weeks
and I'll get your name added to the reservation list,
along with Marty, Lee and myself. You can expect to
be gone from the ranch from 2 to four days a month to
attend the various shows and events, " Mort told him.
Marty smiled at Dale, his eyes twinkling. "If
you want to take Craig with you, and I'm sure you do,
it's at the Bar-W expense. No different for you guys
than Mort taking Margie or me taking Chris." He got
a big grin on his face. "Have you told Mort - about
you and Craig?"
Dale could feel his face getting red and it
seemed to spread throughout his body.
"No." he said, hesitantly.
"Well, you'd better - as in right now."
Marty was still grinning so Dale figured it was okay.
He
looked at Mort and he was smiling, too.
"Eemm. Unngh. Mort, I'm gay and Craig Bastian
and I. (this was hard to say) are. partners. we're
going to live together."
He was expecting the worst.
"Oh, so that's why you asked for two days off
to go to Ft. Worth and Dallas with him? Well,
congratulations. He's well respected around this
ranch and I hope things work out well for you." He
stood up and held his hand out to Dale to shake.
Dale was, once again, stunned. He took Mort's
hand and then Marty shook hands with him again.
Marty, clapped his hand on Dale's shoulder.
"This has been a busy week for Dale. He's met a guy,
fallen in love, moved in with him, sold his house,
gotten a new job and is finding out just exactly how
much we all love him and depend on him around the Bar-
W."
Mort agreed. "You can say that again. He's done
really
well as crop foreman and I expect nothing less from
him as General Manager."
About that time, two vehicles drove up to the
barn. One was a new white Blazer with the Bar-W logo
painted on the door and on the back and the other was
a shuttle van from the local GM dealer.
Marty looked at his watch. "Right on time,
Mort. Come on guys," he said as he headed out the
door.
As they headed out to the parking area, the
fellow who had driven the Blazer got out and greeted
Marty, then Mort. Marty then introduced Dale. "This
is Dale Richards, our new General Manager. He's
taking Mort's place when he retires at the end of the
year. Dale, this is Jerome Robinson." They
exchanged greetings.
"Jerome handed Dale a set of keys, saying,
"Here's your new vehicle. Hope it performs well for
you, but if you have any problems that our service
department doesn't get fixed to your satisfaction,
give me a call."
Dale was certainly having a lot of "Kodak
moments" the last few days.
Jerome asked Dale, "Is that your Mustang over there?"
"Yes."
"Well if you have any interest in selling it, it
was a limited production vehicle and I know someone
who might like to buy it from you."
"It's not in very good shape," Dale said. "It runs
well,
but looks terrible."
"Doesn't make any difference, by the time this
guy's through with it, he'll have it looking like it
just came off the showroom floor. Here's my card.
Give me a call and I'll make arrangements for him to
meet you."
Dale thanked him, and all shook hands again as
Jerome got in the van to leave.
"I don't know what to say. I never thought
about having a 'company car' to use. I guess I knew
Mort did, but wasn't thinking of myself."
Marty started laughing. "Dale, I can't have you
representing my ranch while you're driving that
Mustang. People would think I'm a cheap-assed SOB."
All three of them laughed together.
"Point well taken," Dale said, still laughing.
Mort said, "I have a meeting with Lee in about
10 minutes, so will see you both a little later." He
got in his Blazer to leave.
"Come on back in the office. There are a few
more things I need to talk to you about," Marty said,
leading the way.
They both settled back where they had been
seated when Mort was there.
"I know things may seem like they are happening
quickly, but that's the way things are done around
here sometimes. Like the car. I called Jerome on
Thursday after I talked to Mort. They didn't have
this car, but were able to get it from a dealer in
Austin. I wanted to give it to you this morning so
they had to move quickly, too."
"Thanks, Marty, it's really appreciated. I was
thinking the other day about trading my old car in on
a small pickup because I thought it looked so bad
parked next to Craig's car at his. our. condo. Glad
now that he talked me out of it. He said it was
okay."
"Craig's a smart guy and I'm glad you held off.
Sometimes things just work out for the best, don't
they?"
"Yeah, they really do."
"Now, we need to discuss some financial aspects
of this job. In the first place, you will have an
expense account and I need to let Morris Johnsmore
talk to you about that so I don't tell you something
wrong. I set up a meeting for you at his office at
1:30 today. He will give you a company credit card
and explain how it's to be used, along with
accounting for cash purchases and
expenses that come out of your own pocket when buying
for the ranch.
"The other thing we need to discuss is your
salary. While you are learning the ropes, from now
until the end of the year, I propose that we pay you
$42,000 a year. That's retroactive to the first of
this month. Then starting January 1st, that
increases to $52,000 a year."
Dale's head was spinning. As crops foreman, he was
being
paid $30,000 plus overtime, insurance and a bonus.
"Does that sound fair to you?" Marty asked.
Dale was sitting there, trying to sort this out
and make it all come together.
"Yeah. that's more than generous," he said.
"Well, there is still the year-end bonus and
some profitsharing, along with insurance, the use of
a company car, gasoline and an expense account. You
can check with Morris today. he'll probably explain
it all to you anyway. but we think it's a pretty good
benefit package."
"Yes, I'm sure it is. It just seems overwhelming
right
now."
"I can understand that. You've had a major
upheaval - all for the good, I hope, in your life
this week. A lot of new stuff to digest and think
about, I'm sure. Dale, all of our family, Chris and
me, Dad and Mom, Jason and Kevin; think a lot of you
and we're a 100% behind you and are here to help you
whenever we can."
"Thanks, Marty, I really appreciate what you and
Mort have done for me the last few years. I can't
imagine working anywhere else."
They started to shake hands, then embraced each
other in a big hug. As they pulled away, Marty said,
"Now, since you have to go into town to talk to
Morris, why don't you take your boyfriend to lunch in
your new vehicle and share the good news with him?"
"That would be great, but I need to get the
three guys putting up the hay and bring them back
here so they can have their lunch."
"Don't worry about it. If Mort isn't back by
11:30, I'll go get them for you. I've not had a
chance to get acquainted with any of them yet. Do
you think one of them might have the potential for
your old job?"
"I don't know. Maybe Michael, he's 21. John is
19. I don't think Pat could do it. He works hard,
but complains about things a little too quickly. We
may have to look outside the ranch unless there is
someone in either the cattle or horse operation that
knows about crops. Of course, I didn't know all that
much when I started here. Mort taught me everything
I know about the operation."
With that Marty shook hands again and said, "Don't
worry
about it. Since you'll still be here and can do that
job, as well as being General Manager, we don't have
to reach a decision anytime soon."
Marty walked back toward his house and Dale
headed into the office to call Craig.
"Hi Sweetie," he said when Craig answered (gosh
it felt good to call him that). "I've got to come
into town for a 1:30 meeting and wondered if you'd
like to go to lunch with me? I promise I'm not all
dusty or greasy."
"I don't care if you are, I'm only interested in
what's under the clothes anyway," Craig teased. He
went on to say, "You must be alone in the office."
"Yeah, Mort had a meeting and Marty just went
back to the house. I'm supposed to talk to Morris
Johnsmore so thought we might get a bite to eat
somewhere. I'll be at your office at noon, if that's
okay. I haven't seen the inside of it, anyway."
"Sounds fine to me. See you then. I love you,"
Craig said.
"I love you more, but we could argue about that all
day
without agreeing, couldn't we?"
"Yeah, but I could show you the ways," Craig teased.
"I'll see to it that you get a chance -
tonight," Dale said. "Bye."
"Bye," Craig said, hanging up.
* * * * *
Dale had some paperwork to approve for things, which
had
been purchased and delivered, and he needed to look
over the inventory of parts and supplies to see if
anything needed to be reordered. By the time he was
through in the office, Mort was back and Dale told
him that he would go get the guys in the field, but
someone would have to take them back after lunch
since he had to go meet Morris Johnsmore.
"That's not a problem. I brought my lunch
today, so I'll be here anyway. I haven't had a
chance to talk to any of these guys, so this might be
a good opportunity."
Dale headed out and decided to take one of the
farm pickups to get the guys. He didn't want to get
the inside of his new vehicle dirty before he had a
chance to show it to his lover.
* * * * *
When he got ready to leave to go into town, Mort
asked him to take care of some ranch errands for him
that afternoon. This was going to involve a trip to
the Co-op and the Farm and Ranch Hardware store plus
picking up some parts that had been repaired at a
local welding shop. There were also some other parts
to be repaired that needed to be dropped at the
welding shop.
It was 11:45 when he left the ranch as he had to
adjust
mirrors and his drivers seat. The Blazer seemed to
be fully equipped with front winch, 4-wheel drive,
air-conditioning and a good radio. It seemed strange
to be driving this vehicle where he was up high
rather than his Mustang, which was low to the ground.
He checked the gas gauge and there was a full tank of
gas.
Ten minutes later he pulled into the parking lot
at Craig's office. He had never been in the building
before and was anxious to see where his lover worked
and the equipment they had to facilitate their work.
Craig's car and another were in the lot. He assumed
it was Don's car and he was a little nervous, as he
had not met him before.
As he walked to the building, Craig saw him and
opened the door for him. "Is that a Bar-W vehicle?"
he asked.
With great pride, Dale said, "Yes, Marty bought it
for my
use and they delivered it this morning."
"Aren't you glad you didn't trade your Mustang
for a little pickup, then?"
"Certainly am, and the salesmen thinks he knows
someone who would be interested in my Mustang. Come
to find out it's a limited production model and the
guy wants to restore it."
As they walked into the office area, Craig hugged
Dale to
himself and gave him a kiss on the cheek. About that
time Don stuck his head around the corner of his
office and gave Craig and Dale a thumbs-up. He had
never seen Dale before and was impressed with what he
saw.
"Don, come out here and meet my friend, Dale."
The two men shook hands with each other, with
Don congratulating Dale on the promotion to his new
job.
"Thanks. I can't believe this has happened, but
it seems to be what the Williamson's want and I hope
I'm up for the job."
Don replied, "I can't think they would give you
a job you couldn't handle. They may own half of
Williamsport, but they are down to earth, honest and
as fair as the day is long."
"I know that. I just have to keep pinching
myself that all of this is real. It's all happened
so quickly without warning.
I had no idea Mort was thinking of retirement."
Craig spoke up. "I made reservations at the grill in
the
Cattleman's Hotel for 12:15, so we'd better be on our
way." "Okay, but I want to see your office
space."
"This will be a real quick tour. This is Don's
office, then mine is next to it and looks at lot like
it, except neater," he laughed. "We have a large
common work room where the computer equipment and
plotter is, then this is Sherry's office. She's our
bookkeeper and takes care of the business end of
things.
Then if we need to add more employees in the future,
we have a lease option on two more rooms next door.
They just have to put a door in at the end of the
hall."
Dale was impressed with the plotter, which was
drawing a
house plan on a sheet of paper that had to be at
least 3 feet square. He had never seen anything like
it.
They left for lunch, Dale proudly unlocking the
passenger door for Craig to get in. "Hey, guy, this
is nice. How long is it going to stay clean, being a
farm vehicle?"
"Mort keeps his vehicle clean. I guess we
really don't use them a lot except for ranch
business. When there is heavy, dirty work, we seem
to use the pickups or tractors for that. I was
really stunned that Marty bought me a new vehicle. I
hadn't even thought about that. If anything I guess
I thought I might get Mort's when he retired."
They rode down the street. "Hon, the main reason I'm
in
town other than running some errands for the ranch is
to meet with Morris Johnsmore after lunch. He's
going to explain my expense account and will give me
a company credit card to use. Marty said that he
would also explain my compensation package. Can you
believe that they are going to pay me $42,000 a year,
retroactive to the first of this month?"
"Hey, that's great. Now you earn more than I do,"
Craig
replied.
"That's not all. After the first of the year,
my salary goes to $52,000, plus year-end bonus and
profit sharing if it's a good year - and insurance
coverage, both life and health."
"Hon, that's not too shabby for a guy who was putting
himself down as being a dumb cowboy the other day.
I'm so proud of you, it's almost like a dream come
true for you." He grabbed Dale's hand and kissed it,
not worrying about people in other vehicles around
them.
Dale parked in front of the hotel grill and they
went in. Neither had been in the restaurant before
and were impressed with the nice fixtures. There
were no women in the grill and most of the men were
dressed like Dale and Craig, that being Levis and
chinos. They found out later that there was also a
formal dining room in the hotel where the men were
expected to wear coats and ties.
The host seated them, leaving menus for their
perusal. Shortly afterward their waiter arrived and
introduced himself as Bryan and asked if they would
like drinks.
Craig spoke up, "Yes, Bryan, bring us each a Bloody
Mary.
We're still looking at the menu."
"Yes sir," Bryan said and disappeared.
"I don't usually have a drink other than beer at
lunch, but this is a special occasion," Craig said.
"That's fine. It is a special occasion."
"Just being with you is a special occasion for me,"
Craig
said, his eyes dancing.
"Bryan was right back with their drinks and at
the same time a bus boy brought rolls and butter,
filling their water goblets.
"Have you gentlemen decided yet?" Bryan asked.
"No, your service is so prompt we haven't had a
chance to
look at the menu yet. Give us a few minutes."
Craig held up his glass, saying "Cheers" and Dale did
the
same.
They looked at the menu and Craig suggested they
might eat lightly, and then go somewhere really nice
for dinner to
celebrate their first week together and Dale's new
job.
Bryan returned. Dale ordered a Reuben sandwich
with a salad and Craig ordered a cheeseburger and
onion rings.
"Marty said that there is going to be a horse
show in Waco in three weeks and wants me to go with
Mort and Lee Baker, who's the manager of the horse
operation, and Marty. He said you could go along,
too, if you wanted." Dale giggled. "He said that
taking you was no different than the others guys
taking their wives."
"That's great. Ft. Worth and Dallas in two
weeks and Waco the week after that. That will give
us a chance to do some exploring, too. I can go, no
problem."
"They also said that I could expect to be out of
town on ranch business anywhere from 2 to four days a
month. I guess it depends on what's going on as to
your going, but I'll find out."
"Whatever works out for the ranch. If I can go,
I'd love
to, but it's not going to upset me if I can't."
Their food arrived about that time and they dug
into it like they were really hungry. They skipped
desert.
Craig insisted on paying the bill and they left the
restaurant. It was just 1 p.m.
"What do you think about swinging past the Bank
of Commerce and opening a checking account for
household expenses? Do you have time?"
"Yeah, it shouldn't take that long and I have my
checkbook with me, too."
Dale drove to the bank and they were able to
open an account without waiting. He and Craig each
wrote a check for $600 for their initial deposit.
They left the bank and Dale took Craig back to
his office. There were no other cars in the parking
lot and Craig insisted on a "real kiss" this time,
which left them both gasping for breath and just a
little plump in the dick department.
As Craig got out of Dale's car, he said, "Bye lover.
See
you at home a little later. Will you be pretty much
on time?" "Should be able to get away from the
ranch about 5:30, so
should be home at 5:45 or so."
"Okay, I'll make dinner reservations for us so we can
go
celebrate, okay?"
"Sounds great to me," Dale said as Craig shut the
door.
* * * * *
He arrived at Morris Johnsmore's office just at
1:30 and the receptionist sent Dale right in to see
him.
Morris stood up as Dale entered his office and
walked across to the door to greet Dale.
"Dale, it's good to see you again.
Congratulations on your promotion to Mort's job.
>From what Marty and Martin have said, they are
thrilled you've accepted."
"Thank you, Mr. Johnsmore."
"Dale, the name is Morris. Mr.
Johnsmore was my grandfather," he
laughed.
"Okay," Dale replied.
"By the way, it was good to see you at church
yesterday morning. Was that your first time to
attend a service there?"
"Yes, I really enjoyed it. There is so much
reverence in
the ceremony and ritual and the music was especially
grand."
"We think we have a great combination with Fr.
George and
Paul making their contributions to the church.
Certainly our membership is increasing."
"I'm anxious to learn more as to what
everything is about. I was invited to attend an
'Inquirers Class' and I think I'll do so."
Morris laughed, "Well, there's no obligation on
your part, but I think about 97 percent of the
people who go through that class end up being
members."
He motioned for Dale to sit on a chair in front
of his desk
and they went over the records Dale would be expected
to have in order to be reimbursed for out of pocket
expenses for the ranch and how to fill out the weekly
report. He gave Dale a temporary MasterCard for the
ranch.
"I've ordered one which will have both your name
and the BarW name on it, but this will work fine until
it arrives. I'll
send it out as soon as I get it."
Morris showed Dale where to enter items charged
on the report, and told him to make sure he signed the
folder each week when he sent it in. He stressed that
the report was to filed
each week regardless of reporting expenses or not.
"The Blazer was purchased for your usage, Dale,
so feel free to drive it even on personal business.
There is an IRS guideline about using company
vehicles for personal use, but the reason you are
being given a car is so that you can respond
immediately if you are needed at the ranch. You need
to get a cell phone to carry for the same reason. Go
to Southwestern Bell Mobile this afternoon and fill
out the paperwork. Just have the bill sent to my
office. Here's a card with the mailing address.
"Now we need to talk about your benefits. The
ranch carries both life and health insurance on you.
We need to fill out some paperwork to get the process
started. The health insurance is standard deductible
with major medical and the life insurance will be
equal to two-and-a-half times your annual wage, which
will be $130 thousand dollars. I realize you won't
get that until the first of the year, but we'll fill
the application out for that amount now. Do you have
a beneficiary to designate for this?
Dale was a little hesitant in answering. "Is it
okay if I put my best friend on it? I don't have any
relatives."
"Sure, not a problem."
"Then I'd like to designate Craig Bastian."
"Okay. Do you know his Social Security Number?"
"No."
"Why don't you use my phone and call him. That will
just
speed up the paperwork."
Dale called Craig and got the number, writing it down
and
handing it to Morris.
"Now, Dale, do you have any other questions about
your
expenses or benefits?
"Yes, we're supposed to go to a horse show in
Waco in about 3 weeks. My friend, Craig, will be
going with me. Eerrr. what about. how do we.?"
"Oh, I see. Well, Dale, any expenses you incur
for both of you are part of the ranch expenses. So,
that includes hotel rooms, meals and any entertaining
that you might do, such as buying drinks for a group
of people at the show. Craig is treated the same as
Marty's wife or the spouse of any other man."
Dale could feel himself getting red. "Okay, I
just didn't
want to do anything wrong."
Well, if you have any questions, just call me.
I'll be more than happy to help you out. By the way,
since you are on a different salary schedule now, you
will be paid every other week instead of weekly. Is
it going to be a problem for you to adjust to that
schedule?"
"No, I have money in savings and not too many
bills to pay." "Fine, just didn't want to cause
you a problem." With that
he stood, indicating the meeting was over.
* * * * *
Dale ran the errands for the ranch, picking up
the stuff on Mort's list and dropping off parts to be
repaired. It seemed that the news of Mort's
retirement was getting around town quickly as several
people congratulated Dale on his promotion and wished
him well in his new position.
After he picked up his cell-phone he decided to
call Craig to see how it worked and was amazed at the
clarity of sound. It
wasn't any different than talking on a regular phone.
"Hi Love," he said when Craig answered the
phone.
"Hi Love, yourself," he replied. It felt so
good to be able to call Dale that.
"I had to bother you so I could check how my
cell phone works and give you the number. I have a
holster so I can carry it on my belt." Craig wrote
down the number and put it in his billfold, thinking
that it would be easy to memorize.
"I was just thinking about you. Should I call
the two women about the sale of your household items?
I think we need to find out their schedule and see if
they can work you in before your possession date.
Don gave the realtor his permission to draw up a
contract for the sale so we can talk about that
tonight if you want to."
"Yeah, that would be great. I don't know what
to tell them, but guess I can meet with them about
any time. It seems that Mort gets away with personal
business during the day, but I'll have to ask him
about that."
"I'll call now. Maybe they will have some time
to talk to both of us this week."
"Sounds great. Do what you need to do and I'll
be there." "Will do as soon as we hang up. I
love you," Craig said. "Love you, too, Hon.
Bye," Dale replied.
* * * * *
By this time Dale was back at the ranch and
hauled his purchases into the office so they could be
put away. Marty drove in right behind him, having
come from Craig's office to pickup the plans for the
new quarters for the men.
"Do you have a minute, Dale? I want you to look at
these
plans with me and see what your ideas are."
"Sure, be glad to."
Marty spread them out and they stood in front of
the desk to look at them. There was a full basement,
which would have a bathroom with a large shower
enclosure. If the guys were really dirty, they could
come in the kitchen door and right down the stairs to
the basement to clean up. The rest of the room was
to be left largely unfinished, although the furnace
and airconditioning equipment would be in it's own
room and there would be space next to the bathroom
for a washer and dryer.
"There will be plenty of room for exercise
equipment. The stuff in the loft of this building
can be put down here," Marty said.
"I have a bench and some weights at my house that
I'll be
glad to contribute. There is no place for them at
our condo and the guys living here might as well have
the benefit if they want to use them," Dale told him.
Marty flipped the page to the first floor
layout.
"Okay, here's a large bedroom that is 15 x 30
feet. It has two large closets in the middle to
separate the room into two semi-private areas. There
is plenty of room for a double or queen-size bed, a
chest, TV cart and easy chair. It's not overly
large, but should be more comfortable than where they
are living now. The bathroom is right off this room
and can be accessed from the bedroom or common room.
"The kitchen has room for a refrigerator, four
burner stove, microwave, double sink and storage for
both food and cookware. There is a counter at one end
where the guys can either stand or sit on bar stools.
Right off the kitchen, in the common room is room for
a dining table, which can seat six people. The
common room isn't overly large, but if the guys want
to play cards they can sit at the table. There's
room for a TV and a couple of sofas. If anyone has
stereo equipment, there's room for that, too. The
stairway goes up from the front door. There is also
an outside entrance to the kitchen and the stairway
to the basement goes down from there."
"On the second floor, there are two bedrooms the
size of the
one on the first floor and the bathrooms are
duplicated, one accessible from each bedroom."
"Looks like Craig has thought of everything and it's
compact, but still roomy enough," Dale said.
"Well, it's not fancy but practical and it will
be up to the guys to keep it clean. I think it
should be up to you to inspect it every couple of
weeks to make sure they are doing that and that there
isn't any damage. If someone is abusing their
privilege of living here, then they are subject to be
fired. Are you okay with that?" Marty asked.
"Sure am. I was going to suggest something of
that sort myself. In fact, I think it would be a
good idea to have them sign something like an
agreement that states that fact. If they don't want
to sign they don't live there."
"Okay. I'm going to call Ray this afternoon and
see when we can get started on this project. Craig
said he hadn't made any changes since Ray picked up
plans on Friday, so he should have had time to put
some cost figures together."
"It's possible that we could use some of our own
men to help build this, depending on our crop
schedule. If you want to use them, I'll schedule
their work to accommodate that," Dale said.
"That might work. Let me find out what Ray has
in mind for
manpower."
"Okay. Just let me know what's needed," Dale
answered.
* * * * *
Dale realized that he didn't know how the work
was going where the men were working that afternoon.
Mort hadn't left a note and they could be done and
sitting there waiting for someone to pick them up.
He made a mental note that in the future the guys
should have a vehicle available where they were
working in case someone got hurt and needed immediate
transportation to a hospital or doctor. He also
thought that other cell phones should be purchased
and kept with each crew, for the same reason. He'd
have to talk to Mort, Lee and Sam about that. It
seemed to him that they were taking a risk with the
employee's well being.
He got in the farm pickup in front of the barn
and headed to
the hay barn that was several miles away.
It was a good thing he had thought of them
because they were within a hundred bales of getting
the hay put away. The three guys were working
without shirts and Dale couldn't help but notice that
they were all hunks. He didn't think he had hired
them with that in mind, but they all looked good. Of
course he wasn't about to hit on any of them. After
all, Craig was HIS MAN and they had chosen each
other. He knew that Craig felt the same about him.
However, Dale couldn't help but wonder if these
guys played around with each other. He wasn't about
to admit to them that he was gay. That really wasn't
any of their business and nothing would be gained by
them having that knowledge. At least that's what he
thought, then.
Dale greeted the guys as he got out of the
pickup. He indicated that they could stop working to
take a short break. They welcomed the chance to get a
drink of cold water.
"How's the project coming along?" Dale
asked.
Michael was in charge of the crew. "Okay,
we're within. probably 45 minutes of finishing up
storing bales."
"Great, how much space is left?" Dale asked.
"There's enough space in the loft to get it all up
there,
but it's going to be full."
"That's about what I figured when we hauled it
down here. We didn't get quite as many bales this
crop, but we didn't have as much rain as usual,
either."
About this time, they heard the engine driving
the conveyor belt start up again. Pat was loading
bales off the wagon and John was hauling them into
place in the loft.
"Guess I'd better get up and help John. It's
easier if two
of us are up there."
"That's fine, Michael. I'll come back to get
you in about 45 minutes. The three of you have done
good work today."
With that Dale got back in the pickup and
Michael crawled up to help John.
* * * * *
Coach Paul Dennison was still in a bad mood when
he got to school on Monday morning. His first action
was to demand to see the principal. Melissa Howry,
his secretary, told Paul that he was in a meeting,
but that she would call his office as soon as the
meeting was over.
As he left the office, without saying as much as a
"thank
you", she had to stifle her giggle. She knew what he
wanted to see the principal about. She also wasn't a
fan of the coach and thought the Saturday morning
discovery was probably well deserved. But, she
couldn't figure out why Eddie Thompson was the other
victim.
The meeting broke up within five minutes and
several teachers left to go to their first classes.
She went to Mr. Tate's door to tell him that Coach
Dennison wanted to see him.
"Oh, what a great way to start my day. Guess I
might as
well get this over with, although I don't think there
is much I can do about it."
Melissa smiled. The principal started laughing
and then they laughed together. "There are times he
gets over-sold on himself, aren't there?" he asked.
"He's been that way ever since he came to
Austin. He always has winning teams, but he's
awfully overbearing and the kids really are more than
a little afraid of him. He thinks it's a sign of
respect. If he only knew," she said.
"Yes, I have to agree with that. He needs an
intensive course in temper management. Sometimes
verbal abuse is worse than actually laying a hand on
a student."
"What time do you want to see him? I'll check his
schedule."
"Let's get it over with. I don't have anything
pressing and we might as well get this done early.
Maybe that will head off him losing his temper in
front of a class."
Melissa checked and the coach had second period
free. She called his office to tell him and relayed
his acceptance of a meeting to the principal.
* * * * *
Jason was having a good day. He had pop tests
in math and history and he got a perfect on each. In
English they were studying the parts of speech and
correct sentence structure.
They were also studying the difference in wording
between British and American English. Jason was
fascinated with the different words for simple
things; petrol for gasoline, bonnet for car hood,
boot for car trunk, telly for television and other
simple words in common usage. To him, this was more
interesting than trying to learn Spanish or French.
It was time for his last period, Phys Ed and he
was looking forward to it as they were going to play
soccer. He had his clean gym clothes in his backpack
and dropped it off at his locker, taking the sack
with the gym uniform. Coach Thompson was standing at
the door telling them to get their gear on and
handing out yellow, blue, white and red jerseys for
the boys to wear. This divided the class into four
teams. Eddie had learned a long time ago not to
allow the boys to choose their own teams. All the
good kids ended up on two teams and the ones who
didn't have skills ended up on the others. By
handing them out in the order the boys came in, the
problem was usually solved.
Of course, the last two to arrive were the Riley
twins. The thought hadn't occurred to him, but
seeing those two boys made him wonder if his clamping
down on them last week had anything to do with the
"sack of shit" on his front steps. He didn't know if
they would try anything like that themselves, but
he'd heard of some of the escapades their older
brothers had been in.
He laughed to himself. He wasn't upset about what
had
happened. It was a stunt that had failed because the
perpetrators either didn't know what they were doing,
or left things the way they were for a joke. It was
Paul Dennison who had made a big issue out of it. He
wasn't smart enough to keep his mouth shut, so
between him and the cop, Jerry Pennington, the word
had gotten around Williamsport pretty quickly what
had happened on the coaches front porch. In fact, if
Eddie and Tom hadn't told their neighbor - who had a
big mouth - about it, no one in town would have known
they had received a gift, too.
Eddie was smart enough to keep his mouth shut.
Things had a way for working around to where the
truth would be revealed without a lot of effort on
his part.
It was time to be on the soccer field. He walked
back in
the dressing rooms to check and there were only three
boys who were still changing clothes. One was Chris
Baar, who was just slow and the other two were the
Riley twins.
"Come on, guys, let's get this show on the road.
We've got two matches to play today and time is
slipping by."
Chris was ready and ambled to the door. The Riley
twins
were just starting to get undressed. Eddie knew that
if he pushed them, they would just cause more
problems for the other boys.
"You have two minutes to get your scrawny little
butts on the field. The choice is yours. Either you
are on the field and ready to play in two minutes or
I'll send you to the detention study hall.
The boys scowled. They didn't want to try to
learn to play soccer because their older brothers,
Pete and Donald, thought it was a 'sissy' game. They
decided that the study hall was more to their liking.
They just sat there, looking defiantly at the coach.
"Okay, fine. I'll call the office to have
someone come get you. I hope you realize that you
have to have a Phys. Ed credit this year in order to
be sixth graders next year. He started to write a
slip for the boys to be admitted to detention.
Larry spoke up. "Why do you always pick on us?
We didn't do anything."
"That's the reason you are being 'picked on' as
you like to call it. You HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING!!
You can either act like part of this class or you can
stay by yourselves in detention and let everyone else
have fun today. It's your choice, guys. Not mine!"
"But nobody likes us," whined Jerry.
"Have either of you ever tried to get along
with the other boys instead of trying to bully them
and mistreat them?" Eddie asked. He was getting
tired of this. They were holding up the class and he
shouldn't have to be the one to baby them.
"This class is hard. You make us do push-ups and sit-
ups
and try to climb a dumb rope. We shouldn't have to
do that," Larry said, sounding like he was on the
verge of tears.
"Okay guys, no detention today. I'm sending you
to the school counselor. He is better equipped to
deal with you than I am." With that he tore up the
note he'd started to write and started on a fresh
sheet. While he was writing, he called the office to
ask that they send someone to escort the Riley twins
to the counselor's office. They had wasted at least
5 minutes of class time today. There was no excuse
for that in his book.
By the time he got his note written, an office aide
was
there to get the boys and take them to the
administration area. Eddie was seething by the
time he got outside, but realized
that it wasn't the other kids fault. He quickly
organized the four teams and got them started
playing. This was a match to help the boys develop
skills, and he watched both matches
carefully, blowing his whistle to stop the play and
give the boys pointers where they were needed.
The class period passed quickly and he sent the boys
from
one match back to the locker room so he would have a
chance to work with the others a little longer, and
to avoid congestion in the shower room. The rest of
the boys were well behaved and needed little
supervision.
It ended up that Jason, Tim and John were
getting ready to shower at the same time and were in
the same area to take off their gym clothes. John
was well into puberty and starting to develop a
pretty good fringe of hair above his cock. Jason was
jealous, but had discovered the other day that he had
a few hairs, too, although being lighter colored they
didn't show up very well.
Tim was admiring both Jason and John and proudly
showed them a couple of hairs above his little cock,
too.
They finished stripping off their gym clothes
and headed to the showers. By the time they were
finished, the other boys had come in from the field.
Eddie Thompson announced that the jerseys they
had worn today should go in their equipment basket,
as they would be on the same teams until the semester
break.
Jason was pleased with the class today. He had
played soccer on two summer leagues and knew a few
moves that some of the others on his team didn't know
about. He was the acknowledged leader of the red
team as his skills were a little better than the
others.
* * * * *
Meanwhile, Kevin was finishing his day of
school. The third grade class was starting to learn
about vowels, consonants, nouns and other parts of
speech in English. The math lessons were centered on
memorizing addition, subtraction, multiplication and
division tables. They would get to fractions a
little later in the year. School wasn't as easy for
Kevin as for Jason, but he knew he could depend on
Jase to help him understand. For this reason, his
grades were high and he was considered an honor
student, getting high marks on his tests. His mind
was quick and he readily memorized math tables.
* * * * *
Craig's meeting with Marty was short as they
went over the plans together and there seemed to be
no questions as to how the house was going to be
built. Marty told said, "I'm going to have Dale look
at these when I get back to the ranch to see if he
has any suggestions."
"I haven't shown these to him. Didn't even
think about it," Craig answered.
"Well as General Manager of the Bar-W he should
have a say, don't you think?" queried Marty.
"Oh definitely. I think the more you can
involve him in stuff like this the quicker it's going
to be for him to see that you trust him and value his
opinion."
"He seems to be reluctant about his, doesn't he?"
asked
Marty.
"We had a long talk last night about this and I
think he feels a lot better about everything that's
happening in his life right now. You realize that he
really raised himself while growing up and didn't
have any role models to emulate except maybe some
teachers. The family didn't have much and I think
his mother resented Dale because he reminded her of
his father and of the love she never had."
"Craig, I think you came along at a time when
Dale needs to build self-confidence. You are going
to be good for him to rely on and see him through
this transition in his life. I can see him starting
to bloom a little bit already, so keep up the good
work," Marty said.
"Thanks, Marty. He's a super guy. he just
doesn't realize
his potential."
"Marty, can I ask you something personal?"
"Sure, but I might not answer it," he said, his eyes
twinkling.
"It's unusual for a man like yourself to be so
accepting of gay men and supportive of Dale's and my
relationship. I think we are very fortunate to count
you and your family among our friends. I. unn. guess
I'm. wondering why?"
"As I said yesterday, my best friend from
college is gay and we keep in fairly close contact
with each other. He and his lover come to
Williamsport to visit a couple of times a year and
Chris and I have stayed at their house several times
when we were in Houston. He's. or they. are no
different than any of our other friends. Just two
men who love and respect each other."
"Okay. I was just curious," Craig said.
Marty silently congratulated himself on having a
ready
answer that was true.
They shook hands and Marty headed back to the ranch.
* * * * *
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.