Date: Thu, 20 Mar 2003 08:51:48 EST
From: Tulsadriller7@aol.com
Subject: Tales from the Ranch, Chapter 36/?

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 2003 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 36:  The Aftermath
     Word traveled like wildfire in Williamsport that evening.
Those who had missed the 5 p.m. news were tuned to channel 36 for
the 6 o'clock news.  It would be safe to say that 90% of the
homes Williamsport were watching TV at the time the lead story
was repeated.
     Dale and Craig received a call from Tom Bryant before Bret
Junior's parents arrived at their house.  He called from their
bedroom and hastily explained the turn of events and told them to
watch the lead story.  They seldom watched TV, but that evening
all three of them, Dale, Craig and Joey were anxiously awaiting
the story they had been promised.  Needless to say, all three
were stunned even though Tom had given them the background.
     "Who would have ever thought that bastard was molesting
children?" Dale questioned to no one in particular as they were
watching the story unfold.
     "That's sick," Craig said.  "It's people like him who give
gay people a bad name."
     "I wonder if he's really gay?" Dale questioned.  "I mean,
I've heard that many times a pedophile isn't gay, they just like
young children.  Some like boys, some like girls and some like
both."
     "Oh, I love that - an equal opportunity pedophile," Craig
laughed.
     Dale and Joey joined in.
     "There was a man in Houston who was that way.  He only liked
boys, though, but he kept them as prisoners, and then killed
them.  When they caught him, they found he had buried 8 young
boys in his backyard," Joey told them.
     "Geez, I hope that hasn't happened here," Dale said.
     The 6 o'clock news started and for those who had seen the
story at 5 p.m., it was a repeat of the tape aired earlier,
however, the anchor, Ann Blake, had some additional news to
report.
     "It is reported that the Williamsport Police Department has
taken the Reverend Jimmy Bob Jones into custody for his own
protection.  Shortly after this story broke on our 5 p.m. news, a
large group of angry citizens gathered on the minister's lawn.
He was afraid for his own safety, so called the police for
protection.  He is now behind bars at the Williamsport Police
Department.  A contact at the jail has reported that he has also
confessed to molesting at least 9 other young boys."
     Again, the three men looked at each other in disbelief.
     * * * * *
     With the last report that Rev. Jimmy Bob was in custody, the
angry crowd moved to the Williamsport Police Department and was
joined by more and more people as the story circulated, facts
being embellished with "eye witness" reports that, of course,
weren't true.
     The story didn't end there.  A few enterprising protesters
ended up on the front lawn at the Jenkins' home.  The family had
gone to Tony D's for pizza, then came home to find ten protesters
at their house.
     Brett Senior ended up making his own call to the
Williamsport Police Department, and two reserve officers were
sent to see that the crowd stayed calm and didn't do any damage.
     The unfortunate thing was that Brett Senior was only guilty
by association and that Brett Junior was a victim of the
minister.  Regardless, it was a traumatic happening in the lives
of that family and the younger children didn't understand what
was going on, except that their father was being yelled at by the
people and they were using swear words.  By 8 o'clock the group
had dwindled to two people and they soon left as they felt they
had no support.
     By 8:30 p.m. the crowd at the Police Department had gone
home, too.  Many really didn't even know why they were there.  It
was just something to do to pass time, although they could say
they were part of a historical event in Williamsport.
     * * * * *
     Father George Tikker and Paul Rathborne fielded a number of
telephone calls that evening.  Most were reporters from various
media services wanting quotes.  They finally took the telephone
off the hook, although the priest was reluctant to do so, hoping
a parishioner didn't have an emergency he needed to tend to.
     By 9 p.m. a group of about 15 gay men and women had gathered
at the St. James rectory.  All had tried to call to talk to Fr.
George, mainly for assurance.  They felt betrayed by Rev. Jimmy
Bob even though he wasn't "one of them".  However, they all
seemed to sense that the gay community was going to take the heat
for something they weren't part of and, of course, didn't
condone.
     It was almost as if they were there to conduct a silent wake
for a loved one, this time the victims of Rev. Jimmy Bob.
     * * * * *
     Marlene Jones, Rev. Jimmy Bob's wife (in name only) was at
her lovers' apartment.  His last class was over at 3 p.m. so he
went home from Western Junior College.  Marlene had gone to his
place earlier in the day to clean, do his laundry and cook a meal
for him.  They each thought they were getting the best of deals.
He was getting a good fuck and maid service all for simply
servicing the maid.  She was getting a great deal because he was
someone she could at least talk to instead of listening to all
the pious self-righteous garbage her "husband" spouted forth.
She could never understand what he was all about, but he left her
alone.  She had spending money, a nice car and freedom to do
pretty much as she pleased, and all for showing up at various
church functions and pretending to be his adoring wife.
     If his congregation only knew.  Well, they soon would.
     Although there was a television in Scott McKown's apartment,
he seldom turned it on.  He and Marlene had spent about 2 hours
in bed that afternoon, and then she prepared his favorite dinner
of pork chops with dressing.  He checked some of his student's
work while she worked in the kitchen.  After they ate about 7
p.m., they took another tumble between the sheets, then she went
home.
     Although Rev. Jimmy Bob's car was in the garage, he wasn't
around.  That wasn't too unusual as sometimes people would pick
him up on their way to an evening meeting, then drive him back
home.  Of course, the crowd was no longer at their house; they
had gone to the Police Department, then disbursed from there.
     The telephone was ringing when she entered the house, so she
answered it.  One of the church members was calling for Rev.
Jimmy Bob.  Of course Marlene didn't know where he was, but the
person was persistent    He identified himself as a member of
Victory Temple.  Of course, Marlene knew Riley Boyd and his wife,
Lois.
     "We just wanted to know if the story on the news at five and
6 p.m. was true," he said.
     "I'm sorry, I don't know what you are talking about,"
Marlene said, telling the truth.
     "I have a hard time believing that.  It was in the newspaper
this morning and then the additional stories on channel 36 at
both 5:00 and 6:00 p.m.," he said.
     Again, Marlene didn't know what to make of the questions.
     "I'm. sorry." she said, hesitating about what to say next.
She was afraid to say anything more because he was in his room,
she guessed asleep, when she arrived home from Scott's apartment
the evening before.  She had slept late this morning, then went
back to Scott's to clean and cook."  So, she honestly hadn't seen
Rev. Jimmy Bob since they had come back from Sunday dinner at
another member's house.
     Victory Temple had a youth meeting on Sunday evening, but
the congregation only met one Sunday evening a month for a
covered dish dinner.  They usually had a short prayer meeting
before that dinner.  She had been at Scott's apartment again on
Sunday evening, going there after Bret Jenkins, Sr. picked her
husband up about 6 p.m.
     She was afraid to say anything more without knowing what was
going on, as she was afraid she might betray herself.
     "Well, I can see that you're ashamed to talk about it.  I
would be, too, if I was in your shoes," Riley said, and then hung
up the telephone.
     Now, Marlene was afraid.  He husband wasn't home; she'd
received a strange telephone call about a newspaper article and
television news story.  She went into the kitchen to retrieve the
bottle of gin she kept hidden in the lower kitchen cabinet,
behind pots and pans she seldom used.  About the only cooking she
did was at Scott's apartment.
     While she was fixing herself a drink, she saw the morning
paper lying on the kitchen counter.  There was Jimmy Bob's
picture, along with Bret Jenkins, Senior.  She read with interest
the account of the previous evenings happening.  Okay, that
solved one mystery, but what had happened that there was a story
on television?  While she was standing there, wondering whom to
call that could give her the information she sought, the
telephone rang again.
     "Hello."
     "Is that dirty scum, the pervert there?" the voice asked.
     Marlene was so shaken by that, she hung up the phone without
replying.
     She immediately punched in Scott's number.
     "Hello," Scott answered.  He was annoyed because he didn't
like the telephone continually interrupting him.
     "Scott, this is Marlene.  Something strange is going on here
and I don't know what it is."  She read the newspaper article to
him, then told him that there had been something on the news
earlier in the evening.  "Do you have anyone you can call and see
if you can find out anything?"
     "Yeah, babe, for you.  Let me make a couple of phone calls
and I'll call you back."
     "Scott."
     "Yes?"
     "I'm afraid to answer the phone, so let it ring twice and
hang up.  I'll call you back."
     "Okay, babe," he replied.
     They hung up.  Scott looked a number up in the Williamsport
telephone book, then pushed the numbers.
     "Yeah?" the voice answered.
     "Todd, it's Scott McKown."
     "Hey bud, how's it hangin'?"
     "To the left, as always."  They both laughed.
     "Hey Todd, do you know anything about Rev. Jimmy Bob Jones,
other than what was in the paper this morning?"
     "Ah, man, you don't go to that loser's church, do you?"
     "No, I just heard that there was a story about him on the
evening news."
     "Man, you must be the only person in Williamsport that
doesn't know about what happened today."
     "Guess, I must be, 'cause I don't have a clue," Scott
replied.
     "Well, it seems that the Reverend got caught with his pants
down, literally.  He was naked and was diddling with a little 10-
year old boy.  The cat that wrote the article in the morning
Austin paper went to his church to interview him before noon.
Guess the Reverend thought he'd left, but the guy got suspicious
and went back inside.  Saw what was going on and called the
police.  They sent two officers out to the church and caught them
red-handed.  He was arrested and taken to the jail.  Guess some
guy from his congregation put up the bail and took him home.
     "Seems people got wind of what had happened and a bunch
gathered on his lawn.  Ol' Jimmy Bob got scared and called for
police protection.  Guess he confessed to molesting at least 9
other little boys, so he's back in jail tonight, mainly for his
own protection."
     "No shit?" Scott questioned.  He was dreading having to tell
Marlene this, but knew that she probably wouldn't care, anyway.
     "Thanks, fella.  I appreciate the information.  Bye."
     He hung up, not wanting to try to explain why he was
interested in Jimmy Bob's activities.
     Scott called Marlene, let the telephone ring twice, and then
hung up.  She immediately called him back.
     Scott told Marlene what he had learned.  By this time she
was starting on her third drink and losing her usual guarded
inhibitions.
     "Jesus Christ, are you sure about this, Scott?"
     "The guy had no reason to lie to me."
     "Oh, this is rich.  A 10-year old boy."
     "Boys," Scott corrected her.  "At least TEN boys."
     Marlene was laughing up a storm.  "This is hilarious.  Here
I am, the perfect preacher's wife, married to a big fat slob who
rants and raves on and on about homosexuals, condemning them to
hell - and he, himself, must be one.  What is it they call guys
like him?  Oh yeah.  A pedophile!!"  More laughter.
     Scott was wondering what was going on.  He figured that
Marlene must be tipsy because she sometimes sounded this way
after a couple glasses of wine.  Sometimes they would drink white
wine with a meal because she said that wine made her horny.  He
wondered how much wine she'd had and if she was horny again this
evening.  He'd already screwed her twice today.  Maybe he'd have
another chance.  The thought gave him an erection.
     "Scotty, sweetie, I think I'm getting drunk."
     "What are you drinking?"
     "Gin."
     "How much have you had?" he asked.
     "Just three - little ones, though."
     "Are you okay?"
     "I'm just happy. that's all."
     "Well."
     She interrupted him.  "I'm afraid to stay by myself and I
don't think I can drive.  Can you come stay with me?"
     Scott's first thought was that he shouldn't, but Jimmy Bob
was in jail, so it should be okay.
     "Sure, I'll be over in a few minutes."
     * * * * *
     Scott parked his Acura on the driveway.  He'd never been in
the Jones' house before and went to the front door.  Marlene let
him in after he rang the bell.  They weren't very careful and
embraced, then kissed each other before the door was shut.
     There were eyes in the night.  A cell phone call was placed
to a contact at the police department, asking for a car tag
number to be traced.  The car belonged to Scott Thomas Boyd, age
25, address in the Four Winds Apartment complex.  The contact
knew that he was an instructor of computer science at the junior
college.
     * * * * *
     Tom and Eddie were in their kitchen preparing dinner for
just the two of them.  They had thought earlier that Bret Junior
might be staying with them for a longer period of time so Tom had
gone to the grocery store to get the few things he didn't have on
hand to make a special meal for them and their guest.  They were
going to have beef stroganoff with buttered noodles, Fordhook
lima beans and squash pudding.  They would start the meal with a
tossed salad and have pineapple upside down cake for dessert.
     Tom had sliced the meat and shelled the beans earlier, so
the rest of the preparation took little time.  This gave them a
chance to visit.
     "Were you really serious about taking in a troubled teen to
work with?" Eddie asked.
     "I think we could do it.  We've counseled several teens,
three of which were victims of Jimmy Bob Jones.  We didn't get
much beyond the real problem because the parents were reluctant
to either confront him or file charges against him."
     "We might contact the Children's Welfare Service and offer
to meet with them to see if we could help," Eddie said.
     "Should we contact the people here, or one of the larger
cities?" Tom asked.
     "I know the fellow in Houston, because he came to talk to me
a couple of times about students in my gym class.  He was trying
to put a profile together and find a willing home to accept a boy
who thought he was gay, but having a hard time dealing with it.
He refused to take his clothes off to take a shower because he
was afraid he'd spring a boner, then the other boys would make
fun of him.
     "He seemed to have a contact with a judge who was
understanding and tried to always place a boy with the
appropriate role models, even if they were gay men or lesbians.
He felt that the children needed an understanding ear rather than
be put in a home where they would be frustrated because they
received no help or counseling." Eddie replied.
     "Sounds good to me, but we'd have to have an understanding
that we're 200 miles from Houston and can't be running back and
forth all the time.  I think we could provide good support here
with the church, a small town that is friendly and there are
plenty of wholesome things to do here.  Maybe we could make
arrangements through Dale to use the horses at the Bar-W and have
some activities there," Tom remarked.
     "Well, I think we could do it.  The town is small enough
that a boy should be able to make friends easily and we could
both be involved with whatever the boy needed, like help from a
psychologist," Eddie said.
     They talked through dinner and decided that Eddie would call
his friend to see what they had to do and what would expected if
they made an offer to take a young boy.
     * * * * *
     Dale, Craig and Joey had managed to get their plans together
for their next trip to Houston.  Dale had talked to Jay
McCormick, who told him of a realtor that handled property in
that price range and neighborhood.  He also gave Dale the names
of two companies who handled estate sales.  One was a small
company and the other was two individuals like he'd had to handle
his sale.
     Dale made appointments with the other people for Wednesday
afternoon.  The realtor would meet them at 1 p.m. and the other
two appointments were scheduled for 2:30 and 4 p.m.
     Craig put the speakerphone on the kitchen counter and the
three men sat on bar stools around it.
     Frank Bastian answered the telephone.
     "Hi Dad," Craig said
     "Craig, we were wondering if we'd hear from you this
evening.  Sounds like you guys have had some excitement in
Williamsport.  Were you involved with this so-called minister at
all?  There was an article in the Dallas paper this morning, then
we saw a little more on the 6 o'clock news."
     In the meantime, Doris had picked up an extension phone.
     "Hi Craig.  Are all of you boys on the phone?"
     "Yeah, Mom and Dad, we're in the kitchen on the
speakerphone."
     All five of them exchanged greetings, Doris and Frank making
sure that they said hello to Joey and got a response from him.
     "To answer your question, we were at the meeting on Sunday
night when they were spying on those arriving for the meeting.
Then later Dale helped take the boy home. Bret Jenkins, Junior.
He was the one who tried to warn us.  His father tried to punch
Dale.  He grabbed the boy's father by the wrist and broke his
arm."
     "Good for you, Dale," Doris Bastian replied.
     Frank echoed his approval.
     Dale spoke up.  "We didn't know that there was any further
development to the story until a friend called earlier and told
us to watch the evening news.  It sure is a big mess," he added.
     "Grandma, grandpa, you should have been here.  They had two
police cars with all their lights flashing and they pulled the
two guys out of the minivan at gunpoint."  Joey was excited that
he'd been part of the evening's happenings.
     "That sounds serious," Frank said.
     Craig laughed.  "It was kind of funny.  I'll bet those two
guys were scared shitless. sorry didn't mean to use that word."
     "It's a valid word, it's in the dictionary," Doris laughed,
and then all of them joined in.
     "Have you decided anything more about Houston?" Frank asked.
     "Yes, we have appointments with a realtor at 1 p.m. on
Wednesday, then at 2:30 and 4 o'clock we're to meet people about
having a sale for us.  So, we plan to drive down, leaving
Williamsport early on Wednesday morning," Dale explained.
     "That will work for us," Frank said.  Why don't we meet you
there around 11 o'clock, then we can have lunch together before
you meet the realtor," Frank told them.
     "That should work okay," Craig answered.
     "Oh, you need the address, don't you?" Dale questioned.
     "That might help," Doris said.  "I have a pen and paper."
     "It's 2807 Trout Street," Joey said.  "The phone number is
713-555-2847."
     "Take I-45 to the Tidwell exit, go east past the Hardy Toll
Road to Jensen Drive, about a mile, make a left turn and Trout
Street is about the fourth left turn.  If you cross Shady Lane,
you've gone too far, " Dale said.
     "That sounds easy enough," Frank said, writing it down
himself.
     "We thought we could get the things packed up that we want
to bring back to Williamsport, then leave Houston sometime early
Thursday afternoon.  We're bringing a pickup from the ranch as
well as my Blazer," Dale explained.
     "Then, if one of you can drive Joe's Oldsmobile back to
Williamsport for us, that solves the problem of transporting it,"
Dale said.
     "Not a problem," Frank told them.
     "Grandma and Grandpa, there's a bedroom you can sleep in
while we're in Houston, then you can sleep in my room here at the
apartment.  I can sleep on the sleeper bed in the living room."
     "That's nice of you, Joey, but we can either sleep there or
stay in a motel," Doris told him."
     Craig interrupted.  "No need to do that, we'll work
something out.  That divan in the living room pulls out into a
queen-size bed.  It seems to be comfortable, although I've not
slept there."
     "We don't want to be any trouble, because we know that all
of you are busy, so we can look after ourselves," Doris told
them.
     "Actually," Dale said, "we were hoping maybe you could stay
until Sunday.  Craig and I would appreciate a few cooking tips
and I'm sure Joey would like to learn about your magic touch in
the kitchen, too."
     "We'd enjoy staying for a few days and especially going to
church with you.  It's always such a treat to go to St. James,"
Frank said.
     None of the three men said anything about Joey singing in
the choir.  This would be a good surprise for them.  Dale hoped
that Paul would have Joey do something special so his
grandparents could hear him sing.
     After agreeing to meet in Houston on Wednesday morning, the
new family exchanged good-byes and hung up their telephones.
     "I'm really looking forward to meeting Grandma and Grandpa,"
Joey said.  "They seem like neat people."
     "They are, Joey.  They took me into their family
immediately, just like they are doing for you.  They really made
me feel welcome," Dale told him.
     "Didn't they care that you guys are gay?" Joey asked,
unbelieving.
     "No, my parents love me and I think they would love any
person that I chose to be with," Craig said.  "If it had been a
woman, that would have been fine, but I chose Dale and they were
happy that I'd found someone I wanted to share my life with."
     "I was astounded," Dale said.  "I was really dreading a
strained evening, but we were laughing and joking by the time we
were inside the house.  Frank fixed drinks, then he and I went
outside while Craig and Doris visited.  When we finished our
first drinks, he fixed another round and we traded parents to
talk to.  Doris was as gracious as Frank and I really felt that I
belonged there with Craig and that they loved both of us."
     "That's neat," Joey told them.  'We should all get along
just fine."
     * * * * *
     Although Rev. Jimmy Bob was in a cell by himself, there were
prisoners in cells on either side.  The deputy who was in charge
that evening let the others know why Jimmy Bob Jones was in jail,
under police protection.
     The haranguing started almost as soon as the door was shut.
     "Hey fag!" one of the men said.
     Jimmy Bob ignored him, not realizing that he was being
spoken to.
     "Hey fag!"  The man got louder.
     Jimmy Bob finally snapped out of his daze.  He just wanted
to lie down and go to sleep, so he lay on the cot, on top of the
thin lumpy mattress.
     "Hey fag!!!  I'm talking to you, fat boy."  The guy wasn't
going to give up.
     Jimmy Bob tried to ignore him, closing his eyes as if to
sleep.
     "HEY FAG!!!" he heard again, the guy was almost screaming.
     Jimmy Bob tried to sit up, bumping his head on the bunk
above him.  He looked at his accuser with blurry eyes.  He didn't
know if he was supposed to answer, or not.
     HEY YOU FUCKIN' FAG!!!"  The voice was louder.
     Without thinking, he replied, "Are you talkin' to me?"
     "Who else would I be talkin' to?  You're the one that's
havin' sex with little boys."
     Jimmy Bob had a momentary flashback as to when he was in
high school.  Some of the other guys had labeled him as a "fag"
but he wasn't one.  He was just big and obese for his age.
Nevertheless, that was the label he carried all through junior
high and high school.  He didn't realize that the others were
calling him that, teasing him because he was a nerd and a fat
one, at that.
     "I'm not a fag," Jimmy Bob spat back at the man making the
accusation.  He really believed that he wasn't, but had never had
a chance to find out.  He didn't have any friends; none of the
other boys or girls would pay any attention to him.  He carried a
Bible all the time, which in itself was reason for the other
young people to make fun of him.
     Jimmy Bob was somewhat of a late-bloomer, having a late
puberty.  All of a sudden he awoke one morning on the adult side
of puberty.  It seemed that one day he had the smooth, chubby
body of a young teen.  The next day he woke up with a large cock,
lots of pubic hair and fur on his chest.  Although he was proud
of what he'd grown, he was shaken by it, as he'd gone from being
the only boy in his gym class being completely smooth to being
the only one in his class that had the body hair of an adult man.
And. his cock had grown beyond his wildest dreams.
     So, his curiosity with young boys was a result of him being
a late bloomer.  He wanted to observe young boys as they were
growing up, but as soon as he could see pubic hair or they could
ejaculate, he lost interest.  He just was comparing them to
himself when he was in high school.  He didn't realize that he
was doing permanent damage to their self-esteem.
     "If you're not a fag, then why were you having sex with
little boys?  Man, you are one sick, perverted dude," one of the
other prisoners yelled at him.
     Jimmy Bob couldn't get any sleep that night because of all
the haranguing he was subjected to from the others.  They would
allow him to go to sleep, then start in again, waking him up,
letting him go to sleep and going through the same cycle again
and again.
     So, when he awoke on Tuesday morning, he looked like
something the vultures didn't want and had left lying in the
alley.
     * * * * *
     Riley Boyd and his wife, Lois, sat in their family sedan all
night on Monday.  They were curious about Marlene and the
gentlemen who was spending the night at her home.  The light
pattern in the house indicated that they might have gone into a
front bedroom shortly after Scott McKown arrived the night
before.
     Indeed, the gin made Marlene horny and Scott was only too
happy to oblige her desires.  What neither of them realized was
that the one time Marlene had forgotten to take her birth control
pills a couple of months earlier, she had become pregnant.  Her
cycle had never been very regular to begin with, so she hadn't
really realized she had missed one period and that the next was
due this week.  Only, it wouldn't happen.
     Riley and Lois saw Scott leave the Jones' home at 7 a.m.
They took pictures of him kissing her goodbye at the front door,
then walking across the lawn to leave in his Acura.  They
followed at a discreet distance, then managed to get another
picture as he got out of his car at his apartment complex.  Of
course, he was wearing the same clothes in all pictures.
     That was interesting.
     * * * * *
     Dale, Craig and Joey were getting ready to go to bed when
Joey remembered about the boxer shorts.
     "Hey Dads," he asked.
     They turned to see what he wanted.  Before they could reply
Joey said, "Do you think any of your boxer shorts would fit me?
I'd like to try a pair to see if I want some."
     "What's your waist size?" Craig asked.
     "I think it's 28-inches," Joey replied.
     "I buy a 30-inch size, myself," Dale said, " my waist is 31-
inches, but I like them to be snug-fitting, not baggy."
     Craig spoke up, "I usually buy a 30 myself, but my waist is
29-inches.
     "We'll each loan you a pair," Dale said, going to their
bedroom.  They each gave him a pair of the more snug fitting
style.
     "Try these," Craig said, "then if you decide you want some,
we can go to the store."
     "Thanks, Dads," Joey said.
     Dale had a thought.
     "Joey, one thing we didn't discuss is your spending money.
What has the arrangement been in the past?"
     "Dad gave me $30 a week.  My lunch at school generally cost
about $3 in the cafeteria and more if some of us went off campus
to Burger King.  Then, if I needed something special he always
gave me the extra.  He didn't like for me to carry much cash
because some of the smaller boys had problems with the older boys
extorting money from them.  So, I generally took my lunch money
and an extra $5 for emergencies."
     "Is that arrangement okay for here?" Craig asked.
     "It should be," Joey said.  "Lunch is probably about the
same here, isn't it?"
     "I don't know.  We can make whatever adjustments need to be
made when you start school and see what you need," Dale told him.
     "Okay," Joey said.
     They told each other good night and went to their rooms,
Joey having already taken Mitsy outside.
     * * * * *
     After Joey shut his door he stripped out of his clothes and
put on the pair of silk boxers that Dale had given him.  The
slickness of the silk felt so good on his skin and the looseness
was great after wearing his tight Jockey shorts.  He realized
that he was starting to get a hardon.
     He lay on the bed, rubbing himself with his cock still
behind the fly, although he would reach inside and stroke it with
his bare hand.  The sensations were wonderful and he wondered if
it was because of the shorts themselves, or the fact that they
were Dale's shorts.  He hadn't seen Dale completely naked as Dale
had seen him and he couldn't help but wonder how they compared in
size.  He knew that Dale wasn't circumcised, like himself, as
Dale had said so the day he asked Joey about their father.
     So, Joey was on the bed, stroking himself, enjoying the
great feelings he was producing.  Before he realized it, he was
past the point of no return.  He erupted, shooting his sperm
inside the shorts.  That was really a strange feeling, the silk
was already slick and the addition of his massive wad made it a
sopping, slick mess.  Without thinking, he licked his fingers
clean, then got more of the soup that coated his groin and pubic
hair.  He'd tasted himself for the first time several days ago
and thought the taste was wonderful, as it had come from his own
body.
     He wondered momentarily if everyone's sperm tasted the same.
     Regardless, he was a mess, so went into the bathroom to
strip off the borrowed shorts.  He was in a quandary about what
to do with them, but finally decided that he needed to rinse them
out and let them dry overnight.  That accomplished, he hung them
over the towel rack, then proceeded to clean himself up.
     He wanted to try on the other pair of boxers that belonged
to Craig, but was afraid that he would cream himself in them,
too.  He had the fleeting thought that he might be gay, but it
didn't bother him.
     He slipped between the sheets, nude as always, and was soon
asleep with Mitsy curled up at the bottom of his bed.
     * * * * *
     Dale and Craig were wide-awake when they crawled into their
bed.  As usual, they met in the middle, wrapping themselves
around each other.  It felt good just to lay there with their
heads resting on the other's shoulder.  Soon, tongues found ears
and fingers found nipples, tongues found tongues, fingers found
cocks.
     They each thought it was the greatest privilege to be
allowed to worship at the temple of the other's body.  They each
wished that they could pull themselves into the other.
     Neither was sure how they got into a '69' position, but they
were there and able to give oral pleasure to each other.  Spit-
lubricated fingers found their way into the others ass channels,
touching prostates.  Tongues bathed the ball sacs belonging to
the other, then worked their way back, across the perineum and on
to the sphincters that had been stretched by the saliva-slicked
fingers.  Craig managed to insert his tongue in Dale's asshole.
It was like a key being put in the slot and opening the door.
     Dale started moaning and Craig worked himself around to
where he could prepare himself for entry into the space reserved
only for him.  He harvested the precum both were producing and
added his own saliva to lube his cock.  They were both becoming
experienced in this act and Dale's channel seemed to open
automatically when Craig pressed his cockhead against Dale's ass
lips.  They had learned that "natural" lube was more satisfying
than a commercial product.  Usually it was Craig who made noise
while being fucked, but lately it seemed that Dale was now making
"Dale Noises" while enjoying being the bottom partner.  Craig was
able to bottom out very quickly without causing any pain.
     This was the way a gay sexual relationship was meant to be.
Both could please the other in any way necessary to bring the
other to a mind-blowing climax, whether it be oral or anal sex,
mutual masturbation or one of them simply jacking their cocks
together.
     Craig brought Dale to the point of climax for both of them
three times before he reached the point of no return and couldn't
stop.  Dale started shooting cum between their bodies and the
first couple of squeezes of his sphincter triggered Craig to blow
his own volcanic shower into his lover's tunnel.
     It took them a full ten minutes to calm down enough to move
after Craig collapsed onto Dale's chest.  When his softened cock
slipped out of Dale, they exchanged one final kiss, whispering
their "I love you's" to each other.
     Dale rolled Craig onto his back, then slipped out of bed to
get a washrag and towel to clean himself, then taking them to
help Craig clean up.  After going back to the bathroom to rid
himself of the sperm so he didn't leak on the bed, he crawled in
to kiss his lover good night.  They exchanged kisses and murmured
their thoughts of love to each other.  Although both got a little
hard, one final kiss as they wrapped their arms and legs around
the other triggered immediate sleep.
     * * * * *
     Tuesday morning dawned clear, but a cold front had come to
the area overnight.  Joey discovered it first when he woke up and
let Mitsy outside for her morning needs.  Picking up the morning
paper, he went to the kitchen to prepare the coffeepot and put
food out for his dog, then let her in as he went back to his
bedroom.  She went to the kitchen to eat while he shaved and
showered.  After he dressed, he let Mitsy outside again,
following her down the stairs.  He wished he had a jacket, but
thought there was one in his closet.
     As he was following Mitsy up the stairs, he saw Mrs. Ernst
looking out her window.  To be ornery, he waved at her and in a
loud voice said, "Good Morning, Mrs. Ernst."  She immediately
pulled the curtains shut.  He laughed as he followed the dog up
two more flights of stairs.
     When he entered the kitchen, Craig was pouring orange juice
for them.
     "Morning," Craig said.
     Joey was rubbing his arms.  "Brrr. it's cold outside."
     Craig glanced at the thermometer outside the kitchen window,
which was on the west side of the building.  "It's 62.  Wait
until it gets to 10 below zero."
     Joey was aghast.  "It gets that cold here?  It hardly gets
down to freezing in Houston."
     Craig was enjoying the moment.
     "Oh yeah, wait until January and February when we have a
couple of feet of snow on the ground."  He couldn't keep a
straight face.
     "Okay, I know you're puttin' me on.  You smiled.  How cold
does it really get here?"
     "Well, it does get down below freezing from time to time,
but it's really rare that it gets much colder than that.  We do
have snow from time to time, but it generally is just winter
rain.  I would guess that we just have cool days with sunshine
most of the time in the winter."
     Joey was relieved.  He could remember a couple of times when
they had snow in Houston.  It almost closed the town down as
people didn't know how to drive on the slick roads and it had
seemed there were automobile accidents everywhere.  He remembered
witnessing a driver who was driving at normal speed, then put on
the brakes for a stop sign.  The street was icy and the car
spiraled out of control and slammed into a building.
     "You had me scared for a minute.  I thought maybe it was
going to be like in the mountains."
     "No, but to hear a lot of people talk you would think it
was," Craig laughed.
     About that time Dale came into the kitchen, pulling on a
short-sleeve polo shirt.
     "Hey Dad, you might want to put on a shirt with long
sleeves," Joey said.
     "Oh, why is that?" Dale asked innocently.
     "It's cold outside." Joey started to say.
     "Yeah, all of 62 out there this morning," Craig laughed.
"Joey's from the south, remember, where they have tropical
weather all winter."
     Dale laughed.
     "Hey bud, you're right.  A light jacket will feel good this
morning, but we'll be glad for the short sleeves this afternoon,"
he said.
     Joey was glad to have Dale's support, although he knew Craig
was just teasing.
     Craig spotted the paper on the counter and opened it up.
The Austin paper had put Williamsport on the map with a quarter
of the front page being devoted to Rev. Jimmy Bob Jones.  And.
the story continued inside with a transcript of the interview
with Miles Truby, then a follow up story on the arraignment and
subsequent police protection.  Craig and Joey took turns reading
the articles out loud so they could all enjoy the story.
Although Dale wasn't mentioned by name (thank goodness) the story
said, "an unidentified man, who was trying to protect Brett
Jenkins, Jr. broke his father's arm when he tried to swing at
him."
     "Dear God, how long are they going to hash and rehash this
story?" Dale asked.
     "I don't know, but we'd better all pray for something really
important to happen that shoves all this mess off the front
pages.  Although I hope that Miles Truby is well paid for this
story because he's done a good job with it," Craig said.
     "Yeah, but this is reporting tragedy and making it
sensational.  I worry about the young boys who were his victims,
not about what happens to him," Dale said, the irritation showing
in his voice.
     "You can be assured that this isn't going to die in
Williamsport.  I would guess that people are very upset and will
demand he be treated like the criminal he is.  I certainly feel
that I'm a victim just by the fact that I'm gay and he has made
me look like him in other people's minds."  Craig was annoyed,
too.
     Craig busied himself pouring coffee for each, then warming
up some large blueberry muffins in the microwave.  He left the
orange juice pitcher sitting out and put the milk container on
the counter, too.
     "Help yourselves," Craig said.  As they moved to the
counter, Joey spoke up.
     "Dads, I don't understand all of this, but is this creep
gay. or what?"
     "That's a good question, Joey.  Technically, I think he's a
pedophile, a man who only wants to have sex with little boys who
have not started puberty, and that's probably all he is, but he
may also be gay, but just not in the manner we are," Craig said.
     "For instance Craig, or I, would never consider having sex
with you, or any boy who was under the age of consent.  And I'd
better not find your other Dad having sex with anybody but me,
anyway." Dale said with his 1000-watt smile and eyes twinkling.
     "Or you," Craig said, "or you might find yourself being
circumcised with a pair or pinking shears - without anesthetic.
Your cock belongs only to me."
     Dale turned red.
     Craig turned red.
     Joey didn't know what to think.
     "Sorry, Joey.  But if boys your age want to have sex with
each other, that's fine in my book.  I kind of wish it had
happened when I was in high school, but it didn't.  And. the way
things worked out, I might not have met your other Dad if that
had happened, Craig said."
     "It's okay.  I think I know where you are coming from," Joey
said.  "By the way, how did you two meet?"
     "That, young man, is a story for another time, but there's
nothing embarrassing about it.  We just don't have time to talk
about it this morning," Dale told them.
     "Well, I'm curious now, so you both have to tell me," Joey
replied.
     "Okay, that's fine.  We'll promise to tell you at another
time," Craig added.
     "Now, what are everyone's plans for the day?" Dale asked.
     "I need to go to the office, then out to the ranch to check
on the crew quarters.  I think Don may have some plans ready for
me to start on the CAD program.  He had a meeting with a couple
of prospective tenants yesterday."
     "What do you want me to do?" Joey asked.
     "Why don't you go to the ranch with me?  I have what I hope
is going to be a light day, but need to get work lined up for
everybody for tomorrow and Thursday.  I'll call the school to
tell them that you will be in class on Monday and we'll get you
enrolled for a Drivers Ed course today, too."
     "Yeah." replied Joey.  He was really excited that he would
be learning to drive, as that probably wouldn't have happened in
Houston since they were trying to restrict young drivers.
     "We might plan to meet Craig for lunch, then see what needs
to be done in order for us to be ready to leave for Houston early
in the morning.
     "That's cool," Joey said.
     By this time they were through with their morning meal, if
it could be called that.  Craig gathered up the items to be put
away, then washed the counter and rinsed the sponge in the sink.
     Dale and Joey told Craig goodbye in preparation for them
leaving for the Bar-W.  Dale and Craig traded kisses, then Joey
hugged Craig before going out the door.
     * * * * *
     Craig decided to gather up the laundry to see if he needed
to wash anything this morning, or if he could wait until evening.
He pulled the laundry basket out of their closet, then went to
Joey's room.  It appeared that he should probably start a load
this morning, then wash a second one this evening.
     Going into Joey's bathroom to get towels, he saw Dale's
boxer shorts hanging on top of a bath towel.  They were damp, and
on further investigation Craig decided that Joey might have used
them as a masturbation aid.  That was interesting.  The shorts he
had loaned Joey were lying on his dresser.  He wondered if Joey
was fantasizing about Dale.  He hoped not, that was something he
did.
     He put a load of light-colored shirts and underwear in the
machine, added soap to start the cycle, then went to the bathroom
to shave and shower.
     * * * * *
     Craig went to his office.  Don was just locking the door to
leave as Craig went up the sidewalk.
     "Good afternoon," Don teased.  "Glad you could stop by for a
few minutes."
     Craig looked at his watch; it was 8:30, earlier than he
usually arrived.
     "Oh, and are you leaving for the day?" Craig laughed.
     "Something like that," Don said, punching Craig on his arm.
     "Anything you need for me to work on today?  We're going to
Houston early in the morning, but should be home Thursday
evening."
     "Yeah, I put some preliminary sketches on the computer
table.  If you could get started on those, I'd appreciate it,
although I told Warren it would probably be Monday, since I
didn't know your schedule."
     "Other than needing to take some time to go to the Bar-W, I
can work on your plans all day," Craig responded.
     "Great.  Hey, ol' Jimmy Bob got caught with his pants down,
didn't he?"  Don was laughing.
     "In more ways than one.  I'm afraid this is going to be the
biggest mess in Williamsport's history.  No telling what else
will be uncovered before this is over," Craig answered.
     "Well, I hope the people in this community don't declare war
on the gay people just because of this louse.  The rest of you
don't deserve this."
     "We don't even think he's gay.  Most men who are pedophiles
aren't.  They like little boys who haven't started puberty, but
don't want anything to do with mature men," Craig said.
     "He really is sick, isn't he?" Don asked.
     "The victims are the ten or so boys who he molested, then
threatened they would go to hell if they breathed a word about it
to anyone.  We know for sure that one boy was talking about
suicide, but his parents wouldn't confront Jimmy Bob or go to the
authorities.  Instead they moved away from Williamsport.  The boy
will really be screwed up if they don't get him some help, Craig
told him.
     "I wonder what Bret Jenkins, Senior thinks about all this.
He's bound to take from flack for this, too, just by being
associated with him," Don said as more of a fact than a question.
     "You didn't hear this from me," Craig said, dropping his
voice.  "Jenkins own son was one of those he molested several
years ago.  That all came to light on Sunday evening after the
police was at the rectory."
     "No shit?  Wow!  That's interesting," Don exclaimed.
     "Don, there are enough problems to be solved as it is, so
please don't say anything about that to anyone.  I probably
shouldn't have told you, but it will all come out later.  Whether
it's made public or not, I can't begin to guess," Craig told him,
wishing he hadn't divulged the information.
     "Not a problem.  I have no reason to talk to anyone about
this anyway.  I was just curious because you were on the fringe
edges," Don said.
     "I appreciate it. and so does everyone else," Craig told
him.
     "Well, need to be on my way.  I'm supposed to talk to a
possible new client who is trying to buy the old Beauford
mansion.  This may be a chance for us to do the same kind of
modernization and restoration as we did on the St. James
rectory."
     "Hey, that would be great.  The two houses are only about 5
doors apart.  Maybe that will convince the owners of the other
properties on the block to do something, too."  Craig was excited
about the possibility.
     "It could happen.  I've heard rumors that a couple of those
houses might become available for sale," Don said.
     "I'll called Phyllis Richmond and have her get right on it,"
Craig said, almost doubling over with laughter.  Don thought that
was funny, too.
     * * * * *
     On Tuesday morning Bret arrived at his office, looking the
worse for wear.  He hadn't slept well the night before, but he
and Beth had their first real conversation in over a year,
resulting in a long discussion after dinner and the children were
in their rooms doing homework.  The financial affairs of the
Victory Temple and Jimmy Bob's demands on his time had eaten on
him more than he thought.
     It wasn't just the mess at the church, it was now the added
information that his own son, Bret Junior had also been a victim
of the pompous ass that they had been following for the last 12
years since Jimmy Bob had blown into town after the death of Dr.
Phil Arnett.  Dr. Arnett had built that church from nothing, five
families meeting in his living room to the beginning of a large
complex that was to eventually include a Christian School, day
care for both pre-school and adults who couldn't be left alone
during the day.  The classroom addition had just been completed,
but not yet occupied at his untimely death.
     The church was desperate to hire a new minister.  Someone on
the board had met Jimmy Bob at a tent revival in Missouri and
been suitably impressed.  He was invited to Williamsport to
preach and meet the congregation of 350 members.  Although he was
greatly overweight, he wore expensive clothing and it looked good
on him.  His wife, Marlene, was a real knockout and also a
graduate of the Dalhart Bible College.  They presented themselves
as being a couple devoted to each other and to Jesus Christ.
Jimmy Bob was hired after a hasty meeting by the church board and
the couple was settled in Williamsport by the end of the week.
     Bret and his wife had just moved to Williamsport and started
attending Victory Temple only a few months before that happened.
At the time Bret Junior was four years old and Paul had just
passed his first birthday.  The church welcomed them into their
fold and they immersed the family into the church activities and
Bret had become the treasurer about three years later.
     Money had always been a concern and the church school had
never become a reality.  The largest enrollment was about 80 in
the kindergarten through the 8th grade.  The daycare center was
always self-supporting but only because it was open to anyone and
they always had a good staff.
     Bret hadn't realized that he'd all but given up his home
life for the church the past couple of years.  It seemed that he
spent a great many evenings in finance meetings and calling on
members to urge them to contribute to "God's Plan" as Jimmy Bob
called it.  As he looked back on it, the only plan that existed
was to pay the bills and those seemed to grow higher at an
alarming rate.  Several families had made generous gifts for
specific things, only to find out that the money had been used to
pay bills instead of buying what it had been designated for.
That, of course caused people to leave.
     Jimmy Bob had urged several to make a large personal
commitment and Bret had given serious consideration to putting a
large second mortgage on his family's home.  But, he was afraid
to suggest it to his wife as they could use the $75 thousand for
themselves.  Instead, he stalled and that caused some rude
remarks from Jimmy Bob about Bret's faith.
     Bret and Beth didn't resolve anything that night, but it was
the first night in many months that they were glad to be in each
other's arms after going to bed.
     * * * * *
     Morris stopped by his office when he came in that morning,
asking how he was.  Bret was glad for the concern.  He was
pleased that Morris had taken the time to speak to him without it
being work-related.
     "I'm sorry to hear of the latest development in the problems
of Rev. Jimmy Bob Jones," Morris told him.
     "It's a big mess and probably will be the end of our church,
certainly as far as he is concerned," Bret replied.
     "You realize that if you don't get a strong leader right
away that the banks will foreclose on the building, don't you?"
     "Yes, but maybe this will make us all band together and
we'll become stronger because of it," Bret said.
     "Well, it could turn out for the best, but be prepared for
the bank to meet with your board very shortly and you will need
to have a written plan as to how you are going to proceed.  If I
can help you with this, let me know," Morris told him.
     "Thanks, I'm sure I'll need all the help I can get."
     "You've got it," Morris told him.
     He started to leave Bret's office.
     "Morris," Bret said, stopping him.
     "Yes?"
     Bret took a deep breath.  "We found out last night that Bret
Junior was a victim of Jimmy Bob.  When he started through
puberty, Jimmy Bob dropped him as 'his little helper' and
threatened him that if he ever said anything to anybody, he would
go to hell.  Of course, he was scared to death and wouldn't talk
to us unless we forced the issue.  We thought he was just an
unhappy child. and he was, but now we know why."
     "I'm really concerned about that.  You realize that he will
need to be counseled for what happened, don't you?"
     "Yes, however he did tell us last night that he now
understands what happened and why it happened," Bret told him."
     "Doesn't make any difference, get him to a counselor as soon
as you can, along with everyone else in your family.  You may
think the problem vanished over night, but it didn't.  I can
assure you of that."
     "Thanks for understanding."  He stood up and offered his
left hand to Morris to shake.
     * * * * *
     Don went on to his meeting and Craig decided to start work
on the sketches for Don's project.  The project really belonged
to both of them, but Don had made the first contact and done all
the work with Warren Collins and his possible tenants.  Before he
started in, he called Dale on his cell phone to suggest they meet
at the Mandarin Palace for their buffet lunch at 11:30, and then
he would go look at the crew quarters before returning to his
office.
     Dale agreed.  He had already called Davy Crockett High
School, talking to Betty Armstrong and advising her that Joey
would be starting classes there on Monday.  He had also made an
appointment for Joey to attend an extra-curricular Driver's Ed
course.  He would receive a non-grade credit for the course and
it would appear on his transcript.  It met three afternoons a
week at 3:50.  There was an opening in two weeks and the students
taking the class were picked up at the school.
     It was a "catch up" day for Dale as he needed to order fuel,
supplies and was working on some estimates for hay and silage
that would be needed to feed horses and cattle.  Sam and Lee had
estimated their needs, so Dale had to determine what he thought
they could raise on the Bar-W.  Of course there were many, many
variables; the amount of sun and rain and if it was too cool or
too hot the crops wouldn't produce at their full potential.  They
were going to come out in good shape for 1990, but they had
gotten an extra cutting of alfalfa and clover hay on most of the
fields. The next year they would have five additional sections
available for crops as they had purchased more land and weren't
going to try to produce as much wheat.  Also, cattle were being
moved onto two new sections for grazing and he thought they could
seed some native grasses to help those fields provide better
grass.
     Regardless of what he estimated, it was really up to the
weather to determine what was produced for their own usage, but
the more they could produce for themselves, the more profitable
the operation of the ranch.
     Joey had finished all of his assignments to turn into the
school in Houston, so they would take them to the school while he
was in town, withdraw him from classes and pick up the things in
his locker and get his gym clothes.
     "Dad?" Joey asked.
     "Yeah, bud," Dale replied.
     "Do you think I could go to school either Wednesday or
Thursday at noon and eat lunch with my friends and tell them
goodbye?"
     "Sure, you can go both days if you want to," Dale replied.
     "Well, there are a few that I'd like to see again and give
them my new address.  Maybe we can write to each other, or
something."
     "I think that's a great idea.  Why don't we stop at one of
the print shops where they do small jobs and get some business
cards printed up with your new address and telephone number?
Then you can give those out," Dale said.
     "Wow!!  That would be neat.  I like that idea."  Joey was
excited about that and he thought it would save a lot of writing.
He'd need to remember to take a small notebook to record the
friend's addresses he wanted to have.
     Finally, it was 11:10 and time to leave to meet Craig.  Joey
had made up a sample of a card like he wanted to have printed so
they stopped at a Jiffy Print to order them.  There was a minimum
quantity of 250, but they were cheap and the manager gave Joey a
"Welcome to Williamsport" discount so they ended up spending
$8.75.  The order would be ready to pick up after 4 p.m.
     * * * * *
     Craig had just parked his car and was walking across the
parking lot when Dale and Joey drove in.  He waited on the
sidewalk outside the restaurant door.  The three greeted each
other, wanting to trade a hug or a kiss, but didn't
     The lunch crowd hadn't hit yet, so they were seated
immediately.  Dale and Craig ordered iced-tea while Joey chose a
new Lemon-lime soft drink that had been advertised lately.  Dale
led the way to the buffet line after they gave their drink orders
to the waitress.  None of the three had eaten here before, but
the food looked and smelled good.
     Craig looked the steam table over in case any of his
favorites were at the end of the line and he wouldn't have room
on his plate for them.  He was glad he did because the Lemon
Chicken and Ribs were at the other end from where they would
start.
     "Hey guys, save space for the Lemon Chicken and Barbequed
Ribs.  They are at the other end of the table."
     Dale and Joey solved that problem.  They went to the end of
the line to get those two dishes, then back to the beginning to
finish up.  Of course, it was an all-you-can-eat deal, so they
could go back for seconds.  Craig did the same.
     They discussed their morning while inhaling the good food.
Dale ate until he was stuffed, remembering that with oriental
food you always seemed to be hungry again in a few hours.
     Craig and Joey also did justice to the buffet line, although
Joey ate a lot more than Craig or Dale.  Everything was delicious
and they would have to remember to come back here again.
     "Maybe we could bring yours parents here to eat while they
are in town," Dale said.
     "I'm sure they would both enjoy it, but you'd better be
prepared because she'll have us all in aprons and in the kitchen
when we're home.  You know her, she agreed to teach us how to
cook and she won't take no for an answer.  You might as well
forget about eating out while they are here," Craig told both of
them.
     "Point well taken," Dale said.  "Besides, think how much
money we'll save by eating our meals at home most of the time."
     "Is grandma Bastian really a good cook?" Joey asked.
     "You'd better believe it," Dale answered.  "When we were at
their house for Craig's birthday, there wasn't enough food left
for one person to have leftovers."
     "When was your birthday?" Joey asked Craig.
     "September 23rd," Craig replied.
     "When is yours?" he asked Dale.
     "March 14th," Dale told him.
     "Mine is June 29th."  He did some quick calculations.  "Our
birthdays are about 3 months apart," Joey said.
     Craig was impressed he had figured that out so quickly.
     Dale left a tip, then picked up the ticket, leading the way
to the cashier's desk.
     "I'll stop at the bank and pick up some cash for the trip,"
Dale told Craig.
     "I've already gotten $300, so there isn't any need.  We both
have credit cards if we need something else," Craig said.
     By this time they were in the parking lot.
     "What do you want to do this afternoon, Joey?" Dale asked.
"You can either go back to the ranch with me or spend the
afternoon with Craig."
     "How about if Dad Craig takes me to the library and see if I
can get a library card?" he asked.
     "I can do that," Craig said.  "Certainly if he can't get a
card today, he can use mine."
     "Okay, that works for me," Dale said.  "I'll stop and pick
up your business cards on the way home this evening."
     "Don't forget that my backpack and schoolwork is in your
office," Joey said.  "Would you bring them home, too?"
     "Sure, I'll put them in the truck as soon as I get back to
the office.  Oh, that reminds me, Craig, we need to go back out
there this evening and get one of the pickups to take with us in
the morning.  I've already cleared it with Mort and Marty.  No
problem for us to borrow it."
     "That's fine.  I can drive it with no problem," Craig
answered.
     After saying goodbye, they left to go their separate ways.
     * * * * *
     Craig and Joey stopped at the apartment to let Mitsy out to
take care of her needs.  Craig then took Joey to the public
library and secured a card for him with no problem.  He knew the
lady on the desk who was the assistant librarian.  She had a new
plastic card for Joey within 10 minutes.  He stayed at the
library after assuring Craig he could walk back to his office
without getting lost in the big city of Williamsport.  It was
only about six blocks on the next street over to the west.
     Joey enjoyed the afternoon at the library and soon
discovered that it was almost 4:30.  The librarian showed him
their new computer system and how he could look up books by
title, author or subject.  If a book was checked out, or
unavailable, the computer showed the status and when it was due
to be returned.  The library near his home in Houston didn't even
have something like that.  In fact, he thought the Williamsport
Public Library was even better stocked that the one he was used
to, although they could order books from the other branches if
they were out or had limited copies.
     * * * * *
     Craig got a lot accomplished, and was just printing some
computerized sketches for Don when Joey arrived.  Joey told Craig
about the library's new computer system and how easy it was to
look for books he was interested in reading.  He hadn't checked
any books out because of the trip to Houston and the fact that
his grandparents would be in Williamsport for the better part of
three days after they returned home from Houston.
     They stopped at the grocery store on the way home, picking
up steaks, baking potatoes, salad greens and a few other things
they needed, along with a pie and some ice cream.
     Dale arrived home while Joey was outside with Mitsy.  He
handed Joey the box of cards.  One was taped on the outside.  It
looked even better than he had hoped for.  He'd chosen an outline
picture of a dog to put in the upper left hand corner of the
card.  It represented Mitsy.
     "How was your afternoon?  Did you get a library card?" Dale
asked.
     "Yeah, Dad Craig knew the assistant librarian, although I
don't think it really made any difference.  I spent the afternoon
there and she showed me how their computer system works.  You can
look up books by title, author and subject," he told Dale.
     "That's good.  I'd heard they were getting a new system, but
that it was going to take several volunteers to type all the
information that was in their card catalogs."
     "The branch close to where I lived in Houston still uses the
old card system and it's really cumbersome and slow," Joey told
him.
     Mitsy had finished in the yard, so they followed her
upstairs, Dale carrying Joey's backpack.  Mrs. Ernst was standing
back from her window, thinking she couldn't be seen.  Joey
spotted her and waved.  For orneriness, Dale waved, too.  They
both laughed as they started up the next flight of stairs.  Mrs.
Ernst drew her drapes shut.
     Craig was in the kitchen, finishing putting the steaks in a
pan to marinate.  He'd already washed the baking potatoes and
wrapped them in foil.
     Dale gave him a kiss and Joey watched in fascination, as the
kiss wasn't just a peck on the lips.
     Craig said, "I'm ready to go get the pickup whenever you
are.  When we get back, I'll wash another load of clothes then
everything will be clean for us to pack so we can leave the first
thing in the morning."
     Dale said, "Stop at the Texaco station where RJ works on the
way back home and we'll fill both vehicles, then I'll put it on
my personal credit card.  We'll fill both up when we get back so
we don't have to figure out how to pay the ranch back for the
usage we'll have."
     "Sounds good to me," Craig said.
     * * * * *
     When they arrived at the ranch, Jason and Kevin had their
young dogs outside.  The dogs were beautiful, having lost all
their "baby fuzz" and were growing silky coats typical of
collies.  The dogs had learned to fetch and both were receiving a
workout from the boys.  None of the three men could believe the
change that had taken place in the last week.  Of course, they
had to play with them and while they were having a good time,
Marty came out on the steps to greet everyone and then reminded
Jason and Kevin that dinner would be in about 20 minutes.
     After telling each other goodbye, the Williamson men went
into their house and the other three went to get a pickup for
Craig to drive.  Dale had already parked the one he wanted to
take on the driveway in front of the office.
     Craig hadn't had time to go look at the crew quarters since
Sunday afternoon, so they walked back in that direction and
entered the house.  The light fixtures were all in place was the
outlets were hooked up.  Wood trim had been put up around the
windows and doors and some of the plumbing fixtures in the
bathroom were in place, but not hooked up.  The house looked
good.
     Craig put his arms around Dale.  "I'm sure glad that you're
not going to be living here," he told him.
     "You don't want me to?" Dale questioned, using his 1000-watt
smile on Craig.
     Craig figured that he was going to "get it" since Dale was
giving him "the look", but he didn't.  Instead Dale gave him a
kiss and said, "I'd rather be where I am.  Thanks for rescuing
me."
     "You're welcome," Craig told him, returning the kiss.
     Joey was beaming.
     * * * * *
     They left the ranch, Craig following Dale in the Chevy
pickup they were borrowing.  Dale pulled into the Texaco station
with Craig following and they filled both vehicles up. Dale was
paying for this with his personal credit card, so went inside to
sign the ticket.  RJ was working and there was no one else in the
store at the time.
     "Hi Dale," RJ greeted him when he came in.
     Dale smiled and waved as he came through the door.  "How are
you this evening?" Dale questioned.
     "Doing really well and I'll be even better in about 15
minutes because I get off duty when my replacement gets here."
     "I'm sure you are glad.  I'm paying for both vehicles on the
south drive," Dale told him.
     "Okay.  Say, I'm sorry we didn't have a chance to visit on
Sunday night but all hell broke loose about the time we got
there," RJ said.
     "Yeah, I know.  It was quite an evening wasn't it?"
     "It certainly was and then the big discovery on Monday at
the church.  I hope they throw the book at that creep and lose
the key," RJ said.
     "You can pretty well be assured that we won't be hearing
anything more from him except about his punishment," Dale said.
"I can't imagine that he would try to stay in this town after
that mess was uncovered."
     By this time the two tickets had printed out and Dale signed
each.
     "Craig and I are going to Houston tomorrow and Thursday to
bring back the things Joey wants to keep and get our father's
house ready to sell," Dale told him.
     "I heard something about that, but didn't understand
everything with all the confusion of the other evening.  I saw
him at the rectory with you guys and it's sure easy to tell that
you are brothers.  How old is he, anyway?" RJ asked.
     "He's 14 going on twenty-five," Dale laughed.
     "Well, I guess I can't ask a 14-year old out on a date, but
I'll take the part of him that's twenty-five," RJ laughed.
     "Dream on," Dale laughed, too.
     "Hey, you fellows have a safe trip and I hope to see you
soon," RJ responded.
     "Thanks," Dale told him, going out the door.
     * * * * *
     As soon as they were home, Craig put the potatoes in to bake
and Joey helped him tear the salad and get it ready to eat later.
     Craig suggested that Dale gather up anything that needed to
be washed and start another load of laundry.
     "Hon, the things in the washing machine are ready to go in
the dryer.  It's mostly towels and sheets."
     Dale busied himself in the laundry area.  Of course, in
transferring the clean laundry to the dryer he spotted the silk
boxer shorts he'd loaned Joey and wondered why they were already
in the laundry.  Obviously, he hadn't worn them today.
     Since they had to wait for the potatoes to bake, Craig
suggested that they each get everything together that they wanted
to take with them so they could be packed.  They planned to take
Mitsy with them, so Craig asked Joey about taking food and water
dishes and food she would eat.
     "There's other dog bowls at the house in Houston and I'm
pretty sure there is a bag of dog food that hasn't been opened."
     "I remember seeing it in the garage when I got the bag we
brought home," Dale said.
     Dale got the legal pad with telephone numbers and the list
of items they wanted to transport back to Williamsport, laying it
on the table beside the front door.
     "What time do you want to leave in the morning?" Craig
asked.
     "I think we need to be on the road no later than 6:30," Dale
told him.  "It will be close to 9:30 when we get to the house if
traffic cooperates," he added.
     "Does that mean we need to get up at 5:30?" Joey asked.
     "Sure does, bud," Dale said.  "By the time everybody shaves,
showers and we have something to eat and load the vehicles, it'll
take us about an hour."
     "We should be okay then as my parents are planning to meet
us about 11 o'clock," Craig said.
     "Joey wants to go to his school to eat lunch with some of
his friends and tell them goodbye, then turn in his homework, get
his gym clothes and clean out his locker," Dale told them.
     "That's fine.  Which day do you want to go, Joey?" Craig
asked him.
     "Well. I had thought about eating lunch there both days,
but. why don't I go tomorrow and I'll hope I can talk to everyone
I want to see then."
     "That's okay.  It's not like we're on a schedule, so why
don't you go both days?" Craig said.
     "Cool," Joey replied.
     Craig seemed to think he'd heard less of "cool, awesome, far-
out and neat" than the previous week.  He wondered if that was
because Joey hadn't had much contact with kids his own age the
past few days.  It would probably start up again when he went
back to school.
     Craig checked the potatoes.  It was time to put the steaks
under the broiler and finish getting the salad ready to eat.
     * * * * *
     By the time they were ready to go to bed, Joey had his
suitcase packed except for the things he would need in the
bathroom the next morning.  He had realized that the boxer shorts
and the towels had been taken out of his bathroom, but knew Craig
had taken them out for the laundry.  He had expected to be teased
about it, but was glad nothing had been said.  It was nice that
his two Dads were cool about things like that.
     He brushed his teeth, washed his face and was ready to crawl
in bed by 10:30.  He had remembered to reset his alarm, too.
     * * * * *
     Dale and Craig had their things all ready, also.  Only the
things they needed to brush their teeth and shave needed to be
added to their toiletry kit, which was sitting on their bathroom
counter.
     They crawled into bed, meeting in the middle to lock lips
together as they whispered their love for each other.  It felt
good to savor the caresses they were giving and receiving.
Although both got hard, there didn't seem to be any compelling
need to do anything than enjoy being with each other at the
moment.  Just the fact that they were together, in each other's
arms was all the needed this evening.
     * * * * *
     (to be continued)
     * * * * *
     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 postings, please let me know by
sending your request to the following e-mail address:
TulsaDriller7@aol.com
     Thanks for the overwhelming response to previous chapters.
I have received positive replies from all over the world.  My
special thanks for proofreading help to Paul Daventon, who has
taken time to help me catch obvious errors.