Date: Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:11:17 EDT From: tulsaauthor@hotmail.com Subject: Tales from the Ranch, Book 2, Chapter 13 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 Copyright 2008 by Tulsa Driller. 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 society. 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 copyrighted© 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 to read the last chapter of this story. Tales from the Ranch Book 2, Chapter 13: The World Spins On and On The baseball team from Davey Crockett High School was officially known as the Williamsport Patriots, the name for the football, basketball, track, tennis, debate and all other teams. The baseball team hadn't had a winning season the year before due to several seniors graduating, leaving inexperienced players to take their places. The previous coach had been ill so wasn't able to do his job, and then retired early. This year there was a new coach, Will Adams, who had played for the Tulsa Drillers and then was rotated to their home team, the Texas Rangers. A leg injury resulting in torn ligaments side-lined him from the team and his playing days were over. Will had been hired by the Williamsport School Board to coach the baseball team in addition to teaching A/P courses in Calculus and Trig. He had been a math major, but his first love was baseball. He intended to have a winning team this year and was impressed with Joey Sullivan's skills as a shortstop. Joey had played well in the practice games and was placed in the starting line-up by Coach Adams. It was unusual to place a freshman in the first rotation, but Coach Adams wasn't buying any of that. He had games to win, other league teams to beat. The team's first game was against the Georgetown Gophers and it would be an "away" game for the Patriots. The game between the two rivals was always hard fought. The two teams had played against each other since the end of World War II when Davy Crockett High School had come into being. The Gophers had won two more games than the Patriots over the years. They were rivals in every sense of the word as they generally played two home games and two away games against the other each season, to say nothing of the tournaments that took place on district, regional and state levels. The Patriots had led in wins until the previous year when they were reduced to a team of inexperienced players. There were two baseball seasons in the Williamsport area. The fall games ran from the start of the school year, beginning in September through the end of October. The spring season was from March 1st to the middle of May. Will Adams was determined that he was going to have the state championship trophy in Davy Crockett's trophy case at the end of the school year. He was a coach who pushed hard, got what he wanted and managed to do it all with great respect from his student players. The fact that Dale and Craig were going to miss Joey's "debut" game had been discussed before they left on their wedding trip to San Antonio. They were going to cut the trip short so they could be in the bleachers, but Joey was adamant and wouldn't hear of it. Finally they acquiesced and agreed that they would miss the first game, but would be there to cheer him on in the remaining games. Forrest, of course, would be at the game. He would do anything for his brother. Joey, along with his pal and teammate, Barry Gilbert, had to ride the team bus. Forrest drove their car, taking Daniel, Matt and Bret as passengers. Matt was glad that he and Daniel could share the backseat, but disappointed that Bret would be in the front. It had appeared it would be a good chance to advance things a little further along, in Matt's mind. He, of course, didn't know that Daniel was a willing boy who was always horny and was equally attracted to Matt. Although they played a hard game, it seemed that the Gophers were a little too confident, missing some plays that would be vital to the outcome of the game. The Patriots won the contest in the bottom of the ninth with a score of 7 to 6. Joey hit a home run with two men on base. The noise from the small group of fans sounded like there were 200 people in the stands, rather than the barely 40 in the guest team bleachers. The team had voted not to shower after the game, just get on the bus for the ride home to speed things up. The yellow Camaro containing Joey's personal fan club was waiting for him to get off the bus. Bret's bicycle was at the school, so he rode it home. Daniel and Matt had made arrangements to eat with Forrest and Joey, so the four of them went to the A&W Drive-in for burgers and malts. Daniel was spending the night at Matt's home, so they dropped them there and Forrest and Joey went on home to the condo. Forrest had stopped there after school to let Mitsy out before taking their passengers to the ball game. Knowing that he wasn't going to have time to check on the horses, he had called Gordon Marwick, asking that he feed the horses and top off the water tank. Gordon was only too happy to help out his new landlords as they were making major improvements in the kitchen without raising the rent. Mitsy was glad to see the boys, who followed her back down the stairs so she could take care of her needs. Forrest had picked up the ball she loved to play with so they spent about 15 minutes playing fetch with her. Joey and Forrest were having as much fun chasing and catching the ball as was Mitsy. It was great exercise for all of them. Finally, Mitsy sat down and watched her two masters play catch with each other. The boys were tired and Mitsy gratefully followed them up the stairs to the 5th floor condo unit. Joey fixed her food and washed the water bowl for her while Forrest poured a glass of Ginger Ale for each of them. Carrying the drinks to their bedroom, Joey set them on the desk for later. He was anxious to get out of his uniform as he hadn't taken his uncomfortable cup off. He was grateful for the protection, but even with the extra holes, his cock and balls were plenty sweaty. Forrest was sitting at the computer table and got a whiff of the "jock scent" as Joey pulled his uniform pants down revealing his jockstrap and cup. "Wow, that smells awesome," he told Joey. "Come here," he said as he scooted off the chair and knelt in front of Joey, who moved to where Forrest was waiting. After taking a couple of deep breaths, Forrest was immediately hard and Joey's jock and cup were making an obscene bulge. It was not comfortable to get hard in a cup and the jockstrap was damp and tasted good to Forrest; but he wanted more. As he pulled the pouch aside and released Joey's cock from the constraints of the cup, Joey was about as hard as he could get. He loved the attention his brother was giving him. Joey's cock was wet from the jock sweat and tasted as ripe as it smelled. Forrest licked up, down and around and soon had Joey's cock jerking up and down on its own. The smell was wonderful, but Forrest wasn't through. He stuck his tongue inside Joey's foreskin, behind the corona, getting to the real treat and source of the wonderful smell he was savoring. This was too good not to share, so he licked up the white smegma to stand and kiss Joey so they could share the wonderful ambrosia of the baseball jock. Joey was only too happy to reciprocate and they stirred the mixture around in the cavity of their mouths. Forrest finally broke the kiss. "Wow!! Let's get naked," he gasped. "I want to suck you off." "Okay by me, but I get to do you, too," Joey told him. It didn't take long for both to get naked and on the bed assuming the position to pleasure the other. Forrest and Joey were both leaking precum and that added to their already overloaded taste buds. Joey had never had any problem deep-throating Forrest, but it wasn't the same for Forrest, who finally got Joey's cock wet enough that it slipped into his throat cavity. He quickly discovered that he could work his throat muscles to make Joey feel really good. In the meantime, Joey was copying Forrest's efforts and both were more stimulated than they had ever been. Joey pushed Forrest's cheeks apart and gently rubbed his butt hole with his index finger. That made Forrest bounce on the bed and he involuntarily made a humming noise. That's all it took for Joey, who could feel the eruption of lava making its way up his tube. Forrest sensed that Joey was ready to blow and he, himself, had gone past the point of no return. Joey started bucking and Forrest pulled back so he could taste the tangy-sweet offering Joey was sending his way. The first volley triggered his own orgasm and he had a hard time swallowing fast enough to keep up with Joey. He didn't spill a drop, but when Joey was through, he gently pulled free and sat up. They were both gasping for breath, but their lips met for a cum-stirring kiss prior to swallowing their part of the delicious mixture. Finally they pulled apart and moved to a more comfortable position to resume the kiss. Joey pulled back. "All I can say is 'wow', bro." "Me too. Your randy-smelling jock caused it, too. Do you think you can get by not showering and come home right after practice?" Forrest asked. "Don't know. Probably not all of the time, but guess we might be able to use the excuse that the horses have to be fed," Joey replied. * * * * * Dale and Craig arrived back in Williamsport about 3:30 on Tuesday afternoon. They'd had a wonderful experience at the Casa de el Rio and had enjoyed both the condensed tour of San Antonio and the chance to meet other gay men in a relaxed setting. Dwight and Linden were the perfect hosts and they had enjoyed the ambience of the old home. The food was excellent; they enjoyed several great restaurants and made new friends while celebrating their love for each other. They hadn't been home too long when Joey and Forrest came in, giving bone-crushing hugs and a kiss on the cheek to each. "Hi Mom," Joey told Craig, echoed by Forrest. Craig started to say, "Young man..." but then started laughing. Everyone joined in. They were glad to see each other. Joey and Forrest got a quick synopsis of the trip, the inn where they had stayed, the tour of the city, meeting the other guests, going to church and other things they had seen and done. Both Joey and Forrest were impressed with the trip. Then they discussed the commitment ceremony. None of the gifts had been put away so they all looked them over. Dale and Craig were in awe of the gifts they had received while Forrest and Joey were proud that their Dad's had so many friends. They briefly discussed the evening meal and decided that going to Tony D's was more than fine with everyone. * * * * * Michael and Pat had been blissfully ignorant of the commitment ceremony. Dale kept forgetting to ask John if he had said anything to them about meeting him and Craig at the D/I Christmas party. Coby Cantrell knew more about what was going on than his two housemates. But, Coby wasn't willing run the risk of "outing himself" over the wedding for two men, even though they all worked together and for Dale. Coby didn't know for sure that he was gay, he had avoided all contact with other men in the army, but that didn't keep him from having to repress the perverted thoughts about others he shared bathroom and shower facilities with. He just felt lucky to have survived basic training and the 4-year enlistment he had signed up to complete. He thought that Michael and Pat were hunks, but they strangely kept to themselves, except for allowing the others to watch Michal's big-screen TV located in the double room they shared. The two new men, Lonnie Parke and Vince Garten had moved into the crew quarters building that week and the five men had been working the new sections of ranch land just purchased by the Bar-W. Coby, wisely decided to keep his mouth shut about Dale's private life. By rights of having been there first, Michael and Pat had their rooms upstairs and Coby had his space downstairs. The two new men shared the other two rooms on the second floor. * * * * * Wednesday, March 26th was Dale's first day back at the ranch after he and Craig returned from their wedding trip to San Antonio. Right after he had settled behind his desk, wondering where all of the paperwork had come from, the telephone rang. "Dale Richards," he answered as he could tell it wasn't an outside call. "Morning Dale. Hope you and Craig had a super trip to San Antonio," Marty said. "Good morning to you," Dale replied. "Yes, we did." "I have a meeting of the bank board this afternoon and will be gone most of tomorrow for a couple of meetings in Austin. Do you have some time this morning where we can sit down and talk about a couple of things that are going to happen here at the ranch right away?" "Sure. Other than getting some things lined up for some new employees to start on, all I have is a 9-foot stack of paperwork that someone piled on my desk while I was gone. It's going to take me all day to make that disappear anyway, so come on over," Dale laughed. "Just don't bring any more with you." Marty laughed. "Didn't I tell you when you took the General Manager's job that it was the end of your working in the fields? If I didn't, I meant to." Dale loved to spar verbally with Marty. It was true that he didn't miss working in the fields, but it seemed the paperwork increased each time they added more land or employees. "Chris and I are just getting ready to start our day, so say... a half hour? I'm sure you can make all that paperwork disappear by then," he said, laughing some more. "Don't I wish," Dale replied. He wondered what Marty wanted to talk about and if it was something he had neglected to take care of. He hoped he hadn't goofed up somehow. "Okay, see you in a little," Marty told him. They each hung up the phone. Dale had started a pot of coffee while they were talking. It was ready to serve so he helped himself and settled back in his chair to start sorting papers. By the time Marty got to the office, he had made one stack of papers sort down into six smaller piles. Marty came into the office. Dale stood to shake hands. Marty pulled him into an embrace and patted him on the back. "Welcome home. Thanks for inviting our family to your commitment ceremony. It was beautiful and Fr. George made it meaningful for everyone. Congratulations to both you and Craig and Joey and Forrest, too." Dale immediately got tears in his eyes. He felt so grateful for all the wonderful things that had happened in his life in the last six months. "Thanks," was all he could say without becoming emotional. He indicated the coffee pot. "Do you want a cup? It's fresh." "Sure." Dale poured the coffee and handed the cup to his boss. They settled down in the chairs in front of Dale's desk. It made meetings seem less formal and more friendly. "I see you are making the paperwork disappear," Marty laughed. "I'll bet that I threw a good third of it away. If the Post Office was as diligent in delivering real mail as in the junk mail we get, it would make life easier for everyone," Dale replied. He looked at Marty, expectantly. "Good coffee, but that's not the reason I'm here." He smiled. "In the last two days something has happened that started out as somewhat of a joke, but then we found out that the people were serious." Dale still couldn't read Marty's face. Marty continued. "You know that we've had a gentlemen's agreement to buy the old Spurs and Boots Ranch northwest of here?" "Yeah, about 3,800 acres," Dale replied. "Well, that's happened. Dad and I'll be in Austin tomorrow to sign the paperwork and finalize the deal. But, something else happened 'on the way to the forum'," Marty smiled. Dale had absolutely no clue as to what Marty was talking about. Marty continued. Well, the Ritter family who owns the Spurs and Boots Ranch is related to the Muller family who owns the Morning Star Ranch. When the deal is said and done, the Morning Star Ranch will be surrounded on two sides by the Bar-W and on the other two by the Diamond-R. The Muller's have suddenly decided to sell the Morning Star and we were approached as to having any interest in buying it. They don't want the Diamond-R getting hold of the land and offered us 14 sections (8960 acres) at a very fair price of $1.8 million." Marty was excited. Dale did some quick calculation. "That's 48 sections of land." He was having a hard time thinking about it. That was over 30,000 acres. "Well, we need to do a lot of planning. In both cases we get the outbuildings and equipment under a separate contract. Both families want to continue living in their homes, so we are going to set aside 100 acres to go with each house, but will probably end up farming them as a courtesy deal. "Dale, I'm so excited about this. We've added a lot of land over the years, but I never for once thought that our holdings would ever approach anything of this magnitude." Dale's first question was crops. "What do they raise and are they going to be planting and harvesting this year..." He paused. "Or us?" "Well, you need to go visiting." Marty gave Dale telephone numbers for Blake Ritter and Hans Muller. "I suggest that you call these two men and make arrangements to meet with them. Both of these guys are in their early 30's but have interests other than farming. I think you will find them easy to work with and they can explain the way they've operated those two ranches. I'm sending Lee and Sam up to meet with them also. We may be buying some horses and cattle from them, but will want to keep those herds separate from ours and sell them out while building up our own herds." Dale was still having a hard time contemplating the changes that were about to impact his life. Marty was looking around the office. Obviously the space was small. The office occupied only a small portion of the first floor. Another area was where the milk cooler was, connecting to the area where the cow was milked. The second level was storage for an inventory of spare parts, belts, hydraulic lines, fuel filters and baling wire, among other things needed for the farm equipment. "I think we need to consider building a new office building. Before too much more time goes by, you are going to need an assistant and perhaps a secretary or someone who can assist you and act as a secretary. You can't handle everything yourself anymore and still keep up with what is going on everywhere. There are too many square miles involved and there will be a lot of new people working for us in a very short time." Marty continued. "Tell Craig that he needs to start thinking about a new office building, probably across the driveway from where we are now. This building has served us well for many years, before I was born, and we still need it, but it's not big enough for the staff that is likely to be hired." Dale, of course, hadn't thought about more staff or a larger office. His job was getting complicated -- quickly. Marty stood up to leave. "Well, Mr. General Manager, it seems that we need to increase your compensation. You've done a great job so far. It's been a smooth transition from Mort having been in charge. Everyone respects you and the Williams family is grateful to have you running the ranch for us." Dale was speechless. Marty gave him another hug and pat on the back, then turned around and left the office. * * * * * Craig had gotten home early and was preparing stuffed pork chops for their dinner. Everyone liked fresh broccoli and he was going to serve breaded tomatoes along with macaroni and cheese with a tossed salad. They had cake that Doris had dropped off earlier in the afternoon. Joey was at baseball practice. They would have an "at home" game on Friday night, against the team from Stephen Austin High School here in Williamsport. Then starting the next week, they would have games on both Tuesday and Friday evenings. Forrest had been to the ranch to feed the horses and was finishing his home work at the breakfast counter, visiting with his Dad. He would have to leave to pick Joey up from practice about the time Dale was due home. Forrest had a lot of questions about the wedding trip. He was excited that Craig had made contact with his cousin and that he and his partner would be visiting Williamsport for a few days at Easter time. Dale came in while they were talking. He gave Forrest a hug as he entered the kitchen, giving Craig a tonsil-swabbing kiss. Forrest started to get a little hard, not realizing that his two Dads' were, too. Dale wanted to tell about his meeting with Marty that morning, but this was a family matter so he wanted everyone to be present when he told them the news. Dale went in to the bedroom to change into something more comfortable and Forrest left to pick Joey up at the baseball field. Craig put the pork chops into the oven to bake and started on the broccoli. Water was heating to boil the pasta. When Dale came back, he started the make the cheese sauce for the macaroni. It wouldn't take long to prepare a tossed salad. They all worked well together in the kitchen. Craig and Dale visited about their day. Craig met with his partner, Don, and a new customer to design a building to be built on a lot the man owned east of the downtown area. The man was a dentist and his son would be completing dental college in the spring. They would be going into practice together. Dale had eaten lunch with Mrs. Wood and Chris. The main subject of discussion was the acquisition of additional land for the Bar-W and the problems that could occur while trying to integrate the two new ranches into the Bar-W operation. Chris expressed her confidence in Dale and his ability to keep everything running smoothly. * * * * * Before too long Forrest and Joey were home. But, the coach had mandated showers for all after practice, so Joey was wearing Levi's and a long-sleeve pull over. Forrest was disappointed. After greetings and hugs, Joey wanted to know how soon dinner would be ready. Dale looked at the clock. The macaroni and cheese would require about 40 minutes to bake and was just about ready to go into the oven. "About 6:15 is my guess." Craig agreed. "Okay, we'll see you in a few minutes." They headed toward their bedroom. Forrest shut the door and they soon were kissing each other. Forrest decided to try the tonsil-swabbing kiss he'd seen his Dads do. It had the desired effect -- they were both hard. Forrest rubbed his hand over Joey's crotch. He was surprised -- Joey was wearing his protective cup and a jockstrap under his Levis. "Mmmm," Forrest hummed. Joey giggled. "We had to take a shower, but coach didn't say that we had to put on clean underwear." They both laughed about that. Forrest made short work of popping the buttons on Joey's 501's and the favor was returned. They quickly pulled their shirts off, along with Forrest's boxers. All they were wearing were their socks. They were both horny and didn't try to prolong the mutual blow job. They came quickly and tried to keep the noise to a minimum. Afterward, they went into the bathroom to clean up. When they started to dress, Joey said, "Wait a minute. I have something for you." He picked up his backpack and pulled out a sack from the Athletic Attic and handed it to Forrest. The sack contained a Bike 10 jockstrap and protective cup. Forrest was pleased with what Joey handed him, not realizing that it was for him to wear, not Joey. "Put his on and wear it. It'll generate some sweat for me to lick off of you when we go to bed tonight." That was music to Forrest's ears. He pulled the jockstrap on, then tucked the cup in place. He pulled on his Levi's. A very prominent bulge was visible behind the buttons of his fly. "I can't wear it like this. Our Dad's will notice." Joey said, "Put on a loose pullover that has a long tail. It will hide it." Forrest was starting to get hard. "Jeeze, how do you stand to wear this for games? It's not the most comfortable thing I've ever worn," Forrest said. "Well, for athletics it's necessary, so I don't even think about it unless it slides out of place and I have to adjust it. Wearing it for fun is probably a whole different thing, though," Joey said as he pulled his jockstrap back on and inserted his cup. After they finished dressing, they headed toward the kitchen. The various dishes smelled good. "There you are," Dale said. "I was about ready to come remind you that it's getting to be time to eat." Both boys turned red, their Dads' noticing and wondering what had transpired behind the closed door of their bedroom. Forrest was wearing a different shirt than earlier. They fixed their plates in the kitchen, then sat down at the dining room table. Craig asked the blessing and they began to eat. "This is good, Mom," Joey teased. Forrest started snickering. It was still funny when Joey called Craig, 'Mom'. Dale couldn't wait any longer to tell his news and launched into the big story of the day. Of course, everyone had questions, some of which Dale couldn't answer. Craig especially was interested when Dale said that Marty wanted to build a new office building and that there would be an assistant manager and possibly a secretary working for him later. He was already working on plans for a new crew quarters for the horse operation. This could mean that there would be several new buildings built on the Bar-W Ranch. "That ranch is getting to be huge, isn't it?" Joey questioned. "This will make us the 6th largest ranch in Texas," Dale proudly said, but added that it was the only one where crops could easily be raised on the entire ranch. That wasn't exactly true; some of the ground was pretty rocky but crops and grazing could be accomplished over 95% of the ground. The ranch would be gaining a lot more productive land and about a thousand acres of native timber. The others had a lot of land that wasn't arable and was better suited to raising cactus than hay. * * * * * Later when Dale and Craig were cuddled together in bed, winding down from the day Dale told Craig about Marty telling him that there would be a raise for him soon. "How much?" Craig wanted to know. "I have no idea. He just said that I was taking on a lot of additional responsibility and that the transition from Mort to me had been handled well. The family was pleased with what I've done for them. "It's strange that I'm getting paid well for something I love to do and that's work at the Bar-W Ranch." A good dose of sexual therapy was accomplished before the two men went to sleep. * * * * * Lonnie Parke was 28 years old and had lived in the Ada, Oklahoma area all his life. He had attended East Central University for a year, then dropped out to marry a young woman who was visiting her sister, the family next door, for the summer. She was from eastern Tennessee and Lonnie knew she didn't like living in Oklahoma. After her sister and husband moved to Ardmore, Oklahoma, Lonnie's wife spent more and more time on the telephone talking to her mother and younger sister. She refused to get treatments for her depression. One evening Lonnie walked home from work at the local co-op elevator as his wife hadn't picked him up after his shift was over. He walked into the house only to find that his wife had moved out. She had left a brief note telling him she was sorry but married life wasn't what she expected. Her mother and step-father, along with a young man had come from Tennessee to pick her up. The only things she had taken from the house were the clothes she had in their closet and dresser. The car keys, checkbook and keys to the house were all on the kitchen counter. Lonnie felt as if someone had slammed him in the gut. He knew his wife was depressed, but she had refused treatment and counseling. Not knowing anything about mental illness, he assumed that she would be able to work through her feelings. He went to the refrigerator, extracted a bottle of Budweiser and popped the cap. He went out on the deck and opened the gate to let his Black Lab into the house. Terri, his wife, wouldn't allow the dog inside and seldom made any effort to see to it that the dog had food and water. "Look's like it's just me and you now," Lonnie told Tomboy. The dog replied by raising up, putting his front paws on Lonnie's chest and giving him a sloppy, wet kiss. He held the dog close. Tomboy was a better friend than his wife had been. He knew that he wouldn't miss her being gone and was thankful she hadn't cleaned out the modest balance in the bank account. Two weeks later papers for an uncontested divorce were served. He found out later from his attorney that his wife had married her high school sweetheart almost as soon as the ink was dry on the legal decree. He wondered if her new husband was the man who had helped her parents move her back to Tennessee. Lonnie couldn't decide what to do with his life. He had worked at the co-op grain elevator for nine years and was doing the same job as when he was hired and had only a couple of modest wage increases. It was the same for everyone else. Low pay, long hours and little chance of advancement. He felt that staying in Ada was a dead-end proposition. His parents had moved to Bonham, Texas. He was going to relocate. Two farm jobs had immediately caught his attention. The first was working on the huge dairy farm that was owned by Braums Ice Cream. That would put him in the Oklahoma City area. The second job was one he heard about quite by accident. The Bar-W Ranch at Williamsport, Texas was hiring. The ranch had an excellent reputation for treating their employee's right, even providing them with a place to live. After making a phone call, talking to the General Manger, Dale Richards, he made an appointment for an interview. Dale was a friendly person to talk to and was very proud of the ranch. Lonnie was amazed by the size of the spread and the fact that they raised large numbers of cattle and horses. The visit and interview secured him a job at the Bar-W Ranch. He was most impressed with the new quarters. They were nicer than the house he'd lived in before. When he asked about bringing his dog with him, there was no hesitation on Dale's part, but he did suggest that Lonnie either erect a pen or keep the dog tied up. Lonnie happily bought and set up a pen behind the crew quarters. Lonnie's start date was March 1st and he moved into the crew quarters on February 27th. * * * * * The other new hire, Vince Garten moved into the crew quarters the next day. He was from Woodward, Oklahoma and was leaving the family farm because it wouldn't support his parents and his two older brothers, let alone him. Besides he was ready to try his wings and make it on his own. He had experience on the farm as his family owned two sections of land. He also helped two neighbors with planting and harvesting crops. The Bar-W Ranch would be an ideal place for him to start. Certainly wages were good and there would be no shortage of work. * * * * * On Friday evening after their dinner, Joey was loading the dishwasher while Craig rinsed the dishes and cooking utensils they had used. Dale had stayed at the ranch later than usual and hadn't had a chance to change clothes before they ate dinner. He had retired to their bedroom to strip down to his boxers. Forrest had finished his homework except for two calculus questions, so had gone to the bedroom he and Joey shared. Craig did the same as Dale and they had just settled together on the love seat in the living room when the phone rang. Joey answered the kitchen phone. "May I speak to Craig?" the voice inquired. "Sure, can I tell him who is calling?" Joey asked. "Lawrence Thomas," the voice replied. "Okay, I'll tell him," Joey responded, telling Craig who the call was from. "Tell Forrest that we are all going to talk on the speakerphone in the kitchen. Joey went to get Forrest while Craig and Dale moved to stools at the breakfast counter in the kitchen. Craig punched the speaker button and said, "Hi Larry. It's great of you to call." "Believe me, it was a big surprise when Bart McCord called me this afternoon. I can't believe that we've at long last made contact through some mutual friends." "Larry, I've got you on the speakerphone, along with my husband, Dale Richards, and our two sons, Joey Sullivan and Forrest Ross." "That's great. Let me get my partner on our speaker. His name is Darin Weston" Everyone greeted the others. Larry led the beginning of the conversation. "Craig, I'm sorry that we lost track of each other, but I believed my mother when she told me she had talked to your mother and was told that your family wanted nothing to do with me after I told my parents I was gay. "Larry, I'm sorry. That wasn't the way it happened. My mother told her sister that she and Dad were dealing well with my coming out to them and urged your parents to do the same for you. Your mother said they had nothing further to discuss and hung up on Mom." "Isn't it too bad that you and I didn't talk to each other?" Larry asked. "It seems like we've lost out on several years of friendship and support with each other." Yeah, I should have realized that, but I was trying to get established in business with my work partner, Don. We moved to Williamsport and haven't been sorry," Craig told him. In my case I was trying to locate a job and just accepted what I'd been told," Larry said to Craig while the others listened. "Well, we have a lot of news to catch up on. Last Saturday, my husband, Dale Richards and I had a commitment ceremony in front of 28 people. Our parish priest officiated and celebrated a Eucharist for us. Our sons, Joey and Forrest took part in the service as well as my sisters, Susan and Becky. Mom and Dad were here, so it was a joyous occasion for all of us." "That's great," Larry said. Darin, who had been quiet up to this point said, "Tell us about your sons. It sounds like an interesting story." Dale spoke up and told about his father's death, taking the responsibility for Joey and then followed up with the story about Craig adopting Forrest. Larry said that he regularly heard from his father as his business took him to Monroe, Louisiana. He usually made it a point to stop to see Larry and Darin, sometimes spending the night. Larry's mother refused to talk to him, but Larry was glad for the contact with his father. Larry said that his mother had also dropped most contact with his sister, Paula. He explained that his mother was a member of a church that waged a continual battle against anyone who didn't 'fit their mold'. Larry's father, Taylor, had made it clear to her that if she wanted to support that church financially; she needed to get a job because he refused to pay for a clergyman to help ruin his family's relationship with each other, not that his wife hadn't already done that. They were pleased to find out that Darin was an admissions recruiter at Centenary College, working in the music department. It was his job to meet with high school juniors and seniors who had expressed an interest in the school, interview them, and make arrangements for them to visit the campus; then search for available scholarships to help with their school costs. Darin played French Horn, playing in the college orchestra as well as being a section player in the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra. The telephone call was enjoyed by all, hearing about the lives of the cousins, their partners and sons. Before the conversation was over, an invitation for Larry and Darin to visit Williamsport over Easter had been issued. Larry had vacation time and Darin could probably schedule a couple of interviews with potential students from the Williamsport area, to help give them a couple of extra days to visit. By the time the men were through visiting, it was 11:30 and all were up-to-date on the happenings of everyone else. The Williamsport family had also been invited to Shreveport to spend a few days. * * * * * Saturday morning Joey and Forrest went to the store to work from 9:30 to 5 p.m. Dale needed to do some planning about locating a new gate to allow access from one property to the other, joining the two pieces of ground together near the back property line. Of course Craig went with him as the horses needed to be exercised. As a surprise for Joey and Forrest, Jason and Kevin gave them a dozen each of young white ducks, white geese, gray geese and six young peacocks. Dale and Craig decided to populate the shore of Lower Saber Pond with the new poultry. Knowing they needed to make bins for the poultry mash, Dale had nailed together a frame to contain the food trays. The fowl were able to fend for themselves by eating bugs and green plants, but the dry food was a treat to them and would keep them near the pond. They saddled up Lancer and Cutter to ride around the property, Dale explaining about cutting a gate access to the two pieces of property that would make it easy to move any farm equipment from one area to another and allow the horses a wider range of grass to graze on. Afterward they rode back to the front of the property and up the hill to view the construction of their new home. Getting off the horses, they tied them to the rings in the wall in front of the garages. Many of the walls on the first (ground level) floor had been framed and the joists for the second floor were mostly in place. About half of the plywood sheeting had been installed on the outside walls and boxes for outlets and switches had been hung along with holes having been drilled to allow Romex cable to be pulled from the breaker panels in the basement and utility room. Although you could see where windows and doors were going to be located, it still took a lot of imagination to visualize what they were looking at. Craig had talked to two pool companies about their requirements. He explained his ideas to Dale as they walked out onto the area of the future patio. The pool was going to be on the other side of the large brick patio and a pool house had been planned to handle the pumps and filters, as well as providing a place to store towels along with two small rooms for guests to change into suits, if need be. About that time Gordon Marwick walked out onto the patio area. "Hey Gordon," Craig said. Dale turned around and waved him over to where they were standing. "This is really going to be a mansion when it's completed, isn't it?" Gordon said. Dale laughed. "Well, it's going to be big." Craig agreed by shaking his head and grinning. I saw your Blazer when I drove into town about an hour ago and it was still parked in the same place when I came back. Then I saw the two horses tied outside, so stopped to say 'hi'," he explained. "Glad you did," Craig said. "We've been gone for a few days and are trying to get caught up with what's been going on. The boys have taken care of coming out here, except for last Monday evening, and Dale and I appreciate your helping them out by feeding the horses." "Glad to do it for you. I thought I'd stop and tell you that the kitchen remodel is complete and everything is in place. Sara is thrilled to death with her new kitchen and I'll bet she would be proud to show it to you when you are through here," Gordon told them. "Yes, I want to make sure all the trim is in place and nothing has been left undone. Is it okay if we stop over there in about 30 minutes?" Craig asked. "Sure, no problem. Sara's a good housekeeper and everything is always ready for company to come calling," Gordon said. Gordon had some questions about the layout of the first floor, so Craig and Dale walked him back into the house and explained the various features that were going to be used. He was impressed. * * * * * On Sunday, March 3rd, Dale, Craig and their boys were invited to the Williamson's house for a birthday dinner to celebrate Kevin's birthday on March 4th and Dale's on March 14th. Dale and Craig had given Forrest and Joey $50 each to find suitable gifts for Kevin and urged them to spend the same amount from their own funds for their own gift or gifts. This became a challenge to determine what their young friend might want as they knew he had everything he needed. The first gift they picked was a pair of computer games from Saber Computers. Joey knew what he had sold Marty when he bought the computer for them at Christmas. Their next stop was at "The Laboratory", a science shop carrying all kinds of fun things, from experiments to chemistry sets, telescopes to build-it-yourself radio and television kits and everything in between. Of course they each found things they, themselves, couldn't do without, either, dropping hints to each other. They finally decided that Kevin needed a coffee-table size book of space photos as one of his gifts. The other thing they decided on was a radio controlled model airplane that ran on rechargeable batteries. They still had a few dollars left over from their budget, so they bought him a big bag of candy corn. Craig and Dale were pleased with the gifts the boys had selected and were grateful they didn't have to try to figure out what to buy a 10-year old boy. In the meantime, Marty slipped Jason and Kevin some money to buy gifts for Dale. They were excited as this was the first time the boys had been allowed to shop without someone else along to give them guidance. Jason remembered that Dale and Craig had taken a cooking class at Wyler's and that they, along with Joey and Forrest, worked together in the kitchen. So, they wanted to go to Wyler's to see what they could find that Dale might like, but all of them could use. They were insistent that their mother allow them to shop alone, so Chris went in with them, but looked around in another part of the store while they were shopping. They finally decided on two Julia Child cookbooks after being assured that Dale could exchange them if he already had them or wanted a different book. Chris, meanwhile, was looking around in the gift department and bought a two gallon White Mountain electric ice cream freezer for Dale. All three were pleased with their selections and the store wrapped the items for them. * * * * * The birthday dinner was a big success and Forrest was impressed that all of the Williamson family was in attendance as well as his family. Everyone enjoyed the gifts they had received. Martin and Jeanine gave Dale a $100 gift certificate to The Gentry Shop. He felt that everyone had been too generous. Kevin was ecstatic with the model airplane and since it was a calm day, it was ideal to learn how to fly the wonderful gift he had received. Joey and Forrest had made sure two sets of batteries were fully charged before wrapping up the gift. * * * * * That evening was the monthly Dignity/Integrity gathering. It was a covered dish dinner held in the small dining room at St. James Church. Forrest and Joey went with their Dads. Craig paid their annual dues since they went to all of the meetings. Matt Bryant Thompson was there with his Dads and Joey and Forrest were both surprised to see Daniel Pearson there as Matt's guest. Among other visitors was Eric "Scooter" Howell who came with Marilyn Kolb and Trisha Sutton. Jerry Pennington had attended one meeting and enjoyed the fellowship of the group. Also, Wayne Rickie, who worked for Saber Computers in their ISP department, was there. He had talked to Dale and Craig at the store and they told him about the group. Dale had invited him to attend the meeting as their guest. Bret Jenkins, Junior was a regular guest and his father had given him the money to pay his dues. He was very proud that his father had made a complete about face since the trouble back in October. Marilyn introduced Eric to Dale and Craig. Eric, of course, had been hoping to be able to talk to them and was glad he'd come with Marilyn and Trisha. There wasn't a planned program that evening; it was just a wine and cheese social hour with a covered-dish dinner. Jerry and Marilyn had the group laughing hard as they related the story of the ill-fated attempt to protest the commitment ceremony for Dale and Craig. Eric related the story of the church service and sermon by Rev. Brockle the morning after that. He then told the group that he and his mother had left Faith Temple to look for a new church to attend and had attended First Presbyterian that morning. Of course that brought an invitation from Fr. George for them to attend St. James the next Sunday. Dale and Craig made it a point to talk to Marilyn and Jerry to thank them for their efforts to prevent their ceremony from being spoiled. The D/I group was growing and some close friendships had developed within the membership. After the dinner was over and they were getting ready to leave, Dale noticed Eric and Wayne exchanging business cards. * * * * * The monthly vestry meeting of St. James church was held on Tuesday evening. Fr. George had added two items to the agenda. The first concerned a telephone call he had received from Bishop Wrelling the previous Thursday. He told Fr. George that he had ordained a Transitional Deacon (one who plans to become a priest) two weeks before. The young fellow, Rev. Douglas Perryman, told Bishop Wrelling that he was interested in the "high church" aspect of the Episcopal Church and was disappointed there were few congregations offering that worship experience. The Bishop asked Fr. George if St. James would accept him on staff for additional training as a Deacon, the Diocese of Texas paying his salary and benefits. There was almost no discussion among the vestry members and Fr. George was told to set up a meeting so the vestry could meet and interview him before accepting the Deacon to the St. James Staff. The second item concerned a matter that Fr. George had been thinking about for several months. "I would like for the vestry to consider adding another priest to the staff. St. James has had remarkable membership growth and Father Geffory Whyte and I are sometimes hard pressed to serve all of our members; especially to make calls on the sick at home or in the hospitals and those in care homes. If we are fortunate to add Rev. Perryman to our staff, I would ask that we also add a curate (a priest in their first assignment) or another assisting priest to the staff also. I know that this parish has always been fortunate to have clergy from the Church of England in the past. With the permission of the vestry, I'd like to be able to set up several appointments to interview possible candidates while in England on vacation next month." Randall Seymour, the Junior Warden, stood up. "George, I've been wondering when you would request help. It's amazing that you and Fr. Whyte have been overseeing a parish of this size by yourselves. Others have expressed the same thoughts to me. I think that the bishop's offer to add a Deacon to our staff is a good one and I know that, if accepted, he will fill a much-needed staff position here in Williamsport, along with receiving additional training from you and Geff. "According to the Treasurer's report, our receipts are far above the projected income for the current year and I have no doubt that it will continue as the parish grows. I'd like to ask if there are any other staff positions we need to create. Does Paul Rathborne need an assistant in the music department? Our music program is expanding, the choir is growing and sounding better all of the time. I'm sure that with all of the extra services we seem to be adding; that it's a wonder Paul doesn't meet himself rushing up and down the hall. "I would like to make a motion that we allow Ft. George to set up some preliminary interviews while on vacation, and then if he is satisfied, we bring a couple of prospects to Williamsport to be interviewed by the Vestry. Then I would like to make a second motion that we check to see what additional staff is needed. Certainly we have money in some of the endowment funds to use for this sort of thing." Hugh Brighton, the Senior Warden, stood up. "Randy, we can't have two motions on the floor at the same time, but I agree with what you've said. Let's consider the first motion Randy made, the one to allow Fr. George to interview prospective candidates to add another priest or curate to our clergy staff. All in favor say 'Aye'." There was a chorus of "Ayes". "Those opposed, say 'Nay'." It was quiet. "Okay, that motion passed. George, you are instructed to interview possible candidates for an assisting priest here in Williamsport." "Randy, do you want to restate your second motion to consider adding other staff positions?" Randy stood and restated his motion to check all departments so see what staff positions might need to be added and if any staff should be shifted to other jobs. Again the motion passed without discussion. The Senior Warden appointed three vestry members to form a committee to report back at the next meeting, two days before Fr. George and Paul left on a much-needed vacation. * * * * * Dale's birthday and Matt Bryant Thompson's birthday was the same day, March 14th. Dale was going to be 25 and Matt, sixteen. Craig wanted to plan a surprise party for Dale, but didn't want to interfere with any plans that Tom and Eddy might be making. So, he called Tom and Eddie; he found out they were going to have a party for Matt on Saturday night. Craig decided he could probably surprise Dale by telling him they were having a "family party" on Sunday evening, they could spring a surprise for Dale on the night of his birthday. The next question was where to have the party. Craig called Trisha Sutton. Le Gourmet Restaurant was booked except for Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Craig then called Greg at Tony D's and booked the large party room for the 14th with happy hour starting at 6:30, a buffet dinner at 7:30. Invitations were sent out to the fifty two people invited. The invitation read: "Please help us surprise Dale Richards on his birthday. No gifts, please, the honor of your presence is enough. Those wishing to contribute to the food bank are encouraged to bring canned goods." The telephone number for the RSVP was listed as a private number at Saber Computers, which was answered by someone in the catalog department. Joey and Forrest were as excited as Craig in planning the party. Greg had some great suggestions and said that he would take care of having the party room "properly decorated". He wouldn't tell the guys what he had in mind. The men left it up to Greg to plan the menu. Craig knew it was going to be expensive, but it was worth it to celebrate Dale's birthday in grand style -- and surprise him, no less. * * * * * * * * * * Author's Note: I appreciated all of the emails you sent regarding Chapter 12. It's great to know that so many of you are continuing to enjoy the story. I enjoyed hearing all of your comments. I'm still overwhelmed at the response to this story. I am trying to make my way through all of the emails I've received, but it's taking time. My special thanks for proofreading help to David Smith (BoxerDude) who has taken time to help me catch obvious errors. Also to Randy Smith of San Juan Capistrano, who has been a loyal reader from the very beginning. We visit by email everyday and he's great to bounce ideas for his thoughts. Any comments are appreciated and you can reach me at TulsaAuthor@hotmail.com. Thanks, David.