Cory didn't let randy dance with anyone else at the fandango - he kept every dance for himself, from the quickstep, to the final, slow waltz, where randy found himself resting his head on Cory's broad shoulder and trademark black shirt, closing his eyes and just inhaling the smell of his man. While they danced, Cory began thinking about how this boy had changed his life. randy was not Cory's first boy: with the exception of Jackson, he kept them around for the rustling summer and fall, then sent them on their way. He had planned to do that with randy after that first meeting: a good season of fucking a new ass, sending him on his way - be it to Boston or to wherever - and a winter at the cabin he rented from Jose and Marina. Somewhere in around the third week after he had found randy in that barn, though, he noticed that there was a look in randy's eye that was more than resignation to his fate. randy seemed to want to learn what Cory had to teach: both in the saddle, and under the blanket.
randy learned what Cory liked, like when he arched his ass up in the middle of fucking, and he incorporated it into their lovemaking. He didn't give Cory any trouble about being available. In fact, randy seemed to have more of a sex drive than Cory did: he was ALWAYS ready.
There were other men around the rustler team, and in the past, Cory had had to discipline his boy for being "promiscuous." Not randy. There was no question: randy knew he belonged to Cory and exclusively to Cory. There was one time when a member of the band asked Cory if he could borrow randy for a night. As a test, he went to randy and told him. The answer "got" to Cory: "do you want me to spend the night with him, Sir?" "do you want to?" "No, not if it means I'm not with you." Had he been Will, Cory would have shown his true colors by sending randy to the man anyway. That wasn't Cory's way though. Everything kept peaceful, and randy fell asleep in Cory's arms that night, smiling.
Will. Yeah, Will was still around. They hadn't seen him, but Cory had learned to trust his instincts, and he sensed him constantly: as if he were JUST out of view when he looked around their campsite for the night. He wondered if randy had figured out his past with Will: how he had been Will's "randy" for 3 years, before Will slapped him too hard once, and Cory fought back. Cory had won the fight, but had gotten thrown out of Will's band, and left to his own devices. Over a couple of years, he built up his own band. Will would have regarded Cory taking randy as the ultimate insult: they'd have to be careful that winter.
Everyone woke up a little later than usual the next morning, and there was very little talking. Cooky put out leftover biscuit and coffee for breakfast, but no one felt much like eating. The last day was always like that. Finally, as they were sitting around, sipping coffee and staring off into space, Cory stood up. "Well, guys, I think we had a good year didn't we?" There were smiles and some smatterings of applause. "We all made some good money, we had some fun. " He laughed. "Got into some trouble too, didn't we?" "HELL YEAH" came from one guy, and the applause got louder. "But seriously, thanks for the great year. " He looked around. "This seems to be as good a place to meet when the weather changes as any doesn't it?" There were head shakes and signs of agreement. "Ok, so anyone who's coming back next year, when should we schedule? "How's about when Cooky learns how to make decent coffee?" someone suggested and there was laughter. "No, guys, seriously, let's get a sense of time. Two weeks after March full moon? That's what we did this year." Again, there was a lot of head shaking and agreement with the plan. "Ok, then I hope to see you all back here. If you meet up with anyone you feel would be a good member, invite them. We can always use good men. " "HIP HIP FOR CORY!" Someone yelled, and then there was banging of spoons on cups. "AW SHUCKS YOU GUYS. You make this so much damn fun! I wish we didn't have to go hunker down, but Mother Nature is.... well, a typical woman. Let's get a move on. Cooky's wagon is going east, and then Ramon - are you driving the other one?" Ramon put up a thumb. "Ok, if you're going west, follow on with Ramon. Now let's saddle up and go. "
randy came over to Cory and looked up at him. "I can still come with you, can't I Sir?" Cory smiled. "Now what made you think it was gonna be any other way, sweet stuff." They saddled up, and joined the rest of the crew going east. They would try to go as far as they could without breaks: the weather was certainly changing and it had been cold the night before.
After the first day of travelling, they made their first stop. Roger, Willie and Mark were heading off to a town about five miles away. Cory shook each of their hands. "Take care guys. We'll probably catch up on the trip back to the campsite, come April. "Sounds good Cory." Roger looked at randy "Keep him out of trouble, boy. No easy task, but you can handle it." "I'll try Sir." Mark, who had developed a paternal fondness for randy, put a hand on his shoulder. "Know what, randy? I called you kid all summer. You're no kid anymore. You grew up. You grew up just fine. I dunno the story, but I gotta tell you: if I were your Dad, I'd be proud of you." randy smiled and said thank you as he bit his lip. Parson Greer hadn't seemed very proud of him when he caught him diddling with Joey Goodman that afternoon. He gave randy half an hour to pack a bindle, and then he slammed the door on him. He never got to say goodbye to his mother, or to his brother Shem. He wondered if his father WOULD be proud, and even if he weren't would he ever see that family again.
"OK guys, let's saddle up and keep moving," Cory called out. He clapped a hand on randy's shoulder as his horse joined Cory's "One day this winter, we're gonna tell each other our stories. See what we figured out about each other, what we didn't. " Cory looked off into the distance. "You know, you're the smart one, so you may know this. Someone told me once that your past is not behind you, because you can see your past. It's your future that's behind you, cause you can't see that. " He laughed. "I asked him ' so does that mean we're always walking backward?" "I guess it does Sir. Never thought of it that way. I sure can see the past. Can't see the future." Cory smiled. "Well, I can see a little into the future. It's gonna be another day before we get to our cabin, and when we do, it's gonna be a good solid 2, maybe three days since I had that sweet hole of yours. And I am gonna unload in it GOOD, you sexy little fuckbug." "Fuckbug, Sir?" Cory laughed. "You'll see them in the spring. They hatch fuck for about three days, and then they die." "Geez, that doesn't sound too much fun, Sir." "Well, I don't think they consider what's at the end of that fucking boy. But for three days..." randy began to think about what it would be like if he and Cory had sex for three straight days. He didn't think he'd survive. "You scared boy?" "Of what Sir?" "Of me?" "Not really Sir." randy smiled. "I think I can handle you. The future scares me. More than a little bit." "Future scares me too boy. Talking about it may make it less scary. We're gonna have a lotta time to talk over the winter."
"THERE IT IS. ARCILLA ROJA UP AHEAD." The town of red clay. "Town" was a bit generous. There was a general store, a church, and about 12 small cabins. Cory rented one of them from a couple he had known for years: Jose had ridden with him in Will's band, and then when he met Marina, left the rustler life. They had settled down and had a couple of children. Cory wasn't quite sure how he made a living now, but the rental of the cabin was part of his income. "HOLA JOSE!" Jose and Marina had come out of THEIR cabin, Sophia holding Marina's hand, and Jose Jr. in her arms. "CORY. Welcome back hombre?" randy saw that Jose had a gold tooth at the front of his smile, and that the smile seemed genuine: he was glad to see Cory. "And who is this?" He pointed to randy. "Introduce yourself, boy." "Hola Senor. Mi llamo randy." randy tried his bad Spanish and Jose laughed. "OH Cory. You got a smart one this year." He laughed. Then he turned to randy. "You're gonna have to come by. I'll teach you the Spanish you need with this one. Start with "Si Senor MAS MAS." randy knew what THAT meant, and he blushed, as Cory laughed at his blushing. "randy boy, why don't you start unloading our gear? I'll settle up with Jose for the season. Marina. AQUI." Cory had bought some jewelry when they had stopped at Amanda's town, and he handed Marina a bracelet. She smiled, and ogled it. "OH. Like Jose said MAS MAS." randy saw that she had an arm of the thin bracelets. The three of them walked off as randy started bringing stuff into the cabin. It was small but functional. There was a wood stove at the side, a table, four chairs, and over in the corner, a closet and a bed. "A real bed!" randy thought. With blankets, sheets and pillows: something he hadn't seen in a while. There was an outhouse not far from the back of the cabin, and there was a small barn, clearly shared by others, for the horses. He was still busily unpacking when he felt Cory's arm around his middle. He sank back into the man. "Remember what I told you on the road boy?" "Yes sir, I do.." randy could feel Cory's hot breath on his ear "Well, you think you could do it on a bed?" "I think I'd like to try Sir." "First though..." Cory spun him around and kissed randy. He snaked his tongue down randy's tongue and randy moaned from the pleasure. He was as eager to get the three days of "abstinence" behind him - or in front of him too. He felt Cory take his hands and begin pushing them behind his back. One of the things he had learned, was that Cory liked it when he resisted, so he did. "You just got stronger and stronger boy. I used to be able to do that with no trouble at all. Now.... I gotta work for what I want... But I'm gonna get it. " Cory was still much stronger than randy, and randy's arms were pinned behind his back and held there by one of Cory's strong hands, while the other one began unbuttoning randy's shirt. That free hand then danced over randy's nipples - Cory had been paying attention too - and randy gasped. "If I let ya go, where are those hands going?" "Uh, to your jean buttons Sir." "Heh heh. Good boy. Let Cory's peter out. He needs to breathe." Cory's peter needed to do more than breathe. It needed what Cory called "watering," and randy got right to work, bobbing up and down on the rod, as Cory moaned. "Oh yeah, boy. You do that DAMN GOOD. GET DOWN FURTHER." He pushed randy's head all the way down on his cock. Both of them were thinking how things had changed: how randy had choked and nearly thrown up the first time he took Cory's cock in his mouth. Now, he took it easily: like he could take 3 or 4 more inches if he had to. And randy had learned to vary the speed he used when he sucked Cory: fast, slow, using a licking motion a sucking motion. "My boy has turned into a champion cocksucker," Cory thought. "If they had cocksucking competitions, like rodeos...." He realized that randy had never seen a rodeo. Maybe, if his plans for the end of the next season came about....." He pulled his peter back. "You think that's all he needs?" "No Sir. I know he needs to burrow. I don't know if he feels like burrowing up or down." Cory had some strange idioms for sex that randy had learned. Burrowing up meant he wanted Cory face up. That was not his preferred position. Cory smiled. "You want him up or down?" "Sir, I know you like down, but... I like seeing your face." "Well then get on your back boy. Get those boots and jeans off. Peter is not gonna wanna wait much longer." "YES SIR" randy smiled and moved as fast as he could. He fell back on the bed and realized, he could be in trouble. The bed was not a great one, but it had been so long since he had lay on one... "DON"T FALL ASLEEP," he told himself, and when he felt Cory drive into him, he knew he didn't have to worry. Cory was right: peter was very needy and he was not going to be denied. "WHOA DOGGIE" randy yelled and Cory laughed. "Now I ain't ever heard that out of you before, boy.. Sounds good." He rammed further, pressing his hands down on randy's wrists to hold him in position. randy began to make a sound somewhere in between purring and moaning. "OH YES SIR. OH GOD. YES. I MISSED PETER. WELCOME HOME BUD. WELCOME HOME." Cory was taking all of this in, and smiling , both outside and inside.
This one WAS a keeper. If he wanted to stay. That was something he didn't know. Cory picked up the pace. "Peter's galloping," he said. Even though the weather was cool, he began to sweat. So did randy. "SIR. FILL YOUR BOSTON BOY. SHOW ME WHO'S THE BOSS AROUND HERE. PLEASE. PLEASE.... " Cory pushed one more time and then the jizz started flowing into randy. When he felt it, randy smiled. "I'm making my man happy," he thought, and he was. Cory was very, VERY happy. He lay down next to randy and grabbed randy's cock. 'pete junior needs some help too." "OH YES SIR. HE DOES. BUT THAT'S MY JOB NOT YOURS. " Cory squeezed randy's cock just a little bit harder "I'll be the judge of that." "YES SIR. OH. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH.' randy began squirting, and when he was almost done, he began crying. "NOW DAMN IT RANDY DID I HURT YOU?" "No Sir. No.... I just... I just realized that... well.. Oh, I can't say it Sir. I can't. " Cory looked at him, and traced a little heart on randy's chest. "Sometimes ya don't have ta boy. Sometimes no words are plenty of words. " He pulled randy to him. "It was a long trip, randy boy. A little siesta would be good." "Yes sir." They slept with their arms around each other, just about for an hour and a half. randy woke up first, locked in Cory's grip. He took a risk, and ran his hand through Cory's thick hair. Cory woke up right away and smiled. "You're still pretty randy boy." "Thank you Sir." He kissed randy. "Now, let's get ourselves pulled together. I gotta show you around this place. We'll take a walk and you'll see some of the important places."
First, Cory introduced him to the stove. It was functional: there were two pans, and a coffee pot. The coffee pot was metal. "You gotta be careful with Bertha, randy. She's a bit tempermental, and she gets hot all over." He looked at the smile on randy's face and held up a finger. "Seriously, you could burn your hand real bad if you don't take a cloth or something when you're pouring out coffee. Keep that in mind. Now, the well... the well is in the center of this little place, let's go find it."
They left the house and walked to the well. Other people who hadn't seen Cory in a year stopped to greet him. They all asked about randy, and made him feel like he belonged.
"We'll get our water from here as long as we can, randy boy. There's a couple of buckets, but when the real cold comes - and it will - we'll collect snow and melt it, cause the well freezes. I'll show ya. We'll get the water together because you just aren't strong enough to bring back what we need in a day - not yet anyway." "Am I in charge of water, Sir?" "randy boy, you are the ruler of the kitchen, the laundry, the broom, all of it. Me? I'll make sure to get whatever we need that we don't have. " He pointed to his rifle. "Hunting'll still be good for a while, but after that, it's gonna be bacon and beans a lot, unless a stupid rabbit runs by the house.
They walked past the church. Simple. The priest was at the front door. "Padre Romero, Buenas Dias," Cory smiled and the Padre smiled back. "Good to have you back Cory. You joining us on Sunday?" "You know it Padre. OH. Before I forget." He reached into his jeans and pulled out a sack of gold coins. "Tithe for the year. Let me do that now." Romero smiled. "Gracias Cory. You always remember our Lord." "I'll see you on Sunday Padre." As they walked away, randy asked. "You're a church goer Sir?" "When I can." "Even though..." Cory smiled. "Yeah, even though. You know, out here, God doesn't pay no mind to who you love, just that you love. " He clapped his hand on randy's shoulder. "I got a feeling that our Boston boy wasn't a church goer." "I'm not Sir. My father was a Parson." "NO SHIT. Well, we're gonna have a lot to talk about. But you're gonna be a church goer now. You and Padre Romero - you're both readers - you're gonna get along fine. " They took a walk down to the stream where people washed or did laundry in the warm weather. There was no one around. Cory stopped and took randy's face in his hands. "Listen boy. I don't know if you realize this, but you are special to me. MIGHTY SPECIAL . And it ain't just your sweet ass and your soft mouth. I ain't ever had a boy back with me for the winter so.. I dunno how the hell this is gonna work out. But I want ya here. " "I want to be here too Sir. You gave me enough money to go back to Boston, or anywhere I want to go. I want to be here. With you." Cory was silent. He smiled before he hugged randy. Then he broke the hug. "If you had to pick Julie or me, could you?" "Yes sir. I already did." When he heard that answer, Cory hugged randy again. "Know what I think, sweet pea? I think it's time to see how you can cook without Cooky around . And then maybe our peters need some more tending to. " He paused. "You gonna read me that guy Whitman again?" "Whenever you want Sir." "Then how about now. Back at the cabin?" "Yes sir. Of course." Cory sat there, listening to randy's voice as he read the Whitman. "Read it again boy. This time I wanna listen with my eyes closed." randy read it again. Cory's eyes were closed so tightly, he didn't know randy had gotten up. When he finished reading, he kissed Cory on the forehead. Cory smiled at him as randy smiled back. "You ain't so tough Sir." "THAT RIGHT BOI? THAT RIGHT?" Cory jumped out of the chair and grabbed randy. His thumbs dug into randy's ticklish ribs as he dragged him to the bed. "This time, you're gonna take it the way I like it best. " randy felt his jeans get pulled down, and his legs pushed apart. "Are you REALLY that hard again, Sir?" randy got that out before Cory got to work. "What can I say, you beautiful boy? You damn ANGEL. Cause that kiss felt like an angel's wing on my head. " "Your peter doesn't sir." "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. NAH. Think of it as the devil's pitchfork. " For the second time that day, randy felt the jizz going up him. "Gonna have to hold it until we get to the stream tomorrow boy. Didn't bring back any washing water." "That's ok Sir. I like how it feels."
randy's first meal in the cabin, smoked trout and biscuit, was a success. He remembered what Cory told him about Bertha, and was very careful as he poured coffee for them. He could feel the heat through the cloth.