Tales from the Ranch

Disclaimer: The following story is a work of fiction. If you are offended by descriptions of homosexual acts or man/man relations, please exit this page. TALES FROM THE RANCH Copyrightc 2002 by Tulsa Driller 7. All rights reserved.

This is a story of men who have two common interests. You will see that they love the land where they live and work, but it is also the story of young men who love other men and their coming of age in a culture of prejudice and misunderstanding. It is a story, which deals with difficult and often disturbing issues but, nonetheless, issues which must be confronted in today's world.

This is a work of fiction and in no way draws on the lives of any specific person or persons. Any similarity to actual persons or events is entirely coincidental. This work is copyrightedc by the author and may not be reproduced in any form without the specific written permission of the author. It is assigned to the Nifty Archives under the terms of their submission agreement but it may not be copied or archived on any other site without the written permission of the author.

PLEASE: In a perfect world AIDS doesn't exist. My characters have unprotected sex. I hope you use proper precautions because I'd like you to be around the read the last chapter of this story.

Tales from the Ranch Chapter 15: Monday morning

As usual, Dale woke up at 6 a.m. He had a woody and needed to pee. They must have separated during the night as the last thing he remembered was curling up with Craig in front of him. Dale didn't think he had moved during the night, but Craig was on his back on the other side of the bed. He looked so angelic and delectable that Dale wanted to kiss him awake, but he decided that he needed to relieve his bladder before he could do anything else.

He slipped from the bed, making his way into the bathroom, pulling back his foreskin and let it rip. It felt good, but not as good as other things he'd learned he could do with his dick. He finished peeing and decided not to flush and risk waking Craig up. He had plans for waking him up and noise wasn't one of them.

Craig hadn't moved and Dale eased his 185-pound frame

back on the bed, trying to plan on his attack. He was trying to decide about licking his face, his nipples or to pull the covers down and inhale his cock. He decided to go for the cock and was surprised when he moved the covers away from his groin that he wasn't hard. All the better, he thought.

He worked up a mouthful of saliva, and then took the 4- inch flaccid cock all the way into his mouth and started running his tongue up and down and around it. He wasn't sure what kind of reaction he would get, but Craig wiggled around, thrusting against Dale's lips, his cock quickly hardening. Next he felt Craig's fingers in his hair.

Craig sounded sleepy, but he was wide-awake. Who could sleep through the action of a turbo tongue? "Mmmm, that feels good. What a way to wake up." More thrusting and he could feel Craig swelling even more and starting to twitch. Time for more action from Dale. He used his left hand to massage Craig's nipples, then his right fingers and thumb to massage his nuts and ran them down to his rosebud and back up. Craig was going to cum quickly and that was fine with Dale. He needed an early morning squirt of Craig to get his morning started.

Dale was hard, too. He was surprised that he was so stimulated by what he was doing to Craig, but he could feel the beginnings of an ejaculation starting in his groin, too. Sure enough he could feel Craig starting to cum and the size of his dick increased again, getting harder. Dale kept up his assault and was enjoying listening to the "Craig noises" he was hearing. He was so engrossed in what was going on that he lost track of what his own body was doing.

About that time Craig went, "Uummp. uggg. aahhh and erupted into Dale's mouth. Dale pulled back a little so he could taste Craig and at that time realized that he was starting to cum, too. He was at a right angle to Craig's body and most of Dale's cum hit Craig's side just above his hips and some of it even ended up on Dale's lips and Craig's balls.

Wow!! That was a first for him. He'd cum a couple of times when Craig had when they were fucking or having a 69, but this was a first. His orgasm had been caused by what he was doing to Craig with no stimulation from either of them. He loved Craig and the effect they had on each other. They were a good match, both sexually and more importantly, being totally in love with each other.

He allowed Craig to finish his orgasm and cleaned the last traces of cum from his dick. His beautiful 6 1/2-inch dick. He even tasted some of his own cum that had ended up on Craig's body. He wanted to share with Craig. This was too good to keep just for himself

Dale moved up toward Craig, laying flat on top of him so that they matched in all the right places. Dale was still dripping cum. He ran his tongue around Craig's willing lips, which opened so he could make a deposit. They shared the harvest, mixing a cocktail with saliva and stirring it with their tongues. This was the ultimate giving of one's self, they each thought.

Craig couldn't believe that Dale had cum just from sucking him, but realized that he could probably have the same thing happen to him, given the right circumstances. All he knew was that they could please each other, regardless of the sexual act. And. they were good for each other outside of the sack, too.

They lay there for a few minutes, enjoying the presence of the other and regaining their thoughts and calming down.

Craig spoke first. "Hon, what a way to wake up of a morning. I was dreaming and all of a sudden my cock felt like it was in a hot, wet tunnel, being massaged and stroked. I've never felt anything that could compare."

"That was fun. I couldn't resist doing that to you. I love you, babe, and hope we can do stuff like this to each other forever."

"You got my vote on that. I want that experience again. And. I want to do it to you, too."

"Anytime, my lover, anytime."

Craig peered at the clock. It was 6:20. They needed to get the day started. Too bad this wasn't a Saturday. They could play with each other all morning. maybe even all day. 'Oh well, it would happen,' he thought.

Almost as if they had discussed it, they rolled apart and got out of bed, Dale offering his hand to Craig. As part of the morning routine they had quickly established, Craig headed to the kitchen, although he had learned to prepare the coffeemaker the night before, so all he had to do was turn the switch on. He had left two glasses on the kitchen counter and he filled them with orange juice and went back to their bathroom.

He really liked to shave before his shower - somehow he felt cleaner that way. Dale was just lathering his face as Craig started brushing his teeth. Craig was at the other sink and was right behind Dale. His beard wasn't as heavy so he could shave a little more quickly. They finished about the same time.

"Hey, the mustache is starting to look good. Coming in thick and by this time next week it ought to look really good. By the time you meet my parents, it ought to look really great. Mom will go ape. She's tried to get my dad to grow one for years. He'll let it grow about two weeks, then shaves it off. Mom will be jealous that my husband has a mustache and hers doesn't."

Dale was proud of the progress and gave Craig an

orange juice-flavored kiss.

"Thanks. It's going to be strange meeting your parents and them knowing that we're having sex with each other."

"I honestly don't care what they think. I love you

and I think, from what I experienced this morning, that the feeling is mutual. It's none of their business, anyway."

"I know that. It just will be weird. I can't

imagine taking you home to meet my family - that is if I had one."

"Hey Hon, don't worry about it. This is now. that

was then."

"I know. It's just that my life has had a lot of changes this past week and I'm glad you're here to help me through them," Dale said with moist eyes.

Craig steered him toward the shower. "Get the water adjusted and I'll get the coffee so it can cool a little while we're showering." He picked up the juice glasses, headed to the kitchen

to rinse them and brought two mugs of coffee to the bathroom. He crawled into the shower with Dale and they opened all the showerheads. Craig was thankful he had designed the shower like this, never dreaming that he would share it with this stud of a husband he had. HIS MAN!!

Dale arrived at the Bar-W about 7:30, his usual time, and stopped at the end of the driveway to greet Jason and Kevin. As per usual the school bus was right on time and they had little chance to say anything other than "hello" to each other and wish each a good day.

Mort came driving in as Dale parked his car. Dale got out with his lunch in his hand as Mort parked his Blazer in front of the barn. They greeted each other and Mort waited for Dale to walk to where he was standing. Dale started to speak, "I understand that you." when

Mort interrupted him.

"Yes, it's true. My wife took care of an elderly aunt for many years, not knowing that she was worth a lot of money. It wasn't until after she died that Margie and I found out she left it all to my wife. We've decided to travel and are going to buy an RV of some kind. mainly enjoy life while we're young enough to do it." "Congratulations. You've worked here a long time and deserve to enjoy life," Dale replied.

"Dale, Marty called me right after you left here yesterday afternoon. He was really happy that you had accepted his offer to take my place."

"I don't know that I'm going to able to take your

place, Mort. Nobody could do that."

"I'm not leaving here until after the holidays. That gives us almost 4 months to work together so I can show you what needs to be done. The priority things for you are to get up to speed on the cattle and horse parts of this operation and to find a crop foreman to take your place, although that one is not a pressing issue."

"Four months is an awful short time to show me what

it's taken you 37 years to learn," Dale answered.

"That's true, but you have Martin and Marty to rely on and they will be here for anything. anything at all you need to know about or to have help making a decision. I made mistakes to begin with - Martin can tell you that - and never received an unkind word for it. They just don't treat their employee's that way. You know that, Dale."

"Yes, but it's still a big responsibility. I just hope I'm up for it."

"You are, I wouldn't have recommended you if I didn't believe that. The Williamson's have had their eye on you since you became crops foreman and they like what you have accomplished in that job. The soil conservation job got this place an award and I know that was totally your idea."

"I appreciate your confidence - everyone's confidence - but still will need all the help I can get."

Mort punched Dale on the arm. "Put your lunch in the cooler and come on in to your new office."

"Okay, but the three guys should be here in a few

minutes and I need to get them started on the days assignments."

"That's fine. Marty will be out here about 8:30 to talk to the two of us. What do you have planned for the guys to do today?"

"We can start cutting the clover hay you sold the other day or we can put the hay away that we baled the other day. The barn is ready and the only equipment that needs to be hauled is the conveyor to get it to the second floor."

"Your decision, Dale, but why don't you store the bales that are ready. The people who bought the new hay crop aren't going to come get it until Friday."

"Fine with me. I'll have the guys hook the conveyor to the pickup and take them down to the barn. I should be back by the time Marty is ready to meet with us."

About that time, as if on cue, the three guys drove in and John parked his car next to Dale's.

Dale had them sign their time sheets and took them to the barn, arriving back at the ranch office just as Marty was walking from the house. Dale parked the farm pickup in front of the barn, facing Mort's Blazer.

Marty was beaming as he greeted Dale and shook his hand. "Well, Mr. General Manager, how do you feel today? Can you get your hat on yet?" Marty teased.

It took Dale a minute to realize that Marty was teasing him about having a "swelled head" and shook his head 'no' as he laughed. "I still can't believe that you're giving me this job."

"Only because we advertised in a 17-state area

and couldn't find anyone else who was gullible enough to take it," Marty said, clapping Dale on his back.

They both laughed and were still laughing as they

entered the office.

Mort looked up as if to ask what was so funny. Marty said, "Mort, I had to tell the real truth about

his promotion - that nobody else wanted the job -

including you!" They all laughed.

Dale loved Marty's sense of humor. It certainly made him feel better that his boss was someone who enjoyed a good time and that Dale could be comfortable with him.

Dale and Marty settled down in the chairs in front of Mort's desk. Mort started the meeting.

"I told Dale that the most important thing he needed to do was to get up to speed with the cattle and horse operations here. I'm going to set up a meeting with Sam Jealso tomorrow morning to talk about cattle and then Lee Baker tomorrow afternoon so we can talk about the horse operation.

"Dale, the cattle operation isn't as complicated as we breed and raise our own cattle here on the Bar- W instead of buying young steers and raising them. We can control bloodlines and bring in new strains as needed. Our cattle have always brought top dollar from several of the local processors and it's generally graded as USDA Prime. As you know, we own no bulls; all breeding is accomplished by artificial insemination. Marty's degree in biology has helped us a lot here on the ranch with all three operations.

"The horses are a different story. We buy a lot of horses from good breeders across the state and into Oklahoma, Colorado and New Mexico. Lee Baker is good at what he does and can be trusted to make good decisions when it comes to purchasing new blood lines. I don't know if you've ever seen our studbooks and inventory listing, but each horse carries a pedigree showing its bloodline, sires and dams. It's all documented and people buying from us know they are getting what we say we are selling. One sale of a horse with a questionable pedigree could put us out of business. At least today, we have DNA testing available, which makes it easier for us - and everyone else - but we still tell the truth about what we are selling. If we discover one bad horse, then it's pulled from our catalog and sold to someone who wants a good saddle horse, but doesn't care about the ancestry. They're getting a good horse, in every case, but we don't have to stand behind that sale like the others."

Marty broke in. "We have an excellent reputation here and we're going to keep it. If a mistake is made, we admit it and guarantee anything we sell; but we do our best not to make a mistake to begin with."

Mort continued. "Marty and I attend a lot of cattle and horse shows. We do buy some cattle, but not many. The horses, as I said, are another matter. We breed some of our own from exceptional bloodlines we've developed, but it's a whole different operation than cattle ranching.

"You will be expected to go to some of the shows and it's a really great way to get to know other breeders whom we buy from and sell to, but it also will help you get an eye for picking good stock," Marty added.

"There is a horse show in Waco in three weeks and I'll get your name added to the reservation list, along with Marty, Lee and myself. You can expect to be gone from the ranch from 2 to four days a month to attend the various shows and events, " Mort told him.

Marty smiled at Dale, his eyes twinkling. "If you want to take Craig with you, and I'm sure you do, it's at the Bar-W expense. No different for you guys than Mort taking Margie or me taking Chris." He got a big grin on his face. "Have you told Mort - about you and Craig?"

Dale could feel his face getting red and it seemed to spread throughout his body.

"No." he said, hesitantly.

"Well, you'd better - as in right now." Marty was still grinning so Dale figured it was okay.

He looked at Mort and he was smiling, too.

"Eemm. Unngh. Mort, I'm gay and Craig Bastian and I. (this was hard to say) are. partners. we're going to live together." He was expecting the worst.

"Oh, so that's why you asked for two days off to go to Ft. Worth and Dallas with him? Well, congratulations. He's well respected around this ranch and I hope things work out well for you." He stood up and held his hand out to Dale to shake.

Dale was, once again, stunned. He took Mort's hand and then Marty shook hands with him again.

Marty, clapped his hand on Dale's shoulder. "This has been a busy week for Dale. He's met a guy, fallen in love, moved in with him, sold his house, gotten a new job and is finding out just exactly how much we all love him and depend on him around the Bar- W."

Mort agreed. "You can say that again. He's done

really well as crop foreman and I expect nothing less from him as General Manager."

About that time, two vehicles drove up to the barn. One was a new white Blazer with the Bar-W logo painted on the door and on the back and the other was a shuttle van from the local GM dealer.

Marty looked at his watch. "Right on time, Mort. Come on guys," he said as he headed out the door.

As they headed out to the parking area, the fellow who had driven the Blazer got out and greeted Marty, then Mort. Marty then introduced Dale. "This is Dale Richards, our new General Manager. He's taking Mort's place when he retires at the end of the year. Dale, this is Jerome Robinson." They exchanged greetings.

"Jerome handed Dale a set of keys, saying, "Here's your new vehicle. Hope it performs well for you, but if you have any problems that our service department doesn't get fixed to your satisfaction, give me a call."

Dale was certainly having a lot of "Kodak moments" the last few days. Jerome asked Dale, "Is that your Mustang over there?"

"Yes."

"Well if you have any interest in selling it, it was a limited production vehicle and I know someone who might like to buy it from you."

"It's not in very good shape," Dale said. "It runs

well, but looks terrible."

"Doesn't make any difference, by the time this guy's through with it, he'll have it looking like it just came off the showroom floor. Here's my card. Give me a call and I'll make arrangements for him to meet you."

Dale thanked him, and all shook hands again as Jerome got in the van to leave.

"I don't know what to say. I never thought about having a 'company car' to use. I guess I knew Mort did, but wasn't thinking of myself."

Marty started laughing. "Dale, I can't have you representing my ranch while you're driving that Mustang. People would think I'm a cheap-assed SOB." All three of them laughed together.

"Point well taken," Dale said, still laughing.

Mort said, "I have a meeting with Lee in about 10 minutes, so will see you both a little later." He got in his Blazer to leave.

"Come on back in the office. There are a few more things I need to talk to you about," Marty said, leading the way.

They both settled back where they had been seated when Mort was there.

"I know things may seem like they are happening quickly, but that's the way things are done around here sometimes. Like the car. I called Jerome on Thursday after I talked to Mort. They didn't have this car, but were able to get it from a dealer in Austin. I wanted to give it to you this morning so they had to move quickly, too."

"Thanks, Marty, it's really appreciated. I was thinking the other day about trading my old car in on a small pickup because I thought it looked so bad parked next to Craig's car at his. our. condo. Glad now that he talked me out of it. He said it was okay."

"Craig's a smart guy and I'm glad you held off. Sometimes things just work out for the best, don't they?"

"Yeah, they really do."

"Now, we need to discuss some financial aspects of this job. In the first place, you will have an expense account and I need to let Morris Johnsmore talk to you about that so I don't tell you something wrong. I set up a meeting for you at his office at 1:30 today. He will give you a company credit card and explain how it's to be used, along with accounting for cash purchases and expenses that come out of your own pocket when buying for the ranch.

"The other thing we need to discuss is your salary. While you are learning the ropes, from now until the end of the year, I propose that we pay you $42,000 a year. That's retroactive to the first of this month. Then starting January 1st, that increases to $52,000 a year."

Dale's head was spinning. As crops foreman, he was

being paid $30,000 plus overtime, insurance and a bonus.

"Does that sound fair to you?" Marty asked.

Dale was sitting there, trying to sort this out and make it all come together.

"Yeah. that's more than generous," he said.

"Well, there is still the year-end bonus and some profitsharing, along with insurance, the use of a company car, gasoline and an expense account. You can check with Morris today. he'll probably explain it all to you anyway. but we think it's a pretty good benefit package."

"Yes, I'm sure it is. It just seems overwhelming

right now."

"I can understand that. You've had a major upheaval - all for the good, I hope, in your life this week. A lot of new stuff to digest and think about, I'm sure. Dale, all of our family, Chris and me, Dad and Mom, Jason and Kevin; think a lot of you and we're a 100% behind you and are here to help you whenever we can."

"Thanks, Marty, I really appreciate what you and Mort have done for me the last few years. I can't imagine working anywhere else."

They started to shake hands, then embraced each other in a big hug. As they pulled away, Marty said, "Now, since you have to go into town to talk to Morris, why don't you take your boyfriend to lunch in your new vehicle and share the good news with him?"

"That would be great, but I need to get the three guys putting up the hay and bring them back here so they can have their lunch."

"Don't worry about it. If Mort isn't back by 11:30, I'll go get them for you. I've not had a chance to get acquainted with any of them yet. Do you think one of them might have the potential for your old job?"

"I don't know. Maybe Michael, he's 21. John is 19. I don't think Pat could do it. He works hard, but complains about things a little too quickly. We may have to look outside the ranch unless there is someone in either the cattle or horse operation that knows about crops. Of course, I didn't know all that much when I started here. Mort taught me everything I know about the operation."

With that Marty shook hands again and said, "Don't

worry about it. Since you'll still be here and can do that job, as well as being General Manager, we don't have to reach a decision anytime soon."

Marty walked back toward his house and Dale headed into the office to call Craig.

"Hi Sweetie," he said when Craig answered (gosh it felt good to call him that). "I've got to come into town for a 1:30 meeting and wondered if you'd like to go to lunch with me? I promise I'm not all dusty or greasy."

"I don't care if you are, I'm only interested in what's under the clothes anyway," Craig teased. He went on to say, "You must be alone in the office."

"Yeah, Mort had a meeting and Marty just went back to the house. I'm supposed to talk to Morris Johnsmore so thought we might get a bite to eat somewhere. I'll be at your office at noon, if that's okay. I haven't seen the inside of it, anyway."

"Sounds fine to me. See you then. I love you,"

Craig said.

"I love you more, but we could argue about that all

day without agreeing, couldn't we?" "Yeah, but I could show you the ways," Craig teased.

"I'll see to it that you get a chance - tonight," Dale said. "Bye."

"Bye," Craig said, hanging up.

• • • • • Dale had some paperwork to approve for things, which

had been purchased and delivered, and he needed to look over the inventory of parts and supplies to see if anything needed to be reordered. By the time he was through in the office, Mort was back and Dale told him that he would go get the guys in the field, but someone would have to take them back after lunch since he had to go meet Morris Johnsmore.

"That's not a problem. I brought my lunch today, so I'll be here anyway. I haven't had a chance to talk to any of these guys, so this might be a good opportunity."

Dale headed out and decided to take one of the farm pickups to get the guys. He didn't want to get the inside of his new vehicle dirty before he had a chance to show it to his lover.

When he got ready to leave to go into town, Mort asked him to take care of some ranch errands for him that afternoon. This was going to involve a trip to the Co-op and the Farm and Ranch Hardware store plus picking up some parts that had been repaired at a local welding shop. There were also some other parts to be repaired that needed to be dropped at the welding shop.

It was 11:45 when he left the ranch as he had to

adjust mirrors and his drivers seat. The Blazer seemed to be fully equipped with front winch, 4-wheel drive, air-conditioning and a good radio. It seemed strange to be driving this vehicle where he was up high rather than his Mustang, which was low to the ground. He checked the gas gauge and there was a full tank of gas.

Ten minutes later he pulled into the parking lot at Craig's office. He had never been in the building before and was anxious to see where his lover worked and the equipment they had to facilitate their work. Craig's car and another were in the lot. He assumed it was Don's car and he was a little nervous, as he had not met him before.

As he walked to the building, Craig saw him and opened the door for him. "Is that a Bar-W vehicle?" he asked.

With great pride, Dale said, "Yes, Marty bought it

for my use and they delivered it this morning."

"Aren't you glad you didn't trade your Mustang for a little pickup, then?"

"Certainly am, and the salesmen thinks he knows someone who would be interested in my Mustang. Come to find out it's a limited production model and the guy wants to restore it."

As they walked into the office area, Craig hugged

Dale to himself and gave him a kiss on the cheek. About that time Don stuck his head around the corner of his office and gave Craig and Dale a thumbs-up. He had never seen Dale before and was impressed with what he saw.

"Don, come out here and meet my friend, Dale."

The two men shook hands with each other, with Don congratulating Dale on the promotion to his new job.

"Thanks. I can't believe this has happened, but it seems to be what the Williamson's want and I hope I'm up for the job."

Don replied, "I can't think they would give you a job you couldn't handle. They may own half of Williamsport, but they are down to earth, honest and as fair as the day is long."

"I know that. I just have to keep pinching myself that all of this is real. It's all happened so quickly without warning. I had no idea Mort was thinking of retirement." Craig spoke up. "I made reservations at the grill in

the Cattleman's Hotel for 12:15, so we'd better be on our

way." "Okay, but I want to see your office

space."

"This will be a real quick tour. This is Don's office, then mine is next to it and looks at lot like it, except neater," he laughed. "We have a large common work room where the computer equipment and plotter is, then this is Sherry's office. She's our bookkeeper and takes care of the business end of things. Then if we need to add more employees in the future, we have a lease option on two more rooms next door. They just have to put a door in at the end of the hall."

Dale was impressed with the plotter, which was

drawing a house plan on a sheet of paper that had to be at least 3 feet square. He had never seen anything like it.

They left for lunch, Dale proudly unlocking the passenger door for Craig to get in. "Hey, guy, this is nice. How long is it going to stay clean, being a farm vehicle?"

"Mort keeps his vehicle clean. I guess we really don't use them a lot except for ranch business. When there is heavy, dirty work, we seem to use the pickups or tractors for that. I was really stunned that Marty bought me a new vehicle. I hadn't even thought about that. If anything I guess I thought I might get Mort's when he retired." They rode down the street. "Hon, the main reason I'm

in town other than running some errands for the ranch is to meet with Morris Johnsmore after lunch. He's going to explain my expense account and will give me a company credit card to use. Marty said that he would also explain my compensation package. Can you believe that they are going to pay me $42,000 a year, retroactive to the first of this month?"

"Hey, that's great. Now you earn more than I do,"

Craig replied.

"That's not all. After the first of the year, my salary goes to $52,000, plus year-end bonus and profit sharing if it's a good year - and insurance coverage, both life and health." "Hon, that's not too shabby for a guy who was putting himself down as being a dumb cowboy the other day. I'm so proud of you, it's almost like a dream come true for you." He grabbed Dale's hand and kissed it, not worrying about people in other vehicles around them.

Dale parked in front of the hotel grill and they went in. Neither had been in the restaurant before and were impressed with the nice fixtures. There were no women in the grill and most of the men were dressed like Dale and Craig, that being Levis and chinos. They found out later that there was also a formal dining room in the hotel where the men were expected to wear coats and ties.

The host seated them, leaving menus for their perusal. Shortly afterward their waiter arrived and introduced himself as Bryan and asked if they would like drinks.

Craig spoke up, "Yes, Bryan, bring us each a Bloody

Mary. We're still looking at the menu."

"Yes sir," Bryan said and disappeared.

"I don't usually have a drink other than beer at lunch, but this is a special occasion," Craig said.

"That's fine. It is a special occasion."

"Just being with you is a special occasion for me,"

Craig said, his eyes dancing.

"Bryan was right back with their drinks and at the same time a bus boy brought rolls and butter, filling their water goblets.

"Have you gentlemen decided yet?" Bryan asked.

"No, your service is so prompt we haven't had a

chance to look at the menu yet. Give us a few minutes." Craig held up his glass, saying "Cheers" and Dale did

the same.

They looked at the menu and Craig suggested they might eat lightly, and then go somewhere really nice for dinner to celebrate their first week together and Dale's new job.

Bryan returned. Dale ordered a Reuben sandwich with a salad and Craig ordered a cheeseburger and onion rings.

"Marty said that there is going to be a horse show in Waco in three weeks and wants me to go with Mort and Lee Baker, who's the manager of the horse operation, and Marty. He said you could go along, too, if you wanted." Dale giggled. "He said that taking you was no different than the others guys taking their wives."

"That's great. Ft. Worth and Dallas in two weeks and Waco the week after that. That will give us a chance to do some exploring, too. I can go, no problem."

"They also said that I could expect to be out of town on ranch business anywhere from 2 to four days a month. I guess it depends on what's going on as to your going, but I'll find out."

"Whatever works out for the ranch. If I can go,

I'd love to, but it's not going to upset me if I can't."

Their food arrived about that time and they dug into it like they were really hungry. They skipped desert.

Craig insisted on paying the bill and they left the restaurant. It was just 1 p.m.

"What do you think about swinging past the Bank of Commerce and opening a checking account for household expenses? Do you have time?"

"Yeah, it shouldn't take that long and I have my checkbook with me, too."

Dale drove to the bank and they were able to open an account without waiting. He and Craig each wrote a check for $600 for their initial deposit.

They left the bank and Dale took Craig back to his office. There were no other cars in the parking lot and Craig insisted on a "real kiss" this time, which left them both gasping for breath and just a little plump in the dick department. As Craig got out of Dale's car, he said, "Bye lover.

See you at home a little later. Will you be pretty much

on time?" "Should be able to get away from the

ranch about 5:30, so should be home at 5:45 or so." "Okay, I'll make dinner reservations for us so we can

go celebrate, okay?"

"Sounds great to me," Dale said as Craig shut the

door.

He arrived at Morris Johnsmore's office just at 1:30 and the receptionist sent Dale right in to see him.

Morris stood up as Dale entered his office and walked across to the door to greet Dale.

"Dale, it's good to see you again. Congratulations on your promotion to Mort's job. >From what Marty and Martin have said, they are thrilled you've accepted."

"Thank you, Mr. Johnsmore."

"Dale, the name is Morris. Mr. Johnsmore was my grandfather," he laughed.

"Okay," Dale replied.

"By the way, it was good to see you at church yesterday morning. Was that your first time to attend a service there?"

"Yes, I really enjoyed it. There is so much

reverence in the ceremony and ritual and the music was especially grand."

"We think we have a great combination with Fr.

George and Paul making their contributions to the church. Certainly our membership is increasing."

"I'm anxious to learn more as to what everything is about. I was invited to attend an 'Inquirers Class' and I think I'll do so."

Morris laughed, "Well, there's no obligation on your part, but I think about 97 percent of the people who go through that class end up being members."

He motioned for Dale to sit on a chair in front of his desk and they went over the records Dale would be expected to have in order to be reimbursed for out of pocket expenses for the ranch and how to fill out the weekly report. He gave Dale a temporary MasterCard for the ranch.

"I've ordered one which will have both your name and the BarW name on it, but this will work fine until it arrives. I'll send it out as soon as I get it."

Morris showed Dale where to enter items charged on the report, and told him to make sure he signed the folder each week when he sent it in. He stressed that the report was to filed each week regardless of reporting expenses or not.

"The Blazer was purchased for your usage, Dale, so feel free to drive it even on personal business. There is an IRS guideline about using company vehicles for personal use, but the reason you are being given a car is so that you can respond immediately if you are needed at the ranch. You need to get a cell phone to carry for the same reason. Go to Southwestern Bell Mobile this afternoon and fill out the paperwork. Just have the bill sent to my office. Here's a card with the mailing address.

"Now we need to talk about your benefits. The ranch carries both life and health insurance on you. We need to fill out some paperwork to get the process started. The health insurance is standard deductible with major medical and the life insurance will be equal to two-and-a-half times your annual wage, which will be $130 thousand dollars. I realize you won't get that until the first of the year, but we'll fill the application out for that amount now. Do you have a beneficiary to designate for this?

Dale was a little hesitant in answering. "Is it okay if I put my best friend on it? I don't have any relatives."

"Sure, not a problem."

"Then I'd like to designate Craig Bastian."

"Okay. Do you know his Social Security Number?"

"No." "Why don't you use my phone and call him. That will

just speed up the paperwork." Dale called Craig and got the number, writing it down

and handing it to Morris.

"Now, Dale, do you have any other questions about

your expenses or benefits?

"Yes, we're supposed to go to a horse show in Waco in about 3 weeks. My friend, Craig, will be going with me. Eerrr. what about. how do we.?"

"Oh, I see. Well, Dale, any expenses you incur for both of you are part of the ranch expenses. So, that includes hotel rooms, meals and any entertaining that you might do, such as buying drinks for a group of people at the show. Craig is treated the same as Marty's wife or the spouse of any other man."

Dale could feel himself getting red. "Okay, I

just didn't want to do anything wrong."

Well, if you have any questions, just call me. I'll be more than happy to help you out. By the way, since you are on a different salary schedule now, you will be paid every other week instead of weekly. Is it going to be a problem for you to adjust to that schedule?"

"No, I have money in savings and not too many

bills to pay." "Fine, just didn't want to cause

you a problem." With that he stood, indicating the meeting was over.

Dale ran the errands for the ranch, picking up the stuff on Mort's list and dropping off parts to be repaired. It seemed that the news of Mort's retirement was getting around town quickly as several people congratulated Dale on his promotion and wished him well in his new position.

After he picked up his cell-phone he decided to call Craig to see how it worked and was amazed at the clarity of sound. It wasn't any different than talking on a regular phone.

"Hi Love," he said when Craig answered the phone.

"Hi Love, yourself," he replied. It felt so good to be able to call Dale that.

"I had to bother you so I could check how my cell phone works and give you the number. I have a holster so I can carry it on my belt." Craig wrote down the number and put it in his billfold, thinking that it would be easy to memorize.

"I was just thinking about you. Should I call the two women about the sale of your household items? I think we need to find out their schedule and see if they can work you in before your possession date. Don gave the realtor his permission to draw up a contract for the sale so we can talk about that tonight if you want to."

"Yeah, that would be great. I don't know what to tell them, but guess I can meet with them about any time. It seems that Mort gets away with personal business during the day, but I'll have to ask him about that."

"I'll call now. Maybe they will have some time to talk to both of us this week."

"Sounds great. Do what you need to do and I'll

be there." "Will do as soon as we hang up. I

love you," Craig said. "Love you, too, Hon.

Bye," Dale replied.

By this time Dale was back at the ranch and hauled his purchases into the office so they could be put away. Marty drove in right behind him, having come from Craig's office to pickup the plans for the new quarters for the men.

"Do you have a minute, Dale? I want you to look at

these plans with me and see what your ideas are."

"Sure, be glad to."

Marty spread them out and they stood in front of the desk to look at them. There was a full basement, which would have a bathroom with a large shower enclosure. If the guys were really dirty, they could come in the kitchen door and right down the stairs to the basement to clean up. The rest of the room was to be left largely unfinished, although the furnace and airconditioning equipment would be in it's own room and there would be space next to the bathroom for a washer and dryer.

"There will be plenty of room for exercise equipment. The stuff in the loft of this building can be put down here," Marty said.

"I have a bench and some weights at my house that

I'll be glad to contribute. There is no place for them at our condo and the guys living here might as well have the benefit if they want to use them," Dale told him.

Marty flipped the page to the first floor layout.

"Okay, here's a large bedroom that is 15 x 30 feet. It has two large closets in the middle to separate the room into two semi-private areas. There is plenty of room for a double or queen-size bed, a chest, TV cart and easy chair. It's not overly large, but should be more comfortable than where they are living now. The bathroom is right off this room and can be accessed from the bedroom or common room.

"The kitchen has room for a refrigerator, four burner stove, microwave, double sink and storage for both food and cookware. There is a counter at one end where the guys can either stand or sit on bar stools. Right off the kitchen, in the common room is room for a dining table, which can seat six people. The common room isn't overly large, but if the guys want to play cards they can sit at the table. There's room for a TV and a couple of sofas. If anyone has stereo equipment, there's room for that, too. The stairway goes up from the front door. There is also an outside entrance to the kitchen and the stairway to the basement goes down from there."

"On the second floor, there are two bedrooms the size of the one on the first floor and the bathrooms are duplicated, one accessible from each bedroom." "Looks like Craig has thought of everything and it's compact, but still roomy enough," Dale said.

"Well, it's not fancy but practical and it will be up to the guys to keep it clean. I think it should be up to you to inspect it every couple of weeks to make sure they are doing that and that there isn't any damage. If someone is abusing their privilege of living here, then they are subject to be fired. Are you okay with that?" Marty asked.

"Sure am. I was going to suggest something of that sort myself. In fact, I think it would be a good idea to have them sign something like an agreement that states that fact. If they don't want to sign they don't live there."

"Okay. I'm going to call Ray this afternoon and see when we can get started on this project. Craig said he hadn't made any changes since Ray picked up plans on Friday, so he should have had time to put some cost figures together."

"It's possible that we could use some of our own men to help build this, depending on our crop schedule. If you want to use them, I'll schedule their work to accommodate that," Dale said.

"That might work. Let me find out what Ray has

in mind for manpower."

"Okay. Just let me know what's needed," Dale

answered.

Dale realized that he didn't know how the work was going where the men were working that afternoon. Mort hadn't left a note and they could be done and sitting there waiting for someone to pick them up. He made a mental note that in the future the guys should have a vehicle available where they were working in case someone got hurt and needed immediate transportation to a hospital or doctor. He also thought that other cell phones should be purchased and kept with each crew, for the same reason. He'd have to talk to Mort, Lee and Sam about that. It seemed to him that they were taking a risk with the employee's well being.

He got in the farm pickup in front of the barn

and headed to the hay barn that was several miles away.

It was a good thing he had thought of them because they were within a hundred bales of getting the hay put away. The three guys were working without shirts and Dale couldn't help but notice that they were all hunks. He didn't think he had hired them with that in mind, but they all looked good. Of course he wasn't about to hit on any of them. After all, Craig was HIS MAN and they had chosen each other. He knew that Craig felt the same about him.

However, Dale couldn't help but wonder if these guys played around with each other. He wasn't about to admit to them that he was gay. That really wasn't any of their business and nothing would be gained by them having that knowledge. At least that's what he thought, then.

Dale greeted the guys as he got out of the pickup. He indicated that they could stop working to take a short break. They welcomed the chance to get a drink of cold water.

"How's the project coming along?" Dale asked.

Michael was in charge of the crew. "Okay, we're within. probably 45 minutes of finishing up storing bales."

"Great, how much space is left?" Dale asked.

"There's enough space in the loft to get it all up

there, but it's going to be full."

"That's about what I figured when we hauled it down here. We didn't get quite as many bales this crop, but we didn't have as much rain as usual, either."

About this time, they heard the engine driving the conveyor belt start up again. Pat was loading bales off the wagon and John was hauling them into place in the loft.

"Guess I'd better get up and help John. It's easier if two of us are up there."

"That's fine, Michael. I'll come back to get you in about 45 minutes. The three of you have done good work today."

With that Dale got back in the pickup and Michael crawled up to help John.

Coach Paul Dennison was still in a bad mood when he got to school on Monday morning. His first action was to demand to see the principal. Melissa Howry, his secretary, told Paul that he was in a meeting, but that she would call his office as soon as the meeting was over.

As he left the office, without saying as much as a

"thank you", she had to stifle her giggle. She knew what he wanted to see the principal about. She also wasn't a fan of the coach and thought the Saturday morning discovery was probably well deserved. But, she couldn't figure out why Eddie Thompson was the other victim.

The meeting broke up within five minutes and several teachers left to go to their first classes. She went to Mr. Tate's door to tell him that Coach Dennison wanted to see him.

"Oh, what a great way to start my day. Guess I

might as well get this over with, although I don't think there is much I can do about it."

Melissa smiled. The principal started laughing and then they laughed together. "There are times he gets over-sold on himself, aren't there?" he asked.

"He's been that way ever since he came to Austin. He always has winning teams, but he's awfully overbearing and the kids really are more than a little afraid of him. He thinks it's a sign of respect. If he only knew," she said.

"Yes, I have to agree with that. He needs an intensive course in temper management. Sometimes verbal abuse is worse than actually laying a hand on a student."

"What time do you want to see him? I'll check his schedule."

"Let's get it over with. I don't have anything pressing and we might as well get this done early. Maybe that will head off him losing his temper in front of a class."

Melissa checked and the coach had second period free. She called his office to tell him and relayed his acceptance of a meeting to the principal.

Jason was having a good day. He had pop tests in math and history and he got a perfect on each. In English they were studying the parts of speech and correct sentence structure. They were also studying the difference in wording between British and American English. Jason was fascinated with the different words for simple things; petrol for gasoline, bonnet for car hood, boot for car trunk, telly for television and other simple words in common usage. To him, this was more interesting than trying to learn Spanish or French.

It was time for his last period, Phys Ed and he was looking forward to it as they were going to play soccer. He had his clean gym clothes in his backpack and dropped it off at his locker, taking the sack with the gym uniform. Coach Thompson was standing at the door telling them to get their gear on and handing out yellow, blue, white and red jerseys for the boys to wear. This divided the class into four teams. Eddie had learned a long time ago not to allow the boys to choose their own teams. All the good kids ended up on two teams and the ones who didn't have skills ended up on the others. By handing them out in the order the boys came in, the problem was usually solved.

Of course, the last two to arrive were the Riley twins. The thought hadn't occurred to him, but seeing those two boys made him wonder if his clamping down on them last week had anything to do with the "sack of shit" on his front steps. He didn't know if they would try anything like that themselves, but he'd heard of some of the escapades their older brothers had been in.

He laughed to himself. He wasn't upset about what

had happened. It was a stunt that had failed because the perpetrators either didn't know what they were doing, or left things the way they were for a joke. It was Paul Dennison who had made a big issue out of it. He wasn't smart enough to keep his mouth shut, so between him and the cop, Jerry Pennington, the word had gotten around Williamsport pretty quickly what had happened on the coaches front porch. In fact, if Eddie and Tom hadn't told their neighbor - who had a big mouth - about it, no one in town would have known they had received a gift, too.

Eddie was smart enough to keep his mouth shut. Things had a way for working around to where the truth would be revealed without a lot of effort on his part.

It was time to be on the soccer field. He walked

back in the dressing rooms to check and there were only three boys who were still changing clothes. One was Chris Baar, who was just slow and the other two were the Riley twins.

"Come on, guys, let's get this show on the road. We've got two matches to play today and time is slipping by."

Chris was ready and ambled to the door. The Riley

twins were just starting to get undressed. Eddie knew that if he pushed them, they would just cause more problems for the other boys.

"You have two minutes to get your scrawny little butts on the field. The choice is yours. Either you are on the field and ready to play in two minutes or I'll send you to the detention study hall.

The boys scowled. They didn't want to try to learn to play soccer because their older brothers, Pete and Donald, thought it was a 'sissy' game. They decided that the study hall was more to their liking. They just sat there, looking defiantly at the coach.

"Okay, fine. I'll call the office to have someone come get you. I hope you realize that you have to have a Phys. Ed credit this year in order to be sixth graders next year. He started to write a slip for the boys to be admitted to detention.

Larry spoke up. "Why do you always pick on us? We didn't do anything."

"That's the reason you are being 'picked on' as you like to call it. You HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING!! You can either act like part of this class or you can stay by yourselves in detention and let everyone else have fun today. It's your choice, guys. Not mine!"

"But nobody likes us," whined Jerry.

"Have either of you ever tried to get along with the other boys instead of trying to bully them and mistreat them?" Eddie asked. He was getting tired of this. They were holding up the class and he shouldn't have to be the one to baby them. "This class is hard. You make us do push-ups and sit-

ups and try to climb a dumb rope. We shouldn't have to do that," Larry said, sounding like he was on the verge of tears.

"Okay guys, no detention today. I'm sending you to the school counselor. He is better equipped to deal with you than I am." With that he tore up the note he'd started to write and started on a fresh sheet. While he was writing, he called the office to ask that they send someone to escort the Riley twins to the counselor's office. They had wasted at least 5 minutes of class time today. There was no excuse for that in his book.

By the time he got his note written, an office aide

was there to get the boys and take them to the

administration area. Eddie was seething by the

time he got outside, but realized that it wasn't the other kids fault. He quickly organized the four teams and got them started playing. This was a match to help the boys develop skills, and he watched both matches carefully, blowing his whistle to stop the play and give the boys pointers where they were needed. The class period passed quickly and he sent the boys

from one match back to the locker room so he would have a chance to work with the others a little longer, and to avoid congestion in the shower room. The rest of the boys were well behaved and needed little supervision.

It ended up that Jason, Tim and John were getting ready to shower at the same time and were in the same area to take off their gym clothes. John was well into puberty and starting to develop a pretty good fringe of hair above his cock. Jason was jealous, but had discovered the other day that he had a few hairs, too, although being lighter colored they didn't show up very well.

Tim was admiring both Jason and John and proudly showed them a couple of hairs above his little cock, too.

They finished stripping off their gym clothes and headed to the showers. By the time they were finished, the other boys had come in from the field.

Eddie Thompson announced that the jerseys they had worn today should go in their equipment basket, as they would be on the same teams until the semester break.

Jason was pleased with the class today. He had played soccer on two summer leagues and knew a few moves that some of the others on his team didn't know about. He was the acknowledged leader of the red team as his skills were a little better than the others.

Meanwhile, Kevin was finishing his day of school. The third grade class was starting to learn about vowels, consonants, nouns and other parts of speech in English. The math lessons were centered on memorizing addition, subtraction, multiplication and division tables. They would get to fractions a little later in the year. School wasn't as easy for Kevin as for Jason, but he knew he could depend on Jase to help him understand. For this reason, his grades were high and he was considered an honor student, getting high marks on his tests. His mind was quick and he readily memorized math tables.

Craig's meeting with Marty was short as they went over the plans together and there seemed to be no questions as to how the house was going to be built. Marty told said, "I'm going to have Dale look at these when I get back to the ranch to see if he has any suggestions."

"I haven't shown these to him. Didn't even think about it," Craig answered.

"Well as General Manager of the Bar-W he should have a say, don't you think?" queried Marty.

"Oh definitely. I think the more you can involve him in stuff like this the quicker it's going to be for him to see that you trust him and value his opinion."

"He seems to be reluctant about his, doesn't he?"

asked Marty.

"We had a long talk last night about this and I think he feels a lot better about everything that's happening in his life right now. You realize that he really raised himself while growing up and didn't have any role models to emulate except maybe some teachers. The family didn't have much and I think his mother resented Dale because he reminded her of his father and of the love she never had."

"Craig, I think you came along at a time when Dale needs to build self-confidence. You are going to be good for him to rely on and see him through this transition in his life. I can see him starting to bloom a little bit already, so keep up the good work," Marty said.

"Thanks, Marty. He's a super guy. he just doesn't realize his potential."

"Marty, can I ask you something personal?" "Sure, but I might not answer it," he said, his eyes twinkling.

"It's unusual for a man like yourself to be so accepting of gay men and supportive of Dale's and my relationship. I think we are very fortunate to count you and your family among our friends. I. unn. guess I'm. wondering why?"

"As I said yesterday, my best friend from college is gay and we keep in fairly close contact with each other. He and his lover come to Williamsport to visit a couple of times a year and Chris and I have stayed at their house several times when we were in Houston. He's. or they. are no different than any of our other friends. Just two men who love and respect each other."

"Okay. I was just curious," Craig said.

Marty silently congratulated himself on having a

ready answer that was true. They shook hands and Marty headed back to the ranch.

• • • • • Author's Note: This is my first attempt at gay fiction, and the only way I can learn whether or not I should continue is from my readers' feedback. I would appreciate your comments, criticism, suggestions, and anything else that you would care to say. All Email will be answered. If you wish to receive e-mail notification of subsequent posting, please let me know by sending your request to the e- mail address below. Contact me at: tulsadriller7@aol.com

Thanks for the overwhelming response to previous chapters. I received positive replies from all over the world. My special thanks to RW, whom I've known for many years and value his suggestions. Also for the proofreading help of Paul Daventon, author of "Turning the Page" found in the "Adult-Friends" section of Nifty. Please read it.