The Inheritance Clause

This story contains descriptions of graphic sex between males. If that kind of thing does not appeal to you, stop reading now.

This story is pure fiction. If this resembles something that happened to you, it must have been an incredible experience. But it's simply a coincidence.

All comments are welcome: djwarner1984@hotmail.com Please donate to Nifty: https://donate.nifty.org/

-DJ

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The Inheritance Clause - 35

Adam and Dawson were content, enjoying their embrace after making love. Dawson began planting little kisses on Adam's neck and shoulder. Adam's eyes were closed as his body enjoyed the sensations. He could still feel his prostate throbbing.

"Oh, Dawson," Adam said breathily, "I can still feel where your finger was inside me. It feels so good."

"Mmmm," Dawson hummed as he planted a kiss on Adam's shoulder, "It will last for a while. It's the gift that keeps on giving," he joked.

Adam smiled and held Dawson tighter.

"A gift I'll gladly accept any time you offer it," Adam said, with a bit of excitement in his voice.

Dawson nudged Adam. Adam opened his eyes and rolled onto his back. Dawson then lay part of himself on Adam, putting his leg over Adam's legs and his arm across Adam's torso. Dawson then turned his head and nestled it onto Adam's shoulder. Adam began caressing Dawson's arm as Dawson strummed his fingers in Adam's hair. The two lay quietly for a few minutes, enjoying their post orgasmic high.

Then Dawson sensed something so he lifted his head and looked toward the fireplace.

"Ah, ha ha ha!" Dawson burst out laughing.

Adam looked at Dawson with a confused look on his face.

"Look..." Dawson said, gesturing with his chin, while still laughing.

Dawson leaned back, so Adam could tilt his head toward the foot of the bed.

"Ah!" Adam said and then he started to laugh, "Oh my god..." he added while laughing.

They were both looking at Colby. All they could see was his head over the foot of the bed with a stick in his mouth.

"I think you're being summoned," Dawson chuckled while he spoke.

"Oh, Colby..." Adam said as he continued to laugh, "All right... hold on..."

Adam was still chuckling as he rolled off the bed to find his clothes. Colby waited patiently with the stick still in his mouth while Adam started getting dressed.

"This is not what I thought I signed up for," Adam chuckled.

"Aw, babe," Dawson said still giggling, "You need to make up for two-timing him."

Adam chuckled as he zipped up his pants. He slipped on his sandals and turned to Colby.

"Ok," Adam said as he stood, fully dressed, in front of Colby, "Let's go."

Colby backed out slowly so the stick didn't catch on the bed. Then he hurriedly went to the door.

"You two have fun, now..." Dawson said as he smiled at Adam.

Adam glared at Dawson but couldn't suppress a smile. He left the bedroom. Dawson heard the cabin door shut.

Dawson was still smiling as he put his clothes back on. He found a face cloth, wet it, and cleaned up the remnants of their lovemaking on the bed sheets. He went into the kitchen to pump some water to clean the face cloth. He laid the face cloth on the brick in front of the fireplace to dry.

Dawson went back to the kitchen. He opened the ice box and saw the block of ice had been refreshed. He also noticed Krantz had sent over plain yogurt. Dawson closed the ice box and rummaged around the shelves. He found a granola bar and picked it up. He read the package and then nodded. He put it in his pocket and made his way outside. He stood on the porch for a moment to watch Adam and Colby. Adam spotted Dawson.

"Come play with us," Adam called over as Colby was retrieving the stick.

Dawson smiled.

"One second," Dawson said back, "I'll be right there."

He stayed on the porch as he made his way around the cabin. He reached the shed and went inside. He began looking around.

"Aha!" he said as he reached up to a shelf and picked something up.

Dawson closed the shed and came around the corner of the cabin. Adam was in the open space between the cabin and the lake. Colby was beyond him, near the tire swing, trotting back with the stick.

"Throw the stick to me," Dawson said loudly.

Adam turned and smiled. After Colby plopped the stick down at Adam's feet, Adam picked it up.

"Go get it, Colby," Adam said excitedly as he chucked the stick toward Dawson.

Colby took off. Dawson started laughing as he raced to where the stick was going to land. Dawson got there first and picked up the stick. Colby arrived and looked at Dawson, panting in anticipation of him throwing it. Dawson held out the stick in one hand and a yellow tennis ball in the other. He crouched down and put them both on the ground.

"Which one do you want, boy?" Dawson said as he stood up.

Colby looked back and forth between the stick and the ball. He moved in and took the tennis ball in his mouth. Dawson smiled and held his hand out for Colby to drop the ball into it. Suddenly, Colby darted away, running toward Adam.

"What?!?!" Dawson said in astonishment as he tried to hold back a laugh.

"Ahhhh, ha ha ha ha..." Adam started laughing.

Colby came right up to Adam and dropped the ball at his feet. Then he looked up at him expectantly. Both boys were laughing now.

"I don't believe this..." Dawson said as he chuckled and threw his hands up.

"Good boy, Colby," Adam said as he reached down and pet Colby behind the ears.

Dawson put his hands on his hips and sighed as he watched. Adam picked up the ball and threw it toward Dawson. It bounced and skirted to Dawson's right. Dawson and Colby both immediately started running toward the ball. Dawson got there first as Colby raced up to him.

Dawson put the ball under his armpit and pulled out the granola bar. Colby saw it and immediately sat down and licked his lips. Dawson opened the package and broke a piece off. He gave it to Colby who chomped it down.

"What are you giving him?" Adam called over.

"Granola bar," Dawson called back.

"Is that safe for him?" Adam asked with concern.

"I checked. There are no raisins or almonds in it. He should be good," Dawson yelled back.

Colby took another piece of granola bar from Dawson. Dawson pet Colby's head as he finished chewing. Dawson put the rest of the granola bar in his pocket and pulled the tennis ball out from his arm pit.

"You ready, boy?" Dawson said as he waved the ball at Colby.

Colby licked his lips and watched the ball as it moved back and forth with Dawson's hand movements. Dawson threw it toward Adam. Colby took off as Adam started laughing and tried to get to the ball before Colby.

The boys kept tossing the ball back and forth like that, with Colby most of the time getting to the ball first. They played fetch for about ten minutes or so. At one point, after retrieving the ball, Colby kept it in his mouth and headed for the cabin. The boys looked at each other with confusion on their faces. Colby dropped the ball near the porch and began to drink water from the bowl. Both boys realized Colby had had enough and started walking toward the cabin.

Dawson sat on the porch steps and pulled out the rest of the granola bar. He held a piece out when Colby looked up from the water bowl. He came over and ate it. Adam sat next to Dawson and they both began to pet Colby.

Adam leaned into Dawson and snuggled close to him. He slipped his hand onto Dawson's thigh and nestled his head onto Dawson's shoulder. He was really pressing into Dawson, like he couldn't get close enough to him. Dawson wrapped his arm around Adam. With his free hand, Dawson kept feeding pieces of the granola bar to Colby.

"I love you," Adam said softly.

Dawson leaned his head onto Adam's.

"I love you, too," Dawson replied.

Adam sighed. He settled in even closer to Dawson.

"You can still feel it. Can't you?" Dawson said.

Adam knew he was talking about his prostate, which was still throbbing.

"Hhhmmm," Adam hummed to acknowledge Dawson's assertion.

Dawson pulled Adam closer with the arm wrapped around him. He was still feeding Colby pieces of granola with his other hand.

"If you let me, I can make it feel even better," Dawson said very softly.

Adam didn't say anything for a few moments.

"I'm open to the idea, but not yet," Adam said, "I don't know if I'm ready for you to top me."

"I understand," Dawson said, "I'm not trying to push. It's just that... I know how good it can feel. And I want that for you."

Adam snuggled closer to Dawson. He slipped his hand between Dawson's legs and innocently held onto his inner thigh.

"I know," Adam said, "I'm just not ready yet."

Dawson rubbed his goatee against Adam's hair.

"But you can put your finger in me again," Adam said with some excitement, "I'm ready for that any time..."

Dawson could feel Adam smiling against his shoulder. Dawson smiled, too. Colby had finished the granola bar. Dawson slipped the empty wrapper into his pocket. Colby began to sniff around the porch. Dawson looked at the sky.

"I don't think we're going to get any sun today," Dawson lamented.

Adam sighed.

"Let's have some lunch, finish the real estate stuff, and then start in on the personal assets," Dawson suggested, "After dinner, we can start laying out the details of the foundation we talked about forming."

"Ok," Adam said after thinking about it for a few moments.

The boys got up and went into the cabin. They left the door open slightly for Colby.

Dawson went into the kitchen, washed his hands, and made a couple sandwiches. He sliced up some cucumbers and carrots and put them in a bowl.

"Seeing as we're not going anywhere, I was thinking I would open some wine," Dawson said loudly so Adam could hear in the other room.

Adam was sorting through dossiers while sitting on the couch. He stopped and tilted his head as he thought about it.

"I'll have some, if you're having some," Adam replied.

Adam was still sifting through papers when Dawson came out of the kitchen with two glasses of wine.

"I think Krantz would kill me if he saw me pairing this wine with ham sandwiches," Dawson said as he put the wine glasses on the coffee table.

"Why?" Adam said with a light tone, "This doesn't pair well with pork?"

"Oh," Dawson said as he paused before going back into the kitchen, "Wait... I think it does..."

"Well, there you go..." Adam said as he plopped down a pile of dossiers.

Dawson came out of the kitchen with the food.

"Turns out, it does pair with pork..." Dawson said, "So I'm saved after all."

The boys chuckled. Dawson put the food down on the coffee table. They began eating while Dawson finished going over the last couple of real estate dossiers. The boys were in agreement on some changes they wanted to make, so Adam went to the cabinet and found a notebook and a pen. He began writing down their decisions.

Colby wandered in and began sniffing around the coffee table. Dawson gave him a piece of cucumber. Colby scarfed that down pretty quickly. Dawson got up and fed Colby a piece of carrot. Dawson went to the fireplace and got Colby's bowl. He took it into the kitchen and was refreshing it.

"Oh, I forgot," Adam called out from the living room, "Tia gave me a chew bone for Colby. Can you grab it out of the backpack?"

"Sure," Dawson said.

Dawson came back into the room and placed the water bowl down near the fireplace. Colby came over and drank some water. Dawson went back into the kitchen. When he opened the backpack, he found a plastic baggie with some dry dog food, a couple cans of dog food, a plastic baggie with some treats in it, and a chew bone. Dawson removed all the items and put them together on one of the shelves. Dawson then went back into the bag to remove the water bottles and snacks that Adam had packed that morning.

He saw a rectangular, wooden box at the bottom of the backpack. It was about five inches long, three inches wide, and an inch and half in thickness. Dawson had never seen it before. He paused and thought about it. This must be what Krantz hid in the bag that he handed to Adam at the dock when they left the lake house. Dawson trusted Adam, but he was torn. He really wanted to look in the box.

"Did you find it?" Adam called from the living room.

"Yup," Dawson said, realizing that he was taking longer than he should.

He decided to let Adam tell him what was in the box when he was ready. He left the water bottles and snacks in the backpack, so it looked like he hadn't seen anything. Dawson returned the backpack to the counter and grabbed the bone.

"I was reading the label on the dog food can," Dawson lied as he came back into the room, "Are we supposed to give him a whole can every day?"

"Tia said half a can mixed with dry food each night, around dinner," Adam explained as he looked up from the notepad, "Some yogurt or banana in the morning. And there's a list in there of foods we should avoid giving him."

"Ah," Dawson said, "That's why Krantz had them put yogurt in the ice box."

Dawson went over to Colby and held out the bone. Colby took it and moved near the fireplace. He laid down on the floor and began chewing on the bone. Dawson leaned down and stroked Colby's back a few times.

"I can't figure how this is the same dog who keeps getting sent back," Dawson said, "Did Tia tell you what happened with the last family?"

"Yeah," Adam said as he finished writing, "Thank god that kid was all right."

Dawson stood with his hands on his hips and looked around the cabin.

"It feels stuffy in here," Dawson said, "I'm going to open a couple windows."

He opened one of the windows at the front of the cabin a few inches. Then he did the same with one of the windows in the bedroom. A slight breeze began moving through the cabin.

"That's better," Dawson said as he came back to the couch and sat next to Adam.

Adam put the notebook down and picked up his wine.

"You ready?" Adam said.

"For what?" Dawson said, genuinely confused.

"To go through the personal assets," Adam said with a curious look on his face.

"Oh... yeah... right..." Dawson said, "I'm ready."

Adam looked at Dawson funny as Dawson picked up his wine. Dawson didn't want to admit to Adam that he was distracted by thinking about what Adam was hiding in the box at the bottom of the backpack.

Adam began going through each of the personal assets Clayton had given him in the will. About halfway through the assets, they shifted to talking about some ideas for the foundation they were planning. Dawson had picked up the notebook and was scribbling doodles in it while Adam talked. Then he tapped the page several times and looked up.

"I've got it!" Dawson said excitedly, "Listen to this..."

"We've already talked about setting up the foundation with seed money from both our inheritances, equally. But we haven't figured out what the foundation will do," Dawson said and then paused. "I figured it out. The foundation can highlight and profile local artists just starting out. Then, the foundation will partner with a charity to hold a fundraiser and auction the new artists' work. The artists get exposure, they make some money on their artwork, and the charity raises funds to continue their good work. Everybody wins," Dawson said.

Dawson got the idea from the fact that Alejandro Santos, Dawson's great grandfather, was an amateur artist. For some reason he popped into his head while they were going over the assets. It occurred to him there must be other artists out there like him, who just needed some visibility. Adam instinctively knew how Dawson got the idea.

"Ooh! Yes!" Adam added as he straightened his back and sat up higher, "What if the foundation went to a different city each year... We could find a local charity to partner with in that city and invite the artists from that community."

Dawson nodded in agreement.

"Even better! We start in Austin," Dawson continued the thread of thought, "We host the first charity event here. We can showcase the lake house once you've had a chance to reinvigorate it with the designs you and Judge Lynch worked on. We can display the artists' works and hold the auction in the ballroom. We kick-off the foundation with a tribute to your grandparents."

"And to your great grandfather, Alejandro S.," Adam added.

The boys paused in thought.

"We'll need to decide what the foundation will be called..." Adam said as he got excited about the idea.

"We'll call it The CAJ Foundation," Dawson said before Adam could continue.

He turned the notebook and pointed at a rough drawing of a logo. It was the letter A, shaped like a person with the C and the J surrounding the A. You could clearly make out the letters CAJ, but it also looked like someone was being embraced, in a hug. "What's CAJ?" Adam asked.

"Clayton Arthur Jameson," Dawson said as he raised the notebook so Adam could see it better, "But to me and you, it can also stand for, 'Clayton And Jorge'".

Adam looked at the doodles and saw the letter Q near the top of the page. He loved the double meaning of CAJ. Adam reached out and caressed Dawson's forearm.

"I love that," Adam said as he locked eyes with Dawson.

"But there's still something missing, though..." Dawson said as he looked perplexed.

"What?" Adam asked as he reached for his wine glass.

Adam bent his knees and slipped his feet onto the couch as he leaned back.

"I don't know..." Dawson said as he reached for his wine, "It's like... I don't know..."

"You'll figure it out," Adam said with confidence.

The boys looked at each other and smiled.

"To the CAJ Foundation," Adam said.

The boys clinked glasses and took a sip. Colby looked up from chewing his bone when he heard the clink. He paused for a moment and then went back to gnawing on the bone.

Adam and Dawson continued going through the assets, noting down more changes they wanted to make. At one point, Colby got up and went outside. The air through the cabin windows started moving a little bit faster, with occasional light gusts. After a while, the boys had finished going through everything.

"Want some more wine?" Adam asked as he got up with his wine glass.

"Um... yeah..." Dawson replied.

He held his wine glass out to Adam. Adam took it and went into the kitchen. Dawson closed the notebook and put it on the table with the candles. He started collecting the dossiers and putting them back in the box. When Adam came out with refreshed wine glasses, Dawson was moving the box to the corner.

"I feel so relieved that we got that done," Adam said as he held out Dawson's wine glass.

"Yeah..." Dawson said as he absentmindedly took his wine glass from Adam, "but I still feel like something is missing..."

"What do you mean?" Adam said, "I think it's great."

"I don't know..." Dawson said, "I feel like there's something else we're meant to do."

Adam got a curious look on his face as he watched Dawson wrack his brain. Then he smiled at Dawson.

"You'll figure it out," Adam said with confidence, "You always do."

He patted Dawson on his chest and turned.

"I'm going to see what it's doing outside," Adam said, "It feels like we might be getting some weather."

Adam put his wine glass down on the coffee table and headed toward the cabin door. Dawson did the same and they went onto the porch. Off in the distance, the boys could see darker clouds. And they could tell the wind had started to pick up. A storm was coming in.

"We should find Colby..." Dawson said.

Dawson went to the eastern corner of the porch to see if he could spot Colby. Adam moved to the other end of the porch and looked in the other direction. Dawson cupped his hands around his mouth.

"Coooolbyyyy!" Dawson called out.

Adam looked back and forth. They waited a minute or so. Adam brought his fingers up to his mouth and whistled loudly. Dawson was startled because he didn't expect it. He turned toward Adam who was now looking concerned. They waited another minute or so. Adam came over to where Dawson was standing, looking off in the distance.

"What should we do?" Dawson said as he looked at the storm clouds with concern.

Suddenly, Colby appeared from around the corner of the cabin on the porch. He was nonchalantly walking up to them. The boys sighed with relief.

"Where were you?" Adam said with frustration.

Dawson crouched down and pet Colby behind the ears.

"C'mon, boy, let's get inside," Dawson said.

Dawson led them into the cabin and shut the door. He drew the open windows down, but left them open a crack, so air could still flow but no rain would come into the cabin. Colby followed him, wagging his tail as he trailed him. Adam went toward the fireplace and grabbed the matches. Adam lit the candles. He collected the two lamps and looked at the kerosene levels on them. He then looked at the firewood bin. The bin was overloaded with wood.

"I'm going to fill the lamps," Adam said as he headed toward the cabin door, carrying the lamps.

Colby started to follow him.

"Stay inside, boy," Adam said, "There's a storm coming."

Dawson came up behind Colby.

"C'mon Colby," Dawson said, gently trying to turn his head, "You can watch Adam in the window."

Colby followed Dawson as he led him to the bedroom. Dawson parted the curtains. Colby started to fog the lower pane with his breath as he pressed his nose against the glass. Adam appeared at the door to the shed. When he saw Adam, Colby gave a slight grunt and stood taller.

"See?" Dawson said, "There's Adam."

Adam waved toward the window and then went into the shed. Colby stood and waited until he saw Adam emerge. He jolted himself even taller and his tail started wagging. Adam shut the door to the shed and turned to come back to the cabin, Colby took off. He barreled by Dawson and headed for the front door, wagging his tail furiously. When Adam opened the door, Colby nuzzled into him as if he hadn't seen him in days.

"Ok Colby... ok..." Adam said as he held the kerosene lamps higher, so Colby wouldn't knock them.

Dawson chuckled as he took the lamps from Adam. Adam crouched down and began petting Colby. Dawson put the lamps on the side table.

"I missed you, too," Adam said in a playful voice, "but I wasn't gone that long."

Colby finally calmed down and Adam made his way to the couch.

"It looks like a thunderstorm," Adam said, "I hope Colby doesn't get too scared."

"Mmm," Dawson agreed as he sat down next to him.

Colby came around and rested his head on Adam's knee. He was facing both boys. His eyes went back and forth between them, without moving his head. The boys chuckled.

"Colby, you're so silly," Dawson said to him as he began stroking his head.

"I'm not that hungry yet, but we should feed this guy soon," Adam said.

"We can cook something on the stove, right?" Dawson asked as he leaned forward and got Adam's wine glass.

"Yeah, I was thinking before that we would grill up some of that fish, but now with the storm coming, I think we'll have to cook it on the wood stove," Adam said as he took his glass from Dawson.

"Sounds good to me," Dawson said as he reached for his glass.

Dawson leaned into Adam as they sat in quiet for a while, sipping wine, petting Colby's head. At one point, Colby lifted his head and started moving.

"Does he have enough water?" Dawson asked rhetorically as he leaned forward to look.

He saw there was plenty of water in the bowl. Dawson leaned back. He slipped his free hand onto Adam's thigh.

"Thank you..." Dawson said, "for Colby..."

Adam smiled in response.

"It never crossed my mind that we should take him..." Dawson said.

"Well, I could see how attached he was to you," Adam said, "and after what Tia told me about that kid rolling into traffic, I just couldn't imagine another family taking him."

"Attached to me?!?!" Dawson said as he leaned away from Adam and looked at him, "He's totally attached to you..."

"Well..." Adam said, "Let's just say he likes us both."

Just then, the boys could hear rain. It started slowly, then suddenly got louder as the skies opened up. Colby began darting around. He ended up with his nose pressed against the front window as he looked outside.

"Think he'll be ok?" Adam asked.

"As long as there's no thunder, he should be all right," Dawson said.

As if on cue, the boys heard a roll of thunder off in the distance. Colby came around the couch toward the boys. His head was dropped and his tail was not wagging.

"Come up here, boy," Adam said sympathetically as he patted the couch next to him.

Colby jumped onto the couch, shaking. He laid down with his head in Adam's lap. Dawson got up and put his glass down. He grabbed one of the throw blankets. He came around and covered Colby with it. Adam kept petting Colby behind his ears. Dawson was sitting on the other side of Colby as he kept patting his body through the blanket.

"He's pretty scared," Adam said softly to Dawson.

"Aw... poor little guy," Dawson said.

"Boom," they could hear thunder off in the distance.

Colby dug his head into Adam's thigh with each sound of thunder. The boys sat like that for a while with Colby as they heard the thunderstorm roll across the lake. The rain kept coming down. Eventually, they could hear the thunder moving off into the distance. Finally, Colby started to stir. The boys let him up and he went around the coffee table. He lapped at the water bowl and then laid down in front of the fireplace.

"We should give him some dinner," Adam said.

The cabin had darkened as night started to take over. Dawson got up and put the throw blanket on one of the chairs. He lit one of the lamps as Adam sipped the last bit of his wine. Adam got up, grabbed a match and the other lamp, and went into the kitchen.

"I'm going to start the fire," Dawson said.

Dawson grabbed a match from the fireplace mantle. He didn't want to make Colby move, so he went around to the bedroom. The kindling was already set up by whoever Krantz sent to the cabin earlier. Dawson was on the floor lighting the fire when Colby came around. His tail was wagging slowly as he approached.

"Hey, boy," Dawson said as he sat up and pet him, "You glad the thunder is gone?"

The kindling caught, so Dawson stood up. He waited until the fire had taken hold and he added a couple logs. Then he replaced the screen. Colby shadowed him as he went to close the bedroom window. Dawson went into the living room to close the front window. Colby followed him right up until he smelled the dog food in the kitchen. His tail started wagging furiously as he poked his head into the kitchen. Adam came out holding a bowl. Colby's eyes locked onto the bowl and he followed it as Adam moved.

"Here you go..." Adam said as he put the bowl down against the wall.

Colby lunged at the bowl and began eating. Adam patted his side a couple times and smiled. Dawson came up to Adam and hugged him from the side. Dawson kissed Adam on the cheek.

"How about I make a salad to go with the fish," Dawson offered.

"Sounds good," Adam said, "You hungry? I was gonna wait."

"Nah," Dawson said, "We can wait. Should we take care of the clause D packets?"

"Mmm," Adam replied, "Good idea."

Dawson kissed Adam's cheek again and let go of him. He went to the corner where the box was. Adam went to the fireplace and moved the face cloth Dawson had placed there to dry and the chew bone. He removed the screen as Dawson came over with the box. He put it down on the floor and the boys sat on either side of it.

They began feeding the packets into the fire and watched them burn. Colby finished his dinner and he came over to see what the boys were doing. He sniffed around the box and then stood and watched for a while. He then ended up laying down next to Dawson. Dawson began petting Colby with one hand while he fed packets into the fireplace with his other.

When they were done, the boys glanced at each other with a satisfied look. Dawson reached across the coffee table and grabbed his wine. He sipped it as he sat there continuing to pet Colby. Adam got up. He took the box to the corner and he picked up the canvas bag containing Jorge's love notes. He brought them over and he sat down where he was before.

Neither Adam nor Dawson said anything. Adam took out a note. He read it to himself. Then he handed it to Dawson. Dawson read it to himself as Adam took out the next note. When Dawson had read the note, he put it on the floor between them. The boys, without saying anything, continued like this, taking each note, one by one, and reading them. Now that they had the full context of what was going on at the time they were written, the boys were imagining Jorge writing the note, giving it to Helena, and Helena secretly getting it to Clay. Each love note took on so much more meaning as they read them now.

Halfway through, Adam began tearing up. Some of the notes were so tender that they started to hit his emotions. Dawson noticed, but he felt it best to let Adam process his feelings for himself. So, he didn't say anything.

When Adam read the last note, he handed it to Dawson. He folded up the bag and laid it on the coffee table. He reached for his wine glass and took a sip. Dawson read the last note and put it on the pile with the rest of them. Adam sighed.

Dawson got up. Colby did, too. His tail was wagging gently as he followed Dawson the five or so feet to the woodbin. Dawson grabbed a couple more logs. He placed them on the fire and then sat down right in front of the fire. He grabbed the pile of love notes and put them on his lap.

"C'mere, babe," Dawson said, gesturing to Adam.

Adam scooted over, still holding his wine glass, so he was sitting next to Dawson. Colby came closer on the other side of Dawson. He sniffed the love notes on Dawson's lap. He then lay down next to Dawson. It was as if Colby knew the boys were doing something somber. Dawson put a hand on Colby's side and patted it a couple times. Adam leaned against Dawson as Dawson began tossing the notes, two and three at a time, onto the fire. Adam began sobbing softly at the finality of what they were doing. Dawson began to tear up. When the notes were all gone, they sat and watched the flames as they listened to the crackling of the fire and the sound of the rain hitting the cabin.

Dawson had his arm wrapped around Adam's back and was rubbing Adam's bicep. Adam could feel Dawson's steady heart beat as he leaned against him and watched the flames. Eventually, Adam took in a deep breath and sighed. He sat himself up. Dawson let his arm fall away.

"I'm going to get some water," Adam said and then he took the last sip of wine in his glass.

Dawson got up when Adam stood and he stopped him. Dawson took Adam by the shoulders, gently turned him, and embraced him. Adam sighed as he wrapped his arms around Dawson and melted into him. The emotions of what they'd just completed had gotten to both of them. They stood there, hugging each other. Then the boys could feel Colby nuzzling their legs as he tried to get between them. The boys both started to chuckle as they looked down. Colby was looking up at them, his mouth open, panting expectantly, wagging his tail.

"Colby..." Adam said with mock frustration.

"You know... There's no way in hell we can send him back to Tia and Rosa. We're going to have to deal with you two-timing him," Dawson jokingly said.

Adam smiled as he chuckled.

"Who knew when all this started that I'd end up with two boyfriends?" Adam jokingly said as he crouched down to pet Colby.

"Just remember who loved you first..." Dawson said.

Dawson turned and put the screen back on the fireplace as he chuckled. He took Adam's wine glass from him and brought his glass with him into the kitchen. Dawson poured two waters and brought them out. Adam took one of the glasses from Dawson and they sat on the couch. Colby wandered toward them and put his head on Adam's thigh. Adam began strumming his fingers in Colby's hair.

"Hey, I was thinking..." Dawson said, "That directive about cleaning the storage rooms on the first floor... Should we put a home gym in one of them?"

Adam laughed.

"Every time I suggested that to granddad, he would resist it," Adam said, "But I was thinking we should."

The boys continued talking about what they could do with the storage rooms. Adam finished his water and put his glass onto the coffee table. Dawson got quiet as Adam talked. Dawson finally spoke when there was a pause in the discussion.

"You know..." Dawson said softly as he reached his hand out to take Adam's hand, "I was thinking we could convert the room next to the pool room into a bedroom for Krantz. At some point, he may not be able to go up and down the stairs. Even with the elevator, it might be easier for him if everything he needs is on the same level."

"Mmm..." Adam said as he smiled at Dawson.

He pulled Dawson's hand up and kissed it.

"He'll fight us on that," Adam said.

"Of course, he will," Dawson said smiling.

The boys were quiet for a while.

"I'm going to start dinner," Adam said as he started to get up.

"Let me help," Dawson said and he got up, too.

Dawson grabbed the water glasses. Colby moved when the boys did. He followed them into the kitchen, wagging his tail. There was just enough room for the three of them to fit in there.

Dawson began making the salad. Adam began preparing the fish. Colby kept trying to stick his nose into things as the boys worked. They kept shooing him away. Dawson got an idea. He reached onto the shelf and took out one of the dog treats. Colby began to get excited.

"C'mon, Colby," Dawson said as he led Colby out of the kitchen.

Dawson came in front of the fireplace. Colby was right behind him. Dawson turned to face him.

"Sit, Colby," Dawson commanded as he held the dog treat against his chest.

Colby immediately sat. He licked his lips and looked at Dawson.

"Good boy," Dawson said, "Lay down, Colby."

Colby laid down. He kept his head up in anticipation, never letting his eye off of the treat.

"Good boy," Dawson said, as he pet Colby with his free hand.

He gave the treat to Colby and he started to eat it. Dawson put the chew bone in front of Colby and he stood up.

"Stay, Colby," Dawson said.

He walked away from Colby without looking back. Colby continued eating the treat.

"That should occupy him," Dawson said in a low voice when he came back into the kitchen.

Adam smiled to himself as he continued to prepare the fish. Once he had the stove started, Adam began cooking the fish.

"Salad's ready," Dawson said, "I'm gonna open this bottle of Sauvignon Blanc to have with the fish. The note says it pairs with it."

Adam turned and put his hand on Dawson's shoulder.

"Ok, but don't tell Krantz that we went backwards with the wine," Adam said.

"Huh?" Dawson said, "What does that mean? How is this going backwards?"

Adam smiled as he explained.

"You start with lighter wines first and then move to heavier ones," Adam said, "Did you notice that Krantz always had us drinking the whites first and then he served the reds?"

Dawson looked at Adam quizzically. It was a detail that he hadn't noticed.

"Whites are usually lighter," Adam said, "Reds are usually heavier. So, if we have white wine after drinking red, we would be going backward with the wine."

Dawson had a look of understanding on his face.

"Ahhh..." Dawson said, "I guess you learn something every day..."

"I won't tell Krantz if you don't," Adam said as he winked at Dawson.

"Well, I'm not gonna tell him," Dawson said with a chuckle.

He opened the bottle and poured two glasses of the Sauvignon Blanc. The boys sipped the wine while Adam tended to the fish. They could still hear the rain coming down outside. Dawson snuck a peak at Colby. He was lying down in front of the fireplace.

When the fish was done, Adam plated them. Dawson added some salad to each plate. They each grabbed silverware and a napkin. They brought their meals and their wine into the living room. Colby lifted his head to look at what the boys had.

"Stay, Colby," Dawson said, "You've had enough to eat today."

Colby's tail started to wag, but he didn't get up. The boys took seats on the couch. They listened to the crackling fire and the rain as they ate and drank. Colby eventually dropped his head down and was laying quietly. Dawson finished first and was sipping his wine.

"I love being with you," he said softly before taking a sip.

"Of course you do," Adam said, "I'm adorable, remember?"

Adam waved his fork dramatically and then took a bite of food. Dawson smiled and chuckled.

"I guess you are pretty adorable," he said as he slipped his hand onto Adam's thigh and squeezed.

The boys turned and gave each other a quick kiss.

"I'll clean up," Dawson said as he started to get up, "Do you want some creme liqueur?"

"Oooh," Adam said, "That sounds good."

Adam patted the small of Dawson's back before Dawson picked up the plates. He went into the kitchen and started washing the dishes. Adam followed him with the empty glasses. Adam poured the creme liqueur while Dawson finished cleaning up.

Adam went into the living room and placed the two glasses of creme liqueur on the coffee table. He added a couple logs to the fire.

When Dawson finished in the kitchen, he was wiping his hands on a hand towel. He appeared in the kitchen doorway. Adam was sitting on the couch facing the fireplace, paging through the notebook. Dawson tossed the towel onto the counter and came over to sit next to Adam.

"What are you doing?" Dawson asked.

"You said something was missing," Adam replied, "I was trying to figure out what it was."

"Did you come up with anything?" Dawson asked as he reached for the two glasses.

"No," Adam said, "I think what we are planning is just right. We'll do a lot of good for a lot of people."

"Mmmm," Dawson acknowledged as he went to sip his drink.

Dawson still felt it wasn't complete, that they had something else they should include in their plans. Adam closed the notebook and put it aside.

The boys snuggled up close to each other and sipped their creme liqueurs. Colby had drifted off to sleep in front of the fire. The boys watched the flames of the fire and listened to the rain.

At some point, after they had put their glasses onto the coffee table, the long day and all the alcohol had caught up to them. They both drifted off to sleep still on the couch, holding hands, leaning against each other.

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The Inheritance Clause - 35

If you like this story, tell me: djwarner1984@hotmail.com And then donate to Nifty: https://donate.nifty.org/

-DJ