This following is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely a coincidence. No resemblance (s) of any actual person or character or act is intended. While there is no sexual contact in this story, please be aware of the rules in your community for reading this or other stories on Nifty. If reading such is illegal where you reside or you are not of legal age, please go no further.
This work of fiction is the property of the author, Sonny Malone and should not be reposted or reproduced without his permission. Email always welcome and should be addressed to rhyolite221@outlook.com
Copyright (c) 2017
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Uncle Rick's Rhyolite Ranch By Sonny Malone
Chapter 2
The savory aroma of frying bacon and the sweet scent of baking waffles drifted throughout the house and into Daniel and Jason's bedroom as the warmth of the morning sun replaced the chill of the night.
Daniel opened his eyes, sat up, and turned watching his new roomie sleep. He smiled as he thought how much he enjoyed being with Jason. After a few minutes Jason woke, opening his eyes. "Good morning. It's the beginning of your first full day on the ranch. It looks like it's going to be a sunny one. Are you hungry?"
Jason smiled. "Thank you and good morning. Yes, I'm starving. Whatever is cooking smells delicious."
"If Brandon is cooking we're in for a treat. Let's get showered and get some before Cody and the other guys eat it all."
The boys rushed in the bathroom, showered, dressed, and hurried to the kitchen in time to see Brandon taking fresh waffles out of the iron.
"Have a seat, boys. There are waffles, fresh butter and maple syrup, coffee, tea. Cody ate all the bacon but I'm frying up a new batch now and it'll be ready in a couple minutes."
Cody tried to give Brandon a mean look. "Hey, I didn't eat all of it. Uncle Rick, Henry, and Wes did." I only ate little leftover crumbs."
Henry chuckled. "Poor starving Cody, sequestered to a life of just eating crumbs. Will he make it until his eleventh birthday?"
Jason and Daniel laughed and later snuck a few of their slices of bacon to Cody who grinned, silently mouthed "Thank you" and ate them quickly.
Breakfast was as tasty as Daniel said it would be. When they finished the meal Daniel, Cody, and Jason washed and dried the dishes. The last dish was dried and put away when Uncle Rick called out asking them to join him and the other men in the family room.
"Jason, every day after breakfast we get together to go over what work needs to be done and who will do it. If you will trust Brandon and I to drive down, chop up that tree that fell in front of you last night, and bring back your truck I would like you to get you familiar with the ranch by having you ride with Daniel and Cody. The north fences haven't been inspected in awhile and doing that today, you'll be able to see a lot of the ranch. Daniel, there is a bucket of post staples, wire, hammers, pliers, and wire cutters in the tool shed. I'm sure you'll find at least a couple places that need mending. Make sure you take one of the two-way radios, a lunch, and plenty of water for you and the horses. If you have time, check how the spring up at Becker's Canyon is flowing. Henry, you said you are going to drive into town this morning after we clear the road. Would you please drop buy the hardware store and pick up 85 8-foot T-bar posts, clips and five roles of game fencing? That should be enough to secure the melon patch. Wes, lets see how much work we can get done on the new workshop roof. I'll be back to help you after Brandon and I return with Jason's truck. Everyone be careful and have a good day out there. See you before dinner."
The men disbursed and Cody volunteered to get a couple 2-way radios. As they headed into the kitchen to prepare their lunches, Brandon who had listened to the earlier conversation from the kitchen met them with three sack lunches and three canteens filled with drinking water.
Cody giggled. "Brandon, I think you're a wizard."
Brandon gave Cody a surprised look. "I'm a wizard?"
Cody nodded. "Yeah, cause you conjure up lots of goodies and keep us boys healthy."
Brandon laughed and waved a wooden spoon in his hand as if he was holding a wand at Cody. "Well, maybe I am a wizard. Now get going before I turn you guys into turkeys for dinner. And boys, you be careful and watch for coyotes up there."
"We will. Thanks Brandon." Daniel said as they headed out the door. "Lets get the tools out of the shed first and then go saddle up the horses."
After rounding up all the necessary tools to mend fences they headed off to the stables. Cody walked over to a brown and black Mustang horse, took him out of his paddock and saddled him up. Daniel and Jason walked up to an adjacent paddock where there was a black and white Pinto. Daniel retrieved the pinto and brought him out of the paddock.
"Jason, meet Tory. He'll be your horse while you're here. "
Daniel went to the next paddock and brought out a dark brown mustang with a white mane. This is Mc Tavish. I was teamed up with him the first week I got here.
After all of the horses were saddled up, tools and lunches were put in saddlebags. The three boys mounted their horses and headed out of the stable up a trail that turned to the northwest and climbed up a hillside through a grove of quaking aspen trees and onto a ridgeline.
Jason gazed around him in wonder. "This is beautiful up here. I've been trapped in my work cubicle way too long."
Cody looked over at Jason and pointed at the narrow winding path ahead. "The view gets even better, Jason. Wait until we get to the top of this ridge."
The trail continued to climb through deep woods and over tributaries flowing with pure fresh water from yesterday's downpour. Forty-five minutes later the trail made its way to a rocky overlook. Before them stately mountains framed a majestic view of pine and aspen-covered hillsides, vibrant green grassy meadows surrounding deep blue water lakes.
Jason was astonished. "You're right, Cody, this is remarkable. What have I been missing?"
Daniel pointed toward a nearby lake. "Over there is Lago Pocito. It means little lake in Spanish. Just on the other side of that is the west boundary of the ranch. There is a stream that flows out of the lake and runs to the south. Where it meets the highway is the southwest property corner. Lets keep going so we can start inspecting the fences. There is more scenery up there."
With Cody leading the way three boys continued riding to the north fence. Once at the fence line they turned east. After awhile Cody stopped and dismounted, stepping over to a fence post where the top two wires sagged and the staples were pulled out of two posts.
"Over here, Daniel and Jason. One of the steers tried to get over the fence but he didn't make it."
Jason looked at Cody with a surprised expression. "Now how do you know that?"
Cody giggled. "Don't you remember?" He opened his eyes wide. "Cody knows all. See how the fence is squashed in a round shape? That is the same shape of a steer."
Daniel laughed, dismounted and pulled out staples and a hammer from his saddlebag. Jason also dismounted. While Cody and Jason held the wires up Daniel hammered new staples around them into the fence posts and then hammered the existing staples in tight. They repeated the same on the next post, mounted their horses and continued riding east, stopping to mend the fence several times. They continued inspecting the east fence until they made their way to the far side of a pasture to the northeast corner of the ranch property. From there they turned and headed southwest, through the pasture to the entrance of a canyon that was hidden by surrounding hills.
Daniel pointed at the canyon ahead. "That's Becker's Canyon. I think you are going to like it in there, Jason."
They turned at the canyon and rode along the gravel canyon floor. Jason noticed the canyon floor become increasingly wet as they made their way between the winding canyon walls. Soon the wet gravel turned into a crystal-clear flowing stream. From ahead in the distance he could hear a roar that became louder as they turned each corner of the canyon. The canyon opened up into an open area housed within pink and orange canyon cliffs. They gathered on an open sand bar where they dismounted.
Cody was off his horse first. "Can we eat lunch here, Daniel?"
"Yeah, this looks like a good spot."
While Cody and Jason tied the horse's reins around tree branches Daniel pulled a blanket off the back of his saddle and laid it out on the ground. They all pulled their lunches and canteens out of their saddlebags and gathered on the blanket.
As they sat together eating their sandwiches Jason glimpsed at the jagged cliffs that rose above them. "Guys, I've never seen rocks like those in the walls that color before. What are those?"
Cody looked up at the rocks and at Jason. "Those are Rhyolite rocks. They are volcanic and are like granite. People make jewelry out of those. And those are what the ranch is named after."
Daniel looked surprised. "How do you know that, Cody?"
Cody opened his eyes wide and started to speak. Daniel interrupted him. "I know. Cody knows all."
Cody smiled and nodded. "That's true, but in this case Uncle Rick taught me about them."
Jason smiled and continued to eat his delicious ham and cheese sandwich. For the first time in years he felt at peace and completely relaxed. After they finished the lunches, slipped into their runners, and walked farther up the stream. The canyon gradually narrowed with each turn until it was about the size of a grocery store aisle. As the walls narrowed, the water level in the stream rose. Jason noticed the water getting warmer as they walked up stream. They rounded one more curve into wider pocket to find sandbags and large rocks stacked as a dam that held back the water creating a shallow pool. Jason was thrilled when he spotted the pool.
"Wow, can we get in there?"
Cody quickly stripped off his clothes. "Sure, come on."
Daniel and Jason removed shoes, pants and shirts and followed Cody into the warm clear water. "Who built the dam?"
Cody beamed. "Daniel and I made it a couple months ago. It's cool, isn't it?"
"This is great. Good job, guys. Have you ever camped out overnight here?"
"Not yet. We've just been too busy. Maybe with you helping work on the ranch we'll have the time and come up here one night." Daniel offered.
"I'd like that. It would be great to soak in this after dark and look up at all the stars."
The three boys swam in the warm water for nearly an hour when they noticed the wrinkling skin on their fingertips. They climbed out of the pool and brushed the excess water off. They didn't bring towels along so they were left to air dry in the warm sun. Cody grew impatient stripping off his boyish briefs and stepping into his runners. Daniel and Jason looked at each other sheepishly, smiled, and followed suit, climbing out of their boxers that left little to the imagination anyway. Both of them couldn't keep their eyes off each other. Cody noticed the two boys peeking at each other and giggled.
Daniel glanced at Cody "Hey, what's so funny?"
Cody grinned and opened his eyes wide. "Cody knows all!"
Daniel and Jason shook their heads and laughed.
They all followed the stream back down the canyon to the open area where they ate lunch. When they came into the open area the horses were still tied to the trees, peacefully nibbling grass. Daniel gathered the blanket while Jason and Cody put away the lunches, dressed, and packed up to head back to the ranch house. The ranch house was in sight by the time the sun dipped over the mountains to the west. They walked the horses to the stables, unsaddled and brushed them before locking them in their paddocks. Once the horses were safely in the stable they strolled to the ranch house.
Henry, Wes and Brandon were gathered around the kitchen table and welcomed the boys back.
Uncle Rick came in the kitchen right after the boys. "How did you guys do, Daniel?"
"Great. We rode along the west property line and then the north line. We found a few places where the cattle tried to get over the fence and we repaired them. At least the wire is strong and didn't break. It just popped the staples."
"Good job, guys."
Cody was proud to have helped. "Uncle Rick, do you want us to ride the south fence too?"
"Wes and Henry did that not too long ago so it should still be in pretty good shape, Cody. Thank you though."
"Uncle Rick handed Jason his truck keys. "It looks like the bumper got a couple scratches when it got hung up on the tree but that's all the damage Brandon and I could find. You may want to take a look at it to make sure.
"Thanks, Uncle Rick and Brandon for bringing my truck back. I'll be sure to take a look at it."
"You're welcome, Jason. Thanks to that storm blowing that tree over we also have a head start on next season's fire wood."
Henry took a sip of coffee from his cup. "Jason, has Daniel shown you the greenhouse yet?"
"We've been up on the trails all day. He hasn't had a chance yet."
"Daniel, you should take him to have a look now. Dinner isn't going to be for another hour. He might like to see where tonight's dinner comes from."
"That's a good idea, Jason. Want to take a little walk and see where dinner comes from?"
"Sure, lead the way."
The two boys walked outside and down to the greenhouse.
Daniel opened the door to the greenhouse for Jason. "It's pretty hot and humid in here."
They were hit with a blast of warm humid air and immediately stripped off their shirts.
Jason was getting excited seeing Daniel shirtless again. "Boy, you weren't kidding. Is it always like this in here?"
Daniel also started getting excited when he looked at Jason without his shirt. "In the winter it's cooler but still warmer than it is outside. It's always humid like this and the plants like it.
Jason looked around at the lush growth throughout the large greenhouse. As they walked down the aisles, Daniel pointed out the different produce that was grown in the greenhouse.
"On the left are tomatoes and next to those are tomatillos. On the right are peppers, squash, zucchini, peas, beans, and cucumbers. Over here are red lettuce romaine lettuce, green lettuce and iceberg lettuce. Next to those are cabbages, kale, radishes, carrots, and beets. To the right of them are corn, onions, garlic, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and yams.
"Is there any fruit?"
"The fruit trees are this way." Daniel explained as they walked farther along the bark-covered paths between the raised beds.
He pointed out the semi-dwarf fruit trees and plants. "These are five varieties of apples. Next to those are the almond trees, cherry trees, peach, nectarine, pear, and plum. To the left of those are orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime, and tangerine trees. On the right are strawberries, blue berries, black berries, and raspberries. The raised beds over there are where the watermelons, cantaloupe, honeydew, and Crenshaw melons are planted."
"You guys grow just about everything here, don't you?
"That is just some of what we grow here. There are lots of spice plants like rosemary, thyme, parsley, and others next to the fruit trees. If we ever get cut off from the world we can support about 10 people at a time here. It's getting pretty hot in here. Shall we head back to the house?"
Daniel and Jason slipped their shirts back on and headed out of the greenhouse where they ran into Cody.
"Cody, who's day is it to brush the horses?" Daniel asked.
"Let's see. Wes did it yesterday so it's my day today. I guess I'll see you guys later." Cody sighed as he turned and padded off to the stables.
Jason smiled. "Cody seems like a really good kid."
"Yeah, he's fun to be around, smart, and best of all, he enjoys being important around here."
"How did he end up on the ranch?"
"One night about seven years ago Uncle Rick's sister and her husband, Cody's parents, went to a movie and on the way home were killed by a drunk driver in an automobile crash. They had left Cody at home with a baby sitter. Uncle Rick was the closest family member and was made Cody's guardian."
"Oh my God, that is horrible. Does he remember his parents?"
"Yes, but he seems to have adjusted pretty well. For the most part, he's happy and the guys enjoy his company too."
When Daniel and Jason arrived at the ranch house the aroma of steaks cooking on the barbeque greeted them. Brandon was tending the grill, turning the meat over.
"You guys better get washed up. Dinner is in ten minutes."
"Good, we're starving. Come on, Jason."
Daniel and Jason hurried into the washroom and got cleaned up for dinner. They put on fresh clothes and headed into the kitchen just in time for dinner. Everyone sat down for barbeque steaks, fresh salad from the greenhouse produce, baked potatoes and homemade sourdough bread. After everyone finished their scrumptious meals Cody ran to the kitchen and came out smiling, carrying bowls and spoons.
Henry saw the smile on Cody's face. "I bet I know what we're having for dessert."
"Now, how in the world would you know that, Henry?" Brandon asked while chuckling.
"I just happened to know what Cody's favorite food is."
Cody giggled and ran back into the kitchen. He came back carrying a stainless steel bucket with a lid and set it on the table.
"I knew it! It's homemade ice cream."
"That's not all there is, Henry." Cody said, running back in the kitchen and bringing back a large bowl of sliced fresh peaches. "I picked these off the tree yesterday."
Brandon dished the ice cream into bowls. "Now how did a little guy like you manage to get all those peaches from that tall tree?"
Cody put peach slices over the ice cream and passed the bowls to the guys. He smiled and opened his eyes wide. "I flew up and picked them."
Brandon had a playful grin. "Oh you did?"
Daniel smirked and whispered. "Cody, I promise I won't say anything about you leaving the orchard ladder out, ok?"
"Daniel, shhhhh!"
Everyone laughed while savoring their desserts and praised the cooks and Cody for a delicious mail.
Uncle Rick finished the last of his ice cream and peaches. "Speaking of flying, Jason, Daniel, and Cody, how would you boys like to go for a flight tomorrow?"
Cody, Jason and Daniel beamed excitedly. That would be great, where too, Uncle Rick?"
"We need to head over to Kingston to pick up some parts for the harrow bed and then to Belmont to pick up a package for Wes."
Daniel remembered Uncle Rick liked to leave early when he flew. "What time do we need to be up, Uncle Rick?"
"I want to be wheels up by 07:00, so that means you boys need to be up no later than 5:00 if you want breakfast before we go. Cody, you're in charge of everyone being up and out of bed by 05:00, okay?
Cody was delighted to have the morning wake up duty. "Okay, Uncle Rick. I'll wake them up."
"You're a good boy, Cody, what would we do without you around here?"
"Probably everyone would just sleep late a lot."
Everyone snickered and agreed with Cody.
Daniel and Jason volunteered for kitchen cleanup duty while the other guys went their separate ways to their rooms for the evening. Daniel suggested they go for a walk. Jason eagerly agreed and the two strolled down the driveway and followed the road to a bridge that crossed a creek. On the other side of the bridge Daniel and Jason turned to follow the creek a few hundred feet until they came to a grassy meadow that overlooked the valley below. They wandered to a loan elm tree and sat together wordlessly watching nature's brilliant show that repeated nightly at sunset. Bright orange and purple clouds painted by the setting sun grew in intensity, highlighting the darkening indigo background.
Eventually Jason shook his head and spoke. "This is one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen. Thank you for bringing me here."
"You're welcome. Thank you for coming here with me. It's one of my favorite places."
The two sat close together watching the sunset. Daniel changed positions moving closer to Jason. Jason leaned back to relax when his knee touched Daniel's leg. Daniel didn't pull away.
Daniel smiled. "I'm glad you came here, Jason."
"I am too. This is turning out to be much more than I expected."
"I hope in a good way."
Jason smiled and looked into Daniel's eyes. "In many good ways." Jason wanted to lean into Daniel and kiss him tenderly but realized he had only just met Daniel. If Daniel were straight Jason would die of embarrassment. How could he explain the kiss? No, he didn't want to risk having to go home early. He took a deep breath and turned to watch the last of the vivid colors of the picturesque sky quickly mute and darken.
"It's going to start getting colder. Shall we head back to the house?"
Jason nodded. They both stood and looked at the last of the beautiful sunset. They turned to face each other, silently gazing into each other's eyes in silence. With their gaze each of them felt the same electricity as they did when they first shook hands. Smiling at one another, they turned and walked back to the house to turn in for the night.
Just after midnight Jason was jolted awake by screams of terror. He sat straight up, gasping for his breath and realized the screams were coming from Daniel's bed. Jason turned on the light on the nightstand to see Daniel, eyes closed, as he thrashed about.
Daniel lashed out, slugging his pillow and screamed, "No, Let me go, let me go!"
Jason's first thought was to wake Daniel to pull him out of the horrible nightmare. He leaned over and touched him on the shoulder. Daniel reacted with a terrifying scream and sudden jerk. Jason shook Daniel and called out his name, telling him to wake up. Daniel opened his eyes, gasped and look horrified at Jason.
"Daniel, wake up. It's okay. You're having a nightmare."
Daniel looked at Jason and realized it was all just a dream. "Oh God, I'm so sorry I woke you, Jason."
"Don't worry about me, I'm fine. What were you dreaming about though?"
"I dreamt I was back home. Erik and I were riding our bikes by the church when Bishop Foutz and our dad ran out of the church screaming at us. Bishop Foutz had evil looking red eyes and waved the bible at Erik and me, quoting scripture, telling us God would send us to hell for eternity and it was his job to send us to our fate. Dad pointed at me and told Bishop Foutz I was the one. I was first because I was a homosexual sinner. The bishop pulled me off my bike and dragged me toward the church door. Erik cried out for him to leave me alone but he wouldn't listen. He kept dragging me on the ground to the church. That's when you woke me. Thank you."
Jason put his hand on Daniel's shoulder. "You're welcome. Are you going to be okay?"
"I'm afraid to go back to sleep and dream of being grabbed by my Dad or the bishop again."
"I'm here and I'll make sure no evil bishops grab us and condemn us to hell for being the people we are."
Daniel chuckled at his absurdity. "I guess that was pretty silly."
Jason smiled. "Would you like to sleep in my bed with me? I promise I won't tie you up and send you to damnation."
Daniel snickered and thought about Jason's offer. It seemed genuine. "Thank you. I don't want to have another nightmare and wake you."
Jason smiled and held up his sheets for Daniel to crawl under. "Grab your pillow and come on."
Daniel reached for his pillow and crawled under the sheets in Jason's bed. Jason turned off the light and they put their heads on their pillows facing each other, looking into each other's eyes.
"Have you had nightmares like that before?"
"I used to have them once in awhile when I lived at home. I was always afraid of my Dad waking me in the night and beating me up. I thought the nightmares would stop after Uncle Rick took me in."
"I hope for your sake that was the last one."
"Thank you for caring and for inviting me to your bed, Jason."
"You're welcome. I only hope it helps you relax and get some sleep. "
"I think I'll sleep fine now. Goodnight."
"Sweet dreams."
Daniel turned to face away from Jason, turned off the light, and was soon asleep. Jason heard Daniel's peaceful breathing and drifted to sleep.
Thanks to Vern and Bobby Joe for their nice comments. Thank you also to my anonymous S.L. friend and to Mark for your much appreciated help with this chapter.
I welcome any respectful comments. Please send me an email and tell me what you think about the story. Thanks!
rhyolite221@outlook.com