Double Trails
 by: BndgDawg

© 2008 by the author

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Chapter 32

- Tracer -

“I don’t fucking believe it!” Ryan yelled as he stormed out of the den. “Fuck, fuck, FUCK!” the stream of cursing continued as we heard him slam the kitchen door.

I sighed deeply and looked at Will, then at Erik. I couldn’t decide if Erik was going to cry or explode.

“What a fucking ASS!” Will cursed. He stood up and left the room.

I listened for the door, but never heard it. A few moments later Will returned to the den.

“He didn’t drive off, so I know exactly where he went. I’m going to let him stew for a little bit, then I’m going to go pound his skull a bit!” Will continued, highly agitated.

“I shouldn’t have sprung so many changes to the office, the stables and the house on him like this,” Erik sighed.

“No. This was the perfect way to surprise someone,” Will answered. “He’s just not dealing with things well of late.”

“Not dealing well?” Erik asked, very puzzled.

“Well…” Will paused.

“Spill it!” I pushed.

Will started explaining the problems Ryan had been having since leaving for school. As his explanation continued, Erik’s face went from disbelief to depression.

“So he never wanted to go to school?” Erik asked.

“He never wanted to leave the farm. But the bigger issue is that he mapped out his life in minute detail and any time he’s forced to change, it sets him off,” Will explained. “He’s made minor adjustments to have me in his life, but he’s just not ready for big changes. I’m going to go find him and use a big sledgehammer. We’ll be back later.”

Will stormed out of the den. A few minutes later, I heard the back door close.

“Want to talk?” I asked Erik, now that we were finally alone.

“No,” he muttered. He leaned over and laid his head on my lap – stretching out on the couch.

I sat there, stroking his hair. I stewed things over in my mind. After a long time thinking it out, I decided Ryan was being an ass, but he’d been impacted by a lot of changes beyond his control and was reacting much the way I probably would have. An understandable, normal, and totally juvenile reaction. Ummmm…. what a combo!

Erik’s breathing had become steady and I heard a bit of snoring from time to time. We remained like that on the couch for a long time. Finally, I heard the back door open. Moments later, Ryan walked into the den – his head hanging a bit. Will followed him into the room and I looked closely at their faces. I could tell both had been crying.

The noise of their entrance woke Erik.

“Dad, I want to apologize,” Ryan began.

“You don’t need to apologize,” Erik replied. “It was the second big surprise, and the second shock to your system in just a few months. I should have talked it over with both of you instead of springing a surprise.”

“No. I need to grow up and accept that life isn’t going to follow the exact path I want all the time. Can we start over? Would you show us the plans now?” Ryan asked almost pleadingly.

“Sure,” Erik responded happily.

Erik proceeded to explain the changes that were going to be made to the house.

“Damn, that’s a really nice master suite!” Will said.

“And there’s an identical one over here for you two,” Erik responded.

I looked at Ryan and noticed tears starting to stream down his face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“It’s fuckin perfect. I can’t believe all these changes just to make us all feel at home. And I had to spoil everything.”

Erik surprised me when he said. “Nothing’s spoiled; this is a do over, and the slate has been wiped clean.”

Erik and I continued explaining the plans in detail. This time Ryan almost gushed with excitement about the changes. I kept stealing glances at Will’s face, but couldn’t get a read on what he was thinking.

The presentation over, Will stood up. “Tracer, why don’t you and I go fix a snack. Ryan and Erik need to talk.”

We went to the kitchen and started working on throwing together a snack.

“What did you say to him?” I asked. “That was quite the turn-around.”

“That’s between Ryan and me.”

“OK. I was just curious.”

“Well, I was harsh. Brutal, actually, but as I told you when I left – I needed a big sledgehammer.”

“Looks like it worked well.”

“We’ll see,” Will responded cautiously.

We finished making a big batch of loaded nachos and put the large platter on the center of the kitchen table. Our conversation moved from one inconsequential topic to another. Some while later Ryan and Erik walked into the kitchen.

“That smells good,” Ryan said.

“I could eat all that’s left by myself,” Erik added. “It looks like the two of you have made a big dent in the pile.”

“This is just a snack,” Will said.

“I think this will fill us up nicely!” Erik replied.

Throughout the banter, I had looked at Erik’s face studying it carefully. I couldn’t get any clues as to what had transpired. Ryan’s face showed he’d been crying, but I couldn’t discern other clues from his face.

After the pile of chips was gone, Ryan and Will put all the dishes into the dishwasher.

“We’re going for a ride,” Will stated. “Care to join us?”

I looked at Erik and he shook his head slightly.

“No thanks,” I responded.

The guys put on coats and headed outside. I followed Erik upstairs to our bedroom.

“So, what happened?” I asked.

“Ryan made his apology in full. Then I moved the discussion to the issues that have been upsetting him. That let us really clear the air,” Erik explained. “I never knew he had so many things bottled up inside him.”

“Like Father, like Son,” I responded.

“Yeah, I guess so. The good thing is that Will has started him thinking. Ryan told me he’s going to ‘grow up’. He promised to try to be more mature in his reactions to change.”

“That sounds good. What about him not wanting to be at school.”

“We talked a good bit about that. The issue isn’t really school, or no school – it’s leaving the farm. He feels safe and secure in an environment that really hasn’t changed in nearly 15 years. He doesn’t want to leave the farm, he doesn’t want the farm to change… he doesn’t really want anything to change.”

“That’s not reasonable.”

“No, it’s not,” Erik replied emphatically. “And I explained to him that changes were going to occur and continue. Plus, I reminded him that Will was a pleasant change that he needed to put more focus on.”

“Good,” I replied.

“Enough of that. I’m sure it will take more incidents before he truly does ‘grow up’, but he’ll get there.”

By this point, Erik and I were sitting on the bed. He lay back and I lay back next to him. He slowly rolled over until he was lying snuggled up beside me. I moved my arm up and over him. Erik’s hand slowly moved up over my chest and started stroking it lightly.

We lay there for a while just rubbing our hands over each other.

“How about a back rub?” I offered.

“That sounds wonderful,” Erik replied.

I got up and went into the bathroom to get some lotion. When I returned Erik was lying face down on the bed with his shirt off. I put a small dollop of the lotion in my hands and rubbed them together to warm it up.

I started working at the small of his back and used deep strokes. It wasn’t a professional massage, but I thought it might work some of the stress out of his muscles. The little moans and groans Erik made throughout the rub-down let me know that he was really enjoying it.

“Lift up a bit,” I whispered.

Erik lifted up and I reached under him to unbuckle his belt. He moved his hands down and did it for me. He also undid his pants. I pushed them down a bit to allow me to work on his lower back better.

“Lift up again.”

Erik rose up a bit and I worked his pants and underwear down his legs a good bit more. I started to massage his butt cheeks and then started long strokes from the base of his spine up to his neck and back.

As I did this, I noticed that his dick was getting hard between his spread legs. I finished one long stroke and dropped my head down between his legs – licking the head of his cock. This elicited a muffled groan.

A few more licks and I returned to the massage. I pushed his pants down further, then stopped, stood up and removed his boots. Then I finished pulling his pants off. I worked on his thighs and calves for quite a while. Every now and then I would tease his dick with my fingers or my tongue.

Finally, the massage finished, I moved his legs further apart and lay between them. I put the head of his dick into my mouth and teased it. Erik started to move, but I put my hands on his ass cheeks to hold him still.

I worked my tongue around the head, playing with the tip and then lapping up the underside of his shaft. I let my tongue dart here and there, toying with his dick.

“Rise up on your knees a bit,” I said putting my hands on his hips and started pushing upwards.

“Let me flip over,” Erik replied.

“No. Just up on your knees, Big Boy!”

I flipped over onto my back and worked my body between his legs and under his dangling, stiff dick. I craned my neck up a bit and started working my mouth up his cock.

“Fuck,” Erik moaned.

Unable to speak with a full mouth, I put my hands on his ass cheeks and pulled him lower. In his new, lower position, I was able to suck Erik’s dick into my mouth fully.

“Aw, yeah!” he groaned.

I continued to use my hands, directing him to raise and lower his cock. I controlled the tempo as he fucked my face. I continued this for a number of minutes, then released my control and slapped his ass cheeks a bit.

“Full steam ahead,” Erik grunted.

He started fucking my face at his own tempo. I reached down and started stroking my dick as he continued to run his dick in and out of my mouth.

“Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!” Erik screamed. I felt the first burst of cum hit my tongue as he filled my mouth. His cum kept coming, and my dick started shooting – coating my crotch, stomach and chest.

I ran my tongue over the head of his dick, licking off the last of the cum. A moment later, Erik flipped over onto his back next to me.

“That was fuckin nice,” he complimented.

“Glad you enjoyed it,” I replied.

He looked over at my deflating cock and the cum drying on my body.

“Looks like you enjoyed it too!”

“Damn right!”

We lay there for a few minutes. “Shower?” I asked.

“Yeah. That sounds like a good idea.”

I went into the bath and started the water. Erik walked in and commented, “It will be nice once the remodeling is finished. The new shower stall will accommodate us in a much more enjoyable manner.”

“I like the idea of the bench where you can sit and let the water cascade over you.”

I climbed into the shower, followed by Erik. He pulled the curtain closed.

“There are a lot of nice upgrades that will come. I’m really looking forward to it.”

“Now that things are settled with Ryan, I think we all are,” I replied.

I grabbed the soap and lathered him up. The shower was a lot of good clean fun.

My folks arrived late on the day after Christmas and stayed until New Years Day. The six of us were all fast asleep when 1999 turned to 2000. I guess farm life had changed me completely. I had always stayed up to count down the New Year before I moved to the farm.

Before Ryan and Will drove back to Blacksburg, the four of us sat down and went over the blueprints in detail once more. This time, both Will and Ryan had constructive feedback. Will had suggested small changes to the layout of their bedroom suite to make it work better for them. Ryan’s focus had been on the kitchen and adjacent great room.

“I was thinking that a larger refrigerator and separate freezer would be better. We do a lot of big cooking – like Thanksgiving - and could actually do more if we could store more,” Ryan suggested. “I’m tired of having to carry so much stuff down to the basement to store.”

“How about putting a built-in fridge and freezer here?” I asked. “We could take just a few feet of space from the den to make it fit.”

“I’ll check with Jim on the possibility and the cost. Remember, we do have a budget here,” Erik responded.

“It’s a sizeable budget,” Ryan countered. “I’d be willing to trim something else to get the kitchen right from the start.”

“Were the appliances stainless steel?” Will asked.

“Yeah,” I answered.

“What if we went with black instead? That should trim some cost,” Will suggested. “Also, we could check out options for more affordable flooring.”

“As I said, I’ll call Jim and ask,” Erik replied. “I’ll ask him to make all the changes. Then he can meet us in Blacksburg to review the final plans.”

“Cool,” Ryan answered.

“Happy with everything?” Erik asked.

“Yeah! It’s going to be great!” Ryan sounded pretty excited in his response.

The guys left later that afternoon and called that evening to tell us they had safely arrived in Blacksburg.

A few days later I was sitting in the office finishing up a bit of paperwork when the events of the past few months finally caught up with my mind. I owned half the farm. The house I’d lived in for the last three years, of which I now also owned half, was about to undergo a massive renovation and addition.

Erik kept coming up with these huge surprises, and now I wanted to plan one for him. I sat and stared for a few minutes. His birthday was coming up in April. Erik would be thirty-eight. What could I get him, or what could I do to surprise him – pleasantly.

I continued pondering the possibilities. I looked up at the calendar and then the perfect idea dawned on me. I grabbed the phone and called Janet.

“Janet, sorry to bother you,” I said.

“No problem Tracer. What’s up, Honey?”

“I just figured out what to get Erik for his birthday and I need your help arranging everything.”

“Sure thing. What’s the plan?” she asked.

“Every year Erik gets the same calendar for the office. I’ve never asked him about it, but it must mean something to him.”

“I’ve never noticed it. What is it?”

“It’s a group of shots from Canada. The one for January is for some place called Lake Louise. This huge hotel sits right on the lake – Chateau Lake Louise. I’m going to take him there.”

“You’re what?” Janet squealed.

“I’m going to take Erik on a trip. That is, if I can afford it.”

“You’ve got a lot of money saved up, don’t you? But it’s not going to be cheap,” Janet warned. “Tell you what. Come into town tomorrow and we’ll do some Internet searching to find the best airfare and hotel costs. Then you can decide if you want to do this, or something else.”

“Deal,” I said. “Thanks a lot, Janet.”

“You’re welcome, Honey. See you tomorrow.”

I was excited and couldn’t wait. But I was also worried that it would cost more than I could afford. I’d pretty much put all my pay checks into gifts, savings or retirement. Now the question was, ‘Did I have enough savings to spring my surprise.’

The next day I made an excuse to Erik that I needed to take some records to Janet for end-of-year accounting. I got to her office, really excited. I knocked on the door as I entered.

“I was expecting you,” Janet said sweetly. “I jumped ahead and did a lot of research already.”

“How bad is it?” I asked.

“Well, how many nights did you want to stay there?”

“I don’t know. What do you think?”

“Well, it’s going to take you a day’s travel to get there and a day to get back.”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” I said.

“You can fly from Tri-Cities to Dulles to Toronto to Calgary. Then you have to drive from Calgary into Banff and up to Lake Louise.”

“That hotel is not cheap; it’s about three hundred Canadian dollars a night for a nice room. At the current exchange rate that’s about two hundred thirty US dollars.”

Janet’s usual efficiency had things mapped out for me quickly. The costs were going to be extremely prohibitive – a long trip there, a long trip back and not a lot of time at the resort. Plus, April wouldn’t be the best time to be in the Canadian Rockies – not warm enough for summer fun, and no guarantee of the best winter weather either.

“Are you dead set on Canada?” Janet asked.

“Not really. It was just an idea from that stupid calendar.”

“It’s a good idea, Tracer,” she comforted. “But I’ve known Erik longer than you have, and one place he’s said that he always wanted to go to was the Florida Keys.”

“I’ve never heard him talk about them,” I admitted.

“He use to talk to me about them a lot. That was before he met you. Here’s my idea – you fly Tri-Cities to Miami. Rent a car and drive through the Keys for a few days.”

“That sounds cool,” I replied. “What do we need to do?”

“Let’s get planning.”

By the time I left, we had all the plans lined up. I just needed to make sure the dates would work with the rest of the staff and then we could implement my big surprise.

To be continued...

Author's Note: This is the first story I have written. I look forward to positive comments, constructive criticisms and otherwise pleasantly worded feedback. Flames and attacks will be ignored and addresses blocked.

The polish on this story comes from the hard work and dedication of a select group of volunteers. Thanks as always to Chael who has supported me from the start. Thanks to KPBuck and Rock Hunter for their continuing efforts.

Posted: 01/09/09