Chapter 49 

Today was the day that Jeff and Paul, and Josiah and Brian would be arriving at the ranch to spend the summer. Tony and Clayton were busy preparing the two rooms they would be staying in. Michael and Caleb sat together at the kitchen table eating their lunch. Michael was indulging in his favorite fresh tongue sandwich, while Caleb preferred to pass up the tongue and have simply a cheese and tomato sandwich.

"I hope you had a good night last night, Caleb. You know, restful and all that." said Michael.

"Michael, as you can imagine, restful it was not. I probably had about two hours sleep."

"They're a couple of nice young men," said Michael with his mouth full.

Caleb put his sandwich down and said, "We did finally get to sleep, but I kept waking up. I'd look over at Noah and Ricky, both sound asleep, lying on their stomachs pressed against each other. Sometimes I'd sit up and look down at those four absolutely delicious little round ass cheeks all in a row staring up at me. At one point, I couldn't resist leaning over and running my tongue over all four of those firm little bubbles."

"Did they wake up?"

"No. If they did, they didn't let on. Michael, looking at those dear, sweet little bodies of theirs, lying there in their sleep, makes me wish I was young again. I wish I could have them both living with me all the time."

Michael laughed. "Calm down, Caleb. I know for a fact that you'll be welcome in their room anytime you want to be there."

Just as Michael had finished his sandwich, the phone rang. Michael answered it on the cordless phone that was sitting on the table.

"Michael, my love! It's Francisco!"

"Francisco!" shouted Michael. "Where are you?"

"I'm here in Mexico City. The guys and I are playing the room here at the Hotel Reforma. Tomorrow night is our last night of this engagement. I wanted to tell you that we have been booked in the club at the St. Anthony Hotel in San Antonio. We open next Friday night."

"That's great news, Francisco. I'm going to make a reservation right now. I want to be there on your opening night."

"Michael, I think about you so often, and about the love we had. Sometimes I cry in my bed at night. I miss you so much."

"Oh, Francisco," said Michael.

"When I get to San Antonio, I will have my agent arrange for you a table right in front so I can see you all through the show. Michael, I am so excited to be going to America, and especially to see you again."

"Francisco, I am going to stay in San Antonio that night. I'll be at the Menger Hotel, if I can get a room there. And Francisco, I might bring my son, Jeff and his partner with me. I want them to see you and to see your show."

"That will be wonderful. That is the son I met in Acapulco, no?"

"Yes."

"Good. It will be nice seeing him again."

After they hung up, Michael told Caleb all about how he came to meet Francisco. As they talked, Jake walked in the back door with a disgusted look on his face.

"Sorry to interrupt ya, but I think you should come out and look at one of the fuckin' tractors over in the equipment barn. Me and Ricky's been tryin' to repair it. But I think it's shot to hell."

Michael said, "Come on, Caleb, walk on over there with me, and we'll take a look at it."

As they entered the equipment barn, Jake said, "It's a piece of shit, Michael. Everything is fallin' apart on it. I hate to say it, but I think we need a new fuckin' tractor."

Jake pointed out all the various things that were wrong and couldn't be fixed and then said, "If ya don't mind, I'll leave ya here to look at it. I've got to go talk to a couple of fuckin' shit-heads over in the bunk house who think they got some fuckin' complaints. I'll take care of them fuckers and I'll be back."

As Michael leaned over and peered at the engine, Caleb came up behind him and slipped his arms around his waist. "God, Michael, I've missed being with you. I look at those buns of yours as you lean over, and it makes me realize how much I've missed in all these years we hadn't seen each other."

Michael straightened up and turned around. Putting his arms around Caleb, he said, "A lot of water has gone under bridge, or over the dam, or whatever, since we had those wonderful times together, hasn't it?" Slipping both his hands down inside the back of Caleb's pants, Michael said, "And I see these luscious buns of yours haven't changed at all."

They stood for many minutes kissing deeply and running their hands over each other's body. Jake suddenly appeared at the door and saw Michael and Caleb kissing. He smiled and just as suddenly backed out and closed the barn door.

"When will you be able to move into your condo," asked Michael.

"Not until tomorrow. They promised it would be ready by then."

As Michael traced his fingers over Caleb's arched eyebrows and then his full lips, he said, "Then, perhaps, you would accept an invitation to stay with me tonight . . . your last night here."

"Michael, I didn't know if you . . . ."

"Yeah, it's okay now. For some reason, I wanted to wait. I don't know why, really. But I can't let you get away like this without my saying goodbye properly . . . you know . . . the way we used to when we were young studs."

"In our hearts, Michael," said Caleb softly, "we're still young studs!"

Adriano cleaned up his desk, glad that the semester was over. Although Paul had decided not to teach during the Summer Session, Adriano had contracted to teach one course in the summer. It was late afternoon when he gathered up his final grade sheets to turn in at the Registrar's office on his way to the airport to meet Mario, his father, who was flying in from Italy.

When Mario deplaned, he and his son hugged and kissed each other on both cheeks. "Dad," said Adriano, "On our way to the apartment, why don't we stop at the Nest and have a couple of drinks and you can catch me up on what's happening back home. I know you enjoy that place."

When they arrived at the bar, they found it unusually crowded. School was now out, and the students were at last enjoying themselves. Most of the people were standing and busy mingling, and Adriano spotted an empty table over in a far corner. When the waiter came to the table, he looked at Mario and said, "Hey, man, I haven't seen you in a long time. Not since that restroom caper you got involved with that time."

After the waiter left with their order, Adriano said, "Well, Dad, tell me about that restroom caper. What was that all that about?"

"Oh, Adriano, it was nothing."

"Dad? Come on. Tell me."

Just then the waiter returned with the drinks. Looking at Adriano, he said, "Your friend here is quite a stud. I went into the can to take a leak, and there he was sucking a guy off. I lingered a little bit, and in just a few minutes he had taken three good loads from three different guys. I would have stayed and would have let him take my own load, but I had to get back to the bar." Then winking at Mario, he said, "Maybe later tonight, huh?"

After the waiter disappeared, Adriano smiled and, putting his arm around his dad's shoulder, said, "You're just an old slut, Dad. I never did think I could keep up with you. Now I know I can't."

Mario was clearly a bit embarrassed and said nothing.

"Tell me, Dad, what's happening back in Florence?"

"Well, Adriano," Mario began, "I've been thinking about your wanting me to move over here permanently. Things aren't going too good with me and your mother. She couldn't care less if I left. And on top of that, your older brother, Rudy, caught me one afternoon when Luigi and I were getting it on in the house. He said some terrible things to me, and told me he didn't want anything to do with me anymore. I'm just getting sick of my life over there. The boys run the business now and they act as though there's no place for me in it anymore."

Adriano said, "Well, I don't know why Rudy is so up on his high horse about what he found you doing. I don't know if you knew it or not, Rudy and I used to fuck each other all the time in our room when we were kids. And he's the one who started it."

Looking a bit startled, Mario said, "No, I didn't know that." Then after a long pause, he looked at Adriano and said, "How was he? Was he a good fuck?"

"Dad, he was pretty good. I'm sorry now that we didn't get you in on it. He might not have been so upset about Luigi later."

"Oh, well," sighed Mario. "The whole family can go fuck themselves, as far as I'm concerned. Would I be interrupting anything . . . I mean, would I be in the way for you if I just moved here to stay? I could get my own place."

"Dad, I've been urging you to move over here permanently. You won't be in my way. I don't remember if I told you that Charlie and I have split up."

"No, you didn't," said Mario. "That's wond. . . I mean, that's too bad."

"No, it's wonderful, as you started to say. The breakup was a good thing. I know that now."

"And how is Brian doing?"

"Oh, he and Josiah are doing just fine," said Adriano, not wanting to go into all of Josiah's troubles just yet."

He's such a sweet kid. I was the one who brought him out, you know."

"I know, Dad."

"And Michael. How's he doing? I've thought about him a lot."

"Michael's fine. He and Karl broke up you know. I'll be bringing you down to the ranch one of these days. Michael said he was anxious to see you."

When Mario excused himself to go to the restroom, Adriano said, "Dad, do I have to come with you to make sure you behave?"

"I always behave, son . . . in my way!"

When Mario returned after an inordinately long time, Adriano said, "Well, I see you behaved in your way! You've got some pubic hairs stuck above your upper lip, and there are a couple on your chin, too. Welcome to America, Dad!"

When they arrived at Adriano's apartment, Mario said, "After that long flight and several beers, I need to rest. Come on, Adriano, lie down with me and we'll both take a rest."

Adriano and Mario stripped down and got into bed. As Adriano held on to his father's naked body and began to run his hands over it, he noticed suddenly that Mario had fallen sound asleep. He thought, "That's okay. It's just so good to have my dad in my arms again."

After Jeff and Paul arrived at the ranch, Michael told them about Francisco's engagement at a club in San Antonio. He invited them both to go with him on Friday to see the opening night of his show, and to stay over that night at the Menger.

Jeff said, "Dad, are you sure you don't want to just go up there by yourself. You'll want to have a chance to be alone with him."

"No, no. I want you both to see his show. It's great. I'm sure there'll be other times he and I can see each other alone."

Paul shook his head and said, "Well, I don't want to go. For one thing, I don't like those Latin variety shows. And for another thing, I think the two of you should go together. Jeff, you've already met Francisco, and you said you liked him. I honestly would prefer not to go."

The phone rang, and when Michael went to answer it, Jeff said to Paul, "I don't know what's going to happen up there, but I'm sure Dad has in mind getting together with Francisco that night after the show. I don't know if I will, but if I get involved in that, I would like you to be with me. You know our agreement. We won't do anything with others unless we're both . . . you and me . . . there together."

"I think we can make an exception, Jeff. If anything like that should happen, you and your dad will be together." Paul took Jeff into his arms and said, "My dear sweet Jeff. You don't have to do everything with me along. If your dad were not going to be with you, that would be different. Now that I'm back here on the ranch, I just don't feel like I want to leave so soon. Jeff? Please. I'll be fine. And you know that you never have to worry about me, don't you."

"I know, Paul," said Jeff, kissing Paul's lips in between almost every word. "But I always miss you so much when we're not together. I didn't tell Dad that time when I spent the night with him at the little house, but I had you on my mind the whole time."

That evening, Josiah and Brian, and Tony and Clayton got together in the gazebo to drink beer and just visit with each other. Tony brought out several large pizzas for them all to eat. Since they were well occupied with one another, Michael decided to have supper with Caleb on the other side of the house, on the front verandah. Tony had prepared for them a large bowl of fruit salad and rolls since neither Michael nor Caleb expressed an interest in a large dinner. They each prefaced it with several triple Scotches on the rocks.

"You know, Michael," said Caleb, holding up his glass. "I'm getting to like Scotch on the rocks. I was always just a beer and wine drinker. But these things really do something to me. I think it's partly because it's what you like."

Michael had been wondering about something. "Caleb, now that things have happened . . . you know, with your divorce and all, do you wish at all that you could have a partner, another guy, in your life?"

"Well, as you know, I was looking forward to having Noah and me, just the two of us, together."

"I know, but even if Noah was living with you, it wouldn't last forever. He'll become an adult sooner than you think and will want to leave the nest, no matter how much he loves you. I could have spent the rest of my life with Jeff, but he needed a partner of his own."

Caleb said, "I realize it will probably get lonely living alone again. But I'm so happy to get rid of that miserable shrew I had for a wife, that nothing could be worse than that. At least, I have my fantasies and a good healthy penis to jack off when I need to quiet down my frustrations."

When they finished eating, Michael went inside to get a pot of coffee and a plate of pecan cookies that Tony had laid out for them. While in the kitchen, he could see through the window that the boys were still having a great time together drinking beer and eating pizza out in the Gazebo. Jeff and Paul had now joined them. Lot's of laughter.

As Michael and Caleb drank their coffee, Michael looked over at Caleb and said, "Caleb, I want this to be a special night for us. We go back a long way, and you've always meant so much to me. I'll admit to you that when we were kids, I was deeply in love with you. I know I never said it, but I didn't think then that I could ever love anyone else. And since then, you've always had a special place in my heart. I look at you and see that little arch you make on your left eyebrow every time you smile . . . just like you did when we were kids. And you still brush your hair back with that same quick twist of your hand when it falls in your eyes . . . just like you used to do. And the dimple in your chin is still there. I used to stand in front of the mirror and press the end of a pencil into my chin to see if I could make a dimple like yours. But it never worked. I know that our lives have taken different paths and that living together can never happen. But we owe ourselves one night that will bring back all that we had together so many years ago. It has to be a special night, Caleb."

Michael stood up, taking Caleb's hand. They walked into Michael's bedroom, happy and expectant, but with their eyes brimming with tears. They stood in the middle of the room, kissing passionately and deeply. Michael ran his tongue over the deep cleft in Caleb's chin, moaning with the pleasure of it. Then, standing back a bit, Michael slowly began unbuttoning Caleb's shirt, and running his tongue over the soft hair on Caleb's chest as it emerged into view. As more buttons were undone, Michael's tongue passed slowly over the ridges of hard muscle that covered Caleb's stomach, finding its way into his deep navel. Then, as Michael undid Caleb's belt buckle and top pants button, he ran his tongue down over the thick strip of soft black hair that led from Caleb's navel into his pubic hair.

As Michael crouched lower, he could feel Caleb's fingers coursing through his hair. As Michael slowly lowered Caleb's pants to his ankles, Caleb's penis, hard and solid as steel popped out, standing up at a forty-five degree angle. Michael ran his tongue lightly over it and down over the balls, and then continuing down Caleb's legs, beautifully shaped masculine legs covered with soft light brown hair. Caleb kicked off his boots and stepped out of his pants. He was now completely naked.

Michael said, "Now stand there for a minute and let me look at you." Backing up and sitting on the bed, he stared at Caleb. "You're so masculine looking now, Caleb. That adolescent sweetness is gone. Now you stand before me as a grown, fully mature sexual man, with real hot masculine beauty. What God has wrought! The little boy penis now replaced by a man-sized cock! The smooth teen-age skin now replaced by hard rugged muscles, covered with male hair to die for!"

Caleb said, "Stand up, Michael. Let me undress you."

Caleb slowly removed each of Michael's pieces of clothing, letting them drop to the floor. "Michael, your body has changed no less than mine. I can't tell you how often I have imagined what it would be like to look at your naked body now. I was no less in love with you, Michael, than you were with me. I never believed your body could ever be more erotic than it was when we played together in high school. But look at you now! A man for all seasons! A man's man! I had heard that you had done male stripping for various groups in college, and I can see why you were in such demand. I need that body for myself right now."

Lurching forward, Caleb grabbed Michael and they both fell upon the bed, rolling around in each other's arms and kissing madly. "Lie on your back, Michael. I'm going to devour every inch of that totally male body of yours."

With Michael lying spread eagle on the bed, Caleb crouched over him and began giving Michael's skin a tongue bath like he had never given before. He started on Michael's forehead and licked around his whole face and into his ears. He ran his tongue down around his neck and under his chin and over his Adam's apple. He swirled his tongue all across Michael's chest, stopping only to gnaw and suck on the soft hair that covered it. Running his tongue down over Michael's hard abs, he found the navel.

"Such a nice deep navel," Caleb murmured as he swirled his tongue into it. "Just like I remember it. Remember once, Michael, when I shot my cum into it, and it held my whole load? Sucking it out was like drinking from a little demitasse cup."

Caleb lingered at Michael's thick bush of pubic hair and sucked on it for a long time while he felt Michael's hard penis bobbing and slapping against his cheek. Soon, however, that throbbing penis was sucked all the way into Caleb's mouth and throat. The taste of Michael's pre-cum and the feel of the hard rubbery head of his penis was so good that Caleb could hardly get himself to stop. At the same time, he wanted to continue working on Michael's body, to cover every inch of it with his tongue and lips. Also, it was going to be a long night, hopefully, and he didn't want Michael to cum too soon.

Caleb pulled off and sucked in the soft limp skin of Michael's long scrotum, chewing lightly on it. He sucked in each ball separately and rolled it gently around in his mouth. Then holding one of Michael's thighs in his both hands, he licked it vigorously, luxuriating in the soft hair and skin of Michael's upper thigh . . . the soft area that cushions the balls. Holding on to Michael's leg, he ran his tongue completely over it down to the ankle, lingering to savor the feel and taste of his skin and leg hair. He repeated the whole thing on the other leg.

"Michael, please roll over on your stomach," said Caleb as he helped Michael roll. Michael felt as though he were on a cloud, floating somewhere in Heaven. He had not remembered how sensitive his skin was. To feel Caleb's tongue on it was one of the most erotic feelings he had ever had.

Caleb began again, this time starting on the back of Michael's neck, around the ears, and down over his back. Caleb lingered at Michael's upper back and said, "I love how your shoulder blades stick out, Michael. It makes your back look so beautiful. It's something I remember so well from our school days."

Running his tongue down over Michael's back, Caleb neared what he considered the pièce de résistance, the two luscious smooth round orbs of Michael's ass cheeks jutting up from Michael's narrow hips. Caleb very gently at first ran only the tip of his tongue all over them, tickling them so much that it caused Michael to start jerking and lurching in exquisite pain. The feel of those erotic looking bubbles of flesh on Caleb's tongue was about to drive him crazy. Then, spreading open the two cheeks with his hands, Caleb peered into the chasm. There was Michael's asshole, pink and inviting, but perhaps a little redder than he remembered it. Holding Michael's ass cheeks as far apart as possible, Caleb lowered his face into the crevasse so that he could touch that most personal of all places with the tip of his tongue. As he did so, he could feel Michael's hole clenching and unclenching. As Caleb pushed his tongue harder against it, Michael relaxed the sphincter muscle allowing Caleb's tongue to slip in easily. The taste of the inner lining of Michael's rectum was heady and erotic. Again, although Caleb wanted so much to linger there, he also wanted to bathe the back of Michael's legs, which were so beautiful to the eye as he lay there.

Spreading apart Michael's legs a little more, Caleb could see his balls lying limply on the bed. Once again, leaning down, he licked and sucked on the soft skin of the sac that contained them. Giving Michael's ass cheeks one last lick, Caleb proceeded down the back of his legs, sucking and gnawing on the soft hair as he went.

Finally, Michael rolled over onto his back again. He could feel on his back all the wetness on the sheet from the great amount of pre-cum that had dribbled out of his penis while Caleb was bathing him. He held out his arms for Caleb to lie on him so they could kiss. They lay there and sucked on each other's tongue and lips for a long time. Soon, it was Michael's turn to give Caleb a tongue bath. He did it just the way Caleb had done it to him.

Michael and Caleb soon found themselves in a sixty-nine position sucking on each other's hard penis. They agreed that they would take it very slowly, stopping and starting so that they would bring each other to the brink and then back off a bit. As they sucked, they ran their hands over each other's legs. To have their legs lightly massaged while they were working toward their orgasms had always been intensely erotic for both of them. As they did it, they were brought back to the memory of their high school days when that was what they did as they sucked each off. Their legs were a little smoother then, but to have them much hairier now was far more exciting.

Finally after almost an hour, Michael said, "Caleb, I don't think I can hold it much longer. Are you close?"

"Yeah," said Caleb. "Several times I thought I was going to come, but stopped myself just in time. I don't think I can hold it any longer. Should we go ahead and shoot together?"

"Yes, let's go!"

Within seconds, both Michael and Caleb started bucking their hips and let their orgasms took over their bodies. They could each feel the surge of pent-up sperm as it shot up the length of their penises and out into each other's mouth. Caleb could feel Michael's hot thick cum on his tongue and back of his throat as it shot into his mouth. The feel of it and the taste of it was so good, he kept as much of it in his mouth as possible and let it slowly drip down his throat.

When Caleb sent stream after stream of his own cum into Michael's mouth, he could feel the suction that Michael was applying to his penis. Michael also kept as much of Caleb's sweet-tasting cum in his mouth as long as he could, and then swallowed it little by little.

Caleb got up and turned so that they could kiss each other. They both had cum on their lips and in their mouths, and it made the kisses that much sweeter. They soon lay quietly with their arms around each other, panting and trying to catch their breaths. They both dropped off to sleep eventually. In about an hour, Caleb awoke, sat up and looked down at Michael. As he leaned over to kiss him, Michael opened his eyes and put his arm around Caleb's neck. They kissed and ran their hands over each other's body. They talked for a little while about the old days in the woodshed as they idly played with each other's wilted penises.

It was not long, however, before both of those penises were rock hard again. Caleb said, "I don't know if I'll ever get a chance again to do it, but I'd like to fuck that beautiful asshole of yours tonight."

Michael looked at Caleb and smiled. "Can you do it this soon?"

"Sure, it's been a couple of hours. And look how hard I am. And see. I'm even dripping pre-cum!"

With a short chuckle, Michael lay on his back and pulled his legs up so his thighs were pressed against his chest. "Okay, wonder boy!" said Michael. "Go fot it! Fuck your brains out! And then I'll do the same!"

Caleb got up on his knees, spread Michael's ass cheeks, and then flooded his ass trench with saliva. Then mounting Michael, Caleb thrust his hard penis into his waiting asshole. It went in easily and quickly.

Michael sighed, "Oh, Caleb, to have you inside of me again feels so wonderful. Pound me really hard, won't you?"

Caleb started fucking Michael and pulling in and out the whole length of his penis with great long sweeps. As he worked faster and faster and pounded harder and harder, beads of sweat began to run off off Caleb's forehead and onto Michael's stomach. The hair on his chest was also wet with sweat that glistened like a million diamonds. He began to breathe in great long gasps, and Michael found it so erotic just to watch Caleb's face as it contorted in such a masculine way as a body-builder would look as he pumped hard on the apparatus. Michael ran his hands over Caleb's strong arms, hard as rocks as his muscles were tensed to the limit.

"I'm so close, Michael, my beautiful man," gasped Caleb as he began to slow down. "But I don't want to cum yet."

"Please, don't cum yet, Caleb," said Michael. "The feel of your penis roaring through my bowels is so wonderful!"

Soon, Caleb growled, "It's cumming! I can't stop it." Caleb threw his head back and let out an explosive roar as his orgasm took hold of his body and as he let it all out. Michael could feel the warmth of Caleb's sperm as it flooded his rectum. He could feel Caleb's penis throbbing violently each time it cast it's hot semen into his body. It seemed never to end.

Caleb held his penis inside of Michael for a few minutes, but finally rolled off and collapsed on his back, gasping for breath. Soon, Caleb said, "Michael, please turn around and bring your ass down over my face. I want to suck out all my sperm that's in your rectum."

Michael crouched over Caleb and, as Caleb spread his ass cheeks with his hands, he lowered his crotch over Caleb's face. Caleb buried his mouth in the crack and sucked and licked furiously, taking all of the sperm he could out of Michael's ass. When Michael rolled off, he looked at Caleb and could see that Caleb's face was smeared with cum. He leaned over and licked off as much as he could.

Then, without a word, Michael lifted Caleb's legs and buried his face into Caleb's ass trench, soaking his ass hole with as much saliva as he could. Mounting Caleb, Michael pushed his gorged penis into the waiting hole.

As Michael began to pump, Caleb said, "Michael, remember when we used to give each other cum facials? I did that to the boys last night. It was so erotic to shoot my cum all over their faces. When you're about to cum, would you pull out and shoot all that wonderful hot cum of yours on my face?"

Michael had remembered how great it used to be when he and Caleb would do that years ago in the woodshed. "Yes, I will, Caleb. I'm getting pretty close now. My penis feels so good clamped in your tight asshole, but it'll be great giving you a facial. It's coming up on me now, Caleb. Are you ready?"

"Yes! Get your penis down close so all of it will be sure to get on me!"

Suddenly, Michael could feel the beginnings of his orgasm and pulled out of Caleb's hole. Holding his penis close to Caleb's face, he sent volley after volley of his hot, thick cream onto Caleb's face. When he was done, there were globs of pudding-like sperm all over Caleb's face and hair. How hot and erotic it was to look down at Caleb with his face covered with his sperm. Caleb had his mouth open and was trying to reach some of the sperm with his tongue. But soon, Michael leaned over and, with his own tongue, washed Caleb's face completely.

Michael said, "You ate your own cum out of my asshole, and now I'm eating my own cum off your face."

Michael and Caleb lay exhausted, side by side, each idly caressing the hair on the other's leg.

Caleb finally said, "It's been quite a night, Michael."

Michael responded, still a little out of breath, "Yeah. It's been a real trip down memory lane, hasn't it? We're two different people now, Caleb, from what we were in those old woodshed days years ago. But it's even better now."

"I know," said Caleb. "We shouldn't have lost touch with each other."

As they lay with their warm moist bodies pressed together, Michael and Caleb were soon asleep.

While Michael and Caleb were sequestered in Michael's room, the party out in the gazebo had been great fun. A great deal of beer had been consumed, and no one was feeling any pain, so to speak. Noah knew where his father was and told everyone that his father and Michael were together that night, and everyone speculated as to what was going on in Michael's room. Jeff seemed particularly happy that his father was "getting it on" with his old friend, Caleb. He would like to see Caleb stay there and become a regular in Michael's bed. But he was a little concerned about the pending visit they were scheduled to have with Francisco in San Antonio on Friday. Francisco was a traveler and obviously was not in a position to settle down anywhere. The thought that his father would hopelessly fall in love with this man, as gorgeous as he was, worried Jeff.

Early in the evening, Clayton had called to everyone's attention that another young cowpoke was knocking at Luke's door over at the bunkhouse. They all looked that way and saw the door open and the man entering.

Jeff said, "I know who that man is. His name is Ron. I met him during my first weeks down here. Back when we had those old gang showers, he was always the first one to fuck old Joseph, while the rest of us watched. And then Jake would fuck Ron. It happened that way just about every night. Ron tried to put the make on me several times. He's a real crude bastard, and not very good looking. In fact, he's ugly. He's been kind of out of sight for a long time, but I've been seeing him around a lot more lately. He must have a good ass, though. There's nothing Luke likes better than to fuck a good asshole."

Tony said, "Well, just before Dan left, he told me Luke had thrown him out. He figured there must be another guy. And I guess Ron must be it this week."

The next day, Enrique was doing some chores in the equipment barn when Ron walked in. Enrique thought Jeff was right. Ron sure was an ugly bastard.

"Hey, Ricky," said Ron. "Whatya doin'?"

"Just working on my chores."

Ron sat down on an old crate and said, "Hey, why don't ya come over and sit down and let me talk to ya."

"What do you want Ron?"

"I was talkin' to Luke last night. I knew it already, but he reminded me you like to fuck!"

"What!" said Enrique, a bit dismayed.

"He told me you been givin' yer little hot Mexican ass to ever-one who wants it."

"Get out of here, Ron."

"Aw, come on and sit over here with me."

Enrique shouted, "No! I've got work to do. Now get out of here."

Ron got up and lunged for Enrique, who saw it coming and picked up a shovel.

"Hey, you little fuck head," said Ron, stopping short. "Ain't my cock good enough fer ya?"

As Ron moved closer, Enrique swung the shovel and hit Ron hard in the side. Ron fell to his knees in pain. "Hey, what ya do that fer? What's one more cock up yer ass. Put the shovel down and let's talk sensible."

As Ron got up and moved closer, Enrique swung the shovel again, hitting Ron in the knee.

"Okay, you fuckin' asshole. I know all about you," growled Ron, pointing his finger at Enrique. "You've been gittin' fucked by ever-body here. And you been fucked plenty by Ol' Ben before he kicked off. Ever-body knows it. And he fucked yer ma, too. And ever-body knows that, too. Yer his bastard kid."

"What are you talking about?" Enrique gasped.

"I'm talkin' about yer that old bastard's love child," said Ron, laughing.

Enrique said, "My daddy disappeared after I was born. And my mama died when she gave birth to me."

"Yeah, she got fucked to death! Listen, dick-head. Yer mama was a fuckin' whore!"

"That's not true!"

"Oh, yeah?" growled Ron. "Well, you go and ask yer big high an might brother!"

"I don't have a brother."

"Well, let me tell ya. Michael's yer brother. And yer his little Mexican half-breed brother. Ol' Ben was yer fuckin' old man. How dya like them apples, ya little son-of-a-bitch."

"None of that's true!" shouted Enrique as he brandished the shovel again.

"Jist go ask yer fuckin' brother, the great Pooh-Bah, Michael Walker. Ever-body on this fuckin' ranch knows about it. He'll tell ya all about it!"

Again swinging the shovel close to Ron, Enrique shouted, "Get out of here, or I'll kill you with this!"

Laughing, Ron got up and ran out of the barn.

Enrique sunk down to the ground and sat there stunned. He thought, "How could that be true? That filthy man was lying. Surely Michael would have told me if it were true. It couldn't be true. I won't even talk to Michael about it. It couldn't be true. My mama wouldn't have let another man touch her. I just know it."

Enrique covered his face with his hands as tears poured from his eyes.

In the next day's mail, was a letter from Jared Walker to Clayton. Clayton was stunned to see it and his first impulse was to throw it away unopened. He carried the sealed envelope around with him most of the day, not knowing quite what to do with it. He finally reasoned that it would be best to tell Michael about it. Michael would advise him as whether to throw it out or to open it and read it.

Entering Michael's office, Clayton said, "Excuse me, Michael. I think I need to talk with you."

"Of course, Clayton. What is it?"

Drawing the letter out of his pocket, Clayton laid it in front of Michael on his desk. Michael looked down at it and said, "I knew we hadn't heard the last of this. Have you read it?"

"No. I was thinking maybe I should just throw it out."

"That's not the way to deal with this, Clayton. We need to read it so we can see what he's up to. Would you like to open it?"

"No. You go ahead and then read it to me."

Michael slit open the envelope and pulled out the letter and read

My Dear Son,

I am so very sorry that our visit did not go well. If you had been here alone, I think we would have done much better. I don't want there to be any doubt in your mind, dear son, that I love you very much. I will regret for the rest of my life my past actions. There is no way I can change all that went before. But it's not too late for you and me to become father and son again. I will be getting out of here in June after my parole hearing. I have no doubt that I will be released. Perhaps you and I can take a nice long trip together so we can get reacquainted as father and son. We could go and see the Grand Canyon, and maybe drive up to the Black Hills and then over to see the Big Sky country of Montana. We could go anywhere you would like. Again, my dear son, please forgive me for having been such a poor father. I'm a different man now. And I know that I always did love you, Clayton. I just never knew how to show it. You are my life now, my son, and I will make everything up to you. I promise. Please write me. With all my love,

Your Dad

As Michael laid the letter on the desk, he said, "He'll never get paroled. If he does, he won't be able to leave Texas during his parole period."

Clayton sat with his head bowed and with tears streaming down his cheeks.

Putting his hand on Clayton's shoulder, Michael said, "What's the matter, son?"

"I don't know."

Michael went around his desk and sat down. He looked at Clayton a long time. He didn't know what to say. Could it be that Clayton now wanted to see his father again? Could it be that Clayton believes him? He didn't want to ask for fear of hearing the answer he didn't want to hear.

"Clayton," said Michael finally. "I don't really know what you're thinking, but as I've told you before, anything you do will be your decision solely. But whatever you do, I hope you will never forget that this is the first real home you have ever had. It's a home where you are loved deeply and completely. And I suppose I should say, too, that I am the first real father you ever had. No one could love you more than Tony and I do. Not even Jared. I know Jared better than you. And I promise you . . . again . . . that no one could love you more than Tony and I do."

Clayton looked up and wiped his eyes on his sleeve. Coming around the desk, he knelt down next to Michael and put his arms around him. "Michael," he said, "I won't forget. And there's no one I love more than you and Tony." Laying his head in Michael's lap, he said, "Don't worry about me, Dad. I'm here to stay."

As Michael ran his fingers through Clayton's hair and caressed his neck and cheek, he suddenly realized this was the first time Clayton had ever called him 'Dad.' "I won't worry, son. I won't worry."

Just before lunchtime, Michael walked down to Enrique and Noah's room. He found Caleb just packing up his things. "Hi Caleb. Gosh, I hate to see you leave. Please stay for lunch. It will probably be our last time to talk for awhile now that you'll be living over in Goliad. Tony's fixing some chicken salad sandwiches. We'll have a drink and eat, and we'll have a chance to chat some more."

"That sounds nice, Michael. I hate to leave, too. But I just called the contractor, and the place is already for me to move in this afternoon. At least it now has a working toilet and a shower. I won't have to go out and dig a trench to take a shit!"

Michael and Caleb sat again on the front verandah, enjoying an unusually breezy day, although the air was hot.

Caleb said, "I do hate to leave. After the wonderful night we spent last night, I've been thinking all day how perfect it would be . . . for me, at least . . . to stay right here with you permanently. But life goes on. I have my work in Goliad, which God knows has piled up impossibly since I've been gone."

"I hope it doesn't surprise you, Caleb," said Michael. "that I've been thinking the same thing. But I know we have to be realists."

Caleb said, "Do you ever hear from Karl? I know he went back to New York. I wonder if he's getting the help he was hoping to get. Do you think he'll ever come back here?

"Caleb, I think about Karl all the time," said Michael. "I hope he's getting help. I'm positive he's sincere about it. As for his coming back . . . even though I know most people around here don't like him particularly . . . I would welcome him back with open arms. We had a life together that was so perfect. I miss him so much. You know it was all my fault that he left. If I hadn't been such a damned fool running off like I did, and making him think he had hurt me beyond repair, he'd still be here, and we could have worked out the problems."

"Yes, but he still would not have gotten the professional help he probably needs," said Caleb. "You would have been fighting a problem that was always going to be there. And in the end, there would be little you could do about it on your own."

"I suppose you're right, Caleb. I just wish I would hear from him and know how he is doing."

"I know," said Caleb. "I've heard from everyone how much he adores and loves you. So I'm sure you'll hear from him sometime." Caleb put his napkin down and stood up. "Well, it's time I shove off, Michael. Give me a hug. I'll never forget the night we spent with each other last night. I'm tired from lack of sleep, but I'm feeling on top of the world thinking about what we had together last night. Remember, you haven't seen the last of me! That big house-warming party I'm going to have will be coming up soon. And you will be the only guest!"

Michael walked into the kitchen with Caleb and out the back door. Michael waved goodbye as Caleb drove off in his rental truck. Walking back to his office, Michael found Enrique standing at his door.

Michael put his hand on Enrique's cheek and said, "Enrique, don't you feel well? You don't look well. And you look like you've just seen a Ghost. What's the matter?"

Enrique looked into Michael's eyes and said in a faint voice, "I have to talk to you about something." With tears in his eyes, and with a broken voice, he said, "It's kind of important."

Michael was suddenly very concerned about Enrique and, putting his arm around Enrique's shoulder, led him into his office and closed the door.
 

To be continued...