A Second Chance, Part III -- Life Must Go On
By: Tickie
(© 2007 by the author)
Co-Author & Editor: Radio Rancher
 
The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...


Chapter 3

Author's Note: To my loyal readers I want to again say thanks for reading my story. I do want to let you know if you haven't figured it out yet that Part III chapters 1 thru 5 are flashbacks being re-lived to fill you in on Colt and Matt's lives while away from the family. Both before JC and Mike got them and the school years that were brushed over in Part II. Sorry if it confused anyone, please enjoy the rest of the story as it continues.

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After the first Christmas vacation…

After the boys returned to school their lives were active and they both became even closer if closer was possible. James and I were there for them and guided them as we also guided the rest of the extended family back in Casper, or where ever they were around the world.

Not too far into the New Year, the school ran IQ testing on Colt and Matt’s class.

After the IQ, testing was over. Colt, now back in their room in the dorm asked Matt, “How do you think you did bro?”

“Not sure Colt, but I hope I did good, I want pop and poppa Mike to be proud of me, as much as they are you.” He looked at Colt with a loving but sincere smile on his lips.

“Our pops are proud of you, Matt, don’t you ever think differently, my beautiful brother.” Colt said with a sly smile on his lips as well. Then he took Matt into his arms, hugging, and kissing him passionately.

The boys did quite well and proved to the School that they were indeed very bright and quick-to-learn. Their grades were very good, and both boys were ‘A’ students, they enjoyed learning, and the feeling of being free and on their own, so to speak. The weeks and months passed, but there was not a week that on Friday, when the school bells rang at the end of the day, which the boys didn’t charge out of the building and into the car thinking of nothing more than about flying home for the weekend or holidays.

The flying club was finally approved late into their first year at Crazy Horse. It was going to take some time to get it all organized, but with Richard's help and the two boys' it would become a growing club at the school. Of course, JC and Mike wanted to buy a plane for the club, but the School would not allow that to happen, for liability reasons. However, they were allowing the club to teach everything a young pilot would need in ground school. In addition, with written permission from the parents of club members, they were allowed to go up in aircraft as student pilots in privately owned aircraft. However, I think I am getting a little too far ahead of my story again.

The last week before summer break, The Crazy Horse Flying Club held their first official meeting where the members elected Colt to be the president of the Club, and Matt as vice president. Also other officers in the club would be appointed by the president as stated in the club by-laws. Some of the other members were, of course, Earl Johnson, the boy’s best friend since the start of the school year. Also, Jack Eagleclaw, Carl Yazzie, Susan Yazzie. They were a brother and sister team. Jimmy Smith, Frank Hawk-Eye, Jerry Jones, Lonehorse Smith, Jane Smith, and Mathew Darkcloud were members too. That made a total of twelve members, which was not bad for a new club. Mrs. Whitefawn was proud of the boys for there efforts in starting such a wonderful club. Her faith in the boys would never be wasted on them.

I told James, "My love, can you just imagine how proud JC and Mike are of those boys, at this moment in time?” I was beaming with pride myself at them.

"My love," he said, "they are great kids I know, but look at the two loving parents they have." James pulled me into a big hug, and kissed me passionately for a long slow, deep loving kiss.

Both James and I, reached out, placed our hands on Colt and Matt's hearts, sending thoughts of kindness and wisdom into them, guiding them to do their very best as leaders of the club.

After the meeting ended, Colt asked Earl, “Bud, can you come to our dorm room for a little while?” He and Matt wanted to ask him if he would take an office in the club as secretary, but wanted to ask him that in the privacy of there room.

“Sure, what’s up?” Earl asked pensively.

Matt looked at Earl and spoke, “I think you would be a good officer. Thinking, ‘Hope he excepts the position, cause’ we really need him.’

Colt put his left arm around Earl’s shoulder, then with his right hand taking hold of Matt's left hand, they headed off toward their dorm room.

Earl thought to himself nervously, ‘I would love to do this, but can I do it right? It’s a big job.’ With a hint of anxiety in his voice, “I don’t know if I want it. I’m scared I’ll mess up, guys.”

“Come on bud, let’s just go inside and talk. Ok?” Matt said, as they all entered the boy’s dorm room, turning on the TV for some ambient noise, to hide their chatting from others in the dorm.

Inside the room, Colt asked Earl to have a seat at the desk while he took out the club forms from his backpack. He pulled out the club list of officer’s form, and placed in front of Earl on the desk. “Now, there is your first job, Earl. Fill it out for us, I know you will do a great job; put yourself down as the club secretary.”

“I...I...I don’t know if I can; I’m scared.” Earl stammered, looking scared as well.

“You think I’m not scared and nervous, Earl, geez! They are all looking at me for help. And god knows I will be the one that needs the help.” Colt said, with a hint of anxiety in his voice.

Matt spoke sternly saying, “You guys are wusses, look at me, I’m not afraid of my job, you guys can do it. And you forget we have the best person in the world to help us.” Thinking ‘Richard would never let us down, nor would our pops.’ After those thoughts filtered through his head, he continued with, “On top of that, we have our dads to help us too, remember they love us very much, Colt.”

With that being said, Earl spoke, “Ok, I guess I will try, but I’m still not sure I will even be able to fly a plane, and you still want me to be the secretary of this club?”

Both Colt and Matt said in unison, “Yes!!!” then smiled at him.

Earl placed the form right side up, and started filling it out, listing first the name of the president, vice president, and secretary, then the rest of the information that was required for the school, such as the name of the club and the faculty adviser, etc. After the form was completed and all the boys signed it, Earl placed it into the folder so he could turn it into the councilor’s office the next day.

Earl got up, taking the folder with him, and excused himself, saying, “Thanks you guys, for everything, I will do my very best for you both.” Then he left for his own room, closing the door behind him.

“You think we did the right thing bro?” Colt asked of his brother.

“I think so. How about let’s get to bed. Tomorrow is the last day of school, and it's going to be loads of fun this summer for us.” Matt was deep in thought, thinking about what summer break was going to have in store for them.

The two boys took their shower together as always, and then got into bed naked. Colt whispered softly, “I love you Matt.” as he kissed his brother ever so lovingly, on the lips.

“I love you to Colt!” Matt said softly, as he returned the loving kiss. Pulling his brother close to him in a gentle cuddle.

James pulled me into a hug and said, “Why are you crying, my love? What’s wrong?” He looked worried.

“I just could not help but cry, hearing those two boys profess their love for each other, honey, god I love them so.”

“So do I!” Replied James as he held me in a tender embrace.

The boys got up tickled, about it being the last day of school for the year. They were so excited that they had already packed all their clothes and other items for the trip home at noon, when school was officially over. Both JC and Mike were coming up with Richard to pick up the boys.

Colt and Matt rushed from their classroom and headed to their dorm; getting mashed as the crowd rushed through the hallway to get out to waiting cars and buses that would take people home for the summer vacation that everyone was eager to start, well, almost everyone. As the boys came down the hall to their room, they saw Earl. He was leaning on the wall by the door to his room, and he had obviously been crying. Colt and Matt were surprised: Earl had always been cheerful and happy. Except when his mother was killed in that auto accident early in the school year and he had to move in with his Aunt and Uncle.

"What's wrong, Earl?" Colt asked.

"I just got off the phone with my Aunt Edna." Earl sniffed and tried to hold back his tears. "She just told me that I won't be able to stay with her and Uncle George this summer. Their House had a huge fire, this morning, and they are having to stay in a hotel until the place can be fixed up. I don't know what I'm going to do."

Colt and Matt walked over to Earl and they each in turn hugged him and gave him a gentle kiss on his cheek. They looked at each other, and as James and I watched, we noticed the silent agreement between them. There was not the slightest hesitation as though the matter had already been settled.

"Well, Earl, I think you are in luck, after all." said Colt.

"You are the best friend we have here at school, and we really care about you, you know that too, don't you?" Matt chuckled.

"You know we live on a big ranch, and that we have lots of room and horses and two dads that love us very much, don't you? Well, they are either here already, and waiting for us in our room, or they are still on their way, because they got caught in traffic or something, so I am sure, as soon as we find them and ask them if it is ok, that you can come stay with us for the summer, or until your Aunt and Uncle can get their place fixed up again. I know there is a spare bed you can use in our room, and I'm sure you will love the ranch. Come on down to our room, when you get your things ready, and we will be waiting for you. I bet Pop and Poppa Mike are already there waiting for us." said Colt with a warm smile.

Indeed, Mike and JC were in their room. They had become rather impatient while they were waiting and decided to make the best of it. JC pulled Mike close, and began licking his ear. It was very sensual and James and I began to feel the emotions they were experiencing. The love that poured out between Mike and JC was so strong it could stand by itself. Mike pulled JC over to the nearest bed and they began to breathing more rapidly and finally the passion took over and they both needed clean underwear. As they came down from their passion, they lay back and fell into a peaceful sleep, which is where Colt and Matt found them when they entered the room a few minutes later.

The two boys looked at their dads and decided to give them a proper wake up call. Matt leaned over Mike and Colt leaned over JC and each began to lick the ear of the dad he was near. The two dads moaned contentedly, and each slowly opened their eyes. Mike and JC were each sprouting wood and the boys took notice of it and smiled impishly.

"Hello there, Sleeping Beauties." the boys chorused. James and I almost fell over with laughter when we saw what Colt and Matt were doing.

"I think we need to go freshen up" said JC. They both were blushing a beautiful shade of pink. It was so cute.

"We will get you two back for that, you know" said Mike.

"You two should get those things taken care of pretty quick, cause our friend Earl will be coming in here in a few minutes, and we need to talk to you about a problem he is having, and our idea of how to help him." said Colt.

"Ok." said Mike, "We will be right back. Just let us get freshened up a bit."

Mike and JC went into the bathroom and closed the door.

James and I saw Earl heading down the hall toward the boy's room. Earl knocked on the door and Colt called out, "Come in. It's not locked."

Earl came in the room dragging his wheeled suitcase behind him.

Colt pointed to the pile of luggage in the corner and said, "Might as well put it there, with ours, Earl." Just then, the bathroom door opened, and Mike and JC came into the room.

"Matt smiled and said, "Earl, these are our Dads. Mike, JC, This is Earl. He needs a place to stay for some time this summer. Otherwise He would have to stay here all by himself. His Aunt and Uncle's house has had a big fire, and they don't have any place for him to stay. We were hoping he could come stay with us till they get their place fixed?"

"Thank you so much for caring about me. I have never had anyone that gave a shit about me before. Oh geez, I'm so sorry; I didn't mean to cuss. It's just that I am so mad at them, not giving a damn, that I would be stuck here, all by myself." Earl said with a sad but cute smile.

"That's alright, son. I would be pissed at that too." said JC. "We knew you were upset, and if you would like, I will have a word with her, or your uncle. Let me have their number, and I will give them a call for you. They might just be surprised, when I get through telling them just what I think of the way they are treating you." Mike continued to hold Earl and rub his shoulders, gently soothing the boy and trying reassure him that someone cared about him.

I was so proud of JC. He was just like me. I heard his angry thoughts, which I don't think I should repeat here. I walked over and kissed him on the cheek. He reached up and touched it, where I had kissed him and he smiled. I knew that Earl's Aunt and Uncle were not going to be happy when JC had his say to them.

Earl had been living with his relatives for a couple of years, and they never even gave him a hug. All they did was give him food and a small bedroom to sleep in. They didn't beat him, but the verbal abuse they heaped on him was sometimes as bad, or worse, than the physical beatings that Colt and Matt had suffered through. I knew that Mike and JC wouldn't let that continue. Among other things, that is what Child Protective Services was for.

Earl gave JC the cell number he had been given for his aunt. He dialed the number and it rang the usual five or six times before he was connected to voice mail. "This is much too important to leave on a voice mail, besides, they could simply ignore us. Earl, do you know the hotel they are staying at?"

"Yeah, the Oak Tree Inn in Cheyenne." Earl snarled.

"We will call them when we get to the ranch." JC told him.

As JC finished, there was a loud knock on the door. Matt and Earl jumped about a foot in the air, startled from the noise.

"Come in" said Colt.

The door opened and Richard came in looking rather upset. "Geez, guys, what is keeping you? We need to get home." he said, looking around and seeing Earl for the first time. "Sorry I didn't know you had company."

"We are the ones that should be sorry, Richard." said JC. "We got all tied up here with Earl's problems and forgot all about you sitting out there waiting. I am really sorry you had to wait so long. Earl is coming with us to the ranch, so we need to put all the luggage in the trunk and you guys will have to squeeze together for the ride to the airport. I am sorry, but it is going to be pretty crowded in the car. Once we get on the plane, we can all stretch out."

"Earl is a member of our flying club, Richard, so maybe he will want to spend some time with you up front." said Matt.

"Great!" said Richard. "We can always use another pilot. I will be glad to have him join me on the flight deck, but I want to get out of here. Let’s get your stuff taken out to the car and get going. You can tell me the details in the car, or on the plane, if you want to."

They reached the airport in record time. When Earl saw the name "Little Colt" on the nose of the plane his mouth opened in amazement, and he sputtered, "That’s your plane?"

"Yep!" Colt said, "Come on lets get on board. We need to get Home.

“Oh, Earl, By the way, you think this is something?" Matt told him...

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The first summer at the Lazy L for the boys...

Even now, when I look down on the earth from above, I find it one of the most beautiful sights I could ever imagine. James and I sat in one of the unused seats in Little Colt, and watched the beauty unfold below us. The trip to the ranch was almost over. We could see the landing strip in front of us as Earl, began the decent. Richard had his hands hovering over his controls, just in case something were to go wrong, but, bless Earl's heart he handled it like he had been flying all his life.

"He's another natural born pilot, just like Colt." Richard said, over the PA.
The plane touched down bounced once and taxied to the end of the runway and came to a flawless stop. Richard and Earl came back into the cabin. Everyone stood up and embraced Earl.

"Earl, that was a great landing. You did a wonderful job. I am very proud of you." Mike told him.

Richard opened the hatch and everyone deplaned.

It looked as if the entire ranch crew were waiting for them as hugs were exchanged all around and of course, everyone got to meet Earl, and Earl was basking in the attention he was receiving. He got the biggest smile on his face when Richard told everyone that Earl had landed the plane perfectly.

"Come on!" shouted Colt. "You have to meet Star, and the other horses."

Truth be told, Earl was a little nervous about getting that close to such a huge animal. He started to hesitate.

Colt put his arm around Earl's shoulder and said, "Don't worry Earl. I know Star will like you."

Earl jumped when he heard a deep voice say, "Hello Earl. Nice to meet you."

"Who was that?" Earl muttered.

"Come out here where I can see you."

"Earl, did you hear someone say hello?" Colt asked, surprised.

"Yeah, someone said hello and said it was nice to meet me." Earl answered.

"I'll be damned!" said Colt. "You really are part of the family. Star, he heard you."

"I know. He's nice; I always know who will be able to hear me. I don't bother talking to anyone else. I used to try talking to everyone, just to see if, maybe by chance, someone would hear me that I hadn't noticed, but it has never happened.” Star said, sadly. “I have talked to a few kids while we were riding, so far though, only one or two of them have answered me, and they didn't know they were talking to me."

"Yeah." said Colt, “I remember that little girl in the pasture we met, the one with the lisp. She heard you and she thought it was me, somehow. I think she thought I was playing a trick on her. She hasn't come near us since.” Colt giggled. “Earl you are the only person we have told about talking to the horses, besides our dads, Richard and Andrew.”

James and I watched as the two friends brushed star till his coat was shining beautifully. Star nuzzled Earl and thanked him.

"Earl, you have very gentle hands. Thank you for brushing me so nice. It really felt good."

The boys greeted the other horses and gave them all their evening meal, and headed into the house for a hearty dinner. Everyone was eager to talk to Earl and get to know him better.

James and I smiled, knowing that Earl's life was going to take a dramatic turn for the better.

To be continued...

Author's Note: As of this chapter my good friend and editor Radio Rancher (Darryl) has joined me in adding some parts to the story as a co-author. I'm sure all my loyal fans will enjoy his work as much as I do. Thank you my friend for your help and contributions.

Tickie

Editor's and Co-Author's Note: I want to thank Tickie for allowing me to add some of my ideas into the story. I have loved this story from the beginning and was very happy when I became the editor. I was even more thrilled to be able to contribute part of the story itself. Please keep reading this exciting story, and I hope you enjoy the pieces that I have added. The characters have come to life for me and I love them all. We plan on adding new chapters regularly.

Darryl
Radio Rancher