The Family

Once everyone calmed down after the news, Linda clasped her husband's hand and asked. "Lev, Greg, are you planning on adopting Tracey before you two get married?"

Levie and Greg looked at one another, then Greg responded. "Umm, yeah, about that." The pair smiled at one another, held hands, and addressed the gathered family. "We'd like to start our new life's path as Dads, being husbands." Levie paused, then continued. "So, we'd like to get everyone's help in getting us hitched on Christmas Eve."

The room was deathly silent as the family digested this new request. Lyle was the first to voice his thoughts. "Guys, that's a tall order to fill in only a month."

Levie stepped forward. "I know it is, Pap-Paw. However, we both believe it's more than doable. Between all the family elders gathered here, there are more than enough contacts in the right places to accomplish this celebration." The redhead looked at the monitor. "Mama, would you please work with us so we can pass all the inspections and interviews needed to ensure our success in adopting Tracey?"

Linda's hand flew to her heart as tears streamed down her cheeks. Never in a million years would she have thought she'd ever hear those words coming from the Stillman men after their past. "Boys, I'd be more than honored to help you two get us our first Grandchild." She and Tom shared a loving embrace as they wiped their tears. "I'll make calls first thing in the morning before I get on the road to come home."

"I love you, Mama. Thank you." Levie laid his head on Greg's shoulder.

"We need to find someone to officiate the ceremony, a place for the wedding, and the reception," Ev'lynn noted.

"Mam-Maw, that's covered, except the person marrying us." Greg offered. "The ranch is the perfect and most available place."

Jaycen smirked as he rubbed his chin with his thumb and index finger. "Hmm, I don't remember anyone asking the two senior owners if they could use the ranch in that capacity." He was going crazy, trying not to laugh and keep his straight face.

"Yeah, I don't either, not to mention, we do require at least a year in advance to make sure it's not gonna interfere with a previous booking." Troy didn't last more than a second before he was doubled over with laughter.

As soon as his husband cracked, so did Jaycen. The pair's laughter increased when Brandon stood between them, tickling their sides. Jaycen wrapped the blonde in an armlock. Troy smirked and tickled the younger guy's ribs. A few seconds later, Brandon voiced his surrender. He continued giggling as he was wrapped in a double Bropop hug. The antics had everyone cracking up.

"Don't forget, Bropops, you're no match for my most adorably cute pout and trebling lips." Levie giggled as he ran up to the two men and jumped into Jaycen's arms. "Pwwweeeeeeeaaaaasssseee, Bropops? I'll love you forever." The redhead kissed Jaycen's nose and laid his head on the older man's shoulder.

"He gets that from you, ya know." Troy giggled and jumped away from his husband's attempted swat.

"Damn it. Why are you sooo cute and irresistible?" Jaycen shook his head and sighed.

"Cause, I just am." Levie giggled and slid down to the floor, continuing to cling to Jaycen.

"We've got no freakin' defense against this kid," Troy said as he lovingly embraced Jaycen and Levie.

"Nope." Jaycen giggled. "So, I guess we'll have to let the brat have his way."

Levie giggled and pumped his fist in the air. "Oh, yeah, and the cute adorable kid wins again." The redhead squealed and jumped around as he burst out in wild laughter because Jaycen and Troy launched a unified tickle attack on his ribs from both sides.

The pair chuckled and ended their playful assault. The men wrapped their arms around Levie and kissed him on both cheeks. "We love you, Lev." Jaycen and Troy said in unison. They giggled and opened their arms when Greg appeared beside them, pouting.

Levie composed himself and stood with Troy's arms around his chest, with Greg in the same position in front of Jaycen beside them. He looked at Ev'lynn. "Mam-Maw, we can do a mixture of catering and home cooking. Between the two of us, we can have an unbelievable menu."

"We'll get together and work on it tomorrow." She said as she started listing ideas on her phone.

Finally, everyone was talked out and left for home. All except for  Brandon and Rhett, who stayed behind and spent time with their brothers. The young men got comfortable and sat around in their underwear and barefoot. Rhett leaned his head back and sighed. He softly giggled when Levie's finger tickled his right foot while Brandon tickled his left one. The brunet squirmed and boyishly giggled as the brother's tickles increased. Greg chuckled and stood in front of the trio. He knelt down, leaned forward, and blew raspberries on the newest addition's stomach while kneading his fingers between Rhett's ribs. The living room filled with the sounds of male laughter and squeals as the ticklish brunet squealed that he surrendered.

"That was amazing. I love you guys, but I'm still getting revenge." Rhett giggled and cuddled into Brandon's warm body.

"We love you too and would expect nothing less from our newest Bro." Greg leaned over and kissed Rhett's head.

"So, are you guys really ready to be parents?" Brandon asked as he sipped his beer.

Levie and Greg looked into each other's eyes and smiled. "Yeah, we are. We know it's gonna be challenging, but the rewards will be epic." Levie squirmed and giggled when Greg kissed and nibbled his neck and ears, then continued. "Besides, we've got four Pap-Paws, two Mam-Maws, and two of the world's greatest Uncles to help us raise Tracey that we're wondering if we'll ever be able to even hold this kid for five seconds." Levie's statement had everyone laughing and nodding their heads in agreement. "Oh, I need one of you guys to ride with me to the bank, then to the Jeep dealership." The redhead giggled when he saw the look on Greg's and Brandon's faces.

"Babe, why do you need to go to the dealership? I thought you loved your Eagle."

"I do, but I need something safer and less open to drive our son around in."

Greg smacked his forehead. "Oh, shit, I never even thought about the safety or ease of carting a baby around." He then started thinking. Maybe I should look into getting a new vehicle."

"What are ya gonna do with the Eagle, Lev?" Brandon asked.

Levie sipped his beer and grinned. "Well, I seem to recall there was a brother of mine who kidnapped a very innocent and angelic defenseless redhead. I'd like him to have the Golden Eagle. That way, it's still in the family, and I can still drive it if he's not using it."

Rhett almost choked on his beer. "Defenseless, my ass. You kidnapped me." He paused and joined his brothers and mate in their boisterous laughter. "Lev, are you sure?"

Levie giggled and nodded. "Rhett, you need a better vehicle. It's gonna be snowing soon, and you won't be in the city anymore. You'll need something with a four-wheel drive. Besides, I'd rather my son not be riding in the kidnap mobile when he's with his deviant Uncle Rhett."

Rhett giggled and pounced on the redhead, tickling him into hysterical oblivion. Not wanting to be left out, Brandon and Greg joined in. Brandon wrapped his arm around Levie's ankles and tickled the redhead's feet. Greg chose to pin Levie's arms above his head to tickle his boy's exposed pits. Levie shrieked and howled with wild laughter as he wriggled and tried to get free. It didn't take long for him to holler out his surrender.

The next few days were crazy for the family. Everyone was scrambling to get everything in place that was required to pull the wedding and arrival of the newest family member. To say that Troy and Jaycen were excited was an understatement. The pair got together with the ranch hands and had Oakridge brought up to the current century. They got the house fitted with Smart technology and set up security cameras on the house, barn, and various areas around the property. They also baby-proofed the house and placed rubber coverings on all the sharp edges that could possibly hurt a baby or toddler.

Levie and Rhett went to the Jeep dealership after closing out the "Bropop" account Levie set up to do something special for Jaycen and Troy. After they didn't see anything, they went to a used car lot across the street. The two parked the Eagle and walked around checking out the different vehicles. They were about to leave when Rhett spotted a sparkling SUV towards the back of the lot. He pointed it out to Levie, and they headed for it.

The vehicle turned out to be a fully loaded Twenty-Twenty Jeep Grand Cherokee. It was dark green with tan leather heated and cooling seats. The SUV had a sunroof and a camera for backing up. The gas mileage was standard for the type of vehicle it was. The horsepower was decent. It had ten thousand miles and was in pristine condition. All they needed to know was the price. Levie and Rhett headed inside to find a salesperson. They were in the showroom for almost fifteen minutes and were getting impatient. Finally, a very disinterested salesman approached them.

"Hi, how may I assist you two boys?"

Levie looked the unkempt man up and down. His shirt was wrinkled, and the buttons looked like they were about to pop open. In fact, he was wondering if he and Rhett would have to duck if the guy inhaled too deeply. His pants had seen better days, and his hair was askew.

"First of all, you could be more respectful and not refer to us as boys. It's very disrespectful. You're not my Dad or family. Second, we've been standing here for almost fifteen minutes before you took your time coming up to us. I'm not used to receiving such awful service. If I treated the people who do business at the ranch that I'm part owner of, we'd never have any business."

Rhett's jaw almost hit the floor. This was not the playful brother he'd gotten used to. This Levie was all business and wasn't to be messed with.

"Why, you little snot-nosed fuckin' brat. You, sure as hell, don't look like you've got any business to do with us, and I'm not wasting my time being insulted by you." The man huffed back to his desk and returned to his paperwork.

Levie smirked as he located the number of the dealership, walked out of view of the detestable man, and called. He watched as another agent answered. Levie explained everything that had just happened and asked to see the manager. Not a second later, he saw the man who answered the phone approach him.

"Mr. Stillman, how may I help you?" The manager was dressed more professionally and was very pleasant.

"I'm interested in the Grand Cherokee you've got in the back of the lot. How much is it?"

"I believe it's Thirty-two thousand, but I'll have to check my papers on it."

The man motioned for them to follow him. He glared at the salesman as they passed and whispered something in his ear. The salesman grunted, threw his papers back on the desk, walked out, got in his car, and squealed tires as he drove off the lot.

"I'm sorry for causing trouble. I didn't mean to get the man fired." Levie hung his head.

"He was on his last chance anyhow, and it was just a matter of time before he screwed up. Now, back to the Cherokee." The manager shuffled his papers. "I was correct on the price. Let me get the keys for a test drive."

After an impressive test drive, Levie negotiated the price down to Twenty-five thousand. He paid Twenty-Thousand in cash and financed the other five thousand. Levie left the lot in the Cherokee, and Rhett drove back to the ranch in the Eagle.

"If I hear one more person ask where the wife is, I'm gonna bite their nose off." Levie fumed as he and Greg were turned down by another so-called open-minded minister.

Greg cracked up laughing and shook his head as he kissed Levie's cheek. "You knew this was gonna be difficult, babe."

Levie sighed. "I know, Greg, but it's just that I'm so used to people actually being open-minded."

The two men got into Levie's Cherokee and drove to the last place on the list for the day. Greg loved driving the SUV. They pulled up to the Nondenominational church in town and walked inside. As soon as the pair entered, they felt a peacefulness the other houses of worship didn't possess. A sharply dressed and energetic woman around Jaycen and Troy's age approached the couple. Levie and Greg noticed she walked in her six-inch stiletto heels like she was born in them. Levie couldn't shake the feeling he'd seen her somewhere before.

"Hi! I'm Maureen, the pastor here. How may I help you, gentleman?"

"Wow! you certainly give a much warmer greeting than anyone else we've encountered today." Levie smiled and gave her his signature hug, with Greg following suit. "I'm Levie Stillman, and this is my fiancee, Greg Wilmont. We know this is really last minute, but wondered if you'd be able to officiate our wedding ceremony next month on Christmas Eve."

Maureen stood back and assessed the young men, and her eyes widened as she snapped her fingers. "I'll be fuckin' damned." She paused and looked heavenward. "Oops, sorry God, I've fuckin' done it again." She shook her head. "Shit, I give up on not cussing for the day. You made me God. I know you'll forgive me."

Maureen's conversation with God and her personality had the young men doubled over and leaning on the pews with laughter.

"I don't suppose you're the same Levie Stillman that Jayce used to bring to football practice and the games, are you?"

Levie smiled. "Yeah, I am." He paused. "I kept thinking you looked familiar."

Maureen giggled. "I used to watch you at the practices and when Troy wasn't available. You were our biggest and most vocal supporter. I still remember when a linebacker tackled Jayce, and you stood up and yelled out, "if you hurt my brother again, I'm coming down there and kicking your shins."

Levie tried to shrink into the background as Greg almost hyperventilated laughing.

"That sounds like my angel boy," Greg said when he finally composed himself. "How old was Lev?"

"Five." Maureen and Greg had to hold themselves up as they laughed like hyenas.

The trio finally got down to business and planned everything for the nuptials. Levie and Greg left the church happier than when they walked in. The next day, Lyle accompanied Greg and Levie to Thelonias's office to finalize Greg's inheritance. They were pleasantly surprised to see Tracey was present in the office. The trio was captivated by the baby, and while Greg and Lyle chatted with Thelonias, Levie drove the Cherokee to the nearest Walmart and bought some supplies, including a baby seat for the car. At the end of the meeting, a happy and excited Levie and Greg left the lawyer's office with Tracey. They were also given a court date to change their and Brandon's last names and finalize the adoption. This was all thanks to Linda and Tom pulling every string they could to speed up the process.

As soon as Levie and Greg walked into the ranch house with Tracey, they were bombarded with the family pushing each other out of the way to hold the new baby boy.

Levie giggled and looked at Greg. "See, what'd I tell ya. We'll never see this kid again until he graduates from college."

Jaycen and Troy shook their heads as they kissed the soon-to-be-married couple. "Oh hush, kiddo," Jaycen said and giggled. "Of course, you'll see Tracey again. He'll eventually need to be changed." Troy cackled as Levie and Greg glared at the brunet.

A week later, the entire family sat in the courtroom, waiting for the hearing. Judge Mario Shapiro entered, and the session was called to order. He put on his glasses, read over the paperwork, and gasped. "I don't believe it. This is the first time I've ever had the honor of having the same person in my courtroom ten years or so after his first visit, and now he’s adopting his child." He looked over the happy faces. "Well, I'll be, Linda Wilmont. You were the one opposed to this young man staying with his family. You're not here to oppose the adoption, are you?"

"No, your honor. I'm actually here as the proud and excited Mam-Maw." Linda smiled and kissed the baby's forehead.

Everything proceeded according to plan, and close to an hour later, the Stillmont family was established and leaving the courthouse.

To be continued...

Posted: 11/18/2022