The Ranch Boy's Legacy
 
By: Backwoods Boy
(© 2021 by the author)
Edited by: Michael

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

Chapter 10
Cory 

Ryan and Jason were still sleeping on Sunday when Colton awakened them mid-morning.

"Tiger, we've got some cattle out. Could you help me get them back into their pasture? Then we'll need to do some emergency fence repairs."

"No problem. I'll be out in a minute."

Jason rubbed his eyes. "I'll come help you."

After a quick breakfast, they were on the way on two four-wheelers. After using the ATVs to herd the cattle back into the pasture, they completed the fence repair. Tired and hungry, they returned to the bunkhouse for lunch. It was one o'clock, still enough time to hit the Sunday quarry party. Colton made the suggestion.

"We should all go to the quarry for the rest of the afternoon."

Ryan responded. "Yeah, that sounds like an awesome idea."

Jason nodded his head in agreement.

************

Arriving at the quarry, the boys found places for their towels at the edge of the crowd. Austin and Andy waved at them from a nearby blanket. Jason went over to visit with his big bros. Ryan stripped except for his thong and headed for the water. With all of the greetings and conversations with his new friends, it took him a while to get there.

Diving in, Ryan swam across the pool and back. Leaning his arms on the rock surface at the edge of the pool, he looked around happily. He could hardly believe all the friends he'd made, and how he'd become an accepted part of this group in two weeks. He climbed out and lay on his towel, drying in the sun.

Someone dropped down to sit beside him. He looked up and found Cooter with a big grin on his face.

"I got a text from a very happy frat boy a couple of days ago."

Ryan smiled. "He can't be happier than I am."

"It sounds like you had a good night."

"More than that. The whole day from beginning to end was awesome. Life here just keeps getting better and better."

Cooter rubbed his chest gently. "I'm glad you feel that way. You're making our lives better and better too."

************

Cooter had barely gone on his way when Jason sat down beside him. Ryan opened his eyes and smiled happily.

"Hi, Jace. How are Austin and Andy?"

Jason grinned at him. "Excited about their new little bro. You could become a habit for all of us, me especially."

"Being your boyfriend, I figured I already was a habit."

"You are, but habits require reinforcement. Did you know there are three components to habits?"

Ryan leaned up on his elbows. "What are they?"

Jason enumerated with his fingers. "Context cue, behavioral repetition, and reward."

"That sounds too complicated for me."

"Not really. My context cue is your hot, naked body."

Ryan grinned. "I suppose you wanna engage in behavioral repetition now in order to obtain the reward and reinforce the habit."

Jason was already lubricating his pole.

"See, you're smarter than you thought. You already have it figured out."

Ryan took off his thong.

"I wouldn't wanna interfere with my boyfriend's habit formation."

Jason knelt between his friend's legs with a grin.

"I thought you'd see it my way."

He leaned over and gave Ryan a kiss. Ryan smiled.

"Is that part of the habit?"

Jason slid his pole inside Ryan's hot, young body.

"No. The context cue is the same, but kissing is a separate behavior with its own reward."

Jason began to move inside the younger boy.

"I hope you don't plan on going back to Twin Falls for a very long time."

Ryan grinned happily. "There's no way in hell I'm gonna leave here. I'm having too much fun."

************

Nate dropped down beside Rusty on his boyfriend's blanket, and looked towards the action on Ryan's towel.

"It looks like Tiger is connecting pretty well here."

Rusty leaned up on his elbows to look. "Yeah, he is. Those two are a match made in heaven." He looked at his boyfriend. "But you're not here to discuss Tiger. Something's on your mind."

Nate was quiet for a moment. "I know you've heard this before, but I'm sure I saw Cory the other day, in the parking lot at the convenience store. I'm sure he saw me too, because he quickly headed in another direction. His hair was darker, but I know it was Cory."

Rusty thought for a moment. Since the abuse case two years before, in which Nate was one of the victims, he'd occasionally had "sightings" of his abuser, none of which turned out to be real. Cory was in prison, and not likely to be out soon. But Nate pressed his case further.

"I'm really sure this time, especially since he seemed to recognize me too. I don't wanna call the sheriff's office because they'll just blow me off again."

Rusty paused briefly. "Call my brother and talk with him. Deputy Pete knows you well, and he'll be far more understanding."

Nate looked relieved. "Good idea. I'll do that."

Rusty dropped onto his back. "Now, if you're interested, you can follow the example Jace is setting for you."

Nate grinned. "I think that's an awesome idea."

************

Monday morning, Deputy Sheriff Pete O'Neill was having breakfast with his father, Patrick, when the call came from Nate. He listened carefully, made a promise to pursue the issue, and terminated the call. Then he sat quietly, trying to plan a course of action. Patrick looked at his son appraisingly.

"What's the problem?"

Pete sighed. "Nate had another Cory sighting. But this time there are complications I can't tell you about. Let's say the probability he's right is higher than in the past." He thought for a few moments. "I think I need your help."

"What can I do?"

"I need some information I can't get myself without abusing the chain of command. Would you please have a conversation with Don Collins and ask him to discreetly learn at the state level the current status of Cory Williams? With his contacts at the governor's office, Don may be able to resolve this without ruffling any feathers."

Patrick looked at his watch. "I'll give you one better. Don should be in his office by nine. I'll be there waiting for him. Reading between the lines, a personal conversation may be better than a phone call."

************

Ryan had helped Colton with the irrigation and was helping him finish the fence project when his phone pinged with a text message from Jason.

**Can you meet me at the quarry at one**

Ryan checked with Colton, who said that would work.

**Sure - see you then**

Jason arrived late at one thirty. Ryan's ATV was there. Going to the pool, he found Ryan's towel and cell phone. Ryan was nowhere to be seen.

Jason did a quick check of the area before calling 911.

"I was supposed to meet a friend at the quarry. His four-wheeler is here, but he's not around."

"Is it possible he went off with someone else?"

"I suppose so, but it's not likely."

"Could you check with his family first? Call us back if you can't find him there."

"Okay."

Wanting to talk in person, Jason drove the two miles to Gramps' ranch. Colton and Gramps were in the workshop when he arrived.

"Tiger was supposed to meet me at the quarry. His ATV and towel are there, but I can't find him."

Colton put down the tool he was using. "I'll go with you and look around some more."

The two of them did the same search Jason had done earlier. Colton dove into the pool and found nothing to alarm him. Getting out of the pool, he called 911 and updated Jason's report.

************

Deputy Pete O'Neill got the call to investigate and was at the quarry within fifteen minutes. After interviewing Jason and Colton, he called in a report, and was advised to ask the family to check with friends and neighbors.

Pete reported the information to Colton, who was less than pleased.

"This isn't normal. He's a responsible kid. He wouldn't go off with someone else without telling us."

Jason thought for a few moments. "There's something bothering me. I came here last Monday, a week ago, and found some strange guy leaving. Tiger said his name was Wiley."

Pete looked up from taking notes. "Can you give me a description?"

"Colton's height and build, brown hair - I only saw him from a distance."

"Anything else?"

Jason paused for a few moments. "Yeah. Tiger had a pack of cigarettes he said Wiley gave him. I ended up with the packet of matches that came with the cigarettes and noticed the receipt folded up and stuffed behind the matches." He reached in his pocket. "Yeah, here's the rest of the matches. The receipt is still there."

Pete unfolded the receipt. Holding it by the edge, he looked at it closely, and then put it in an evidence bag along with the matches. Jason had more to say.

"Tiger said he hitchhiked to the store a couple of days earlier and the guy bought some smokes for him then as well."

Colton spoke up. "That would have been Friday, most likely. Tiger told me he'd hitchhiked out here, but he didn't mention the trip to the convenience store."

Pete asked. "What time might that have been?"

Colton thought for a few moments. "Probably noon or one o'clock, right after he got off work."

Pete turned to Jason. "Did you see the car Wiley was driving?"

"Red 1994 Honda Civic with Wyoming plates. Tiger said he thought it had Idaho plates earlier."

Pete put away his notebook. "Thanks for that information, guys. I think it will be helpful."

Pete drove towards the convenience store. On the way, he called the sheriff on a secure line.

"Did you see that report on the convict who walked away from the minimum security prison?"

"Yes, I did."

"Did we ever find out who it was?"

"No."

"As I suggested earlier, I think it was Cory Williams."

"What makes you think that?"

Pete reported on his interviews with Colton and Jason. The sheriff was unconvinced.

"We need solid evidence."

"I think I'll have that in about a half hour."

************

Pete walked into the convenience store. "Is Lonnie in his office?"

"Sure, go on in."

Pete knocked on the door.

"Lonnie, I need to look at some video footage, both inside and outside."

The Monday video showed Cory. The Friday video showed Cory talking to Ryan.

An APB went out immediately for both of them. An Amber Alert went out for Ryan.

By the time Pete got back to the office, other information was coming in. The sheriff called Pete into his office.

"We have a possible match for the car, but with an Idaho registration."

"That goes with what Jason said. Cory probably put on stolen plates later. I wish we had even a partial plate number."

"I guess we can't have everything. Those boys gave you a lot of good information."

"With your permission, I'll get out a dive team and check the quarry pool first thing in the morning. There's not much else we can do until we have more information. It looks like the only person to see Ryan yesterday was Colton. I'll see if I can get any more information from him."
 

"Do it. I'm appointing you as the officer in charge of this investigation."

************

Toby paced the floor of his room. The lightning-fast community social network spread the information as soon as it became available. It didn't make sense. Why Ryan? Cory should have come after Logan or him. His cell phone rang. It was Logan.

"Ann and I are on our way. Evan's coming too. Kevin has to stay here because somebody needs to look after the ranch."

"You're going to your grandparent's place?"

"Yes. Will you be there?"

"Of course."

It was midnight when Ryan's family members arrived. Grams had rooms prepared, but no one was ready to go there. Logan was distraught.

"Why Ryan?"

Gramps replied. "Because he was here."

Toby didn't buy it. "Why not me? I'm here too. He's got nothing against Ryan."

Ann had a thought. "Ryan didn't know Cory, which made him an easier target."

Toby summed it up. "So, basically, he's getting back at the whole family, and me too, by using Ryan."

Grams stood up. "We're not going to solve anything tonight. Let's try to get some rest so we can be of use in the morning."

During the night, Pete and another officer visited the ranch belonging to Cory's uncle. In the abandoned bunkhouse, they found evidence of recent occupancy. Crime scene tape was put up, and by floodlight a thorough search was accomplished. One item of particular interest was found - a receipt from the convenience store dated ten days earlier. The receipt was no longer of particular interest, but the notes on the back were: "Tiger - Logan's cousin". Surveillance was established.

Toby awoke before daylight with an idea. Bypassing the sheriff's office, he called Pete.

"Have you checked the Johnson cabin?"

No one would have known that Pete had been awakened after only two hours of sleep.

"That's a good idea. We'll get on it."

************

Ryan slowly came back to consciousness with a severe headache. Lying on a rug in a dark room, his wrists were handcuffed and his ankles bound with rope. All he could remember was going to the quarry and sitting down on his towel. He tried to get up. Cory spoke.

"Stay where you are."

The room had a familiar odor. He cleared his mind by focussing on that odor. It was the cabin Toby and Jason had taken him to. He managed to sit up.

"I'm thirsty."

Cory held a glass of water while he drank. His first reaction was to thank his captor. Then he realized that was stupid.

"That's enough."

Cory paced the room. This had seemed like a good place to hide for the next few hours until he could set his plan in motion, but the more he thought about it, the less he liked it. The cabin would be searched soon, and he was trapped at the end of a two-mile road. He unbound Ryan's feet.

"Get up."

Ryan stood, somewhat unsteadily.

"Now walk out to the car."

Cory opened the trunk.

"Get in."

"But..."

Cory brandished a knife.

"I said, get in."

Ryan got in, and Cory closed the trunk lid.

Cory started towards his uncle's ranch, and then realized that would be the first place they'd look for him. He needed another hiding place, only for the day. Driving north in the dark, he traveled on back roads to a secluded spot in the woods, some fifty miles away. He'd camped there in the fall while hunting with his father and uncle. The rest of the time, he was sure it was unused.

He cracked open the trunk to give Ryan some air. To complete his plan with the purity his warped mind envisioned, he needed the boy alive and unharmed. Ryan stirred in the trunk.

"I gotta piss."

"Piss in your pants."

Eventually, Ryan did.

************

At dawn on Tuesday, the cabin was searched. A plastic water jug had been opened, and empty food containers were found on the table. Pieces of rope lay on the floor.

A command post was set up at the Johnson ranch and a search team was called in, with requests for additional able-bodied volunteers. All of Ryan's new friends showed up to help. Alerted by Cooter, three frat boys from Boise arrived. At Toby and Colton's urging, Logan stayed with his family. Two dozen older teens, including all of the boys who knew Ryan, were selected to help with the search of the woods near the cabin. The rest were thanked and sent home with instructions to look carefully around their own ranches for any unusual activity, but to report any findings by calling 911 and not to attempt any contact on their own.

Divers searched both the quarry pool and the cabin lake, finding nothing. The searchers found nothing in the woods around the cabin, other than a dozen or so deflated mylar balloons, common to search and rescue operations.

Late in the afternoon, the sheriff's office announced an evening informational meeting. Those who didn't see the announcement on social media found out immediately from their neighbors.

With the exception of those still searching, most of the community gathered at the high school auditorium. The sheriff stood at the podium and repeated what they already knew, and then asked if anyone had any additional information that might help. A tall rancher with thinning, red hair stood up in the back of the room.

"Sheriff, if I may, I'd like to make an observation."

"Certainly, Pat. Please go ahead."

"Sheriff, for several years, your chief deputy engaged in child abuse undetected. That travesty is already a black mark on your record. However your failure to advise this community of the threat posed by his escaped son and accomplice is criminal."

The sheriff became more formal. "Mr. O'Neill, the name of that escaped prisoner was withheld from me. I had no way of knowing..."

"Bullshit. You had every reason to know who that person was, and that the reason for his escape was the death of his father at the hands of other inmates, and you had every avenue to verify all of that information. You failed to take action, and that failure has resulted in a tragedy, I hope to God not a fatal one."

"Mr. O'Neill, that is both confidential information and speculation on your part..."

"No, sheriff, it is neither, and for the record, none of that information came from your office. All of what I said came directly from the office of the Governor of Idaho, and that can be verified. If I could obtain that information as a private citizen, so could you as an officer of the law."

"Mr. O'Neill..."

"Sheriff, this meeting is a sham, a shameless ploy to bolster your political support in this community. I suggest you get out there and find that boy, because if you don't, you will likely end up as dead as your political career."

"Mr. O'Neill, threatening a public official is punishable..."

"As I perfectly well know. If you wish to arrest me do so now, or you can find me at home where I am now going. I suggest my friends and neighbors do the same."

Within minutes, except for the Sheriff and his administrative assistant, the auditorium was empty.

************

Colton and Toby had been searching all day and were exhausted. Now, at dusk, they sat on the sofa in the bunkhouse. Between them, Logan sat with tears running down his cheeks.

"It's all my fault. I never should have had sex with him in the first place. That was what caused the problems at school. And I never should have encouraged Kevin and Ann to send him here."

Toby put an arm around his friend's shoulders. "None of that is true, and you know it. If you hadn't introduced him to sex, someone else would have, probably with less positive results. He had trouble at school because of who he is, and not what you made him into. And sending him here was brilliant. You had no way of knowing what was going to happen."

Colton spoke. "He's right, Logan. You're not the cause of the problem. How could you have predicted Cory's escape from jail? Just like you and anyone else caught up in that craziness, Tiger is a victim of circumstances beyond anyone's control. Now, you need to get some sleep. I want you to stay in your old room tonight. I'll sleep out here on the sofa."

Reluctantly, Logan went to Colton's room, followed by his friends. Colton put a hand on Logan's shoulder.

"Now go to bed. I'll wake you if any information comes in. We can start over in the morning."

Colton and Toby went out and closed the bedroom door. Toby put on his cap.

"I'm going home. I'll let you know if I learn anything."

************

Don Collins stood at the door of his son's bedroom.

"Toby, you need to go to bed. You can't keep on going like this. You've been up for two days now. You need rest."

Toby sat in the corner of his room, staring at the floor.

"It's right there in front of me, but I can't reach it."

"Get a good night's rest, and it will make sense in the morning."

"No! It can't wait until then. I gotta know now."

His father left the room, closing the door quietly. He knew when he couldn't make a difference, and this was one of those times. As legal assistant to the Governor of Idaho, it was his connection that provided Patrick O'Neill with the information he'd presented at the community meeting. That was all the difference he could make for the moment.

Not moving from his position, Toby fell into an exhausted sleep, filled with jumbled dreams. Early in the morning, a dream came to him with clarity - a dream from the past.

He was running down a strange dirt road, a ranch road he didn't recognize, wearing his black leather thong. Someone on a four-wheeler was chasing him. He knew he couldn't get away, so he quickly jumped into the swimming hole, which suddenly appeared right in front of him. The ATV driver climbed onto the diving rock, and now he was wearing Toby's thong and Toby was naked.

"Ya gotta give that back to me."

The four-wheeler driver leered at him. "Ya ain't gonna need it no more."

The driver dove into the water, replaced immediately by a faceless man in a uniform. As Toby stared at the man, trying to recognize him, the ATV driver surfaced right in his face. He screamed as Cory shoved him under the water and held him down…

Toby awoke with a start. The sun was rising. As he opened his eyes the vision came, and Toby knew everything.