Ranch Boy Next Door
 
By: Backwoods Boy
(© 2020 by the author)
Edited by: Brayon

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

Chapter 18
Retreat 

I woke up about seven o'clock. The sun was shining brightly through the window, and dust was dancing in the sunbeam. I was lying on my back with Rusty on top of me, his head on my chest and his upper body resting mostly on mine. His left leg lay between my legs, and his morning wood was pressed against my own. He looked so peaceful and innocent.

I ran my fingers through Rusty's tousled hair, waking him gently. He leaned up and rubbed his eyes.

"What time did we fall asleep last night?"

"I'm not sure, but I don't think we've moved since then. You were still on top of me when I woke up."

He grinned. "Exactly where I always wanna be." He leaned over and kissed me, and then dropped down beside me on his back, holding my hand. "How long do ya think we can milk this nightmare therapy program?"

"How about forever."

"Yeah, but at some point yer parents are gonna get tired of feedin' me every mornin'."

"It's inexpensive therapy, and besides, they've decided yer perfect for me."

"I knew that already, so I'm glad they're on board."

"Mom's biggest concern was which of us was on top."

Rusty leaned up on one elbow, grinning. "Yer shittin' me."

"Nope. I quote, 'I hope you're on the receiving end because from what I saw last night, I think he'll keep you very satisfied'. And Dad gave me similar shit yesterday."

Rusty's grin grew broader. "And did you assure them I was livin' up to their expectations?"

I poked him in the chest. "You idiot! I was embarrassed as hell."

"Well, ya shouldn't be. When yer reapin' the rewards of havin' a prize like mine in yer bed, ya oughta be proud of it."

"What if I told ya Jace thinks mine's bigger than yers?"

Rusty snorted. "Bullshit. He was so sore from fuckin' all day, ya coulda put the stub of a pencil in him and he would have thought it was big."

"I got mornin' wood, how about you?"

"Yeah, I do."

I grabbed a ruler. "Here, let me measure mine... Seven inches. Now measure yers."

Rusty did as I said. "Seven and a half inches."

"You lie! Here, let me measure it."

Laughing, Rusty tossed the ruler into the desk drawer. "And furthermore, it's thicker than yers."

"It is not!"

"It is too. Now, I gotta take a piss."

"Cheater!"

When we were both done in the bathroom we crawled under the covers, holding hands again.

My phone pinged and I reached for it. "It's a text from Austin. They're cancelling the party. Half of the guys have dropped out."

"And we both know why. Who's still comin'?"

I asked Austin. "You, me, Jace, and Nate."

"They need us and we need them. They shouldn't do that."

I sent another text: "Rusty and I think you oughta have it anyway." A little time elapsed, probably while he consulted with Andy.

"Okay, he says they'll do it. Four o'clock at their place. And Nate needs a ride so I'm gonna pick him up with my four-wheeler."

"Good. Jace is gonna meet me at my house and I'm takin' him. We can travel together. We'll stop by and get ya. About three-thirty?"

"Sounds good."

We were silent for a minute or two. I knew we were both thinking about Nate.

"Tell me about yer day with Nate yesterday."

I told him about our conversations during the day and all about our time at the swimming hole.

"He's hurtin', Toby, and he needs you. He's reachin' out to you as a friend. Ya gotta help him as much as ya can."

"That may mean more than holdin' his hand."

Rusty leaned up on his elbow again, tears in his eyes. "I know. Do what it takes. I'm behind you all the way on this one."

"He means a lot to ya doesn't he."

"Nate has been my best friend since first grade. We were inseparable until a few months ago. At first I was hurt. Now I understand why. If it hadn't been for that, we might have been each other's first. Don't get me wrong. You and I are meant for each other, and I'm glad we met the way we did. I'm just explainin' how it might have been." He wiped his eyes. "Enough of that. I'm hungry."

"I'm glad we met, too. I feel sorry for Nate, and you too, but I agree that you and I were meant to be together."

I paused briefly. "We've got one more thing to talk about before we go to breakfast."

"What's that?"

"I may be havin' sex with Nate before we're done with this. And you may be havin' sex with some of the others, like ya did with Jace the other day. I'm cool with that, and I think you are, too. But we gotta understand that now so we don't have trouble later."

"As long as we don't keep it secret from each other, I'm good with it."

"That works for me. Now, let's go eat."

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

By the time we were dressed, Rusty was back to his normal cheerful self. He bounded up the stairs into the kitchen. Mom was standing by the stove, and Dad was sitting at the table drinking coffee.

Rusty grinned at them. "Good mornin', Mom Two and Dad Two."

Dad grinned. "I like those names you've devised. Good mornin', Son Two."

Rusty stepped over and gave Mom a kiss. Then he whispered something in her ear. She blushed and playfully slapped him on the side of the head. "Shame on you! You're incorrigible!"

Still grinning, Rusty got a cup of coffee. Dad looked back and forth between Rusty and Mom. "What was that about?"

"Never mind. You don't want to know."

Mom served us scrambled eggs and hashbrowns to go with the applesauce on the table.

I had some coordination to do. "Mom and Dad, remember that Rusty and I will be gone tonight for the sleepover at Austin and Andy's place."

Mom had the expected question. "Do they want you to bring any food?"

"Nope. Just us and our sleepin' bags and some warm clothes. And for yer information, I'm pickin' up Nate."

Dad gave me a meaningful look. "I'm glad to hear that. You boys all have a good time."

Rusty had something to say. "Thanks for lettin' me stay with Toby for the last few nights. I oughta sleep at home next week. The nightmare seems to have been a one-time thing. But I'll be happy to stay anytime ya want me to."

Mom smiled at him. "You're welcome to stay whenever you want, Son Two. We like having you around."

The news was on the TV in the background. The subject got our attention, and Dad went to turn it up. "... and in local news, the prosecuting attorney is holding a press conference at this time concerning the ongoing child abuse case. We take you now to the courthouse."

The prosecuting attorney was standing at a podium, speaking into a microphone. "A second seventeen-year-old minor has been charged in the child abuse case under investigation. He has plead guilty to a charge of misdemeanor assault. All other charges have been dropped. In response to questions from the media, the individual in question is himself a victim of abuse in the case who was forced into unusual circumstances, and who will be willingly cooperating with the state. We will be taking no other questions at this time."

Dad turned off the TV. "That's what I was waiting to hear. Although the prosecuting attorney didn't mention it, Logan will be under house-arrest probation as part of a pre-trial intervention program."

I had a concern. "Who's his attorney?"

"I couldn't do it because of conflict of interest. It's being handled by the senior partner in our firm."

As Rusty left, I gave him a package. "There's two speedos in there. I think they'll fit you and Jace."

"Thanks. Have ya got one for Nate?"

I smiled. "It happens I do. Fortunately, it was a two-for-the-price-of-one sale, so I bought four. I plan to wear mine under my cargo shorts."

"We'll do somethin' similar. I'll be here with Jace at three-thirty."

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

Austin and Andy lived up the draw we crossed on the way to the swimming hole. Rusty waited at the road intersection with Jason while I rode an additional quarter mile to pick up Nate.

Nate was waiting for me out front, helmet in hand. I pulled to a stop and shut off the ATV.

"Hey, Nate, are ya ready to go?"

Nate gave me a weak smile. "I think so."

"Yer gonna be among friends. It'll be okay. But one thing I oughta tell ya. I think there's gonna be some sex goin' on. If ya don't wanna participate in the sex, that's cool, but I thought ya oughta know."

Nate looked down while he thought about it. "I think it'll be okay. I've been up there before, and there's a nice lake to swim in and sit by and meditate. I can do that if I'm not comfortable."

"I know yer gonna be comfortable. We've all got issues with what's goin' on. It will be good for all of us to talk about it." I handed him the speedo. "This is yers. Go put it on under yer shorts and then we'll go. Each of us has one like it. It's like the group uniform for the day."

The speedo did the trick. I put his extra clothes in the storage compartment and strapped his sleeping bag to the four-wheeler next to mine while he was changing. He was back in a couple of minutes with a smile on his face.

"That's nice swimwear, Toby. Thanks a lot."

As we headed back to the draw, I noticed three ATVs in one of the sheds. I smiled to myself. Needs a ride, my ass. His boner pressed against my back was another clue that he wanted the companionship of riding with me.

We went up the draw for a half mile before going through one more gate and into a meadow. Austin and Andy lived in a fantastic setting. The ranch house was on a rise with foothills covered in Ponderosa Pine rising further behind it. I was puzzled because there was only a stock pond to swim in, and I was sure that wasn't right. I was in for a surprise.

Austin and Andy were waiting in their pickup, the picnic supplies loaded in the back. We followed them for two miles up a dirt road through the trees. With a winding road and hills to climb, it was the most beautiful and interesting ride I'd taken. At the end we descended into a basin, and the lake was there, about five acres of it, surrounded by trees.

But there was more. A rustic cabin surrounded by pines stood well back from the lake with a grassy field in between. A rowboat was tied to an aging but serviceable dock. A picnic table with attached benches stood in front of the cabin, next to a fire ring surrounded by four rustic benches. A volleyball net had been set up in the grassy field near the cabin. The unique smell of sun-warmed Ponderosa Pine needles filled the air. It was a beautiful place for a retreat from the unpleasantness of the past few days.

We stopped in front of the cabin and helped the twins unload their pickup. The cargo included a portable charcoal grill for cooking hamburgers. One cooler contained the perishable food. The other contained beer and pop in ice. While we were doing that, Nate and Jason were introduced to each other. Nate was becoming more relaxed with each passing minute.

Austin was the host. "We've got lots of food, a volleyball, some Frisbees to toss around, and plenty to drink. But we're all hot, sweaty, and dusty. Let's go for a swim first."

The clothing came off and the speedos were revealed. Austin and Andy looked around with surprise.

I spoke up. "Like ya said, Andy, it's a twin thing. Only now we're the sexy sextuplets."

Andy groaned. "Ya gotta come up with somethin' better than that."

Austin wanted to swim. "We got all night to think about it. Let's hit the water."

The water was cold, and the swim short. We returned and opened six identical bottles of beer.

Rusty proposed a toast. "Here's to the Seis Amigos, or whatever the hell we decide on."

Bottles were clinked and everyone took a drink. Jason choked.

Austin grinned. "Yer first beer?"

"Yeah, and it tastes like shit."

Andy took his beer. "Pick yerself a soda, little bro. One of us will finish this."

We sat down on the benches. Austin spoke first. "Thanks for stickin' with us, guys. Everybody else cancelled yesterday afternoon. I think we're tainted goods."

"How come?" Jason had spoken.

This was where I came in. "Jace, yer in the dark, I know, but there's no doubt yer aware of the child abuse case that's goin' on. Every one of us here is affected by that in some way. If ya have questions, ask me later. I'll answer them if I can. For the rest of us, I think we oughta make an agreement right now. We all oughta share what we're comfortable with and keep private what we need to. And when we leave here, nothin' is repeated to anyone."

Four heads nodded. Jason looked around with tears in his eyes. "I'm real new here, but I just got affected 'cuz yer all my friends."

Little bro couldn't have said it better. I'd pictured him as the catalyst, and he was doing his job. He got a hug from everyone, and there wasn't a dry eye in the group.

Andy was first. "I'll answer yer question, Jace. There's some stuff we're not supposed to talk about yet, but we were interviewed by the prosecuting attorney yesterday. Toby's dad was there 'cause he's our court-appointed lawyer. We were participants in events that led to others bein' abused. The prosecuting attorney called us 'unwitting participants'. That's a nice way of sayin' we're stupid fuckers who got involved. The good news is we're not gonna be charged with any crime. We're just witnesses. The bad news is that we gotta live with what we did, and we've been branded as bad guys anyway."

Nate responded. "So you've been tried and convicted by the public when ya haven't even been charged with a crime. Right? That sucks."

Rusty had something to contribute. "Yer right Nate, it sucks big time, but that's the way some people are. But we're all here 'cause we don't see it that way. Austin and Andy, other things that happened recently give me a good idea of what yer talkin' about. Be assured I'm still yer friend, even if you are stupid fuckers."

Everyone laughed. Leave it to Rusty to break the tension.

Austin proposed an activity. "Andy and I would like to get the hamburgers started. How about if you guys go throw a Frisbee around for a while. We'll holler when it's ready."

Jason took my hand and pulled me aside. "Can ya tell me how you fit into this?"

"I can tell ya one or two things. First, did ya hear the news about the guy who was charged yesterday?" Jason nodded his head. "He was my boyfriend when I first got here. I can't tell you anything more than what ya heard on the news, but from that, ya know he was a victim, too."

"Were you a victim?"

"No. Let's say almost, but I did the right thing for the wrong reason, and didn't get involved. I'm also the anonymous 'fifteen-year-old friend of the family' who found the evidence. Unfortunately, that's all I can tell ya. I know too much that I'm not supposed to talk about to say anything more."

"Thanks for sharin' that. I know better than to ask about the others."

"I think you can ask Rusty later how he's involved. He may say no, or he may tell you a little bit. There's a lot of secrets right now, mostly 'cause people are hurtin' too bad to talk about it."

"I get it. Thanks."

"No problem, now let's go throw the Frisbee around for a while."

It was a scene that looked like a prelude to a porn film. Four very hot guys in revealing speedos chasing a Frisbee, and two more flipping hamburgers on the grill.

I looked around and took a count again. Nate was missing. Rusty was pointing towards the lake. I headed in that direction.

To be continued...

Posted: 11/06/2020