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 31
Fair Time 

At eight o'clock Monday morning, Rusty arrived on his four-wheeler to finish installing the metal gates. But he had things other than the gates on his mind.

"So, where did ya go? When Colton and I were done fuckin', I looked for you, but you were gone."

"I got a ride home with Shago. I figured you'd be fuckin' for a long time."

Rusty grinned. "We were. Quite a long time. So, whose home did he take ya to?"

"Well, his."

"And he fucked you all night?"

"Yeah, he did. Now, tell me about Colton. Did ya like bein' a bottom again?"

Rusty ignored the question. "I like yer armband. It's like Jason's."

"Yeah, he and Shago made it for me. But quit changin' the subject. Did ya like bein' a bottom again?"

"Who said I was on the bottom?"

"Let me quote Aiden. 'When ya got two tops who wanna fuck bad, it's simple - one of them is gonna be a bottom. It's a matter of size and assertiveness.' So, I ask again, did ya like bein' on the bottom?"

Rusty gave me one of his classic grins. "I loved it. You and me gotta make some changes."

I laughed out loud. "So, yer horizons have been expanded, like mine?"

"Yeah. So what are ya doin' when we're done here today?"

"Probably fuckin' you like Colton did?"

Rusty smiled smugly. "Indubitably, my dear Watson."

"Only if you'll fuck me like Shago."

Rusty sighed happily. "Tell me what he did, and I'll be glad to do it."

We started on the gates, and then Rusty remembered something else he needed to coordinate.

"Andy and Austin texted me that they and Jason want to meet us at the fair Thursday at six o'clock. They can't do it earlier 'cause they're workin'. I told them I'd check with you. Will that work?"

"Sounds good. I don't have anything goin' on then."

We got both gates finished by noon. Rusty seemed motivated to get them done quickly.

The sex took all afternoon and put a permanent smile on Rusty's face. And on mine, too.

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

Mom hollered at me. "Toby, come up and join us before the food gets cold."

The spicy smell of Mexican take-out drifted down the stairs as I toweled myself dry. Rusty and I had finished with our fun, and he'd headed for home shortly before Mom and Dad arrived from work with dinner.

I dressed quickly, checking myself out in the mirror. The white muscle shirt I wore showed off my dark tan as well as my new armband. I smiled. Hard-body, hot-kid, ranch-hand Toby for sure. Logan had that right. And maybe Native-American Toby, too.

I took the stairs two at a time and dropped into my chair. "So, how did the seminar go?"

Mom replied. "Your father's presentation went very well. A couple of state congressmen attended, and they feel he has a future in the legislature. The head of the U of I law school attended too, and he feels your dad has a future as a professor of law. How would you like to move to Moscow?"

"No way!"

Mom and Dad laughed, and I knew I'd been set up.

Dad smiled. "Don't worry. We're not interested in leaving here any more than you are. But to further answer your question, your mother picked up a lot of good information from the paralegal sessions. She plans to work on paralegal certification online and at a program in Boise while continuing her position with the school district. Your mom is going to be busy this fall."

I had a question for Dad. "So, if Mom's goin' back to work in Boise, who's gonna be yer administrative assistant?"

Dad's smile grew broader. "Well, we solved that problem today, and I think it will please you. We hired Betty Gifford, Nate's mom, for that position. She has the right experience, and definitely has the interest."

I was beaming. "That is so cool! And, Mom, I hope yer education plans work out, too."

Mom smiled at me. "Thank you, Toby. Now, perhaps you'd like to tell us about your weekend and that beautiful armband you're wearing."

I was happy to focus on the armband part of that request. "Shago and Jason made the armband for me. Shago says the raven is my spirit guide. Which reminds me. He asked if I have any Native American ancestors. What do you know about that?"

Mom was looking at me thoughtfully. "Do you know why he asked that?"

"No. He said to find out for sure, and then he'd tell me more."

"My paternal great-grandfather, your great-great-grandfather, was Native American. He was born in 1904, one hundred years before you. I didn't learn about it until your grandfather sent me some family picture albums only a year ago. Back in the early part of the last century, having Native American heritage wasn't looked on favorably."

I certainly didn't feel that way. "That is so cool! Now I gotta find out why Shago asked."

Dad was looking thoughtful, too. "We'll be interested in hearing the answer to that."

My thoughts returned to armbands, tattoos, and identity. I suddenly thought about Shago's tattoo, and knew I wanted something similar, but uniquely mine. And now was as good a time as any to bring up the subject.

"Earth to Toby." I'd been lost in thought and staring into space, and Dad's comment brought me back to reality. "You looked like you'd seen a ghost."

"I was thinking about armbands and tattoos. You haven't seen it yet, but Shago has a cougar footprint tattoo that is the same as the armband he once wore. I'd like to do the same thing."

Now Mom looked like she'd seen a ghost. "Just a minute."

Mom went to the living room and pulled an old photo album off the shelf. She looked through it briefly, and then returned, placing it in front of me.

"That's your great-great-grandfather. Almost exactly a century ago."

The fifteen-year-old Native American staring back at me from the black and white photograph had a tattoo circling his right bicep. Technology had changed, and modern inking was much more detailed, but otherwise I was looking at a tattoo similar to what I wanted. Great-great-grandfather's spirit animal was also a raven.

After several moments of silence, Dad spoke.

"Other than the fact that they are permanent, have you done any research on tattoos and the process of getting one and caring for it while it heals?"

I smiled. "Yes, I have." I told them about my short-lived interest in getting a tattoo like Logan's, about visiting a tattoo artist, and what I'd learned. "I wouldn't do it until after swim team season is over. That would be around the first of November."

After sharing a silent communication with Dad, Mom replied. "If you haven't changed your mind by then, we'll help you select an artist."

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

The fairgrounds were right outside of town, and easily accessible by ranch roads. Tuesday afternoon, Rusty and I rode in, using my four-wheeler this time, to see how Nate was doing with his heifer.

We walked into the large animal barn and looked around. With large numbers of several kinds of animals in a confined space, the decibel level was close to that of a rock concert. And in spite of the requirement that exhibitors keep their stalls clean, there was a definite odor of animal droppings.

It was easy to spot Nate and Aiden - two blond heads, one eight inches taller than the other. Standing shoulder to shoulder, they were looking at the heifer, which was housed in one of the stalls along the outer wall. Rusty and I joined them.

Nate was in a better frame of mind than I'd expected, given that he was delivering his pet to be turned into hamburger. I didn't care what Rusty said - the heifer was Nate's pet, and I was sure he had a name for her.

Nate smiled at us. "Hi, guys. Aiden helped me bring in my heifer this mornin'. I got her vetted and checked in. Aiden's gonna help me look after her for the next four days."

I had a question. "Do ya get any time off to have fun at the fair?"

"Yeah, we don't have to be here all the time, but we do have to keep the stall clean, so we have to be here for about half the time."

Rusty joined in. "We're plannin' to be here with Andy, Austin and Jason on Thursday evening at six o'clock to check out the fair. Would ya like to join us? And that means both of you, if ya can."

Nate responded first. "That oughta be okay. There's nothin' special goin' on then."

Aiden offered his services. "I can do animal duty while you guys go eat crappy fair food and go on the rides. Been there, done that."

Rusty replied. "Okay, we'll keep in touch by text. When does the judging happen, Nate?"

"Tomorrow mornin'."

"Text us the results if ya think of it. I'm bettin' on a blue ribbon and maybe more."

Nate grinned. "I'll settle for the blue ribbon. I'll let ya know."

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

On Thursday evening, Rusty and I were on our way to the fair again, this time to join the rest of the ranch boy club. Rusty had advised me that Nate's heifer had received a blue ribbon and taken second place in her class.

While Aiden monitored the heifer, the rest of us toured the fair. Small county fairs are a culture in themselves, a compressed version of larger fairs. In a few small buildings and barns, you have all of the exhibits. Immediately next to them are all of the food vendors, game booths, and not far away, the rides. So it's one concentrated sensory experience, with smells of popcorn blending with cow manure, the sounds of the game promoters joining with the voices of every farm animal imaginable, and the unique music of the merry-go-round permeating everything else.

There is nothing more disgusting than cotton candy, deep-fried Kool-Aid, and chocolate-covered bacon, so I passed on those. The Greek Gyros and Italian Sausage in peppers and onions were excellent, and the elephant ear made a great dessert.

After too much classic fair food, we headed for the games. I won a plush bear for Rusty, even though it would have been cheaper to buy it at a department store. It was the fair, and one did the irrational at a county fair.

Then we headed for the rides. I had a history of throwing up on fair rides, so I skipped all of them until Austin and Andy insisted I join them on the Ferris wheel. Nate and Jason decided to wait for us below.

I spotted the carny from the top of the Ferris wheel. He'd stepped out of one of the carnival trailers and was looking around as if trying to find someone. Probably nineteen, his well-developed muscles spoke of long hours putting up and taking down carnival rides. Adding his blond good looks to his muscular form, and topping it off with a self-confident air, he was a genuine stud. The dirty jeans and ripped muscle shirt that he wore only served to emphasize the perfection of the body underneath.

As the wheel hit bottom and we started up the back side again, I saw him walking towards the Ferris wheel in the direction of Nate and Jason. Reaching them, he started what appeared to be a friendly conversation. Nate began to move away, looking frantically up towards us, while Jason continued the conversation.

"Rusty, there's something wrong down below. Look at Nate."

"Yeah, I agree." He looked a little longer. "We gotta get off. Will they stop it for us before it's time for us to do that?"

We were over the top and half-way down the front. I did the first thing that came to mind. I threw up.

The operator stopped the wheel at the bottom to a chorus of laughter and jeers from the people waiting in line.

"Sorry about that, dude. I thought I could handle the Ferris wheel. No more rides for me."

"It's okay, buddy. It happens. You managed to miss me and the other passengers, so it's all good."

"Let those two guys behind us off, too. They're with us."

Rusty and I stepped clear of the landing. The operator brought the next seat to ground level and Austin and Andy stepped off, both laughing.

Austin punched me in the shoulder. "You can't even take the Ferris wheel. What a lightweight!"

Then they looked at my face and stopped laughing. "What's wrong?"

 

"We don't know yet. Follow me."

Nate ran toward us as we stepped clear of the fenced area. He was white as a ghost, and put his arms around me in a death grip.

"That guy looked at us like Cory looked at me before the first time he fucked me. It scared the shit of out of me, Toby. Now, Cory has Jace!"

With his arm around Jason's shoulders, the carny was guiding him into the woods next to the fairgrounds. Austin and Andy took off running. Rusty was ready to go, too. I stopped him.

"Let them handle it, Rusty. You and I need to stick here with Nate."

Nate was shaking like a leaf. I led him to a bench and sat beside him, holding him close, while Rusty got him some water.

"It isn't Cory, bro. He's in jail. Are you gonna be okay?"

Nate's color was returning. "Yeah, I think so. It was like I was back there in Logan's room and Cory had me pinned down and it was happening all over again."

I looked up and saw Austin and Andy returning with Jason walking between them, all of them looking serious.

Austin reported. "When we got within shouting distance, we hollered at Jace that his dad was lookin' for him. We left the carny there and came back. We didn't really have grounds for doin' anything else."

I wanted more information. "So, Jace, why did you go off with the guy?"

"Well, Cooter seemed really friendly and wanted to get acquainted. He suggested we go for a walk in the woods since he was on his break. He's pretty hot, and I thought it would be okay, and maybe we'd have a little fun..." His voice trailed off to nothing.

Austin did the big brother thing. "Jace, there's guys to have fun with, and guys not to. It might be hard to tell, but trust me, ya don't wanna have fun with him. He's probably had fun with a hundred guys in a hundred different towns all over the country, and you don't wanna be the hundred and first. You stick to havin' fun with us for now, and yer gonna be a lot better off."

Jason looked down at his feet. "Okay, I'm sorry. I didn't think about that. I shoulda waited here with Nate like I said I was gonna."

Andy gave him a hug. "It's okay, little bro. But ya gotta stick close to us. Yer dad expects us to look after you, and that's what we're gonna do."

All of us had lost interest in the fair. Nate wanted to return to his heifer, so we started back to the large animal barn. On the way I spotted Coach and waved for him to come join us.

"We had a potential problem a few minutes ago. It's been solved as much as we can. I suggest that Jace go with you. He'll tell you about it."

Coach looked at Jason. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I did something not too smart but my brothers looked after me."

Coach looked around the group. "Thanks very much, gentlemen. We'll probably talk more after I have a chance to listen to Jason."

The four of us took Nate back to his animal. Aiden joined us, concern on his face.

I was still concerned, too. "Are ya gonna be okay now, bro?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. Sorry I got so upset. I'll stay here and look after my heifer."

Aiden put his arm around Nate's shoulders. "What happened, buddy? What's wrong?"

I answered for Nate. "He had a bit of a fright. He'll be okay. We'll let him tell you about it."

Austin had something to say as the four of us walked away. "I suppose there's no use all of us havin' a cluster fuck talkin' about it there, but two weeks ago, Toby would have been stayin' with him. I don't know why he's so attached to Aiden all of a sudden. Aiden is a known problem child."

It was my turn, and I directed my comments to Austin and Andy because Rusty already knew. "You've heard this before. I can't talk about it. But this time I'm gonna tell you this much, and let ya figure it out for yerselves. Aiden and Nate have a common bond that is drawin' them together. I know the details, some of which are burned forever into my brain. You'll have to take my word that it makes sense. I have every confidence that it will work out well. I'll go this much further. I know Nate very well because of our experiences at yer cabin. I know Aiden very well because of our similar experiences while building the barn." I was a little frustrated, as always when I couldn't talk about something. "I hope that's enough so ya get it."

I watched as Austin and Andy looked at each other and connected the dots.

Andy spoke for them. "We get it. Thanks, Toby. We'll keep it entirely to ourselves."

I had more to say. "We quit early here, so I know we've all got the time. I suggest that we go to my house for a snack before you guys go home. We may have more to talk about, or we may not, but we need the opportunity to do it."

I got three affirmative nods.

I texted Mom to expect us and gave her an outline of what had happened. I got an immediate response that apple pie and ice cream would be available.

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

When we arrived at home, Mom had the pie and ice cream ready to serve on the back porch.

I had things I needed to say. "I want you to remember the first sentence that Nate spoke when he came up to us. I'll give you a moment."

They thought, and the light came on.

"Okay, now you know what I know. At least part of it. Now advance to the moment. Nate is hurting because of that. He's also hurting because he's attached to his animal, regardless of what ya wanna call it." I paused to give Rusty a pointed look. "We always gotta look out for him 'cause that's what we do - look out for each other. But it's gonna be even more important for the next several days. He's between a rock and a hard place, and it's up to us to cushion the pain. Now, I've talked enough, for which I should apologize, but for me it was overdue."

Austin looked at me with new respect. "We get it completely. Andy and I know you can't tell us what you saw, but we talked on the drive over here and we bet one of those videos was of Cory and Nate. He was right about you bein' as much of a victim as the others."

"Yeah, I can't talk about it, and it pisses me off that I gotta watch what I say all the fuckin' time."

Andy looked thoughtful. "Have you considered seein' a counselor? So you can let it all out?"

"Thanks, Andy. And you too, Austin. Mom and Dad discussed that with me. For now, I'm gettin' all the help I need from my friends and my parents. But I'll think about it again. But enough about me. Let's get back to Nate."

Rusty pitched in. "We gotta do it naturally. It's not like we can all huddle around him for the next few days. We just gotta be available."

Andy had it, too. "I agree. And I'm really happy about Aiden, now that I understand. He's very important - more than he realizes."

Austin had a suggestion. "We should all hang around the fair tomorrow as much as we can. Particularly when Nate does the showing, which I think is in the mornin'. And, of course, for the auction Saturday. That's gonna be a bitch."

It was time to wrap it up. "We're all on the same page. Now, the ice cream is melting. Let's dig in."

The guys all thanked Mom profusely for the pie and ice cream, and Austin and Andy left for home.

I looked at Rusty. "Do ya wanna stay for the night?"

He grinned. "I've already been invited to do that. Yer mom thinks ya need company."

I grinned back, my sense of humor returning. "Nice of Mom to arrange that. Of course I approve."

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

I was standing in Logan's room, lubricating my boner. A red-headed kid about thirteen years old sat naked on the end of the bed. My heart was beating fast. I was going to score on another one, a cherry-boy this time. I grinned. Logan was turning out to be very good at supplying me with new meat, sucker that he was. Younger would be better, but this one was okay. I was overwhelmed by feelings of raw lust.

"I thought Logan was gonna be here."

"He had to go round up some cows, so he's gonna let me fuck ya instead."

"But yer not my boyfriend. Logan is."

"Well, sometimes boyfriends change without notice. Yer my boyfriend tonight."

I pushed the kid back roughly, flipped him onto his stomach, and drug him up onto the bed. He tried to get up, but I straddled his legs and pinned him down with one hand on the back of his neck.

"We can either do this the easy way or the hard way, kid. Which way is it gonna be?"

The kid didn't answer, but he stopped resisting. I leaned over and felt that familiar rush...

"Toby, Toby, wake up! Yer havin' another nightmare."

I was flailing about on top of Rusty, and he was trying to calm me down. Then his arms were around me, holding me close.

I was sobbing on his shoulder. "In my dream, I was Cory and you were Nate and..."

"It's okay, Toby. Let it all out. I know you'd never hurt me."

I heard my parents at the door. Rusty spoke. "I've got it under control, Mom and Dad. Let me take care of him. We can talk tomorrow about what we need to do next."

Rusty rolled me onto my back, kissing me gently as I slowly quit shaking.

"Nate's response to the carny today brought it all back again. You heard everything he said, not just what Austin and Andy heard, so you know what I watched on the video."

I paused, fighting to hold it back, but it was time. "And you already know from Pete that there was a second video. It was a conversation between Logan and Cory. You were next on Cory's victim list. The thought of that has been drivin' me crazy."

I was sobbing again.

Rusty whispered. "Relax, Toby. It's all right. Go back to sleep now. We'll deal with all that in the morning."

The bedroom door closed quietly.

To be continued...

Posted: 12/25/2020