Author's Note:

Whereas this story usually follows a 1st person perspective, and the beginning of it does. Being this is a collaborative work, and Zarek's style and mine are different there is a melding and as the chapter progresses it will jump to what I like to call "God Mode" where perspective shifts sometimes from paragraph to paragraph, future chapters will go back to my usual style of writing.

*** ~~~ Roger ~~~ ***

Trevor and I have been sitting here forever. It was fun talking to Mom and Dad about my riding the horses but how many breadsticks do they think we want to eat? Trevor's been watching for Jim and Zac to get here instead of talking to me. I know he's just being a good host, but...I dunno. Why am I jealous?

Finally I hear what I've been waiting to hear, Trevor turns and says, "They're here! But there's more of them than I thought."

I looked out of our private dining room and saw Jim and Zac, but I was confused because I thought Jim said his son was 5. The boy hugging him looked like he was maybe 11 or 12. Behind them were two other young guys and a lady holding a little boy.

As I approached, Jim was saying to Trevor, "I wasn't expecting them either. We got a little lost getting here and when we pulled into the parking lot and got out of the car, this one almost knocked me over. Trevor, this is our other son, Patrick, he's 11. Behind me is my mother, Heather who is holding our son, Jake, and these other two ugly guys are my brothers Joe and Chris."

"You have two sons?" I asked. "You only told us about the little one."

Patrick took a stern look at his dad who said, "I know, I was planning to mention Patrick, but the subject changed and I felt awkward going back to my pride and joys. Plus, I felt bad not being able to call him while at the ranch, but I had no cell service." He looked down at Patrick and said, "You know I could never forget you!"

Patrick looked up at Jim, "But you never called all day and I was worried."

"I tried calling you when we got back to the motel, several times," Jim stated. "No one answered the home phone, which, now I understand why. And I tried your cell Papa gave you. I thought you were mad at me for not calling sooner. Why didn't you answer?"

"Oh my gosh, I left my cell phone on the bed," Patrick exclaimed.

Dad was standing right behind me and when he realized there would be more people he called over one of the bussers and told them to add seats at the big round table in the dining room and set for five additional for dinner. He also told him to go into the kitchen and let them know to add more food for our party.

"This is my Dad, Henri DuChamp and my Mom, Marine."

"It's very nice to meet you both, this is a nice place. I honestly didn't expect a fancy restaurant like this." Zac stated as he looked around the restaurant.

"Merci. I am pleased you like it. Please give me us a moment and we will have the table ready." Henri stated.

"This is my Daddy, Nick King, and my Grandpa, Nathan King."

Papa and Grandpa Nate both shook hands with them and offered greetings. Grandpa even ruffled Patrick's hair which he didn't seem to appreciate too much.

Heather noted, "My husband, Chris' dad, is named Nick." This caused Nick to chuckle.

About that time, Dad told us our table was ready and I lead everyone into our private dining room. We took seats around the table. I was sitting with Trevor on one side of me and Patrick on the other. Next to him was little Jake. He was so cute! The way he seemed to idolize Patrick was very obvious.

"I hope our being here doesn't cause undue problems, our trip here was a bit unexpected." Heather apologized.

"But of course, it's no problem. The more the merrier!" Dad enthused.

At the same time a waitress was taking drink orders a man entered the room that I'd never seen. Jim acted like he knew the man when he got up from his seat and walked over to him.

"Agent King, are you following me? I hope there's no problem that caused you to find us." Jim inquired.

"No, I'm actually surprised to see you. I am here because my Uncle invited me."

Grandpa approached the two and embraced Lenny King. He then turned to Jim and asked, "Do you two know each other?"

"A few months ago, my brother Joe, he's sitting over there, was kidnapped. Agent King was the lead on the case." Jim explained.

Everyone took their seats and then the waiters started bringing food out. They brought out several trays of Hors d'oeuvres placing them strategically around the table. I explained to Patrick what each one was and he helped his brother take a selection before helping himself.

As they ate everyone got involved in conversations. Having eaten several of the treats on the table and unable to get Patrick's attention, Jake decided to try another. He saw a little dish with what looked good. It had crackers around it and a little knife. He took one of the crackers and spread the pasty stuff on it and took a bite. Jim was surprised when he saw Jake take another and asked, "Do you know what that is, Jake?"

"No, but I like it." Jake replied. Jim waited and waited and watched as Jake ate two more crackers spread with the pasty substance. At the same time, Zac, noticing what was going on, got his phone out and started the camera application.

After he was done he looked at his Daddy and asked, "What is it, Daddy?"

Jim laughed again and said, "It's goose liver." The look on Jake's face was spectacular, "It doesn't taste like liver! As usual, Zac caught it on his phone.

Trevor got Jim's attention as they were eating the main course of Hunter's stew. "You said that the two younger guys, I'm sorry I forgot their names, were your brothers? They don't look anything like you."

"Yes, Joe is actually almost two months older than I am. He came to live with us after some issues with his family I really can't really go into at this time, but eventually Mom adopted him. Chris will turn 16 in about a month and he is actually our step-brother. Mom married the Sheriff in our town and Chris is his son."

"That's cool. Roger and I always hoped to be adopted but never expected we'd wind up with such great parents. I think Joe didn't do bad either." Trevor expressed.

Nathan was talking to his nephew Lenny King, "So it truly is a small world. Who would have thought that one of your cases would happen to be having dinner with us."

"Yes, I was more than a little surprised when Jim Bolt came up to me, but it was good to see Joe having such a good time. He really had it rough. He actually saw his assailant killed in front of him." Lenny replied.

"Man, even in the war I was lucky to never actually see the people we killed face to face. Seeing him now you would never known he'd been through that ordeal." Nate observed.

"Uncle Nate, one thing I can be absolutely sure in telling you, there is an abundance of love in that family."

In the meantime, Bobby and Nick were having a discussion with Jim and Zac. "I would really love to know how you two were able to adopt not only one, but two boys. When Nick and I were going to try we were told it was a near impossibility." Bobby stated.

"Well, we did have some luck. We have a friend who works at a group home. She brought the children to a rodeo we were sponsoring...well actually our boss was sponsoring. Jim was in the Barrel Racing demonstration and this little tyke screamed out that he wasn't going to make it. After, he came to find Jim to make sure he was alright. He wormed his way into our hearts in about a minute flat." Zac remembered.

"Actually it was about 8 seconds, and I actually won the competition afterward." Jim corrected.

"Well, that explains one, but how did you manage two?" Nick asked.

"Well...Sally, our friend from the group home, contacted us one evening, telling us about a boy who'd lost both parents to a drunken driver. I'd lost my father to one so Sally felt that it might be good for Patrick to spend some time with us. During his stay we both felt, and Patrick agreed, he belonged in our family. CPS had said they wanted a fairly long period to make sure we could take care of him properly. Jake's birth grandfather happens to be a judge and he decided that we'd proven ourselves so he made arrangements to expedite our adoption of Patrick." Jim related.

"So, all the money in the world won't help, but having a friendly judge cuts through all the barriers. I'm impressed." Bobby said.

About that time everyone had finished their dinners. Henri got everyone's attention. "Excusez-moi everyone, now that the main course has been finished, we will take about thirty minutes to relax and allow our dinner to settle before dessert is served."

Henri realized that this time might be boring for the younger boys and approached Trevor, Roger, Patrick, and Jake. "Roger, why don't you take the younger boys into the office to watch some television, non?"

"Oui, Papa." Roger replied, very proud of the French he'd been learning.

After the boys left the table, Joe looked at Henri, "This place is nice. Before Spermy, that's what I called my biological father, kicked me out of the house, I thought about being a chef."

"What changed your mind?" Henri asked.

Joe smiled, "I want to be a social worker to help boys like me whose parents kicked them out. Jim wants to open a ranch for them and I'd like to help. I wouldn't mind cooking for these boys and while I may not be a chef, I would still be happy cooking for others."

"That is very noble of you, would you like to go back to the kitchen and see a real chef cook?" Henri offered.

Joe grinned, "Certainly."

Jim looked at Henri and asked, "Can I come along, too?"

"But of course," Henri chuckled.

As they went back, the chef was cutting carrots to put in a dish. Joe watched closely at how he was able to cut the carrots so fast. Joe commented, "I noticed that the blade never goes above your thumb, is that how you can cut them so fast and not worry about cutting yourself? I tried cutting that fast and ended up needing stitches."

"It takes practice, but yes. And I had to get stitches the first time I did it," the chef commented. "I take it; you like to cook."

Joe smiled, "I'm nowhere nearly as good as you are, but yes, I love to cook."

The chef appreciated the compliment and offered to show Joe and Jim a few of his tricks. He even let Joe practice chopping an onion. Joe was amazed at how fast he did it. Feeling they were in good hands, Henri returned to the table.

Roger and Trevor led Patrick and Jake to the office. Patrick sat down on a couch and Jake curled up beside him. Jake fell asleep almost immediately. "Guys, instead of watching TV," Patrick asked, "can we talk?"

"Sure, what about?" Trevor inquired.

Patrick was hesitant at first, but Roger assured him that whatever he said, they would keep a secret. "Well, you two are a gay couple, and I think I am gay."

Roger thought for a moment, remembering his own struggle with the very question Patrick was coming to grips with and asked, "Why do you think that, Patrick?"

"Well, I'm not sure, but there's this boy at school. When I first saw him I felt pulled toward him. Every time I looked at him I got a funny feeling all over. As I got to know him a little, all I wanted to do was kiss him. We had a sleepover and I think we're both gay but I'm not sure yet." Patrick described.

"For me it was pretty much the same. The only big difference was I'd known Roger my whole life pretty much. He even shared a room with me. At first the feelings were really scary. I didn't really understand them. When I met my parents and spent a weekend with them they helped me to understand and next time I saw Roger I kissed him. I knew at that moment he and I would be together forever." Trevor recalled.

"That's how it was for Scott and me. I mean his kiss was...I don't know...amazing. At first I wasn't thinking I'd like his tongue in my mouth or mine in his, but as we kissed, without even realizing it I put mine in his. It was the most natural thing. Then when he kissed me and put his tongue in my mouth, it was really no big deal. I mean, I liked it, but it wasn't a bad thing."

"Yeah, it's still too early to tell for sure but I'd bet money you're gay." Trevor predicted.

"Is that all you guys did?" Roger asked.

"He made a promise to his parents that all we'd do was kiss, so that's all we did. I wanted to do more with him when I felt his boner against my leg when we were in the shower."

"You showered together?" Trevor asked, quite surprised.

"Yeah," Patrick blushed, "it was really cool. We kissed in the shower and my penis got stiff, so did Scott's. But we'd made a promise. We even told each other that we hope we're really gay and we can be boyfriends."

"Well, I think you've got it pretty much figured out, but, we're going to make sure you have our cell numbers and you can call us anytime, Scott too, if you have any questions." Trevor said.

"I think it's time for dessert, why don't you wake your totally cute brother up and we can get something good. You'll be amazed at what's for dessert."

Patrick hugged each of the boys while telling them how much they helped him and he'd be sure to keep in touch. He gently woke Jake up and asked, "You ready for dessert, bro?"

That was all Jake needed to hear, he was up and wide awake. "I want some, Patrick. Come on, let's go!"

Joe and Jim were returning to the dining room about the same time as the boys. They resumed their seats and Henri came out with a trolley cart. On it were several dishes, a burner, and a bottle, along with a copper skillet. Behind him was another trolly where a waiter sat with bowls and a tub of ice cream. Henri rolled the cart over by Patrick and Jake and asked, "Have you boys ever seen a flambe?"

"I know I haven't and I don't think Jake has...but, what's a Flambe?" Patrick asked, puzzled.

"Just watch. You will love this!" Henri exclaimed.

Henri lit the burner and placed the skillet on it, he added a large amount of butter to the pan along with some brown sugar and a few other items. Once it was melted and mixed he added a large spoonful of cherries to the pan and began to cook them. After a few moments he added some liquid from the bottle and when he tilted the pan it exploded in fire! At first Jake was scared, but Patrick involuntarily yelled out, "COOL!"

The waiter handed Henri two bowls of ice cream and he dished out the mixture from the pan into the two bowls and handed one each to Patrick and Jake. They tasted it and Jake asked, "Mr. Ornery, what is this, it was scary to watch, but it tastes great."

"It's called 'Cherries Jubilee', it's a famous dessert, I'm glad you like it." Henri replied.

Henri proceeded to prepare and serve everyone their dessert and when everyone was done it was time to bring the meal to a close.

"I want to thank you for inviting us for this wonderful meal and for allowing the rest of our family, minus one, to join us. It was something we will remember for a long time." Jim averred.

"It was our pleasure, you have a wonderful family and we hope you can keep in touch with us. Trevor already made sure I knew Patrick was to have both his and Roger's cell numbers as well as their email addresses, that is if you approve." Bobby replied.

"We don't see a problem with that. We both liked our time earlier with Trevor and Roger, they're good guys." Zac answered.

After wishing them a safe trip home and Patrick giving both Trevor and Roger a hug, which was interesting for Zac and Jim to witness, the group parted ways.

That night Trevor asked Roger if he wanted to go back to the ranch the next day for another horseback ride. Roger was more than willing.

After a night of showing each other how much they loved one another the boys fell asleep in each other's arms.

-*-

Trevor and Roger returned to Tony's ranch. Today, Tony allowed them to assist the hands as they groomed and saddled the horses. Bobby was reluctant to allow them to go off on their own but Tony convinced them that he'd been told that both were proficient riders and they were old enough to be out on their own. Bobby agreed but knew Nick would kill him if he knew.

The boys headed out toward the lake, Trevor had the rifle in it's scabbard attached to his saddle. He hoped he didn't have to use it. He'd been trained in how to use the weapon and the safety practices, he was still nervous of needing to use it.

As they rode and approached the lake they heard voices and water splashing as they neared they noticed who it was and Trevor decided to try to mimic Jim's bad southern drawl as he said "Lookiee here, Roger, it seems like we found some varmints skinny-dipping in the lake."

"Sure looks that way," Roger agreed. "Should we take their clothes to teach them a lesson?"

"Naw, but we could join them," Trevor chuckled, "that is, if you don't mind skinny-dipping again."

"I did it yesterday, so what's the difference, it's just more guys," Roger agreed. Both boys dismounted and started stripping. It didn't take long until Trevor and Roger were joining Patrick and Jake swimming. Jim loved how they made over Jake and kept telling him he's so cute.

Jake was having the time of his life. Jim would swim underwater and have him stand on his shoulders, then Jim would jump out of the water and launch him in the air. Once, he almost came down on Patrick, so when Jim did it, everyone made sure the "landing area" was clear. Roger and Trevor took turns playing with Jake, too. They tried doing like Jim did, but didn't get much "lift off." Patrick swam over to Jim, "Can you do that to me, too?"

"I can try," Jim said, "but you're older, and taller than Jake, so you weigh more. I won't be able to get you as high, but you should still have fun. Just don't pee on my head."

Patrick snickered, "I won't." Jim managed to get Patrick in the air and he whooped and hollered, but forgot to close his mouth when he hit the water. He came up a coughing and a sputtering.

Jim swam over and started patting his back. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, but that water taste nasty. I think someone peed in it," Patrick joked.

"Guys, if we want to dry off before getting dressed, we need to get out and eat he lunch Tony gave us," Zac suggested.

Patrick was a little shy getting out with Trevor and Roger there, but he did. Jim noticed that he was checking them out as they joined him under the tree.

After they ate, everyone got dressed and mounted up. They returned to the corral and Jim was proud to see Roger and Trevor start grooming their horses. Tony watched with a smile. He walked over to help Patrick groom his mount since the boy was struggling to reach every place.

Before parting ways possibly for the last time Patrick, with a tear in his eye hugged both boys and told them how much help they had been and he was going to miss them. Jim and Zac also gave them hugs and little Jake jumped up into Trevor's arms and kissed him on the cheek saying, "You're almost as cool as my brother. I hope we see each other again."

Author's Note:

I would like to thank Zarek for the opportunity to work together on the last two chapters of our stories. His friendship means alot to me. You can find his story in the Hosted Author's section of The Story Lover's website http://storylover.us/ I hope you enjoy it.

[To Be Continued]