Still Another Chance ~ Book Four of Another Chance

by Zarek Dragon

(A Crossover with Priorities)

Author's Note:  When doing a crossover between two stories, every effort is made to keep the stories interconnected yet separate. In some cases this isn't prudent to the storyline. The chapters, Priorities Book II Chapter 21 and Still Another Chance 8, have some areas that are virtually identical, like during the wedding, but different in many areas. Both authors contributed to the creation of the entire chapter. Please read both stories, you will come across differences.

 

Saturday morning, Chris was sitting in the office when Matt came in.  Chris was a bit surprised to see him that early, so he asked, "What’s up?"

Matt didn’t look happy, "I received this notice, and I can’t believe it. What gives? How can you guys do me like this?"

"Like what?" Chris asked, holding his hand out for the notice. After he looked at it, he apologized, "I am so sorry Matt. This notice came from the accountant, we had no idea that he even sent it. We are in the process of switching to Norman Bates, CPA, and I guess this guy was eager to get things up to date."

"I was hoping it was something like that," Matt sounded relieved. "I mean, I’ve tried paying for my boarding fees and everyone refuses to accept my money, so…"

Chris chuckled, "I assure you man, as far as we are concerned, your boarding fees are taken care of for an eternity. I will put a note in the computer so that this never happens again."

Matt got a quizzical look on his face, "Isn’t Zac normally in here at this time of the day on Saturdays?"

That brought a smile to Chris’s face, "Yeah, but he’s helping Jim with the horses today, and he told me to sit in the office and take it easy. Since he and Jim have been busy with the Kings, Zac was feeling bad about me doing all of the real work."

Matt chuckled, "I can see that. I know Zac would never purposely take advantage of you, but if he was busy with guests…" Matt didn't finish what he was saying before Chris asked him to look at the monitor. He read, "Matt McCrery, No charge until further notice." Matt looked at Chris and said, "You didn't have to do that, I will gladly pay my fees. I was just upset by being told I would need to move my horses if I didn't pay."

Chris chuckled, "Matt, you basically bought the ranch and gave it to us. There is no way we can charge you. It just wouldn't feel right."

Matt smiled, "It was a gift, so you can, but I appreciate the feeling."

Chris asked, "So, were you invited to the King's wedding?"

Matt shook his head, "I've never met them, I don't know who they are."

"I can assure you, if they met you, and knew what you did for us, they would invite you," Chris insisted.

Matt frowned, "Dude, I was just helping my friends, and I'd like to leave at that. I prefer to not go around saying anything more about it. I do like the fact that it means so much to you, but it would mean more to me if we didn't share it with anyone else."

Chris gave Matt a smile, "Ok, we won't mention it ever again, but I hope you don't mind if I claim you as a friend, almost like a brother."

Matt gave Chris a hug, "I have no problem with that, you guys are like brothers."

Matt left Chris and went looking for Jim or Zac. He came across Jim and Patrick working in the stalls. Scott was helping them. "Matt, you're here early!" Jim exclaimed.

"Yeah, I know," Matt replied. "I received a notice from your accountant that if I didn't come pay my fees, you would be evicting my horses, but Chris took care of things."

"I hope he didn't charge you," Jim stated.

"No, I was willing to pay, but he said it wouldn't be right," Matt declared.

Jim smiled, "Since you're here, let's start getting the horses ready and we can head out once Gina gets here. She is coming, right?"

"Yeah, she and Jake should be here our usual time." Patrick thought about commenting that Jake was with Zac, but remembered that Matt and Gina named their baby Jake Patrick. Jim warned Matt that he and the boys may need to cut their ride short since they would be attending a wedding.

Gina arrived at ten with little Jake Patrick. Once she was on her horse, Matt handed their baby to her and then mounted his horse. Patrick rode beside Gina, cooing at the baby while Matt rode with Jim. Jake was riding his pony, beside Jim. Scott, Patrick H. and Austin were feeling worn out from all the activities so they decided to sleep in.

It was just after eleven when they returned to the barn. Matt decided to cut his ride short as well. As they dismounted, two boys approached them. Patrick called out, "Hi Trevor, Hi Roger!"

After jumping off his pony, Jake ran over and hopped into Roger's arms, "Morning Roger!"

"Hey guys. Did you have a nice ride?" Trevor walked over to the two he didn't know, he reached out to shake their hands and said, "Hello, I'm Trevor King and this is my fiancée, Roger Duchamp."

"Hello. I'm Matt McCrery and this is my wife, Gina and our son Jake Patrick. You two look way too young to be getting married."

Both Jim and Zac gave Matt a look which Trevor and Roger either missed or decided not to ask about because Trevor chuckled and said, "Well… first off, the wedding is for my parents, but if you look into the law in both Wyoming and South Dakota where we live, 14-year-olds can get married with parental consent."

"Well, I didn't know that! You two do make a cute couple, though."

They talked for a time when Trevor decided to invite Matt and Gina to the wedding.

"It's about 11:30 now, we'll be back after we clean up and get properly dressed for a wedding. I think it would be a great thing to do on a beautiful Saturday."

"We'll see you then. Roger and I need to get back and start getting ready ourselves."

The pair went back to the dorms, grabbed some towels and went to the shower room. They arrived and disrobed, stepping into the main shower. Turned on one shower head and started soaping each other up.

"Didn't you find it strange that we didn't see any of the other kids except Patrick and Jake?" Roger asked.

"Not really. There's a lot to do around here. They don't need to be ready as early as we do… they'll probably be here in a bit." Trevor replied.

They got cleaned up, with very little play. Those two couldn't shower together and not play at all!

They dried and wrapped a towel around their waists, grabbed their clothing and walked back to their room to don their tuxedos.

As they exited the dorms, they ran into Joe Bolt. "Man, you guys look sharp! Let me give you a ride over to the arena so you don't get your clothes all dusty."

"Thank you, Joe. I was a little worried how we were going to get there. Have you seen my parents or Grandpa?" Trevor asked.

"Nick, Bobby, and Nate are already at the arena."

Roger was holding the card with the vows he had written and Trevor was holding his as well as they hopped into Joe's SUV.

"Couldn't ask for a nicer day for a wedding, don'tcha think?" Joe asked.

Roger said, "Yeah, it's a fantastic day. I'm really excited about this."

Joe looked at the pair in the rearview mirror. Trevor noticed his smirk.

As Joe pulled away after dropping them at the Arena, Roger looked over and said, "Did you notice his expression?"

"Yeah," Trevor smiled, "it was probably nothing. Either that or he was amused because we really do look fantastic!"

It was about 12:15 when they found Nick and Bobby. Grandpa was nowhere to be found.

After dropping the boys off, Joe parked his SUV and went to find Maurice. As expected, he was in the kitchen. When Joe walked in, Henri was ready to tell him to get out, but then saw who it was. Joe walked over to Maurice, put on an apron and then started helping while he talked. "I understand that you are wanting to stay in Cody."

"Oui, I think I've found someone, and I would like to explore the relationship," Maurice replied.

Joe inquired, "Do you have a place to stay or work?"

"Non, but Henri suggested that I speak with you," Maurice declared.

Joe gave Henri a smile before turning back to Maurice. "I was planning to do all the cooking until we became too busy for me to do it all. Would you be interested in cooking for the Boys' Home, and then I would assist you as I am able. I will have other duties and this would relieve some of the stress I expect."

"Oui, je m'intéresse," Maurice admitted. "Sorry, I forget sometimes that not everyone speaks French. Yes, I am interested."

"Great, we'll discuss pay and everything tomorrow. We will take one of the rooms in the dorm and convert it into living quarters for you, including an exterior door."

"Merci, I don't need too much."

"Morning Daddy, Morning Dad. What do we need to do?" Trevor asked.

Nick replied, "Really nothing. Everything's ready; Marine did a great job on the decorations, don't you think?"

Roger looked around before he replied, "It looks amazing. I guess we'll grab something to drink and sit down."

Bobby gave both a hug before saying, "Good morning to you, too! Sit somewhere back here, not in the area where the wedding will take place. We'll walk up during the procession. You and Roger first, then I'll precede Nick. Ryan is already here and will be 'on stage' at 1:00pm. We'll get started within a few minutes of that."

Roger and Trevor grabbed drinks and sat.

About 12:30 people started filing in and being seated, waiting for the wedding to start.

At 1:02 the processional began. Roger went first, Trevor followed. Once they were standing with Ryan, they watched as Bobby made his way up. Roger kind of looked at him when he stopped a step behind the younger pair.

Nick made his entrance and ended up standing next to Bobby.

The foursome stood there in matching white tuxedos, the assembled were quiet and awaiting the commencement of the ceremony.

Ryan, in a clear voice, said, "One of the most treasured duties a Judge can perform is the joining of two people who truly belong together. Most have a member of the clergy perform this sacred duty, so when I was asked, it was a double honor. First because I was asked instead of a clergyman, and secondly because I have the distinct honor of joining two people who I consider nearly family.

"Marriage for two men has only recently been made legal across this great nation of ours… long overdue, in my personal opinion. There were times when it was illegal to be gay, now we enjoy all the rights and privileges our heterosexual brothers and sisters have enjoyed in the many years marriage has been a custom among humans.

"The world changed; it did not change without your prayers, without your faith, without your determination to believe in liberation and kindness, without the years of dancing without any beat.

"Nicholas King, Robert King. Have you prepared vows?"

Nick spoke, "We have asked our son and his fiancée to give the vows in our stead."

"Unconventional, but… you're both unconventional couples. Trevor King, Roger Duchamp… do you have the vows that will be recited?"

Trevor replied, "We've got them."

Trevor looked at his Dad and smiled, then turned toward Roger. "Roger, ever since we met in the orphanage…" That was as far as he got before he was interrupted by Roger.

"Why are you doing this? I thought we were supposed to write vows for your parents, it's their wedding."

"Babe, didn't you see through their scam? Write vows for them as if we were writing them for ourselves? I thought that might be the case so I looked up the laws. With parental permission, boys our age are allowed to get married. So, I think they were going to try to surprise us."

Roger looked at Bobby, then up at Nick before turning and looking at his parents. Seeing Henri nod, he turned back to Trevor and smiled.

Trevor decided to continue, "Roger, ever since we met in the orphanage, I felt a special connection to you. When I started having feelings for you, they were so very confusing to me. I was afraid to take a leap and tell you. When I met my new parents and they told me they were a gay couple, it gave me the strength to finally accept that I'm gay too.

"When we finally told each other, I resolved to make it so we could be together because you and I are two parts of the same soul. In front of everyone here, I vow to protect you, to love you, to cherish you. I vow to take care of you when you're sick, to laugh with you when you're happy, and to be there to wipe away the tears when you're sad. My love for you will increase from now and until eternity." Trevor then took two rings out of his pocket. He placed one on Roger's finger. "Roger, this ring is a symbol of my never-ending love for you."

Roger wiped a tear that was running down his face, "Well, might as well throw this away," he dropped the paper he was going to read from and spoke from his heart, "Trevor, I am so happy we found each other. When I told you I was attracted to you and then you said you were leaving, I felt as if I'd missed my chance to be with you. You left a couple of days later. Since then, things have been so good for us. I went to visit my new parents, but they let me spend some of their time with you. Since then our love has grown more than I can comprehend. All I know is that you and I are destined to be together. I promise to respect and obey you, to be there when you're sick, to smile with you when you're happy. To help you become the best you can be as I know you will help me in the same way. I will love you now and until eternity." After taking the second ring from Trevor, Roger placed it on Trevor's finger and said, "Trevor, just as this ring has no start nor ending, so it is with my love for you."

Nick was wiping tears as Roger spoke from his heart. Robert put his hand on Trevor's shoulder; he had tears in his eyes as well.

Judge Sprayberry looked at Trevor and said, "Trevor, I had a feeling you saw through their ruse and I am proud to make the following statement. Trevor James King, Roger Eric Duchamp. By the powers vested in me by the great state of Wyoming and by the Federal Courts, I now pronounce you married. Ladies and Gentlemen, may I be the first to introduce you to Misters Trevor and Roger King. You may kiss your husband."

The reception was held at the Boys' Home with the food being served in the cafeteria and then tables and chairs were set up outside. As people were going through the buffet, picking out what they wanted, Henri informed them, "Outside, they have been cooking a whole cow for twenty-one hours and then they started a pig early this morning."

Patrick asked, "Where'd we get the pig?"

"I picked it up at the butcher yesterday, after your dad and papa agreed to allow me to have a pit dug," Henri gleamed. "They even assigned two ranch hands to dig it for me."

Nick Archer was in line to get some beef and he eyeballed the pig. He exclaimed, "Oh no, y'all cooked Deputy Wilbur." And then he started to laugh. Heather shook her head so he explained, "Get it? Wilbur from Charlotte's Web, and everyone calls law enforcement pigs…"

"I got it, Dear," Heather groaned, "and I love you anyway."

Jake ran over and told Patrick, "Roger and Trevor didn't get many presents. All I saw was envelopes."

Patrick laughed, "Remember, Dad told us that they didn't need presents, so they asked their guests to donate to the Boys' Home."

Jake pouted, "Sounds like a rip off to me. I would want presents."

"Hey, Little Dude," Jake heard and turned around to see Xander standing there. "I'm with you, I would want presents, but then, I've never really had anything like these boys have."

"I have everything that I need being met," Patrick assured Xander and Jake.

Xander nodded his head, "Thanks to your dads, I have everything I need, too, but I still wouldn't mind presents."

"I can understand that, but I'm still a kid," Patrick chuckled. "You seem different than when we first met you."

Laughing, Xander stated, "You can thank your dads for that, too. They have proven that you can be loved and not abused." Patrick noted a tear running down his face.

"I'm going to sit with Roger, wanna join me, Xander?" Jake asked.

"I don't think we can, they are at the wedding table with their parents."

Jake walked over to Roger and asked, "I wanna sit with you, but was told that I can't. Is that true?" Xander followed him, expecting to lead him to a table and comfort him.

Roger looked at Bobby, who replied, "Normally it's just the wedding party that sits here, but I suppose we could make an exception for you."

"And Xander?" Jake asked, which caught Bobby by surprise.

"If you would like Xander to join us, I guess we can allow it," Bobby agreed, to Xander's surprise.

"I can take Little Dude to a table, we don't have to sit at the wedding table," Xander offered.

"Nonsense, we can make room," Nick insisted.

Patrick was surprised to see Jake and Xander sitting at the wedding table. He found Scott, Austin and Patrick H. sitting at a table and they asked about Jake. Patrick just steered their eyes in the proper direction.

Roger looked at Jake, "You have a lot of Pâté on your plate. You must like it."

"Mmmmhmm," Jake almost moaned. "Daddy says that it's liver, but it doesn't taste anything like liver. It's good." Roger chuckled. "What's that?" Jake asked, pointing at Roger's plate.

"Well, I have some of Dad's Hunter's Stew, and some of the pig they roasted outside," Roger answered.

"I didn't go outside, so I didn't see the piggy," Jake explained.

Xander looked over, "I didn't get any pig either. Would you like me to get some for both of us?" Jake stood up and took Xander's hand.

Nigel walked up to Roger and whispered in his ear. Roger looked at Bobby, "Can we make a space for two more?"

Bobby just chuckled, "Sure we can. You boys are so loved, maybe we should have had just one big table." Nigel grinned and waved Alex over.

Mid-way through the reception, Trevor looked over the crowd and saw his dad, grandpa and Brock Radcliffe VII chatting. He excused himself from the table and walked over to join their conversation. He overheard Nate saying, "I hear they've gotten a few donations for the Home today. I'm planning on making a fairly sizable one myself."

Brock shared that he'd already pledged a donation of one million dollars. Nate scoffed… "One million? That's chump change to guys like us. I was thinking more like 2.5 million. Bobby said, "I'll make it three million."

Not to be outdone, Brock said, "Well, why don't I increase mine to four million."

Nate then said, "No way am I going to be low man. Five million."

Trevor started laughing which caused the other three to look over at him. "Why don't we do this? There's five of us, if you include Roger. What do you think if we all put up ten million each and made a single $50 million donation? That would keep them going for a while at least."

Bobby smiled and said, "That's my boy! If you two agree, I think that's a good plan."

Brock looked over at Trevor incredulously, "Between you and your husband, can you afford $20 million? You're only 14… do you have that kind of assets?"

Trevor nodded, "Sir, with my investments now combined with Roger’s, as a couple we're worth close to $300 million liquid. Another $800 million in less liquid assets."

Bobby offered, "A little over a year ago, when we adopted Trevor, we gave him a million dollars after he learned basically how to analyze and trade stocks… just to see what he would do. In less than three months, he'd grown that to over $20 million. The boy just knows how to pick them and when to get out."

Brock's jaw dropped. "I think I need to hire this kid to manage my portfolio! I had no idea he'd done so well for himself. My net worth is a result of my company; if I traded stocks based on Trevor's advice I could easily double my net worth. We may have to have a talk about that at some point in the future."

The men walked up to the head table together while Trevor went to the microphone. "Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you all for coming today to share in the joy Roger and I feel at being married. We want to thank Another Chance Ranch and the Another Chance Boys' Home for their hospitality."

After the applause died down, Trevor continued, "My dad, grandpa, and Mr. Radcliffe, along with my husband and myself have decided to provide an endowment to the Boys' home. This is in addition to any other commitments we've made to donate to such a worthy cause. The five of us will each give a one-time additional donation of $10 million each for a total of $50 million. This, we hope, will give the home all of the financial resources they'll need to make this the showcase home of its type anywhere in the nation."

The applause was thunderous. Trevor looked over at Joe Bolt who was obviously in shock. After a moment, Joe walked up to the podium.

Wiping a tear from his eye, Joe stammered, "I… I… I don't know what to say. You have all been very generous before today. I have just received the total of donations that were given in lieu of your wedding gifts, Trevor, and that's another $2.5 million. I don't know how to thank you. We can now do some of the expansion we'd planned for years down the road and be able to offer our services to many more boys in the future. Thank you all so very much."

As the meal was settling down, a few adults made speeches about Trevor and Roger and what the boys meant to them. Jim slipped over to Patrick's table and asked him to come with him.

When they were alone in the dorm, Patrick asked, "What's up, Dad?"

Jim pulled out a suit that almost looked like a white tuxedo. He handed it to Patrick, stating, "You need to wear this, if you wish to chauffeur Trevor and Roger to their hotel. It is called a livery uniform."

"I get to drive the wedding carriage?" Patrick asked.

"They are more your friends than anyone else's that works at the ranch. Papa's hooking up two white horses as we speak."

Patrick gave Jim a hug and then took off his clothes, without any concern that his dad was still there. He donned the suit and it was a little loose, but still looked good. Jim led him to the carriage.

Patrick drove the carriage over to the reception, set the brake and stepped down. He waited for Trevor and Roger, by the "entrance" to the carriage, ready to help them in, if necessary.

Trevor walked over to Roger after talking to his Grandfather. "Are you ready to leave, Mr. King?"

"You know, I love hearing you call me that, Mr. King," Roger replied before continuing, "I am more than ready."

Trevor offered his hand to help his new husband out of his seat and said, "Well then, your chariot awaits."

A crowd had gathered as the couple made their way to the waiting carriage pulled by two pristine white horses. Patrick stood beside it, ready to help, if needed.

After they had taken their seats in the open carriage, Patrick climbed into his seat and coaxed the horses to a gentle walk and they were off. The guests saw the floral arrangement on the back of the carriage that said, "Just Married."

Patrick was very careful on his way to the hotel. On the few occasions where he looked back into the passenger portion, he saw what appeared to be a never-ending lip lock going on between Trevor and Roger. He imagined what it might be like in a few years when he and Scott finally marry.

Patrick returned to the ranch and Jim told him to change his clothes so he didn't get the suit dirty. Patrick was walking to the room he was using when he saw Jake; Jake asked him, "What are you wearing? It looks like a uniform. Did you join the Navy?"

Patrick laughed, "No, Dad called it a livery uniform."

"Liver?" Jake scratched his head. "Liver is brown and that's white."

Zac and Jim started unhooking the horses. Xander agreed to watch Jake while they did. Jim looked at Zac and said, "You really got through to Xander. When we first met him, I wasn't sure that we could, but I was going to give it my best shot."

"I was just being a friend, but I think the colt is what really helped," Zac admitted. "Xander is a good young man, he just needed someone to care about him and who was willing to earn his trust."

Jim agreed, "With what he's been through, I couldn't really blame him for that. I'm glad that he was willing to give us a chance."

"That chance wasn't so easily given, but yeah. And I think Jake may have helped," Zac averred. "See how he is with the boy?"

Jake came running over to Jim and Zac, "Daddy, can I sleep in Xander's room with him tonight?"

Xander wasn't far behind him, Jim gave him a questioning look, then looked at Jake, "Whose idea was this?"

"I asked Xander if I could sleep in the other bunk in his room and he said that I would need permission from you."

"I see, you really like Xander, don't you?"

"He's my friend, Daddy."

"In that case, I have no problem with it."

Xander sighed, "Thank you, sir, and I promise, nothing will happen to him. I would try to beat up anyone if they tried anything with him. He's like the little brother I never had."

"Xander, I'm glad you feel that way," Jim said, "and if I made you nervous when I questioned whose idea, I apologize, but I do have to look after my sons' best interests. While I believe I can trust you, I've only known you half a week."

Xander gave a weak smile, "That's understandable, and I'm glad that I've earned your trust in that time."

"I'm glad that we've earned yours."

In the morning, Jim was looking at the front page of the paper, "Zac, did you see this?"

"Oh hey, that must have been written by that reporter Nate was talking to."

They read… 

After reading it, Zac commented, "That was a nice mention of the ranch AND free advertising for the Boys' Home."

The boys woke up and had breakfast. Once they were done, Patrick asked what they wanted to do. Xander was feeling lazy and suggested that they just go back to the dorms and chill for a few hours. Scott suggested that they go to the common area and play games or something until Trevor and Roger return.

Trevor and Roger made their way back to the dorms. When they arrived, they found a group in the common area. Seated around the room were Xander and Jake, Eric and Phoenix, Patrick and Scott; Austin was sitting with Patrick Henry, Alex and Nigel.

When they noticed the newlyweds enter, they all gathered around to greet them. Typical of adolescent boys, the usual questions were asked and ignored about what the two had gotten up to on their honeymoon.

Scott asked, "Did you really donate $20 million together to the Boys' Home? I don't think I'll ever have that much money in my life!"

Trevor said, "I've been very fortunate to make some good investments. You'll do well in your life, Scott. You have a head on your shoulders and know how to use it. Being friends means that if you ever need help or advice you can always call on me or Roger. For anything."

The boys sat and started talking about what they were going to do for the week. The camping trip was mentioned and the idea of taking a ride the next day was suggested. Trevor reminded everyone that Eric's birthday was Wednesday.

"Speaking of the camping trip, Roger and I need to go buy some gear," Trevor began, "we didn't bring anything with us. Why don't we build a list of things we'll need and see what needs to be bought? I've already decided to buy two ATVs with trailers to haul all our gear up to the cabin on Thursday. I'm also going to buy a few big coolers to store our food and drinks in. The weight of the packed coolers alone is justification for the ATVs."

For the next hour, the boys discussed what would be needed for the camping trip. Trevor and Roger compiled the lists of things they had and things they needed to buy.

"Ok, tomorrow morning, assuming we can find someone to drive us, we'll go into town and get everything we'll need other than the food and ice. We'll get that late on Wednesday."

Patrick volunteered to ask Uncle Joe if he'd drive them into town, but Trevor said they'd probably need to use one of the larger pickup trucks to bring everything. They'll connect the ATVs on a trailer to the tow hitch on the truck when they bring them back.

Patrick then asked Trevor if he'd walk with him to ask Uncle Joe. Trevor was pretty certain he knew there was another reason for the request so he agreed without question.

Once out of the room, Patrick said, "Can I go with you guys tomorrow? I need to buy Eric's birthday present. I believe Phoenix will also want to buy something for him."

"Not a problem."

They found Joe in the kitchen. "Uncle Joe," Patrick said, "do you think you could take Trevor, Roger, Phoenix and me into town tomorrow so they can buy some of the things we'll need for the camping trip?"

"I don't see why not." Joe replied.

After returning to the common area, all the boys spent a quiet night of camaraderie together. At about 10:30 PM, they wished each other a good night and went back to their rooms.

 

I hope you enjoy the story and that it draws you in, wanting more. If you have any suggestions or concerns, don’t hesitate to email me.  Thoughts and suggestions are always welcomed and may or may not be implemented. Concerns will be considered and addressed as much as possible.

Also, I have created a mailing list.  If you would like to be added to it to be informed of new submission, please contact me at Zarek Dragon...  Please let me know that you read it on The Story Lovers' Website.

 

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