Another Chance - Book Three

by Zarek Dragon

This is a crossover with Priorities written by The True Fan ~ Priorities Book II Chapter Ten

 

It was Saturday morning and Patrick came running down the stairs, "Grandma, I just tried calling Dad and Papa and neither one of them are answering their phones. And neither of them has called me yet today." The boy looked worried so Heather tried calming him down.

"They probably got up early to head to the ranch and didn't want to wake you. As to not answering their phones, is it going straight to voicemail? If so, perhaps they have no cell service where they are," she advised, hoping that made Patrick feel more at ease.

"Yes, it's going to voicemail, but I need to talk with them, please," the boy begged, tears started flowing from his eyes.

"It's a seven-hour drive, we can try calling them in an hour," Heather suggested.

Clinging to Heather, Patrick just cried, "I need to talk to them."

Heather offered, rubbing his back "OK, what about this? We try calling them in an hour and if we still can't get ahold of them, we will drive to the ranch where they went to pick up the horses." Patrick seemed to calm down a little, but she knew if he didn't get to talk with Jim and Zac, he was on the verge of having a panic attack. Her thoughts went to the night before Jim and Zac left, how scared Patrick seemed when they said they were going away for the weekend, but leaving before he got out of school, so he and Jake would need to spend the weekend with Grandma. They assured him that they were just picking up a couple horses for Jackson, but would be home Sunday night. She recalled Patrick stating that was what his parents said.

An hour had gone by and Heather tried both cell phones. There was no answer, so she called the motel where they were staying.  The clerk refused to acknowledge whether they were there or not. He said that he wasn't allowed to give that information over the phone. Jake came downstairs and alerted her that Patrick was crying, so Heather called up, "Let's go for a drive Patrick, so you can talk to your dad and papa."

It was a bit cool, so Heather put a light jacket on Jake as Patrick ran down the stairs. He didn't even realize that he left the cell phone on his bed. Joe appeared at the top of the stairs and suggested, "We should go in my SUV. I have the built in GPS and I have the DVD system so the boys can watch a movie or something. And I saw the map Jackson used to show where the ranch is to which they were going."

Heather told Joe, "I have addresses for the ranch and their motel. You can input them into your GPS."

"Can I go, too?" Chris asked.

"Only if your mother doesn't mind. I'd like to go, but I'm on call," Nick responded, "Besides, someone needs to take care of the dogs. There and back is fourteen hours, plus however long you stay. That's too long for the dogs to be left alone."

"Oh crap, I almost forgot that I was watching the dogs for Jim," Joe muttered.

"I meant them as well when I said dogs. We only have Shinobi here," Nick chuckled. "You go help my grandson talk to his dads."

"Of course you can go, Chris, that is unless you want to stay home by yourself if your dad gets called in," Heather answered. Chris grabbed his coat as Nick kissed Heather goodbye.

With the exception of Nick, everyone climbed into Joe's SUV and they headed to find Jim and Zac. Chris climbed in on one side of Jake with Patrick on the other. Heather put a movie in the DVD player for the boys. She grabbed a few she thought they would enjoy. Chris and Jake watched the movie, but Patrick seemed too worried to pay attention and simply stared out the window quietly. Heather immediately thought about when they first drove to Cody and Jim doing that.

As Jim and Zac were getting ready for dinner, Jim picked up his phone, "I tried calling Patrick from the ranch but didn't have a signal. Now it keeps going to voicemail on Mom's home phone and the phone we gave Patrick. Something is up, he wouldn't just watch his phone ring, would he? I hope he's not mad because I didn't call sooner."

"Relax, Babe," Zac tried calming Jim down, "He's probably just taking a nap or something. You did talk to him until one in the morning. So what did you think about Trevor and Roger?"

Jim gave Zac a smile as he placed his arms around his love, "I hope you're right about Patrick. I feel like I let him down. As for Trevor and Roger, I really like them. I can see Patrick being a lot like them when he gets to be their age. And Trevor's dad seems very nice."

"It's not just you that let him down, one of us should have called. I agree with you about the boys and Patrick, as well as Trevor's dad. I'm sure we'll be happily surprised when we meet the rest of them. Let's head over to do so, I'm getting hungry and might eat you," Zac teased.

Jim smirked, "Ummm, we can be late."

"That would be rude," Zac insisted. "I'll take care of you when we get back here." Zac headed out the door and Jim followed.

After almost eight hours with pit stops, Joe pulled into Tony's ranch. A man walked up to the SUV, so Joe lowered his window. "Can I help you?" the man asked.

Joe replied, "We're looking for the owner, hoping maybe he can help me find my brother."

"You found him, my name's Tony. Who's your brother and how can I help?" the man inquired.

Heather leaned over to respond, "He would have been here with his husband to pick up a couple of colts for Jackson."

Tony answered, "Oh, those two, yes, they were here, left their trailer here so I can load the yearlings in tomorrow just before they arrive. If they're not at their motel, they were invited to Chez Henri for dinner. I can give you directions if you would like."

"Yes please," Heather requested.

Joe stopped Tony, "Wait, Chez Henri? My GPS found it, but thank you."

Joe drove to the motel and didn't see Zac's truck anywhere, so he drove straight to the restaurant.

When they arrived at Chez Henri, Zac's truck wasn't anywhere to be seen. Heather asked, "Are you sure this is the right place?"

Joe nodded, "It's the only one that came up, but I suppose… No, there's Zac's truck now. We beat them here." They started getting out.

Jim looked at Zac, "I hope the boys and their parents aren't too worried about us as late as we are."

Zac said, "I'll just explain that I turned down the wrong street and we got lost. I'm sure they'll understand."

As Jim closed the truck door, he felt some force push him against the truck. He was getting ready to defend himself when he saw that it was Patrick. "How'd you get here, Bud?"

Joe spoke up, "I brought him, along with Mom, Jake and Chris."

"They're waiting on us inside, let's go in and we'll discuss it later," Zac stated.

As they walked in, Jim could hear Trevor say, "They're here! But there's more of them than I thought."

Roger approached as Jim informed 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 truck, this one almost knocked me over. Trevor, this is our other son, Patrick, he's eleven. 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?" Roger 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 at Grandma's," Patrick exclaimed.

"You know I love you Bud, and would never purposely hurt you," Jim stated before kissing Patrick on the cheek.

"Yes, I do," Patrick responded with a smile.

The owner of the restaurant was standing right behind Roger. When he realized there would be more people, he called over one of the bussers and told them to add seats to the big round table in the dining room as well as set up for five additional diners. He also told him to go into the kitchen and let them know to add more food for the party.

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

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

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

Trevor introduced the members of his family that Jim and Zac hadn't met yet, "This is my Daddy, Nick King, and my Grandpa, Nathan King." Nick and Nathan both shook hands with Jim and his family and offered greetings. Nathan even ruffled Patrick's hair which the boy didn't appreciate too much.

Heather spoke up, "My husband, Chris's father is named Nick." Chris smiled and everyone chuckled.

About that time, Henri told everyone that the table was ready and Roger led everyone into the private dining room. Taking their seats, Roger was sitting with Trevor on one side of him and Patrick on the other. Next to Patrick sat Jake.

"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!" Henri stated, enthusiastically.

At the same time as a waitress was taking drink orders a man entered the room that Roger seemed not to recognize. Jim 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.

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

Nathan King 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 the waiters started bringing food out. They brought out several trays of hors d'oeuvres, placing them strategically around the table. Roger explained what each one was to Patrick and then he helped Jake with what he wanted 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 as best as he could 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 app.

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."

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

"Oh yeah, I think your mom did say something about that when I introduced Daddy. 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 so 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 know he'd been through that ordeal," Nate observed.

Lenny agreed, "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. Afterwards, 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," Jim corrected.

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

"Well... Sallie, 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 Sallie 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, so 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 towards him. Every time I looked at him, I got a funny feeling all over, and 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 explained.

"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 since 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, it wasn't a bad thing like I thought."

"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," Patrick admitted.

"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 up your totally cute brother 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 trolley 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 flambé?"

"I know I haven't and I don't think Jake has... but, what's a flambé?" Patrick asked, a little 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 fireball! 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, 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, chuckling at how Jake pronounced his name.

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 they were wished a safe trip home, and Patrick gave both Trevor and Roger a hug, which Zac and Jim thought was interesting to witness, the group parted ways. Jim liked watching Patrick getting more comfortable with himself.

When they left the restaurant, Jim and Zac insisted that their family go back to their motel room. In the room, Jim looked at Patrick, "I am so sorry that I didn't call you before we went to the ranch, but I didn't want to wake you. It would have been seven there and I thought I'd be able to call you at the ranch."

"I wish you would have woken me," Patrick stated. "I didn't know why you didn't call and I was worried."

Jim asked, "Did you have another gut feeling? If so, nothing happened."

Patrick shook his head, "No, I just knew that you would call if you could, and when you didn't…"

"I am so sorry," Jim apologized again, "Next time, I'll be sure to call you before we leave."

Patrick's eyes got big, "NEXT TIME?!?!"

Jim wrapped Patrick in his arms, "Yeah Bud, Papa and I may need to go pick up horses again, and you can't expect us to stay home because you have a fear. We'll try to minimize how much of it you face better than we did this time, but this is a fear that you can beat. I have faith in you. Maybe you can spend the weekend with Scott next time."

Patrick commented, "That may help ease the fear, or maybe make it worse. I was spending the weekend with a friend when Mom and Daddy died."

"Well, we'll figure something out," Jim assured, giving Patrick a kiss on the cheek.

Zac took Patrick in his arms, "I'm sorry, too. We tried, I guess we should have found out if we had cell coverage sooner. We would have waited until you woke up, made the call and let you know we wouldn't have cell service, but then, we weren't expecting to go riding, either. Remember how much you mean to us, always."

"I love you Papa," Patrick stated as he gave him a hug.

"Chris and I need to get back to Cody since we work in the morning," Joe stated.

Heather shook her head, "You need sleep before you head back."

Zac nodded his head, "Mom's right, you look tired and I care too much about you and Chris to let you risk falling asleep at the wheel. I'll call Jackson first thing and let him know."

"I'll go get us a room," Heather said.

Jim offered, "If you want, get the least expensive room they have. We have two king size beds, so there's room for all but one person if needed."

Zac spoke up before Heather got out the door, "When I checked us in yesterday, this was the only room available. There is a cot in the closet, I'm not sure how comfortable it is, but we have room for everyone in here."

"I'll take the cot," Heather offered, thinking the boys would be more comfortable in the beds.

"Can I sleep in the bed with you and Papa," Patrick asked, clinging to Jim as if to keep him from leaving again.

Jim gave Patrick a peck on the cheek and said, "I had a feeling you would want to. Jake, Chris and Joe can take the other bed, then."

As Jim was brushing his teeth, Zac walked in, "Sorry, but I don't think I can take care of you tonight like I said." Jim put his toothbrush down and pressed his lips hard against Zac's. He forgot that he hadn't spit the toothpaste out yet and "shared" it with Zac. Zac chuckled when they separated and spit the toothpaste out.

"Sorry about that," Jim laughed, "but I wanted that kiss and couldn't wait."

"I almost don't need to brush my teeth now, almost…" Zac grinned. Then he pushed Jim against the counter and started kissing down Jim's torso. He opened Jim's jeans and pulled them down. Jim held off cumming for as long as he could, but Zac didn't stop until he got his prize. When he stood, he gave Jim another kiss. "That wasn't as much as I planned, but with them out there, it's better than nothing."

Jim was having trouble leaving his lips off of Zac's. They kissed as he spoke, "When we… get home… we can… do everything… that you planned… but for now… at least you did… take care of me… as promised… I love you Zac Alan Bolt."

"And I love you more," Zac gave Jim one last kiss before brushing his teeth.

When they got out of the bathroom, everyone was in bed except Patrick. He looked at them and said, "I'm sorry to cause so much trouble asking Grandma to bring me here. Do you regret adopting me?" The boy had tears running down his face.

"WHAT?!?!" Jim almost shouted, then he lowered his voice so that he didn't wake anyone, "Where is that coming from? The only regret I have is not calling and waking you up. I will not now nor ever regret that we adopted you. We love you too much for that to ever happen." Jim sat on the bed and pulled Patrick onto his lap. Zac sat beside Jim and started rubbing Patrick's back.

"Bud, we knew this would be hard on you," Zac stated. "I hate that you had to go through any of this, but as Dad said, we will never regret you joining our family. And we are as much to blame as you for 'causing' this trouble. Dad or I should have made sure you received a phone call. Dad did try, but we let you down."

Jim whispered, "You put him to sleep, rubbing his back. I wonder if I can get him in bed without waking him." Zac helped and they managed to get Patrick in the middle of the bed. Then they climbed in on either side.

When they awoke in the morning, Zac called Jackson right away, "Joe and Chris won't be in today. We were at Tony's ranch and unable to talk to Patrick. He started to panic and Joe, Chris and Mom, errr, actually Jim's mom, brought him and Jake here. Joe wanted to drive back last night so they could work, but Mom wouldn't let him."

"Dang, dang, dang, tell Patrick that I'm sorry," Jackson said, "I should have gone myself. All that teacher wanted a conference with me for, was to tell me she noticed that Colt's grades have been improving since he moved in with me. I already knew that. The boy went from barely passing to A's and B's. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know he's doing better."

"And what should I tell Joe?" Zac asked.

Jackson's voice mellowed, "Tell him that I appreciate him taking care of Patrick like I asked. I'm clocking him and Chris in. Colt and I will take care of the horses today, and make sure you use my card to fill Joe's tank up as well."

Zac informed Jackson, "I'm sure he appreciates that. He's standing here smiling."

Jim gave Patrick a hug, "See Bud, you didn't cause any trouble at all. Everyone cares about you."

Jake asked, "Can we go eat? I'm hungry."

Heather suggested, "Sure, we can go to McDonald's, and then maybe get some clothes, none of us thought to bring any, we were more concerned with making sure Patrick was alright."

After they ate and shopped, they returned to the motel. Jim and Zac said that they were going to pick up the trailer and colts to give everyone a chance to shower and change but Patrick asked if he could go with them. Jim gave him a hug, "Sure, and does Jake want to go with us? Maybe we can talk Tony into letting us go riding again. You boys would love the lake almost as much as the one at our ranch."

Joe asked, "Can we go, too?"

"Why not?" Zac responded.

"What time is checkout?" Heather questioned.

"Checkout time is at three, so we'll be on our way home before then," Zac told her.

Heather gave Zac a smile, "Good, while you're out, I'm going to shower, change and take a nap."

"You don't want to come with us?" Joe inquired.

Heather shook her head, "No, I didn't sleep too well on that cot and besides, if there's a lake, you boys may want to go swimming. It's getting too cold at home for it, but here, it's still warm."

Jim smirked knowing what she was really hinting at. She knew that if she was with them, they wouldn't go skinny-dipping but if she's not, they could and have more fun. "I love you, Mom," he said before kissing her cheek.

Not everyone could fit in one vehicle, so Joe followed Zac to Tony's ranch. When they pulled into the ranch and started getting out, Tony approached them. He looked at Joe and stated, "I see you found him."

"Yes, thanks to you, I really appreciate it," Joe responded.

Tony, shook Joe's hand and said, "I really didn't do anything, just told you where they were going to eat."

"And that's what helped me find them," Joe argued, "I really appreciate it."

Jim had his arm around Patrick as he looked at Tony like he was upset, "So you're the one who helped them so this rascal could try tackling me."

"I didn't think you would mind," Tony stated, defensively.

"He doesn't," Zac laughed, "we're glad that you did. Jim's just pulling your chain."

Tony grinned and wagged his finger at Jim. He said, "I don't have the colts in the trailer yet, but if you'll give me a few minutes."

"Actually, we were hoping to maybe get some riding in before we head out," Zac suggested.

"Sure that can be arranged, does the little one ride?" Tony was happy to oblige. Jim explained that Jake would ride with someone, that he doesn't ride by himself, yet. Then the boys offered to groom and saddle the horses since they work at a ranch but Tony insisted that his ranch hands do it for insurance purposes. It didn't take long for them to prepare five horses.

Jim asked Jake, "Who do you want to ride with?"

"Can I ride with Patrick, or does he need more practice?" Jake questioned.

Jim looked at Zac before answering, "I think Patrick has gotten pretty good at riding, if he wants to let you ride with him, you can."

"Do I get to tickle him as we ride?" Patrick impishly asked.

"Not while you ride," Jim told him, "but maybe before I get him off your horse."

As they rode out to the lake, Patrick had Jake between his arms and held the reins in front of his brother. He used his legs to "steer" the horse like Jim taught him. He felt good when he realized that he wasn't using the reins at all to guide the horse. Zac led the "posse" and Jim was following Patrick in case he had any problems, plus he was a little worried for Jake's sake since this was Patrick's first time taking him. Jim smiled when he noticed Patrick using his legs.

As they came to the lake, Chris commented, "Mom said something about us swimming, but none of us brought swimming trunks."

"That was one of the reasons she stayed at the motel, so we can go skinny-dipping," Jim explained as he was grabbing Jake off Patrick's horse. He put Jake down and the boy started taking off his clothes. Jim looked up at Patrick, "It's up to you if you want to skinny-dip, swim in your briefs or not swim at all. We don't have any towels with us."

Patrick dismounted his horse and said, "I shower with the boys in gym class. And it's not like you haven't seen a naked boy before, so why not. Besides, Grandma did stay at the motel so that we can."

"As long as you feel comfortable doing it," Jim said. He started taking off his clothes and told Patrick, "I'll race you. First one naked and in the water wins."

"Hey, no fair," Patrick said, "You started undressing first."

Zac came up behind Jim and grabbed him in a bear hug. "There you go Patrick, now you can beat him." Jim and Patrick started to laugh. Patrick caught up to Jim's state of undress, then asked Zac to let him go so that it's fair.

Patrick barely beat Jim in the water and asked what he won. Jim told him a life-time of love, to which Patrick said he was already getting. "OK, what would you like for a prize?"

"My own horse for when Austin wants to ride his," Patrick answered.

Jim smiled, "OK, when we get home, we can look into that. Do you have any horses in mind?"

"I like Gold but Scott's family got mustangs from Jackson. Do they have gold mustangs?" Patrick asked.

Jim chuckled, "You mean a palomino mustang, and yes they do."

"Then," Patrick declared, "that's what I want."

While everyone was swimming, Jim heard a voice shouting. Trevor tried mimicking Jim's bad southern drawl as he said loud enough for them to hear, "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 the 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 started 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, with a tear in his eye, Patrick hugged both boys and told them how much help they had been and that he would miss them. Jim and Zac also gave them hugs. 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."

The boys went back to the motel where they took turns showering and putting on their new clothes. They waited until everyone was done before waking Heather so they could head home.

This is a crossover with Priorities written by The True Fan ~ Priorities Book II Chapter Ten

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