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**Additional Note:** There will be sexual scenes throughout this story, but it won't be predominately sex.  
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            Operation Angel Rescue

by Erastes
Copyright 2019 by Erastes
Chapter 16 – Happy, but Trying Times.

After I woke up, I managed to convince Jamie and Dakota that I needed to go downstairs to fix their breakfast.  I told them they could sleep a little longer, but they said they were going to get up and get dressed first, and then they’d come down to join me.  I merely put on a pair of shorts and tee-shirt before heading downstairs, and then I got busy taking out the various items I would need to fix breakfast for all of us.  Dakota came down while I was doing that and began to help out, and I was nearly ready to start cooking when I heard Jamie yell. 

“Dad, come ‘ere quick.” 

I wasn’t sure what he wanted and feared something was wrong, so I raced up the stairs as fast as I could.  I found him in his bedroom, so he must have gone over there to get something to put on, but he didn’t seem to be in distress.  He was merely looking out the window as I entered. 

“What’s the matter?” I asked, still slightly worried about what he was going to say.

“Look down at the pond.  There’s a buncha deer down there drinkin’ outta it.” 

I was suddenly relieved and irritated at the same time, but I glanced out the window to see what he was referring to.  I was glad that he wasn’t hurt, and it was obvious he was excited about seeing the deer.  That’s what caused him to shout for me to join him, so I chose to only react to what he was looking at, and not the fact that I was slightly annoyed. 

“Yes, and I’m surprised to see them down there.  I’ve never seen them drinking out of the pond before.  They usually drink out of the stream instead, so I’m amazed to see them doing this.” 

“And there are a bunch of Bambi’s with ‘em too,” he squealed excitedly.  “They’re so cute.”  It made me laugh at his childish reference to the baby deer.

“Yes, they are and they’re called fawns and are probably only a couple of months old.” 

“Man, I wish I could go down there and pet ‘em.” 

“I’m afraid the second you walked outside they would panic and run off.” 

“Yeah, I know.”

Now that I’d finished discussing this with him, I went downstairs to finish making breakfast. 

“What did Jamie want?” Dakota asked when I returned. 

“He just wanted me to see there was a herd of deer drinking out of the pond.” 

He seemed intrigued by that and walked over to one of the windows so he could peer out at the deer as well. 

“I’m about to start cooking breakfast, so why don’t you run upstairs and tell the others to come down to eat.” 

He did as I asked and before long they were all coming down the stairs.  Shortly after I set the food on the table and we sat down to eat, I suddenly felt as if I was caught in a time warp.  It was either that or the boys were magicians, because the food disappeared in the blink of an eye.  They even began clearing off the table while I was still eating, and when they finished doing that most of them headed upstairs again.  Dakota stayed behind to help me clean up the rest of the kitchen, and while we were doing that he suddenly pointed out something else.

“Dad, there’s a truck comin’ up the driveway.” 

“It’s probably bringing the things I ordered.” 

“What did ya order?” 

“You’ll see,” I answered, and then I heard a commotion at the top of the stairs as the other boys raced to tell me the same thing. 

“Dad, did you know there’s a truck outside?” Glen shouted down a few seconds later. 

“Yes, it’s just delivering a few things that I ordered.”  

I then turned and headed toward the door so I could go outside and greet the men delivering the items.  That’s when I heard the boys come charging down the staircase, so I was apparently going to have a crowd behind me when I did this. 

As I approached the truck, I noticed the friend that I’d called when I ordered these items was sitting in the passenger seat.  “Brad, I didn’t expect to see you making the delivery.” 

“Eric, you’re not only a good customer, but you’re also a close friend, so of course I came out to make this delivery.  Besides, I was happy to get out of the office for a little while.  I was also slightly confused about why you wanted these particular items, but it looks as if the answer is standing behind you.” 

“Yes, I suppose it is.  I’ve taken in a few boys who needed a place to live and I felt these things would come in handy.” 

“I’m sure they will, and they’re a good looking group.  I have no doubt they’ll enjoy your recent purchases.” 

“Guys, this is Brad Simmons and we’ve known each other for quite a few years now.”  I then introduced each of the boys to Brad. 

As the introductions were being made, the driver was busy tilting the bed of the truck so he could offload the merchandise.  I saw the boys staring at the items on the truck, because there was a lot more there than just what I’d ordered, so I assumed they were trying to figure out what he was going to leave for us.  I’d purchased a couple of ATVs with automatic transmissions that they could learn to drive, and then I would be able to take them out to see the rest of my property. 

“Are those for us?” Jamie asked when he saw the ATVs.  He was barely able to get the words out of his mouth and was partially tongue-tied when he realized what the men were leaving behind. 

“Yes, I’m going to teach you boys how to drive them so I can take you out and show you the rest of my property.” 

“But there’s only two of them and there are four of us,” Glen pointed out. 

“Yes, two of you will ride on each one and take turns driving, but I’ll explain everything after I take care of things with Brad.” 

“It looks like you have your hands full now,” Brad teased when I turned back to him. 

“Yes, but they’re a good group and haven’t caused any problems so far, but they are a little nosy,” I added as I glanced back at the boys. 

“They remind me of my kids,” he said with a chuckle. 

When both four-wheelers were in the driveway, Brad called the boys over so he could explain how to start them.  He was going to do that anyway to make sure they were working before he left to make the next delivery, so he felt he might as well teach them at the same time.  He also emphasized the importance of always wearing a helmet when riding on them, and then he informed the boys that I would be showing them everything else they would need to know. 

The driver had also unloaded a fairly large box that he sat next to the ATVs, and when Brad finished speaking with the boys, I signed the delivery paperwork and he gave me a copy.  Once that had been taken care of, Brad said goodbye to the boys before he got back in the truck, and then the driver turned the truck around so they could make their next delivery. 

“Man, I can’t believe you did this,” Dakota said while looking at the ATVs. 

“Did you use the grant for this too?” Laine followed. 

“No, I put these on my credit card.  I chose to pay for them myself because I felt there would be times when you would need them to get around this big place.”

“Couldn’t we have just used yours?” Glen asked. 

“No, my four-wheeler has a manual transmission, which means I have to do the shifting, but both of these are automatic, which means they’ll do the shifting for you.  I felt you would have enough to do just learning how to drive and keeping your eyes on where you were going without having to worry about when you had to shift.” 

“So when do we get to drive them?” Laine pressed. 

“You’ll have to change first, because you’re not dressed properly.  If you remember when I took you boys shopping I had each of you get a couple pairs of Dockers and a couple of long sleeve tee-shirts, and this is the reason why.  You’ll need to put on one of each, along with your socks and athletic shoes.  Once you’ve changed, I want you to come back here and I’ll give you a lesson and let you practice.” 

“But it is gonna be hot out, so why can’t we just wear shorts and a regular tee-shirt?” Glen challenged. 

“For a couple of reasons and one is that if you have an accident or you fall off then you won’t end up getting road rash.” 

“What’s that?” he demanded. 

“It’s the cuts, scrapes, and other injuries that happen to your skin when you slide on the dirt or on the surface of the road when you fall off a vehicle.  The other reason is that there are bushes that will be fairly close to the trail that we’ll be driving over and they can scratch you up pretty badly as well, so dressing like this is for your protection.” 

“Oh, ok.”  

They all raced up to their rooms to change, and I did too.  When we came back outside, I opened the box with the other items I’d ordered and handed those out as well.  I’d ordered a helmet for each of them because I wanted to keep the helmet Dakota had worn the last time he rode with me as a spare, in case we ever had a visitor or I ended up adding another boy in the future.  I also ordered some other items to keep them safe. 

“There are goggles, a helmet, and a pair of gloves for each of you, and I’m going to have you put those things on first.” 

I then handed each boy a pair of goggles.  “Put these on and then I’ll make sure they’re adjusted correctly on your head so they’ll stay in place.” 

When that had been taken care of I handed each of them a helmet.  “Put these on next, but make sure they don’t interfere with your goggles or loosen the strap.” 

Finally, I handed each boy a pair of racing gloves.  “These will protect your hands the same way your pants and shirt protect the rest of you.” 

Once that was taken care of, I reminded the boys about how to start the ATV, and then I let Laine and Dakota do it first.  When I saw they were able to start them, I then explained the other things they needed to know, such as how to give the ATV gas and how to stop it, and then I let them drive them around in front of the garage.  When they appeared to have that down pat, I let them go halfway down the driveway one at a time to get used to driving the ATV.  After they had done it a couple of times, I let Glen and Jamie do the same thing next, but I trotted or ran beside Jamie just in case he had any problems.  Being younger and smaller than the rest of the boys, I was more concerned with his ability to do this, and he also seemed to be the least comfortable once it was his turn. 

When Glen and Jamie finished taking their turns, I let the first two boys do it again, but this time I allowed them to drive nearly to the end of the driveway before turning around and coming back.  Once they felt good about doing that, I let the next pair go again.  After they had gained a little more confidence, I felt I might be able to take them out for a short ride, but only on the trails.  They weren’t ready to go on the rougher terrain just yet. 

“Ok, I’m ready to lead you out on a short ride on the trails.  I’m going to let Laine and Dakota drive first, and Jaime you’ll ride behind Laine and Glen will ride behind Dakota.  Wrap your arms around their chests and try not to lean to either side, because that might throw them off balance.  You’ll follow behind my four-wheeler, but stay at least two lengths of the ATV behind the one you’re following in case that driver stops quickly.  We’ll turn around when we get to the stream and then Laine and Dakota will stop and shut down the four-wheelers so you can change drivers.  This will also allow Jamie and Glen to start the ATVs, and then Laine and Dakota will ride behind them on the way back.  Any questions so far?” 

They had a few simple queries that I answered, and then I continued my briefing.  “I won’t be going very fast, because you don’t have enough experience yet, so watch your speed and make sure you don’t close the gap between the different vehicles.  If you have a problem, just pull over and stop, because I’ll be glancing back every now and then to make sure you’re not having difficulty.  Before we do this, however, I’m going to make sure all of the gas tanks are full, because I doubt Brad did it before he delivered them.  I’m sure he only put a couple of gallons in each one, so pull over next to the tank at the beginning of the trail.”

“Oh, I thought that was for heating the house,” Glen blurted out. 

“No, there are two other tanks for that purpose along the far side of the garage.”  He nodded in understanding. 

Since I live out in the country and away from most gas stations, I had a 100-gallon storage transfer tank installed that I could use for the SUV, ATV, and any other gas operated tools that I use.  A tanker stops by twice a month to top it off as it makes its rounds to all of the farms in the area, and that way I’m certain that I’ll never run out.  They even do it when I’m not at home, because the driver and I both have keys to the locking device on the tank, and then the company sends me the bill later.  The tractor uses diesel, so I have two yellow 5-galloon containers for that purpose, and I take them with me in the SUV whenever they’re empty so I can fill them again. 

Once all of the ATVs’ gas tanks were full, I asked the boys a final question.  “Are you ready to do this?”

“Yes,” they all shouted. 

I had Laine and Dakota start the ATVs again before Glen and Jamie got on behind them, and then I hopped on my ATV and started it as well.  When they were ready, I led them out on the trail we’d walked over previously, but this time when we reached the trail that ran along the government property, I turned to the right.  We had turned left when we were walking, so this way they’d get to see a little more of my land. 

I glanced over my shoulder to make sure they were doing ok, and then I continued moving along the trail.  When we reached the stream I made a wide turn for the others to follow, and then I stopped and turned off my ATV so they would do the same thing before changing drivers.  I also took the opportunity to ask them a question. 

“Did anyone have a problem?” 

“No, that was a fuckin’ blast!” Laine answered. 

“Yeah, it was really fun,” Dakota agreed. 

“Ok, switch drivers and we’ll head back.” 

“Is this all we’re gonna do?” Dakota asked. 

“For today, but tomorrow we’ll cross over the stream and I’ll take you farther out.  However, I think this is enough for today.” 

“Oh, ok,” he relented, but I could see he was slightly disappointed.  That was unfortunate, but he’d have to get over it. 

I then led them back to the garage.  I had them stop and turn off the engines in front of the second bay, and then I parked each of the vehicles inside.  It was a tight squeeze with all of them in there now, especially with the SUV in the other bay, and I wanted to avoid any accidents or damaging any of the vehicles.  The boys seemed to understand why I was doing this, and when I finished putting them in the garage, I had the boys put their gloves and goggles inside their helmets before carrying them into the house. 

“Bring your helmets over here, because I’m going to put a sticker on each one so you know which one is yours.” 

I had a sheet of stickers in a drawer that I’d used to put the house number on the mailbox, but there were far more numbers than I needed in order to do that.  I then stuck a number from one to four on the back of each helmet so the boys would know which one was theirs. 

“Neat, I was wonderin’ how you was gonna do this,” Laine observed. 

“This is the easiest way, so now you can take the helmets out and place them on the work bench along the back wall of the garage.” 

They did as I’d asked while I was fixing lunch.  They were chatting with me as I did it.

“Are we gonna be able to drive all around your property sometime?” Dakota pressed. 

“Eventually, but we’re going to work up to that, because it will require going over some pretty rugged terrain.  I want to make sure you can handle the ATVs first, before we do that.”

“Drivin’ the four-wheeler was neat,” Jamie said next.  “I only rode on a bike before, but this was a lot more fun.” 

“It’s not very different from riding a bike, except you have an engine and don’t have to pedal, but steering it is about the same, along with using the hand brake.”

“Yeah, and I loved drivin’ it too,” Glen confirmed. 

“I’m glad you all had a good time.” 

“Yeah, we did, but I still can’t believe you bought them for us to use,” Laine stated.  “You’ve spent lots of money on us already, so I didn’t expect you to spend any more, especially on stuff like this.”

“I’ve only bought things I felt you needed, and except for your clothes it can all be used by other boys if I end up taking in more.” 

“Are you gonna do that?” Glen asked. 

“I don’t plan on doing it right away, but who knows what will happen if Paul or I find someone else who would benefit from living here.  It might not happen until you boys are grown and aren’t living here any longer, but who knows?”

We eventually sat down to eat, but the boys continued asking me questions.  “So if you take in another boy will he ride with you?” Dakota asked. 

“At first, but he should have a chance to drive one of the ATVs as well, so you’ll all have to take turns driving and switch riding with me as well.” 

“Then will you teach us how to work your ATV?” Laine wanted to know. 

“Possibly, but that’s a long way off.  Let’s just focus on what we’re doing now with those of you who are living here.  When you finish eating I want you boys to make sure you spend an hour on the computer working with the educational software, not just playing games.” 

“I did that last night before I went to sleep,” Laine replied. 

“Great.  I’m glad to see you’re on top of things.” 

“I’ll do it just as soon as I’m done here,” Dakota added. 

“I will too,” Jamie concurred. 

“And I’ll do it when Kota is done usin’ the ‘puter,” Glen followed.

“Just make sure you do it each day of the week, except on the weekend.  I want you to get in the habit of doing it on your own without me having to remind you.” 

“Yeah, we know,” they basically all confirmed. 

When they finished eating they went upstairs to do as I’d asked, and I puttered around downstairs doing some cleaning and a few other chores.  I’d been doing that for about an hour when my phone rang.

“Eric, its Murray Dann.  How are you today?” 

“I’m doing well, and you?” 

“I’m doing well too, and I have some information for you.  I also have a couple of questions I need you to answer.” 

“Ok, fire away.” 

“First of all, I have the signed custody papers you can pick up concerning the other three boys.” 

“Thank you.  I’ll be relieved when I have them in my possession.” 

“It’s all legal even if you don’t have the documents, but I know there will be times when you’ll have to show them to others to support your claims of custody.” 

“Yes, such as if they need medical attention or when I enroll them in the school I work at.” 

“Yes, that’s very true.  I’d also like to talk to you about the adoptions.  We’re all set as far as James Palmer is concerned, because there is no one who needs to sign off on his adoption.”   

There was a slight pause before I responded, while I digested what he’d just said.  “I’m sorry for the delay, but you momentarily confused me.  I didn’t recognize who you were referring to, because we call him Jamie.”

“Ah, I understand, but I needed to use his formal name on the paperwork and I’ve just gotten used to saying that.  I also don’t feel we’ll have any trouble convincing Glen Wittes’ parents to sign off on allowing him to be adopted either, because they are both currently incarcerated.  I’m told they will probably be locked up for quite a while, especially the father, and we also have some leverage over them as well.  The mother has been declared an unfit parent, so I doubt they’ll present a problem with the adoption.  The situation with Dakota Frost, however, concerns me.  We will need his parents to sign off on the adoption, but I’m not sure his mother will be willing to do that.” 

“But she and his stepfather have already signed over custody.” 

“Yes, they’ve signed off on the custody issue, but we’ll still need them to sign off on the adoption as well.  From what Paul told me, I don’t think the stepfather will cause any problems doing it, but the mother will be a different story.  Paul said she was reluctant to even sign off on custody.” 

“I understand, but I think Paul will be able to take care of that.” 

“Possibly, but I think she’ll need to hear from her son before she’ll agree.  I believe he’ll have to convince her that this is what he wants and that he’s not being pressured into doing it.” 

“Then I’ll use my phone to have Dakota record a message to his mother, and then I’ll send it to Paul so he can show it to her, and that way she can hear from her son directly.  I think Paul can also use the same arguments he used to get her to sign off on custody.” 

“It’s possible that might work, so I’ll send the paperwork to Paul for her and her husband to sign, but now I have another question.  Are the boys going to keep their current names or will they be using your surname after the adoption?” 

“Each of them has already told me he wants to use my last name.” 

“In that case I’ll need to request new birth certificates for each of them, as well as notifying the Social Security Administration about their name changes.  I’m certain they must already have a social security number because of IRS rules.  I’ll also need to know their middle names, and that reminds me of something else.  You’ll need to check and see if they’re going to use their current middle names, or if they want to drop that name and use their former surname as their middle name?  Sometimes children choose to do that so they won’t feel as if they’re breaking all ties with their biological parents.” 

“Ok, I’ll find that out and call you back.” 

“That will be fine.” 

“Do you need more money from me?” 

“Not just yet, but possibly by the time you pick up the other paperwork.  I’ll send you a bill for the rest of it when I’m done, because Paul has assured me that you’re good for it.” 

“I’m sure he has, and I’m certainly good for it.  I also appreciate all of your help with these matters.” 

As soon as we ended the call, I went upstairs to get the information from the boys and asked Jamie, Glen, and Dakota to go to my room so we could talk. 

“Do I need to go too?” Laine asked. 

“No, this is concerning the adoptions, so you’re not included in what I need to ask them.”

“Oh, ok,” he replied, sloughing it off easily. 

When I got together with the other three, I explained the situation.  “I just got off the phone with my lawyer and he had some questions concerning the adoptions.  First of all, he wanted to know if you were changing your last names and I told him you were.  Do you still want to do that?”  They all confirmed they did.

“Next, he wanted to know if you were going to keep your current middle names or use your current last name as your new middle name.  I’ll ask you one at a time.  Dakota?”

“I’ll use my middle name.” 

“That’s fine, but you’ve never told me what it is.” 

“Oh yeah, it’s Andrew.”

“Glen?”

“I’ll use my middle name too.  It’s Oliver.”

“Oliver, Oliver, never before has a boy wanted more,” I teased as I sang the lyrics from the musical, Oliver.

“It was my mom’s last name before she got married,” he clarified. 

“Ok, that makes sense.  Jamie?”

“Ummm…. my middle name is Jeffrey, but could I change it to Eric now.”

“You want to use my name as your middle name?” I asked, because it was a total shocker. 

“Yeah, I’m gonna be your son, so I want to have your name as my middle name.”

“Ok, then I’ll tell the lawyer this information and I want to thank each of you for sharing this with me.  Glen and Jamie you can go now, but Dakota there’s something else I need to discuss with you.” 

As soon as the other two had gone, I explained why I’d asked him to stay behind.  “The lawyer says we’ll need your mom to sign off on this if I’m going to be able to adopt you.” 

“Didn’t she already do that, Dad?”

“No, she only signed over custody, but I don’t have permission to adopt you.  The lawyer feels it might be difficult for him to convince her that she should allow me to adopt you too, so he suggested that you’ll need to let her know it’s what you want.” 

“So you’ll have to take me back there to do this?” 

“No, I can use my phone to record your message, and then I’ll send it to Paul and let him show it to her.”

“Damn, this is gonna be tough.  I still love her, but I want you to adopt me.” 

“Then that’s exactly what you should tell her.  Are you ready to do this?”

“Yeah, I guess so, but what if I don’t do a good job or make a mistake?” 

“Then we’ll just delete it and do it again.” 

“Oh, ok.  Then let’s get it over with.”

                                                *    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

I wish to extend my thanks to Emoe and Donny for editing these chapters for me and offering their suggestions. 

E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions, or other 'constructive' comments or advice may be sent to:  ErastesTouch@aol.com  - but please put the story title in the subject line, so it doesn't get deleted as junk mail. 

My other stories:

http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/different-points-of-view/

http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/a-throw-away-kid/

http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/the-guardian/

https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/chance-of-a-lifetime/

https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/all-the-worlds-a-stage/

https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/watching-noah-grow/

                                                *    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

Although the boys in these stories sometimes have unprotected sex, I strongly urge all of you out there to be smart and protect yourselves from various sexually transmitted diseases by using taking appropriate precautions before engaging in sex.