**Special Note:**  PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO NIFTY ARCHIEVES!  It costs money to operate this site, so if you can afford to do so, please donate so the site can keep operating.  Go to:

          http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html
**Additional Note:** There will be sexual scenes throughout this story, but it won't be predominately sex.  
If that's the type of story you are looking for then make another selection.  

            Operation Angel Rescue

by Erastes
Copyright 2019 by Erastes
Chapter 76 – Giving the Muellers the Grand Tour.

When we woke up on Sunday morning, the others waited in the family room while Dakota and I fixed breakfast.  After we ate, I told everyone to put on a pair of comfortable shoes and a jacket so I could show Ed, Heather, and Caleb around the property.  Once they had done this, I led them out the back door and showed them the storage shed first, which also contained the tractor.  After Ed saw it, he made a comment. 

“When Laine told us that he’d driven your tractor to mow the lawn, I was thinking it was a full-size tractor.” 

“No, this one falls between a full-size tractor and a riding lawn mower in comparison.” 

“It makes me feel a little better knowing it’s not one of those really large tractors,” Heather conceded. 

“I’m glad it makes you feel better, and I want you to know that Laine’s extremely careful when he’s using it.”

From there, I led them around to the side of the house so I could show them the wall and the flat area we’d created for the boys to play games on. 

“This looks as if it was a major project,” Ed said after checking it out. 

“It wasn’t too bad, but I wanted this area so the boys would have a place to play either touch football or soccer.  The rest of the property slopes down toward the road and isn’t conducive to playing games, so this will help to alleviate that problem.” 

Once they’d inspected the area, I led them down to check out the pond next.  “This is where the boys and I go swimming when it’s warmer out, and the dock extends far enough into the water that we can dive off of it.  The dock also has a ladder on each side so we can climb out of the water without walking through the mud.”

“Laine mention this as well and seemed to enjoy the time he spent in the pond with the rest of you,” Heather confirmed. 

“Yes, we all enjoy taking a dip in the pond, because it’s a nice way to cool off on a hot summer day.”

From there, we walked up the driveway until we reached the garage, and I opened the overhead door so the Muellers could inspect the four-wheelers.  I let Laine show Caleb and his parents the safety gear they all wore whenever we went riding, since I figured it would help to allay any concerns Heather might have about her son doing this. 

“The four-wheelers are pretty impressive,” Ed stated after he looked them over.  “Are they manual or automatic?”

“The ones the boys ride are automatic, but mine is manual, which means I’m constantly shifting gears.  Follow me and I’ll show you where we fill them up with gas, and then I’ll take you out on a short walk along one of the trails so you’ll get a little better appreciation for where we ride these beasts.” 

After showing them the storage tank, we walked out on the trail that led away from the house, and when we reached the trail that ran between the two properties, I stopped to tell them a little about it. 

“This trail is the boundary line that runs between my property and the government land.  We’re not going to walk the entire trail, but if you turn left the trail will eventually meet up with the road.  If you turn right it will take you along the top of my property, although the government land stretches far beyond where my property line ends.” 

We then walked back to the house, but before we went inside I had something else I wanted to do.  “Let’s all get in my SUV and I’ll give you a quick tour of how much land I own.” 

“You mean it stretches so far that we have to ride to see all of it?” Heather gasped. 

“Yes, I like the peace and quiet of living in the country, so I bought up four small farms on this side of the road, knowing the government land surrounded my property on three of the other sides.  Not only does the government own the woods that surround my property on two sides, but across the road is a wildlife sanctuary that is also managed by the government.  This means that I don’t actually have any other neighbors, at least none that are close by.”

Once we were in the SUV, I drove along the road slowly and pointed out each of the other three parcels of land that I’d purchased.  I told them a little about these areas as we drove by. 

“When we take the right on the trail that we walked out on earlier, it winds around the upper edge of my property.  When we go out on the four-wheelers, we drive along that trail until we reach the top of the last field and then I lead them along the tree line until we’re about halfway down to the road.  At that point, I turn right and lead the boys across all three fields until we get back to the house.” 

“But there’s a tree line between each of the parcels of land,” Heather pointed out. 

“Yes, that’s true, but there’s also one or two breaks in each of those tree lines that we can drive through.” 

“That’s a pretty good ride,” Ed observed. 

“Yes, it’s a pretty good workout and the boys seem to enjoy it, and sometimes we go in reverse just to get a different perspective.  Since there are two boys on each of the four-wheelers, I usually have them alternate who gets to drive first and who drives second so they aren’t always doing the same thing.”

“I’m sure they appreciate that as well,” Ed agreed. 

I continued on until we reached the end of my property, and then I kept going so I could show them the school the boys attended.  We also drove by the elementary and high schools before returning to the house.

“That’s quite a commute just to get to work and school every day,” Ed observed.

“Yes, it’s one of the sacrifices we have to make so we can enjoy the peace and quiet of living in the country.” 

When we returned to the house, the boys grabbed the soccer ball and took it outside to kick around.  They couldn’t play on the new area yet, since I didn’t want them to destroy the grass before it had a chance to grow, so they went down by the pond.  That’s where the land levels off more than the rest of the lawn, so it’s a little easier to do it there. 

Once the rest of us went inside, Heather, Ed, and I all grabbed a cup of coffee before sitting down at the table to chat.  “Were there any buildings on any of the farms when you purchase them?” Ed wanted to know. 

“Yes, each farm had its own set of buildings in varying states of disrepair.  I hired a crew to tear down those structures and fill in any holes left behind, and then I had them even out the area where the buildings once stood.”

“Was there a house on this lot as well?”

“Yes, the house was located where the pond is now.  I had the construction crew create the pond for me after they tore down the house, and the barn was about halfway between the pond and where my house sets now.  Seeing the barn had been cut into the slope of the hill, I had the construction crew use the dirt taken out of the pond to fill in the hole left by the removal of the barn.” 

“So doing all of this was a major project,” Ed acknowledged. 

“Yes, there was nothing easy or simple about it, but I’m glad that I had it all done.  Between the government land and the extra land I purchased, it’s very quiet out here and the boys and I are able to do whatever we want, within reason.”

“I can definitely see why you like living out here,” Heather concurred, “but I wouldn’t want to be this isolated for more than a week.  Don’t get me wrong, because I’m looking forward to spending some time out here with you and the boys this summer, but I know I’ll be ready to return to civilization when the weekend is over.” 

“And I’m sure Laine and Caleb are looking forward to spending time out here with you as well, and they won’t mind staying here longer than a week,” Ed offered. 

“Yes, I’m sure they’ll be fine,” I agreed. 

After the boys finished kicking the soccer ball around, they came back inside and announced they were hungry.  This didn’t surprise us and Heather offered to help me fix lunch. 

“I was merely planning on having soup and sandwiches today, so we’ll just have to ask the boys which type of soup they’d prefer and what kind of sandwich they want.  I’ve got multiple cans of soup in the pantry and several types of lunch meat and cheese in the fridge.” 

“Ok and I’ll be happy to help you get everything ready.”

After finding out what everyone wanted, Heather and I prepared lunch for each of them.  Once the troops had been fed and Ed, Heather, and I had eaten as well, the boys wanted to know if we could play games together. 

“We can only do that if we play UNO or Trivial Pursuit, seeing there are nine of us in total,” I pointed out.  “Otherwise, we’ll have to split into two groups and play two different games.” 

“Let’s play UNO first, and then we can split up to play the other games after,” Dakota suggested. 

“I think you’d better ask Mr. and Mrs. Mueller if that’s ok with them first,” I recommended. 

“Yes, that sounds like fun and Ed and I will be happy to join in.” 

After we played a couple of games of UNO, the boys talked it over about which games they wanted to play next.  My three ended up playing Clue with Ed and Heather while Reece and I taught Laine and Caleb how to play Ticket to Ride.  As soon as each group declared a winner, we merely switched games and played in the same groups again. 

“That was fun and I haven’t done anything like that in ages,” Heather stated once the final game ended. 

“I agree, and I didn’t think kids nowadays would be willing to play board games, since they’re so into their electronic gadgets,” Ed added. 

“We started doing this so we could spend some quality time with each other,” I explained. 

“It was very nice and a lot of fun, so I think we’ll start doing this as well,” Heather confirmed. 

Her husband and sons seemed to like the idea as well, so I’m sure it will give them something else to bond over.  It’s always nice to spend quality time with your kids. 

Since I knew it was time to prepare dinner, I went out to the kitchen and started getting things ready.  Heather came out and wanted to know if she could help. 

“We’re having lasagna tonight.  I prepared it before you arrived and placed it in the freezer until it was needed, so all I have to do is heat it up in the oven, make some dinner rolls, and fix the salads.” 

“At least let me help you make the salads then.” 

“Ok, I don’t have a problem with that.” 

While we were fixing the meal, the boys took Ed upstairs so he could watch them play video games.  Laine and Caleb didn’t have a PS4 at home and only had the games they played on their computer, so I had a feeling this was their way of encouraging their dad to get them a PS4 as well. 

When the meal was ready, Heather called everyone down to the table and we sat down to eat. 

“This is really good,” Ed said after he’d tasted the lasagna. 

“Thank you.  I made it from scratch using my mother’s recipe.”

“She must have been a very good cook.” 

“Yes, she was, so I grabbed her handwritten recipe book and took it with me after she died.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that she’s no longer with us,” Heather consoled. 

“It was tough on me at first, because it happened while I was away at college.  Several years have passed since then, so it doesn’t hurt as badly now as when I first lost her.  I still think of her from time to time, especially when I’m preparing one of her recipes, but it no longer sends me into a severe state of depression.”  

“Well this is delicious and I’m sure she’d be proud that you did such a marvelous job following one of her recipes,” Heather added. 

When we finished our meal, the boys wanted to watch another movie, so I told them to check the program guide to see what was on.  A few minutes later, they came out to announce what they’d discovered. 

“The musical Scrooge will be comin’ on in a few minutes, so what if we watch that?” Jamie asked. 

I looked over at Heather and Ed to get their reaction.  “That sounds good to us,” Heather confirmed. 

“It sounds good to me as well, so go put the TV on the right channel.”

The boys raced off to do as I asked, and then we went in to join them.  I told Ed and Heather to use the chairs again, and I sat on the sofa between Caleb and Jamie.  The rest of the boys spread out on the floor and got comfortable. 

Although Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol as a somber tale about the redemption of a stingy man, the musical gave the story an entirely different feeling.  Although it followed the same plot and used much of the same dialogue, it took a different approach to the story than the other movie versions, which took a more literal rendering of the tale.  With songs like Father Christmas, December the 25^th, I Like Life, and Thank You Very Much that can rouse you out of your seats and make you want to dance and sing along, it’s much more upbeat than the original story. 

When the movie ended, we all went upstairs to get ready for bed.  Heather didn’t have any objections as the boys paired up and used my shower again, except this time Laine showered with Dakota and Glen showered with Reece.  Jamie and Caleb still showered together, and once each group had finished they went to their bedroom to sleep.

I took Reece home after we ate breakfast the following morning so he could spend the rest of the day and Christmas Day with his parents.  As he was getting out of the SUV, he said he’d meet me at the school after breakfast on Wednesday, but I talked him into waiting until after lunch instead.  I was fairly certain that we’d want to sleep in on Wednesday morning after having a long and action filled day on Christmas, and he reluctantly relented and said that would be fine. 

When I returned to the house, the boys went upstairs to play video games while I sat down to chat with the Muellers.  Ed and Heather wanted to know what I had planned for the rest of the day, so I answered them as best I could. 

“That depends on the boys.  I have a feeling that they’ll want to go out on the four-wheelers this afternoon, because Laine said something to me about wanting to show you how well he can drive.” 

“Will we all be able to do that?” Heather asked. 

“Yes, since the other boys aren’t here.  We’ll just double up on the various vehicles.  Ed, do you want to try driving one?” 

“Yes, I think I can handle one of the automatic four-wheelers.” 

“Ok, then Heather can ride with Laine, Caleb can ride with Ed, and Glen and Dakota can switch back and forth on the third ATV.  Jamie can ride behind me and the two of you will be able to see what it’s like.”

“Will we need to do anything special when we do this?” Heather wanted to know. 

“I hope you brought a pair of jeans and a coat to wear, and you’ll have to put on the protective gear, just like the boys.  I wear those items as well, so I hope you’re ok with doing that.”

“The helmet will probably mess up my hair, but I suppose I can fix it again after we get back.”

“Yes, because I’m sure Laine would be disappointed if you didn’t do this with us.”

“When will we go out on the four-wheelers then?” Ed followed. 

“We’ll do it after lunch, because it will have warmed up outside a little by then.” 

“Ok, it sounds good to me.”

Once that had been agreed to, we sat around, sipped our coffee, and talked about a variety of other topics.  This included what I had planned for the New Year’s Eve party, more details about what their sons would be doing if they stayed with us this summer, and one final item that we’d discussed when the boys and I visited them at Thanksgiving.  This took us to lunchtime, and Heather helped me prepare that meal before we called the boys down to eat.

“Did you have fun playing your video games?” Heather asked her sons. 

“Yeah, they’ve got a PS4 and it’s a lot more fun than playin’ games on the computer,” Caleb answered. 

“What’s a PS4?” Heather wanted to know. 

“It’s a separate gaming system,” Ed answered.  “The boys showed it to me yesterday and it is really nice.”

“Then you’ll be able to play it after we leave and again this summer,” Heather stated.  Even though her answer was positive, I think her sons were hoping she’d be more interested in seeing it and would possibly even agree to get them their own PS4.  

“Yeah, I just wish we had one at home,” Caleb responded, not letting the opportunity pass. 

“Your father and I will have to discuss that.”

Since Laine and Caleb realized they weren’t going to get her to commit to buying them a system just yet, we chatted about other topics as we ate. 

“Are we havin’ anything special for dinner tonight?” Glen wanted to know. 

“Yes.  My family always had seafood on Christmas Eve, so we’ll start off with a bowl of clam chowder, followed by shrimp cocktails, and then we’ll have cod fillets, fried potatoes, and a salad for the main course.  I’m also making a chocolate cake for dessert.” 

“I hope you’ll let me help with those things,” Heather stated. 

“Yes, I can use your help this time, because Dakota has never done any of these things and this isn’t the time for me to teach him.”

“It sounds wonderful and I’m happy to help out.”

Once we finished eating lunch, we all got ready to go out on the ATVs.  We wouldn’t normally be able to do it this late in the year, but it was still unusually warm out, so after we changed we paired up as I’d stated earlier and then I had everyone follow me.  When we got to the stream I came to a stop, but only long enough to tell Ed that we let the person in front of us cross the stream first, before the next person went.  He didn’t have a problem with this, and once we were all across we continued on.  We stopped again at the top of the last field so Glen and Dakota could switch places, and then I took them partway down that last field before turning right.  After we crossed each of the fields and got back to the house, we put away the four-wheelers and shed the safety gear. 

Fortunately, the boys were smart enough to know we weren’t going to disrobe before going inside, so I quickly gave them an alternative.  “At this point we usually pair up and help to remove as much of the debris as we can from each other’s clothing before we go inside.  Ed, why don’t you help your wife and Laine can help Caleb do that today.”

No one had a problem with this, and then we all went upstairs to clean up and change.  When we were done with that, the boys talked Ed into playing games with them, while Heather and I were busy working on tonight’s fare.  She helped me prepare the batter for the cake, and after we placed it in the oven, she started preparing the icing while I peeled potatoes.  I was making the fried potatoes from scratch this time, rather than using canned potatoes, and after I peeled them, I sliced the potatoes next. 

When the two halves of the cake were done, Heather took them out of the oven and let them cool first, and then she iced the cake for me.  While she was doing that, I made shrimp cocktails for each of us and placed them in the fridge until we were ready to eat.  I also prepared a large pot of clam chowder and placed it over a low fire so it would heat up slowly. 

Before we were ready to sit down to eat, I asked the boys to put away the games that they’d been playing, and then I asked them to set the table.  I reminded them to put a soup bowl on each plate for the first course and to get all of them something to drink, and while they were doing that Ed poured me, his wife, and himself a cup of coffee.  At the same time, I used the ladle to fill each bowl with clam chowder, and then we sat down to eat. 

After we finished our soup, I asked the boys to rinse out the bowls and put them in the dishwasher while Heather and I placed a shrimp cocktail out for each of us.  The timer on the oven went off while I was eating my shrimp cocktail, so I got up to take the fish out of the oven and check on the fried potatoes.  Once we’d all finished eating the shrimp, I asked the boys to take care of those dishes for us while I made sure everyone got a filet and a serving of fried potatoes.  Heather also made sure everyone had a salad, and then we sat down to continue eating. 

We were all pretty stuffed when we finished everything, so we opted to wait until later before we cut the cake.  In the interim, the boys checked the program guide. 

“There are three movies on,” Dakota told me.  “It’s a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34^th Street, and A Christmas Story.  Which one do you guys wanna watch?”

I went in to check the program guide myself, because I wanted to see which version of Miracle on 34^th Street they were showing.  I knew It’s a Wonderful Life was the black and white 1946 film starring Jimmy Stewart, but I wanted to see if Miracle on 34^th Street was the original or the remake.  It turned out to be the 1947 version with Natalie Wood and Edmund Gwenn, so I made my recommendation. 

“The first two are black and white films from the 1940s, but A Christmas Story was made in the 1980s and has become a Christmas classic.”

“Let’s watch that one then,” the boys all agreed.

Ed and Heather joined us as well, and when the movie ended we went out to have the cake.  As Heather was cutting it and I was passing out a slice to everyone, Jamie asked a question. 

“Will your tongue really stick to a metal pole like that when it’s really cold out?  It’s what happened to Ralphie, but is that a real thing or just something they made up for the movie?” 

“Oh, it’s real, so you don’t want to try it.  Even though they were able to help Ralphie out, the only way I can thinking of getting your tongue unstuck would be to use hot water, and that would leave you with a burnt tongue.” 

“Ewww, I don’t want that to happen.”

“Then don’t let anyone talk you into doing that.”

“K, I won’t.”

After we finished our cake, I made a suggestion.  “I think it’s time for us to go to bed so Santa Claus can stop and leave his presents.”

“We don’t believe in Santa Claus no more,” Caleb responded.  “We know he’s not real.”  His mother looked shocked when she heard him say this. 

“Whoa, then you probably won’t be getting as many presents this year,” I replied. 

“Come on, Dad.  Don’t treat us like babies,” Jamie followed.  “We know that you guys leave the gifts from Santa too.”

“In that case, I guess we don’t have to buy the extra presents from Santa any longer.  That will save us a lot of money.”

Jamie and Caleb’s mouth dropped open after I said this and they went pale.  I noticed that Ed and Heather were barely able to keep from laughing at the pair’s reaction. 

“Ok, we, uhhh, still believe in, ummm, Santa Claus,” Jamie stuttered.

“Yeah, we was just foolin’,” Caleb concurred. 

“Ok, then go upstairs, take your showers, and get ready for bed.”

The boys all turned around and headed for the stairs, with Jamie and Caleb at the head of the pack.  That pair reached the landing on the second floor before the others had gotten half way up the stairs, and once the boys were out of sight, Ed and Heather began to chuckle. 

“You sure scared them,” Ed noted. 

“Caleb has never said anything to us about no longer believing in Santa, but we’ve had our suspicions,” Heather added. 

“Yes, I’m surprised it took them this long to admit it, because kids are getting younger and younger when they stop believing in Santa,” I concurred.

“Yes, its unfortunate, but it’s true,” Heather agreed.  “I think it takes some of the magic and wonder out of the holiday for them.” 

“That may be, but it’s not what the holiday is all about in the first place,” Ed observed. 

“Yes, but even some of that story is merely conjecture or totally made up,” I offered.  “It’s said that the date of Jesus’ birth was chosen to coincide with the celebration of Mithras, who was also said to have been born on December 25^th.  Scholars now claim that Jesus would probably have been born in July or August of 3 BCE, which would radically change everything.”

“I heard something like that as well,” Ed concurred. 

“Enough chit-chat.  We need to get some new tags so we can mark some of the presents from Santa,” Heather suggested. 

“Just make sure they aren’t in the same wrapping paper as the presents from us,” I suggested.  “That’s how I figured out there wasn’t a Santa Claus, because my parents used the same wrapping paper for both sets of presents.”

“My family never wrapped the presents from Santa,” Ed stated.  “They just put a tag on them.”

“Yes, that makes even more sense,” I agreed. 

We then made sure the packages from Santa weren’t wrapped in the same paper as the other gifts, and if they were, we merely unwrapped those gifts and placed a tag on them instead.  We did that for all of the boys, not just with Jamie and Caleb’s presents, and when we finished we went upstairs to get ready for bed.  We had a feeling it was going to be a very short night.

                                                *    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

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.