Date: Thu, 13 Aug 2009 15:58:38 EDT From: Bwstories8@aol.com Subject: Castaway Hotel" Grand Reopening - book 2 chapters 7 - 8 Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening -- Book 2 by BW Copyright 2009 by billwstories Chapter 7 -- Let the Good Times Roll. **Author's Note:** Please read the disclaimer in Chapter 00 before you read this. After I drove to the house, I told all the boys to go inside and get busy, except for Pat. I was going to take him down to the home improvement store, so we could pick out the items for his room. "I talked to my contractor earlier," I told him, "and he said he could start on your room by the middle of next week. That means you'll probably be spending a week or more in Ricky's room before it's done. Do you have any problems with that?" "I don't, if Ricky doesn't," Pat confirmed. "Don't worry, he won't," I replied. "He spends most of his time in with the other two anyway." Once we arrived at the store, Pat and I went in and Pat quickly picked a paper pattern that depicted sailboats gliding across a crystal clear lake. It was really attractive and very peaceful looking and I suggested we do the upper half of the room in that and the bottom in a wood paneling, similar to what the other boys had done. He agreed and selected a medium oak paneling for the bottom half, which was considerably lighter than what the other pair had used. I left the two sample names for my contractor with the salesperson at the business counter. We had done this before, so I knew it wouldn't be a problem. Now that we were finished, Pat and I went home. "Thanks," Pat said as soon as the van's doors had closed. "I can't believe you're doing all of this just for me." "Why not?" I asked. "Why should you have any less than anyone else?" "I'm just not used to people wanting to do things just for me," he admitted. "Most of the time people just wanted something FROM me or they wanted me to stay out of their way. Thank you for being so nice." "The reason I agreed to take in boys in the first place was so I could help them. That's all I'm doing for you. It's not that big a deal," I explained. "Maybe not to you, but it sure is for me," Pat countered. "So, thank you." This discussion could have lasted forever, so I just decided to leave it at that. I reached over and squeezed his shoulder, which caused him to turn in his seat and smile at me in return. "Next, you will have to decide if you want a single or double bed in the room," I informed him. "We need to get you a bed anyway, because there is none in there, so you decide which would be best for you." I pulled in the driveway and Pat didn't get out right away. Instead, he looked over at me and spoke. "I've made a decision," he announced. "About the bed?" "No. It's about something much more important," he stated, which caught me slightly off guard. "I'd like to try calling you 'Dad,' like the other boys do, if that's all right with you." "I would love that," I admitted, feeling overjoyed that he had made his decision so quickly. "Thank you. I feel very honored you are going to try that, but you still have the option to change your mind later, if you want," I added, sensing from his words that he might not be completely committed to the idea." "No, I don't think I will," he countered. "I think I'm lucky Judge Shay brought me here, rather than taking me somewhere else. You already treat me better than either of my mother or father did, when I lived with them, and I really feel you deserve to be called Dad more than my father ever did. At least I can tell you care about me. You proved that when we talked about why I got so angry when the boys were naked that first night. It made me realize you cared about what was bothering me and wanted me to be happy. I even get the feeling you want me to be here, more than either of my parents ever did when I was with them, especially since you've let me fix up my room the way I want it. I don't think I'll ever forget how good you've made me feel." I was too choked up to respond. Pat jumped out and ran around to my side, so he could give me a hug before we entered the house. I was moved by his gesture and hugged him back. Kevin came to greet me, as soon as I got to the foyer. "Dad, some lawyer from Miami called for you a little while ago and said he'd call back later to speak with you." "A lawyer? From Miami?" I asked, bewildered. "I have no idea what that would be about. Did he say when he'd call?" "No, he just said he'd call later," Kevin informed me, so I continued to wonder what this lawyer might want. While contemplating the situation, I set about fixing dinner, which took about thirty minutes, followed by another forty minutes for it to cook. When it was ready, I called the boys and we sat down to eat. During dinner, Pat excitedly told the boys about the things he had picked out for his room and I informed Ricky he would most likely have to stay with Cole and Graham for up to two weeks, which drew high-fives from the trio. The boys were just starting to clean up the mess, when the phone rang. I quickly announced that I'd get it. "Hello." "Hello. May I speak to Mr. Joshua Currie?" the voice on the other end asked. "This is he," I informed him. "Mr. Currie, my name is Louis Kaufman," the man explained. "I'm an attorney and the executor of the will for one Jacob Goldman." "I'm afraid I don't know anyone by that name," I informed him, almost apologetically. "I realize that, sir, and I'm willing to explain to you what I know about him," the attorney countered. "Mr. Goldman was a Holocaust survivor as a child and moved to the states after the war, still a young boy. When he grew older, he married, started a business and became very wealthy. He and his wife never had any children, because his experience in the death camps had left him unable to produce sperm. His wife passed away several years ago and Mr. Goldman had no other living relatives, since most of them had perished during the war. "About a week after he read about you and your family in some publication, he asked me to change his will and name you as the principal beneficiary of his fortune. He told me he admired what you were doing, and after seeing so much evil and hatred in the world, he wanted to help make it possible for you to do more for your boys and give you the option of taking in even more young men, over the coming years. After reading about what you'd already accomplished and seeing the pictures of how happy the boys were with you, he knew you were providing them with a loving and caring environment in which to grow. When Mr. Goldman passed away, I calculated the value of his estate and your share of it will come to just over five million dollars, after taxes." I nearly fell over and dropped the phone. Dustin saw me and came running over to grab me and yelled to Danny to get a chair from the dining room. I managed to sit down and could hear Mr. Kaufman speaking loudly into the phone. "Mr. Currie... Mr. Currie... Hello... Are you still there?" "I'm sorry, Mr. Kaufman, but I was just a little overwhelmed by your news," I admitted. "Did I hear you correctly? Did you just tell me I would be getting a little over five million dollars... after taxes?" The boys' eyes lit up and their mouths dropped toward the floor. "Yes, you heard me correctly. If you wouldn't mind, I'll be sending an associate with a bank check made payable to you, along with some other paperwork I need for you to sign. Just tell me when and where you'd be willing to meet this individual, to complete the transaction." Once the shock wore off, we went over the remainder of the details and everything was set. I hung up the phone and was immediately barraged by questions from the boys. "What was that about five million dollars?" Danny asked. "Where are you getting that kind of money from?" Dustin followed. "Are we going to have to move to Miami to get it?" Ricky wondered. "What's that going to mean for us?" Pat asked, worried. "You're still going to let us live here with you, aren't you?" Many other questions followed those and I answered them all, honestly and the best I could. I told them about the money, where it came from and why it had been given to us. I assured them we weren't going to move or do anything differently, but added the money would ensure we'd be able to afford to take in as many other boys who also needed our help. I also informed them that a portion of this money would added to their mutual fund account, to pay their college expenses or give them a decent start, once they were on their own. The boys were quite excited about our windfall, yet also relieved that our lives would not change drastically because of it. I think they were comforted by my commitment to try to maintain the same degree of togetherness and happiness we had enjoyed up until now. Over the remainder of the evening, I was barely able to keep a lid on everyone's enthusiasm and their speculation about how we might spend some of this newfound wealth. It took me hours, before I finally was able to get them to settle down. When I sent them off to bed, I closed up the house and went up behind them. This news had also exhausted me and I was looking to rest up from the excitement. As I was going to my room, I noticed that the door to the jungle room was closed, something that rarely ever happened. I immediately realized they were either cooking up some plan for the morning or they were doing a little experimenting. I put my ear to the door and quickly determined it was the latter, so I went on down the hall, performed my nightly ritual and jumped into bed. * * * * Ricky, Cole, and Graham had gone up to their room and hopped into bed. Before long, Graham spoke up. "How come you guys never want to do anything with me?" "We do everything with you," Cole answered. "I mean in bed at night, you know... the sex things," Graham announced. "Is it because I'm not cut?" Cole and Ricky looked at each other. "No, that wouldn't make a difference," Ricky told him. "I've done stuff with Jay and he isn't cut either. It's just that we weren't sure you wanted to do anything like that. You never seemed like you were interested whenever we talked about doing things and Cole and I don't do it very often. Sometimes we sneak into one of the bathrooms to fool around for a while or we do it in here, after you've fallen asleep. Not up the butt, though." "I wasn't always asleep," Graham informed them, letting the other pair know they weren't as clever as they'd thought. "Can we do something tonight?" he followed. "Sure," Ricky told him. "What do you want to do?" "I don't know," Graham admitted. "I've never done more than touch Cole's dicky." Ricky snorted, after hearing Graham refer to Cole's penis as a 'dicky.' "Well, do you ever beat your meat?" Ricky asked him, trying to get an idea of how much he did on his own. When he saw the confused look on Graham's face, he knew it probably wasn't much. "You know, play with yourself... jerk off?" "You mean rub my dicky?" Graham asked, for clarification. "Yeah, that's what I mean. Do you do that?" Ricky continued. "Sometimes," Graham admitted. "Can you shoot?" Ricky pressed. "Shoot what?" Graham countered, befuddled. "Shoot white stuff out of your wiener," Ricky clarified. "If you've been awake at night and must have seen what we were doing, so you should have seen some of that." "It was too dark and I didn't want you to know I was really awake," Graham replied, "but I don't think I can do that," he added, while looking more than a little confused. "Okay, then we'll find that out first," Ricky informed him. "Lie back and we'll see what you can do. Cole, you can suck on his tits while I jerk him off. We'll see how he likes that before we do anything else." Graham reclined against the pillows on his bed, with Cole on his left and Ricky on his right. Cole bent over his brother and started to work on his left nipple while Ricky began to lick around his navel. Graham was very ticklish and began to giggle, but his little soldier popped right to attention. Ricky reached down with his right hand and began to fondle his nut sac and stiff penis, gently stroking the area to give him maximum enjoyment. At this point, Graham's movements stopped being a reaction to the tickling sensations and, instead, became an instinctive response to what the others were doing. Graham was now thrusting his groin up to meet Ricky's downward strokes, in an effort to encourage his friend to continue what he was doing. After a few minutes of using his tongue and fondling Graham's testicles, Ricky wrapped his thumb and first two fingers around Graham's little boner and began to pump it up and down. The foreskin on Graham's little rod slid back and forth, allowing his dark pink head to pop in and out, as the stimulation continued. Little squeaking sounds also began to emanate from Graham's throat and his body began to undulate beneath the attention of his two bedmates. Cole had moved his head over, so he could work on Graham's right nipple, eagerly licking and sucking the little nub, before gently nibbling that erect little piece of flesh. Graham squealed from delight as his brother worked on his chest, but the best was yet to come. Ricky was now pumping faster on Graham's erection and his boy hips were bouncing up and down off the bed in pure joy. After a couple more minutes of this intense stimulation, Graham's body stiffened, he arched his back toward the ceiling and the first spurts of a watery liquid shot from the head of his cock. Ricky didn't let up, though, and kept pumping away at Graham's dribbling hose. Three more droplets of his immature seed burst from the tiny slit at the end of his penis and soon there were small puddles of this liquid forming on his stomach and covering the few scattered hairs surrounding the base of his shaft. Graham was still breathing heavily, in rapid, shallow breaths, when his back started to relax and his butt fell back against the bed. Ricky and Cole smiled at their young partner, as they watched him enjoy the afterglow from his recent ejaculation. When Graham regained his senses, he merely reached his arms out to his side, grabbed his two brothers by the waist and he pulled them toward himself. "Thanks, that was awesome." "We would have done that for you before, if we'd known you wanted it," Cole told him. "Yeah, we didn't think you were ready yet," Ricky added. "You never let on at all that you might want to do this and we didn't want to push you into anything, if you weren't interested." "Well, I am now and I want to do it more with you guys," Graham announced, quite boldly. "No problem," Ricky told him. "What would you like to do next?" "Can I do that to you?" Graham asked, his eyes wide with hope. "Sure!" Cole chirped. "Who do you want to do it with?" "Both of you," Graham answered, eagerly. "First I'll do it with you and then Ricky. Is that okay?" "Yeah, that will be fine," Ricky answered, with Cole shaking his head energetically up and down. The boys quickly switched positions on the bed, so Cole was lying down, with Graham on his right and Ricky on his left. This time Ricky got to work on Cole's breast, so Graham could play with his dick. Graham didn't waste any time reaching out, rubbing and stroking Cole's groin. He let his small hands run all around the scrotum, squeezing the entire thing in his palm before he began to finger and explore the testicles separately. When he was satisfied with his manipulation of that area, he ran his fingers up and around the shaft, through the small bush of pubic hairs and all over his abdomen. Finally, Graham's small hand wrapped around the fleshy tube and began to stroke it up and down. "Your wiener feels different than mine, without the extra skin," he explained. "I know what you mean," Ricky responded. "I thought the same thing, the first time I did this with Jay. It was different, but still nice." "Yes. I'm not saying it's bad, it's just not the same," Graham affirmed. Graham went back to stroking his brother's stiffy and Cole was enjoying the feeling of his brother's small, warm hand as it squeezed his penis lightly, while gliding up and down his shaft. It didn't take very long before Cole's body stiffened, his penis swelled in Graham's palm and strings of his white, creamy cum bolted from his pulsing member. Graham started stroking even faster as he watched the sticky liquid shoot from his brother's mast, until Cole had to reach down and grab Graham's arm, to prevent him from continuing, since his penis was becoming a little sore from Graham's frantic pumping. "That was fun," Graham chirped, excitedly. "Come on, Ricky. I want to do that to you now." "Hold on there sport," Ricky answered him. "We need to give Cole a chance to recover first." "Okay," Graham said, while looking a little disappointed about the delay. It was obvious he had enjoyed what he had just done and wanted to continue without wasting any more time. He understood what Ricky was telling him, though, and thought back to how he had also taken a few minutes to rest after he shot his load. Patiently, he stretched out next to Cole and waited. Cole was slowly coming out of his blissful afterglow when he reached out, grabbed Graham and gave him a big kiss on the lips. "Thanks, little bro. That was great and I'll do it with you again, anytime you want." Graham blushed from the suddenness of Cole's affection and then smiled at his older brother, appreciatively. They were now a little closer to each other than they had been before. Within a minute or two the boys had switched positions once more, with Ricky lying on the bed, Cole on his left and Graham on his right. Graham was making sure he was going to get to do the same thing to Ricky that he had just done to Cole, especially since Ricky's pecker was a little bigger than his brother's. Ricky's body had barely hit the mattress when Graham's hand shot out and began rubbing and grabbing at Ricky's rigid mast. Graham's exploration was more hurried than it was with Cole and there seemed to be a greater urgency to his movements. "Slow down, Graham," Ricky chided him. "I'm not going anywhere and you can take all the time you need. Just take it easy, so I can enjoy this too." "Sorry," Graham replied meekly. "It's just so much fun that I wanted to get going. But you're right and I'll go slower now." Having said that, Graham took his trembling, hot, little hand and began to massage Ricky's ball bag and manipulate the watery orbs within. Ricky sighed loudly and tried to encourage his younger partner. "That's it. That feels great. Oooooooh yeah, keep that up. That's fantastic." Graham smiled because of Ricky's comments and it encouraged him to play with Ricky's gonads longer than he had originally planned. Eventually he brought his hand up and wrapped it around Ricky's granite pole and began to stroke it up and down. Ricky was enjoying the touch of the satiny soft skin of Graham's palm and the tender, yet firm, hold he had on his pole. Ricky sprawled back and enjoyed the dual manipulations from his young partners and reveled in the warm waves of feelings that were bathing his body from their attention. He silently hoped this experience would last for a very long time, but it was only a few minutes later when he started to recognize that all-familiar tingle building in his loins, which would soon consume every fiber of his being. When the sensations became too strong to hold back any longer, his love muscle exploded, sending streams of spunk spewing from the gasping lips of the tiny slit that opened from his crown. Graham was more aware not to overdo it this time, but he still milked Ricky's cock until every drop of his cream had been drained from his boyhood. The three boys kissed, hugged and thanked each other for the wonderful feelings they had just given to one another. After cleaning up a bit, they slipped under the sheet and cuddled like a pack of newborn puppies. Cole and Ricky made sure that Graham was in between them and wrapped their arms and legs over and around his body, making him realize he was the focal point of this group embrace. The boys slept well that night, with hardly any movement between the three of them, and their dreams were filled with pleasant thoughts about future encounters with each other. Even though this had been Graham's initial experience of being touched and touching someone else during a sexual act, he was already dreaming of many more sessions. He was looking forward doing the same things, and even different stuff, with these two and maybe even with some things with his older brothers. The bug had bitten and it would be hard to satisfy the curiosity he now felt about the male body. Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening -- Book 2 by BW Copyright 2009 by billwstories Chapter 8 -- Another Visit From a Very Weary Stork. The contractor had finished the work on Pat's bedroom, so all it needed was some furniture to make it habitable. Pat had decided he'd prefer a double bed, so I went out and purchased one, along with the appropriate matching pieces. Like before, I found a decent bedroom set at a garage sale and then bought a new mattress and box spring to use with it. Pat was ecstatic about his new room and Ricky had his own room back, although he still didn't use it often. Even though it might be hard to believe, the three mischievous imps were now even more inseparable than before. They were almost constantly in each other's company and the other boys spent their time trying to figure out what they were up to. They had always been close, but not quite as close as they appeared now, so the rest of the family feared they were planning new horrors for us. Due to my small amount of eavesdropping at their bedroom door that one evening, I was the only one, beside those involved, who knew about or suspected the new connection between them, and I wasn't about to share that secret with anyone else. During that week, I also met with the representative from Mr. Kaufman's law offices, signed the required paperwork and accepted the check. It came to $5,347,550. I put some into an account for easy access and then invested the rest. I calculated that even if it only earned 5% interest on the principal, we would have a quarter of a million dollars a year to spend without ever having to touch the base amount. There would be no way this family would lack for anything in the future and I could ensure the boys would be able to pursue many of their dreams. I would add to the account I had set up for each one of them to be used for college, starting their own business or buying a home and beginning life when they were ready leave. I could now provide them with everything I had ever dreamed of. It was about two or three weeks after Pat moved into his own bedroom when he did something none of the rest of us ever expected. He even planned it alone and worked out every last detail, to make it go flawlessly. He did give me a hint about what he was planning, so I would be prepared for it and not panic when it happened. We were all sleeping in one Saturday morning, after a fairly hectic week, when all hell seemed to break loose. At first most of us were oblivious to what was going on in one of the other rooms, but suddenly we began to hear very loud animal noises. At first, I thought I heard a growl of some sort, followed by the roars of several lions, but I knew that couldn't be. Groggily, I figured some of the boys must be watching television and had set the volume way too high, so I got out of bed, to tell them to turn it down. However, that's when I began to hear screams coming from the jungle room. Frantically, I raced there and opened the door, only to see three young boys screaming and darting hysterically about the room. Then it all began to sink in. Pat had exacted his revenge on our little monsters, so now the rest of us gathered around to watch and enjoy the lesson he was teaching our three terrors. I think it best if I back up a bit and explain how Pat had set this all up. While the rest of us were sleeping, he carried Kevin's boom box, which he had borrowed previously, into the jungle room, attached it to an extension cord and set the volume full blast. That way, nothing would happen until he plugged it in. He also turned on a black-light lamp, which he had placed on the desk in the jungle room, to add a surreal glow. He then lay down on the floor at the foot of their bed, completely out of sight. The room was now nearly completely dark, lit only by the black-light lamp, when Pat reached out and pushed the plug end of the extension cord into one of the nearby sockets. The tape immediately began to play the animal noises we soon heard, which Pat had previously recorded off of the animal network. That's why I thought I heard the growls and roars of lions. It had been taken from a program showing individual lions establishing dominance within the pride, which was also vaguely what was happening here. Slowly, these sounds began to register in the psyches of the sleeping trio, when all of the sudden there was another mighty roar, much louder than any of the rest, as one lion announced his superiority and control to the others. Three bodies suddenly jerked upright on the bed, only to be confronted by the wallpaper, which was lit up eerily by the black light and filled with the faces of jungle creatures. Just as the boys began to look around, a large stuffed lion (one that had been purchased for Graham at Christmas by my older son's family) leapt onto the bed (it was actually tossed there by Pat), just as another mighty roar sounded from the speakers. The trio began to scream hysterically and fought to get off the bed and away from their attacker. These shouts brought the other boys running down the hall toward the jungle room, to see what the commotion was all about. Just as they arrived, another roar sounded from the speakers and the older boys spotted the stuffed lion, which had been unceremoniously knocked onto the floor, just before Pat sprang up from the foot of the mattress to pounce on our little monsters himself. The three young boys started screaming again and frantically tried to break free of their attacker, which caused the older boys to roar themselves, only their roars were of laughter. "All right," Danny chuckled. "Somebody's finally given those three a good dose of their own medicine." "Great job, Pat," Kevin added, when he saw Pat heading out of the jungle room. "You're going to fit in just fine here." "Yeah," Dustin agreed. "I wish I'd thought that one up myself. That was awesome and it might make them think twice before they try their tricks on any of us again." "Hey, that's not fair," Graham argued. "When we do something like this, you all gang up on us. Why aren't you ganging up on Pat, instead of telling him how great it was?" "Because you three do it to innocent people," Kevin answered, "but each of you are far from innocent." "Yes, you guys have deserved that for ages," Danny continued, "so don't come running to us for sympathy, because you aren't going to find any." "You sure are lousy brothers," Ricky spat out. "You won't even protect the three youngest, most innocent and most defenseless members of this family." "Youngest, maybe," Dustin countered, "but you three are far from being innocent or defenseless. We kept telling you the day would come when someone would get you back, but we had to wait for Pat to do it." "So we're even now," Pat concluded, "so no more pranks. Right?" But he didn't wait for them to answer, before he continued. "If you do anything of this nature to any of us again, I'll get the others to help me get you back even worse next time." "Dad," Cole pleaded, "won't YOU help us?" "Hey, you brought this upon yourselves," I said with a chuckle, "but I fear this probably isn't going to be the last of it. I suspect that from now on, however, it won't be quite as one-sided." "But Daddy," Graham said in his best, innocent, little boy voice, "aren't you going to protect your babies?" "I don't see any diapers on you and there's the matter of those horns sticking out of your heads," I teased. "Admit it, you three little devils just can't take what you so happily dish out, so if you don't want something like this to happen to you again, then I'd suggest you start mending your ways." "Oh, we can take it all right," Ricky spat back, defiantly. "I just hope the rest of you can, because this means war!" The three little ones were all laughing now and glaring at their brothers, as they started to chant "War, war, war..." I decided to put an end to this little sideshow, but quickly realized my best effort probably wouldn't be enough to stop the escalation of pranks. We all hoped the three villains would learn from what had just happened to them, but I think, down deep, they enjoyed the sudden attention this brought them. Not only that, but I think they were also impressed by Pat's creativity in planning his revenge, at least once their little hearts stopped racing. However, I now believed this was only going to unleash a new round of attacks in the near future. To my surprise, things did actually die down for a while and we made it to the middle of October until the next surprise. I was nearly finished with another long day at school, when I heard an unexpected visitor at my office door. "Josh, do you have a few minutes?" I thought I recognized the voice, but it didn't quite register in the school environment. I didn't realize who it was, until I turned around and actually spied my visitor. "Well, Sally, hello. For you, I have all the time in the world. Come in and sit down." It was Sally Swarthout, my friend from D.S.S., who had brought me all my sons, except for Pat. "What brings you here?" "I wish I could tell you this was a social call, but I desperately need your help again," she admitted. "Before I begin, though, how are you and the boys?" "We're all fine, Sally, and you should drop around more often to see them," I suggested. "I know they would all like that. By the way, I have a new boy whom you haven't met yet. If you want to come over, I'll introduce you." "Oh, dear. You have a new boy?" she repeated, as a surprised expression flashed over her face. "Where did he come from?" "Yes, I have a new boy," I repeated. "His name is Patrick Murray, but he prefers to be called Pat. Judge Shay called me a few weeks back and asked me to take him in. After a slightly rough start, he now seems to have become a fine addition to my clan." "Now that you mention it, I do remember Judge Shay asking me about a placement for a young man," she responded, "but I didn't know he talked you into taking the boy." "He did, but that's not the only surprise I've had, either," I continued. "I recently received a great deal of money from a gentleman who read about our blended family in one of the magazine articles. He included me in his will and we are now financially set." "Oh Josh, that's wonderful," Sally gush, while eyeing me suspiciously. "Maybe I can still impose upon you then," she blurted out, without meaning to sound so insensitive. "I have another young man who could also use your help. He is an orphan and we have found no relatives who are willing or able to take him in. He has been temporarily living in another foster home, in a different part of the county, and his case was just brought to my attention by a fellow colleague from that area. If you wouldn't mind, I'd love to bring him around to meet you and the boys, and that way I could visit with them as well." "That would be fine, Sally, but what about the other foster home?" "They only took him in on an emergency basis. They already have two permanent foster children, in addition to their own children, so they didn't feel they'd be able to take on the additional responsibility. Maybe I should have told them about your place and the number of boys you have, but I must admit I've heard they also have very limited space, compared to your massive home." "I must admit what I've done, by taking in so many, is not for everyone," I conceded. "I've been fortunate, thus far, and can only pray my luck holds out in the future. You can bring this boy to our place around 5:30 and that way you can also plan to stay and have dinner with us. I'll pick up some steaks, throw them on the grill and maybe even add some baked potatoes and a salad. I think the boys will like that. What do you say?" "I say it sounds lovely," Sally replied, "and we'll be there. I know you're going to like him. He's a sweet boy, but very shy." "If you like him, then I'm sure we will too," I told her. "I guess it's settled then and we'll see you later at the house." I spent the rest of the day thinking about this new boy and prayed I wasn't taking on too much. Sure, there were no money worries any longer, but I did just take in another boy, and there were Cole and Graham's learning problems we still had to deal with (and we've only just began there, with Ricky's help, of course), and it's nearly time for Kevin's next check-up (to make sure no growths have reappeared since he found the cyst on his testicle). I know the rest of the boys would most likely encourage me to take this new boy in and I do want to give the kid a chance; it's just that I don't want to end up ignoring or neglecting the others, merely because I tried to do too much for too many. I hope the answer to this dilemma becomes evident, when I finally get to meet him. Although it seemed to take forever, my school day finally ended, so I rounded up the troops, made a quick stop at the grocery store and hurried home. Dustin fired up the grill for me, while Kevin washed and wrapped potatoes in aluminum foil for baking and then made a tossed salad to go along with everything else. Then Danny and Pat volunteered to take the baked potatoes out to the grill to get them started for me, while Ricky, Cole and Graham offered to set the table. I had just come in the back door from checking on how my chefs were doing, after explaining when and how to start the steaks, when the doorbell rang. I went to open it, and as I anticipated, there was Sally and the new boy. I greeted them and invited them inside, as the other boys began to filter in. I think they were eager to say hello to their 'Aunt Sally' again. I gave them plenty of time to all exchange hugs and kisses with her, while I looked the new boy over. He was definitely in his early teens, fairly tall (about 5' 8"), yet slender for his age. He didn't look thin, but he also wasn't what I'd call muscular. I couldn't see his face, because he spent most of his time looking down at the floor, while shuffling his feet. Sally was right. This kid was shy. Once Sally and my boys finished their greetings, they introduced her to Pat. Once she said hello to him, she was ready to introduce the new boy to us. "Josh, boys," Sally began, "this is Alexander Michael Daniels III." The boy finally looked up and I must admit I thought he was gorgeous. He had brown hair and brown eyes, but his face was absolutely angelic. That's why it was so odd to see the sad, frightened expression that radiated from it. "What would you like us to call you?" I asked. "Alexander or Alex?" "My friends call me Trey," he responded dryly, after which he tried to look away from us. "Trey? Where did that come from?" I pressed, confused by this association. I hoped it wasn't some kind of a gang tag. "You know, as in three," he stated with quite a bit of force, almost as if he were exasperated that we weren't able to figure it out for ourselves. "I'm Alexander Michael Daniels... THE THIRD." "Oh, I get it now. Sorry I'm so thick," I apologized, while trying to lighten the moment. "Well it's nice to meet you, Trey, and welcome to our home." I then proceeded to introduce all of the boys to him, before letting him go off with them, so they could show him the house. Ricky had already moved all of his things out of his old room (with the help of his two shadows) and they put them into his new abode, the jungle room. While the boys were out and about, Sally and I went out to the grill to watch over dinner and talked about life in general, while we did so. During our conversation, I explained a little bit more about my recent inheritance and she was totally shocked when I advised her of the actual amount of the check I had received. After she got over her surprise and regained her composure, she told me, "It couldn't have happened to a better family." After checking to see how well each of them wanted their steaks cooked, I started taking them off the grill, with the medium rare coming off first and working our way up to the well done. After placing the steaks on the platters according to how they were cooked, Sally helped me carry them inside. The boys had already begun to clean up to eat, so they were filtering into the dinning room as we entered. Trey was bringing up the rear, but he did have sort of a smile on his face now. I quickly threw some oil and vinegar on to the salad Kevin had prepared and took it in and placed it on the table, along with the rest of the food. As I passed out the steaks, the rest of the dishes were passed around the table, for everyone to take a share. As we ate, we chatted about a variety of topics, mostly throwing ideas out to see which ones seemed to also interest Trey. I thought that might be one way I could learn more about him, without having to interrogate him. During our meal, Sally also got an earful about what the boys had been up to, and Pat was briefed as to how Sally had become such a valued member of our extended family. I think Trey eagerly gobbled up all of this information and evaluated his prospects here, by listening to all of these various tales. Near the end of dinner, he also began to interject a comment or two every so often, and I was glad to see he was loosening up and trying to fit in. Once the main course was completed, I knew the boys would be looking for some dessert to top it off with. We had some ice cream in the freezer, and Dustin, Kevin and Danny were kind enough to offer to dish it out and serve it to us. It wasn't anything fancy, but I think everyone enjoyed what he got. Now that we were finished with our meal, the entire family moved to the living room. After talking it over with Trey, he agreed he'd like to stay with us and see what it would be like living there. That made Sally happy and removed another problem for her. It also made my worries moot, since Trey had decided for himself that he'd like to stay. We talked for a while longer, but after another half hour or so, Sally announced she had to leave. We all bid her farewell, with the boys each giving her a hug and a kiss before she left. We all followed her out to her car to see her off, but also so we could help Trey get his things and carry everything up to his room. As Sally drove away, the rest of us went back inside. When the boys came back, after lugging Trey's things upstairs, they went into the family room to watch television. However, Trey stayed up in his room to unpack and get settled. I decided this might be a good time to go up and have a private talk with him, so I made my way to his room and knocked on his open bedroom door. 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