Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2023 01:15:14 +0000 From: bradhonny Subject: The Trail chapter 2 Bi adult/youth The Trail By Bradhonny Chapter 2 We begin our Training I hope you are all enjoying this story. There are many chapters to come. I planned for this to be a story worth reading not only for the occasional sex but for the adventure. A family pulling together to overcome the obstacles presented by the Appalachian Trail. Stay with me, I'll try to give you at least a chapter a week. Now for the business end of things. Nifty needs our help to fund this forum so find the donation button on their home page and donate. I'd be really happy if someone donated in my name. Now happy reading. .......................... Stevey was overcome by my ass clamping tightly around his cock as he drove it deep one last time. "Oh Johnny I love you so much." he cried as he deposited his cum deep into me. He collapsed on top of me, and we kissed deeply. We were both covered in my cum and his cum was oozing out of my ass. We got up and took a long slow shower paying close attention to each other's cocks. We finished our shower and toweled off and went to bed to dream of our love and the upcoming journey. ..................................... Aaron woke to the sun shining into his bedroom window. Scruffy was licking his face. "I guess I slept in buddy. I bet you gotta go pee really bad, huh!" Scruffy gave a quick bark and jumped off the bed. "OK Scruffy, I'm up, let's get you outside." Aaron went to the door with Scruffy dancing around him. He opened the door and Scruffy bolted down the stairs and out to the woods. "There you go buddy! I'll get breakfast going and let you back in." "Now, what time is it anyway." He looked at the clock on the kitchen wall and saw it was 8 o'clock. "Damn I overslept. Better give Betty a call and tell her I'm gonna be a bit later than 9." As he was dialing the number for the library, he heard Scruffy scratching at the door. "I'll be right there Scruffy, hold your horses." "Oh, hi Betty, It's Aaron, seems I've overslept and will be a bit later than planned." "No problem Mr. Smith, any time you can make it will be just fine, I've got your book for you and a couple more on the subject." "That's great, I should be there a bit closer to 10." "Great. See you then." "Oh, and thanks for the extra material. I was going to ask if you had anything else on the Trail. You're a step ahead of me." "It's always my pleasure Mr. Smith. I look forward to seeing you." "OK, see you then" Aaron said as he hung up. He let Scruffy in, and he was all over Aaron. He knew that even though Aaron didn't like bacon, he always cooked some up for him while he ate an English muffin and juice. "Hey, Uncle Aaron, you up." yelled Stevey as he pushed open the door and barged in with me close on his heels. "Well, if I wasn't I would be now. Don't you boys know how to knock before pushing in my door." "Wait, how does that work." I said laughing "You mean knock on the door then push it open." "No wise ass you knock on the door and wait for me to answer it." Uncle Aaron said as he tried to grab me into a headlock. "Sorry old man, you're going to have to be a lot quicker than that." I said playfully dodging his arms. "I used to be able to catch you, I guess you've both grown out of my grasp." Uncle Aaron said sadly. "Awe Uncle Aaron, you know we love you. You'll never be too old for us." I said as I grabbed him and picked him up with a big bear hug. "Put me down you overgrown galoot." He said playfully. "We're off to school and just wanted to see you to say we love you like we always do. We may be too old to share your bed, but we'll never be too old to share your heart." "Oh, you boys. I'll never tire of your love, you know that. Now git, I've got Scruffy's breakfast to cook and my English muffin to toast so go on and get out of my hair." He said as he gave us both a slap on the butt. Stevey playfully slapped him on his butt and ran for the door and the stairs down to our bikes. "You won't get away with that again." Uncle Aaron yelled smiling as Stevey jumped down the stairs. We jumped on our bikes and headed for school to share our new adventure with our friends. Eric and Steve woke up and had breakfast and coffee on the deck. "I don't think I'll ever get tired of looking out at the lake. It's so beautiful in the morning with the sun shining on the other side." Said Eric as he held Steve's hand. They finished their breakfast and were about to head out for the office when the phone rang. "Hello, this is Steve Wilson speaking." "Hello Mr. Wilson. It's Jim Barker at the outfitters. Seems you forgot to pick up some of your things in your haste to get going last night. Would you like to stop by today and pick them up?" "Why don't you hang on to them and bring them over this weekend if that isn't too much of an inconvenience. And I'm Steve and my partner is Eric, no need to be formal." "That would be fine Steve. And I've thought of a few other items you might want to bring along. Would you like me to bring them as well?" "That would be fantastic. Looking forward to having you and Martha over for the weekend." "That's all we talked about over breakfast this morning. I think she's smitten by you boys." Jim said laughing. "Well, we think you're both fantastic and couldn't be happier that we met." Steve said. "See you this weekend." "Alrighty then, till this weekend." Jim said as he hung up. "OK, so I know we talked about this last night, but I just want to know, after a good night's sleep, do you still want to go thru with this?" asked Steve. "If the boy's want this, so do I. I've got to admit, I'm excited. I know it's going to be a lot of hard work but Wow what an adventure it's gonna be." "What about the business? We've always been around. How are they going to survive for 6 months without us?" Steve said. "Jim will take over the lab and Suzy will handle the administrative work. I think Jeff is ready to step up and handle the new acquisitions and Jammie is just chomping at the bit to take over the charities." Eric said "And besides we'll have plenty of places along our journey to keep in contact with them. And in an extreme emergency they can deploy the helicopter." "Ya you're right. And besides, we deserve a break away from everything." said Steve. "So, it's a go then?" "Yup. It's official. It's a go." .........at school........... "I know, It's pretty cool dude. The whole trail's going to take us like 6 months to complete." Stevey said to Bradley. "And you guys are going to end your school year in April?" asked Bradley. "Ya, we don't have any obligations and we've got the credits. And besides we weren't planning on college before having a year to pursue a few adventures." I said. "You and Sarah aren't going to get hitched before we get back, are you?" asked Stevey. "No, she wants a big wedding, and her mom says we have to wait at least a year after graduation. She said we should make sure we love each other. Besides we've chosen you and Johnny as my best men. "announced Bradley. "I was going to tell you at graduation, but it looks like that's moved up now." "Really, you want us to be your best men. That's way cool. We'd be honored. I can understand Sarah's mom wanting you guys to wait. Too many marriages end in divorce because they aren't ready." ..........at the library.......... "Hi Betty." Aaron said softly as he entered the library. "Come here Mr. smith I've got everything you were looking for." Aaron looked through what Betty had collected for him and was amazed at how thorough she was with the information about the Trail. "Betty this is great. Maps and everything. Thank you so much." "Anything for you Mr. Smith." "You know I think we've gotten to the point where you can call me Aaron. I like you and hope we can be real friends." Betty blushed then smiled at the thought of this wonderful man wanting to be her friend. She knew he was gay but that didn't bother her because she wasn't into men anyway. "OK, Aaron it is. I'm really looking forward to having you here for the story telling symposium." "I'm looking forward to it as well. When I return these things would you like to go and have some coffee or something just to talk?" "I'd really like that, Aaron." Betty handed Aaron the materials she had gathered and smiled as he walked out the door. "To think such a wonderful man wants to be my friend. I hope Phyllis doesn't get jealous." She said giggling to herself. Betty spent the rest of the day with a glow on her face and an added spring to her step. .........at the office.............. "OK everyone we've gathered you all together to announce something very important to us and to this company. Wow that really sounds ominous doesn't it." Steve said laughing. Everyone laughed with him then settled down to hear what he had to say. You could sense the excitement and anticipation in the room. "What my partner is trying to say.... we're going to take a few months off starting May of next year." Eric blurted out. Gasps could be heard from everyone in the room. "I know it's probably a shocker for most of you, we haven't been away from the office since Eric, and I got together. But it's time we did something special with our boys before they leave the nest." Said Steve to a lot of nodding heads. "So, this is what we were thinking. Jim you're going to take over the lab as you already are doing but will have to make all the major decisions on your own, with the help of your team of course." "Hey wait a minute. You haven't told us what you're going to be doing. First things first." Suzy said excitedly. Everyone shouted out their agreement. "How rude of me." said Steve laughing "We've decided to hike the Appalachian Trail with the boys and their Uncle Aaron beginning in May of next year. That gives us 7 months to get everything ready." "Wow, the Appalachian Trail. I heard that was a real exhausting journey." said Jeff. "And that's why we're starting our planning and training early. We want to have this company ready to operate without us and our bodies and minds ready for the challenge." Eric said. "So, with that Suzy, you'll be the center that everything will revolve around. Just like now you will keep everything organized and all parties together on the.... Wait...Hold on... that's not the way I wanted this to go at all." Steve paused and looked at Eric. He gave Steve that `Go ahead' look. "OK, so here goes. Suzy, Eric, and I want to promote you to CEO. And that promotion will be effective immediately." Steve said to a group of open mouths. "Don't look so surprised. As it is you've been running things all along anyway, Eric and I have been mere window dressing, signing paperwork that you prepare. And mainly just giving you ideas to make happen. This promotion is long overdue." Steve said to a stunned Suzy. Everyone realized what just happened and showered Suzy with hugs and words of encouragement. "I don't know what to say." Said Suzy with tears in her eyes. "Say Yes I'll take the job." Eric said. "Yes, I'll take the job." she said with a nervous giggle and gave both Steve and Eric a big hug and kiss on the cheek. "I really love you guys." she said crying. "OK so back to business, Suzy if you don't mind, I'll complete my list of appointments and then the company is all yours." Steve said. "Continue please Steve, I can't wait to hear the rest." Said Suzy drying her eyes. "OK, we thought since Jeff is already doing all the leg work for new acquisitions, that he would head that department. Jammie has been outstanding handling all the charities we're involved with so it would only make sense for him to head that. Dan has been instrumental in new breakthroughs running the construction end of our business so I think after either promoting one of his team to assistant or hiring from outside, he would be an excellent choice for Construction. Philip is new to our shipping fleet but has come a long way in adapting our company to be more efficient especially with the new computers he's brought in from Honeywell." "Well I guess that about wraps it all up." said Steve. "I think my first order to everyone is congratulations on your promotions. I'll get working on the details of your pay raises and new benefits." Said Suzy "I think I'd like to make a suggestion Suzy." Said Eric "Why don't you take the first few days and find an administrator you can trust. Running this company without an administrator would have been impossible for us and I think for you to be an effective leader you don't need to be bogged down with all the paperwork you have been doing. And it might be a good idea to either promote one of these people to CFO or get shopping for one because you don't need to be handling the finances along with running this business." "Fair enough, I'll get on that right away and in the meantime, I want all you newly appointed department heads to get together with your teams and discuss how you can make the future of this company great. Oh, and I think that would be better done at a relaxing weekend away from the office. Discuss with your teams where you'd like to go, and I'll approve the expense. Let's work hard but have fun doing it. And Jammie if you're willing and up for the challenge I'd like to appoint you to CFO along with your work on Charities" said Suzy to a still stunned team. "Well, that's that. As owners of this business, we're off. Suzy it's all yours. We'll check in now and again, but we will be busy getting prepared for our adventure. Don't hesitate to call if you need any help but I think you've got this." Steve said giving Suzy one last hug. ..........Eric and Steve leave the office............ "I've got to say, promoting Suzy was the wisest thing you've done since saying you loved me." Eric said to Steve as he stopped him and gave him a big hug and passionate kiss. "So, you're not mad that I made that decision on the spot without first discussing it with you?" "Are you kidding. You know I would have agreed so you just saved us and them the time." "God, I love you more now than I've ever loved you." Steve said as he returned Eric's kiss. "I think we need to get home and celebrate, and you know what I mean when I say celebrate." said Steve. "Now let me see, nope nothing comes to mind." said Eric playfully. "You dope, let's have sex. Now does that shake your cloudy memory?." "Just kidding lover, let's get going, I'm getting hard and don't know if I can wait much longer." Eric said grabbing Steve's cock thru his pants. "Let's do it in that field behind Otis General store. It'll be fun fucking in nature." "Ya and Greg and Clara would get a kick out of us parking and heading out to the field hand in hand." They made their way to the store with Eric stroking Steve's cock as he drove. "I see Clara at the cash register. And there's no one in the store. Let's get out with our dick's out and walk by stroking each other. She'll get a kick out of that." Steve said. They got out of the car sporting hard on's and walked up to the store window. Clara noticed them from the register and with a shocked smile waved at them. Eric and Steve grabbed each other's dicks and waved back heading out to the field. Clara came out of the store and watched them as they got to the middle of the field and took their clothes off. Before laying down in the grass, they gave Clara one last wave. "Those men are so dam sexy. It's a shame they don't like girls. I'd treat them to a real good time." Clara said to herself as she returned to the store. "This is so dirty." Steve said as he kissed Eric on the lips. "I know, reminds me of my high school days sneaking a blowjob under the bleachers during practice." Said Eric. "Let's 69, we haven't done that in ages, and I really want to suck your cock." Eric said to Steve. They quickly positioned themselves and without much foreplay began kissing each other's cocks while playing with their balls. "Mmmmmm your cock tastes so good. I don't think I'll ever stop loving the taste of your precum on my tongue." Eric said to Steve. Steve was busy sucking Eric and gave a muffled agreement as he dove down on Eric's cock taking it into his throat. "Mpffffffff!" gasped Eric around Steve's cock as his cock hit the back of Steve's throat. Eric returned the favor by deepthroating Steve. They stayed in this position for several minutes slowly reaching the tingles that come just before orgasm. Eric thought for a brief moment that he wanted Steve to fuck him but was enjoying his mouth so much he decided to just let it happen. Steve dove down deep and held Eric's cock in his throat milking it with his throat muscles, his tongue caressing the shaft. Eric couldn't control his orgasm any longer and with a loud guttural cry, took Steve's cock as deep into his throat as it would go while unleashing a torrent of man cum deep into Steve's throat. Steve backed off so he could taste his lovers cum and began pumping his cum into Eric's throat. Eric backed off to taste his lovers cum and the two sucked gently on their cock heads, milking them for every drop of cum they could get. With a final kiss on their lovers cocks they sat up and embraced. "I love you Eric with all my heart." said Steve as he kissed him all over his face. "I've never been more complete since that day you first gave yourself to me." said Eric returning the kisses. "It's like every day is a honeymoon with you. You show so much passion." Said Steve as he embraced Eric. They continued in their embrace for several minutes when they heard clapping coming from the store. Gregg had joined Clara, and they were applauding the show of love taking place in the field. Eric and Steve stood up and gave a bow then collected their clothes and walked hand in hand towards the store. "Thank you, Guys. That was nice of you to applaud us like that." Eric said as he and Steve stood naked in front of them. "How about something to drink before you head home." said Clara. "Thanks that would be great. I think I'll have a Dr Pepper, how about you Eric?" "Sounds good to me." Clara went in and grabbed a couple of cold Dr. Peppers from the cooler and came out and gave them to Eric and Steve. "It's on the house." said Clara. "Mmmm thanks that hits the spot." said Eric. They finished their sodas and got in the car to head to the compound. "Now that was fun. I think we both needed that." "Now, down to some serious planning" said Steve as they walked into their room and to the shower. ..............the boys get home............... "So, we start Saturday morning?" I asked Stevey as we talked about our upcoming physical training while changing. "I know we usually sleep in on Saturday mornings, but we have to train our bodies to be up and alert by sunrise." "Do you think our dads will want to go along with that? After all they spend just about every waking hour at the office." I added. "If they want to be ready for this journey they'll just have to and that's that." Stevey said firmly. "I know Uncle Aaron will be on board. He'd do just about anything for us." "Ya he's still very devoted to us even though we're beyond in our ages." "What about Scruffy? Do you think he'd make it? He's not old or anything but would he mind being on a leash. I don't think he's ever been on a leash. At least not since we adopted him." "Those are questions we're going to have to clear up as soon as possible." Said Stevey. .....................Steve and Eric.............. "Hey boy's how long have you been home?" asked Steve. "Not long Daddy. Can we sit down for a talk" I said as Stevey, and I grabbed a soda from the fridge and sat down at the family dining table. "Exactly what we were hoping for. Who wants to get your Uncle Aaron so we can have a family meeting?" We had begun calling them family meetings as it was a time when we could all share with everyone what was on our minds. "I'll go get him." Said Stevey as he bolted from the room. Soon Stevey returned with Uncle Aaron and Scruffy. "We have some news to share with you. We have turned the running of the business over to Suzy and have effectively retired so we can put all our time and effort into this adventure." Said Daddy After looking at Stevey's and Uncle Aaron's stunned faces I spoke up "That's the best news I've heard since you and Stevey told Dad and Me you loved us." I said. "And that clears up any question we had about starting our training on Saturday morning." Stevey added. "So, you've actually done it. You've retired. Wow I thought you two would grow old and die before leaving the business to someone else to run." Said Uncle Aaron as he gave them both a big hug. Stevey and I followed Uncle Aaron and gave our dads a big hug and kiss on the cheek. "So, we start Saturday morning huh?" Dad asked. "Yup, Saturday morning before sunrise we're gonna take a hike with full backpacks to Ellsworth. We're gonna find out just how bad a shape we're in." Stevey announced with a sly grin. "OK, Mr. planner, just how did you plan on us getting back from Ellsworth. I hope you didn't plan on us hiking back. That would be 20 miles and I don't think it's realistic to try and push that." I said. "No of course not. Dad will drive the SUV to Ellsworth and park it at the Library and Daddy will follow him and bring him back home Friday night. That way we'll have a vehicle waiting for us, and while they're in Ellsworth they can stop at the pet store and get Scruffy a collar and leash." Stevey answered. "Yes, that will give us someplace to put his license tag. I've had that in a draw since we got him registered with the county." Added Uncle Aaron "And we'll have a cooler full of water waiting for us in the SUV!" Dad added. "I'll call Betty to let her know what we're doing so she doesn't wonder about the SUV in the parking lot when she opens the library Sat. morning." Said Uncle Aaron. "We better call the Barkers to let them know. Remember we've invited them to stay the weekend." Steve reminded Eric. "So Stevey, how long do you figure it should take to hike the 10 miles?" asked Dad. "I figure we should be able to walk around 3 miles an hour so that would make it about 3 ½ hours. I'll add another 30 mins to that for rest stops so figure 4 hours. If we leave at sunrise that would put us at the library by noon or a little before." Calculated Stevey "Sounds good. I'll call the Barkers and have them meet us at the library, that way they can follow us back to the compound and we won't have to give them directions." Said Dad Dad called the Barkers and explained what we were doing, and they agreed to meeting us at the library at noon. Dad told them if they didn't see us at noon to wait because we wouldn't be much later. They could go into the library and chat with Betty to kill the time. Jim thought the hike was a real good idea and agreed that they needed to know just how grueling a 10-mile hike can be with a heavy pack on. Everything was set for the first training hike Saturday morning. We decided to take a boat ride around the lake and bring a picnic lunch with us to have for supper. The next couple of days sped by and it was now time to set things up for the hike. Eric and Steve deposited the SUV at the library and popped in to say hi to Betty. "Hi guys, you're here to drop off the SUV?" "Yup and we thought we'd stop in to say hi and bye." Said Steve. "That was really nice of you to find all that material for Aaron. He's certainly made the most of it. We were wondering if maybe we could hang onto the map for a bit longer so we could copy it." said Steve. "No need, you keep that. I can order another one to replace It. It's the library's treat considering Aaron volunteering for the story telling symposium. I assume you will attend?" "We wouldn't miss it." Said Dad "OK, see you tomorrow. And make sure to stop in before you take off." Said Betty "Will do" said Steve as they headed out to the car and to the pet store. "This looks like a collar that will be comfortable around his neck, but I doubt it will hold him if he decides to take off." Said Steve looking thru the section with all the collars. "I'm going to ask what the best one would be instead of guessing and not getting the right one. I don't want to be a mile from the compound and have the wrong collar on Scruffy and not be able to control him." Eric said. The store attendant was very helpful, and they settled on a body harness which gave the maximum control and one Scruffy couldn't get out of. A 18-foot retractable leash was chosen and with that purchase they headed home. ..........Saturday morning............... Stevey had set the alarm for 5 so we could be on the road by 6. "Damn I'm still sleepy." I said to Stevey as he rolled over and planted a wet one on my face. "You look so cute with the Sleepy's in your eyes and your hair all ruffled up. Now it's up and at um. Let's shake the lead out and have a quick breakfast. I'll go make sure our dads are up and you get going on our breakfast." Said Stevey as he bounded out of bed. "Just one kiss? Is that all I get?" I cried. "If I gave you more than that we wouldn't get out of bed for an hour. Now get moving lover boy. Before I have to tickle your feet." Stevey knew I hated having my feet tickled so his threat worked, and I got out of bed and went to the kitchen by way of the toilet. I made us a quick breakfast of oatmeal and toast just as Uncle Aaron arrived with Scruffy in tow. "He sure doesn't like the idea of the harness and damn near pulled me down the stairs headfirst." said Uncle Aaron as he held on to Scruffy's leash with him jumping up and down. "Well, he's going to have to get used to it or he can't come. They don't allow pets without leashes as you told us when you read the park service rules." Stevey said as he went to Scruffy and hugged him. "Scruffy, you can't come if you don't learn how to walk with the leash." Stevey said as he held Scruffy's head to his. Scruffy licked Stevey's face and sat down to receive his usual scratching behind the ears. Stevey lovingly scratched his ears and got up to have breakfast. "So, we're having oatmeal for breakfast, not sure I'm much of a fan." Daddy said. "It's the healthiest thing to have before a strenuous work out." Explained Stevey "And besides, that's probably going to be a staple on our journey because it's light weight to carry and easy to prepare." he added. "Guess I'll just have to get used to it." shrugged Daddy as he picked up his bowl and added a ton of brown sugar and a gallon of milk to hide the flavor. "You do know that brown sugar and milk won't be all that plentiful as it will take up a lot of pack space." I said watching Daddy slurp down his oatmeal. Dad watched Daddy eating his oatmeal and laughed. "You know lover I bet a day will come on our hike when you would beg for a bowl of oatmeal." "I doubt that." answered Daddy. "OK, let's end the chit chat and get moving. It's almost 6 and we need to get going so we can be at the library by noon. We had filled our packs last night, so they were ready and waiting by the door. We finished our breakfast and put the bowls in the sink to soak and donned our packs. "I know we tried these on last night, but they just seem heavier for some reason this morning." Dad exclaimed as he winced at the strain on his shoulders. "They're going to feel a lot heavier by the time we make it to Ellsworth. Are you still sure you want to go along with this?" Steve asked Eric bravely standing tall holding on to his pack straps. "I'm not backing out if that's what you think. So, I'll stop complaining and just grin and bear it." Steve went to Eric and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "That's my brave man!" Stevey and I chuckled at them and walked out the door into the cool predawn morning. "Mmmm this feels wonderful. I just can't get enough of the cool crisp morning air in the fall." Exclaimed Uncle Aaron as he took a deep breath. Scruffy was pulling hard on his leash because he wanted to run. "Not going to be doing any running boy so you'll just have to calm down." Uncle Aaron said as he pulled back on the leash. "You want us to take him Uncle Aaron?" I asked. "No, he's my dog and he has to learn to obey me. Once he learns that you boys can take him." Replied Uncle Aaron. After about ½ mile of trying to free himself from the harness and Uncle Aaron pulling him off his front paws, Scruffy finally got the message and started to walk just a few feet in front of us. "Looks like he learned pretty fast. I guess that pet store attendant knew what he was talking about." Said Steve. We had walked about a mile and a half, and the backpacks weren't riding right on our backs. After listening to all our moaning and groaning Stevey finally called a halt. "OK, sounds like we need to stop for a few minutes and get our packs adjusted. Mine's not doing too well either. I think if we adjust the straps so they ride a bit higher on our backs, it will be a more comfortable carry." We did as Stevey suggested, and it did seem to help. A few of our friends passed us in their cars and honked and waved as they headed to town for some Saturday morning shopping. We finally made it to the fish hatchery where Graham Lake spills into Green lake. We crossed the small bridge and Stevey announced that we were about halfway, and it was a great place to take our rest break. It was 8:30 so we were pretty much on schedule. Everyone couldn't wait to take off their packs and sit down on the banking of the lake. We all drank some water from our canteens and a snack from our packs. "It's so interesting looking at that island out there. It's hard to imagine it's floating but that's what it is." Said Uncle Aaron. "Yup, last week when we drove by on our way to the office it was about 20 yards closer to Great Meadows point." Said Daddy "Before they built the damn on the Union River, this was all farmland and woods with just the river flowing thru it. Now it's one of the longest lakes in Maine, and the largest manmade lake." "Those floating islands were formed when swamp lands around the river flooded, and the swamp grass and small trees lifted from their hold on the ground and began floating. If you took a boat out to them it would really stink and if you tried to get off onto them, you'd sink thru and probably drown under their root system trying to get out." Dad said. "Ya, I remember Grandpa telling me a story how a deer got stranded on one of them and a couple of the locals tried to go out and free it. They got a couple of yards onto the island and dropped thru. They weren't found for over 5 years when a fisherman snagged one of them and pulled half their skeleton out of the water. The island had since sunk to the bottom and was a great fishing spot." I explained. "How many of those floating islands are there?" asked Stevey. "I heard there were only two and they are only about half the size they were when they were first formed. Funny thing is the trees that took root in them are still standing. Even after some devastating storms." I said. "Wow, that's pretty interesting but we have to get going, it's been about 20 min.'s since we stopped." Stevey said looking at his watch. We were getting our packs back on and adjusted when George and Clara drove up and rolled down their window. "Just what are you boys doing? And with those backpacks. Strangest thing I've seen." Exclaimed George. "We're hiking to Boston and thought we might need a few things for the trip." Said Dad with a straight face. We were having a hard time not laughing and Stevey had to bury his face into my chest to keep from exploding with laughter. "BOSTON! Are you nuts!" yelled Clara from the driver's seat? We finally couldn't hold back, and all burst out laughing. Uncle Aaron was laughing so hard snot was coming out his nose and tears were running down his cheeks. After Daddy finally regained some composure, he looked towards the stunned faces of George and Clara "No, we're trying to get into shape to hike the Appalachian Trail and Stevey thought this would be the best way to get used to hiking with full packs on." "Wow, the Appalachian Trail! Now that's an undertaking I don't think I'd want to tackle." Exclaimed George. "You boys going to Ellsworth and back to the lake. That's like 20 miles, isn't it?" "No, we left the SUV at the library last night so we could ride back after our hike." Said Dad. "Well good luck, better you than me." Said George as they waved and took off. "What a character. I can't believe Clara took your Boston joke seriously." Uncle Aaron said still laughing. We turned left onto Eagle Rd. from State Route 180 and headed for the Union River damn. The hiking was getting a bit easier as we approached the dam. "Better keep a tight grip on Scruffy. It looks like there's a lot of people fishing off the banks below the dam, he'll want to great them all and we don't have time for that." Stevey said to Uncle Aaron "Ya, he loves greeting people. Never saw a dog that loves everyone like Scruffy does. It'll be tough but I'll keep him on a short leash as we cross the dam." Scruffy tried several times to break free, but Uncle Aaron managed to keep him close. "I read in the paper that they're going to rebuild the dam soon. That ought to be quite the project. They're going to have to build a new bridge on the lake side then divert the water around the existing dam with a temporary dam." Said Daddy "We'll have to check that out when it gets started. It will be interesting to watch." I said. We made it to North Street and turned toward Ellsworth. Our pace had slowed down some and Stevey looked at his watch to check the time. "We're going to be at least a half hour at this pace. Do you all think we could pick it up a bit. We've got about a mile and a half to go and if we quicken our pace, we won't be more that 15 minutes late getting to the library." We all looked at him and sighed, adjusted our packs, and marched on with a swifter pace knowing this hike would soon be over and we could relax. "Well, there it is." Dad said as we topped the hill on State St. just before the Congregational Church. "Never thought I'd look forward to seeing the library." Jim and Martha were just getting out of their car to go into the library when they saw us coming down the hill. They stopped and waved; Jim had a huge smile as he greeted us. "You boys look exhausted. How was the hike?" "For our first time, I'd say we did pretty darn good." said Stevey. "After about 20 more hikes we should be old pros." We all groaned loudly at that. Jim and Martha began to laugh hysterically watching the painful expression on our faces. "You boys have guts, that's all I can say." Said Martha as she brought her laughter under control. "As the old man of this group of hapless wonderers I can honestly say I'm not looking forward to 20 more practice hikes, but I know it's necessary, so I'll keep persevering. I'm considering fashioning a cart that Scruffy can pull me in. I have been putting that idea to thought and have already created a design in my head. Just not sure Scruffy would go along with the idea. He'd probably pull me into the woods and dump me off the banking of the nearest brook." Uncle Aaron said with a laugh. "A cart wouldn't be a bad idea actually but not to haul you in, Uncle Aaron but we could put some of our supplies in it and train him to stay on the trail." Added Stevey. "I don't think that would work Stevey, there are way too many places along the trail where it would have to be carried and that would defeat its purpose." Explained Jim. "Well, it was a thought." said Uncle Aaron resignedly. "Let's go in and say hi to Betty." Said Uncle Aaron after he had deposited his pack in the SUV. We all agreed and after loading up the SUV and putting Scruffy in the back we all went inside. "Hi boys." said Betty as she walked over to greet them. "And who are these folks you have with you; I don't remember seeing them in the library before?" "Betty meet Jim and Martha Barker. They own and operate the outfitters store just outside of town." Uncle Aaron said as Betty took each of their hands. "This is a real nice library, Betty; I'm going to have to come by and check it out one of these days." Said Martha "You could fill out a library card right now if you have a couple minutes." "Go ahead Martha, we've got time." Said Jim as he began gazing around the lobby at the displays Betty had set up. "Oh my, what's that smell?" Betty said as Uncle Aaron stood a bit closer. "Uh Oh, I guess we probably are a bit ripe after that long hike." I said sniffing under my armpits. "I'll never understand why people always smell under their pits when the worst smelling area after sweating like this is your backside." Said Stevey "Now that would look rather comical." I said thinking about sniffing my backside. "Don't think that's possible. Gonna have to stick with smelling my pits." "You boys amaze me how you carry on about the stupidest things." Dad said as he sniffed his armpits. Everyone had a good chuckle over the seemingly meaningless conversation taking place. After Martha finished filling out the library card and everyone saying bye to Betty, we loaded up in the SUV for the short ride home. Scruffy was excited to have us return and jumped from the back into our laps for the ride home. "Well at least Scruffy isn't turned off by our stench." Said Uncle Aaron as Scruffy licked all our faces. "We're going to have to fumigate the SUV when we get home." Said Daddy laughing. The Barkers followed us and parked next to the SUV and got out when we stopped outside the garage overlooking the cottage and the lake. "Wow this is Amazing." exclaimed Martha as she tried to take it all in. "When you said a weekend at your cottage, I was thinking of a small two room cottage. This is far from that. This is huge, more like a mansion." exclaimed Jim with a stunned look on his face. "Well, welcome to our compound." I said as I led them to the cottage. "We'll set you up in the guest suite for the weekend. You'll find everything you need there; towels are in the closet in the bath. Make yourselves at home." Stevey said as he escorted them to their quarters for the next couple of days. "I may not want to leave." said Martha as she tried to take it all in. "We may just have to close the store for a few days. I don't think I want to leave either." Said Jim in complete agreement with Martha. "Seriously folks, if you would like to stay longer, we'd love to have you." Said Daddy. "As long as you understand we're gay and like to walk around our home naked. We would love to have you stay as many days as you'd like." "You really mean that? You're not just trying to be nice?" Said Jim "And as far as walking around naked, Jim here would love that. He's naked just about the second he gets back home from the store. And I have to admit, watching a bunch of cute boys like you naked would give me a real thrill. As far as you being gay, that's not a problem. Our son has a live-in gay partner and they're constantly making out on the couch. I'm sure he would just love to have the house to himself and his partner for a few days." Said Martha. The cottage and the overwhelming friendliness of the boys began to get to Martha, and she began to tear up. "Martha are you OK." asked Jim as he noticed her beginning to tear up. "I'm a bit overwhelmed, is all. We've never met anyone as wonderful as these men and I'm just so happy I could cry." and with that the water works began. Jim held her close, and we all came over to give her a hug. "We're going to take showers and get out of these sweaty clothes. You two make yourselves at home and help yourselves to anything in the fridge. Consider this home for at least a few days." Dad said as he and Daddy headed to their room. Stevey and I headed to ours and Uncle Aaron and Scruffy went to their apartment. "I can't believe how beautiful this place is." exclaimed Martha to Jim as they walked out onto the patio that wrapped around the front of the cottage overlooking the lake. "What a magnificent view of the mountains on the other side of the lake!" Jim said as he held Martha in his arms. "I've always loved this lake and ever since I was a young boy and Mom and Dad brought us here for picnics on the beach I've wanted to summer here. It just never came to be." "What a place to retire too." said Martha as she looked out at the lake as the sun made its way down to the mountains. "Unfortunately, we could never afford to buy anything on this lake since the state shut down any new development. Property prices tripled in one day when that happened." Said Jim. .....In our suite..... "Look at the Barkers Stevey, aren't they a wonderful looking couple." I said as I opened the slides and stepped out onto our deck overlooking the main patio. Stevey joined me on the deck drying his hair with his towel now wrapped around his head. "Shush Johnny, they're talking. Let's let them have their privacy." Just as he took my hand to bring me back into our suite we overheard the part of their conversation about wanting to retire here but not being able to afford it. I turned and looked at Stevey and with my finger over my lips guided him back in to our suite and closed the slide. "You're thinking exactly what I am right now aren't you." Stevey said as he took the towel from his head. "You know I am. Let's go talk to our dads." ......in dads suite..... "And then we heard them talking about how they'd love to retire here but could never afford the prices since the state shut down any further development." Stevey said. "And that's when we thought why can't they retire here. It's not like we don't have the room and we have grown to really like them even though it's only been a couple of days knowing them." I added. "OK, hold on boys. We don't know whether they were really serious or just making conversation." Said Daddy "If you could have seen the way they looked out at the lake when they were talking and the love they were showing each other you wouldn't doubt it." Stevey said. "Look, let's just ask them. It can't hurt and if they weren't being serious, nothing lost." I said. "But what if we embarrass them?" said Daddy. "Let's throw caution to the wind and just have a nice talk with them and somehow we can work it into the conversation." I said. "OK, agreed. It would be kinda nice having them around. I've actually grown quite fond of them myself." Dad added. We all headed down the stairs and walked towards the patio where the Barkers where still standing looking out at the lake. We paused as we looked at them holding each other like newlyweds on their honeymoon. "That's the sweetest thing I've seen in a while." Dad said as he pulled Daddy in for a kiss. We opened the sliding doors and joined them on the patio. "I guess we're a bit over dressed Jim." Martha said as she looked at the four of us walking up to them naked. "Oh, did we forget to mention that life here is clothing optional." Daddy said laughing at the looks on the Barkers faces. "No, you didn't forget we just hadn't caught on yet. But that's about to change." Jim said as he began to disrobe. Martha began collecting his clothes and after Jim had made himself at home brought his clothes into the living room to lay them down on the edge of one of the loungers. "I don't mind looking at your naked bodies, but this old lady doesn't feel comfortable enough yet." "Do whatever makes you happy." Daddy said as Martha rejoined us on the patio. "Martha and I were just admiring the view. It's outstanding. So peaceful." Jim said as Martha wrapped her arm once more around his waist. "I bet its somewhere you'd like to retire." I said. Stevey looked at me and grinned. "Subtle. Very subtle." he said chuckling. "Now that you mention it we were just talking about that but alas it's not in the cards. There's no way we could afford any thing on this lake." Jim said. "But what if there was a way. Would you?" asked Stevey. "I don't want to even think about it. There's no way and I wouldn't want to get Martha's hopes up. We'll find a nice place and maybe we might just stay where we are. Selling and moving is highly overrated. Besides finding the right place would be a hassle I don't want at this point in my life." Jim said resignedly. Things got quite and Stevey and I looked at Dad and Daddy. "Alright that's it, the time for subtleties has passed. Jim, Martha we want you to retire here." Daddy said to two very stunned faces. "We've grown quite fond of you two in the short time we've known you and having you around would make our lives a bit more fun. And besides having Jim right here would be a huge help in our planning for the trip on the trail." Dad said. "Look we don't want to pressure you but we sure would love to have you around. Stevey and I haven't had any grandparents around for most of our lives since my grandparents moved to Mass." "And we would love to have you two become our adoptive grandparents." Stevey added as he walked over to give Martha a hug. I joined him and before they knew it there was a family hug fest happening. Martha was overwhelmed with the love we were showing them and began to cry. "Oh, Jim could we?" Jim looked at her face and smiled. "Martha if it's what you want I can't keep this from you. Yes." "Oh, Jim I love you so much!" Martha exclaimed as she hugged and kissed him and then turned to us and gave each of us a hug and kiss. Stevey and I lingered in our hugs giving her kisses on her cheeks. There wasn't a dry eye on the patio as Uncle Aaron and Scruffy came out through the slides to join us. "Wow, what did I miss? Did someone die or something." "They're going to live with us and retire right here." I said laughing at the expression on his face. "Well, that was fast. Can't say I'm surprised. I think my invitation happened about the same. Well welcome Jim and Martha to our unconventional family." Uncle Aaron said as he walked over to them to hug them. Scruffy wasn't sure what was going on but knew that something happy was happening and that got him excited, so he joined Uncle Aaron in giving Jim and Martha kisses. ......................................... Well, that brings the second chapter of this story to a close. I hope you are enjoying it. There is much more to come. In the next chapter we bring the Barkers into our home.