Written by J.P.G.

{Jacob Finding His Way is partly fictional. As I am writing this story, I am above the age of 21. If you want a story with lots of sex, look elsewhere. This is a love story. Seeing as it is a love story, sex is in there, but it's in realistic balance in the characters' lives.

Any similarity to any real events, names, or life events is purely accidental. If you are underage, (according to your state laws, a minor), if this literature is offensive to you or to anyone around your viewing area, or it is illegal for you to view such content where you are reading it, stop reading the story.

This story can't be distributed in any way, shape or form without the author's expressed written consent.}

Story Written by: J.P.G.

Love Scenes Written By: Daddy Rick

Edited By: Daddy Rick

Chapter 68

Andy Jr. got home as quickly as possible from work in order to speak with Jacob. When he drove up and didn't see his little brother's truck, he remembered that he went straight to work after school. Now he has to wait even longer to speak with his brother.

The waiting drove him up the wall. Every time he heard a car pass by or a door shut, he went running to the window or front door. Each time he turned around and walked back to the TV room, he felt like an idiot. To make matters worse, his mom, dad and Jeremy were there, and looked at him with looks on their faces indicating they are noticing his odd behavior.

At ten minutes to nine, Jacob and the others walked in the door. The one time Andy didn't jump out of his seat and go running to the door to meet Jacob, was the time he had walked into the door. He noticed that Jacob looked tired, so he decided to let him relax and eat dinner before he goes and asked him for the favor he needs.

When the guys started to either walk into the TV room or walked past the room to head upstairs, Andy knew that they had finished eating dinner. He waited patiently for him to walk in, but he never did. When he saw Dewayne walk by, he got up from his seat and walked caught up to him at the foot of the stairs.

"Hey Dewayne, where is Jacob? I have been waiting for him to finish eating dinner, but he hasn't passed by yet." He looked up at him from the bottom stair.

"He finished eating a while ago. The reason you didn't see him walk by is that he went to the study to do some work. If you need to speak with him, you should go to the study or you will be waiting all night for him." Dewayne started to walk up the stairs as he continued talking. "Do me a favor Andy when you talk with him. Don't keep him up late talking and when you are done, tell him to get his butt to bed. I can't fall asleep without my boyfriend at my side."

"You got it Dewayne!" He couldn't help but smile after hearing that last part. He walked over to the study, but found the door shut. Before knocking, Andy leaned into the door to make sure that he wasn't talking to anyone in there. Once he was certain he started to knock and by the third knock, he heard Jacob invite him in.

He opened the huge wooden door and walked into the study. He saw Jacob sitting behind the desk where normally their grandfather sits. He looked up and waved him over. Before he could say a word, Jacob spoke up.

"What can I do for you Andy?" Jacob put down the file he was working on and gave his brother his undivided attention. "I know it has been a while since you and I have talked, but we both have been working crazy hours since grandpa left. Plus we are not in the house at the same time anymore. The military has you working all these crazy hours."

"Yeah they have the unmarried soldiers pull the ugly shifts. Don't get me wrong, the soldiers that are married have to work night shift or graveyard shift several times a month, but mostly it is the unmarried soldiers that pull those hours." Andy knew the facial expression on his brother's face, he has seen it many times before indicating `are you crazy?'

"I don't mind working the hours right now since I am not married. But when the day comes and I do get married, I better get the same courtesy. Anyways I better get to the reason I came in here to talk with you. Dewayne wants me to not keep you up late talking because he can't fall asleep without you by his side."

That put a big smile across Jacob's face. "Neither of us can fall asleep without the other at our side in the bed. I love him so much and he loves me the same as I love him. I know that because the way he treats me, talks to me and shows me every single day."

"Anyone around you guys could see that you guys are madly in love. So there is no need to explain to any of us what we can see for ourselves." He made a facial expression that only he and Jacob understood. "I need to talk with you about something really important. At the end, I will be asking you for favor, but it won't be for me."

Once again Jacob looked at his brother with a confused look on his face. "Here let me tell you what is going on and you will see it is nothing bad. The other day I was on MP duty at one of the gates. This young kid came through and didn't have a sticker on his window. So I followed protocol..."

Andy explained what had happened the day when he had a young kid arrested. He told him everything from the moment the kid drove up, to him looking for his insurance, to them pulling him out of the car and when he talk with the kid. He sat there listening to his brother and knew where this conversation was going.

"I really feel bad that the kid arrested. Even more so after I talked with his mother! The kid made one mistake in his life, now he is paying for it. And the mistake was not even a mistake, but a misunderstanding. The police being the dicks that they are still arrested the kid even after the resident didn't want to press charges.

Trust me Jacob! If you would have seen this kid, you would have come to the same conclusion I did and that is there is no way he is going to make it in jail. What I am getting at is by any chance can you help me help this kid. He has a court appointed attorney; those guys are worthless. They will let him rot in jail until his court date because they are not getting paid to actually work his case. He doesn't deserve that."

Jacob sat back in his seat and thought about what Andy was asking him. He agrees with his older brother that the kid doesn't deserve to be in jail when there is no complaining party. The laws today really don't make any sense, with the one size fits all is bullshit.

"Before I even tell you what I am thinking Andy, you must stick with this. Don't come in here asking me for help because you feel bad right now then later you get busy and just drop the whole thing and not follow up. You can't give that kid hope and than squash it the moment you find something else to do."

"I promise Jacob that I will see this through. You didn't see the look in this kid's face. He knew where he was going and knew that there was no way he was going to make in there. I need to do whatever I can to help him, and of course that depends on you."

"Okay this is what I think we should do to help this kid. You go out and find him an attorney that deals with the kind of charges that the kid is being charged with. Wait, wait just I minute, I just thought of something." Jacob pulled out his book of business cards and started going through them. Once he found the card he was looking for, he pulled it out and handed it to Andy.

"Contact these attorneys and let them know who I am and that you are friends with Alex. They were able to pull a miracle off for Alex and got his charges moved to Juvenile Court. How they did that I really don't know. I thought his judge was never going to budge on having him do his time in prison, but these attorneys got him to budge."

Andy looked down at the card he gave him. "If they were the ones that got Alex out of his mess, I don't see this kid's case being much of a problem. After all as I keep saying, there is no complaining party in this case. According to the kid's mother, the DA decided to still prosecute because they wanted to make it clear this stuff won't be tolerated."

"Exactly what I was thinking , the kid shouldn't be much of a problem for these attorneys. If by any chance they can't get the kid out, I will call the DA and see what I can get done. I am not saying that I can get anything done because there is a new District Attorney now, who I haven't met yet."

"I understand Jacob and thank you. Let's try these attorneys first and then go from there. I don't want you to meet the new District Attorney and right away ask him for a favor. We both agree that these attorneys are good and will more than likely have no problem getting this kid out of jail and hopefully off his probation."

Andy got up from his seat and thanked Jacob again. When he reached the door, he turned around and reminded him what Dewayne said, Jacob sighed, turned off the lamp on the desk and followed his brother out of the study. They chatted as they walked up the stairs. When Andy reached his room, he said goodnight and went in.

Just like every other morning, the boys ate their first breakfast at the house before heading out to pick up Ethan. But there is where it changed. When they drove up to Ethan's house, another vehicle drove up behind them. At first Jacob didn't pay any attention to the car, but when he saw Ethan looking at the car as he walked out of his house, instead of them, Jacob looked back to see who it was in the vehicle.

To his surprise it was Derrick, which put a smile on Ethan's face. Right when Jacob turned around he found Ethan standing at his door. He rolled down his window to see what he wanted to do. By the look on his face, he was as surprised as they were that Derrick had driven all the way here.

Ethan said good morning to everyone before leaning into whisper to Jacob. "I didn't know that Derrick was planning to come down here this morning. If I did, I would have told you not to come and pick me up. I am so sorry, but I am wondering if it's cool with you that he drove me to school. If you don't think..."

"It isn't my decision to make Ethan." Jacob interrupted . "I am fine if you want him to drive you to school this morning. In fact I think it would be nice that he does so you two can start to really get to know each other." He looked around at the guys in the truck. "But you know as well as I do the guys are not dumb. Eventually they are going to put this together and you are going to have to tell them the truth."

"I know Jacob and I promise I will. Thank you so much for this, I will see you guys in the cafeteria for breakfast." With a big grin on his face, he patted Jacob on the chest.

"Not to sound mean, but I hope I don't see you for breakfast. If Dewayne would show up like Derrick just did, I wouldn't think twice about the guys. All I would want at that moment is to be with my Dewayne. I hope that is what you will start to feel with Derrick, which I know in some instances takes some time. Not in mine and Dewayne's, if you get my drift; I fell for him the first moment I saw him."

He nodded in agreement as he walked over to Derrick's car. Jacob quickly put his truck in drive and took off so the guys didn't see how those two act around each other. Until he is ready to tell the guys he's gay, Jacob plans to do whatever he can to help him keep it quiet.

"What was all that Jacob?" Tom asked as he looked through the rear window. "That was some weird shit if you ask me. I have never seen a friend come over and pick up another friend and that friend act the way Ethan was acting. There is something going on and everyone in this truck knows you know what it is, so spill the beans."

"There is nothing weird going on there. It's just two new friends getting to know each other. You guys know as well as I do since he and his family moved here, he has felt out of place. Now he met a person that had almost the same life as he did. I don't blame Ethan for wanting to hang around with him where he doesn't feel like an alien."

"That is a bunch of bullshit and you know that Jacob." Chase weighed in almost yelling from the back seat. "I have never seen two guys get so chummy with each other from day one, like Ethan and that Derrick guy. No there is something more going on there and you don't want to tell us what it is. Something more than just friends, right Jacob?"

"Do you want me to even go there with you Chase?" Jacob looked through his middle mirror to see Chase shaking his head. "Fine I will prove to you that you are way off base. What I am getting from your hints Tom and Chase, is you think there is more than just a friendship going on there, which you are wrong.

Based on how you got to where you are going, both of you should be my boyfriend. I met you Chase on the first day of our freshman year and we started to hang out. We started walking to and from school from that moment on. Going by the way you figure out if two people are more than friends, than you and I should be fucking each other every night."

Jacob turned to look at Tom. "Do I even have give you an example on how wrong you are Tom, because you know I will."

Tom didn't say a word, but the look on his face said it all to Jacob. He didn't want Jacob to show him up like he did to Chase. Since he didn't respond, the subject was dropped. No one said another word the rest of the way to school. As he parked, he asked Tom and Chase to stay back as he others left.

"Chase you and I know you have a problem, although you don't want to tell me what the hell is going on, we both know there is a problem. That is telling me I was wrong about our friendship. It isn't as strong as I thought it was. We are not best friends, or at least you don't consider us best friends. Whatever the problem is, I am tired of trying to figure it out. Until you are already to trust me, I will never know.

Until then Chase, this crap you are pulling must stop. You and your girlfriend's smart ass comments and threats will stop. You will make sure of that if you value what ever friendship you think we have. Although in your mind it might not be best friends, it is a friendship. If you want to keep it, you will find the real Chase and get him back."

Chase just looked at him, unable to say a word. He never wanted him to think that he never considered him his best friend, because he is his best friend. Now he not only thinks that they are not best friends, he is ready to pull his friendship away. A friendship he doesn't want to ever lose because it has been a friendship he has always been able to depend on no matter what is going on in their lives.

"Tom I don't even know what to say to you, but don't start with this crap either. I have never showed you disrespect nor has Ethan. So when I say there is nothing going on except a friendship and that's the truth. If there is something more than that, Ethan will come out and tell us. Until then, you guys need to keep your disrespectful comments to yourselves. If not out of respect to Ethan, than do it for me."

Jacob opened his door and got out. He turned to look into Tom and Chase's faces. "I know I have earned your respect with all the stuff I have done for you guys." He slammed his door and started to walk to the main building.

Chase and Tom got out of the truck, shut their doors and ran up to catch up with Jacob. They didn't speak once about what was said in the truck. Instead they asked him how he is feeling about his chances of winning student body president. He answered them and that was it. They talked as if nothing had happened.

While the guys were talking about him, Ethan and Derrick were doing exactly what Jacob recommended, they were getting to know each other. Derrick didn't take Ethan straight to school; instead he stopped at the McDonalds on their way. That surprised Ethan.

"Derrick can you please take me to school, I can get breakfast there instead of buying it here." He looked over at Ethan trying to figure out why he didn't want to eat with him, and Ethan read that. "The reason isn't you that I don't want to eat here, it just I have no money. The paychecks I get from work go to help out with things at my house."

"Don't you worry about that, Ethan. I didn't expect you to pay for your meal; this is my treat." He reached over and grabbed Ethan's big, soft hand. "I just want us to eat a meal together without anyone else around. That is the only way we will feel free to talk to each other about our thoughts and feelings, since neither of us are out."

Before he could reply, Derrick leaned over and kissed him on the lips. It wasn't a long kiss, but a kiss just the same. It made him forget what he was about to say. He got out of the car and followed Derrick into the McDonalds like a love sick puppy. If a person knew what they were looking for, they would figure out Ethan was falling fast for Derrick. He is trying not to do it, but it's happening no matter what he does.

The wait in the line was longer than it was getting their food. Once they got their food, they went and found a table in the corner of the restaurant. Neither of them said a word at first, but once they started talking, they couldn't stop. To Ethan's surprise, he was answering all the questions that Derrick was asking. That's something he has never done with any of his past girlfriends, but there's the key word; girlfriends.

A little more than half way through, they ran out of polite topics. "Ethan I know I am older than you and you haven't had a boyfriend before. I won't rush you into anything. Just do me a favor please!" Ethan looked up from the table. "If you decide you and I are not a good match, don't go and do anything stupid like get into a three way relationship. I see why you like that guy Chase, but in the end you are the one that will end up being hurt."

Ethan reached over to his leg, under the table, and placed his hand on Derrick's knee. "Right now I don't know where you and I are going to go; it's way too early. One thing I do know for sure is that I will never get involved in what I was thinking about with Chase and his girlfriend and more so after what she threatened to do. No way in hell could I ever trust that woman."

He was trying to not let on that he is lying through his teeth when he said he has no idea where this thing between him and Derrick is going. He knows he is falling and falling fast for him. The only problem is that he had no idea if Derrick is falling for him as fast as he is. If this winds up being a one way street, and he is the only one feeling these emotions, he will be the one getting hurt. Ethan decided to take the chance. He has to find out if he feels the same way.

"Um Derrick, Um..." He cleared his throat and started to rub his hands on his jeans under the table because he was starting to sweat. "Um, I am wondering something and I would like you to be honest with me. As we discussed, I have gone out with girls in the past, but never guys. The girls didn't mean anything, it was just to make sure my family or friends did not catch on that I'm gay.

Anyway I better just come out and ask and stop beating around the bush. I have never felt what I am feeling right now when I am around you. I don't know what to really think about this, but I want to know what you are feeling. If you know already that you just want to be friends, please let me know. That way I move on and..."

"Stop right there Ethan! If I didn't have the same feelings you are feeling, I wouldn't be here with you! In the past I have ran into guys that I thought at first I liked, but after talking to them, I found that we really didn't have anything in common. So I pulled away right away and only talked with them here in there and that was only hello or good morning. You know, just like anyone does to an acquaintance; you just give them the time of day.

Ethan, I liked you the moment I saw you, and hoped that you were different than the other guys in the past. Boy I'm so happy to tell you, you are so different. I want to try and make something work between us. I really hope we can, because all I can think about is you all the time now."

Ethan wanted to lean across the table and kiss him on the lips, but he held back. He felt like everyone was watching them, but he was wrong. It was just in his mind since he thinks he is doing something wrong by being with guy and feeling the way he is feeling about that guy; the very thing he has been taught that was wrong since he could remember. That's why he thinks or feels that everyone is watching.

"I want to see where this goes too." Ethan got up and to put the tray of wrappers and empty cups to the trash. As they walked out, Ethan whispered to him. "I need to do something first before we go on. I want there to be a place where we can go and be ourselves and that place is my friend Jacob's house."

"What a minute Ethan, are you saying what I think you are saying? You plan to come out to your friends. I thought you were really against that. Plus they are straight; they might take you being gay the wrong way, all except Chase of course." Ethan couldn't help himself and he started to giggle as he got into the car.

"Boy are you wrong there Derrick. The only ones that are straight in my, um, well I better not say who is gay. It is better to let them tell you when I introduce you to them as not my friend, but my boyfriend." Ethan looked over at Derrick with his puppy eyes. "If you are okay with that? I don't want to put you out if you aren't ready."

Derrick leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "I would love to be introduced to your friends as your boyfriend. That way I can officially take you out on dates where we can really get to know each other. But you will have to give me a chance on that because I have not really been on any real dates with a person I really want to be with."

Ethan chuckled and promised Derrick that he won't expect too much from him on their first dates. He asked him in return to do the same to which he agreed. The rest of the way to El Paso High, they talked about what they want to do on their first date. Before they could finish putting together the details of their first date, they drove up the school. Derrick parked in the far parking lot so they could kiss without anyone seeing.

Hating to break the kiss, Ethan pulled away. He thanked Derrick for a great morning and promised that he will keep some of his money and pay the next time. Derrick tried to tell him not worry about it, but he wouldn't hear of it. He got out of the car and headed over to the main building, looking back several times to catch Derrick looking at him.

The morning was going well until Jacob got note to report to the ROTC building at the beginning of third period, when he was in second period. His mind started to wonder the reason he is being called over . He knows that he hasn't been giving the program much attention since state, but Colonel Pigeon should know why. He was not allowed to go and the reason why he couldn't go was pure bull. There are very few things that bother Jacob, but lying to him is one, and that's what happened.

Jacob slid note into his notebook and started working on his assignment. When the bell rang, he gathered his stuff and made his way to the ROTC building as if he had all day. Other kids were pushing pass him as if there was fire, but he didn't pay it much mind. He kept walking without any urgency in his step.

When he reached the building, he walked in through the office door, stopped at Colonel Pigeon's door, knocked and waited to be invited in. Colonel Pigeon didn't even look up from his desk, he just waved Jacob in. Jacob didn't say a word, he just walked over to the desk and stood there waiting to be asked to sit.

"Jacob I have several concerns about you, but for now I have to shelve those concerns. A person from your past is here. I got a call from Colonel May last period to let me know that this young man is going to be stopping in and that I need to have him sit with you. Answer any questions he has since he is going to be Austin High School's battalion commander next year."

Jacob looked at Colonel Pigeon very confused. "I thought I was the only one in the brigade that knew what position I was getting next year. What I mean is that normally battalion staff isn't picked this early in the semester."

"Normally you would be right, but look at you. You are the first junior to ever be promoted to battalion commander in this battalion or brigade history. Now we have two of you running around, and to top that off you two know each other. I need you to give him this hour and send him on his way. I have already spoken with the attendance office and you won't get counted absent. He is waiting for you in the small classroom."

Jacob wanted to ask Colonel Pigeon more questions, but he went back to what he was doing when Jacob walked into the office. He thanked the colonel and walked out of the office. As he made his way to the small classroom, he tried to be quiet since the company commander was taking roll call.

When he walked in, he had to take a double look at the person sitting there. At first he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but they weren't. Joey got up from his seat and walked over to Jacob. Neither of them said a word, they just stood there looking at each other. Finally Jacob broke the silence.

"When you told me you were moving back here to El Paso, I thought it would have taken you a little longer than it did. What it was two weeks ago that you called me and told me that you were moving back." Jacob walked past Joey and sat down.

"You right it has only been two weeks since I called you up and told you I was moving back . The reason for that is when Harold accepted the job he had to start work immediately. We got lucky when Al donated the hotel, because if he didn't do that, we would be living out of our suitcases in a hotel right now."

"According to Colonel Pigeon you are going to be the battalion commander of Austin High School next year. How did all that come about?"

"Colonel Chandler, the Senior Army Instructor at Alamogordo High School, decided on his battalion staff for next year, naming me battalion commander. He had just got my promotion signed off when I moved back here. Since I already got the rank, the instructor at Austin High couldn't take it away from me. He had no other choice but to accept it."

"That sucks for the colonel at your high school down in Alamogordo. Poor guy he made his decision, got you promoted and you up and leave him." Joey looked at Jacob with an ugly look. "Don't get me wrong Joey, I understand why you moved, but he won't see it that way. All he will see is that he thought you were going to stay and now he is looking for a new battalion commander."

Jacob got up from his seat and patted Joey on the shoulder to follow him back into the large classroom since the cadets went out to run an orienteering course. Neither of them said another word to each other until they sat back down. Joey was angry with the way Jacob worded certain things, but he is going to let it go. He has no other choice but to let it go.

"Now that you are going to be battalion commander for Austin High School next you, you and I will be up for the same position as brigade commander. I never thought I would be competing against you for the same position. Boy do things change."

"I never thought I would ever wear the rank I am wearing now. There is no chance I will get brigade commander, more so with you up for it at the same time. I might get another position on brigade staff, but not to run it. Plus you are going to have home field advantage since the brigade promotion board is going to be held here at El Paso High next year. It is your school's turn to host the board."

"I didn't know that they had made that decision already. With you knowing that, is a good reason not to count yourself out on any position on Brigade Board. You know things I don't even know. Plus you are on teams, where I'm not. I never joined any of the teams, but they let me wear the ropes on my uniform since I am the battalion commander. I feel funny wearing them since I am not on any of the teams, so I don't"

"You and I and they know why you are not on the teams, you couldn't join them; not with your health the way it was. You might be better now, but you weren't like that your first three years in high school. So I am pretty sure they won't hold it against you."

"It helps to show the brigade board that you are doing more than just going to class. I looked at the past brigade commanders and brigade staff and I found that they were all involved in almost all the teams in their battalion. So I have already gotten used to the notion that I won't get full bird colonel next year and I am fine with that.

Now I know they didn't set up this meeting for us to talk about brigade board next year. Why did they send you to talk with me? You pretty much know everything I know. Even the knew stuff I help create because you were around when it was created."

"I tried to tell them that, but they wanted me to come down here anyways and talk with you about all the new programs. Basically pick you brain so I am ready for next year to run the battalion."

Jacob got up and walked into the outer office and a few minutes later he came back with several folders. He handed them to Joey and explained to him what they were. It allowed each program they put into affect here and how they are ran. These are the same folders Jacob has given to all the current battalion commanders to use as a reference.

"I won't lie to you Jacob. The little I have seen so far at Austin, they haven't put much of these programs into affect. It looks to me that they are allergic to change and just won't change the way they are doing things. Several of them told me they feel the old way works better and they are not going to change anything that's not broken."

Just then Colonel Pigeon interrupted Jacob and Joey. "My old battalion isn't afraid or allergic to change It just takes a while to implement the changes. Before any of you come back at me and say this battalion did it, I say you guys were lucky. Major Moore was lucky that it didn't back fire because you implemented new programs and policies way too quickly."

"Major Moore never believed in luck sir." Jacob stood up as he spoke. "He believed that this program should be run like the real Army. In the real Army the soldiers have to adapt to any change that is passed down to them through the chain of command. If the soldier couldn't adapt, he or she is let go. The program here is, or was, run like the real military."

"Another topic Major Moore and I don't teach the same way on. We came from two different ways of thinking and how we feel we should run our programs. I don't think the program should be run exactly like the military. Many of the kids that are in this program will never go into the Army. If we the program is ran like the Army, the program will run off any kids that want to join because it is to demanding.

You know I am right on everything I just said Jacob. Take you and Joey here. You two are going to be battalion commanders next year, the highest position in the battalion. But yet neither of you are going to go into the military once you graduate due to your personal lives. If this program was run exactly like the military, like Major Moore wanted, you two would have been thrown out because of who you are."

There was nothing that Jacob could say to Colonel Pigeon because he is right. If they were to run the program exactly like the military, he and Joey wouldn't be in it. At the same time Jacob thought it is doing some disservice to those cadets that are going into the military. They are going in blindsided thinking that it's a cake walk, which it isn't.

"Colonel Pigeon I see where you are coming from and you are right. If the program was ran exactly like the military, Joey and I would be kicked out. But that wouldn't happen because there are some things the schools can do and can't do. One of which they can't do is not allowing a student to join a program based on their sex, religion, race or belief. Joey and I fall under that clause since the program is a recognized class, not an after school program or club.

Now as far as the procedures we have installed into the program that are used in the military today was the right thing to do. It shows the cadet what they will have to go through if they go into the military. Not like it was before that only those on the teams or puckered up to the instructor would become officers. Those days are in the past and every cadet now has a chance to become officers or high ranking NCO's."

This time Colonel Pigeon couldn't object to Jacob because he knows what Jacob said was right. Now he could see why Major Moore and Colonel May like to go to him for ideas, because he is smart. He's a totally different kid than the skinny kid he met in his office the first day he joined the program several years ago.

"You have won this critic over, Jacob. I had no plans on changing anything you and Major Moore put into affect, but now I am backing it up. Please you boys continue what you were doing and not pay me any mind." He started walking towards his office, but right when he reached the door, he turned around.

"Joey, although I am here now, I started my teaching career at Austin High School. I love that school and the program I help built. Take what Jacob did here and implement it over there in order to make it even a better program. I know I don't have to say this, but I will, if you ever run into a problem or have questions, Jacob is here to always help you."

Joey thanked Colonel Pigeon and as he went into his office. They sat the rest of the period going over how to make the programs work. Jacob explained to Joey that he won't see changes overnight when he puts in the programs. He went on to suggest to Joey since he wasn't battalion commander yet, he should use the rest of the year to put in the new programs in place that haven't been put in yet. That way next year all the quirks are fixed.

Looking up at the clock on the wall, Joey got up. "It is almost lunch time so I better be heading back. I need to stop on my way to grab something to eat and still be back to school in time for fourth period. You know that is going to be hard to do with the lunch traffic, so I need to take any extra time I can get to get it done."

"Why don't you stay here for lunch Joey? If the guys found out that you were here, but they didn't get to see you, they would be angry with me." Jacob got up from his seat and walked with him out the door. "As I have said many times to you, the guys are as much your friends as they are mine. I will never keep you away from them."

Without having to be asked twice, Joey accepted. He and Jacob walked across the street to the main building and down to the cafeteria. Right when they walked into the cafeteria, the lunch bell rang. Jacob thankful for that because the cafeteria staff wouldn't have served them until the bell rang. And depending on who was on staff, they would have sent them to the principal's office for ditching class.

Since they were the first in line, they got to their table within minutes. A few minutes later Tom and David arrived. Not only were they surprised to see Joey, but to see Joey and Jacob together. Right after they greeted them, they asked him what he was doing here. He looked at them assuming that Jacob told them that he was moving back, but Jacob hadn't. He had so many other things on his mind at the time, he completely forgot to tell the guys about the big move back.

Before Joey could answer Tom and David, Carlos, Alex, Matt, Robert and Steve walked up. Just like the two before them, they were surprised to see Joey. As they were shaking hands, Tony, Heather and the other David showed up. They welcomed Joey as they took a seat. Since they weren't really in the inner circle when Joey and Jacob were together, they didn't have the same questions that the others did.

Once everyone settled down, Joey explained to the group what he was doing there. He told them about he moving back, why and that he is now going to Austin High School, which confused them since he is sitting here having lunch. He saw the confusion and told them why he came down.

Right when the words left his mouth that he was going to be the battalion commander over at Austin High, they started teasing Jacob. Jacob took all the teasing. Even a couple times threw a couple jokes at his own expense. They moved on when they saw that he wasn't bothered with the joking.

As they were talking about the past, Ethan and Derrick showed up. Jacob introduced Ethan to Joey and Ethan introduced Derrick. They sat down and only listened to the guys like about the past. Neither Ethan, Derrick nor many of the other guys at the table could join into the conversation since they weren't around during the time they were talking about. Jacob noticed that almost half of the table was just listening, he changed he subject so everyone could join in.

When Jacob got up to head to the ROTC building, Joey asked him to wait. He thanked the guys for everything and headed out with Jacob. They talked a little as they walked across to the parking lot. When they reached Joey's truck, he got in while Jacob leaned on the car next to the truck.

"Make sure you are careful on your way back to Austin High." Jacob closed the door for Joey and waited for him to roll down the window. "You make sure to bring Caleb around to the house over the weekend to hang out. I feel we got to know Caleb that weekend when we met him and his family. So don't be a stranger now that you live here again."

"Thank you Jacob I will try, but we are still moving in. If we can't make this weekend, we will try the following." He extended his hand for Jacob to shake. "Of course you know you are welcome any time at the hotel, after all if it wasn't for Al, I wouldn't been able to move the shelter down here to El Paso."

Jacob shook Joeys hand and then watched him drive away before heading over to the ROTC building. On his way, he couldn't help but think about how different things are right now. He always thought that he and Joey were going to make it through high school as a couple and be a couple until they die. Now he can barely talk with him because how things ended. In his mind there is no excuse in the book that Joey can use for what he did.

Andy Jr. took a few hours of leave in order to meet with Alex's lawyers. He had called them first thing in the morning and was able to get an appointment for two that afternoon, which made him happy. The faster he gets real attorneys working for the poor kid, the faster the he might be able to get out of that ugly place known as the jail.

When he arrived at the offices of Alex's attorney's, he didn't have to wait that long before he got called in. One of the legal assistants came up to get him and escorted him back to the conference room. Mr. Nunez and White were already seated at the long wooden table when Andy walked in. They got up and went over to shake Andy's hand.

"I understand you are the brother of Jacob Hernandez?" He answered yes. "Your brother is a very forgiving person with a huge heart. Not too many people in his shoes would have done what he did for Alex. He didn't even stop there. He opened his home to the very kid that tried to kill him and his family. That is unheard of."

"Yes he is one out of a billion I can tell you that. If I was in his shoes I couldn't have done what he did. The kid shot at me and didn't stop there, but I am not Jacob. Although he is my little brother and he should be learning from me, it's the other way around, I am learning from him. Every day he teaches me something that makes me a better person."

"That is something we all hope to have, a younger or older brother that could guide us through problems or questions that come up in our lives. I understand you have a unique case. A case we'd love to sink our teeth in at this law firm. Why don't you tell us what you know so we can tell you if we can help or not?"

Andy took that as his cue that the floor was his. He started to tell the two attorneys the same story he told Jacob the night before. As he went through his story, the legal assistant that came out to get him was taking notes. A couple of times he saw Mr. Nunez or White jot something down. After he finished his story, the two attorneys whispered to each other for a few minutes before telling Andy their thoughts.

"What you just told us is right up our alley, but we see a few problems. The biggest problem is that the young man you are talking about has already signed the paperwork that put him on probation. According to him he stopped reporting, which is a no, no. It is very hard to get the courts to budge from not sending the person up to prison.

Now with that said, we would like to take the case because we feel we can help this kid out. The prisons are over filled and they are giving paroles out left and right to hardened criminals. I don't think the District Attorney's office would want to send a kid to prison for stealing a game when they are releasing rapists and killers."

Mr. Nunez got up from his seat and moved over to Andy. "You don't have permission to be shopping around for attorney for this young man, do you?"

"No sir, but I felt I needed to something to help this kid out since I am the one that got him arrested. I sat there talking with his mother after that happened, and man let me tell you I never want to do that again. Right in front of me she broke down. When that woman left, she was a broken woman because she lost her son."

"First let me make this clear to you Andy, you didn't get him arrested. You were doing your job. He was the one that didn't report, but we can fix that. That takes me to my second point, Mr. White and I will try and put this family back together. He might walk out with still being on probation, but we will try everything we can to not let that happen."

"You have given us his name and the day he got arrested." Mr. White jumped into the conversation. "With that information we will start working on the case. Before the day is over, Mr. Nunez and I will visit with the young man and then speak with his mother. The only question we have is who is paying for us to take this case."

Mr. Nunez looked over at his partner as if he wanted to kill him. He got up and pulled Mr. White to the corner. They argued about how to handle the case. Mr. Nunez wanted to do the case for free. Mr. White saw deep pockets in Jacob and wanted to charge for their services. Something Mr. Nunez feels is a mistake.

"Damn it, Jacob is rich yes, but he has so many connections at such a young age that could help us if we do this for him for free. Don't you see that?" Mr. White just looked at his partner, not saying a word. "Jacob will pay us, but if we ever need a favor, we can't go to him because we were unwilling to do him a solid on this."

"We can't keep doing people solids, because if we do, we will be shutting our doors. I don't see a day that we will need a favor from Jacob, and if that day comes, we should just shut our doors." Mr. White started to walk back to the conference table.

"As I was saying, who will be picking up the tab on this?"

"Of course Jacob will be paying for all your costs. After you meet with the kid and you guys come up with a game plan, call Jacob at this number and let him know how much it is going to cost." Andy wrote down Jacob's office number and home number. "Please don't do any work until you talk with Jacob first. Although he has money, he also has connections. If he feels you guys are too high, he will just pick up the phone and call the District Attorney and get him to release the kid."

"If Jacob could simply just pick up the phone and have it taken care of, why are you here? It would be a lot easier and not cost him a penny doing it that way?"

"That is easy to answer, he wanted to try and get this done through the proper channels that everyone has to go through dealing with the law. Too many times the rich get special treatment because they can pull strings, and he doesn't want to be part of that group. Yes he is rich, but he doesn't like throwing his money around."

Mr. White looked at his partner to see if he had any questions for Andy. "It looks like my partner and I have no more questions for you. Let Jacob know he will be hearing from us before the end of the week. We won't do anything until Jacob gives us the okay as you have asked, but keep in mind that could prolong the young man's stay in jail."

"I am not the one that is going to be footing the bill, Jacob is. So you need to talk with him to get the okay to run with your game plan if the price is right. He recommended you guys, but to tell you the truth I don't know why. It looks like to me you guys are going to try and take my brother for a ride and that is what I am going to tell him."

Andy got up from his seat to leave. "Thank you for seeing me as quickly as you did. When I speak with Jacob this evening I will let him know that you guys were great on seeing me as fast as you did and as I said before, what I feel is going on here. I will recommend to my brother to be looking for other law firms, but I don't think he will go for it. He seems to hold you guys in high regard, and again I don't see why, but he does."

As Andy walked out of the conference room, he shook both attorneys' hands. He could see in Mr. White's face worry and in Mr. Nunez's face anger. Not anger for him, but anger for his partner because he never took his eyes off of his partner after shaking hands. Andy felt bad for Mr. Nunez, but he needs to try and protect his younger brother. That's one of the very few things he is still able to do for Jacob.

In the mean time while his brother was trying to line up the lawyers for the kid he had arrested, Jacob was pulled to the side by Zach and Mitchell between fifth and sixth period. They reminded him about the speech he has to give during sixth period. A speech that he had completely forgotten about and he didn't have one prepared.

He lied to Zach and Mitchell that he was ready and thanked them for the reminder as he headed to class. Zach watched Jacob as he walked down the hall and knew something was up just by the look on Jacob's face. Letting it go, he grabbed Mitchell as they headed down to the football stadium.

Quickly Jacob pulled out a note book as he sat down at his desk, but before he could write a word, his teacher called him up front. Slowly he put his notebook back into his bag, got up and walked up to the teacher. She instructed him to head down to the stadium and meet up with the others that are running for student body president on the stage in the middle of the field. Jacob smiled, nodded his head and walked out.

Not in much of a hurry, Jacob walked over to the stadium. When he reached the stage, Zach ran up to him with a worried look on his face. He quickly grabbed Jacob's bag and pushed him to the principal who was already talking to the two students that are running for student body president. He was explaining the rules of the speech, and when he saw Jacob, Principal Michaels started over again, which didn't make the other two happy.

Once Principal Michaels finished explaining the rules, he went to the other groups that were there. Jacob noticed Matt standing with that group and wondered if he was going to give a speech as well. He walked over to Zach to see if he knew. Zach chuckled at the question as he answered no. He went on and explained to him that only the students running for class presidents and student council president will be speaking.

Jacob sat back with his two guys that were running his campaign as Principal Michaels spoke with the student body who had already made their way to the stadium. Matt joined Jacob, but neither of them said a word. He was trying to put together a speech in is mind, but nothing was coming to him. It was if his mind has shut down.

One by one, Principal Michaels introduced the students running for student council, then he moved on to the class presidents and finally student council president. As he walked out on the stage, he looked out to see every student in the school sitting in the stadium. He started to sweat and shake a little as he took his seat. On top of not having a speech prepared, he never gave it much thought on how he would react talking in front of the school, until now.

The first to give their speeches were the students running for class presidents. Not one of them said a thing in their speech that actually was going to bring any kind of change. They basically yelled out stupid slogans that got the students in the stadium rooting. Jacob couldn't help but think if acting like a fool is going to get him elected, he will lose. Simply put, he doesn't know how to be a fool, at least not on purpose.

Several times Principal Michaels had to stop some of the student's speeches because they were just getting the students all riled up. When the principal moved on to the students that were running for student council president, Jacob wasn't the first or the second to speak, he was the last. That made him happy because he was able to see what they were going to promise to do if the students gave them a chance to run student council.

Both speeches had some promises, but they were mostly filled with the same slogans as the other students running for class president. They weren't as bad as those students, but they were pretty close. By the looks of it, not one of them had one real good idea for positive change for the student body. It just reconfirmed what Jacob thought. They just wanted to get this position so they could put it on their resume for college.

Finally it was his turn, Principal Michaels introduced Jacob. Since he wasn't an athlete, or at least a well known athlete like the other students running for positions up here, Jacob could barely hear the students clapping as he made his way to the microphone. He looked out and it finally hit him, the student body in this school is huge.

Clearing his throat, he leaned into the microphone. "Hello, my name is Jacob Hernandez. Almost all of you don't know me like you know the rest of the guys on this stage asking for your votes. I am not an athlete on the school football, basketball or any other varsity team. Many of you have past me in the hallways everyday and never giving me the time of day. Simply put, I am what the majority of the students here at the school are; just a regular student. A student just coming to school, doing what is required of me and heading home at the end of the day!

But let me tell you, us regular students out number all the jocks and cheerleaders out there! If we would to come together and not worry about what the jocks and the popular kids of this school think, we can run the positions that have the real power, power that can make real change for every student in this school!" All the students, except the jocks and popular kids, jumped up applauding.

"I sat up here listening to those wanting to run the high positions of our student body council, and let me tell you, they have no idea what they are talking about. They just said things that would get you all to roar and make noise, but when you really look at it. They didn't say anything that would change one thing for us in the coming year.

Let me tell you what I would do if you give me a chance to be your student body president. I won't try to work on the small tings like pizza for lunch every Friday. I would actually make our lunches at this school better by bringing in actual fast food restaurants like American High School on the East side of town has.

The students that can't drive to Taco Bell or Subway down the street will have the same choice as those that can. If they don't feel like eating the school lunch, they can go to the window of whatever fast food restaurant they want. If American High School can do it, so can we. Plus we will have a leg up if you elect me because I know some of the owners of these restaurants.

I will bring in companies like I did with the ROTC program to donate to our athletic department. That will give those programs a chance to get new uniforms, upgrade the facilities and buy the equipment they need to make their program a lot better. Even our school athletes could agree on this point. Those programs need an overhaul.

Don't even get me started about our library, school computers, books and other special arts programs like the Show Chorus, Glee Club and band. They need funding to get new items that will make them more competitive.

It is time to actually put someone in this position and on the student council that will get this stuff done, instead of just throwing a pizza party when they win. All it will take for this to happen is for every regular student like me to band together and give me their vote. If we do that, we will take over the positions that matter the most in our school. When it comes time to vote, please, vote for the person that can and will make real change."

When Jacob stepped back from the microphone, the students jumped to their feet applauding him. Jake was unable to really enjoy this moment because he surprised himself with the speech he just made. He was able to put words together that made sense and got the student body behind him for now. He realized he got a lot of backing, but also knows that anything can happen between now and Election Day.

To everyone's surprise there was still ten minutes left before the bell. The Principal went through the list and let the student body once again put the name to the face. Just as he finished, the bell rang and students started to clear out of the stadium. Jacob made his way down the stairs to the field when several of the other students running for the class president and student council positions stopped him.

"You think that stupid little speech you made up there on the stage is going to get you enough votes to win? Think again!" One of the students that are running for the senior class president spoke up. The rest of the guys, and one girl, stood behind this football player as if he is speaking on their behalf.

"Everyone wants to be part of our groups and by voting for us they feel they are. There is no way they are going to vote for some faggot that won't get anything done, because these positions we run for are nothing but a joke. No one that wins these positions can actually make any change no matter how hard they try. The final approval always rests on the principal and the school district's shoulders. They always vote the change down.

If you make another speech like that, the gloves come off. You won't only have those running against you for the same position going after you; you will have all of us." The student pointed to all the other students standing behind him. "Once we get done with you, not only you won't win, you will transfer back to the school you came from."

Jacob smiled as he looked at all the students standing there waiting for a reason to jump him. "You know I was not really into this until now. The thing that opened my eyes is the little speech slash threat you just made. What you saw up there was a person not prepared for this assembly and was just going through the motions because he was asked to run. Now I am going to put my full heart and soul into running and beating each and every single one of your asses! You just made a HUGE mistake by doing what you just did."

Everyone just looked at each other stunned that Jacob actually stood up to them. "Oh, by the way, I dare you to use the fact that I am gay to try and take me down. Not only it will backfire, you will lose a lot more than I ever will. This school has changed since my freshman year when it comes to gays. There is an openly gay football player on the team, it used to be two. There are several other students that are on other varsity teams that are openly gay like myself and let's not forget the son of the Governor. Please! Go there! I want you to go there so I can put this election away before it begins."

Jacob patted the football player on his right shoulder before walking away. Zach, Mitchell and Matt ran up to him. None of them said a word until they reached the main building. He stopped and turned to Zach and Mitchell.

"I am going to use the things that idiot said! The gloves are off! I was not really into running, but boy am I now!" A big smile went across Zach and Mitchell's faces. "I know you two have been working very hard to get this campaign off the ground without much help from me. Now count me in. What ever you need, just ask and I will deliver it. The only thing I want in return is that we win!"

Both Zach and Mitchell agreed with Jacob, shook his hand and headed off to get to work getting the posters up. Jacob and Matt talked on the way to the parking lot on what they need to do in ensure victory. When they reached the guys, they were more excited over what Jacob said than Jacob was.

Since they had to go to work, they only talked for a few minutes in the parking lot. They all wanted to talk more with Jacob, so they asked him for a ride to the house. The entire way there they talked about his speech. They kept asking if it was possible for him to do the things he said he would do in his speech if elected. Each time they asked that question, he simply replied yes over and over again.

Before the boys knew it, they were heading home from work. Ethan got surprised once again when Derrick showed up at the office. When it was time for him to take his break, he and Derrick went out to the square and just walked around and got to know each other a bit more.

Every time he gets a chance to spend time with Derrick, he falls even more in love with him. When they were going up to the office in the elevator, Ethan made the decision to tell the guys the truth about himself tomorrow during breakfast. He informed Derrick of his decision when they got off the elevator. Not wanting to lose any time with Derrick, he reluctantly asked him not to pick him up in the morning.

Ethan felt bad asking him because he knew he wanted to see him in the morning, but Derrick agreed. They kissed one last time before he got back on the elevator. Ethan didn't budge from where they were standing until the elevator door shut. Even then, he didn't move until he heard Shirley calling for him.

Since Adam is now working in the print shop, Ethan and his brothers drove home with their father allowing Alex and the guys go straight home. Alex didn't mind driving Ethan and his brother's home. In fact he enjoyed their company on the ride to and from work. They brought up topics to talk about that had nothing to do with school, and he enjoyed that because he didn't want to be always talking about school twenty four hours a day.

Before heading into the study to work, Jacob went upstairs to talk with Dewayne after dinner. He didn't want to become the one thing he hates; a liar or a person keeping secrets. When Joey or his friends did that to him, he hated it and it didn't feel good. So he promised himself not to do that to anyone since he didn't like it being done to him.

When he walked into his room, he found Dewayne about to jump into the shower. Not even asking if he could join him, he started to get undressed. When Dewayne saw him getting undressed, he smiled and waited for him before stepping in. While he waited, he made sure the water was nice and comfortable.

Dewayne got in first, and then Jacob. They soaped each other up from head to toe and then rinsed each other off. As they were making sure that got every spot clean on each other's body, both of them got hard as a rock. Jacob wanted to do more with Dewayne, but he needed to clear his chest about him seeing Joey earlier.

"Um Dewayne, I need to talk with you about something." Dewayne nodded his head as he pulled Jacob into him. "As you know Joey is moving back here to El Paso." The smile on Dewayne's face faded quickly once he heard Joey's name. "Well he has already moved back and started going to school at Austin High this last Monday.

The only reason I know this is because he was sent to my high school for me to show him certain things in the ROTC program. He is going to be the battalion commander for Austin High School next year. I had no idea he made the move this fast. It was just two weeks ago when he called up and told me about him, his boyfriend and his boyfriend's family plans to move here. I thought that the move was going to be in month, if not longer, but here he is."

"Jacob you can't keep your ex from moving back here to El Paso or going to whatever school in this city he wants to go to. There is no doubt in my mind that our relationship is strong enough to have your ex here. In fact it is strong enough that your ex can stop by here anytime he wants and hang out. I love you Jacob, and I know you love me as much as I love you. So, don't worry. Nothing, including your ex, will hurt our relationship."

Dewayne pulled Jacob into him until their lips touched. As they kissed, Jacob was able to relax and let himself go without trying, like he always happens when he is with Dewayne. There is something about the way Dewayne kisses and wraps his arms around him that makes him melt. He just wants to into Dewayne's skin and stay there forever because he feels safer with Dewayne than he does with anyone else.

TO BE CONITNUED...

I have a home page for you to see what the characters look like or what the places look like. If you want to walk in their shoes, please go to: http://jacobmillertex.wordpress.com/

WRTIER'S CORNER:

{Welcome back one and all to another busy chapter of "Jacob Finding His Way". In this chapter some new plots opened up and some old plots came back. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did writing it. So much is going on in Jacob's, his families and friends' lives, I just can't cover it all in one chapter.

The chapter started out with Andy Jr. talking with Jacob about the kid that got arrested when Andy was on duty. It wasn't Andy's fault that the kid had a warrant, but Andy feels bad for the kid still. I think what made Andy feel even worse was when he talked with the kid's mother when she came and picked up the kid's car.

Jacob understood where Andy was coming from so he sent him down to speak with the attorneys that helped Alex. It is hoped that the attorneys can help the kid because what they were able to do with Alex's case, but the way Mr. White handled the whole thing was wrong. Mr. White sees Jacob as a cash cow and he wants to make as many withdraws as possible before the cow dries up.

Mr. Nunez on the under hand sees it will be more of a benefit to do this as a favor for Jacob. He sees that having Jacob as a friend, instead of a client, would benefit their practice more, but Mr. White won the fight. I would like to see how this comes out at the end. Do you think Jacob is going to hire them or pull in a favor?

I threw in a big shocker in this chapter when Joey popped up. If you guys are not keeping up with "Regrets and Heartaches", you are probably lost as far as what caused Joey to move back to El Paso. If you haven't read chapter fifteen, sixteen and seventeen of "Regrets and Heartaches", go over to that story page and catch up with those stories.

Joey is back and is now attending Austin High School again. I love it because it puts in so many possible twists and turns in both of these stories. Both Jacob and Joey are going to be battalion commanders next year. They are both going to go up for the same positions in front of the brigade board. They both are living in the same city not too far from each other. I wonder who is going to get brigade commander. What do you think? Will Joey for the first time out rank Jacob or will neither of the two reach brigade staff?

Talking about twists and turns with Joey being back, what about the new boyfriends? They both have a new boyfriend and it looks like the relationships are strong, but you know me, anything can happen. I love the way Dewayne talked with Jacob at the end of the chapter. He isn't scared about Joey being back in town. He told Jacob that he feels that their relationship is strong enough that nothing could destroy it. I really do believe that Dewayne is right there; nothing will destroy their relationship.

The campaign season is now on its way for the student council positions and class presidents. By the sounds of it, the speeches were the normal speeches that all students give that run for these positions. They just got on the stage and made noise and not really making any promises of real change if they get the position they are running for.

I loved it when Jacob got up and just opened his mouth. The words just floated out and the student body ate it up. The part of the speech when Jacob named a high school in the city having fast food restaurants in their cafeteria is true. There is a high school in this city that actually allowed fast food restaurants to set up shop in the school. If anyone can get that to happen, Jacob can being an owner of McDonalds. Then all the other promises that Jacob made, I believe he can deliver because he has done so before with the ROTC programs in that past.

What was up with those students ganging up on Jacob after the speeches? I love the way Jacob answered that football player. He didn't show that guy any fear. By doing what they did they woke up a sleeping giant that really didn't want to get into the election. Now they just ensured that Jacob is going to give it one hundred percent.

Ethan, this guy really likes the new guy Derrick. He is showing his maturity when it comes to being with Ethan. He isn't trying to rush or force Ethan into doing anything he isn't ready for. He is allowing him to go on his own pace. The big breakthrough in this chapter is Ethan wanting to tell the guys that he is gay. How do you guys think the others are going to handle it? We know Jacob, Chase and Patricia know about Ethan, but the others don't. They think he is straight.

Speaking of Chase, what is going on there? The ride to school and what he and Tom said really blew Jacob away. It bothered Jacob so much he had to talk with them privately before they headed to the cafeteria. Do you guys think Jacob went too far? Should he have just chalked it up as talk and left it alone?

There is still Jeremy, Gloria, Andy Sr. and let's not forget Al plots out there. I haven't forgotten them and they will be in the chapters to come. As well you will see more of Tom and David by themselves in upcoming chapters. They have somewhat taken a back seat in that last several chapters. I have big plans for Tom so I can't let him fade into the background. You guys need to stick around. The chapters are going to get crazy.

As always I can go on and on about the open plots in the story! If I do that, I can actually write several more chapters. There are so many plots that can take a turn at anytime. You think it is going one direction, but ends up going another. Don't miss out on anything or you will be kicking yourself for it.

There is a so much to answer in the chapters to come. Stick around and catch the future chapters, and enjoy! Please email me and let me know how I am doing at jacobmillertex@aol.com, Thanks!}

EDITOR'S CORNER:

Greetings from Dallas, one and all!

I wanted to make note of the fact that the e-mail box has sure been feeling pretty empty here recently. As you all know, there's no other form of compensation for anyone involved with bringing you the stories each week other than the feedback we all get from you, the readers! Your reactions, thoughts, plot ideas and, last but certainly not least, your SUPPORT are not only appreciated and wanted, but needed.

Take time out to drop a note here and there and let Jacob know what's going on in your mind concerning the stories. If you'd like to address me specifically, put "Daddy" Rick in the subject line and Jacob will forward the message to me and you will get a reply.

We treasure each and every one of you and want to hear from you.

Now, onto the commentary.

Andy Jr. is showing the same caring and concerns his brother and grandfather show. I'm impressed with his actions on behalf of "the kid" he arrested. I wonder what "the kid's" name is and what is his full story? We got a glimpse, but I'd like to know more about him and his mother.

Nunez and White getting into the billing question for the case was amusing. Andy didn't take hardly a moment to see the game plan being hatched. He put out a veiled warning to them. Will they catch the innuendo and do the right thing and not try to milk the cash cow? Jacob is not someone you want out there with ill will for you. He's not vindictive but he will keep the record straight with anyone he talks to.

Did Jake go too far with Tom and Chase, JPG inquired? Hell no! He was right on target! Those two had stepped over the line. Jacob has been growing a pair and he is now never shy or timid to speak his mind. He pointed up clearly that the two were being jerks and yanked their leashes. Good for Jacob!

There were two more striking examples of Jacob speaking his mind; in his campaign speech and then speaking to the "aristocracy" of the student population.

First, Jacob was unprepared to speak, yet he found his voice and passion in the drivel that was being put forth by the other candidates. He realized that there was a silent majority in the audience that wasn't being tapped. Although he was unprepared, Jake targeted the silent majority in his speech. He galvanized them and mobilized them into a force that will upset the status quo, I predict.

Second, when the spokesman for the popular kids tried to intimidate Jacob into pulling back, he reacted in the total opposite fashion that was expected. He stood right up and faced the bullying tactic and surprised all the aristocracy present with his strength of character. The exchange has set forces in motion that are going to prove most interesting.

Joey showing up to talk with Jacob was a bolt from the blue! I am glad that the two are still able to maintain a level of friendship. It's still not a real comfortable thing for either of them. Jacob can't (and shouldn't) forget the way Joey departed. Joey should have guilt about his actions. Now, both Joey and Jacob have new loves in their lives. I hope that Caleb and Joey are as solid as Jacob and Dewayne.

Jacob, once again, showed how mature thinking he is. After meeting with Joey, he realized he had to be honest and forthcoming with Dewayne. Dewayne loves Jacob without reservation but Jacob being forthright about meeting Joey underscores Dewayne's faith in Jacob and the solidity of their relationship.

Until next time,

"Daddy" Rick