Date: Mon, 23 Nov 2015 09:07:21 -0500 From: Pete Bruno Subject: Single Soul/Deer Crossing Chapter 1 This work fully protected under The United States Copyright Laws ? 17 USC?? 101, 102(a), 302(a). All Rights Reserved. The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the Author's consent. (See full statement at the beginning of Chapter One.) Author's Note: Thanks to all of you who have written to tell how much you're enjoying the story, I hope you stay tuned. For all the readers enjoying the stories here at Nifty, remember that Nifty needs your donations to help them to provide these wonderful stories. http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html A Single Soul Book 3 Deer Crossing Farm Chapter 1 What Doesn't Kill You "Daddy! Daddy!" Matt opened his eyes to see the smiling face of Ryan. He could feel Jim's morning wood pressing against his naked ass; he was warm and comfortable and really did not want to be disturbed, but who could resist a beautiful child bursting with happiness? "Hey Sparky!" he said leaning out to kiss his cheek, "What are you doing here so early?" "It snowed and we don't have school today so we get one more day off," the boy replied with a wide grin. 'Oh shit, there's too much to do today for this' Matt thought as he pushed back against Jim. It had been cold the last few nights and it was not unusual to have a freak storm in April. "Wake up Gunner," Matt called over his shoulder, "There's snow and no school for the boys." "I hope it was two feet so we can cancel the weekend guests," Barry moaned behind Jim just before the three men heard the cry: "April Fools!" followed by a chorus of giggles from the door. When Matt looked up, he saw MJ and Jimmer standing there in the extra-large tee shirts they had begun to wear like nightshirts, at Al's suggestion, for the winter; it was the closest thing to sleeping naked and the boys looked cute, dwarfed in their volume. "Very funny, boys; you got us," Jim called out. "Come on, hop in," he added with a trace of resignation in his sleepy voice. Quickly all three boys were squeezed into bed with their three dads. The boys had accepted the three lovers sleeping together with the same aplomb as they had displayed when they had discovered Matt and Jim were lovers. Matt sometimes wondered if they would always be so accepting of the arrangement; puberty and the teenage years were just around the corner. That was the big question: what changes would those two events bring? Even so, for now he was just enjoying his boys. He tickled MJ as Ryan climbed back and forth between his three dads. Sadly, he knew the pre-teen peace might be over sooner than the men would like. __________ "Hey Bro!" called Matt as he came into Clinton's bedroom. He was sitting up eating his breakfast from a tray while Ryan sat in the bedside chair chatting away. This had been his new routine since Clinton moved in; he would rush through his breakfast and dash off to visit with his Uncle Clint. It was great entertainment for Clint. "Hey Matty, Sparky was just filling me in on their little April Fool's joke this morning; pretty funny," he said with a smile. "Yeah, hysterical," Matt deadpanned. "Okay Sparky, say goodbye to Uncle Clint, it's time to get to school." Ryan jumped off the chair, stood on his toes to kiss his new uncle goodbye, and ran from the room. "That boy can talk a blue streak," Clinton said with a warm smile. He had been making great progress with his recovery-Brett helping him with bathing, changing his dressings and with exercising, and he was also making sure that the patient walked three times a day to build up his strength. Clinton was also putting in a few hours' work each day with Tom, and Grant, using his laptop and cell phone; his job and the company was very important to him, and he was committed to continuing to pull his weight. Matt sat on Ryan's recently vacated perch; he had visited with Clinton every morning hoping to build a solid relationship with his newly found stepbrother. There seemed to a bit of reluctance on Clinton's part in the beginning, but the hesitancy seemed to be waning and so Matt thought today was the right time to present an idea that he had been working on for weeks with his father and his partners. After the usual chitchat, he suddenly handed his half-brother a folder. "What's this?" Clinton asked. "Just give it a quick read," Matt replied. He was glad for the opportunity to spend so much time with his newly found brother and hoped what was in the folder would help cement their budding relationship. He watched Clinton's face as he gave the contents of the folder a quick scan-it went from curiosity, to surprise, and then confusion. It ended with a look that was almost angry. "I can't accept this," he said with finality, closing the folder and handing it back to Matt who refused it and let it fall to the floor with a dull thud. "Why not?" Matt asked in disbelief. "I never knew her, she wasn't my mother, and I don't need your charity," he replied in a voice full of contempt that surprised Matt who was suddenly quite annoyed. "First of all, it's not charity, and frankly I'm a little ticked that you would even think that; it's not about our mother. This is about us being brothers. I know your father is well off and that you have a great job and bright future; this is my way of making you feel like a member of the family," Matt said, never breaking eye contact and in a voice he would have used with one of his men. Finally, the sheer weight of Matt's gaze caused Clinton to cast his eyes down and to look at his hands. Then he tried to lean over and pick up the discard file lying beside the bed but Matt got to it first. Retrieving it, he stood. "You know Clint, I thought we were starting to become a family-I guess it's going to take some more time before you decide it's something you want," Matt said before stalking out the room, not waiting for a reply. "Matt wait!" Clinton cried, but Matt continued towards his office where he found Jim working at his laptop. He looked up when Matt walked in and immediately knew something was wrong. "What is it, Captain? You look like someone told you the tooth fairy was really your dad," Jim joked. Matt glared at his lover, and then with a sigh he sat next to him and related what had just transpired with Clinton. "Matty, maybe you should have explained things first-I mean 700K is a lot of money. Think about where he's coming from; he gets a new job, then he's shot and it's all topped off with, 'Hi, I'm your half-brother and here's a cool three-quarters of a million'," Jim said before moving over to give Matt a hug and kiss. "The only thing you did you wrong was not preparing him. Give him some time to think and he may come around." "Maybe you're right," Matt conceded and stood, "I'll go talk to him." He was just approaching the bedroom door as Clinton was coming out, obviously with great effort. "Matty, I'm sorry-I was way out of line. Do you think we can talk this over? And I promise I won't be such an ass this time," he said and then flashed his bright pearly whites. "Sure bro, let's get you back into bed first," Matt said, taking his brother by the arm and heading back into the bedroom. __________ "Gunner, how about you guys taking a break," suggested Matt, wrapping his arms around his lover and kissing his neck. Jim and Barry had been working in the office all morning, going through his brother's computers. Junior's funeral was the previous Monday, held quietly with only the family in attendance. Matt and Jim made sure that everything correct and that his widow had the severance check deposited in her account. They had met with her after the funeral to review her finances and where surprised to learn that Junior had provided his wife with a substantial life insurance policy-and even had modest ones for his daughters. Sherrie had been very grateful for their help and she went as far as to give them her husband's computers. "Sure buddy," Jim said standing, "did you get everything straightened out with Clint?" he asked. Jim was recovering quickly-his stitches were out and his arm no longer required a sling; Barry was doing just as well. "Yeah, you were right, I should have explained it all to him first instead of just handing him the folder," he said giving Jim a hug. "Have you discovered anything interesting?" Matt asked, changing the subject. "Nothing more than we already knew or that Sherrie hadn't already told us. However, we did learn a lot more about his son, Jude. I would like to reach out to him-would you guys mind?" Jim asked. "That's up to you, mate," Barry answered after getting a nod of agreement from Matt. "This is a decision that could impact the family so we all need to agree and that includes dad. I was thinking of asking Davey to contact Jude's CO first and feel him out. I don't want to just show up and say 'Hi, I'm your uncle and your father is dead," Jim said as he was closing down the laptop. The three men were lost in thought as they headed to the kitchen where Al was serving lunch. The day was still a little chilly so Al was wearing his winter uniform, a fire engine red cotton union suit. It had a crew neck with buttons all the way down to under his balls. It was un-buttoned down to his navel, and actually, with his hairy chest and his junk bunched to the left, he looked sexier than when he was naked. "Where's Barry?" Al asked as he was putting a plate of mac-and-cheese with broccoli down in front of Kelly-it was the toddler's favorite. "He stopped off at the head; he'll be here soon," Matt replied. "What's up?" "Nothing, just wanted to talk to you guys about something," Al continued as he finished cutting the hoagies he had prepared just as Barry made his appearance. "I was wondering how you would feel about getting another dog-a Chesapeake Bay retriever to chase off the geese down at the pond." "Fine with me," said Jim, grabbing three big slices of sandwich. "Well there's a guy over in Havre De Grace who breeds them and he has a litter ready to go; I thought I'd buy myself one. The little guys like to run down and chase them; but once the geese get into the pond all they can do is run around, bark and get all muddy. Then they start eating the goose poop like its pate!" That had the guys laughing for a minute before he continued. "My main concern is the damn shit bags nesting here-it's a total disaster. I spend a lot of time washing down puppies every day; at least this guy would have short hair and be easier to keep clean." "Fine with us and you don't need to buy him we'll do that-but you'll have to train him," Matt said. "That's not a problem; it'll be just like training you guys," Al replied with a big smile and then laughed at the pretend hurt look on their faces. "By the way, Al," Jim said in-between bites of his sandwich, "we'll be gone from the nineteenth to the twenty-fifth; we're taking pretty boy away for his birthday." Jim leaned over and kissed Barry on the cheek. "Oh I get it," Al said with a devilish gleam in his eye, "Matt's the smart one, Barry's the pretty one-now what does that make you?" "The old one," Matt said before busting up laughing with Barry joining him. "Old hell!" Jim protested, "I'm only older by one day, smart ass. The correct answer is the hung one," he said, drawing more laughter. "Who's hung?" Travis asked as he entered the room and grabbed a piece of hoagie. "Who do you think?" asked Jim with a smirk. "All of you except Al," Travis said before moving quickly to sit between his brother and Jim. "Very funny, Tex," Al said, "Just remember, I'm a grower not a shower," he said grabbing his bulge and garnering more laughs from all. "So getting back to the story, where are you guys going?" "That's a secret, but let's just say we can take all the clothes we'll need in one suitcase," Matt said wiggling his eyebrows. "Big deal, being naked," Al teased, "you guys are always naked around here." "Yeah, but this time we'll be surrounded by studs like us," Jim said, continuing to tease him. "Alright guys, let's get serious!" Matt called out before stuffing the last bit of sandwich in his mouth and chewing quickly. "We have plans for the guest cottages to review. Al come on, I want your opinion too." __________ "Boys, here are the new drawings," Matt said spreading them out on the desk. "The architect said that, considering that the roof lines on this house were only put in for architectural integrity, they really wouldn't allow for sizeable rooms without some serious gutting and rebuilding, so this is his new idea. Two cottages; they will have two large bedrooms with private baths, a small kitchenette and decent sized living room; they will be built behind the pool." He said pointing to the prints. "It will be nice for guests to have privacy." "Considering the naturist lifestyle in this house that will be a good thing," Al said. "I've seen your hairy ass a few times," Jim joked and then added, "The other good thing is that it blocks the view to the pool from the back field-not that anyone could see from the rancher." "They also proposed building a sort of breeze-way on the right side connecting all the out buildings to the main house; it will be a covered walk-way with a privacy fence on one side-blocking the view from the house next door." "Then the only people who can see the pool is the guy who farms the field on the other side," Al said with a gleam in his eye, "and from what I've seen he and his son can peek at me any time." "Slut!" the other three guys chorused in unison. __________ "Dad," Jimmer began while hugging Matt as Al had just returned from picking the boys up from school. "MJ and I want to play baseball, but one of the guys was saying that there might not be a team for our age group unless they find another coach." Matt smiled down at his son, already knowing where this conversation was heading. "Shall I guess, or are you going to tell me your plan?" Matt asked as he held the boy tightly. He relished holding his son close and tight; he knew it would not last much longer. MJ and Jimmer were approaching their teenage years and he was preparing himself for the day his boys would pull away. If he was lucky, he thought, Jimmer at least would be like him; he never went through the 'don't hug me' period with his dad. "So I? well MJ and I? thought that you or Dad could do it-maybe both of you in case you're busy with work. Matt smiled; these two knew how to work the angles. "Okay let me talk to Dad and we'll see," Matt said and received an even bigger hug. Saturday the sun was thankfully bright, making it feel a little warmer than the 44? it showed on the outdoor thermometer. Matt was watching groups of boys with trash bags walking round picking up the litter that had collected over the winter. As he watched the boys at work, with Ryan tagging along behind trying to help the big boys, he thought back over what had happened the previous weekend. Easter had only been a qualified success. Reggie had flown in to spend the weekend with Clinton and to check his recovery. He was pleased with his son's progress and was a pleasant addition to the family get-together. Barry's parents on the other hand were quite a different story. The guys decided to put them up in the hotel, figuring they would be more comfortable, but this seemed to put them off. While there were no actual confrontations, the entire visit was strained. Mr. Parsons was better at pretending to be onboard; Baz's mother, however, was almost hostile. It was Al who kept the woman in line by schmoozing and distracting her when she was about to start in on her son. Things were pretty much under control until Monday when the parents had come to say goodbye. Just before they were to leave and they were all gathered in the living room, Mrs. Parsons mentioned that they wanted to take Ryan for the next weekend-his brother was having a birthday party for his son and she thought it would be nice for Ryan to meet his cousins. Matt, Jim, and Barry all shared an understanding look. "I'll be cleared to drive by then Mother," Barry said. "Well, there will be no need for that, dear, your father and I won't mind coming to pick him up," she said surprisingly nervously and then looked at her husband for support. "What your mother is trying to say, Barry, is that, frankly, you are not invited." Matt and Jim instinctively moved to Barry's side-he was visibly shaken by the news; so shaken he appeared to lose his voice. "Well I'm sorry Mr. and Mrs. Parsons, that's not going to happen," Jim said. "Excuse us, Jim, but this doesn't concern you," the father said. "You will remember, sir that Ryan is my son also. If Barry's brothers don't want Bazza around, we are certainly not going to allow you to take Ryan there." Watching the stunned expression cross his parents' faces, Barry moved away from his lovers and said, "I think it's time for you to leave," extending his arm to indicate the door, "and you can tell my brother that when he grows a pair he should call and tell me directly that I'm not welcome." After the Parsons left Matt and Jim took Barry into their bedroom for a quick lie down. Barry said nothing, he just lay on the bed with the two men he loved holding him tight. The shouts of the boys brought Matt out of his thoughts. It was the first clean-up day and the teams' first meeting and Matt was remembering back to when he and Jim used to play little league ball. Of course, he and Jim had agreed to coach a team; it had turned out that Rich Allgood was on the board of directors of the league and it was Rich who had finished talking them into the job. In the end, there was not much convincing needed, for playing baseball was one of their fondest memories. The baseball field was where he and Jim had met and bonded and so it was an integral part of their lives from the time they were ten years old until they went to high school. Matt was wearing a red hoodie with a Globe and Anchor on the front. He was watching the boys so intently that he didn't notice the man approach, he just heard, "Semper Fi, Mack." Matt turned his head and was face to face with a guy who had his hand extended for shaking. He looked to be in his mid-forties, carrying a few extra pounds but he was still doing his best to look like a Marine with his high and tight haircut under his green baseball cap. Matt took the proffered hand and shook it, "Oorah!" Matt answered; he figured he make the guy's day, "I'm Matt Leo." "Steve Shocky," was the reply, "actually Staff Sergeant Shocky- everybody just calls me Sarge. I did eight years," he said with a hot shit attitude. "Fuck him," Matt thought, "he' not going to play that game with me." "Well actually, it's Captain Leo; I just retired. Put in 21, but the last ten were in the reserves, but I like it when people just call me Matt." He watched the newcomer absorb this news and knew it bothered the guy but he covered it well, in fact, he almost came to attention. "Sorry sir," he replied crisply. "No need to be, Marine, it's not like I'm wearing a uniform-we can forget rank here; we're just two dads on a baseball field," Matt said letting the guy off the hook. "If you don't mind sir?" Shocky started but quickly corrected after a sharp look from Matt. "I mean Matt? why didn't you stay active-I mean you were an officer? I know the pay was much better than what I was getting." Matt thought the question was a little forward but not unusual; he had fielded the question many times. "Well, my ex-wife is in the Navy. She is a dentist and I had been offered a job writing spec manuals for a weapons manufacturer. I was able to work mostly from home and raise my son and Denise got to continue her career. She's now a Lt. Commander. I think I got the better end of the bargain," Matt said to his clearly-confused new acquaintance. He apparently didn't seem comfortable with Matt's stay-at-home dad choice and so he moved on. "So are you here to sign up your son?" "Yeah, both of them," Matt replied pointing over at MJ and Jimmer who were busily picking up trash, "and I have also been talked into coaching their team; Rich Allgood is our accountant," Matt watched the man's face and from the reaction he apparently had a problem with Rich. The two continued to discuss their experiences in the corps and their time playing baseball while they watched the boys cleaning up the area around the four fields. There was something about this guy that didn't sit well with Matt, besides his being the typical braggadocios father. He took the opportunity to wax eloquent about his own two sons and their multisport prowess; naturally they were the top players on all of their respective teams. He asked Matt where he lived and what had brought him to Delaware. The Captain gave only general answers. It seemed to him that this guy was digging for information that he was not ready to share. Over the course of their fifteen-minute conversation Sarge must have decided Matt could be trusted, so he changed topics. "Yeah, so here's the deal: I heard that one of the three new coaches this year is gay," Shocky hissed, with a look of obvious disgust, "so I have a petition started to submit to the board to keep this guy out," he said taking an envelope from his jacket and handing it to Matt, "I'm hoping you, being a brother Marine, will support me." "Really?" Matt said with a completely impassive face as he pulled out the one page document and read the first paragraph quickly and then skipped down to the signatures. Shocky's name was first on the list. "What's the big deal if the guy is gay?" Matt asked, thinking he would bait the asshole, and handing him back the paper; he had already seen Jim and Rich approaching over Shocky's shoulder. "Man, we can't have some sissy man coaching our kids-besides, he's probably a fucking perverted pedophile." "From what I've read, most pedophiles are straight married men; you know, like the guy at Penn State," Matt offered. The comment really seemed to hit home; perhaps he was a Nittany Lions fan, he thought for a moment. "That's bullshit-they railroaded that guy. Look, I don't care what those fags do in their own homes, I just don't want them around my kids," he railed. Before Matt had a chance to answer, Jim and Rich joined the two men. Matt had been working with the CPA quite a bit over the last month getting ready for tax time and had got to know him a lot better- so well that he was learning to read him pretty well. Judging from the look on Allgood's face, he did not like this guy either and thought he was probably up to something. Matt smiled when he looked at his partner. Jim was looking especially impressive this morning; he was wearing his Irish wool sweater that fitted him like a glove, showing off his well-defined chest and arms, along with a tight pair of jeans that threatened to rip apart from the thick muscle of his thighs. He could not wait to see "Sarge's" face when he found out they were lovers. "Hey Matt, I see you've met the Sarge," Rich said with a wise-ass grin that did not go un-noticed by Shocky. "It's like a fucking Marine convention this morning," he added with a twinkle in his eye. Rich also saw the paper Shocky was holding in his hand and hoped it was the rumored petition; he could not believe the heavyset guy would be stupid enough to ask a complete stranger to sign it, but, then again, Steve was not known as being a brain surgeon. "Looks like you're not the highest ranking Marine on the coaching staff any longer," Rich said. He really was enjoying tweaking this prick; the majority of the other coaches and board members universally disliked him. The only reason he was kept around was because they had such a hard time finding volunteers-and that he had one very powerful political ally on the board. He was also a county commissioner that was planning to run for statewide office in the fall. "Yeah, but he's an officer-I still out rank the enlisted men, he answered smugly. "Not so fast, Sarge, meet Chief Warrant Officer Jim Flannery, his last NCO rank was Master Sergeant so he out ranked you," Rich said enjoying the look on Shocky's face before going in for the kill. "He's the Captain's partner." It took a minute for what Rich said to register; when it finally clicked he looked at Jim and then back to Matt. "You fucking lied to me!" he spat. Matt just smiled, he knew this guy was rattled and he figured it would be fun to play with him a bit. "You said you were married," Shocky challenged. "Actually I just answered your inappropriate question about why I went off active duty to the reserves, and I did so honestly; at the time I was married; we are now divorced and Gunner here is my life partner," Matt said, watching the guy process what he was hearing. It was like watching an old computer struggle to process information; his eyes darting and blinking like one of the big machines in the movies. "And if you remember, it was you that offered the information about the new gay coach. All I did was let you make an ass of yourself," Matt finished, getting a big laugh out of Rich. Shocky was completely red and Matt wasn't sure if it was from anger or embarrassment- more likely the latter. Now it was Rich's turn; he had been trying to figure out a way to stop this guy from causing trouble with the petition and he never dreamed he would get this kind of help. So while he was still busy looking back and forth between Matt and Jim and trying to wrap his head around the fact that these two muscle bound Marine officers were fudge packers, Rich took the opportunity to snatch the petition from his hand. "You know, Shocky," Rich said as he read the paper quickly, "I've always known you were not real smart, but I didn't think you would be stupid enough to ask a complete stranger to sign something so completely politically incorrect." "Fuck you, Allgood!" he growled as he reached out and tried to take the paper away from Rich who had seen the move coming and stepped aside quickly. "Talk about politically incorrect; you're a fucking Republican," said Sarge-spitting out the word as if the word burned his mouth. "Hey now buddy, no need for name-calling-and by the way I am not a Republican, I'm a registered Independent and a fiscally conservative libertarian," Rich replied neatly as he handed the petition to Jim and took out his phone. After snapping a photo of the offending document, he folded it and handed it back to the still angry Shocky. "What do you think your supporters would say if they knew you were circulating something so offensive? I mean they're the party that is supporting gay marriage are they not?" "So are you going to blackmail me?" he shot back. "Not at all, this is still a free country; you're free to do and say what you want. I was just posing a question," Rich answered in a carefully non-threatening manner. "Then why did you take the picture?" the Democrat and now-exposed homophobe asked. "Just as a memento," Rich said with a smirk. "I won't be intimidated," he said looking at Matt, "I'm still going to put this forward." After a pause, he added in a sleazy tone: "Are you sure you want to risk embarrassing your sons?" "Our boys won't be embarrassed; they are very comfortable with their family and their dads," Matt answered, "the only thing I ask are that you be man enough to let me know when you plan on presenting the petition, so that I may be there to represent myself." Again, the thick-necked hypocrite turned red; this time it was surely anger. Instead of cowering, Matt had stood up to him; and so, with no dry powder, he stormed away in impotent anger. "Sorry about that guys. I still can't believe he would be so stupid." "Don't worry about it man," Matt said. "We're getting used to it." Rich looked surprised at the statement. "What my husband means," Jim said as he put his arm around Matt's shoulder; something he would not normally do, but he saw Shocky across the field looking their way while talking animatedly to another man so he decided to provoke him, "and since we don't fit the stereotype, we tend to hear quite a bit of homophobic shit. You know us, Rich, we don't hide our relationship; we just don't advertise it, so a lot of people figure we're straight and tend to be their true selves in our presence." "He's right, it was the same with my roommate in college," Matt said. "His mother was black and his father was white. He looked whiter than I did-straight hair and all. When school started we had team meetings for baseball even though it was fall and some of the white guys would make their racist comments in front of us not knowing his ethnic make-up," Matt said and started to laugh. "I used to call him Allan Willis," then noticing the confused look on the other two faces he continued. "He was a character on that old show, The Jefferson's. Anyway, his mom, his dad and his sister, who's very pretty-but obviously black-came to parents' weekend; the looks on the guys faces were priceless and they didn't know whether to shit or go blind," Matt said then laughed at his own joke. "You know what bugs me the most about pricks like Shocky?" Rich asked as the three men started to move towards the assembled group of boys, now finished with the clean-up and waiting for their pizza reward, "It's frauds like Shocky who run for office, pretending to be the candidate that is tolerant, politically correct and for the little guy. Then, in reality, they are homophobic asses who live in huge houses courtesy of the jobs they got through political patronage," concluded Rich, almost sadly. Matt put his arm around Rich's shoulder as they walked. "Don't worry buddy, the world is full of assholes, and thank God they almost always get discovered-eventually." To be continued? Comments or questions may be sent to farmboy7456@gmail.com Please make sure to put PW@Nifty in the subject line.