Date: Thu, 4 Jul 2019 17:58:36 -0500 From: Kenneth Kirk Subject: Training the Coopers Chapter 31 Training the Coopers Author's Note: This is a work of fiction and any similarity to persons living or dead is purely coincidental and not intended. The author maintains full copyright of this material and licenses the use of it by Nifty.org as specified in information on the website. Please do not use it in any other published manner without the permission of the author. As this is erotic fiction featuring male to male sexuality, please leave this site if such stories are offensive to you. Please note that this story features sex between relatives of various connections. If this offends you, please leave this site. Some of the characters in this story are under age. If this offends you or is illegal in your jurisdiction, please leave this site. I have followed Nifty policy regarding these matters. If you are under age in your jurisdiction, please leave this site at once. If you enjoy this story and others like it, please consider contributing to support Nifty at http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html . Thank you! I hope you enjoy this story, which concerns a rather unusual family that trains its adolescent sons in sexual practices. To add realism to the story, much of the story is set in real cities and places of business. No implication that these places are accepting of homosexuality is implied. Should you visit any of them, please maintain normal caution and do not assume you will be accepted. This story is set in the late 1960's and early 1970's, before the AIDS crisis began. Therefore, it is strictly condom-free. However, please note that neither the author nor Nifty.org is encouraging men of the 21st century to ignore the consequences of unprotected sex. Please love yourself and your future partners enough to be careful! Just so you know, this story has 34 chapters, so please keep reading and feel free to send me your feedback or comments. None of the story has been posted until it is complete. Posting on Nifty takes a while, but the entire story will be posted in due time. This story is the backstory of characters who will be included in a book to be published in the Fall, 2019, tentatively titled "The Deputy Boys Book 2: The Induction." The story of the Cooper Family is entirely separate from this book, although several Coopers are characters in that book. At the beginning of each chapter and occasionally within the chapter, you will see a name written on a line by itself with no explanation. This is the name of the author of that section. The point of view shifts between various members of the family to tell the most detailed story. Hopefully, this will not prove confusing to you. Without further ado, enjoy "Training the Coopers"! Best Wishes, Kenneth Kirk Chapter 31 Donald We had a special graduation party for Nigel, Michael, Barry, and Danny at the Downtown Health Club. In honor of the occasion, the club owners had purchased a second sling, which was put to good use by Danny and Michael while Johnny and Christopher each spent an hour and a half in the older sling, separately, of course. Also invited to this exclusive festivity were our coaches, Denny, Darrel, Steve, Oliver, Sam, Wyatt, Nathan, Lincoln, Charles, and the club owners (plus the delicious Eddie Joe). An impromptu round robin took place with Danny and Christopher in the slings. When everyone had had everyone, so to speak, the action stopped for a couple of minutes as Michael replaced Danny and Johnny replaced Christopher. Then everyone had another round, finally beginning to drop loads in the firm tight asses of our number one and two quarterbacks. Oh, my! Eddie Joe told me how hot it was to fuck the quarterbacks. Apparently, he had a particularly vivid fantasy of his high school QB that he was able to play out with Michael. I do remember him screaming and cumming for a long time when he came inside our QB1. In fact, it was Eddie Joe's jizz-load that provided a lot of my lube when I ejaculated in that same wonderful asshole not more than 10 minutes later. Michael called me the next day to tell me that our party was the most incredible sexual experience of his life. As the event was winding down, I heard Coach Randy thanking Pablo and Tony for the use of the gym for the party. Both owners were very enthusiastic about the new boys they'd gotten to know that evening. "Your players are really well trained, Coach," Tony said. Coach was obviously proud, like he'd been told Michael was the best high school quarterback in the state or something like that. Coach beamed at them and said he thought there would be other great guys coming up in the future. "Maybe we could host a graduation party for them each year," Pablo suggested. Coach smiled. "That's a kind and generous offer, Pablo. Hopefully, we can make that a reality." In addition to everyone taking a turn topping one or more of the bottoms in the slings, Lincoln and Charles took several cocks in their throats. I also noticed Bert pounding Michael while Joel pounded Johnny a little while after the round robin ended. The QBs were moaning loudly while their coaches wore big, happy smiles. I got to see Michael's uncontrolled orgasm when he spewed his essence all over his torso and face. It was a beautiful sight. In fact, I stepped up and licked his tasty cumdrops off his pecs, abs, and chin, working in some nipple licks and a French kiss for good measure. I'd wager 10 years' of my future doctor's wages these 23 men had at least 50 orgasms over a 4-hour period. This night marked the first time I had been a total top at one of these events. I left loads in Michael's and Christopher's asses and one in Lincoln's throat. What a great graduation party! Dwight We celebrated Donny's graduation from Senior High and the next week Darrel brought us a gift. He gave it to us in a box covered with Sunday comics like wrapping paper. When we opened it, we were not sure right at first what it was, but on closer inspection, we discovered it was a rubber cock that was almost 6" long and almost 4" in circumference. Dwayne and I looked at each other and burst out laughing, not because it was funny, but because we figured that meant we would be using it soon. That night Darrel and Denny introduced it to us and we both managed to relax our assholes enough to take it all the way. Even though it was a lot smaller than our brothers' cocks, it was noticeably longer and thicker than our young cocks. It was going to require us to open wider and deeper than ever. At first, I thought it was going to split me into two halves, but it didn't. It hurt a little for a few seconds, but eventually my ass felt spectacular as Denny gently pushed the rubber prong into me and then pulled it almost all the way out. For several weeks Dwayne and I enjoyed topping each other and then using the dildo to stretch us more. Sometimes we would come again from the movements of the dildo. Denton Darrel and I worried that the twins were still too small physically to safely bottom for guys like us who are blessed with around 8 inches of thick cockmeat. The twins kept pestering us for more, so we finally decided to expose them gradually to larger cocks, allowing us to stop if there was significant pain at some point. After a few weeks with the dildo, we could see there were no ill effects relating to the size of the object. Daniel, who turned 16 in March, was the smallest of any of the other Coopers so we measured him. He came in at about 6 ½" long and 4 ½" in circumference. So, we had a family meeting with everyone except David, who was away at school. Explaining the numbers to the twins, we asked if they were ready to try something a bit larger, i.e., Danny's dick. Both of them looked at Danny and smiled. "You bet!" was Dwight's reply. After supper, douches, and showers, we all went to the basement. We flipped a coin, which came up heads, thus making Dwight the winner. I took my time rimming him and lubing him with deep finger probes. Meanwhile, Dwayne sucked Danny to get him ready. Darrel had Donny chowing down on his big cock while all this was going on. When Dwight was well-lubed, I greased up the dildo and introduced it carefully to my baby's sphincter. Like a well-seasoned bottom, he relaxed and opened for the rubber cock. I worked him for a couple of minutes before removing the dildo, so Danny could enter him. I held Dwight's little legs back towards his chest as I learned over to kiss him. Danny positioned his cock and slowly slid in an inch or so, softly calling out, "Oh!" in surprise. Dwight stiffened and groaned. Danny halted. I pulled back to look Dwight in the eye. Dwayne had moved to the other side of Dwight. "Are you okay, honey?" Dwayne asked with concern. "Uh, it hurts a little, but not too bad." "Just be still and try to relax some more," I said. We all waited a few seconds until Dwight moaned. "Are you okay?" I asked. "Feels good," he said airily. "Give him some more, Danny." Moaning as he went, Danny pushed forward while Dwight grimaced a bit. "Oh!" he said. Danny stopped and Dwight closed his eyes for a few seconds. When he opened them, he said, "Oh, yeah." "More, Danny," I instructed. When Danny stopped a moment later, Dwight smiled and said, "I want more." Danny went all the way in, mumbling, "Oh, wow! Fuck." Dwight groaned sensuously. "Okay, Danny," I said, "go slow and be gentle at first." Danny began sliding his hardness out and then pushed back in. Dwight responded with gasps and groans, but also smiles. Soon Danny was grunting and groaning as he topped his little brother with gusto. Dwight accepted the new cock without apparent pain or discomfort, moaning almost constantly. Dwight's little cock was soon sticking up as far as it could reach, bobbing and waving as Danny's body pounded against his. Dwayne leaned down and kissed his mirror image and held Dwight's cock, squeezing it gently in time with Danny's thrusts. No more than 5 minutes passed before Dwight screamed into his brother's mouth and erupted all over Dwayne's hand and his own belly. A couple of additional thrusts brought Danny to the brink and over. "Fuck, yeah!" he grunted loudly and began filling Dwight's little butt. The twins rested while I topped a very happy Danny and Darrel topped a restrained Donny. By the time we'd gotten off, Donny and Danny were dripping copiously. I judged Danny was ready to go again so we repeated the process we'd used with Dwight a while earlier. Just like his twin, Dwayne needed a moment to adjust to Danny's size, but he also thoroughly enjoyed bottoming for Danny, shooting off himself before Danny was quite finished. We sent the boys to bed, but Darrel stayed with me. We agreed the experience had been very positive for the twins and that they showed great promise. They just needed some more growth to be able to take full-grown Cooper cocks. That discussion got us going so much that I fucked my little brother leisurely for over half an hour before filling his hole with my liquid love. As I came, I broke our kiss and we stared deeply into each other's blue eyes. "I love you, baby," I said before we kissed passionately again. Dwight The night Dwayne and I first experienced bottoming for another person, we were about two months shy of 13. Later, when we were alone in bed together, we talked about the experience. "I could tell Danny's cock was bigger than yours or the rubber dildo, but it didn't seem to hurt more than the dildo," Dwayne began. "What did you think?" "That's what I thought, too," I agreed. "It hurt for a couple of seconds when it first went inside, but then it never really hurt." "Now that we've had bigger dicks, do you think our asses will still be tight for each other?" Dwayne asked. He had a good question. "I'm not sure, but I think there's one way to find out." Dwayne giggled and rolled onto his belly. "Try me and see." I made him suck me for a minute, but then eagerly lubed and got into position between his legs. He grunted as I pushed into him, but my dick slid in quickly with little resistance. I went as deep as I could in one strong push. When my groin smashed his buttcheeks, he let out a grunt and said, "Oh, you feel good, babe!" "You do, too!" I moved in him a couple of times before I paused. "I got inside easier, but you seem to be as tight as usual," I suggested. "Great!" he said. "So, what are you waiting for? Fuck me!" I did and in a little while he returned the favor. David There were three highlights of my freshman year at the University of North Carolina – Asheville. First, I loved college and UNCA in particular. It was beautiful. The courses were stimulating, challenging, even sometimes exciting. I was successful in my studies, earning mostly A's and a spot on the Dean's List both semesters. Second, I developed a lot as a wrestler and became one of the top wrestlers on our team, winning some important matches and contributing to the best season the team had ever had. I earned the respect of the other wrestlers and the coach. Just before the year ended, I decided I wanted to teach high school so I could coach wrestling for a few years. The third highlight was my spectacular sex life! My first year as a member of the "Group" at UNCA was the fastest year of my life. Each weekend there was a party on either Friday or Saturday night and sometimes one party that lasted all weekend. As a pledge, along with Miller and four other beautiful guys, I was usually a bottom for a few of the regular and alumni members. Usually there were four or five bottoms and about 10-12 tops, so I didn't get any more action than I had been getting at home. Miller and I were sharing a dorm room, so we flip-flopped almost every night when we didn't have to "work" a group event. In addition to the great sex, I felt I had a big bunch of brothers who were as ready to assist me with some tricky algebra or help me change the oil in my car as they were ready to stuff my buns with their big wienies. I grew to love Miller deeply and was very happy with him. Still, I wanted the experience of marriage and children eventually and the general respectability that is so important for public school teachers and that comes naturally to a family man. Every once in a while, I reminded Miller that what we had was wonderful, spectacular, amazing, and not permanent. He seemed accepting of that limitation and told me once that he was going to get the maximum from our relationship while it lasted, but not pine about me when it was over. Though I never told him, I secretly worried that I would have more difficulty moving on when the time came than he would. I made several quick trips home to Greenville during the year, but the trip I most enjoyed was taking Miller with me for part of the Christmas holiday, which we've already discussed. My birthday (April 14) was a Tuesday so we didn't make big plans. Miller took me to a fancy Italian restaurant in Biltmore Village to celebrate privately. When we went in, I was very happy to see a big table full of Coopers at the rear of the nearly empty restaurant. Dad and Darrel had brought all my brothers to celebrate with me! Making it even better was the fact that Miller had arranged it all for me. I felt totally surrounded by love that evening. When school ended, I came home for the summer, but I also spent quite a few weekends back in Asheville at parties and visiting Miller, who was taking summer school courses. I had an agreement with Mr. Cavanaugh to work for him at the ranch when I was in town, but be able to be off any time I needed to be out of town. In exchange for his flexibility, I worked quite hard and did several good projects for him that summer. Although I missed Miller a lot as well as the other guys in the Group, I saw most of them every couple of weeks so managed well. Being with my brothers, Dad, and Darrel was great. Donny and Danny had really learned how to be submissive and dominant when the situation called for it. It was clear Donny preferred to dominate, but when he needed to submit, he loved being restrained and controlled. Danny was more vanilla and relaxed. He liked to top, but loved bottoming. He took whichever role was given to him and had become very talented in either role. Even the twins had developed a lot in my absence. They both seemed to prefer the submissive role, but Denny and Darrel were being very careful about their bottoming. Since he was still hung smaller, Danny was the only one allowed to top the twins. He loved it and so did they. I did get to do a lot of topping that summer. I topped Donny and Danny several times each week and was also introduced to the boys in training, some of whom I already knew. When Coach Randolph learned that I planned to coach wrestling, he brought me together with all the wrestlers in the training program, which was nearly every wrestler on the team. During the summer, I must have topped a dozen hot juniors and seniors, most of them several times. The coach smiled at me and said, "I wonder if, perhaps in gratitude for providing you lots of hot stud ass, you might feel like bottoming for me occasionally, too. What do you think?" I laughed. "I think that's an awesome idea, Coach!" I turned to the side, so he could see the swell of my butt cheek through my pale blue Onionskin shorts. As I rubbed my hand along my hip, I looked at him. "I think we're alone now. Why don't we enjoy the moment, huh?" He grinned. "Fuck, yeah, Dave!" He kissed me, stripped me, and pushed me to my knees in front of his crotch. I took the hint and pulled down his knit coach's shorts and the jock he was wearing underneath. Unleashing his manly prong, I began kissing and licking him. It only took about a minute for him to get as rigid as a steel I-beam and start drooling precum. He pulled me back to my feet, stripped my Onionskins off, and turned us so I was facing his desk with him behind me. Gently, he pushed my torso down onto the desk while he lubed my sphincter and his raging cock. He wasted no time in introducing his fuckstick to my fuckhole. He gave me a few seconds to adjust to the presence of so much flesh in my ass before commencing a most vigorous and exciting pounding of my innards. After a few minutes, he flipped me onto my back with my ass at the edge of the desk and my heels on his shoulders. When he plunged back into me, he leaned over to kiss me while he fucked me energetically, making me cry out "Fuck!" or "Yeah!" or "Oh!" repeatedly until cum shot out of my hard dick onto our bellies. He took about five more hard plunges into me and then blasted me with an enormous load of his babymakers. Lest we forget, I was living at home with my brothers and Denny and Darrel, both of whom pounded me at least once a week all summer, too. As it turned out, I had just about as much sex during my summer break as I had as a Group member during the year at UNCA. Nothing like keeping everything in good working order, right!? When I returned to UNCA in the fall, I would progress off the pledge list of the Group so would not be pressed to do a lot of bottoming then. It looked as if I'd be doing considerably less bottoming in the future than I had over the past year. That suited me fine. I was sure Miller would keep my ass busy enough so I wouldn't forget my technique. And being the more dominant partner was becoming more natural for me as time went forward. Coach Randolph Note to the Reader: I asked Coach Randolph to write a section describing the effects of the training on the athletic record of Greenville Senior High School from 1969 until he was hired by Clemson in 1977. Dwight The best thing that ever happened to my coaching career and one of the best things that ever happened to me personally was discovering what came to be known, euphemistically, as the "Marine Approach" to training our most promising athletes at GSHS. Training my assistant coaches (Bert Blaylock and Joel Kern) was a key ingredient. I enjoyed topping those guys regularly for many years! With their help as well as Denny and Darrel's that first year, we trained 15 athletes during the '69-'70 school year and each year thereafter. By 1971, we were focusing on training mostly sophomores for two main reasons. First, they had less resistance to submitting than older boys sometimes had. Second, by training them sooner, we had stronger, bigger, more disciplined teams since they would be at GSHS longer following the training than if we waited until they were juniors or seniors. In the fall of 1971, I was called into the Principal's Office after he'd gotten wind of the unorthodox training we were doing. He suggested we shouldn't be doing it, so I pointed out our incredible success since we'd started it. I suggested he might want to observe some training before making a final decision and he agreed. Watching Bert fucking the lovely Christopher Logan was just too much for the Principal to resist and he eagerly shoved his hard 7 inches into Chris' stretched hole when Bert was finished. After that, the Principal joined us once or twice a week and wound up topping every athlete we trained for years. When I was finishing my last year at GSHS, he told me how grateful he was for the Marine Approach, for its impact on our sports program, and for its impact on his life, too. Of the dozens of boys we trained during my time, I think we only had about four or five who turned out to be gay and that many more who were bi. The others mostly enjoyed the sex with their peers as recreation rather than a way of life. Bert tells me the new assistant coaches he brought on after I left were screened for their willingness to participate in the program before they were hired. The Principal insisted. We won state championships in football in 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, and 1976 under my tenure. Bert took the school to several more state championships over the following decade. We won state wrestling championships every year from 1970 through 1978 and many times during the `80's. We took state in basketball in 1972, 1974, 1975, and 1979 and several times during the `80's. We won state in baseball four times in the `70's and five times in the `80's. We won the state track meet every year during the `70's and `80's except for 1974 and 1982. We even became a state powerhouse in swimming and tennis. In the seven years we used the Marine Approach while I coached at Greenville, our graduates received a total of 29 college football scholarships, 18 college wrestling scholarships (including David), 10 college basketball scholarships, 8 college baseball scholarships, 3 college track scholarships, 2 college swimming scholarships, and 2 college tennis scholarships (Dwight and Dwayne actually). Four of the football stars eventually went pro, including one who received the Heisman Trophy in the early `80's but who will remain unnamed. We had a wrestler in the 1972 Olympics; 2 wrestlers and a swimmer in the 1976 Olympics; and a sprinter, a wrestler, and 2 swimmers in the 1980 Olympics. All these men went through our training program while I was at Greenville and they brought home 2 bronze medals, 1 silver medal, and 2 gold medals between them. I think it's safe to say Greenville Senior High School had one of the best men's high school sports records in the history of the United States from 1970 to 1990. I credit our Marine Approach and the resulting strength, discipline, respect for authority, and ability to dominate opponents for this unprecedented string of state titles, scholarships, professional success, and Olympic honors. After I went to Clemson, Bert and Joel continued the program for another decade or so and GSHS remained a powerhouse in men's sports. I took the Marine Approach to Clemson with me. Usually I trained only three or four players each year since they were already much bigger and more accomplished than my high school team members had been. But I did bring several marginal players up to be important starters on the team and even produced several pros. It's always fun to see them playing on TV on an occasional Sunday afternoon, remembering how great my cock felt deep in their asses. And there have been a number of memorable stolen moments with former students in hotels and locker rooms across the Southeast. I could never repay Darrel and Denny for what they gave to my life. Or David, Donald, Daniel, Dwight, and Dwayne either! Dwight We turned 13 at the end of August 1970. We were 5'4 ¾" tall and weighed 101 pounds. Our cocks were just a hair under 5" long and about 4 ¼" thick. For our birthday present, Denny, Darrel, Donny, and Danny took us to the basement, where we all got naked and piled on the big bed. Soon we were being fed the big cocks belonging to Denny and Darrel while our brothers slowly sucked our little cocks. After a while, our brothers took over feeding us their dicks while Denny sucked me (a rarity) and Darrel sucked Dwayne (also rare) until we both came. Oh, what a monumental orgasm that was! After that, we did a bunch of kissing and sharing of our watery spunk. Then Donny put his cock back in my mouth while Danny started face-fucking Dwayne. I noticed Denny and Darrel off to the side making out like teenagers until our brothers jizzed our throats. We shared their splooge and then, for the grand finale, Denny gave his load to Dwayne while Darrel gave his load to me. After sharing their more potent cock juice, we wiped up a little and then we all went upstairs for some birthday cake and punch. After we finished our birthday snacks, we played a rousing round of our family favorite card game: Liverpool Rummy, which Donald won handily on the last hand. It was the most exciting birthday we ever had! (At least until the following year!) As happy as we were at this point, Dwayne and I still missed our mother tremendously. We'd talk about her and how good her hugs were when we were little. Dwayne insisted she was watching over us so nothing bad would ever happen. I felt a bit more skeptical, I suppose, because I thought she was watching over us, but didn't think that gave us some type of immunity to bad things in life. Such thoughts were really deep, even for a new teenager. We'd gotten somewhat accustomed to David's absence over the past year while he was away at college. Then, right after our birthday party, Donald also moved to Asheville to go to college and join David's sex club. Dad told us after he left that it was good that David and Donald would be together a lot because it gave both of them some sense of family even when they were away. Nevertheless, there were a lot of times when it seemed far too quiet around our house. Danny slept with Denny and Darrel a couple of nights each week, often screaming out in ecstasy. We usually spent one night with Denny and Darrel and several nights each week with Danny. He was a gentle and kind lover and kept us from forgetting how to prepare and what to do to be a good bottom. He was also getting a lot of bottoming practice with the boys the coaches were training to be dominants. In the months since Dad had announced that he and Darrel would be a couple, we had noticed subtle changes in how Denny treated Darrel. They became more affectionate in front of us and spent more time in the basement bedroom with the door closed. They slept together without any of us most nights. They were solicitous to each other, bringing coffee or beer or doing other special things for the other. Sometimes Dwayne and I would talk about how they were treating each other. We felt we were learning a lot about how to have a good romantic relationship and we started practicing what we were learning. The feelings I had for Dwayne seemed to grow a lot as I tried to find ways to make him feel special and to show him that I love him. Of course, when he would do something really special for me, I loved that! A Sunday early in October was Darrel's birthday, his 29th. He and Dad packed up on Saturday morning for a drive to Atlanta where they stayed until Monday afternoon. After they returned from their weekend away, they were very affectionate with each other in front of us. We'd see them hugging or kissing at random times and they seemed to hold hands every moment when they were together. Both of them stayed in a good mood throughout the fall and seemed to smile every time they looked at each other. At Thanksgiving, David, Donald, and Miller came home for a couple of days. Dad and Darrel made a huge Thanksgiving dinner with a 20-pound turkey, traditional dressing, mashed potatoes, candied yams, green bean casserole, and a vegetable medley containing broccoli, zucchini, yellow squash, carrots, and cauliflower with a bunch of butter and seasonings. We used Mom's china and I felt like that made her more present with us. For dessert we had both pumpkin cheesecake and southern pecan pie made with Mom's family recipe. I couldn't help but cry when I tasted that pie! We had such a good time around that holiday table, hearing about the escapades of the college men, laughing about the training going on at school, and hearing about Donald's budding romance with Cynthia Henderson, a pretty brunette from Raleigh he'd met in Biology 101. No, they hadn't "gone all the way," but he would like to. After we'd finished the big meal, Dad told us just to leave the food and dishes for a few minutes because he wanted everyone to come to the living room. While we moved into the other room and settled in chairs and sofas, Darrel took Danny into the kitchen for a few minutes. Soon Danny appeared with a tray containing eight champagne glasses. Behind him, Darrel walked in with two bottles of bubbly and a can of 7-Up. The tray was set on the coffee table and the bottles placed next to the tray. Darrel told Danny to sit down. Dad opened a bottle of champagne and began filling glasses while Darrel poured several ounces of 7-Up into three of the glasses. When the first bottle was empty, Dad opened the second one and handed it to Darrel, who filled the other glasses, topping off the glasses that were half filled with 7-Up. While Darrel finished with the champagne bottle, Dad stood in front of the TV, looking around the room smiling at his sons and one son's boyfriend. Darrel stood next to Dad, who leaned towards him and planted a juicy kiss on Darrel's lovely mouth. Dad's arm went around Darrel's back and then they smiled at each other for a long moment. Facing the room, Dad began speaking in a voice that seemed filled with emotion. "More than anything in the world, I love you boys. The most wonderful thing that ever happened to me was meeting your mother and having her fall in love with me." His voice got a bit shaky on those last few words, so he paused for a moment before continuing. "She was always an angel to me and she brought me more happiness than I ever thought possible. I think you all know that I will miss my Sarah Ann every day of my life." He paused and slipped his arm down so he could take Darrel's hand in his. I think we all knew what he was going to say next. "When Sarah Ann left us, I really thought I was dead inside. You know how much I hurt and how much that knocked me down." I sniffed to keep my nose from dripping and Dwayne squeezed my hand. "When Darrel came to us, I was completely broken and he was recovering from his leg wound and also his own type of heart wound. We spent the next year getting stronger and focusing our attention on our five amazing sons. I know that Darrel loves you as much as if you were his sons instead of his nephews." Dad looked lovingly at Darrel, who smiled sweetly back. "As you have all witnessed, both of us have recovered a lot over the past year and a half. Darrel walks without any issues and he seems to be pretty stable psychologically. I still miss your mom all the time, but I'm able to function again. I can make room in my pain of loss for the joy of living. I can make decisions." He and Darrel exchanged a deep look as I held my breath. "Together, Darrel and I have realized that we have grown into a family unit together. We've had romantic feelings for each other since we were kids. Those feelings have blossomed since he has been with us and they have deepened until we cannot pretend they are not here. We haven't fallen in love as much as we have grown in love with each other and..." Dad paused, took a big breath, smiled at Darrel, and looked back at us. "And we want to share our lives together as partners." "As lovers," Darrel added confidently. "Yes, as lovers," Dad said. Just as we would cheer if GSHS scored a touchdown in the final seconds of the state championship, we all jumped to our feet and screamed and shouted. I could see from their expressions that our enthusiasm was greater than Dad and Darrel had anticipated. Soon we were grabbing them and each other for about five minutes of hugging and kissing. Finally, we all calmed down somewhat. "Thanks so much, boys," Dad said with the sweetest smile. "David, Donny, please pass out the drinks. David and Donny began handing out the champagne glasses, being sure that Danny, Dwayne, and I received the glasses that were half 7-Up. David handed one to Dad and one to Darrel, smiling broadly at each of them. "I love you both," he whispered. Turning around he lifted his glass high. "A toast," he said rather formally. "To the best parents I can imagine. To two guys with hearts as big as the Smoky Mountains. To Denny! To Darrel! To our beautiful parents, long may they live and long may they love!" "Thank you!" Denny said as David turned and they clinked their glasses. The clink of tapping glasses filled the room as everyone began circling to find everyone and clink glasses. Soon we all brought our glasses to our mouths and sipped our champagne. I found the bubbles tickled my nose. The flavor was a little weird, but not unpleasant. We all moved closer to Dad and Darrel, hugging and kissing them with genuine joy. When we laid down in bed that night, Dwayne summed it all up very well. He whispered, "I think we are a healed family." He smiled. "At last." I nodded and kissed my twin, aware that my feelings for him were a lot like I thought Dad's feelings for Darrel were. "Life is good," I said quietly.