Written by Charles Well <charles.well@yandex.com> and Sarge AKA Aldric <pietar_the_fearless@yahoo.com>
(C) 2019)
The original Kids of Indian Spring (KOIS) story by Jonas Henley can be found here: https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/young-friends/kids-of-indian-spring/
and if you wish to read Jonas Henley's account of the 1968 Mackey Choosing Ceremony, look here: https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/young-friends/mackey-tails/
Also see map.pdf and Springer Families.pdf in the Sandy Jacobs folder on Nifty. There is also an extensive family tree of the Mackey family available in this folder as well.
This story is about sex between boys and is therefore a total fantasy. It was written by an adult for the entertainment of other adults. No children or animals were either involved or harmed in the writing of this story. Please leave now if you are not supposed to be here.
Writing the continuing saga of the Kids of Indian Spring has become a real community effort. My co-author on this chapter was Sarge AKA Aldric. His ideas, drafting, hard work, and constant support in too many areas to mention made this chapter possible.
Comments or suggestions may be directed to either of the authors mentioned above. We welcome feedback from readers. It's the only payment we receive for many hours of hard work.
For anyone interested, I have also been working on another story away from the Indian Spring World with Sam the Ham. See Cow Pies and Country Cousins at https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/young-friends/cow-pies-and-country-cousins/
Please consider a donation to Nifty for allowing us to have this resource to share our stories. To donate go here: http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html
With his father going to a meeting after dinner, Kelley knew there was one thing he had to do before too much time went by. Instead of protecting his brother Cooper, Tanner Mackey had come over and applied his protection vote to him. Tucker now knew why it had happened, but that didn't mean he didn't owe a thank you to Tanner.
As it turned out, Cooper didn't need the protection vote, but it wouldn't have taken much to change that. He ended up with just 6 votes, 1 fewer than Kelley had gotten after Tanner's -10 took him out of the lead.
Their older brother Spencer answered the door. Spencer was 15 and had applied his -2 protection to Cooper early in the voting. Everyone knew it was Tanner's bottom status that protected his brother, even if he didn't apply it to him—the belief that he would kept a lot of kids from wasting their vote.
"I was wondering if we'd ever see you around here," Spencer said. "I'll bet you're wondering why Tanner put his protection on you."
"Because Angus said that the middle son of your dad would do the right thing when told to step up," Kelley said, enjoying the look of surprise in Spencer's eyes. "Before you ask, no, I didn't know that then. I found out just recently at Grandma Corbin's cabin.
This caused an even greater look of surprise. "You went to see her?"
"Yeah," Kelley said. "Malcolm and Seth took me there. She told me a couple of things I needed to know. And I'm here to say thanks to Tanner."
"Not to fuck him? You could you know."
"After what he did for me? No, I would never ask him for that now."
"Well, I think he's done cutting the grass and he's probably in the shed cleaning the tractor."
Kelley gave a nod and headed towards the back yard. The shed was almost as big as a small garage, and inside Tanner and Cooper were just finishing hosing off the bottom of a garden tractor.
"Hey Tucker," Tanner said.
"Hey yourself, you too Cooper," Kelley responded. "I found out recently why you did what you did, but I still needed to come over and say thanks for your vote. And I sure am glad that it didn't cost Cooper."
"Yeah, so's he," Tanner said. "I don't know what you heard, but the truth is..."
"You were told to step up and do the right thing," Kelley said. "The middle son of Frankie's role, according to Angus. I was told that by someone who heard it first hand from Angus."
"Shit, that's impossible," Cooper said. "The only person alive who heard it first person was Grandma Corbin."
"Yeah, that's who I heard it from," Kelley said. "With some help from Malcolm and Seth."
"But what was it for?" Tanner asked. "I planned to give that protection to my brother. What made you too important to be bottomed?"
"I don't know a lot about it. I don't think that it was because I was too important to be bottomed; I think there was a bigger purpose, one that would only be served if everyone thought I would be and then I wasn't. Months before the Choosing I decided I hated the Mackey way, and I wanted to break it. I didn't even know for sure what I meant by that."
Tanner looked doubtful. "All those years, all the stuff Angus said would happen, and you don't have a clue what it meant?"
"Grandma Corbin told me that a lot of people had bet that I would be bottomed. When you gave me your protection vote, it changed a lot," Kelly said. I think a lot of what has been happening between families since then is the result of that. She told me there were two scions who would come, one to break the break the Mackey and one to heal it. I thought for a while that the other one would be one of my brothers, but it turns out it was Malcolm. But neither of us knows what it means. Something that Angus knew about the future. It seems awfully important somehow, but I don't know anything more than that. I'm just glad you played your role and that it didn't cost your brother."
"Did you decide to break the Mackey before you heard it from Grandma Corbin?" Cooper asked.
Kelly thought about when he first thought those words. It was before the White Party. Then he remembered.
"Yeah, but I didn't know how to do it. I thought it had something to do with Casey Harris, but I was dead wrong about that, and that mistake all but cost me a good friend. And I truly don't know what purpose it all served."
"Cooper, go ahead and wash up. Mom will have dinner ready soon." Tanner turned to Kelley and said, "There's some big meeting tonight in Sweetwater my dad is going to so we're going to eat early."
"If you sent your brother away because you thought I was going to ask you for something, you didn't need to. I'll never ask you to let me do that. Not after what you did."
"Actually, I was going to ask you for a favor," Tanner said. "You can say `no' and I won't ever hold it against you."
"I won't say no, unless it's real outrageous. As I said, I really owe you more than I think you realize."
"It isn't for me," Tanner said. "It's for Cooper. We're kind of isolated here because there's been all kinds of threats and shit going on since the ceremony. That's why I was so surprised to hear you were at Cleveland's old cabin. That was risky." He paused.
"Go ahead and ask. I won't be offended," Kelley said.
"It's Cooper. He really wants to fuck something, anything, but he won't ask me. He won't even let me blow him. Most of his friends are a bit deeper than us and he's kind of alone. You can, and probably should, say `no' to what I'm asking, but that's about the size of it. I accept your thanks for what I did; you don't need to do this."
"I kind of admire a boy who won't ask that of his brother even when he knows it's okay," Kelley said. "I can't do it for you, and it is you I owe the thanks to. But I could..." He didn't get a chance to say what he could do.
"Don't you guys feel just a little bit dirty discussing me like I'm a horse being put up for stud?" Cooper said from the door. "Did you really think it was okay to ask Kelley to let me fuck him?"
"Shit," Tanner exclaimed. "I didn't mean it like that Coop."
"Dinner's in half an hour. How about if you go in and wash up. I'll tell Kelley goodbye."
With his head hanging low, Tanner left the shed. Cooper stood at the door and watched his middle brother until he went into the house.
"Would you really let me if I asked?"
"Yes," Kelley said without hesitation. "And no, I'm not like that. But right now, I owe anything your brother wants, and he wants to help you. So, yes, if you ask, you can do it."
"The truth is, he's right. Since the ceremony it's been kind of a letdown. I won't ever use my brother, and I don't feel right about using Judge or Bert. Chris Corbin lives too far away, and I kind of feel like Brewer got more than he deserved. So, I do want to do it. Do I have to ask you?"
"No. When and where?"
"We've got 20 minutes, and there's Vaseline out here. You sure about this? I want to do it, but I don't get why you don't punch me in the mouth just for asking."
"Well, you haven't exactly asked. And it won't be the first time it's been done to me. If you want to do it, get in here and close the door."
Cooper took one look back at the house. He could see his brother Tanner in his room peeking through the curtains. He shot him the bird and closed the door to the shed. Openings around the roof let in enough light to see by and he got the jar his brother kept out there for when other boys came calling.
His 3.25-inch-long dick was quickly greased up and he used his fingers to do the same for Kelley. Without a word, he slowly inserted himself into Tucker's backside, and once in, he began short thrusts, not delaying the feeling.
"I'm going to cum, is that okay?" he asked, his voice breaking as he said it.
"Yeah, do it," Kelley said. He grunted as Cooper drove in deeper and held in place for a second before shooting his load. Then he pulled out and offered a towel to Kelley.
"I'm not proud of myself," he said. "It was good and all, but I feel like I took advantage of you."
"You know, that is exactly why the Mackey's have the ceremony and pick bottoms. To give relief to guys like you. If you don't feel comfortable doing it with your brother, try Kevin. He won't mind."
"Yeah, thanks, maybe. Are you going to tell anyone we did this?"
"No, admitting I let you do it is not going to help me," Kelley said with a laugh. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm serious, go see Kevin."
The door was closed promptly at seven o'clock, and locked from the inside. It had not been hard to arrange for the use of the school's administrative meeting room, but keeping non-interested parties away had proven difficult. It was an agreement from Dick Cantrell that he would assume personal responsibility for cleaning the room and restoring it to how it looked before the meeting took place that got him keys to the office.
There were two tables in the front of the room, angled towards each other, and several dozen chairs filled the remaining space. At one table sat Paul Mackey (Hiram's dad), Duane Mackey (Darrell's dad), and next to them Elijah Mackey.
The other table had Jebediah (Seth's dad), Austin (Dean's dad), Amos (Tolley's dad), Gerald Cormac, and Halford Tucker. Standing in the center was Dick Cantrell. He and Hal had discussed who should lead and both agreed that it would be best if it was Dick.
Seated in the audience were two dozen or so Mackey, Corbin, Haver, and Springer dads. No one looked happy to be there.
"If I could have everyone's attention please," Dick said loudly. He had to say it twice before the room quieted down.
"I've asked those seated in front here, and invited other interested parties, to discuss a proposal that was recently presented to me. It affects all of us who live in Indian Spring."
"Who presented it?" Paul Mackey asked.
"It was anonymous," Dick answered. He was about to continue when Paul asked,
"Does he live in Indian Spring?"
"I don't know, the material was presented to me by an anonymous source. I can say though that the source is represented by Mr. Ernest Morrison."
"Aww, shit, him again," Duane said. "Tell that SOB to go fuck himself and leave us alone."
"I think he plans to do that," Dick said. "Leave you alone, I mean. The other part you'll have to ask him about yourself next time you see him."
Dick paused, waiting for another comment from the table to his left.
"Mr. Morrison is going to build a waterpark. He is putting up several million dollars of his own money and is seeking another investor or investors. One, the anonymous person, has come forward and pledged one million dollars of his own, but wants to extend an offer to those thinking about investing in the park proposed by Elijah Mackey."
A smattering of boos came from the audience.
"That's bullshit," Elijah said. "He's only doing it because I told him he was full of shit and to get out of the Spring. Our park is going to be built, on State-owned land, and we're going to start construction soon, just as quick as we can push through the engineering on Lower Spring Drive that Halford Fucking Tucker keeps stalling."
"I'd like to hear the presentation," Sampson Haver's shouted out. "As soon as Elijah shuts the fuck up."
"Listen, please, let's not let this degenerate into cuss words and trouble," Dick said. He picked up the notes that Hal had given him. "Here is what is offered." He went through nearly the complete briefing that Ernest Morrison had given to Malcolm, including brief explanations of ROI and LLCs. He was surprised he was able to get through it without being interrupted.
"What's the difference between this and the plan I'm already invested in?" Sammy Hardin asked.
"According to what Mr. Morrison told me, the plan to build the park here won't pay out until it makes a profit, and that none of the investors get paid until one key member is paid."
"And who the hell is that?" called someone from the audience.
"I don't know," Dick said. "Elijah, do you want to answer that?"
"It's the guy that is putting up the most money, and he wants to be anonymous too. Don't listen to this Springer fool, you'll get your money back, and as part of the LLC you'll also reap the profits. With the Morrison plan, the corporation gets all the profits. Every dime."
"Can this area support two waterparks? Where is the other one going to be built?"
"Our waterpark will be built first," Elijah stood and shouted. "And the company that Morrison thinks will build the other will back out, just you wait and see."
The meeting was quickly degenerating into a shouting match, and Dick Cantrell struggled to get it back to order, succeeding only when he pulled a map out of the information Hal had supplied him with and unfolded it and held it up in front of him.
"This is where Morrison is going to build," he shouted from behind the map. "Closer to the city, along the highway. And it is five times bigger than the one planned for here."
"We know where your money's going Cantrell," Duane Mackey said. "And we'll build a fucking hotel here too. Right about where you and Roger Turner live now."
Gerald Cormack stood and glared at the other table. "Cormack and Lanham money will be added to the anonymous investor that Mr. Morrison has."
"The fucking Lanham's lost their house years ago and don't even live in the damn Spring," Elijah said back to him. "And I ain't scared of no Cormack. Mind your gold you're always saying. Well, I'll be laughing my ass off for every penny of it you lose."
"I want to see the documentation for this LLC," Sam Jacobs said. He had heard his oldest son's desire to remain in Indian Spring. And his wife Karla and the other boys had expressed similar views. However, what they didn't realize was that their entire life's savings were tied up in the investment. But from what he was hearing now, he had already decided to pull his money out of Elijah's fund. That increasingly looked like a dead deal. The only question was, could he withdraw his money? "I want to see how the payouts work, who gets paid first, and rights of all the members."
"What, you son of a bitch, you don't trust me?" Elijah responded, realizing too late that was the wrong thing to say. No one, not even his own family, trusted him, and he saw the look in too many eyes change as soon as he challenged Sam. They were going to walk. And he needed their money or he'd lose everything he had.
"Gentlemen, please," Dick yelled after putting the map back in his folder. "This meeting was to simply present to you an offer to invest in what to me looks like a better plan, and one that won't change the Spring forever. If you want to invest, Mr. Halford Tucker is managing the fund established by the unnamed partner of Mr. Morrison. Please see him with any questions you have. If you're invested in Elijah's plan and want to stay there, that is your business, and I wish you well. Thank you for coming."
Nearly everyone in attendance went to one of the two tables. On one side, they wanted more information from Hal, and on the other side, more about how sure their investment in Elijah's plan really was. More than a few of them said they wanted out. Elijah wanted to tell them they could leave but their money couldn't, but he didn't know if that was true. The investment company he had hired had briefed him on the structure of the agreement, but this was never part of that discussion. He couldn't get away from the table fast enough. If any of them ever found out that he would get paid first before any of them got a dime back ... Well, he didn't even want to consider what would happen then.
Elijah felt even worse after listening to Butch. His son had looked at the information available and told him flat out that the park in the Spring was never going to be built. The other one was bigger, better financed, in a better location, and had more support. Butch would know what he was talking about, a double major in business and finance and accounting, then an MBA degree. All paid for by scholarships and evening and summer jobs. Hardly a dime from his father, who he considered dirt poor anyway.
Butch had never forgiven the man for the death of his brother, even though Elijah had nothing to do with it. It was a fire at a still, not an uncommon occurrence. "And why was Derek sleeping there anyway?" he'd asked long ago even though he knew the answer. His brother hated living under the same roof as his father. Butch never once believed it was Tabitha. Nor did he believe there ever was any gold.
The gold. Every time he tried to claim his gold, something terrible happened. Now it was gone, without a trace. Elijah would never forget the last thing Tabitha had said to him before shooting herself.
"You misunderstand me, Elijah. I don't want you to feel better. My heart broke, and it still pains me, knowing your son suffered and knowing how it changed me; but you, you self-righteous, arrogant bastard, I want you to feel pain. I want you to suffer the rest of your life. It's a sign of what you really are, and what I have unfortunately become. But I do not feel sorry for you."
She'd said she knew nothing about the gold, and now, at long last, he had to consider that perhaps it was true. Maybe his brothers or cousins got it out long before that night and still had it hidden away. He wouldn't put it past them.
But he was not a poor man. He'd taken out life insurance policies on his wife and Derek. Nobody knew about them. He collected $100,000 when Derek died. And even though his wife had left him years before she passed away, he learned of her death. And collected another $200,000. He could have paid for Butch's college education, but the boy never believed him.
The money had been quietly invested in quasi-legal enterprises. He'd lost some. But earned more, and when the idea of working with the State and building the waterpark that would ruin Indian Spring but make him wealthy came up, he had over $400,000 to invest.
How that bastard Ernest Morrison found out about the first investor clause in the contract, he wished he'd knew. He'd run afoul of Morrison Industries once before. Somehow the man learned that only one person was ever going to profit from the waterpark. All the others would hate him forever, but they'd be forced to leave, as the deal also meant ending the lease the timber companies had. The state would deed him 15 acres close to where he lived now. He'd be the only resident in the State Park. Everyone else would lose their homes and their lifestyle. He'd make sure a few of them, his strongest supporters, would land sunny side up — the brothers Paul (the father of Hiram and Paulie) and Duane Mackey (the father of Darrell, David and Denise) and Peter Redd (father of Sheldon). He briefly considered Bart Corbin. But he was always more trouble than he was worth and he had that idiot son Eli who had gone and fucked his cousin at the Choosing Ceremony and clearly caused a load of problems for everyone in the Spring. It was only a matter of time before he'd be in jail. Elijah couldn't figure out why Matthew hadn't already filed charges. He would have, just to fuck-up Bart and his family.
But the deals he had made were all blown. Even if he rushed and built it this fall, it would die as soon as the one that Morrison was building opened. And without his waterpark, the State official who had made special deals with him would turn his back. That man had counted on Elijah getting every deal completed, deals that benefitted the State and thus him. Without it, the State would quickly use their leverage to end the lumber leases.
He had put $75,000 down to the construction company, and that money was not refundable. The investment company would allow him to get out, but with a 10% penalty fee for breaking the agreement. It would hurt, but not break him, but when the State took the land they would find his still and likely charge him. He was sure the man he had made deals with already knew about his other "less-than legal businesses." His only hope would be to destroy the still completely, but now that was his only steady source of income. What could he do?
Too much that he had worked for was at risk, unless he sank to his lowest point ever and sighed the papers that Halford Tucker had offered and invested in Morrison's waterpark. He could do it anonymously. People wouldn't know, but joining hands with Tucker was all but beneath him. It meant defeat. But a defeat with his name and most of his money intact. However, that still left his dealings with the State. The man he had worked with, the one who made deals, had warned him about backing out.
Maybe, if Tucker knew the right bits of information, he could make the State back off. He'd heard there was a dispute over whether or not the state even owned the land. If Halford Tucker knew that 156 years ago the original James Mackey had sold 25 acres of land currently known as Tucker Woods to a certain Donal Tucker, maybe he could be persuaded to deal. His sister Esther had the bible. She didn't know what was sealed under the wax bead of the binder. Maybe Halford Tucker could actually beat the State if he had something to win for himself. Knowledge could be given, if Tucker agreed to ensure that the land deal Elijah had worked out with the State Official remained part of the deal.
Elijah was fairly certain that Halford didn't know his family history. But he knew it. A Tucker daughter had married into the family long, long ago. Funny how life sometimes worked out. Him and Halford Tucker, having some shared family background. He wished he'd known it back when Halford was a kid; that would have been an earth-shattering change if he had. But by the time he'd found the paper tucked away in the bible it had been too late to use it. But maybe now he had a second chance. What would Tucker do to know what was in that bible?
Maybe there was gold. Not the shiny stuff with 1873 stamped on the bottom, but something almost as good. Money he could have legally, free and clear. And land too. Without the State ever being able to tell him he had to move. More money from the investment. Would that clear his conscience? Make him forget the gold?
Maybe. If. A few big Ifs. But yeah, maybe. If he could swallow the bitter pill involved with giving nearly a half million dollars to that bastard Morrison.
Elijah had been forced to give in. Of the 83 people who had invested money in the waterpark he had planned to build, 72 of them wanted their money back, and 63 of them had told him they were going to invest in the one planned by Morrison. He was pretty sure that the other 9 were going to also, but just didn't share that information with him. All were extremely pissed to learn that they would lose 10% of their investment for pulling out, even though it was obvious that park was not going to be built.
And the others were clamoring for who the `lone investor' was. The firm told him they'd have to sue to get that name and they'd have trouble finding a lawyer willing to work cheap enough to find out, but Elijah immediately thought of Halford Tucker, who might do it for free.
In the end, he agreed to pay the 10% penalty for ending the contract early. Not just for his money, but for the rest of the Indian Spring families who were part of it. That, plus the up front and non-refundable construction contract cost of $75,000 would cost him a staggering $140,000. But it was better than taking a risk that they would find out that he had tried to swindle Mackeys from nearly every family, friend as well as foe.
Elijah arranged for the remaining money to be invested into the newly formed Indian Spring Investments, with the understanding that one of the individual shareholders, himself, would remain anonymous. The amount put into the fund was just under $510 million.
Zane and Derek Mackey, two near-Mackey brothers, were just leaving the Brewer house when Kelley got there. They looked happy, and Tucker knew why. The five-day rest period for the new bottoms had ended last Thursday night. They had no doubt been there to make use of Cal's services. They greeted Kelley with lascivious grins as they passed.
Mr. Brewer answered the door when he knocked. "Kelley, I thought I'd see you here eventually. Unfortunately, Cal has reached the maximum for the day. It has been a busy morning for him."
"I'm not here to do anything with him except talk," Kelley said. "I promise I won't break the rules, if he'll even talk with me. I, uh, didn't respect him very well the other day."
"He told me, and while he wasn't angry, he was hurt. He was trying to make up for what he did."
"Yes sir, I see that now, and that's why I'm here. I was wrong, and I want to tell him so."
"He's in the pool with Ben. You can tell Ben to come back inside." He held the door open and let Kelley make his own way to the back.
Both boys were naked, and on opposite ends of the pool. Cal looked like he was in a bit of pain, one that Kelley knew about. But his eyes showed a different kind of pain.
"I want to talk with you if you will let me," he said to Cal. He looked to the other end and said to Ben, "Your dad said I could send you in, but I don't have anything private to say to your brother, so you can stay if you like and if he doesn't mind." Ben just nodded.
"I hurt too much to get out," Cal said. "You can get in if you want. Did it hurt like this after what I did to you?"
"Not you so much, but the older and bigger kids left me very sore," Kelley said. "And the pain in my head from what was being done to me lingered for a long time. That's what I want to talk to you about." Kelley was standing on the edge of the pool looking down, and decided he wanted to talk face-to-face, so he began getting undressed.
"Ethan was right about what I needed to do. Even Ian Cormack knew what needed to be done. I was a jerk the other day. I know you accept responsibility for what happened, and I came to say I can accept that and I don't hold a grudge against you."
"I don't even know why I was such a jerk," Cal explained. "At first, I just wanted to fuck you. I knew the Mackey rules, and I wanted to own your ass. But then that day, something was different within me. I wanted to hurt you. Make you hate me. And you were right about Ethan, I was going to fuck him too. I had it all planned out. If he had stayed on the porch one more minute, things would be even worse than they are now."
Kelley glanced across the pool at Ben and saw he was listening. He wished he had told him to go in, but there was no reason to do it now.
"This is going to sound crazy, but I think I know what changed. There was something wrong in Indian Spring. Whole bunches of people were doing stupid and dangerous and sickening stuff. I don't know why or how, but I think it affected you."
Telling him there had been a monster loose was just too unbelievable to explain, and would probably scare Ben.
"I'm sorry. It wasn't that, it was me," Cal insisted. "I just became somebody else, or something else, I don't know. But then when I went to the Council to get ownership of your ass, I felt it slip away. And Hiram and Darrell made sure that both of us got put on the Choosing List."
Kelley didn't know what to say, and there was silence for a minute or two.
"How are the boys treating you?"
"Everyone knows what I tried to do to you. They all hate me, and want to fuck me as hard as they can. Most of them want Ben there to watch. A few even brought their brothers who are too young to use me to watch. I think I hate that the most. Sandy Jacobs and Kevin Mackey came by and told me how I should react, and I've tried, but it doesn't seem to be working. I don't know if I can keep this up."
"I can truthfully tell you that I have met several boys who think you got more than you deserved. I think things will get better over time. How about this. I can't change the rules, and if they want to bring brothers or friends, I can't stop them. But if you want, you can have me be there. I think at least some of them will tone it down if I'm present. I'm not going to use you, I'm worried that I may do it more from anger than from arousal, and I don't want that. But I will do my best to work with your schedule."
"Do you really think it will help?" Cal asked. The first spark of life had returned to his eyes.
"I think so. And even if it doesn't work, the worst that happens is you have another person there watching."
"I'd like that. I don't mind you watching. I deserve that at least." He looked down to the other end of the pool. "Ben is torn. He kind of enjoys watching, but that's because he wishes he could participate. But I think seeing me hurt makes him sick. We've hardly said two words since the recovery period ended."
Kelley looked again at Ben, and could see he had a boner.
"Ben, go speak to Ethan. Have a pool party for kids your age. I think you'll find plenty of opportunities to have some fun. You should get permission from your dad first of course. But your brother can take care of his business at either my house or the Jacobs place and you can be here. I know Sandy wants to help."
Ben's eyes lightened too when he heard this.
"He doesn't know that your brother is queer," Cal whispered.
"That's a hurtful word Cal," Kelley said. "Use gay instead. And I'll tell Ethan to not make it obvious and just let Ben do what he wants. Do you think your father will approve?"
"Sorry about using queer, I won't use it again. And yeah, I think maybe he'd say okay. I'll be the one to tell him so that he knows what will happen and it won't be a surprise. Can I tell him it was your suggestion?"
"Yeah, he should know I think it's a good idea," Kelley said.
He spent as long as he could in the pool, just talking, the first time he'd ever just talked with Cal Brewer. Before he was ready, it was time for him to return home.