Eff Del

The Oak and The Ash

Book 4 of Young But Daily Growin'

This is the beginning of 'Book four' of my 'Tucker Clan Series' and if you haven't read the previous three books; 'Young but Daily Growin', 'Flights of Angels' and 'Green Grow the Rushes O', I sincerely doubt you will understand and enjoy the story. If you don't have the time to read from the beginning, I suggest you put it off until another time when you are able to do so.

The characters and their interplay are the most important part of the story and unless you get to know them, these are not stories for you. While there is gay sex in these stories, it is more implied than graphically described. This is a love story and I like to think it is a tender one but it is erotica not pornographic.

As the 'book' begins, Jack is newly 17, Sean and Brian are both now thirteen.
It begins several months after the end of 'Green Grow'.

Chapter 1

Oh the oak and the ash and the bonnie rowan tree,
They flourish at home in my green country.
I like not the court, nor the city resort,
Since there is no fancy for such ones as me;
Their pomp and their pride I can never abide,
Because with my humor it does not agree.

Jack was learning archery and it fascinated Brian so the two of them were spending lots of time out on the lawn with their very hi-tech bows shooting at targets that Daniel had arranged to be set up for them. Richard had provided a very skilled Skugga who was highly trained in this art to instruct them.

I decided that we needed to find a spot and set up a proper range. I'd made an appointment for Kevin; my head groundskeeper, to meet with Richard as well as the Skuggor archer as well as the boys to choose a safe spot and begin construction.

Sean had no interest in archery. He preferred to spend as much time as he could behind the controls of 'Dove' flying. He wanted to be the arrow in flight not the archer. It had truly become his joy and passion.

Flying alongside him had become almost a full time position for Will Fletcher. Sean had long since logged enough airtime to qualify for his license but the age limit required a certified pilot be in the plane with him because he was too young yet. On a few occasions Captain Lucas, my personal pilot had also been flying with Sean but business tended to keep him too busy to enjoy the sky with the boy who idolized him.

Sean tried to be in the air at least three times a week. He also was spending a great deal of time every afternoon with either Uncle Phil, Chris, Richard or one of the group we'd begun calling 'Richard's Henchmen'… Barry, Wolfman and Brutus. There was a new wrinkle to that mix because Wolfman's daughter, Claire, had left the FBI and was taking over her father's old job as Skuggor Field Director so the crew was getting larger.

Jack had just turned seventeen and we'd held a rather magnificent party for him and because of my lack of supervision, he'd gotten gloriously drunk and paid for it the next morning. I wondered when it was going to be Sean's turn. Brian had certainly beaten the both of them to that boyhood ritual.

Jack was meeting regularly with either Richard or one of his 'Henchmen' but Richard had suggested that a week or two out in the field with Claire might be helpful. We agreed that two weeks next month he'd do exactly that. I left it between Richard, Doc Swaim and (of course) Jack, what two weeks they would be.

Jack was still too young to enter a Skuggor Boot camp but he was so eager, that Richard and Wolfman (particularly) were working on pre-training… especially in martial arts disciplines.

Jack and his boxing coach, 'Sal' Salvatore, had surprised everyone because they'd quietly brought Jack's body up to wiry perfection. He wasn't grotesquely muscular but he was well formed and amazingly strong while being still quick and agile.

Since recovering from his injuries (which included regaining hearing in his left ear), Jack had not lost a boxing match upon re-entering the Deer Run Team. It was an astonishing record and he was filling up his own shelves in the trophy alcove.

Every seventeen-year-old boy in the world dreamed of having Jack's body and his athletic abilities but Jack actually had them.

Brian had healed quickly and his recovery was complete. He spent a good portion of every afternoon with Uncle Richard and Chris. He was (hopefully) destined to be the future of the family financial empire. Both Phil and Chris assured me that he had the mind and the instinct for it and he always asked insightful questions and probed deeply as he learned.

"He's a little genius Eric. The future is going to be safe in his hands but I pity the people who are going to have to deal with him in any negotiation. He's a killer."

Brian was planning upon trying out for the Deer Run swim team but still had his doubts if he was good enough. Sean and Jack assured him that he'd become so competent that he would make the team. Sean was excited because, due to the age tiers, the whole 'Seven Samurai' should be together again, hopefully with the addition of 'Spider'.

Try-outs were next month. Even though the outdoor pool was still open, Jack and Sean were training Brian in the indoor pool to make everything as realistic as possible.

On weekends, sometimes Jack would pick up Ricco and Charlie and the boys would train together. If Jack had ever noticed that every time he left the estate in 'Bonny Blue' a Skuggor vehicle followed him, he'd never mentioned it.

I noticed on those Saturdays when Charlie and Ricco were here for practice, that both boys would inevitably be our over-night guests but somehow Charlie always stayed in Jack's room and the other three seemed to alternate between Sean and Brian's. On those nights, my bed was either empty or filled with Chris. The later condition was the one that I certainly preferred.

***

"Next Thursday is the christening and launching of the SS George Chambers the research ship I've had built to memorialize the man that saved Jack's life. It's the first ship to be launched bearing the 'Tucker Survival System' designed by Jack and his consultants."

I smiled over at my red haired wonder and he smiled back. "I hope these systems will soon be adopted all over the seagoing world. They are simple to understand, easy to operate and can potentially save many lives. Jack I'm proud of you for sticking to your guns and allowing no compromise."

"Jack is going to present the ship to the University Oceanography Department but that will take place on the Coast of course. I'd like you two to be there with us but I certainly won't insist. You're both thirteen now and have lives of your own."

"DAD! What do you mean? 'Course we're gonna go with you guys! Jack is our brother an nothing in the world is more important than family."

I smiled because I'd gotten to the point that I could almost read Sean's mind. "Ok, then I'll let Doctor Swaim know that you'll be away for a couple of days."

Brian grinned and said, "Remind him that it's a learning experience."

We all broke out into laughter just as Martha was entering with a cherry covered cheesecake.

"Mrs. Edwards! That looks too beautiful to eat!"

She smiled and blushed at the same time. "Well then, Sean, I can always take it back into the kitchen and I expect someone else will be able to eat it."

"No, Mrs. Edwards it's just that… OK, I'll cut the first piece." He smiled a wide 'Sean smile' at her. We giggled as Sean enthusiastically cut and served slices of the sweet creamy treat.

We were all in the library sipping on drinks and relaxing because it was just too early to head up to bed.

"Dad, I was thinking… next month Jack is going out on his Skuggor adventure and Will says I'm ready to try 'DUCK'… why don't me an' you and Brian and Will fly up to the cabin?"

I sipped my drink and thought about it. I couldn't find a thing wrong with the idea.

I'd purchased the seaplane right after our first trip in her and a smiling Sean had named it 'Duck'. So now, we had two Cessna's; 'Dove' and 'Duck'.

"Will says you're going to do the take-off and landing?"

"Yep, he says I'm totally ready for it an' if you say OK, him an me will do a cupulla days practice an some touch and goes before we all fly."

"Sounds like we've got a deal, Sean. Neither Jack or Brian have been to the cabin and so, Jack, you get gypped but you get to spend some amazing time out in the field and the cabin will always be there for you."

He smiled. "Works for me Dad. I'm on my own personal fast-track."

"OK then, finish your drinks and its bedtime. Sean and Brian let me know when you want to fly-up to the cabin so that I can let LC and Windy know."

***

It was Sean who crawled into my bed that night and I hadn't been sleeping so that when his little arms hugged me, I pulled him close to my side. He was wiggling and squeaking which of course, meant that he was crying.

I nuzzled his head of raven black hair. "What's up my little man?"

"I-It's so stupid b-but I'm afraid we won't be this happy alla time."

I pulled him over and onto my chest so that I was looking straight into his eyes. "Well my boy, the truth is, we probably won't all of the time. We'll be sad, we'll even be angry but; we'll love each other and from that comes happiness. That's something that you find when you need it and if you are surrounded by love, it's easy to find."

He smiled and kissed me and then rolled to the side throwing an arm and a leg over my torso. Very soon, we were both asleep.

***

The flight to San Diego was relatively brief and as we deplaned into what was probably my favorite city, I gathered the boys together and we climbed into the company limousine.

The sky in San Diego seemed to always be an impossible blue and the climate was like something out of a fairytale.

We arrived at the wharf and became part of the official party that was to tour the new ship.

I must secretly admit that I was rather bored. New or old, a ship is a ship… cabins are cabins… decks are decks and cramped spaces are… well, you get it. Besides, my last experience on-board a ship was enough to turn me off for a while.

We scampered (albeit cautiously) down the ladders into the below decks of the ship as the young man leading us pointed out specific technical and convenience features. This ship had all the latest technological froo-froos but it was still a ship. Our guide stopped and explained the new life-raft system distributed throughout the ship going into great detail about the design and the important distribution and he glanced at me as he proclaimed that these were the 'Tucker survival systems'.

I quickly waved my hand negatively at him. "Sir, I'm sorry but you've got the wrong Tucker."

I grasped Jack's shoulder. "This is the man behind the 'Tucker Survival System' and this is the man who will turn this magnificent vessel over to the University today in honor of the wonderful Doctor Chambers."

There was a spattering of applause and Jack blushed as only he (and perhaps Martha) could blush.

The actual ceremony lasted about forty-five minutes.

There were prayers delivered by some 'Reverend whoever' then the obligatory children's choir, some fat-assed representative from the University who probably had never even met Doctor Chambers and then finally Jack.

He stood at the microphone with amazing confidence. "Doctor Chambers did far more than save my life and the lives of so many others. He changed the way I look at the world… the land and the ocean. He understood the importance of the relationship between the earth, the vegetation and the creatures that dwell upon it and he tried his whole life to define and correlate the importance of all of those relationships; especially those in the sea."

"He knew that understanding them was the key to saving and preserving our planet."

"He died in the process of trying to learn more about some of those relationships but more important to me… he died saving my life."

"This new great research vessel is state of the art and Doctor Chambers would certainly have loved it. I'm sorry that he'll never walk her decks or share in her future exploration, but I'm happy that any exploration she's involved in will bear his name."

"I'll treasure him for my entire life."

"Now, his niece, Lisa Chambers, will officially christen this ship."

A girl of about fifteen stood up and swung the champagne bottle at the hull. She certainly had a swing and the bottle burst on the first blow. The 'SS George Chambers' was officially launched.

***

I'd decided to surprise Jack (and the other boys) for lunch. I quickly loaded them into the limo and though they didn't have a clue what was going on, we headed northeast. We'd been driving for about 25 minutes before Brian asked, "Where are we going Dad?"

"Well, Brian, we've just entered Escondido and in a few minutes we'll be having lunch at someplace very special."

When he heard the name, 'Escondido', I knew I had Jack's attention.

Isolated from the unattractive development and industrialization that small cities so often acquire, the Stone Brewing complex was in a relatively lovely location even though it actually occupied a great portion of an industrial park..

The signs on the building were unobtrusive but Jack zeroed in on them at once. "Stone! We're really at Stone! How cool is this?"

The building was large and baffling from the outside but once we entered, it was stunningly beautiful in its public parts.

The other two boys understood his excitement but entered with a bit less enthusiasm than Jack. 'Stone India Pale Ale' was by far Jack's favorite beer.

All three boys were fascinated as our clever but informative guide took our group through the brewery.

Jack was grinning like crazy as the tour ended. "How great was that?" he asked no one in particular.

They hadn't checked him for ID and so, we were standing with the rest of the small tour group for our two sample glasses. The brewery was rather famous for its extremely strong tasting dark ale that they affectionately named; 'Arrogant Bastard'. I'd made certain that one of Jack's samples was of this ale.

He took a sip cautiously. Jack had no real experience with dark beer let alone heavy ale. "Man! I've never tasted anything like this!"

I smiled, "If you continue to enjoy beer, that may never be your favorite Jack but occasionally, it will remind you how ballsy beer and ale can be."

The second sample we'd selected was their regular 'pale ale' sometimes referred to as 'American Pale Ale'. He liked this much better but with a grin he said, "Good… but I like their IPA the best."

Sean and Brian were (of course) excluded from this part of the tour but I winked at them and they understood that they wouldn't be left out for long.

Jack and I drank our two samples and then the four of us walked into the inviting Bistro Gardens. As we were walking to our table (which turned out to be a smooth surfaced rough edged slab of quarried stone), I realized that Jack couldn't legally drink in California either.

A perfectly 'cream and sugar' young lady came up to take our order. "Well, we'll need some time to peruse the menu but please bring me four IPAs and the boys will just have water."

She was no dummy and she nodded her head with a big smile.

We all agreed that we would have the 'Mojo Pork' which sounded adventurous enough to the four of us and I slowly slid a glass of beer to each of them. They grinned and without my saying anything, they pulled their glass of water close and then took a sip of their beer.

The lunch was so good that it was probably better described as amazing. I paid the bill and tipped our lovely serving girl quite generously. We all walked out very happy and satisfied.

We'd stopped in the gift shop and purchased some silly stuff like a couple of tee-shirts for each of us, a few beer glasses and a 'Stone Brewing Co.' ball cap that Jack just 'simply needed'.

As we drove back into the city, I told the boys that we had all of tomorrow because we'd be leaving the early morning of the next day. I proposed a range of ideas from the lighthouse, to old town, to La Jolla. As well as hokey, but tourist, stuff like 'Sea World', the Zoo and the 'Wild Animal Park' In the mix I threw in the idea of Blacks Beach.

They knew nothing about Black's Beach so explained it to them.

"So you mean that there's a place we could go swimming in the ocean naked?"

"Well, yes there is but, since this world is mostly ocean, I would bet that there are lots of places you can go swimming naked."

"As to Blacks Beach here in San Diego, I've got to tell you that the walk down to the beach is very hard and the walk back up is harder still. The cliff is 300 feet almost straight down and though the trail is usually well maintained, going off the trail can be very dangerous. It's officially known as the 'Torrey Pines Glider Port Trail' but most people refer to it as the 'goat trail. The clothing optional part of the beach is about a mile and a half long and it's glorious."

"I also have to warn you though, that the ocean temperature is usually rather cold. It won't be like our pool at Joyous Gaurde."

They huddled together and then rose, grinning at me.

"Well, have you come to a conclusion?"

"Well Dad, the Wild Animal Park sounds intrestin'," Sean said "but to be honest…"

"Nude Beach!" they were in almost perfect unison as they spoke.

I grinned at the glorious three of them. "OK, so in the morning we'll find some place to get some sandwiches, some water and then be ready for the 'Goat Trail' and I'm not kidding it'll be rough going down and hell climbing up."

It was cute because they were so excited and I couldn't help but share their joy.

***

They actually sprang down the treacherous path almost bouncing downhill along the steep trail that descended the high cliff, while I was extraordinarily more careful and frightened for their safety. I had to keep in mind that these were three agile athletic boys. They were waiting for me on the beach and I smiled at their anxious anticipation.

"To the right boys. You're on the City Managed part of the beach right now so; any nudies from there and to the left get arrested. The State managed 'clothing optional' beach starts about 100 yards to your right."

They giggled and ran down the snow-white beach and finally turned around looking for permission.

I nodded and they quickly spread out the towels they'd brought in their small backpacks and in almost miraculous time had stripped and were dancing naked under the sun.

I held my breath as I looked at them. Three teenaged boys of indisputable beauty enjoying the sun, the wind and… well, the world.

Without a word, the three of them ran into the surf and squealed. "Man! That IS cold!" Brian almost howled.

"Yeah it is Spider. But when we fly up to the Lake, Dad an me will take you to the Grotto and that water will make this feel like a bathtub," Sean giggled.

Despite its temperature, they stayed in there for at least twenty minutes enjoying body surfing in the rolling waves before finally returning to shore and spreading out on their towels to warm in the sun.

"I feel like I just had a massage even though I've never had a massage," Brian sighed as he stretched his long legs.

"Dad, that's right, Brian's never had a massage." Sean looked at me almost accusingly. I nodded my head feeling a bit guilty.

"We'll take care of that after we get home I said softly.

"That was one of the most fun things I've ever done," Brian exclaimed and Jack and Sean quickly agreed with him.

We'd eaten our sandwiches and laid out in the sun. They'd completely dried off and the sun was sinking towards the horizon. It didn't take a wristwatch to know that the afternoon was getting late.

"OK guys, it's time to put your shorts on and climb the goat trail and it will be a workout… I promise you.

The climb up the dune is rigorous and taxing. Fit as we all were, it was a physically trying experience. About three quarters of the way up, I smiled to myself and thought that 'this was why there were no fat people down on Black's Beach'.

The boys and I were resting at one point and Sean commented, "You know Dad, when you first mentioned 'glider port' I didn't realize that you were talkin' about hang gliders. Those guys are flyin' right over all the naked people on the beach. Do you spose that's why they do it?"

I laughed and told him I doubted it. Hang gliders and paragliders were people who wanted to fly but usually couldn't afford a plane although many found it a pleasure on its own… probably as close as a human could get to being a bird.

"I'll tell you guys a funny story though: when I was a freshman at the University, a couple of friends and I came here for spring break and we were lying out in the sun, naked as we all just were."

"I had my eyes closed almost asleep I think, when, just to my left, I heard a heavy plop and 'scrunch' noise and some guy exclaimed 'Fuck!'. I looked over and there was a para-glider pilot in all of his equipment… flight suit, helmet and of course, his glider itself. He'd misjudged the wind and missed the top of the cliff."

"He had to pack up his para-sail and climb the goat trail carrying everything he'd landed with."

"I thought for a moment about offering to help him but then I realized he hadn't even apologized for almost landing on top of me so I decided 'fuck him'. I've often wondered (after making the climb with all that equipment) if he'd ever flown over the cliffs again."

We reached the car and even the little boys were puffing.

"So, I warned you didn't I?"

"Yeah Dad, but it was so much fun that it was worth the work. Thanks."

"You're welcome Brian. It's back to the hotel, showers to get the salt off, dinner, and then bedtime. We're flying home in the morning."

That was greeted with a great sigh of appreciation because home was where they truly wanted to be and, frankly, so did I.

We ate dinner in the gas light district of old town and the boys appreciated both the ambiance and the historic importance.

"We'll come back here some time and enjoy everything about this wonderful place guys."

***

I was getting used to the idea that Sean would be up in the cockpit for take-off and landings.

We left beautiful San Diego in a great rush and Sean was soon back in the cabin with us. We didn't have a flight attendant today because the actual flight was relatively short so, I asked the boys what they wanted to drink. I smiled because I already knew.

I walked back from the galley with two beers and then two Glenn Fiddich over two ice cubes.

"I can't believe we actually went to 'Stone' Dad. It's the best beer in the world and now I actually got to see where it's made."

I rubbed his arm as he sat across from me. "I wanted to do this for you Jack. I know that it's your favorite beer although it may not be the 'best beer in the world'. since we were going to be here, I wanted you see it because it's a lovely brewery but I also wanted you to see that brewing beer is actually a rather simple process and I wondered if you'd like to try it."

He stared up at me wide-eyed. "Think we could Dad? I'd love to try it!"

Brian immediately was into the mix. "Me too Dad! That sounds so neat. It would be so much fun."

"Well, the truth be told Brian, most of it will be downright boring but Doctor Swaim will approve because it will be a chemistry experiment and of course a…"

The three of them giggled and shouted out at the same time, "A LEARNING experience"

We collapsed against each other in a bundle of laughs. Shortly, I got the signal from Captain Lucas and I indicated to the boys they should buckle their belts and prepare for landing. Sean gave me a quiet look and I shook my head. I knew that he wanted to go up into the cockpit.

"Too late little man. We're already in our descent. Sit down and buckle up."

He smiled and sat next to my seat and pulled his belt tightly against his little waist.

Jack held Brian's hand as we softly lost altitude accompanied by some actually significant air bumps which Jack quietly reassured Brian was normal and all right.

As we touched down, there was nothing but joy on Brian's face and we climbed out of the plane to find John waiting there with the limo.

"I never thought about lunch John so, how about we stop at that little Italian place just down the road and we can all devour some pizza?"

The boys whooped in glee and John just smiled. "You're the Boss Eric."

Three large pizzas and I'm not sure if I got more than two slices! (Well ACTUALLY, I'm certain that I got at least three). Those boys were like eating machines and John did OK as well. II swallowed the last of my beer. The three boys had soft drinks and that seemed fine with them. We rambled up the little hill to the parking lot and onto the limo and climbed in.

I waved my hand at John in an imitation of the royal manner. "Home James." I'd used my very best British accent.

He grinned and in almost perfect cockney replied, "Yes sir, yes m 'lord right awaiy govn'er."

I giggled and collapsed into a puddle of boys.

***

"Sorry you two, your first massages were a private thing and Brian deserves the same. Go to your room or some room and read or watch TV or something. Brian, go down to your room and come back here in nothing but your boxer briefs." His eyes were wide as the proverbial saucer because he didn't really know what to expect.

"Kay Dad." and he hurried out the door of the massage room to his bedroom.

"Have fun Spider! We'll see ya later." Sean said as he and Jack headed out of the room.

"Dad, Tadpole and I are going down to the music room to practice a little. Since I was blown up, we're rusty playing with each other."

I smiled warmly. "That sounds like a perfect idea you two. Stop into the library and get something to drink. Brian and I should be about an hour and then, I'm putting him in the Jacuzzi so you guys can head up here in about an hour and a half but please take the time to have a good practice. Which instruments are you using?"

"Since we're only going to be in the music room Dad, we thought we'd use the old ones. Neither of us have used them for a while. I love my new violin and Sean loves his new Martin but, there's something about the tender sweet feel of good old wood under your fingers."

I nodded my head and smiled. "I know how you boys feel. Although my Steinway is only slightly older than your fine old Martin D-18, Sean, it feels so welcoming, soft and responsive compared to playing newer pianos. Go have fun boys and before you leave for your time with Claire, Jack, perhaps the three of us could practice something to surprise everyone the next time we have a party."

Sean grinned brightly, "I'd love that Dad! You never play enough anymore."

They left and I turned my attention to Brian who'd returned to the massage room wearing only a pair of light blue boxer briefs.

I'd had time to select the oil; it was lightly scented with pear wood which I thought might just suite this boy and I had it warming. I'd also turned on the 'waterfall wall' and started the ambient natural noises recording. Once he was in the room I turned the lighting down to a soft orange. Not too dark so that we couldn't see but almost to a 'last few moments of sunset' thing.

I smiled at the brown-haired boy.

"Don't worry about this Brian. You certainly will enjoy it. Slip out of your briefs and climb up onto the table. Lie on your tummy, place your face down into this hole, and leave your arms at your side. Once I begin the massage, I want you to relax completely. I'll do every bit of the work… you just lie still and enjoy it."

"Kay." He climbed up onto the table and handed me his underpants because he didn't know what else to do with them. I took them and laid them on the stone shelf. I helped him turn onto his stomach and guided his face down into the padded opening in the table.

"Now relax because I'm going to start. Remember, I'm doing all of the work."

"Kay Dad."

I worked warm oil over his shoulders and down his strong little back and gently worked it against his skin. I then paid attention to his neck, shoulders and then down his wonderful arms. I progressed to his back working slowly past each ridge of his spine slowly and firmly and he moaned as I did so.

The next stage was kneading the glorious mounds of his young ass and I did so slowly, firmly and sensuously. I worked slowly and deliberately. None of my motions were random.

He was purring as I worked my hands down the length of each leg spending extended time on each calf and then working my hands over each foot and even each little toe.

"I'm turning you over now, OK?"

"Uh Huh," he sighed and I flipped him onto his back. I re-oiled my hands and worked my way down his torso bypassing his groin and working the front of each athletic leg.

I took a careful and long time on him.

"So now. sweet boy, this is the Tucker ending to a massage and it's just for the family OK?"

"Y-yeah Dad."

I helped him pull his knees up and then I oiled his little starfish as well as my forefinger. Slowly, I slipped it into him and probed until I'd found the magic button.

I stroked it softly and he began to moan out of control.

My right hand was still slick with massage oil and I wrapped it around his entirely rampant little dick and began to stroke it slowly. My index finger continued to massage his young prostate and soon, he was writhing and almost crying.

His explosion came seconds after and he collapsed onto the table whining.

I reached into the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. "I'm going to fill the tub and you sit here and drink ALL of this, Brian. understand? Also, don't try to get off the table. I'll be right back."

"Y-Yes Dad."

I smiled as I walked to the bathroom. That might very well have been the most sensual thing that little thirteen year old boy had ever experienced in his life.

As the tub was filling, I returned to the massage room and raised him from the table and carried him down the hall and laid him gently into the hot water.

"I'm going to turn on the bubbles and make you some hot chocolate. No alcohol right now. Your brothers will be up in about twenty minutes and then, I expect you'll sleep pretty darned well."

He smiled dreamily up to me. "Thanks Dad, that was fantastic. I feel like I'm made of spaghetti."

I grinned at him, "That, my son, is the ultimate goal of every masseur."

***

"So Jack, you understand that this is potentially dangerous? The SKUGOR don't wait for trouble to happen, we try to sense it out and nip it in the bud. Most of that action happens here in the field. Most nights, nothing happens but some nights it's like fireworks. That's how this world goes on Jack. Still game to try this out?"

"Yes Miss Claire. That's why I'm here. I want to learn from the best."

My heart swelled as I smiled. "See you in two weeks then Jack. You be safe and keep Claire safe as well OK?"

With no embarrassment, he kissed me on the lips and stepped back.

"Excuse me Claire," I said as I gathered him into my arms and hugged him. "Do good work you two."

I said that as I turned and walked to my car hoping not to weep. My little boy seemed to have a propensity for placing himself in harm's way and it seemed that I needed to get used to that.

I also knew that he couldn't be much safer in the entire world. He was at the heart of Skuggor operations and he was learning what he needed to learn.

***

The little red capped Cessna vibrated fiercely as it strained against the water. I had no qualms or fears; Will had required Sean take off and land the seaplane several times and the boy seemed comfortable with the process. Taking off and landing on water was different than it was from land although I only understood the difference theoretically.

Shortly, Sean had us airborne. Will let out a loud guffaw and turned to me. "See, what did I tell you Eric? I'm only here because the law requires it. Sean is the pilot. He has this down cold. I'll help you navigate Sean. That's all you need me for."

In a little over an hour, Sean said, "That's the lake coming up Dad. Do you want to fly over Raccoon Cove again?"

I grinned. "Absolutely Junior Birdman! Let's get the Commodore's attention."

He circled tightly but stayed well above the tree canopy. Will had taught him quite well.

After flying over the beach and the cove, he headed for our end of the lake.

There was one bump and small bounce on the landing at the mouth of our cove but nothing frightening and very soon, we were headed to the dock.

LC and Windy were standing there smiling and indicating to the left. To my surprise, there was a new addition to the dock that they'd obviously constructed to accommodate 'Duck'.

Man! I certainly had great people working for me.

Those two used hooks to pull the Cessna to the dock and then lowered a ramp to the passenger door. Will stepped out first with a big grin while Windy tied the plane fast.

"Well this is just perfect guys!" Will exclaimed as he walked over the ramp."

LC smiled and said, "After last time, we did some research and once we'd heard that Eric had bought this plane. We decided to build it to make coming and going easier."

I introduced a very wide-eyed Brian (who I suspect never knew a place like this could exist) to my two wonderful caretakers.

"Sean, show Brian around the cabin and the property. Then, you two can take one of the small boats out into the cove. We'll take him out onto the lake tomorrow."

"I've got a 'whaler' at the dock right there, Sean, and it's all gassed up for you. Unless you'd like to use a canoe in which case, there are three on the rack down the beach."

"Thanks LC!" Sean yelled as he and Brian scampered into the big building.

I looked at my Rolex. "It's a little early guys, but someplace in the world, it's happy hour. Why not here?"

"You're the Boss, Boss." Windy laughed as the four of us followed the boys into the cabin. "I hope that nobody objects to catfish for dinner tonight? LC and I caught a bunch yesterday and they're in the kitchen waiting to be fried."

"Windy my friend, I've never had a meal here that wasn't wonderful."

He smiled back at me. "Then go sit on the deck. I'll be the bartender, LC will start warming things up in the kitchen and one of us will help the boys with the boat since this will be Sean's first time doing a 'whaler' alone. We're planning dinner for just about sunset. That's how we tell time out here on the lake, Will."

At times like this, I sometimes thought that I should turn control of the day-to-day running of the Magnus Venatus to Richard, and his 'henchmen' and Phil and Chris and just bring the boys up here forever… but I knew that was just a foolish dream and, beyond that, the boys needed to grow into their own destinies and couldn't hide from them.

I sat down in a beautifully carved oak rocking chair and accepted a glass of good scotch from Windy and Will did the same.

These chairs had been commissioned by my father from a local artisan. They were both elegant and rustic. The frames were thick but carved in such a way that they didn't feel heavy or cumbersome. There were six similar chairs on the porch and I'd thought about commissioning at least six more, but the man who'd done the work was, sadly, very ill. Some local folks had suggested that I speak to his son and I considered doing that this trip. If his son could create stationary chairs that matched his father's rocking chairs, the porch would be very well appointed.

I gazed over the property. The sun was about three quarters down the sky but soon, it would be behind Devil's Horn Mountain and all we would see was a horizon of yellow and orange as the mountains themselves turned from blue to purple and then grey to black.

It occurred to me that I'd probably have two thirteen-year-old boys in my bed tonight. There couldn't be much wrong with that could there?

For those of you who have followed the saga so far and who have kindly urged me to attempt a fourth book, I must tell you that this time I didn't need to be urged that hard.
I've actually fallen in love with these characters and I knew even before I finished `Green Grow the Rushes' that I would try for a fourth book if my health allowed it and since I seem to be in another period of remission, we'll see how it goes.

Chapter 2

The concept of family is often misconstrued. A family is not about bloodlines.
Members of your family are people who you have allowed into your life, your heart and your soul and they have allowed you that same privilege.
Family are people that accept anything you do and would do anything for you and the quiet laid back love of family is unconditional.
Many people are legally related to other people who will (sadly) never qualify as 'family'.
You certainly don't have to share parents to be family in fact; it often works out better if you don't.

"I never thought that there was a place like this in the world. Joyous Gaurde is so beautiful but this place is almost like a dream."

They'd taken the 'whaler' all around the cove and (true to his nature), Sean had shown Brian how to operate the simple controls so that his new brother could drive the sturdy craft and share the pleasure as well as the responsibility. They'd spent about two hours out on the water, had apparently caught some fish, and (as they'd been taught by Doc Swaim) released them.

Brian was grinning from ear to ear as he brought the boat back to the dock and he was excited right through dinner.

We were now lying together in my bedroom with the almost all glass walls and the nighttime view; illuminated by the moon and the stars was just breathtaking.

"How can I have been so lucky to become a part of this family?"

It was Sean that answered without a pause, "I used to wonder about that a lot… but I think that there must be God… not like the one your Mom so believes in and that she used to make you go to church for an' stuff."

"God's more like a guy who made everything and then didn't make any rules. I think the rules are made up by people who don't enjoy their lives. I think God watches what happens down here an' then, sometimes he makes little changes 'cause he knows certain things should happen."

"He certainly knew about Jack an' me and brought us together and then he brought us back together again with Dad an' then he brought you to us as well. Think about it… if we hadn't been on the same soccer team Spider, you wouldn't a been here with us."

"I don't think its luck, I think its God. Not a 'go to church' god but a real God who loves us and tries to keep us on the right path even though he don't interfere more than once an' a while."

I was startled. "Sean I had no idea that you held those beliefs. Do you want to start going to church?"

"No Dad. The real God isn't interested in people going to church. He's interested in people being happy and doin' what they want even though sometimes I guess that some people will wind up doin' bad things."

"We're spossed' to live our lives an try to be happy. It's just that sometimes things need to happen to help that an that's when God comes in. He helped you find me cause I never could of found you. Then he helped you find Jack an you never knew he was my 'Lead Senior' but you found him anyway. An then he led you to take Spider home cause his granma was so sick… that's when God comes in see? It's not luck it's… well, it's love… BIG love."

I pulled both of them tightly to me and we lay snuggled tightly together. I thought to myself that had been a remarkable explanation of spirituality from the mind of a thirteen-year-old boy. Then again, I reminded myself that Sean was no run of the mill thirteen-year-old boy.

"LOOK! A meteorite!" Brian exclaimed. The quick blazing white object seemed to streak across the dark sky.

"Technically Brian that was a 'meteor'. It only becomes a 'meteorite' if it hits the ground and very few actually do. Although TONS of residual small powder like particles do land all over the earth every year. It's not really true of course, but I like to thinks of that stuff as 'star dust'."

I rubbed a hand down each of their lush young asses and whispered more than spoke, "I love you boys. Time to sleep." They snuggled closer to me and soon the three of us were snoring at different levels.

***

I was actually startled as I awoke and realized that I was alone in my bed. I threw on shorts and a tee shirt and instinctively headed down to the kitchen. They were both there wearing large aprons and giggling as they jointly were doing something.

"I assume that coffee is brewing?" I'd tried to sound formal and very nonchalant.

Their heads spun around in tandem and their smiles were brighter than the morning sunshine.

"Dad! We're both kitchen slaves this mornin' and we're making biscuits which are almost ready to roll an' cut. Brian, go get Dad a cuppa coffee." The taller boy smiled and returned quickly with a steaming mug.

"Roll out that dough kitchen slaves and then cut out the biscuits with this glass… it's the perfect size. Then, when you're done, place them on these trays and you can go have coffee with your Dad. I'll pop them into the oven." Windy smiled at me and shrugged.

"They were both standing here when we came in this morning. I think that this is part of Sean's pleasure here at the lake. He certainly knows his way around a kitchen and Brian is no slouch either. Congratulations on those boys but we'll cut them loose shortly."

"Things smell so good that I probably shouldn't come down here so early."

"I could fry you an egg or something right now."

"Nope, I'll wait for breakfast and just go out on the deck and enjoy my coffee."

***

I was giving Brian the complete tour of the lake including the 'sandies', the almost unnatural little beaches on the north side of lake. He had never experienced beauty like this and he was in sensual overload.

Will had been here once before but was still overwhelmed with the sheer grandeur of the place.

He was teary eyed as he said softly, "I like myself a lot… don't get me wrong… but if I could have come to a place like this as a kid, I might have done more with my life. Anyway, I sure would've looked at the world and life differently. I wouldn't have been such an angry young man."

"That's why that Camp is so important you know? No kid should have to grow up angry and with no hope. That's what's most wrong with this world… anger and despair have trumped love and hope."

We made our obligatory visit to Camp West Wind but we didn't stay long. Just long enough to invite the Commodore to our end of the lake for dinner.

Before we could leave, we did have to hunt Will down and extract him from a game of football he'd gotten involved in with some of the camp kids. They'd mobbed him. It looked more like a game of Rugby was taking place out there.

The only American style football that camp rules allowed was 'touch' but this game had gone far beyond that. Everyone involved was giggling hysterically however, so we just moved in and broke it up.

"He certainly gets along with the boys doesn't he?" The Commodore smiled.

"I think it's because he had such a strained childhood himself. He's a good man. Everything he is, he's done on his own. He's made himself a good life and he isn't in the least bit bitter about the past. He's wonderfully optimistic. I like him a lot and Sean adores him."

I smiled quietly as we pushed off from the camp's dock.

As we were pulling alongside our own dock, I noticed a strange man was leaning against an older F-100 in my parking area. We secured the boat and I walked over to see what was going on. I sent Will and the two boys into the cabin.

"You're Eric Tucker are you?"

"I am, but I don't allow the casual use of my first name and you are?"

"Whyles, Moses Whyles. Let's get down to the chase because I'm a very busy man.

Eric I've just purchased fifty-five acres of land south of your property and I need you to sell me a right-of-way. I need to build a road that will give the people in my new housing development access to the lake and the beach and boat launch I'll develop there."

I smiled at him and then my face grew grim. "First off Moses, I already told you I don't allow casual use of my first name. I'm 'Mister Tucker' to you and you have no idea of the definition of being a 'busy man'."

"Next, I could care less about your little real estate transactions as long as they don't concern me. The vast majority the shore of this lake and at least forty acres outward all around it are my private property. THAT Moses Whyles, is SERIOUS real estate not some piddling fifty some odd acres."

"I own basically seventy five percent of this lake and I have no intention of selling a single inch of it. The twenty five percent that I don't own is at the other end of the lake. That is Camp West Wind and if the owner of that property decided to sell, he'd give me first bid and I promise you that you wouldn't be in the ballpark if you tried to outbid me. You simply don't have the resources."

"So, Moses Whyles, If there's nothing else to discuss, I'd suggest you get your truck and yourself off my property. Oh, good luck with your real estate deal. Just make certain that it's known to those who purchase your plots of land that my property is off limits… even for picnics."

"If any of your new homeowners want to use this lake, they'd better figure out how parachute into it and then fly out because if they touch the shore, they're on my property. I'll have people patrolling the area."

"You've purchased some land Moses, but essentially, I own the lake and almost everything around it."

"So, you won't allow access to this lake to people who live relatively nearby?"

"Moses, I won't allow access to this lake to anyone who is not my guest or participating in Camp West Wind in some official way. There will certainly not be a beach and a boat launch. This lake is essentially pristine and will stay that way. It is developed only slightly at both ends… my cabin here and the boys camp at the other end."

He climbed into his truck, slammed the door and drove away.

I thought to myself that 'good fences make good neighbors' but no neighbors are better yet. Perhaps I needed to buy up more land around the lake so as not to have more confrontations like this and keep the area natural.

Dinner was LC's wonderfully glazed, grilled pork chops, and the boys were in carnivore heaven. LC and Windy were smart enough to have prepared enough because Will and I sat amazed at the amount of food they consumed.

Sean hadn't brought his guitar and so, we headed to bed rather early.

We were just about asleep when I realized something was going on outside the cabin. Looking outside the window, Windy and LC were struggling with a man who was thrashing on the ground. I picked up my phone and pushed the code. There were Skuggor always close to me these days, even here. I jumped from the bed and pulled up a pair of jeans.

I rushed out the door admonishing the boys to stay in bed and not try to come down.

"B-but Dad! We wanna help!"

"But nothing, Sean! You do what I just told you it's probably all under control already."

The Skuggor team was somehow on the parking lot sooner than I was able to leave the cabin and had arrived out onto the grounds. LC and Windy had subdued the intruder and the Skuggor team had him totally under restraint.

As things calmed down, I realized that it was Moses Whyles. He was thrashing and sobbing.

"You bastard! The major selling point for houses on those lots was access to the lake and you've destroyed that and ruined me!"

"Did you come here to kill me Moses?"

"Yes! Yes! I came here to kill you and your whole fucking family!"

"Well then you'd have failed because I have one son who is not here and his vengeance upon you would have been horrible."

He was obviously very drunk. I sat and thought for a while.

"So, tomorrow you're going to sell me your land for exactly what you bought it for and then my people will castrate you and with cash in your pockets, you'll be dropped off in the dessert far away from here and from that point I don't care. I never want to see you again. Had you harmed my family, this would have gone far worse for you."

"Did you say castrate me?"

"Oh yes, that's the most lenient aspect of Tucker Justice. You've chosen to attack the wrong family, you foolish man, but we're giving you your life. We don't do that often."

The Skuggor took him away and his pleas for mercy were soon out of my ears. I made a quick call to Richard to let him know what had just happened and to inform him that I wanted a permanent crew to patrol the lake from now on, even when I was not there. These were going to become known as the 'scary woods' that nobody wanted to go wandering into.

***

I was standing on the dock as Commodore Tipton pulled up. Two handsome teenaged boys were actually handling his boat. "Welcome Sir. It's such a pleasure to have you here."

He grinned and said, "Little E, it's been such a while since I've been to the big cabin I think it's been before the accident."

"These two stalwart mates of mine are Leonard and Tanner and, though they've enjoyed the entire lake including your beaches for several years, they're excited to see the inside of 'Mr. Tucker's Cabin'."

I smiled as I helped the old man onto the dock. "Well we can take care of that right away. Sean and Brian, please show Leonard and Tanner around. Commodore, the sun indicates that it's happy hour so let's retire to the porch eh?"

He, Will and I were sitting back and sipping on good whiskey as the boys joined us on the porch. From their laughter, I gathered that they'd formed a bond and had a good time.

I frowned at the old man. "Now Commodore, there is no lemonade here and you know how liberal I am as to my boys and alcohol so, it's completely up to you."

He smiled. "Leonard and Tanner, you're out of camp boundaries now so, you can do what boy's your age often do although, in the clearest sense, it's against the law."

The two young men grinned and quickly accepted the beers that Brian offered them.

Dinner was a surprise. It was a roast chicken with a mix of broiled vegetables accompanied by a fresh greens salad with a ranch dressing and a simple side dish of creamed fettucine; almost but not quite 'alfredo'… probably more accurately 'fettucine LC'.

We all inhaled it.

Windy quickly entered bearing a tray containing a glorious pastry. The boys all stared at it with wide-open eyes not knowing what to make of it.

The Commodore's eyes sparkled with glee. "Windy, did LC make that just for me?"

"None other, Commodore. We know how much you like it."

The old man looked around the table zeroing on the four boys. "Boys, this is a 'tarte Tatin' think about it as an upside down apple pie. According to the tradition, it was invented by two elderly sisters who ran the 'Hotel Tatin' in Bruvron, France around 1886."

"It's caramelized apples… both golden delicious and granny Smith (unless LC has changed his recipe). There's other goodies in there including, I think, a splash or so of brandy. If Windy and LC are true to form, LC will soon be out with a large bowl of fresh whipped cream and your eyes are going to roll back into your heads but remember… the first slice is mine."

As the tart was sliced, topped with whipped cream and passed around, each boy took his first taste and smiled. Second and third tastes came in very quick succession.

Coffee and 'Grand Marnier' was soon on the table even for the boys. After taking his first sip of the sweet orange liqueur, Tanner grinned and said, "Man, I want to stay here forever!"

We laughed. It was entirely too dark for the three of them to attempt to cross the lake tonight so, it had long ago been decided that they would be sleeping here. I'd given the boys the choice of using the loft or sleeping in individual rooms.

Considering a long summer of dormitory-style living, I wasn't in the least bit surprised that they'd chosen individual rooms. That's the way I would have rolled. I wasn't very disappointed, because that meant that Sean and Brian would share my bed again; not feeling obligated to share the loft with the two West-Wind boys.

We sat on the porch sipping our drinks and I told the Commodore about what happened last night.

"Well Eric, since you own the majority of the lake, you're going to get the worst of it but I'm being pressured as well. Little real estate developers are trying to build up around the place and turn the lake into a resort. That guy last night was a wacko who probably spent his last dime being convinced that he could just buffalo you into gaining access to the lake, but there will be others for certain who will try again."

"They buy a few acres of land and think that they're big shots and that they'll make a large profit thanks to access to a lake that they don't actually have access to. They don't know who you are and who they're going against but Eric, they're like gnats and they'll keep coming."

He leaned forward and taped my knee. "Eric, I've never told you this but I will now."

"I have no family in this world besides the kids who I hope I've helped through my camp. When I decide to pass on, all of my part of this lake will be yours. It's in the will but I truly hope that you'll find some way to keep the camp going. The boys that it's helped are beyond the value of the land… they're individual treasures to this nation… grand gifts to the country that might have tossed them aside."

"Never sell this lake Eric… never sell this lake. " He sniffed and grasped a napkin and wiped his eyes.

He smiled sheepishly and offered me his empty glass. "I think that I'm a better host than you are Little E. I never let my guest's glasses get empty."

It was Will who rose and took the Commodore's glass and refilled his drink.

"That will never happen Commodore but, have you given any thought as to who will replace you when you get too old and crotchety to keep coming up here?"

He grinned and said, "Of course I have. I only made that decision today."

"I figure that by then he'll be through teaching young Sean to fly and be ready for a new adventure and he'll be perfect for the job."

"ME?"

Will was astonished as the old man grinned at him. "Certainly you, Will. Kids love you and you teach with such ease and gentle comfort. I've watched you. Except for the fact that I don't know how to fly and you've never actually taught school, you remind me of myself when I was young. It's too late this year because the season is almost over but I want you to train with me next summer and you'll see how right I am. I never make bad judgements when it comes to the Camp and those precious campers."

I stared at the startled young man. "Will, I think that the Commodore has picked the right guy and, assuming this all works out, when this old guy chooses to punch his card, the land that is Camp West Wind will become yours with the proviso that if you ever decided to sell it, I get first bid."

"I-I'm stunned."

"Don't be stunned, Will, I've watched you with Sean. You're caring and natural. You may never have taught school but you certainly know how to teach and it's by kind and careful instinct. You're a perfect choice. Everything you are, you've done by yourself. Your outlook on the world is optimistic and caring."

"That's the lesson the Commodore here has been instilling in boys for countless years. That's the spirit and attitude these young men need to learn and cling to."

"If you think you fly well now Will, wait until you learn how high you'll fly when you teach young men to 'stoop to soar'… that's the Camp's philosophy and you'll learn all about it."

"It's only a summer job so you'd be free to continue your flying instruction and whatever you're interested in the rest of the year. I'll pay your salary if you agree to do it. I'd also like you to start learning from the Commodore next year. Don't worry about Sean, we'll find someone to sit next to him when he wants to fly next summer."

"It's a substantial job offer, Will and an important decision. It will certainly change your life. We'll talk about it when we return to Joyous Gaurde."

Will smiled and gathered our glasses and fixed fresh drinks.

"So maybe, we could have the dock at the camp modified to handle a pontoon plane and then we'd be perfect at both ends of the lake. You Tuckers will have Sean as your own pilot in about three years but in the meantime, I could access both ends of the lake servicing the camp and the cabin."

"Windy and LC will take care of that in the off-season with the Commodore's permission."

The wily old man grinned and nodded his head.

"A sea plane dock at raccoon cove would be wonderful."

"Then it's settled. Will, we'll talk about this when we get back but, we're spending one more day here at the lake and then we'll leave in the morning. You might want to go over to the camp. Use one of my boats behind the Commodore and spend some time looking around. The boys and I are going to take a hike."

***

Brian was amazed as we led him into the grotto. As we took off our clothes and stepped into the lovely pool, he shouted out his astonishment at how cold the water was.

"I warned ya Spider!" Sean giggled.

I smiled and explained to him that the little pool was essentially provided by melting snow from the mountain.

"Come on Spider, let's go through the wall!" Sean grasped his hand and led him to the face of the waterfall. Soon they were through and invisible to me.

I smiled and followed them through the watery curtain.

They were sitting on the stone shelf and Brian was wide-eyed as he looked around. "I never thought a place like this could exist."

I smiled and said, "Well my son, it's a great place to hide and it's a great place to get your pecker sucked and I see two peckers that probably need some attention, yes?"

They giggled and I pushed Brian back and spread his legs. I lowered my lips over his now raging little boner and took him in. It was probably the unusual location… whatever it was; he came in less than five minutes.

Sean was grinning as I moved between his legs and he moaned as soon as I took him between my lips. It was very soon that he was bucking his hips and gasping and shortly shooting his load.

"Behind the waterfall blowjobs are really something special, yes guys?"

They grinned and, with a boy under each arm, I plunged through the falls and out into the little pool.

"Sorry Sean, no fucking on the table rock today. We've actually got to dry off quickly and get back to the cabin. There's an important conference call that both of you should actually be there for. Its business and business that you'll both be involved in as you get older. Therefore, you should at least listen now."

***

I'd told Windy and LC that now that we were airborne, they should expect more frequent visits from us. They both smiled and said that they wouldn't be expecting us during the winter and I most heartily agreed.

"If we decide to do things in the winter guys, it will be Breckenridge and places like that."

I'd met with Moses Whyles and told him that he wouldn't be castrated after all as long as he agreed to take his money and never return to this area.

He was tearful in his agreement. I assured him that if I ever saw him again, that I would take out my punishment. He'd been drunk and he hadn't been armed so I'd decided to be very lenient. Had he been carrying a gun, things would have been different.

I'd also met with Jimmy Ault, the son of the man who'd created my six rocking chairs. He'd assured me that he could construct matching stationary chairs that would complement his father's pieces. He apprenticed under his father and was confident in his skills.

I asked him what his price for six chairs would be and he answered without hesitation.

I almost sputtered. "Jimmy, that's ridiculous. If you can deliver the goods, then your price needs to be double that and even then, I'm feeling like I'm cheating you."

He grinned. Dad always said your family was fair people to deal with. May I take one of these rocking chairs back with me to use as a guide? Dad was never one to keep plans or sketches an stuff and I know you want these six chairs to fit in perfectly."

"By all means, Jimmy and if this works out, I suspect I'll have more work for you."

***

Sean moved us out of the cove and onto the lake and then, fighting the water every inch of the way, the shuddering pontoon plane surged up and into the air. My little boy did that and my heart was filled with joy.

***

As we pulled through the gate at Joyous Gaurde, John was giggling because Jenny had gone through a false labor.

"You wouldn't believe what a bozo I was Eric. I almost tripped and fell over trying to tie up my shoelaces. Everything is fine though and the doctor tells us that it could be any day now."

Daniel was standing at the front door looking rather distressed. "John! You didn't answer your phone. Jenny has gone into true labor. Arlen has taken her to the hospital. I've had your Camaro pulled out onto the car park for you. Go now!"

My big friend stared at me bewildered and I patted his shoulder. "Go John, and your car is the perfect ride for the night your baby is going to be born. It brought you here and now it's going to bring you to your future. Call us with news!"

He jumped out of the limo and ran around to the car park and soon the sleek, black car headed down the drive.

"Gonna be a new baby by the morning." I smiled as the boys and I got out of the limo.

Martha was waiting with a big smile and ushered us into the little dining room. "I've made Philly cheese steak sandwiches and a salad for my boys I know that you're hungry"

We WERE hungry and we devoured the delicious lunch that she'd prepared.

"Mrs. Edwards, you're the most wonderful cook in the entire world!" Brian wrapped his arms around her and she blushed red as a beet.

"You already knew that didn't you?" Sean was embracing her now.

"We love you Mrs. Edwards. I was wonderin', do you know how to make a tot tatoon?"

I smiled, "You mean a 'tarte tatin' Sean and I assure you that Martha can make one using many different fruits and other ingredients although apples are the original and preferred filling. I'm certain now that she knows about your interest, that she'll surprise you."

"Of course I will my little darling but, perhaps, you'd like to learn to bake one yourself like you did with the lasagna?"

He launched a 'Sean smile' as he hugged her tighter. Sean loved to cook and Martha loved to teach him.

***

I walked into the command room just to check up on things. Richard, Barry and Wolfman were huddled in front of one of Barry's monitors howling with laughter. They noticed that I'd entered the room.

"Come over here Eric. Brutus recorded this for us last night and we can't stop watching it. So far, its Jack's finest moment."

I walked around to join them and Richard explained, "Claire has been giving Jack real life training just as we asked her to. Last night, there was a break-in in one of our consumer electronics warehouses and since it was relatively close to them, Clair brought Jack along on the 'bust'.

There were three perps and two were 'sent to the cornfield' almost immediately the third, knowing he probably had to try to shoot his way out, had taken refuge deep in the large building. He had a cheap 357 magnum with a full clip and was prepared to use it."

"As the Skuggor essentially surrounded him, he crouched tight as a spring ready for an assault when a teen-aged boy dressed in civilian clothes stepped out from one of the isles. It was Jack! He'd flanked the guy, He'll probably catch hell from Claire but, well, just watch this ballsy performance."

They started the video and just as Richard described, the intruder was well entrenched in the warehouse with his gun at the ready. The video quality was superior so it was clearly Jack who walked meekly up to the man.

"Scuze me mister." The man spun around but didn't fire. I think he was shocked to see a teen-aged boy standing before him looking lost and frightened.

"I got locked in here last night and I don't know how to get out. Do you t-think you could help me?"

As he was speaking, I realized that he was slowly moving closer to the intruder who was so shocked that he just stood there.

"Kid… this ain't a safe place for you right now. I broke into this place and I know now that I ain't leavin' here alive. You go and hide someplace and when the shootin' is over, let them know that you're here and that you ain't packing and that you had nuthin' to do with this. Move very slow and very careful. You'll be alright but for crissakes get away from me right now because you don't deserve getting' caught up in what's gonna happen here."

Jack's punch was like lightning and caught the guy square on the jaw and he dropped to the floor in an instant.

"Skuggor to me!"

My red haired wonder called out as he knelt down and cradled the fallen man's head. He looked up at Claire Dunn as her crew closed in. "In the end Claire, he was more concerned about my safety than his own life. That earns him some consideration."

The video ended and the three of them just laughed. "Did you see that punch? What a right hand that kid has got. No wonder he hasn't lost a boxing match yet."

I smiled back but rather bitter-sweetly. "Yes, but I'm just as proud of what he said at the end of the video. What's happened to the guy he punched?"

"We took him to the 'Steele Cunt' and decided to let you choose his fate."

I nodded and then said, "Make certain that he's very comfortable and then, have Jack brought out to the 'Slida av Stall' and I'll meet him there. I'll be interested in seeing what Jack's justice is like especially in this case."

***

Jack had spent a long time in the rather comfortable cell we'd constrained the intruder in.

It turned out that (rather remarkably) his name was James Brown. He was twenty-eight and his parents had passed away when he was a teenager. He'd been on the streets and in foster homes until he'd aged out and then become a street animal surviving as best as he could.

After leaving his last interview, Jack came and sat next to me. "Do I really have a decision about what's going to happen to this guy Dad?"

I hugged him tightly and said, "Of course Jack. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, I'm thinking an apartment and a scholarship at the University including some financing for food and some fun. Dad, I took a foolish chance walking up to him and he could have shot me down but he recognized that I was a kid and suddenly all he was worried about was me. He didn't want me to get caught in the crossfire, he didn't want me to be accidentally shot."

"That's got to say something about the guy. Maybe instead of punishing him, we should give him a chance."

I hugged my red haired wonder closely and said, "Someday, you'll be a great Galahad my son. I love you and I'm proud of you. Let's go tell that frightened young man what we have in store for him. I suspect that he'll be surprised."

Together, we walked into the cell and I could see the terror in the young man's eyes.

Jack quietly explained what our intentions were for him and he collapsed into a sobbing heap.

Jack pulled him up from the floor. "James, the compassion you had for me and your attempt to keep me safe even though you were certain you were going to die, convinces me that there is a lot in you that needs to be developed. Our family usually deals out harsh punishment but for you, we're going to try out something different."

Jack explained our plan and the young man was soon weeping. "I was trying to rip you off."

"Yeah but you didn't and besides that, you were more worried for me than you were for yourself."

"James, let's turn you into the man you are destined to be and not the man you've been for these past years. Compassion should be rewarded with compassion."

The man sank to his knees sobbing as Jack and I began to walk out of the room and a Skugga silently walked up behind him and put a bullet into his brain.

Jack was stunned and horrified and I pulled him into me and said, "There is no mercy for people who attack us Jack. If you can't understand that, then you can never hope to be 'Galahad' and head of the Skuggor. If they attack us, they must be destroyed. At least that man didn't see it coming and he died instantly. He actually died happy and with hope. That's much better than what his death might have been like."

"In our family, mercy can only be issued by 'Launcelot'… that as you know is me and eventually will be Sean."

"You have chosen the path to become 'Galahad' and in the administration of that duty, you must be cold and vengeful. You must be always on guard and your actions must be as swift and devastating as the punch you threw that dropped that guy to the floor."

"Do you understand Jack?"

He was still stunned but he shook his head and answered, "Yeah but Dad that guy could have killed me but he didn't."

"Well Jack, the point here is that he could have. He also could have stolen from us. Those things aren't allowed and he placed himself in the position that led to his death."

"As Sean has already learned, we have to be the scariest family in the world. That's why the Skuggor exist. Magnus Venatus is a worldwide empire and you and your brothers will control it someday."

"Of course, you can still choose to return to your original path of ocean research. There would be no shame in doing that but if you still choose Skuggor as your goal, then you have to understand why what just happened had to occur."

"Sean will have the toughest job but yours will be, in many ways, the cruelest and most interesting. You'll be well trained before you assume that mantel and hopefully fully prepared. People must respect Magnus Venatus and yes, fear it."

"We are wonderful friends but horrifying enemies. As more people understand that, then there will be less situations such as just happened."

"I'm proud that you felt compassion for that guy but understand that had you not been there to intervene, he'd have shot it out with our people and perhaps wounded; even killed one or two and then, he'd have been gunned down on the spot. Had he been taken alive, he'd have died a horrifying death not the quick almost unanticipated end that he experienced."

"Sometimes we loose Jack, just as we lost Walter up on that hill but we never totally loose. We always win in the end and we're never kind to those who attack us. Remember that we're wonderful friends and terrible enemies, Jack. Always remember that."

"Do you want to come home?"

"Yeah Dad I really want to but I've still got another eight days scheduled with Claire and I think it's better if I finish that."

I hugged him tight against me and tried desperately not to cry because I loved him so much.

"You're quite the son, Jack Tucker."

He pulled me close and said, "Yeah, but you're quite the Dad."

For those of you who've asked 'The Oak and the Ash' is an old English folk song (as are 'Green Grow the Rushes O' and 'Young but Daily Growing'). 'Flights of Angels' of course is from Shakespeare7#133; I don't know why I did that, Probably because I never expected this thing to grow into four books.
With my current vitality, I'll attempt to issue chapters on a frequent basis but please remember that with new found strength comes new found obligation.

Chapter 3

As we bring children into the world, though we wish we could give them everything, we only need to give them a couple of things: a good strong foundation to keep them rooted to the earth, and a spirit equipped with powerful ability to fly so that they may soar as the occasion arises.

Just as a plant needs light and space to grow, a child needs love and freedom to do the same. They need generous amounts of each in order to reach their potential. Supply them with these things and then stand back and watch. The results will always be wonderful.
While we try to teach our children all about life, our children quietly teach us what life is all about.

Arlen drove John in the Lexus to pick up Jenny and the baby and bring them home. John insisted he could easily drive but I'd told him I wanted him to be with Jenny and the baby and not be nervous or excited.

Over the previous days, we'd all been to the very high-class maternity/birthing suite at the hospital to see the wonderful new little miracle.

Jenny's labor had gone on for about 8 hours. She'd had an epidural applied and, therefore, (according to her) the pain of childbirth was far less than she'd expected it to be. She was exhausted however and so, we made our visits rather short.

I'd looked down in awe at the seven and a half pound little boy with a full mop of dark black hair and impossible baby blue eyes. "By god, John, he looks like a miniature Sean."

My big friend grinned. "I actually thought the same thing after they'd made him presentable. When he first popped out, he was a scary looking little critter, I'll tell you that. All kind of bloody and slimy and red. He certainly cleans up nice though doesn't he?"

"They laid him onto Jenny and I got to cut the cord."

"The Doctor tells us that he may very well lose all that hair and, when it grows back, it could be a different color although… that color change thing usually happens to a baby born with light colored hair. Jenny and I both have black hair so I suspect that'll stick with him."

"He also told us that many babies are born with blue eyes (hence the term 'baby blue') but the color often changes. By the time he's nine months old, we'll be pretty certain what his permanent eye color will be. Jenny has blue eyes and mine are hazel so who knows."

"Does he have a name?"

"Walter." John said softly as he stood by my side. "Me and Jenny talked it over for a long time, and decided to name him after a great man. His middle name will be my father's."

I smiled, 'That was appropriate naming' I thought. "Welcome to the world Walter Timothy."

"Remember that you've agreed to be his godfather."

"How could I forget something like that John?"

***

Now, he was home and had become the star attraction of the estate. Martha and Alice (John's mother) could often be found cuddling him… their faces smiling as if they did not intend to ever let him go.

Sean and Brian were allowed to hold the baby as long as they were sitting down safely. That was precious cargo to entrust to two habitual wiggle-worms. They originally were nervous but soon gained confidence and you could see the joy and wonder on their faces.

A couple of days later, when Jack returned from his field assignment, he looked down upon the sleeping little thing and murmured in awe, "Wow! Look at Little Walt."

From that moment on, 'Little Walt' became the baby's nickname.

***

"So, Jack, beside the very foolish bit of bravado you pulled in that warehouse, how was your field experience?"

We were in the library having a couple of drinks before dinner. He smiled quite sheepishly and answered, "After I'd returned from the 'Steel Cunt', Miss Claire took me aside and told me if I ever pulled a dangerous stupid stunt like that again, she'd take me over her knee and beat my ass bloody. Believe me, I played strictly by the rules after that."

"Good Jack. What you did was very brave but very dangerous. You need to remember that Skuggor work is teamwork in order to be effective. We try very hard to have no casualties and by working as a team we stack the odds in our favor."

"When all is said and done, going alone was what got Walter killed. He knew better but he let his emotions get in the way that one terrible time."

He nodded silently. I leaned over and slapped his knee. "Don't worry son, you're very smart and you learn fast. You'll be alright."

"Thanks Dad."

***

The boys were whooping with joy and I must admit that under our protective facemasks, Chris and I were grinning from ear to ear.

We'd finally decided to use the first of our paintball passes. We'd gone down to the surplus store in town and found camos. Sean and Brian's had to be modified by my seamstress but it was no big deal since they only had to fit and not be a fashion statement.

The biggest chore was making certain Sean was wearing a cup because he hated them so much but, my little boy had played by the rules and his little jewels were properly protected.

We arrived at 'War Zone' and, after registering, were assigned to the 'Blue Team'. Appropriate colored ribbons were tied around our biceps. I was surprised at how many other people had come to play. There were twelve people on our team and thirteen on the 'Red Team'.

Each team had been assigned a Captain and ours turned out to be Rory… the young man who had sold us our passes in the first place.

As we moved out into the field, he said to us, "We need two people to protect our flag and for this game it'll be you two little ones. You'll hide in that plywood shed and you'll be able to keep a good eye on the flag over here. As soon as you see someone come near it, blast them."

"B-but we want to be out in the action too," Brian said.

"Oh, trust me, you two will get more action than anybody," Rory answered. "Once you've shot one or two of them trying to take our flag, most of the rest of them will be on you like white on rice and even though you'll be in that little shed, you'll have more than you can handle."

"OK then."

The two of them took their places in the little shed that was multicolored from many games and many paint-balls landing upon it. Rory planted our blue flag and sent us out essentially wide file into the woods as the horn sounded signaling the game had begun.

We began to walk cautiously into the underbrush not knowing what to expect when suddenly a paintball burst upon Chris' mask and another splattered upon the chest of the young man to my right. I dived for cover.

As they had been instructed, Chris and the other young man raised their hands and called out, "Hit!"

A referee appeared and indicated the direction to the parking lot.

"Well that won't fucking happen again!" Chris muttered in disgust as he left the game."

I whispered to Jack, "Let's see if you can pull your warehouse maneuver again; I'll try to pin them down and you go off into the woods and come out behind them. See if you can get them both but I'll try and be right there with you once you've shot the first one. Remember that this isn't Skuggor, this is just a game."

He moved away like a ghost. His training was already beginning to become very evident, he seemed to disappear into the natural growth. I and two of my team members kept launching paintballs in the direction of our attackers to keep them pinned down. After knocking out two of our players so quickly, I suspect that they didn't think our reaction would be so quick and so aggressive. They were really trapped in their little ambush nest.

About two minutes later, I heard, "SHIT! Hit!" and "Fuck! Hit! How the hell did you do that kid?"

Even though he was wearing a protective face mask, I knew that Jack was grinning.

"I think the expression is 'sitting ducks'. Dad! Good plan!"

Rory emerged from our flank and nodded. "That was great. Now let's try to move forward and do that on their flag."

From the ridge we'd reached without any opposition we looked down upon their red flag. Rory hissed, "There's only six of them there which means that they've got five others headed to the kids guarding our flag. Eric, you take these five guys and go back to provide support for the kids, Jack, you and the rest stay with me and we'll try to get their flag before they get ours.

I nodded and bumped fists with Jack as I motioned for my five to follow me.

The firefight at the shed was astonishing. The little boys were defending with and incredible ferocity while howling with laughter and, by the time we'd gotten into position, there were only two left to pick-off.

My team did that with incredible precision.

Just as we were congratulating each other, the horn sounded meaning the game had been won and very soon, a bouncing Jack waving a red flag came tearing down the hill.

Rory smiled at the little boys, "Did I lie to you? Did you get enough action?"

"Oh yeah, Rory. It was great!" Sean grinned.

"Good, now it's lunch time, one more field game and then 'speed ball'.

After lunch, we drew for teams but I'd insisted that we were a sub-team and couldn't be separated. There was no argument. This time we were on the 'Red Team'.

Cliff, our new team captain, led us out to the far side of the field. He planted our flag alongside of a little rock hillock smiling as he said, They can only come after us from one direction while we can go all around them." The little boys were pleased that they were allowed to come into the field with us and Cliff had the five of us flanking to the left.

We moved quietly down the slightly defined trail but none more quietly than Jack. Suddenly he froze and motioned us all into the underbrush and signaled us for silence. We crouched there in the cool shade as suddenly four players with blue armbands passed us. Jack gave the signal and we busted a paintball onto each of them.

"We're hit damnit!" the first man yelled as he raised his arm into the air. He turned and looked at Jack. "Should've known! It's you again. What are you… some kind of little Ninja?"

I smiled at him though he couldn't see it through my mask.

"Friend, you have no idea trust me."

Later, 'Speedball' didn't go so well for us. Most of us were all mowed down rather quickly with Sean being hit first and me second. Chris was the third and surprisingly, Jack was the fourth. Brian hung in there and was actually the second from the last to be eliminated.

The final confrontation was really spectacular but in the end, the other guy nailed Brian right on his goggles. Brian had 'zigged' when he should have 'zagged'.

"I think Speedball is a different kind of strategy Dad. I'm going to talk to Richard about it and see what he and Wolfman have to say about it but, this sure was a lot of fun! " The other three boys were in enthusiastic agreement.

"Except for getting hit in the first few minutes of the original game, I've never had more fun!" Chris agreed.

"We're gonna do this again Dad… ain't we?"

"Of course Sean, I was afraid that you might have found it too boring."

He gave me a startled scowl before he realized I was joking. "Dad!"

"I think I'm going to look into us getting our own guns, though. Some of those guys out there had much better guns than the ones we rented. They shot faster and straighter. We did well, but we could have done better."

"Even if it's a game, I don't like the idea of being out-gunned. We're going to spend some time researching equipment, guys."

They whooped in excitement and never slowed down all the way to Deegens.

I knew Martha was expecting us for dinner tonight, but I was so hungry despite having had lunch on the field. I (at least) needed a hamburger… turned out that they all did.

As we were all walking into the house with huge smiles on our faces, Jack pulled me aside. "I'm coming into your bed tonight, Dad. Is that OK?"

I nodded my head. "Do your brothers know?"

"Yes, I told them before I asked you."

"Then, it seems like we've got a date, Jack." I gently rubbed his shoulder.

It was hard to describe how Jack with the aid of Coach Sal had developed his young body.

His muscles were all perfectly formed though there was no fat to accompany them. He was still lean and wiry but perfectly formed rather than resembling a Greek or Roman statue or even one by Michelangelo, Jack resembled one wrought by the hands of Donatello or Rodin… rock hard muscle and no excess fat. I thought about my first encounter with this boy and how beautiful he was though he wore a coat of baby fat that was not at all unflattering. But then I looked at him now. It was astonishing to me.

"I want you to fuck me Dad, but could we just kiss and hug for a little bit?"

"Of course Jack. That's all we have to do. There doesn't have to be sex every time you sleep in my bed, Son."

"But we will do it though… right?"

I smiled and lay down beside him. "We'll do whatever you want us to do Jack. Right now let's just do this…"

I'd pulled him onto his side and pressed my lips against his. It seemed as though we'd kissed for hours running our hands down each other's bodies and making funny little sounds of pleasure as we tried to press closer to each other than was physically possible.

After a bit, I realized that he was sniffling. "Jack, what in the world are you crying about?"

"A-after she threatened to spank me, Miss Claire explained to me how easily that guy could have killed me and she said, 'Haven't you done that to your father enough lately? What would that man do if he lost you?' I r-realized what she was saying and I felt so ashamed."

"Jack! This was the only time anything that's happened to you could be considered remotely your fault and I'm not even mad about that. I'll be very mad if you try something like that again. If you do, then I'LL be the one who beats your ass bloody."

He sniffled but I thought I 'heard' a small smile behind the tears.

"On the other hand Jack, if we're going to keep playing paintball, those 'ninja' moves of yours are perfect and I encourage you to keep them up. It's just that in paintball, you can't sneak up on some guy and deck him… you need two different skill sets. Got it Rufus?"

He giggled wetly against my neck "H-how can you possibly love me so much Dad? What did I ever do to deserve you? I-I'm just a plain old kid who grew up in the NEST and never did anything special. How did I get so lucky?"

He wasn't exactly crying by now, but he was weeping softly. I smiled to myself because this was almost the same question Brian had asked in the bedroom in the cabin at Lake Osa Largo.

"Aside from telling you that you are certainly not just a 'plain kid who never did anything special', I'm not going to try and answer that, Jack. I think tomorrow, you should ask that same question of your brother Sean because he has a remarkable answer. If, after talking to him, you still want to have the conversation about it with me; you know I always have time for you."

"For now, just know that I DO love you so much. That man that I had killed up at the Steel Cunt died because he attacked our family and could have killed you. He held a gun on you Jack. I can't allow or forgive that."

"Have you ever talked with Sean about what happened to the bastards that blew up you and your car? He was there, Jack. Ask him to tell you and I don't care if Brian is part of your conversation."

"You three are brothers and, as Sean will tell you, I'm not certain it was me who chose us to be together, and I'm not convinced it was luck. I'm coming to believe that it was all supposed to be. We'll discuss it after you guys talk."

"This is a good time, though, for me to tell you that I've been thinking about my own actions and I've come to believe in this last instance, I should have listened to your instincts and not my own hard-ass rules."

"That young man's frantic attempts trying to get you to seek safety certainly deserved a second chance… they certainly deserved mercy… he certainly deserved better than what I gave him. Your words were correct Jack; 'compassion deserves compassion'."

"I have serious doubts that he would have taken advantage of any of the opportunities you'd proposed for him, but they would have been HIS opportunities to screw-up."

"You've altered the way I'm thinking about the Great Game, Jack. As you know, I'm a student of history and fear has never been a truly effective defense. Fear results in hatred and hatred results in horrible chaos. I'm thinking that 'Magnus Venatus' needs to become respected and admired rather than feared."

"That doesn't mean we still won't be terrible enemies to those who move against us, but any 'justice' we deal will be consistent and proper.""

"What I did to that young man was way out of proportion to what he actually did, though quite proper for what he would have done had you not intervened. The difference being his end would have probably happened there on the warehouse floor."

"His capital crime, in my eyes, Jack, was pointing a gun at you even though he never used it and even though he urged you to get out of harm's way."

"My disproportionate response was because I'm trying to think like my father and that was another time. I need to start thinking like me and allow you boys to think like yourselves. Mercy would have been more than appropriate for that young man but I didn't issue it."

"It was a bad, bad decision on my part."

"I can't apologize to that dead man, Jack, but I can apologize to you. I'd led you to believe that you'd have input into his fate and then, I ignored every suggestion you made. What a horrible, inhumane thing for me to do. It will never happen again, Jack."

"For now, just know that if I'd lost you, I'd have lost half of my heart… I lost the first quarter of it when Kyle died, you see."

"Let's not talk about things like this right now, I want to be happy my Jacamo. We had a fun day and you were spectacular. Sleep now John William Tucker."

"But Dad… aren't we goin to…"

"In the morning if we wake up early. Otherwise, some other night… we have a lifetime Jack. I just want to sleep holding you right now Son."

"No Dad, please. Love me tonight please."

I thought about what he was asking and I heard the urgency in his voice.

I smiled and nodded.

I'd reached over and grabbed the lube and applied it to his little brown asterisk and my now hard penis. I knelt between his raised legs and slid slowly into him and (as always), we moved in perfect unison. From the very first time, our lovemaking was natural and instinctive.

Jack came about a minute before I did. As my erection deflated and I popped out of him, I lay on my side and pulled him close to me He was snoring softly against me in about five minutes and I soon followed him into the 'land of nod'.

***

The sign over the door was rather cutesy; 'Hops Heroes' it read, but, according to my research, it was a first class source of supplies and advice for home brewers.

The three boys were excited over the prospect of brewing their own beer and I quickly explained to the manager… a burly, almost bald man whose name was Barrett Fuller… that the boys were home schooled and this was going to be a chemistry experiment suggested by their teacher. That statement was met with very little resistance or suspicion… everyone in our town knew who I was.

We talked about what type of beer the boys wanted to brew for their experiment.

"IPA… India Pale Ale." Jack quickly answered.

Barrett scratched his head and said, "Well son, I don't suggest that for your first experience. If you want to brew a pale ale, let's set you up to brew an American Pale Ale first and if you do well, then we'll go for an IPA next time."

He'd inadvertently given away the fact that he knew this was no 'chemistry experiment' and I knew that he understood that if he played his cards right, I'd be a regular customer.

"OK Mr. Fuller that will be great." Jack answered; the younger two followed his lead.

"Well then, let's get you set up with what you need. I expect that five gallons will work for your 'experiment' yes?"

The boys looked confused. Barrett smiled. "Five gallons will produce fifty twelve ounce bottles of beer. That's the standard size bottle here in America and, by the way, it's the only size I keep in stock. That's a lot of home-brew boys."

They nodded their heads and he nodded back.

"Fine then, I'm going to set you up for a very good but simple recipe and after your 'teacher' has sampled the final product, come to me and we'll talk about what was good and what was bad about your brew. When we've reached that point, bring me three bottles so I can taste it and we can discuss it OK?"

As we roamed the small shop and he recommended equipment, I suspected I was being slightly taken advantage of but I decided to let it play through and in the end, to my thinking, his prices were reasonable and he seemed to have taken an interest in the boy's enthusiasm.

"That won't fit in my car Barrett, so if you'll get it all together, I'll send a van down tomorrow to pick it up."

"OK, Mr. Tucker, but I was hoping to explain the equipment to the boys."

I smiled and said, "That's wonderful! The boys will be on the van and you can explain the equipment before it's loaded on board. Tell me this though, how important is temperature control to the brewing process?"

"It's very important, Mr. Tucker and the more you can control the temperature, the better the final product will be. Attention to details makes the entire difference sir. Brewing is a natural process. In a sense, brewers try to control nature while nature 'naturally' fights back. That's what makes good beer."

"Then, Barrett, I will drive the van down myself and I'll listen to your instructions as well. Let me settle up now and we'll see you around eleven tomorrow morning."

"Why were you asking about temperature Dad? It's always comfortable in the house?"

"Well, Sean, I was thinking about my wine cellar. Wine always does better in a cool consistent temperature and I wondered if that transferred to beer. Alcohol doesn't necessarily like the same temperatures as people."

"There's a little room in the basement at the other end from my wine cellar. It's consistently cool but it could be warmed up if needed… there's a climate control system there. I think my father used it for cheese, believe it or not. He really liked many different kinds of cheese. We'll all go check it out when we get home."

We peered around the little room. It was large enough that it could have been a sufficient bedroom anywhere but Joyous Gaurde. There were sturdy oak shelves built against the wall and a large wooden table sat in the middle of the room.

I pointed out to the boys that this little chamber had its own thermostat so the temperature could be controlled without affecting the temperature in the wine cellar at the other end of the basement. The room was currently quite cool but not cold. Based upon what Barrett had told us, I suspected it was about the perfect temperature for fermentation.

"I'm thinking that this is the site of the 'Tucker Brothers Mini-brewery', boys.

"How cool is this gonna be Dad?" Sean said.

Jack interjected, "Only as cool as the beer turns out Tadpole."

"Rufus, this will only be our first batch. How good do you think Stone's first batch was?"

"As always, you're right my little brother." They hugged each other, which was a natural thing for them. They'd essentially been doing it for a very long time.

"Let's go see 'Little Walt'," Brian said. He was fascinated with the baby and we all agreed that it was a good idea.

***

The baby was very responsive and he giggled as the boys gently played with him. Having naturally lost weight from after birth due to fluid loss, young Walter was gaining weight and now weighed over ten pounds.

It was obvious that he could actually see and follow movement. Though he wasn't probably seeing clearly, what he could see obviously delighted him. And he reacted vocally by chuckling and making other responsive noises. He was a great deal of fun and the boys just adored him.

While the boys enjoyed the little one, I sat down with his mother and accepted a cup of coffee.

"How are you doing Jenny?"

"Actually, quite fine Eric. In fact, I'm planning to return to work next week. His Grandmother is going to watch him here three days a week and, on the other two, I'll just bring him down to the big house with a sling and a porta-crib."

"Are you sure you want to do that?"

"Absolutely! I've talked it over with Martha and she agrees that will work out fine. In fact, she says she'll love it."

"The boys and I could help out, you know."

She smiled. "No offense Eric, but at his age, Little Walt produces about ten wet diapers a day and a minimum of five 'muddy' ones. Guys generally aren't designed to handle that."

As if on cue, Sean cried out, "Ewwww! Jenny, I think Little Walt just pooped his diaper."

The boys had no interest in this part of raising a baby and so, we excused ourselves and headed for the pool.

***

Jack and I were sitting happily on lounges while Sean ran Brian through his paces in the pool.

Under the tutelage of Sean and Jack, Brian's swimming abilities had improved remarkably. The boy was a natural athlete and a born competitor. He would never equal Sean in this sport, but I judged that he might already be good enough to be competitive and that was astonishing.

Try-outs for the Deer Run Swim Team were in two days. Sean had been working hard to get himself in shape but it was obvious that he was hoping to get Brian onto the team as well.

After a half an hour of watching the rigorous practice, Jack decided it was time to horse around and he got up and jumped into the pool. I smiled in private delight as I remembered that day when Dr. Sam had declared that he was completely healed including his ear and that he could now do anything he wanted.

Jack had burst into tears and hugged the man and said, "I love you Doctor Sam. Thank you for saving my life."

Sam patted him on his back and said, "It was my pleasure Jack but remember that in a couple of months we've still got another procedure in order to remove the remaining shrapnel."

"You might be interested to know that Don Silver and I have written an article for the Medical Journal describing the protective device we designed for you and we're getting inquiries from all around the world. We've decided to call the system an 'Ear Jack' in your honor."

The first thing Jack did when we returned home that day was to let out a 'Tarzan yell' and plunge head-first into the pool clothes and all. He broke water with a look of such joy on his face that it made my heart lurch.

"Dad! Dad! Is it OK if I drive out to Deer Run and tell Coach Sal that I can box again?"

I'd smiled through very misty eyes. "Sure Jack, just remember to let Richard know what you're doing."

He'd grinned because he knew exactly what I was talking about.

"Oh, and you probably should put on some dry clothes as well."

He'd giggled.

Now, I sat watching my three fine sons fooling around and wondered to myself how had I been so lucky as to have them in my life and then, I shook my head with a start. I realized this was the same question that Brian, and then Jack, had asked but in reverse and that Sean had answered so remarkably.

I instinctively looked towards the sky. I mouthed the words; 'thank you'.

Just then, Gary and Bobby came around the hedge smiling. "We were hoping that we might join you guys."

Bobby was soon beautifully naked and diving into the pool to join the other three boys.

"Can I freshen up your drink for you?" Gary asked.

With a shock, I realized that I hadn't made a drink. How wonderfully out of character was that?

"Actually, Gary I don't have one but, if you wouldn't mind, you could make me one."

With a smile, he moved to the bar and soon we were lying side-by-side, drinks in hand, watching the boys in the clear water.

"It's soon going to be time to close down the outside pool for the season and I'm considering having a party. What do you think?"

"Why close it down, Eric? It's heated and it's not like you can't afford to keep it heated."

"I guess because my father always closed it down but, you're right, Gary. There's no actual reason to close it down. I suppose I'll have to think about that… thanks."

"You're welcome. Look at those four beautiful young sea otters or, are they seals? Man! My life has certainly changed since Bobby came into it and you helped us be together."

"Garry, you seem to forget the large role that you played in that event. That's the reason why I'll always treasure our friendship; it was born out of distress and danger."

He reached over and patted me on my shoulder.

"Doc Swaim and John's parents are coming for dinner tonight. How about you two as well?"

"Always a pleasure Eric. You know that."

***

"Now boys, you realize that this is truly an experiment and a learning experience." Doc Swaim said between mouthfuls of his salad and at the last statement, I recognized that the boys were fighting hard to suppress their giggles.

The big man was way ahead of them however. "Did I say something funny?"

The boys were subdued for a few moments because they revered the man so much and (typically), it was Sean who found the courage to answer, "No Professor Swaim. It's just that almost everything new that we do, you call it a 'learning experience' so we told Dad that you'd say the same thing about making beer and we were right."

Doc smiled and said, "Well, in this case you're only part right; it's a DOUBLE learning experience."

"You three will learn how beer is made but the fun learning experience is for me because I'll get to learn how well you can pull this off and I'll get to drink a lot of your beer. In fact, if it's any good at all, I'll probably have to drink most of it. All in the interest of evaluating your educational development of course."

"Professor Swaim!" Brian was shocked and almost outraged.

The big man laughed heartily and reached over and patted the boy's hand. "You need to learn when people are joking Brian but I am certainly looking forward to tasting the first fruits of your joint endeavor."

***

Richard had insisted that John drive the van into town. Regarding driving, I'd learned to pick my battles with Richard so I sat shotgun and the boys were in the second row.

Barrett had carefully explained the very simple equipment and the ingredients and provided us with very detailed step-by-step instructions for the brewing process.

"This is a very basic but very good recipe for a delightful 'American Pale Ale', boys. After brewing a successful batch of this, many of my customers stop there and never brew anything but this. They're perfectly satisfied."

"After you bring me samples of your first batch, we'll talk, we'll taste and decide if you want to move on to something else or make subtle changes to this recipe. This ale will be a pale golden color, will hold a firm short head and have a sort of citrus-like tang to it. It won't be heavily carbonated because ale should be considerably stiller than, say, a lager or a pilsner."

"It's a very good beer to begin home brewing with… more than a few cuts above what most home brewers first produce."

We loaded up the hefty carboy… the large glass fermenting bottle with the proper attachments, a six pound bag of light malt extract, a pound of two types of crushed malt, four packs of two different hops and a package of special yeast. We also loaded in five cases of empty twelve-ounce bottles, a carton of bottle caps, a small sack of corn sugar and a capping device.

"Well boys, good luck with your chemistry experiment and remember to come back with three bottles and we'll talk about your work and decide how it can be improved."

"Thanks Mr. Fuller!" Jack shook his hand and the other two boys followed suite.

"This will work out great boys. We'll commandeer one of the utility kitchens on the first floor to cook the wort and then the little room in the basement will be great for the fermenting. It's naturally the perfect temperature year round.

"What's the wart Dad?"

"Wort, Sean. That's what you call the mixture of malt and hops before additional water and yeast are added. Doc Swaim would explain it as mixture of different sugars that the yeast will feed upon and after time it will produce alcohol… in this case beer."

"Once we create the wort, then nature takes over and we have no control except to keep the temperature as ideal as possible. That's why the little room in the cellar is so perfect."

The boys would not wait. They insisted that we begin the process at once. After checking with Daniel, I discovered that there was a fully-equipped kitchen facility on the first floor not very far from the stairs near the little room in the basement that I'd already begun thinking of as the fermenting room.

I smiled to myself and thought that I'd lived here my entire life and Daniel had been here for about a year and he knew more about the place than I did.

We had everything we needed and the boys began to meticulously follow the recipe and instructions. It was just short of four hours before they'd finished the important first steps.

When the wort was complete and cooled down to the correct temperature, it was poured into the large glass carboy. The additional water (which had been refrigerated) to bring the volume up to five gallons was added and then the yeast. Jack and I took turns agitating the mixture quite vigorously before capping it and carrying it down to the room in the basement.

Five gallons of liquid is rather heavy and having little boys dancing in glee behind you can be quite distracting but, we placed the large glass jug on the table in the middle of the room and we all high-fived.

"Now, we've got to let it do its thing for two weeks, guys. I told you Brian, the most of this is boring."

"No Dad. This is so exciting. I can't believe we're doing this."

***

I was in bed but not asleep when two little boys entered my room dressed in nothing but air. They slid into the bed from what had become their traditional sides and were soon pressed against me.

"No fooling around tonight. guys. I'm tired and I've got a busy day tomorrow."

I was soon kissed on both cheeks. "We just wanna be with you t'night Dad an we want you to hold us. We love you so much."

As I pulled them close, Brian sniffled against me. "Why are you crying Brian?" I asked softly.

"B-because I'm so happy and I feel so loved and I feel so safe and… and… because I've got a real family and a real Dad. I always dreamed that life could be something like this but I never believed it would actually happen for me. I can't help it… it just makes me cry but honest, it's good crying. I just do it a lot. Sorry."

***

I smiled as I sat through the swim team tryouts. Sean was his magnificent self and out swam all competitors but Brian became 'Spider' and astonished me as he swam, particularly in the short races… the fifty meter events. He won every trial heat.

"I'll be calling you all in a couple of days," Coach Riorden said as he dismissed the group to head for the showers. He approached me with a smile.

"If you're planning on adopting anymore little boys Eric, I hope that they'll be as athletic as the three you already have.

"Brian will qualify for three of the short races easily. Sean, of course, will enter all of the long and most intermediate events and I suspect that once again he'll clobber them."

"Thanks, Clay, but please don't tell them yet. Let them sweat this out for a little bit. It's good for them. I don't want them to be over confident. I want them to really feel like they had to earn their positions on the team."

"Certainly, Eric but they really did earn their positions on the team. I don't give out spaces as favors… you know that. I'll probably call either tonight or tomorrow."

"Thanks, Clay. I'll go wait out in the parking lot."

Like they say, it was déjà vu all over again. The famous 'Seven Samurai' came busting through the doors but this time they had Brian with them as well. I had a flash thought that it would be a great name for a rock band… 'Spider and the Seven Samurai'.

At first I was afraid that Coach Riorden had spilled the beans but I quickly realized it was just the exuberance garnered through the joy of doing something that gave them so much pleasure coupled with friendship.

Sean, Brian and Charlie approached the car. "Dad, can Charlie spend the weekend with us? His parents have to go out of town on a family 'mergency an if he don't stay with us, he's gotta stay with his aunt and uncle."

"Yeah Mr. T. It's not like I don't like my Aunt Patty and Uncle George, it's just that it's no fun there."

I nodded my head. "OK, call your parents and make certain that I get to speak to one of them before you hang up."

He quickly made the call and spoke softly into his phone and then offered it to me. "It's my Dad."

I took the phone. "Hello Mr. Wendell, Eric Tucker here. I'm assuming Charlie has told you what this bunch of boys is planning but I wouldn't allow that without your permission of course."

I smiled at his positive response and the boys began jumping with glee. "Your Dad says that you may spend the weekend with us Charlie and he'll inform your Aunt and Uncle. You'll need to squeeze into the back with Sean because this XKE was really built to carry no more than three passengers."

"Don't worry Mr. T. I can make myself fit."

I smiled. He was still 'little Charlie' and he still looked like an elf but, just as all the other boys, he was growing. For some strange reason that made me sad and I realized that was very selfish of me.

***

Martha had made spaghetti carbonara because she knew how much Charlie loved it and we were all now in the library.

Sean and I were engaged in yet another chess match while the other three were sprawled on the floor playing a game of CLUE.

Daniel stood at the door and cleared his throat. "Eric, there is a telephone call for you and I've had it transferred here to the library."

"Thank you Daniel."

I walked to the phone. "Hello, Eric Tucker here. Oh, hello, Clay. Actually, they're both here and so is Charlie Wendell. Would you like me to place you on speaker?"

I punched button and then said, "Boys, say hello to Coach Riorden."

"Hi Coach," They replied almost in unison.

"Hello Boys. First off, Sean, I don't think you needed this call but I want to officially welcome you to this year's team. Charlie, you've saved me a phone call because you are welcomed to this team as well."

"Brian, are you there?"

"Y-yes Coach"

"Good. Now son, I understand how hard you've trained but you know, of course, that for somethings, you have to start training early in life and if you start late, you just can't catch up no matter how hard you work. That's a fact and no reflection upon talent or effort. Sometimes you can't catch up with people who've had a head start. That's just the sad truth."

Brian's head nodded and I could see that he was trying so hard not to cry.

"The great thing is, though Brian, hard work and effort often do pay off and in your case they certainly did. I want to welcome you to the team Brian and we'll see you all at practice next Saturday."

I leaned into the phone.

"Thanks Clay. As you can hear, things have gone a bit nuts right now. We'll see you Saturday."

Jack looked up from the celebration that was taking place on the library floor.

"Dad, it's OK if Charlie crashes in my room tonight, right? He's so excited, he shouldn't have to be in one of the guest rooms you know? He might want to talk and stuff and…"

I decided to play the ignorant bozzo, "Well Jack, tonight he's actually Sean and Brian's guest so perhaps it would be better if he 'crashed' with one of them."

"Oh no Dad. It's OK if Charlie sleeps in Jack's room. Sean and I don't mind."

"Well then Jack, that's fine with me if its fine with Charlie."

Jack and Charlie exchanged what they thought to be a secret smile and as they did so, Sean drew close to me and whispered, " Sides, if Charlie don't crash with Jack, how can me an Brian crash with you, silly Dad."

I sighed as I realized that the future brain trust of Magnus Venatus was already working together as a clever little team.

For those of you who were angry at the last chapter, I hope I've clarified Eric's actions and his new direction.

Chapter 4

Enjoy the little things because one day you'll look back and realize that they were really the big things.
Life doesn't get better just by chance, it gets better by change.
Just, don't make change into something complicated. Let it happen… just let it happen.
It's easier and better that way.

"Boys, next Monday I'm going down to Houston to meet with Ricky, Mandy, Tyler and Doctor Scott. As you know we've already made significant changes to the NEST and I'd like you two to come with me because your input will be very helpful to me and to Ricky as well. Brian, this may confuse you because it isn't part of your background, but I'd like you to come as well. We'll be interested in what your impressions are."

"Sure Dad," Jack said. "But you remember that I have a boxing match on Wednesday right? We'll be back in time for that I hope."

"Jack, we'll be back by Tuesday night. We can't have your perfect record ruined because you lost by default can we?"

He giggled. "No, but this guy is supposed to be pretty good. Maybe my record will be ruined by getting myself knocked flat on my butt."

"Not you Rufus. You're the greatest." Sean grabbed his arm and squeezed it. The bond between the two of them was astonishing and I knew it would last a lifetime. Brian wasn't excluded from their love. They adored him and he knew that. It was just the unusual relationship that existed between Sean and Jack, was actually beyond being siblings.

I wondered how well the 'Lead Senior/Follow boy system was still working at the NEST now that we'd changed the 'special training' and the 'contracts'. That was one of the things I was going down to Houston to discover.

***

I'd left the boys in the penthouse Monday while I'd met with the staff at the Academy. Now, we were seated around a table at 'La Maison de Boeuf' in Houston. Jack and Sean had been here with me before but for Brian, Ricky and Mandy it was a new experience. Taylor and Doctor Scott had declined my invitation expressing hopes for a 'rain-check'.

"This is very nice, Boss Man. Thank you." Her smile was dazzling as always.

"You are welcome Mandy."

"Now guys, the school looks wonderful and the boys seem absolutely happy. The grade point evaluation continues to be outstanding… these boys are still among the best in the country and the new 'special training' seems to be phasing in well. I'd say you all are doing a wonderful job here. The new fortune from the shipwreck that we've recently placed in trust for the school should keep things secure for a very long time. "

"Thank you, Eric. It's become such an obsession that I've totally forgotten about my law degree. You were right; this is what I was meant to do."

"Yep, life is strange, Ricky, but sometimes we just sometime find our place you know?"

"I think I owe everything to Commodore Tipton. I'll never be able to thank that man."

"Whether you believe it or not Ricky, every day you do your job, you are thanking him."

Our server arrived with our meals and the thick juicy steaks captured our attention. I'd slipped the boys a glass of wine and, by now, they knew how to play that game.

"So, the boys are going to wander around tomorrow and talk to the students. I hope that they'll meet with some old friends and then we're flying out in the afternoon."

"What about you two? What are you doing about wedding plans? I'm paying for it all so don't be shy about it as long as we're invited."

"Eric you can't…"

"Of course I can, Ricky. I'm rich as hell. You guys plan your perfect wedding and don't even think about the cost. Remember that I'm doing this for Mandy's father. From what I've been told, you should hire a wedding planner and let them do all the work. That way, all you'll need to do is approve or disapprove things."

"Keep your mothers in the loop but don't let them plan the wedding for you. Let a professional do that. "

"OK then. We're not going to argue anymore. We'll get on it right away and we'll keep you informed."

"Great. Call Chris any time you need funding. Don't use any Academy money, even temporarily. Chris will know that you have a blank check.

Mandy giggled, "A BLANK check! Wheee!"

I grinned and Ricky blushed. "You know she's kidding right?"

Mandy and I giggled at the same time. "That's my Skeeter. The world's straightest shooter." She leaned over and kissed him causing him to blush again.

Shortly, our server arrived with dessert menus. Brian picked his up but Sean pulled it out of his hands.

"The hot-fudge sundae Brian. Trust us, the hot-fudge sundae." Jack nodded in agreement and Brian smiled and agreed that's what he'd have.

Ricky grinned at the exchange and then said, "Coming with such strong recommendation, I'll have one of those as well."

Mandy scowled, "Fair warning 'Skeeter' Flores… you start getting fat and I'm going make your life miserable."

He smiled into her eyes. "It's one 'poco' ice cream sundae babe. Can't do enough to get me into trouble."

She smiled back and kissed him. "I'm just giving you a hard time, silly. I'm practicing to be a wife."

The boys didn't understand a bit of that exchange but I of course did and I found it delightful. These two were joined at the hip for life.

I knew that Ricky ran or walked daily, rode his bike, worked out at the gym and kayaked with Mandy on a near-by lake. He was right. That ice cream couldn't hurt him at all.

As we left the restaurant, the heat, humidity and bright lights of Houston hit us in the face. Ricky and Mandy had apparently grown used to it and the boys were boys after all.

I didn't like it because, In general, I don't like cities with the possible strange exceptions of New York, London and of course, San Diego (which is hardly a city compared to these others).

My driver brought them back to their residence at the NEST and I told them we'd see them for breakfast in the morning. Back at my building the three of us entered the elevator and rode to the penthouse.

"Early to bed tonight boys. I want to get you to the NEST in the morning early enough for you to have breakfast with your proper tiers. Brian this will be strange for you but, you'll just stick with Sean because you would have been in the same tier."

Brian had been told quite a bit about NEST life by Sean and Jack so he certainly understood what I was talking about.

"I want you to have fun with your NESTER friends and when we're flying home, I'll ask you some questions."

"Y'know Dad, wasn't so very long ago that I'da been afraid you were droppin' me off an leavin' me there." Sean had a strange look on his face.

I moved to him and pulled him tightly to me. "You're not really afraid that's ever going to happen are you, little man?"

He looked up at me and blinked. There were some 'almost tears' in his eyes but they never fell and he smiled… perhaps not a full 'Sean smile' but a bright smile none-the-less. "Nope. You're our Dad an we're your sons an we're family forever."

I smiled and ran my fingers through his thick black hair.

"OK, this place has bedrooms for each of us. On the other hand, anybody that climbs into my bed better be doing it to sleep and cuddle… NOTHING else."

Jack smiled and spoke as he was pulling off his polo shirt. "Sean was right a while ago Dad. You ARE becoming a meanie."

The three of them giggled as they piled onto my bed… gloriously naked staring up at me waiting for me to join them.

I was soon wrapped amid the arms and legs of three teen-aged boys and lay there serenely as I watched the millions of multi-colored lights of Houston reflected off the glass walls of the bedroom.

It didn't actually take long before I could tell from their divergent but cute regular noises that they were asleep. Eventually, there was a soft little fart and I wasn't certain if it was Sean or Brian. No one reacted so, whoever it was had done so in his sleep.

As I felt myself getting closer to sleep, I had the strangest thought, "I wonder if little girls fart like little boys and, if they do, do they find it as funny."

***

Taylor (Tip) had made it a habit of sharing breakfast with the boys in the 'big kid's house and this morning, I was sitting next to him.

He and Jack had a very affectionate reunion but I explained to Jack that I wanted him to sit and eat with his old tier. Brian would sit with Sean's tier because he and Sean were essentially the same age.

Shortly the doors opened and in walked groups of boys ranging from fresh-faced little eight-year-olds to older boys about seventeen.

It didn't take long before one of the boys noticed us up front with Taylor. "Look! That's Rufus and Tadpole! Hey you guys!"

There was soon quite a commotion among the obviously sixteen-year-old boys and the (seemingly) thirteen-year-olds sitting with them. These were the lead seniors and follow boys whom Jack and Sean had grown up with. Interspersed among the thirteen-year-olds were the eight-year-old boys who looked a bit confused as this interaction went on.

My boys (including Brian) rushed down to the group of excited NESTERS and were soon enveloped in hugs and back slaps and Brian was quickly introduced and from my seat I could hear exclamations such as, "Your brother?" "You are all three BROTHERS?" "You both got adopted by the same guy?"

I heard some of the older boys say to Jack, "You won't believe the changes around here, Rufus. We don't have to go out on those contracts anymore."

"Now we go out and apprentice with different companies and different other projects."

"Contracts aren't scary anymore, they're interesting and exciting and the little kids don't have to go through that 'special training' we did although of course, some of it in the early parts was pretty much fun."

Jack grinned, "You don't have to tell me, but I hated the contracts. Those won't happen anymore though guys. My Dad has made certain of that."

"Who's your Dad?"

"That man sitting up there next to Tip."

They all almost froze in awe. "You were adopted by Mister Tucker?"

Sean and Jack grinned. "Yes. He's Brian's Dad too. If we're going to use NEST names, by the way, you should call him 'SPIDER'. Even though he's not a NESTER, he earned his name."

Room was made for my three at the big table and soon, they were eating breakfast while chatting excitedly among themselves. Chatter was non-stop, giggles were abundant and young arms were waving in the air. It was a joyful re-union and the laughter warmed my heart.

After breakfast, Jack left with the sixteen and seventeen-year-old tier boys while Sean and Brian wandered out with the thirteen-year-old tiers boys followed by the eight-nine-year-tier boys who I suddenly realized were the new batch of 'Follow Boys' to the twelve-year-olds (Sean's peers) who had become Lead Seniors last year.

I was startled when I realized that Sean would have become a 'Lead Senior' as well but instead, he had become a brother (twice over).

Under the old system, these older boys would have begun their 'special training' already and that would have included Sean. I smiled as I thought that Sean knew more about sex than any of the boys his age here and would have even if the old system was still in place.

What a difference a year had made. I looked out over the quad and watched my three boys laughing and gesticulating with boys that they (with the exception of Brian of course) had grown up with and considered friends. The little 'Follow Boys' seemed as happy with these conversations as their 'Lead Seniors' and that told me that the system was still working.

I thought to myself that the thing we'd need to really keep an eye on was the new 'special training' and the replacements we were instituting for the 'contracts'. If we weren't careful, that was where the new program could fail.

I had great faith in my staff, though and I knew that I'd be monitoring things because these next few years were critical for the Academy's success as a modification from the old NEST that admittedly produced exceptional young men.

I smiled as I watched Sean organize a pick-up soccer game and he'd made certain that the team he and Brian were on was short two players because he and Brian had no 'follow boys' and therefore had a one older boy advantage.

The game was fabulous and the little ones played furiously and skillfully. It is hard to get a goal past 'Spider' though, and it didn't happen. Eventually, Sean gleefully scored a goal and with laughter, the boys ended their game.

For Sean, it was almost as if two years hadn't passed and he'd only been gone for a few weeks. I noticed though that he was very diffident and kind around the small boys and they looked at him with appreciation.

They all returned to the quad laughing and shoulder bumping and the little 'follow boys' were included in the camaraderie. I noticed with a great deal of satisfaction that Brian was laughing and sharing right along with the rest of them.

Jack had been sitting talking with his contemporaries who all , of course… to one degree or another … had been through the old style 'special training' and then had been sent out on contracts. Some of them were the boys we'd rescued from Atiu and Chou Chang's ranch and they remembered that experience vividly.

I was certain that their reminiscence would be very different from those between Sean and his friends. These would be among the last we would need to gently move from the old program to the new. This was the most difficult part of the change in the NEST… these transitional kids.

The most important thing was not to confuse them or make them feel as if they'd somehow done anything wrong. They needed to be gently guided into understanding that things had changed. They were being transitioned from the prostitution they'd been subjected to into more practical and educational experiences. They were encouraged to continue to engage in consensual sex amongst themselves because they had been trained to do so and (in most cases) to enjoy it.

For that reason, rooms were made available in the old training building for their use.

We were still in a quandary about the younger boys who had not entered the old-style NEST 'special training'. Since it was no longer necessary to 'guide' them into at least accepting homosexual attention from adult males, what stance was the school going to take in training the younger boys about sex?

This was still very much under discussion by the staff and a final report was scheduled to be presented in six months.

Doc Swaim was involved in these discussions, mostly via tele-conferencing. I had great faith the final program would be the right one. There were enough good minds working on the project.

Eventually, the conversation group around the quad seemed to encompass all of the boys and there was a great deal of laughter. At one point either Sean or Jack said something and several of the boys exclaimed. "Scooter?"

With a sudden lurch, I remembered that had been Bobby's NEST name. My boys must have just revealed that Bobby/Scooter had also been adopted. I wondered if the NEST boys' reaction was surprise, jealousy or pleasure and then I decided the answer to that was really none of my business.

I signaled to my boys that it was time to leave but Sean asked if he could show Brian the dorms where they'd slept and I of course said he could.

Jack took his leave from his old friends and came up to spend more time with Tip. They were still immensely fond of each other and I left them alone walking over to the offices to spend a last few minutes with Ricky and Mandy.

Ricky grinned as he walked over to the small refrigerator and pulled out a large bottle of yellowish liquid. He placed ice cubes into three glasses and then filled them from the bottle.

He grinned. "Now Eric, don't go telling anybody who has anything to do with running this school… he grinned at me wildly. "But the former interim Director of this Academy also runs a boys' camp on a beautiful lake up north and he brews moonshine on that property and often serves it mixed with lemonade."

"It seems while that old guy (who shall not be named) was here, he set up a still in the attic of this very building and he instructed me in the art of creating mash and creating 'shine'. I'm doing it purely for the scientific satisfaction of course."

I smiled and took a sip and then, I smiled once more. "Well done Ricky. The Commodore (who shall not be named) will certainly be proud of you."

With a smile he responded, "I know. I sent him a bottle about eight months ago and he emailed me telling me that for a wetback barrio boy I make damned decent 'shine'. Of course, that statement was followed by a much more civilized and loving message."

"Here is a gallon of the hooch for your own personal consumption, Eric. I know that you keep fine liquor in your home but, every now and again, you might like a taste of 'Academy Lightning'… that's what Mandy has named the stuff as you can see by the label she created."

"Thanks guys. If I continue to like it, I'll want more and, by the way, good or bad, the next time you are up at Joyous Gaurde, you'll get to sample the boys' home brew beer."

"Eric, before you go, we wanted to let you know that we've made a couple of wedding plans.

Ricky is going to ask Commodore Tipton to be his best man and I'm formally asking you if you would walk me down the aisle and give me away."

I was shocked and realized that I was suddenly blinking back tears. "Why me Mandy? There must be other men in your family or in your life."

"None more significant or important than you, Eric. You've changed our lives. Please say you'll do it."

I sniffled a bit before I smiled at her and said, "I would and will be honored to escort you down the aisle."

She came over and hugged my neck. "Thanks Boss Man!"

"No, Thank you Mandy."

***

"That wasn't as scary as I thought it was gonna be, Dad. It was really great seein' all the guys and seein' that they were all so happy. Only thing that made me a little sad was that they got to be 'Lead Seniors' an I didn't."

"Well Sean, that's true but you got to be a 'brother' and they didn't."

We were flying home and all four of us were sitting together. Our flight attendant had served our drinks and I hadn't allowed Sean up into the cockpit for take-off because I wanted the boys to focus on the experience at the NEST.

"Yeah you're right Dad and this is so much better but I wish in a way that I could have tried to help a little kid like Jack helped me."

"Well, remember that you've got Little Walt back home and the three of you will certainly have a part in helping him grow."

Sean smiled and said, "Yeah I forgot about that. Little Walt will be each of our 'Follow Boy' because he'll need our help won't he?"

"Yes he will Sean. Now, what did you guys think of the NEST?"

"I thought it was wonderful and if I didn't live at Joyous Gaurde, it was a much better place than where I grew up as hard as my mother tried. I'd be happy living there, I think I'd have felt safe, protected and cared for. Those were all happy boys… happier than I was when I was young."

"Thanks Brian, that's why I wanted you on this trip."

"Dad, the guys from my tier are still basically the same except that they are now 'Lead Seniors' but they take that duty very seriously. They each introduced me to their little ones and kept a close eye on them the whole day. As I told you a long time ago, life in the NEST is good and it still is. I want to go back and visit again."

"We will go back again Sean and you'll get to visit extensively."

"My friends are basically happy but confused. The 'Contracts' were suddenly shut down and now, they're going out on projects. Turns out that a lot of those are Skuggor projects and they certainly like those. In two years, they'll be aged out of the school and into the University and that's what they're thinking about and worried about right now."

"Thanks Jack. We'll try to fix that concern for them. NEST boys should never be concerned about anything but, if the truth be told, that transition from youth to young adulthood is pretty common for every boy in the world."

He flashed his wicked little grin. "Not for me Dad because I know what I'm doing with my life. I guess I'm pretty lucky in that regard."

Sean giggled and snuggled up against me. "I guess we're all pretty lucky in that regard."

***

Richard had been down in the locker room with Jack up until it was time to tape his hands. He was now sitting next to me and he was as tight as a coiled spring. I suspected that Richard had taken in Jack as a replacement for his lost younger brother. They had a magnificent relationship without even a hint of sexual overtones. They simply liked each other immensely and never tried to hide that affection.

Jack's opponent tonight was a very large Hispanic young man with an astonishing build. He obviously outweighed Jack but Jack was taller than he was and had had the reach advantage. I also suspected that Jack was more agile.

This boy was from one of the local YMCA systems and, like Jack, he'd never lost a fight. Jack was still in the age group where they fought four three-minute rounds and the rules hadn't changed. The judges scored the fight on punches landed despite the effectiveness of the punch.

The round began aggressively because these boys knew that time was their enemy.

After exchanging a series of jabs, it was hard to even know how the judging was going.

Suddenly, Jack swung his right onto the side of the other boy's helmet and the boy staggered but didn't fall. Jack moved in with a series of jabs to the other boy's stomach and he staggered back.

I turned to Richard, "I'm seeing a bit of Skuggor training going on here I think."

"Perhaps, Boss but nothing against the rules. Jack's fighting fairly."

The bell rang and as they moved to their corners Jack took the time to smile at us and grin.

"Jack's great isn't he?"

Brian was bouncing up and down in his seat. ""Yeah, he's the best there is. That's why we're lucky to have him as our big brother. You just wait, he'll get this guy in the next round."

Sean was confident about his Lead Senior/brother.

As they came out for the second round, the other boy was far more aggressive; he landed two vicious punches to the side of Jack's head that obviously affected him. He staggered around the ring but the other boy didn't move in and take advantage.

Since Jack hadn't fallen down, the fight continued and the two boys closed and exchanged a series of punches and then danced off to place slighting blows against each other before returning to their corners as the bell rang.

Despite the blows to the head, Jack seemed to be totally OK and he was grinning and chatting in his corner and Coach Sal was grinning back.

As the bell for the third round sounded, the YMCA boy came on aggressively but Jack burst in with four left/right jabs to his stomach that sent him down to his knees.

As he rose up, he was met with a series of punches to the chin and face.

He staggered back against the ropes.

Jack's attack was so relentless that the referee stepped in and stopped the fight.

"Still undefeated! That's my Rufus… that's my brother!" Sean was jumping up and down as Jack's coach led him down to the locker room.

I realized that Jack was becoming a very aggressive young man and his determination to become a Skuggor was serious and yet, he was still having a good time being a boy. That was all right with me.

Suddenly I was being hugged by the light of my life. "Didn't he do good Dad? Aint Jack the best?"

I pulled him close to me and enjoyed the feel of his young body.

"Yes Sean he did very good and I think he's the best but remember that, out there in the world, there is always someone better. Jack knows that and you and Brian need to know that as well."

As Jack came out from the showers, we headed off to Deegan's. "Boy, he sure hit hard but I realized pretty soon that I was faster and that was all that mattered." Jack was talking around his burger he was so excited.

"Coach Sal says that there's no one else this season who can beat me except one guy that I'm going to fight in three weeks."

Sean was chewing on a French fry and he scowled. "Nope Rufus. Nobody is gonna beat you. Don't even think about it."

***

It was a full moon and my bedroom was filled with crystal clear light that actually made the room feel like magic. They were standing there by the large window. They were naked and smiling.

"Dad, we need for you to make love to us and we already know that you can do that."

I smiled at the two beautiful naked boys. "Well, I'll certainly do my best.

I slipped out of my clothes as the two boys giggled.

I'm actually well enough that I'm going out of town on a research trip for about a week but I'll get the next chapter out as soon as I can. Thanks everyone.

Chapter 5

Worry does not spare tomorrow from its potential unhappiness. It robs today from its current joy.
We need to grasp onto happiness and reject sadness as much as we are capable of doing.
Life is too frail to obsess upon the bad things that possibly could happen.
Life is too precious and too short even when lived joyfully.

Jack and Brian were out at the new archery range practicing.

Sean had returned from flying with Will and was now comfortably toe-to-toe with me as we lay on one of the leather couches in the library reading.

Sean had recently gotten interested in science fiction and I'd suggested that he might enjoy 'Ender's Game' and he was currently immersed in it. We quietly wiggled our toes against each others as we read and he giggled sometimes as he turned a page. It was loving and comfortable and his little toes certainly enhanced my pleasure as I read my book.

Of course, the big event in the family was going to take place after dinner; because tonight was the night, the boys were going to open their first bottles of 'home brew' beer.

I'd laughed a week ago when I'd gone down to the basement room just to check on the progress and noticed that over the door to the room was a very ornate wooden sign that read,

"Tucker Brothers Brewing Company"

I wasn't surprised to learn the sign was the handiwork of Brian. This evening, the boys and I along with Doc Swaim, Gary and Bobby, John and his Dad Tim as well as Richard, Chris, Uncle Phil and Daniel were going to open bottles of the first 'Joyous Gaurde brewed' pale ale.

Barry, Wolfman and Arlen had night-duty and wouldn't be part of the group and Will, had other obligations… I suspected those 'obligations' were female and probably quite attractive.

The kids were jumping with excitement and we adults were certainly interested.

Martha's exquisite veal parmigiana was consumed with gusto and the boys were anxiously pulling us down to the library.

"I'm the oldest so I get to do the honors," Jack said with a smile as he pulled bottles out of the fridge. "Everybody remember that this is our first try at this so if it sucks… well we're going to try it again. 'Tucker Brothers Brewing'… right Sean and Bri?"

The little boys grinned at him and exclaimed their agreement.

We each accepted a bottle and took our first sip in unison.

"My God that's impressive." Doc Swaim said with a smile.

"Boys I'd have served this in my bar back east and charged a pretty penny for it! Of course you'd have needed a proper and legal label on each bottle" Tim exclaimed.

Everybody (especially the boys) smiled.

"I'll get to work on a label right away, John's father!"

I smiled because they just couldn't quite getting around to calling him 'Tim'… I think they were still so in awe that someone so important to their lives as John, had a father and mother and Tim was as dynamic as his son.

"Do you think you could spend some time telling me what it needs to say and some ideas what it should look like?"

Tim smiled at the brown-haired boy. "Brian, I'd be delighted to help you but be warned; I'm no artist so the actual design is all about you."

"Well, we got about forty bottles left from this batch, " Sean lifted his bottle.

"We still gotta bring three bottles to Barrett to talk about it an' then, we've gotta decide what we do next but right now… cheers everybody! I think we did really good."

The grin that spread across his little face was almost enough to stop my heart from beating but I couldn't fight back the feeling that my three boys were thinking that they were on the way to establishing a microbrewery.

***

I was hunkered over my computer monitor when Richard silently entered the room. "Eric, I don't mean to disturb you but I've got some papers you need to sign authorizing some personnel changes."

I accepted the documents and while I was about to affix my signature, he obviously noticed what was on my monitor.

"Why are you looking at paintball guns Eric?"

"Well the other day when I took the boys to the paintball field to play, we rented our equipment I felt we were outgunned by many players on the field who owned their own guns and I want to upgrade our equipment before we play next time."

"Hah!… and you're going on the internet? Eric, how could you not consider the sophistication of Skuggor? We've got the most state of the art 'taggers' on the planet. We use them for training exercises and I promise you that there are none better in this world."

"Taggers?"

"That's the proper term for a paintball gun Eric. Come with me upstairs. I'll show you I've got one in my office."

Once again, I was shocked at how little I knew about my family business and I was glad that Sean had time to assimilate it in a manner gentler and more completely than I. I truly wondered how much of it my father actually knew.

Richard opened a case and offered me one of the sleekest things I'd ever seen in my life.

It was grey but not shiny… it was dull and subdued. It was"Skuggor Grey" I realized. He lifted it so easily that it was obvious it was extremely light.

"These have adjustable velocity although if you're playing on public paint ball fields, you can't let your fire exceed 300 FPS… that's 'feet per second' or 90 meters per second. In Skuggor training, we play a little rougher, as Jack will find out in a couple of years. The ones I get for you will be locked at 300 FPS."

"Now, we've made a significant advance upon the 'accepted' laws of nature. Even the best commercially available taggers have a maximum accuracy range of 120 feet. Ours are perfectly accurate to about 200 feet, and with a lucky shot, will reach 300 feet and still burst a paint ball."

"It will operate with an air tank worn like a backpack or a smaller tank that can be attached to the tagger and used like a rifle stock (which is probably how you played last time). It uses a top mounted hundred shot ammo 'cartridge' which is called a 'hopper' that is quick disconnect and just as easily replaced by another that can be carried (fastened by Velcro) on a bandolier so the quick potential fire-power is astonishing."

"The trigger is electronically controlled by a 'mouse click' button that allows the tagger to go from single shot, to four shot bursts to semi-automatic. In that final setting, you can empty a hundred shot hopper in less than a minute so we use that setting sparingly."

"They have a relatively light and non-obtrusive 'red dot' sighting device that gives the shooter a great advantage especially with our tagger's superior range and in the four burst per shot mode."

"I won't bore you with any more details Eric, but you already own the most superior paint ball taggers in the world."

"We also have a wonderful face helmet that allows full visibility while providing much greater protection than the standard mask and goggles. Because of our venting design, they don't fog up."

I held the weapon in my hand and gazed in wonder as Richard pointed out its superior features.

"OK Richard, you've convinced me. I need one for me, each of the boys and Chris but, I also need another five in case I bring guests to play. I'll need a large quantity of hoppers and ten of those cartridge bandoliers. I also assume that I've got my own source for paintballs themselves and I can have cases of them as I desire. I further assume that you've got all of your own equipment because I want you out there playing with us the next time we go."

He grinned. "I was hoping that I'd be asked, and, yes, I've already got all my own stuff. I'm going to supply each of the taggers with the smaller air tanks but I'll also get you five backpack sized just in case."

We'd moved back to my study. "Now, I came in here for you to sign these two documents. Would you finish doing that please?"

I smiled and motioned him into one of the seats by my desk and got up and made us two single malts. He accepted it and took a sip as did I and I smiled at him.

"You know Richard, I never did any research on you. Walter chose you and recommended you for the job and I always trusted his judgment. After he was killed, I did do some research on you… in fact, pretty extensive research. Here's a summary of some of what I've found."

I thrust a manila folder across the desk at him.

He opened it and his face grew pale as he scanned the documents inside.

"E-Eric… Walter knew all of this stuff and he actually told me that was why he chose me. I never lied to you… I always assumed you knew. Do you want me to leave?"

I smiled and took his glass from him and refilled his drink

"Oh hell no Richard, I was curious about you and I'm very impressed. You're a Skugga and you know that we don't always play by the law and you're so smart and so skillful and such a magnificent administrator that there's no wonder Walter chose you to be his successor."

"All this stuff;" (I tapped the folder) "is what amounts to a resume as far as I'm concerned."

"I never imagined that you'd be thrust into command nearly as soon as you were and I know that neither did you."

"You've risen to the responsibility with amazing competence and good judgment and I'm grateful to you and grateful to Walter for having found you and trained you. I hope over time that you'll do the same for Jack."

"I'm impressed with your credentials Richard, but you got this position because Walter trusted you so much. I don't usually check resumes even though yours… had it crossed my desk … would have been very impressive."

His eyes were moist with almost shed tears and he smiled in a very melancholy way as he stared into his glass.

"I still miss him a lot Eric. My own father died when I was ten. I was a pretty wild young man as that folder of yours will indicate. I don't know what would have become of me if I hadn't needed to watch out for my kid brother."

"After he died, I pretty much lost it. By the grace of what-ever gods that may be, Walter found me. He was like a father… well more like a favorite uncle to me."

"I swear that if I'd have been up on the hill with you guys that night instead of at the north end by the fence breach, I think he'd still be alive today."

"Bullshit Richard. You sound like me after my family died in the accident… only you're handling it more maturely. What happened, happened and who knows how much worse that night might have gone if you hadn't conducted the defense of the north fence and wiped those guys out."

He swallowed his drink in one pull.

"Thanks Boss." There was a small sob in his voice. "Since none of you are left handed, I'll have all the paintball equipment including the extras here tomorrow."

"What does left handed have to do with it Richard?"

"The angle of the ammo-cartridge in relation to line of sight Eric."

I sighted the tagger and realized he was right.

"I'd never have thought of that Richard. So, add to my order two taggers designed for left-handed shooters with all the other equipment just in case I invite someone in their 'right mind' to play with us."

He smiled. "I'd like to have your name as well as the boys' and Chris' engraved on the plate just above the trigger so that your taggers will be special. Is that OK?"

"Absolutely Richard, I think the boys would love that."

"OK then, I'll get that going. Thanks Eric."

"No… thank you Richard."

He smiled and left the room.

***

We walked through the doors of 'Hops Heroes' with Jack carrying the small Styrofoam cooler containing the three bottles of their beer. The boys were excited about bringing their beer to Barrett Fuller for evaluation and consultation.

After tasting the first glass of their beer he smiled and said, "You boys did really well. What do you think you'd like to do beyond this?"

"What do you suggest, Barrett?" Jack asked.

"Well, frankly Jack, before you get too adventurous, I'd suggest that you brew at least two more batches of this pale ale to assure you've maintained consistency and then we'll talk about that IPA you were originally interested in or perhaps a dark ale and then, if you're interested, we can try a wheat beer or a fruited ale."

"No lager Barret?" I asked.

"Lager is more difficult Eric because it has to be cold fermented. Though you certainly could afford the equipment, in my personal opinion, lagers are uninteresting and there are so many quality ones available commercially, why spend the money or the effort?"

"If the boys are interested in brewing their own quality beer, for now at least, I strongly suggest that they concentrate on the ale. As they progress and remain interested, I'll make it exciting for them."

"All right then. Boys do you all go along with what Barrett has suggested?"

The three of them nodded their heads enthusiastically.

"Well then, Barrett, hook us up with what we need for batch two."

He smiled. "Well, you don't need a second carboy and attachments until you progress to brewing more than one batch of beer at the same time. Just make certain that you've sterilized all of the equipment… if in doubt, sterilize a second time."

"I'm going to set you up with the same ingredients this time, though, I may change the hops next time to see if you notice the difference."

"We'll need another fifty bottles and more caps, Barret. This second batch may be done before we've drunk all of batch one and besides, bottles break and get lost."

"Good point and boys, remember that before you reuse your bottles, you don't just wash them, you sterilize them."

As we carried everything out to the van, Barrett said to the boys, "Same rule guys, bring me three bottles of this next batch and perhaps we'll tweak the recipe a bit for the third one. See you all in a few weeks."

"See you Barrett!" the boys called out enthusiastically as they jumped into the van.

"Let's get home and make some beer boys!" Sean hooted as we pulled out of the parking lot.

"Sean Michael Tucker! Have you suddenly become some Hill-Billy moonshiner?"

He gave me a silly look and smiled a 'Sean smile', "Nope Dad, we're the 'Tucker Brothers' we can do anything but right now, we're 'brew meisters' and there's 'Pale Tucker Ale' needin' to be brewed!"

"That's perfect Sean!" Brian exclaimed.

"I've been trying to figure out a name for the label I'm designing and 'Pale Tucker Ale' is wonderful. Daniel says that when it's finished, he'll show me an easy way to print them and then we'll put them on the bottles. You guys get to approve it of course."

"You're the artist Bri, whatever you draw up is going to be fine with us, "Sean replied.

***

I decided to let the boys do the entire process by themselves this time and they were down there for about four hours.

When they joined me in the library, they were giggling and laughing.

"Dad, these two are useless moving and agitating the carboy! It almost fell over and Brian was laughing while I had to man-handle it up onto the table. I almost got a hernia."

He giggled and added, "Of course, the whole five gallons almost fell onto his nuts and crushed them. That would have been a waste of well-made wort."

The three of them burst out into fits of laughter and I took great pleasure in watching their shared love for each other.

***

The apple of my eye quietly slipped into my bedroom and silently shed his clothes as he approached my bed.

"Just cuddlin' Dad, I promise." He slid into my bed and drew himself against me.

"Sean, cuddling you is one of life's greatest pleasures but perhaps I can remind you of our first night together?" I began to slowly kiss my way down his young body very much as I had that very first night we'd been in this bed.

Eventually, I took his iron hard little dick into my mouth. I thought to myself that it wasn't as little as it had been that first time; my boy was growing up.

It didn't take long for him to cum. I thought that at some time, I'd need to begin teaching him to hold back on his orgasms to enhance his enjoyment, but for right now, he was young and should just experience his pleasure.

"Dad… !"

I hugged him to me and gave him a huge kiss. He wrapped an arm and a leg over me and pulled his head close onto my shoulder and almost at once, he fell asleep.

I lay back and wondered what I'd done to deserve this little angel to save my life. I enjoyed the feel of my flesh against his as he slept soundly and I thought about how much I loved him.

***

It was 'Shower Music' time and it was my turn. I searched the extensive library and selected a song that I thought Sean just possibly might never have heard. Once again, I was wrong.

His face was lit with a 'Sean smile'.

He danced typically into the shower and hugged me as we walked under the rain shower and just before the other jets came into effect.

"Perfect choice for after yesterday afternoon's project Dad! This is Tom T. Hall and the song is 'I like beer'."

He posed under the shower and began singing along with the bouncy old Country song;

In some of my songs I have casually mentioned
The fact that I like to drink beer
This little song is more to the point
Roll out the barrel and lend me your ears

I like beer it makes me a jolly good fellow
I like beer it helps me unwind
And sometimes it makes me feel mellow
(Makes him feel mellow)

Whiskey's too rough, champagne costs too much
Vodka puts my mouth in gear
This little refrain should help me explain
As a matter of fact I like beer…

I was laughing as I watched and listened to his perfect performance.

"Sean, how do you know some of these songs?"

"Dad, in this case the NEST is in Houston and I listened to the radio. I pretty much remember every song I ever hear. I don't know how, I just do."

"Well, that's a wonderful talent, little man and it's certainly a pleasure when you play your guitar."

I was running my hands down his water slick butt cheeks as I held him close against me. He was almost purring as I held him close.

"Dad, I love my life so much that I can't even try to explain it. I can't imagine what I'd be like if you hadn't brought me home and made me your son. I'd just be somethin'…" he was crying and I pulled him close to me and stroked his back as he buried his face against my chest.

I allowed him to sob for a few minutes before I murmured into his ear, "Sean, you ARE my son and thanks to you, we have a wonderful family and you have two brothers and it's all because we began this family… you and I… what could be better than that?"

He sniffled against my chest. "Nothin Dad, I never thought I'd have nothing like this. I always thought I'd grow up in the NEST and move on like most of the other boys. I never thought that you'd come into my life. I'm so happy an' I feel so loved. I love you so much an' I feel so grateful that I don't know how to tell you."

I pulled his still-wet little body against me and held him tight. I nuzzled my cheek against his still damp hair. "Sean, if you hadn't come into my life, I'd probably be dead by now. You and your love saved me and there's no doubt about that. You are my pride and joy. My love for you has no limits."

I led him out of the shower and wrapped him in a large bath sheet and slowly dried him off. Typical of Sean, he wiggled as I worked the towel around his young body. "OK wiggle worm, go get dressed it's time for breakfast."

We were all sitting around the table as Martha laid out plates of pancakes scrambled eggs as well as bowls of fruit and plates of toast.

"So I'm thinking that no school today. We should drive up to the hills and hike. We can get up to the lake and swim even though the water will be very cold. What do you think?"

"Sounds great, Dad!" Sean exclaimed and the other two boys agreed.

I informed Richard about our plans and he agreed upon it.

We pulled out of the drive and headed for the hills with two grey Skuggor HUVS right behind us. We'd be ok except, we didn't notice the blue roadster that was hanging on just behind us.

Thanks for the input. I've suffered a personal tragedy so I haven't answered very many emails. That will get better.

Chapter 6

You can't prepare for everything life's going to throw at you. Moreover, you can't avoid danger.
It's there.
If the woods were not so filled with danger, they would be considerably less seductive and beautiful.
Like 'Little Red Riding Hood', in order to get to 'Grandmother's house' and back, we must go into the woods again and again striving to avoid the'wolf 'every single time. The 'wolf' on the other hand, needs to only get lucky and catch us once.
The world is a dangerous place, but if you sit around wringing your hands in fear of the danger… if you never actually step into the woods, you'll miss out on all the pleasure and adventure.

The small blue roadster passed us just before a sharp turn with its engine howling like a wild creature as the driver punched down on the accelerator straining every bit of energy from the small power plant.

I smiled to myself.

That little blue Japanese convertible certainly looked like a hot car but my 'Red Cat' Jag WAS a hot car and even the Lexus that I was currentlydriving could have blown that little blue Miata off the road.

The driver was obviously a 'hot shot' who thought he was cool.

"Well, that guy certainly wanted to pass us in a big way."

A younger 'me' might very well have taken on the challenge of teaching the driver that just because he was driving a convertible, he was not driving a powerful car.

I'd grown up over the past three years though and I was carrying precious cargo so, that person's games didn't interest me. Besides, I'd never hear the end of it from Richard.

"OK, so we're going to park down here at the foot of the trail and we're going to hike up. Only wimps drive the road to the top and park there. Right guys?"

That comment was met with a chorus of young boy laughs as they piled out of the car. We each had a small rucksack containing bottles of water, towels, snacks and bathing trunks because we didn't know what we'd find at the lake at the top of the trail. It wouldn't do to just assume we could swim naked in the lake.

"OK, everybody at his own pace and we'll all meet at the top and freeze our nards off as we swim in the lake."

The boys all laughed and started up the trail. It was not nearly as steep as the 'Goat Trail' at Black's Beach but it was certainly steep enough to be a workout.

Brian had discovered my photo studio in the mansion a few weeks ago and had become fascinated. His artistic nature was drawn to the camera and so, just recently, I'd gifted him a camera just like my own and he'd brought it along for this hike. He almost tumbled up the trail with youthful energy and enthusiastic exuberance as he began snapping photos.

"I'm the old man so, I'll meet you all at the top." I said and the three of them grinned back at me.

I began my slow ascent enjoying the gentle burn in my legs and looking at the tough little plant life that surrounded the trail. There were many tall trees up here, it was more though, like a high desert climate not at all like the lush wet forest around Lake Ossa Largo where my cabin sat, but at the top of this mountain, there was a little lake that was as pretty as anything you've ever seen.

I smiled as I heard the hoots and hollers of glee from my boys and I was tickled as every now and then, Brian would pop out from the brush and snap a couple of pictures of me from 'ambush mode' and then race up the trail .

There was something so warm and wonderful about my life and I often wished these three boys had come to me earlier but I also realized that logically that couldn't have happened. We'd all come together at an almost precisely pre-planned point in time.

Walter used to say to me when I was younger, "You can wish into one hand and shit into the other… guess which one will fill up first?"

Things were as they were, and we made up a unique but certainly loving family.

The colors around me were subtle and comfortable. Nothing was a brilliant almost sparkling green like the vegetation by the lake, rather, the colors were far more subdued. The greens were almost interspersed with grey and the reds were more orange than actual reds and the yellows were a creamy sleepy hue.

I thought about it as I climbed and decided that this was all the color of the very nature of an old and comfortable earth while the colors at lake Ossa Largo were newer… or perhaps they pre-dated age altogether; they were maybe the colors of the original garden when the mountains were still newand life was striving to find its pecking order.

This small mountain (though it was hardly a mountain anymore) felt like an old thing that was still vibrant with life; retaining a strong memory of its youth. Once in the long ago, this little mountain had thrust itself high into the sky. Time, climate, wind and water had worn it down and yet life clung to it and prospered. The colors had faded and mellowed but they were still the colors of life and they were comforting.

The earth was so diverse. It was hard to despair when you brought yourself out into environments such as this and felt so close and so full of hope.

As I crested the top of the trail I saw that Sean and Jack were standing on the little sandy beach undressing. There were no other people around and no cars in the trail top parking lot so, it was obvious that their swim suits were not going to be used this afternoon.

Brian wasn't there and I assumed that he was off playing with his new camera. He'd join us when he was ready or else, he'd miss the swimming.

"I take it that you two have decided that we're skinny dipping?" They grinned at me and nodded their heads.

"We're here in nature Dad, so we should swim au naturel," Sean grinned as he said it.

I grinned back and said, "Nice Sean, where did you learn that phrase? You might have had a great career as a con man because… when you don't rush… your vocabulary is certainly magnificent."

I received a genuine 'Sean Smile' for that comment.

"Let's race to that little island out there!" Jack exclaimed.

With gusts of young laughter, the two of them dashed into the lake and were soon stroking frantically forward.

I laughed as I heard both of them exclaim various versions of 'Brrrrr'!

Jack was an exquisite swimmer, but Sean had some sort of magic about him.

They were more or less head-to-head for most of the swim but, at the end, Sean found something that Jack just didn't have and he was laughing with glee as he scrambled up onto the small island before Jack had even reached the shore. They wrapped their arms around each other and collapsed to the ground in loving pleasure.

Jack did many things better than Sean, but almost nobody out-swam the young man. As he'd told me when he'd first come into my life, he was 'Aquaman'.

I stripped down and swam out to join them.

Not being a young boy, I found the lake to be quite cold but as I worked my limbs through the water, it became more comfortable and about halfway to the island, it was actually quite pleasant. I climbed up the slope of the little island and sat down on the rocks next to the two boys.

"It's nice here Dad. Not as nice as Long Bear Lake and the cabin, but we should come up here more often," Sean said.

"I know Son, sometimes we forget about great things nearby in favor of things further away. We'll make a habit out of hiking here more often."

"Hey, remember that I haven't been to the cabin yet. Do I have to wait until Sean is sixteen and can fly alone so that there's room for me in the plane?"

"No Jack, actually the swim team season ends in three weeks and for the past two years, I take the 'Seven Samurai' up to the cabin as a reward and you of course, will come along then. We'll drive up."

He smiled and said, "About time." And then he giggled. My red haired wonder stretched his long young body backward over a flat stone warmed by the sun and sighed contentedly.

Sean scooted up alongside me and we lay down together and the three of us fell into a late afternoon nap.

I didn't sleep very well and was very soon sitting up wide-awake.

I realized why at once: Brian wasn't with us… where was Brian?

Had he hurt himself? Was he lost? My mind was racing. I realized that I was naked on a tiny island in a little lake at the top of a small mountain. I jumped into the water and swam frantically to shore.

I retrieved my cell phone and punched in Richard's code as I dressed. "Richard! Brian he's…"

"We're already on it Eric. The four Skuggor in your following cars have these two guys surrounded. Brian is just too vulnerable right now for them to make themselves known or to make a move. Rest assured though that they will not leave that mountaintop but more importantly, Brian will be safe."

"What the fuck is going on Richard?"

"It's a classic snatch Eric. They see your son as a quick and easy paycheck. These Bozos obviously never did their homework about you and your family. They only know that you're rich."

"My Skuggor tell me that Brian kept wandering further and further away from the rest of you and so your cover party had to thin out. Brian wasn't even aware of what was going on. He just joyfully walked through the woods snapping off pictures."

"The Skugga in charge of tailing Brian came upon the scene just as these two guys snatched him. The interaction was so close that the agent didn't dare do more than inform us and observe. At least one of the people was brandishing a large pistol."

"They've got him stuffed into the trunk of a Miata… that must be uncomfortable and from all that's obvious, they're getting ready to walk to the lake to talk to you; face masks on… a sort of a live delivered ransom note. They have no idea that anybody… even you, knows what's going on yet. They feel safe with him locked in the trunk."

"Once they move to you, we'll have Brian free and then take them. I'll buzz your phone once he's safe."

"Do we have more than my original four Skuggor up here Richard?"

"Oh yes, you can be assured of that Eric."

"Good then, once Brian is free, I want to talk to these two scumbags before we bag them so wait for my signal on my phone OK?"

"You got it Boss; just be careful please."

I called out to the boys and told them to stay out on the island.

"What's up Dad?" Jack called back.

"Never mind Jackamo, you two just stay out there until I tell you to come in got it?"

"Got it Dad."

About fifteen minutes later, two male figures wearing black ski masks strode into the parking lot. One of them held a cheap pistol obviously obtained for its size rather than its quality and accuracy.

"So you're Mr. Turner right?"

His ignorance astonished me.

"Do you mean Mr. 'Tucker'?"

"Whatever, you're the rich guy that lives behind that huge fence right?"

"I acknowledge that. Is there something wrong about where I live?"

"Nah, nah in fact it's kindda alright because we got somethin' we think you want."

"What might that be?"

"We got a kid and we're pretty sure it's your kid and we want two million bucks if you want him back."

Almost as soon as he was saying this, I felt the buzz in my phone that indicated that Brian had been rescued from the trunk of the blue roadster.

I smiled. "Gentlemen, I hope you don't have some innocent little kid in your custody but all of my boys are accounted for. In fact, I'm about to swim out to join them."

Despite their masks, I could see they were astonished and frustrated I smile pleasantly at them and I took off my clothes down to my boxer briefs. As I reached into my pack for my trunks, I secretly pushed the button on my phone that alerted Richard to have the Skuggor move in.

Having stripped completely and then donned my trunks, I waded out into the lake.

"Guys, unless we have some other business, I'm swimming out to have some fun with my sons. If you have some other young boy, you should let him go because I suspect you won't get a lot of ransom. This is a very middle class area."

The man with the gun waved it in my direction. "Not so fast Mr. Turner!"

"Tucker!"

"Not so fast Mr. Tucker! If we don't have one of your sons back at the car, we want one of them now. You have one of them swim out here right now or… or I'll shoot you!"

I smiled and said, "How good a shot are you with that piece of shit gun? Look behind you and you'll notice that you're surrounded by at least a dozen armed men with state of the art weapons. You'll get one shot which I have no doubt in the world will miss, and then you'll be dead."

They both turned around and saw that they were ringed by a large force of grey clad Skuggor with weapons drawn and focused upon them.

"Fuck Howie! I told you this could never work!"

The shorter of the duo pulled off his ski mask revealing an attractive young face with a currently messy mop of dirty blond hair. His facial expression was one of total despair. He threw his arms up into the air.

"Please! Please don't shoot me! I only drove the car. I never meant to hurt anybody. Drop the fuckin' gun Howie for chrisakes they've got us."

"Shut up Paulie and let me think!"

"Kneel or die," The lead Skuggor said to the other man whose name was apparently 'Howie'.

Though he was obviously confused, the young man wasn't stupid. He dropped his pistol and crumbled to his knees. A Skugga came forward, picked up the gun on the ground and pulled off the man's ski mask revealing a remarkably handsome young face stricken with terror and surprise.

I was almost appalled. These were just boys. They couldn't be very much older than Jack. What would have driven such young men to commit a kidnapping?

"You probably don't know because you obviously didn't do any research, but the penalty for threatening or attacking my family is death. That can be swift and easy or it can be slow and painful. How you answer my questions and co-operate over the next few days will sway that decision."

"D-death? B-but we didn't do nothin' that bad. We were just gonna get you to give us some of your money… you've got lots of it."

I was enraged and I walked up to 'Howie' and punched him in the stomach. I just wanted to hurt him. He crumpled to his knees gasping for air.

"Nothing that bad? You accosted my son who had done nothing to you and seized him at gun-point! You stuffed him into the trunk of a small car and then demanded a large sum of money from me for his safe return! Would you have actually returned him safely?"

"Of course we would've Mister Tanner."

"It's Tucker you jackass."

I turned to the leader of my Skuggor, "Richard will tell you where to take them. Do you have Brian?"

He nodded and signaled toward the trees. At once, I could see Brian running to me from out of the shadows. I opened my arms wide and he ran into my embrace. I hugged him tightly against me and we stayed that way for a long time. Eventually, I whispered to him, "Are you alright son?"

"Yes Dad but… but I peed my pants," he spoke very softly. "They didn't hurt me but they sure scared me. I knew that there are Skuggor with us wherever we go so I was pretty sure that I'd be safe unless those guys did something crazy. Where are my brothers?"

I remembered I'd told Jack and Sean to stay out on the little island. "You go wade into the lake up to your waist to cover up your little accident Bri and I'll call them to shore."

"Boys, come on in now!"

They were soon swimming to shore no doubt confused.

"What's going on Dad?" Sean asked as he walked onto the beach not in the least bit embarrassed to be naked in front of a dozen Skuggor.

Jack followed him up from the water. Both boys were looking anxious.

"A couple of guys tried to kidnap Brian but he's OK and as you can see… safe. We've got them and we'll deal with them in a few days. It would seem that our hiking/swimming day has been ruined so let's go back down the trail and drive home."

The lead Skuggor stepped forward and cleared his throat, "Launcelot… sir, I have been ordered by Galahad that you are to be driven to your car and then closely escorted back to Joyous Gaurde. I'm not allowed to let you hike down the trail."

I sighed and thought to myself that Richard (the mother hen) was going to do everything to keep us safe and would certainly make fun and adventure less practical. That was his job though and I certainly couldn't fault him for doing it so well.

***

"What's going to happen to those guys that took me Dad?"

Brian asked as we were driving back to the estate.

"I'm not certain yet Brian. Once it would have been cut and dry but Jack has got me to thinking about things so I'll ask some questions and make a decision.

Therefore, the answer right now is that I don't know.

I can promise you that at this moment, they're both very uncomfortable and very afraid."

We drove through the gate and Richard was standing there. I let the window down and he smiled.

"So, you're all safe but that was too close to be acceptable. May we meet in your study in about an hour?"

"Absolutely. I just need time to change and get the boys calmed down."

***

We were sitting in the comfortable 'conversation corner' of my study and we each had a drink.

"Eric, this is the kind of thing that we can't plan for. All of our Intelligence can't anticipate crazy independent shit like what just happened. Brian didn't do anything wrong by wandering off and taking pictures but he did spread our security team thin because they also needed to guard you, Sean and Jack, so, I'm going to make this proposal: I want to double the security on each of you as you leave the property, but I'd also like for each of you to consent to GPS implants."

"What are they Richard?"

"They're kind of like chips that they put in pets but much more sophisticated. They'll allow us to track you all anywhere on earth. For instance, it certainly would have helped during Jack's shipwreck and if those two guys had somehow sneaked away with Brian."

"But that seems a bit invasive Richard."

"Perhaps Eric, but it is evident that attacks against you and the boys are going to become more frequent and we need to use the latest technology to protect you. All these implants will do is allow us to find you. In dangerous situations that could be the difference between life and death."

"They will not allow us to listen in on your conversations or anything like that. They will simply allow us to get an immediate and accurate global fix on you."

"Think back to when Gary swallowed the 'shadow fly' back in Montana. It allowed us to find him in Idaho but, unlike that, we won't be able to listen or intrude in your lives."

"I'd actually like to have every key member of the staff implanted with a chip so that we can protect everyone. To begin that, Eric, Barry, Wolfman, Phil, Chris and I are being implanted tomorrow morning."

"Well I'll think about it Richard but whatever I decide, it will be an individual decision for the boys of course. Something like this certainly can't be mandated."

"I agree, Eric but I'd rather propose it now than later when it could have prevented a tragedy."

We shared a second drink and he was up and gone.

I walked out to find the boys.

***

To my surprise, they were in the game room but not playing pool. They were seated around the card table in the corner playing cards.

"Hi guys, what are you playing?"

"Five card draw, Dad. Five dollar buy in. Sit down and try your luck." Sean said all that with a straight face before he broke out in a big grin.

"I smiled to myself. How quickly little boys turn into confident young men.

"Come on Dad, you can afford to lose five dollars."

I nodded and took a seat at the table and passed over a five-dollar bill and in exchange received a stack of chips. There was a hand currently going on and I sat back and watched. I noticed that Sean had the largest pile of chips and Jack had the smallest.

Jack looked a bit nervous as he called. He spread his hand as he revealed triple threes. Brian sighed in disgust as he showed his pair of tens. Sean smiled as he folded out his full house with queens high.

"OK boys, deal me in." I said as I leaned back in my chair. Brian had the deal and was about to hand out the cards when I stopped him.

"The guy to the right always gets to cut the cards before the deal guys. I taught you that but you seem to have forgotten."

"Sorry Dad"

"No big problem Bri it just keeps the game open and honest" I cut the deck paper-thin and Brian dealt out the cards.

Jack looked at his hand and his face was an instant 'tell'… he didn't have shit. Sean on the other hand, looked pleased with what he had in his hand. I unfolded my five cards and discovered that while they were otherwise divergent, four of them were clubs.

There was no read from Brian. He had a perfect poker face.

Jack drew three new cards and Sean drew two meaning that he already had three of a kind I suspected. I drew one and kept my face straight as I greeted the two of clubs.

Brian stayed pat and as we went around I wondered what Brian was holding.

It was time for the throw down. Jack just laid his cards down. Sean had three sixes (he hadn't got lucky on the draw) I turned over my flush. Brian revealed four tens.

I hooted in surprise.

Brian just shrugged. "With four of a kind I'd have expected to win every time."

"Yes son, I suspect I'd have too. Good hand young man but, to tell you the truth, with a flush, I'd have expected to win almost every time as well. You played that great."

He grinned. "Thanks Dad."

The game ended and the boys told me that they'd like to spend the night together in Brian's room and was that all right?

"Of course guys, you're going to spend your entire lives together. You should be comfortable with each other and enjoy everything that you do. My hope is that the bond of love between you will last for your entire lives."

"You're brothers not because you were born from the same parents, but because some force in this world has drawn you together and brought you to me allowing me to be your Dad"

I was down in my study and I picked up the phone. "Chris, do you feel up to some mischief tonight?"

"Actually, no Eric. I'm sick as a dog and Mom and Aunt Rita are filling me up with soup and stuff but I can't hardly get out of bed."

"That's not cool. Do what you need to stay well."

I was consoled to a cold bed and so I brushed my teeth and undressed. I climbed onto the bed and pulled the covers over myself.

I looked out of the large window and smiled at the brightly lit sky thinking that life was certainly wonderful even though I needed to pass a private verdict upon the two young men who had threatened my family.

It was late at night when I felt him slip into my bed and scoot up against me. His voice was very soft and I suspect he didn't even know that I'd heard him. "You can't sleep alone Dad. You need someone to cuddle with you."

I pulled him close to me and kissed him as he pulled himself into his long familiar posture of a leg and an arm over my torso as he rested his head against my shoulder.

It was my favorite way to sleep.

I loved Jack and Brian. I loved them with deep passion, but Sean was my favorite thing in my whole life. I couldn't imagine living without him. Sean was the keeper of my heart and my soul.

For some reason, as I faded off to sleep I thought about my conversation with Richard and his reminder about the ranch in Montana.

***

The day had been rather normal; swimming team practice, school with the professor and now, after dinner, we were sitting in the library talking about what was going to happen tomorrow.

"From this point on, Sean and Jack, you will be a part of these things. Brian, it really concerns you as well especially in this situation since it was you they accosted. We'll fly off tomorrow after breakfast and we'll talk to them and then decide their fate. I will listen to your input but the final decision will be mine. Is that understood?"

"Yes Dad." The answer was delivered almost in unison.

"You know that my decision may very well be brutal and unpleasant?"

"Yes Dad."

"OK, then finish your drinks and meet me in my bedroom. I want to cuddle with all three of you tonight because we might deal out death tomorrow."

Quickly, they left the library and a few moments later, I followed them down to the elevator.

I'd been on the phone with Pete Riddle for about two hours earlier today. Mr. Chang's vast Montana ranch had been deeded over to me after the conflict and I'd hired Pete Riddle to manage it and turn it into a proper working ranch.

We raised primarily cattle, but also horses, sheep some American Bison, chickens and of course, pigs.

I'd explained to Pete the situation with the two boys and told him that unless I detected real evil in either of them, I'd be flying them out to the ranch and he was to put them to work.

I knew from his reputation that he was a hard working but fair boss. I felt that if anyone could get these kids straight, Pete was the man.

There was a laugh in his voice as he said, "Eric, I've sure been known to tan some boy's butts HOWEVER… no kid yet has ever worked with me and not turned out a man. The ranch will cure all of the 'smartass' in them and this ranch is so big that they can't run away. They'll work hard and they'll learn stuff they never knew they could do and they'll turn out to be fine young men… I'll work it into them."

I told Pete that we'd see him in two days.

I asked him to have someone buy appropriate clothes for the two guys including stuff for the Montana winter. I told him to just buy everything in size large and that they'd grow into them.

"No Sir! They'll need good boots Eric and you can't get those out in your sissy-assed part of the world. After you dump them off on me, I'll personally take them into town and get them boots, belts and hats and everything else they'll need right down to skivvies and Long-Johns so, we'll get all their stuff at the same time including warm coats and gloves."

"I won't baby nurse them Eric but I'll sure as hell take care of them and I WILL teach them to be men."

I'd known Pete for most of my life. He had been the assistant ranch manager of my family cattle ranch in Colorado. That ranch was nowhere near the scale of the Montana ranch we'd acquired after the Chang submission. I'd asked Pete to take over management of the place right away and he'd done so with gusto and great success.

***

The helicopter flew us out to the 'Steel Cunt" and the boys and Richard and I walked into the interviewing room.

"Boys, begin this process by remembering that these two young men kidnapped Brian at gun point, locked him into the trunk of a small car and left him there and then demanded an extremely large amount of money for his release."

"Under old and regular family rules, that would earn them both a bullet to the back of the head… what we call 'sending them to the cornfield'."

"After Jack's recent encounter and my summary judgment upon that young man, I'm inclined to consider alternative solutions so I'd like for the three of you to talk to these boys and then, we'll talk afterward. Remember that family justice is harsh and it's outside of the law. It can't be 'whishy-washy' and it has to be resolute."

"Sean and Jack, you already know that. Brian, this won't actually be your part of the family business on most occasions."

Both the young men were brought in shackled, naked and obviously terrified.

"A-are you going to kill us now?" the blonde young man who'd been addressed as 'Paulie' asked.

"No, Paul. We're not going to kill you now although that may eventually happen. Right now, we want to talk to you and Howard."

The interview extended almost three hours and, as I expected, we heard the heartbreaking tale of two boys raised in poverty by non-caring parents left to roam the streets and survive as they could. 'Howie', the dark-haired boy was the oldest and he was just newly 18. 'Paulie' was 17.

I was right in my initial guess that they were not much older than Jack

"We was never gonna hurt Brian. We just locked him in the trunk of the car so that we knew he was secure… couldn't run away… you know?" Howie tried to explain their motives.

"We just needed money to survive an' live on and lookin' at your fenced-in estate we knew you had a lot of money and we thought that a quick grab would be easy and well… you know. We were wrong."

"When you kill us, can you please make it quick and easy? We didn't hurt Brian when we snatched him and we weren't mean to him aside from stuffing him in the trunk of that car to keep him in one place. Dying quick is OK I guess but dying slow and painful … that's a terrible thing. Mister Turner, we didn't do anything to deserve that."

"It's 'Mister Tucker' Howard." I nodded to the Skugga in the room and the two young men were taken back to their cell.

I then sat silent as my three boys discussed the interview and came to conclusions. They talked for a very long time before Sean (typically) came to the forefront.

"Dad, we don't think these guys should die for what they did. We three are so lucky to have been raised and be living like we are. Those guys… they never had a chance. We think that they're lucky to actually still be alive the way they were raised."

"Jack an me, we had the NEST to keep us safe an' teach us and Bri had his Mom who worked so hard for him all those years. These guys didn't have anything."

What they did to Brian was stupid but they never really hurt him and we don't think that they'd ever have used that gun."

"Please don't have them killed Dad. There's got to be a better answer to this. In another world, these two guys could be us."

I smiled at them. "I agree boys. Not long ago the decision would have been death for coming against the family but Jack changed my mind last time. However, it was too late for that young man. Let's see how you go along with my decision this time."

I signaled the two Skuggor to bring the boys back in.

They were both terrified and blond haired Paul was weeping beyond control. I felt certain that they were both convinced that their lives were about to end.

"Sit boys and try to calm down. You are not going to die. The fact is you may just be beginning to live. I'm sentencing you to two years of life re-construction."

"In about an hour, we're all going to fly to my home. You'll share dinner with us and sleep in a comfortable room with two nice warm beds. In the morning, you'll shower, we'll have a big breakfast and then we'll all get into my private jet and fly out to a ranch I own in Montana."

"You'll begin your two-year sentence. It's not as if I'm taking you to prison, it's just like something you're going to do to learn about yourselves and what it means to be a man."

"At this point in your lives, I may be taking you to the most important and exciting place you could possibly go. I think that you'll find out something about yourselves out there and, perhaps, may not ever want to leave the place. That alternative will be available to you by the way."

"Fact is, if this two years creates in you what I suspect it will, you'll have many wonderful alternatives available to you when you're finished."

"In any event, you are both young enough to change and I want to help you to change. I want you both to know that you are being cared for and being given a huge second chance at life. If the truth be told guys, this may be your first legitimate chance."

The two young men were crying profusely and I encouraged my boys to move over and help calm them down. I had clothes brought in to the room and the two quickly dressed looking at me with gratitude.

I understood that.

While I enjoyed recreational nudity, forced nakedness especially among clothed dominators was humiliating, demeaning and tended to give a person a feeling of helplessness and total vulnerability. That's why we did it to prisoners in the first place.

***

We flew in the helicopter back to Joyous Gaurde and the flight was mostly silent.

The two young prisoners were mostly worried about their futures. My three boys were happy about the way the day had gone though I suspected that Jack didn't fully trust me in that regard yet.

Jenny had dinner duty this night and it was wonderful: fried chicken, rice and red beans, home-made biscuits and huge bowls of gooey three-cheese 'mac and cheese' as well as a cold crisp lettuce salad followed by a wonderful lemon pie desert.

I'd kept alcohol off the table.

The five boys drank milk and I drank iced tea.

Howie and Paulie inhaled diner as if it was the first meal they'd eaten in months and it occurred to me that this might very well have been the first real meal that they'd eaten in a long time.

"Boys, your lives are going to change tomorrow. If you are careful and learn, your lives will become full of promise and prosperity."

"You won't be shackled tonight but there will be a guard at your door. I must tell you. though, you would be stupid to attempt to run away from the chance I'm presenting to you. I'm actually offering you a new life."

"Good night Howard and Paul. Sleep well and be confident for your futures. I have faith in you and I expect you to become fine men. We the Tucker's have a family motto and I'd urge you both to adopt it as your own. It is, 'Noli Timere' and that's Latin for, 'Don't be afraid'.

"From this night on boys, 'Noli Timere' don't be afraid of anything. More than that though boys, there's another Latin word that I'd encourage you to accept as your personal mottos, 'Spes!' It simply means 'Hope' say that to each other tonight before you fall to sleep"

A Skugga escorted them up to their room and I nodded to my boys that the evening was ended. I considered that the outcome of the day was quite satisfactory.

Tomorrow, we'd fly out to Montana and from then hopefully, they'd grow into real young men, Pete Riddle had that talent and aside from a bullet to the brain, I couldn't think of a better solution and I didn't think these boys deserved a bullet to the brain.

I turned my gaze upward and smiled to myself. I spoke softly, "Well Dad and Walter, here I go changing the rules again. I hope you approve because that last guy didn't deserve the death I gave him. This just makes more sense to me."

"What a life eh?"

"Isn't that my job though… the world is too big to change everything that's broken but, I can try to fix little chips and cracks that I find and, just perhaps, THEY'LL go out and fix the little broken pieces that THEY find ,etcetera, etcetera until, after not too long, the world will be a better place and everyone will work together and its possible the world WILL change."

"I've just got to believe that! Otherwise, I just might as well go back to what I was before I brought Sean into my life."

I was headed to my study to pour another drink but instead, I stopped dead in my tracks and headed for the elevator. "Spes!" I whispered to no one and also to everyone in the universe.

Chapter 7

If you're lucky, three things you have in this life are; something to love, something to do and something to hope for.
Hope is that little voice you hear inside your head when the entire world seems to be saying 'NO'.When the world is essentially telling you to give up, Hope is that little voice that whispers to you, "Try it one more time."
Try it one more time my friend… try it one more time.

The two boys wolfed down breakfast and Martha smiled as she filled their plates with eggs, pancakes and grits. She filled them full with fruit… melon and berries and bananas. They inhaled everything she placed before them and finally, she hugged them both and kissed them on the forehead.

"You'll do very well boys. I have great hope for your future."

In unison they responded, "Thanks Mrs. Edwards."

"You're welcome boys. Have a wonderful flight out west and I'll include you in my prayers every day."

Washed, dressed and brushed, Howie and Paulie were two very good-looking young men. They certainly cleaned up well.

"We're all going to fly out with you guys because we want you to feel safe. John will drive us out to the jet and then… we're off to Montana. Nothing will hurt you from this point on. You're protected I promise you."

"For sure?"

"Yes Howard for sure."

Brian cuddled up next to Paulie in the seat right behind me, as we rode in the van to the little airport. I heard the older boy softly say, "I never told Howie that you peed your pants. Nobody needed to know that so I kept that a secret."

"Thanks Paulie. I only told my Dad."

"I think that was the right thing to do, Brian. You got the kind of Dad you can tell things like that to… not like my old man. He'd a smashed me in the mouth."

I smiled but it wasn't a smile of pleasure or happiness… it was a sad smile because what Paul had just whispered to Brian was no doubt the truth.

***

A few hours later, Captain Lucas signaled me that we were nearing our approach. The ranch had its own landing strip because of its remoteness so, once we'd landed, we'd pretty much be there… just a short drive to the house.

"Howie and Paulie, look out the windows on both sides of the plane. EVERYTHING you can see is where you'll be working and learning. EVERYTHING is the wonderful world that Mr. Pete Riddle will be sharing with you. I can't imagine a better place for two young men to come to terms with their lives."

"Now, fasten your seat belts, we're landing."

***

We stepped off the jet greeted by a sky so blue that it could bring tears to your eyes. The vastness of the land was almost incomprehensible. It seemed to go on forever, gently sloping, rising and falling as it spread to the horizon.

A large stream that couldn't quite qualify as a river flowed off to the east and in the distance, the hills turned into soaring majestic mountains that were still clad with spots of snow.

The colors ran the spectrum from brown to gold… red through green and blue through grey. I was like a scene from a children's storybook and the two city boys stood slack-jawed as they took it all in.

My three, though they'd already traveled extensively, weren't immune to the splendor either and they smiled appreciatively as they looked around.

A stocky sun-tanned man wearing a black Stetson hat and cowboy boots with his jeans tucked inside them, climbed out of one of two relatively new Ford F-150's and walked over to us smiling.

I thrust out my hand in greeting. "Pete! It's good to see you, but, where's your mustache? I've known you most of my life and you've always had a mustache."

He grinned. "Darnest thing Eric… I woke up one morning and the thing had gone and turned white. Made me look too old so it had to go. Oh, I suppose it'll be back come Winter but for now…"

He turned and smiled at the five boys. "Likely looking Ranch Hands Eric. I'd be willing to take all five of them on but… I suspect that I couldn't talk you out of your Sons could I?"

"Judging by size and hair color, you're Sean, you're Brian and there's no mistaking you for anybody but Jack."

My three boys smiled and exchanged handshakes with Pete who then turned to our two miscreants. "That of course, means that you are Paul and you are Howard."

"Y-yes sir," Howard managed to squeak out.

Pete put a hand on Howard's shoulder. "Howard, there's no 'Sir' on a ranch. There's 'Boss'… which is me… and there's 'Pete'… which is me as well."

Howie and Paulie looked baffled and Pete laughed and slapped them both on the back. "Don't let it bother you none, you'll figure it out and don't be surprised if a month or so from now you both wake up and realize you've acquired some new names as well."

"You boys jump into the back of these trucks and you three grown-ups get to sit in real seats. Eric, you're with me."

Captain Lucas and co-pilot Ruiz hopped into the cab of the other truck and I jumped in with Pete.

We pulled onto the dusty trail that led up to the big ranch house. "They sure don't look like kidnappers or murderers to me Eric. I'm glad you didn't shoot them."

There was only a hint of humor in what he said because he'd been involved with my family for a long time and he'd 'heard' things.

"They're not Pete. They're actually intelligent, caring young men who've been so badly neglected and abused by the very people who should have been caring for them and nurturing them."

"I'm certain that kidnapping Brian wasn't their first criminal act but I don't want to know about that, I just want these boys to learn the value of work, the joy of self-respect and an adult that can teach them, care for them and appreciate their progress. If there is a guy in this world Pete, you're him."

"I'll fly out here every couple of months and we'll of course talk on the phone but I want these boys to have the best you can give them Pete."

"Eric, I would have expected that you'd know that I never do less than that."

"I know Pete it's just that I think you'll find these two boys are special."

He simply nodded.

The big ranch house was so rustic that it was beautiful. I'd had the entire interior redone after the Chang incident and it looked like something out of a classic western movie.

We were seated around in wonderful leather chairs… the leather had obviously come from this very ranch.

"Now you two Gents will be flying the jet outta here so I suspect I'm correct to offer you iced tea?"

"I'd prefer a Diet Coke if you've got it Pete," Captain Lucas replied and his co-pilot requested the same.

"None of you boys have seen the Ranch House so Pico here will take you on a tour."

Turning to the young Hispanic man he said, "Pico, during this tour please show these two boys the room that I've selected for them."

"Howard and Paul, for most of your first year here you'll sleep in the Ranch House. If things go as I suspect they will, in your second year we'll move you into one of the bunk cabins as we all get together and plan for your futures."

"I know that you have no luggage but that will change tomorrow. We'll take the long drive into town… and believe me it's a Loooong drive. There we'll get you both outfitted through the winter so tonight; you'll have to make do. OK?"

"Yes Mr. Pete." Paulie was on the verge of crying again.

The young man (whose identity at least was 'Pico') ushered them away.

"Now you Eric, I've never opened that bottle of Glenn Fiddich you gave me for accepting this job so now, its two years better aged yes?"

I smiled at him. "You bet Pete but only if you allow me to replace it."

"Certainly Eric, but only if you replace it with something more to my taste. I was raised a cowboy and cowboys don't drink single malt scotch. They drink Rye whiskey. That's why I never opened this bottle. I was just too polite to tell you."

He grinned and I smiled back. "So would a case of Jim Beam make a suitable replacement?"

"I'd certainly consider us square Eric."

I was on my second drink when Pico returned with the boys.

"This place is as neat as the Cabin at Long Bear Lake Dad!" Sean exclaimed.

Paulie was actually crying. "Paul, what's the matter?" Pete had drawn the boy into his arms.

"Our room Mr. Pete… it's bigger than my parents' crappy apartment. We each got our own real beds an there's a big bathroom with a walk-in shower an a bathtub plus, me an Howie got a TV and two desks… nice chairs an a real fireplace. I never even dared to dream I could live like this."

"Dare to dream Paul. The whole reason why you're here is so that you can dare to dream."

The blond-haired boy collapsed sobbing against Pete's chest and the man held him close and allowed him to continue as long as he needed. Finally, he'd calmed down and drew away.

He had a goofy grin on his pretty face as he turned to his friend and said, "Howie, know what?… I was wrong. The smartest thing you an me ever did was kidnapping Brian Tucker!"

It took a second but we all burst into laughter.

Pete ushered us to the table and soon each of us had a sizzling steak with a baked potato and a small pot of ranch style beans. Huge loaves of fresh baked sour dough bread with home-churned butter surrounded us.

"One of the advantages of living on a ranch Peter and Howard is you'll soon learn that you never go hungry and in-fact, you eat very well."

"Now boys, tomorrow's shopping trip is going to take up most of the day. I'm going to pick-out most of your clothes because I know what works best out here and they won't be snazzy. If you have a question about my choices, I'll be glad to discuss it with you but I'm going to outfit you right down to your socks and underwear and I know what I'm doing."

"You will have the choice about your boots, your belts and your hats. Hats are particularly individual and therefore unless I think you're making a serious mistake, you'll get to pick. I may try to talk you out of a hat that I think makes you look like a dumb-ass… some styles of brims fit some types of people and make other people look like jerks."

"The day after tomorrow, you start training to ride. You're lost and useless on a ranch if you can't ride boys."

"D-do you mean like riding a horse Mr. Pete?"

He let out a gigantic laugh. "Of course I mean riding a horse Howard. What else do you think you'd be riding on a ranch… a Hyundai?"

"I've never sat on a horse in my life."

"Well my boy, that will change in two days."

"S-so does that mean we're going to train to be cowboys?"

With a chuckle, Pete got up and threw his arms over both boy's shoulders.

"Howard and Peter… by the way, don't worry we'll soon find you better names… yes, you're going to learn to be cowboys, you'll also learn to be sheep-headers, buffalo wranglers, chicken fetchers and pig sloppers. You'll also learn to be fence-menders, ditch diggers, shit shovelers, wood-choppers as well as short-order cooks, tractor mechanics and you'll learn to wait upon your compadres and serve in the mess-hall. You'll be plumbers and electricians, carpenters and stone masons." "You'll learn to read and do the lessons that I assign you, and you'll learn to hit your knees every single night and pray."

"You'll learn to laugh because life is worth laughing about but I hope you won't cry so much. Crying is for loss and sorrow boys it's not for happiness and good fortune… that's what laughing is for and I hope you'll laugh often."

"Mostly what you are going to train for boys is to be men… good and true men… honest and trustworthy men. You'll be men that I'm proud to know and call my friends."

Both boys were sobbing uncontrollably and Pete raised them each to their feet. "Go say good-bye because they've got a long flight home."

The two young men walked around and my three boys exchanged hugs with them. They then walked over to me. Paulie wrapped his arms around me and buried his face against my chest.

"T-thank you for this. I can't believe it's happening. You're the kindest man in my entire life."

I stroked his blond hair. "Paul, just do well as I expect you will and I'll be out here checking up on you on a regular basis."

Howard came up and he'd tried to wipe the tears from his eyes as he hugged me with a great fierceness. "I tried to hurt you and look what I got in return. I got a whole new life… a whole new future. I was mean and you were kind. Why did you do this for me Mr. Tanner?"

I smiled and pulled him into me and said, "Because you are essentially a loving heart Howie. I can't sense any evil in you and ALSO… Because when I come to check up on you in a couple of months, I hope you'll have learned my name is TUCKER."

He giggled. "Sorry Mr. Tucker."

I kissed the top of his head. "Work hard, listen to Pete and do good Howie. You're safe here."

'Y-yes sir. Thank you Mr. TUCKER."

He looked up at me and grinned.

I planted a kiss on his forehead.

"You're in the best of hands Howie. No one will do anything but help you from here on. Paul was right when he said that the best thing you guys did was kidnap Brian because, who knows what would have happened to you? Now, we all know what will happen to you and it will be positive."

"Would you hug me like a real father would Mr. T?"

"Of course I will Howie."

I pulled him against me and drew him close and he made little moaning noises. Eventually, I let him loose and he had tears in his eyes.

"You know, if you coulda been my father, I coulda been a different kid… I coulda been a good young man instead of bein' a punk. My father is a rotten piece of shit an my mother is a whore. Your boys are so lucky to have you. I feel so jealous."

"Well Howie, I'm looking out for you now and Pete will take care of you and teach you things that you've never imagined. Believe that I'm looking out for you because I am… and trust Pete to lead you on the hard tract of running a ranch. You'll be surprised and happy as you both grow up and realize the men that you've grown up to be. Trust me Howie and please believe that I'll ALLWAYS hug you Howie."

"Thanks Mister Tucker."

I pulled him close. "Well, you learned that very quickly little Howie."

He giggled and I held him tightly. "Howard, I have such high hopes for you and Paul. I'll be out to check up on you every couple of months. Please enjoy your new lives and listen to Pete. He'll never do you wrong."

We all hugged each other before we boarded the jet and said that we'd be back in a couple of months.

Howie made a point of waving and saying 'goodbye Mr. Tucker' I smiled and made certain that I'd understood the importance of his last farewell.

Our flight back home was rather quiet.

The boys were silent and quite circumspect.

***

Back at Joyous Gaurde, we met in the library with Richard.

He quietly explained about the GPS Chips and I was astonished at the boy's reactions.

"Of course I'll take the implant," Brian said.

"Me too," Sean said quickly.

"Wouldn't that have helped me when my ship rolled over?" Jack asked.

"Actually Jack, we probably could have found you that first day," Richard replied.

"Well then, hell yes I'll take the chip."

Richard smiled at me and I smiled back at him. "Then I suppose you'd better count me in as well. When are we going to do this Richard?"

"First thing tomorrow morning guys and I promise that it won't hurt."

"Thanks Richard," Sean smiled and gave him a thumbs up. "I'm the first one guys."

We sat in the library discussing the day.

"I'm so happy about today that I don't think anything could have gone better."

"I agree Jack. I've got great hopes for those two boys. Now though, it's very late and so it's time for bed boyos. Brian is in my bed tonight because we've got to discuss something."

There was no argument because our bedtime was shared rather equally.

***

I wanted to make certain that the pants peeing wasn't a big deal for Brian and, besides that, I hadn't held him in my bed for a while.

He smiled as he pulled down his underpants and climbed onto my bed.

"Are you OK son?"

"Yes Dad. I was very scared and, like I told you, Howie pointed his gun at me and I peed my pants and then Pete stuffed me in the trunk of that little car. He knew that I'd peed my pants but he didn't say anything. He just nodded his head and pushed me into the trunk. He was actually kind and gentle."

"When the Skuggor let me loose and I was in your arms, I cried but I think that was alright with you and then you sent me into the lake to hide the pee stain on my shorts… thanks for doing that … I knew I was safe and knew I was alright and I felt so very loved Dad… so very loved."

"Brian you ARE so very loved. I just didn't want you to feel bad about the accident back at the mountain. Surprise and fear can create that kind of reaction almost every time. Fear is a terrible thing and no one deserves to experience it."

I pulled him to me and kissed him passionately and he wrapped his legs around me and we swapped spit and writhed together for at least an hour.

Finally, I fetched the lube from the side table and worked it into his little hole and then I coated my cock. "Ready for me my son?" I asked and he almost moaned, "Yes Dad."

He raised his legs high with his knees pulled back and I moved into him and slid in softly and firmly.

"Hmmmm Dad," He muttered.

"Yes Brian," I muttered in agreement.

"Dad, can't be any better than this."

"No Brian, it can't be sweet boy."

We collapsed together and soon we were both asleep.

Life couldn't be any better than this. It just couldn't.

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