Maverick Cattle Company - 10. Chapter 10

Mitch sat quietly in the living room. Anyone who knew Mitch, even passing acquaintances, would recognize this as not normal. But the wait for the caseworker to return with Trent was wearing on his nerves. Darrin was working late at the university, and Josh stayed to get help from Zach on some classwork. Both of them perfectly reasonable explanations, but Mitch really didn't buy either excuse. He thought they were staying away intentionally so they didn't have to deal with Trent after his physical. He couldn't really blame them, he didn't see any way this was going to go well.

Mitch let out a sigh and propped his boots on the table, a habit Darrin had almost broken. But right now, he didn't care. He was tense, apprehensive and desperately wanted a beer so he could relax a little. But somehow he didn't think it would be good to smell of alcohol when the caseworker arrived with Trent. The new kid was already cornering off with Josh, the two of them going at each other like two old tomcats. Every time they had to work together, it exploded into an argument. Mitch was just happy it hadn't devolved into an actual fist fight, at least not yet. Trent seemed to recognize that he was at a disadvantage in size and muscle, as Josh definitely outsized Trent. Not taller, they were similar heights, but Josh was certainly the more muscular of the two. Mitch was just glad they had the guesthouse for Trent to live in; otherwise the bickering between the two young males would have been unbearable.

Darrin had been surprised that Trent hadn't ran away the first night, but Mitch wasn't. Trent had to be smarter than he let on, or he wouldn't have survived on the streets – his survival instincts were working just fine. Trent understood that being fed and given a warm place to sleep, and a whole house to himself, was a sweet deal. Mitch did have to laugh a little at the tough guy persona Trent was putting out, given that he looked 14 at most. But Mitch trusted the sheriff, who said Trent would be 17 in a few days. The one thing even Mitch was finding tiring was Trent's use of 'fuck' for punctuation. As Mitch started to speculate on how he might get Trent to clean up the language, he heard a car door slam shut. In spite of himself, Mitch had to chuckle. Trent was certainly not subtle.

Hoisting himself off the couch, Mitch made it to the door just in time for it to jump open and Trent to blast past him with a black look on his face. Turning back, he got a crooked smile from the caseworker as she handed Mitch a handful of small white bags. Mitch looked over the sacks that he recognized as prescription bags, and looked back at the worker, who seemed perfectly happy to not step into the house from which increasingly loud noises were coming.

"I take it the tests didn't go well," said Mitch quietly.

"They could have been worse. He tested negative for HIV, but he'll need to have a follow up test in six months. Unfortunately, like a lot of these kids, he has Chlamydia and Gonorrhea. They seem to think if they don't have anal sex, they're safe from STD's. Fortunately, both are treatable. Just follow the instructions on the prescriptions. Unfortunately, he was also on the streets long enough to have a bad case of head lice. The shampoo for them is in the other bag, you'll need to use the comb on his hair too because—"

Mitch held up his hand to stop her. "I know about the nits. And with his hair, it's going to be a pain to get them all. Anything else we need to know?"

The caseworker let out a sigh. "He's been abused. But he told the doctor that he's never had anal sex. He does have some nasty scars, some new and some older. Frankly, Mr. McRichards, he's got a lot of psychological damage and I'm not sure you and your partner are the best ones to help him. But Sheriff White Cloud seems to think that you two are exactly what he needs, and his opinion carries a lot of weight around our office."

Mitch gave the worker a piercing look and paused for an extended time before replying. "He's welcome here as long as he wants to stay. It's amazing how helpful a little unconditional love can be, and empathy from someone who's been in a similar situation."

"Maybe. But he's still a minor and I will be checking to make sure he isn't being abused in your house. Some foster family compositions are more successful than—"

Mitch stopped her with a fierce look. "Don't you dare. I swear to God I won't be responsible for what I say or do if you finish that thought. That a professional child advocate would buy into the lie that gay men routinely abuse children, well it pisses me off no end." Mitch paused for a minute, bridling his thoughts and mouth, and continued, "Do you have anything else . . . Miss?"

The caseworkers lips formed a hard line, as her eyes became slits. "No, but as I said. I will be back. And there will be surprise visits."

"Come as often as you like," said Mitch with his arms crossed.

Without a word the woman turned and walked back to her car. Mitch continued to watch until she had left their property and then turned back with a soft sigh, knowing now he had to deal with Trent.

Walking into the living room, he found Trent standing in the middle of the room looking very defiant. Before Mitch could speak, Trent spat out "I didn't sit on your fuck'n precious furniture, since I'm all fuck'n infested with fuck'n lice." Trent took in a deep breath and Mitch could almost swear there was a slight shudder. "I've got the fuck'n clap too. Goddamn it! I never let the fuckers screw me. I thought that would fuck'n keep me from fuck'n git'n it." Trent's face hardened as he turned to challenge Mitch. "So are you fuck'n git'n rid of me now? Cause now you know I'm diseased so I won't make a decent boy toy for ya."

For the second time in so many minutes, Mitch actually wanted to hit someone and this time it was Trent. Mitch knew he was just pushing the same buttons the DHS worker had already hit pretty hard. But Mitch quickly quailed his anger, realizing this was Trent's method of dealing with the problem. Mitch took a deep breath and began.

"No, you're not getting thrown out. You're also never, and I repeat never, going to have sex with either of us. You have some diseases and parasites; fortunately they're all treatable. You need to shower using the lice shampoo, and I'll wash all your bedding and clothes and take care of anything else in the dryer to kill the lice." Mitch looked Trent directly in the eyes and continued, "I'm sure it will be nice to not have it burn every time you piss, and for your head to not itch all the time. We don't know what you've been through, but no one in this house is going to judge you for what has happened."

Trent flicked his head, his hair lifting up to briefly reveal two eyes and then replied. "I don't fuck'n care what you and your boyfriend fuck'n think cause I'm just fuck'n staying here until something fuck'n better—"

Mitch stopped him with a hand motion. "Can you fuck'n say fuck'n a fuck'n sentence fuck'n without fuck'n saying fuck'n fuck'n every fuck'n time you fuck'n say a fuck'n word?"

Trent screwed his face up in distain. "Yeah, I can talk without say'n fuck'n. But why should I fuck'n care?"

"Well, because you sound like a 12 year old who just learned the word and is using it to shock adults. Give it a break, Trent. I've been say'n fuck since before you were born. And actually I bet you can't stop saying it because now it's a habit," said Mitch. He got a little glimmer in his eyes that Trent would years later recall with humor. "Actually, that's exactly what I'll do. If you can keep from saying fuck or anything like it for the next week, I'll get you new clothes. Jeans, shirts, undies, the whole thing."

Trent glanced down at his threadbare clothing, obviously intrigued. "And what if I lose? Do I have to give you head or something?"

Mitch ground his jaw briefly and then let the frustration go and ignored the blatant dig. "I have an 80 acre pasture that needs cross fencing. The corner posts have to be dug by hand since we can't get a tractor in there. So you can dig them."

Trent looked at him and considered the offer. He'd been on the street for months and had barely existed on what he got from tricks. Boorman's money would have been the most he'd gotten in weeks, but that had evaporated when they had been caught. He really did want new clothes, and he thought he could keep from dropping the F bomb for a week.

"A'right, it's a deal. I don't say fuck for a week around you, and I get new clothes," stated Trent.

"And if you do, then you're going to spend a day digging postholes in some of the worst clay on this ranch," said Mitch.

"Yeah, whatever," said Trent with flick of his hair.

Mitch held out his hand. "It's a bet then. Starting now, no fuck from your mouth in front of any of us."

"Oh fuck no! That wasn't the deal! I just fuck'n had to do it with you! I'm not fuck'n watch'n it with all three of ya!"

"That's the deal. All three of us, or nothing," said Mitch with a firm look on his face.

Trent looked at Mitch, calculating his chances and then made a counter proposal. "When I win, I get three sets of clothes."

Mitch twisted his mouth slightly as he seemed to consider the offer, when actually he was trying to keep from laughing. He'd planned all along to buy Trent more clothes, so this would be a great way to get them without Trent feeling they were a gift. After an appropriate pause so Trent would think he was considering the offer, Mitch agreed.

"Ok, three sets of clothes. I think that's fair. But if you slip even once around any of us, then you're digging fence posts." Mitch stuck his hand back out again. "Agreed?"

Trent looked at Mitch tentatively and finally took his hand and shook it.

Having saved his ears from Trent's verbal assault for at least a short while, Mitch moved on the more immediate problem. Pointing Trent to a kitchen chair, Mitch emptied the medications on the table and started going through each of them with Trent. Filling a glass with water he handed Trent his first doses. After he'd swallowed all the pills, Mitch again stressed that if he didn't take them all, and according to the instructions, they could come back. Having gone through the easiest part of the discussion, Mitch plowed on to the second.

"This is the shampoo with the stuff in it to kill lice, just follow the directions. Once you've finished, you'll have to comb through your hair with the comb that comes with it and get out the nits. That's going to take some time with your long hair," said Mitch.

Trent took the box from Mitch, glancing through the directions, he turned back with an unreadable look. "What are nits?"

"It's what they call lice eggs. The lice attach them to the hair shafts so they're hard to get out. But if you don't, they'll hatch and you will have to do this all over again." Mitch tried not to grimace as he continued. "If you want, I can help you comb them out."

"No! You're not f— You're not touching me!" shouted Trent.

"Ok, ok! Calm down. I was just offering," said Mitch.

"I don't need your, damn, help."

Mitch held up his hands and nodded. "Good enough. Let's get you in the shower and I'll throw your clothes in the washer."

Mitch ushered the boy into bathroom and adjusted the shower for him. Trent looked at it for several seconds, and then began unceremoniously striping in front of Mitch. At first taken aback, Mitch quickly chalked it up to Trent's recent life. Mitch was shocked at how skinny the kid was. He could easily count each rib. When his pants fell to the floor, his impression was amplified due to the hollow cheeks of Trent's butt, the sharp bones of his hips and his emaciated legs and calves. Mitch was also slightly surprised at the elaborate, and intricate, tattoo covering one of Trent's shoulders. The boy stepped into the shower without a backward glance, for which Mitch was happy. Grabbing the small pile of clothes to wash, he left a large towel on the side of the shower.

While Trent was cleaning up, Mitch went to the guesthouse, stripped the bed and threw everything into the washer. The pillows he ran through a hot dryer to sanitize them. Finally satisfied that everything that needed to be cleaned, was being cleaned, Mitch went back to see how Trent was doing. He quietly walked to the door to find the boy standing in the middle of the bathroom with the huge towel wrapped around him, struggling to get the nit comb through his shoulder length hair. Mitch started to offer to help again, but stopped himself and went back into the living room. Mitch listened to Trent struggle to get the comb through his hair for most of an hour. Eventually Trent walked into the living room and Mitch looked up.

"I can't get this damn comb through my hair. What happens if I miss something?" said Trent without a sign of emotion.

"Then we'll have to do it again. We'll need to check in a few days to see if you have gotten them all anyway," replied Mitch.

Trent struggled to pull the comb through again, but this time it didn't move. Looking at Mitch with a stoic look on his face Trent asked, "What if I cut the shit off?"

"Your hair?" asked Mitch, more than a little shocked that Trent had suggested it.

"Yeah, cut it off."

"Well, it would be a lot easier. Depending on how short you cut it," explained Mitch.

"You got something to do it with?" asked Trent.

"Yeah, I have a pair of clippers. You sure you want to do that?" said Mitch.

"Yeah, cut the shit off. I'm tired of my head itch'n," said Trent.

"Ok, I'll get the clippers then," said Mitch. A few minutes later Mitch returned with the shears and a handful of guards. "How long do you want to cut it? I've got a few guards to keep it all the same length."

Trent looked up and unconsciously flicked his head, moving his hair for what would probably be the last time for a long time. "How long is yours?"

Mitch raised his eyebrows, "About a 1/2 an inch."

"Yeah, do mine the same then."

"Ok, I can help if you'd like," said Mitch.

"Fu— No. I don't need any help from anyone."

Mitch silently attached the half-inch comb and handed it to Trent. He watched silently as the young man walked to the mirror and plugged in the clippers. The low buzz filled the room as Trent stood there looking at it for several minutes. Just as Mitch was about to offer to help Trent comb out the eggs again, the boy plunged the clippers down the middle of his head and a thick swath of hair hit the floor. Mitch watched silently as Trent ran the blades over his head again and again until it was sheared clean. Running his hand over his bare head, Trent said something too quietly for Mitch to hear.

"What?" asked Mitch.

"I said I haven't had my hair like this since I got thrown out. The johns like twinks, twinks don't have buzz cuts."

Mitch walked up behind the emaciated young man and without a word took the clippers from his hand and cleaned up the haircut. With his hair this short it took next to no time to do the necessary combing. Mitch was cleaning up everything when Trent started to leave, and paused. Mitch looked up, wondering what was about to happen, and almost missed the softly said gratitude.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Anytime," said Mitch with a smile.

Mitch finished cleaning up the bathroom, sanitizing everything that might be hiding parasites. Eventually satisfied that even Darrin would be ok with the level of cleanliness, he tossed the last of the towel into a pile that was going into the washer next. He found Trent sitting quietly in the living room, slowly running his hand over his short-cropped head. Looking at him, Mitch had to chuckle at the forlorn look he knew only too well.

"Yeah, it feels funny at first. But you'll get use to it." Mitch almost laughed at the scowl he got, and then he continued. "Your clothes will be ready soon. Do you want something to eat?"

Trent look at him, unconsciously making the same head flip even through his hair was gone. "Yeah, I'm fu—, I'm starving."

Mitch quietly made Trent a pile of sandwiches and sat them in front of him. As he devoured the first one, Mitch asked what he wanted to drink.

"Do you have DP? I love Dr. Pepper!"

Mitch chuckled as he opened the fridge to the row after row of Dr. Pepper that Josh kept well stocked. "Yeah, I think we have a few."

<><><><>

Zach and Josh had started the evening with Zach helping Josh with homework, but it hadn't taken too long before they had started making out. Zach thought his boyfriend was incredibly good looking. Anyone would be crazy not to think he was eye candy, but their relationship was becoming more and more strained. The sex was hot, but some things that Josh seemed to really enjoy, Zach didn't. But Zach didn't want to give up. He knew that Josh had stopped asking for things during sex that he enjoyed, and Zach didn't want that either. So he had decided to try again, knowing that it would make Josh happy if he could do it.

As their make out session progressed, Zach became the aggressor. His teeth, lips and hands danced across Josh's receptive body. He tore Josh's shirt from his chest, sinking his teeth into Josh's shoulders and neck, leaving behind a lusty necklace of dark marks. Josh moaned his appreciation for the boyfriend he barely recognized. Zach's nails left parallel crimson lines down Josh's pale chest as his tongue hungrily tasted down Josh's torso. Once he reached the object of his lust, he rose up, smiling at the large wet spot marking the head of Josh's cock, showing the degree of his stimulation. Zach ripped down Josh's zipper and was surprised when Josh's hard cock jumped from the opening. A low rumble of appreciation rose from Zach's throat marking his enjoyment of Josh's little display of freeballing.

Zach took Josh's swollen dick deep in his throat, then lashing it with his tongue as he slowly lifted his head. He worked his tongue into Josh's slit, frantically sucked down the boy juice flowing from it. Zach yanked off Josh's pants, sending them flying against the wall to slide into a pool of denim at the base of it. Standing between Josh's legs, Zach reached down and grabbed Josh by the nuts and pulled them tight, tugging them until small moans of pain and pleasure emerged from his boyfriend mouth. Acknowledging the lusty effect it was having on Josh, Zach pulled them tight in his scrotum and then slapped them, getting a pained yelp from Josh, followed rapidly by a soft sigh of arousal.

After several hard slaps with similar results, Zach stepped back and quickly stripped. Moving in, he pushed Josh's legs forward until he saw his tight brown hole winking at him. Zach's typical aversion to rimming was overridden for once by his aggression. Kneeling on the floor, he pried open Josh's ass and licked. The taste was clean and slightly salty with sweat. Drilling his tongue inside Josh, he started loosening the larger man's hole. Plunging his tongue deeper inside, Zach started eating out Josh's butt. His stiffened tongue dove in again and again as Josh's moans escalated. Soon both of them were enveloped in sensual jolts that were driving Zach over the edge.

Lifting his head from Josh's ass, Zach positioned himself to plow deep into Josh's gut. Zach aimed his dick at Josh's ass and shoved himself completely inside with one thrust. Josh let out a deep moan, his body shuddering with overwhelming sensations. Zach pressed hard against Josh's legs, bending him almost in half. Jackhammered his straining cock hard into Josh's ass, Zach's bare dick rocketed in and out of Josh's gut, its tight grip driving him to the edge of his limits. With his legs shaking, Zach dropped slightly and plunged in again, hitting Josh's sweet spot.

The strike against his prostate proved to be the final sensation to push Josh over. His muscles contracted as his cock exploded white cream over his chest. Josh's cock flexed over and over again, shooting long lines of translucent cream over his chest. Josh emitted growls of satisfaction as the final wave of pleasure washed over his body and he relaxed against the bed.

Zach continued his unrelenting pounding through Josh's orgasm. Twisting his slender body and plunging his cock again into his boyfriend, Zach relished the tight grip of Josh's convulsing body that surrounded his rock hard dick. Quickly the amazing stimulation proved too much for Zach and he started unloading hot cum into Josh's butt. His body shook with pleasure as his balls emptied of their load of cream. He raggedly fucked Josh, his body convulsing as he pushed his jizz deep in Josh's ass. Soon he reached the end of his endurance and slumped with his cock still wedged in Josh's ass.

Zach stayed still for a few minutes, letting his cock soften and slowly slide out. Moving back, he looked at his groin and grimaced at the mess. Turning carefully, he waddled to the bathroom. Josh smiled when he heard the familiar sound of water running as Zach cleaned himself. Zach seemed to take much longer than normal, which allowed Josh the chance to enjoy the feeling of hot cum slowly sliding out of his ass. Letting his hands trail down his chest, he enjoyed the light covering of hair between his pecs. Running his fingers through the cum on his chest, he started rubbing his nipples until they were hard and coated with jizz. With his eyes closed and a slight smile, he let his fingers run lower, finally reaching his well used ass, Enjoying the sensations, Josh let two fingers slip into his wet butt as he slowly fingered himself while stroking his nipples.

"Gross!" squealed Zach.

Josh's eyes flew open and he let out a silent sigh as he saw Zach standing over him holding the wet washcloth.

"Now you made it harder to clean up. I swear it was neater with condoms," said Zach with a slight whine.

Josh gave the smaller boy a tight smile, took the cloth from him and started wiping off the drying semen. Once he'd finished, he took it into the bathroom, finished cleaning himself and dropped the damp cloth into the clothes hamper. Coming back into the bedroom, he crawled into bed and spooned Zach. As he drifted off to sleep, he wondered what sex would be like with someone without all of Zach's issues.

<><><><>

Darrin was on edge while Emma went through the last of his edits. The grant proposal they had been working on for months was due in a few days and they were doing the final revisions. This was the semester that Darrin had his mid-point review to let him know if he was on track for tenure, and this grant would be an important component of a successful review. They had already completed the work on a smaller grant they'd gotten right after Darrin arrived, but this one was much larger and from a more prominent funding source. They'd been through it together numerous times, but it was largely Dr. Ruck's reputation they were using to attain the grants. With her history of top quality work, she was a collaborator who was eagerly sought after. Because of this, her opinion was very important to Darrin, and critical to the success of the application. Finally her eyes lifted from the page.

"I don't have any suggestions, Darrin," said Emma, "Everything looks in order to me. I think we're ready to submit."

"That's excellent! I'm excited about the work that we could do with this grant."

Emma chuckled, "This should be enough to get you tenure, if you get your ass busy and write the journal articles."

"No problems on that end," said Darrin, "I already have one in the pipeline from the first grant and there should be two or three from this one."

"I agree. I think you're in good shape for your review. How about your teaching and committee work?" asked Dr. Ruck.

"They are all good, at least as far as I can tell. My student reviews are better than the department average and I'm on several committees." Darrin chuckled and continued "And I'm the advisor for the Gay-Straight Alliance on campus. But I think that's going to be a permanent assignment."

Emma chuckled heartily and nodded, "Probably so! Well if you want me to look over your paperwork, I'd be happy to do that." The two continued for several more minutes. Completely unaware that Kevin Boorman was standing in the hallway, quietly listening into their conversation.

<><><><>

Mitch walked into the house with bags hanging from every finger. Trent's week was up and he had managed to not slip and say fuck through the whole time. Mitch knew there were some close calls where it had almost slipped out, especially when Trent had to deal with Josh. But Mitch wasn't going to call him on that. Besides, he was getting tired of seeing the same pair of ragged boxers through the holes in Trent's jeans day after day. He was going to get Trent clothes anyway, and this way Mitch got at least a week without the barrage of 'fucks'. It was a win-win situation.

As he walked into the living room, the other three were sitting quietly around a roaring fire that had the room toasty and warm. Darrin was working on his review paperwork and the other two were both doing homework, at least that's what he thought they were doing. Throwing the purchases on the table, Mitch turned to Trent with a smile.

"Alright Trent. You won the bet. Here're the clothes you won."

Trent almost bounced as he went to see the contents of the bags. It was soon evident that Mitch had bought far more than they agreed to in their bet. Josh's mouth twisted into a frown, but he resisted any other outward sighs of displeasure at what was taking place. Josh would never admit it, but he was not that happy to be displaced as the sole child of the pair. Darrin had already told him they were celebrating Trent's birthday and that he was expected to at least be present. But they never said he had to like it, or do more than tolerate Trent.

Trent quickly inventoried the clothing, happy with the piles of clothes that Mitch had selected. He glanced around, then grabbed the bags and sat them beside the exterior door for him to take when he went later to the guesthouse. Returning, he sat beside the fire and glanced around the room, looking carefully from face to face.

Finally he burst out. "They ain't presents. I won 'em. So don't bitch at me about it."

Mitch threw up his hands in defense. "No. You're right. You won 'em."

Darrin picked up the conversation, "But we do celebrate birthdays around here, and today is yours. So if you'll tolerate us for a few minutes, we thought we'd have some cake. We got chocolate, hope you like it."

"Don't get all fuck'n buddy buddy on me. I don't plan on staying here long," said Trent.

Josh started to retort, felt Darrin squeeze the back of his neck, and settled back into his chair without sarcastic comment. Mitch walked into the kitchen to retrieve the cake as Darrin tried to make small talk with Trent. Trent glanced up and grinned as Mitch walked back with the cake, causing Darrin to look too.

"Goddamn it, Mitch! I thought you'd tossed the last of those damn candles!" yelled Darrin as Mitch walked up with a life sized wax cock flaming on top of Trent's cake. Walking to the table, Mitch looked at Darrin with a completely innocent smile.

"This is the last one. Don't blow a gasket. Something special for Trent's first birthday on the ranch," said Mitch.

"And last one," said Trent.

"Good!" said Josh under his breath.

Darrin gave Josh a scolding look and then turned back to the flaming dick on their table. Realizing Trent had a tiny smirk of a smile, he decided maybe something this over the top would help him relax. Motioning to Mitch, Darrin watched as the cake was put in front of Trent, who promptly blew out the flame. Smiling slightly, Trent carefully removed the candle and put it beside his plate. Darrin quickly divided up the cake and the four men had soon devoured the entire thing.

When Trent stood to leave, Darrin noticed he was taking the candle with him. "Trent, what do you want with that?"

Trent turned the white object in his hand, appearing to look at it closely. Looking up at Darrin without a trace of humor he began "It looked like a good fit for my ass. I thought it'd be a great toy to use during my jackoff sessions."

Josh scowled at Trent and then let out an explosion of air in frustration at Trent's adolescent humor. Mitch was holding in a burst of laughter by only the thinnest of strands and refused to meet Darrin's eyes. Darrin took a deep breath and simply held out his hand to Trent. After a few seconds, Trent dropped the candle into Darrin's hand and turned to leave. With a slight smile at Mitch, he grabbed his bags and left the house.

Josh turned to them. "I can't believe you let him get away with talking to you like that!"

"Josh, calm down. It really was—" started Mitch.

"Whatever!" said Josh, who then stomped to his room.

Mitch turned to Darrin, who was still holding the wax dildo in his hand, and broke down laughing.

"It's not funny. Those two are going to kill each other."

"Or fall in love. It's a close call," said Mitch through the laughter.

Darrin gave him a last look of resignation, and then walked over and dropped the candle onto the glowing coals of the fireplace. Watching flames flare around the rapidly melting candle, he wondered how those two were ever going to reconcile their differences.

<><><><>

Trent stepped out of the shower, slowly drying his generous package, and scratching the regrowing public hair. He was glad that he could stop shaving his body for a while. He'd kept it shaved so he would look younger to the johns, they'd pay more if they thought he was a kid. He vigorously rubbed his head, deciding he liked the short hair, even with his numerous ear piercings, although he had taken out the lip piercing. It just didn't seem necessary any more. Dropping the towel to the floor, he walked into the bedroom and looked over the clothes he had laid out on the bed. Although he didn't want anyone here to know, he was more than a little overwhelmed. Even before he'd been thrown out, he'd never owned more than two pairs of jeans, one to wear and one to wash. And they weren't good jeans like the Wranglers Mitch had bought him either, they were usually from a thrift store.

He ran his hands over the material and briefly allowed himself to enjoy it. He knew that soon he'd be leaving because either they would try to have sex with him, or they'd get tired of playing the martyr to save the poor homeless boy. He'd had it play out both ways over the last couple of years. So regardless of what they said, Trent knew this situation couldn't last. Trent nodded his head and decided. He'd keep two pair of jeans to wear, and save the others for when he had to leave. Same with the shirts, they were nice heavy winter material, which would be a lot better than the threadbare clothing he had been wearing.

Quickly organizing everything, he put the clothes he was going to wear in the dresser, and left the others in the plastic bags. He quickly and methodically planned for his exit, knowing it was coming. It might take longer here, but it was obvious the kid didn't like him so it was only a matter of time.

After he'd finished, Trent sat on the bed and looked around the tiny house. It was the nicest place he'd ever lived. Everything was clean and neat, a small part of Trent thought that he would miss this place a little when he left, which worried him because he had started to think of it as his. Pulling back the sheets, he lay his bare skin against the sheets and had to sigh softly as the soft cloth caressed his back and ass. Trent ran his hands down his chest and into his crotch. He could feel the stubble of hair starting to come back, and he knew that it was going to itch like crazy while it did, but keeping his body shaved had been another allowance he'd made when he was selling himself.

Wrapping his hand around his flaccid cock, he had to smile. One thing he'd been blessed with was a shower and not a grower. His cock soft was long and thick, it just got harder when it was erect. That was one thing Trent had never minded, he liked his man-sized dick. While he fondled his stiffening cock, he ran his free hand over his chin and face. He'd have to shave it tomorrow or he'd start looking like a blond version of Mitch. He hadn't realized how much body hair he had now, since he'd kept himself smooth for so many months.

Trent's quarter sized nipples stiffened to nubs as he started rubbing his hardening cock. Soon it was standing up from his groin like a thick snake watching for prey. Trent ran his hand up from the base of his cock, stripping a load of precum from his cock. He ran his finger through the stream of clear viscous fluid that oozed from the tip of his cock. Lifting his finger to his lips, he tasted it and smiled as the fluid filtered through his mouth. Running his tongue over his palm, he soon had it wet and replaced his dry hand with the one lubed with spit.

Increasing the speed of his strokes, Trent pounded his now steel hard cock. As his rigid cock slid through his hand, he sucked on his fingers, wetting them. He lowered his spit-lubed finger to his ass, and stroked across his virgin hole while he flailed his dick. He'd never given any trick his ass, but Trent loved the feelings he got when he touched and fingered himself. Letting one finger glide into his entrance, he gasped slightly as the intruder burrowed into this gut. Curling his fingers forward, Trent found his prostate and started rubbing against it as his balls sucked tight against his dick.

Trent was quickly a contorted mass of muscle and sinew as his orgasm rolled over his body. Still fingering his ass, he could feel the first round of semen racing through his system. With a guttural noise from his lips, the first streamer of cum shot from Trent's cock. The jizz hit Trent on the face with an audible splat, while he focused on jerking his exploding cock. As shot after shot of cum splattered across Trent's chest, his body kept bringing up more and more. With a last convulsion, a blob of cum oozed from his slit and Trent collapsed against the bed.

Slowly returning to normal, Trent ran his hands over his body and smearing cum across his skin. The thick hot liquid was a definite turn on for Trent as he covered his torso with his jizz. Lifting his coated hand to his lips, Trent tasted his seed, enjoying its masculine favors. With a final satisfied sigh he lay back to relax, ready to get some sleep now that he had finished his nightly ritual.

<><><><>

Trent got out and slammed the door to the pickup and almost ran to the guesthouse. Mitch was hot on his heels, wondering what had gotten into the boy. It was only the beginning of the third week for Trent at the ranch, but Mitch had thought he was starting to settle into the routine. But he'd been sullen and bad tempered today since Mitch had picked him up at high school. Mitch was only steps behind when Trent raced through the door, slamming it in Mitch's face.

Mitch followed him in, just as Trent rushed into the bedroom. Mitch stood by the door and waited, thinking at least there wasn't door on the bedroom for Trent to slam. He stood quietly, thinking he would stay until Trent was ready to tell him what was wrong, and he was certain he would at some point. Mitch watched and listened as books were slammed and papers were thrown across the room. He did notice that shoes and clothes were carefully put away and there were a few minutes of quiet while Trent changed into his old clothes. Mitch heard him shove his foot into his tennis shoe and then stomp into the kitchen. Mitch had to work to keep from smiling at what he knew would be typical teenage drama.

"I ain't go'n back to that fuck'n school with those redneck hicks!" shouted Trent.

"Why?" asked Mitch.

"You heard me! They're a fuck'n bunch of backward, ignorant, rednecks! They share one collective fuck'n brain," said Trent, biting off each word.

"Ok, I've got that you don't like them, and you can lay off the fuck language with me. What's really bugging you?" asked Mitch in a calm voice.

Trent started to explode at Mitch, but paused, and the fight seemed to drain out of him. "I'm way behind. I haven't been in school for the last two years and I'm not starting over in a classroom with a bunch of kids. I'm not! I swear I'll leave if you think you're go'n fuc— force me to go to class with a bunch of junior high kids."

"Ok," replied Mitch, "Let me talk to Darrin. We'll see what we can do about it so you can graduate high school and not have to go to junior high classes."

"Oh," said Trent, suspicious of Mitch motives, "Yeah, well we'll see. But I ain't going to those kids classes and I'm not gonna stay in the classes I was stuck in today and look dumb."

Mitch held up his hands in acknowledgment, "I got it. Let's see what we can do. Josh is mending the south side of the corral. Why don't you go help him."

Trent barked out a laugh and didn't move.

"What's the problem?" asked Mitch.

"Well country boy and I ain't exactly homies if you know what I mean."

Mitch let out a long-suffering sigh, knowing the confrontation between the two young men was coming. In some ways, they were far too much alike; they just couldn't see the similarities right now.

"Deal with it! Figure out how to work with Josh even if you don't like each other."

"Fuck'n great . . ." muttered Trent as he pulled on a coat and headed out the door.

Mitch chuckled to himself, thinking there is nothing quite as entertaining as watching two young bulls fight for territory.

Later that night, as he and Darrin were enjoying a few peaceful minutes, with Josh in his room and Trent safely in his house, Mitch brought up Trent's problem to Darrin. Mitch gave him all the background he'd gotten earlier. Darrin got a strange smile on his face that had Mitch worried.

"You could do it," said Darrin.

"I could do what?" said Mitch cautiously.

"You could home school him," said Darrin with a huge smile on his face.

"Oh! No fuck'n way! I didn't do that well in school myself," said Mitch in retort.

"You're the one who's home to do it. I don't see any other way for him to catch up and be able to graduate next spring."

"Damnit! You're enjoying this aren't you?" said Mitch.

"Oh, hell yes!" said Darrin with a laugh.

Mitch let out a long sigh, "Ok, I'll try. But I don't think I'm that good of a teacher."

"I'll help. If you want," came a voice from behind them.

Both men turned to see Josh standing behind them.

"You would? I didn't think the two of you got along," said Mitch.

"He's an asshole, but I'd do it to help you two out," replied Josh.

"There you go, Mitch. Lukewarm help is better than nothing," said Darrin with the smile plastered across his face.

"You fucker," said Mitch, who then turned to watch the TV.

<><><><>

Darrin walked through the door and tossed his bag onto the couch as soon as he was in the living room. Dropping bonelessly beside it, he let out a huge sigh. Mitch looked up from his computer. Seeing the look on Darrin's face, he moved to him and sat on the table in front of Darrin. The fact that Darrin didn't scold him for sitting on the table was ample evidence that he was upset. He put his hand on Darrin's knee and rubbed it softly. Darrin's response was a quiet, more peaceful, sigh.

"What happened?" asked Mitch.

"I hate my job. I hate dealing with adults with the mentality of a spoiled five year old. I hate the politics of academia. I hate it all," said Darrin quietly, sounding dispirited.

"Yeah, so far that's the same crap you deal with every day. What new thing added to it today?"

"Boorman again would be my guess, but I don't know that for sure. The personnel committee has 'questions' about my review. I even talked to Emma but she didn't know either. There are times when I seriously consider sending out those snapshots we got in Lawton of him, " said Darrin with a sigh.

"But you won't, we won't, because then you're on his level," said Mitch with a knowing grimace on his lips.

"No, we won't, because it would be stooping to his level. But, man! Sometimes . . ."

"You know, it doesn't mean you can't mess with him . . ." said Mitch with a grin.

Darrin let out a chuckle, "You are an evil man sometimes Mitchell McRichards, I'm damn glad you're on my side."

Mitch smiled back, "Yes, you are."

Mitch leaned forward and kissed Darrin softly, lingering for a few seconds to feel the roughness of his goatee before settling back on the table. Picking up Darrin's foot, he slipped off one of his boots, and then lifted the other and slid it off. He sat the pair down on the side of the table and rubbed his husband's feet while Darrin relaxed against the couch. Mitch's foot rub soon traveled up his calves, soothing the tight muscles in his legs. Reaching up he started to unbutton Darrin's pants to slide them off. Darrin grabbed his hands to stop him.

"The kids . . ."

Mitch chuckled, "Our children are fine. Josh is at the library. I think he's finally studying. Trent went to the guesthouse, his house, hours ago, and he never comes back once he leaves. Relax, we might not have any time alone for weeks."

Darrin paused for a minute, and then shimmied out of his pants and underwear, his half-hard cock slithering across his leg. Mitch leaned down with a smile and sucked it into his mouth and started nursing it to life. Darrin moaned and pulled up his shirt, caressing his stomach and chest as his cock hardened in Mitch's mouth. Soon he was rubbing across his nipples while Mitch focused on the sensitive head of his cock. After several long minutes, Darrin was breathing heavily from the expert head job Mitch was giving him. As Mitch released his throbbing cock, Darrin let out a sigh of disappointment.

Mitch stood and quickly stripped off his pants and underwear. He straddled Darrin on the couch, grinding his ass against Darrin's hard dick and smearing his hairy ass with precum. After a few swipes of his cock down Mitch's ass trench, Darrin was ready to fuck. Mitch stymied his tries at penetration though, until he was dripping precum and beyond horny. Then Mitch reached back, positioned Darrin's cock and slowly impaled himself. Lifting up gradually and then pushing back down, he enjoyed the pressure from Darrin's cock as it drilled itself deep inside.

With a tight grip on Darrin's neck, Mitch started riding his cock. Driving it deep inside with each pass, they were soon both swimming in the waves of passion. For many long minutes, pleasure built in both of them as their lovemaking reconnected them in ways that would have been impossible otherwise. Soon the fever pitch of heightened lust enveloped them, the heat of their lovemaking flashing through their systems, turning their cheeks red and giving their skin that pink flush of orgasm.

Mitch plunged down one last time, knowing his climax was close, and started grinding his hips in circles on Darrin's pelvis, scrapping hard over his prostate with each revolution. With the passage of a few heartbeats, Mitch's orgasm began. Cum raced through his cock, jetting across Darrin's shirt and chest. The small gasps of pleasure, along with the tightening of his muscles, caused Darrin to pitch over the edge and start emptying his nuts into Mitch. The two rode their waves of orgasm as time seemed to freeze for them both, their bodies and souls melding.

Eventually they began to drift back to themselves, Mitch lay on Darrin's chest as Darrin pulled a blanket around the two of them. As they enjoyed their post-orgasmic bliss, Darrin held Mitch tight against him as the two softly kissed, even playfully nipping at times. In their playful joy, the two's love was evident. Their comfort with each other was something few couples are able to attain. With the flickering fireplace, in the dim room, they were, in that instant at least, the epitome of fidelity and love.

Trent stood at the side door, looking at the scene before him. He had arrived a few minutes earlier, on his secret late night raid of their fridge. He knew full well he was seeing the end of sex, but nothing like he had experienced. No one had ever held him with the tenderness that Darrin held Mitch. Nor had he ever had the look of contentment that he could see on Mitch's face. Trent felt a tear rolling down his face, and fiercely scrubbed it away. He needed to leave here soon, or he would turn soft. He knew from experience, if you were soft, you died on the street. These people were softening him. He turned to go back to his house, thinking he had to begin his plans to leave this unreal place.

<><><><>

Josh walked over again, to show Trent something he had done wrong. So far as Trent could tell what he was doing was fine, it just wasn't exactly what Josh wanted, and he was getting tired of it. In Trent's opinion, Josh was treating him like he was stupid, and Trent didn't let anyone treat him that way. He got through the latest lecture on how to nail a board to a post, correctly, and was glad when Josh went back to what he was working on and left Trent alone.

A few minutes of blissful quiet passed when Trent heard Josh correcting him again, this time from across the corral. Trent whirled, drew back and hurled the hammer in his hand at Josh's head, just as Mitch walked around the corner.

Mitch had heard the two boys working, and had noticed that Josh was trying to micromanage Trent. He'd hoped the two of them could work it out. He had heard Josh's last set of instructions, which Mitch thought were just for the sake of control. As he walked around the corner to talk to Josh, Mitch saw the hammer sail through the air, barely missing Josh's head. Mitch immediately decided, enough was enough.

"Both of you, in the house. Now!" said Mitch with authority.

Motioning them ahead of him, Mitch marched both boys into the main house. As they walked through the door, Darrin looked up from his desk and cocked his eyebrow at Mitch. But instead of stepping in to help, he sat quietly in his chair while Mitch sat both young men down on the couch. Mitch glanced up at him, and Darrin shrugged. Mitch's mouth formed a hard line as he turned back to the two. Turning to Trent he unloaded.

"What the fuck were you thinking, Trent? You could have killed Josh throwing that hammer at him," he saw Josh open his mouth to speak, and turned on him, "and what the hell crawled up your butt today Josh and left you princess of corral building? Picky ass shit like you are pointing out is just being a snot nosed brat."

"That's it! That's exactly fuck'n it!" shouted Trent. "He thinks he's so much fuck'n better than everyone else, living up here and getting everything he fuck'n want. Josh is just a fuck'n rich kid with two sugar daddy's!"

Josh pounced on what Trent said, "Rich kid! Rich kid! I only had one pair of jeans when I got here you little asshole! I work for my money and I spend it how I want. Mitch and Darrin have helped, but the goats are my business and I didn't sell myself to get what I have!"

"Fuck you! Fuck you, you cock sucking little hypocritical faggot! I survived! I did what I had to but I survived you shitty condescend—"

"That's enough!" snapped Mitch, "From both of you!" He paused for a few seconds, letting everyone cool down slightly. Then he turned to Josh, "Josh, why don't you tell Trent how you ended up living here. I don't think he knows."

"It's no body's business how . . ." Josh trailed off when he saw the look on Mitch's face. Knowing he really had no choice, not because anyone would force him, but because Mitch thought it would help. He took a deep breath and started.

"Sheriff White Cloud brought me. My parents had beaten me pretty badly, my mother had whipped me with the buckle end of a belt. I was about your age," he looked over at Trent and then glanced away, "Anyway, the Sheriff says the Kiowa call gay people 'two-spirits', and they have powers for good. Or something like that. Anyway, he brought me here. All I had was the clothes on my back. My parents didn't speak to me because they thought, well still think, that I'm Satan since I'm gay. So Mitch and Darrin have been helpful, more than helpful." Josh stared at the ground, suddenly realizing how much he had been given and how fortunate he was.

Trent looked at Josh and asked without flinching. "Do you have sex with them?"

"Darrin and Mitch? God no! Oh my god! What a horrible thing to say!"

Mitch looked at Trent with a surprisingly understanding look on his face. "Trent, your turn. What's your history?"

"Why the fuck do you care?" retorted Trent. "It's none of your fuck'n business."

"That's two different things. Why don't you tell Josh why you thought he was having sex with Darrin and me. If he understood some of your history maybe he'd stop doing some of the things that make you feel the need to brain him with a hammer." Darrin looked at Mitch with a raised eyebrow and Mitch nodded almost imperceptibly.

Trent crossed his arms, looking from one to the other and then froze in position without emotion. Everyone in the room waited, wondering if Trent was going to share part of his story or not. Eventually he did start speaking, but it was without his customary bravado.

"Because a lot of the foster fathers made me have sex with them. That's why." He turned to Josh with a fierce and suddenly angry look on his face. "The first one would hold me down and make me suck him until he fuck'n got off. I ran away. They stuck me in a different home, the new foster fucker thought he could seduced me, because he liked sucking me off."

Josh looked a little ill as Trent talked about his life. The connections were quickly made and Josh could see how he could have easily ended up in the same situation that Trent had been involved. He thought back to Mitch talking about his abuser, and he had to admire Trent for getting himself away.

"Sorry, I didn't know. It sounds horrible," said Josh quietly.

"You fuck'n stupid redneck! Horrible was my dad being killed when I was 6. Horrible was my fuck'n stepfather beating me, and my mom not stopping him. The rest is just sex, sex is easy. Give them what they want, and I get to eat. Easy," said Trent with a hollow laugh.

"Trent, Darrin and I are monogamous," interjected Mitch, "So that will never happen," Mitch looked at Darrin, who nodded in agreement. "Anyone you're intimate with is your business. But you can't bring tricks here. I'd hope you'd give that up now that you have the STD's cleared up. I'm not your parole officer, and I have no intentions of watching you every second to keep you out of trouble. Until you do something stupid, I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and think you're doing the right thing."

Trent barked a laugh at Mitch's statement, "Yeah, some of the worst of my foster parents were fuck'n pillars of the community and went to church every time they opened the fuck'n doors."

"I can't say you're wrong, Trent. But nothing has happened here, right? Did you make it almost three weeks at any of the other homes before something happened?" said Mitch.

Trent started to argue and then slowly closed his mouth. He realized that none of the three men had tried anything with him and usually, if it was going to start, it would have by now. Either the intimidation to bully him into sex, or seducing him into it, one or the other should have started by now. Trent suddenly felt confused, this wasn't fitting into any of his experiences, and he didn't like it when things didn't fit. They're just holding out longer, he decided. They were getting tired of him, but were lasting longer. It would happen, Trent was sure. Now that he had made this experience fit into his expectations, he could relax and plan his exit. He was stockpiling a lot of useful things, he might last for months on the street without needing to sell himself again. Actually with the decent clothes he might be able to get a job.

This flashed through his mind in a span of seconds, and Trent turned back and almost smiled at the trio.

"Yeah, great. It's just fuck'n fantastic here. Never been happier," said Trent, dripping sarcasm.

"Great! Then could you two darling children go back to fix'n the corral without killing each other?"

Both young men turned and started toward the door. They each had a new perspective, but they were so radically different that they might as well be from different universes.

Darrin sighed as the door closed behind them, wondering if the family would survive Trent. Turning to Mitch he quipped. "That boy wouldn't be happy if he was hung with a new rope."

Mitch laughed and rubbed his hand across Darrin's head. "You do realize that's a fucking strange saying."

Darrin thought a second and then chuckled, "Yeah, it is weird isn't it."

<><><><>

Mitch let out a long breath of air and then tried to explain the math problem to Trent, again. Unfortunately, math wasn't really his strong suit either. But he was taking the home schooling seriously and Trent actually seemed to be soaking it up. As Mitch had guessed, it wasn't that Trent was stupid; he was just behind since he had missed the last several years of school. But he had made amazing progress in the last few weeks and was working through the freshmen level work quickly. But now they were doing geometry, and Mitch was floundering.

"It's the tangent."

Trent and Mitch looked up to the source of the statement to find Josh standing beside them looking over Trent's shoulder.

"It's the tangent, see here," said Josh and then launched into a detailed explanation of the problem. With a few more suggestions, he had helped Trent work through two more problems that they had been struggling with for hours. Mitch backed away quietly and watched as the two worked together, without death threats.

Mitch was fixing supper when Darrin came in and gave him a welcome home kiss. Turning to see the two combatants working together, he turned and gave Mitch a questioning look. Raising his arms in a shrug, Mitch indicated his lack of understanding too. Darrin wrapped his arms around Mitch and held him for a few minutes while he watch the younger two doing Trent's homework.

"First getting the final paperwork for us signed this morning, and then the truce with the warring factions. I'm not sure which was more surprising."

Mitch laughed, "Getting you to finish all the legal paperwork so we can make decisions for each other was a pain in the ass. But it's all finished now. But I think the two of them working together took divine intervention."

"Well, let's get supper ready and maybe it will last a little longer before the next round of gunfire," said Mitch with a grin.

Darrin chuckled, "A quiet meal, imagine that."

<><><><>

"Come on, Trent. Damn, I swear you're worse than taking some old woman shopping. You must have looked at every shirt," complained Mitch.

"I'm almost finished. Hang on, Grandpa."

"Grandpa my ass, I can whip your skinny butt with—" Mitch stopped talking when he saw that Trent was fixated on something else. Scanning the people around them, Mitch couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"What are you looking at?" he asked Trent.

"That guy over there. He's the one the Sheriff caught me with."

"What guy?"

"That one!" said Trent as he pointed at a medium sized man with slightly curly dark hair. Mitch watched the man Trent pointed out, feeling that he was oddly familiar. Suddenly the person in question turned his head and Mitch realized why, it was Kevin Boorman.

"That guy? With the curly dark hair? You sure?" asked Mitch.

"Fuck yes I'm sure. I was spitting out curly pubes for days after blowing him," said Trent.

"I'm go'n kill him," muttered Mitch as he started across the store to confront Boorman. Suddenly he felt a tug backward and turned to see Trent holding onto him with a blank expression on his face.

"Let go. I'm going to beat the shit out of that mother fucker!" said Mitch through clenched teeth.

"No, you're not. Fuck'n think a minute! You beat the little fucker and then you're in jail. Cause right now he ain't done shit wrong and you're go'n be all up in his shit. Then the two goodie, goodies at home will be pissed at me," said Trent almost in a whisper. "What's the fuck'r to you anyway?"

"He gave Darrin and I hell about being gay and out in grad school, and now he makes life miserable for Darrin cause they work together," spat out Mitch, still furious.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better . . . he fuck'n sucks at giving head, doesn't even know to cover his teeth!"

Mitch had to laugh at that, he knew he should be offended and tell Trent to watch his language if he ever wanted to fit in around here, but the idea of Trent giving Boorman pointers on oral sex was just so over the top that he couldn't do anything but laugh at it.

"Besides," continued Trent, "Now you have something on him. So next time the fuck'r starts shit with Darrin, smack! You got his ass in a crack."

Mitch shook his head, realizing that in some ways Trent might be the most mature of any of them. "Ok, ok, I won't beat his ass like a drum, but he has you to thank for it. Let's get home before I change my mind."

<><><><>

Trent walked through the living room of his house, drying his hair, his cock flopping as he danced around the room to the music he had blaring. He was starting to relax a little, but he still didn't have all the puzzle pieces to what was going on at the ranch. Somehow, someway, this was still just too good. Mitch, he liked. Mitch was cool and funny. Darrin was ok, but Trent thought he was still waiting for Trent to screw up and prove him right. Josh, well Josh was a prick, but he'd been spending enough time with that little blond twink he was dating that he hadn't had time to annoy Trent.

Trent did a tight spin, long cock flapping against his leg. Suddenly he realized that he was not alone and froze. Turning to the door, he saw Josh standing and staring at him.

"What's your fuck'n problem, prick!" shouted Trent, startled.

"You're fucking huge!" said Josh, unable to look away.

"Got $50? I'll let ya play with it for $50," said Trent with a sneer.

The lewd suggestion snapped Josh out of his amazement and back to reality. Crossing his arms he frowned at Trent. "I don't pay for sex, especially with boney ass city boys. I'm in a relationship, thank you."

"Yeah, and I bet twinky boy is oh so goodie two-shoes too. All vanilla sex. And what you want is a wild fuck thrown into you." Trent started gyrating his hips, spinning his cock in front of him.

Josh spun and left the house. Embarrassed at the display, but more disturbed by the fact that it was turning him on. When Josh burst back into the ranch house, Mitch looked up from his work.

"Did you tell Trent the caseworker was coming?"

Josh paused, "No, I forgot." And then rushed into his room.

Jeez, thought Mitch. He needed to get Trent a damn phone so he could just call him. Mitch also wondered what was wrong between the two of them that would have Josh upset again.

<><><><>

Zach was walking behind Josh, trying to hold down his gag reflex as they walked through Josh's goats. Josh had to agree, the males still smelled pretty ripe, but it was part of having goats. Zach would disagree. In his world, things that were this unpleasant didn't last long. Zach finally decided that conversation would help him think about something other than the strong smell.

"So how are you and the guy that the sheriff dropped off getting along?" asked Zach.

"Fine," said Josh, his thought's drifting to what he had seen the week before and somehow could never get out of his head.

"Really? I'd think having a hooker living in your house would be awkward. I bet you can't wait until he leaves," said Zach.

"It's not like he's still hooking, he was doing it to survive," said Josh quietly.

"Yeah, but you know something has to be wrong with him. He must have really screwed up to get thrown out by his parents like that," said Zach with finality.

"You think?" asked Josh with one eyebrow cocked.

"Oh yeah. Definitely. He must have really screwed up. Parents just don't do that to their own kids. And he probably kept doing it in the foster homes you said he was in. Just a big mess-up with no redeeming qualities," said Zach.

"You know, Zach. I don't think it was Trent's fault. I think he was abused," said Josh, his face reddening with anger.

"Not like that. You know. Some people are just bad and can't be helped," said Zach nonchalantly.

Josh was trying to keep his frustration under control. Zach didn't seem to remember how Josh ended up on the ranch. The more Zach talked, the more Josh came to realize that only chance and luck separated him from ending up in the same situation as Trent had found himself. He wasn't sure how he would have handled it either. With a sigh, he decided it wasn't worth the effort to try and educate Zach.

The pair continued through the herd as Josh checked them for problems. As they moved silently away from the barn, a slight rustle came from inside. Trent had walked up on the conversation, and stayed to hear what was said. He was shocked that Josh had defended him.

Trent moved away from the pair so they would not know he was there. He was carefully thinking through what he had just witnessed, trying to reconcile his previous experience with the way things seemed to be on this ranch.

<><><><>

Darrin and Mitch walked into the living room to find Josh sitting and staring at a sheet of paper in front of him. When he didn't make eye contact with either of the two men, they knew something was wrong.

"What's up, Josh?" said Darrin.

Without a word he spun the paper so they could see that it was his semester grades. Mitch and Darrin glanced down at them. They were relieved to see that he hadn't failed anything, but some of the grades were just enough to pass. Looking back at Josh they waited for him to speak.

"I don't really like ag classes . . ." said Josh looking dejected.

Mitch chuckled, "We never said you had to have the same major as we did." Darrin nodded in agreement. "What do you think you want to major in?"

Josh quietly ran his finger down the page, stopping at his lone A. Darrin and Mitch paused to absorb the information. Following the line back they were both shocked to see it was a drawing class.

"Art? You want to major in Art?" asked Mitch, trying to keep his dismay under control. "What would you do with that? And I thought you liked the ranch." Darrin put his hand on Mitch's shoulder to prevent him from going any further. Mitch caught himself and stopped, realizing he was about to go off and he needed to listen.

"Graphic arts, like designing posters and books and stuff. They can actually find jobs. But I'll have to take regular art classes too," explained Josh. "And I do love it here, and I always want to be involved in the ranch, but I can do the graphics from here and not depend on the ranch to make a living."

Darrin squeezed Mitch shoulder gently, trying to get him to realize that not everyone's dream job was running a cattle ranch. Josh had shown interest in the ranch so they'd assumed he wanted to do it. But that didn't mean that he did. Darrin was relieved when Mitch reached up and patted his hand.

"Then you should try it, Josh. You might love it. You might hate it. But years later you don't want to be wondering," said Mitch.

Josh nodded, a nervous tremor in his cheek settling down as he realized Darrin and Mitch were still going to support him. He suddenly jumped to his feet and grabbed them both in a huge hug.