TIC - 14. Chapter 14

"Where have you guys been, we've been looking for you." Cory said with Michael in tow.

"I had some stuff that needed tending to," Ty said, jumping down from the fence.

"Wow, is that your horse?" Michael asked.

" No," Ty said, looking at Camille and patting her on the neck. "She belongs to Oggie," Ty said.

"I wouldn't say that," Nick said. "Camille seems to have staked a claim on you. She may not be yours, but you are certainly hers."

Ty smiled, looking over his shoulder at Nick. "I love her too, but she's not mine."

"Well, I think Camille might have something to say about any other opinion."

Ty grinned. "It doesn't matter who owns her, I love her and the rest is unimportant."

"Can I touch her?" Troy asked, meekly stepping into the barn.

"Sure, she likes that. Just watch that she doesn't step on your toes. Scratch her here," he said, scratching her withers. Camille moved her lips like she was trying to talk and she stretched her neck before shaking her head up and down.

Troy stepped up to her and wrapped an arm around her neck and scratched her withers with his free hand. "She is so cool, Ty. Thanks for letting me scratch her."

"Well, it was really up to her." Nick said. "If she didn't like you, then you wouldn't have gotten close to her. Horses are smart that way."

Ty walked over to the corner of the stall where he set things. He reached up and took the brush that he had balanced across the corner. "Here," he said, handing the brush to Troy. "She really likes to be brushed."

Troy took the brush from him, smiling, and began brushing Camille down. "So, you're the kid who draws naked boys. Well, that's what my brother said." He looked up to see Ty looking at Nick. "I saw one of them. It was a beautiful boy from the back. Karen has it in wallpaper in this big, white, room. It was a perfect butt, too."

"Thanks," Nick said, jumping down from the wall to stand next to Ty.

"But, I don't understand. I thought it was Ty that did the drawing."

"It is," Ty said, smiling. A look of comprehension donned Troy's face, as his eyes went back and forth between the two, before blushing crimson. "That! Was you!"

"In the flesh," Nick said, grinning, a little blush appearing on his own.

Trying to recover, Troy looked back to Ty, "I'd like to see some of your other drawings sometime."

Michael and Cory busted out laughing, "Yeah, can we see your private collection too?"

Ty looked at him with a grin and raised one eyebrow. "I should mention here, I think, that Nick is my boyfriend."

Troy realized what Ty had thought and Troy became flustered. "Ah no, I mean, yeah, I guessed that! I didn't mean of . . . you know him, uh, like, uh before . . . like, on the wall and stuff, uh, I meant, like other stuff ,with like, clothes on and you know."

Ty and Nick were grinning wildly as they watched him squirm. Finally, Ty stepped forward and put an arm around his shoulder, "Relax, I knew what you meant. I was just having a go at ya. You're gay too, I take it?" It was a question.

Troy looked at Nick, "Chuck said you knew already."

Nick smiled. "Just because I knew did not mean I had permission to tell anyone else. That is your call, not mine. Did Michael and Cory show you the picture Ty did that outed them?"

"Oh my God, yes. Man, I couldn't believe that. Can you imagine!?"

Ty laughed. "Don't have too. I was there. How about you? Are you out at home?" Ty knew immediately he asked the wrong question. Troy looked down at his feet for a moment, then back to Ty, but his smile was gone.

"Yeah, it went pretty bad. That's why I'm living with my brother. Mom was alright with it but dad just freaked out."

Ty placed a hand on his shoulder, "Sorry man. Look, don't let it spoil your day. Besides, he may come around in time."

"Nah, it's been a long time already. Now, I'm more angry than hurt. I just keep remembering how he found out and it makes it all better."

"What do you mean? How did he find out?"

The ear to ear smile came back to Troy's face. "Me and my best bud were in the garage and he had me bent over the old man's Buick. That car was his baby. Anyways, my pants were down around my ankles and he was hammering it home. Just as we were about to blow, the garage door swung up and my mom and dad were standing there looking at us. We both had our eyes closed and the new breeze sent us both over the edge. My dad stood there in shock as I blasted my load all down the side of his car. He was dumbfounded. They never spoke until we came down enough to open our eyes and see that we were exposed to the entire neighborhood. Every kid on the block it seems was playing on our cul-de-sac that day. They all had the same gaping pie hole that my dad and mom did. Dad just went off! He started screaming that I should clean that off his car. He wasn't concerned as much about the world seeing his son with his pants around his ankles getting porked by his best friend as he was the finish on his old Buick."

Ty and Nick both had mouths hanging wide open listening to the story. "Damn! That would have been just crazy," Nick said, hanging on every word.

"No, crazy was where my dad went when my bud scraped a wad of my spooge off the fender of the car with his finger and pop-sicled it! He bellowed, 'What in the sam-hell are you doing?'"

"What did your bud say?"

Troy smiled, "Shit, if I live to be a thousand, I'll never forget it. He looked up at my dad and said, 'Well, I'm either packing a hot lunch or eating the evidence, take your pick.' He was just as cool as ice."

"Was he out already at home?"

"Nope, but you would have to know him to appreciate it. He was just a free spirit. Sorta an, 'I'll deal with life on the fly' kind of guy. I really miss him."

"What happened to him?"

"Not sure. He was sent to live with an uncle back east someplace. It was either that, or a military school. I guess the uncle was the lesser of the two evils."

"Man that sucks. How about you two? What's your story?"

Nick looked at Ty and gave him the nod. "Well, to make a long story short, Nick woke up to me sleep fucking his hip and it put him in the mood, so, when Oggie walked in, we were just making our mess. He said, 'I expect you'll want to take a shower before you come down. Then, I expect we ought to sit down and have a conversation.'"

"That was it?" Troy said, incredulously. "Take a shower and we'll talk?"

"Well, actually, he said he'd keep breakfast warm for us so we shouldn't be too long."

"Oh man, you don't know how lucky you are."

"Yeah, we do," they said together. Nick turned to Ty, "You can really say that now, can't you!"

Ty grinned. "Yeah, that's too cool too."

"What?" Troy asked, seeing he missed something.

Ty smiled, "Oggie just adopted me, legally. He's my new dad."

"No way!" Troy said, looking at Nick. "Your dad adopted you a boyfriend! Christ, he adopted you a boy toy!"

"Whoa! No! He is my new brother."

Wait, isn't that like incest now then?"

Nick looked at Troy and bit the side of his lip, looking to Ty. "Well, yeah, no. You see, we we're together before he was adopted so I don't think . . . Shit. I don't know. If it is, then I'm headed for the big house," Nick said, stepping closer to Ty, but Ty backed away.

"What?" Nick asked.

Ty looked down, then back up at Nick. "Nick I love you, but. . ."

"But what?"

"Well, I just got my past erased. It's clean. I think we need to talk to Oggie."

"Mind if I tag along?" Troy asked, sheepishly, before adding, "Hey, just in case someone needs consoling . . . . or something."

Nick gave him a playful slap upside the head as he grinned and pulled him to him.

Michael looked at Cory, "I think they might have that beer a little earlier than they planned."

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"Oggie, you cook an awesome steak." Karen said, smiling. "Hey, I just spoke to Mike and he should be here in a couple hours. He is heading over to the airport to rent a car now."

"Really? Hold on a second." He pulled out his cell phone and punched a couple numbers in. "Hey Jim, what's up? You are? Great! Look, one of my guests is about to rent a car to drive up. He is on his way to the airport to rent one now. Would you mind a passenger? I think that should work out just right. His name is Michael Sandberg. Great, we'll have him ask for you. I'll give him your cell phone just in case. Thanks, Jim. See you soon." Oggie closed his phone.

Looking at Karen, Oggie spoke up. "I have a friend who is coming up in a helicopter. He's with the sherriff's department. He's at the airport now and is filing his flight plan. He is figuring to leave in about an hour. Why don't you give Mike a call and let Jim bring him up and save yourself the hassle of the car rental and the long drive. He can ride back down with you in the motor home or take my truck. I can get a ride back in to get it if he has to leave early."

Karen smiled. "Oh, Mike will love that. He wasn't looking forward to that long drive. I'll give him a call. What's your friend's number?"

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"Pa, um, we have a question. Is there some place we can talk for a minute?" Nick asked, concern clearly shown on his face.

Oggie looked at the group of boys. "All of you?"

Nick spoke up quickly, "No, just Ty and I." The look of disappointment shown clearly on Troy's face. Nick turned to the remaining, three boys. "We'll only be a few minutes." Without waiting for a response, Nick and Ty followed Oggie into his study.

"Now, what's this all about?" he asked.

"Incest." Nick said, calmly. "Now that we are legally brothers . . . are we, you know?"

Oggie grinned and took a breath. "Well, in the letter of the law, I would have to say yes. But! Understand that the reason incest laws came into being was that the genetics of marrying your first cousin or an immediate family member was a child that mentally would never grow up. So, I don't think that is a danger with you two. Since you are both over 14, the age of consent, and you are both willing partners to the other, then I don't see it as an issue at all. And look at it this way, if your relationship lasts until you are all grown then you both have the same last name!"

"So Ty doesn't have to worry about dirtying his newly clean record?"

"No, his record is still spotless. You are free to bump uglies all you want. Well, depending on where you do it and how loud he moans."

"Pa!" Nick blushed.

Ty, grinning slyly, mused, "Yeah, Nick's the screamer. I'm pretty quiet."

Nick found deeper shades of red as he turned and looked at Ty, started to speak and shut his mouth, grinning in crimson silence.

They exited the room to find Michael, Cory and Troy sitting on the couch. Troy looked decidedly disappointed. Oggie looked at the boys and then at Nick and Ty.

"Troy was hoping one of us would need consoling," Nick said, smiling.

"Why don't you guys all go for a swim? Cheytan has some youngsters with him. I'll bet they would go for some skinny dipping." Troy's eyes lit up.

"Great idea, pa!" Nick looked at the rest of the boys while slipping his arms over Ty's shoulders and pulling him back into him. "Why don't we all pig out on some burgers, first. It's almost lunch time and my stomach thinks my throat's been slit. I'm starving. Then, we can all go down to the lake for a dip."

Cory stood up. "Let's go see if we can help carry something out. I saw a huge bowl of potato salad." He stood, swallowing as the teenage feeding hormones became apparent in all of them.

A teenage stampede suddenly occurred and Oggie stood alone, staring at the papers blown aloft, slowly floating to the floor. Feeling some of the teenage feeding frenzy pheromones, Oggie was suddenly hungry.

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Cheytan heard the stampede and hastily added more burgers and hot dogs to the grill in anticipation. He was not disappointed and behind the horde of hungry teenagers were Oggie, Sharon and Karen, each toting more consumables. Cheytan smiled at the thought. "This has to be the first time in history that an Indian was glad to see the cavalry."

The boys, along with the tribe, ate until the horses were looking nervous. Nick stood up and looked around, then announced. "Let's go swimming!" he said, and the horde of young bodies all turned in mass towards the lake. Ty looked around as they strolled through the high grass and notice that the dozen or so who followed were not all boys. He stepped up his pace to catch up with Nick, whose long legs moved forward with a purpose.

"Nick?" Ty said to slow him down and get his attention. "Nick, there are girls coming along."

Nick glanced back, "Yeah, so?"

"But, isn't everyone going skinny dipping?"

"Yeah, what's your point? I mean, I don't care. I'm gay."

"Well yeah, but, you know, they aren't."

"Ty, you don't have to get undressed if you don't want to. They grow up around nakedness. I guess the easiest way to put it is, that they don't think nude is rude. Cheytan's people taught me to celebrate my body. I mean, sex isn't dirty, although people can certainly make it that way, and do. It's stupid, really. Think about it. Every boy has boy stuff and every girl has girl stuff. It ain't a big secret."

"It's just weird, you know. I mean, I've never seen a girl naked before. I mean, not a real one."

"Well, get your sketch pad ready because I think you are about to get an eyeful. You may want to ask them first before you draw them. It's just polite. I expect most girls will take their tops off and leave their shorts on. That's what usually happens, but you never know."

Ty found a place in the sun where he could watch the fun. He kicked off his shoes and t-shirt as most everyone else stripped down and went in swimming. Troy watched him as he slowly took off his shirt.

"You're not going in?"

"Nah, I don't much care for swimming."

"Can you swim?" he said, sitting down next to him.

"Just a little bit. Nick is teaching me. I usually only go swimming so Nick isn't alone."

"You really care about him, don't you?"

"Yeah. More than anything."

"You are so lucky."

"Yeah, I really am. So, why aren't you going in? I mean, there is some hot looking skin out there. You might get lucky."

"I was sorta hoping I could get lucky right here."

Ty looked at Troy, his eyes looking down as he twisted a piece of grass with his fingers. "Look, your hot, but Nick and I are solidly hooked up."

"Yeah, I can see that. I'm not looking to fuck that up. I'm just looking for some sex. Why not let me hook up with the two of ya. The three of us could have some fun."

"I don't think so. For Nick I think, sex is more than just sex."

"I don't get it."

"I didn't for a long time either. But, I think I got it now. No, I'm sure I got it now. Look, why don't you get naked and see if you can land one of those other guys."

"You just want to see me naked, don't you? Admit it."

"Yeah, okay, I'd like to see you naked and all wet."

"Sweet, you gonna draw me?"

"Maybe. We'll see."

Troy peeled his shirt off and toed his feet out of his sneakers. Undoing his belt with his back to Ty, he wiggled his boy, bubble butt as he lowered his beltline slowly to reveal his commando state. Ty smiled as Troy looked back to see if he was looking. He smiled, looking at Ty's fixed gaze. He lowered his pants below the ridgeline of his perfectly rounded boy spheres and then twisted around, cross-legged as he let them go. Ty's eyes locked on to the semi-hard, uncut boy in front of him and found he had to adjust himself. This caused Troy to go full and he glanced around before running into the lake and diving in.

The two girls did indeed remove their tops and left their shorts on. Ty watched and marveled at the diversity of skin tones before him, from the golden brown skin of the people, to the lily-white skin of the city boys and the nicely roasted tan of his boy. Ty only saw one truly beautiful boy in the water, though. Troy was nice, but Nick was hot. And most of all, Nick was his.

Ty flipped a page and started drawing. He turned another page and drew some more before feeling a pair of eyes locked on him. He looked up expecting to see Troy. He saw Nick standing on the floating dock, slightly excited and scratching his leg. Ty's eyes moved up the figure to find Nick's eyes waiting for his. He smiled. There was communication being made. Ty smirked and went back to his drawing.

Troy swam up behind Nick and wrapped his arms around him, pulling him back against him, one hand on his nipple and the other on his tight abdominal plate. "Guess who," he whispered?

Nick felt his firm boyhood resting in the crack of his firm ass. He turned sideways and pushed Troy away from him, kindly. "Troy," he said, simply.

"What?" he said, unabashed.

"Dude, you need to check your hormones."

"What the fuck? I was just playing around."

"No, you weren't. And if you think that's all it was, then you need to know that I don't see it that way. Please don't do that again. I don't like it."

"What's with you? You guys act like sex is something sacred. It's just fun."

"You're right. For us it is something more."

"Dude, you can't tell me that I don't turn you on. Even your boyfriend had to straighten his stuff out when he saw me. So, if it is something more than just sex, maybe you guys aren't as tight as you thought."

"I can't speak for Ty, he's free to do what he wants, but I can tell you that for me, there can be only one and I don't care if you looked like a god, you ain't him." Nick turned away from him and swam towards the shore.

Troy smirked and looked around for Michael and Cory.

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"Bill! So glad to see you, glad you came. Ty will be so happy you could make it. Hey, thanks for taking care of him. I really mean it. Throw your stuff in the bunk house and tell Cheytan how you like your steak." Looking up and towards the tree line he spotted the helicopter. "I need to get that bunch of kids out of the way so Jim and Mike can land."

Jim passed overhead and waved and swung out over the pasture and over the swimming lake before coming back to the spot where he normally lands. He could see that Oggie had the little ones held back. Jim set down lightly and shut down. Mike smiled and shook Jim's hand, thanking him before getting out.

"Oggie, how are you?" Mike reached out taking his hand firmly.

"Glad you could make it. How was the flight?"

"Excellent, it was my first flight in one. Sure is better than a long drive. It was pretty cool to, a whole different experience than flying in an airplane."

"My son Nick loves to fly in helicopters, but the poor kid pukes his guts out on an airplane."

"Oh, that makes for a tough trip."

Jim walked up, extending his hand, "Hey Oggie. Where's the beer?"

Smiling, Oggie took his hand, "Come on, I'll introduce you around."

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"You alright?" Ty asked as Nick grabbed his shirt and began drying his face off.

"Yeah, it's that Troy kid. He's making me crazy."

"Yeah, I've seen his kind before. He just likes to fuck. He doesn't much care about anything else. He'll make a good prison guard. Hey look! It's Big Jim!" he said, looking at the helicopter circling overhead. "Throw your clothes on, let's head up," Ty said, stuffing his sketch pad back in the leather saddle bags.

"Don't worry about Troy. He won't be here that long and maybe Cory and Michael will take care of him."

"He was talking like you were going to do him the favor. He said he rocked you up already."

"So, I got rocked up. You would too. The kid is hot."

"So, you want him?" Nick asked looking at Ty.

"Hey, my dick does, not my heart. That only belongs to one person. You gotta remember that your dick has its own mind and it is brainless. That's why they say a stiff dick has no conscience."

"If you do him, then wear a rubber, he seems to be the type who doesn't much care."

"I don't intend to fuck him either way Nick. I've had my fill of that kind." He grabbed Nick and pulled him around to face him. "I'll try and keep my dick tied to my heart. I know firmly where it is." Ty leaned in and allowed his lips to brush Nick's before kissing him.

"I'm sorry," Nick said, quietly, as they walked across the meadow, Nick holding only a few fingers of the relaxed hand that hung limply between them. It was a simple act, but one that spoke volumes to each other.

"No need Nick. You've never had to worry about competition. It's always been just you and I." They walked a few steps further in silence, stepping high over the tall grass. "And, Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"It's still just you and I." Ty glanced over at Nick to see a Cheshire cat grin.

"I love you, too," Nick whispered.

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"Cheytan, you burn a good steak!"

"Thanks Jim. You wanted it Philly-Charbroiled, didn't ya?"

"Uh, yeah, sure. That's what comes next after 'Make it so a good vet can put it back on it's feet,' right?"

"Oh, cry me a river. I had to wait for it to stop mooing, didn't I? Look, have another beer, it'll taste better."

"Hey, here comes our birthday boy now!"

"Officer Jim!" Ty ran up and gave him a hug which was half returned with a hand wrapped around a beer.

"Hey, how ya been? I heard you had a bit of a run in with the L.A. boys recently."

"Yeah," Ty beamed. "Thanks, your letter to Judge Castle made all the difference. I owe you one, large."

"Nah, you just keep doing like you are. That's payment enough. And look, what you did took real courage."

"Nah, it wasn't courage. It was fear. I was just so scared for Oggie and Nick."

"Ty, you took that fear and channeled it into courage to face the danger. Ty, there isn't a cop on the force, in any department, that doesn't feel some fear going into a situation. After a while, we just flip on a switch in our heads that automatically changes the energy of fear into focused adrenalin. That's what you did. I read the report. You thought quick and acted upon it. You saw a paper cup in the trash and had Nick put gas in it. Then, you calmly walked in, ignoring the robbers, even though you knew one had a gun and was about to use it. You looked at the clerk and watched the reflection in the glass. When you saw him draw his gun, you threw the coffee cup over your shoulder and doused the guy and at the same time, turned, knocking the gun out of his hand, you went to the floor with him. You even had the where-with-all to grab a lighter from the display and to threaten the guy with setting him on fire. You even used words you knew would be understood immediately. Since you were laying on top of him, you were covered in gas, too. But, you still sparked the lighter to show you would. You saved everyone's life by offering up yours. That is thinking like a cop. You may want to give that some thought. Get your records sealed and join the force. You're a natural. And we need honest and courageous brothers."

"He gave me a clean history for my birthday. It's all gone! All of it!'

"That's great. See! A clean start. Just keep on like you are. You're gonna be alright. Speaking of your birthday, I have a little something here for ya." He reached in his pocket and pulled out a ring and handed it to him. "I don't wrap well, but what the hell, guys don't need wrapping anyways, right?"

"You didn't have to get me anything Jim. I mean, you helped give me my freedom. What more could I ask. But thanks. What kind of ring is it?"

"It's a F.O.P. ring."

"F.O.P.?"

"Fraternal Order of Police. The only people who have these are cops and their families. If you get stopped, they'll see this and know you are a good guy. Or, at least they'll check to see before they make you eat pavement."

"Cool!"

"If they ask who is the member, tell them your uncle, then give them my name."

"Thanks, Jim. I don't know what to say."

"Well, shit, that trumps my fishing pole and tackle box all to hell, Jim!"

"Officer Bill! Oh, thank you for keeping that pig away from me," he said, throwing his arms around Officer Bill.

"I'll assume you were referring to his hygiene and not that he was an officer of the law, even if he was a pig."

Ty stood back, "Oh no, I was referring to his hygiene, completely!" Ty's eyes were wide, fearing his comment may have been taken the wrong way by Jim too.

Bill laughed, tussling his hair. "I know what you meant and you were right, he is a pig and he should never have had a badge. Thanks to you, he won't be able to do that to anyone else. And better than that, he'll get a taste of his own medicine. A couple of others were put on report and reassigned because they had knowledge of it, or at least should have. I'm afraid I didn't make myself very popular there though."

"Thanks. I'll bet you're not, the code and all."

"Well, there is a code. And there should be. But its limits have to be observed. This wasn't a speeding ticket. It was a sick mother fucker that needed to be stopped. And what the hell, I was thinking about retiring anyways."

"Oh, no! You lost your job because of me?"

"No way! It was time for me anyways. I'm too big to chase them far anymore. Besides, it'll give me a chance to go fishing and spend time with my boys. They're almost grown and out of the house now anyways. I figure I better spend some time with them before they're gone."

"But what about the other kids like me. They won't have a you to tell them you don't believe them on that long drive out here."

"Ha ha! Yeah, but I'll still be helping. I can volunteer in the juvenile court as a bailiff and Jerry has asked me if I would be willing to possibly be a public liaison that will help read through files and talk to kids and see if we can keep the good ones from going bad. No, I'll have plenty to do and still be able to help. And hey, I think all the positions are filled here."

Nick overheard that and thought to file that one away for deeper analysis. Ty had a sudden inspiration. "Is everyone staying the night?" He looked around, "Is anyone leaving tonight?" He looked around again. "Great! Then tomorrow, maybe, just before lunch, I want to get all of you together for a group picture. Could I?" Oggie looked around and gathered consensus.

"Alright then, it looks like tomorrow around eleven. Why don't we do it on the front porch? Will that be alright, Ty?"

"Yeah, that would be sweet."

"I heard you were a pretty good artist Ty. You got any of your stuff I could see?"

"Sure, Officer Bill, let me get my pad."

"Yeah, seems I'm missing a chapter here, too. Mind if I tag along?" Jim said, getting to his feet.

Mike Sandberg got up, "Wait, this little guy is the one you've been ranting and raving about?" he asked, looking at Karen.

"Yeah, wait until you see it all," she smiled.

"Well, I saw the one in the foyer. He did that?"

She sipped her glass of wine. "Yep and if Nick turns around and drops his shorts, you might recognize the model, too." Nick blushed as he threw a hip forward and pretended to bare a little cheesecake before retreating. Ty brought out his pad and started showing the finished pictures around.

"Cory, why don't you and Michael get that special picture out of the motor home and show it around?" Karen said, seeing the rest of the group coming back from the lake. They smiled and took off at a trot to get the picture that outed them.

"Oh Oggie, I wanted to tell you about Mr. VanGordon? They did a Cat-scan while getting his nose reset and it turns out he has a tumor. No word yet on whether it is cancerous or benign, but the doctor said that its location makes it operable and is most likely the cause for the erratic and violent behavior. They have already begun treatment and he is responding favorably. Michael knows about it all, except the part about it possibly being cancerous. Vivian thought it was best to not mention it until they are sure."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that. I hated to get violent with him and it has eaten at me a bit. I think it was because it was needless anger he had. I mean, there are things in life worth getting really angry about and a kid being gay isn't even on the list."

"So, this is the young guy that is helping you design my wife's new gallery, huh?" Michael Sandberg placed his hand on Ty's shoulder.

Oggie smiled, "Yeah, and I think you are going to like it. He came up with it when we walked the property and saw a bobcat drinking from a natural catch basin. I told him that I wished there was a way to do it and not impact the wildlife. That's all it took. We have some sketches inside. We'll take a look at them after Ty gets done here, if you want."

"Yeah, that would be great. I mean, I'm not in a hurry, or anything, I figured to stay overnight a couple of nights anyways."

"Great, why don't we look at them tomorrow afternoon when we all settle into the day a bit? No need to rush into them now."

Ty's eyes caught movement off to a corner of his vision and he turned to see Nick walk off towards the meadow. His posture told Ty that he was in deep contemplation. Nick needed the alone time sometimes to sort things out. Ty had learned to give him that. His attention turned back to the crowd.

"Ty, these are incredible." Michael Sandberg's smile was beaming. "Karen was right. You are going to be a huge hit. And you can draw architecture too?"

"Well, that remains to be seen, doesn't it? I guess we'll find the answer to that tomorrow when you look at the sketches. I really like drawing people. There is so much emotion in them."

"Buildings have personalities too Ty, just not emotional ones." Oggie chimed in, "If you can learn to draw the personality of a building, then you will be top notch in building design too."

Officer Jim walked up and put his arm on Ty's shoulder, "I take it back."

"You take what back, Officer Jim?"

"Hey, you can lose the officer part of that, we're family now ok?"

"Okay, but what do you take back?"

"The part about being a cop. You have a real talent here. Maybe a police sketch artist, but you are too good at this to be a regular cop."

"Couldn't I do both?"

"Yeah, I suppose you could, but there is a lot of darkness that you get with being a cop. It might change your drawings."

Ty smiled, "I don't know about that. I've seen plenty of dark and carry a good bit of it with me, but I don't think it changes my drawings."

"Yeah, I guess you have at that."

Bill came up, "What would you say to an early fishing trip the day after tomorrow? We'll get up early and go down and see if we can get some breakfast? It'll give you a chance to try out the new rod I got ya."

"I think I'd like that a lot. I've never fished before so you'll have to help me there."

"I can't think of anything I'd rather do."

"Sweet! Then it's a date."

"Well, I didn't mean it was going to be like 'that', uh, you know."

Ty laughed, "No, I didn't either. For me it's just Nick. So, let's say it's a plan! That's it! A plan!"

"I think that works fine."

Ty hung around, answering questions about his drawings, constantly looking over his shoulder, but no Nick. A couple of hours passed and Ty was now getting worried. Excusing himself, he disappeared towards the meadow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey," Ty whispered in the ear of the sleeping boy. Nick rolled over to see the beautiful boy smiling down at him. His smile changed to something more serious, "You've been crying. What's wrong?" Nick just shook his head and broke into sobs as he pulled Ty into a hug.

Ty lay there worrying. The more he lay there, the more he worried. "Talk to me. Why are you crying? Was it Troy? Tell me and I'll take care of him. What's wrong?"

Nick sniffed, "That was the first time I actually heard what went on in the shopette. I just knew you stopped it and threatened the kid with the gasoline. I never heard the whole story. Ty, when you flicked the lighter, you could have gone up right then too. I almost lost you and didn't even know how close it was."

"Hey, it's over, that was in the past. I'm alright, you're alright, Oggie's alright. Everyone is fine. Dry'em up."

"I know but . . . oh, you don't understand. I was almost alone again. Just the thought makes me more sad than you could possibly imagine."

"Oh, you think that I didn't weigh out the trade? The second I saw those guys go into the store, I knew I wasn't going home with you that night. I knew he had a bullet that only I could have. Oggie and you is what I thought. Without Oggie, there was no you and me. Without me, there was still Oggie and you. The choice was obvious and I did what I had to do for you to be safe. If I lived, I knew I could live with where I was going, I've done it before. If we burned, I knew you would be safe. That's all I needed for the courage. I was glad I got lucky and lived through it. And then to have everyone pitch in to help get me back here with you . . . well, it is a dream."

"You figured you would burn when you struck the lighter, didn't you? Ty, promise me you'll never do anything like that again. Even for me. I couldn't live knowing that you had set yourself on fire. That would be horrible. That picture just keeps running through my mind. You, nose to nose with him, and then you, lighting the lighter. You were so lucky."

"Yeah, I was. Not a minute goes by that I'm not aware of it. But you'll get no promise from me. You are my everything. Now, let's see if we can give you another picture to focus on when you think of fire." Ty kissed him deeply while his hands worked to get his pants undone and to get Nick's shorts pulled down enough for their boyhood to meet. He ground his boy-toy against Nick's as he moved from his mouth to kiss Nick's neck passionately and Nick's thrusts met Ty's rhythm as their breathing raced to match their heartbeat. Nick squirmed and let out a primal scream as they both released their love spawn between them, Nick pulling Ty against him as they milked the last drop out of each other.

"Damn! You guys are so fucking hot together. I think I shot my load three feet just watching you."

"Troy, you have no decency! Fuck man! At least you could have kept your perving mouth shut and snuck away! Fuck, talk about stealing the moment! You can't even tell when a couple are expecting to have a private moment?" Nick was livid. Ty took his shirt off and used it to clean Nick up. Rolling away from him, he cleaned himself up too. Grinning, Nick looked back at him, his eyes flared, "What are you grinning at?"

"He got his rocks off, finally, didn't he? Cut him some slack, Nick. If you were him and really horny, wouldn't you sneak off to watch someone as hot as you getting it on? I sure as hell would. Come on, he has to watch Cory and Michael and then us and he has no release. Lighten up."

Nick found the sparkle in Ty's eyes totally disarming as his fire turned to the warmth of love and he pulled Ty in and kissed him again.

"Come on, let's get back," Ty said, pulling Nick to his feet.

Ty looked over at Troy shaking it off and slipping it back in his pants, "Dude, next time give us a few minutes before you say anything, would ya? Not everyone finishes when the last drop flies."

They walked back, hand in hand, with Troy wandering along behind them, his eyes watching the tight butts swaying in front of him. He vowed silently to try those before he left, both of them.