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Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch
By PattRose
Summary: A new series is introduced. Blair Sandburg is the owner of a huge horse ranch in Montana. He also raises cattle. But his main love was the horses. This series will follow his life and the men and woman who work for him.
A/N: This is going to be a new series of mine, but I don’t know how people will take to it. Someone has to let me know that they want more. I’m up for it, if you are. TIA

Blair Sandburg was only 26 years old but felt much older. He was a Professor of Anthropology at a small college, where he taught two classes a week. His second job was owning and running a huge horse ranch in Montana. The closest town was Dillion, Montana. It only had 6,000 of a population but it had everything you could possibly need. Feed stores, grocery stores, a Walmart, a Sheriff’s Department and a huge pet Hospital. They had three vets for all the farms and ranches. It was a beautiful country of rolling green hills among the fantastic mountains.

Blair had a construction company build 15 two-bedroom units that were condos for his ranch hands. Each of them had a condo to themselves. They all liked living there and it also allowed Blair to pay a little less on salaries. Not that Blair was cheap, but he could save a little. At Grey Wolf Ranch, he had a foreman named Simon Banks. Simon was a great foreman but he had told Blair two days before, that Blair needed to hire an assistant foreman. Simon wanted someone that knew what he or she was doing. Blair knew Simon was right - it was time to employ more people. They were all overworked and exhausted.

Blair had an interview with a man named Jim Ellison at 3:00. Blair hoped Ellison was half as good as his resume indicated. He had been head foreman for ten years at a cattle ranch. He was looking for a horse ranch. That was Ellison’s dream. Or so his resume said.

At 3:00 on the dot, a big truck drove up heading to the house, and parked. A tall good-looking man got out of the truck.

Jim Ellison was somewhat nervous. His former employer had given him a good recommendation, but what if he started having troubles with his senses just like at the other job. Jim had good reason to worry. He couldn’t afford to lose this job, if he got it. Jim walked up to the house and saw a young man sitting on the porch, looking like he didn’t have a care in the world. The house was beautiful. Not only was the ranch big, but this house was like nothing Jim had ever seen before. Jim had to get this job.

Blair stood up on the porch when Jim stepped onto it too. Blair put his hand out and said, “You must be Jim Ellison.”

“I am. You must be Blair Sandburg. It’s good to finally meet you in person instead of emails and phone calls. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I have always wanted to work on a horse ranch. Cattle are okay, but not my calling. Do you have cattle here too?”

“I do. Only about 100 head. They’re easy enough to take care of. Two of my men love working with the cows, so that’s who works that part of the ranch. Now, come inside so we can go over your resume,” Blair suggested and Jim followed him into the beautiful home. It was even bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside.

“Follow me into my office, please?”

Outside, all the ranch hands lined up next to one of the barns. Simon, the head foreman said, “Rafe, did you see that fancy truck he has?”

Brian Rafe answered, “I sure did, boss. Maybe he’ll actually stay, owing money on it and all.” He and Simon both laughed.

Joel Taggert, another hand said, “I wonder why it’s so hard to keep anyone here. You would think we’re an awful bunch.”

Megan Connor was the only female so far to work the range and answered, “Well, we want things done a certain way and I don’t think we’re as easy to work with as you might think.”

Henri Brown, scoffed and said, “What do you mean? We all get along just great. Why wouldn’t he like it if he was hired?”

Megan smiled. “I’m just saying, maybe we could be a little less hard on this one. He looks like he might know what he’s doing.”

It was Simon’s turn to laugh. “Like we can tell from him walking from his truck into the ranch house. Speak of the devil, here they come…”

They all pretended that they were doing something. Blair almost laughed. He knew that these guys were the best, but he had to have Jim Ellison work out with them too.

“Jim Ellison, this is our head-foreman, Simon Banks. And these are the ranch hands that are supposed to be doing something else. Henri Brown, Megan Connor, Joel Taggert and Brian Rafe. Now, Jim’s going to be the assistant-foreman and I want you all to welcome him in a good way. I want no problems what-so-ever. We have a bunch of work to catch up on and Jim is here to help. The next thing we’ll do is hire three new hands to help on our days off.”

“Thank you, Blair, for introducing me to everyone. I hope I can keep up in the first few days. Give me time and I’ll make you happy you hired me.” Jim Ellison then stood there waiting to hear what was next.

Blair said, “Come with me and I’ll show you where you will be staying. I’m getting ahead of myself. Would you mind living on the ranch? It’s a two-bedroom-condo. Everyone lives out here and we’re going to hire even more people. How do you feel about living here?”

“Wow, I didn’t realize it came with an apartment. I rented a place in town. Maybe he would let me get out of the lease,” Jim said, thoughtfully.

Blair said, “Tell whoever is renting you the place, that I will make it good for him with breaking the lease. We’ll call it a bonus for starting.”

Blair opened up the door and handed the keys to Jim. Jim looked around in awe to see a very nicely furnished apartment. This is getting better and better.

“Wow, this place is great, Blair. Everyone has one this large?” Jim asked.

“Yup. It’s a two-bedroom, two-bathroom with a very nice patio and grilling station on each patio. You’ll start to fit in and you’ll be invited to a barbecue now and then. Not to mention, I invite everyone up when I can. Usually, once a week.”

“Do you work with us, Blair?”

“Yeah, I do. But Tuesdays and Thursdays are my teaching days. I teach a class in Anthropology at the college in town. Small building with just a few classrooms. Most of the work is done online. But it takes time to prepare my classes, my tests, quizzes and grading papers. It all takes me away from the ranch. That’s why it’s so important that you do a good job, Jim. I need this to work. Once you get the hang of it, we’ll hire more help. One thing at a time.”

“Sounds good. I’m really good at breaking horses for the first time. My old boss said I had a gift for talking with the horses.”

“This is excellent news because no one here likes breaking the new horses in. I’m glad you told me that. I’ll tell Simon on my way out. You might want to go shopping for groceries so you have something to make a lunch with for tomorrow. You are okay with tomorrow, right?”

“Yes, Blair. Where do I show up for duty?”

“The first barn, right across from here. That’s where all the new horses are kept. The other two barns are for the ones that are broken and we are looking to sell. We sell a lot of horses, so they have to be in perfect condition. You’ll meet the town Veterinarian. His name is Dan Wolfe. He’s great. He lives in one of the condos too and comes to a weekly poker game held in the bonus room, right next to the barn. I think I’ll have Megan train you at first. Then you can move up to Joel and finally Simon. The problem always is that everyone thinks people don’t fit in.”

“Blair, I need this job. I don’t care if they like me or not. I’m going to do a great job and hopefully they’ll come around as time goes on.”

“You’ll be in charge of 20 horses a day. That’s why we need more help. As time goes on, you’ll be able to train them also. You have to brush, wash, clean, take care of their teeth and exercise them every single day. Well, five days a week. Everyone has two days off. Why don’t you go ahead and get your things from town, make a trip to the grocery store and get anything else you need. The bedrooms have sheets, blankets, comforters, pillows, towels for the bathrooms and everything else you would need. I’m very happy that you applied for the job. Good luck. I’ll see you in two days, Jim. If you need anything, here is my card. Call anytime.”

“Thank you, Blair. I won’t let you down…”

“I know you won’t.”

“Thanks again for giving me a chance.”

TBC??

Chapter Text

It had been two weeks since Jim Ellison started and Jim was as good as his word. No matter what, he was making this job work. The other hands were not making his life easy. In fact, they were making it harder than hell. Blair had called them on their behavior and they just treated him badly when Blair wasn’t around. Blair noticed that Jim always ate lunch by himself. That day when Blair arrived at the barn, he went to the lunch room and sat with Jim.

The ranch hands weren’t use to that and were not taking it well. Jim turned to Blair and said, “I don’t need you to sit here. It’s only making it worse. They’ll come around or they won’t. I’m here to work, not make friends.”

Blair glared at his team and said, “Jim, you shouldn’t be treated this way. This isn’t high school. This is adult life and I thought we were all past this. I will talk to them again.”

“Blair, please just leave it alone. They’ll come around. Now, I have to get back to work. I have a lot to do.” Jim picked up his lunch and walked over to the garbage and tossed it all. He had hardly touched his lunch.

Blair was so pissed off at his staff. He walked over to the two tables they were sitting at and said, “This ends today. If I see it again, he’ll become the new foreman and you’ll all be looking for work. Am I understood?”

Rafe said, “We don’t have to like him. That’s not written anywhere in our contract.”

Blair got up from the table and said, “I’m not joking. If you continue to treat him like shit, I’ll do it. Grow up, all of you. Especially you, Simon. You know better than to treat a new hand like this. We need new workers. He’s really good with the horses. Why are you fighting this?”

“He’s odd, Blair. I don’t know how to explain it, but he seems to be aware of his surroundings at all times. If you ask him where someone is, he cocks his head and listens and says, ‘over at the next barn.’ And you know it wouldn’t be that easy to hear someone that far away. Plus, he’s just plain weird with the horses. He breaks a horse in record time and seems to know what the horse is going to do before any of us do. Basically, he’s just too perfect.”

Blair laughed. “You’re bitching because he’s perfect? When you finish your lunch, send Jim up to the house to see me. I’m going to have a talk with him. I’m telling all of you, this is your last warning.”

Blair turned on his heel and walked off totally pissed off at his hands. They all knew better and yet, here they were acting like they were 12 years old. Or less. Blair walked up to the house and realized he needed to start using the golf cart that Simon got for him to go back and forth more easily. It was almost a mile to the house from the first barn. Even more from the second one. Simon had a couple at his disposal for trips up to the house and Blair had one in his garage, though he hardly ever used it.

Blair finally arrived and walked into his house and smiled. It was a beautiful home, no matter what kind of mood he was in, it was very welcoming and made him feel good to be alive at all times. His housekeeper/chef was in love with the house too. Mary had been there for about four years. She lived in the house in the special quarters for his help. There was also another woman by the name of Jan, who helped Mary all the time. The house looked 100% at all times. Blair couldn’t be happier.

Blair walked into the kitchen and said, “Hi, Mary. Can I ask a favor?”

“You know you can, Blair. What’s up?”

“Could you make enough dinner for an extra person tonight? Jim Ellison will be staying for dinner if I have my way.”

“Is he the nice looking one that you just hired?” Mary was smiling while she awaited Blair’s reply.

“I don’t know about being nice looking, but the ranch hands are treating him like shit. And he’s just taking it. I’m going to talk to him tonight about sticking up for himself.”

“Blair. you seem to watch him a lot. Don’t tell me that you aren’t interested in him. I see it and so does Jan. And in answer to your question, yes, I’ll make enough dinner for both of you. Chicken and noodles will be on the menu tonight.”

“I love homemade chicken and noodles. I hope he agrees to stay for dinner. He acts like he might be on the verge of quitting. We can’t have that.”

She smiled and said, “So take care of it tonight. When you’re done with dinner and he leaves, call Simon up here and tell him who the boss is. He sometimes forgets who’s the boss.”

“I’ve got bookwork to do. I’ll see about talking to Simon later. Thanks, Mary.”

Mary walked off to the kitchen and Blair went into his big inviting office. He didn’t even hear the doorbell ring when Jan came into the room and said, “Jim Ellison is here to see you, Blair.”

“Thank you, Jan.” Blair got out of his chair and walked into the big entryway and smiled when Jim turned around.

“Hi, Jim. I wanted to talk to you and hope you don’t mind me asking some questions.”

Oh shit. My goose is cooked. “That’s fine, Blair.”

Blair walked into the living room and sat down on the big sofa. Jim followed suit and sat down on the loveseat across from the sofa. Blair could see he was worried and uncomfortable. Blair knew he had to put Jim’s mind at rest.

“Jim, first of all, do you have trouble with your senses? Simon said that you hear things from very far away. Can you explain?”

“I knew that someone would notice and tell you. I have five heightened senses, which I rely on every single day. But sometimes I listen too hard or try to see too far and I’m left with… like a seizure or something. I never meant for it to get in the way.” The job was nice while it lasted.

Blair saw the look of fear and defeat on Jim’s face and said, “I teach anthropology and my thesis was on Sentinels, or Guardians of the tribe. They had five heightened senses. It makes sense that a lot of people suffer from the same thing. I would like to do some tests on you to see how strong a Sentinel you are, if indeed you are one. You might be a normal person with some slightly heightened senses. But we need to find out. It would be great if we knew when the wolves would be coming after the horses. Would you agree to testing?”

“Blair, I don’t think I’m a Sentinel. I’m no one special, believe me. Half the time, I’m a complete mess.”

“I would like to do the tests each night when you get off, if you would let me do this for you. When you’re using your senses, try not to focus so hard on one. Always use two at the same time and you’ll find yourself more aware and with less chance of zoning.”

“Zoning? What is that?” Jim had this look of bewilderment on his face.

“When you focus too much on one sense, you float away and lose time. Has this happened very often?”

“Every single day, Blair. How do you know this?”

Blair started telling him all about Richard Burton, the explorer, not the actor, and before long it was dinner time.

“Jim, I asked Mary to make enough dinner for the two of us. Please say you’ll stay.”

“That would be nice. I usually don’t have anyone to talk to during dinner or breakfast.”

“We’re also going to focus on you standing up for yourself. What they are doing is stupid and belittling to themselves and to you. They’re acting like they’re twelve. I’m tired of it, so I figured you must really be tired of it too. Stick up for yourself. You’re every bit as important as they are on this ranch. Promise me you’ll work on it.”

“I will. Now you mentioned dinner. I’m starving. I didn’t eat anything all day long.”

“Jim, that will stop too. Come on and you can meet Mary and Jan. They run this house. Hell, they know as much about the ranch as we all do. They’re the best.”

Jim followed Blair into the dining room and Jim smiled.

Blair looked at him and said, “What are you smiling at?”

“I thought it smelled like chicken and noodles when I walked in the front door. Now, I find out I’m right. I can tell you what the hands all have in their lunch bags every day. I swear to god, Joel eats peanut butter and jelly every single day.”

Blair laughed. “I think we’re going to find out you’re a super strong Sentinel. With my help you’ll become even stronger. Maybe I’m your Guide.”

“Guide? What is that?”

“Someone that has your back at all times. I could talk you out of a zone in a heartbeat. Plus, I just feel like I need to be connected to you. This is as weird to me as it is to you. We’ll work on all of it.”

“I hope you are my Guide. I like you and I know you like me. Maybe we could date if you’d like.”

Blair smiled. “I would love to go on a date with you. But let’s get the ranch hands used to you first.”

“Sounds like a winner,” Jim answered.

Jan walked in and said, “It’s going to be cold if you don’t sit and eat it now…”

Blair laughed and sat down, with Jim doing the same thing. They talked all during dinner of Sentinel issues and Jim felt better than he had ever felt in his life. His senses were stronger and clearer and he was relaxed for the first time, ever.

When dinner was over, Blair walked Jim to the front door and said, “Start sticking up for yourself. Starting tomorrow, you’re kicking ass and taking names.”

“Understood, boss.” Jim smiled all the way down to his condo. He felt like a new man.

TBC

Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch
By PattRose
Chapter 3: Kicking Ass and Taking Names

Jim left Blair’s house with a much happier look on his face. When he arrived back to the condos, everyone was sitting outside in chairs on their porches. Jim smiled at all of them as he walked by.

Rafe was the first one to say something. “Fucking the boss, huh?”

Jim turned to him and said, “Not hardly, you asshole. I don’t know why you all hate me, but leave Blair Sandburg out of it. If you have a problem with me, tell me. Don’t take after someone that can’t defend himself.”

Megan decided to lighten the mood. “He’s just kidding. He’s a big kidder, aren’t you, Brian?”

“No, I’m not. I think that’s why he was hired. I hope you fucked him well enough to keep your job.”

At that moment out of the darkness came Blair. He had walked down to talk to Simon and heard all that was said.

Jim knew he was there but still answered Rafe. “I have not fucked anyone since I started and believe me, if I had it would be none of your fucking business. You owe someone a huge apology.”

Blair said, “Well, Rafe, how would you like this to be your last day on the ranch? Either shape up or get out. We can’t have both. I’m not putting up with this any longer. I told Jim to take care of it, but it’s my job, not his. Is there anyone here that still needs their jobs? Or are you all willing to give up your job for Rafe?”

Simon was the first to speak. “We all need our jobs. I’ll keep Rafe under control from now on. We didn’t understand what was going on. We do now.”

Jim started over to Simon to punch him. But Blair stopped him. “Jim, let me take care of this. Simon, I did ask Jim out tonight but he said no. He didn’t feel comfortable coming between all of us. So shut your fucking mouth from now on. If one more word is said, you’re out. All of you. I’m so disappointed in everyone. I thought you had some high standards. And now I find out you have none.”

Blair turned and walked away. Jim knew he was pissed but more than that, Jim thought he might have been a little hurt.

Megan said, “He asked you out? That’s cool. You should have said yes. He’s been lonely for a long, long while.”

“Why would you care?” Jim asked.

“Because we all love Blair. I know that’s hard to believe, but it’s true. The next time he asks, say yes,” Megan said.

“I don’t know why you all hate me. But I’m going to work for two more weeks to have enough money to be on my way. You can go back to hating the breaking of the horses like you used to. You can take on the extra work and everything else. I don’t have to put up with this shit. And I shouldn’t have to. It’s not like we’re in grade school. I was going to say high school, but you’re not mature enough for that.”

Jim turned and walked towards his condo.

Megan said, “I like having you here. You’re the first ray of hope with breaking the horses easily we’ve ever had. I don’t want you to leave. And I think you should date Blair. He’s a good guy and deserves to be happy.”

Joel was the next one talking. “Jim, I’m sorry for everything I did to get you to quit. We could all tell that Blair had a thing for you so it just got out of hand. Please stay.”

“Thank you, Megan and Joel. But I just can’t stay where it’s going to be a nightmare for me all the time.”

Simon cleared his throat. “There will be no leaving, Jim. You’re staying. We all love Blair and didn’t want to see him hurt, but I can tell you weren’t in it for Blair. You needed the job just like we did when we started. I’ll keep Rafe under control and Henri will help me. Won’t you Henri?”

“I sure will. Jim, give us a second chance. Rafe will come around. He’s just jealous.” Henri smiled easily at Jim.

Everyone laughed but Rafe and Jim.

Jim looked over at Rafe and said, “Are you going to be able to work with me without saying hateful things and so on? Because if not, I’m out of here. I think we all owe Blair a great deal and should treat him with respect. What do you say, Rafe?”

“If you just keep your distance, I can work with you…” Rafe didn’t look too happy about saying that, even though it wasn’t much.

“I’m going to turn in. I have 11 horses to begin to break tomorrow. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m tired. I hope we can work this out.”

“Night, Jim. See you in the morning,” Megan called out as she headed to her condo.

Simon said, “We’ll see you all in the morning.”

Everyone went into their homes and shut the doors. Jim did the same. As he sat on his sofa, he could hear Rafe bitching on the phone with Henri. Henri was telling him to shut up and hung up on him. Jim just smiled but now knew why Rafe didn’t like him. Rafe felt like Jim was taking his job away. Maybe Blair had said something once about advancement to all of them and they took Jim being hired as a slap in the face. Jim would have to see how it worked out.

There was one thing Jim was happy about. Blair said they could go on a date once things calmed down. Jim could look forward to that. Blair was everything he looked for in a mate. Even more. Blair was gorgeous, kind, hard-working and a great boss. All things anyone could admire.

Jim walked into his bedroom, stripped and got into the shower. He was happily stroking himself when there was a knock at the door. He quickly rinsed off and put a towel around himself. He flung the door open to see Dr. Dan Wolfe standing there.

“I’m sorry. I was in the shower. Come on in. Let me throw some clothes on. Sit down…”

Jim rushed in, dried off and got dressed. He ran a brush through his hair so he didn’t look so frightening.

“Hello, Dr. Wolfe. How are you tonight?”

“I’m great, thank you. Please call me Dan. I’m hosting the poker party this weekend at 7:00 and wanted to know if you can come. Everyone else is, including dickhead Rafe. Say you’ll come. Even Blair comes.”

“News travels fast around here, am I right?” Jim asked.

“Very fast, Jim. It’s like being in a very small town where everyone seems to know everyone’s business. You up for it?”

“Sure, which one are you in?” Jim was asking about the condo number.

“We do it in the lunchroom. It’s bigger and has plenty of room for everything. The one that hosts has to bring the food and drink for everyone.”

“That sounds fair. Thank you, Dan. Is it on Saturday night?”

“It sure is. We’ll see you at 7:00. Welcome to the ranch.” He shook hands with Jim and walked out the door.

Jim couldn’t help but smile. Things were already looking up. Maybe things could work out. Maybe he could be nicer to Rafe. Well, it could happen.

The following morning, Jim was in a much better mood. It seemed like everyone else was too. Jim walked up to Rafe and said, “Can you spot me for a fall while I’m breaking Thunder?”

Thunder was the biggest and meanest horse around but Jim was going to try.

Rafe was completely shocked to be asked. He turned to Jim and said, “Sure.”

Rafe got his horse ready to go and entered the corral. Jim and Simon were putting the saddle on Thunder and he didn’t like it a bit. In fact, Thunder was acting just like his name.

Jim turned to Simon and said, “I’m going to try for five minutes today.”

“No one has ever stayed on for even one minute, Jim. Be careful.”

Jim realized that Simon meant it and was shocked. Things had changed so much.

Jim gave a sign to Rafe to let him know he was starting. Jim talked to the horse for a few minutes and then got into the saddle. As the horse registered that someone was on him, he started to buck but Jim knew it was coming and altered his position on the saddle. By the time the horse figured it was a different spot, Jim had moved to another. The horse continued to buck but he wasn’t throwing Jim off at all. In fact, everyone could tell the horse was tiring. Jim stayed on for a total of nine minutes and already Thunder was ready for the next step. It usually took about two weeks to break them. But Thunder was off to a good start.

Rafe rode over to Jim and Thunder and said, “That was great. You do have a way with horses.”

“They say I do. I’m just glad he didn’t throw me and step on me. I’ve had that happen before. Now, stay where you are and I’ll get the next four ready. They are almost done being broke. Thanks for being there, Rafe.”

That’s how the rest of the day went and it turned out to be a good day. At lunch everyone sat with Jim, so he was no longer the outcast.

Megan walked up to Jim on his way to his condo. It was 6:00 and Jim’s ass was dragging.

Megan said, “How do you know just how they’re going to buck. You seem to move to the other side just in time. It’s awesome.”

“It has to do with some crazy senses of mine. But I can teach you if you’d like. I’m off on Saturday, are you?”

“Yeah, I am. How about 8:00 that morning? I would love to learn.”

“Good. I would be glad to teach you. Get ready to fall off a lot, though. Have you tried breaking them before?”

“About six times, maybe. But I got nowhere except thrown to the ground.”

Jim laughed and said, “Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.”

It was Megan’s turn to laugh. “See you in the morning, Jim.”

The following Saturday, he showed Megan what he was talking about and Jim decided she was a natural. She was staying on the horse almost as long as he did. It was a good day. All the hands were watching from the sidelines and clapped when she stayed on each time.

Henri walked up to Jim and said, “I would like to learn also. Could we do it next weekend?”

“Sure, that would be great. 8:00 on Saturday would be awesome.”

They all talked until it was time to get ready for lunch. Jim went over to his condo to shower and get ready for that night. He was looking forward to poker with them. They all seemed to be getting used to Jim and no one could be happier about that.

Blair showed up at the lunch room at 6:45. Everyone was there but Jim. Blair went over to his condo and knocked. No one answered so Blair opened the door and called out, “Jim, are you here?”

Blair could hear the shower running and walked to the doorway and said, “Jim?”

He looked into the shower and Jim was on the floor, zoned out of his mind.

Blair shut the cold water off and got towels to dry him. He started talking to him in a soft tone and Jim opened his eyes up and smiled.

“I was hoping you would come for me,” Jim said.

“What happened?” Blair asked.

“I was focusing on sturdy parts of your body and that’s the last thing I remember. I’m sorry.”

“Get up, man. Dry off, get dressed so we can leave.”

“I thought I might not have a job anymore. And besides it’s not fair you got to see me naked.”

“Yes, I did. I liked what I saw. But we can’t have you zoning. We’ll practice some this week. Maybe we’ll tell the gang about this in case.”

“They’ll think I’m weird.”

“They already think you’re weird…” Blair smiled over at Jim as Jim started to dress.

“I guess that would be good. Thank you, Blair.”

“You’re welcome. Hurry up, they’re waiting.”

TBC?

Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch Part 4
Problems Ahead

Poker had been great fun for everyone, but Blair wanted to warn everyone about Jim’s little problem. It really wasn’t a problem. More of a gift, but he was sure that Jim saw it as a problem.

Blair got their attention and said, “Okay, I have some news about Jim. He’s not wild about me telling you because he thinks you’ll think he’s weird. I assured him that you already think he’s weird.”

Everyone burst out laughing.

Blair continued, “He is a Sentinel, a watchman of the tribe and can hear, see, taste, feel and smell everything for a long way. His senses are like a warning system. He can tell us if a fire is on the way. He can tell if there is a wolf hanging around the barn. There are a lot of things he can do, but one thing he has to be careful of is relying on one sense too much and he’ll go into a zone. It’s where he is totally out of it and must be talked to, and hopefully rejoin the day. If you ever see him staring off into space, or if he falls and doesn’t get up, he has most likely gone into a zone. Every Sentinel has a Guide to help him with things like that, and I might be his. We’re just not sure yet. We’re going to start running tests for that. I’m going to take a leave of absence from the college and work more with Jim so we can learn to control these senses. Does anyone have any questions?”

They all put their hands up. Jim sat back as Blair took all the questions and answered them with ease. Everyone seemed to be okay with this, including Rafe. Which shocked the shit out of Jim.

At one o’clock in the morning, they all started walking to their homes. Blair followed all of them to their condos and said goodnight. He wanted to stay at Jim’s condo so badly, but thought about it again. Jim was right. He needed to get things under wraps first.

Blair walked up to the main house and again reminded himself he had a golf cart he could be driving. He was pooped by the time he got into bed. There were a few thoughts of naked Jim and then he was asleep.

There were two men that took care of the cattle. They were at the barn in the morning and the first hand, Mitch Carson, said to Ben Murphy, “I think the boss has a thing for his new hire. They’re probably already fucking. I hate that this is the only job we found. I can’t stand working for a fag.”

Ben Murphy said, “Don’t say anything more. Here comes the fag to say something.”

Jim walked up to them and said, “Everyone heard what you said. I think you should give your notice. If you don’t like working for fags, then get out.”

Simon walked up and said, “Problem, Carson?”

“None of your fucking business, Banks.” Carson acted tough but Jim could tell he really wasn’t all that tough.

Simon said, “Get your things and leave. You’re fired.”

Murphy said, “You can’t fire us. The fag has to fire us. Not this fag, the one at the big house.”

Jim started for him but Simon stopped him. “I most certainly can fire you. Both of you get out. NOW.”

“We didn’t like working for you anyhow. Only a fag would think a black man could be in charge of white men. Get out of our way,” Carson said as he stormed off to his condo.

Rafe said, “I think we should follow them to the condos to be sure they don’t destroy the place. We need them for the next men that come.”

Jim said, “I’ll go with you, Rafe.”

Simon looked at his men banding together and was pleased about that. “You two go get them off the property. Be sure they give their keys back.”

“Yes, sir…” both men said at the same time.

Rafe and Jim had to throw the men out of their condos. They were making life very hard. Thankfully they wouldn’t have to deal with that kind of problem again for a while.

Blair could see Murphy and Carson leaving the ranch at 8:00 and wondered what was going on. He took his golf cart down to the barn and got out. Walking in, he heard Jim say, “Do you have anyone in mind for their jobs?”

“I do. His name is Max Wilmot and he’s a really nice guy. Said he needed work. But at the time we didn’t need anyone. He also had a friend that could work with cows like crazy. I’ll get calling them right away.”

Everyone saw Blair and he smiled. “Problems?”

Simon said, “We’ll take care of everything, Blair.”

“I take it they didn’t like me?” Blair asked.

Jim said, “They said they didn’t care for a black man bossing them around. Rafe and I got them packed and out first thing. We were afraid they would destroy the condos. Everything went fine, though. I’ll work with the cows until someone is there to take my place.”

“Simon, I have four hands to hire as well as the two you know. Who wants to train them? I’ve had them on call for ages. They work at a small ranch, but only part-time. I’ll call them right now. I want two to work with you part-time and two for working the cows as well as the two you know. When they have days off, another two will take over on a six day schedule. Simon, you figure out the schedule. Thank you all for keeping this calm without a huge fight. I’ll be back as soon as I hire these guys.”

Blair got into his golf cart and off he rode.

Simon looked at Jim and said, “Thank you for not saying anything about the fag comments. Blair acts all tough, but he’s a very gentle man usually and doesn’t like things like that being said about anyone. I’ve got to work out a schedule. Carry on, everyone.”

And just like that they were all back to work. The day was flying by when Jim saw Blair and four men coming over to Simon. Simon shook hands with all four and seemed happy. Jim was then happy too. He sure didn’t want to work with the cows. Jim got busy again, cleaning the stalls of his horses. The horses didn’t like the smell anymore than Jim did. Then it was time to wash and brush the horses. He looked around and saw everyone else doing the same thing. This was a great place to work. Jim was glad he had not left.

Jim had barely gotten in the door of his condo when the phone rang. Not his cell phone but the one on the kitchen wall. Jim picked it up and said, “Hello?”

“Hi, Jim. I wanted to catch you before you started anything for dinner. Come to dinner up here. I have things to tell you.”

“Sure, let me take a shower and I’ll be right up. Thanks, Blair.”

“See you soon.” And just like that he hung up on Jim. Jim smiled and wondered what he had to tell him.

As Jim got into the shower, he thought about that day and realized he was very calm because all four of the new guys seemed really good at what they do. The first one, named Brett Collins was very chatty but couldn’t wait to get to work. The second one, Cole Anderson was just as nice, but a little quieter. He also was anxious to get started. The third one was going to work part-time with Jim and Megan. His name was Dave Miller. And last but not least was Frank Reese. He was really quiet, but went right to work when Simon told him what was expected. All in all, it was a great day. They only needed two more for the horse ranch part and the two Simon knew would probably fit in fine. Things were looking up.

Jim showed up at 6:30 on Blair’s porch only to find Blair sitting in his rocking chair waiting for Jim. Not that it was a surprise, Jim sensed him there.

“Hey, Blair. How are things going?”

“Better yet, how did things go today?”

“They went great. The new guys are really good. They know their business and mind their own business too. I think they’re going to work out. Now what were you going to tell me?”

“Let’s go in and eat first. You like tamales?”

“I love tamales, Chief.”

“Chief?”

“You know, the boss of all things.”

“Oh, I like that. Come on…”

After a delicious dinner, they went into the living room and sat down. Blair was sitting very close to Jim so Jim moved a little further away.

“Did I read you wrong? I thought you were interested in me?”

“I am, but I want to hear what you have to tell me first.”

“Oh, okay. I want the four new guys to work on the cows. They will each work four days and get paid for five, then have two days off. I’ve looking into getting a construction crew going out to build 5 more condos close to the area. Also, they would build a new barn for the hay and things like that. There will be some shelter for the cows and so on. I need to find a foreman. Either I do this or I sell the cattle. It’s a pain having both. What do you think?”

“I myself think you could hire these new guys for the horse ranch. I would sell the cows. I think you probably do well enough to just do the horses. Am I right?”

“You are right. I won’t contact the contractors about condos. Instead, we’ll just get these four new guys settled in their condos. I want you to take them under your and Megan’s wings. You both are working well together so I thought it might work for the new guys. What do you think?”

“I think you’re a great boss. How about Henri and I can be with the cows until you have someone pick them up. You’ve got 100 head, so that might take a while.”

“The rancher next door will buy them. He won’t pay top dollar but at least I would break even. That’s important. We would all have peace of mind. You and Henri can be in charge out there until he comes for the cows. Thank you, Jim, for working so well with others.”

“Thank you for dinner and good conversation. I better get going. 6:00 comes early.”

Jim stood up and so did Blair. “Good night, Jim. Can I take you to dinner when you get a night off?”

“That would be great. I’m holding you to it. Bye,” Jim said, as he walked out the door.

Blair watched him walk away and was sad. He never wanted anyone like he did Jim Ellison. Hopefully that would change soon.

TBC

Chapter Text

It had been two weeks since the new men had started and Blair had sold all the cattle. The change was unreal. Everyone was working four days a week, with two days off. It was an odd schedule but Simon came up with it and it worked out well.

Jim was amazed as well as Simon was at how good the new guys were doing. You could tell they all had worked on a ranch previously. Everyone seemed to be getting along too. Simon walked by Jim at that moment and teased, “Gonna eat lunch or just stand there all day?”

“It’s already at the table. I just had one more thing to check before lunch.”

“Slow down, Jim. You’re working too hard and giving us all a bad name.” Simon was in a very good mood that day.

The two men sat down for lunch and Jim asked, “Why are you in such a good mood?”

“I asked Karen from the restaurant in town out and she said yes. Now, I have to figure out where we’re going. There is not much in Dillion, so where do I take her?”

“You don’t feel comfortable enough to cook for her in your own condo?” Jim asked.

“She’ll think I only want one thing. And that would be bad for her to think. I do only want one thing, but I’ll wait.” Simon laughed long and hard along with Jim.

“I know what you mean. We should double date for the first date. There is a great steakhouse in Butte, that is only 64 miles away from here. Its name is Casagranda Steak House and Guido’s Bar. I think it would be fun.” Jim hoped he wasn’t over-stepping.

“You know what? That’s a good idea. Would this be your first day with Blair, too?”

“Yeah. I’m a little nervous. I shouldn’t be, I see him every day, but I am.”

“I asked Karen out for Thursday night. Why don’t you ask Blair out for the same night? You can call me and see what I find out about Karen getting the time off or not.”

“Call her right now, Simon. There’s no time like the present.”

Simon smiled and pulled his phone out. He heard it ringing and heard her sweet voice.

“Klondike Inn, may I help you?”

“Hi, Karen. I wondered if you would like to go Thursday night to Butte for dinner at Casagranda Steak House with me. And another question, how would you feel about going with Jim and Blair. You remember Blair, right? He’s my boss but anyway it’s his first date with Jim. We thought it might be fun.”

“I would love to. I switched with someone to get the time off. The drive up to Butte is gorgeous. I love going there. And that steak house is awesome. What time should I be ready?”

“How does 5:00 sound and we can get to the steak house by 6:00. Does that work for you?”

“How about 4;30, so we have more time to visit in the car and at the steak house. I’m anxious to meet Jim. I know Blair. He’s great. See you on Thursday. I better get back to work. Bye, Simon.”

Simon then looked up the steak house number so he could call for reservations. He set it up for 6:00 and felt good about everything.

“Now, it’s your turn, Jim.”

“I guess it is.” He pulled out his phone and dialed Blair’s number that he already knew by heart.

“Sandburg…”

“Hello there. What are you doing Thursday night at 4:15?”

“Nothing, are you going to finally ask me out?”

“I am, Blair. Simon asked if we could go on a double date. I think you know Simon’s date. It’s Karen from Klondike Inn.”

“I do know her. She’s a doll. I would love go no matter where we’re going. How do I dress?” Blair asked.

“Dockers and polo shirt, I would guess. If that changes, I’ll let you know. Just think, that’s only two days away.”

“Get back to work, Jim. I’ll talk to you tonight.” Blair laughed as he hung up on Jim.

He was already in love with the man and they hadn’t even had a date yet. Maybe Jim would ask him to his condo that night. Blair could dream.

As they finished their lunch, everyone else showed up. “You guys didn’t even wait?” Megan asked.

“We were busy making dates on the phone,” Simon answered.

Jim knew that was a bad thing to tell Megan. Her face lit up and you could tell she had 100 questions to ask.

“Well, we know that Jim asked Blair out, but who did you ask, Simon?”

“Karen Byrne. Do you know her?” Simon asked.

Megan was so excited. “She’s a good friend of mine. She told me she was dying for you to ask her out but she wouldn’t let me say anything to you. Thank goodness you came to your senses.”

“I’ve wanted to for a long while, but wasn’t sure where to take her. But Jim had some good ideas, so we went with a steak house. She loved the idea and Jim and Blair are going with us.”

Megan squealed in delight. “That’s so cute. How great for both your dates. Have fun. Are you going Thursday night?”

“That’s the plan,” Simon added.

“How about you, Jim? How do you feel about the double date?”

“Well, I was the one to suggest it, so I’m glad Simon went for it. It’ll make it easier on our dates, I think.”

Rafe said, “Did you finally ask Blair out. He told me the other day he was tired of waiting.”

Jim smiled at all of them. Things had sure changed and for the better. “I was busy. Training new people wears you out. But now I feel better about everything and asked him out.”

Joel smiled at Jim and said, “Have a wonderful time. Are you going to Butte or staying in town?”

“We’re going to Butte. Casagranda Steak House is awesome. I wanted Blair to try it too. Although he never even asked where we were going.” Jim had to snicker to himself about that.

Henri said, “At least it’s not too far away. Have a good time, all of you.”

“Thanks, Henri,” both men said at once, making them laugh.

“You all have your lunch break. We’re all getting back to work. See you later.”

Brett and Cole walked into the room and Brett said, “Finished with lunch already?”

Jim smiled and answered, “We’re not slackers, we’re already getting back to work.”

Everyone laughed. Even the new guys. Jim loved how things were working out well.

Thursday Night

Jim found himself very nervous. He hoped he wasn’t the only one feeling that way. Oh well, things were going to be fine.

At 4:00, he called Simon.

“Banks.”

“Hey, Simon, should we take separate cars?”

“No. Then it wouldn’t be a double date. I’ll drive and you and Blair have the whole back seat to yourself,” Simon teased.

“Okay. I’ll walk up and get Blair. You stop by the house and honk. We’ll be waiting.”

“See you in 15 minutes, Jim. Calm down, you’re making me nervous.”

Jim knew that he did indeed need to calm down. He was really hyped up and was horny to boot. Jim wasn’t going to rush Blair at all. So he would have to talk to himself off and on all night about getting none.

Jim walked up there and it was almost 4:15. He knocked on the door and smiled like crazy when he saw Blair. “You look so handsome. I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to ask you out. You look great and you smell great.”

“Jim, I don’t have anything on but deodorant.”

“It’s your earthy scent. It does things to me that I don’t want it too. At least not on the first date.” Jim hoped Blair understood him.

Blair stretched up and kissed Jim on the lips. “We’re going to have a great time. Don’t you worry. Wait until we get done and we’ll see where it takes us.”

Jim thought that sounded promising and smiled back at him. “Here’s Simon. Better get going. We don’t want him late for picking Karen up.”

The talk going into town was laid back and comfortable. The three men got along beautifully so that made things much easier. When they pulled up in front of a lovely little home, Blair knew they had arrived.

Simon wiped his palms off on his pants and Jim snickered.

“Hey, maybe I’m a little nervous. Its been a long while since I’ve had a date.”

“Calm down, Simon. She’s wonderful and you like her. That’s all you need to think about. Now get in there.”

While Simon was up collecting Karen, Blair was kissing Jim like crazy.

Jim pulled away and said, “I’m going to come in my pants if you keep that up. Let’s wait until later on. All right?”

“My kisses do that to you?” Blair wondered.

“Oh yeah. So does the batting of your eyes. Stop that,” Jim pleaded.

“I’ll be good. Here they come. Let’s focus on making this a great night for them,” Blair suggested.

“Sounds good to me, Blair.”

Simon opened the car door for her and said, “Jim, this is Karen Byrne. I told you she was beautiful. I’m not wrong, am I?”

“It’s good to meet you, Karen. You do look very lovely tonight. I think you already know Blair, right?”

“Hi, Blair. Yes, we’ve known each other for years.”

Simon got in on his side and started the car again. They were off for the evening. Simon was nervous. Jim was a little nervous but their dates were humming with excitement.

TBC

Chapter Text

The drive to Butte was beautiful, just like Karen had said. They all talked and got along really well. Karen decided that Jim and Blair were the best couple ever.

“Jim, this isn’t your first date with Blair, is it?” Karen asked.

“Yes, it’s our first date. We’ve known each other a while but I was dragging my feet and didn’t have the nerve to ask him out. I got the nerve up because we’re on a double date. I figured he would let me down easy if he didn’t really like me when there are two other people around us.”

Blair just looked at him like he was insane. “You lack confidence, big time. We’re going to work on that, Jim. This is our first date, but it would never be our last. We’re crazy about each other. Let me take that back. I’m crazy about him. I don’t know how he feels about me.”

It was Jim’s turn to look at Blair like he was insane. “Blair, I thought you knew how I felt. I’m crazy about you too.”

“Oh goodie, we’re on the same page then. Yay, us.” Blair was so happy to hear the words come out of Jim’s mouth.

Karen said, “You two are so cute, but I’ve wanted Simon to ask me out for about six months. So we’re not new to this either. Right, Simon?”

“Right, Karen. I’m already having a good time.” Simon smiled over at Karen and she found herself wanting him big time.

In the back seat, Jim was squirming. Blair noticed and whispered, “Is something wrong?”

“Just a lot of scents in the car at once. I’m hard as a rock.”

Blair looked over and sure enough, Jim was sporting a very nice hard on.

“Jim, remember the dials. Turn your sense of smell down to 2 or 3. That should do it.”

Jim did as he was told and smiled right away. “Thanks, Chief.”

Karen asked, “Jim, how many mares are pregnant at this time?”

“We have 15 that are ready to foal in about a month. We bred them all at the same time in hopes that we would have them foal at the same time. Our vet, Dr. Dan Wolfe, said that they are all doing well. We take excellent care of all the horses, but especially the pregnant ones. One of them is carrying two foals and we’re watching her like a hawk.”

“And another question. This one for Simon. I don’t want to play favorites. Do you have more than one breed of horse on the ranch?”

Simon smiled. He loved talking about the horses. “We have 5 breeds is all. Arabian, American Quarter, Appaloosa, Clydesdale and Mustang. The Clydesdales have their own barn, stable and corral. And the third barn is for the Mustang and Appaloosa. We separate them but the Quarter and Arabian are kept in the stable we’re usually in. We have more of these than anything. Most of the pregnant ones right now are the Quarter horses. Jim has all of them under his wing. So far, so good. Jim treats them all like they’re human.”

Blair smiled over at Jim and so did Karen.

“I do treat them well. They’re uncomfortable, so I try and make it up to them. Even though I wasn’t the culprit who did give the sperm.”

They all laughed, easily. Simon pulled into Butte at that moment and said, “Anyone hungry?”

Blair bounced in his seat and said, “Pick me.”

“Starving, Chief?”

“Oh, yeah. I can’t wait to order.”

Simon parked and got out and opened the door for Karen. Jim did the same with Blair. Jim was starving too and shouldn’t have teased Blair about it.

They walked in and Simon gave his name. They only waited about three minutes and the hostess showed them to their booth. The booths were really large and roomy for the two big guys and yet they were charming and cozy. Blair went in first, followed by Jim. Karen did the same thing on her side. Simon finally sat down and said, “I don’t know about anyone else, but I’d love a beer.”

Jim smiled and said, “I would too. Here he comes.”

“Hello, I’m your waiter. My name is Josh and if you have any problems ask for me. Now, we have two red wines for the special tonight, is anyone interested in red wine? And our draft beer is Harvest Moon. Would anyone like to start with either of these?”

Blair said, “Yes, Josh. I would love a good red wine. What are the two you speak of?”

“First one is Cabernet Avalon and the next one is 7 Deadly Zins and it’s a Zinfandel. The beer I mentioned is made here in Montana.”

“I would like the 7 Deadly Zins, just for the name alone.” Blair snickered as Josh wrote it down.

“I would like the same, please.” Karen said.

Then Jim said, “I would love the Harvest Moon.”

Simon said, “Two of them. That’s what I want too.”

Josh finished writing and said, “I’ll be right back with your drinks and your water. I’ll take your order then for your food if you’re ready when I deliver the drinks.”

They all said, ‘Thank you’ at the same time.

“This menu is awesome,” Blair pointed out.

“What are you thinking about, Blair?” Jim asked.

“A filet Mignon or a prime rib. Haven’t decided yet…”

“That’s what I’m getting too.” Jim was practically drooling by this time.

Karen said, “I’m getting the petite Filet Mignon. I love steak so much. Thank you for bringing me here, Simon.”

“You’re very welcome. Did everyone see all the stuff you get with dinner?”

“Oh, man, I was going to order us an appetizer. Josh must have forgotten. Josh walked by right then and said, “I forgot to see if you wanted something off the menu to start the meal. I’m so sorry.”

Jim said, “Not a problem, Josh. Do you all mind if I order the appetizers? I know two that are to die for.”

Simon smiled. “Go ahead, make our day.”

Josh laughed. “What would you like sir?”

“I would like you to not call me sir, but I know you have to. First off, we want the deep-fried ravioli. And next we want four of the drunken shrimp compotes. That should do us.”

Josh wrote it all down and walked off smiling.

“Now tell us about the drunken shrimp?” Blair begged.

“It’s five shrimp poached, chilled and served in a martini glass with a dollop of zesty cocktail sauce and a splash of vodka. Very tasty and cooked to perfection. The shrimp is so good.”

Blair smiled at him and said, “Stop calling me shrimp.”

They all laughed. “And the ravioli is really good too. You’ll love it all.”

Simon said, “Did you see all the stuff that comes with dinner?” This was worth repeating.

Blair said, “I’ve got to check this out.”

A while later, Josh came out with their drinks and said he’d be right back with their appetizers. They all waited patiently as they sipped their beers and sipped their wine. And of course Simon was only drinking one because he was driving. By the time dinner came and they ate, he would be fine. All in all, it was a great night and they were only ordering.

Josh brought out the appetizers and asked if anyone was ready to order. They all were. They each gave their order and then started eating the appetizers.

They talked and talked while they ate and were all having such fun. Karen and Blair were actually quite comical. Jim kept teasing him about the wine. But really Jim just felt he was comfortable and having a good time.

Once dinner was over, they sat and visited for a while longer and then paid the bill and got up to go. Karen put her arm around Simon’s waist, making Simon feel like a million bucks. Blair decided that he would do the same. He slid his arm around Jim’s waist and Jim smiled down at him. They all walked out and went to the car. Jim and Simon opened doors again.

Inside and belted in, Jim said, “Oh My God! I ate way too much.”

They all agreed with him and talked about dinner and the restaurant all the way back home. Simon dropped Jim and Blair off at Blair’s house. Jim didn’t know what to do. Blair said, “Come on in, Jim. We’ll have a night cap.”

They waved to Simon and Karen and Simon turned to Karen and said, “Would you like to stop at my place for a while? Or do you need to go home?”

“Your place sounds good. A night cap would be good. Thank you for the lovely evening. I had the time of my life.”

“It’s not even over yet. I have dessert if you’re interested.” Simon drove up to his condo and parked. He went and opened the car door once again and walked her into his condo. He had no sooner shut the door and Karen had her lips all over his. They were kissing like crazy and Simon was started to moan.”

“Do you have protection, Simon?”

“Yeah, I do. Come with me.” Simon led her to the bedroom for a night filled with love.

At the ranch house, Blair did the same thing. He attacked Jim as soon as they walked into the entryway. Jim was getting into it big time when Blair said, “Did you bring protection?”

If was like having a cup of water poured over them. Jim blushed and said, “No, I thought it would be too forward to do that.”

“Good. I was testing you. Follow me for a night of love, Jim.”

And they had just that.

The following morning, Blair woke Jim and said, “I have to do the books. I’ve been putting it off and if y’all want to get paid this week, I better get busy. Thank you for showing me a good time last night, Jim. I had a wonderful time.” And out the door he went.

Jim was lying in Blair’s bed, naked and all alone. What is wrong with this picture?

Jim got up and jumped in the shower and put his clothes back on from the night before. On his way out, he listened and could hear Blair in his office. “You’ll probably never see him again, as in dating. You have such a big mouth.”

Jim knocked on the door and put his head in. “Mind if I stop in for a moment?”

“Sure, come on in. I’m really sorry about last night, Jim.”

“You might need to explain that. I’m lost. I thought we had a great time. You didn’t, I take it?”

“It was fine until I asked if I could do you and you sort of freaked out. And I was hurt, that’s all.”

“We should have talked about it last night. I wasn’t prepared to have you do me last night. Plus, I was tired and want to be aware of that when it happens. It would be my first time.”

“You’ve never done it before?”

“Nope. Never wanted to. I don’t trust most people with my ass. Especially with my senses acting up sometimes. But I trust you and yes, you can the next time.”

“I thought I would never see you again. I’m such an idiot. I should have talked to you first.”

“Yes, you should have. If you give me a little while, I’ll clean up and get ready. You can come over to my place. I’m all yours.”

“Seriously? I’ll be there in about 15 minutes. Jim, thank you for talking to me.”

“See you then, Blair.” Jim left and walked down to his condo. He found himself nervous but yet excited at the same time. He was lying in bed, naked and thinking about what was going to happen when Blair walked in the door.

“Man, you need to lock your door.” Blair started stripping and getting harder by the second.

Jim smiled at him and opened his legs up to welcome Blair. And Blair was very welcomed and made Jim forget he was nervous.

This was going to be fun.

TBC

Chapter Text

Simon could hear Jim and Blair in Jim’s condo and wondered if everyone had heard them the night before. He hoped not. He didn’t want anyone knowing how crazy he was about Karen. Simon thought his feelings were a big secret, but he should have asked Karen. She could see right through him.

“Simon, I see you thinking way too hard for first thing in the morning.” She loved to tease him. She was good at it too.

“What time do I need to take you home so you can get ready for work?”

“Are you trying to get rid of me?” Karen wondered.

“No, not at all. Just don’t want you to be late,” Simon assured her.

“I called in sick at 6:00 this morning. No rush for either of us. I thought I might make dinner for the two of us tonight, if you want me to.”

“I was thinking about going back to work for a while. I do that a lot on my days off. I’d better take you home.”

“Not without a shower, Simon. She took off the tee shirt that he had given her the night before and he couldn’t take his eyes off her body. And it showed. He was lying there with a huge boner. Karen smiled. “I was hoping you could fuck me in the shower. I guess I’ll have to play with myself.”

She walked into the shower and turned the warm water on until it was perfectly warm for both of them. Simon followed her in and couldn’t keep her hands off him. She slicked him up with soap and herself too and rubbed their bodies together. She could feel his hard member and jumped up and put her legs around Simon’s waist and slid down onto his member with both of them moaning. Simon started thrusting into her until she could hardly breathe. Simon came with a moan into her own mouth. She came with a sweet-sounding squeal.

Simon finally slid out and set her down. She smiled evilly up at him and said, “Do you still want to go to work today?”

“Hell, no. You’ve gotten my attention. Let’s stay in bed all day long. I’m loving this.”

She dried off and walked into the kitchen to get them each a glass of water, when it hit her. Oh, my God. We had no protection.

When she returned into the bedroom, she started getting dressed. Simon looked at her a little dazed from the sex and asked, “Where are you going?”

“I changed my mind. I need the hours. I’d better go to work today.”

“Are you sure? Did I hurt you in some way, Karen?”

“Oh, you sweet, sweet, man. You did nothing but be a good sport about everything. I loved being with you and I hope to see you again.”

He was still naked and walked over to her and said, “I think I’m falling in love with you already.”

She sat on the bed and started to cry. Simon wasn’t expecting that and asked, “What’s wrong? Talk to me.”

“We didn’t have protected sex. I could be pregnant, all because I had to have you again. I’m selfish and I might have ruined our lives.”

“Let’s wait and see if there is anything to cry about. Then if you are pregnant, we’ll figure out what to do about that. Don’t worry so much. In the meantime, get back in this bed.”

Simon made love to her about six times that day. He said it made no sense to use protection when he hadn’t the first time. She thought he was being too nice. And a little on the reckless side. She was still mad at herself.

They both got dressed and Simon took her home. They talked about anything and everything and decided they would see each other next week on Simon’s day off. When Simon pulled away from her home, he smiled to himself. I’ve always wanted a child. But he knew that it was ultimately her decision. As far as Simon was concerned it wasn’t the end of the world.

When Simon got home, he called Jim and asked him to come over.

“Blair is here, do you mind if we both come?”

“Sure, that’s fine. I need someone to talk to.”

Blair and Jim walked next door and knocked on the door. Simon had them sit down in the living room and he brought a beer for all of them. Then he went on to tell them about the shower scene without too much detail and asked what they thought about unprotected sex.

“Let me ask, did she panic?” Blair asked.

“More or less, yes…”

“You just have to wait and see if she calls with bad news, right?” Jim asked.

“That’s just it, I don’t look at it like bad news. I’m not getting any younger, I wouldn’t mind having a child.”

Blair said, “This is the first time anyone has ever been so calm about it. She’s probably having a mental breakdown. And no doubt she blames herself.”

“Well, she did surprise me,” Simon said, laughing.

“Simon, you don’t really have a say in this. It’s her body, her life.” Blair was trying to let him down easily.

“I’m hoping she’ll ask me first. If she doesn’t, it wasn’t meant to be, I guess.” Simon looked a little sad.

Blair said, “Simon, you act like you’re in love with her already.”

“I am, why?”

“Have you told her?” Jim asked. “There is a difference between being in love and telling the person you’re in love.”

“I should call her right now, right?”

Blair smiled. “That’s what I would do. She wouldn’t be so nervous about it. Did she not want to make love after that?”

Simon was very quiet and answered, “Wait a minute. She let me make love to her quite a few times today with no protection. Was she trying to get pregnant?”

Blair said, “She didn’t ask for you to use protection at that point?”

“Yeah, she did, but I told her it was too late if she was pregnant already.”

Jim smiled and said, “I don’t think she had this all worked out in her head, Simon. She seemed really nice and she’s probably worried that you’ll never see or talk to her again.”

“You guys get out of here. I’ve got to call Karen. Thanks for talking some sense into me.”

Jim and Blair left as Simon was already dialing the phone. Karen picked up and said, “Hello.”

“Hi. I missed your voice and thought I would call and we could talk for a while.”

Karen started crying. “I never meant for this to happen. I’m too old to be pregnant. That’s scary in itself. Don’t you agree, Simon?”

“What do you mean you’re too old? How old are you?”

“I’m 35 and the doctor told me I would probably never have a child at my age. I don’t even know why I’m worried.”

“Then let’s not worry. I wanted to tell you that I love you. I’m so crazy about you, Karen. Keep that in mind at all times too.”

“How could you love me after two days?”

“I’ve been alone for a long, long while. And I met you and we instantly connected. I think you might feel the same way about me.”

“I am in love with you. It’s just weird. But if you love me too, it’s easier. Thank you for calling me, Simon. I probably won’t know if I’m pregnant for about two weeks. So let’s try not to think about it all the time.”

“Sounds good to me.”

They talked for two hours and then it was time for Simon to get ready for bed. He hated to stop talking with her. They had so much in common and they were crazy about each other.

Simon was at work ten days later and his phone rang and he answered, “Hi, Karen. What’s up?”

“You said we would talk about it. I’m pregnant. I just came from the doctor and he said everything was fine. I don’t know how I feel about it, Simon. I could have an abortion if you wanted me to. We need to talk.”

“Come over tonight. You can spend the night. I’m off for three days. I love you, Karen.”

“I love you, Simon. Oh, please don’t tell anyone in case.”

“We’ll talk tonight.”

“Bye, Simon…”

The doorbell rang at about 6:30. Simon had made a very nice dinner and was anxiously awaiting Karen’s visit. He opened the door and could see she was worried and upset. He pulled her inside and shut the door. Then he put his arms out and she went into them.

“Let me just say something before we start the talk. I’m 45 years old. I’m not going to have many more chances of having a child. And for this reason, I would like to have a child with you. But I want you to marry me and we bring up the baby together. Not you, alone. I know it’s not very romantic, but I love you and I want you and our child in my life. I have great insurance. I think Blair could find a job for you here if you don’t want to go into town each day. We could work on that. What do you think?”

“I think I love you too. I think I would love to marry you and raise the baby with you. I think it’s romantic as hell, so just shut up about that. Things might be all right, Simon.”

“Can we tell Jim and Blair?” Simon asked.

“Yes, after dinner. Now, do I smell food?”

Simon laughed and said, “Homemade chicken and noodles await you, my queen.”

“You are indeed a king amongst men.”

TBC

Chapter Text

Four weeks later, Blair was getting everything in the house ready for the wedding. Blair had asked Karen where she wanted to get married and she had answered, “At your place, Blair. I love your house and I think it would be a great start with our lives.”

Blair hadn’t fooled around at all. He knew he only had four weeks to get everything done. Blair bought her wedding dress, which was beautiful. She was already showing but hopefully not too badly. Jim was going to give the bride away because she had no family. Blair was going to be Simon’s best man. And for Maid of Honor, she had chosen her good friend, Sally. Sally worked in the same place as Karen. Although Karen had a degree in book-keeping so she was going to be Blair’s new bookkeeper. She was going to work five days a week. Weekends off. In fact, Karen thought she was the luckiest girl in the world. Between Blair and Simon, she was taken care of for life.

Blair was making sure everything was going as planned, with only one week left and Karen and Sally walked into the house.

“Hi, Blair,” Sally called out. “I need help calming down Karen. She’s nervous. Now, she’s nervous?”

Blair laughed and said, “This is a very small wedding, Karen. You can handle it. I promise you.”

“I have news…” Karen was about ready to scream.

“What news?” Blair asked.

“It’s twins. Oh Jesus, tell me my doctor is insane. Please?”

“You have two coming? Simon didn’t even mention it.”

“I haven’t told him yet. He was busy today when I had the ultrasound. Anyway, there are two of them and they are fairly big already. I’m going to get as big as a house. The doctor said this, not me.”

“Are you going to tell him after the wedding?”

“Blair, he would be insane to want to marry me with two babies, don’t you agree?”

Blair was getting irritated. “No, I don’t agree. Simon wouldn’t care if you were having six. Simon is so crazy about you and the fact that he’s finally going to have a baby to love. How could you think he wouldn’t marry you because there are two?”

“You know how you gave us tickets to Hawaii for our honeymoon? Well, none of my clothing fits anymore. I won’t be going anywhere.”

“You’ll be going somewhere with me today. We’re going shopping. Neither of us has any time, but we’re making time, damn it.”

Sally said, “I have to get to work. I’ll let you deal with Karen.” And out the door she went.

“Let’s call Simon up here, Karen. Better to hear it now than on your wedding day. Is that good?”

“I guess. Just get ready for him to explode.”

Blair called him up to the house and said it was important. Simon drove his little golf cart up and was there in moments. When he rang the doorbell, he wasn’t expecting Karen to be there. And he could see Karen had been crying. She opened the door and said, “May as well come in.”

“Is something wrong with the baby?” Simon asked, sounding alarmed.

“You could say that,” Karen said.

“No, you can’t say that, Karen. The baby is fine. She has news,” Blair added.

“Oh my God, are we having twins?” Simon picked her up and swung her around. “Are we?”

“I didn’t expect this type of reaction, Simon. In fact, I thought you wouldn’t even marry me now.”

“I’m a twin. I have uncles that were twins. My twin brother died in an accident when he was 7. But I knew that they ran in my family. No wonder you’ve been gaining so much weight. That happens for sure.”

“You don’t mind at all?” Karen asked, tearfully.

“I mind that you thought I would leave you at the altar when I heard it was twins. You need to start talking to me more. When did you find out?”

“This morning. You didn’t have time for the ultrasound.”

“From now on, I’ll make time. We need to find a house. Blair, I might need some time off to do that.”

“Simon, you can have time when you get back from the honeymoon. Just concentrate on having a great time in Hawaii. Now, if you’ll excuse us, Karen is getting some new clothes today that actually fit.”

Blair practically pushed Simon out the door. “I love you, Karen.”

“I love you, Simon. See you tonight.”

Once he was gone, Blair glared at Karen and said, “I told you so.”

“You did tell me so. Let’s go shopping and I’m going to see if I could find some wonderful gifts for my husband to be also.”

“That’s more like it. Come on, let’s get out of here.”

One week later was the big day. Simon was having a breakdown because he couldn’t find his shoes. Jim found them with ease by the front door.

Up at Blair’s house, Karen was driving Blair nuts with her last-minute jitters. Blair was about ready to smack her. Instead, he left her with Sally. He had better things to do. I’m never doing a wedding up for anyone again.

Finally, it was time. Jim came up to make sure Karen was ready. Simon walked into the house and stood by the fireplace. That’s where the makeshift altar was. He stood there looking fairly calm and Blair was glad of that.

The music started and Jim walked Karen up the makeshift aisle. She looked beautiful. Simon hadn’t taken his eyes off her once. She was happy to have him watching her. Made her feel more beautiful. He looked gorgeous in his tux and she couldn’t wait to call him husband.

The wedding went quickly and then there was a small reception. Then Simoon and Karen went off to the airport. It had been a crazy week, but thankfully, Blair had Jim to help him get his house back in order.

The following week, Jim was supposed to pick Simon and Karen up at the airport, but instead, Blair did because Jim was helping one of the mares give birth. Thankfully, Dan Wolfe was there to help. Or better yet to do the hard stuff.

It was one of the mustangs and she was having a hard time. Jim really was like a horse whisperer, he talked and she calmed down. Dan would talk and she would get upset again. From then on, Dan only whispered to Jim and Jim took it from there. Before long, the foal was born and the mare was exhausted. Dan was afraid something was wrong, but Jim said he would stay with them both during the night. That way he would be there if the mare needed him for anything. Jim fed the foal all night long to let his mama sleep. And it seemed to do the trick.

Blair came in the following morning to see how things were going.

“She’s doing great, now. She just needed some time off before she started this mother stuff. She was in labor a long, long while. Isn’t the foal the cutest thing, ever?”

“Is it a he?”

“It is a boy. His name is Snow Fox because he’s the color of snow. We’ll probably call him Fox. Not sure yet.”

Jim was exhausted as the team moved in to take care of mama and baby. Jim walked out to the golf cart and said, “I need to shower before I start my shift.”

“Oh, no you don’t. You have the next two days off. Plenty of time to catch up on other things. Would you like me to come over tonight?”

“I would. I’ll get a nap before you come over.”

Blair drove the cart back to Jim’s place and helped him get in the shower. Once he was in bed, Blair left him alone so he could sleep.

TBC

Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch 9
What’s Going On?
By PattRose
Summary: Simon returns from his and Karen’s honeymoon and they were missed. Blair and Jim have some serious discussions about Blair’s grandparents. And something awful is happening at the ranch.

Simon was so glad to be home once more. He loved Hawaii, but he really loved Montana more. It was so humid in Hawaii. Simon wasn’t used to that one bit. He and Karen had a fantastic time and were more in love with each other by the day. But he couldn’t wait to get back to work.

Karen walked up to Blair’s ranch house and knocked on the door. Blair opened it and said, “You can just knock and then walk in. You know where the office is. I discovered just how much you do for me because I had to do it while you were gone. I had no time to work with the guys on the ranch. I was too busy doing books and payroll. Next time, I’m going with you.”

Karen laughed and hugged him. “We had such a good time, but it got a little old after five days. I like Montana. So does Simon. And speaking of Simon, he wanted me to see if you wanted to go out tonight so he could tell you about our trip.”

“That sounds good, but I need to check with Jim first. We try to talk about things first. He’s off today. He pulled a double for two days and he was exhausted. Let me call him,” Blair said, as he grabbed his phone.

“Ellison…”

“Hi, Jim. Karen wants to know if we want to go out tonight to eat and hear about their trip. What do you say about that?”

“That sounds great. I’m much more rested today. By tonight I’ll be good.”

“See you at 4:00, Jim.”

“Have a good day, Babe.”

“Jim said it sounded like fun. We’re on.” Blair was practically bouncing in place. He loved going out and with friends it was quite fun too.

“Blair, you go relax at Jim’s place and I’ll take care of business. I can answer phones as well as you do. Let me give you some time off.”

“You know what? I am going to leave you in charge. If you need me, I’m only a phone call away.”

“Have fun, Blair,” she said as she walked into the office.

Blair took his golf cart down to Jim’s and knocked on his door. Jim opened the door and said, “What are you doing? You just come in, don’t knock. This is you and me time and places. You never knock again.”

“Got it, Jim. Karen is doing all the work today. I thought I would come down and bug you for a while. Unless you wanted to sleep.”

“Sleep is over-rated, Blair.” Jim wiggled his eyebrows up and down and made Blair laugh.

“Last one in is the bottom,” Blair called out halfway there already.

Jim just locked up and walked in slowly as if this was the new norm.

They made love quietly and gently. It wasn’t so manic this time, and Jim really enjoyed it. He was still not used to being the bottom but he knew he had to learn to accept it and let Blair have his way now and then too.

Jim had Blair curled up to his body and Jim asked, “So, how come you don’t talk about your grandparents?”

Blair stiffened a little and this alarmed Jim right away. “If you don’t want to talk about them that’s fine.”

“No, it’s time to talk about them again. They were a big part of my life. Naomi traveled so much and left me here almost all the time to grow up. I loved it here. It wasn’t a bad thing. Only good things happened here. When I finished college Grandma and Grandpa were so proud of me. I wanted to work on the ranch but they insisted I go to college first. And I did just that. When I was 23, they were in a car accident and were killed instantly. I wanted to blame myself, them and anyone else that got in the way of my grieving. But ultimately, it was just life. Bad things happen to all people. Why did I think I was special? Then I remembered, I had them for 23 years and they were great years. So, I straightened right up and started learning how to run the ranch. They left everything to me, except for a lump sum for Naomi. I don’t hear from her much. But I really miss my grandparents, Jim.”

Jim held Blair even tighter and said, “I wish I could have met them. They must have been special because of how you turned out.”

“Thank you, Man. Now, let’s get dressed and see the new colt.”

“Sounds good. I wanted to say hi to Simon anyhow. Want to take a shower first?”

“Nah. We’ll wait until before dinner. Then we’ll have shower sex. If we get clean that’s good too.”

Jim burst out laughing. “You’re so damned cute, Blair. I just love you.”

“I love you too. I’m almost dressed and you’re still lying there watching me.”

“Jim, Jim, Jim. You must know I can’t multitask when there is a naked Jim in the room. Don’t complain.”

Jim laughed this time. “You’re very good for the ego, Blair.”

Once they were both ready to go, they got into the golf cart and drove it out to the second barn. Jim was dying to see the new mama. Dan was there and Jim worried immediately.

“Hi, Jim. Hi, Blair. I had to put Bella down. She was dying a slow death. If I didn’t know better, I would say she was poisoned. Simon is calling the sheriff right now to check it out. I drew blood and we’ll run a test for things that could have made her sick. The colt is doing just fine and we have him nursing off another mare that still has milk. She’s taken a liking to him. It’s Fancy that is feeding and caring for him. She’s a good mare for helping this colt get through. If you have any questions, just ask,” Dan said, kindly, knowing how upset Jim was with the news.

“Do you have the equipment to run the lab test here, Dan?” Jim asked.

“Yes, I’m going to do it now. I’ll be back. Snow Fox is in the other barn with Fancy.”

“Thank you, Dan. Do you think that’s why she was so exhausted when she birthed the colt?”

“It sure could be. I’ll let you know as soon as I do.” He walked out the door and Jim headed in to see Bella. She was one of Jim’s favorites. He loved all of them but some of them he favored quite a lot. He knelt down and petted the poor horse. Life left her but she was still in Jim’s heart. Suddenly, Jim said, “We don’t need a stinking blood test. It was cyanide. I can smell the bitter almond smell it has. Bella hasn’t been anywhere where she could have been poisoned. Someone gave her this.”

“Let’s wait for the blood test and the sheriff to get here. You don’t want everyone knowing about you and your senses, do you? I would guess we cool our jets, Jim.”

At that moment, the sheriff walked in and shook hands with Blair.

“Hello, Sheriff Taylor. I wish we didn’t have to meet like this,” Blair said. “This is the assistant foreman, Jim Ellison. Jim, this is Sheriff Tom Taylor.”

Jim put his hand out to shake with the man. After that was done, he started asking Blair questions.

“I just ran into Dan Wolfe out in the first barn. He was checking the colt. He says it was cyanide. Where do you suppose the mare got it?”

Jim wanted to deck him for not calling her by her name. Blair saw Jim was angry and said, “Bella hadn’t been out of her stall except to exercise and eat, that’s all.”

“I think we should test all the food. Someone might have come on the property and put something in the feed. Dan thinks so too.”

Jim’s phone rang and he answered when he saw it was Dan. “What’s up, Dan?”

“Jim, we have three more dead horses. We need to check the feed right away. We could lose a bunch of them by morning.”

“I’ll be right there, Dan. I’ll tell the sheriff.” Jim looked over at Blair and the sheriff and said, “Sheriff Taylor, Dan found three dead horses in their stalls. Looks to be cyanide also. You can ride with us if you want.”

Cole walked over and said, “Jim, I’ll take care of Bella. She’ll be picked up and laid to rest soon. I’m sorry. I know how special she was to you.”

Jim felt like screaming, but just nodded and walked to the golf cart. But not before Blair told Brett and Frank to get rid of all the feed immediately. They would have to start fresh. Blair knew they would have to do it at all the barns and in the stables.

Blair still hadn’t said a word to Jim. He knew the man was upset and sure didn’t want to push him any further over the edge. As they drove up, Simon and Dave were standing there looking grim. Jim jumped out of the cart and said, “More?”

Simon stopped him from going in and said, “Thunder was one of the horses, Jim.”

Thunder was Jim’s horse and he loved that horse so much. This time, Jim went down on his knees and screamed at the top of his lungs. Blair still didn’t go to him. Just as quickly as he had done this, he got up and went into the barn. There were five horses lying dead in their stalls.

Dan walked out and shook hands with Jim. “I’m sorry about Thunder, Jim. He didn’t have a chance. It was in the feed for sure. I ran a test and there it was bold as can be. Someone is trying to destroy all the mares and studs. I don’t understand how anyone could do this.”

The sheriff asked some questions from the hands and from Dan. Everyone answered with ease. Jim still hadn’t seen Thunder. They must have moved him. For this, Jim was very glad.

The sheriff left and was going to call in the troops. He admitted that this was over his head and needed help. Jim respected him for this and hoped they would find the culprit.

All the men that worked there were taking the feed bags out of the stalls and any feed that was there, was now gone. Jim knew he’d have to go and buy more feed at once. The horses would be hungry soon.

“Blair, do you want to go into town with me for feed. It’s going to be days before they figure out who might have done this. We need to feed the horses now.”

Simon walked in and said, “I think someone added something to just these horse’s feedbags. The other horses are fine and so are the goats. They have been eating like crazy and nothing has happened to them. I think they were after the mares and the studs for this go round. We might as well face it, there is a traitor amongst us. We need to be very careful from this point on.”

Dan said, “Jim and Simon, they must have used a liquid form to pour into the feedbags. We need to lock down the ranch right now. Is everyone working?”

Jim said, “Yes, everyone is working. We’ll lock down the ranch and do a search of the condos next.”

Someone took a very stupid pill that day as Dave said, “You can’t go through anyone’s condo without their permission.”

Blair said, “Call the sheriff back, Simon and tell him we need a team with a search warrant. We’ll start with Dave’s condo.”

“Fuck you,” he said as he started towards his condo.

Jim pulled him around and said, “You’ll go nowhere. We’ll wait for the sheriff. Tell me why you killed Thunder, asshole. He wasn’t worth money like the rest were worth. Why Thunder?”

“Because you don’t deserve a horse that fine. We all do, but not some fag that works for another fag on this ranch. I tried to live with it, but I can’t stand your kind. I was asked to do this and I was glad to do it. Thunder wasn’t named on the list, I just knew that you would be upset.”

Jim went to hit Dave Miller and Blair stopped him. “Jim, just hang on to him. The sheriff will be here soon.”

Blair noticed that Frank Reese was acting a little squirrely. Blair said, “All our new hands have to be subjected to a search just like the older hands.”

Now, Frank Reese looked nervous. Blair walked back up to Jim and asked, “Can you hear anyone else besides Dave that sound nervous?”

“Yeah, Frank Reese. I’ve had my eye on him since we started this.”

Brett and Cole walked up to Blair and Cole said, “You can start with my condo. I don’t mind at all. I can’t believe you, you mother-fucker.”

The troops came in way of six men that took Frank and Dave and put them in the back of their cars. They didn’t put them together and started the search. They found liquid cyanide in both of the condos lived in by Frank and Dave. Jim knew they were nobodies. Who hired them?

“Blair, we’re going to find out who paid these men to destroy you. Just have patience. The FBI has been called also. It’s becoming a very big deal,” Sheriff Taylor said.

After things had settled down, Simon walked up to Jim and said, “We’re all sorry for the loss of Thunder and Bella. You’ll have to pick out a new horse now. Maybe one of the new wild ones that we just got. There are a few that I would sure like to have.”

“I’ll think on it, Simon. Sorry we didn’t get to go out tonight.” Jim looked so sad.

And everyone knew that he would be sad for some time. At least they found out who it was that did the deed. Now they just needed to find out who paid them off. Both men had a lot of money in their condos.

TBC

Chapter Text

It had been two weeks and Blair was finding nothing out about the case in all that time. The two men had been charged but all they would get was up to three years in prison. If that… Blair was so depressed. Most of the time anyone harming a horse got 30 days in jail.

There was a knock at the door and Blair opened to Sheriff Taylor. “Blair, I wanted to tell you that we’re closing the case. We found nothing to lead to anyone else other than the two of them. We think it was just a hate crime. Not that it’s ‘just’ a hate crime, but we’ll be able to put them in prison for one year for a hate crime. Plus 400 hours of community service chosen by the person the hate crime was directed at. They would get nothing for the killing of the horses. Other than 30 days in jail. The DA decided to go with the hate crime. At least they’ll be put away for a short time. I’m really sorry we couldn’t do more.”

“It’s not your fault, Sheriff. I hope they’ll learn something. It’s such a shame. Would you like a cup of coffee?”

“No thanks, Blair. My horse is awaiting my tired butt. The next time, I’m bringing the car. But he needed some major exercise. Have a good month.” Sheriff Taylor tipped his hat and walked off.

Blair felt like he was in a modern day western. He would have smiled but he lost 11 studs when the poisoning had happened. He had them insured but it wouldn’t replace the horses themselves. It was going to take a long time to get over this.

In the meantime, he was going to take Jim with him to a horse ranch two hours away and get some new studs. He might even look for a wonderful mare. This ranch had top rated animals and Blair was friends with the owner. So they traded their stock from time to time. But today, Blair needed some new horses. It would help everyone get over what happened. The mare was going to be Jim’s choice.

He called Jim and heard, “Ellison.”

“Hi, Jim. Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah, I’m ready. You know what we need?”

“No, tell me what we need.”

“What kind of a ranch are we running without a dog or two or three? We need to have some dogs, Blair. Could we look at the pound today?”

“Are you talking inside or outside dogs?”

“Outside until night time. Then they sleep in your house or my house. Do you think we could do that?”

“I think it’s an excellent idea, Jim. Now, get up here or do you want me to drive down to get you?”

“Nah, I’ll walk. Be right there.”

No wonder he’s in such good shape.

When Jim got there, he said, “Can I drive?”

“I know you like to be in control, Jim, so the seat’s back and everything.”

“You’re the best, Babe.”

“I’m the best, babe, or I’m the best babe?”

“Very funny. Get in. Time’s a wasting.” Jim smiled as he climbed into the truck.

When they were about 40 miles away from the destination for the horses, Jim turned to Blair and asked, “Have we heard anything from the sheriff?”

“He stopped by today and they charged them with a hate crime and they got one year with 400 hours community service. It’s better than what they would have gotten for killing the horses. That was 30 days in jail. The DA decided to go with the first choice of hate crime. My only hope is they won’t go to an easy prison.”

“Blair, there are no easy prisons. I’m glad they got something. We know they were too dumb to plan it. Someone paid them, damn it.”

“I know, Jim. But we can’t do anything without proof. Now tell me about your family. You know about mine, it’s your turn.”

“I would like you to meet my brother. He’s a lawyer in Butte and a good one at that. Anyhow, he called last night. I told him I wanted him to meet you and he agreed that it would be great. He knows I’m gay but my dad doesn’t know yet. Steven thinks I should write him a letter. But I think maybe he should see me in person to hate me up close.”

“You don’t know he’ll hate you, Jim. He might already know. What does he do for a living, or did for a living?”

“He’s in investments. His name is William Ellison and he lives in Butte.”

“We were in Butte and we could have stopped in and said hello,” Blair teased.

Jim gave him a dirty look, followed by a big smile.

“When am I meeting Steven?” Blair asked.

“I invited him for dinner tomorrow night. I hope you don’t have anything planned. If you do, I’ll just move it to another day.”

“What can I bring for dinner?”

“Just bring yourself. I’m making tacos. Nice and easy and it’s Steven’s favorite thing to eat.”

“I can’t wait. Do you want to do it at my place or your place?”

“My place is fine, Blair.”

“I can’t wait to meet him. Woot! Thank you for not being embarrassed about me.”

Jim turned his head slowly and glanced at Blair. “Embarrassed about you? For what? You’re gorgeous, nice and a great conversationalist. Steven’s going to love you. He’s never met anyone I dated. He understands that we’re serious about ‘us’.”

They drove up to Kevin’s ranch and got out. Kevin showed them the studs that were for sale. Jim was very picky and only chose four. Then they looked at five mares and Jim found the one he wanted to take Bella’s place. She was beautiful and well-tempered too. All in all, it was a good day. Kevin was going to deliver them the following day. While they were there, they had dogs running around like crazy. Jim asked Kevin, “Where did you get these pups? They look about nine months old, but really pretty dogs.”

Their mom is a Boxer and their dad is a Black Lab. This is what they look like. We have four ready to go to a ranch if you’d like them.”

Jim got down on his knees and welcomed the pups. Two were female and two were male. They had all been fixed, which was a good thing. Jim looked up at Blair and said, “I like these two right here.”

Jim held up two that looked just like boxers. They were so cute. Kevin said, “I’ll deliver them tomorrow. This one is Grace and this one is Gus. They are the sweetest of all of the pups. We had 11 to start with. My wife couldn’t take these to the pound so they’ve been with us a long, long while. They are seven months old and are housebroken.”

“We’ll take both, Kevin. Thank you. Grace and Gus will have a good home.” Blair petted them and smiled down at Jim.

They got back into the truck and took off for the ranch.

The following day, the horses and the dogs were delivered. Jim had bought collars and leashes for both of the dogs in case someone wanted to train them. Jim found himself so excited about the dogs. He almost forgot about his brother coming for dinner that night. But thankfully Blair had mentioned it and Jim took out the meat and the others things he needed. Simon volunteered to keep an eye on the pups until Jim’s brother left.

Jim and Simon got all the new horses settled in and separated to the barns they belonged in. One of the horses was a huge mustang stallion. He was so beautiful. Jim named him Lightening because of him being silver with white flashes on the side of his body.

When they were done, Jim hurried over to his house to get ready for his brother’s visit, leaving the pups with Simon. Blair went early to see if he could help and was glad he got there when he did because Jim was having a meltdown.

“Calm down, man. It’s just your brother.”

“Everything’s ready, I just want it to be perfect.”

“Jim, nothing is absolutely perfect, you should know this by now.”

“You’re perfect, Blair.”

“What a nice man you are. Blind and stupid but so nice. And easy on the eyes too.”

Jim kissed him and smiled. “I love you so much.”

“I know you do. We’re a good team, Jim.”

“I’ll be right back. Nature calls.”

The doorbell rang and Blair opened the door. There stood two men and Blair was at a loss.

“Hi, Blair. I’m Steven and this is William, our dad.”

“I’m so sorry. Jim ran to the bathroom and he’ll be out directly. Please come in. Sit down and take it easy. Would you like a glass of wine?”

William said, “I would love a glass of wine. Thank you, Blair.”

“You’re most welcome.”

Blair started pouring the wine for William and Jim walked in looking nervous and anxious. He knew. He fucking knew and didn’t tell me. I’ll make him pay later.

“Hi, Dad. Hi, Steven. You both look good.”

William stood up and said, “I would like a hug from my son whom I haven’t seen in a year at least.”

Jim gave him a hug begrudgingly; he was still in shock. “Dad, I didn’t know you were coming. Did you meet Blair already?”

William smiled and answered, “Yes, we met Blair. He’s the one bringing me a glass of wine. Thank you, Blair.”

“You’re welcome, sir,” Blair answered.

They all sat down while Jim checked on dinner. When dinner was done, he yelled, “Soup’s on.”

“Old habits die hard,” William said, laughing.

“Why did you say ‘Soup’s on?’ instead of dinner is served?”

William smiled at Blair. It’s something he said as a child. His mother would always say, ‘Soup’s on’, no matter what we were having. And that’s where it came from.”

The four men started to relax as they ate and before long, it was time for dessert. Jim had made a delicious pound cake with strawberries and whipped cream.

Steven said, “Jim, this cake is delicious. Where did you buy it?”

“I didn’t buy it. It’s a pound cake. It takes a pound of butter, cream cheese and 8 eggs. That’s why it’s so heavy.”

It was William’s turn. “It is delicious, Jim. Dinner was great too. The company was even better. Have you boys been to Casagranda Steak House in Butte?”

Blair was thrilled he brought it up. “Yes, we went one night. I wasn’t familiar with anything in Butte. I liked it there very much.”

“Next week, I’d like you two to come there for dinner.” William said this with such an air of authority, that both men said, “Yes.”

“Jimmy, I’ll call you with the date. Now, we have to get running. It was so nice meeting you, Blair.”

“It was wonderful meeting both of you. Thank you for coming.”

“Night, Dad. Night, Steven. Drive safely.”

Steven said, “We’ll be good. See you next week.”

Jim shut the front door and dramatically fell back against the door. Blair started laughing and said, “See, I told you.”

“Yeah, you did. It wasn’t so bad. Steven must have let it slip. I wish I had known though. I would have prepared something a little fancier.”

“It turned out perfectly and he ended up eating more than any of us.”

Jim laughed. “That he did. Thank you for being such a sport all night.”

“You’re welcome. Some day you’ll have to put up with Naomi and I may need you to be a sport too.”

“I already told you, you’re perfect.”

“I’ll show you perfect…” Blair chased Jim into the bedroom for a night of love.

“Let’s not forget the pups when we’re done,” Jim reminded Blair.

“Oh yeah. Maybe no love making till they get used to us.”

“Sounds good to me, Blair.”

TBC

Chapter Text

It was Jim’s day off and he was all alone in his condo. What is wrong with this picture? Blair had a lot to do that morning and was gone by six. At 7:00, his phone rang.

“Miss me already?” Jim asked.

“Sure, I do,” William answered, laughing.

“Hey, Dad. What’s going on?”

“I wanted to tell you how much we liked Blair. He seems to fit into your lifestyle pretty well. He was a little nervous about us, but that’s to be expected. I thought he was nice, funny and charming.”

“I’m glad you liked him but I still can’t believe you’re being so calm about it. In the old days you could have never met a man that I was seeing. You would have rather liked killing me first.”

“Be that as it may, I’ve changed. Didn’t you notice at all?” William asked.

“Of course I noticed. You didn’t leave as soon as you got here. It was amazing. The transformation, I mean. I really appreciate you accepting us.”

“I’ll feel better about it if we can get together in Butte once a month. I love the steak house and Blair said he did too.”

“I agree, we should meet once a month. You’re welcome to come here too.”

“Why don’t you live with Blair in the big house?” William wondered for the umpteenth time that day.

“He hasn’t asked me to.”

“Jimmy, tell him you’d like to be together more and see what he says.”

“Dad, I’m not telling him that. I’ll wait until he’s ready,”

“Well, you could nudge him a little bit. I’d like to be invited up to the big house.”

“Dad, you make it sound like it’s the prison of Montana.”

William laughed and said, “I called to see if two weeks from today is good for you and Blair?”

Jim wrote it down on a notebook and said, “I have to ask the boss and I’ll get back to you. Wait until you see the new dogs we got for the ranch. They are so cute, Dad.”

“You know I don’t like dogs, Jimmy.”

“You might if you gave them a chance. These two are very loving. Everyone takes turns taking care of them. They’re good dogs but at night they go to my house.”

“Why?”

“Why, what?” Jim asked.

“Why bother putting them in the house when they could be out in the barn with the horses. They wouldn’t get cold or anything. They won’t be ranch dogs for long if you keep coddling them.”

“Listen Dad, I have to take Blair somewhere today. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Don’t forget to ask him.”

“I’m not going to forget, Dad. Talk to you soon.”

“Bye, Jimmy.”

Jim ran his hand across his face and said to himself, “Self, you almost said, come over and fuck me, to your dad. I’ve got to look at the caller id from now on.”

Up at Blair’s house, the phone rang and Blair saw it was Naomi. “Naomi, hi. How are you? I haven’t heard from you in three months. I thought maybe you adopted me out.”

Naomi laughed. “I was calling to see if there was anyone new in your life, or are you still bored and lonely?”

“I was never bored, Naomi. Lonely maybe but never bored. I met someone new and we’ve been together for about three months now. He’s the real deal and you won’t believe this but he’s a Sentinel.”

“A what? What is that, darling?”

Blair went on to tell her all about Sentinels and then he said, “I’d love for you to meet him. I met his dad and his brother two nights ago. They’re so nice.”

“Does Jim have money?” Naomi asked, angrily.

“Not everything is about money, Naomi. He doesn’t ask me about mine and I don’t ask him about his. He’s a really nice guy. He my assistant foreman right now. He’s second in command.”

“Does he live in one of the condos?”

“Yes, why?”

“Then he’s poor, Blair. I’m coming for a visit. I’ll be there in about two days. I’ll call you from the airport.”

“Come if you want, but unless I have a time to pick you up, I won’t be picking you up at all.”

“Does his family have money?”

“I didn’t ask…”

“You should start. He’ll probably eat you alive.”

“I can only hope so, Naomi.”

“I’m serious, Blair. And stop being nasty with your mother.”

“Come or don’t. Doesn’t much matter to me, Naomi, and if you’re mean to Jim, you’ll stay in town at the motel.”

“I’ll see you in two days.”

Blair heard the buzzing on the phone and preferred it over his mom’s voice at that moment. She never even asked if they were in love with each other.

Blair dialed Jim’s line and heard, “Ellison.”

“Hi, how are you today?”

“All right, what’s wrong? I can hear many different things in your voice. What’s going on?”

“I just talked to my mom. She said she’s coming for a visit to see if you’re after my money. She didn’t say it like that, but she meant it like that.”

“I don’t need your money, honey. I have a trust fund that’s handy for whatever I want. My Grandparents left me tons.”

“Oh, goody. I wasn’t worried about it, but my mom sure was.”

“I’m sure my dad worries too, Blair. It is a worry to think someone would love your son for only money. Call her back and put her mind at rest.”

“I will, Jim. Thank you. I’ll see you tonight.”

“I think the dogs should stay in the barn at night. I’ll get them nice beds and blankets galore. What do you think?”

“I don’t know what brought it up but that sounds fine to me. We can just play with them on the ranch. We’ll keep their food in the barn and go from there.”

“See you soon, Blair.”

“Bye, Jim.”

Two Days Later:

Blair was cleaning up the house just in case his mom did come when the doorbell rang. Blair answered and it was Naomi.

“Oh, Sweetie, you look marvelous. Life must be treating you well. You’re just glowing.”

“It’s Jim, Mom. I told you that much,” Blair was getting bored already.

“He’s probably after your money, honey.”

“He’s got more money than me,” Blair said, lying through his teeth. After all, he had no idea how much money Jim had.

“Really? Well, now I’m interested. I wasn’t when he was a gold digger.”

“Mom, you have to play nice with others or I won’t have you meet him at all.”

“He doesn’t live here?” she asked, quite shocked.

“No, he’s his own person, Mom.”

“Sweetie, ask him to move in. It’ll be good for both of you.”

“You’re just saying that because he has money. You know what that makes me? A gold digger.”

“As long as he isn’t taking you for granted, I don’t care. Now, when can I meet him?”

“He’ll be up for dinner in just a little while.”

“I’m going to go up to my room. I want to meditate and then it’ll be time to eat.”

As soon as she was gone, Blair dialed Jim again.

“Hi, Blair. What’s wrong?”

“She’s insane and I don’t want you to be subjected to her. I’m not joking, either.”

“I’ll come now and we’ll talk. Where is she now?”

“In her room, upstairs, meditating.”

“Perfect. I’ll be there soon. I’ll walk in so I don’t disturb her at all.”

“I love you, Jim. Just remember that as the night goes on.”

Jim laughed as he hung up his phone.

Blair was whipping up some of Jim’s pound cake for dessert when he felt arms go around him and give him strength. He turned around and kissed Jim with so much passion, Jim almost forgot Blair’s mom was in the house. As it was, Jim wondered where Jan and Mary were.

“Where’s Mary tonight?” Jim asked.

“She’s off tonight and so is Jan. I decided to make dinner and dessert.”

“I smell you made pound cake. I love that.”

“Oh, I do too,” Blair agreed, whole-heartedly.

Jim was setting the table when he felt the hairs go up on his neck. There, stood Blair’s mom in a see-through dress. Jim blushed and looked away. “You must be Naomi. I’m Jim. Jim Ellison.”

Blair walked out and saw what his mom was wearing and said, “Change, now…”

“Well, I never,” Naomi gasped out as she left the room.

Blair walked over and kissed Jim. “She always tries to get my new lover’s attention. It’s sad, really. It’s like she wants to share everything.”

“Well, she’s not sharing me, Blair. I only have eyes for you.”

“You are so gooey smooth, Jim. I adore that about you.”

“I love you so much, Blair.”

Naomi clapped and said, “Nice show, boys.”

“We’re not here to entertain you, Naomi,” Jim said, cautiously.

“I’m staying for a week and then I’ll decide if I like you or not. Now, how about dinner, I’m hungry?”

For the next week, whenever Jim was at Blair’s house, Naomi tried to start trouble. But no matter how hard she tried, it didn’t work. Jim was much stronger than she was. Finally at the end of the week she said, “Jim, come here for a moment.”

Jim walked over to her and said, “Yes?”

“I want a hug and a kiss, please?”

Jim went to hug her and she molded her body against Jim’s body and then began to kiss him. Jim pulled away angrily and said, “No way. I only do one Sandburg and it ain’t you.”

“Perfect answer, Jim. Now, will you go fetch my suitcase?”

Jim just shook his head from side to side as he walked up the stairs. He grabbed her already packed bag and took it to the front door. Naomi was hugging on Blair and Blair seemed a little blue.

“Jim, come over and make Blair feel better. It was good seeing both of you. I’ll see you in six or eight months. Have fun, boys.”

They waved as she walked out the door. Jim pulled Blair into his arms and said, “I can just hold you all night if that’s what you need.”

“Oh, for crying out loud, she drives me nuts. I’m not sad. I’m thinking of things I can do with you while she’s not in the house.”

Jim let a big bark of laughter out and kissed Blair like crazy.

This was how life should be.

TBC

Chapter Text

It was the fourth day in a row that Jim got a letter from an old girlfriend from college. Her name was Natalie Spain. She was a really nice girl, but Jim didn’t swing that way anymore. Jim didn’t want a woman, ever. In the letters, she told Jim she wanted to try again and for them to have a family. That sort of hurt a little bit. Jim loved kids and what does he do but sign up for a childless union.

Ever since Simon and Karen got pregnant, there was something gnawing at Jim’s gut. Oh well, life does indeed go on. And Jim was really happy with Blair. They would babysit for Karen and Simon. It would have to do.

Back to Natalie. Jim needed to tell Blair about her in case he ever answered Jim’s phone while over there. Jim promised himself that he would tell Blair that night. Now, get back to work.

Blair was cleaning Jim’s house for him while Jim was working. He was putting clean clothing away and found a letter or better yet, letters sitting there dying to be opened. Blair just couldn’t do that. It would be betraying everything they had between them. He would wait until Jim came to him. The mail came and got fed through the slot on the front door. Blair picked it up and saw another letter addressed to Jim Ellison.

Blair pulled his new phone out and texted Jim.

“Hi, Jim. It’s me. I’m at your house and a letter just came for you from someone named Natalie Spain. Do you know her? Anyway, that’s all you got. I put it on the desk in the living room.”

Jim heard his phone ding and looked. Oh shit. Now he knows before I told him. Damn it, anyhow.

“Hi, Blair. She’s someone from college days and she’s been bothering me. She wrote me about five times. They’re all in my sock drawer if you want to see what she said. She’s a little off base, I think. Anyhow, I need some way to let her down easily.”

Blair read Jim’s text and couldn’t have been happier. He got the letters out of the drawer and then opened the new one. But he read them in order.

Dearest Jim,

I know that I hurt you for years and I understand, but having a child wasn’t a big thing for me. Now it’s ten years later and it’s become a big thing for me. I would love to have your child. Let’s get together and plan this...

Love, Natalie

The next four letters were a lot like it. And Blair couldn’t wait to read the last one.

Jim, my only love,

I’m ovulating right now, so I’ll be there to see you today. We’re going to make this work this time. As I said, I know I was wrong and I will do anything for you to make it up to you. See you tonight. It’s apartment 8, right? Call me if you change your mind.

Love, Natalie

Blair was confused. Why would she have his phone number and address if he hadn’t told her? And she had said call me if you change your mind. Almost like she had talked to him about this. Blair found himself getting angry. Just stop, Sandburg. He loves you and you love him. Don’t let some chick ruin it for us.

Blair opened his phone and texted, “Looks like she’s coming tonight. She’s ovulating, you big jerk.”

“Blair, I haven’t seen her in ten years, easy. She said she’s coming? Can I stay up at your house?”

“No, asshole. But I might stay at yours for the entertainment value.”

“First it’s jerk, now it’s asshole. I told you to read the letters. What right do you have calling me names?”

“You were saving the letters in your sock drawer. You had plans for something. Maybe, subconsciously, you wanted a baby as bad as she does.”

“I do want a child someday, but with you. Not with Natalie. She’s a nut. Please say you’ll stay with me tonight. I can’t deal with her right now. It was a tough day today and I just want to relax once I’m home.”

“Are we done fighting?” Blair texted.

“I wasn’t fighting. I love you too much.”

“Do you mind if I call her?”

“Natalie? Sure, what are you going to call her?”

“Homewrecker for starters.”

“Good one, Chief. Just be really ugly so she never talks to me again.”

“I love you.”

“I love you back. See you soon.”

Blair pulled out the first letter with the phone number. He dialed and waited.

“Hello.”

“Is this Natalie?”

“Yes, who is this?”

“My name is Blair Sandburg and I’m married to Jim Ellison. Need I say anything else?”

“You’re a guy…”

Blair sighed. “Yes, we’re gay.”

“Jim was never gay and I happen to know that he wants to have my baby.”

“Did he call you?”

“Probably didn’t want to upset you. He’s a good man that way.”

“He’s a good man with me too. He fucks like there is no tomorrow every single time. He loves my ass and did I mention we’re going to have a surrogate to have a family?”

“This cannot be. Jim Ellison is a very alpha male and would never want to fuck someone named Blair.”

“He is an alpha male. He shows me every single day. He’s showing me right now. He’s blowing me while we talk. Oh my God, he’s so good at this. Did you give him blow jobs all the time? Because that’s his favorite thing. No? Well, that was part of the problem. No dick is the next problem. I’ve got to go. Talk to you later, Natalie.”

When Jim walked in, later that night he smiled because Blair was still at his house.

Jim pulled Blair into his arms and asked, “Did you get rid of her?”

“I think so. I hope so. She’s nuts.”

“I told you so, Blair.”

“Come here big boy…” Blair helped Jim out of his clothes and started sucking Jim’s cock. His phone rang and he answered it.

“Ellison…”

All that could be heard then was Jim’s moans and Blair’s moans. Natalie finally said, “Jim, you don’t suck cock.”

“Oh yes, I do, Natalie. Oh, Jesus. Blair stop. Oh my God. Bye, Natalie.”

Blair continued what he had been doing and until Jim came. He petted Jim’s cock until it started coming to life again.

“I hate when you do that, man.”

“Are you complaining or bragging?” Jim asked.

“I’m bragging, damnit.”

“Let’s go to bed.”

“But Jim, we didn’t eat dinner.”

“Blair, you eat me and I’ll eat you and we’ll get up later and have a small snack.”

“Sounds good to me. I love you, Jim.”

“I love you, Blair.”

As they lay in each other’s arms, Blair thought, Don’t think we’re not going to discuss the whole baby thing.

“Jim, why didn’t you have a great day today?”

“Way to ruin the mood, Blair.”

“What happened?”

“I called Sheriff Taylor and asked him if anything was new in the case. He told me the case was closed as far as anyone was concerned. I reminded him that someone paid those guys to do this and he said, there was no proof and there was nothing to do about it.”

“I’m sorry, Jim. The sheriff did tell me the case was closed. I didn’t agree either, but it’s not like we could anything about it. Am I right?”

“I think we should hire a great private detective and see if he finds anything that could point to someone else helping those monsters. What do you think?”

“I think you’re in charge, Jim. Just keep me apprised when you find anything out. Now, let’s get up and eat something.”

“You got it, Blair.” And they did just that.

TBC

Chapter Text

Jim had the day off. He was going to go into Butte to see a private investigator. He wanted Blair to go along, but Blair and Karen were doing payroll. If anyone wanted to be paid, they had to do it today.

Jim called Simon.

“Banks.”

“Hi, Simon. Would you like to go to Butte with me today? I’m hiring a private eye.”

“To look into the poisonings?” Simon asked.

“Yes, the case is closed in town. I don’t understand how they could close it with all the questions that are unanswered. I’m leaving in 15 minutes. Sorry for the short notice.”

“Not short at all. I was going grocery shopping, but your trip sounds a lot better. I’ll be there in 5 minutes.”

Simon smiled as he closed his cell. Jim had become a very close friend of his in the last five months. And Simon could tell that Jim liked him every bit as much. Mutual admiration society. Simon laughed as he walked out the door.

Simon walked over to Jim’s condo and smiled when he saw Jim already in his truck. Jim had a truck a lot like Simon’s. Big and beautiful. They both liked GMC autos and it showed. Simon opened up the door of the truck and said, “Good morning, Jim.”

“Good morning, Simon. You ready for a boring trip up there?”

“Yup. Let’s stop at the steak house there before we leave. Sound good?”

“That does sound good, Simon. But what about Karen and Blair?”

“Maybe they could meet us up there, do you think?”

“Call Karen and see what she thinks. We’ll go from there.”

Simon dialed Karen and waited for her to answer.

“Hi, honey. What are you doing?” Karen asked.

“Jim and I are going up to Butte to see about a private eye. We figured as long as we were up there, maybe you and Blair would like to meet us up there for dinner at Casagranda Steak House. We should be done by six. Ask Blair if that works for him. And if so, you can drive your SUV up there and I’ll drive home with you.”

“I’ll call you right back, Simon.”

She closed her cell and went in search of one Blair Sandburg. She found him taking things out of the fridge to make a sandwich for the two of them.

“Before you do that, Blair, Jim and Simon want us to meet them in Butte for a 6:00 meal at Casagranda Steak House. What do you think?”

“That sounds good. Jim told me he was going to go up there, but I wasn’t sure. I’m glad he took Simon with him. It’s a boring drive all alone, I’m sure.”

“I’ll call Simon back and tell them we’ll meet them at 6:00. Thanks, Blair. Back to the grind.” She smiled all the way back into the office.

Blair made up two chef’s salads instead. That would leave lots of room for steak. Mary was fussing over him because he was taking her job away from her. Blair liked to think he was independent and didn’t need anyone’s help. But he also knew that Mary was right.

“Mary, you’re absolutely right. Could you make two chef salads for myself and Karen? And we’re going out to eat tonight, so there are no plans you need for us, for dinner.”

“Go to your office, Blair. I’ll bring them in, in a moment.”

Blair walked into the office and sat at his big desk. Karen’s desk was much smaller. The office was big enough to not have either of them run into each other.

“Mary is bringing us a light lunch in a few moments, Karen.”

“She doesn’t have to wait on us, Blair.”

“I know but she says if she doesn’t, she getting paid for nothing, and she’s not a slacker.”

“I’ll try to remember that, Blair. I am hungry. These babies eat all my protein.”

Blair laughed and so did Karen.

“Do you have anyone in mind to see today, Jim?”

“Yeah, I have an appointment in 30 minutes with Jess Samuels. He sounded very professional, I hope he’s as good as he sounded earlier. If not, we’ll drive to the next one.”

“You have some backups?”

“Of course I do, Simon. We need help on this.”

“That we do,” Simon replied.

The two men sat in silence until Jim finally asked, “Simon, how are the babies doing?”

Simon was so pleased that Jim asked. “They are growing quite fast. The doctor thinks they will come in her eighth month because they are both large already. I think she’s a little worried about that.”

“She’s a trooper, she’ll do just fine.”

“We have to find a house. I wish there was something close to the ranch, but there is nothing out there.”

“Simon, let’s ask Blair if we could build a three bedroom house on the ranch land. That would be nice for both of you. He may say no, but we could ask. Right?”

“Blair already does so much for us that I don’t want to take advantage of him at all.”

“I’ll talk to him and let you know what he says. We’re in Butte, help me find this address.”

Jim handed Simon the address and Simon said, “Turn right. That’s Copper Street.”

Jim turned right and they found the address right away. Jim was sort of impressed. This guy’s office was very old but clean. Jim hoped that he had chosen well.

They got out and walked up to the office door and opened it. The receptionist, wearing a tag that said Sarah, smiled at both men and asked, “Is one of you Jim Ellison?”

Jim smiled and answered, “That’s me. This is my friend Simon Banks. He’s going to sit in on the meeting. I suppose I have forms to fill out, right?”

“Yes, Jim, you do. Here you go. Just bring them up when you’re done. Simon would and Jim like coffee?”

“I would like a cup of coffee,” Simon answered.

Sarah pointed to the coffee station and said, “Help yourself. This coffee is fresh and steaming hot. Both of you get a cup and get comfortable.”

“Jim, I’ll get you a cup of coffee while you start working on the forms.”

“Thanks, Simon.”

By the time, Jim finished his coffee, he was all done with his forms. He took them up to Sarah and smiled.

“Give me about ten minutes, Jim and then we’ll call you back…”

Jim sat down and for the first time felt a little nervous. This guy might just laugh at them. Oh, well, he had to do something. The Sheriff was worthless.

Sarah stood up and said, “Jim and Simon? Jess will see you now.”

They walked into his office when Sarah opened the door and both men smiled. Jess Samuels looked like a motorcycle gang member with tattoos and all.

“It’s good to meet you, Mr. Samuels. I’m Jim Ellison and this is Simon Banks.”

“First of all, you’ll call me Jess. Mr. Samuels was my father. Now, sit down gentlemen, and let’s start this meeting. I left two hours open for you, but if that’s not enough, we’ll add more.”

“Thank you, Jess,” Jim said.

For the next two hours, Jim and Simon told Jess everything that happened. Jess took notes of everything they were saying and once they were done, he had some ideas for Jim.

“I need to know if you have money you can get your hands on to buy these guys’ loyalty. How much were they paid?”

“They both had $2,000.00 in their condo. I can easily go above that.”

“Jim, if you gave me about $5,000.00 for each of them, I think I could talk them into opening up to you. Or at least to me.”

Jim got his checkbook out and wrote a check for $10,000.00 and handed it to Jess. “How much do I owe you for today?”

“We’ll get to that next. I’m going to the prison to talk with them and tell them what we would like. They’ve already been charged and serving time, so it’s too late for us to threaten them with that. I’m hoping to get some names, phone numbers or anything that would help us.”

Jess took a big drink of his water and then continued. “The next thing we’ll do is look for something out of place with neighbors or ranches around you. Someone wanted to ruin Blair Sandburg and we’re going to find out why.”

“When do you think we’ll hear from you?” Jim asked.

“I’ll give you an update every Friday. Don’t call me. I’ll call you if there is something to report. If I don’t call you, it means there is no news yet. This might take a while. So be patient - and I have a feeling you’re not.”

Simon burst out laughing. “Boy, do you have that right.”

Jess looked at Jim and said, “I’m asking for a $5,000.00 retainer and I’ll let you know when I need more.”

Jim wrote him another check and said, “Thank you so much, Jess. I’m going to rest easier knowing it’s in your hands now.”

“Just remember, Jim, it’s going to take a long while to get the answers. And you’re going to be patient, right?

“I understand, Jess. I’m not going to like it but I’ll get used to being on the sidelines. Thank you for everything you’re doing.”

Both Jim and Simon stood up. Simon added, “It was good meeting you, Jess. Good luck.”

“I might just need that. This is a hard one. Have a safe trip back home.”

“Thank you,” Jim said, as they walked out the door.

When they got to Jim’s pickup, it was already 4:30. They had spent a long time with Jess.

Simon asked, “Why don’t we go shopping for Blair and Karen as a surprise?”

“Shopping for what?” Jim wondered.

“Something personal. I saw a Hallmark shop by Jess’s office. We could get them something nice to say we were thinking of them.”

“But, Simon, I wasn’t thinking about Blair all day long. Just the jerks we’re checking into.”

“Come on, it’ll be fun. Head back that way and we’ll stop in. Don’t scowl at me. Blair is going to love it. So will Karen.”

Jim headed back towards the way they had come from and found the Hallmark store. While in there, Jim saw some of the statues that Blair had on his fireplace mantel. They were called Stone Critters. Jim picked out two he was fairly certain Blair didn’t have already. One was a black panther and one was a wolf. Then Jim picked out two mushy cards and finally a nice box of chocolates. Chocolate was Blair’s downfall. Jim got some wrapping paper, scotch tape and boxes and went to town wrapping it while in the store, once he had paid for everything.

Simon had bought some fun things, but yet sweet, for his babies. Then he concentrated on Karen. She was so easy to buy for. She loved everything. Once Simon was done, paid for it and wrapped it with some of Jim’s wrap, they left the store. Then Jim went back in and bought two large sized gift bags that they could carry the packages in.

By the time they got to the restaurant, it was 5:45. Karen and Blair were already there. Jim smiled and said, “They’re inside, Simon.”

“Oh, shit. Can you hear them both out here?” Simon asked.

“I sure can. They’re starving. They hope we won’t be late,” Jim said, laughing.

“Should we take the gifts in?”

Jim smiled at Simon for making him think of that now. “Yeah, we might as well take them in. But we’ll make them wait,” Jim said, evilly.

They walked in and saw Blair and Karen sitting in a booth. They told the waiter that their party was across the room. They headed there but not before Jim heard Blair said, “I missed the fuck out of Jim today. I’m used to seeing him every day and I was off a little bit today. Does that make me appear weak?”

“No, never.” At that moment, Karen looked up and saw Jim was there and smiling.

Blair noticed him standing there and smiled back. “Scoot in here and look at the menu.”

“Okay, Blair, I will.”

Karen noticed the present first thing and said, “Who are those for, Jim and Simon?”

Simon smiled. “We had some time to kill so went shopping for you both. After dinner you can open them.”

“Do I get to open mine too, Jim?”

“If you keep batting your eyes at me, we’ll have to go out to the truck. Yes, you get to open yours too.”

Blair leaned into Jim and kissed him softly. Karen did the same thing with Simon.

They ordered their drinks and food and when they were done eating, they were handed their presents.

Karen said, “I feel a little guilty about you doing this for me. I’ll make you happy later tonight.”

Simon growled and hugged and kissed her. She opened her presents and loved everything Simon had gotten her. There was more kissing and kidding around. Then it was Blair’s turn.

Blair opened each gift like it was the only gift he would receive from this day forward. He also loved everything. And he mentioned he wanted to tell Jim a story about the statues when they were driving home.

Jim and Simon paid for dinner and everyone was ready to go. Jim was looking forward to getting home and making love to Blair.

An hour into the drive, Jim said, “I forgot you were going to tell me about the wolf and the panther.”

“We have spirit guides - and mine is a wolf and yours is a black jaguar. I’ve seen him, Jim. First time was when someone murdered Thunder. He was right by your side. You aren’t open to this yet, so you can’t see him. No one else can see him either. My wolf is present and by my side a lot. I feel pretty safe with him.”

“I just have to believe more?” Jim asked.

“Yes, exactly. You’re almost there. Your spirit guide will show himself soon.”

“Isn’t it funny that that’s what I bought for you? Now, let me tell you what happened at the PI’s office today.”

Jim went on and told him everything that was said and done, including the money part. Blair held his hand the entire time he was talking and was more in love with Jim than ever.

As they got closer to the house, Blair said, “Jim, you said you wanted to have a baby with me. Did you really mean it?”

“Of course I meant it. Once we are together in all things, we’ll talk about it. I love you, Blair.”

“And I love you, Jim.”

“Blair, what would you think about building a three-or four-bedroom home on the ranch for Simon. He’s been looking for a house, but is having no luck at all. They know it’s not big enough in the condo.”

“I’ll call the contractor tomorrow and we’ll look at floor plans for him. He can build it further behind the condos. A little privacy for them but not completely private.”

“Thank you, Blair. Simon wouldn’t have asked because he feels he’s abusing his and your friendship.”

Jim pulled up into the ranch and Blair said, “We always stay at your house. Why is that?”

“I don’t feel like I belong in the big house. In fact, I’m not sure where I belong when it comes to you.”

“You belong with me, Jim. I want you to move up to the house this weekend. We belong together. We can work on your senses more and we’ll have a great life together.”

“You want me to move in with you?” Jim asked.

“Yes… Please say yes.”

“Do you have a little office somewhere in the house where I can do my personal books?” Jim asked.

“There is one off my bedroom, which will be our bedroom now, would that be good enough?”

“Sounds good to me, Blair. We’ll move my stuff this weekend. I love you so much. Now, I would like you to spend the night in my place tonight for old time’s sake.”

“Sounds great, Jim. I’m exhausted though. Be patient.”

“I will,” Jim answered wearing a huge smile.

TBC

Chapter Text

Jim’s cell went off, scaring him because he was so focused on riding the bronco, he wasn’t thinking about anything else. He let his phone go to voicemail. He’d listen to it later. Much later, if I’m not broken.
This stallion was giving Jim a run for his money. Everyone he worked with was cheering him on. They wanted to see it finished almost as much as Jim did. Jim’s ass felt like it was on fire. This was one of the toughest broncos he had ever broken. But break him, he did. Everyone was patting him on the back as he was undoing the saddle and everything else. He was going to give this great horse a rub down worthy of a job well done.

Jim led the horse into the stable when Simon walked in and said, “I’ll take over for you, Jim. Blair said that there is something going on and he needs to go to Butte with you right away.”

“I wonder what that’s about already. Couldn’t be news, it’s only been three days since we saw Jess Samuels. Not that I won’t take news, but it seems highly unlikely.”

Simon nodded his head. “I totally agree. Maybe something else is going on.”

“I wonder if there is time to take a shower,” Jim said.

Simon laughed. “Call him and see. That’s what those cell phones are for, Jim.”

Jim laughed along with Simon. “See you later, Simon.”

“Good luck, Jim.”

Jim pulled his phone out and called Blair.

“Hi, sorry to bother you while you’re breaking a horse, but Jess Samuels called. He wants to see us right away. He has information.”

“Do I have time for a shower, Blair?”

“Yes, but hurry. Okay?”

“I’ll be right up.” Jim took off running for the big house, because that’s where he lived now. He almost forgot. It had only been three days, so it was still new.

Jim walked into the house, out of breath and sweaty. Blair started laughing and said, “It wasn’t that big of a rush, Jim. Jump in the shower. I’ll make a pot of coffee.”

When the coffee was done, Blair poured the wonderful smelling brew into coffee thermoses. They used them on the ranch all the time. It kept the coffee super-hot for up to two hours. That would be perfect for that day.

Jim walked into the kitchen and said, “I’m starving…”

“I knew you would be so I made up a backpack full of goodies to eat. Some of them you’ll even enjoy. The ones you don’t, eat them anyhow.”

Jim laughed and bent down and kissed Blair softly. “Ready?”

“Ready,” Blair replied.

They got into the truck and started off for the 90-minute drive. Sometimes it took longer. It just depended on traffic on the interstate.

“Did he say anything more to you when he called, Blair?”

“No, he said he wanted us there in person to take care of business. So, I take it he found out who’s behind all this.”

“We sure don’t know that yet, Blair. Let’s wait to talk to him in person.”

“How do you like living with me so far?” Blair asked.

“I love living with you. You’re easy on the eyes, I have sex whenever we want it and eat like crazy. I’m going to have to work out more because I’m gaining weight.”

“You are not, Jim. It’s all in your mind.”

“Then tell me why my pants are too tight. Right now, I feel like I’m being strangled around the waist.”

Blair started to laugh and said, “Sorry… I didn’t mean to have you gain weight. I thought you got enough exercise in a day between our bedroom and work.”

“I thought so too. I just need to run every morning. Six miles at least and then I’ll feel great again.”

“Would you like to stop and buy more pants?”

Jim looked horrified. “No, that would be admitting defeat. I’m not buying new clothes.”

“Want me to undo your pants?” Blair started laughing again.

“Fine, I’ll buy a new pair of pants. There is the Levi Outlet store on the way up to Butte. I’ll get one size larger to wear until I lose the weight.”

“You’re so fucking cute, man. I love you any size.”

“I know, but I won’t be comfortable. I like my body leaner than this.”

“I like your body any way.”

“Stop tempting me, Blair. I don’t have room in my jeans for a hard on.”

This made Blair laugh all the more, pissing Jim off to no end.

“Just remember if you ever need pity for anything, you won’t get it from me.” Jim looked very stern when he said it.

“Of course I’ll get it. You would never deny me that because I was teasing you.”

“Fine…”

“Do you know if anything is bothering Joel?” Blair asked.

“Why?” Jim wondered.

“He called and asked if he could talk to me tonight. Just the two of us and said it was very important. I certainly hope he’s okay. I told him I would talk to him tomorrow night. He sounded relieved. I’m trying to figure out what’s going on.”

“I know he’s been losing weight. I mentioned something to him and he said he wanted to get healthier. And he is. I bet he’s down three or four sizes.”

“You don’t think he’s sick, do you?” Blair almost sounded alarmed.

“No… Probably wants to ask someone out and needs your help with that. They all think you’re a matchmaker.”

Blair threw his head back and laughed. “He might want my advice on dating?”

“Well, look who you ended up with. Maybe he’s jealous,” Jim said, laughing very hard.

“I guess I’ll find out tomorrow night. Hey, here is that Levi shop. Are we going to stop?”

“I’m going to stop and you’re going to wait in the truck. Stop laughing, and I mean it.” Jim was trying too hard to sound stern.

“All right. Get in there and hurry up,” Blair ordered.

When Jim came back out, he was wearing jeans that fit right. He had a bag and Blair could tell he bought some other things.

“Whoa, you went shopping without me? I’m hurt.”

“Oh, shut up. I bought three pair because I need two for work and one for good.”

“Right. Because you wouldn’t want to risk ruining your good jeans.” Blair was laughing again.

“I’ll have you know that I wear my jeans out in the thighs and butt area really fast from breaking the horses. I wouldn’t want my new jeans to get that too. So there.”

Blair talked non-stop to Butte, which helped Jim. He was bored out of his mind. He sure didn’t want to tell Blair that his new jeans were great. He’d rather listen to Blair talk about Richard Burton, the explorer. Blair even tested Jim on a couple of things on the way up. The time passed quickly and before Blair knew it, Jim pulled up to Jess’s office.

“What a cool, old office,” Blair said.

“It’s really nice. And super clean, which means a lot to me.”

“Jim, did I tell you about the parents of one of my students threatening me?”

“No, when did this happen?”

“About two weeks ago. I just thought I should mention it in case I disappear someday.”

“We’ll discuss it on the way home, Blair.”

They both got out and walked into the waiting room. Sarah was glad to see them again. “Sit down, Jim, he’s almost ready for you and Mr. Sandburg.”

“Call me Blair.”

“Okay, Blair. Relax. It won’t be long.”

Jess opened his door up and said, “Gentlemen, come on in.”

Jim and Blair walked in there and Jess stuck his hand out and said, “Good to meet you, Mr. Sandburg. I’m Jess Samuels.”

“It’s good to meet you too,” Blair answered, “but please call me Blair.”

“Okay. Blair and Jim, please sit down. I have some news. I know who probably did the awful poisoning at the ranch. I went and visited the two men in prison and offered them money to tell me who was behind it. They wouldn’t take the money and I thought that was the end of it, but they said they would tell me who it was and also to tell you how sorry they were.”

“They didn’t take the money? How odd,” Blair commented.

Jim asked, “So who was it?”

Jess took a drink of his coffee and said, “Blair, do you have a student by the name of Josh Milner?”

“Yeah… Josh couldn’t have done this. He’s an idiot sometimes but he’s not cruel.”

“He didn’t do it; his parents paid the two men in prison each $10,000.00 to take care of the poisoning. They even provided the poison that the ranch hands used. Now, you have names to take to the sheriff. I can’t swear that they did it, but I do have a receipt from a company that deals with cyanide. They gave me the parents’ names, address and phone number. It’s all right here on the report. You can use this for Sheriff Taylor. Mr. and Mrs. Milner paid the two men in prison even more to stay quiet. But Dave and Frank are having a very hard time in prison and they just wanted to make it up to you in some way.”

“Jim, the Milners are the ones that threatened me with making my life miserable.”

“Now that you know what kind of people they are, you’re still not safe,” Jim pointed out.

“I didn’t even fail their son. I gave him a D. And they killed my horses for that?” Blair looked on the verge of tears.

Jim patted his hand and said, “I’ll help you take care of this, Blair. How old is this kid anyhow?”

“Eighteen is all,” Blair answered.

“Jess, how much do we owe you?” Jim asked.

“Since it went so fast, I owe you a check. Here it is.” Jess handed the check to Jim. Jim felt sorry for Blair. He looked lost and sad.

Jess stood up and said, “Do you have a lawyer?”

“Yes, he’s in Butte, actually.” Jim replied.

“I would suggest you both get a suit started for personal reasons and go from there. Good luck, Jim and Blair.”

Blair stood up and shook his hand again. “It was good dealing with you, Jess. We will recommend you to everyone.”

“Why, thank you, Blair. And Jim, thank you for picking me over everyone else in this town.”

“You’re very welcome.” Jim then shook Jess’s hand.

They walked out of the office after saying goodbye to Sarah. Then Jim opened Blair’s side of the truck and helped him in. Jim could tell he was on the verge of breaking in two.

Jim got in on his side and said, “Sheriff Taylor’s first?”

“We need to make an appointment with Steven, first.”

“Blair. that can wait. I want the sheriff to get this info and soon. I want them arrested and justice served.”

“I’m going to sue them for all of us. Including every ranch hand that worked that night. Excluding Frank and Dave. I’ll make them very sorry they messed with us. And I know how rich they are so we’ll get plenty.” Blair was sounding almost hateful and this worried Jim.

Blair was the sweetest, kindest person in the world and Jim knew he would change from this.

“We’ll call Steven in the morning Blair and he can start the proceedings. But I think he’ll need them arrested first.”

“Then we’ll see the sheriff tonight,” Blair said, now sounding sad.

“Blair, tell me what you’re feeling right now?” Jim asked.

“I feel like if they were here, I would kill them…”

“Then you’re feeling just right, Blair. Can I do anything for you?”

“You can let me meditate. Listen to the radio and I’ll meditate to get rid of some of this hate.”

Jim put the radio on and played it softly as to help relax Blair. Within moments, Blair was in a trance. Jim could tell because all of his vitals dropped down to almost nothing. Jim just kept driving and hoped this would help Blair.

When Jim pulled up in front of the sheriff’s office, he parked, shut the car off and woke Blair. Blair smiled at Jim and touched Jim’s face with love. “Thank you for letting me mediate.”

“You’re most welcome. Do you feel more centered?”

“I no longer want to kill them. But I do want to sue them. That’s for sure.”

“Let’s get in there with this report and see what happens,” Jim said.

They walked in and Blair asked to see the sheriff. Sheriff Taylor walked out and said, “Good to see you both. Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Why yes. As a matter of fact, we have the names and reason why the horses were killed. We expect swift justice,” Blair said, painfully.

“Come on back to my office and tell me what in the world you’re talking about.”

They followed the sheriff into his office and sat down.

Blair got up and handed the report to him and sat back down. Sheriff Taylor didn’t say anything until he finished reading. “I think this might be a major stretch. It’s not enough to arrest someone with, Blair. I’m sorry but that’s life.”

Jim was mad now. “I’ll call your superiors and see what they have to say.” Jim grabbed the report from the sheriff and he and Blair walked out of the office. Jim walked into the big bullpen and said, “Deputy Murdock, I have a problem with the sheriff. I need to know where to go to report it and go from there.”

“You can tell me what’s going on, Jim. And we’ll decide what to do.”

Jim and Blair went to his desk and told Murdock what happened. Murdock was writing notes and looked at the report and asked, “Can I take a copy of this?”

“Of course,” Blair answered.

Jim was listening to something, Blair could tell. Then a wild-eyed Jim, turned to Murdock. “Deputy, did you know that the sheriff is related to the Milners?”

“Yes, I did and I wrote it in my notes, why?”

“Because your sheriff is in his office warning them of what is going on.”

All the deputies got up and weren’t sure of what to do.

“I have excellent hearing and I heard him warn them. What are you going to do about it? Are you going to sweep it under the rug like he did before?”

“We’re going to arrest our boss for obstruction of justice. Stay here.”

Murdock took two other officers with him and went into the sheriff’s office and put him in cuffs. Sheriff Taylor was yelling and telling them they were all fired. Two of the quiet deputies took Taylor back to holding and Murdock came back to Jim and Blair.

“I’m going to call our supervisor for this department and we’ll have this taken care of soon. I’m so sorry. We had no idea it was the Milners. We probably won’t get back to you until morning. Please accept my apology for letting this happen. I did find it odd that we didn’t investigate more. And he wouldn’t let the two men charged with the crime anywhere near us alone. I should have gone to my superior then. But I thought he would surely be doing the correct things. Go home, I’ll come out in the morning to let you know. Thank you.”

“No, thank you, Deputy Murdock,” Blair said, shaking his hand.

“We really appreciate your help in this matter. Thank you,” Jim added as he led Blair out to the pickup.

“I think we’ll get it right this time, Blair.”

“I think they will. I want your brother hired for every single person on the ranch that was affected by the poisoning. No one will be overlooked. We’ll ask a million for each of them and for you it’ll be ten million and for me it’ll be twenty million. I want you to call Steven and ask if he could take this on, or if he could recommend someone for this problem.”

“I’ll do it as soon as I get home. Will you call Mary and ask her if we’re too late for dinner? I’m starving and thought we’d get something in town if it puts her out.”

Blair dialed his home and got Mary.

“Hello…”

“Hi, Mary. Did we miss dinner already?”

“No, Blair, it’s in the oven. I started it late so you’re fine. Are you and Jim starving?”

“Yes, we are. Thank you, Mary.”

Blair put his cell phone down and asked, “Did you hear?”

“I did, but I don’t know what we’re having.”

Blair laughed and said, “We’re having whatever she cooked.”

When they arrived at the house, they were both mentally exhausted but still hungry. When they entered Jan was waiting for them.

“Welcome home, guys. Dinner is served.”

“We have to wash up, Jan. We’ll be right back.”

Both washed as fast as they could. And before long they were sitting at the table being served by Jan and Mary. Then both of them got their own plates and sat with the boys like they did every night.

“Would you like to hear what we found out today, Mary and Jan?”

“Only if you want us to know, Blair,” Mary answered.

Blair told them everything.

It was going to be a hard road for all of them but at least they had answers.

TBC

Chapter Text

Jim was alone for a change working in the stalls with Lightening. He decided to take a moment and call Blair.

“Hi, what’s up?”

“Good morning, Blair. I have some questions and had just a few minutes to spare. Did you hear from Deputy Murdock? And are you still going to talk to Joel tonight?”

“The first answer is, yes. I did hear from him. I’ll tell you later on and the second answer is, yes. I’m seeing Joel tonight. Why?”

“He’s been a bear all morning long. I wanted to punch him one moment. He was acting ruder than I’ve ever seen him do. In fact, he’s never rude. Everyone has been asking about him.”

“Jim, find Joel and tell him I want to see him. Okay?”

“Right now?” Jim asked.

“Yes, right now. Send him up. There is no time like the present.”

“I’ll do that right now, Blair. See you at lunch, maybe.”

“Bye, Jim.”

Blair was worried because Joel was the nicest person that worked for him. He never griped about anything or anyone. Blair hoped it was something simple.

Joel walked into the stall a few minutes after Jim got off the phone and said, “Do you want any help out here. Simon told me to ask you.”

“Blair just called me and said he wants to see you right now,” Jim said.

“Will you tell Simon that I’m gone and took the golfcart with me?”

It was the first civil thing Joel had said all day. “Yeah, I’ll go and tell him now. Don’t worry, I have you covered.”

“Thanks, Jim. I’m sorry I’ve been such an asshole all week.”

“Everyone has bad days, Joel. Now get up there and see what Blair wants.”

“See you later.”

Joel took off, found the golfcart and left.

Simon came walking in and said, “Where is Joel going?”

“Blair called and asked for him to come up. I might have mentioned that Joel has been short with us for two days.”

“Short? Hardly. Asshole, yes.”

“Maybe there is something on his mind, Simon. We all have bad days now and then.”

“That’s true. I hope they work it out because no one likes Joel as an asshole.”

Jim laughed and said, “He spoiled us for however long being the nicest guy here.”

“Did Blair hear from the Deputy?” Simon wondered.

“Blair said he did but he would tell me all about it tonight. I’ll tell you tomorrow unless I can’t wait. Then I would call you tonight.”

“It’s almost lunch time, why don’t you join the rest of us. This will still be here after lunch,” Simon teased.

“I’ll be there in a few minutes. Thanks.”

Blair opened the door to Joel and smiled. “Come on in, Joel. Take a seat. Mary and Jan are off running errands so the house is ours for a discussion today. No one will hear and I’m very discreet. Now, tell me what’s on your mind.”

Joel sat down and said, “When did you discover you were gay?”

“I must have been 15, why?”

“Because I’ve always had a hard time with dates with women and wonder if I’m gay.”

Blair smiled. “Just because things are slow right now doesn’t mean you’re gay, Joel. Do you have feelings for someone in town?”

“Yes, and it’s someone you know very well.”

“Well, who is it? Why don’t you ask her out?” Blair wondered.

“Because it’s Nick Nason, the bar owner.”

“You have a thing for Nick Nason? Well, let’s see. I’ve known him for a very long while and he doesn’t date anyone from town. He does date guys, if you’re worried about that, but he’s very private and discreet. I don’t know that he would come here for a date.”

“He does date men?”

“Yes, Joel, he does. He’s never been serious about anyone. I’m not sure it would be a good fit. Might backfire on you.”

“I’d at least like to try. What do you think my chances are? He’s so damned handsome and I would be nervous about asking him.”

“We could make it a double date if that would help any. Nick is pretty nice, but like I said, isn’t serious at all.”

“Blair, maybe he’s never found anyone that could be serious with him. I’d like to try.”

“So you’ve had sex with men?”

“No, not yet. I’ve read up everything I could about it. At least I know what to expect.”

“Okay, you seem like you know what you’re doing. I’ve told you how I felt about it so now it’s up to you. If it doesn’t work out, I don’t want you taking it out on everyone you work with. I’ve had a few complaints today. You’re one of the nicest people that work here. Let’s keep it that way, okay?”

“Got it. You’re friends with Nick, right? Couldn’t you ask him to double with us?”

“I could tell him I have someone for him to date if you’d like. I think you’re capable of asking yourself. Why not call him from here and I’ll guide you?”

“I guess I could do that. Thank you so much for helping me, Blair.”

Blair thought for a moment, then said, “I think I will ask him to double with us, Joel. You go back to work and I’ll call you at lunch time. Though I guess it is lunch time now. Talk to you soon.”

Joel got up and walked to the door and said, “I feel so much better now.”

“He hasn’t said yes, yet.”

“But he might, Blair. I’m keeping my hopes up. Can I tell Jim about this?”

“Yes, you can mention it to him if you want. It’s not like a big secret, is it?” Blair asked.

“I’m not telling anyone until I find out if I’m going on a date.”

“Sounds like a plan, Joel. Now, get out of here…” Blair loved teasing Joel.

As soon as Joel left, Blair called Nick at the bar. Blair knew he would be there getting ready to open at 3:00. They had been friends for about seven years and Blair liked him a lot. But Blair did worry about Nick just dumping Joel like he did everyone else. Plus Joel might not be Nick’s cup of tea.

“Nick’s Place.”

“Hi, Nick, it’s Blair. I have a favor to ask.”

Blair went on and told him all about Joel, including the part about Joel never being with anyone before. Then Blair explained how Joel wanted to make it a double date for the first time.

“Blair, you know that I rarely date anyone twice. I don’t want to mess him up.”

“I explained that to him, but he wants to try and see if there could be something there.”

“Blair, I don’t think so…”

“Do you know Joel?”

“Yeah, of course I do. He’s been coming in for years. Why?”

“I thought maybe he wasn’t your type,” Blair replied.

“I like him just fine. Oh, what the hell. Double date sounds good. But no sex, Blair. I’m not fucking a virgin and dumping him.”

“I appreciate that, Nick. How about tomorrow night. I know you’re closed on Thursday, so that would be perfect.”

“Tomorrow it is. Are we going to Butte?”

“Yes, I thought we might hit Casagranda Steak House and go from there.”

“Meet there, or do you want me to pick Joel up?”

“We’ll take Joel and you’ll bring him home? Will that work?”

“Works for me, Blair. See you tomorrow. Oh, what time?”

“How does 6:00 sound?”

“See you three at 6:00. Thanks for the invite, Blair.”

“Bye, Nick.”

Blair closed his cell and smiled. Blair could hope that Joel would talk Nick into a second date. Nick would be happy with Joel. They had a lot in common. Now, to let Joel know.

Blair dialed Joel’s cell and waited.

“Hi, Blair.”

“Hi, Joel, how does tomorrow night sound? He’s going to meet us there and then he’ll bring you home. Sound good?”

“Sounds great, Blair. Thank you so much. Dockers and polo shirt okay?”

“I would say nice jeans, and flannel shirt. He’s very down to earth. Is that all right with you?”

“That’s perfect. I just got some new things to wear after my weight loss.”

“Be here tomorrow night at 4:00 and we’ll head up that way.”

“See you tomorrow, Blair.”

“Bye, Joel.”

Joel walked up to Jim, who was by himself, and said, “Guess what?”

“What?” Jim asked.

“We’re going on a double date tomorrow night. To the steak house in Butte. Isn’t that great?”

“Sure, that’s great. Who are you taking?”

“It’s Nick Nason from the bar.”

“Holy shit, Joel. I didn’t know you swung that way.”

“It’s something I’ve been fighting with for many, many years. And I finally got up the nerve to talk to Blair about it. I feel like a new person.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear it. Joel, you can talk to me any time you need to. You don’t have to just go to Blair.”

“I’ll whine to you when Nick doesn’t want to ever see me for a second date.”

“Don’t automatically count yourself out, Joel. He might be smitten with you. You don’t know that.”

“Thanks, Jim. I can’t wait to date him. God, he’s gorgeous.”

“I wouldn’t know, Joel.”

“You’ve never noticed him?” Joel wondered.

“He’s not exactly my type, Joel.” Jim snickered when Joel realized Jim was right.

“Talk to you later, Jim. I have to get my work done or I won’t have a job.”

Jim called Blair to ask him if he had lost his mind.

“Hi, Jim. I take it Joel talked to you already.”

“Have you lost your mind? Love em’ and leave em’ Nason?”

“Joel might just be the one to turn him around.”

“I sure hope so because Joel is in love with the man. I hope he doesn’t fuck him and run.”

“Nick told me there would be no fucking if he wasn’t going to give Joel a second date. So there.”

“What are you, 12?”

“Jim, don’t worry. I think this might work.”

“I think you’re nuts, but I have work to do, so I’ll do it.”

“See you tonight,” Blair said before he closed his cell phone.

The day flew by and before long, Jim was walking to the big house. Jim still called it the big house, he never called it home, because Jim didn’t feel like it was his home yet. Jim figured that would come much later on.

When he walked in, Blair walked over to him and pulled him down for a kiss.

“You’re mighty fine to come home to at night. Although everyone at the stables misses you. You might want to make an appearance in the next few days.”

“I will, Jim. Maybe tomorrow if things go well with the Deputy. He stopped by this morning.”

“Blair, come into our room and talk to me while I shower.”

“Good idea, although, maybe I could take one with you.”

“Blair, I want to hear the news first.”

“They arrested the Milners. They are being charged with many things, but they aren’t going to get off as easy as the two men did. Both are going to get long sentences and the sheriff is going to go down for obstruction of justice. Now we can make the appointment with Steven to see if he has enough time for a huge case like this.”

“Did Sheriff Taylor lose his job?”

“Oh yeah and his pension. They came down on him very hard,” Blair assured him.

“This is the best news I’ve heard in a good long while. I can’t wait to have dinner. I smelled the chicken pot pie walking home. Mary makes the best homemade chicken pot pie, ever.”

“There are no surprises when you live with a Sentinel. Jump in the shower. I’ll set the table and get things going downstairs.” Blair took off while Jim just smiled at the fact that Blair forgot all about shower sex.

A few minutes later, Blair popped into the bathroom and said, “Still want some shower sex? Jan is setting the table and I told her we’d be down in 15 minutes.”

“Perfect, get in here, Babe.”

Thursday Night.

Joel showed up at Jim and Blair’s at 3:45. Jim smiled as he opened the door and said, “Come on in, Joel.”

“Hi, Jim. Long time no see,” Joel teased.

“Are you excited?” Jim asked.

“Yeah, you could say that.”

“He’s not known for second dates, Joel. I don’t want you hurt.”

“Not to worry. I already told myself, one night was better than none.”

Blair walked out and said, “Hi, Joel. Are you nervous?”

“A little bit, but not bad. I can’t wait to sit with him and talk about everything. We may not have a thing in common. Which would be all right too. At least I’ll find out.”

At ten minutes after four, the three men left and drove to Butte.

Nick Nason didn’t get nervous about dates. His dates got nervous about dating him. This was weird. Nick found himself pacing and worrying that he would do the wrong thing. First of all, he never went on double dates, yet here he was going on one. Blair had a way about talking Nick into anything.

Nick got ready about 4:15 and left for his big double date. Nick put some classic rock on the radio and sang along all the way up to Butte.

Jim, Blair and Joel walked into the restaurant and got a huge booth. They sat there and patiently waited when all of a sudden Joel lit up like a roman candle. Jim knew Nick was here.

Nick came over to the table and shook hands with Jim and Blair and then turned to Joel. “It’s good to officially meet you, Joel. I’ve seen you in the bar a lot and this ought to be nice tonight.”

Joel shook Nick’s hand and said, “I have a feeling this is going to be a good night.” The way Joel said it was enough to make Jim choke on his water he was drinking.

Blair hit on the back a couple of times and said, “You can’t take this one out at all.”

Nick and Joel laughed. The waiter came and brought menus. They all ordered a small glass of wine and water.

“So, Nick, how do you like running the bar?”

“I love it. I have two-three days off a week. That to me is perfect.”

“Who runs it on your days off?” Joel asked.

“My brother Chris lives in town and he needed extra hours and work, so it worked out just right.”

The two men were talking like crazy and Jim and Blair felt unneeded.

Jim asked, “You guys all right for your date? Blair and I are going to get a separate table.”

Nick said, “That would be great. We’ll sit here and get to know each other better.”

The waiter came with their drinks and Jim asked, “Do you have a booth for two we could move to?”

The waiter looked confused but said, “Follow me. Bring your wine with you.”

“You guys have a good time, Joel. We’ll see you tomorrow,” Blair said.

Nick got up and sat across from Joel. “I hate talking to the side all night. This worked out perfectly. So, tell me about yourself, Joel.”

The two men were getting along great.

Jim and Blair finished their dinner and got up to leave. Jim noticed that Joel and Nick were already gone.

“They left already. Was it something we said?” Jim joked.

“I hope Joel is careful. I don’t want Nick to hurt him at all.”

“I’m sure everything will be fine, Blair. Stop worrying. They are both big boys.”

Jim and Blair drove home and found themselves not thinking about Joel at all. Instead, they were having the time of their lives.

They both would have to find out about Joel in the morning.

TBC

Chapter Text

Blair woke up early and wriggled closer to Jim. Jim smiled in his sleep and mumbled, “Good morning, Blair.”

“Did you hear Joel come home last night?” Blair asked.

“I didn’t know I was supposed to be waiting up for him, Blair.”

“I just thought maybe you heard him come home or be dropped off by Nick.”

“If you’re so concerned about it, why don’t you call and ask him yourself?” Jim sounded irritated and Blair knew it.

“You know what? You’re right. If Joel wants us to know about his night he would tell us. Am I right?”

“That sounds good, Blair. Leave the poor guy alone in his thoughts and actions.”

“Since you’re up, how about some shower sex?”

“I’m worn out, Blair.”

“Are you mad at me, Jim?”

“No, just tired. Could I sleep for another hour or two and then we might have shower sex. How does that sound?”

“Sounds good, man.” Blair turned around and put his back to Jim and moved in as close as he could. Jim’s cock started coming alive right away.

“You’re a devil, Blair.”

“You used to like that about me,” Blair said, snickering.

“I still like that about you. Get up, we’re taking a shower. I’ll start work an hour early today and get some things done.”

When Joel came into the first stables, he was smiling and whistling, making Jim look over at him.

“Good morning, Joel. Why are you here this early?” Jim asked.

“Because life is good and I wanted to talk to you anyhow.”

“So talk. We’re all alone. How was the date?”

“It was the best fucking date I’ve ever been on. And now I know why I was so confused.”

Jim cocked his eyebrow and said, “How so?”

“No wonder I didn’t do that well with women. They don’t turn me on like Nick did. My God, the man is sexy as hell. And I do mean sexy. I’m a little sore this morning, but it’s a good sore.”

So much for no sex. The important thing is you had fun, Joel.”

“I did. We both did. He’s taking me camping next week. Won’t that be great?”

“He asked you on a second date, Joel?”

“Yup, I was shocked also. He acted like it was normal to go on second dates. We talked and talked until 4:00 this morning. He’s still sleeping in my bed. I told him to sleep in and leave when he wanted. I even gave him my key in case he wants to come over during the week when he closes his bar.”

“I’m glad to hear it all went so well. I’m glad you’re going camping next week. What days are you off next week?”

“Wednesday and Thursday, so it’s perfect for me and Nick. I can’t wait.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re happy, Joel. Now I need to get back to work.”

“Have you fed all the horses in this stable, Jim?”

“No, just the right side. Haven’t started the left yet. Want to start it? That way I can start cleaning and brushing them all down.”

“Off I go, Jim. Thanks for listening.”

Two hours later, Simon walked in and said, “Jim, can I talk to you?”

“Sure,” Jim answered.

“Joel came home with a guy last night and I heard them up all night long. Since when has he been gay?”

“None of our business, Simon.”

“Yeah, but isn’t it weird?”

“Do you think it’s weird that I’m gay?” Jim asked.

“No, not really. But Joel?”

Joel walked up to Simon and said, “But Joel, what?”

“I just wondered who you were dating. That’s all. You kept me up all night.”

Joel blushed and said, “Sorry, Simon. It’s Nick Nason. He was so much fun last night that we forgot the time. It won’t happen again.”

“Since when do you date men, Joel?”

“For years, Simon. I’m bi. Got a problem with this?”

“No, no problem. Just surprised is all. Be careful, Joel. I’ve heard things about him.”

Jim cleared his throat and said, “Let’s let Joel have his own personal life without our interference.”

Joel smiled at Jim and said, “Thank you, Jim. And thank you, Simon for worrying about me. I’m fine.”

“Well, I guess I’ll let you guys get back to work. See you at lunch.”

Joel said, “Jim, I finished feeding them so I’ll start cleaning and brushing them now. Then I’ll clean their stalls out. Sound good?”

“Sounds great, Joel. Thank you.”

The two men worked in the same area all morning long and didn’t say a word to each other. They were both so happy getting their work done. At ten o’clock, Megan came in and said, “Joel, are you dating Nick Nason?”

Jim felt bad for Joel. The ranch was like a small town. Everyone knew everything about everyone else.

“Yes, it’s true, Megan. Isn’t he handsome?”

“He’s gorgeous. I’m just surprised. I didn’t know you were bi.”

“Don’t you have anything to do, Megan?” Jim asked.

“Yeah, I’m busy, but had to ask Joel. See you at lunch, guys.”

“It’s okay, Jim. I don’t mind who all knows.”

“I just want everyone to get their work done. You can talk to whomever you want during lunch.”

“You’re right, Jim.” Joel walked away and Jim knew he had hurt his feelings. “Hey, Joel, save me a spot for lunch, okay?”

Joel smiled and answered, “I sure will. Talk to you later.”

At lunch, Jim almost went nuts. Everyone was asking Joel about his date. Rafe said, “Jim, you’re the only one not asking him, so does this mean you already knew?”

“You know what? This is personal for Joel. Leave him alone. Maybe he’d like to tell you how he finished all his work this morning, instead of chatting about someone’s private life.”

Everyone blushed. No one said another work about Nick Nason.

When Jim finished for the day, he started walking up to the big house. As he walked, he heard Joel coming up behind him on the golfcart.

“Jim, let me give you a ride up to the house. Come on, get in.”

Jim got in, knowing that Joel wanted something.

“Do you think it would be forward of me to ask Nick over for dinner and spending the night tonight?”

“You’ve already slept with him, why would you think that’s forward?”

“That’s what I thought. But I wanted to be sure.”

“Joel, he works till midnight.”

“Late, dinner…”

“That’s fine. Call him and ask. The worst he could say is ‘no’. Thanks for the lift, Joel.”

“See ya in the morning, Jim.”

Jim got out and walked into the house. Blair was waiting for him and said, “I saw you walking and Joel picked you up. Did he tell you about last night?”

“Nick didn’t do as he promised you. He fucked Joel last night. If he hurts Joel, it’s on you.” Jim started for the bathroom.

“He didn’t ask him out again for another night?” Blair asked, chewing his lip.

“Yeah, they’re going camping next week on Wednesday and Thursday. He might just be letting him down easy.”

“Or he might not. Maybe he found someone he can be with for more than one date. Did you ever think of that?”

“Blair, I’m tired of thinking about Joel and his date. Instead, I’d rather think of dinner and maybe playing some poker tonight.”

“Want me to call and invite some of the gang up tonight, for poker?”

“No, just us two. I feel like a quiet night of getting my butt beat by you.”

Blair laughed. “I’ll check on dinner. You take your shower. I’ll see you in a little while.”

Joel called Nick at the bar, when he got off work.

“Nason.”

“Hi, Nick. I wondered if you were interested in a very late dinner here and stay the night. Only if you’re not too tired.”

“I have a ton to do, Joel. Raincheck. Okay?”

“Sure…”

“Oh hell, I can do the books tomorrow. Yes, I’ll come over about 9:00 tonight and eat dinner with you. What are we having?”

“It’s your choice. Grilled steaks or grilled chicken?”

“Grilled chicken. We just had steak. Sounds good. I’ll see you later tonight.”

“Drive carefully.”

Nick went over to his brother, Chris and asked, “Do you think you could close up for me tonight if I take off at 8:30?”

“Wow! Two dates in a row? Is it the same guy?”

“Yeah, it’s the same guy. I think he’s already getting too serious. I’ll probably call it quits tonight. I don’t want to be tied down, you know.”

“God forbid that you find someone you might be happy with. Promise me you won’t break it off tonight. Instead give it a week or two. What could it hurt? You’ll still be fucking, right?”

“That’s crude, even for you. Fine, I’ll give him a couple of weeks.”

“Thanks, Nick. It would be nice if you weren’t referred to as ‘Nick the Nomad Nason’. Have a good time tonight. I’ll see you later.”

Chris took off to get to work and Nick wondered if he was in over his head with Joel already.

He guessed a few weeks to a month would be a good length of time to let Joel down easily. Time would tell.

TBC

Chapter Text

Megan was working hard as usual, and tirelessly. She gave all the guys there a run for their money. Megan was thinking about Joel and his new boyfriend and wondered how she could get a date. It had been a long, long while since she had been out with anyone. She loved their poker nights at the ranch, but she longed for something more exciting.

Jim was in the second stable working on his horses, when Dan Wolfe stepped up to him and said, “Damn, you take good care of these horses, Jim.”

“I would hope so, Dan. It’s my job. Now, I know you didn’t walk over here to tell me that. What’s going on with you?” Jim stopped brushing Lightning and looked into Dan’s eyes.

“I was wondering if you could tell me if I have a chance in asking Megan Connor out on a date. She’s beautiful and I don’t really know her that well. I was thinking of asking her today, but didn’t have the courage.”

“I think it’s a splendid idea, Dan. The worst she can do is say no. Ask her, it might be both of your lucky days.” Jim cocked his head to listen and said, “She’s going to lunch soon. Catch her before she leaves.”

“I will. Thank you, Jim.”

Jim shook his head as he smiled at Dan’s retreating form. What’s going on? Everyone asks us about dating someone.

Dan walked into the first stable and saw Megan all alone, brushing down the horse she was next too. Dan got closer and realized it was Zeus. Zeus was a spitfire and you had to watch it around him. He bucked for no good reason. But Dan noticed that he didn’t do that to Megan at all.

“Hi, Dan. How are you today?”

“I’m doing well, thank you. I wondered if you would like to go out for dinner with me tomorrow night on our day off.” Now it was time for Dan to just hold his breath.

“That’s so nice of you, Dan. I would love to go out with you tomorrow night. Why don’t we have lunch together today?” Megan asked.

“If you’d like to come to my condo, I have chicken salad made up for lunch already. You’re welcome to join me. I also made sweet tea, if you like it.”

“Like it? I love sweet tea. I would gladly have chicken salad for lunch, as I only have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich today.”

“Good. Then it’s settled. You finish up and meet me at my condo. Thank you for saying yes, Megan.”

“And thank you, Dan, for asking me out. I’ve been so lonely and so blue lately. I just know things will start looking up now.”

Dan was at his condo making sure everything was ready. The salad was a spinach salad, with six kinds of fruit in it, topped with feta cheese and chicken. It looked a little weird, but it tasted fantastic. Dan hoped that Megan would love it.

Megan knocked on his door a moment later and he opened the door and she walked in. “Wow, everything is already set to go, huh? I’m starving. I’ve never had this type of salad before but it looks delicious.”

“If you don’t like it, Megan, I’ll whip you up something easy for lunch. Sit down and I’ll get you your sweet tea. I also have Raspberry Vinaigrette for the salad. I hope you like raspberries.”

“I love them. I love all fruit. I can tell this is going to be good.” Megan sat down and poured some of the dressing on her salad and waited for Dan to start eating.

As they were eating, Dan asked, “Is it all right if we go to Butte tomorrow for dinner? I know there is a steak house here but one of the waitresses bugs me all the time. I’m afraid she would do it while we were on the date.”

“The steak house in town is good, Dan. Let’s live on the edge and hope she does say something. Then I’ll take it from there. What time are we going?”

“Is 5:00 good, Megan?”

“It’s perfect. I was so depressed today and wondered how Joel lucked out and got a date. I wanted that too. And lo and behold, you asked me. I’m so happy about it, Dan.”

“I’m glad you’re happy. I’ve been lonely too. The only women that want me are ones I don’t want. You are a real boost to the old ego. Thank you, Megan.”

They ate lunch and talked about all sorts of things. She looked over at Dan and saw him staring at her and she knew he wanted her big time.

“Dan, can I come over tonight? We could watch something on television or a movie. And if you’re a good boy, maybe we could make out on the sofa.”

Dan choked on his sweet tea. Megan jumped up and pounded on his back. “Tell me, Dan, does this count as foreplay?”

“Wow, you’re going to give me a run for my money, aren’t you? You remind me of the spitfire horses. And I don’t mean you look like one, you’re absolutely beautiful.”

Megan smiled and moved closer to Dan. “Thank you for that. You’re a very sweet man.” She went into Dan’s arms and kissed him longingly and passionately. Before long, they were both moaning.

“That’s just a little sample, Dan. I’ll see you tonight. Thank you for lunch and the company. But mostly, thank you for asking me out.”

Dan walked her to the door and kissed her once more before she left. “See you tonight, Megan.”

“Can’t wait, Dan. Time to get back to work.” She kissed him again for good measure and out the door she went.

Megan walked up to Jim and said, “You’ll never guess who asked me out.”

“Dan Wolfe?”

“You little shit. You already knew, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I knew. He asked me about it today. I told him to take a chance.”

“Why thank you, Jim. I really like Dan, but I didn’t think I was his type. He’s so smart and all that.”

“Well, it’s not like you’re some dummy, Megan. What a horrible thing to say about yourself. Knock it off.”

“Thank you, Jim. By the way, where is Blair today?”

“He’s teaching five days this week so he doesn’t get to come down at all. I miss him when he teaches but he loves doing that and I would never suggest he give teaching up.”

“Smart man, Jim. Well, I better get back to work. Has Rocket been all right today? Yesterday he ran a slight fever. We all wondered if he’s better.”

“Dan said whatever it was is gone now. He’s doing well. Feisty as ever. I better finish or I won’t be going home today,” Jim teased.

“I know what you mean,” Megan called out over her shoulder as she was leaving.

At 6:30, Dan thought maybe Megan had come up with something better to do. But at 6:35 there was a knock on the door. Dan opened it and found Megan standing there, freshly showered and carry an overnight bag. Dan found himself getting hard already. What this woman can do to me is scary.

They started kissing in the entryway and made it into the living room before she was taking off Dan’s shirt. Then Dan did the same thing with Megan and said, “Waist up tonight. Tomorrow night, waist down.”

Megan undid her bra and Dan just gulped. She looked so beautiful. He pushed her back and began to suck on her nipples, one at a time. She was rubbing his nipples making them hard and she could feel Dan against her leg.

She was impressed with the package. Larger than she was used to, that was for sure. She undid Dan’s jeans and slid her hand into his boxer briefs.

“Megan, no. I don’t want to come like this. I want to come in you.”

Megan stood up, took her jeans off and then her panties and pulled Dan’s cock from his pants. His cock was just throbbing, which excited her even more. She lowered herself on him and moaned with excitement. Dan did the same thing.

They were kissing like mad, while he fucked her like no one had ever done before. He was gentle, yet strong at the same time. When she came around his cock, he slammed into her three times and came calling out her name.

“Megan, please tell me you’re on the pill.” Dan suddenly was ready to panic.

“I’m on the pill. Not to worry. I’m usually quite careful, but you were just too much for me tonight.”

She started kissing him again and he began to grow hard inside of her once more. “Oh, goody. A horny old man.”

“I’m not that much older than you, Megan.”

“Maybe I’m a horny old woman.”

Dan laughed and started fucking Megan like there was no tomorrow. Megan couldn’t believe how great this was going. She went from no sex in 8 months to twice in one night. This was her idea of a very good time. He was a great lover too. She had no complaints.

When they were done, they took a shower and Dan played with her until she came in the shower. Megan was exhausted. She hadn’t come three times in one night, ever. She wanted this every night.

They lay in the bed after their shower and Megan whispered, “You’re the best fucker I’ve ever been with.”

“You are too. My God, my body is humming with excitement.”

“Can I spend the night, Dan?”

“Yeah, like I would let you leave. I have to have more of you in the morning. This is working out super great.”

She kissed him and started to fall asleep. He whispered, “We’re still going out on the date tomorrow night. I’m crazy about you.”

“I’m crazy about you too.”

Dan whispered, “We can eat later.”

Megan mumbled her agreement.

And they both fell asleep with the lights on.

TBC

Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch 18
Fallout
By PattRose
Summary: Steven sues the Milners for everything they have. Some people in town aren’t taking to Blair too kindly.

Steven Ellison was a very busy man these days. Jim and Blair had hired him and his team for the suit that was taking place.

Every single one of the ranch hands was asking for a million dollars, Jim was asking for twenty million, while Blair was looking to get seventy-five million. They were going after the Milners’ estate, which had a ton of money and also the sheriff’s department in Dillion.

Mr. and Mrs. Milner went right to trial and were found guilty. They each got 6 years and 600 hours of community service.

Blair didn’t really think that was enough for what they did, but the courts decided that was enough. Now, Steven just had to go after their money.

Steven filed a motion and put a hold on the Milners’ estate, so that the Milners could not pass it over to their son or another family member. Steven was positive that this was going to work out and he would be rich also.

Blair and Jim went into town for feed for the horses and some things for the house. When Blair went to pay for everything, the Millers, the store owners were treating him like shit.

“Mr. Miller, did I offend you in some way?” Blair asked.

“We figure you could turn on us too and take everything away from us. We don’t have to deal with your kind,” Mr. Miller said.

Jim heard what they said and answered, “What kind is that, sir?”

“The kind that sends good family members to prison for a misunderstanding. And if that wasn’t bad enough, you’re now going to sue them for everything they worked so hard for. Get your things and get out. Do your shopping in Butte from now on. We don’t want you here.”

Blair just stood there in shock. He and Jim loaded everything in the truck and noticed that the people on the street were giving them dirty looks.

Blair got into the truck and said, “I wasn’t expecting this. Who would have thought they would turn the town against us?”

“Fuck em’, Blair. We don’t need them. We’ll take all our business to Butte. Their prices are better anyhow. It’s no problem for us.”

Blair could tell that Jim felt bad about all this but was being strong for Blair’s sake.

When they arrived at the stables, everyone came out to unload the big truck. Blair excused himself and walked up to the big house.

Joel asked, “What’s wrong?”

Jim told them all what happened in town and Henri said, “I say we all boycott them in Dillion. They make a lot of money off of us. Let’s see how they like that.”

“We’re going to do all the shopping in Butte from now on. But I’m sure all of the other ranches will be with them on boycotting us,” Jim said, angrily.

Simon was in shock. “I think when all this comes to light, they’ll change their tune.”

Rafe said, “Maybe it’ll be too late by then. I can’t believe the town is standing behind the horse killers.”

Joel said, “I wonder if Nick has lost money over this.”

Jim said, “I hope not. We didn’t mean to start any war, we just wanted justice for the murder of the horses.”

Simon walked over with another bale of hay and said, “You all need to remember that Blair has been here all of his life. These people mean the world to him. So, needless to say, he’ll take it hard.”

“Let’s all just be patient with him and try not to make things harder for him,” Jim suggested.

Megan said, “I’m getting my hair done tomorrow, do I cancel now?”

Jim said, “No, act normally and see if you’re treated any differently.”

“We’ll finish all this, Jim. Go up and be sure Blair is all right,” Megan said.

Jim thanked them all and walked up to the house. He knew that Blair would take all of this hard. It was to be expected.

Blair was in their room when Jim walked in the house. Mary walked up to him and asked, “What is going on?”

Jim told her a toned-down version of what was happening and she was shocked.

Mary said, “Well, we’ll start doing all our shopping in Butte. In fact, we could even go to a smaller town that’s closer if you’d like to. You say the word and we’ll change. Now, I have to go and tell Jan about this. She has many friends there and this might be an issue. We’ll have to see.”

“It’s a mess, Mary. I hope Jan doesn’t lose friendships because of this. We have to be patient and see what happens.”

“Oh, like you’re going to be patient. Blair needs to eat, Jim. See if you can get him in here. Tell him I made chicken and dumplings just the way he likes them.” Mary patted Jim on his back and then walked back into the kitchen.

Jim walked into their bedroom and said, “Blair, I know you’re upset but we’ll get through this, believe me. I’m starving, will you come and eat with me? It’s chicken and dumplings. Please?”

“Yeah, we need to eat. Getting sick wouldn’t do at all. It’s just a pain that we have to go out of our way every day to get groceries and feed for the animals. I wonder what will happen with Nick at the bar if he’s hanging around us. This could get very ugly.”

“What do you think was said to turn them against us?” Jim asked.

“Let’s eat dinner and discuss this after dinner. I’m tired tonight too.”

“We’ll go to bed early tonight, Blair.”

They went down to the dining room and Mary and Jan were putting everything on the table. Before long they were all eating and having a nice evening. No one brought up the trouble in town.

Steven came out to the ranch three days later and Blair was happy to see him.

“Come on in, Steven. What’s new? Anything we want to hear about?”

Steven sat in the living room across from Jim and Blair. “Everything was settled out of court. They knew they would have to pay even more if they took it to court and that would bankrupt them. So everyone got what they asked for and while they’re much poorer now, the Milners still have enough money to be thought of as rich. I have checks for everyone here.”

Jim hugged Blair and said, “This is the kind of news that makes our day, Blair. Isn’t this great?”

“Blair, why are you not happier about it?” Steven asked.

Jim explained what was happening in town and Steven was appalled that it was happening to Blair of all people. Surely those people in town must have seen what a good man he was. Steven was going to stop at the quick mart in town and say something about them.

“Do all your shopping at the town not far from here. Or in Butte. It’s not that far, am I right?” Steven asked.

“You’re right. We’ll make it work. Right now, Blair is shell shocked because he’s known these people since he was little. And they believed the assholes over Blair.”

“Oh, Jim, I asked the Sheriff’s department if they could put Deputy Murdock in the Sheriff slot and you wouldn’t go after any monetary solution. They went for it. He’s now the sheriff.”

“Good, I’m glad to hear it. Thank you for everything, Steven. We’ll have dinner and celebrate once things calm down around here,” Jim stated.

Steven left and Jim kissed Blair. “I love you so much. I wish I could make this hurt and pain go away but I can’t. I’m sorry about that. They’ll come around, Blair.”

They were having a town meeting in Dillion and Nick went too. He wanted to hear what was being said.

All the shopkeepers were in an uproar about Jim and Blair thinking they could still shop in Dillion. Nick listened to all of them for over an hour and raised his hand.

“The reason I’m here tonight is because the revenue that comes from the ranch to my business keeps me afloat every single month. If they go to the bars in Butte, there goes my business. I take it you’re all comfortable with the Milners killing their horses?”

“What are you talking about? There was a misunderstanding and they ended up putting the Milners away for six years. It’s not right.”

“It wasn’t a fucking misunderstanding. They killed Blair’s horses and would have gotten away with it because the then sheriff hid their involvement. How dare you make accusations when you aren’t even aware of the truth. Where did you get your info, anyhow?” Nick was pissed off.

“We didn’t know anything about killing horses. We thought it was because of something Blair did about their son. They told us it was a misunderstanding that got way out of control. We’ll have to apologize to Jim and Blair when they come in next.”

“How much money does the grocery store make from Grey Wolf Ranch?”

“About $12-14,000 a month. They’re feeding a lot of people.”

“Well, it won’t be anymore. They are going to Butte from now on. We’re all going to suffer and all because you believed the murdering Milners.”

“We’re going to make deliveries and apologize to both of them. We didn’t know, Nick. I suggest you all do the same thing if you treated them badly,” Jeff, the owner of the grocery store, said.

They all talked about what they could do to help their little town.

It was Friday morning and the sun was shining on the entire ranch. It was going to be a beautiful day. Jim was staring out the window when he saw a huge truck pull up with groceries in it.

“Blair, did you order groceries from somewhere?”

“No, I was supposed to get our order today, but they told us to go to Butte, so we will.”

“Look at this. It’s Jeff, himself. Since when does Jeff deliver?” Jim wondered.

“Let’s get down there and see what’s going on.” Blair led the way.

Both men walked over to the delivery truck and saw four men unloading things.

Jim said, “Jeff, there seems to be a mistake. The town won’t be happy with you if you leave food here. They’re all boycotting the ranch.”

“First of all, we all need to apologize to both of you. I’m so sorry I believed the Milners. They seemed like good folks. I was shocked when I heard they killed your horses. We just found out from Nick Nason what was going on. I’m so sorry I jumped to conclusions. Please accept a $1,000.00 discount on your delivery this week. I hope you’ll accept my apology. Everyone is bringing deliveries out today. I suggest you have someone here to accept them.”

Blair shook Jeff’s hand and said, “Of course we’ll forgive you. You didn’t know. Now you do and are acting accordingly. Thank you for doing this today.”

Jim shook his hand next and said, “We’ll be here all day long, if anyone needs to talk to us.”

“I’ll spread the word, Jim.” Jeff went back over and started the delivery routine.

“I told you it would work out, Blair.”

“Yeah, but I thought you were just trying to make me feel better.”

“Did it?” Jim asked, smiling.

“Yeah, it did. I’m so happy, man.”

Jim hugged him as they led the delivery guys up to the house. Things were going to be fine. Thank goodness for that.

TBC

Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch 19
Working Things Out
By PattRose
Summary: People are starting to stop being so hateful to Blair and the ranch hands, once they read in the newspaper what the Milners did.

Dan woke up to an empty bed and didn’t like that much. When does she go to work? It’s only 5:30 in the morning.

Just as Dan had the thought, he heard someone in his kitchen. This made him smile. She didn’t leave after all.

A naked Dan walked into the kitchen to find a naked Megan fixing breakfast. She saw Dan and went to him for a morning kiss.

“I haven’t slept this well in years, Dan. Thank you for the wonderful night of love.”

Dan kissed her once more and said, “You’re welcome. It was my pleasure, with emphasis put on pleasure.”

“It was fun, wasn’t it?” Megan teased.

“Need help with breakfast?”

“Nope, I’ve got it. There is time for a shower for us together as soon as I get this put into the oven.”

Megan picked up the breakfast casserole and put it into the oven. “Okay, Dan, I’m all yours.”

Dan took her hand and pulled her into his room and then into the shower. The two of them were having the best time. As she came, she moaned his name and as he came, he moaned hers. Then they got clean for the day and got out to dry off. Thankfully, Megan had thought ahead and brought clean clothes.

Dan was staring at her and she said, “What?”

“You’re so beautiful. I don’t know how I got so lucky.”

“Neither do I, Dan. Let’s go eat.” She pulled Dan out of the room by his hand. Dan was secretly loving every minute of this.

They ate breakfast and then Megan left for the day. Dan hated her to leave because he didn’t know if she was ever coming back. They hadn’t talked about it.

Megan was in a fabulous mood and everyone noticed it.

Jim said, “You better calm your act down or everyone is going to know the two of you made love.”

“You don’t know the half of it, Jim. He’s so fucking good at it. I have never been happier in my life.”

“When are you going out next?” Jim asked.

“He didn’t mention anything. God, I hope this wasn’t a one-night stand. What do you think, Jim?”

“Why don’t you call him and ask him out?” Jim suggested.

“Duh, I’ll do that right now.”

She pulled her phone out and dialed his number. He told her last night what it was and she remembered it. She was proud of herself.

“Dr. Wolfe.”

“Hi, Dan. Would you like to come to my place tonight for dinner? I have no idea what I’m making yet.”

“I would love to. What time?” Dan asked.

“How about 6:00? That way I can clean up after work. See you tonight, Dan.”

“Yes.Bye, Megan.”

She closed her cell and looked over at Jim, wearing a huge smile. “He said yes.”

“I heard. That’s good. Now you can do some work today instead of day dreaming about Dan,” Jim teased.

“I can’t believe how dorky I am. Geeze, it’s not like he asked me to marry him.”

“Give him a week for that, Megan,” Jim kidded again.

“Oh funny. Just don’t try and tell me something important about you and Blair.”

“I won’t…” Jim walked away and Megan smiled at his retreating form. He was a good friend to her and everyone else there on the ranch. Megan loved this job and her co-workers.

Blair walked into the stables and saw Simon, so went to him first.

“Simon, I was just in Dillion and everyone is treating me well. Could be because of the newspaper article that came out this morning. It gave the whole story very accurately, and condemns the Milners for being monsters and so on. I got my hair trimmed, some food for tonight’s dinner and fresh fruit for everyone. I put some in the lunch room for all of you.”

“Thank you, Blair. I’m glad to hear the town is coming around. It’s about time. Are you here to work?” Simon asked.

“I am. I only teach four classes this week, so today was open.”

“Why don’t you go and help Jim? He’s alone today. I mean, Rafe and Henri are there, but he may as well be alone.” Simon laughed and so did Blair.

“Good idea. Thanks. See you later, Simon.”

Blair talked to everyone that would listen on the way over to the stable where Jim was. When Blair saw Jim, he knew that Jim knew he was there but trying not to make a big deal about it in front of Rafe and Brown.

“Good morning, guys,” Blair called out as he got closer.

“Damn, it’s the boss. Now we have to work,” Henri Brown teased.

Jim and Rafe laughed.

“I’m here to help. Where can I start?” Blair asked.

Jim spoke first. “You could start on Zeus. He’s sort of temperamental today. So be careful. The rest have to be brushed, cleaned and fed too. But I was going to ask you to spend some time with Zeus.”

“You’re the horse whisperer. Why didn’t you?”

“He’s not speaking to me today. I’m not kidding, Blair. Be careful,” Jim warned.

“I promise, I’ll be careful. See you guys later.” Blair walked farther into the stable and found Zeus. He immediately started thrashing around in his stall. Blair started talking softly to Zeus. He calmed down a little and Blair took the brush and started brushing him. Zeus kept pulling his left back leg up like something was wrong and Blair got out of the stall so he could call Dan.

“Dr. Wolfe.”

“Hi, Dan. This is Blair. Could you come to stable three and take a look at Zeus? I think something might be wrong with his left back leg.”

“I’ll be right there. Stay out of the stall until I get there.” Like that, Dan hung up the phone and walked towards stable three. When he arrived, Jim looked surprised. “What’s going on, Dan?”

“Blair thinks there is something wrong with Zeus’s back leg. I’m going to check it out.”

All of the men felt bad for not noticing it themselves and followed Dan back to the stall.

“Good morning, Zeus. I hear you’ve got a sore leg. Let’s have a look at that.” When Dan entered Zeus started to buck, but Dan was ready. He quickly gave Zeus a shot and before long, he was calm as could be.

Dan started looking at his hoof and said, “Blair, that was a good call. He must have stepped on this outside and it’s gotten infected. You know how touchy these horses are when something is wrong with their legs and hoofs.” Dan held up a piece of wire, showing them all what had been in the horse’s hoof.

“I can’t believe I thought he was being a shit. He was really hurting. Blair, I’m really sorry,” Jim said.

“Well, in your defense, Jim, he has a way of being a shit from time to time, so it could have easily been over looked,” Dan said.

They all laughed, but Blair could see that Jim felt super bad about it. “Jim, I’ll let you baby Zeus this time. I’ll start with Lightening and see how that goes,” Blair suggested.

“Thanks, Blair. I do owe Zeus a little bit of spoiling. You guys go do your things.” Jim started to brush Zeus down and the horse was loving every minute of it. Jim grabbed a feeding bag and put it around the horse’s neck. As Zeus was brushed, he got to eat too.

Dan and Jim talked for a while before Dan went back to his office. It wasn’t long before Simon was calling Dan for help with one of the horses and also one of the goats. Dan stayed busy like this almost every day.

At lunch, Megan told everyone she was having Dan over for dinner that night. She asked for ideas for something easy. Blair was the first one that said, “I have a perfect dish.”

Rafe said, “Says the man who has a cook at his house.”

Everyone laughed. Megan ignored them and said, “Tell us what you think I should make, Blair.”

“Homemade chicken and noodles. Do you have noodles and chicken at your house?”

“I have neither. So much for that idea,” she said, laughing.

“Come on, we’ll take the golf cart up to the big house and get some things for you to make. Then we’ll drop them off at your condo. Take your sandwich with you.”

They went up and got everything she would need and, on the way down, Blair told her how he made it. She loved easy recipes. And this sounded so good and easy.

They dropped it at her condo and Megan told Blair she was already in love with Dan.

“What do you mean? You’ve been out with him?”

“Yes, we had dinner and did more fun things last night. I stayed over and we had breakfast this morning. He’s so sweet and loveable. I had the time of my life.”

“Megan, I’m so happy for you. It’s been a long, long while since you dated. Good luck and I hope this lasts a long time.” Blair hugged her quickly and they got back into the golf cart and back to the lunch room.

Before long, the working day ended, leaving everyone tired, hungry and dying for a shower. Dan caught up to Megan and said, “If you wait at your condo we could shower together.”

“Sounds like a brilliant plan, Dan. See you soon.”

Jim had heard Dan and smiled to himself. Dan had indeed found someone nice and good for him. And now Megan wouldn’t be so lonely.

Megan was waiting patiently for Dan. When he knocked, she flung the door open and yanked him in.

“Someone’s happy to see me, I guess.”

“You bet your ass I’m happy. Strip, big man.”

Dan laughed all the way into her room and bathroom. He was stripping the entire way. She was undressed in nothing flat. The shower took longer than most people would have taken because Megan had her gorgeous hair and so did Dan. His was even longer than Megan’s. Once they were clean, they fooled around.

“What are we having for dinner tonight?” Dan asked.

“Homemade chicken and noodles. Does that sound good?”

“It sounds great. I’m starving. I forgot my lunch today and no one shared theirs with me.”

Megan burst out laughing. “They’re like that.”

“I was hoping to have lunch with you, but then I realized that you might not like anyone to know about us.” Dan just stood back and waited for Megan’s reply.

“Oh, my. I told everyone I was having you over. I should have asked how you felt about that. I’m sorry, Dan.”

“That’s great. No need to be sorry. I just didn’t want to take advantage of you in any way.”

“Oh hush. Tomorrow we have lunch together…”

“Sounds good. Now, what can I help with?” Dan asked, following Megan into the kitchen. He realized he was in love already. He would follow her anywhere.

TBC

Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch 20
The Banks’ House
By PattRose
Summary: The house is almost done and none too soon because Karen is starting to have pains every now and then.

Jim was all alone with Zeus when Simon walked into the stall. “Good morning, Jim.”

“Good morning, Simon. How are you today and better yet, how is your fantastic wife doing? I saw her for a moment yesterday and she looks so uncomfortable. She’s really big, isn’t she?”

“The doctor said both babies weigh about 7 pounds and there is still two months to go. She’s been having Braxton Hicks pains but the doc said the real things might be close behind.”

“You still keeping it a secret as to what you’re having?” Jim wondered.

“Yeah. Karen thinks that we’ll jinx them if we tell anyone. But I’m dying to tell you. Can I tell you?”

“Hell, no. I’m not keeping that to myself. I’d want to tell Blair, so I can’t be trusted with that type of information. Got any names chosen yet?”

“Yeah, I have names chosen but I want to tell you what they are first,” Simon pleaded.

Trying to get Simon off that subject, Jim asked, “Did anyone have a baby shower for Karen? I just know that we should have been invited, right?”

“No one had one for her,” Simon stated, sadly. “She thought the girls in town would, but no one brought it up.”

“Let me call Blair. I can’t believe she would go through the pregnancy without a shower.”

“Sandburg.”

“Hi, Blair. Did you know that Karen has had no one throw her a baby shower yet?”

“We’ll do it and fast. I saw her lately and she’s huge. We’d better hurry.”

“I’ll tell Simon to put Sunday aside for it. You do the inviting and I’ll pick up presents in Butte for everyone.”

“We’ll talk about it tonight. This is Monday. That only gives us five or six days, Jim. We can’t do it that quickly.”

“I think that Megan would be pleased to help with it. Call her tonight, okay?”

“Okay… Tell Simon it’s in the works.”

“Thanks, babe. Talk to you tonight.”

“Bye, Jim.”

Jim looked at Simon and said, “It’s all set for our house on Sunday. Now I need a list of everything she has so far.”

Simon looked surprised and said, “We don’t have anything yet. Some booties and stuff like that, but nothing big.”

“You’re kidding? That will change as of Sunday. I need to know what you’re having to get the right things for the shower.”

“A boy and a girl. The names we chose are Seth and Sam. Well, that’s for Samantha. What do you think?”

“I think we’re going to have a kick-ass shower for your new daughter and son. It’s going to be great. I’m getting the cribs. When is your house going to be done?”

“Two weeks, they said. We can’t wait to get settled. I figured she’ll probably have them as soon as we move in. What do you mean you’re getting the cribs?”

“Blair will get Seth’s and I’ll get Sam’s. They’ll be beautiful with changing tables also. It’s going to be great. The house looks incredible. I bet you’re both excited.”

“We are. Even the yard is nice. Blair has been so good to us. He gave us the plot of land and we just had to pay for the house. And it wasn’t nearly as much as I thought it would be. It’s going to be great. It even has a fireplace for cold winter nights. We never expected him to give us an acre of land. We’re so excited.”

“We’d better get back to work if we’re going to get off today. Tell Karen about the shower on Sunday. I need a list of things you want for everyone else.”

“I’ll make up the list tonight. I’m getting excited now. We haven’t been getting into it too much. Maybe that’s why. We needed some things around to remind us we were having two little persons of our own.”

That night when Jim came through the door, Blair was ready and waiting. “You won’t believe what I thought we should do about the shower. Instead of a shower, how about each of us buy one big thing for the bedrooms and we do up both nurseries? Does this make sense to you?”

“It sure does. Let’s start tonight. We’ll have everything delivered to the new house. Is it done?” Jim asked.

“They just gave me the key tonight. We need to have a meeting about this. Not everyone will want to give a big present. In that case they can help paint and so on. Although Simon might have told them what colors to put the nurseries in already. I guess we’ll see tonight. Let’s run by and see and then go to Butte for the furniture.”

“Sounds good to me, Blair. This is going to be great.”

They got busy, ate a sandwich and left for Butte.

The following morning, Jim and Blair were at Simon’s new house waiting for the furniture they had bought for the babies. Seth’s room was a light blue and the furniture was light grey. There was a crib, a dresser and a changing table. And for Sam’s room, it was the same except in white. Her room was colored lilac and was just beautiful.

Once they got both rooms done, Jim called Simon.

“Banks.”

“Simon, it’s lunch time, come over to your new house but don’t tell anyone where you’re going. I don’t want it to get back to Karen.”

“You got the cribs?” Simon asked.

“We did. The rooms are darling. Wait until Karen sees everything.”

“Could I possibly bring her? She’s so depressed today. I think it’s because we didn’t plan for anything.”

Jim told Blair what was going on and Blair took the phone from Jim. “By all means, Simon, bring Karen over to the new house. You could move in tonight. We’re still having the shower for her on Sunday.”

“Thank you, Blair and Jim. I’ll get her and we’ll be right there.”

Jim was the first to hear Karen’s excited squeal. “Oh, Simon, the house looks so perfect, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, it does. Jim and Blair have a surprise for you inside the house,” Simon said, as he pushed her through the front door.

Jim met them and said, “Come this way.” Jim led both of them into Seth’s room. Simon and Karen both walked in and were shocked.

Karen started to cry, which threw Jim and Simon both off. Jim didn’t know what to do.

“Karen, is this a good cry?” Simon asked.

“Yes. I haven’t been excited because you haven’t been. I thought maybe you were rethinking the entire thing. You know, marriage and the babies.”

He held her close and said, “This is our first time. I wasn’t sure what to do. But Jim and Blair did this room up. Including buying everything for it. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

Karen walked up to Jim and hugged him so close. Well, as close as you can when you’re as big as a house. “Thank you so much, Jim. We’re going to move in tonight and go shopping for new baby clothes tomorrow.”

Blair walked into Seth’s room and said, “Doesn’t anyone want to see the other room?”

Simon and Karen practically shoved the boys aside as they went for the next room. They ood and awed about everything. It was so damned cute.

Blair said, “Karen don’t buy too much baby stuff cuz your shower is Sunday. Please don’t have those babies early, okay? By the way, we love the names you chose.”

“Thank you, Blair and Jim, for everything. Can I take pictures of the rooms to show at the shower?” Karen was so excited.

“Karen, why don’t we have it here? That way everything will be here and you can settle in easier,” Blair suggested.

“Could we get moved in by then?” Karen asked.

Jim said, “We could move you tonight after work. Will that work for you both?”

Simon smiled and said, “That’s perfect for us. We can’t wait for the shower.”

“Everyone is super-excited,” Jim said.

“Well, we have to get back to work. See you later, Karen. Enjoy the house.” Jim walked out the front with Blair close behind.

“We have the best of friends, don’t we, Simon?”

“Yes, we sure do. They’re so good to us. I’d like them to be the god-parents of our children if you don’t mind.”

“I would love that. I think they would too.”

That night, everyone helped Simon and Karen get moved in. Megan stayed at the house with Karen finding new places for their old things. They were unpacking so fast that they were caught up every time the guys brought another load. By the end of the evening, they were completely moved in. The house looked like them. They belonged there now.

The shower was a huge success on Sunday. Everyone brought large items plus clothing in all sizes, since the babies would out-grow them in a second.

Blair took tons of pictures and put them in a photo album for Karen that night after he printed all the pictures. She would just love it. Her friends had come for the shower, but they didn’t seem that excited about the twins. Blair would never understand that.

Now, they just needed the babies.

Two weeks after the shower, Seth and Sam were born. No one knew it but Sam was named after Simon’s twin who had died when he was young. This made that name and that child so loved by Simon. Not that he wouldn’t love Seth too. After all, they were beautiful.

Blair came in and said, “We’re taking shifts to see you. Everyone else is down looking at the twins. My God, what did they weigh?”

“They were 8.5 each. They both weighed the same. Aren’t they beautiful?” Simon asked.

“They are gorgeous,” Blair answered.

Everyone took a turn seeing Simon and Karen but they spent most of the time near the nursery so they could see the twins, who did look exactly alike except for skin color. Sam’s skin was as dark as Simon’s but Seth’s skin was light like Karen’s. They were going to be beautiful.

Life was good.

TBC

Chapter Text

The new twins were six weeks old and old enough to be left with a sitter. Jim decided it was time for a poker night. A woman not far from Simon and Karen named Sadie McCoy offered to watch the twins whenever they needed anyone.

Jim walked up to Simon and said, “Hey, you think you can get Sadie to watch the twins Sunday night? I thought we might have a poker night. What do you think? We can start at like 4:00 and go till late. We’ll all bring a dish to eat and we’ll have it in the lunch room at the stables. It’ll be fun. You can bring Karen, Megan can bring Dan, Joel can bring Nick and we’ll see if the new guys want to come. Brett and Cole haven’t been to any of our poker games since they’ve been here.”

“Wow, that sounds fun. Are you sure I can bring Karen? It’s not like she works here.”

“Yeah, we want Karen to be included. She’s our friend too,” Jim assured him.

“Let me go and call Karen and see if she can get Sadie to sit. Boy, we need this night out.”

“I think we all do, Simon.”

“I’ll let you know at lunch and then you can tell everyone while you’re there.”

“Sounds good, Simon.” Jim went back to working on Zorba and the horse was plenty happy about that. He loved to be rubbed, brushed, cleaned and fed. Basically, he just loved attention.

Zorba was a newer horse that they had acquired about two months before. No one had been able to break him. But after a few sessions with Jim, Zorba was now broken and doing very well. Jim laughed about the name because he was an Arabian stud named Zorba. Jim wondered who came up with some of the names.

Jim finished the left side of the stable and started on the right side. There were mares on that side. Sally was the first one that Jim worked on. Her official name was Sexy Sally. But they all referred to her as just Sally. She was also an Arabian, who was in foal. The father was Zorba. They were both beautiful so chances were that the offspring would be gorgeous too.

Simon walked in and said, “It’s a go for me and Karen. Sadie was glad to do it. Sunday at 4:00, right?”

“Yup. I’ll go and tell everyone. I’ll finish the mares up when I come back.”

“Where is your help today?” Simon asked.

“Hell if I know. Rafe was off doing something about an hour ago, but he should have been back. I’ll look for him. He and Henri were supposed to be taking care of the mares today. It’s not like them to blow me off. I’ll go and look for them.”

“They had better be doing something important. It pisses me off when they dilly dally.” Simon was getting pissed at something he didn’t even know about for sure yet.

Jim took off and started for the lunch room. He found both Henri and Rafe talking and eating some fruit. Blair kept fruit stocked in the lunch room every day.

“Did you guys forget that you have a job to do today?” Jim said, grumpily.

“We’re just taking a quick break, Jim. We’ll be right there,” Henri said.

“I think you’d better get going now. Simon’s pissed off that I had no help. He’s got two helpers and I have none.”

“Oh, for God’s sake,” Rafe said as he headed over to stable number three. Jim knew they were pissed at him but he also knew that he wasn’t there to be their friend. He was their boss, second in command.

As the two men walked over to stable three, Simon saw them and said, “If you want a job here, you have to do something wild-like fucking work for a living.”

“Jim already tore us a new one. We’re not children,” Rafe said.

“Then don’t act like it. Get to work and stop goofing off. I will write Jim up for not calling you on it. You haven’t seen pissed off until I write him up.”

“Geeze, Simon. We’re going,” Henri said as they walked briskly to the stable.

No one said anything to the other one at the stable which suited Jim just fine. He was really pissed off at both men. He didn’t know what was wrong with Rafe and Henri, but he hoped they got over whatever it was.

At lunch time, Rafe walked over to Jim and said, “Do we have to get permission to go to lunch?”

Jim growled and said, “What is your fucking problem, Rafe? Yesterday you were fine. Is it something I did or said to you?”

“We’re just tired of having no dates, no life outside the ranch and you all have someone to fuck anytime you want to. We don’t. Think on that for a moment…”

“I just know you’re not pissed off at me because you’re horny. Tell me this isn’t so, Henri.”

“Well, we sort of are horny, Jim. We haven’t had dates in so long that we’re considering seeing each other.”

Jim threw back his head and laughed, long and hard. “You guys crack me up. Find someone nice in town and ask them out. It’s simple.”

“Jim, I would take someone not so nice at this point…” Rafe was terribly frustrated.

Again, Jim laughed. “We’re gonna have poker Sunday night at 4:00 if you’re interested. Maybe you could ask everyone if they know of anyone looking for a date. As an example, Karen’s sister lives in town. She’s really sweet, Henri. I think you might like her,” Jim said.

“What about Rafe?” Henri asked.

“We’ll figure out something. And in the meantime, God gave you two hands for this exact problem.”

“Spoken from a man that gets nookie every fucking night,” Rafe said.

“Get out of here. Go to lunch. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“Sorry about this morning, Jim,” Henri said on the way out.

Jim smiled at their retreating forms. They both had a point. Everyone else was getting sex whenever they wanted it. Jim would have to talk to Blair about it and see what they could do.

When Jim got to the lunch room everyone was talking about poker night. Big mouth Henri had already told them all.

Megan said, “Dan and I are coming on Sunday night, Jim. It’ll be great. We haven’t done this in a long while. It’s about time.”

Joel smiled and said, “Nick and I will be there too. Do we each bring a dish for dinner?”

“Yeah. I haven’t even told Blair yet. So he’ll be happy and surprised at the same time.”

They all finished lunch and went off to work again. Rafe and Brown gave Jim no more grief. Jim was glad of that.

When Jim arrived at home that night, Blair was waiting for him. “I saw Simon on his way to their house and he said Rafe and Brown were assholes today. Is that true?”

“Sort of. They’re just horny and jealous of all of us because we get sex whenever we want it.”

“Oh, poor babies,” Blair said, laughing.

“Seriously, Blair, we need to find them dates. What about Brett and Cole? They always seem to be okay. Making one think they must have wives or something.”

“Brett is married. They live in the condo, Jim. I can’t believe you don’t know this. His wife is Susie and she’s good friends with Karen and Megan. “I don’t know about Cole at all, Jim. I guess we could ask.”

“We’re having a poker night starting on Sunday at 4:00. Everyone is supposed to bring a dish to eat. I thought you and I could make up like four things. Everyone always comes starving.”

“I’m so excited, Jim. We haven’t been together in a while, have we? We’ll try and figure out a date for the guys. Until then, they need to watch their step.”

“Don’t worry, Blair. I’m on top of it. You pick the food out that we’ll make and I’ll do the cooking. How were your classes today?”

“You’re cooking? All right, man, that sounds excellent. My classes were okay. I miss working on the ranch. Having four classes a week slows me down a great deal. I wish I only had two days of classes.”

“Maybe you could switch class days and do two on two days each. That would be awesome, leaving you to work with us three days a week.”

“For right now, I’ll leave it because I don’t have a good reason to change midway through the course. But next year, I will do it two days a week.”

“Everyone is coming to poker night, Blair. They are all excited about it.”

“I am too. Did you invite Cole and Brett?” Blair asked.

“Yes, I saw them at lunch. I asked them both. I didn’t know about Brett’s wife, so I didn’t ask her.”

“We’ll take care of it before Sunday, Jim. Let’s plan the menu that we’re going to make.”

Jim decided on chicken and noodles, chicken and dumplings, conqueso with chips and hamburger sliders. Blair was so excited that Jim was willing to make all that. Blair knew it was going to be fun.

Sunday afternoon, found Jim and Blair putting all their food on the table with heat lamps to keep the food warm. Simon walked in with fries and barbecued wings. Everyone knew that Simon made kick ass wings. Dan and Megan made potato salad and coleslaw. Rafe and Henri made deli sandwiches. Joel and Nick made desserts. Angel food cake with strawberry topping, chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting and chocolate chip cookies. Brett walked in with his wife Susie and carried baked beans and rolls. And last but not least, Cole brought fruit salad. Everyone was already making plates up and sitting down to eat. It turned out to be a wonderful meal. It was almost two hours later when they started the poker game. At midnight, even though everyone was having a great time, they all knew they had to get up early the next day. Everyone took their leftovers home and it turned out to be an awesome day and night.

Friends are wonderful. So sayeth Jim and Blair.

TBC

Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch 22
Time for Rafe and Brown
By PattRose
Summary: The two guys are feeling left out in the dating scene. They want what everyone else has.

Blair was helping Karen do payroll and keeping the books when there was a knock at the door. He was surprised when he opened it and found Kelly Byrne was standing there.

“Hi, Kelly. Are you looking for Karen?” Blair asked Karen’s sister.

“I was wondering if I could talk to both of you about something very personal.”

“Come on in. Come into my office and we’ll see if we can help you with your problem.”

Kelly followed Blair into the office and smiled at her big sister. “Hi, Karen, I’m here to whine to both of you about Henri Brown.”

“What did Henri do?” Blair inquired.

“He didn’t do anything, and that’s the problem. I want to date him so badly and he won’t give me the time of day. All because I’m not as pretty as Karen or as sweet. I’ve been trying to get him to notice me, but he won’t even look my way.”

“Wait a minute, Kelly. How old are you?” Blair asked.

“I’ll be 25 this summer. I’m old enough to know what I like and I like Henri Brown. How can I fix this? You both have mates and I feel so left out.”

“Sit down, Kelly,” Karen said, kindly.

“All right, I’m sitting. Am I just too ugly?” she wondered.

Both Blair and Karen started to laugh.

“Way to go and make me feel worse.” Kelly stood up to leave, and Blair grabbed her hand.

“Kelly, you’re beautiful. But did you ever consider the fact that he might only dates black people? Maybe it’s as simple as that. He must know how gorgeous you are, but maybe you’re not his type.”

“Damn it. I wish Brian Rafe did something for me. But I think he’s boring looking and also seems a little stuffy. Henri looks fun and sexy as hell.”

Karen said, “It’s not nice to discuss someone like this when they aren’t here to defend themselves from your words.”

“But Karen, he’s so handsome and I really would like to see him. Can’t you guys tell him about me and see if he’ll call for a date?”

“I could do that,” Blair said. “Why don’t you give me your cell number? I will tell him nicely that you would like to date him and we’ll let him make the move or not. It’s up to him, Kelly.”

Kelly hugged Blair very tightly and said, “Thank you so much, Blair. He may notice me now. God, I hope so anyhow. And before I forget, is Rafe seeing anyone?”

Karen looked at Kelly sternly and asked, “Why?”

“Because Susie’s sister, that works with me at the bar, would love to date him. But she’s shy. She would never come and beg for help from you. Her name is Shannon. She’s 26 and really nice. Do you know her, Blair?”

“Yes, and she is shy. She cooks in the kitchen, am I right?”

“You got it. She would rather be there than have to hang out and perhaps talk to anyone about a date. She’s beautiful.”

“Do you know her number? I could talk to both of the guys today about this and see if either of them call you or Shannon.”

“Here is Shannon’s number and here is a picture of her I took two days ago when I was getting up the nerve to do this. You can show Henri my picture too because he probably doesn’t remember me.”

“Kelly, Blair and I have to finish payroll and deliver the checks. Go home and wait and see if Henri calls. If he doesn’t, I don’t want you bothering Blair again. Am I understood?”

“Understood. I’m keeping my fingers and toes crossed till he calls. There might be so much falling or tripping because of it. Hard to walk with your toes crossed.”

Both Blair and Karen burst out laughing. “Go, have a good day. I wish you tons of luck.”

“Thank you. Talk to you later, Karen.”

“Wait a minute,” Blair said. “I have to wait to find out? I think you need to call me right away if he calls you.”

Kelly agreed, hugged Blair once more and took her leave.

“I’m so sorry about this, Blair. She knows better. She was not using the brains god gave her today.”

“It’s all right, really. I need to find them dates, anyhow. Do we have Rafe and Brown’s payroll done yet?”

“Here they are. Already in the envelopes. I have everyone’s if you want to deliver them.”

“That’s a good idea. I’ll leave you to finish the work and I’ll go down and play Ranch of the Soap Opera lead character.”

“Good luck, Blair. Don’t forget to tell me what they say.”

“I’m coming back. You’ll be here for another hour or two right?”

“Yes, Blair. I’ll be here waiting for you.”

Blair took his golf cart down to Stable One and got out carrying the envelopes with paychecks in them. Each one was labeled. He started handing them out as he was talking to everyone. Rafe and Brown came up to get theirs and Blair said, “Can I see you two in the lunch room, please?”

Simon asked, “Is something wrong?”

“Oh no, something is right. We may have found a date for each of them so they’ll shut up for a while, Simon.”

“In that case, hurry it up. They were whining again today…”

“See you later. Oh, Simon, would you give this to Dan and Jim?”

“I sure can. Hurry up, they probably think they’re fired.”

Blair hurried off to the lunch room. When he walked in both men were pacing.

“Okay, first up, Henri. I have someone I’d like for you to consider as a date. Her name is Kelly Byrne. She works at Nick’s bar and is 25 years old. She thinks you’re very hot.”

“Are you making fun of us, Blair?”

“No, quite the opposite. I want you to date her. She seems super nice and she is warm for your form. Need I say more?”

“Do you have a picture of her?” Henri asked.

“I do. This is Kelly, on the left side of the screen and Brian, this is Shannon on the right side. Both of them want dates with you two. No, that came out wrong. Each of them wanted to date their choice in men. Rafe, Shannon is Susie’s sister and Henri, Kelly is Karen’s sister.”

Rafe looked over at Henri and said, “I’m going to call. We may not have a second chance in a while. Something to tide us over.”

Rafe had taken a stupid pill that day. Blair was irritated to say the least.

“Never mind. I don’t want either girl dating someone that you will fuck just because you’re horny and then dump when something better comes along.”

“Blair, it’s not like we’re getting married…”

“You never know what could happen. Look how happy the rest of us are.”

Henri said, “I’ll take Kelly’s number and call her right now if you don’t mind. And would it be all right for me to make dinner for her at my place? Or do you think that’s tacky for the first date?”

“A little tacky. Why don’t the two of you double date? That sounds fun,” Blair said bouncing with excitement.

“You know what, Henri, that is a good idea. I’m going to call too. Can I have Shannon’s number, Blair?”

Henri said, “There is a new movie showing at the drive-in, do you think that would say something bad about us if we ask them to dinner and a movie?”

“They can say no if they want. Oh, Rafe, Shannon is very shy, so remember that and have patience. She needs some confidence and then she’ll knock your socks off.”

“Thanks, Bossman.” Rafe started out of the lunch room with his cell open to call.

“Thanks, Blair. See you later.”

Blair went over to say hello to Jim and Jim turned and smiled at Blair when he heard him enter the stable.

“Hey, how far away can you hear me coming?”

“A long way. No, I’m not doing any tests tonight.”

“You’re just no fun,” Jim said, snickering.

“That’s not what you said last night, man.”

Rafe dialed the number Blair gave him and listened.

“Hello?”

“Hi, is this Shannon? This is Brian Rafe. Your friend, Kelly, wanted us all to go out on a double date. I’d like to take you to dinner and the drive-in theater afterwards. What night are you off?”

“I can’t believe you’re calling me. Is this a joke?” Shannon sounded a little sad.

“It’s sure not a joke. Now what night are you off?”

“Tomorrow night. Both of us are off tomorrow. I would love to go to the steak house and the drive-in. Sounds like fun.”

“Shannon, I’ll pick you up at 6:00. Will that be enough time for you?”

“Is it enough time for you to get off, shower and come over to my place? And speaking of my place, Kelly and I share an apartment. Do you need the address?” Shannon asked.

“Only if I want to see you,” Rafe teased. “I’ll see you at 6:00 tomorrow night. Thanks for agreeing to it.”

“Thank you for asking me.”

Rafe got off the phone and heard Henri making plans for the next evening also. He must have heard what Rafe had said to Shannon.

Henri walked over to Rafe and said, “Dinner at 6:00 at the steak house and drive-in right afterwards. I say we each take our own car after the dinner. I don’t want to see a movie at the drive-in with you and Shannon in my car.”

“Nowadays, do girls have sex on the first date?” Rafe asked, quite seriously.

“Got me. I know that Megan and Dan slept together the first date. But it could be because they are older than us. We could try. The worst thing that could happen is for one or both of them to say no. In which case we can plan a second date. I think it’s easier on the second date.”

“I’m so grateful to Blair for giving us a chance.” Rafe was telling the truth.

That night, both men walked up to the apartment complex looking for the apartment number when they saw both girls standing by the front door, waving wildly.

Rafe was first, “It’s so nice to finally meet you in person, Shannon. You look beautiful tonight. Thank you for agreeing to this date.”

“You’re most welcome, Brian. You also look beautiful. I’m starving, are you?” She licked her lips as Rafe was standing there drooling.

“I am starving. We’ll leave as soon as they’re ready,” Rafe said.

Henri walked up with Kelly holding on to his arm and said, “It’s nice to meet you, Shannon.”

When they got to the street, Henri opened the SUV’s passenger side door, and helped Kelly get in. Rafe did the same thing in the back seat for Shannon. Before long they were at the steak house and seated in a very cozy booth.

Henri thought Kelly was just gorgeous. And she was nice too. Might be ten years younger, but she seemed to know exactly what she wanted.

Suddenly, Kelly said, “Henri, can we take your truck or whatever you drive to the drive-in? Then we might have some privacy.”

“If they’re comfortable being alone too, then why not.”

Shannon said, “I agree. Privacy is needed tonight, for sure.”

“Shannon, my car is right across the street, after we leave, we’ll go in my car.” Rafe was starting to get hard. Damn dick!

Shannon glanced down and saw Rafe was already hard. Hot damn.

They ordered and had dinner talk between the four of them and ended up having a kick ass time.

When they got to the drive-in, they paid, got a drink and bought popcorn for the oldie but goodie movie. That night was Overboard. Rafe had seen it but he was hoping for some kissing and groping.

And kiss and grope they did. Shannon, the shy one, wasn’t very shy at all. She was worrying Rafe because pretty soon he couldn’t shut it off easily.

They would stop for a while until someone made another move to carry on again.

In Henri’s pick up, they were doing much of the same. Except that Kelly already had her shirt and bra off. Henri was loving this. She was sexy as hell. She undid Henri’s jeans, unzipped them and slid her hands in.

“You’re really big, Henri. You don’t mind that I do this to you, do you?”

“Hell, no. Carry on.”

Before Henri knew what happened, Kelly had pulled his pants down around his ankles. She loved looking at Henri’s dick. It was the nicest one she had ever seen. Not that she had tons to compare to. But six or seven.

Henri pulled away and said, “I’m going to lose my shit…”

She started sucking on his dick and he came explosively down her warm inviting throat.

“Let me help you get off,” Henri said, softly. She slipped her blue jeans off and had no underwear on. Then she took Henri’s fingers and put them inside of her. Both moaned at the same time. He pulled his fingers out and decide to give her head. He always thought that it sounded odd but that’s what he was going to do. And he did just that. When she squealed out during her orgasm, Henri was very pleased.

Rafe was going to fucking come in his pants any moment. Then Shannon did the weirdest thing, she started giving him head. He loved getting blowjobs but it seemed like this girl really knew what she was doing. It was more than just a blowjob. It was mind-altering sex. He came long and hard and then started sliding his fingers into Shannon to get her off too. It didn’t take long at all.

“You know what I’d really like?” Shannon asked.

“What? I’m afraid to hear.”

“I’d really like to sleep with you tonight. Yes, we can have sex, but I really want to sleep in your arms.”

“You got it. We’ll go to my place now.”

“Let me help you get your pants up, Brian.”

Henri saw out his rearview mirror that Rafe was leaving. “Hey, Kelly would you like to go to my place for a while?”

“That would be wonderful. I would love to spend the night. Would that be allowed?”

“You just had my dick in your mouth, of course it’s allowed.” He really liked Kelly. And not just because she sucked cock better than he had ever had. She had a good sense of humor and she liked Henri, he could tell.

Rafe and Shannon got back first. They couldn’t wait to get inside. Rafe still had enough blood flowing to his brain to at least open the car door for her.

They began to strip each other on the way to his bedroom. He got her on the bed, finally, and proceeded to make sweet, sweet love to her. Rafe was gentle but strong. All he could think about was fucking her. As far as Rafe was concerned, that wasn’t a bad thing to think about.

Henri and Kelly got to his condo and they walked in, quietly. Once inside, he led her into the bedroom and started to undress her, one thing at a time. Then he would take one item he had on, off. Before long, they were making love.

As they lay there trying to get their breathing under control, all Henri could think about was how lucky it was that they met. Henri already knew that he was in love. Henri just hoped it wasn’t all one-sided.

Henri sat up in bed and said, “Thank you for allowing me to give us a night of passion. I don’t know about you, but I could sleep for a week. I’m exhausted, but happy as you’ll never believe.”

Both men slept in their ladies’ arms. Rafe never slept better and neither did Henri.

Kelly was half asleep when she thought about a second date. Henri didn’t even mention another date. It might be time to worry. She had been attracted to him, but now she was in love.

TBC

Chapter Text

Rafe yarned stretched and realized his right arm was totally numb. Then he understood why when he saw Shannon lying there naked and beautiful.

Without realizing what he was doing he started touching her, just like she liked it, as she came in a whisper.

When Shannon could breathe once again, she bounced in the bed and ended right on top of Rafe. She then sat on his dick. He was losing it big time. And just like that, he came, mumbling her name. They both fell back to sleep in each other’s arms.

The last thought Rafe had was, ‘I wonder what other people do on first dates…’

Henri had snuck out of the bedroom so he could get his shower done. He had just gotten into the warm water when Kelly opened the shower door.

“Do you mind if I join you?”

Henri didn’t answer, but instead kissed her lovingly and strongly. No, Henri didn’t mind at all.

Kelly got the soap and started lathering Henri up. Then she started rubbing and petting Henri. Kelly had a hold of his cock and was pumping him when he came with a shout.

Henri wanted her to come too, so he did much of the same thing. Lots of soap for slickness and then just rubbed her clit till she came with another one of those squeals.

Kelly stayed in his arms and Henri wondered what she was doing. “Kelly, are you all right?”

“I’m better than I’ve ever been. I’m just worn out. You’re very fun to have around, Henri.”

“Thank you, Kelly. I love being around. Should we make breakfast?”

“Yes, let’s make it in the nude,” Kelly suggested.

“Sounds good to me.”

“Would you like to invite Rafe and Shannon for breakfast, Kelly?”

“Do we have to get dressed?” Kelly teased.

“Yeah, we have to get dressed. I have to go to work at 7:00, so I’ve got to get hopping.”

“Henri, would you go down on me to settle me down? I don’t want to share you this morning.”

He led her into the bedroom and started at her ankles and went up slowly but surely. She whispered, “Can you flip around, so I have something to play with also?”

Henri did just that and she began sucking his cock, like a huge straw. She could feel him getting ready to come and she would back down for a while. She was going to make Henri wait and come even harder.

Henri moved his body closer to Kelly’s so she could suck him in farther and farther. She did begin sucking on him in earnest and licked her fingers and went to touch his butt. Kelly had heard guys liked this.

“Kelly, do you want me to fuck you, because if you do, you better stop what you’re doing. I’m right on the edge.”

She took him in deeper and he shouted as he came. All he kept thinking about was how good she was with sex. Kelly was teaching Brown a few new tricks. She kept his dick in her mouth and started sucking and moaning at the same time, making Henri start coming to life again.

“Henri, could we make love now?” Kelly asked.

“I thought you would never ask.” And that’s just what Henri did. He made slow passionate love to Kelly until she almost screamed her completion.

“I have to get going. If you want, you could stay here and we’d have dinner tonight.”

“I will stay and wait for you. Think of me all day long, Henri.”

“I don’t think I’ll have any problems about that. I had a really good time last night, but today has been even more fun. And I haven’t even been to work yet!”

“Have a good day, Henri.” He walked out and saw Rafe leaving at the same time. He looked exhausted also.

“Morning, Rafe.”

“It is a most excellent morning, Henri. I’ve never had so much sex in my life. She might be shy but she said she has read all the books on love making she could get her hands on and she’s not afraid to share them with me.”

They had to get to the lunch room to clock in. Once they did, they started over to work with Jim.

When they walked in, Jim smiled and said, “So how did the date go last night?”

Rafe blushed, making Henri laugh. “We got two winners let me tell you,” Rafe said.

“You’re compatible then?” Jim wondered.

“I’ve come six times since last night. I need a nap,” Henri joked.

“Keep them in your pants today. We have a lot to do. We’ve got feed bins that need to be filled. It’s time to scrub down the stable while the horses are outdoors.”

“I’ll get the big bucket and meet you back here, Rafe,” Henri said.

Jim needn’t have worried about the guys being professional. They were back to work. Nothing else was said about the girls.

Megan walked up to the lunch room and saw Rafe and Henri looking like they needed a nap.

“So, how was the big date last night guys?”

“I had a great time,” Henri answered.

“I did too. Shannon is great.” Rafe said.

“I’m glad it worked out. When are you seeing them again?” Megan asked.

“I have to give it some thought. This girl was serious about me and I’m not sure I want it to be quite so serious just yet,” Rafe said.

Henri looked at Rafe like he was insane and said, “I told Kelly to wait for me to get off and we’d have more fun.”

“Good for you, Henri. Do you really like Kelly?”

“Oh yeah. She’s great. Do you know Kelly?”

“Just a little bit. I know Karen and saw her over at Karen’s house a few times. Kelly isn’t much like Karen. Karen reminds me of someone very reserved. Believe me, that’s not Kelly.”

“You’re going to continue dating her, Henri?”

“For as long as I can. I hope she doesn’t dump me. I really, really like this girl.”

Megan hugged him and turned to Rafe and said, “Don’t you wish you could be this relaxed about you and Shannon?”

“I’m going to date Shannon for a while too. She’s a lot of fun, she’s beautiful and I really liked her. In fact, I’m going to ask her to stay and wait for me too.”

Rafe walked out of the lunch room with his cell phone in his hand.

“Hello.”

“Hi, Shannon, it’s Rafe. Do you want to go out for dinner tonight? We can go with Henri and Kelly, or we can be alone. Hell, we can even rent a movie and you could stay over again.”

“Oh, wow. I wish I could. I have to work till midnight all week. I’ll figure something out. Can I call you when I’m off?”

“You bet you can. I’m crazy about you, Shannon.”

“I’m crazy about you too, Rafe. Now, have a good day and I’ll see what days I can get off. What are your days off?”

“This week, I’m off Tuesday and Wednesday. We could hang out until you go to work at 3:00, if nothing else, couldn’t we?”

“That would be great. Nick, my boss, is so nice, I don’t want to piss him off trying to get days off. With my college hours taking up so much time, I could use some dating time.”

“What are you taking in school?” Rafe asked.

“I’m going to be a therapist. Basically, it’s a glorified case worker. But I’m going to love it. Only six months left.”

“I better get back to work. Call and let me know if we have time for us this week. Have a good night, Shannon.”

“Thank you, Brian. Talk to you soon.”

Henri was alone in the lunch room, so he decided he would call Kelly.

“Hello, Henri. How are you this fine morning?”

“I’m great and I owe most of that to you. God, you made me feel so good last night and this morning.”

“I really like you, Henri. I hope that doesn’t scare you.”

“I really like you too. Are we still on for tonight?”

“Nope, Nick just called and asked me to work for Becca. She’s off tonight and it’s usually my night off also. Nick made a mistake on the schedule. What days are you off this week? We could plan something till I go to work at 6:00. I told Nick that I’m only working six hours a night from now on. It’s too much with my school hours too.”

“What are you taking in school, Kelly?”

“I have six months left in school and I’ll be a nurse practitioner. I already have a job, when I’m finished, at the Urgent Care, here in town.”

“Nice going, Kelly. That’s great. Six months will fly by.”

“I hope so. I’m looking forward to spending more time with you. If I’m not smothering you.”

“You’re not smothering me at all. I enjoy your company and I have to say no one has ever made me come as often as you did. You deserve a trophy.”

“We’ll make plans in a day or two. I better go, my cab is here.”

“Bye, Kelly. See you soon.”

Jim called Blair at lunch and said, “Your plan worked out beautifully. Both of the guys are smitten with these girls. In fact, I think they’re both out of their league with these girls.”

“Jim, I’m so happy. Now, we can have everyone look out for each other and all the new girls.”

“Would like to go to the bar tonight and say hi to Kelly?”

“No, I want some good lovin’ tonight and I expect you to deliver,” Blair kidded, but partly serious.

And Jim knew they would do exactly that.

TBC

Chapter Text

When Jim got home, Blair was watching the weather channel. Jim could feel the pressure coming on and knew there might be a tornado, so he was going to talk to Blair about it.

“Hey, Blair. Keeping an eye on the funnels?”

“Yeah, last year wasn’t too bad, but this one looks like there’s bad tornado coming. I always worry about the horses and the stables they’re in. Yes, they were built well, but nothing’s completely tornado proof,” Blair said, sounding worried already.

“I sort of planned on sleeping in a sleeping bag down in stable three because I want to be close to Sexy Sally so she won’t be as nervous during the storm. We can’t have anything happening to her or that colt.”

“I’ll sleep down there with you. Would it look unprofessional sleeping in the same sleeping bag?” Blair was serious. But Jim just smiled.

“It’s your ranch, you can do whatever you want to do. I would love to have you down there. Let’s take an air mattress. Maybe an electric blanket too. It’s chilly at night. Might be spring, but it’s still cold during the evening.”

“Let’s eat dinner and then pack up everything for the night,” Blair said as he pulled Jim into the dining room. Mary and Jan were just putting dinner on the table. The four of them sat down to eat and had a very nice time chatting.

At 8:00, Jim and Blair were making one of the stalls into a nice little area they could sleep in. Of course, it was empty and very clean. Jim thought they would be very comfortable.

“This is going to be so great. The horses will feel much better with us here,” Blair believed.

“Just don’t get close to them if they start bucking. They wouldn’t mean to harm us but when they’re scared, they would think nothing of trampling us. Just promise me you’ll be very careful.”

“I promise, Jim. You do the same for me too. I asked Cole to stay in stable two and Brett to stay in stable one. Do you hear them?”

“I do. The air pressure is something else tonight. This might be a really bad tornado coming,” Jim guessed.

“I hope not. The last time we had one, three horses were hurt and had to be put down. I hate tornados. They’re frightening and heartbreaking at the same time. I hope everything will be all right tonight.”

“Blair, don’t worry until the horses let us know it’s time to worry. If it gets bad, we’re going to let the horses out into the corral and that way they’re free from breaking their legs in the stalls.”

“Like I said before, I hate tornados.”

“I say we try to rest, because it’ll wake us soon enough. Try and relax, Blair.”

They lay down, covered up with the heating blanket and tried to rest. Jim could hear the wind picking up and the thundering sound off in the clouds. Jim had no idea if he could hear a tornado to warn anyone or not. But he was going to find out.

At midnight, Jim woke up to pure quiet. But the horses were very nervous and on edge. Jim looked outside and saw everything was still. But the air pressure was hurting his ears. Jim knew something was coming. He went back to the bed and woke Blair up.

“Blair, it’s coming. We’d better get the horses out of the stables.”

“Okay, Jim. I don’t hear anything…”

“It’s getting ready. The funnel isn’t here yet. Let’s let them out one at a time and see what they do.”

Blair could see the black, black clouds above them and could also hear the beginnings of a storm coming. They had up to 50 horses in stable three, to let out to the corral. Blair called Cole and Brett and told them to do the same thing. Before long, all the horses were out except for Sally. Jim wanted her close to them and away from the other horses.

Suddenly, Blair knew what Jim was talking about. The wind was starting to blow, and getting steadily stronger. The horses were running all over the corral. Blair looked up and saw the funnel coming their way. “Jim, are you all right?”

“It’s killing my ears,” Jim said.

“Lower your dials, man. Do it fast, it’s coming.”

Jim did as he was told and was glad. The tornado was heading their way and it was very loud already. As it got closer even Sally was starting to buck. Jim stayed with her as Blair went to see how the other horses were doing. The tornado touched down and the sound was unbelievable. Jim yelled for Blair, but it was too late. Blair would have to be safe on his own. Jim was busy comforting Sally. Trying to keep her calm was a little harder than he expected.

Blair was in one of the stalls, hunkered down watching the big funnel come closer and closer to his horses. He was scared to death, but knew he had to stay with the horses. A couple of times, they walked up to the stall where Blair was and tried to come in. Blair felt so unhelpful in this situation. There was nothing he could do but watch that funnel take away parts of his ranch.

Sally was starting to buck like crazy. Jim was still trying to keep her quiet and safe, but it wasn’t working. The funnel had dropped and was picking up things and it was so loud; it was hard to believe. Jim let go of Sally for a second as he coughed from the wind bringing dust and hay all over the place and it was like Sally knew this was her time to get free. She bucked really hard, bringing up her front hooves and came down on Jim’s head. Jim fell to the ground unconscious. But Sally didn’t stop there. She was jumping and standing all over Jim. No one could have heard the bones breaking because the sound of the tornado was too loud.

Finally, the funnel was leaving and with it went the noise, rain and winds. Blair looked out and saw that the horses were okay. He’d have to count them later, but they looked fine so far. Blair went to check on Jim and Sally.

Blair started running when he saw Sally bucking and saw Jim’s legs sticking out of the stall. He finally got there and calmed Sally. Blair pulled Jim out of the stall and locked the gate. There was blood everywhere. Most of it was Jim’s head bleeding. Blair called Dan Wolfe and said, “I need help. Jim’s hurt and maybe Sally too.”

“I’ll be right there, Blair.” Dan hung up the phone and told Megan what was going on. She dressed as quickly as Dan did to go and help with the horses, while Dan checked on Jim and Sally.

They rushed into the stable and saw that Blair had blood all over his clothing.

“Oh my God, Blair. Where is he?” Dan asked.

“He’s on the ground in front of Sally’s stall. He needs help. I’m trying to get hold of an ambulance, but it’s not that easy.”

Dan got to Jim and checked him out. “I would say Sally got him at least twice on his head. His left arm is broken and so is his left leg. But his ribs are okay. I don’t think she got him anywhere else. We need an ambulance. Jim’s brain might be swelling.”

Blair said, “I’ll take him in my SUV. We’ll put the back down and I’ll drive to Butte to the hospital. Dillion’s medical center isn’t answering at all. Megan, could you ride with me to watch Jim?”

“Of course I’ll go, Blair. Dan, is Sally all right?”

“She seems fine. Jim must have let his guard down and she took advantage of that. I’m sorry this happened, Blair. Bring your SUV and we’ll get him loaded in it and off you’ll go. Just watch for the tornado.”

Simon walked in, saw Jim and said, “Shit, let me get my SUV. I’ll drive, Blair. You stay in the back with Jim.”

They loaded Jim in the back of Simon’s SUV and off they went. Blair was so worried and so nervous. Jim was barely breathing. Simon drove up to the medical center in Dillion and saw that half of it was missing.

Simon asked, “Do you need any oxygen for the drive to Butte?”

“Simon, that would be perfect. He’s not breathing that well.”

Simon jumped out, told the person in the medical center what they needed and they gave them the oxygen. Then a nurse got in the back with Jim and started doing triage on him. Blair went to the front to sit down. The nurse, Jamie, said, “Let’s get going, Simon. We have to hurry.”

Blair was so upset he didn’t know what to do. He wasn’t of any help with poor Jim. But Jamie had him on oxygen now and he might be okay with just that for a while.

Jamie yelled, “Could you turn some music on. Something lively. It’ll keep his brain active. Please find a cool rock station and turn up the music.”

Blair found a good classic rock station and turned it up. Simon was going 85-90 miles an hour on the highway and sure enough, a state trooper was sitting there and started after Simon’s SUV. Simon pulled over and waited for the cop to get there.

“Your license and registration, sir.”

Before Simon could answer, Jamie called out. “Officer. We have someone in the back of the SUV that needs to get to the Butte hospital in record time. Lines were all down and we have to get him there now. Could you escort us, please?”

“Follow me,” the somber man said.

The trooper was going 90 miles an hour so that’s what Simon did also. Before long, Butte was in sight. Both Simon and Blair let out a sigh of relief when they arrived at the Butte hospital.

Medical workers came out with a stretcher and a couple of doctors. They opened the back of the SUV and started getting Jim on the stretcher. His eyes and his forehead were swelling like crazy.

The doctor turned to Blair and said, “What is his name?”

“Jim Ellison. Could I go-with you? I’m his significant other.”

“Yes, by all means. You come with us while we try and get him stabilized. I’m Doctor Spenser and I’ll be working on Jim. And you are?”

“I’m Blair Sandburg from Dillion. I’m ready, doc.”

The doctor turned to everyone and said, “Let’s get this show on the road.”

Simon said, “Blair, I’ll be in the waiting room. Keep me posted from time to time.”

“Okay, Simon.” Blair was already following the group of dedicated workers into the hospital.

Five hours later, Simon was joined in the waiting room by Joel, Megan, Mary and Jan. Simon was glad to have someone to sit with him.

“So how is he?” Joel asked.

“Hell if I know, Joel. I’ve been waiting but Blair still hasn’t come out and told me if he’s alive or dead.”

At that moment, Blair walked out and saw his friends and coworkers and was happy to see them.

“I just wanted to tell Simon about Jim. I’m glad you didn’t have to wait alone, Simon.”

“We just got here, Blair. So, he has been alone all morning,” Megan said.

“Jim has a skull fracture. He has swelling in the brain, so they had to put a shunt like drain into his brain to help with fluid. He’s been having seizures and vomiting. Jim said the headache was unbearable but they can’t give him anything yet until he doesn’t have lethargy. They’re setting the broken bones in his arm and leg at this moment. They were clean breaks, so six weeks in a cast is all for that. He’ll be in the hospital for at least five days if things go well. If the swelling gets worse, so will Jim be worse. It’s a wait and see scenario.”

Megan hugged Blair and said, “Want me to run and get some things of Jim’s for him?”

“Not yet. We have to get him stronger and worry about all that much, much later. The doctor said he’s lucky to be alive. Right now, I’m sure Jim doesn’t agree. He’s in a lot of pain. He’s not a happy camper. But he did ask how Sally was.”

Joel said, “Sally is great. No harm done to her. Tell Jim not to worry about Sally. And by the way, no horses are missing or hurt. We were blessed tonight.”

“Thank you for telling me that, Joel. Simon, could you please go back to the ranch and run things for me. I’m staying here for the next 2-5 days. I’d appreciate someone letting Karen know that she’s flying solo this week. And if there are any problems, let me know. Otherwise, I’ll be here until it’s safe for me to leave, Jim.”

Mary and Jan both hugged him. Jan said, “We’ll make up some meals to bring up here. Our own Meals on Wheels.”

Mary said, “That’s a really good idea, Jan. No one likes hospital food. We’ll start tonight, Blair. And of course we’ll bring you some.”

“Thank you, girls. Take care of our home, please? Goodnight, everyone. I have to get back upstairs.”

“Night, Blair,” Simon said.

And just like that he was gone.

Simon and Megan drove home in Simon’s SUV. Megan filled him in on what was going on at the ranch. And making sure that Simon understood how lucky they were to have no horses missing or hurt.

The drive was long, but uneventful. Simon leaned against the door frame and was sleeping within moments. Megan had music on to soothe Simon’s soul.

Joel took Mary and Jan home. The ride for them was quiet and the women were trying to stay strong for Blair’s sake and for the sake of Jim.

In Jim’s room at the hospital, they were just bringing him in and getting him comfortable, if that was possible.

Jim opened his eyes and looked around for Blair. Then he saw him talking to the nurse about his injuries and he tried to smile when Blair looked at him. Blair walked over to the bed and said, “They gave you something but they want me to keep you awake. Do you think we could do that, Jim?”

“We could try. I’m exhausted and in a lot of pain.”

“We need to bring your dials down on almost everything. That’s good, it helps, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, I wasn’t thinking or I would have lowered them by myself. I’m falling down on the job, Blair.”

“You have a good reason. I wanted to let you know that Sally is fine and every one of the horses are all accounted for. Only one injury and that’s you. You’re going to be out of commission for six weeks, Jim.” And he wasn’t kidding.

“I can brush the horses with my right hand. Please don’t make me miss work.”

“I’m afraid I can’t, Jim. My insurance won’t pay a thing if I let you go back to work. But if it makes you feel better you can help me in the office during the six weeks.”

“Fuck… Fuck…”

“Now that we can do, once you’re up to it.” Blair smiled angelically at Jim. Jim just growled at Blair and turned his head and stared at the wall.

“Do you want me to leave, Jim?”

Jim turned his tearful eyes to Blair and said, “No, I’ll be good. I’m just unhappy right now.”

Blair and Jim took turns talking about the ranch. Things they loved and things they didn’t love so much. They just talked about everything and anything they could think of.

The doctor came in and said, “The pressure in your head is going down. So, we’re going to let you sleep for a little while. We’ll wake you up after three hours’ sleep. Then you won’t be able to go back to sleep until tonight. This is very good news, Jim. I know you’re unhappy about the breaks in your leg and arm, but they can’t heal by ignoring them. Close your eyes and let Blair tell you a nice bedtime story.”

“Night, Doctor Spenser. Thank you for everything,” Jim said, very honestly.

As soon as he left, Jim asked for something for the pain and they brought a morphine injection in. Within moments, Jim was sound asleep.

Blair asked the nurse if they had anything he could read at their desks.

Becky smiled at Blair and said, “I’ll be right back.”

Ten minutes later, Becky came walking in with four magazines and a pair of scrubs so Blair could get out of the messy clothing. Blair was so grateful; he didn’t care what they were. “Thank you, Becky. I’ll be very careful so that I don’t wake Jim up.”

“We’ll see you in three hours, Blair. We’re watching his vitals, so not to worry.”

“Thank you for everything, Becky. See you later.”

Blair leaned his head onto the bed and fell asleep. So much for reading.

Three hours later, they woke Jim and Blair up and Jim got to sit up a little bit. Blair noticed that Jim’s color was much better.

At 5:00, in walked Mary and Jan. They were carrying something that smelled wonderful.

“Mary, what did you bring for us?” Blair asked.

“Chicken and dumplings. I hope they are still warm. They should be. If not, we’ll ask to use their microwave.”

Jim said, “I’m starving. Thank you, Mary and Jan.”

Blair fed Jim because he couldn’t sit up yet. He kept getting dinner all over the sheets. Blair would take a bite of his own and then feed Jim a bite. Before long, Jim said he was tired and full. So the girls visited with Blair while Jim slept.

Jan gave a bag to Blair and said, “When he feels better, he might want to wear some of his own things. We brought up several things so he should have enough. And at the bottom of the bag, are your things.”

“Thank you, girls. This is so kind of you. Dinner was awesome and so are you.”

Mary said, “We’re going to let you rest when Jim does. Take good care of him and we’ll see you tomorrow for dinner again. I think I’ll make deli sandwiches tomorrow.”

“Sounds delicious, Mary. Thank you both. Drive carefully, please?”

Back at the ranch, Simon had everyone ask about visiting Jim.

“I talked to Blair and Blair thinks he needs sleep right now. We’ll just continue to run the ranch and take care of the horses while they’re gone. You’ll see him when he gets home.”

They all did just that. Yes, Jim and Blair were missed but they knew that what the ranch hands were doing was important too.

Six days later, Jim was released from the hospital. Jim couldn’t wait to get home.

Simon came to pick them up and the drive home was quiet. Jim slept the entire way home. Simon just looked at him now and then to be sure he was all right.

Blair whispered, “He’s fine, Simon. He wasn’t at first, but he is now.”

“Everyone missed both of you. Especially Karen. She said it wasn’t the same without your company. But she took care of everything. You should be coming home to no worries.”

“Thanks. I’m so grateful to you and to Karen for taking over for me. You’re both the best of friends.”

“Is it six weeks from today or six weeks from the tornado?”

“It’s six weeks from the tornado. It’s been a week, so he has five weeks left.”

“Thank God. Maybe we could have a poker night while he’s recuperating. What do you think of that idea? Simon asked.

“I think it’s a wonderful idea. We’ll let him get his bearings in his first week home and then we’ll plan it. I can’t wait. Jim needs that too. He’s pretty miserable with missing work. A poker game would be just what he needed.”

As Simon drove up to the ranch house, Blair whispered, “Don’t let him down in the stables at all. Okay?”

“Got it, boss.”

Blair knew that this was not going to be easy. Jim was going to push everyone’s buttons but he wasn’t going to win this one. Blair was very happy to have him home.

Simon helped Jim into the house and then he went down to his condo.

Blair looked at Jim and said, “The doctor said I could give you a blow job if you’re up to it. He thinks you are.”

“I know I am. I say we get settled in the bedroom and go from there. I love you, Chief.”

“Chief?”

“Chief of all things in my life. Thank you for sticking by me.”

“I can live with this name. I love you too, Jim.”

The house would go back to normal in a day or two, and Mary and Jan knew that the two men would be fine.

TBC

Chapter Text

Jim had been released from the hospital three weeks earlier and he was driving people insane. He missed the horses, the people and the work. He was gaining weight from not doing anything and that pissed him off more than anything.

Blair got home after teaching his class and saw Jim moping in the living room. “Hey, Jim. How do you feel today?”

“You fucking ask me the same thing every day, Blair. Do you think the answer is going to change? Cat got your tongue?”

“I don’t know what your problem is, but you’re sleeping in one of the spare rooms tonight. I can’t stand the sight of you right now,” Blair said, angrily.

“That’s perfect. Kick me out when I’m down, why don’t you?”

“Jim, get your things and stay at your condo. I know you’re down. I keep making excuses to everyone about you being an asshole. I’m tired of the excuses. I’m tired working your shift every day, plus doing the books and teaching my classes, but I don’t take it out on you or everyone else. I know you were doing your job when you got hurt, but I don’t need you bitching at me every day. I can’t do it anymore. Just stay down in the condo for the next three weeks. Don’t get your casts wet either. If you need help, you can call and ask me to help. I would love to help you. I’m crazy about you.”

“Please don’t make me leave. I’ll try and do better, Blair. I promise.”

“Let’s go upstairs and I’ll give you a bath.”

“Thank you. I feel like I stink all the time. This cast smells funny and sort of makes me sick to my stomach.”

“Why didn’t you mention that? Turn your sense of smell down, Jim. See if that helps.”

Jim did as he was told and said, “Much better, Chief.”

“Good. Now, let’s take that bath and if you’re a good boy, I’ll take care of some other things too.”

Jim practically ran to the bedroom, making Blair smile big time.

After dinner, Blair said, “Would you like to go for a long walk? Then we could stop by the stables and you could say hi to the horses. I’m sure they miss you something fierce.”

“That’s would be great. I’ve gained so much weight, walking would be good for me.”

“Every day I want you to walk at least five miles. It’ll give you something to do and make you feel much better.”

After a long, long walk, Blair was exhausted but Jim seemed to be getting his second wind. “I feel so much better, Chief. This is what I needed. I can’t wait to see the horses.”

They walked into Stable 3 and Jim turned on the lights. The horses started to get frisky when they saw Jim. He had carrots for each of them and brushed them and talked to them. Then he looked over at Blair and saw how tired the man looked and said, “This is enough for tonight, Chief. Tomorrow I’ll see Stable 2 and Stable 1. Thank you for suggesting this. I get some working out done and see the horses at the same time. Tomorrow, I’ll do it before you come home so we can spend time together at home.”

Blair pulled him down for a kiss and said, “I love you so much. Three weeks is going to fly by, Jim.”

“I love you too. Did I tell you I called the doc and left a message for him? That was three days ago and he’s never called me back or emailed me. All I wanted to know was how soon I get back to breaking in the horses? He knows this is important to me, why isn’t he answering?”

“Jim, you have no patience. We see him in two weeks. Let’s wait and see what he says in person, not an email.”

“Okay, I’ll try to be more patient. Tomorrow I might bring lunch down to the guys. I’ll make sandwiches. I’ll call Rafe up to help me carry things down. I miss everyone.”

“I just bet you do, Jim. It won’t be much longer. You just need to find some things to do in your spare time.”

The following day, Jim started making sandwiches at 10:30. By 11:30, he was ready to have Rafe come. He dialed Rafe’s number and heard, “Hey, Jim. What are you doing?”

“I need you and Henri to come on up here and we’ll bring lunch down for everyone today. I made enough sandwiches, potato salad and chips for everyone. It gave me something to do. Is anyone ready for lunch?”

“That would be great. Let me get Henri and a golf cart and we’ll be right up. Thanks for thinking of us, Jim.”

“You’re welcome. Just come on in. I’m in the kitchen.” Jim closed his cell and smiled.

Mary had made the potato salad when he had mentioned, the night before, he was going to take sandwiches. Then Jan had made peanut butter cookies and brownies. Jim wouldn’t know what to do without Mary and Jan. They were the best. No one ever went hungry with them around.

Rafe and Henri walked in and Henri said, “Wow! Do you think there is enough here?”

Jim laughed and said, “Let’s get all this outside and down to the lunch room.”

They had brought up two golf carts, so with Jim’s they had three filled with food. Jim kissed Mary and Jan on the cheek before he left and told them, “Thank you for everything.”

When they arrived, everyone came out to help the three men. They all sat down and started eating like crazy.

Simon walked up to Jim and said, “Jim, when you’re done with lunch, I need you in Stable 3 to calm Sally. She’s having contractions and she’s fighting them. You could sweet talk her into believing everything you say.”

“I have to be careful, though. Blair would kick my ass if anything happened to me on the road to recovery.”

“I’ll be careful with Sally and so will you, Jim. Now, finish eating so we can get over there.”

After lunch, the two men got into Jim’s golf cart and drove to Stable 3. Jim could hear Sally from quite far away. She wasn’t a happy camper, that was for sure.

Jim walked in and down the row to Sally’s stall. “Hey, girl. I hear you’re making a fuss about everything. You know you can do this, Sally. Come here…”

Sally walked over to him and headbutted him, but nicely. Dan came into the stall and said, “She’s just about ready if you could stay long enough to smooth talk her, it would sure make my job easier.”

Jim just brushed her and talked to her until the colt was born. He was beautiful. He was solid black and looked just like his mom except for the color. Jim petted Sally and said, “Dante is gorgeous, Sally. He’s going to be a big boy too.”

Simon and Dan smiled. Jim did a lot of the baby naming. And this one was perfect for this colt.

Simon said, “I love the name, Dante. Very nice, Jim.”

“Is everything all right with Dante, Dan?” Jim asked.

“He’s very large. Much larger than his parents were. He’s going to be a big boy.”

Megan walked in and said, “I always miss the fun stuff. Isn’t he beautiful? What did you name him, Jim?”

“Dante…”

“Oh, nice. Jim, Blaze is acting up, do you think you could stop in and say hello to him?”

“I sure can. I’ll see you later, Simon and Dan.”

Jim and Megan got into his golf cart and drove to stable 2. “Is everything all right with Blaze?”

“Star went into heat and he’s not happy about not being with her. We didn’t know if Blaze was going to be the stud this time or not. Do you know what Blair has planned for them?”

“Sure don’t. Let me call him.”

“Hi, what are you doing?” Blair asked.

“Are we going to stud Blaze with Star?”

“Yes, they would make a gorgeous baby colt wouldn’t they?”

“Yeah, can we start tonight? Megan is going to be in charge.”

“Yeah, tell her that she is in charge. You aren’t to be there at all. Say hello to Blaze and Star, but then leave. We can’t have them jumping on you at all.” Blair was standing his ground.

“All right. Let me say hi, and then she can start the process. I’ll see you tonight, Blair.”

“Bye, Jim.”

“Yup, those two are your breeders for today. Keep them in the corral out back where no other male can get to her. I’m going to say hello and then I’m out of here.”

When Blair got home, Jim wasn’t in the living room, he was in their bedroom sleeping. Blair figured he had probably overdone it for his first day back. He curled up into Jim’s body and started to kiss him. Jim woke up instantly.

“Hey, Chief… How was your day?”

“Boring, but good. How was your day?” Blair smiled when he asked because Jim looked better than he had in ages.

“Could I have a bath, Chief?”

“You could. Come on, let’s get you taken care of and we’ll go and have dinner.”

During dinner, Jim told Blair how Mary and Jan had helped him do a luncheon up for all the staff at the ranch. Blair was so proud of Jim it wasn’t even funny. They all smiled as Jim talked non-stop all evening.

Blair somehow knew that things were going to be better for the next three weeks. Or at least he sure hoped so.

Three Weeks Later

Jim had gotten both casts taken off and was doing just fine without them. During the drive home, Jim got to drive, finally, after six weeks. Blair noticed how quiet he was and asked, “What’s up with you, Jim?”

“I’ve got one thing on my mind and that’s making love to you with two hands. So, your ass is mine as soon as we walk in the door. Understood?”

“Understood, man. No complaints from me.”

“I bet you missed me too, huh?”

“You don’t know the half of it. Now, drive a little faster.”

Jim laughed and did as he was told. Once they drove up, they walked into the house and went upstairs immediately. Once there, he was able to take a good shower and felt 100% better after that. Then he began to work his magic on Blair. Before long, Blair said, “Time out! I’m exhausted. Give me some time to recoup.”

Then they fell asleep and slept until 9:00 when they both woke up starving.

Mary and Jan were already retired for the night but left a note for Jim and Blair.

Jim and Blair,

Chicken and noodles are in the fridge. Heat them up and eat something. There is a cake for dessert. Welcome back, Jim.

Love, Mary

“They’re the best, aren’t they?” Jim asked.

“They sure are. Now, let’s eat and then sleep and get ready for tomorrow. It’s going to be a busy day.”

And both men knew this to be true.

TBC

Chapter Text

Jim was busy, busy, busy on the ranch, so Blair decided to take some extra ‘Blair time’ and do some books and a few other things.

First of all, it had been a year since Jim started at the ranch. Blair couldn’t believe that. Time sure went by quickly. Blair looked at his banking account and decided he was going to give out bonuses for the year. They all deserved one. First of all, he asked his lawyer to give him a plot of land for everyone in case they would like to have a house built on the land. Each of them would be getting an acre. So, it would be like a small town, where everyone knew each other.

Next, he was going to give them each a $1,500.00 bonus to go along with the land. Those that were a couple would be getting two acres of land. And finally, he was going to give everyone a $2.00 an hour raise, for the year. It was going to cost Blair a lot of money, but they were worth it to him. Without them, he would be lost.

In the last year, he had watched all of them go from good ranch hands to great ranch hands. In fact, they needed to buy more stock to keep up with the demand for horses that were wanted locally. Jim, Simon and the hands were doing a great job. Simon told Blair to give Jim one hell of a good raise. He was very happy with Jim. The other people that worked here liked Jim too.

Basically, everyone seemed happy as could be. But Blair wanted them to have more than just a paycheck. If they were part of the ranch, that would make them feel like they owned some of it.

Blair got ready and went into town for the bank run and the lawyer run. His lawyer would have everything ready for him when he came by. First of all, Blair stopped and got thank you cards for each of them and then to the bank for cashier’s checks for each of them and the lawyer for the paperwork for the land, showing them exactly where their land was.

When he finished everything, he left for his office once again. When he returned home, he was very happy to be there and knew he was going to be busy getting everything done before Jim got home. Blair busied himself in the office and got all of the cards filled out, and anything else he needed to finish. He felt very accomplished when he was done. He took everything and put it in a briefcase and took off for the stables. He called Dan and told him to meet him there. No one knew how much Dan made, which was good because he was a Vet and he was on call for them all the time. He would take Brett’s and Cole’s to their condos.

When he got out of the golf cart, he was greeted by Grace and Gus, who were barking and jumping all over him. They had become such good ranch dogs. They slept in the barn with the horses and goats. They both weighed about 65 pounds and weren’t nearly as large as their parents were. Which was fine with Blair. They were very sweet dogs. All of the crew loved them, so they never went without a lot of attention.

“Where’s Jim, Gus?” Gus took off for stable 3 and Blair drove his golf cart there. Jim came out of the stable and smiled when he saw Blair.

“Gus just got done telling me you were here. He’s so cute. Isn’t he?” Jim asked.

Blair said, “I have a surprise for everyone today and wondered if I could give out the surprises at lunch time. What do you think?”

“Do I get a surprise?” Jim asked, wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

“Everyone gets one. Do you think I could do it at lunch time? Or when everyone gets off?”

“Maybe when we all get off. They can come up one at a time to the house. How does that sound?” Jim assured Blair.

“This has nothing to do with that, but isn’t it weird that Gus and Grace stopped growing? They look like small boxers, instead of large ones.”

“Which is fine by me, Blair. We didn’t want them huge.”

“That’s true. They are such good dogs, aren’t they?”

“Blair, make a list of the names of everyone with a time beside the name. That way, they can come up one at a time.” Jim thought this was an excellent idea.

“That’s a very good idea. Do you have paper? Oh, never mind. I have my briefcase with me. I’ll get hopping.”

Next to each fifteen minutes, Blair wrote a name, started at 5:00. He handed the paper to Jim and said, “Could you copy this for everyone?”

“I’ll see you later on, Chief. Go up to the house and wait for your minions.” Jim laughed.

“I will. I wrote you in first. See you at 5:00. Have a good rest of the day.”

At 5:00, Jim got home and kissed Blair. “Are they all going to greet you this way, Blair?”

Blair burst out laughing and said, “Sit down and let me fill you in on what’s going on.”

Jim sat down and looked a little nervous.

“First of all, you are getting a $10.00 an hour raise, because Simon said you’re that damned good. You’re also getting a bonus of $1,500.00 and also a piece of land. Two acres to be exact. Here is your thank you card, the bonus check and your raise. And of course, here are the plots of land for you. Thank you so much for kicking ass and taking names, Jim. You’ve done an awesome job. It was my lucky day when I met you and hired you.”

Jim kissed Blair with much passion and Blair said, “Not now, man.”

“It’s almost time for your next meeting. I’m going to go in and make us a sandwich. How does that sound?” Jim asked.

“Thank you. Simon is next. I’d better get ready for him.” Blair walked into his office and got the paperwork, the check and the thank you card.

When Simon came in, he was in an incredible mood. Blair hit him with all the good news and Simon hugged him. “It’s no wonder we all stay, Blair. This is a great place to work.”

Everyone was there for their meeting and before long, he was completely done with all. They locked up, Blair ate dinner and then cleaned the kitchen up.

When they got upstairs, Jim made passionate love to Blair and thanked him 20 times for being the best boss in the world.

All in all, the evening had gone well. Blair felt like a million bucks and so did all of them.

Another great year had gone by and Blair was happier than a person had a right to be.

TBC

Chapter Text

Nick Nason had been with Joel Taggert for about seven months. Nick couldn’t believe he had stayed with one person so long. They went camping, hiking, dancing and other things, and enjoyed each other’s company. But now Nick noticed that Joel might want more. Was Nick ready for that? He had a lot of soul searching to do.

Joel woke up that morning to the empty side of the bed and frowned. He wished that Nick would stay the night with him more often. Joel didn’t care if Nick came home at midnight five nights a week. Joel would still have him in bed with him until he left for work the next day. Joel stared at the paper that had all the information about his land on it and decided maybe he’d ask Nick if he wanted to build a house with him. Well, not build it, but have it built. Joel really wanted his own place like Simon and Karen had. Would Nick be interested in that move? That’s what Joel needed to find out. He might ask Jim about it. He usually gave good advice. Joel got up and got ready for work.

Jim was in stable 3 when Joel came walking in. “Good morning, Joel. You’re here early, aren’t you? Is everything all right?”

“Not to worry, Jim. I’m fine. I’m more than fine. I was thinking of asking you for some advice if you have time to listen.”

“I always have time for you, Joel. What’s up?”

“I’d like to ask Nick to build a house with me on the land that Blair gave us. But I don’t know how he’d take it. What do you think?”

“Honestly, I can’t believe he’s still with you, Joel. He’s never dated anyone that long. It says something about your relationship right there. It couldn’t hurt to ask, could it? If he says no, what would you do?”

“That’s been going through my head all morning. I think I might stop seeing him if he didn’t want to go on to the next step with me. Maybe we’re wasting each other’s time.”

“Joel, don’t break up with him. Stay with him and try to talk him into it. He’ll come around eventually. I bet you money. And besides, maybe he’s given it some thought and would jump at the chance to move in with you.”

“You know, Jim, you’re really good for me. You make me feel like I deserve someone like Nick. I’ve lost 70 pounds because of him. I wanted to look better for him.”

“And you do, but I’d like to think that you lost the weight for you. Not for Nick. You don’t have to do that for Nick. He was with you when you were heavier and seemed just fine with you. So, instead, say it was for you.”

Joel hugged Jim and said, “I’m going to ask him tonight. Wish me luck.”

Jim smiled and said, “Luck!”

At noon, Joel called Nick and asked him over for dinner. It was Nick’s day off, so Joel figured he would be safe in asking for that night.

“Hey, Joel, what’s up?”

“Hi, Nick. I wondered if you would like to come to dinner tonight and stay over. Will that work?”

“Normally that would be great, but I have some friends that came into town and I’m going to be hanging with them for a few days. Sorry, Joel. We’ll make plans when they leave. I gotta go. See you soon.”

Joel just stood there in shock. He didn’t know what to think. He closed his cell and thought, so much for us.

At lunch, Simon asked Jim, “Have you seen Joel today?”

“I saw him early this morning, but no, I haven’t seen him since. Why?”

“Rafe and Henri said he was a bear to them. He’s never like that so something must be wrong. I’ll ask him later,” Simon stated.

“I’ll ask him now. I’ll head over to stable 2 and see if he’s there. Don’t worry about it, Simon. I’m on top of it.” Shit…Shit…Shit…

Jim walked into stable 2 and saw Joel doing his job like normal, walked up to him and said, “So what did Nick say?”

“I’m not dating Nick anymore Jim, so you are free to go back to lunch,” Joel said, angrily.

“What happened? Tell me…”

“He said he had some friends in from out of town and he’d see me in a few days. Didn’t invite me to meet them or anything. We’re on different pages. I would have invited him over in a New York minute. See, he isn’t serious about me. I should have known. Don’t worry about me, Jim. I’m fine. It’ll take me a few days to get past this and then things will be normal again.”

“Bullshit. You’ve invested a lot of time, energy and love into this relationship. Don’t let it end like this. I’d go for a beer tonight and see what he’s doing. Nothing says you can’t have a beer with a friend, right?”

“Oh, that’s a great idea, Jim. Will you go with me?”

Jim didn’t know what to say. It was his idea, after all. “Blair would probably like to go too. Is that all right?”

“The more the merrier. I might ask Simon to go too. He doesn’t have to know what’s going on either. Actually, we should have a family night once a week anyhow. I’ll be the designated driver tonight.”

“Okay, you drive your car and I’ll drive mine. We’ll go right after dinner. Okay?”

“That’s perfect, Jim. Thank you for always having my back.”

“You’re most welcome. Come on, we’ll go to lunch.”

“I am hungry,” Joel said.

The two men walked off and things seemed to be off to a good start.

When Jim got home, he told Blair what was going on with Joel and Blair got very angry.

“What the fuck is Nick thinking of? He must have taken an idiot pill today. I can’t believe he said and did this to Joel. Joel is the nicest person I know besides you.”

“He is nice, but I told him to check it out. Doesn’t hurt and we’re all going. Let’s have dinner and then get there early. I’d like to play some pool also.”

“Jim, we can get a pool table for the rec room if you’d like,” Blair suggested.

“No, I like having a place to go to for pool. What’s for dinner?”

“Steak and baked potato. I figured we’ve had enough chicken this week. So, steak it is.”

“Thank you. I was thinking about steak all day long. Maybe I can read your mind.” Jim laughed.

A smiling Blair said, “Then you’ll know what I want to do tonight.”

“We still can when we get home. We won’t stay late. Okay?”

“I’m holding you to a night of love when we get home. Now, let’s go eat.”

At 6:30, everyone from Grey Wolf Ranch was in the parking lot. Joel was so happy he had such good friends.

They all walked in together and got two big tables for all of them. Nick waved at them when they came in. Joel waved back like he wasn’t mad at all. Although, true be told, once he saw Nick his anger left and he was filled with love instead. Damn it, you’re mad at him. Stay strong…

Kelly and Shannon, the waitresses, came over to the tables and said hello to everyone. When Kelly got to Henri, she kissed him. And when Shannon got over to Rafe, she kissed him. The two men were happy as could be to see their better halves.

Blair said, “Wait a moment, we didn’t get no stinking kiss. Where’s my kiss?” Everyone laughed, including the girls.

Kelly took Joel’s table and Shannon took Simon’s table. And they began to take orders.

Once they left, Jim said, “Hey Rafe, do we still have to tip her if she’s your girlfriend?”

They all laughed again.

Once their drinks came, they relaxed and people watched for the next hour. Finally, Joel couldn’t stand it anymore. Nick never once came over to the table. Yes, he was busy, but he could have said hello. Joel felt like he needed to go over there and say hello.

He walked up to the bar and there were three guys sitting there talking and laughing with Nick. Nick saw Joel and smiled.

“Hey, guys, this is Joel. He’s the one I was talking about earlier.”

The three men turned around and gave Nick the once over.

“This is Ben, Mike and Stan,” Nick said in way of introduction.

Joel was even more confused. Nick didn’t seem embarrassed about him at all.

Ben asked, “Would you like to join us for dinner in an hour? Nick is getting off then and we can get to know the man that tamed our Nick.”

Nick blushed and said, “He has to work in the morning, guys.”

“I would love to go,” Joel said. “I’d like to treat everyone to dinner.”

“Wow, Nick, you never said he was so generous,” Stan said, laughing.

Nick said, “Joel, go back with our friends and I’ll collect you for dinner. How does that sound?”

“Sounds great. Do any of you guys play pool? The guy playing is really good. It would make for a good game of pool.”

“We’ll be back, Nick. Joel, come with us,” Stan said.

Nick smiled as they all left. He’d been a little nervous introducing Joel to them but he needn’t have worried.

Ben played a game of pool with Jim and lost 50 bucks. Joel hadn’t been kidding about Jim being a great pool player. Then Jim played one with Mike and Mike didn’t have a chance.

“You’re good enough for a championship game. Why are you here?” Mike asked.

“I just play for fun,” Jim answered.

Nick came over and said, “You guys ready for dinner?”

All four of the men said yes. Nick walked over to Joel and kissed him and Joel just beamed with happiness.

They all left and Simon said, “We rode here with Joel. What the hell? I would have driven myself if it was needed.”

Jim clapped Simon on the back and said, “Here are his keys. You’re supposed to drive everyone home.”

“Thank God. I thought we’d have to take a cab.”

Everyone laughed, knowing that Dillion had no such thing as a cab.

They all finished their drinks and left for the night.

Dinner was done for the five men and they stood in the parking lot talking.

“Joel, you have to come with us tomorrow. We’re hiking. Do you like hiking?” Ben asked.

“I’d love to. But I have to work tomorrow.”

“Oh bummer. Maybe for dinner tomorrow night?” Mike asked.

“You guys just have a really nice time visiting. I’ll hopefully see you before you leave,” Joel said.

Nick said, “Joel, we’ll see you in a couple of nights. I’ll call with the plans. Now, guys, I have to take Joel home. See you tomorrow.”

Nick took Joel home and kept staring at him. “Something is different about you tonight, Joel. I wonder what it is.”

“I’m just in love and happy about it.”

Joel had never said he loved Nick, he was afraid he’d scare him off, but suddenly, it felt right.”

“I love you too, Joel. I’ve been waiting for you to say that for ages. I was scared to be the first one.”

“We’re so stupid. I was in love since the first date,” Joel admitted.

“I took a little longer because I was confused. I’ve never been in love before. You’re my first and last.”

Joel held his hand and then kissed it. “Can you stay tonight?” Joel asked.

“Yup. I planned on it. You couldn’t chase me off.”

“I have to tell you something…” Joel looked nervous.

“You can tell me anything, Joel.”

“I went to the bar tonight to see your friends. I was jealous and insecure. But you showed me what kind of man you were and I was ashamed. I’m so sorry I did that to you.”

“Actually, I was going to call and ask you to dinner but you beat me to it when you showed up. Don’t worry about anything, Joel. We’re good.”

“Then I have a question to ask you.”

“Ask away, Joel.”

“Nick, how would you like to have a house built with me on my land near the ranch? I mean, we would live together. How do you feel about that?”

“Actually, I thought you would have asked me to move in to the condo by now. But I didn’t want to rush you. I would love to choose a floor plan with you. How long would that take? Maybe I could move into your condo for a few months.”

“That’s an excellent idea, Nick. Tomorrow, you’re moving in. I can’t wait for us to live together.”

“You may take that back after a week of non-stop Nick.”

Joel laughed and said, “Never. I’m going to make you feel so good tonight, you’ll never leave.”

Nick sped up and before long he was parked in front of the condo. So was Joel’s SUV. Simon had probably left the keys in it.

Nick leaned across the console and kissed Joel like he never had.

“Wow, that’s the best kiss ever. What was the difference?” Joel asked.

“I belong to you now. You’re going to get kissed like that all the time.”

“Let’s start this new life. I love you, Nick.”

“And I love you, Joel.”

Things don’t always have to be hard, but sometimes it works.

TBC

Chapter Text

Jim was up at 4:30 that morning. To say he was excited was an understatement. He loved shopping for horses and that’s what he and Blair had decided on for the day. It was actually Jim’s day off but Blair told him he had to buy some more stock, so off they would go.

Blair woke up and could feel someone staring at him. “What time is it? And keep in mind, I haven’t had coffee yet so I might kill you.”

“It’s about 5:30. I’ve been staring at you for an hour. You look so sweet when you are sleeping. I love watching you,” Jim admitted, easily.

“Are you up this early because of shopping for horses? Why would that excite you so much?”

Jim smiled at Blair and said, “Because they might end up in my stable and I want to welcome them with open arms. I love my job.”

Blair snickered and said, “I would guess so. Did I tell you I’ll have some coming from the ranch three hours away. The Bell Ranch. They raise Clydesdale horses and I can’t wait to get some. We only have two, so this will be a nice change. I’m thinking on three or four of them. What do you think?”

“They’ll have to go in stable 2 because it has those big stalls. My stalls in 3 aren’t big enough for a Clydesdale. Darn it anyhow. What else are we picking out, Blair?”

“Two Arabian, six American Quarters, four Appaloosas and six Mustangs.”

“Wow, are they young?” Jim wanted to know.

“Yes, they are about 2 years old, each. They’re perfect breeding stock. We’re getting some good deals. I can’t wait to meet them.”

Jim looked over at him and asked, “The horses?”

“Of course, the horses. I couldn’t care less about the owners.”

Jim laughed and said, “When are we leaving, boss?”

“After you make love to me and we shower and get ready. How does that sound to you?”

“Sounds perfect,” Jim answered, as he moved in to start making love.

They started out at 6:15 that morning and Blair was happy. This was going to be an all-day affair. All they were doing today was seeing the horses, picking them out and paying for them. The ranches would deliver the horses to Grey Wolf Ranch the following day.

When they arrived at the first stop, it was for the American Quarters. They got out of the truck and were met by the owner of the ranch. Blair introduced Jim to the owner and they walked down to the stable for the quarters. The first one Jim saw was the color of caramel and asked, “What is this one’s name?”

Joe, the owner said, “This here is Butterscotch. She’s a beauty, isn’t she? Her color is really coming in to style and people are asking for her coloring all the time.”

Without even asking the price, Jim said, “We’ll take her. How old is she?”

“Just turned 2, Jim. She’ll be ready to breed in about six months.”

Blair asked, “Do you have a caramel-colored male?”

Joe laughed and said, “I do. I knew you would ask. He’s over here. Follow me.”

Blair looked the colt over and said, “Is he about three?”

“He is. Just turned. He’ll be ready to stud very soon. If you breed him with a black mare, they come out beautifully. A very light brown.”

Jim and Blair picked out all of the horses they wanted, which was four more than they had planned on. There were some beauties there and Jim didn’t want to miss out on them.

Blair paid for the horses and set up the time for delivery the following day. Jim was quite taken with Butterscotch. Blair had to drag him to the truck. Jim did indeed love his job.

They drove to the next ranch and Jim didn’t have to ask anything because he saw the Apaloosas out in the meadow they passed. “Blair, these are stunning horses.”

“They are. We sold the only ones we had, so it’s time we restock. They’re a bitch to break though. Are you up for this, Jim?”

They drove up to the ranch and got out, once they arrived. The owner, John, met them at their truck.

“Blair, it’s good to see you. You brought someone new this time. Do you like Appaloosa’s?” John asked, Jim.

“I love them. They are God’s painted horses. Every one of them always look like a new painting.”

“I see you do appreciate them. Come with me and you’ll see the beauties I have for sale.”

Jim and Blair followed him down to the viewing corral. They each had a chain around their neck with a wooden sign that said how old they were and what their names were. John would go and collect the ones that Jim asked about and he would ask Blair if they could get that one or not. Jim picked out six that were beautiful, and still pretty young. So it would be a while before they would be breeding any of them. When they were done, Blair once again paid and set up delivery time for the following day. They left very happily after spending a small fortune.

The drive to the Mustang ranch wasn’t too bad, so they listened to a favorite radio station and sang along with the artists. All in all, it was a great day.

They got to the Mustang ranch and pulled in. They were met by Sean the foreman who sold the horses for the owners.

“Sean, we’re only getting two. I’d like you to select two that would knock our socks off,” Blair said.

“Follow me. I have two perfect ones for you. Both are ready to breed. One is a solid black. He’s beautiful and named Beauty, believe it or not. And the female is Bailey and she is light tan, almost a cream color. Like Baileys, the drink.” When he got there, he pulled the black one out and Jim and Blair instantly fell in love.

Jim was the first to speak. “We’ll take him. Can we change his name?”

“Yes, but I have to change everything on his papers. That’ll take me a little while. What name did you want?” Sean asked.

“Midnight,” Jim answered.

“That’s perfect for him. He never acted like the Beauty type anyhow. Now this is the female. We have them separated because she’s in heat. They are both raring to go. Her name is Bailey. She’s beautiful, yes?”

“She sure is. We’d like the pair, please. We’ll breed them when you get them to our ranch,” Blair said.

“Sounds good. They will give you a gorgeous foal. Now, follow me to the office and we’ll get this all taken care of.” Sean walked down to the ranch house with Jim and Blair right behind him.

The next stop was the Clydesdale Ranch. Jim couldn’t wait. He loved Clydesdales so much. So did Blair. They made excellent show horses, or work horses. Depending on what they looked like.

Once they got there, they met Hank the owner and he took them for a tour of the ranch. Jim saw about six or seven he wanted but knew that was too many. They followed Hank into the stable and saw four beauties that were for sale. One was black, one was white, one was brown and the last one was the same color as Bailey.

Hank said, “These are the only four I have that are ready to go. Three are male and one is female. They are all ready to breed, 2 ½ years old, and if you take all four, I’ll give you them for the of three.”

“Hank, why would you do that?” Blair asked.

“Because these four have been together since they were very young. They’re very close and hate to be separated. The Black one is Pepper because of the little specks of white. He looks like a white horse with black pepper all over him.”

Jim and Blair were shocked to realize they agreed with Hank.

“The white one is Legacy and she is gorgeous as you can see.”

“The light brown one is named Mocha and he’s got a temper, but is an excellent work horse and last but not least, there is the male, cream colored and his name is Austin. What do you think of these four?”

“Actually, I was only going to get two, but I like how these ones are friends, so we’ll make it work. We’ll take all four.”

They followed Hank back to the office, got the paperwork, paid for them and set up delivery time for the following day. Jim and Blair left the ranch very happily.

“Well, how do you think we did, Jim?”

“I think we did just fine. Actually, we got more than I was expecting. Where are we going to put them all?” Jim was thinking about it already.

“In stable 4 for the Clydesdale.”

“Stable 4? Where is that?”

“It’s that stable all by itself on the land not far from 3. Have you seen it?” Blair asked.

“Of course, I’ve seen it. But Blair, it’s not ready for horses.”

“It will be. Today, I have everyone working on it. It’ll be newly painted, cleaned up and ready to go when we get back today. You never married a dummy.”

Jim looked over and Blair and said, “God, I love you. You’ve never said that about being married. It made my heart feel good.”

“We’re not only married in my eyes, but we’re forever in mine. Your name is on the ranch, on the livestock, the condos and the vehicles. You own half of this place.”

“You’re kidding…”

“Wow, you’re really surprised. I should have said something before. Does this make you feel any more special?”

“It sure does, Blair. Thank you. God, I’m sorta rich. I guess I better act it. I’ll only do half my work tomorrow,” Jim teased.

“That would still be more than anyone else, Jim. You’re the best I have.”

“Thank you, Blair. I love you so much.”

“I know you do. And I love you. Now, let’s get home to make sure that stable 4 looks good enough to house our horses.

“Sounds good to me, Blair.”

And off they headed for home. Their home.

TBC

Chapter Text

Henri called Kelly at 10:00 in the morning, hoping she wasn’t sleeping. Working late at night had her sleeping late into the next day.

“Hello.”

“Hi, Kelly, this is Henri. Are you busy?”

“Not at all, Henri. What did you need?”

“Nothing special, I just had a question to ask you. I was thinking about having a house built on the land that Blair gave me and I wondered if you would be interested in moving in with me.”

Kelly let out a squeal and said, “Yes, I would be interested. I love the idea of you and me living together. It’ll be great fun, Henri.”

“You didn’t take too much time to think about it, are you sure?”

“Henri, I’m sure. I would love to share a house with you. I love you so much.”

Henri was super-pleased to hear this. “I love you too, Kelly.”

“You do realize that I’m going to be working different hours than you, right?”

“Yeah, I know. Between your work and your school, you’ll be gone most of the time I’m there.”

“Then maybe you’d better think about it some more. Because my job and my schooling take a front seat with me.”

“I don’t need to think. You’ve only got about six months left of school, right?”

“My new job would be at Urgent Care in Dillion. I’m really looking forward to that. They need NPs like crazy. No one really wants to live around Dillion but I don’t mind, especially having met you. Makes me want to stay around here forever.”

“Cool. When you come over you can help me pick out the floor plan, what we want in the house and so on. There are like six different designs. I can’t wait to show you, Kelly.”

“I can’t wait to see it, Henri. This is so exciting. Do you mind if I tell my sister and my folks?”

“You can tell whomever you want, Kelly. This is going to be so great. I can’t wait.”

“Oh, Henri, I only have three months left of my schooling. I just realized you said six. It won’t be long and we’ll be sharing a house, sharing a life and talking about a baby, maybe?”

“I think you’re kind of young to have a child, don’t you think?” Henri asked.

“Oh, Henri, ever since I saw the twins, my body has been aching to have a child. But I will wait for you to ache for one too. Not to worry.”

“Okay, because I think we should both be on the same page about it.”

“I agree, Henri. What time can I come over tonight? I’m warm for your form.”

Henri laughed and said, “I get off at 5:00. Any time after that is perfect. See you later.”

Rafe saw that Henri was off the phone and walked over to him and asked, “Who was on the phone, like I have to ask…”

Both men smiled and Henri said, “I asked Kelly if she would like to move into a new home with me, after it’s built on the acre of land. She said yes. Only three months till she’s done with school. Then she can get a job with the same hours as me.”

“You’re not guaranteed that she’ll work the same hours as you, man. She might work graveyard. Hell, then you would never have sex.”

“Why do you always have to ruin things, Bri?”

“Someone needs to knock you off that mountain now and then. Are you sure you want her to move in with you? She’d be there all the time. Surely there are setbacks to everything.”

“The only bad thing is I’m going to be exhausted from sex all the time. She’s just who and what I was looking for in a woman. I’m in love with her, man.”

Rafe just stared at him and said, “This makes it tough for me. Now Shannon is going to think I’ll be asking her and I’m not. I do this for the sex alone, let me tell you.”

“That’s great. She can find someone new in town that would treat her better, it’s a win-win for Shannon.” Brown didn’t know why, but he was so pissed off.

“Henri, why are you so angry about this? Did you think we would do the same thing with our girls?”

“Do me and Shannon a favor. Break up with her now. Give her a chance at life with someone that might fall in love with her. Hell, Rafe, I see Kelly and me getting married, having a baby and having a fun life. It’s going to be great. You see nothing but sex. It’s really sad. So please break up with her soon. I mean it, Bri, or I’ll tell Kelly to tell her what you said.”

“You’re such a wiener since you met Kelly. She wears the pants in your family. Must be embarrassing.”

“Fuck you, Rafe…” And Henri took off to get back to work.

When Henri walked in, he saw Joel look worried about him and said, “He’s just being an asshole as usual. I wish he’d break up with Shannon before he ruins her.”

“Get back to work and it’ll take your mind off it altogether, Henri. Anything else wrong?”

“Yeah, do you think 26 is too young to have a baby?”

Joel smiled big time and said, “You and Kelly are pregnant?”

“No… We’re just talking about having a family one day. And I wondered what age was good to start it.”

“Don’t tease me like that, Henri. Now get back to work. Is Rafe coming back, or do I need to write him up?”

“I have no idea, Joel. He didn’t tell me.”

Both men had no idea that Rafe was taking his break in the lunch room. He called Shannon and heard, “Hello.”

“Hi, Shannon. Do you want to come over tonight?”

“Who is this?” she kidded.

“Very funny, Shannon. Do you want to come over tonight?”

“Is it to discuss our living arrangement?” she teased.

“No, it’s for dinner and sex. Nothing about living arrangements.”

“Really?” Shannon asked, sounding mighty disappointed.

“Yes, really. Unlike Henri, I don’t plan on changing anything in my life. Do you have a problem with that, Shannon?” Rafe expected her to immediately say no problem but instead, he heard this.

“Then I don’t want to see you anymore, Brian. Goodbye.”

And just like that, she hung up. To say he was shocked was an understatement.

Rafe went back to work and Joel said, “Where have you been? I’m just writing you up for leaving your post.”

Rafe looked like he was going to cry. “I just broke up with Shannon and I was a little upset.”

“I’m sorry for that, but you can’t take time off work to have a fight with your girlfriend,” Joel said, softly.

“I’m sorry, Joel. It won’t happen again. Hell, I’ll probably never have a date again in my life.”

“Rafe, I’m sure you will. Hell, the two of you might still be dating. Maybe she was just angry and said that. Tomorrow she might call you back.”

“I don’t think so, Joel. And all because that damned Henri told Kelly he wanted her to move in with him. Shannon automatically thought it would be the same for us. I told her no way and she said she didn’t want to see me again. I think we’re over with.”

“Oh, wow. You don’t want to do anything besides fuck, I take it.”

“Well, yeah. Joel, you don’t want to get married to Nick, right?”

“I do want to get married to Nick. We’re building a house together. What’s wrong with that?”

“Once he gets what he wants, he’ll stop making love with you and having a good time with you. It’s going to go down the drain, I’m telling you.”

“I beg to differ. We’re eventually going to plan a family and everything. So I’m glad that Shannon dropped you. You never had any intention of giving her anything but sex. You’re a sad man, Rafe. Now get back to work.”

Joel stormed off and Rafe was confused. Why did Joel get so angry? Rafe was right about being caught up in marriage and how things went bad from then on. He watched it happen to his dad. His mother was such a good woman until they married and had Rafe. Then she stopped loving his dad and was mean to him. Yeah, they were all wrong. Rafe knew he was right. That was all that mattered.

Shannon was crying in her room when Kelly got home from work. Kelly heard Shannon and tapped on her door and said, “I’m coming in.”

Kelly smiled and said, “It sounds like you need a friend. You just happen to have one here.”

“I wanted what you’re getting but Rafe told me no, he only wants sex. I’m so upset. I really thought he would ask me to move in with him. Even if it was just the condo. I would have been thrilled to have that. I’ll get past this, I’m just depressed is all.”

“What an asshole. He told you he wasn’t interested in anything more than sex?”

“Yes, that’s what he told me,” Shannon said, crying again.

Kelly said, “I’ll be right back.”

She walked into the living room and called Rafe. As soon as she heard the phone picked up, she said, “You fucking prick. How dare you hurt one of the people I hold dear. She’s so broken up all because you don’t want her for anything but sex. I just want you to know that you’re the biggest pig I’ve ever met.”

Then she heard, “Kelly, why are you calling Rafe?”

“Better yet, Henri, why are you answering Rafe’s phone?”

“Rafe is in the hospital in Butte. He had an appendicitis attack. They had to do emergency surgery on him. They say it was infected and he’s really sick. Why are you so mad at Rafe?”

“He more or less told Shannon today that she was only good for sex. She thought she would get a move-in option in their life but boy was she wrong.”

“He said that about Shannon?”

“Yes, he did. She’s heart broken.”

“Well, I was just getting ready to call her and ask her to come up. He’s been asking for her. I won’t call her now. He is an asshole.”

“Go ahead and call her because I’m not supposed to have talked to him. Or you. Tell her he’s in the hospital and wanted her to come up. That leaves the ball in her court. If she decides to see him, it’s up to her if she decides to stay home - then he lost the best thing he ever could have had.”

“Will you tell her that I just called you? I don’t want to talk to a crying Shannon.”

“Okay, let me go tell her. We’ll be up sooner or later.”

“I love you, Kelly.”

“I love you, Henri.”

Now, Kelly just had to figure out how to tell Shannon about Rafe.

Kelly walked back into Shannon’s room and saw she wasn’t crying anymore.

“Rafe is in the hospital. He had emergency surgery for his appendix today. He’s asking for you.”

“Oh, my God. My poor baby. I’ve got to get up there. No matter what, I still love him. Even if he doesn’t love me. Will you drive me to Butte?”

“Yes, after I call Nick and tell him we’ll be off for two days or so. Now get ready.”

Kelly went out to the living room and called Nick. She told him what was going on and he said he’d see them in a few days. Not to worry.

Shannon came out looking like a million bucks. She was such a gorgeous girl. Kelly was often jealous of how beautiful she was.

They drove up to Butte and Kelly parked while Shannon went in to see where Brian was.

Kelly walked up and Shannon had just gotten the room number on surgical floor.

They got into the elevator and rode up to fourth floor. Once there, the found room 406 and walked in. Rafe looked awful but he saw Shannon and perked right up. “Shannon, come here.”

She went over to him and leaned down to kiss him and he held her there for the longest time. “I didn’t mean anything I said today, Shannon. I do want you to move in with me. I do want to plan a family with you. I just don’t want you to leave me.”

Shannon kissed him over and over again and finally pulled back and said, “I’ll be here for you, Brian. I’m not leaving you.”

“My mother was a bitch and treated my dad like crap. So I associated marriage with that. But you’re different. Will you marry me, Shannon?”

“Honey, I think it’s the drugs talking. I would gladly marry you, but you’re going to ask me when you’re better and off drugs. Then we’ll make plans. I love you, Brian.”

“I love you too, Shannon. I was so afraid that you’d leave me like my mom did my dad. He was sad my whole life and I hated women forever it seemed. But it wasn’t women, it was just my mom. She even left me with a broken-hearted man to raise me. It wasn’t a good life, Shannon. But I would love to have kids with you. I think we’d make great parents, what do you think?”

“I think you’re on too many drugs. But yes, I would love to have a baby or two with you when the time came. Now, I want you to sleep. I’ll be here all night. If you need me, just call my name.”

Henri got up and said, “Bye, Rafe. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

But Rafe was sleeping already. He was holding on to Shannon’s hand for dear life.

Shannon said, “Kelly, why don’t you go home with Henri. I’ll see you tomorrow night or whenever.”

“I drove your car, Shannon. Here are the keys. Drive home when you feel it’s okay to leave him. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” Kelly said, as she handed the car keys over to Shannon.

Once in Henri’s truck, Kelly smiled at him and said, “Well, that was unexpected.”

“Yeah, it was. He’s crazy about her, but he’s right, his mom did a number on him and his dad. But Shannon isn’t part of that. I think he finally gets it. And before I forget, how would you like a double wedding with Rafe and Shannon?”

“You want to marry me?” Kelly asked, with tear filled eyes.

“Oh yeah and I’m not on drugs. I really want a family, a wife and a best friend in my life.”

She kissed him and said, “Let’s go home and hold each tight. I love you more than anything, Henri.”

And like that, they were off.

When Rafe got out of the hospital, he was off for six weeks so he got a lot of things straightened out at the condo so that Shannon had tons of room to move into. They did indeed plan a wedding for six months down the road, and it was going to be a double wedding.

Both women were happy but so were Rafe and Brown. Life was very good to them and they weren’t going to take it for granted again.

TBC

Chapter Text

Megan walked up to Dan while he was checking the new horses out and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Good morning, Megan. How are you this fine morning?”

“Do you always have to be so darned happy?” She snickered and hugged him quickly as to not draw attention to either of them.

“Yes, I do. What do you need, Megan?”

“I wondered if I could take you out to eat tonight. We can go to the steak house in Dillion or we can go to Butte. Totally your call.”

Dan smiled at her and wondered how he had gotten so lucky. She was a gem. “I would love to go out for a steak, but let’s go in town. That way we don’t have to drive so far.”

“Sounds good. I’ll see you at home at 5:00.” Megan blew him a kiss and walked off.

Jim smiled and said, “She a keeper Dan. You two make a lovely couple.”

“No one has ever called me lovely. Take it back, Jim.”

Both men laughed.

“What do you think about the new stock, Dan?”

“I just got done seeing all of them, and they are beauties. Not a bad one among them. You both did well in choosing these ones. Those Clydesdales are huge, aren’t they? They’re way bigger than the two we have. I wonder what they fed them?”

Both men laughed again. “I’m glad to hear they’re all in fine shape. It’s almost time to breed some of them, so we wanted to be sure they were good. They fed those horses the same thing we feed them. They’re just really big,” Jim explained.

Dan changed the subject. “Do you and Blair want to go out with me and Megan tonight? She wouldn’t mind and you know I don’t care.”

“I think she wanted to talk to you about something. Don’t invite anyone. Just the two of you tonight. And don’t tell her I said a word about it.”

“Thanks, Jim. It’s nothing bad, right?”

“Dan, how could it be bad? You two are perfect together. Get a grip.”

“I’ve got to go sign off on all the stock. Talk to you later, Jim.”

Megan walked up from the back as soon as Dan left. “I thought he would never leave. Can I tell you what I’m going to ask him tonight?”

“No… I want it to be a surprise. Surprise him, not me.”

“Bummer. Back to work. I noticed you’re not doing anything, how come?”

“I wanted to see long it was before you called me on it. Here I go, back to the grind.”

Megan smiled and walked back to continue what she had been doing.

Twenty minutes after five, Megan came flying through the front door and said, “Hi, Dan. Sorry I’m late. Let me jump into the shower and then we can go.”

He came in from the living room and kissed her. “Want company in the shower?”

“I made reservations for 5:45, so I have to hurry up. I’ll never hurry up if you’re in there.” She stood on her tippy toes and kissed him quickly. “Besides, you’ve already showered.”

“Can’t blame a guy for trying, right?”

“Right. Hold down the fort. I’ll be out in a flash.”

Dan smiled while he listened to her singing one of her country songs. She had a gorgeous voice, although no one knew but him. She wouldn’t even sing on Karaoke night at Nick’s bar.

Before long she came whirling out of the bedroom acting like a moving tornado.

Dan smiled, slowed her down with a kiss and said, “We’ll make it in plenty of time. I’m starving, are you?”

“I’m always hungry, Dan. You know that much.”

“Yes, I do. Let’s get out of here. Did you want to wear your shoes, or are you going barefoot tonight?”

She laughed and socked him in the arm. She grabbed a pair of socks and her boots. They matched Dan’s and they looked like a darling couple.

When they arrived at the restaurant, there was no waiting. The two of them were taken right to a cozy booth. The waiter took their drink order and their food order right away because they both knew what they wanted.

“What’s the occasion, Megan?” Dan had to ask; it was driving him nuts.

“I have numerous things to ask you, but we’ll start with an easy one first. How do you feel about getting a house built on the acre of land that Blair gave me? I mean for the two of us. What do you think about that?”

“I think it’s a great idea. I get a little tired of having to be quiet when we make love in the condo. It would nice to have our own space. So, we would buy the house together?”

“Yeah, Dan, that’s what I was thinking. You’re open to that?”

“I sure am. It’s a wonderful idea. Actually, I was going to ask you sometime this week to build on my acre. You beat me to it.”

“Is yours far away from my lot?”

“It’s right next to it. We could combine them and we’d have twice the room. What do you think?”

“I think it’s wonderful. I love you so much, Dan. We’ll meet up with the banker next week and talk to the builder right afterwards. Thank you for being so agreeable.”

“No problem, Megan. Now what else did you want to ask me?”

“It might be too soon for me to talk about this. I don’t know. How long have we been together, Dan?”

“Seven months, why?”

The waiter had brought their drinks a while ago and now brought their steak dinners. Megan thanked him and practically told him to get lost. Dan only shook his head and laughed.

“Because I was wondering if you wanted to get married in the next few months. I know you’re supposed to ask, but I couldn’t wait any longer.”

Dan kissed her quickly and said, “Will you marry me?”

“Oh, Dan. Yes, I will marry you. I love you so much.”

“I love you too. Now was there anything else?”

“Why yes, there is. I was wondering when you wanted to get married and if I should go off my birth control sooner or later.”

“Sooner is fine with me, but you don’t want to be pregnant at our wedding, right? So maybe later.”

“Agreed. Things won’t change in that part of our lives. Dan, I’m going to make you so damned happy. You’ll never be sorry you chose me.”

“Actually, you chose me. You were the smart one. It takes me a while to catch up.” Dan kissed her again.

“Who would be your best man?” Megan asked.

“Blair, of course. If he hadn’t have offered me this great job, I never would have met you.”

“And how about your groomsmen?”

“I want a very small wedding, not a big one. I just want Blair and your maid of honor and that’s it. Would that be all right with you, Megan?”

“That’s fine by me. We could get married in our new house when the time comes, right?”

“That sounds perfect, Megan. Now, let’s dig in to our dinner the way the waiter is waiting for us to do. He probably thinks we don’t like something.”

“Right. It’s looks great, doesn’t it?”

Dan said, “It does, Megan. Now, we’ll talk more about all of this on the way home. Let’s eat.”

They did eat and even ordered dessert. Dan and Megan both loved their Red Velvet cupcakes. They were delicious.

Once Dan paid after grabbing the ticket out of Megan’s hand, they left for the evening.

They no sooner got into the SUV and Megan said, “Should we shop for rings much later, or right away?”

“Right away. I want you wearing the engagement ring as soon as possible. There are a lot of people getting married around here, so I want to stake my claim.”

Megan laughed. “Consider me staked.”

“I’d rather consider you naked,” Dan said as he drove faster.

“You’re evil. What shall I do to you when we get home?” Megan asked, smiling.

“You can make mad passionate love to your lover as an engaged person.”

“Oh, sounds good. But first I have to call Jim and Blair and tell them the news. And maybe Simon. Oh, maybe Rafe and Henri need to know also. And I can’t forget Joel. Could you give me an hour? Because once I get into bed with you, I won’t want to leave again.”

“We’ve got all night, Megan.”

“You’re the most generous and kind man I ever could have found. Thank you for loving me, Dan.”

“Thank you for loving me, Megan. You can show me how much after you call everyone.”

And she would do just that.

TBC

Chapter Text

It was 6:00 in the morning of Jim’s day off and Blair was squirming around in bed, making Jim wake up.

“Chief, what in the hell are you doing? Today’s my day off.”

“I have some questions and they need answers right away.”

Jim turned over and pulled Blair into his arms. “Just one more hour, Chief.”

Jim’s eyes started to shut again and Blair said, “That’s all right. I’ll see if Mary or Jan are up.” He started to get out of bed, but Jim grabbed Blair and pulled him over on top of him.

“I thought you were tired.”

Jim swatted his butt and said, “I’m never too tired for you. Now, what is bothering you this fine morning?”

Blair sighed and said, “No one has talked about Thanksgiving and it’s upsetting me because no one has any plans. It’s like it’s a nothing holiday.”

“Maybe they all want to be alone. It happens,” Jim suggested.

“Not on my watch. I want to know if you’ll help me if I invite everyone here for Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone would have to bring something so that we don’t have to do it all. Would you be willing to help?”

“What if I said no?”

“Then I’ll have to forget about it and be depressed,” Blair looked sad, when he said it.

“Well, we can’t have you depressed for the holidays. We’ve got four weeks to plan for it.”

“Three and a half, Jim. It’s sneaking right up on us.”

Jim snickered and said, “We’d better hurry up and plan then. I say we do an invitation and give it to everyone at work today. Or tomorrow when I’m actually working.”

“I’ve got to ask Mary and Jan if they’ll help with the cooking or do they have plans?”

“Yeah, you better ask them first.” Jim agreed that they didn’t want to take advantage of Mary or Jan.

“Jim, I’m going to invite your dad and your brother Steven, also. I hope you don’t mind.”

“I doubt that they’ll come, Blair. They don’t know everyone like we do.”

“They’ll come if you call and ask them nicely. Please?”

“Is your mom coming?” Jim asked.

“I called last night and left a message for her. Hopefully, she’ll get it before the big day. I can’t wait for you to see her again.”

“I’m sure you can’t. There’s a chance she won’t make it, Blair. So try not to get so excited, okay?”

“Yes, Jim. I’ll try and calm my act down a little bit. This will be my first big holiday dinner. I’ve never been that close to anyone like I am now. It must be you.”

“It must be me, what?”

“You’ve helped all of us open up and be more loving. Look how happy we all are.”

“I agree with you on everyone being happy, but it’s because of you. Not me.”

“Want to make love before we get up, shower and make the invitations?”

“If someone was so inclined, he could make sweet love to me,” Jim hinted.

Jim knew that Blair couldn’t resist and they were off and running.

They both sat in the office and Blair designed a cute card with a poem he put together on it. It told them the time, the place and what to bring. He designated who was bringing what. That way they could keep track of what was coming their way on the big day.

They put each invitation in an envelope and wrote names on it and Blair said, “I’ll deliver these today. Then we have plenty of time. I sure they will all RSVP.”

“I think they’ll probably all come. Especially Megan and Dan. She misses her family this time of year, I’m sure, so they’ll definitely be coming. It’ll give her plenty to do.” Jim believed this to be true.

“I’m so excited for them to get married. They are the cutest most loving couple, besides us.”

“I’m glad you added that last part, Blair. We are damn cute.”

Blair kissed him once again and they went back upstairs to kill some time. Oh, whatever will they do?

Megan looked at Dan that morning at breakfasts and asked, “Do you have family to have Thanksgiving with, Dan?”

“No. I was raised by my Grandma, but she’s gone. I have no one but you and our friends.”

“I can’t believe I didn’t know that. I’m sorry. I get carried away with sex and I forget we’re people first. I’m truly sorry.”

“How many people are in your family, Megan? I don’t know that either. We were both caught up with sex.”

“I have my Mum and Dad, three brothers and one sister. But I don’t see them much. It’s been four years since I went home.”

“Would you like me to fly you home for the holiday. I can hang with Jim and Blair. I would love to do that for you.”

“No, because I want my family to come for the wedding. I can’t afford all those trips. I’m fine, Dan. I have you and that’s all I need right now.”

Dan kissed her and said, “I bet Blair invites all of us to his house for Thanksgiving. He’s big on holidays, I bet.”

“You think? That would be awesome. Let’s ask him if we see him today.”

“Deal. Now, what about making love? Do we have time?”

Megan grabbed his hand and yanked him out of the chair. All anyone could hear was Dan laughing.

Joel kissed Nick good morning when Nick came out for breakfast. When Nick sat down Joel could tell he was a little sore. Sometimes Joel got carried away. Not always, but today he had.

“Nick, I’m sorry I made you so sore.”

“As you can see, Joel, I’m really torn up about it. Woe is me. Poor Nick. Has a boyfriend who makes love to him whenever he wants it.”

Joel kissed him and said, “Orange juice or coffee?”

“How about both?” Nick asked.

“What are we doing for Thanksgiving?” Joel asked.

“I thought we would just hang out here and eat and watch football. What did you think about doing?”

Joel smiled. “Always thinking about football, huh?”

“No, I think of sex more than football. Ball is one of my favorite words.”

Joel burst out laughing. “I thought I might ask Jim and Blair if they’d like to come.”

“They’ll probably spend it with Mary and Jan, I would think. The girls are like Blair’s family, I think.”

“That’s probably true. Do you think we have room for all four of them?”

“Joel, we can’t do that. Then all our friends would get hurt that we didn’t ask them?”

“Maybe we could have it in the lunch room. With the steam tables to keep things warm.”

“Why don’t you ask everyone what they’re doing today. Blair just drove up in the golf cart,” Nick announced.

“Really? I wonder what he’s doing?” Joel looked out the window and saw Blair heading for their door.”

Blair knocked and Nick opened it. “Good morning, Blair. What are you up to this morning?”

“I’m delivering Thanksgiving invitations. I want you two to read it, discuss it and let me know what you’re going to do.” Blair handed the card and said, “I have to deliver the rest. Talk to you soon.”

Blair went door to door handing out the cards. He felt better when he was all done.

Blair’s phone rang while he was driving the cart back up to his house. “Hello.”

“Hi, Blair, it’s me, Megan. We would love to come and we’ll bring what you suggested. Thank you for inviting us. I was just wondering what to do for the holiday. Should have known you would take care of us.”

“No more than you do for me, Megan. Talk to you soon.”

The phone rang again and Blair opened his cell and said, “I’m driving here.”

Simon burst out laughing and said, “I just wanted to say that Jim came out and delivered the invitation that you made this morning. Karen is so pleased. Thank you. We’ll be there.”

“Good, glad to hear it, Simon. Now, I have to get home. I have things to do to get the house ready.”

His phone just kept ringing the entire way home. Everyone was coming. Blair needn’t have worried if anyone would come. They must have been happy to be invited to make them all call first thing that morning.

He couldn’t wait to tell Jim. This was going to be a kick ass Thanksgiving.

When he got home, Jim informed him this his dad and brother were coming. Blair didn’t think he could get any happier. He was wrong.

Thanksgiving Day

Everyone started showing up with the items they were asked to bring. Almost everyone brought something else too. They ended up having way too much food and drinks. Even William and Steven came and stayed till late. Blair was so happy. Their friends were indeed their families. Naomi never got the message, or at least Blair didn’t think so. But he didn’t care. He was too busy having a fun time.

He went ahead and invited everyone for Christmas dinner while they were there and everyone said yes. Blair was so pleased. It was going to be a great holiday again.

Blair looked over at Jim and saw tears in Jim’s eyes. He walked over and slid his arm around Jim’s waist. “They’re wonderful, aren’t they?”

“So are you. Thank you for this. It means the world to all of us. I love you, Chief.”

“And I love you. Happy Thanksgiving.”

And it was.

TBC

Chapter Text

When Jim came home that night, he found Blair in the kitchen with Mary and Jan.

“Good afternoon, everyone,” Jim called out as he walked in for a nice kiss from Blair.

“I’m making your favorite, Jim,” Mary said.

“I love meatloaf. Thank you. And I smell something chocolatey good. What are you making, Jan?”

“It’s a new recipe, Jim. Double chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting. Does that sound good?”

“You had me at recipe,” Jim answered, laughing.

“Jim, guess who’s coming to Christmas dinner this year?” Blair asked.

“Naomi?”

“Wow, you are a good guesser. Yes, it’s Naomi and she wants to meet your dad and Steven this time. So I need you to invite them both for Christmas dinner, please.”

“I’ll call in a few minutes. I thought you were coming to the ranch today. We were all hoping to see you.”

“Oh shush. You know you were the only one.” Blair blew a kiss over to Jim.

“Maybe so, but I was ready to put you to work.” Jim smiled that handsome smile that worked for almost everything.

“I got so busy with paperwork today it wasn’t even funny. But I did finish getting all the charts set up for each horse and their lineage. It took forever, but now I’m caught up with that anyhow. We have ten new foals coming this month. Then I’ll be doing it again.”

“I heard a few people talking today about staying home this time for Christmas. It was pretty hectic at Thanksgiving, so I totally understand that. Why don’t we just have dessert for everyone this year? And Christmas dinner will be just us, Naomi, Steven and my dad. Would that work for you, Blair?

“That would be great, Jim. Mary and Jan, would you like to come for Christmas dinner also?” Blair asked.

Mary was the first to answer. “No, thank you, Blair. I’m going to my sister’s house this year and it’ll be so nice. She lives in Dillion, so not far to go at all.”

Jan looked around and said, “I’d like to stay for dinner this year. I don’t have any family in town.”

Blair said, “You know what you should do? You should ask Cole to come for Christmas dinner. He’s your age, Jan, and he’s a really nice guy.”

“I would never put him on the spot like that. He’s very handsome, I’m sure he gets a lot of dates on his own,” Jan assured Blair.

“You could ask him out for dinner tonight and then tell him about Christmas dinner next week. Jim, do you agree?”

“Let Jan make up her own mind. You’re being pushy, Blair.”

Mary said, “She’ll never ask him out. She’s a chicken.”

Jim started laughing and so did Mary.

“Chicken or not, I’m hardly in his league,” Jan muttered.

Now this pissed Jim off. He loved Jan. “Jan, you’re beautiful, talented and so sweet. He would be pleased to go out with you. Why don’t you ask him? Just call and say ‘how would you like to go out for a friendly dinner?’”

There was a knock at the door and Jim said, “It’s your mom, Blair.”

“Shit… She’s not supposed to be here for another week. Could you answer? I should have meditated today.”

Jim laughed and walked to the front door. “Naomi, how wonderful to see you.” He reached down and got her bag and said, “Come in. Welcome.”

Naomi walked in and hugged him close and said, “I’m so happy to be here. I’m staying longer this time. Where is Blair?”

“He’s helping with dinner. Mary put him to work,” Jim teased.

“Everyone loves him, don’t they?”

“Yes, that’s true, Naomi. Now, head into the kitchen and I’ll put your bag in your room.”

Jim went one way and Naomi headed for the kitchen. When she walked in, she saw that Blair was indeed making something for dinner.

“Hello, darling. You look wonderful. Hello, Jan and Mary. It’s good to see all of you again.”

Blair washed his hands and went and hugged his mom. “I thought you were coming next week.”

“Don’t act like you’re disappointed, Blair. I thought we would do some things together before Christmas. Like shopping. I can’t think of anything to get Jim.”

“Okay, we’ll shop in the next few days. Where’s Jim?” Blair asked.

“Putting my bag in my room. I have him so well trained. He’s a good man, Blair. I’m being serious.”

“I’m glad you’re being serious, because he is a good man. Now, I have to make the frosting for the cake.”

Naomi walked over and watched him make the frosting and said, “Wow, that’s going to be very fattening.”

“We work hard, Naomi, so we work it off quite easily.”

“So Mary, who are you seeing?”

Mary looked shocked. “I’m not seeing anyone. I don’t date. I’m too old.”

“How old is too old, Mary? I think you should find a nice retired man and settle down.”

Jan started laughing. So did Blair. “Mom, leave Mary alone. If she doesn’t want to date, then so be it.”

“How about you, Jan?”

Jan looked pale. She never liked the focus on her. Ever. “I’m not seeing anyone at this time.”

Mary said, “Because she’s too chicken to ask him out.”

“Oh, this is getting good, girls. Who is ‘him’?” Naomi wondered.

“His name is Cole and she’s afraid to ask him out,” Mary explained.

Blair said, “That’s enough about dating advice, Mom. Want to help me set the table?”

“Darling, did Jim get lost?”

“No, mom, he’s in the shower. He was just off from work. You caught him before he had a chance to clean up.”

Blair grabbed the plates and walked out of the kitchen and into the dining room. Naomi followed carrying the silverware and napkins.

“Does the house always look this good, Blair?”

“Mary and Jan take very good care of me. Between the house and the cooking, Jim and I don’t worry about things too much.”

“And on their days off?” Naomi wondered if they ever got away.

“I don’t know what they do on days off, Mom. Did I tell you that Steven, Jim’s brother, might be coming to dinner on Christmas Day? And of course, his dad, William, would be here too.”

“Oh, it’ll be nice to meet them. Are they a little uppity or are they down to earth?”

“Both are down to earth. I love them both. We see William every month in Dillion at the steak house. We see Steven here at least twice a month. He plays a mean game of poker. Jim loves his brother dearly, so this has been a very good thing.”

Once the table was set, Jim walked in all nice and clean. He leaned down and kissed Blair on the top of his head.

“Are you always this lovey dovey or is it for my benefit?”

“Naomi, you’re trying to start trouble. Knock it off,” Blair exclaimed.

Jim hugged Naomi and said, “I’m always this way. Deal with it.”

Naomi kissed his cheek and said, “Okay, sounds good. When are we eating? I’m starving.”

Mary came out carrying everything and they all sat down to eat. Mary said grace and they talked about how great dinner was.

Jan did indeed ask Cole out for the following night and Cole said yes. She came home from her first date and smiled as she walked in the door.

“I hope it’s all right, Blair, I asked Cole for Christmas Day. If it’s not, I can cook in my room.”

“Oh, this is wonderful news. Where did you go tonight and did you have fun?” Blair asked. Jim and Naomi were waiting to hear about her date.

“We went up to Dillion for dinner at the steak house and then we went and played pool at Nick’s Place. I had a blast. Cole is so sweet. He taught me all about pool tonight and said I played really well.”

Jim asked, “So do you like him, like him?”

“Oh yeah. He’s so sweet and so nice looking. I can’t wait for our next date. He’s taking me to a movie and dinner on my day off because it’s his day off too. We’re spending the whole day together. I can’t wait.”

Jim got up and hugged her. “I told you so.”

“Yes, you did, Jim. I never would have asked if it wasn’t for all of you. Thank you. Now, off I go. I need to get to sleep.”

On December 24th, there was a knock on the door and Blair answered and there stood William and Steven with their bags. They were staying in the other guest rooms so they’d be there first thing Christmas Day.

“William, Steven, it’s great to see both of you. Come on in. I’ll show you where you can put your things.”

Blair showed Steven to one room and William to another. They had three guest rooms, thankfully.

“This is a beautiful room, Blair. Thank you for having us so close to Christmas Day.” William hugged Blair.

“We’re so happy you’re spending the time with us. Thank you for coming tonight. Jim’s going to be so happy when he comes home for the night.”

“He’s working tonight?” William asked.

“Yes, unfortunately the horses still eat and need water. We work 365 days a year here.”

“I didn’t even think about that. You are very good at what you do, Blair.”

“Thank you. Now come down and meet my mother. If she says something rude, don’t put up with it. I never know how she’s going to react to anyone. So this is a warning.”

Steven said, “You two lost?”

“We were talking, Steven.”

“Good, I’m glad you’re talking.” Steven hugged both men.

Jim walked in the front door and asked Naomi, “They’re here, huh?”

“I would think you would know, Jim.”

“Of course, you’re right. They’re heading in here now. You’re going to like them, Naomi.”

Blair walked in first and said, “Naomi, I would like you to meet Steven Ellison, Jim’s brother. And this is William Ellison, Jim’s dad.”

Naomi got up and shook their hands. “It’s good to meet you, Steven. I’ve heard good things about you. And William, you look nothing like Jim. How odd.”

“Mom, it’s not odd, I look nothing like you either.”

Naomi laughed and said, “That’s true. It’s very nice meeting you both.”

William said, “You look like Blair’s sister, not his mother. It’s very nice to meet you too.”

Naomi walked over and hugged William. “That was the kindest thing I’ve heard in a long, long while. And before I forget, Jim is a beautiful human being. He’s so good to Blair and everyone else. You did a fine job.”

Blair was in shock. Naomi was being so nice. They all talked until Naomi took her leave and William went right after that. Blair went next and told Jim to talk with Steven for a while. And they did. At 1:00, they decided they had better get to bed or they wouldn’t wake up the next morning.

When Jim got up, Blair was already missing. He could hear him downstairs, cooking in the kitchen with Naomi and Jan. Then Jim heard his dad and Steven talking to each other in the living room. Jim got up, showered, shaved and got dressed. Once he was presentable, he joined everyone else downstairs.

Steven smiled when he saw Jim. “Look who decided to get up, Dad?”

“We were getting ready to send in the troops to see if you were all right,” William teased.

“I have to go down to the stables and feed the horses. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Jim, I would love to go with you,” William said.

“I would too, Jim,” Steven added.

“Let me tell Blair we’re leaving. I’ll be right back. He was only gone a moment and led the way out to the golf cart.

“How many stables are there?” William asked.

“We have four so far, but we’re building two more. And then we’ll be hiring more crew.”

They went to Stable 4 first, with the Clydesdales, and Steven and William were speechless. Jim caught them watching Jim with the horses and Jim said, “They’re beautiful, aren’t they?”

“Honestly, they are majestic animals. I’ve never seen one this large,” William admitted.

“Me neither.”

Jim gave them carrots and sugar cubes for the horses. Both men really liked hanging with Jim. Now they knew what Jim did every day.

Jim’s phone went off and it was Simon. “Good morning, Simon. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas to you too, Jim. I just wanted to let you know that stables 1, 2 and 3 are covered. So when you get done with stable 4, you can go home.”

“Okay, sounds good. See you later.”

The three men fed the horses and then headed back up to the house. Jim looked at his watch and saw it was already noon.

He turned to his dad and said, “It’s already noon, we’ll be having dinner at two. So they did the hard work, we just get to eat it.”

Steven and William both laughed. Jim had already put in four hours of work. He was no slacker.

When they walked into the house, the table was set and it smelled wonderful. Jim took in the scents and sighed.

“What do you smell, Jim?” William asked.

“Baked ham with Blair’s special glaze and baked turkey with a special glaze. I know it sounds weird, but he seasons the turkey with cherry flavoring. It’s so good. You’re going to love it.”

“Jim, we had it at Thanksgiving, remember?” William joked.

“Oh yeah. Anyhow, it smells almost done.” The doorbell rang and Jim knew it was Cole. “Go sit down you two, and I’ll get the door.”

Jim shook hands with Cole and brought him in to the living room to meet William and Steven. Cole was talking with them while Jim went into the kitchen and told Jan that Cole had arrived. Her smile lit up the room. Jim thought she was the cutest ever.

Naomi followed Jim out of the kitchen and met Cole. Jim made the introduction and Naomi was quite taken with Cole.

Jim finally said, “Let’s sit at the table, dinner is done.”

Cole looked oddly at Jim and said, “How do you know that?”

“I just heard Blair say we were ready. Everyone sit down.”

Jim went in to help carry out dinner things and Blair was glad to see him. They kissed quickly and began to take things into the dining room.

Everyone was enjoying the dinner and having good conversation and Jim and Blair just smiled at how happy everyone was. It was a truly wonderful Christmas.

TBC

Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch 33
New Homes
By PattRose
Summary: Everyone’s new houses are done. Will they be thrilled? I always have happy endings.

Jim went into the lunch room and saw Joel, Henri and Rafe all quite excited; he walked up to them and asked, “What’s going on?”

Rafe said, “We’ve all been waiting for our houses. We had six builders on these houses and they are all ready for this weekend. Most of us are off, so it’s pretty darn exciting, Jim.”

“Congratulations. I’m so glad the wait is over. Let me grab my lunch from the fridge and tell me all about your houses,” Jim suggested.

Megan came walking in and said, “Guess who gets her house this weekend?”

All the men said, “Who?”

She laughed. “Are all yours done too?”

Joel laughed and answered, “Yup, we all get to move this weekend. Are you off too, Megan?”

“No, but that’s all right. I’ll move when I get off each day. I told Brett I would cover for him.”

“I’m off the next day, so it’s only one day different. Jim or Simon, could I use your truck for moving?”

Simon smiled and answered, “You’re good to use mine, Megan. Just come by and leave your keys in case I have to drive anywhere.”

“Megan, use mine. Blair and I aren’t going anywhere and if there is an emergency, he has his truck,” Jim suggested.

“I was going to ask if Dan could drive yours, Jim. We have a lot to move.”

“That’s fine, Megan, and we’re handy for the move too. Just let us know if you need help.”

“Thanks, Jim and Simon. We’re so excited. I think everyone is moving this weekend. It’s going to be crazy. So much for Simon’s quiet life out in the country.”

Simon, Jim and Megan all laughed.

“Jim, Kelly and I could use some help this weekend,” Henri said.

“Sure, let me clear it with Blair to be sure he has nothing planned. We can move you, Rafe, at the same time.”

“Wow, that would be awesome. Shay is going to be so excited,” Rafe said, happily.

“Shay?” Jim asked.

“It’s her childhood nickname and we all call her that now.”

“It’s cute,” Megan said.

“I think so too,” Rafe replied.

Jim sat down with his lunch and started to eat, listening to his friends all making plans for the weekend. When he was done, he took his golf cart back to stable 4 and called Blair on the way.

“I was just thinking about you,” Blair said.

“Do we have plans this weekend? If we don’t, I sort of volunteered us to help everyone move this weekend. All four houses came up done at the same time.”

“Well, that’s cool. Yeah, we’ll help them. I was going to ask you to dinner, but instead we’ll move everyone.”

“Thanks, Chief. I gotta go. I’m busier than ever today.”

“No rest for the wicked,” Blair teased.

Jim laughed as he closed his cell. Then he remembered he hadn’t said he loved him. Jim dialed again and heard, “What?”

Jim snickered and said, “I forgot to tell you that I love you.”

“I love you too. Now get to work.”

Jim smiled as he closed the cell and realized that Blair always knew what to say to perk up Jim’s moods.

That weekend Jim and Blair were really busy. Cole and Jan were helping Megan and Dan move. Simon and Jim were helping Nick and Joel. And Blair was helping Henri and Kelly move. Then when Jim was done with Nick and Joel’s loads, he started on Rafe and Shay’s moving. Simon helped too. Before long they had everyone moved into their new homes.

As Jim and Blair drove home that night, Jim said, “Don’t you find it odd that the largest house is for Nick and Joel? It’s not like they have a family. They’ll have three spare rooms.”

“No, Nick and Joel plan on fostering in a few months. They wanted to talk it over a little more before they decide exactly what they want to do,” Blair answered.

“Fostering? I never would have thought Nick would do that. He doesn’t remind me of the type at all. Joel does. But not Nick.”

“Did you know that they watch Seth and Sam every single weekend for Simon and Karen?”

“I didn’t know that. We could volunteer now and then to give them a break. Seth and Sam are at the handful stage. They could use the time off,” Jim admitted.

“If you wouldn’t mind, I’d love to watch them some day or night. I didn’t think you’d be open to it.”

“Chief, did you want kids?”

“Sort of, but life got in the way.”

“We could have kids when you’re ready. We could do foster care or adopt. One way or another, it would be awesome. Not yet, but a year from now, maybe?”

“Do you mean that, Jim?”

“Of course, I mean it. We’ll talk about in the next few months and see where it takes us.”

“Thank you, Jim. You’re the best.”

“I’m so fucking tired, are you?” Jim asked.

“I am. There will be fooling around tonight.” Blair smiled at Jim and saw the evil eye he got and laughed. “I thought that’s what you wanted.”

“I thought we could have shower sex when we get home.”

“All right. I’m in.”

Jim parked and pulled Blair into his arms. Blair was already vibrating with need. It made Jim feel great. “Let’s take this upstairs, Chief.”

“Hurry up,” Blair said, laughing all the way into the house.

The following day, Blair went to Megan’s new house and rang the doorbell. He had packages and a big cake.

“Blair, how nice to see you. Come on in. What is all this?”

“I baked you and Dan a cake. And these are pressies from me and Jim.”

“Blair, you and Jim helped us move. That’s more than enough.”

“Megan, are you telling me you don’t want your pressies?”

“I must have lost my mind for a second. Come see the kitchen. I’m almost done with it.”

They walked into the kitchen and it was lovely as could be. “Wow, it looks great, Megan.”

Dan walked in and gave Megan a kiss and hugged Blair. “Good morning, Blair. Pressies?”

“They are your moving in presents. I’ve got some for everyone. Jim is working today, so I’m delivering.”

“Megan, I have to get to the stable. One of the mares is ready to foal. See you later, Blair.”

“Good luck, Dan,” Blair said.

“Bye, sweetheart. We’ll see you later on.”

Dan left and Megan started opening the presents. The first package was a set of Corelle dishes and the next one was new silverware. “Blair, it’s so funny, that you got us these square white dishes. That what we chose when we were looking. We were going this week some time to pick them up. You’re the best. And the silverware is gorgeous. Service for 16?”

“In case you need them when you have people over. If you don’t like them, the receipts are in the box of both. Now, I need to go to everyone else’s house. Give me a hug and I’ll be on my way.”

“Did I mention that Dan and I are discussing having a baby?”

“Really? When?”

In a year or so. We want everything to be perfect first. We’re going to have my parents here in two months. I can’t wait. I haven’t told Simon or Jim I was taking time off. I think we need more crew, Blair.”

“Jim just asked me about that last night. We need four more. But at least the condos are empty and waiting for new families.”

“Oh, goody. I hate to train, but it’ll be worth it, Blair. Now, get out of here before I start talking again and keep you here all day.”

“Bye, Megan.” Blair hugged her and out the door he went. He delivered Henri’s and Rafe’s to the girls. The boys were working. He got the exact same thing for everyone. He also baked a cake for each. When he finally got to Joel and Nick’s house, Nick answered.

“Come in, Blair. How nice to see you. Wow, you’re bearing gifts. Let me help.”

“Your house looks like you’ve been here for a month already,” Blair said, looking around.

“I stayed up most of the night putting the furniture in the bedrooms and so on. I had a lot of furniture. Most of mine was old, but Joel didn’t mind me bringing it.”

“I think your things look really nice, Nick. Please tell me you didn’t buy dishes or silverware yet?”

“I didn’t. I was supposed to go to the Corelle outlet this morning. Why, what did you do?”

“I went to the Corelle outlet and got dishes and silverware for everyone with a new house. Open it and see if you like them? If you don’t, the receipts are in the boxes.”

“Are they white, Blair?”

“They are, why?”

“That’s what I was told to get.”

“Oh good. That works out well then. You can open them when Joel gets home. Dessert was made by me. I felt like surprising you.”

Nick hugged Blair tight and said, “Thank you for being a good friend. Thank you also for telling me about Joel. He’s one in a million, isn’t he?”

“That he is. I’m so glad you both found love.”

“His brother is coming next week. He’s the one that doesn’t approve of our life style. I don’t know why he’s coming.”

“Try not to worry, Nick. Joel can handle that alone if he has to. I have to get going. Take good care of him. Be well, Nick.”

As Blair drove home, he realized they were the best of friends and he wouldn’t want it any other way.

TBC

Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch 34
Love is Wonderful
By PattRose
Summary: Everyone seems to be in love. What could be better?

It was 5:00 a.m. but Joel was awake already. He had wanted to wake Nick up for the last hour. He had waited long enough.

Joel pulled down the blanket and saw a naked lover sleeping next to him. Just like he liked Nick. Joel moved down and took Nick’s cock into his warm mouth. Nick moaned right away.

“Hey, I’m sleeping here,” Nick said, teasingly.

“You can go back to sleep as soon as I get my fill of you, Nick.”

“Oh, the things you make me do, Joel.”

Joel was getting into it and so was Nick. Without any warning, he shot his come down Joel’s throat.

“Sorry, man. No warning.” Nick pushed Joel over and Nick began to suck on Joel this time. Before long, Joel was pleading with Nick to let him come. Finally, Joel came with a roar. Oh, how he loved having the new house. They could be as loud as they wanted to be.

Joel and Nick started to kiss and then both men started to fall asleep again. Joel wasn’t going to fight it either. They needed the rest.

Megan took Dan’s nice long cock into her hand and started to pump him until he got hard. Megan could tell that Dan was awake, but he wasn’t wanting to cooperate. She kissed him longingly and slid over on top of him. Before long, Dan was ready for action, even though he was tired. Megan slid his cock into her and moaned in happiness.

“What brought this on, Megan?”

“You. You brought it on. A naked Dan is too much to ignore. Now, stop talking. And start fucking me,”

Dan did just that and within moments, he came and then flopped her over to clean her with his tongue. He knew Megan could come three times to his one. So that’s what he did. He nibbled, sucked and kissed on her until she squealed with delight. Then he did it again. Megan loved to come more than once. And Dan was very good at it.

She could tell this day was starting out with a bang.

Simon woke up to Karen sucking on his already hard cock. “Why are you up already?”

“Because I want you. No more talking, big man. Fuck me hard and long.”

And no one could say that Simon didn’t follow orders. Within ten minutes, they were both coming. It was going to be one of those days. And Simon loved those days.

Henri woke up to Kelly playing with his member and said member was very interested. Kelly crawled on top of him and slid down until Henri was buried inside of her. She started moving really slowly, but he couldn’t stand that, so he started fucking her much harder. Both of them came at the same time and Henri couldn’t have been happier about it.

They both went back to sleep with come all over them. Love is like that. You’ll do almost anything for that feeling.

Rafe woke Shay up with kisses all over her body. She was super turned on and came twice before Rafe even entered her. He was trying to get her to come again, but he was failing because he was right on the edge. Just like that, he came into her and moaned in happiness. Then he got onto his belly between Shay’s legs and decided he was going to have her come once more. It didn’t take long. Rafe had gotten to the point that he now enjoyed tasting himself on his lips and tongue. He never thought he would ever do the things he did with Shay. She was very good.

Then they began to kiss and Rafe yawned. “Can we sleep for about an hour, Shay?”

A soft snore was all that met his ears. He smiled, pulled the covers up and slid in behind her to sleep.

Jim was having a great dream of him and Blair fucking each other and then realized it wasn’t a dream. Blair was sucking him like crazy. It didn’t take Jim long to come. Blair could make him come faster than Jim liked to admit to. But as he came, he forgot about everything on his mind. The only thing he could think about was coming and being in love with Blair.

Once Jim got his breathing back to normal, he started to suck Blair and as usual, Blair came very quickly too. They both lay there sated, but thrilled to be alive.

I love you, Chief.”

“And I love you, Big Man.”

Then the only thing you could hear was them snoring.

TBC

Just a short one for tonight. Hopefully, the next one will be longer.

Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch 35
Everyone Can’t Always Be Happy
Summary: Joel’s brother Marcus comes for a visit and things don’t go as planned.

Joel was dusting the house again that day. It was the third time.

“Joel, I don’t think your brother Marcus is going to go through the house with a white glove,” Nick said, laughing.

“I’m know I’m being ridiculous, but I haven’t seen him in five years and I’m nervous.”

“Do you think he’ll take you and me being together well?”

“If he doesn’t, it’s his choice. My sister said she was coming in the summer when school is out. She’ll have her daughter, with her.”

“It’ll be nice to meet them both. Now, sit down and wait for the doorbell to ring before you have that nervous breakdown.”

“Ha ha. Very funny, Nick. I just have one thing I want you to promise me. Promise you won’t let me say anything stupid.”

“Babe, you never say anything stupid. Why would you start now?” Nick asked.

Joel smiled and said, “I’m just nervous. It’s a big deal to come out to your family at my age. My sister took it well, but Marcus didn’t.”

“Do you think that’s why he’s here? To try and break us up?”

“Nick, I have no idea why he’s here. All I know is he’s not breaking anyone up. Don’t worry about it.”

“Joel, if you say don’t worry, then I won’t. I love you, nervous or not.”

“I love you too. Please be understanding of me today. I just know I’m going to say or do something idiotic.”

“Joel, calm down. Sit and stop looking out the window. Haven’t you heard that a watched pot never boils?”

“Yes, I have heard that, Nick, and it makes zero sense to me.”

Both men laughed. When the doorbell rang, Joel was up so quickly that it took Nick off guard.

Joel opened the door and said, “Marcus, it’s so good to see you. Please come in. Do you have luggage to bring in?”

“That can wait. Let me look at you. You’ve lost so much weight. You’re not sick, are you?”

“No, Marcus, I’m not sick. I’ve been on a diet for some time. I’ve lost almost 60 pounds so far.”

Marcus was shocked and asked, “Did he make you do that?”

Joel was irritated right off the bat. “No, Nick is his name and he never forces me to do anything. I just felt like getting healthy is all. Now, come in and meet Nick.”

Marcus stared at Nick, not nicely either, and said, “Nothing against you, Nick, but I don’t want to be here with you here. If you’re going to be around a lot I won’t be staying here.”

Joel was angry now. “He lives here, Marcus. I’m not asking him to leave.”

“Then I guess I will. I drove a long way to see you, Joel. Not Nick.”

“Whatever works for you, Marcus. There is a hotel in town. Stay there and call me if you’d like to have dinner some night. If not, then it was good seeing you.”

“Just like that, you pick your friend over your brother? I never thought I would see the day.”

“It took me a long time to be happy in my life. I was sort of hoping you would share in that happiness. We plan on fostering children and wanted them to have an uncle.”

“You’re fostering kids? That’s sick, Joel, and you know it. We were taught this at Sunday school and by our father. He’s rolling over in his grave, listening to you.”

“It’s because of that, that I wasn’t happy for so long. I tried with women and it didn’t work. I couldn’t make them happy and I was miserable. I’m happy for once in my life and that’s because of Nick. He’s great. And if you gave him a chance you could see that for yourself.”

“No thank you, Joel. I’m going home. I guess we’ll never see each other again. That’s past sad, if you seriously think about it.”

“It is past sad, Marcus. You’re miserable and I guess you wouldn’t be happy unless I was miserable too. Why didn’t you ever marry? Don’t you find it odd that we never were happy?”

“Don’t call me a fag. Goodbye, Joel. I hope you’ll stay happy with this person because you’re tainted now. No one will want you now that you’ve been with him, believe me.”

Joel stormed over to the front door and yanked it open. “Goodbye, Marcus. It wasn’t nice seeing you. Don’t ever darken my doorstep again.”

“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t.” And just like that, he rushed out and got into his car and drove off.

Joel walked into the house and said, “Well, that was sure fun, wasn’t it?”

Nick walked up to Joel and hugged him long and hard. “I’m sorry that things turned out this way, Joel.”

“I should have known he would be an asshole. He was miserable when I was young too. Not just now. I feel sorry for my sister living back there with him. They don’t get along at all. She divorced her husband and, in his eyes, she’s a slut now.”

“Wow, Marcus is some charmer. I’m sorry for your sister too. Why don’t you ask her to move here? She would be welcome and we’d help her find a place to live.”

“That’s a great idea, Nick. You’re going to love Rebecca. She likes to be called Becca, but Marcus told her that was a slut’s name.”

“Call her now. How old is her daughter?”

“She’s nine. Her name is Jolene. Becca named her after me. She’s a cutie. But I haven’t seen her in years. I do need to call Becca. She’s an underpaid school teacher and is miserable. Maybe she’d like to work on the ranch? What do you think?”

“That’s a good idea. Toss that into the mix for moving here and see what she says. I also need an assistant at the bar. You did tell Becca about us, right?”

“I tell Becca anything that’s important in my life. So yes, she knows. She said she always wondered about me. She’s a very nice girl.”

“I just don’t want to see you hurt more than once.”

“Oh, believe me, I’ve been hurt more than once. My parents were just like Marcus. Imagine living with that.”

Nick hugged Joel once more.

“I’m going to call her in the privacy of our bedroom in case she says something shitty.”

“Joel, call from here. I’d like to have you within hugging range.”

“Okay, I’ll call now.”

Joel dialed his sister’s number and waited for her to answer. He put the phone on speaker. “Oh gosh, was it awful, Joel?”

“How did you know that, Becca?”

“Because he was an asshole when he was here and told me he was bringing you home. I was going to tell you, but I was hoping you would figure out things on your own. How are you and Nick doing?”

“I don’t know why I’m surprised about Marcus. He’s a jerk and always was a jerk. Nick and I are fine but I wanted to ask you if you and Jolene would like to move to Montana and live close to us? You could either apply for work here at the ranch, which you would love, or Nick needs an assistant at his bar. He makes a good living and so do I. So either way, it would be good. We’ll help you find a place to live too. What do you think?”

“I think Nick is nuts for being so nice about your family after Marcus was there. Tell Nick I would love to. Let me sell the house first and I can finally pay you back for all the help you gave me on getting this house.”

“It wasn’t a loan, Becca.”

“I know, but now, I could pay you back and feel good about myself. I’ve been so unhappy. Let me talk to Jolene about the move before I get ahead of myself. I’ll call you back. I love you, Joel. Say hi to Nick for me.”

“Bye, sweetheart.”

Joel smiled at Nick and said, “I think she might do it.”

“I heard, you were on speaker phone, but let her talk to Jolene first. You’re getting too excited.”

“You’re right. I’m just hoping Jolene will consider it. I haven’t seen her since she was four.”

“You didn’t contact her at all, Joel?”

“I sent letters all the time and pictures and my sister did the same. I often talked on the phone with her too. But it’s different if you don’t really remember the person at all.”

“We’ll see what Becca says in a while. Did you want to do anything special today since we’re both off?” Nick asked.

“No, I want to wait until they call.” Just then the phone rang and Joel opened his cell.

“Hi, did you talk to her?”

“Hi, Uncle Joel. We would love to move near you in Montana. I love horses and can’t wait to see you in person. Mom said to tell you she’ll call tonight and she’s putting the house on the market tomorrow. We’re so excited. I love you, Uncle Joel. Mom is so happy.”

“I’m so glad to hear that, Jolene. You both are going to love it here. Why aren’t you in school today?”

Jolene laughed. “Day off for a teacher day. We’re going to clean and get this house ready. I’ll talk to you later, Uncle Joel.”

“I love you, Jolene. Tell your mom that we love her too.”

“Bye,” Jolene said, happily.

“I take it they said yes,” Nick said, as he kissed Joel. “This is the greatest news I’ve ever heard.”

“Let’s go to Butte, and fill out paperwork for taking in two or three foster kids. I would love to have some kids in the house.”

“You talked me into it, Joel. I’m ready when you are.”

“I was born ready. We also need to warn Blair and Jim about them coming. I don’t want to shock them when Becca gets here,” Joel commented.

And both men knew that they would have their hands full for a while, but it would be worth it.

TBC

Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch 36
Preparing for a Move

In the following days, Nick and Joel told everyone their news about Becca and Jolene moving to Montana.

Jim walked up to Joel and said, “We’re getting ready to hire more people, do you think Becca would like working here? If so, we can leave one opening for her and she can move into one of the condos. That way she’ll have a place right away.”

Joel smiled. “Jim, that’s so nice of you to offer. I’ll call her tonight and see what she says.”

“You could call her now. Blair is interviewing and needs to know how many people to hire.”

“All right, I’ll call her now, Jim.” Joel pulled his phone out and dialed his sister’s number.

“Hi, Joel. We were just talking about you. What’s up? Boy, do I have news to tell you.”

“Tell me your news first,” Joel suggested.

“We sold the house and closed on it already. We’re going to pack up and leave as soon as we get some of the furniture sold. It’s cheaper to buy once we’re there then to pay movers. We should be coming in two weeks.”

“That’s great news, Becca. Now I have a question for you. Do you think you would be interested in working for Jim and Blair at the ranch? Or would you rather work with Nick? Jim is here and wants to know. They’re getting ready to hire new hands and don’t want to give your spot away. Free condo comes with the job too. It’s furnished and everything.”

“Tell Jim I will be there in two weeks or less and I would love to work for him. I know nothing about horses, I hope someone teaches me what I need to know.”

“You’ll be fully trained, Becca. Don’t worry. I’ll tell Jim the good news and you and Jolene have a safe trip here. Let me know when you leave. You do have a good vehicle, right?”

“My SUV is only two years old. We should be safe. I will call you before I leave and when we stop overnight. I can’t wait to see you, Joel.”

“I can’t wait either. Talk to you soon, Becca.” Joel closed his phone and smiled at Jim. “She would love the job, Jim. Thank you for being so easy going.”

“We’ll get the last condo cleaned up and make sure there is enough furniture in it. We’ll do that this weekend. I’m glad she’s coming. I would hate to see her stuck there with your brother. Jolene will be a little lonely at first, but she’ll make friends. Now, let’s get back to work. I’ll tell Blair to leave an opening.”

“Thanks, Jim. See ya later.”

As Jim climbed into his golf cart, he called Blair.

“So what’s the answer, man?”

“She’ll be here in two weeks and yes, she wants the job. We need to clean up the last condo for them and make sure the furniture is okay.”

“Oh, wow. This is wonderful news. I’ll go look at the furniture now and go to the furniture store if I need to. Thanks for taking care of everything for me, Jim. I can’t wait to meet her. Joel is so excited.”

“I gotta get back to work. My boss is mean!” Jim laughed as he closed his cell.

Megan was off for the day and Blair called her.

“Hi, Blair, please have something planned. I already cleaned the house and I’m bored.”

“You don’t do days off well, do you?”

“No, I do not. What’s up?”

“Joel’s sister will be here in two weeks or so. She’s going to work for us and we need to do up the last condo for the group for the two of them. We could do decorate a room up for Jolene. She’s only ten and still likes a lot of things.”

Megan laughed. “That’s true, she isn’t a teen yet.”

“I thought we would look at the condo, see if it needs more furniture and so on. Are you game?”

“I’m game, Blair. We can spruce it up very nicely and order new furniture as we need it. Seems to me that we might need appliances in there. Why are you giving her the last condo?”

“Because I’m hiring three other new people and they’re going to be in the condos too. I’ll pick you up in ten minutes.”

“I’ll be ready.”

When Blair and Megan checked out the condo, it did need appliances. Blair called up the appliance store in Butte that he did all his business with and ordered a fridge, stove, dishwasher and microwave. They would deliver them in two days. Blair felt better about things once that was done.

“Megan, do you think this furniture looks okay for them?”

“It’s great furniture, Blair. We don’t need to buy anything except a large screen tv and some bedding for both bedrooms. The more I thought about it, I realized we shouldn’t do a room up for Jolene. Let’s let them move in and do it themselves. I think they’ll be happy there. It’s only a two bedroom, but it’s got almost 2,000 square feet. Plenty big enough for the two of them.”

“Would you like to do the bedding? I would let you,” Blair teased.

“Yes, I would. I’ll order everything on line. Then when it comes, I’ll wash it all up and put on the beds right away. She’s going to love not having to worry about a place to live first thing.”

“I’ll order the tv and a few things for the kitchen. She’ll feel right at home.”

When they were done, Blair took Megan to lunch. They always had a good time. But today was even better. Megan couldn’t wait to train Becca.

When Blair returned home, Mary walked up to him and said, “I got a wonderful leg of lamb, if you would like to have Jim’s family over for dinner. That would be a perfect meal. What do you think?”

“I think you are the best friend and cook I know. It has been a while since William and Steven came over. I’ll call and ask them when they would like to come.”

“Good. I’ll wait to hear when I’ll be making that great dinner.”

“You cook lamb so well. What is your secret?”

“First you cut little slits in the entire leg of lamb. In those slits you put a clove of garlic. Then you rub down the entire thing in olive oil and bake for an hour or more. Those garlic cloves bake into the body of the meat and make it taste perfect. I learned this from my Greek Grandmother.”

“Wow, that’s interesting, Mary. I can’t wait. Do you know where Jan is?”

“She’s cleaning the bedrooms and washing sheets and things like that. Do you need her?”

“No, I just haven’t seen her today and wondered where she was.”

“Blair, you go call William and I’ll go prepare dinner for tonight. I’m making homemade chicken pot pie.”

“Jim will be thrilled, Mary. That’s his favorite.”

“I know. Now off I go to finish doing my work. Talk to you later.”

Blair called William and set a date for the leg of lamb dinner. He called Mary and told her the date and then wrote it on his calendar. The next thing he did was call the three people he was thinking about hiring and seeing when they could start. All three of them seemed anxious to get started, so Blair didn’t see there being any problems.

Blair’s phone went off and he saw it was Jim, bringing a smile instantly to his face.

“Hi, there. Are you coming home in an hour?”

“Blair, everyone is driving me nuts to see if you’re hiring part time help. Did you have a chance today?”

“Jim, how often do I let you down? Of course, I hired them today. Each of them will be working four ten-hour days. So they will be full time, not part time. And then Becca will be here for the fourth opening. Everyone will get two days a week off now. It’s going to be great. I have to work out the schedule. I was doing that right now. They start tomorrow. One of them will be working with you.”

“I can’t wait to meet them. We’ve all been working six days a week and need an extra day now and then. Thank you, Chief.”

“Call everyone and tell them I’m bringing them by in the morning. I figured you can have one worker for stable 4, Simon could have one for stable 3 and Megan could have one for stable 2. Then when Becca comes, she’ll be for Rafe and Henri. I think it’ll work out great don’t you, Jim?”

“It’s going to be a big help for everyone having four new people. Thanks for taking care of everything and making up the schedule, Blair. I’ve got to get my work done.”

“Bye, Jim. See you soon.”

There was a knock on the office door and Blair said, “Come in.”

Jan poked her head in the door and said, “I heard you were looking for me. Is anything wrong?”

“I was just going to ask how things with Cole were going.”

“He’s great, Blair. Such a nice man. We have a great time no matter where we go. He’s a good guy. Stop worrying. We’re going to the steak house in Butte tonight. I can’t wait.”

“Take off early and get ready. I’ll see you tomorrow. I’m glad things are working out for you. Joel’s sister, Becca is moving here soon. Another woman for you to be around. I feel like the women are taking over,” Blair teased.

“I can’t wait to meet Becca. I am going to take off now. It’s Cole’s day off, so we could take off for Butte early.

“Night, Jan. See you tomorrow.”

“Night, Blair. Have a good dinner. I know Jim will be enjoying it.”

Blair laughed as Jan walked out the door.

Blair was lucky in love and in his business. Things were working out great.

TBC

Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch 37
The Big Move
By PattRose
Summary: Becca finally arrives. Will it be an easy transition? And how will Jolene do in a kid free environment?

Joel and Nick were getting ready for their family to arrive. Joel looked out the window and saw the SUV pull into their driveway and let out a ‘woot’. Nick came running into the room showing such excitement, you would think it was his family. This made Joel very happy. Although with Nick, he was almost always happy.

Joel opened the door and walked out, followed by Nick, and Becca got out of the SUV. She was so tiny. Nick was shocked. At 5’ 2” tall, she probably weighed 100 pounds if that. Nick had never thought to ask, but he would get over the shock soon enough. The other car door opened and out came Jolene and despite her age she was about the same size as Becca.

Joel rushed up and took Becca in his arms and hugged her like crazy as he swung her around in a circle.

“Joel, you’re going to make me sick going round and round. Go do that with Jolene instead.” Becca kissed his cheek and watched as Joel hugged and swung Jolene around. He finally set her down and kissed her cheek. “It’s good to see you, Jolene.”

“It’s good to see you too, Uncle Joel. And I go by Jo, now. Mom doesn’t care much for it, but she knows I like the name better. Introduce me to Uncle Nick.”

Joel said, “I’m so rude. Sorry, Nick. Nick, this is my sister Becca and this is Jo, our niece. Come on in to the house and relax.”

“I could use a bathroom break,” Becca said, smiling.

Nick finally said something. “Come on in and make yourself at home.”

Both women headed for the main bathroom and Joel said, “Jo, go into our room. Let your mom go that way. Follow me, I’ll show you where it is.”

“Thanks, Uncle Joel. I thought I was going to have to fight her for the first bathroom break.”

Nick and Joel both laughed.

Once they came back into the living room, Becca said, “You have a lovely home, Joel. But why so big?”

Nick smiled and said, “Because we’re going to be fostering children soon and need that much room. We’ve already been approved, now we just need some needy children. We did ask for kids ten and up. But you never know who you’ll end up with.”

“This is so great,” Jo said, “I’ll actually have cousins.”

Joel beamed with happiness and said, “That’s what we thought too. We love children of all ages, but ten and up seemed a good place to start.”

“Where is the ranch?” Becca asked.

“About five minutes down the road,” Nick said, easily. He was warming up to Becca and Jo very quickly.

“Would you mind if we went there and put our things in the Condo?” Becca asked.

“That a good idea, sis. Let’s get this show on the road.”

Joel said, “Nick, you drive Becca’s SUV with Jo and I’ll drive our SUV with Becca. We’ll meet you there.”

“Good idea, Joel. We’ll beat you there,” Nick teased.

Nick and Jo did indeed beat them to the ranch. Jo couldn’t believe how big the ranch was. She had never seen anything that large before. “Jo, you can come over to the stables any time you want and help either of us. You don’t have to stay in the Condo the whole time by yourself while your mom is working. You’ll love the horses.”

“I can’t wait. I do love horses. I collect horse statues. Ever since Uncle Joel told me about working on this ranch, I’ve been interested in horses. I have books on them too.”

“Sounds like you’ll fit right in,” Nick said.

Joel drove up, parked and got out. “You beat us fair and square. We weren’t in a rush at all. You have the key, right?”

“Yup, right here in my hand. Let’s open the door and start carrying things in.”

They all went in to see the house, and it was so clean it sparkled. Jo said, “This is the nicest place we’ve ever lived, right Mom?”

“Yes, our last house was tiny, with one bedroom. This is super nice. Will we have our own rooms?”

Joel laughed and said, “It’s a two bedroom and has 2100 square feet. It’s very large. Hopefully, you’ll be comfortable here.”

“I’m sure I will. This is so nice. Let me go through it first and then we’ll start bringing things in.”

Joel showed them the entire house and they were so excited to get settled. They all went out to get the boxes and bags from the SUV. Before long, they were done.

“Would you like to meet Jim and Blair before you start unpacking?” Nick asked.

“Yes, I would like to meet them. That would be nice,” Becca answered.

They all got into Joel’s SUV and drove up to the big house.

“Wow, this is a big house,” Jo said.

Joel smiled and said, “It is big. But every now and then they have dinners for everyone, so they need a lot of room. Blair is home and you’ll meet him first. I think Jim is at stable 4, so you’ll meet him second. Unless it’s his day off. Then you’ll meet both of them here.”

They parked, got out of the SUV and walked up to the front door. Nick rang the doorbell and Blair answered.

“Well, hello. It’s so good to see you. You made good time. Joel didn’t expect you until tonight.”

Joel was so happy they were there meeting his boss and friend. Joel smiled and said, “Blair, this is my sister, Becca, and my niece Jo. Her name is Jolene, but she goes by Jo. Girls, this is Blair Sandburg.”

Both girls shook hands with him and Jim walked out onto the porch. “Chief, you know you can bring them into the house…”

“Sorry, I was so excited to meet them that I forgot my manners. Please come in. Becca and Jo, this is my best friend and partner, Jim Ellison. Jolene wants to be called Jo from now on.”

Jim walked up and gave a huge hug to Becca and Jo. “It’s good to finally meet you both. Did you see your home yet?”

Becca was so happy, she gushed when she said, “We’ve seen it and got all the boxes put into the proper rooms. Now we just have to unpack. The house is lovely and we can’t thank you enough for making us feel so at home.”

“Jim, Jo loves horses. She collects statues and everything. I told her she can come and help out now and then when she’s bored,” Nick explained.

“By all means, come and visit and brush down the horses whenever you like. Would anyone care for a drink?” Jim asked.

“No, we just wanted to meet you and Blair. I have so much to do at the Condo, putting everything away we’ll probably be busy for a few days,” Becca answered.

Blair asked, “Becca, do you think you could start in four days or so? We’re training new people and it would be nice if we could train you at the same time.”

“I can start tomorrow if necessary. We just have to unpack the boxes and then we are done. I would love to start tomorrow.”

Blair smiled and said, “Perfect. We’ll see you in the morning at 6:30. And Jo, we have dogs here at the ranch that would love having someone to hang out with. You’ll find them in the stables. There names are Grace and Gus. They’re very friendly and sweet. You can take them into your home if your mom says you can. They belong to everyone.”

“Oh, I love dogs. Mom, can I bring them into the house tomorrow?” Jo asked, sweetly.

“Of course you can. They can keep you company your first day here. Thank goodness school is out so you don’t have to worry about that.” Becca couldn’t believe how well things were going. “It was so nice meeting both of you. I’ll see you at 6:30 tomorrow. Come on, Jo, let’s get unpacking.”

Jim said, “Good meeting you too, Becca. And you also, Jo.”

“Yes, it was very nice meeting you both. See you soon,” Blair added.

The four of them got into the SUV and drove back over to Becca and Jo’s house.

“Would you like to come for dinner tonight, Becca and Jo?” Nick asked.

“Oh, that would be nice. Then if you can tell me where the grocery store is, we’ll get some groceries and have you over one night. I don’t mean only one night, I meant, one night this week.” Becca laughed.

“I’ll go shopping with you, Becca and Jo can stay home and visit with Uncle Joel.”

“Oh, that would be great. Thank you for offering,” Becca replied.

Joel dropped them off at their new home and they drove off to plan dinner. Becca and Jo walked into the house to start work on the boxes.

“I’ll be in my room, Mom. If you need me, just yell.”

“Okay, sweetheart. Have fun.”

At 3:00, they were finished with all the unpacking. Becca couldn’t believe it. She turned to Jo and asked, “So what do you think of your room?”

“I love it, Mom. It’s so pretty. There’s even a shelf for my horse collection. Can we go over to Uncle Joel’s house now?”

“Call him and ask him if it’s okay,” Becca said, handing her the phone.

Jo hit send and heard her uncle’s voice. “Hi, Becca.”

“It’s Jo, Uncle Joel. We were wondering if we can come up yet? Mom would like to go shopping with Nick.”

“Sounds good. Come on up. Nick’s ready to go.”

“Thank you. We’ll see you soon, Uncle Joel.”

Joel got off the phone and turned to Nick. “I love having them here. I never dreamed I would even see my sister for many years and here she up and moves to our neck of the woods. Are they a big deal to have around, Nick?”

“Not ever a big thing. An exciting thing, but not a bother. I love them both.”

“I would like your brother Chris to meet them too. We’re all family now.”

“Invite him to dinner tonight and see if he can make it. Oh, Becca’s here.”

“I will invite him. He’s not working for you tonight?” Joel asked.

“Duh. Of course he is. That’s why I’m off. We’ll think of something else later. You have fun with Jo, while I shop with Becca.”

Joel opened the front door and hugged Jo when she got close. Nick walked up and hugged her next and got into Becca’s SUV.

Nick said, “See you later, Joel and Jo. We’ll bring home some good things for both of you.”

As they drove off, Joel said, “Did you ever think you would be moving to Montana? And did you ever think you’d be living on a horse ranch?”

“Never. So it’s a very nice surprise. Thank you for asking us here. Uncle Marcus was really mean to mom and treated me badly too. It’ll be nice to be around good people for a change. We’re so grateful that you called us. I love you, Uncle Joel.”

“I love you, Jo. Now, how would you like to help with dinner?”

“Sounds good to me. Show me what I’m doing…”

The two happy people walked into Joel’s home and talked and cooked and knew their lives had improved one hundred-fold.

TBC

Chapter Text

When Joel realized he’d left his phone at home that morning he was pissed. He was supposed to call the Child Services Agency to see if the paperwork was all done. He had no idea that They had tried to call him four times that morning. Nick had gone to the bar early that day. So he wouldn’t have been there to answer Joel’s phone, but luckily the people at the agency knew to try Nick also.

So when Nick’s phone went off at 9:30, he wondered who would be calling so early. He let it go to voice mail because he was doing inventory with his brother, Chris who worked at the bar for extra money. Chris walked by and said, “Your phone has a message, what if it’s important?”

He smiled at Chris and said, “I’ll check it when we’re done.”

They finished about an hour later and Nick picked up his phone, saw it was the agency and was pissed that he hadn’t answered.

Nick dialed the number and waited for it to ring.

“Nick, it’s so good you called. We’ve been trying to get a hold of Joel twice this morning. He doesn’t answer. I have some news for you. Are you sitting down? Oh, this is Margaret, by the way.”

“I recognized your voice. I’m sitting. What’s up?”

“Remember how you and Joel said that you would take a family if it came to that? I have a family of four that are in need of a place right away. Want to hear about them, or is that too many?”

“Margaret, it’s not too many for me. But I’d have to talk to Joel. What are their names and ages?”

“The oldest is 7 and her name is Jade. Then there is Mia, who is 5, next is River who is 4 and Lucas who is 2. How does this sound to you?”

“It sounds great, but I need to talk to Joel. Can I call you back, Margaret?”

“Yes, I’m so glad you called back. Give me a call this afternoon. Really discuss it. It’s something you don’t want to jump into without a good talk.”

“I’ll call in a couple of hours, Margaret. Thank you.”

“Talk soon, Nick. Good luck.”

Nick closed his phone and then dialed Joel’s number. There was no answer of course, so Nick looked at Chris and said, “Will you open for me? I have to find Joel.”

“Sure. Good luck to both of you, Nick.”

Nick flew out the door with saying goodbye or anything. He drove to the ranch and pulled up in front of stable 3, parked and got out looking for his lover.

He saw Joel and Simon working hard as usual, but Nick didn’t know why Joel hadn’t answered his phone.

“Hey, Joel, can we talk?”

“Simon, I’ll be right back…”

“Take your time, we’re almost done for today.”

“Thanks, Simon. Now, Nick, what brings you here?”

“Didn’t you hear your phone ring?”

“I accidentally left it at home today. I was going to get it at lunch time, why? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong, Margaret called and has a family of four that need a home. She was hoping we would consider it.”

“You’re kidding! This is great news. What are the ages?”

Jade is 7, Mia is 5, River is 4 and Lucas is 2. Two girls and two boys. Perfect family. We could put the girls in their own rooms and put the boys in one room, couldn’t we?”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let me tell Simon what’s going on. I’ll be right back and hopefully we can go to the agency today.”

Nick waited patiently. He heard his lover’s excited voice telling Simon about the kids. Simon told him to take a few days off.

Joel came flying through the doorway and said, “I’m off for three days at least. Now, let’s head in to Butte and see Margaret. I’m so excited, Nick. Can you believe this?”

“No, I can’t. Not really. She was very nice to us, but I thought she was just being nice. I didn’t even expect a call,” Nick admitted.

“Oh, wow. I did. In fact, I was going to call her today at lunch but I forgot my phone. I just can’t believe this is happening.” Joel was past excited and on his way to thrilled out of his mind.

They drove to Butte, with Nick calling Chris and telling him he’d be a lot later than he had thought. Then Nick and Joel talked about the prospect of becoming parents to four kids.

Nick asked, “Is the house big enough for four kids, Joel?”

“Oh, yeah. Not to worry. We have plenty of room. I can’t wait to meet them.”

“Same here, Joel. Hopefully, we’ll meet them today. But have faith that there might be a reason we can’t, but we’ll make it work if we can.”

The drive went pretty quickly with them talking about anything and everything. Both men were nervous in their own way but didn’t want to admit to it.

When they arrived at the Agency, they walked in and asked if they could see Margaret. The woman behind the desk took their names and told them to sit down until someone called for them.

Joel and Nick sat and tried not to fidget. But being nervous made them do it anyhow. Margaret opened the door and said, “Joel and Nick, follow me.”

The boys stood up and walked into her office with her. She smiled at them and said, “I take it the answer is yes, or you would have just told me over the phone. Am I right?”

Joel said, “You’re right. We can’t wait to meet them. We’ve already passed inspection on the house, what else will we have to do?”

Nick sat down next to Joel and looked nervous.

“First of all, calm down, both of you. You have to fill out all these papers before you can meet the children. We just got the children this morning at 8:00. So they are here. When you finish, you’ll be able to take them home with you.”

Nick said, “But we’re not set up for a two-year-old yet. Don’t you think we need to be ready?”

“Yes, Nick. And that’s why they’ll go home as soon as you’re ready. It may be tomorrow, it may be a week from now, but we have four people that will take one of the kids each until you’re ready.”

“We’ll get a small bed for Lucas and be ready for them in no time at all. Could we call you later on today and pick them up tonight? We don’t want them to be separated at all,” Joel said, easily.

“That would be perfect. Go buy the things you need and then fill these papers out and bring them back to me tonight. I’ll stay here with the kids until 8:00. Hopefully, you’ll be done by then.”

“We will,” Nick promised. He would make sure they finished fast.

While they were in Butte, they picked up a small bed, highchair and some toys for the kids. Then they headed back to their house. The two bedrooms for the girls had full size beds in them and the third bedroom had a twin bed. They would get bunk beds later on. When Lucas was a year or two older.

Nick put the bed together while Joel did all the paperwork. He did Nick’s work too. When he was done, he checked on Nick and saw that he had the small bed all set up. They washed the sheets for the bed, dried them and got all three rooms ready for their children.

When they were all done, it was 3:00. The rushed back up to the Agency and walked in to find Margaret standing there. She was surprised how fast they had worked, to say the least. Nick handed her all the paperwork and said, “We’re ready.”

“When you say you’ll be back, you’re not kidding. The kids are in my office. Come with me. I’ve told them all about you both. Jade understands about two men being together, but the other children don’t yet. Come meet them.”

They followed Margaret into her office and saw the kids. They were so cute. They were all multiracial children, which pleased both men very much. They hadn’t even asked about that. So it was a nice surprise.

Margaret said,, “Jade, these are your new foster parents, Joel Taggert and Nick Nason. Guys, this is Jade.”

She stepped forward and shook their hands and said, “It’s very nice of you to take all of us in so we can stay together. Thank you.”

“Yes, thank you,” Mia said.

“We’re glad to take all of you. We have a beautiful home and yard. You’re going to love it there,” Joel said.

Margaret introduced the others and then they got their things and they were on the road home. It took a while to get the car seat put in properly. And then the booster seats for River and Mia. Thank goodness, Joel had this big SUV. Nick knew that he was going to have to get one for himself instead of his truck.

Joel asked questions on the way home and could tell the kids were scared to death. He dialed Becca’s phone and heard, “Did you hear anything yet?”

“Yes, we’re headed home with our new family right now. I’d like you and Jo to meet us there. They’ll be less nervous with a 9-year-old present. Please?”

“We’ll meet you at your house in 30 minutes.”

“Thanks, Becca.”

“Kids, you’re in for a big surprise. Your cousin Jo is going to meet us at our new home and welcome you. She’s 9. She’ll be riding the bus with you to school when the time comes. She’s really sweet.”

“That’s nice. We have a cousin already?” Mia asked.

“Yes and your Auntie Becca will be there too. It’s going to be great.”

When they drove up to the house, Nick was a little nervous about how the kids would react to them. But he needn’t have worried. Becca opened the back door and welcomed the kids and asked their names. Even Lucas said his name. Then the kids met Jo and were thrilled. Everyone walked into the house together. Jo showed them their bedrooms and the girls were thrilled with their big beds. River was happy about sharing a room with Lucas and things were going smoothly.

Before long, Nick, Joel and Becca got the kids bathed and ready for bed. Jo read them books that Nick and Joel had bought. Before long they were all sleeping. Jo and Becca left too.

Nick kissed Joel and said, “We have a family.”

“With six you get a family.”

Both men smiled, locked up and got ready for bed.

Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch Part 39
The New Kids on the Block

Summary: Everyone is going to stop off at Joel and Nicks to meet their new family. Everyone will be helpful to the guys as expected.

Nick and Joel were up early the next morning, knowing they had a lot to do with getting the kids ready for the day. Then Joel was going to find out about the daycare at Sadie McCoy’s house. She was the one that Simon and Karen used every day. Joel thought he could ask if she had any ideas for their four kids and Joel’s niece, Jo. They fed the kids breakfast and Joel went on his quest for the sitter.

Simon had told Joel where to go to meet Sadie. Joel couldn’t wait to talk to her. He drove up and parked and smiled at the twins in the yard, swinging already. Miss Sadie was happily pushing them and laughing with them. Joel walked up to the fence and said, “Miss Sadie? I’m Joel Taggert. Simon told me he would tell you about my new family. We foster and we have four children. Do you have room for them? And if not, can you suggest anyone to sit for us?” Joel was running out of steam, finally.

“It’s funny that you ask. My sister, Fran, is going to help me with the twins now and then and she wants a few kids to watch on her own. Fran’s a good sitter. She loves children and they always love her back. What are their names and ages?”

“Jade is 7, Mia is 5, River is 4 and Lucas is 2. Two boys and two girls. Do you think Fran can take them all on? Oh, and my niece, Jo. Jo is 9, but she would like something to do for the summer and wondered if you could use a little helper.”

“And what is your husband’s name?” she asked.

Joel was impressed that she already knew this and didn’t let it sway her in any way. “His name is Nick Nason. I brought papers with all of our contact numbers and information along with emergency contact numbers. It should be everything you need from us. When can they start? We didn’t get to plan this out really well, so I’m needed back at the stables as soon as possible and Nick has his own business that needs him there to run it,” Joel added.

“Well, Joel. What time do you need to drop them off in the morning?”

“I go to work at 6:00, but Nick is starting a new shift because of the kiddos and he will start at 8:30. So, he would probably drop them off at 8:00 at the latest. Would that be too early?” Joel awaited the answer, hopefully.

“That’s perfect, Joel. Now, you need to bring the kids to meet me and Fran tomorrow morning. It could be you or Nick. It doesn’t matter, but he might like the idea of meeting us before they start. And might I add, we’re pleased as punch that you are doing this for the children. What good men you both are. I heard they are from one family, is that right?”

“Yes, that’s right. They’re really sweet, but then again, it’s early on, yet,” Joel felt he could make jokes at this point. “I almost forgot to ask you, what you charge a week for four kids?”

“It’s a little expensive because we feed them and take them on small field trips weekly. We make every day fun for them. I would say for Fran, it would be $150 a week for the three kids. You won’t have to pay for Jade. She’ll be our helper and believe me she will be. Same for Jo.”

“No, we have to pay something for them. What would be fair and not an insult?” Joel asked.

“Okay, you talked me into it, it’s $200 dollars a week for the five of them. Will that suit you and Nick?”

“I think you’re being too kind. Will you at least promise to raise it if it’s costing you more than you thought?”

“Joel, you are a gem of a man. Thank you for looking out for us. I do promise and will tell you immediately if it changes. Are you going to bring them today?”

“Yes, Miss Sadie. I’ll go home and spend some time with them and then we’ll come at about 2:00, if that’s okay with you.”

“It’s perfect. Fran will be here and we look forward to meeting everyone. Bring Jo along too. We’ll see you later,” she called out over her shoulder as she took the twins out of the swings.

Joel knew he had found a winner. There was no doubt about that at all. Joel drove home and walked into the kitchen where the kids were eating and Nick was doing dishes.

Joel walked in and said, “Who wants to check out the new day care center they’re going to? We’re going at 2:00. And Jade, you are going to be a helper. You won’t need to be babysat at all, Miss Sadie said. The other woman that will have the small one in our family will be Miss Fran. We’ll always call them Miss Fran and Miss Sadie, understood?” Joel asked.

“Thank you, Joel for you and Nick taking such good care of us. The last place we were at didn’t care where we were. Lucas almost got hit by a car when River accidentally opened the door. He ran out but Mia saved him really quickly, or we wouldn’t have him anymore.”

Joel hugged her close to him and said, “You don’t have to worry about that anymore. I have to call Jo and ask her to come over. Jade, would you like to run with me and pick her up?”

Jade smiled. “I would love to. I really like Jo. She’s very sweet and a little lonely, I think. Is she going to the same sitter?”

“She’s going to be a helper also. You both can earn a little money from Nick and myself. How does $10.00 a week sound?” Joel smiled when he saw her light up like a candle.

Joel called Jo and asked her if he could pick her up to meet the sitter. Jo was thrilled. Joel and Jade went to pick Jo up.

Joel said, “We’ll be back in a flash, Nick. Stop doing dishes. We’ll do those later. Instead pick some things out for the kids to wear today. Showers would be good too.”

Nick kissed him goodbye and pushed him out the door, with Jade laughing. So far the kids had been wonderfully understanding and accepting of both of the men. They didn’t understand everything, but that would come later.

Just before two, the two men put all the kids into the big SUV. There were enough seats for everyone’s car seats and boosters.

Nick said, “What is your sitter’s name, River?”

“Miss Sadie and Miss Fran. Joel taught me.”

“And he did a good job. Here we are, kids. Be on your best behavior,” Nick reminded them all.

Miss Sadie and Miss Fran came out the door to meet everyone.

It was slightly overwhelming for Lucas, since he was only 2. He hung on to Nick until Nick picked him up. Nick blew raspberries into Lucas’s neck, making the two-year-old forget he was overwhelmed. Instead, he was laughing and having a good time.

They all went into the house and Miss Sadie showed them every room in the house. Joel asked, “Where are the twins?”

“Karen got off early today, so we are going to focus on your family instead. I want the children to ask questions if they have any?”

Jo asked, “Do you plan on spanking the little ones?”

“Never. This is a non-hitting house. There is no violence. We’ll have time outs now and then, but mostly we’ll just get you interested in something better for you all. Don’t worry about anyone, Jo. But, I’m glad you’re on the look-out.”

Jo smiled and said, “I think we’ll all like it here. Especially if the twins will be here too. That ought to be fun.”

Miss Fran said, “From the mouth of babes. Okay, we have everything we need for tomorrow, so we will see you all first thing in the morning. Thank you for stopping by.”

Joel and Nick got everyone back into the SUV and delivered Jo back to her house. They visited with Becca while sitting in the parking lot. Megan wandered over to see Joel’s new family and smiled at all of them. She couldn’t get over how cute they were.

Before long, Nick said, “Well, say goodbye to Auntie Becca and Auntie Megan. You’ll see them again, tomorrow.”

When they got all the kids inside their home, Nick said, “Who wants to help make dinner? I’m starving.”

Just like that, everyone was in helping Nick. Including Joel, who was carrying Lucas. Nick looked around and realized they were a great family.

TBC

Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch Part 40
Jim’s Big Day

Summary: Preacher Thomas Weathers, from Dillion, has a great idea for Jim and Blair. Who knew that both of them would be on board before the preacher was?

Jim and Blair were having their morning coffee and Jim seemed to have something on his mind, Blair could tell.

“What’s up with you this morning?” Blair asked, sweetly.

“I’ve got some thinking to do and I’ll talk to you about it when I come to terms with myself.”

“You’re arguing with yourself?” Blair teased.

“I wouldn’t be making fun of you if you were torn about something…”

Now, this gave Blair something new to worry about. “What in the world has you spinning like a top? Talk to me, Jim. That’s what I’m here for?”

“You might not be here for this question. I need to think on it. I’ll come to you when the time is right. Please don’t ask me tons of questions, it’ll just confuse me.” Jim sighed and smiled at Blair.

“If you’re smiling, I’ll have to take you at your word. Think about it today and tell me tonight. Okay? I don’t want to wait any longer than a day and evening. Please?”

Jim knew there was little he wouldn’t do for his Chief. “Sit down, I’m going to talk to you now.”

“This isn’t going to ruin my day, right?”

“I hope not. It’s not that kind of problem. It’s simple really. Now, sit down.”

Blair sat down on the sofa and just stared at Jim. He got down on one knee and asked Blair, “Would you marry me, Blair Sandburg?”

“That’s what your problem was? You want to get married? And yes, I will marry your sweet ass. I can’t believe this. We’ll have to talk to Preacher Weathers in town and set something up. I take it you mean soon, right?”

“Preacher Weathers? I don’t think I know him but Blair, we can’t really get married. You know that, right?” Jim looked somewhat confused.

“You’re going to meet him and soon. In fact, today is your day off and it’s also Sunday. Let’s go to the service at 10:00. Sound good?”

“I guess…”

Blair growled at his lover and said, “You have to make the effort Jim, or it’s nothing but words. It won’t mean crap. You going to go with me this morning?”

“I would like nothing else. I don’t want a huge wedding or party. Just the two of us getting married and exchanging rings. Would that work for you, Blair?”

“That’s perfect for me, Jim. Let’s go jump in the shower. We’ll talk to the preacher after the service. He’s really nice. I think he likes Mary, but doesn’t say anything about it. Not sure what Mary would think about that anyhow.”

“Let’s keep it to our drama for today and not worry about Mary or the Preacher.”

“I just know you’re not snapping at me this fine morning, right after you asked me to marry you. I just know that can’t be true.”

Jim smiled and pulled Blair into his arms and said, “I love you so much. Shower sex? Or regular shower?”

“I thought that was the regular shower. Oh, come on. Laugh, that was funny, Jim.”

Mary walked into the living room and said, “Good morning, boys.”

Jim smiled and said, “Good morning, Mary. Are you going to the 10:00 service this morning? Because if you are, you can ride with us. I’d like to meet this man of the cloth.”

“Really? Whatever for, Jim?” she wondered aloud.

Blair blurted out, “Jim asked me to marry him. I told him he had to meet Preacher Weathers and talk to him about a ceremony for us.”

“Jim, don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone your secret. Jan usually goes with me on Sunday morning, so you go ahead and go early and meet this man you want to talk to. It’ll all be fine, you too. Congratulations.”

“Thank you, Mary,” Blair answered, sweetly.

“You don’t think I’m too old, Mary?”

“I do, but he likes older men…” She laughed all the way into the kitchen.

The drive into town was quiet and relaxing. For both men. Jim finally looked over and said, “I’ve never asked anyone to marry me and mean it.”

“You asked someone and didn’t mean it? That must be an interesting story.” Blair snickered at the look of horror on Jim’s face.

“That came out wrong. I just don’t love anyone like I do you. I would like Steven to be my best man and you can have whoever for yours. I don’t want presents so no ceremony, are we in agreement on that?”

“No… We’re having the wedding at the house. Your dad will be there, your brother, of course and all our friends. I have to choose someone to be my best man. Any suggestions. And about the gifts, we’ll tell everyone we want only donations to charity made in our name, anyone that insists on giving a gift will have to do this. We’ll come up with the places for donations.”

“Good thinking, Blair. We don’t need a thing, other than a new tux for each of us. We’ll shop in Butte. That’ll be cool, won’t it. Do you think we need more people in the wedding party?” Jim wondered.

“Wow, you went from no ceremony to a big ceremony. Calm down. We’ve got time to plan it, right? There is no hurry is there?”

“No, Blair, there is no hurry but I want to be married to you and soon. I don’t know why I want it so bad?”

Blair laughed and said, “Thanks, man. That makes me feel all warm and cozy.”

“It came out wrong, Chief. I meant, I act like one of us in pregnant or something.”

Blair turned to Jim and said, “Does it have anything to do with kids? It’s a little late for us to decide on that, Jim.”

“Well, I’ve watched Simon have the twins, Joel had his niece move here and then Joel and Nick are fostering four kids. My biological clock is ticking so loud that I can’t sleep at night. But I do know one thing, we will get married first and then we’ll have a family. Do you agree with me?”

“We could look into fostering or Surrogate Mom if you’d rather.” Blair waited nervously for the answer.

“I’d rather foster and adopt than have our own. Besides, they would still be our own. We have plenty of room for two-four kids, don’t you think?”

“What’s with you and Joel and being overachievers?” Blair asked.

“I thought you would want more than one kiddo. You always light up with the kids are around you. You’re a natural father, Blair.”

“You think so?” Blair was smiling so widely, he thought his face would crack.

“Don’t ask for compliments, Blair. You are a natural. I want you to be my husband soon.”

“We’ll talk to Preacher Weathers and see what he thinks about all this. He may be totally against it. We don’t know him well enough to know,” Blair decided.

Jim pulled into the parking lot at the church and said, “I don’t even know where the man lives.”

“His house is right behind the church. He’s very nice, Jim. Don’t be nervous and just be yourself.”

“I planned on it. I wouldn’t know who else to be,” Jim kidded, making Blair laugh again.

Preacher Weathers was drinking a cup of coffee and going over his sermon when he heard the doorbell right. He walked to his front door and opened it. “What a surprise, Blair. How good to see you. Nothing is wrong, is there?”

“No, nothing at all. Jim asked me to marry him today and I told him we had to talk to you about it. We know we can’t have a real ceremony, but we would like some type of ceremony and hope you’ll officiate the entire wedding. What do you think? And this is Jim Ellison, Preacher Weathers.”

The Preacher stuck his hand out and said, “It’s good to meet you, Jim. I’ve heard all about you from my other followers. And by the way, I go by Preacher Thomas. Call me that from now on. I expect to be invited to some Sunday barbecues and I want you both to become followers of my church. Unless you don’t agree with my teachings and sermons. But I see nothing wrong with a nice service at the ranch. I’m pleased that you’re asking me.”

Jim decided to get with the program. “I’m so happy to be here, Preacher Thomas. My father will be very happy that I’m having a ceremony with a preacher. He was big on church years ago. We all fell away from the church, but I think that if we want to foster children, we need to have a church for them to belong to. Agreed?”

“Oh yes, I agree with you, Jim. It’ll be so great to bring happiness to more children like Nick and Joel did. I’m proud to know all of you. When do you want to do this?”

Jim pulled his phone out and got to the calendar and said, “How about in six weeks? You tell us what dates you have open. We’ll show up.”

“No, you guys figure out the date and you can call me. Here is my calling card, you can call anytime, no matter what it’s for.”

Jim said, “I would like to do something very kind for the church and you for doing this for us. Do you need a building built or anything like that?”

Preacher Thomas said, “We’ll figure something out. Now, I need to get ready for my service. Are you going to stay?”

Both men said, “Yes.”

Preacher Thomas was moved by these two. He was grateful to God for bringing them by today. “We’ll see you and talk to you soon.”

“Thank you, Preacher Thomas. Jim and I were a little nervous, you’re a really good one to talk to. See you later,” Blair said, as they stood up to take their leave.

Jim and Blair sat in the back of the church and watched people start to come in at 9:30. When Nick and Joel walked in, they both smiled at them trying to keep up with the kiddos. They were so darned cute. Nick saw them and smiled.

They smiled back and were shocked to see everyone from the ranch coming through the doors a few at a time. Jim figured if this place was good enough for them, it was good enough for him and Blair.

After the service, they stood around and talked to Preacher Thomas and everyone else.

Blair said, “Preacher Thomas, would you like to come for a barbecue tonight?”

“I can’t tonight, but next Sunday might be open. Thank you for the invite. I’ll let you know when it’s a go.”

Nick said, “Sunday we’re getting the children baptized and then going to have a little party at our house afterwards. You all are going to be invited. I just haven’t gotten the invites out yet. I’m really bad at this, Preacher Thomas. Could we have another Sunday to do it?”

“Call me later, Nick and we’ll set up the date. I’ll will call Jim and Blair and tell them when I can set up dinner at their house too. Thank you, everyone for coming today. May the Lord be with you all day and night.”

And just like that, he was gone. Jim got the impression that he was always busy. And that was fine by Jim.

As they drove home, Jim said, “Blair why don’t you call Nick and Joel and ask if they need help planning for the baptism. They sounded stressed today and I want to be there for them. Right?”

“You are right. Nick sounded so depressed at not getting the invites out yet. Surely everyone understands that they went from two people to six in a day. I think they’re doing great. They just need to calm down. I’ll call once I get home. Now, what date do we need our wedding to be on?”

“We’ll figure it all out in the next day or two. Then we’ll make the plans for our big day. I’m so excited, which is weird for an Ellison.”

Blair threw back his head and laughed. “I’m glad you’re excited. I want this to happen as soon as possible. I want kids and soon.”

“Ditto, Blair. Thank you for saying yes, this morning. I love you so much. The next few weeks is going to be crazy. I’ll apologize now ahead of time. I’m sure I’ll say lots of things I don’t mean. Are we writing our own vows?”

“Yes, we are. We’re having a wedding just like everyone else has. I want to meet your cousin Rucker and his wife Andy. They sound so interesting. We’re going to make everything work perfectly.”

And both men knew they would do just that.

TBC

Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch Part 41
Somebody’s Getting Married
Summary: When Jim and Blair do the invitations, Nick and Joel start talking about them getting married. Then Megan and Dan want to get married too.

The big day was now planned and in the mail. Invitations were sent out and all the phone calls they had to make, were done. Jim and Blair could finally relax. Well, until the next person bugged them about things. Jim wished he had Blair’s patience. First it was Nick and Joel, who decided they wanted to get married too. They felt with the kids and all, they needed to make it sooner than later. Neither man realized they could have a ceremony. Then Megan was next. She and Dan should have been married a long time ago but they both dragged their feet. Now, they were talking about getting married and soon.

“Jim, what do you think about all of us getting married on the same day. I’m serious, don’t give me that look. I guess that’s a big no.”

“Blair, you want them to have the same Anniversary as we do? Wouldn’t that take away from ours?”

“I don’t think so. We could do their invitations really fast. Call them up and ask them if they want to get married the same time as we are.” Blair walked into the office and grabbed the big box of invitations that would work for Joel and Nick. But they would have to start from scratch for Megan and Dan’s invitations.

Jim walked into the office and said, “They want in. I told them they had to get up here and do the inviting tonight. No later then that. I called Preacher Thomas and he said, ‘The more, the merrier.’ And I tend to agree with him. At first, I thought we’d need the date all on our own, but then sharing it with others would be dandy. We are set. We just need the address list.”

“Now, that was being on the ball, man. What a good job you did and you weren’t even pressured or anything. Did you hear from Steven about being your best man?”

“Yes, he’ll be here and I’m dying to hear if you decided on a finalist for your best man.”

“It’s a secret, man. I can’t tell you or I’d have to kill you.”

Jim laughed and said, “Why is it a secret? Is it someone I’m not going to like?”

“Okay, I’ll tell you. I asked your dad to stand for me. Weird, right?”

“Very weird. I talked to him yesterday and he didn’t say a word about it.”

“Jim, I asked him to keep it a secret. I didn’t want you feeling weird. But I needed someone that wouldn’t make our friends jealous. If we asked one of them, the others would wonder why they weren’t asked. This is easier, believe it or not.”

“I got it, Blair. Now we just have to get everything ready for the wedding. There is a lot to do. Are we having it at the church town hall like we planned?”

“You got it. Not fancy, just like us. Mary and Jan are doing the appetizers for the ceremony. It’s going to be great.” Blair was so excited, he could hardly contain himself.

That night, Megan and Dan were addressing envelopes for their invitations. Megan had planned this a while back, so they were ready. Joel and Nick were trying to balance watching the kids and addressing their envelopes. Blair kept taking Lucas and keeping him busy. The kids were bored out of their minds. Blair got construction paper in different colors out and he and the kids sat at the table to make nice pictures for the wedding. That kept them quiet and well behaved for the rest of the evening.

“This is going to be so kick-ass to have our days on the same days as yours. Thank you for asking us. Dan got me a ring today, what do you think?” Megan raised her hand so they could see and everyone in the room was impressed.

Jim hugged her and said, “Congratulations. You picked a great day.”

Megan slugged him lightly in his right arm. “Very funny, Jim.”

Joel said, “Does anyone want to see our rings? We picked them up last week in Butte.” Both men took the boxes out and showed their rings off. Jim was impressed with all of them.

Blair walked out carrying the rings from the office. He showed them off and put them back, so they didn’t get lost or anything.

The evening went very well, but Lucas and the other kids were soon tired.

Hugs were given to everyone by the kids. Jim really longed for that feeling of family. Megan and Dan were next and Megan said, “I’ll take the invitations to the Post Office in the morning. Thanks for putting up with all of us.”

Jim hugged Megan and asked, “Did you get your dress yet?”

“I’ll show it to you later. It’s in your closet. I asked Blair if I could keep it in there.”

Blair hugged them both, and then practically shoved them out the front door. Mary and Jan were long gone. The house was quiet and a perfect setting for Jim and Blair, since both of them wanted the other one all night long.

The time passed quickly and soon it was the big day. The way you could tell was the way everyone was falling all over each other, trying to stay out of each other’s way. Mary and Jan were enjoying the comedy of the day.

Jim was down at Dan and Megan’s house, and Megan was at Blair and Jim’s house. Blair and Megan didn’t want their partners to see them that morning. Blair went upstairs and Megan was trying her dress on and said, “Thank God. I felt like I gained weight.”

Blair smiled and said, “That dress does look a little tighter than when I saw it before you bought it. What’s up with that?”

“Oh, my God. I must be pregnant. The doctor told me to get off birth control for six months or more before we try to have one.”

“Well, congratulations.” Then Blair hugged her tight and said, “This is the best wedding present for you by far.”

“Blair, you always know the perfect thing to say to everyone. Thank you for being you. Now, let’s get busy and get this party started.”

Finally, the ceremony started. Everyone was where they were supposed to be. Preacher Thomas was all set to marry all of them. He went from Jim and Blair, to Megan and Dan and finished with Joel and Nick. It was a wonderful ceremony. And afterwards, everyone had a great time.

Two weeks later:

Megan told everyone her and Dan’s exciting news about being pregnant. Dan was so happy and so was Megan.

Jim and Blair got their first letters of acceptance in the foster program. They were so thrilled, now they just had to wait for someone special. Jim was going to have to learn to be more patient.

TBC

Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch Part 42
Kids Everywhere!

Summary: Will Jim and Blair get calls from the foster program? And how is Megan doing with her pregnancy? It must be time to visit both families.

Jim was off for the day and his phone rang. He saw it was from the foster program and answered right away.

“Ellison…”

“Hello, Jim. This is Mea from the foster program. I have some questions to ask you. Could you be set up for a baby and soon?”

“Yes, we could do that. You have a baby needing a home?” Jim asked.

“Yes, two of them. The younger is 2-months-old and the older is 18-months-old. How does that sound for you and Blair?”

“Mea, what happened to their parents? And did you do a diligent search for family before you asked us?”

“They were caught selling their children and were arrested. They both signed their rights away for both babies. The older is named Ruby Lynne. She’s got dark brown hair, big blue eyes and smiles all the time. She walks and talks somewhat. Her baby brother is named Mason Daniel. He has very light brown hair with green eyes. Both children are beautiful. Wait until you see them,” Mea said.

“And you checked to see that there were no family members that would take them away from us?”

“There is no one, Jim. Both sets of Grandparents passed away years ago and both of the parents were only children. It looks to us like it’s safe. Why don’t you talk with Blair and let me know if you can set up for two babies as soon as possible?”

“We’ll go shopping right away for the cribs. Thank you for giving us this wonderful chance of a life-time. I’ve got to go and tell Blair. I’ll call this afternoon after we have the rooms set up. Bye, Mea.”

Jim got off the phone and flew down the stairs to find Blair. He was in his office, doing the books for payday. Blair looked up when Jim came rushing in and asked, “Did we get a call?”

“We did. What do you think of two babies?” Jim asked.

“I think it’s fantastic. Two babies?”

“They are sister and brother. Ruby is 18-months-old and Mason is 2-months-old. We need two cribs for the two bedrooms by our room. Mason will be in the room right next to us, since he’s so little yet. Ruby will be at the far end of the hall. I’m so fucking excited, Blair. How are you?”

“Jim, come here. I want a huge kiss. We need that, don’t we?”

Jim went closer and pulled Blair into his arms. “I love you so much, Blair.”

“And I love you, Jim. Two babies? Let’s go now and buy some cribs and other things for them. Come on, slow-poke.”

They got ready and went shopping in Butte. They got two baby cribs. Two baby swings, outdoor and indoor. Two changing tables. Two dressers to match the cribs. They bought tons of bedding and sleepwear for both babies. While they drove home, they talked of nothing but their new family.

“Jim, should we tell everyone about the babies?”

“Yes, I think so. Mea sounded like it was a done deal. Now we just need to get home to put everything together and get the house in shape for a new inspection.”

Blair pulled his phone out and called Mea.

“Hello, Blair. Did you make a decision?”

“Yes, Mea, we did. We just bought everything we’ll need in Butte for the two babies. We’re going to arrive home soon and will be putting everything together for inspection. Is that good?”

“That’s great. We can do the inspection tonight, if you have time.”

“Yes, by all means, set it up. We’ll be done by six tonight. We’ll see you around then. Thank you for giving us a chance,” Blair said, happily.

“See you around six to six-thirty. I’m so happy for you boys. Talk to you later…”

Blair turned to Jim and said, “Did you hear?”

“Sentinel, here. Of course, I heard. I wonder if we’ll get both of them tonight. Wow, this is happening rather quickly. We don’t have time to get nervous. That’s good, I guess.”

“I’m going to call Megan and ask her if she’ll spread the news. Okay?”

“That would be great, Chief. We’re almost home. Call her and ask her if she’d like to help with setting their rooms up.”

Blair dialed Megan’s number and waited for her to answer.

“Hey, Blair. What’s going on?”

“Did you go to the doctor today? What happened?”

“I’m four months pregnant. They did an ultrasound of the baby and he’s fairly large already. Now, you sound happy, so what’s going on? Share…”

“We’re getting two babies this week, hopefully. The little girl named Ruby is 18-months-old. And Mason, the two-month-old baby is her little brother. We’re so excited. I wondered if you could spread the good news. We’re busy getting the two nurseries ready.”

Jim pulled into their drive way and they started unloading everything. It took an hour to get it all out of the boxes. Now, Jim and Blair just had to get all the bedding washed and the new outfits they got for the family. They worked side-by-side until nearly 6:30. And they were finally finished. The doorbell rang and the boys rushed to answer it.

“Mea, it’s so good to see you,” Jim started the visit.

“My assistant is going to bring the babies to the house in an hour unless you don’t pass inspection. But the inspectors sounded hopeful. Now take a seat while the inspectors here do their job.” Mea then sat down with Jim and Blair. They talked and talked until the doorbell rang again.

Jim jumped up to answer it and found a young woman and two babies in her arms. “Mr. Ellison? I’ve got your children here and wanted to know if you’d like to meet them.

Blair took the oldest away from the woman and asked her to sit down. Now they just had to wait for getting the rooms inspected.”

The two men came in and gave Mea the papers she needed to give Jim and Blair for their children.

“Congratulations, Jim and Blair. You are the proud daddies of Mason and Ruby. Thank you for both being you and not letting us down. These babies are beautiful, aren’t they?”

Mea hugged Jim and then Blair. “I have to go. Here is everything you need to know about both children. If you need help, you know where I am. Good luck on your first night. In this box is everything you’ll need for feeding them both. Have fun and relax above all else.”

Jim was holding Ruby and Blair had Mason. They started fussing, so they took them in the kitchen for dinner. Ruby had baby cereal and an 8-ounce bottle of formula. Then she was really to sleep. Jim changed her and put jammies on her and put her in bed. Blair came in holding Mason and said, “Wow, she’s sleeping already.”

“Did you feed Mason already?” Jim wondered.

“Yes, he had two jars of baby food. We’ll start making our own baby food in the next week or so. I’ve got to change Mason and get him ready for bed. Kiss your daughter for both of us.”

Blair got Mason all cleaned up, jammies on and he was down for the count. Jim and Blair both thought it was just a fluke. They would find out soon enough.

Three Weeks Later:

Jim and Blair got the babies out of their car seats and smiled at each other. That day was a memory day for all. They had taken a lot of pictures for the baptism at the church. All their friends were there and it was an exciting time for all. Karen and the twins came over quite a bit to play with Jim and Blair’s newest additions.

Jim and Blair found out that they all seemed to love their new-found-families and soon, Megan would have a baby to add to the bunch.

Kids, everywhere.

TBC

Chapter Text

Let’s Catch Up
By PattRose
Grey Wolf Ranch Part 43

Megan wasn’t a happy camper because she couldn’t break the horses any longer. She was tired of being doing the easy jobs. In fact, the guys acted like she was made of glass. Jim walked to up to her and said, “Get that grumpy look off your face, Megan. You’ll be able to do everything you want again, once you have the baby.”

“I know, but I’m so bored.”

“Megan, brush and feed the horses, just don’t get too close to them. Understood?”

“Thank you. I was tired of cleaning out the stables, while you all were having all the fun.”

“How do you feel anyhow. You’re pretty big already.” Jim asked.

“Well, Jim, I’m seven months pregnant, so I think I’m the normal size. The doctor thinks the baby will be large though. Maybe, I’m farther along than they think.”

“That would be nice. Once you have the baby, will you stay home for a while?” Jim really wondered if she would.

“Maybe for a few weeks, but not for good. I love my job and can’t wait to be back doing everything full-time again.”

“I’ll let you get back to work. I’ve got a hundred things to do,” Jim teased.

“How are the kiddo’s doing?”

“Ruby is 2, going on 12. She thinks she knows everything and can’t understand why we don’t listen to her. She’s a riot. And Mason of course is eight months old now and is quite the little charmer. I swear he flirts with all the women on the ranch. Mary comes and takes him from Blair a lot. He’s got a way about him.”

Megan smiled big time at hearing about Jim’s kids. “When will Blair let the kids go to day care?”

“Hopefully, soon. But he hates to give up anything when it comes to spending time with them. I miss them while I’m working but I don’t want to be with them all day long. That’s for sure.”

“See you later, Jim.”

“Bye, Megan.”

Simon was walking around seeing if anyone needed any help and noticed that Becca was trying to lift something very heavy.

“Hold on, Becca. Simon rushed to her side and lifted the 100-pound bag and took it over to the feed barrel. He tore the bag open with his knife and dumped it into the barrel. This is where they got the feed for each of the horses to eat every day.

“Thank you, Simon. I can lift it, but it makes my back ache something fierce. How are you doing today?”

“I’m fine. Thankfully, the twins are over the teething stage for right now. We actually get to sleep,” Simon joked.

“Do they have a lot of teeth?”

“Yeah, I think Seth has six or seven. Sam has five. Now that they’re older, it’s much easier on us. How is Jo doing at school?”

“She loves school. And she and Jade ride the bus together and they seem to get along really well. They’ve become pretty close.”

“I’m so glad to hear this. Time goes so fast, that I bet our twins will be in school in a week or so,” Simon teased.

“Well, I better get back to work. I have a ton to do.”

“If you need help, just yell.” Simon walked off and wondered if anyone else needed any help.

Simon saw Rafe and Brown working side by side and both had earphones on. Simon smiled about that. Those two were becoming two of the best workers they had. Although, all their workers were good at their jobs. That’s why Simon was looking for something to do. The ranch was running like a well-oiled machine. This made Simon feel great.

Simon walked up to Joel and said, “How are you today? Everything going well?”

“Everything is great. I’m almost done already and will gladly help anyone else that needs help. Is anyone behind?”

“Well, Jim is all alone working at stable 4 with the Clydesdales. You could always give him a hand. I haven’t talked to him yet, so don’t know if he needs help or not.”

“I’ll finish here and go check him out in about an hour.”

“Thanks, Joel. Have a good day.”

Simon walked up to the next stable and saw Megan and Brett working. They weren’t even talking. Instead, they were working their butts off, making Simon feel good once again.

Up at the big house, Blair was busy as ever with the kiddos. They took a lot out of him, but Blair missed his ranch and felt like he should look for a sitter, soon. He had found one and Blair just knew it was going to work out.

Mary walked up to him and said, “I’m making lasagna tonight with a nice salad. What would you like as dessert?”

“Something light. There is enough sugar in the pasta, so let’s do something light and small.”

“Okay, fruit salad it shall be. Have you found anyone for a sitter for the children yet?”

“I did. She’s supposedly excellent. She lives not too far from here. Her name is Monica Mitchell. I know you know her?”

Mary smiled and said, “She’s a friend of mine. I told her to call you, I guess she did.”

“She sure did. And she only has one other child now, so she has plenty of time for Ruby and Mason. They start going to her house in two days. I’m excited but yet, a little depressed at the same time. I’ve been home with them for six months solid. It’s going to hard on all of us.”

“It’ll be nice to have you back in the ranch business again. I think Jim has missed you.”

“I better get back to doing the paychecks, or everyone will be up in arms. Thank you for suggesting to Monica about calling me. She seems super nice.”

“We’ll see you at dinner, Blair. Have a good day.”

Cole walked up to Jim in his stable and asked, “Need any help with anything. I finished my work for the day. Tomorrow is a big day, right?”

“Yes, breaking the horses is always a big day. I’ve got all my horses done for the day. But I haven’t started cleaning out the last four stables. Then I’ll be done. If you take two, I can do the others and we’ll be done quickly. Thanks, Cole. How is Jan?”

“You’re welcome, Jim. She’s good. I’ll see you at dinner tonight. She asked me to join all of you. Did you already know?”

“I told her to ask you for dinner now and then since, she always eats with us. I’ll see you later, then. Thanks again.”

Megan was almost done with all her work and there was still two hours left on her shift. Dan walked up and kissed her and asked, “Would you like to go out to eat tonight?”

“I would love that. Do you think we could ask Becca and Jo to go with us?”

“Sure, the more the merrier. Do you want me to ask her?” Dan asked.

“That would be great. I’m almost done, so I won’t be late tonight. I take it you’re having a good day too.”

“I am having a good day. All of the animals are giving me a day off tonight. No problems at all.”

“Good, go and find Becca and ask her to dinner. Where are we going for dinner?”

“I was thinking of the steak house in town.”

“That’ll be perfect, Dan. Talk to you later.”

At 5:30, Jim came walking in the front door of his big house. “Hi, honey, I’m home,” He called out.

Blair rushed into his arms followed by Ruby. She hung on to Jim’s leg.

Jim kissed Blair first, then he reached down and picked up Ruby into his arms and kissed her. “How is our little girl tonight, Ruby?”

“I’m good, Daddy. Dad said I was good all day.”

“I’m not surprised at all. You’re such a good girl,” Jim said, smiling like crazy.

Blair smiled and said, “Guess who is going to day care starting Wednesday?”

“You’re kidding? That’s marvelous news, Dad.” Both men call each other Dad and Daddy when in front of the two kiddos.

“I knew you’d be happy. I can’t wait for Wednesday but I’ll probably worry and miss the kiddos all day long.”

“It’s going to take a while, Dad, but they’ll get used to it and so will we. What’s for dinner?”

“I know you know, Jim. Oops, I mean, Daddy.”

“I smelled the lasagna down in the stables. I couldn’t wait to get home.”

Blair said, “Was everything good at the stables?”

“Everything was great. We all got out of there before 5:30, so that’s a good deal.”

“Daddy, come eat. I’m hungry.”

“I thought we’d wait for Cole. He said he was coming for dinner.”

“He is. We’ll go ahead and feed our darlings now. Mason is already in the kitchen eating. Mary wanted to feed him.”

So Jim and Blair did just that. Then they put them in the toy area around the dining room table and waited for Cole to get there. When he knocked, Blair answered.

“It’s good to see you, Cole. You’re going to love dinner. Mary thinks she’s Italian. She makes delicious lasagna. I hope you like that,” Blair knew he was rambling.

“I love lasagna. Thank you for having me.”

Jan walked out and kissed Cole, hello. Then She and Mary brought the food out to the table.

Everyone sat down to dinner and Blair said a quick prayer of thanks for making everyone’s life productive and happy.

TBC

Chapter Text

Greywolf Ranch Part 44
K-i-s-s-i-n-g
By PattRose
Summary: Nick’s brother Chris, wants to date, Becca. Will his dream come true?

Almost every Sunday, Chris Nason went to Nick and Joel’s house for dinner. The bar was closed on Sunday, so they got to spend time together now and then. Becca, Joel’s sister was also always invited. They had become good friends. But now, Chris felt like taking it up a notch. He was going to ask Becca out on a date. Hopefully, Joel wouldn’t mind. Then Chris thought about it and figured he better ask Joel first.

That morning at 8:30, found Chris at the stable that Joel worked in and Chris was going to ask Joel’s permission. He walked up to Joel and cleared his throat.

“Chris, what are you doing here? Did something happen to Nick?”

“Calm down. Nothing happened to Nick. I wondered if I could talk to you for a few minutes.”

“Sure, talk to me while I clean out the stalls.” The horses were out for their morning run and Joel was cleaning out their stinky homes.

“Joel, what would you think about me dating your sister, Becca? I wanted to ask her out, but thought I would ask you first. Maybe she wouldn’t be interested.”

“Chris, that’s so nice that you’re asking me permission. I would love it if you asked her out. I think it’s been a very long time since she’s dated anyone. Jo, can come to our house while you’re out. It’ll be nice for both of you.”

“Oh, good. Then I’ll ask her this Sunday.”

“You know, Chris, you can ask her now and take her out on Sunday. She doesn’t have to stay home with us. As well, you don’t have to. Take her to the steak house in Butte. Great food and a nice drive up and back for nice conversation.”

“You mean call her on her cell phone and ask?”

“Yeah. She could turn you down either way, but I don’t think she will. She talks about you a lot. She’s crazy about you. I thought maybe you weren’t interested.”

“I seem to be the only dope. Would that be weird though? That we’re each dating a Taggert? I can’t wait to ask her. Thank you for saying you approve of me.”

Joel laughed and said, “Call her today and see what she says. Good luck. Now, I have to get back to work.”

“See you later, Joel.” Chris got into his truck and drove away. He decided he would call Becca right now and see if she could talk.

Becca’s phone went off and she answered, “Hello.”

“Hi, Becca. It’s Chris. Do you have a few moments to talk?”

“Good morning, Chris. I can take a five-minute break. I’m ahead on my chores.”

“In that case, how would you like to go to dinner in Butte on Sunday? They have a great steak house and I think you and I would have a good time.”

“A date? How nice of you to ask. Yes, I would love to, Chris. Thank you for asking me.”

“Okay, Joel said you could take Jo to his house on Sunday if you said yes. I could pick you up at 5:00. Are you off on Sunday?”

“I am. I’m not always off, but even if we went out at 6:00, it would still be a nice night. I like spending time with you. I can’t wait for Sunday. You already told Joel?”

“I basically asked him if he approved of me asking you out. And he said I have his blessing. Means a lot to me, Becca.”

“You’re such a good guy, Chris. I’ll see you on Sunday, then.”

“Thank you for saying yes. Talk to you later.”

Chris was smiling like crazy and couldn’t wait until Sunday. Maybe he could call her a couple times during the week to talk on the phone. Yeah, that’s what he could do.

Chris got to the bar and unlocked the door. Since he was up, he would get things ready for that afternoon. He loved his job. He used to work in Butte and never saw Nick, but now, he worked full time with Nick and loved it. He began to get things ready and saw Nick come in next.

“Why are you here already, Chris?”

“I asked Becca out this morning and she said yes. I couldn’t sleep with that knowledge, could I?”

“It’s about time. I thought I was going to have to give you a sex talk or something.”

Chris burst out laughing. “No, I just needed to ask Joel if he minded me giving his sister a call. He approved of our dating, so I called Becca this morning. She said yes, without even giving it much thought.”

“Where are you taking her?”

“The steak house in Butte. We both love it there, so it’s a perfect first date place. Do I get to kiss her on our first date?”

“That’s up to you, Chris. Not me.”

“Well, what did you do with Joel?”

“Never you mind what I did with Joel,” Nick said, laughing hard.

“Let’s get to work since we’re both here,” Chris said, also laughing.

That afternoon when Jo got off the bus, Becca was already off. She had finished way early and Jim had told her to take off.

Jo walked into the house and said, “What are you doing home already? Nothing’s wrong, is it?”

“Everything is right. Guess who asked me out on a date for Sunday?” Becca asked.

“Chris? I like him very much. He likes you a lot. I thought maybe you didn’t like him since you weren’t dating. Slowpoke.”

Becca reached out and pulled Jo into her arms and said, “Thank you for understanding. I take it you don’t mind at all?”

“I sure don’t. Do you think I could go and help Jim in the Clydesdale stable? They are so beautiful. I like them to run and I take videos of them. They are my favorite horses by far. Oh, Mom, I made two new friends this week and they both asked if I could spend the night on Sunday. There is no school on Monday. They are sisters and both in the same grade. I really like them and hoped I could go.”

“I have to meet their mom. You know that much, right?”

“I’ll see if you can meet her soon. I’m so excited. This is my first time out of the house.”

“Go ahead and give Jim a hand with the horses. They love that attention. In fact, out of all of the horses, they are attention hogs.”

Jo laughed really hard and said, “I’ll be back at dinner time.”

“Are you taking our golf cart?”

“Could I, Mom?”

“I don’t see why not. You’re very responsible. Have fun. Don’t forget 6:00 for dinner.”

“See you later, Mom.”

Becca laid down on the sofa for 30 minutes, to rest up. When she got up, she could make a nice dinner.

When Becca got up, she picked up the house again and made some chocolate chip cookies for Jo. Jo, loved baking and cooking but Becca decided to surprise Jo, for a change.

Sunday Evening

Chris arrived at Becca’s house at about 4:45. Becca saw him sitting in his truck and wondered what he was doing. Then he opened the door, got out and walked up to her door. He rang the doorbell and Becca opened it with a big smile on her face.

“Wow, you look gorgeous, Becca. I love that dress.”

“Why thank you and you look super nice in that suit. How funny that both of us dressed up.”

“Is Jo gone already?”

“She’s at a friend’s house, spending the night. I’m all yours tonight.”

“Really? And here I was hoping for a first kiss.”

“We’ve been dating for the last six-weeks. I figure we can move up to the next step.”

“I’m good with that, Becca. Are you ready?”

“I am.”

They took off for the evening and talked like crazy all the way up and back. When they arrived at Becca’s house, he opened the door for her and they walked hand-in-hand up to the front door.

She unlocked the door and in they went. She set her purse on the kitchen counter, turned around and found Chris there waiting to kiss her. She found herself so excited. They kissed for some time and then he said, “Do you have condoms?”

“I do. I wanted to be prepared.”

“I thought it would look bad if I came prepared. I’ve always been a little slow on the uptake.”

Becca kept kissing him and he said, “I’m going to lose it soon. It’s been a while for me and I don’t want to come in my jeans.”

She took his hand and led him to her bedroom. They began to slowly undress each other. Once they were naked, they laid on the bed. Chris wasted no time, in making Becca feel terrific.

They were both making each other feel great and before long, Chris couldn’t hold on much longer. He used a condom and entered her so quickly, They were both surprised. She was making all the right noises and turning Chris on big time. Before long, she came feeling great about it and then he came moments after that.

After a cool-down period, they decided to take a shower. While they were in there, they made love once more. Neither of them thinking about the condom. They cleaned up and rinsed off and went to bed for the night.

Chris pulled up close to her and said, “I don’t mean to panic, but we didn’t use a condom.”

“I’m on the pill, Chris. Don’t worry.”

“Okay, thanks for making me feel better.”

She pulled away from him and said, “You don’t want kids, ever?”

“Yeah, I do. But not tonight. I thought maybe we could discuss it after we’re more serious.”

“That makes sense. I’m exhausted. Can we sleep. I get up at 6:00.”

“That’s fine with me, Becca. Thank you for the best night, I’ve had in years. I feel great.”

“I do too, Chris.” She kissed him once more and then they held each other and went right to sleep.

TBC

Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch Part 45
Some More Changes
By PattRose
Summary: An update on Joel and Nick and their family. Plus, will Nick be starting work at the ranch? You’ll have to read it and see.

It was Joel and Nicks day off and they had the entire day planned out. First thing that morning, they got everyone bathed and put into some darling clothing. It was picture day and they wanted the whole family to be in one picture. Nick knew that this might be hard to do with 4 kids under the age of 8. But they were going to try it anyhow. They were having them done at Penney’s in Butte. Nick just hoped that it was going to work out well. Joel fed them a great breakfast before they got them dressed. They also packed a bag with clean clothes, in case they needed a change of clothing. You never know with kiddos.

They gave each of the kids a quiet toy to play with for the drive. Nick was driving and left Joel with handling the children. Half-way to Butte, he saw that River and Lucas were sound asleep. Jade and Mia were chatting with Joel. So far so good.

Joel asked, “So, is it too hard for you to get up in the morning and take the kids to day care?”

“It’s crazy every morning and my butt is dragging, big time. But I know you go to work too early to leave Jade at the bus stop all alone.”

“You don’t get home till 1:30 in the morning most evenings, so I would guess you are tired. Should we hire someone to come to the house?” Joel asked.

“No, that would be a waste. I would be in the house and sleeping like a slug instead of helping you. It wouldn’t work, Joel. I’ll tell you what I would like is the next time they are hiring at the ranch, put in a good word for me so I can work at the ranch with Jim, maybe. I love Clydesdale horses.”

“What would you do with the bar?” Joel wondered.

“I would let me sister and brother run it and that would be that. I would love to work there with normal hours with our kids going to school and day care. Just keep that in the back of your mind if they ever mention about hiring someone again.”

“I’ll call Blair right now, if you don’t mind. I would love to see you at the ranch every day instead of being gone every night. I didn’t know it could be an option. I’m calling right now.”

“Okay. I talked to Chris about it already and he said, he would hire his twin sister for the job. I’m talking about Tina. Chris knows how to do the ordering, the books and the bank deposits. He does it all, already. He’s ready and I would still be making money off the bar even being off full time. That would be nice, don’t you agree, Joel?”

“It would be great. I’m making my call now.”

“Sandburg.”

“Hi, Blair. This is Joel. Could I ask a favor?”

“You sure can. What can I help you with?”

“I wondered if the next time you have an opening at the ranch if you could consider Nick for the job. He would love to work with Jim and the Clydesdales. He knows you don’t need him now, but when you have an opening, he would love the job.”

“You’re kidding. That would be wonderful. I do need another worker for the Clydesdale stable. Becca works with him now and then, but she is in another stable the rest of the time. Poor Jim has to do the entire stable by himself. Not that he complains, but he would love to have Nick there helping him. Tell him to let me know when he can start and that will be his new position. If that would be all right with him.”

“Thank you so much, Blair. I’ll tell him to let you know when he can start. You’re the best.”

“You’re so welcome, Joel. Have a good rest of the day off. What are you doing anyhow?”

“We’re heading to Butte with the kiddos for pictures. You know, family pictures. We’re hoping it works out. You never know with kids. They have a special going on at Penney’s. Wish us luck.”

Blair laughed and said, “Luck!” and closed his phone.

Nick said, “He has an opening?”

“With Jim. You would be the second person. So that’s cool. Becca works there sometimes, but the rest of the time it would be just you two. What do you think?”

“Wow, I didn’t expect him to have any openings. I want to call Chris as soon as possible so he can set the schedule up for himself and Tina. He talked about offering a job to his friend, Mike. That would be even better. The bar stays busy enough for all of them. I’ll probably be able to start in a week if it is okay with Chris and Tina.”

“That’ll be perfect, Nick. I can’t wait to have you home at night. The kids are going to love it too. They all miss you when you work.”

“Maybe we could get one day a week off the same day so we could plan things. That would be wonderful. We could hike and things like that. Just one day and the other day off we could spend with kiddos.”

“I’m so excited to have you home with me. Especially late at night, if you catch my drift.”

“I caught it and couldn’t be happier about that.” Nick was all smiles.

They drove into Butte and both men were hoping the little guys would be up for this. They parked at Penney’s and got out and woke the babies up.

“Are you ready for pictures?” Joel asked, River.

“I’m a good boy.”

“You are a good boy. It’s going to be fun, River. Just you wait and see.”

Nick was getting grumpy Lucas out of his car seat and said, “Is Lucas going to be a big boy?”

Lucas reached out and smacked Nick on the face and then laughed. “There you go, that’s our happy boy.”

Lucas smiled some more. Then Mia and Jade got out and straightened out their dresses.

Jade said, “We’re always good.”

“You are,” said both Joel and Nick, making both of the girls laugh.

Nick was carrying Lucas and Joel had River’s hand in his as they walked. The girls were right in front of them, where both men could see them at all times. They might have been older, but Nick and Joel were still paranoid.

They got to the photography studio and they got them right in, which the men were very glad of. They spruced all the kiddos up and then looked in a mirror for themselves and they were set.

As the girl tried to get everyone to smile, Lucas wasn’t having it. Nick said to the girl, come over and pretend you’re going to slap me and he’ll laugh.”

She said, “You’re kidding?”

“No, he thinks smacking me is the funniest thing in the world.”

She walked up and tapped Nick on his face and Lucas burst out laughing, she rushed back and started getting great pictures of all six of them. The kids were perfect. The photographer, named Linda, was impressed. It was rare to have family pictures turn out so well.

“Look up here and you’ll see the shots I took. You’re going to pick out the ones you like the best and tell me what sizes you would like.”

She put them on the screen and Joel and Nick couldn’t believe how fun and perfect they turned out. They picked out their favorite ones and chose a different pose for each of the kiddo’s rooms and of course for their room and the living room. Then they got tons of wallet sized. It ended up costing a fortune, but they didn’t care. They were so happy to have pictures as part of their memories.

They left Penney’s and walked out to the mall and found a nice Red Robin to eat lunch at. The kids were all hungry. They didn’t have to wait long and they sat and ordered and had a nice meal, just the six of them.

“Is it just me, or is this day the best we’ve had in ages?” Nick asked.

“No, it’s the best. Jade, don’t you think today has been a good day?”

“Oh yes. And Lucas hasn’t cried at all. He usually has to fuss.”

Mia said, “I’m being good too.”

Both men laughed and Nick said, “You’re all being great. We love each and every one of you.”

Jade said, “We love you too, Dad and Daddy. The pictures were so cute. I can’t wait to show my teacher.”

Joel asked, “Are you going to give her a picture?”

“If that’s okay. I want her to see what a good family we have. We sure looked like we belonged together.” Jade was so cute when she sounded like she was 12 instead of 8.

Thankfully, Nick had changed both of the boys in the restroom when they were at Red Robin. So as soon as they took off for home, the two boys fell right to sleep and so did Mia and Jade.

Joel was driving home so Nick could call his brother, Chris.

“Hi, Nick, what’s up?”

“I need to know how long you would take to run the bar, just you and Tina. I got a new job at the ranch and I have to tell him when I could start.”

“Oh, that’s great. I can start right now. Tina already works five days a week, so I just need to find someone to work one day for her and one day for me. It’s going to be fantastic. You’ll be home in the evenings for the kids and Joel. Joel won’t know what to do with you there.”

“Oh, I think he knows what to do.” Both men laughed.

“Call Blair and tell him you can start in three days. That way you have a few days off before you start.”

“Thanks, Chris. And did I mention you’re getting a big fat raise? So is Tina.”

“I’ll tell her tonight. She’ll be thrilled.”

“Well, I’m going to call Blair and tell him the news. Talk to you soon. Why don’t you offer a decent job to Mike and he can work full time?”

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“Nope, offer it to him tonight. He can work at least four days a week. Pay him $2.00 more an hour.”

“Got it, Nick. Talk to you later.”

Joel asked, “That sounded like it went well.”

“It did. I’m going to start in three days. Although, I’ll be home as of tonight.”

“Nick, that’s wonderful. No more lonely nights for me. I love you, babe.”

“I love you too, Joel.”

Nick pulled his phone out and dialed Blair’s number next.

“Sandburg.”

“Hi, Blair. It’s Nick. I wanted to tell you that I can start in three days if that’s all right with you.”

“That’s more than all right with me. We can’t wait for you to start. Jim is so excited and so is Becca to have you at the ranch too. I’ll have Simon build the schedule as soon as possible. We’ll try and work it out so you have the same days off as Joel does. Okay?”

“That would be great. Thank you again, Blair. We’ll see you in three days.”

“Oh, how did the pictures go today?”

“You wouldn’t have believed how good all the kids were. It’s like they new we were making a memory. It was perfect. Thank you for asking. How are Mason and Ruby doing?”

“They are both doing beautifully. I’m looking forward to taking them to a sitter so I can go back to teaching again and also work on the ranch.”

“We’re both lucky for getting a chance to becomes fathers. We sure love it and I know you and Jim do too.”

“You better believe it. We’re all lucky. I’ve got to finish the books. Talk soon.”

Nick closed his phone and said, “No going back, babe. You’re stuck with me at home and at work.”

“I can’t wait. Our life just keeps getting better.”

TBC

Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch Part 46
Here We Go Again
By PattRose
Summary: Another person would like to work at the ranch. Will they have room?

Simon had noticed that Karen didn’t seem all that happy lately. So, she invited people over every day off that Simon had and Simon was getting tired of it. Not that he didn’t love everyone he worked with, but that was just it, he already worked with them. He didn’t want to entertain them every week also. Yes, Simon was going to have a talk with Karen and see what was wrong.

Simon gave lots of attention to Seth and Sam when he was home, hoping Karen just needed some time to herself, but that wasn’t doing the trick. It was time for talking.

They worked together that night and got the twins down. Then Karen said, “Did you want to watch a movie or something?” Normally, Simon loved to watch movies at night.

“I was hoping we could talk instead.”

“Oh, my God. Something is wrong with us, isn’t it?”

“Nothing is wrong with us. I think there might be something wrong with you. You haven’t seemed happy in a long while. Do you miss your job at the hotel?”

“Oh, no. I love working with Blair every day. Sometimes it’s a little slow, but love it anyway. You think something has been wrong with me?”

“You seem, sad. I don’t want you sad, Karen. Are you missing your parents?”

“Oh, you are so sweet, Simon. My parents have been gone so long that I rarely miss them enough to make me sad. I also miss my grandma that brought Kelly and me up when they died. Maybe I am missing her. I wonder if Kelly does.”

“I don’t think that’s it then. You’ve seemed almost like you’re yearning for something new? What would you like to make your days happier?”

“Honestly, you want to know? I feel terrible that I’ve made you worry.”

“I don’t mind the worrying, it’s the reasons that I worry about. We’re happy, right?”

“Oh, Simon. You make me very happy. That’s not it at all.”

“Then what is it?”

“I see everyone working at the ranch and I find myself jealous. I know that Blair would me disappointed in me, so I don’t say anything about how I feel. I would love to work with the Clydesdales. I often go and check them out. They are quite majestic and I feel like I would be happy there. But I know that Blair just hired Nick to work in that stable. Then I became extra jealous. As you can see, there is nothing that anyone can do. I’ll be fine, Simon.”

“Well, Jim and I were talking the other day about needing someone else for stable 4. We still haven’t worked the schedule just perfectly yet. Let me call Blair and find out what he thinks about it.”

“No, don’t do that. He’ll think it’s his fault. I would never hurt him.”

“Call Blair and explain to him about how you feel and see what he says. I bet you anything, he offers a job to you. You could say, the next time there is an opening, would you consider me.”

“I’ll think about it, Simon. Now, let’s watch a movie.”

“Okay, but this isn’t finished yet.”

Karen kissed her husband very passionately and Simon said, “Let’s go to bed early. You’re making want you a hell of a lot more than a movie.”

Karen giggled and pulled Simon up from the sofa.

Two days later, Blair came into the office and said, “Good morning, Karen. How are you today?”

“I’m great thank you. How are you?”

“I could be better. I found out I have a friend that would like a change in her job and didn’t come to me with the idea. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because you already hired, Nick. I was too slow. I can’t believe, Simon told you.”

“Someone has to tell me. Was the pay too low?”

“Oh, no, Blair. I love this job, but I’d rather work with the horses every day. Nothing was wrong with being the bookkeeper. I never would have told you I was unhappy.”

“But we’re the best of friends. I thought we could tell each other everything. Now, tell me why you would like to work in stable 4.”

“I realize, they only have six horses in that stable, but I love them so much. During my lunch break I go down and visit the horses. I’m surprised Jim hasn’t said anything to you. Being surrounded by such beauty is breathtaking and I would love that every day of the week.”

“As a matter of fact, we’re getting six more for that stable. It’s almost time to breed them, and I need some other stock. But Nick and Jim can’t do everything, you know. Even with help from Becca now and then, it makes it hard. So, how would you like to start on Monday? That gives you four days to get jeans and boots and things like that. Between the three of you, you’ll have a good chance of getting certain days off.”

“Blair, then you would be without a bookkeeper. That’s terrible that I’m leaving you high and dry.”

“Karen, I have someone lined up already. I’ve talked to her about it and everything. She’s Brett’s wife, Susie. She was hoping to get something closer to the ranch. She couldn’t get much closer than that. Simon would be in charge of making your schedule. You might have to work one day during the weekend.”

“She’s a bookkeeper?”

“She just finished her classes. I knew that she was taking classes at the college and talked to her. I told her I would keep her in mind when she got done with school. She got her degree a week ago and called me.”

“Oh, Blair. You are a miracle worker. Thank you for doing this for me. You’re the best. You’re the best even if I didn’t get the new kick ass job.”

They both laughed.

Blair said, “Now, go relax at home and go shopping for new jeans. You’ll need quite a few. And boots of course. Get out of here. Susie is taking over tomorrow.”

Karen jumped up and wrapped Blair in a marvelous hug. “I love you so much, Blair. You’re a great friend and boss. But mostly a friend. Thank you.”

“Go collect the kids and go home and relax, or go tell Simon to make up the new schedule for you. Then you’ll know when you start.”

“I’m going to go shopping. I need to take care of this. I need some smaller jeans anyhow. I’ve finally lost most of my weight.”

“I think you look terrific. Now, go and have a good day.”

Karen went down the stable 4 and looked for Jim.

Jim saw her first and said, “Good morning, Karen. You’re here early to look at these beautiful horses. Everything okay?”

“More than okay. Blair hired me to help you and Nick in the stable. I’m so excited. I just had to come down and tell you.”

Nick walked up and said, “Hi, Karen. What are you up to?”

“Guess who got hired to help us at this stable?” Jim asked.

“No, lie? Well, welcome, Karen. When do you start?” Nick asked.

“Probably in two or three days. I’m so excited. Well, I have to go and tell my husband to make up the new schedule. Thank you both for being so supportive. We’ll see you soon.”

Karen told Simon to put her on the schedule and off she went to shop. She had a new spring in her step and a huge smile on her face. Simon was glad to see her back to the old Karen.

TBC

Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch Part 47
Something about William
By PattRose
Summary: Jim learns some news about his dad and Blair comes up with an idea for his dad’s living arrangements. Now, just to discuss it with William.

Jim got a phone call that morning from Steven. “Hey, Steven, what’s up?”

“Could we meet for lunch. I have news about our dad and need to discuss it with you and then make some plans.

“Can you tell me what’s wrong?”

“Not on the phone, Jim. Meet me at the steak house in Dillion at 11:00. I’m already in town.”

“Okay, I’ll see you soon.”

Jim dialed Blair’s number and heard, “Sandburg.”

“Hi, Babe. I’ve got to go to a long lunch today with my brother. He said he has news about my dad.”

“Really? That sounds ominous. You can fill me in tonight.”

“I sort of wanted you to go with me.”

“Did he invite me? I don’t want to barge in on your family time,” Blair insisted.

“Please come, Blair. I need you.”

“Pick me up on the way out. I’ll be ready. Oh, what time?”

“I’ll pick you up at 10:30. That’ll give us enough time to make it for lunch.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing. Steven might want to talk to you in private.”

“Stop worrying, Chief. I’ll be there soon.”

They both closed their cells and Jim hurried to finish up his work before lunch. He called Simon and said, “I have to go with Blair to meet my brother today. It’s something about my dad and we need to check it out. I’m going to be missing in action for a couple of hours.”

“No problem. If I know you, you’re already done with your morning chores. I hope it’s nothing bad.”

“Me too, Simon, me too.”

At 10:15, Jim pulled up in front of the house and went to turn the truck off, but Blair was already heading out to meet him.

“Hi, Jim. Did you want me to drive?”

“I’m fine, Blair. Do you think something happened to my dad?”

“Why wouldn’t he just call and tell you if that was the case. Maybe your dad is lonely and he wants him to move closer to us and the kids. He hasn’t been to see them in some time. Mason is growing up so fast, I feel as if William is missing it all.”

“I guess we’ll have to wait to hear the news from Steven. Still think it’s weird to say that and then say I’ll tell you at lunch.

They arrived at the steak house and walked in and there stood William and Steven waiting for them. They got a table and all sat down looking at the menu. Except for William. William instead asked Steven if the steak came with anything.

Jim said, “You’ve got my attention, what’s going on, Dad and why aren’t you looking at the menu?”

“Jimmy and Blair, I went to the doctor and found out I have Macular Degeneration. I’ve lost about 40% of my sight in my left eye and about 16% in my right eye. The doctor said it’ll only get worse.”

Steven cleared his throat and said, “And it was my idea that perhaps he moves in with you guys to be closer to the family and he won’t be so shut off from people. What do you think?”

Blair asked, “What do you think of this living arrangement, William?”

“I don’t like it. I don’t want to burden you. And I would be in the way. I thought maybe I could get a small place near the ranch and that way I’d be closer to my grandchildren. I already sold my house, now I just have to find another one and soon.”

“Steven, how do you feel about this?”

“I think it sucks. They took his drivers license and everything. That’s why he wouldn’t come out to see his grandchildren. He feels useless and I’d gladly pay for his new home,” Steven answered.

“I have such a good idea for you, William. How about you have the first condo at our ranch. That way you have your own place, peace and quiet when you need it and we’ll be able to see you often. It’s come’s with a golf cart that you’ll drive around the ranch. Does any of this sound appealing?” Blair asked.

“Chief, that’s a marvelous idea. Dad what do you and Steven think?”

“I would gladly pay rent at one of the condos. I’ve never seen them but I know they’re probably put together nicely.
When could I move in?” William asked.

Steven said, “I could bring a load of his stuff tonight. He can bring his favorite chairs and bedroom set, right?”

“I’ll see to it that it’s empty to fit his stuff today. The appliances are brand new. So, there is no worry about that. Now, let’s enjoy a nice lunch without a worry in the world.”

“But Blair, we haven’t settled on a rental amount,” William said stubbornly.

“All the people that live in the condos get it for free. You’re my father-in-law, how could we do any different? Now, you’re moving in tonight. I’ll give you the one condo that has blue cabinets and so on. I really like it but I want you to love it.”

“You talked me into it. Thank you, Blair for loving Jim enough to let me stay close by.”

Jim said, “It’s not a pity thing, Dad. Blair and I were talking and we both said how we missed you coming up. It’s sort of a selfish reason.”

Blair decided to say one more thing while the food was still coming to the table. “William, we are selfish. You’ll make friends with people that are living inside the homes. They’ll all love you as much as we do.”

The steaks came and no one talked about the move except for Blair when he said, “Can you watch the kids for us while we get everything moved in? That way you can spend time with Mason and Ruby. They’re getting so cute and sweet, William. You’re going to love them.”

“It’s going to be great. I’ll gladly watch the kiddos.”

Once lunch was done, they left knowing they would see them again at 7:00 that night. William really did look excited. Jim and Blair, both hugged them both and were on their way.

Jim thought about the day and said, “Chief, it was really nice of you to offer one of the condos on the ranch. I could have gotten him something in town, but then I’d have to go into town to pick him up. And throwing in a golf cart is perfect.”

“You’re so welcome, Jim. I’m going to love having him close by.”

Blair had the condo completely cleaned out. He stood back and looked at the kitchen and thought, it’ll go with his eyes. Blair laughed softly and left the condo. When he walked out the door, Steven was pulling into the driveway of the condo. Blair called Jim to tell him Steven had arrived, but Jim already coming down.

It took very little time for the guys to unload the truck. William stood outside the door and waited so he wouldn’t be in the way.

When William walked in, he was shocked at how nice a place it was. The kitchen was stunning.

Blair helped William get settled. He turned to Blair and asked, “Where are my grandchildren?”

“At Megan’s house. I can get them if you’d like.”

“That would be nice. I would love to see them tonight.”

Jim came walking into the condo carrying Mason and Ruby was right behind him walking. William took Mason from Jim right away.

They all sat in the living room and talked about life on a ranch. William was s happy. He loved it already. And he had no idea how nice the condos were.

Before long, the kids were both fussy for bedtime. Jim and Blair left William with his new home and walked up to their home with their kiddos.

Blair would check on him in the next few days to be sure he was all right. Blair had a feeling that William would love it there.

Once William had the place to himself, he looked through the kitchen. It was fully stocked with wonderful food and drink, plus there was beer and wine. Blair is always so thoughtful.

TBC

Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch Part 48
For Dan and Megan
By PattRose
Summary: Someone is having a shower for Megan and Dan. Excitement is in the air.

Megan came rushing into the house after grocery shopping and said, “Guess what?”

Dan smiled and said, “Just tell me. I’m a lousy guesser.”

“Becca and Jan are having a baby shower for us on next Saturday. And they’re having it at night, so we can all be there. Isn’t the sweetest thing, ever?”

“I believe it is. But won’t it be for just you?” Dan wondered.

“It’s a couple’s shower, like Karen’s was. All the men get to come also. I’m so excited.”

“I could never tell, Megan. Come here and give me a kiss. Do you have groceries in the car?”

“Oh, yeah, I do. Help me really fast and then we can talk more about the shower.”

Dan went out and grabbed almost all of the bags and brought them in.

Megan looked into the car and saw the one bag left and laughed. Once inside the house, she smiled and said, “You left one bag for me? I don’t know how I was able to carry it in. First, I had to stop working at the ranch, now I can’t carry groceries in. For god’s sake.”

Dan laughed and pulled her into his arms. “I just don’t want you to have to do anything hard for the next month. Let’s just be careful, okay?” Then he kissed her with longing.

“Have I been ignoring you, Dan?”

“No, I just felt like a good kiss was needed.”

“Well, now I’m warm for your form.”

Dan burst out laughing and kissed her again. Groceries could come later.

Jim was sitting in the living room with Blair when Jan walked through and she said, “Could I talk to you two for a minute?”

“You can talk to us anytime, Jan,” Jim said, smiling.

“Megan is so excited about the baby shower in three weeks, but she mentioned it would be strange without her mom and sister here. I was thinking about taking a collection up and sending for them so they could surprise her.”

Blair said, “Don’t be silly, we’ll send for them. In fact, I’ll call her tonight. I have her number on Megan’s application. I’m sure they would love to come.”

“Maybe they could stay a week?” Jan asked.

“Yes, they’ll stay at the 2nd condo, next to William’s place. They should be comfortable there,” Jim answered.

“She may want them at her house, Jim. But we could plan on the condo unless Megan has a fit,” Blair said.

“Oh, this is going to be so special for Megan. I took her to lunch today and she’s miserable being off work. I swear we’re going to have to force her to stay home with this baby for more than a week or two.”

“Jan, you’re a good friend to Megan and Dan. By the way, Jan, my dad bought the crib, dressing table and dresser for the baby’s room. Hopefully, they haven’t done it yet.”

“Oh, cool. I was going to take a collection up for that. How did he know what she wanted?” Jan wondered.

“He asked her what kind of crib they got and she told him that if she didn’t get one at the shower, she was buying this beautiful set in Butte at the baby store. And he went to the baby store and they remembered Megan. She put a few things on layaway. But wasn’t sure what her friends got, so she might have to change those too. We’re driving her nuts.”

“That’s so nice of William. What did you get her, Jim and Blair.”

Blair started almost bouncing and Jim said, “Go ahead, Chief.”

“We got her a baby swing, a baby walker and a high chair,” Blair said, happily. “We also got them in grey in case she has a boy.”

Jan smiled and said, “Don’t tell her I told you but it is a boy. You can see on the ultrasound. The grey bedroom will be darling.”

“Do they have names picked out?” Jim asked.

“Dan asked if he could choose a Native American name. She agreed.”

Blair and Jim both waited to hear what it was. Jan laughed and said, “She didn’t tell me.”

“Oh, that makes sense I would guess,” Jim said.

Blair said, “I bet he picked out something good for him.”

Jim laughed and said, “Well, Duh.”

They all laughed this time.

Jim yawned and Jan said, “I’ll let you guys relax a little before bed. Talk soon.”

“Isn’t that great about them having a little boy?”

“I asked Dan one day and he said, he only wanted a healthy baby. Didn’t matter to him if it was a boy or girl. I feel the same way. But I’m glad we have one of each,” Jim admitted.

“I am too, man. And they are so damned cute. I just love being a parent so far. I know there are going to be times we question why we wanted to do this, but I think when it comes to it, we’ll be happy all the time.”

Jim reached over and pulled Blair in for a kiss.

“Hang on, I have a question. What if the baby has curly hair? Native Americans don’t have long curly hair. Right?”

“Like I know, Chief. Stop worrying about things you can’t change anyhow.”

“Feel like fooling around, Jim?”

Jim was up so quickly that Blair just giggled. Jim was so cute when he was horny.

The following day, Blair and Megan’s mom got everything arranged so that they would be there the day before and it was at night, the next day, so it would still be a surprise. Just her mom got to come because her sister couldn’t get off work for a week. Blair was hoping that Megan might have the baby while her mom would be there. But that would just be too much to ask from the Gods.

The doorbell rang and Dan was standing there smiling.

“Dan, how nice to see you. What’s going on?”

“I wanted to thank you for doing what you did for my mother-in-law. Megan will be so happy. She’s been just a little bit blue at night when she has more time to think about missing her family. I called Beth this morning and she said she was so excited to see her. So, thank you so much. You’re the best boss, ever.”

“You’re welcome, Dan. And you’re the best son-in-law. Megan is surrounded by good people. Now we just need to keep her calm until after the shower.”

“You got that right. Did Jan already tell you what we’re having?”

“Am I that transparent?”

“Yes, you are. You aren’t bugging me every day. We’re excited that it’s a little boy. Would you like to hear his name?”

“I would love to.”

“It’s going to be Akando Tauri. Akando means powerful and Tauri means star. We liked the sound of it.”

“I love it. I’m so glad you’re naming him a good name, Dan.”

“Well, I need to get back to work. I’ll see you soon.” Dan walked out and was happier than he had been in ages.

Ten days later, Jim picked Beth up at the airport and brought her to their house. She was going to stay with them until after the shower the next day.

“Are you too excited about seeing Megan?” Jim asked.

“I am. She’s a peach and we all miss her. But she loves her life here. And now she has Dan, so that works too. I told my husband that we’re coming after the baby gets here, if I have to drag him.”

Jim laughed. “She’s going to be so surprised and happy. She’s really missed you these months. She should have went home a time or two. Maybe she will now and then once the baby comes. Actually, Blair was wondering about something special for her for the shower. He could give tickets for her and Dan both. Or just for her for like two weeks. That would be fun for your family.”

“We sure wouldn’t complain, Jim.”

They drove up and Jim said, “You get into the house as fast as you can, so she doesn’t happen to look up here and see you. I think it’s far enough away to keep it a secret, anyhow.”

Jim got her luggage and walked into the house.

Blair was sitting there hugging on Beth like crazy. “We’re so pleased to have you here, Beth. She’s going to be so happy. We’re having chicken pot pie tonight for dinner, is that okay?”

“That’s perfect. It sounds delicious.”

“Good. Jim will take your luggage up to the spare room. You can either go up and get settled, or just sit down here.”

“She won’t come up here, will she?” Beth asked.

“I doubt it. She’s coming tomorrow at 5:00. You’ll have to put up with us for the entire day. But you’re staying a whole week starting the next day. You could even stay later, I’m sure.”

“Oh, those days are fine, Blair. She’ll be sad when I leave, but there is nothing that says she can’t come for a visit a couple of times a year, correct?”

“Correct. She should have gone to see you early in the pregnancy.”

“Jim said the same thing. I think by the time she thought of it, she was too far along.”

Jim walked into the living room and said, “Beth your bags are upstairs in your room. If you need anything, you just let us know.”

“Thank you, Jim.”

“You’re welcome.” Jim really liked Megan’s mom and knew why Megan had missed her so much.

“Dinner is ready if you are, Blair,” Mary called out from the kitchen doorway.

“Come and meet Beth, Mary. Bring Jan too.”

Mary and Jan walked out and Jim said, “Beth, this is Mary our cook and Jan is her sidekick.”

Blair laughed, and said, “She’s her own person. She’s no one’s sidekick.”

They all laughed.

Mary said, “It’s very nice to meet you, Beth. Megan is one of our favorite people. She’s a peach.”

“I call her that too,” Beth said, smiling.

Jan said, “We all call her that. She told us how you call her that and we wanted her to think of you often.”

“Well, thank you, Jan. I’m starving.”

“Then we’ll eat,” Jim said, laughing.

The following evening, about 4:30, Beth was about going crazy. “Do you think it’s time for me to hide?”

Jim said, “Yup, she’s on the way up.” Beth didn’t even ask how he knew she was on her way up. She was too excited to realize anything strange at all.

Blair got her settled upstairs and opened the door for Megan. “Oh, you look positively radiant tonight.”

“Why thank you. I thought I wouldn’t be the first here.”

“Why?” Blair asked.

“I was hoping there would be someone here so I didn’t have all the attention centered on me. I feel as big as a house.”

“That’s so you, Megan,” Blair said, smiling.

“This is your seat, Megan. You’ll be able to see everything and everyone from here. Where’s Dan?”

The door opened and in walked Dan. “I’m here. She wouldn’t wait for me. You’d think she was excited or something.”

Jim pushed Dan over to the sofa. “This is where you two are sitting. The best seats in the house.”

Dan laughed and said, “Pushy, much?”

Blair said, “He’s excited too. Oh look, more people are coming. Now we don’t have to just pay attention to Megan.”

Dan wondered why Blair said that. It helps to get to things as early as possible. You miss too much.

Blair opened the door and everyone started to come in. They all had tons of gifts and hugged both of them and found seating. Before long, everyone was there. Including, William.

William said, “I didn’t let anyone else steal my thunder. I got the nursery items you had wanted in grey. That’s what took Dan and Cole so long to get here. They set it all up in the nursery. I mean they have to put it together, but you’re going to love all of it.”

Megan got up after three tries and hugged and kissed William. “Thank you so much. You’re an overachiever, just like your son and son-in-law.”

Everyone laughed. While Megan was busy opening the first gift, her mom came down and was standing behind the sofa. No one said a word. They all knew it was her mom because Blair had told them. Megan smiled at the baby stroller and said, “Jan and Cole, this is wonderful. Megan stood up to give a kiss to both and saw her mother. She screamed so loud, that even Dan was concerned. Beth held her in her arms and kept kissing her. Before long, she said, “Megan, let’s sit down on the sofa and you can open up some gifts. Dan and I will help you.”

So that’s what they did. Before long, all the gifts had been opened and Megan said, “Are you staying with us?”

“If you’ll have me. Ask Dan first.”

Megan looked at Dan and he laughed and said, “The room is ready for her, Megan. I did it up while you were with Becca this afternoon.”

“Thank you, Dan. That was so kind of you,” Beth said, smiling.

They served food, cake, ice cream and took tons of pictures of everyone and everything. They had taken a lot of the cake because it was so cute. Megan was loving every minute of the party when suddenly she made an odd noise and said, “Blair, my water just broke on your rug.”

“Not to worry about that,” Blair said.

Beth said, “Have you had any pain yet?”

“Yes, but I thought it was Braxton hicks. I think we need to go, Dan. I mean, now.”

Dan jumped up and said, “Jim, can I use your truck?”

“Yes, here are the keys. Beth, you go with them and we’ll bring up the rear. Good luck, Megan and Dan.”

They left and William said, “If someone stays with me, we can take everything down to their house and put it in the nursery. In fact, we could put the bed together and everything else.”

Jim said, “Blair, I’ll stay here with Cole, Brett and Simon. We’ll get everything put together. You go up with the girls and see that new baby. We’ll come when we’re done.”

“Okay, that’s fair, Jim.” Blair pulled him down for a kiss and then said, “Come on Jan, Becca, Karen and anyone else that wants to go.”

Simon and Jim started loading everything into the truck. And then Cole’s truck was there and then Brett’s. So, they stuffed all the gifts into the back of the trucks and headed over to Megan and Dans.

Up at the hospital in Butte, Megan found out she was dilated to 9 already and was glad. Suddenly Dan said, “Everyone out except for me and Beth.”

“But Dan, I’m hooked up to this machine…”

“Very funny, Missy.”

Everyone left and the room was quiet and Megan felt better. “Mama, we’re naming our little guy Akando Tauri. Which means, powerful star. I hope you like it. Dan wanted to name him something Native American. But then he said he would add Walter to it for Daddy’s name. So, he’ll be Akando Tauri Walter.”

Beth kissed both Megan and Dan. The nurse came in and said, “You’re crowning. We’ll just get you pushing and we’ll have this baby very soon.”

And that’s what they did. Dan did what he had practiced for the last six months and Beth held her other hand and spoke softly for Megan to keep calm. Before long, their little boy was born and he was so big. The doctor guessed him weighing at least 9 pounds. He had so much hair that everyone was taken aback. And cuter than they ever expected him to be. Newborns aren’t usually that cute, but this one was. But Dan thought it was just him.

They all got to hold him after they made sure he was fine. Dan cried when he held his son. He always dreamed of having a son one day. Now, he could dream of having a daughter next. He wouldn’t share that with anyone right now. Maybe months down the road.

The doctor came over and said, “He’s 22 inches and weighs 10 pound 2 ounces. He’s going to be a big boy, that is for sure.”

“Dan, do you mind telling everyone about the baby. I guess I have to get used to calling him by his name, now. Before it was a secret. Not any longer.”

The doctor looked at Dan and said, “We’re taking baby Akando for some tests. You go tell everyone your big news and we’ll get Megan all beautiful for company.”

“Thank you, Doctor.”

As soon as he left, they started cleaning Megan up and making her presentable for everyone on their way up.

“Mama, what made you come today?”

“It’s was Blair’s idea, Peach. And I jumped on the offer.”

“He’s one in a million, isn’t he?”

“He is. Now you close your eyes and rest for a little while. I’ll be right here keeping watch over you and little Akando.”

Friends came in and out all night long, but then they left for the night and Beth went home with Jim and Blair. Megan was getting released the following morning. And Megan couldn’t wait.

TBC

Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch Part 49
Infertility
By PattRose
Summary: William overhears something personal and decides he has to help Susie and Brett. Can he talk them into taking his help?

Brett and Susie were having Jan and Cole over for dinner along with William. Brett liked to invite William whenever they could. Everyone loved William. They all tried to keep the older man active.

When William walked up to their front door, it was open a little bit and William was going to knock, but could hear Brett and Susie discussing something personal with Cole and Jan. William decided he would sit on their porch and wait. He tried not to listen, really, he did, but couldn’t help hearing what was said.

“Susie, what did the OB doctor say today?” Jan asked.

“They said the only thing that would help would be to have invitro and we might get a child that way. It doesn’t matter. We’re giving up.”

Cole said, “Why not try it?”

“Do you know how much it costs?” Brett asked him.

“Oh, is it really expensive?”

Susie said, “About $12,000.00 each time. We haven’t got that kind of money. It’s better to give up now. You’re not even guaranteed a pregnancy each time.”

William rang the doorbell and Susie opened the door and said, “Welcome, William. How are you tonight?”

William could tell she was on the verge of crying, and still asked how he was doing. He loved this woman so much. She was an angel. Yes, William knew he was going to help them.

“I’m doing well, and how are you doing?”

Brett came into the room and shook William’s hand and said, “We’re all doing great.”

William smiled at all four of them and said, “I heard you while I was out on the porch. I didn’t mean to. I was just standing there. I’m sorry that I listened, but I’m not sorry. I would like to help you both. You know I have money and don’t really spend it on much other than my grandchildren and the children around the ranch. You know I could help you, why didn’t you ask?”

Brett smiled and said, “We’re okay, William. We’ll adopt or something. Maybe become foster parents. We don’t need a loan, but thank you.”

William had never seen Brett look so sad. “That’s just it, it wouldn’t be a loan at all. It would be a gift and you can’t just ignore a gift, right?”

“William,” Susie said, sweetly, “We’re not talking a small amount of money. We’re talking a lot and they can’t tell you if you’d even get a baby out of it. So, thank you, but no.”

“Not even if I gave every couple on the ranch a cash amount for their family? I want to do this for you and Brett, Susie. Please let me do it. And it takes more than one try, then we’ll do it. Now, I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m starving. I can’t wait to taste your lasagna, Susie. Let’s eat and discuss all this later.”

That’s what they decided to do. After dinner, William helped Cole and Brett with dishes and they started discussing the invitro again.

William looked over at Cole and said, “You haven’t said anything tonight, Cole. What do you think about this for Susie and Brett?”

“I think it would be great. They’ve been trying for three years and I know Susie was sad. She loves Jim and Blair’s kids but didn’t know how she felt about doing foster-adoption. She’s told Jan that it’s all her fault.”

Brett said, “William, we aren’t family. Offering us money is too nice of you. It would be different if we were your family.”

“First of all, I feel like all of you are my family. You don’t have to be blood, Brett. Please let me do this for you and you can continue to have me for dinner for the next year. Even though you didn’t have to have me at least once a month for the last five months. You treat me like family. Say you’ll take it from me.”

Brett thought for a moment and said, “One, time, William. I will agree to one time. And you will come for dinner at least once a week after that. That or nothing. Do we have a deal?”

William shook Brett’s hand a said, “Let’s go and tell Susie the good news.”

“I can tell you right now, she’s going to argue with you.”

The three men walked into the living room and saw the girls chatting up a storm.

“Susie, William has made us an offer we really can’t refuse. Dinner once a week for a year in exchange with cash for invitro.”

“William, that’s too much.”

William could tell she wanted it really badly, he walked over to her and hugged her and said, “It’s already been decided on, Susie. You’ll take it and try at least once. If it doesn’t work, you can go through the same people that Jim and Blair did. Now, I have to get home. Brett is going to walk me to my door and I’ll give him the check tonight. I want you to start all this soon.”

Susie hugged him so hard and said, “William, we will never be able to thank you enough. You are the most generous man we have ever met, besides, Jim and Blair. It was Brett’s lucky day when he started working here on the ranch.”

Brett pulled Susie away from William and said, “Come on William, we’ll go down to your condo.”

As soon as he walked into his own condo, he wrote the check for $20,000.00 for extra things like medicine and all that.

“Thank you, William. She’s going to make a perfect mom. You’ll never be sorry that you did this for us.”

“And you’ll be a perfect dad. Now, go on down and kiss that woman of yours and make that appointment tomorrow. I’m going to say some little prayers tonight just for the two of you. I prayed for Jim and Blair’s chances and you see how that worked out.” William had a huge smile on his face.

Brett laughed and said, “You’re not going to be the only one praying. Thank you again, William.”

“You’re welcome. Go kiss her. She needs that right now.”

Brett left William’s house and walked home with a big smile on his face.

Two months later.

William was putting a puzzle together and listening to music when his doorbell rang. He answered the door and there stood Brett and Susie, looking past happy and onto joyous.

“Good news, I take it. Come in, come in. Sit down and tell me your news.”

Susie smiled and said, “William, you’re going to be the first one we tell our news to. We are indeed pregnant, and everything is good so far. I have to take things easy for a while, but I have a very easy job. So that helps a lot.”

William sat next to Susie and hugged her fiercely. “I’m so happy for you, And, you’ll let me do the nursery up for you, like I did Megan and Dan’s nursery.”

Brett laughed and said, “I think you’ve done enough. This baby is going to be calling you Grandpa. I hope you don’t mind.”

“I won’t mind at all. Now, go and tell all your friends the awesome news. Susie, you take it easy. If you need to go into town for anything, ask me to go with you.”

“I will, William. Now, off we go. Everyone is going to be so surprised. Thank you again.”

“You’re welcome, again.”

They left and William closed his door wearing a big smile once again. This was indeed a fantastic day.

Cole and Jan were sitting at his condo and had just heard the news. Cole noticed that Jan seemed sort of quiet. He decided to ask her what was wrong.

“Hey, Jan, what’s wrong and don’t say nothing. I can tell there is something amiss.”

“How do you feel about children, Cole?”

“I like kids a lot. Why? Do you want children right now?”

“I took a pregnancy test two days ago and it’s positive. I didn’t know how to tell you. If this isn’t the right time, I’ll understand.”

“And what? You would get rid of the baby?”

“If you didn’t want one, I would have to think about it. It would be very hard on me, but I love you so much that I would be torn.”

“Well, thankfully, I love kids. There will be no talk of abortion. Let’s go and tell Brett and Susie.” Cole pulled Jan into his arms and kissed her.

“Honey, I don’t want to steal any of their thunder about the good news.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. She’ll love that you’ll be pregnant together. Come on, let’s go and tell them.”

They started out the door and Cole said, “And later we’re going to talk about getting married. Hopefully, you won’t mind marrying me.”

Jan squealed and said, “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

Now they had two pieces of news to tell Brett and Susie.

TBC

Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch Part 50
Barb Leads the Way
By PattRose
Summary: Rafe’s father, brother and sister come for a visit and they don’t seem to care for Shay. Rafe is very hurt by it. What will happen next?

Rafe stopped by Blair and Jim’s house and knocked on the door.

Blair opened it and smiled as he said, “Hello, Rafe. How are you doing this fine day?”

“I’m great. I asked Jim a question today and he said he’d check with you for the answer and I thought the least I could do is come up in person and ask the question to your face. I don’t know why I bothered Jim with it.”

“Slow down, Brian. What are we talking about?”

“My dad, my brother and my sister are all coming for a visit and I wondered if they could stay in one of the condos. My dad could have the bedroom on the main floor and my sister could have the bedroom upstairs. And my brother can sleep on the sofa. If that would be all right?”

“That’s fine, Brian, but I think your brother or your sister can have one of the condos to themselves. No one has to sleep on the sofa. We’ve got six empty ones.”

“Are you sure?”

“I am. Which condos do you want?”

“Whatever you give me is fine. I’ll get them ready for them.”

“When will they be here, Brian?”

“Tomorrow morning. I have the week off. Today was my day off, so I can go clean them up, wash sheets and so forth.”

“I’ll help you get them ready. How does that sound? I’m not doing anything. We finished payroll already and I have plenty of time to spare.”

“Blair, I’m not making you help clean up a condo for my family to stay.”

“Oh shut up, Brian. Let’s get started so you don’t have a thing to worry about.”

“Well, if you insist. Just don’t let Jim know you helped me.”

“He’ll hear us in the condos, but don’t worry about it. He’ll be fine with me helping. I want the condos to look great, so your family will think we’re a good place to work.”

“They already know it’s a good place to work. I tell them every Sunday when they call. Shay is really nervous about meeting them. I told her to relax. I know they’re going to love her. Don’t you agree, Blair?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know your family yet. But just tell Shay to be herself and things will be fine.”

Rafe’s phone went off and he answered, “Hi, babe. What’s up?”

“Where are you? I thought we could clean the house again this afternoon and tonight before your family arrives tomorrow.”

“Shay, the house is spotless. Stop being so fucking nervous. You’re going to make me crazy.”

“I’m sorry. I’m just nervous, is all.”

“Blair and I are going to clean two condos out for my family to stay. They won’t be staying with us at all. We’ll have them over a lot, but they’ll be sleeping at one of the condos.”

“I’ll help Blair clean the condos, if you’ll run to the store and get bottled water, coffee, juice and soda for both condos. I wanted to talk to Blair anyhow.”

“Okay, I’ll tell him. We’re at condo 8 and 9. Meet us here,” Rafe said, before closing his cell.

Rafe explained what he was going to be doing and Blair said, “She’s very smart. That’s a great idea for you to run to the store for the two condos.”

Shay walked in and said, “Hi, Blair. It’s good to see you. I think I can handle the condos by myself. I’m sure you have things to do.”

“You’re as bad as Rafe. Go shopping Rafe, we’ll be done by the time you get home.”

Shay handed a list of things to get to Rafe and said, “It’ll make it easier and don’t forget anything.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Rafe kissed her and said, “See you later, Blair.”

Rafe drove off and Shay said, “The reason I’m so nervous about the family is because Rafe’s dad treats me badly on the phone. I don’t know why, but I’ve never given him reason to be mean to me.”

“You told Rafe, right?”

“No, that’s his family, I don’t want to come between him and his family. Ever. I’m sure things will be fine.”

“Shay, you let me know if they’re not and I’ll talk with them. Doesn’t have to involve Rafe at all.”

“Thank you, Blair. I knew you would understand, somehow.”

“I think they’re going to love you. Maybe not the first moment you meet them, but the second day for sure. Try not to be so nervous.”

“I’ll try and calm down. Now, let me get busy here.”

“Do you like dusting, because I hate it. You could start with that.”

“On it, boss.” She started dusting and was singing a little song as she worked.

Blair sure hoped they would be nice to Shay because she was a doll. And Rafe loved her so much.

When Rafe got home, it was almost two hours later. He hated grocery shopping. He could never find anything on the shelves without asking. But he finally got everything on the list.

Rafe opened the door and smiled at how great the place looked and said, “Does anyone want to help me carry in the groceries?”

Blair and Shay helped him carry things in. Rafe made three trips for the beer, soda and wine.

Blair laughed when he saw all the alcohol and said, “Something you need to tell us about?”

Shay giggled and said, “Honey, they’re only going to be here for five days, right?”

“I forgot to tell you that they extended their stay until next Sunday. So they’ll be here 8 days in all. I’m sorry I forgot to tell you.”

Shay ignored this and said, “Both condos are ready to go. I think they’ll be comfortable. Although, I still say, we had enough room to let them stay at our house.”

“I wanted them to have privacy. Believe me, you’ll be glad now and then.”

“Well, I have to get home and see what we’re doing for dinner tonight. Mary is off. So is Jan, so I’m doing dinner.”

Shay said, “Where are the kids, Blair?”

“At day care. I was cleaning the house today and it’s impossible to do with them underfoot. I like having some time to myself too.”

“Now, I feel bad for taking up your time, Blair. I’m sorry. I owe you big time.”

“Don’t be silly, Rafe. Have a good time with your family. If you’d like to have a barbecue at our house, we could do one while they’re here.”

“I’m going to cook while they’re here. But we would like to invite you and Jim and the kids.”

“That would be nice. Just let me know. See you later, you two.”

Shay hugged him goodbye and Rafe did too.

The Rafe’s Arrive

Brian picked his three family members up from Butte that morning. He was so happy to see them. And they seemed genuinely happy to see Rafe.

“Where is your fiancé, Brian? Mr. Rafe asked.

“I couldn’t get all of you in the truck at one time.” Rafe answered.

“It’s just as well. She’s not family. So, it would have been awkward.”

“Hey, let’s not start on her already, Dad. She’s great, give her a chance, why don’t you?”

Brian’s brother Bill said, “She doesn’t seem that friendly when we call the house before you’re off. In fact, quite the opposite. She’s very stand-offish.”

“She’s great. Wait until you meet her. She is one in a million.”

“Your mother was too, Brian. Keep that in mind.”

“She’s nothing like my mother. She loves me and loves the idea of meeting the family. I’m telling you, she’s great.”

“So you’ve said,” Bill said.

Barb said, “I’m sure it’ll take a while to get to know her. What does she do for a living again?”

“She’s a therapist and a very good one at that. She loves her job. She works with children of all ages.”

Brian Senior said, “Oh, yes, the glorified social worker. She probably doesn’t make much.”

“She makes plenty, Dad. Why are you here if you don’t like her and don’t want to give her a chance.”

It was Bill’s turn to have a say. “We missed you. We certainly didn’t miss her.”

“Her name is Shay and you don’t even know her yet. Please be nice to her. She’s been so nervous thinking she wouldn’t be good enough for the family.”

“We’ll give her a chance,” Barb said. “At least I’m going to try.”

“But will all of you?” Brian asked.

Bill said, “It doesn’t matter if we like her or not. You’ll see as time goes on if she’s worthy of you.”

“In other words, you’re not going to give her a fucking chance…”

“I won’t tolerate language like that, Brian. I didn’t raise you to speak to us this way.”

Rafe pulled up in front of the condos and his dad said, “This is where you live?”

“No, this is where all family members of ours, stay. No one has enough room for three people, so you have two condos here. They’re very nice. You’ll find some food items, beer, water, soda, wine, juice and anything else you want in the refrigerator and in the pantry. Dad, you’ll be on the main floor and Bill, you’ll be upstairs. Barb, you’ll be staying next door. It’s a very comfortable place to stay. I lived in mine for 2 years before I got a house.”

“Did she make you buy the house?” Bill asked.

“No, we lived together in the condo I was in and she was happy there. But I wanted a house, so we have a house payment, but it’s very nice having our own place.”

Barb asked, “Are you going to hang around and spend time with us?”

“No, you’ll all spend time with each other today until I tell Shay that she isn’t going to be liked or welcomed by my family. You can sit here all fucking day for all I care. As I said before there is plenty to drink and eat in the houses. I’ll be back later. Don’t call me. I’ll be here when I’m finished breaking her heart.”

“What kind of a stupid name is Shay, anyway?”

“I made up the name for her. Her real name is Shannon. But she never struck me as a Shannon, so I came up with Shay and she goes by this now. She loves it. Does anyone have anything else hateful to say?” Rafe made this all up, but felt like he needed to.

“Barb, you go with Brian and make sure he’s not telling stories to Shay,” Brian, Senior said, hatefully.

Rafe went to shout at him but Barb grabbed him and pushed him out the door. “Come on, Brian. Let’s go to your house. I would like to meet, Shay.”

“Why do you want to meet Shay?” Rafe asked.

“Unlike them, I’m going to give her a chance. You have no idea what kind of life I’ve had Brian. All because I’m a woman. Dad is so mean to me and so is Bill. Everyone I date, they tell stories about me until they leave for good. I have no life and I for one, couldn’t wait to come and meet Shay. I felt like maybe I would have an ally. Do you understand that?”

“Barb, you’ve never said a word to me about this.”

“I thought maybe you would be like them, but today I saw your true colors and I felt hope for the first time in years. Can I stay at your house with Shay and you?”

“Yes, we have a nice spare bedroom. Shay will be so pleased. She wanted all of you to stay with us, but thankfully, I thought better of it.”

“We can’t tell her that they’re assholes and don’t like her. It would break her heart.”

“Tell me about it. But what can I do?” Rafe really did wonder what he should do.

“Let me tell her and you just stay calm. You can take Dad and Bill to the airport tomorrow. I’d like to stay at least a week. Maybe I could find a job in town and be closer to you and Shay.”

They got out of the truck and Rafe said, “You can stay with us for as long as you like. I wish I would have known how things were. What a horrible life for you.”

“I stayed. It was my problem, not yours.”

“Come on, let’s meet Shay.”

Brian opened the door and they walked in and Barb got to see this woman that Rafe loved for the first time. Barb walked up and hugged her. “It’s so good to meet you, Shay. I’m Barb. My family are assholes and Brian just had it out with them. But I’m not like them. They think all women are lousy and will leave you. And they have treated me badly, also. Because after all, I’m just a stupid woman that you can’t trust. Brian tells me that I could stay with you guys until I find a job and a place to live.”

“You’re going to stay here?” Shay said, happily.

“If you don’t mind.”

“You can stay as long as you’d like. Are they going to come for dinner tonight?” Shay asked.

“No, honey. I’m leaving them there until tomorrow morning. Then I’ll take them up to the airport. They don’t deserve to meet you or have your home cooked meals.”

“I’ll get them something to eat and you can take it to them. Then grab, Barb’s suitcase and bring it back.”

“What did you make for dinner?” Rafe asked.

“Chicken Enchiladas and you can take a whole pan to them. I made two.”

“Okay, I’ll do that now. I’ll be back.”

Rafe took off out the front door with the girls smiling at his retreating form.

“I’m sorry, they are such assholes.”

“What do you do for a living, Barb.”

“I do the same thing as you do. I’m a children’s therapist for the state of Kentucky. I guess, I could look for work here. Was it hard finding something in town?”

“Quite the opposite. They’ve been looking for children’s therapists for years and have had no luck. They hired me quickly. They will you too. I would love having a sister-in-law in town. Don’t worry about anything.”

“You’re too kind, Shay. Believe me, they were giving Brian hell the whole drive from Butte.”

“Did you meet Jim and Blair? They are the guys that own the ranch? They’re married. Yes, they are guys. You get used to it after a while.’

“My best friend was gay. My dad didn’t know, so I was safe. He doesn’t like gay people either. They are such assholes.”

“I seem to have heard that before.”

Barb laughed. “If you’d like to, tonight, we can do up a resume for you and I can give it to my bosses tomorrow.”

“That would be great. Thank you. We’ll do it after dinner.”

Rafe came walking in and said, “Dad told me to tell you that he’s not letting in the house again and I told him we didn’t need to go home again. Your home is here now. He thinks we’re all nuts. I told him Jim and Blair would probably rent one of the condos to Barb after she starts working and they found out Jim and Blair were guys that were married and said, they want to go home now. I need to run them up to Butte.”

“Brian, don’t be silly. They can wait till morning. In fact, let me call them.”

Barb got her phone out and called her dad. “What?”

“Dad, we’re going to eat dinner. Brian can take you to the airport tomorrow morning. Eat your damned dinner and shut your mouths.”

She closed her cell and smiled and said, “I’m starving.”

They decided to eat and talk for the rest of the night. Rafe felt like a million bucks helping his sister out, finally. Life would be great once again.

TBC

Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch Part 51
What Lies Ahead
By PattRose
Summary: What is new with Henri and Kelly? They find something out that could rock their world but instead it makes them stronger and more in love.

Henri was spending his day off arguing with Kelly about starting a family. Kelly believed they should wait until they were married. But Henri believed they should start now.

“You were on the pill for a long time. It sometimes takes up to six months to have any luck getting pregnant.”

“Fine, Henri, I will see my gynecologist this week and we’ll put the plan in motion. I’ve been off the pill for about 8 months, Henri. Maybe there is something wrong. Do you think there might be?”

“Kelly, I think it just takes time.”

“I’ll make my appointment now,” Kelly said, and she got ready to call.”

“I’m a happy man, Kelly. We’re going to have a great family soon. Thank you for agreeing to do this with me.”

When Kelly saw the doctor, and told him about being off the pill for 8 months, he said he wanted to get some tests done and see if she had problems with her ovaries or something. He set up a batch of tests and sent her to the hospital to have them all done the following day.

She took off, the following day to drive up to Butte and she thought the tests had all gone correctly and would hear some good news soon.

That night, Henri walked into the house and saw that Kelly wasn’t making dinner or anything, so he wondered where she was. He found her in their bedroom, lying on their bed. He could see she was awake and asked, “What’s wrong, Kelly?”

“I can’t have children, Henri. I just feel like I ruined your life. I’m so sorry, babe.”

“The doctor said that?”

“Yes. My ovaries aren’t making any eggs. It’s called primary ovarian insufficiency. They have even labeled it premature menopause. I’m so sad, Henri.”

Henri kissed her and said, “Then we’ll adopt like Jim, Blair, Joel and Nick did. Their children are wonderful.”

“It’ll take me a while to get used to the fact that we can’t have our own. Once, I’m over that, we’ll fill out all the paperwork and get started. I didn’t know how you felt about adoption.”

“They would still be our child or children. I would love them just as much.”

“Are you certain, Henri? And what about your mom? Your brother’s all have children. Maybe she couldn’t love a child from adoption.”

“My mama would die if she heard you say that, Kelly. She loves children no matter where they come from.”

“In that case, we’ll get the ball rolling for adoption. I know it takes a while. I love you, Henri.”

“I love you, back, Kelly. Now, let’s make something for dinner. I’m starving.”

Kelly was still a little down, but didn’t let Henri know. It shouldn’t have made a difference, but it sort of did to Kelly. She would have to come to terms with it as time went on.

In the following months, Kelly’s period stopped which the doctor said would happen. But Kelly felt as though her life was ending. Now, she wasn’t even a real woman. Menopause? Kelly didn’t tell Henri because she didn’t want him worrying. They had filled out all the paperwork for adopting a child. Now, they were on a waiting list. Kelly found herself somewhat excited about it. She would just have to be the best freaking adoptive mom in history. That’s all there was to it.

The foster parent program called one afternoon. Kelly answered, “Hello.”

“Kelly? This is Marge from the foster program. We have a baby for you. As you asked, she is a mixed race, African American and White. She is six months old. She’s so cute. Her name is Jayla. You can change that if you want to. In case you don’t care for that. There is always an option to change it.”

“I’m so shocked that you’re calling already. I thought it would be up to a year or something. Does she have a middle name?”

“Yes, it’s Jayla Claire. Do you hate it?” Marge asked, almost laughing.

“I like Jayla. It’s cute and different. And Clair is my mom’s name, so that will be nice. When can we get her?”

“Do you have a crib yet?”

“Not yet, but Henri and I can go get it right now.”

“If that’s the case, you can pick her up tomorrow afternoon. Just call me in the morning and I’ll tell you what’s going on.”

“Marge, are the parents all right with this?”

“Both parents od’d at their house. A neighbor heard Jayla crying non-stop and went and checked on her. They found the dead bodies. There is no other family.”

“Okay. I’m glad to hear you checked. We’ll go shopping today and have the nursery done before you know it.”

“We’ll see you tomorrow. Have fun doing up the nursery.”

Kelly called Henri and said, “Is there any chance of you getting off work? They called about a baby. It’s a girl. Her name is Jayla Claire. We get her tomorrow, so we have to finish the nursery tonight. Are you up for it, or do you want me to go alone?”

“I’ll ask Simon if I can get off. I’m sure he’ll say yes. And tomorrow is my day off, making it almost perfect. I’ll see you in a few, Mommy.”

Kelly, smiled and said, “Hurry.”

When Kelly and Henri got up to Butte, they hit every store in town that carried baby items. They bought tons of clothing for her, the crib, the changing table, dresser, high chair, car seats for both of their cars and baby swing. Then they shopped for bedding for the crib. They got plenty of all. The last thing on her list was bottles. She got the best ones with good ratings. They were very expensive, but supposedly the best on the market.

They put everything in the back of the truck and headed home.

“I’m so damned excited, Kelly. We’re going to have a little girl. I bet she’s cute.”

“And her name is darling. We had a choice in changing it, but I figured at six months she would already know her name. Plus, I really liked the sound of Jayla. How about you, Henri?”

“I love her name. I can’t wait to meet her. We got the car seats, right?”

“Yes, Henri. Relax. I think we have everything we need except for formula. I didn’t know what kind to get her.”

When they got home, they started putting everything together. Before long, the nursery was a darling nursery. They had bought beautiful bedding, which Kelly was washing right then. Once they were done, they stood back and admired the room.

“What do you think, Henri?”

“I think we did really good on short notice. She’s going to have it made with us. We’re going to love her like no other mommy and daddy would.”

“I bought a baby book, so we’ll start filling that out as soon as we get her home where she belongs.”

“I put the car seats in both of our trucks. We are set, babe.”

“Thank you, Henri. Now, I have to call Karen and tell her our news.”

“You didn’t call her before I got home?” Henri was shocked. After all, Karen was her sister.

“I was too busy getting a list made for us.” Kelly dialed Karen’s number and heard, “Hello.”

“Hi, Karen, guess what?”

“You get a baby soon?” Karen squealed.

“We do. We pick her up tomorrow afternoon. We just finished the nursery. It’s so cute. You’re going to love it. Anyhow, Jayla Claire is six months old and mixed races. She’ll look like she belongs. We’re so excited. I can’t wait for you and Simon and the kids to come over and meet her.”

“We’ll be over first thing tomorrow night. The twins are going to be so thrilled.”

“Henri is on cloud nine, let me tell you.”

“How do you feel about it, Kelly?”

“Honestly, I’m so happy, it’s unreal. I can’t wait to get her home and start being her mama. Six months old is a nice age too. We’ll take lots of pictures for the baby announcements.”

“Good, you know to send them to all family members and all of the ranch family, right?”

“Yeah, Karen. I know who to send them to.” Both girls laughed.

“Call me tomorrow and let me know how she’s doing. I’m so excited.”

“So are we. We just have to keep pinching ourselves. It’s like a dream.”

“I’m going to go and tell Simon. We’ll see you tomorrow night.”

“Night, sis.” Kelly curled into Henri’s arms and started to kiss him.

“I’m too excited to fool around, Kelly. Too much on my mind, I would guess.”

“I didn’t want sex. Just wanted to be in your arms,” Kelly said.

“Do we tell them to put our name on the list for another child as time goes on? Or did you not want more than one?”

“I wanted at least two. But not at the same time.”

Henri laughed and said, “I agree. Not at the same time. Jayla will keep us busy for a while.”

The next day found two very excited parents in the waiting room of the foster parent complex.

A girl came to the door and said, “Henri and Kelly Brown…”

They got up immediately and almost ran, making the girl smile big time. She never tired of seeing the new parents getting so excited.

The girl led them to Marge’s office and smiled as she opened the door. “Marge is ready for you both.”

Henri and Kelly walked in and almost melted when they saw their baby. She was so cute.

Marge said, “Come closer and meet your daughter. Isn’t she the cutest thing on earth?”

Henri was the first to speak. “She is. She’s truly beautiful.”

Kelly picked her right up out of the baby seat she was in and kissed and hugged her numerous times.

Marge said, “I have everything you’ll need for a few days in this diaper bag. Everything else you need is on the list that is also in the diaper bag.”

“I got a diaper bag. I should have asked,” Kelly said.

“Save it for later. You never know if this one will last as long as you need it. Did they come out for inspection last night?”

Henri said, “They sure did. Didn’t they tell you?”

“Honestly, I didn’t have time to check. They brought Jayla to me at 6:00 a.m. This has been a crazy day for me. I need you to sign these papers and in six months, they will contact you to sign adoption papers. OK? Do you want to remain on the list for future children?”

Henri answered, “Yes, we sure do. Not right away but in the future.”

“Remember that someone will be coming to check out the baby in the next six months. Relax. It’s normal and easy as pie. Now, if you’re set, your family is ready to go home.”

Henri carried Jayla out to the car. Kelly carried the huge diaper bag that weighed a ton.

When they got to the car, Kelly said, “I have no idea why this bag is so heavy. It weighs a ton.”

Henri kissed Jayla before he set her into her car seat. He did it up and they got in for the drive home.

Kelly was reading the list of things they needed for the baby. She asked, “Henri, could we stop at the grocery store before we go home. I’ll just run in and get a few things. Her formula and her baby food are what is on the list. We have no baby food at all.”

“You mean in Butte?” Henri asked.

“No, in Dillion. Oh my gosh, Henri, she is so cute.”

“She is. She even resembles us.”

Kelly started to laugh and said, “Wishful thinking, I guess.”

“She reminds me of you already.”

“Seriously? She’s a baby. She looks like Jayla and no one else.”

When they got to Dillion, Henri pulled in to the grocery store and said, “Want us to come with?”

“No, it’ll just take me a moment to get everything we need. I love you Henri and I love you, Jayla.”

Henri smiled and looked in the rearview mirror. Jayla had woken up but she wasn’t crying. She was just looking around.

Kelly came out with two bags of groceries.

Henri asked, “I thought you were just getting a few things. What’s going on?”

“I got carried away. So, shoot me, Henri. I was excited.”

When they got home, their home was all lit up and Simon was standing outside of their house, looking like he was watching for Kelly to get home.

“I knew my sister couldn’t stand being away from the new baby.”

“I think it’s nice. Let’s get Jayla in there and introduce her to them,” Henri said, happily.

Kelly knew that this was just the beginning. They would have lots of visitors for the next week or so. And it was all good with Kelly.

TBC

Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch Part 52
What’s New?

Blair got busy over the last two months and had a day care center built for Miss Sadi and Miss Fran. Their house wasn’t big enough for all the children. Miss Sadie had hired two other women and a man to work with her. The five of them hoped that they’d be able to handle all of the children and the new ones coming up. With all the new babies to worry about, they had to have the place big enough.

Blair was busy doing books with Susie when the doorbell rang. Blair went to answer it and saw it was Miss Sadie. He smiled as he opened the door.

“Hello, Miss Sadie. What can I do for you?”

“I wondered if you have a move-in date for the daycare center yet? It’s getting crowded at my house. And I want to be sure we’ll have a place for your angels, too.”

“We get the keys in four days. Will you be able to stand it for four more days?” Blair asked, hoping she could.

“Yes, that’s fine. Will it have anything in the building at all?” Sadie asked.

“Yes, the bedrooms will have cribs and beds and also changing tables. There is a fully functioning living room, dining room, and kitchen. Everything you need will be in it. You’ll be able to move right in.”

“Fran will be glad to hear this. Did Susie and Jan plan on bringing their babies to our place?”

Blair smiled and said, “Yes, everyone wants to go to this daycare center. It’s enormous, Sadie. The dining room has 10 highchairs, three dining tables, and chairs. The kids are going to love it, not just you adults.”

“I’ll let you get back to work. We’ll see you in four days, then. Bye.”

“The time will fly by, Miss Sadie. Not to worry.”

Blair shut the door and realized that he still had to stock the gigantic pantry in the next four days. Maybe Susie would help him.

Blair walked into the office and said, “Susie, how would you like to shop at Costco with me for the daycare pantry? I need to get it done and soon.”

“We are now done with payroll, so we can do anything we want.” Susie loved working with Blair every day. He always found things to do for both of them.

“Let’s drop payroll down to the men and women, and we’ll go from there.”

“We don’t have to do anything with it now, because it’s automatically put into every bank account. I even got yours, Jan’s, Mary’s, and mine done. We are all set.”

“I forgot everyone signed up for direct deposit. Boy, that’ll save time and trouble, won’t it? Thank you for everything you do, Susie. How do you feel today?”

Susie looked at her caring boss and smiled. “I feel terrific. Don’t worry, I’m not overdoing it at all. I promised I would be so careful to Brett. We’re lucky we’re this far into the pregnancy. The doctor told us I might not be able to carry it to term. I’m six months and we are grateful for every week I stay pregnant.’’

“I just know you’re going to have a healthy and happy baby soon.” Blair hugged Susie as they got ready to go.

**********

They shopped for two hours, but Blair made sure that Susie took little breaks and sat down now and then. Blair got everything except the milk, juice, and items for the fridge. Blair was determined to have this daycare ready to go on time.

**********

When Jim got home that night, he said, “Wow, that automatic deposit worked nicely for all of us. I imagine it saved time and trouble for Susie, too.”

Blair kissed Jim and said, “She loved it. She didn’t mind the extra work because it’s easier in the long run. Was everyone happy with it?”

“Oh, yeah. None of us had to rush to the bank after work. It’s time-saving for us, for sure.”

“What is all this food in boxes for?” Jim asked.

“The day care center is almost done, and it needs to be stocked. Miss Sadie and Miss Fran are too busy to do it right now. Susie and I did it all today.”

“Did they get the new women for the daycare center?” Jim wondered.

“Two women and one man. He’s younger but has done it for years. There will be five of them now. And Sadie knows that all she has to do is say the word, and we get another helper. Did I tell you about Rafe’s sister, Barb?”

“No, what?”

She’s going to do in-house counseling for any of the children who show signs of needing some help. She will be doing that on her own time. She only works part-time so that she’ll have time for the daycare center.”

“That’s great. But how is she going to live if she only works part-time?”

“Jim, Jim, Jim. She lives in one of the condos for free in exchange for doing the therapy as needed. She’ll be able to make it work. You didn’t know she lived there?”

“I guess not. Sorry about that, Chief.”

“It sounds like this daycare center is starting well. It’s so nice to have the center right near us in an emergency. Don’t you agree?”

“Oh, yeah. Super nice. And Miss Sadie will be giving monthly award checks to anyone who does everything they are supposed to. It’s just something extra for anyone who goes a step further for our little center.”

“It sounds like you and Miss Sadie have everything thought out. Thank you for taking care of it for us, who don’t know what we’re doing.”

“We are glad to do it. This is going to be a great place to work and live. Is Susie and Brett’s house ready yet? And how about the house for Jan and Cole?”

“They’re going to be moving this weekend. Brett already told Susie that she can’t help. Maybe you could keep her busy. You know she’ll want to help do things. Did my dad get the baby furniture for each of them?”

“He sure did. We’re going to put them in the nurseries when they move. They’re a beautiful set like Megan’s.”

“That’ll be nice. I know that Cole and Brett are both really into their wives and babies coming.”

“Is it time for picking out the new stock yet?” Blair asked.

“Yes, it is. But I knew you were busy. Maybe we could go tomorrow?” Jim answered.

“That’s a good idea. We’ll leave here at 6:00 and we’ll go to the Clydesdale ranch first.”

“How many are we getting?” Jim asked.

“I thought 12 because we have room for them and they are good for sales. We have room, right?”

“Oh, yeah. We have plenty of room. Becca will be so happy. She loves those horses.” Jim also needed to mention how well Becca was doing. “And speaking of Becca, she is doing so well. Better than we had even hoped. She’s excellent, and Jo comes to the stable every day and helps too. I’ve been paying her cash every day.”

Jim and Blair went in for dinner when they were called, and Blair let Jan and Mary know what was new with the Center.

**********

Two weeks later:

The new daycare center was now open, and everyone was thrilled, from the center's staff to the children's parents. Things were definitely looking up. Now, they would have more time for working and less for planning. It was like living in a small town.

TBC

Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch Part 53
Time for babies again

The new daycare center was up and running for two months, and everyone loved it. From the children to the parents, they were all delighted.

Susie and Blair were working on the books when Susie’s water broke.

“Oh, my God. My water just broke. It’s too soon, Blair.”

“Evidently not, Susie. Call Brett and tell him the news. Is your bag packed?”

“Brett, honey. My water just broke. Come as soon as you can. My overnight bag is sitting in the nursery, near the door. Please hurry.”

Susie started to laugh. Brett’s not nervous or anything. He just hung up on me.”

Blair started laughing too. Poor Brett has been nervous since she got pregnant. He always expected the worst.

Brett didn’t knock or anything. He came rushing through Blair’s front door, and Susie said, “Brett, calm down.”

Brett asked, “How far apart are the pains?”

“Eight minutes apart. We’re going to the new hospital in Dillon.”

Blair smiled and said, “Did you get Susie’s bag?”

“Yes, it’s in the truck. See you later, Blair. Come on, Susie.”

Susie kissed Blair on the cheek and said, “Calm down, Brett.”

Blair noticed he didn’t calm down at all. “Brett, would you like Simon or Jim to go up with you?”

“I think I’m okay. Just a little nervous is all.”

“That last pain put you at 6 minutes, Susie, so better get to the hospital right now,” Blair suggested.

Brett grabbed her and said, “I’m not going to deliver this baby. So, you better move.”

And out the door they went.

Two hours later:

“Do you believe how tiny she is?” Susie asked Brett, as he held his little girl.

“She was a month early and still weighed 5 pounds 3 ounces,” Brett replied.

“That’s true. Honey, the bag you brought up here is the baby diaper bag.”

“There were two, but I thought this one seemed heavier, so I grabbed it. It’s okay, Brett. We’ve got time. She’s so cute with her blond hair. And my gosh, there is a ton of it.”

“Did you bring your phone, Susie?” Brett asked.

“No, I knew you would have yours. Why?”

“Because I set mine down on the island when I got home, and I forgot it. Call Blair and ask him to bring them up here.”

“Call him on what? I don’t have my phone, Brett.”

“I hate to stop holding her. I should go home, get my phone, and then head up to the ranch to get yours. We didn’t decide on a name yet.”

“I thought you wanted Willow for William if it was a girl,” Brett pointed out.

I want Willow to be the middle name. I need help with the first name.”

“I suck at names, Susie. You know that.”

“Let me use this phone here and ask Blair to bring my phone up here.”

“That makes a certain amount of sense. Call him, babe.”

Susie dialed Blair’s cellphone and heard, “Susie?”

“Yes, I left my phone on your desk, and Brett left his at the house. Could you, by any chance, come up and see me and Brett, bringing the phone at the same time?”

“At least tell me what you had,” Blair whined.

“A little girl, 5 pounds 3 ounces. She’s so cute, Blair. Wait till you see her. Is Jim home yet?”

“Oh, how exciting. Another little girl. Congratulations, Susie. We’ll be right up.”

“Thank you, Blair.”

Brett said, “I feel better already, knowing someone knows. I hope Blair doesn’t tell everyone. That would take the fun out of all this.”

“Enough of that. We need to name this baby. How about Sophie? Do you like that, Brett?”

“I love that. But I thought we were going to name her after William?”

“How about Sophie Elle? The Elle is for Ellison. What do you think?”

Brett thought on that and said, “I sort of like Sophie Willow. It’s cool sounding.”

“Okay, we’ll go with Sophie Willow, after William. It would have been so much easier if we had a boy.” They both laughed, and in walked Jim and Blair.

Blair walked over to Susie and kissed and hugged her. “She’s beautiful. And look at that blond hair. She took after Daddy, right?”

Jim took Sophie from Brett and made little noises to the baby. “What’s her name?”

“It’s Sophie Willow, and the Willow is after your dad, Jim.”

“My dad?” Jim looked very confused.

Brett said,” If it hadn’t been for William’s help, we never would have gotten Sophie at all. We were going to name her Willow, but Susie doesn’t like it that much.”

Blair said, “Susie, name that baby whatever you want. William will be so pleased, but it doesn’t have to carry his name.”

“Brett and I decided that we liked Sophie Willow as the name. It’s a done deal. He’ll be so pleased.”

Jim handed Sophie over to Blair and hugged Susie next. “She’s beautiful. Name and all.”

“You know what this means, don’t you?” Brett asked.

“No, what?” Jim answered.

“Jan and Cole will be parents next. Cole is so excited about having that baby.”

Blair said, “Are they having a boy or a girl?”

Without thinking, Jim answered, “A boy.” Then he blushed and said, “I don’t know why I said that.”

Brett said, “Did you hear a difference between Sophie and their baby?”

“I did, but I don’t know if that’s what it means or not. It could mean the heartbeat is just different.”

“They want a boy very badly, that’s all they talked about. She’s having a gender reveal party next week. Everyone has to keep this secret,” Susie said.

We’re going to let you rest, Susie. Brett, you’ll have the next week off to help at home,” Jim announced.

“That’s great. Susie could use the help.”

“We’ll see you both tomorrow. You chose a shower for after the baby, right?” Blair asked.

“Yes, we didn’t want to jinx the pregnancy. Why?”

“Because Jan’s shower is in two weeks. Maybe we could do them together? Would you mind sharing with Jan?”

“I wouldn’t mind at all, Blair. Actually, let’s ask her. She may want her own. Now, you get going, so I can make my calls.”

“Okay, we’ll see you tomorrow.”

Jim and Blair left, and Susie started making her calls.

The following day, Jan walked into Blair’s office and said, “Can I speak to you about the baby shower?”

“Sure, you can speak with me about anything.”

“I’d like the shower to be for Susie and Brett, too. Mine, I mean. Unless you think we could throw a shower together for a week or two from now.”

“Did Susie ask you about it?”

“No, I heard Brett and Cole talking about it. I was hoping she could have one all to herself.”

“If that’s what you would like, let’s do it next week. Yours will be the week after that. How is that? I’ll get working on a shower right away.”

After all she’s been through to get little Sophie, I want her to have a shower just for Sophie. I didn’t mind sharing, but it wouldn’t have made her feel that good about it.”

“I’ll have it all planned in the next day, so we’ll get this show on the road.”

“Thank you, Blair. You’re the best,” Jan said, as she kissed his cheek.

TBC

Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch Part 54
Sophie's Baby Shower!
Summary: There is a baby shower thrown in this time.

Blair busied himself with the two showers he was giving: one for Brett, Susie, and baby Sophie, and the other for Jan and Cole, for their upcoming baby.

Blair got all the invitations sent out for Susie and Brett. He didn’t have much notice, so Barb Rafe helped him with the shower decoration ideas and so forth. She was going to help with the decorating and planning. She was coming up that night to help with Susie’s. Becca was going to help plan Jan’s shower five days later. Blair didn’t know when he was going to have time to shop for gifts. He might have to ask Jim for some help.

The doorbell rang, and it was Barb. Blair opened the door, asked her inside, and then they headed to his office.

“I’m so excited to help you plan this, Blair. It’s the first thing I’ve taken part in since I moved here. Thank you for allowing me to help.”

“No, thank you for helping me. I need it badly. What should we plan first?”

“I copied five games from a book on shower games. I thought all five sounded cute. You can review them and see if you agree.”

Blair started looking through them and smiled the entire time. Barb, these are so cute. Could I use them for Jan’s shower too?”

“No, I have five more that are for her shower. Given the proximity of the showers, we want to avoid the same games being played. It’ll be more fun for both of them.”

“What about the cake?” Blair asked.

“I ordered the cake, and the mints and nuts are already bought and paid for. I’m making baby booties to put the candy and nuts in. It’s going to be darling, Blair.”

“It sounds so cute already. Susie is going to be thrilled. Did I show you the invitations?”

“Yes, I received mine already. You must have mailed them the night she was born. They were so cute, and Susie is going to love this. I stopped over and saw Sophia. She needs a lot of things.”

“Like what? I need ideas, and I can tell others too.”

“She needs a high-chair, swing, infant seat, playpen, rocker for rocking the baby, clothing in all sizes, diapers, diaper bag, a bouncing chair, baby bathtub, baby bottles, bibs, blankets, and that’s about all I can think of. Does that help?”

“That helps me a lot. I’m going to give a lot of this to them at the shower. It’s going to be fun. Sophia’s cute, isn’t she?”

“She’s a doll baby. I’m so excited for everyone. I can’t wait to see Jan’s baby, too.”

“Before we know it, it’ll be someone new. Everyone here keeps me hopping, that’s for sure.”

Barb said, “Here are the table runner, the napkins, the plates, large and small, cups, and designs for the centerpiece. And I think that’s all we’ll need. She’s going to be so happy, Blair.”

“My gosh, you did it all. Now, I need to decide on food to serve,” Blair said casually.

“That’s on this list—straightforward things to make. I will come up that morning and help you with everything. I already took the day off. I’m covered.”

“Barb, you have helped beyond belief. Now, I can go shopping for shower gifts and gifts for the people who play the games.”

“Could I come with you? Are we going to the new Walmart in Dillon?”

“I would love the company. Come on, we’ll go and finish it all today.” Blair smiled at Barb, letting her know how much he appreciated all the help.

Blair and Barb went shopping at 11:00. They finished at 3:00 that afternoon. Blair was starving.

“Would it be rude if we stopped and had something to eat? The reason I ask is that I usually eat with Jim, and I don’t want to make him eat alone. Okay, I just answered my question. Barb, thank you for all your help. We’re going to be able to pull this off because of your hard work.”

“You are so welcome. And I need to make dinner tonight because Brian and Shay are coming for dinner. I forgot to mention, Shay wants a baby. But Brian doesn’t think this would be the right time.”

“I’m sure they’ll work it out, Barb. Ultimately, it’s up to them.”

“That’s true, Blair. Thank you for the ride. I can’t wait to help you get this organized.”

She jumped out to help him bring everything in. But Blair stopped her and said, “Go on home. I’ll get this finished in no time. Have a good night, sweetie.”

Day of the shower

Barb showed up bright and early that morning to help Blair. Blair opened the door and smiled.

“I knew I could count on you. We’re going to have this all ready by 2:00 easily.”

“It doesn’t start until 5:00, what will we do in between?”

“I have a gift for you, and I hope it fits. If it’s wrong, we’ll take it back. Sit down and open this.”

“Why did you get me a gift?”

“Because you went above the friendship line and did everything I needed. I could never thank you enough.”

Barb opened the box and saw it was an outfit that she had gushed over the day they shopped. Blair had guessed on her size, and she said, “This is my size. Can I try it on?”

“Certainly. Take your time.”

She came walking out of the bathroom, and Blair whistled and then smiled, seeing that she looked darling in it and it fit just perfectly.

“It’s just beautiful, Blair. Thank you so much. Can I wear it today for the shower?”

Blair laughed and answered, “Of course you can, Barb. You look wonderful. Maybe you should take it off until it’s time for the shower.”

“That’s a great idea, Blair. Let’s start getting this party ready.”

Before long, it was 5:30 and they were ready for guests. Barb went into the bathroom and changed her clothing. She felt so good about herself in the new outfit.

At 5:45, everyone arrived at the same time. Blair thought it was super cute that they all knew what time to be there and left between 5:30 and 5:45 exactly. Blair was impressed with how well everything looked, and the table with the cake and decorations was all set up.

Blair took Sophia and put her in the new swing that he and Jim had gotten for her. Then he had Susie and Brett sit on the sofa side by side. And the party was off.

At 10:00, the party was over. Everyone had a great time, and Brett and Susie had help getting everything to their house.

Blair was exhausted. Jim said, “It took a lot out of you, didn’t it, Chief?”

“You’re right about that. And in six days, I have another one. But then we’re done.”

“Until someone turns up pregnant,” Jim teased.

“Who would be pregnant?”

“Becca, Shay, or perhaps Karen.” Jim took off running from Blair’s hands, trying to choke him.

Another great day at Grey Wolf Ranch.

TBC

Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch Part 55
Cole and Jan’s Baby Shower!

Becca and Blair had done all the planning for Jan’s baby shower. They had hopes for a boy, and she told Blair to do it up in blues. But Blair didn’t feel like guessing.

He dialed Jan’s cell phone and heard, “Hi, Blair.”

“Hi. I wanted to call and ask you if you know it’s a boy. We’re getting things ready for your shower, and I don’t want to do yellow.”

“Yes, it’s a boy, Blair. You and Becca are so sweet to plan this. I’m so excited.”

“So blue it shall be. Talk to you later.”

“It is a boy, Becca, so that we can plan all blue, which is nice since you bought all blue. I need to get some more decorations for a boy. She’s very excited.”

“I bet she is, Blair. She’s huge for only one baby.”

“We won’t say that to her,” Blair said, laughing.

For the next three days, Blair shopped and bought all the cutest things he could find. Jan was very special to them, so Blair bought more than he had planned for gifts.

Blair had put their bedroom off limits, so Jan’s gifts could stay secret. Jan could look if she wanted to, but Blair believed that she wanted the surprise.

That night, when he and Jim went to bed, Jim cracked up when he saw the gifts piled in their closet.

“Do you think we've got enough for Jan, Blair?”

“She’s special to us. I went a little crazy, I know. They’re having a boy, and it was fun buying boy items.”

“I’m looking forward to having the ranch back to normal. Cole is off his game lately, and you know it’s because Jan is as big as a house.”

“Jim, this is Cole’s first. Take pity on him. Okay?”

“All right, but Simon feels the same way.”

“It’ll be over soon, Jim. Has Cole said anything about what name they chose?”

“No, not a clue. Why don’t you ask Jan? She’d probably tell you.”

“I’ve been so busy with the books and payroll that I have little time for chit chat anymore. How are we doing on ranch help? Do we need any more hands hired?”

“We could use another two full-time workers. Simon said he was going to talk to you after the shower. He knows you’re being pulled in all different directions. When you have a moment, we would appreciate it.”

“I’ll take care of it tomorrow. I’ve got some decent resumes to look through in the morning.”

“Feel like fooling around, Chief?” Jim kissed him to help him make up his mind.

Blair threw himself on top of Jim and said, “I’m yours.”

And he was.

The following morning, Blair called two men for the ranch jobs. They were both coming that day. Blair was busy doing the books while watching for them to arrive. He missed Susie. Doing all the books and payroll was complex for one person. Susie said she was only taking six weeks off, so it wouldn’t be long until she would be back.

At 10:00, Simon saw Blair walking towards the stable, accompanied by two strangers. Could we be lucky enough to have two more sets of hands?

“Good morning, Simon. I have two new hands for you. One is for your stable, and the other is for Stable 2. If we need any additional workers after that, please let me know. Now, let me introduce Mike Manners and Steve Jackson. And this is Simon Banks. You will answer to him.”

Simon said, “I’ll show them around. Which condos are theirs?” Simon asked.

“Number 5 and number 6. Good luck, Mike and Steve. Have a good first day.”

Mike said, “We get a condo?”

“Yes, it’s a two-bedroom condo. Hopefully, that will make your life easier.”

Both Mike and Steve said, “Thank you.”

Blair walked back up to the house with one thing in mind. He couldn’t wait for Becca to come up the next day so they could get the shower in motion. Tomorrow was the big day, and Blair was as excited about it as Jan and Cole were.

First thing in the morning, Becca arrived to begin work on getting the shower started. Becca said, “I have to get the cake at 2:00, Blair. Help me remember that.”

“Sounds good. Jan is gone until 5:30, so the house is ours for decorating.”

“Oh, good. We’re going to have such fun. I can’t wait for tonight,” Becca admitted.

They worked side by side throughout the day. The house looked so festive, and that made them even happier. Before long, it was time to pick the cake up. Blair did some bookwork while Becca picked up the cake. When she returned, they sat with Mary for an hour, ensuring everything was done.

5:30 that day

Jim was the first to arrive, followed by Jan and Cole. The house looked terrific. Blair could tell that Cole hadn’t worked that day because he was clean as a whistle. Jim, on the other hand, was breaking horses all day and was filthy.

“Chief, do I have time for a shower?”

“Yes, but make it fast,” Blair said as he kissed his man.

Everyone was showing up, and before long, they were all there.

Blair said, “Okay, Jan and Cole, you are sitting on the sofa, and we’ll bring everything to you to open. But first, we’ll play games.

The games started, and Blair was indeed a great host. Next was the gift opening.

Jim and Simon took all the big gifts up to where Cole and Jan were seated. They were opening each gift, and Blair was writing about it in the shower journal.

Then it was time for the cake, ice cream, and punch. Everyone was having a good time. Especially, Jan and Cole. They started cleaning up everything and putting all the gifts in the back of Cole’s truck.

Jan stood up, and her water broke. Blair teased her and said, “Doesn’t anyone know how to break their water at the hospital?”

Everyone laughed but Cole, who was freaking out. “Jim, can I use your truck?”

Jim threw his keys, and Cole caught them. I’ll call everyone after we have our baby.”

After they left, Blair said, “What are the odds of everyone breaking their water in our house?”

Jim started laughing and said, “Come on, Chief, it’s time to pick up our kids from day care. Let’s take some cake and ice cream for the ones that didn’t get to come.”

Everyone left to pick up their babies and children. It had been a great party, but now it was time for someone to go to the hospital and help Cole.

When Jim and Blair returned home to put their kiddos to bed, Mary said, “As soon as you get them in bed, I’ll stay with them while you go to the hospital.”

“Mary, you had a long day. I did, too. Jim can go to the hospital. I’m going to bed.”

They put the kids to bed, and Jim got ready to go to the hospital.

He kissed Blair goodnight and off he went.

At the hospital

Jim asked where Labor and Delivery was, and a nurse showed him. She went in to see if Jim could go into the room and came back, saying, “They’re decent, you can go in.”

Jim knocked and walked in, seeing poor Jan having a contraction. Jim could see that Cole was very nervous. Jim kissed Jan’s hand. She smiled at him and said, “They think the baby is too large. They want to do a C-section.”

“Well, they know what they’re doing,” Jim answered casually.

The doctor came in and said, “Jan, I think you should have a C-section. This baby may be 10 pounds or more.”

“I would have to be off work too long, doctor.”

“Don’t be crazy, Jan. We’ll get someone to cover for you for six weeks or more. Tell the nice doctor you’re ready for the c-section.” Jim used his boss voice, and Jan said, “Okay, I’m ready.”

They took Jan and Cole and told Jim he could wait in the room he was in. They would be back.

About 30 minutes later, Cole came rushing in the door and said, “He weighed 10 pounds even. He had tons of black hair. Jan said he looks just like me. He’s so cute, and his name is Jacob James after you and Blair.”

“Congratulations, Cole. Will it be all right if we call him Jake?”

“We’re calling him that already.”

Jim hugged Cole and said, “We’ll see you tomorrow morning. Kiss Jan for us, okay?”

“I will, Jim. Drive carefully.”

Jim walked out of the room, smiling so large that he could light up a room. Jim couldn’t wait to get home and tell Blair that Jan had almost given birth to a 10-pound baby naturally, because she didn’t want to miss work for that long. Jim smiled all the way home.

TBC

Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch Part 56
It’s Rafe and Shay’s Turn

Shay was over at Kelly and Henri’s house, seeing their little darling. Jayla was getting so big, and Shay’s clock was ticking big time for having a baby of her own.

“Shay, have you talked to Brian about having a baby again?” Kelly asked.

“I’ve talked until I’m blue in the face, Kelly. He said he’s not ready, but at the rate he’s going, we’ll never have our own baby. I want it to happen so badly, I even thought about getting pregnant and saying I don’t know why I am. But that wouldn’t be fair to Brian. I’m just about ready to give up.”

“Don’t give up. Maybe you need some ultimatums to hit him with.” Kelly smiled.

“I’m going to try tonight, and if he doesn’t want to, I’m going to give up. Maybe we weren’t made to be together. It’s breaking my heart.”

Then the girls started talking about something else, and the day was flying by. Soon, it would be time to speak with Brian. Shay wasn’t looking forward to it at all. Maybe she could talk to Brian’s sister, Barb. They got along beautifully. Perhaps she could suggest something. Shay would try anything.

Shay stopped on the way home to see if Barb was off yet. Sometimes, she got off earlier than other times. Shay had her fingers crossed. She went to Barb’s condo and rang the doorbell. Barb opened it, and Shay smiled so big that Barb knew right away it was something to do with Brian.

“What has he done now?” Barb asked, laughing.

Shay laughed too and said, “I want your advice on something.”

“Come in and we’ll talk. He’s not off for another two hours, we’ll have plenty of time to talk.’’

They both sat in the living room, and Barb waited for Shay to begin.

“Let me get right to the heart of the matter. My biological clock is ticking big time, and Brian won’t discuss it with me. He said it’s way too soon. I see all the babies and find myself getting jealous of them all. I don’t mean to, but I am.”

“Of course you are. Talk to him tonight and tell him you’re ready. If he doesn’t want to, you may have to move in with me.” Barb let out a bark of evil laughter, which made Shay laugh too.

Shay hugged Barb and said, “Thank you for being the best friend in the world to me. I’m going to go home and make a delicious meal for Brian, and we’ll see how it goes.”

The girls hugged each other, and Shay took off for her house. Once there, she started making homemade chicken and dumplings for dinner. But she saved the dumplings for when Brian got home.

While that was cooking, Shay made chocolate chip cookies. They were Brian's favorite dessert. She set the table and picked up the house, so that everything was in its place.

Finally, at 5:15, Brian Rafe walked in the front door. He immediately smelled dinner and cookies. He was instantly in a great mood. He walked over to Shay and kissed her like crazy.

“Wow, you’re in a good mood. Did you have a good day?” Shay asked.

“I had a lousy day. But I smelled dinner and cookies and cheered right up.”

“Oh, no, Babe. What happened?”

“Nothing, I just wanted to be with you instead of hanging with Henri all day long. I swear, all he talks about is Jayla this and Jayla that. I’m a little tired of hearing about her, know what I mean?”

“I went over to Kelly’s to see Jayla. She is so damned cute. You don’t think she is?” Shay could see this whole conversation going downhill.

“She’s all right. But Henri acts like he’s got the only baby in the world. I get a little tired of it.”

“I’ve got to start the dumplings.” Shay walked into the kitchen and started mixing the dough. Before long, he put them in the pot to cook for 20 minutes. She still hadn’t said a word. She sat down across from Brian and asked, “So, I guess we’re not discussing having a child again, am I right?”

“I’ve decided that I don’t want any. I hope you can live with that, Shay. I have great fun with you, and I don’t want anyone else getting in the way.”

“Dinners on the stove. When the timer rings, it’s time to eat. I’m going somewhere. I’ll talk to you in a week.”

“That’s perfect, Shay. You don’t get your way, and you immediately say you’re leaving. Where are you going?”

“Barb said I could stay with her until I figure out what I’m going to do.”

“You’re being ridiculous, Shay. Could you give it a rest? Let’s eat dinner and then we’ll talk.”

“No, you would talk, I would only listen. You’re acting just like your dad. I never thought I would see that. He’s not a nice man, Brian. But I guess it doesn’t matter.”

She walked into their bedroom, packed a bag, and then walked out the front door without saying a word. Brian was speechless. He couldn’t believe she just did that to him. She’ll be back when she tires of Barb.

On her way to Barb’s condo, she called Kelly and told her where she’d be. Kelly was shocked that Brian was doing this. Kelly could hear that Shay was close to breaking down.

“Shay, I’m off tomorrow. Come over and I’ll make sure that you’re okay. I love you, girl.”

She was climbing out of the SUV, carrying a suitcase, and Jim walked up and said, “Trouble in paradise, Shay?”

She jumped when she heard his voice. She started to cry, and Jim didn’t know what to do. He did the only thing he knew how to do, and that was to hug her.

Barb opened her door and said, “I’ll take over, Jim. Thank you for picking up the slack for me. I’ll see to it that she’s all right.”

Jim let go, and Shay walked into Barb’s condo, and Barb shut the door.

“I take it he didn’t want to discuss it with you. What a jerk. I thought he would be better than our dad and my brother. He’s not. He’s just as bad. I put fresh sheets on the bed, and I’m here to talk all night long. I’m off tomorrow.”

Shay told Barb about everything that was said. Poor Shay felt as if her life were ending.

When Jim got home, he was pissed. Blair said, “What’s going on?”

“I just had to hold Shay in my arms because she’s married to an idiot.”

“They broke up?”

“Yes, they did, and she’s staying with Barb in her condo. I’m so mad at him.”

“I’m going to call and pretend I’m worried about him and see if he’ll talk to me. Have you noticed anything at work lately?”

“I heard him with Henri today, and Henri asked him if he wanted to see baby Jayla’s new pictures that they had taken. He told Henri to get back to work. There was a time and place for talking about kids, and it wasn’t while at work.”

“I’m going to call the asshole,” Blair said, getting up to get his phone.

“Blair, you’re his boss. You can’t call and say something like that. I think Shay wants a baby and Rafe doesn’t.”

“Okay, I won’t call him then. What a jerk. Who wouldn’t want to give a baby to their wife?”

“I’m glad we went that route and chose to have the kiddos in our life,” Jim said.

“That’s us, because we talk to each other. I mean, did you ever not want them?”

“Our kids, Chief? I wanted them as soon as you talked about them. We must be mature or something. Now, let’s have dinner and stop discussing all this.”

At 10:00, Rafe couldn’t believe that Shay walked out on him. Just like my mom did…

He went to bed, felt sorry for himself, and fell into a not-so-deep sleep.

At 10:30, Shay walked down the stairs carrying her suitcase and said, “I’m going home, and we’re going to talk. I refuse to give up on him, and I won’t let him give up on me.”

“I think he’ll discuss things with you this time. He’d be nuts not to be happy with your return.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow and fill you in,” Shay said, smiling. She just knew they were going to talk.

She quietly walked in the door and set her case down. She stripped as she walked to their bedroom, and once inside, she climbed into bed with him and began to kiss his neck.

“Shay, maybe I don’t want you back. Did you ever think about that?”

“I only want you happy, so if you want me gone, say the word. I don’t want to be in the way of your happiness.”

Rafe didn’t say anything. He just lay there and waited for Shay to make the first move.

“First of all, you’re nothing like your father, and I’m sorry I said that. Please forgive me. I want to have a baby. Mostly because I’m hoping the baby looks like you and I know you would make a terrific father someday. I’m sorry I was pushing you.”

Brian pulled Shay into his arms and said, “I’m sorry, too. I find myself jealous of all the workers with their new families. Let’s start tonight.”

“Only if you’re sure, Brian. I want us both to be happy. I love you so much.”

Brian Rafe began to make love to his wife, knowing they would be fine from that day on. He was with the program once again.

Two Months Later

Shay was on her way home from work, armed with a pregnancy test. She didn’t think she was pregnant, but something felt off that day, so she checked to see if she was. She took the test at work and was going to surprise Brian once he got home.

She prepared a nice dinner for the two of them, wrapped the pregnancy test, and everything was set. She was so excited. She had also made a first checkup appointment where she and Brian would be able to hear the heartbeat.

Brian walked in the door and said, “Do I smell chocolate chip cookies?”

“You do. I never get to surprise you.”

“I wish you hadn’t made dinner. I was going to take you out tonight.”

“I love you so much. So much so, I got you a little present.” She handed the box to him and smiled. He opened it and tore into the little box.

“No way. No fucking way. I can’t believe we’re pregnant.” He pulled Shay into his arms and kissed her over and over again.

They both knew that this was the first day of their new life.

Four Months Later

They went for the ultrasound and found out they were having a little girl. Shay was the happiest she had ever been.

On the drive home, they talked about the baby’s future with them and decided on a name.

“I would like to name this baby after your mom, Brian. I think she was wronged, and I would like our baby to carry her name.”

“You don’t even know what her name was.”

“Yes, I do. I asked Barb, and she told me that her name was Zoey and thought we could use Joy or Pearl for the middle name. What do you think?”

“You’re going to love this; my mom’s middle name was Pearl.”

“We have a name, now we just wait for our little Zoey. I love you, Brian.”

“And I love you,” Brian said, with tears in his eyes.

Two Months Later

Shay felt as if she had gained another ounce; she would explode. The doctor took an ultrasound that week, and it looked like the baby weighed about 8 pounds. Everyone was thrilled for little Zoey to arrive. Everyone on the ranch gave a baby shower for the two of them, and William, of course, did the nursery up for them. Now, all they needed was a baby.

Shay’s water broke in town at her office. She called Brian and told him to hurry. Brian got there with time to spare. He was a big help to Shay, and before long, they were the proud parents of Zoe Pearl. She was so cute. She had dark hair like Brian did and looked a little like both of them.

Brian brought a gorgeous white blanket up and wrapped the baby in it later in the day for her first picture. Zoey was a little cutie pie.

Brian had made all the calls, and Zoey weighed 8.1 pounds and was 21 inches long. Her eyes looked brown, which would be fine with her mommy and daddy.

She was so darling. Brian walked everyone down to the nursery to see little Zoey. And everyone agreed with him that she was a beautiful child. Everyone was happy.

TBC

Chapter Text

Grey Wolf Ranch Part 57

The Ranch is Growing

Steven called Jim and heard, “Ellison.”

“Hi, Jim. It’s Steven. I wondered if you mind me stopping by tonight at 7:00. If that’s too late, maybe tomorrow morning instead.”

“Come tonight. We put the kids down at 7:30, but Blair can handle it if you need to talk to me.”

“Oh, good, then I can see Mason and Ruby. I’ll be there at 7:00 sharp. Nothing is wrong, by the way.”

“Good, did you want me to ask Dad to come up?” Jim asked.

“Sure, he can be there also. See you tonight.”

Jim wondered about what that was all about, but he figured he’d be busy today and not worry about it. After all, he and Blair were picking out some new horses that morning, and the day would fly by. Jim jumped up to get Blair so they could start as soon as possible.

On the road again

“Jim, do you have any clue as to what your brother has to talk to you about?”

“He told me it’s nothing bad, so I am going to believe him. Besides, I have the new horses on my mind. Don’t you?” Jim asked.

“That’s true. I bet he’s met someone nice and wants us to meet her.”

“That would be swell, Blair. I would love to have a sister-in-law. I bet you’re right.”

“I’d be willing to bet money, if you care to wager.” Blair laughed at the look on Jim’s face.

“Nah, I hate losing all my money to you. Did you notice that Mason has been waking up at 3:00 every day for the last week? I keep forgetting to tell you. He stays up for about an hour and then goes back to sleep. Why do you think he’s doing that?”

“I have no idea, Jim, but I would guess he might be teething. He’s been drooling a lot, and that’s another sign. At least he’s not crabby, right?”

“He’s a good baby for the most part. I do hope it’s his teeth. I can’t believe he’s almost one already.”

“I’ve started planning his birthday. I’ve gotten the invitations and everything. Well, I made them, but they’re done. He’s going to love his first party. I know Ruby loved her second birthday party. They’re growing up way too fast for me,” Blair stated.

“And the friends of ours that have kids have been having parties too. I love the family feel on this ranch, don’t you, Blair?”

“Oh yeah. Did I tell you that Naomi is coming to Mason’s party and has all sorts of things for Ruby since she missed her party while in India? She felt bad.”

“No, but that’ll be nice to see her. My dad asked about her the other day. I think he misses her.”

“Really? Will wonders never cease?” Blair began to laugh. His phone went off, and he answered, “Sandburg, can I help you?”

“Hi, Blair, this is Mea from the Foster Children Program. Do you have time to talk?”

“Yes, let me put you on speaker phone so Jim can hear too.” Blair put it on speaker and said, “Now, we’re ready.”

“We have another child who needs a home. The reason I’m asking you is that she is related to your kiddos. She’s a first cousin. I thought maybe you’d have room for her.”

“How old is she?” Blair asked.

Her name is Willow Paige, and she is 3 months old. The parents signed their rights away, and no grandparents to speak of. She has blond hair and blue eyes and is darling. Her mother might have done drugs while she was pregnant. Willow only weighed 3 pounds when she was born. You’ll have to think about this for a while and see what you both think. She’s an adorable baby.”

Jim asked, “No one would try to take her away from us? The parents are just giving her up?”

“Yes, they were terrible parents, Jim, and the little darling needs a new set of parents, where she’ll have a good start and can grow up without drugs and desertion.”

“They deserted her? Blair asked.

“Yes, they have two children, but I knew you couldn’t take on another child, so that’s why I only mentioned Willow.”

Jim looked at the phone as if it were alive. “Mea, you’re going to separate them?”

“Well, no one would take two, and I knew you two might be pleased to bring another child into your home. Willow’s sister is four. Her name is Cassidy. Everyone calls her Cassie. She’s got blond hair and blue eyes, also. I wish you could take both of them, but I know that’s too much to ask. What do you think of all this?”

Jim pulled over to the side of the road and said, “And what if we decided that we would want both of them? Why wouldn’t you ask us?”

“Because you already had two, and I thought that was almost your limit.”

“Blair said, “We’ll take both of them, but can you keep them for a week to ten days? That would give us time to figure out where we will be putting them. We only have one room left. So maybe the older girls could share a room for now. Ruby and Cassie might like sharing a room.”

“Honestly, I don’t think they would like to share a room. Ruby is very attached to her room, and adding another little girl will only make her jealous and unhappy. I’ve seen it many times.”

“Jim said, “How about using Jan’s old room? It’s still on the same floor as us, and that way, Ruby and Cassidy would have their rooms, and baby Willow would have her room.”

“I forgot about Jan’s room, it’s all cleaned out—nothing to do but pick up baby furniture. We still need at least a week to get them ready. How does that sound, Mea?”

“That would be perfect. You’re amazing for taking both of them. Now, the four little ones will be together. Let me know when you’re all ready for them, and we’ll bring them out to the house. They have very little, clothing-wise, so you will have to start from scratch.”

Blair asked, “What size does Cassidy wear, and how about Willow?”

“Cassidy wears a size four toddler, and Willow is still in 0-3months. They need everything.”

“Okay, I’ll call you as soon as we have a move-in date. Thank you for bringing us this news. I’m so glad they won’t be separated at all.”

They got off the phone, and Blair said, “Should we wait for the new stock?”

“No, let’s pick the horses. We still need them, especially since we built the two new stables. They’re huge and we need some new stock. We’ll start on the kids’ items tomorrow. We’re going to have to work hard to get in gear before Mason’s birthday.”

“Jim, I honestly think we should pass on the birthday for right now. We can do it anytime after they get here. It’s important that we get them in their forever home as soon as possible,” Blair guessed.

“Okay, we will have a late birthday celebration once the two new children settle in. I hope the four-year-old will like Ruby.”

‘’They’ll get along just fine, Jim. We can go shopping tomorrow. Please remind me to call Miss Sadie and Miss Fran. I hope they have room for them both,” Blair hoped.

“Do you think we need a bigger nursery?” Jim wondered.

“No, they can hold another two to four children more.” Let’s not worry about that. I might keep them home with me for two weeks. They need to settle in, and they won’t do that by going to day care right away. Let’s let them settle in first,” Blair suggested.

“Okay. I’m going to let you ramrod this, since you seem to know what you’re doing.”

“Thanks, Jim. Now, here we are at the Clydesdale ranch. We need at least 6 or 8. The quarter horses will be 10-12 of them.”

“Let’s get 10 of the Clydesdale. They have become some of our biggest sellers, which surprises me.”

“We’re going to need more help if we fill up four stables with horses.”

“I called two people and they start in a week. I told Simon, I forgot to tell you. Sometimes we get so busy that I forget that you’re the assistant foreman.”

“We’re getting just the quarter horses and the Clydesdale today?”

“Yes, we’ll get more after we get the kids settled in our home.” Blair was so happy.

The quarter horses were at the same ranch as the Clydesdales. So, after they picked out 22 horses, they were done for the day. The ranch owner would deliver them in a day or two.

The Ride Home

“Blair, I think we need a helper for Mary. She’s doing a lot of Jan’s job, and she looks tired. Do you think we could hire someone and let them choose their condo? And that way, with two extra kids coming into the house, we’d have more help.”

“I’m on it when we get home, I’ll find someone. Then, after we talk to Steven tonight, we can plan the rooms out upstairs.”

“We’ve got time to plan them out today before our children come home.”

Blair smiled and said, “That makes sense. We’ll do that. I can’t wait to have two new members of the family. Your dad is going to be thrilled. He just asked the other day if we wanted more after these two. He’ll be delighted.”

Home at Last

They spent the next two hours in the rooms upstairs. All they needed was the furniture. And they were getting that the next day.

“Do we tell the kiddos about the new baby coming and big sister?” Jim wondered.

“Yes, we’ll tell them before we pick them up. Thank God we have three seats in both of our vehicles. I never thought we would use that third row. The older girls can ride in the back. And the two babies in the middle seats,” Blair said.

Mary came upstairs and said, “Dinner is ready if you want to pick up the kids.”

“Thanks, Mary. I’ll go get them now,” Jim called out as he rushed down the stairs.

“Mary, what do you think about the two children we’re taking in?”

“I think it’s great, but I need some help. Do you think we could hire someone in the next week or so?”

“Already done, Mary. She starts tomorrow, and you’re training her. Jim told me you looked tired, and I see it now. Having the children in the house takes up a lot of everyone’s time.”

“Thank you, Blair. I needed help in the worst way. Jan is back, but she can’t keep up like she used to. This way I can help her.”

“This new woman is for both of you, not just you. She’s going to cook and clean. Her resume was impeccable.”

“Let’s get downstairs before Jim gets back. I hear the kiddos now,” Mary said, laughing.

Jim washed their little hands and sat them in their chairs at the table. Ruby said, “I don’t like this baby seat. I’m not a baby.”

Jim smiled and said, “It’s a booster chair, Ruby. Mason sits in a baby chair. He’s little. And speaking of little, you’re going to have a big sister soon and a little sister who’s smaller than Mason. What do you think of that?”

“No, thank you. I have Mason.” Ruby shoved food in her mouth as fast as she could, making everyone laugh.

“Daddy and I agreed to take in two more children for us to raise. Isn’t that nice, Ruby? The four-year-old is Cassidy, and that baby is Willow.”

“I don’t want them in my room,” Ruby growled.

“They’re going to have their own rooms, Ruby. They won’t be staying in your room at all. Okay?” Blair asked.

“Okay. Are they nice?” Ruby asked.

They finished dinner and helped Mary clean up while the kids played in the living room. Once they were done, they took the kids upstairs for their baths and jammies before Steven got there.

Once they were done, they went downstairs and waited for 7:00 to come. At 6:45, the doorbell rang. Jim answered and pulled his brother into a big hug. “I forgot to call Dad. Do you want him here for this?”

“Yes, I do. The more I thought about it, the more I figured he might like hearing the news,” Steven answered.

Blair jumped up and said, “I’ll call him now.”

“Hello?” William said.

“Hi, William. Steven is here with some news and would like you up here to hear it.”

“I’ll drive my golf cart up right now.”

“Well, your dad is on his way and hung up on me. Can you imagine? He loves his boys, that’s for sure.”

Jim opened the door and said, “Did you speed, Dad?”

Everyone laughed, and finally they all sat down to hear Steven’s news.

“As you know, I’ve been alone in Butte since Dad moved down here, and I decided I wanted a slower pace and thought a lawyer could make a living in a small town. If I don’t, we’ll have to think of something else. I sold my firm in Butte and bought the huge office next to the Candle shop in Dillon.”

“Who is this we you speak of?” Jim asked.

“My wife, Cara. We’ve been married for three months. Now, we have to find a house in town for us, and we are on the list for the foster program.”

“Is it the same place we went?” Blair asked.

“Yes, and she called us today with the option to take two children or separate them and take only one. They usually don’t separate them, but they had no one else to call for it.”

Jim asked, “Are you getting them? And when did this all come about?”

“Three days ago, but we don’t have a house yet, so we need to find one. Cara is in the car; she wanted me to warn you about her. She thinks you’re going to think we moved too fast.”

Blair yelled, “You left her in the car? Go and get her now. I can’t wait to meet her. Hurry up, Steven.”

“I did. I’m sorry, I’ll go and get her now.”

He flew out the door, opened up the car door, and helped a beautiful black woman get out of the car. She was gorgeous. Steven walked in with her and said, “Everyone, this is Cara, my wife. This is my brother Jim, my dad, William, and Jim’s better half, Blair.”

Cara said, “It’s so good to meet you all. I’ve been waiting for this day for three months. I told him you would be okay with his choice of a wife, but he wouldn’t listen.”

Blair looked confused and said, “What do you mean, we’d be okay with his choice. You’re gorgeous. Of course, we’d like you. What do you do for a living?”

“I run Steven’s office. I have been doing this for the last six years. It was a slow engagement. But at any rate, we’re here now. Do you know of any houses that would rent to us for right now, until we find a forever home to buy?”

Blair was bouncing on his sofa. Let me put the kiddos to bed, and I’ll tell you what I have in store for you both.”

“We’ll be right back…” Jim went to help Blair. The kids each gave kisses to everyone, including Cara.”

While they were upstairs, William said, “It’s very lovely to meet you, Cara. And I’m so glad you’re moving to Dillon. You’re going to like it here. Small town but a lot of people to enjoy.”

“Dad, what does Blair mean about what he has in store for the two of us?”

“I have no idea, Steven, but I hear them coming down the stairs right now.”

“Okay, do I have a deal for you. What about you both moving into one of my condos for now, and you can build a big house on some land out here?”

“I thought the houses were for people who live here?” Steven asked.

“It usually is, but I put a piece of land not far from those houses for you when you needed it, or if you needed it. Jim doesn’t even know. I had hoped you would move closer, and here you are. It’s three acres of land, complete with water, electricity, gas, sewer, and all the amenities you would need. It usually takes three to four months for a house to be built. You would have built in neighbors. But until then, the condos are two bedrooms, two baths, and 2100 square feet. They are enormous and nice. William lives in one. I have one ready and everything, if you want to move in tonight.”

“Could we, by any chance, rent one and have two children in it?” Steven asked.

“Tell us about the children,” Blair asked.

Cara sat up straight and said, “I can have children, but I believe there are so many children who have terrible lives, and I wanted to save at least two for now. We went to the place you and Jim went to, and they have two children from one family. They are African American/White. Perfect for us. The baby is named Jordan; he’s a little boy. He’s 2 months old. The little girl is Jessica, who is 18 months old. So, as you can see, they are very young yet. We’re so excited, but we didn’t know if we could take them because of the housing situation.”

Blair smiled and said, “Let me get your keys. And you can move in tonight. And yes, by all means, take those children and move them into the condo. They’re huge, so there will be plenty of room. Steven, what do you think about this?”

“I think it’s great. And we can have a house built on the land right away?” Steven asked.

“Guess what, Steven and Cara? Dad already knows. We’re getting two more children from the program, and they are related to our two. Cassidy is four, and Willow is two months old. We get them in a week. So, we’re going to be busy also. Just like you will be.”

“We don’t know of any daycare in town, do you recommend anyone special?” Cara asked.

“We just so happen to have a full-staffed daycare right up the road, here. Five people are working there, and you can call them tomorrow about your two. Nothing is stopping you from getting those precious babies.”

“Oh, my gosh, Steven. We could get them this week if we prepare everything for them. Blair and Jim, we could never thank you enough,” Cara gushed.

Blair went into his office and got the keys for condo number 8. It was the last one in the row, making it the most private. “Come on, we’ll take you down and show you around. Do you both have a car?”

“We brought both of our cars. I’m going to be running the office for the time being. But she needs one for the kids.”

“Each Condo has a double-car garage beside it. It’s connected to the condo itself. Come with us,” Jim said happily.

William said, “And I’m far enough away that you won’t feel smothered by my presence. But close enough to help if you need it.”

Blair sent everyone off to do their things. He stayed home with their kids and knew that Jim wouldn’t stay away too long.

They all walked down, while William drove his cart down. Steven and Cara got into their cars and followed them down. At one point, Steven pretended to almost hit Jim with his vehicle.

Once they got there, Cara opened the door to number 8 and smiled when she walked in. “Oh, honey, look how nice this is. Jim, we never discussed rent.”

William said, “I’ll pay your rent.”

“We’re not charging you for anything. Everyone who lives here lives here for free. It’s a perk for being friends with me and Blair.”

“I love the kitchen. Our apartment was so small. Do you think it would be all right to put both of the kids in the same room to start with? When the house is done, we can give them their own rooms, but for now, they will have to share.”

Jim said, “I think it would work out well, so they won’t be so nervous on the first day.”

Steven and Jim moved everything from their cars into the condo. Thankfully, Blair had stocked the fridge and pantry for one of the new guys. He would have to do the same thing for the new guys who were starting.

Jim said, “Can I have a beer, Bro?”

“I can run to the store,” Steven answered.

Cara looked in the fridge and said, “We have beer, soda, water, and wine. Would everyone like something?”

They all took a drink and shot the breeze until 11:00, and Jim said he had to leave. William had left half an hour ago.

Jim said, “Don’t forget to call about the kids tomorrow. If you need anything, please call me. And here is the card for the daycare. Miss Sadie is her name.”

Steven hugged his brother goodbye, and so did Cara.

Steven said, “Thank you for everything you did for us tonight. We’re going to love it here. Did I mention that Cara loves horses?”

“I do,” Cara agreed.

“Talk to you all tomorrow. Good luck with everything. I can’t wait to meet Jordan and Jessica. Sleep well. If you need us, you know where we are.”

Jim walked up to the house and saw Blair looking at him as he approached. He loved it when Blair cared where he was. Jim felt loved.

HE locked up, shut all the lights out, and headed up to bed. Once there, he told Blair about everything he had missed. Blair was glad Jim wasn’t too tired to fill him in.

“I need a shower, care to join me?” Jim asked.

“Where else would I be?”

This is another happy day at the ranch.

TBC