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As soon as Jake got to the front of the house he rounded on me. "What's going on, Jack? Why's Mom acting so weird? Why couldn't she tell me whatever it is?"

I put an arm around his shoulder and turned him to head across the drive and down the road to the pond down where Gran's party had been.

"Before I tell you, Jake, I want you to understand that I would rather cut my dick off rather than hurt you. I love you, Little brother. Do you understand that?"

He looked at me with fear in his expression. "I love you, too, Jack. I feel closer to you than any of my other brothers. So, what did Dad do now?"

That question surprised me and I just blurted out, "Mom caught your dad giving a new ranch hand a blowjob."

Jake laughed. "Oh, shit. I thought it was something serious."

"You... you don't think this is serious?"

Jake straightened his face. "For Mom, I'm sure it is. She's always had her head buried in the sand when it comes to my dad. I'm sure she's shocked to discover the truth about him. Hell, Jack, he's been blowing Dwayne and Donny since they could first cum. I don't know about Josh. He's so straight laced, I doubt it happened with him. He even wanted to suck me, but I wouldn't let him, so he threatened me about telling anyone. But... shit, everyone on the ranch but Mom and Gran knows he likes sucking cock. You knew that, didn't you?"

"I knew he kept a boyfriend in McCamey. I didn't know about Dwayne and Donny. If I had, I don't think I could've let that continue to happen. As far as you know, he hasn't ever tried to cornhole them, has he?"

"That means screw in the butt, right?"

I nodded.

"I've never heard anything about it if he has."

"That's a relief."

We stopped under one of the big cottonwood trees.

"So, this boyfriend... do you think he was cornholing him?"

I shrugged. "No idea."

"So, what's Mom going to do now that she's found out?"

"She wants him thrown off the ranch."

"Are you going to do it, Jack?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Well, if that's what Mom wants, there'll be no peace around here until you do."

"How do you feel about it, Little Brother?" I get a kick out of calling him that. He may be eleven years younger than me, but he's already an inch taller, just not as filled out. He obviously likes the name, too. He always grins delightedly when I call him that.

"You know, Jack, I've given things a lot of thought since Mom and Dad moved to the Pecos. Neither one of them are very affectionate towards us boys. I've gotten a lot more affection from you and Gran than them. I love them both as my parents, but as human beings they suck." He chuckled. "No pun intended. Do you know your dad has already hugged me twice in the short time he's been here? I was trying earlier to remember the last time Dad hugged me." He shook his head. I glanced at him and noticed tears in his eyes. I wrapped my arms around him and just held him. "I don't remember Dad ever hugging me. All our uncles do... every time they come to visit. Course I get hugs from Mom and all the women folks... but not Dad." He pulled away from me and wiped his eyes. "Damn, I can be such a big booby."

"Hey, I know how you feel. You have every right to let your emotions out and no matter what anyone says, real men do not have to hold their emotions in check."

He smiled at me. "To answer your question, I really don't care, Jack. Actually, I think he deserves to be tossed out."

"Well, since you're okay with it, I need to find Mr. Morris and feel him out about going back to the Pecos... at least temporarily."

I felt bad about up heaving Mr. Morris again. He's settled into running this smaller ranch and doing a fine job. The men are all happy with him, but I suspect they'd have been happy with anyone after Allen. But Mr. Morris was an old style cowboy - polite to everyone, no matter their age or status.

We no sooner entered the kitchen than Dad Bowden wanted to talk to me. I took him into Gran's office.

"Jack, I've got a situation that I need your help with. And it just might help you out, too. You've met Jim Thomas I believe. He's worked for me for over twenty years."

I nodded that I knew the man he was talking about.

"Well, Jim's wife is from over Pecos way. Her mother's getting elderly and a bit feeble. Carolyn's been running back and forth taking care of her mother over there and her family here. She's pushing Jim to find a job over there. I'm not telling you how to run your spread, but Jim would make a damned fine foreman, and it looks like you're going to be one short soon as you run Allen off."

I chuckled. "Talk about serendipity."

Dad B. grinned. "Yeah, dipity-doo-da."

"So, when would you be willing to let Jim go, and how soon do you suppose he could be ready to move?"

"Tomorrow and tomorrow," he said still grinning. "If you want to interview him, I could go with you this afternoon."

"Sounds like a deal. Dad wants a look at your spread, so why don't we take Gran's Suburban and all us men head down there."

"Let's do it."

So with J.C. in the permanent child's seat, a granddad on each side of him, Jake spread out on the back seat, and Sammy riding shotgun, I drove down to the Bowden Ranch. Gran waved us off, grinning at her men folk.

While I talked with Jim and Dad B., Sammy gave Dad a tour of his ranch. I'd met Jim before, and I definitely took a strong liking to the man as we talked. He had two teenage boys and a little girl. It was obvious that his wife and kids adored him. I hired him on the spot. We shook hands on it. Sam promised that a couple of hands would help Caroline pack their belongings into one of the horse trailers while Jim accompanied me over to the Pecos tomorrow morning.

I thought everything was copasetic until we got home and closed the bedroom door. Sammy, with his hand stuck deep in his front pockets, confronted me with a pained expression.

"Something wrong, Babe?

"Did it ever occur to you, Jack, to confer with me before hiring my men out from under me?"

"I don't get it. It was your dad that suggested it."

"And he's the one running the ranch these days?"

"No, but..."

He cut me off. "Dad gave me the ranch as a wedding present. It's been mine for nearly six years."

"I... I didn't know that. I just assumed that he was just letting you run it."

Sammy sighed. "I'm sorry. I should have told you. I just figured that everyone, including you, knew."

I stepped up and embraced him. With his hand still stuffed in his pockets, all he could do was lie against me with his head on my shoulder.

"Is it alright that I hired Jim?" I asked.

Sammy pulled away from me and grinned. "Of course it is. I just got my nose out of joint. He was ready to quit anyway with Caroline bugging him to move to Pecos. You were a godsend for them, Jack."

"So, do you want to go with us tomorrow? You know Gran and Mom will be more than willing to take care of J.C."

"Dad can do that." Sammy had stripped down to his Jockeys, so I quickly followed his lead.

"So, are you going?"

"Unless you tie me up and leave me here."

"Hey, don't go getting kinky on me."

He grinned as he shimmied his Jockeys down his legs.

We were quickly in bed cuddling. Damn, there is no experience like holding my Sammy naked.

* * *

With the onerous task ahead of me, I was up at daylight making a pot of coffee. About the time it was ready, Mom came in already dressed. I offered her a mugful and we sat at the table.

"Jack," she said after taking a sip, "take my car back to Pecos and let Allen have it. It's in his name anyway, and I'm sure you're not going to give him the pickup he drives."

"That's kind of you, Mom. I was figuring on getting the deputy to give him a ride into town, but this makes it easier on everyone."

"Which one of the men are you going to put in charge over there?"

"None of them. I don't really know any of them, so I've hired my own man and I'm taking him with me this morning."

"My! You work fast."

"Thanks to circumstances and Dad Bowden's help." I then told her how I'd come to hire Jim.

I got up and refilled our mugs. "Mom, have you told Dwayne and Donny about this?"

She shook her head looking at me like she hadn't even thought about it.

"Don't you think you should before it happens?"

She nodded, and after a moment she picked up her mug and headed for Gran's office. I sipping my black coffee and wondering how they were going to take the news when Jake and Gran came in at the same time. Jake mumbled a good morning, grabbed the milking buckets and headed for the barn. Gran stood in the middle of the kitchen watching him, then got a mug of coffee and sat down next to me. "Who's Rae talking to?" She asked.

"Dwayne and Donny."

"Good. Jake knows what's happening?"

"Yes, and he approves. Gran, what Mom caught Allen doing was not a onetime thing. According to Jake, he's been doing this a long time and with a lot of the hands."

"I wondered about that."

"Well, you're not going to like the rest of it I assure you. And I'm sorry it's me that has to tell you."

She studied me as I took a long pull from my mug. "So, out with it, Jack."

"I just found out that he's been doing the same thing with Dwayne and Donny since they were around twelve."

"Oh, God." Gran covered her face with both hands and rested her head on the table. A few moments later she raised up, looked at me and asked,

"Have you told your mother?"

I shook my head.

"I'll tell her after you men leave this morning."

I nodded agreement. "I'm going to get showered and ready to go."

'Who all's going with you?"

"Sammy, Dad, and the fellow I hired to run the Pecos."

"You really work fast, Jack."

"He's one of Sammy's men. Needs to move over there to take care of his wife's mother. Good man."

I met Dad B. and J.C. coming down the front stairs. J.C. was still in his pajamas. "G'morning," I greeted them, picked up J.C. and gave him a forehead kiss. He hugged my neck. "Is Sammy up?"

Dad B. winked at me and said, "He's in the shower."

"Talk to y'all in a few." I said with a big grin and headed down the hall, unbuttoning my shirt. By the time I hit the bathroom door I was naked. Sammy greeted me with a big wet smile.

* * *

Jim volunteered to drive Mom's car, which eased the situation. I wanted Sammy with me. Mom stood at the top of the steps, hugging herself. She'd been silent since talking to her two middle sons. Dad B. had left to take J.C. to his kindergarten school down in Bakersfield. Gran followed me to the driver's side of my pickup. "Good Luck, Jack. I hope the bastard doesn't give you a hard time," she said as I slid under the wheel and she closed my door.

"I almost wish he would, Gran. It'd give me a good reason to whip his butt." I grinned to show I was kidding.

She patted the door panel and said, "Get going."

* * *

The sheriff was very accommodating. I'd told him that the man I was evicting was my stepfather. He'd met the man and didn't particularly like him, so he sent his biggest, meanest looking deputy with us.

When we drove into the yard, Allen was standing beside the pickup which had a small load under a tarp.

"I figured you'd be over here this morning. So the bitch is having me removed, huh?" He said, more than asked, as I got out of the pickup. Jim pulled the car up next to me. Allen looked in to see if it was Mom driving.

"It's a good thing you didn't leave before I arrived," I told him. "I'd have had to have you arrested for grand theft auto. Unload your stuff out of my pickup and put it in your car."

"What the fuck!! This is my truck."

"Look at the registration, Stupid. The truck belongs to the Girvin Corp. That's me." The deputy had stepped up beside me. Allen looked him over, then looking defeated he turned to pull the tarp off.

Sam and Dad had lined up beside the deputy. Jim had opened the car trunk and the back doors. He started to help Allen move his stuff, but I stopped him. "Let him do it himself. Let me show you around." We headed into the house with Sammy accompanying us. I gave him a quick tour, telling him that other than the stuff my mother wished to take, the contents were there for his and his family's use.

As we came back out, I heard Dad ask the deputy, "Would I be in trouble if I decked the bastard?"

The deputy grinned. "After what he just said to you, I'd swear he tripped."

I wondered what Allen had said as I watched Dad accost him. "Would you care to repeat yourself?"

"I'm not afraid of you, you..." Allen didn't get to finish his insult before his head swiveled to the side. Damn, I didn't even see Dad move.

Dad advanced on him and Allen was too stupid to get away from him. Dad was chopping, jabbing, and poking him so fast that Allen just stood there taking it and feebly attempting to swing at him. He never got a punch in.

Dad quit after a minute. Allen was still standing, but he was weaving like a willow in the wind. His nose was bleeding. He had a cut lip and a cut on his left eyebrow. I knew he'd be in much worse shape than I left him the day of Gran's barbeque.

"That was for my two sons, Jack and Josh," Dad said. "I suggest that you head for some other state. If I see you again in Texas, you'll not walk away like I'm letting you walk away today."

Allen looked at him belligerently, turned to get in his car, but stopped and looked at me. "I should've killed you when you were twelve," he said. Dad advanced on him and Allen quickly slid into the car, started it, and left in a plume of dust.

Dad looked at me and I walked into his arms. We just held onto each other for a long time. Sammy, Jim and the deputy silently waited. When Dad pulled away, he grinned at the deputy who said, "Damn, I never saw so much damage from someone just tripping and falling. I guess y'all don't have any further need of my services, so I'll head on back to town."

I thanked him. He got in his cruiser and left. I looked at the three men standing near me, then noticed all the ranch hands gathered a few yards away. I smiled at them and said to Jim, "Come on and let me introduce you to your new crew."

Four of the six men were red-faced acting embarrassed as I approached them. I figured out immediately what the problem was. I told Jim to wait and I walked up to them. "You are all good men," I said in a quiet confidential voice. "What you do on your own time is none of my concern. If Allen wasn't my mother's husband and if she hadn't caught him, I would have ignored what happened. But she did catch him and she wanted him gone... so he is." I motioned for Jim to join me. "This man is Jim Thomas. He's my new foreman. I hope you all will continue to work hard for him and support my endeavors. Each of you step forward and introduce yourself since I don't know all of you."

The first one to step forward was a good looking young fellow I'd not seen before. After he introduced himself and shook Jim's hand, he asked to speak to me. I nodded and we walked over to the corral. "I'm Tim Wade. It was me that your mother caught with her husband. I want to apologize. I wouldn't do that kind of thing while I'm working except that he was my boss and kind of threatened me. I'm sorry, Sir. I swear I won't do that again."

"You're an honorable man to step foreward like this. Allen's gone and your new foreman's a good man. You needn't worry anymore." I shook his hand. The relief he felt was evident on his face.

* * *

I left Jim to get acquainted with his cowboys and gave Dad and Sammy a tour of the ranch. Carolyn and their three kids arrived with their oldest boy driving Jim's pickup, pulling a four horse trailer loaded with all their possessions.

I got on the phone and called Mom to ask her if she minded Carolyn and me packing up her clothes and stuff to take back to her. She named off several items that she also wanted besides her clothes, then she said, "Jack, tomorrow I'm buying myself a new car. I talked to Aunt Bernie (she's my granddad's sister) in El Paso. She needs someone to help her these days, so I'm going to move over there. If there's anything at the Pecos I forgot, I'll stop on my way to El Paso and pick it up."

We stopped in Ft. Stockton for a late lunch, then headed on back to the ranch. I was surprised to see Donny's pickup in front of the house. Before my talk with Jake yesterday, I'd have wondered why he hadn't headed to the Pecos to his dad rather than showing up here.

We all trooped into the house, and Sammy headed off looking for J.C.. Dad followed me into the kitchen, where we found Gran sitting at the table talking to Donnie. Mom was nowhere in sight.