Lloyd punched the end button on the hand set and laid it down. His whole being ached for Max. He pushed back in the lounger and stared at the ceiling. He was so relieved to know that his son was safe at Dave's. He'd called Mary and told her as soon as Dave had called to tell him Max was with him, Then after he'd called the police, he'd relaxed and fallen asleep until Dave had called him again. He'd forgotten to call Jean, his mother-in-law. He picked the phone up and called her. She asked him when he'd last eaten. He couldn't remember. Jean told him not to move, she'd be over to feed him as soon as she could get there. He laid back to relax for a moment. He was so exhausted, both physically and emotionally, that he fell asleep again.

About forty-five minutes later Jean woke him up knocking on the door. She had made one of his favorite light meals, Fettuccine in pink tomato sauce with a stewed chicken breast and broccoli florets. As he savored the dish, Jean sat across from him at the kitchen table.

"So did you find out why Max ran away?" she asked.

"Yes, he told me."

"He was afraid of how you'd react when you found out that he is gay?"

Lloyd flushed at her bluntness. "Found Out? You already knew?" He nearly choked on a chunk of unchewed chicken.

"I'm just conjecturing, Lloyd. He ran to Dave, didn't he?"

"You are perceptive. Yeah, he was afraid that I would be angry, that I would hate him." Lloyd laid his fork down, folded his fingers together and rested his chin on them with his elbows on the table. "You know I've suspected that was his problem for a couple of years now. Not that he was afraid of my anger.... but that he is gay. I've watched him struggle to live up to his brother's standard, being miserable because he can't. It really hurts to watch him try so hard to be another David. And even though I suspected it, I couldn't admit to myself that might have been his problem. If he had told me two weeks ago, I would have handled it very badly. Now, thanks to you and your loving daughter, I still have my son and we're both going to be okay."

"Lloyd, you know that being gay has nothing to do with Max not being able to match David's athletic accomplishments. It could just as easily have been David that was gay. Physical size has nothing to do with being gay."

"Is that what you got out of what I said? I didn't mean it that way, honestly. No, what I meant was that I have watched him, his whole life, try to be like David and never succeeding, and now he has to deal with being gay. It breaks my heart that he got a double whammy, while his brother got to be straight and an excellent athlete."

"I'm glad that you clarified that. And I'm glad I could finally help, Lloyd."

"I wish it had happened years ago," Lloyd sighed.

"Well, we will all just have to make up for the lost time, won't we?"

Lloyd picked up his fork and took a bite of the chicken breast. To change the subject, Lloyd asked, "How do you cook this? It's so tender, yet not falling apart? And it's so flavorful, too."

Jean let herself be distracted because she loved to talk about cooking. "It's so simple, Lloyd, you cook it in a strong chicken broth with a lot of onion. But the secret to having it so tender is not to boil it. You put the breast in cool broth and put it on to heat. When it comes to a simmer, turn the heat down and let it cook for three minutes. Turn the heat off, cover the pan and let the breasts cool in the broth. It's that simple."

Lloyd smiled at her while being slightly embarrassed by his duplicity. "I'm going to have to try that now that I'm doing the cooking."

"Well, you and Max are just going to have to come to dinner more often while Mary's away. Oh, she told you about Gary's first surgery, didn't she?"

Lloyd grinned. "Thanks to Dave, she calls me like three or four times a day."

"What did Dave do?" Jean asked.

"You mean they didn't tell you? He gave her a cell phone with unlimited time on it, and told her to use it as much as she wants to."

"I'd like to know what's going on with him. Since that Joe Paolini came into his life. He seems to be spending money like he's rich or something. You've met Joe. What is he like?"

"Jean, the man is awesome. I've never seen two people more in love with each other than the two of them. I don't see why you don't go down to visit. They've got two guest rooms. There is more than enough room for you."

"Well, they invite me every time I talk to Dave. I don't know, I'm just not comfortable with him having a new partner. I loved Bill. I miss him, you know. He was like a son to me."

Lloyd chuckled. "Jean, you don't have a problem similar to mine do you?"

She raised an eyebrow at him and didn't answer.

Jean sat at her kitchen table sipping a cup of chamomile tea before heading to bed. She was thinking about what Lloyd had asked her earlier. It had been a long time since she had been down to see her son; not since Bill's funeral. She'd had many years to accustom herself to Dave's homosexuality. When she first met Bill she had immediately adopted him. As she thought about it, she realized that she had never thought about Bill and her son being a sexually active couple. In her mind Dave and Bill were just two very close friends.

She had come to love Bill as her own son almost immediately. He'd always been so loving toward her. He seemed to care more about her than her own son did. He never talked about his childhood, but the way he had adopted her as his mom, said much about what he had missed as a child and that had endeared him to her even more. As she thought about it ....she realized she missed Bill very much. It had been a hard blow, when Dave had called to tell her that he was gone.

And now there was a new man in her son's life. The first time she had heard Joe's voice over the phone, she had classified him as a male animal; a predator after her son. There was no boyish quality about his voice as there had been when she had first met Bill. Well.... it was time to meet this man that her daughter and son-in-law thought so much of. Plus, she wanted to get to the bottom of where Dave got all this money he was so freely spending.

She finished her tea, rinsed out her cup and put it in the drain rack, turned off the kitchen light and headed to bed. She'd call Dave in the morning and inform him that she was coming down.

Lloyd stretched out in his lounger with his eyes closed after Jean left. About one-thirty in the morning he awoke. He thought about getting into bed and sleeping until daylight, but after a moment's consideration, he decided to take a shower and head on down to Dave's.

By two-thirty a.m. Lloyd was on the road, and three hours later he was pulling up to the Tower. He stepped up to the desk where the guard looked like he'd like to just stretch out and go to sleep. He set his bag on the counter. The guard, doing his best to look alert, stood up and smiled. "Good Morning, Sir, may I help you?"

"Good morning. I'm Lloyd Brown. Dave Gates is my brother-in-law. I know he and Joe go jogging every morning. What time do they come down?"

"I'll bet you're Max and David's dad." the guard said.

"Yes, I am."

"Those two boys are the spittin' image of you. Dave and Joe are running about five minutes late so far." The guard looked at his watch. "They are usually right on the button at five-thirty-five."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the elevator opened and the two men spilled out, laughing about something. Joe and Dave immediately saw Lloyd standing at the desk.

"Lloyd!" Joe called out as he strode over to him and gave him a hug.

"Why didn't you come on up, Man?" Dave asked as he took his turn with the hugging.

"I just now walked in."

"Well, go on up and make yourself at home. The coffee is on. You know where the guestrooms are. We'll be back in about forty minutes."

Lloyd watched the two handsome men walk outside where they started doing their stretches. He saw another two men join them. One of then looked like Joe's twin. His body did a little involuntary quiver. 'Damn, how in hell can there be two of him. He's too awesome to begin with.' Grabbing his bag off the counter, he gave the guard a glance and walked to the elevator.

The delicious aroma of freshly made coffee assailed his nose as he stepped into the foyer. Ignoring the urge to go get a cup, he went instead to the guest room to check on his son. Max had grown so much in the last few months, He no longer looked so small curled in a ball up in one corner of the king size bed. The pillow that once seemed larger than him, was now just a regular size.

Lloyd stripped down to his underwear, went to the far side of the bed and crawled in behind Max. He pulled snugly him against his chest. Max whimpered in his sleep and snuggled into the warmth. Lloyd wrapped an arm over the nearly man-size boy, and kissed him on the crown of his head. He hadn't snuggled with Max for years, and now his little boy wasn't little any more, he was almost grown. Lloyd knew that in other circumstances Max would be indignant, but Lloyd felt that now he definitely needed to feel a physical closeness to his father. And by damn, Lloyd was man enough to see that was what his son got.

"I love you Max," he whispered as he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

When Joe and Dave returned from their morning run, they stopped in the kitchen for a drink of water. Joe examined the level in the coffee pot. "Lloyd must have been exhausted. He didn't touch the coffee."

"Well, let's just let him sleep until he wakes up."

After pouring two glasses of orange juice, he followed Joe, who carried two cups of coffee into their bedroom.

"I've got to go down to the site first thing this morning. Would you like to go with me and see how the building is coming along?" Joe said as he pulled off his wet sweats. Dave having done the same, turned to take the damp clothes to put them in the washer. He took one look at his man stretching with just his jock strap on, and dropped the clothes.

Joe's eyes were squinched closed, as he stretched his hands above his head, arching his back, and thrusting his pelvis forward. Dave couldn't resist the invitation. He grabbed a tight, hard ass cheek in each hand and ground his body against Joe's.

Joe collapsed onto Dave as he relaxed the stretch and his mouth sought out Dave's. His hand glided down Dave's muscled back and under the wide elastic band of his jock strap, he peeled it down releasing his turgid cock which sprang up between Joe's legs. As he stepped out of his jock, Dave pulled Joe's off, too. He broke the kiss and his lips nibbled their way down Joe's hairy chest stopping at each of his alert nipples, and then down to his navel where he stopped to tongue it before burying his face in Joe's thick thatch of pubic hair. Joe heard his deep intake of breath through his nose. He knew that Dave could get so excited just smelling him that he could climax without touching himself. He raised him back up by his arm pits. Grabbing his buns, he lifted him off the floor. Dave instinctively wrapped his legs around Joe's waist. Joe's cock tickled his rear end. Dave wiggled to tease him.

"Oh man, Dave I need you so bad. Watching your cute little ass while you're running is such a turn on."

He walked through the bathroom into the gym.

"I love you so much, Joe. I need you, too."

"I'm going to make love to you, Dave. I'm going to love you so deeply you will feel it in your throat."

"Dammit, you talk too much. Let's have a little action here."

Joe chuckled as he bent over the bench, laying Dave on his back.

Dave's eyes were squeezed closed as he focused on the sensations Joe was causing.

"Dave, look at me. Look into my eyes. Can you see the love I feel for you?" Joe said as he slowly thrust.

"If I look into your eyes, I'll lose all control."

"Do it. I'm right on the edge, too. Open you eyes and look at me."

Dave opened his eyes and stared into the golden depths of Joe's eyes. He was floating through a forest of quaking aspen in the fall. Golden lights sparked all around him. "Oh God, I've lost it. I'm going to cum," he moaned.

Joe sped up, taking shorter strokes. Dave pulled him down into a toe curling kiss. Suddenly it was upon him. He let go of Joe. His arms falling to the sides of the bench as he totally focused on what Joe was doing to him. His body went into spasms as he coated his chest and belly. Joe came with him, filling him with his love. He collapsed onto Dave's chest, gluing himself to the man he loved so much.

Dave kissed his neck. "That was so good. I love you, Joe, my golden-eyed lover."

"Damn, it's such a turn on watching you lose control just by looking into my eyes. I love you, Dave."

Dave smiled at Joe and answered the question that Joe had asked before he had attacked him. "I'd love to go with you this morning, but we've got company."

Max woke with a start. He lay there with his eyes closed trying to figure out where he was. There was a hairy arm draped over his chest. He lightly rubbed his fingers up and down it, wondering who it belonged to. Whoever it was, he was snoring lightly against the back of his neck. Neither Joe nor Dave would think of crawling into bed with him. He wondered if his brother David had decided to come up after all, but he knew the arm couldn't be David's; his arms weren't as hairy. He opened his eyes and looked at the hand. He knew that hand with the gold wedding band and the scar across the back of it. It was his dad's hand.

Max was so filled with emotion that he couldn't contain the sobs that were suddenly wracking his body. Lloyd woke up to the sobbing. He pulled his son closer to him. "It's okay Max. I'm here. I love you, Son. Everything is all right."

Max slowly stopped crying. He turned onto his back. His dad had his hand on his chest. It felt so good, so protective. He looked at his Dad, who was propped up on his elbow smiling at him.

"You're not supposed to be here until this afternoon."

"Max, I couldn't stay away, knowing you were hurting. I left soon after your grandmom came over with some dinner for me."

"Did you tell her about me?"

"She didn't need to be told. She told me before I had a chance. She loves you so much, Max."

"I love her, too. But I love you and Mom best, Dad."

"And we love you, Max. We love you very much."

Max's stomach chose that moment to let them know he was hungry. He giggled.

"What do you say to getting up and seeing what your Uncle Dave has to feed us?"

Joe poured himself another cup of coffee. He had on a white dress shirt and a blue and red striped tie. Dave leaned against the counter studying him. "You shouldn't wear those kind of clothes around me."

"They cover up too much?"

"No. You are just too sexy in them. I just want to rip them off and have my way with you."

Joe set his cup down and moved to Dave. He took his face in both hands and kissed him. Dave started to embrace him, but Joe pulled away.

"You'll get me all wrinkled."

Dave tried to look hurt, but ended up grinning.

"So what time will you get home?"

"Why? You think you're going to get to rip my clothes off me?"

"I was thinking that something along that line would be fun."

"Are you ever not horny?"

"Not when I'm around you."

"You two should write dialogue for one of those corny afternoon soap operas," Lloyd said, coming into the kitchen. Max giggled as he followed his dad. The two men turned to face them with their arms around each others waist.

"Did you recoup from your drive?" Joe asked. Dave broke away and poured Lloyd a cup of coffee.

"Yeah, I feel great." Taking the cup, Lloyd sat at the table.

"May I have a cup too, Uncle Dave?" Max asked.

"It'll stunt your growth."

"Nothing will stunt Max's growth. He is growing like a weed," Lloyd laughed.

"When I first met you, Max, you were what? Five-four?" Joe asked.

"Five-three. And I thought I would never be any taller."

Dave watched Max as he took his cup and moved to sit down by his dad. There was no awkwardness to his movement as one would expect with sudden growth. Max moved like a cat, graceful and sensuous. His years of trying to be like his brother had definitely been responsible for this. Max had always worked out and run a lot, and even though he had never excelled at sports, he had a hard muscular body. And his love of water showed in his sinewy muscles.

The intercom chimed. Joe stepped over to it.

"Yes?"

"Your nephew David is on the way up, Mr. Paolini."

"Thanks, Sam." Joe always made a point of knowing who was on the desk at any given time. He poured a glass of orange juice and walked out to greet his other nephew.

"Hi, Uncle Joe, Sam, the guard on the desk, told me that Dad is here already. Where is he?"

At that moment, before Joe could respond and give the juice to David, Lloyd came out of the kitchen and enfolded his oldest son in a hug. "Hey, how is my college boy?"

"Great, Dad," he answered, hugging his dad. "But I'm nineteen now, doesn't that qualify me as a man?"

Lloyd stepped back and looked at him.

"Well, you are man-size now, but you still look like my little boy, and I guess you always will be," he said, shrugging.

"So how is Max this morning?"

Joe stood there with the glass of orange juice in his hand feeling like an outsider suddenly. Dave had watched the whole thing and saw the expression on Joe's face. He walked over to Joe and wrapped his arm around his waist. The two of them watched the exchange between Lloyd and his son.

"That's just one of the price's we pay," Dave said under his breath. Lloyd was unaware of their exchange as he ushered his oldest son into the kitchen.

Joe looked at Dave. "It's not too late, Babe."

"Of course it is. If we adopted a baby now we'd be in our sixties by the time he's David's age."

"What about an older child. There are lots of older orphans available for adoption."

"That's something to think about. I'd better get these guys something to eat."

"I've got to go, Babe." He kissed Dave and went back into the kitchen. He set the glass of orange juice down in front of David. "Hey, Guys, I'll see you this afternoon. Gotta get to work."

He gave Dave another quick kiss and headed for the elevator.

Dave sighed, and stared at the closed elevator door for a moment before returning to the kitchen. "Alright, we're having patty sausage, French toast and eggs."

The two boys volunteered to clean up the kitchen, so Lloyd and Dave took freshly filled cups of coffee and headed outside to sit in the warm morning sun.

"What time are you heading back?"

"I'm in no hurry, Dave. If you can put up with me, I'd like to stay until Sunday evening. I really miss having David around."

"Lloyd, you know this is your home. You stay as long as you like. Anytime. Got it?"

"Thanks, Dave. It sure is great to have you back in my life."

Dave just smiled at him. Neither said anything for a moment.

"Hey, I've got an idea. How would you and the boys like to go tour the Way mansion with us this afternoon?"

"The Way mansion? What's that?"

"It's this humongous place I inherited from Bill. We're thinking of turning it into a museum. I haven't been through the whole place yet. Joe and I were planning on going back yesterday, but Max showed up. So I reset it for today. We're meeting my lawyer there to discuss what has to be done."

The phone rang. Dave jumped up to answer it.

"Mom! Is something wrong? You never call mornings."

"No, Son, nothing is wrong. Lloyd just got me to thinking yesterday and I've decided that I have put off, for too long, coming down to meet my new son-in-law."

"That's wonderful, when are you planning on coming?"

"I thought I'd just head down there today. Lloyd tells me you have two guest rooms."

"Yes, yes we do. And you know there is always room for you anyway."

"I'll leave here in about an hour. So, I'll see you in about four hours, I don't drive as fast as your sister."

"Wait a minute. I just had an idea. Let me call you back in a few minutes."

Dave hung up and went to his desk, sat down and called information in his mother's town. When he got the information he was after, he called the airport and arranged a private flight for her, then he called her back.

"Listen, Mom, this is what I want you to do. Pack your bags and be ready to leave in forty-five minutes. There will be a limousine at your front door waiting to take you to the airport. This afternoon we are all touring the mansion that Bill left me in his will and I want you to join us."

"Bill left you a mansion? What are you talking about, Dave? And where are you getting all this money to rent limos and pay for plane tickets?"

"I'll explain it all to you when you get here. You'd better hurry, the limo will be there soon."

Jean was flabbergasted as she hung up the phone. But she quickly got her things together and was waiting when the chauffeur knocked on her door. She was even more astounded when the limo detoured into a private sector of the airport and stopped next to a small six-passenger plane. The pilot and a stewardess were waiting beside the steps to usher her into the plane. She smiled and thanked the chauffeur as he handed her bags to the pilot. She followed the pilot as he ascended the steps. He stowed her bags, then closed and latched the door as the stewardess introduced herself and asked if she would like a drink.

"Thank you, dear, a cold glass of iced tea would be wonderful."

"You are welcome, Mrs. Gates. And if there is anything else I can get you, just ask. We'll be taking off in a couple of minutes."

Jean sat down and strapped herself into the seat. The stewardess returned and placed a tall glass of iced tea into the holder built into the arm of the wide comfortable seat. Within minutes the plane was in the air, and in less than an hour it was landing. Jean had never flown before and she found it exciting and exhilarating.

Dave was standing there waiting for her as she descended the steps to the tarmac. She noticed immediately that there was something different about him; an air of quiet confidence, and he was more slender and physically fit. 'This Joe of his must be a good influence on him,' she thought, as she hugged her son in greeting.

"My goodness, Son, you look wonderful. It looks like life is really being good to you."

"Thanks, Mom. It's so good to see you again." He kissed her cheek while returning her hug.

The pilot of the plane had placed Jean's bags in Dave's new Lexus. Dave thanked him, and opened the passenger door for his mother.

"My, this is a luxurious car. Is the bookstore doing this well, or did your new partner buy this for you?"

"The bookstore is doing well, And no, Mom, Joe did not buy this for me."

He closed her door and walked around the car and got in behind the wheel.

"Joe did insist I get a new car though, he hated my old Buick. He was totally embarrassed to ride in it."

As they left the airport Dave commenced to tell Jean all about the inheritance, and what he had learned about Bill's parents.

"I always felt that Bill was hiding something. I can see why he sought the kind of life he had with you. So you are a rich man now, " Jean said.

"Not really, Mom. I have control of one of the largest fortunes in the world, having inherited both the Way Fortune and Edith's wealth."

"My, the tax on such a huge inheritance must be mind boggling."

"Well, not the way that William had it all set up in a corporation - I became the head of it when Bill died. Everything is owned by the corporation and I simply have control of it. It's really kind of complicated. However, Edith wouldn't let William have control of her money. And she never incorporated herself, so.... yes, there was a large chunk of it that the government got. Anyway, all of her money has now been invested and incorporated into the Way Corporation."

"So why did Edith and William stay together all their lives? I just can't imagine living like that."

"Well, it all comes down to one word really. Greed. Edith's father set up the loan that saved William's father from financial disaster contingent on Edith and William staying married. And Edith's inheritance would go to distant relatives in East Texas if she divorced William."

"My goodness, Edith's father was certainly a controlling bastard, wasn't he?"

"You don't know the half of it, Mom. I'm going to have William's journals published. I'll give you a set and you can read for yourself just how evil the man was." Dave pulled up to the building site of Joe's newest tower. "Well, here we are."

"And just where are we?" Jean asked as she got out of the car.

"I'm taking you to meet the most wonderful man in the world."