Maverick Cattle Company Ch. 01

"Now, now. Calm down. I'll look for somewhere else then. But can you keep him over the weekend? That'd give me some time."

Darrin stepped in, "Yes, he can stay here for that long. It'll be fine. We're both here for the next couple of days."

The Sheriff breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, this kid doesn't need to be bounced around too much. He won't admit his parents hit him. He says the injuries are from a kid at school. And he keeps muttering 'I'm going to hell' over and over."

Mitch and Darrin glanced at each other. Darrin flashed 'the look' at Mitch, and Mitch knew he was sunk. He recognized that as far as Darrin was concerned, this kid was staying as long as he needed. Mitch had to admit the kid's story sounded a lot like Darrin's, which wasn't pretty. With a slight sigh he turned to Jim.

"Alright. I'm not going to be the asshole who kicks the kid out again. But he's not going to fuckin' freeload off us. He's gotta work."

"Perfectly reasonable. Probably wouldn't be good for him to sit around and think about stuff too much right now anyway," said Jim. "Let me get the kid."

As the Sheriff walked back to his car, Mitch whispered to Darrin, "You so fuckin' owe me on this one!"

Darrin smiled and said, "Oh yeah, I'm well aware of that."

They both watched as the kid crawled out of the car and followed Jim to the porch. As he got closer Darrin could see that he was pretty tall, maybe taller than Darrin, which would put him over six feet, with a slender build. His body language telegraphed complete defeat as he moved toward them with a definite limp. Never looking up as he followed Jim, all Darrin could see was the top of his battered green John Deere cap. Pausing, Jim did introductions. "Guys, this is Joshua. Josh, this is Mitch and Darrin. They've agreed to let you stay with them for a bit."

Josh nodded without looking up. When Jim gave him a gentle nudge he almost whispered, "Yes sir."

"Well alright. I'll let ya'll to get settled in. If you need me just gimme a call," said Jim.

Mitch looked at the kid who was being left with them and then at Jim. "Oh you can be sure of it, Sheriff."

Jim chuckled and walked off. While the sounds of his tires on gravel receded, Darrin had been watching Josh. He couldn't remember ever seeing anyone looking more dejected. His clothes were coated with dirt and other stains and all he had was a small gym bag that Darrin assumed was his clothes. Heaving a silent sigh, Darrin braced himself to handle the situation that he had gotten them into.

"Alright Josh. Let's get you settled in and cleaned up," said Darrin.

"Yes sir," came the muttered reply.

"Josh," Mitch started, "It's ok. You're safe here."

The tall slender young man in front of them started trembling. "No sir. I'm gonna go to hell."

Mitch started at the reply but Darrin knew where this was coming from. "No Josh. You are not going to hell because you are attracted to other guys."

Josh's head suddenly snapped up with a look of disbelief, giving them the first view of his face. They both cringed at the massive bruise covering almost the entire left side of his face. It was far beyond a black eye, it looked like someone had beat on his face repeatedly. Quickly recovering, Mitch leaned in and took the gym bag from Josh's hand and then motioned him toward the house.

"Come on. We'll get something to eat and then you can clean up," said Mitch.

Josh followed them quietly and sat at the table while Mitch and Darrin grabbed the fixings for sandwiches. He quietly nibbled at the food when Darrin sat it in front of him but once past his initial hesitation, Josh fell on the food like a starving man. Mitch noticed once he relaxed, Josh seemed uncomfortable in the chair. When the last bite of food was gone from the table he looked at Josh and caught his eyes.

"What's wrong? You seem to be in pain."

Darrin watched Josh's eyes enlarged to saucers and his body freeze into place. He knew that Josh's clenched teeth were happening when he hit particularly sore spots on his butt. Josh wouldn't yet admit what happened but the moisture gathering in the corners of his eyes gave Darrin a pretty good idea. His suddenly closed eyes and full body shudder let Darrin know he was close to the end of his endurance. Josh's eyes flew open when he felt a hand clamp on his shoulder.

"Come on, Josh. Let me see how bad the damage is," said Darrin with a look of concern on his face.

He watched as the teenager's body sagged further when he could no longer keep up the stoic front and nodded his acquiescence. Darrin squeezed his shoulder as he stood up and gently pushed him to the guest bedroom. Part of Darrin thought it was stupid that they didn't just look at the damage in the kitchen so Mitch could help if needed. But he knew this kid's fragile ego couldn't take much more, and having two gay men checking his ass for wounds might be the final straw.

Once they were in the bedroom Darrin motioned Josh to the bathroom and showed him where the towels were stored. "Strip in the bathroom and then you can cover up with the towel and come out so I can take a look."

Josh nodded, the tears now silently running down his face as he waited for their revulsion once they found out what had happened to him. He shuffled into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He bit back cries of pain as he separated cloth from drying wounds. Once he finally got the last of his clothes removed he wrapped the towel around his small waist and stepped back into the bedroom. He looked at Darrin who motioned him to lay face down on the bed.

Darrin had braced himself to see the aftermath of a beating, but already it was worse than he had imagined. Josh's back was covered with raised welts and black bruises. Darrin took the tips of his fingers and began to pull down the towel when he heard a sob.

"Please. Don't," said Josh in a whisper.

"Josh, it's not your fault. I just need to see if you need stitches or if we can doctor you here," said Darrin.

Josh nodded once and buried his face in the pillow to absorb his sobs as Darrin exposed his butt. A gasp escaped Darrin when he saw the kid's rear. It was a maze of cuts and dark colored bruises, with a few deep punctures. Darrin was so overwhelmed that he wasn't sure where to begin. Finally, without thinking, he asked the question Josh didn't want asked.

"What happened to you? And don't tell me it was at school because this is from a beating. What did they hit you with?"

"A belt . . ." said Josh around sobs.

"And? This wasn't just from a belt."

"Yeah, it was. But sometimes it was with the buckle."

"The buckle . . ." said Darrin quietly as it dawned on him, "A trophy buckle. The hook made the holes."

"Yeah, I suppose."

"Josh, who did this. Did your dad beat you like this," asked Darrin.

Josh shuddered, "Some of it was Dad, Mom's the one who used the buckle end on me."

Darrin shuttered and shook his head. "Ok. Well you need some antibiotic cream on them. But first you need to clean up. Take a shower, there's some antibacterial soap under the sink that you can use. Yell when you're out and I'll doctor the cuts," said Darrin

Josh nodded, not trusting his voice. Darrin waited for a minute and then slipped out of the room. Walking back into the living room he saw Mitch looking at him.

"He'll be ok. But he's been beaten pretty bad."

"What's he doing now?" asked Mitch.

"Showering. He was covered with dirt, dried blood and who knows what else. So I told him to take a shower and then I'd use the antibiotic ointment on him," Darrin smiled at Mitch. "I gave him your fancy antibacterial soap to use too. So I guess I owe you even bigger."

Mitch rolled his eyes and then sighed. "He probably needed it worse that I do at this point. What are we going to do with him."

"Well first you're going to give him some of your briefs that are too small," Darrin said with a gleam in his eyes. "And then he's going to get some sleep. I'm no shrink, but I think he's at the end of his rope."

Mitch stomped off with mutters of mutiny, but was soon back with a pair of white briefs. "Here," he said as he tossed them to Darrin. "But it's your loss. 'Cause now you can't rip the tiny underwear off my ass and fuck me."

Darrin chuckled and opened the briefs, which were small but would probably fit Josh's slender teenage body perfectly. Looking back at Mitch he chuckled. "They're going for a good cause. And I can fuck your ass with or without ripping off your clothes first."

Mitch finally broke his frown and chuckled. "You better check on your child. The shower is off."

Darrin nodded and went back down the hall. Knocking on the door, he asked. "Josh, can I come in?"

"Ah, yeah. I suppose."

Darrin opened the door to see Josh standing in front of him. With his hair ruffled from the towel drying and the dirt and grime washed off, Josh definitively looked young. His smooth face and almost hairless body made him look younger than his true age. The only hint at puberty was a thick dark treasure trail that plunged downward from just under his navel. Realizing that he was still very nervous, Darrin smiled slightly and motioned to the bed.

"Lay down again and I'll get the stuff to put on them."

Darrin walked into the bathroom as Josh crawled onto the bed. Moving back to the side of bed, he flicked back the towel and surveyed the injuries. With the dirt gone they seemed even more prominent and Darrin quickly and quietly administered the ointment to them. As he finished the last one he asked.

"Want me to do the ones on your front? Roll over and we can wrap this up pretty quick."

"No!" Josh almost squeaked. "I mean. I'll do it. I can reach those."

Darrin smiled and laid the tube beside the bed, putting the underwear with it. "Yeah, you're probably right. I left some of Mitch's old briefs. They're clean and too small for him. I wasn't sure if you needed a clean pair or not."

Josh gulped and nodded, silently acknowledging the gift. Darrin left without pushing the issue. He smiled at Mitch as he sat beside him on the couch. Lying against his husband, he enjoyed the faint musky scent that Mitch always seemed to have.

"How is he?" said Mitch.

"Better I think," said Darrin with a laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"I think he had an erection. He didn't want to turn over and let me do the cuts on his chest and the front of his legs."

Mitch laughed, "You do that have effect on people. I know you touching my ass would give me a boner."

Darrin swatted his lover on the shoulder with a chuckle, "A strong wind gives you a boner, you horn dog."

Mitch made a barking noise that caused them both to laugh. They talked about the day and how many things they needed to finish before Darrin started work on Monday. Eventually they saw the lights go out in the spare bedroom.

"Looks like he's going to sleep. I think it's time for us to go too," said Mitch.

Darrin stifled a yawn and nodded. "Yeah, come on my sexy man. I'm ready for some serious spooning."

Mitch grinned and helped pull Darrin to his feet. They quickly went through their nightly ritual and crawled into bed. Both had stopped wearing clothes at night as they discovered that they enjoyed their bare bodies against each other as they slept. Even more than normal Darrin enjoyed Mitch wrapping his muscular arm around his chest and spooning against him. Darrin drifted off feeling very safe and secure, protected from the kind of prejudice that Josh had been dealt.

<><><><>

Darrin woke the next morning to find they had kicked all the covers off the bed and that his morning wood was wedged between Mitch's ass cheeks. Still partly asleep he started moving it slowly up and down, the precum that was flowing coating the hairy furrow of Mitch's ass.

"Grab the lube and get busy, stud," said Mitch in a gravely voice.

Darrin grabbed the bottle of lube and pumped a few squirts into his hand. Slathering it over Mitch's asshole, he let first one and then two fingers slip into the slick opening. After several minutes of slow finger fucking Darrin let his fingers slide out and he added more lube and soon wedged three slick fingers inside Mitch's hairy ass. On his side Mitch groaned softly as his lover's thick fingers penetrated. Enjoying the lazy motions of early morning sex he slid his top leg up higher to give Darrin better access. Soon his ass felt like gelatin and he needed the hard cock that Darrin was holding for him.

"Throw me a fuck, baby. I need your hard cock inside me," said Mitch with a growl.

Darrin wiggled in close until he was spooning Mitch again. Gripping Mitch's tight hips he pushed forward, never stopping until his pubic hair was grinding against Mitch's ass. They luxuriated in the slow early morning fuck as Darrin's swollen cock explored the depths of Mitch's ass. Darrin wrapped his arms around Mitch's chest and ran his thumbs over his distended nipples while he slowly pushed into his gut.

"Oh yeah, babe. That feels good," said Mitch softly.

Darrin slid his hands lower and grabbed Mitch's cock. Jerking it in time to his thrusts he soon had them both moaning with pleasure. As they reached the edge, Mitch let out a guttural scream and tensed. When his ass clamped onto Darrin's dick it triggered his orgasm. Mitch's semen was painting the sheet with stripes of translucent white as Darrin plunged in deep and pumped his ass full of cum. In their relaxed positions the wave of pleasure rolled over them again and again. The loud moans quieted and their breathing slowed to something more normal as the passionate build up receded. Mitch ran his hand down Darrin's thigh and chuckled.

"I think we just provided morning jackoff material for our guest."

Darrin glanced up at the open door. "Shit. You think so?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that I heard the pitter patter of teenage feet racing back to his bedroom," said Mitch with a chuckle.

"Well I guess we need to invest in a door lock."

Mitch laughed, "Maybe we should try closing the fucker first."

<><><><>

Their day unfolded without any more drama, although it was several hours before Josh could look at them without his face turning red. Mitch and Darrin both ignored his reaction, thinking that anything they might say would only make it worse. Mitch had set an ambitious schedule of chores to be finished on Darrin's last full day at home until next weekend. With Josh's help they had managed to accomplish them all. By the end of the day even Mitch had to admit that Josh was a valuable addition to the ranch.

Darrin cooked steak and baked potatoes for supper and then they broke out a gallon of ice cream to serve over a hot apple pie from the café. They all were relaxing in the living room when Mitch levered himself up and headed back to the kitchen.

"Anybody need anything? I'm grabbing a beer."

"Yeah, a cold beer would be great," said Darrin.

Mitch looked at Josh and smiled, expecting him to ask for a beer too, but he remained mute. Finally Mitch decided to cut him some slack and asked,

"Josh, you wanna coke?"

"Yeah. Dr. Pepper would be great if you have it," replied Josh.

Mitch walked to the fridge and dug around for a minute. "Yup, you're in luck. But it's a diet."

"Diet's fine. I just love DP," said Josh with a tentative smile.

Mitch walked back from the kitchen and distributed the drinks to everyone and dropped into the overstuffed chair with a sigh. Taking a healthy swig from his beer he smiled and then let out a loud burp. Darrin laughed and shook his head.

"Damn it, Mitch. I just can't take you anywhere."

"Oh chill out, Professor. We're at home and I can belch and --" Mitch lifted one leg and farted, "fart if I want to."

Darrin laughed and waved his hand through the air while Josh softly chuckled. "Damn it, Mitch! That was rank!"

Mitch worked his eyebrows and smiled, "Why, thank you."

Mitch drained the rest of the bottle and sat it down on the table beside him. Drying his hands on his pants he looked over at his partner. "You know we have to decide on a ranch name. We need to have business cards and shit made and we have to come up with a name."

Darrin sighed and took another drink of his beer. "I know. I just don't like anything we've come up with so far."

"AM Cattle Company wasn't bad," said Mitch.

"No, it wasn't. But just using our last names together is about as creative as a turd roller."

Josh looked at Darrin with a confused look, "A turd roller?"

Mitch laughed, "Yeah Mister College means a dung beetle."

"Oh. Sorry. I guess that was a stupid question," said Josh quietly.

"Nope, the only stupid question is the one you don't ask," said Darrin. "But I still don't like AM Cattle Company."

Mitch smiled and got the glint in his eye that Darrin knew meant orneriness. "Well how about Two Bulls Ranch, or Tall Pines, Crossed Swords, or just White Holes Resort."

Darrin almost spewed his beer with the last one and grinned at Mitch, "Yeah, those are all subtle as a heart attack, and White Holes? Damn this isn't a gigolo stable, Mitch."

"Ok, College. What'd you got?" challenged Mitch.

"Ok, well what about Two Spirits Ranch or Mountain Shadow . . . "

"Jeez, Darrin. You're trying to make us sound like a soft porn novel," said Mitch.

"Well shit, I'm out of ideas. Any other suggestions?" Darrin looked at Mitch with a lifted eyebrow, "And ones that don't sound like an erection would be good."

They both paused, trying to come up with another name. As the silence stretched on for several minutes they heard Josh clear his throat.

"Josh, you got a suggestion?" asked Mitch with a smile, "If you do just spit it out. It can't be worse than ours."

"Well, I was thinkin'. You're kind of rebels, in several ways . . ."

Darrin held his breath, hoping the kid wasn't going to suggest something like Rebel Yell Ranch. But he carefully kept his fears from his face and smiled at Josh with encouragement. "Sure, I can see that."

Josh swallowed hard and they could see him brace himself to get out his suggestion. "What about Maverick Cattle Company? Cause you're mavericks to do something new, and you haven't been tamed either. I think it sounds kind of male too."

Josh sat there quietly as they looked at him, his hands shook so hard he finally sat the drink down. As the silence stretched on for too long he started talking again, "Never mind, it was dumb. Sorry I shot my mouth off. I won't do it --"

Darrin held up his hand to stop Josh's self-deprecation. "I like it. I like it a lot. What'd you think, Mitch."

Mitch smiled over at Josh and nodded. "I believe we have a name for our ranch."

<><><><>

Darrin's first week at the university had been frantic, but he was settling in to the routine. Mitch had finally relaxed around Josh, and he was looking at them when he talked, at least most of the time. Mitch was keeping Josh busy with the fence building since he wanted to buy a load of stocker cattle to overwinter on their ranch. When Mitch was working, he worked hard. Which also mean that Josh was exhausted by the evening, almost falling asleep at the table a few times. He'd also let Darrin check the cuts a few more times, but only the ones on his backside. Darrin still thought Josh was getting erections from the touch, which made him chuckle to himself.

He was glad Mitch and Josh were working things out, because while nothing was going wrong, he had plenty to deal with at work. The new faculty orientations, which were endless prattle, and meetings at just about every level of administration became a little overwhelming. But today were the introduction of new faculty and then all the hoopla would be over and he could focus on his own work and teaching.

Finishing a last note to himself he started to the meeting room to get through this last meeting. As usual it was mostly rah-rah speeches to get everyone excited about the coming year. After the better part of an hour had been pissed away, they got to the introductions. He stood and smiled as the department chair called his name and gave his background. He sat down to congratulations from the people around him and then realized the other new faculty in the department was being introduced. Curious who the other new guy was he glanced up, and his jaw fell open with shock. As if to confirm his eyesight at that moment he heard,