Fields of Gold Part Seven Continued

[deansdarkdream]

Title: Fields of Gold
Authors: Deans Dark Dream
Pairings: Dean/Sam, Cas/Max
Rating: NC17
Warnings: Based on a RL love story. Slash, 3way, rimming, hummers, angst.
Disclaimer: I don't own Dean, Sam, Cas or Adam.
Summary: Dean, Sam, Cas, Max and the Gang go to the Rodeo!
A/N: Saddle up my friends, it is going to be a wild ride! Love DDD


Fields of Gold
Part Seven Continued

I dialed Stiva’s and Sam answered on the second ring.

“Good afternoon, Stiva’s.”

“Hey, Stud, wanna party?”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea.” His voice was very professional.

“Customers nearby?”

“Yes, but we can arrange for a private party. What did you have in mind?”

“Your thick, dripping cock buried to the balls in my hot, pulsing ass?” I never talked like that in real life and I could tell he was surprised. There was a pause as he swallowed and cleared his throat.

“I think we can arrange something along those lines. Stiva’s aims to please.”

“And your aim has always been excellent.” I started to laugh at that point and gave up the charade. “Just called to tell you that I love you.”

“I know you do. Thank you for thinking of Stiva's, and rest assured that I will take personal responsibility for the success of your special evening.”

I hung up with a grin on my face and felt a whole lot better.

When Sam got home that night, he came straight to me, grabbed me by the shoulders, and backed me firmly up against the kitchen island. He pinned me there with his hips, gripped my face in hard hands, then dropped his mouth to mine and kissed the daylights out of me.

“Fuck!" he exclaimed. "I’ve wanted to do that since you called. You know who was standing there? The entire Ladies Garden Club watching me with nods of approval as I assured you I could take care of your party. Thank Christ I was wearing a jacket to hide my thick, dripping cock.”

He kissed me again, a little less forcefully than before, but just as passionately, sliding his hands down my arms until our fingers were entwined.

“Lock your elbows,” he said, then bent his knees slightly and lifted me onto the island, where he released my hands and went for my belt. Dinner was late, but Max was out with Eddie, so it didn’t matter.

I lined up a pilot to ferry us to Amarillo in style. Jesse and Ben had decided to come along, so they joined Max, Sam, Sky, Chris, and me as we climbed aboard humming 'Amarillo by Morning' as we stowed our bags.

The flight was uneventful, and by lunchtime we were checked into the hotel and on our way to the show grounds to find Zane and Cas. There were several big barns of gorgeous horses, so we wandered for a while, checking out the denim-clad cowboy butts that were everywhere you looked.

We finally ran into Zane in the next to last barn, where he was just putting Cher away after a workout. Chris greeted him with a hug, which Zane returned, but he seemed a little reserved to me. Cas was out sightseeing, so we called him to meet us later for dinner. We hung around for a while and met the people stabled on either side of Cher.

On the left were a man and his wife who were into various horsy pursuits, and had seen Cas and me ride in Florida. The woman laughingly inquired if I had recovered from my 'incident,' and I assured her that everything was fine and in good working order, while Sam smirked at me from behind her. Their names were Jack and Paula Baker, and they lived about two hours from us.

Their cute, blond, teenaged daughter, whose name I didn't catch, was heavily into horses, and was the defending state champion in the 18-and-under amateur-owner jumper division. She had started chatting with Max, and I happened to be watching him at the exact moment he realized she was flirting. He was surprisingly naïve sometimes, especially about girls his own age, with which he had no experience.

He straightened up from leaning against the stall door and took a step back. She stepped with him, and they danced across the barn aisle until she had him up against the opposite stall door. I was trying hard not to smile, but it was tough. I poked Sam, who glanced at them and then watched with interest as the girl traced her finger along the word 'National' on Max's t-shirt, chuckling when he flinched as she coasted across his nipple. That was too much for Max, and he ducked free to come over and wedge himself between Sam and me. Eventually we said goodbye and wandered back through the barns again.

As we were walking toward the parking lot headed for dinner, a deep, gravelly voice from behind us growled, "Howdy Zane."

We all turned to face a guy in his mid-40s, big like Chris. His face was weathered but he looked pretty good. Zane was staring at him in delight.

"Levi? It's been ages. How the hell are ya?” He stepped into Levi's outstretched arms and almost disappeared as Levi wrapped him up tight.

They hugged longer than necessary to just say Hi, and when Levi began to chew on Zane's ear lobe, Chris stepped forward and settled his hand onto the back of Zane's neck.

Levi pulled away, rolled his eyes up to Chris's smiling-but-not-amused face, and said in a stage whisper to Zane, "Who the fuck is that?"

Zane laughed and pulled free, dragging Chris's hand down onto his chest to pull Chris close behind him. "Levi, this is my partner, Chris Morgan. Chris, Levi Lang, an old family friend."

"Partner?” Levi said, raising his eyebrows almost off his forehead. "You went and got hitched?"

Chris and Levi shook hands, then Zane introduced the rest of us. We invited him to dinner. At the restaurant, Chris maneuvered Zane so that I was on one side of him and he was on the other, with Cas and Levi across the table. As we worked on our first round of drinks, Levi and Zane caught up.

Levi had rodeoed with Davis, Zane's daddy, for years, hauling their horses from one dusty fairground to the next, and sleeping in the back of the truck when they were too broke for a cheap motel. They team roped together Davis heading while Levi heeled and they went to the World Finals six times, winning two of those times. Davis' horse, Ticket, was heading horse of the year three times, finally retiring to a well-deserved life at pasture with lifetime earnings of $2.1 million.

They'd parted ways when Levi went home to run his uncle's feed business in Wyoming, but they kept in touch and visited each other once a year or so. Zane had spent a summer with Levi when he was nineteen, and they'd apparently had a pretty good time. Chris listened to all this with a calm expression and a hand firmly planted on Zane's thigh. Levi had recently sold the feed business and hit the road with a hefty bank account and a couple horses. He was here this week competing in the adult amateur division and drumming up clients for his colt starting business.

Max was fascinated with Levi and smiled at all his rough talk and rowdy stories, but Levi seemed oblivious, which was fine with me. I wasn't about to let Max run off with a total stranger for the night, no matter how amusing his stories. When the party moved to the bar next door, Cas offered to take Max out for some non-alcoholic nightlife and they left. Zane watched Cas leave, and Chris watched Zane, while I watched Chris. I felt like the end domino.

It was unsettling to see their relationship struggling a little, and I put a hand on Sam's leg. He turned to look at me with a half smile and lay his hand over mine, pressing my fingers into the meat of his thigh. He kept his eyes on mine for a long time, just gazing steadily at me, and I felt my chest tighten. It was an odd moment, intimate and loving, then the waiter brought our drinks and it was over.

We got back to the hotel around midnight and went to bed. Max's room and ours were on a different floor than everyone else's, so I have no idea who ended up with whom, but I'd be willing to bet that Chris and Zane went home together, alone. I didn't check up on Max, knowing that he was safe with Cas.

We all met for breakfast around nine. Zane had already left for the barn, so Chris sat down next to me with a slight smile that only got wider when I looked more closely at him. "Well?"

"Nothing.” He tried to wipe the grin off his face without much success.

"Zane happy to see you?” I ventured.

He chuckled. "Yeah, we had a good night. I guess they talked a lot on the drive here. Cas told him to quit being a jerk, and got his own room. They didn't fuck around after they got here, so Zane was ready to blow the minute I got his jeans off.” He sobered up a little. "We're okay, Dean."

We headed back to the show grounds to watch Zane do his cow thing.

Cher was on her game, and Zane rode her to a second overall finish for the day, which he was satisfied with. By the time he got her put away and showered off the dust, it was six, so we found a good restaurant and ate too much. We decided to walk it off, wandering around downtown taking in the nightlife.

Along the way, we ran into the daughter of the couple next to Cher with her posse of boys and girls around Max's age. She introduced herself to me again (her name was Katie) and chatted politely for a few minutes. They seemed like decent kids, and when they invited Max to go with them for the evening, I let him, making sure his cell phone had a full charge, and that he had enough money for a cab, just in case. They were headed for the mall, and I was a little surprised that he wanted to go after his experience with her the day before, but he stuck his hands in his pockets and wandered off with them.

About nine we found a bar that seemed okay. It definitely wasn't a gay bar, but there was enough of a mix that we blended in okay. By the time we'd been there an hour we'd identified a few other homos in the crowd and had quit worrying about the occasional affectionate touch. I'm just a toucher by nature and can't go long without putting a hand on Sam's leg, or patting Cas's arm as I laughed at something he said.

As Sam walked towards the washroom, I saw a guy wearing a big black Stetson stop him for a moment. They spoke briefly, Sam gestured my way, and they both smiled at me. Sam winked as he turned away, and I gripped my drink a little harder. As a couple, we'd never been with a total stranger, and the thought had me half-hard in about three seconds.

We were definitely exploring the boundaries of our relationship as we settled into the security of knowing each other well. So far, I was okay with the direction Sam was taking us. He and I talked easily about sex, about the things we did with each other and with other people, and I never felt pressured by him. Our conversations were always a two-way street, and as long as we were communicating well, I was willing to follow where he led. Didn't somebody once say that the ideal relationship consists of one-third communication and two-thirds fornication?

When Sam came back, he had the Stetson in tow and parked him next to me, squeezing in a chair so that we couldn't help but rub legs under the table. Sam gave me a quick, intent look as DeLaCroix Boudreaux introduced himself to everyone. He was from the bayou in Looozianna, as he pronounced it, and had come to Amarillo for the Quarter horse sale tomorrow night.

He was a big boy, probably 6'3", 235 or so, muscular as hell, and turned out to be a calf roper and a steer wrestler, or bulldogger, as it's sometimes known. At twenty-four years old, he was in the prime of his rodeo career, and looking for a good horse or two to add to his string. He had dark wavy hair and big brown eyes with long lashes. He was fair-skinned with a full lower lip and a deep dimple when he smiled. When he gazed at me from under the brim of that big black hat, I fell in lust.

We drank and swapped stories and even danced a little, keeping it PG-rated so as not to offend the tourists. Del was in the same hotel we were, so he walked back with us when we called it a night around eleven. I had a wet spot on the front of my jeans from my dripping cock, and couldn't wait to get Del naked so I could run my hands over the bulging muscles that strained the fabric of his shirt.

Everyone peeled off to go to their own rooms as the elevator went up, but Del stuck with Sam and me as we said goodnight to Zane and Chris, then Cas and Sky, then Ben and Jesse. When we got to our room Sam removed Del's western shirt snap by pearl snap.

I stepped close and circled my finger lightly around one brown nub, causing him to tighten his jaw and close his eyes briefly before leaning toward me to slide his tongue along the seam of my mouth. My lips parted, and he closed his mouth over mine, kissing me softly at first, then deepening it as I responded. He lifted off his hat as we kissed, setting it carefully on the dresser.

Sam reached for Del’s belt and Del broke the kiss as he shrugged out of his shirt, his arm and shoulder muscles flexing deliciously under his smooth, pale skin. Sam turned to me, holding me with his eyes as he tugged my shirt out of my jeans, then over my head, tossing it out of the way. Del had moved around me and was unbuckling my belt from behind, mouthing my neck as he undid my jeans. When he got to the last button, he put both hands on my chest and slowly rubbed his way down my body, breathing softly against my neck. I reached back to wrap both hands around his ass, pulling his dick tight against me and grinding back into him.

Sam had been undressing while he watched us, and now he came to me, dropping to his knees in front of me and nuzzling into the crotch of my jeans. I was so hard by this time that I needed someone to do something with my cock, but as I reached for it, Del pushed my hand away and slid his palm down into my shorts. As his big, callused hand closed around my penis, I shuddered with pleasure and lay my head back against him.

He squeezed me a couple times, and then pulled my erection free as Sam shoved my jeans down my thighs. Del aimed my cock at Sam's mouth and he sucked it in, going clear to the bottom on the first slide as I arched back into Del. Sam blew me for a minute or so, but I pushed him off and pulled him to his feet.

"Fuck, I'll be done in thirty seconds at this rate," I panted, and Del laughed as he toed off his boots and dropped his jeans to the floor. He had a cock to match the rest of him, thick and muscular, reminiscent of Tay's, but a little longer and not quite as fat, with a slight left curve. His nuts swung low as he walked backward toward the bed, pulling me by the arm. Sam came along, since I had his balls in one hand and a nipple in the other.

In my experience, guys the size of Del usually like to top, but it was clear pretty quickly that he wanted to get fucked. He flopped onto the bed on his back, then turned around so that his head hung off the edge. He pulled me over to straddle his face and bent my cock down to his mouth. I leaned forward to brace myself on his chest, feeling the mounds of muscle shift as he reached a hand up to play with my balls.

Sam had climbed onto the bed and shoved Del’s knees back, exposing his ass. As Sam began to rim him, Del lost his concentration on my cock and lay there for a minute with his eyes closed in an expression of pure bliss my cock just lying in his open mouth. I knew the feeling. I reached for him, stroking him with a wet hand, and he came back to the living, slurping my dick down his throat and tugging on my balls.

We changed around a little, but eventually Sam pulled Del to the edge of the bed and put him on all fours, lubed up, rolled on a condom and pushed in. Del hung his head and breathed heavily as he got used to Sam’s cock in his ass, dropping to his elbows when Sam began to thrust. I watched for a minute, my eyes locked onto the sight of Sam pumping away at this big, beautiful cowboy.

I crawled onto the bed and lay down on my back under Del's face so I could kiss him. Each time Sam drove into him, his cock slapped up against his belly, smacking wetly into the swirls of precum-soaked hair that trailed down from his bellybutton. He kissed pretty good, but the sound his cock made was irresistible, so I slid further under him until we were in a 69 position.

Sam was fucking him steadily, and from where I lay, I had a view of Del's nuts banging back and forth, Sam's cock sliding in and out of Del's ass, and a glimpse of Samt's face each time he withdrew. Sam's eyes were closed, and the look of concentration on his face brought me almost to the edge. Del chose that moment to suck my dick into his hot mouth, so I returned the favor, losing myself in the sounds and sensations.

When Sam's breathing increased to the point where I knew he was close, I crawled out from under Del and stood up on the bed, straddling Del's back to face Sam. I grabbed my slippery cock and started to stroke quickly, wanting to shoot with him, if possible. He leaned into me, pinching my nipple and licking just the tip of my cock as I felt my balls tighten in the familiar prelude to orgasm.

Del had been yanking his own dick, and just as I felt myself pass the point of no return, he let loose a roar and spewed cum all over the place, splattering my feet and lower legs. I gripped Sam's shoulder tightly and unloaded onto Del's ass just as Sam's face contorted with the force of his climax. He was silent except for a soft grunt each time his cock jerked.

He slowly loosened his hold on Del's hips, leaving behind red indentations that I figured Del would still be able to see tomorrow, and withdrew after his cock had softened enough. I was sitting on the bed by this time, holding my nuts, which still ached a little. Del had collapsed face first into the bed, moaning softly, when Sam came back from the bathroom with a few towels. I wiped my cum off Del, admiring the rounded perfection of his butt, until he rolled over and sat up, smiling at us.

Tugging on his still semi-hard dick, he drawled, "Ya'll boys really know how to fuck."

For some reason that struck me funny, and I looked at him and chuckled. He grinned back, the dimple drilling a hole in his cheek, then got up, kissed us both, and started to get dressed. He settled the Stetson back on his head, gave Sam's dick a soft squeeze, and was out the door.

We got cleaned up a little and climbed into bed, careful to remove the sticky bedspread first. After we'd settled into our usual positions, Sam kissed the back of my neck softly, then asked me, "What did you think about all that?"

I thought about the evening. My little shock of realization in the bar that Del might be coming home with us, my excitement and eagerness to get him naked, Sam's face as he fucked Del and said truthfully, "It was hot as hell."

Sam chuckled against my neck. I thought he might want to talk about it more, but he just tugged me closer with an arm around my chest, and I knew we were done for tonight.

Zane was third to go on Saturday, so we ate a quick breakfast and went to the arena in time to see the opening ceremony, which included a drill team of twenty girls on flashy pintos who rode amazingly complicated patterns at a speedy lope. Having made my living going fast on a horse, I had a lot of respect for the time and practice necessary to do what they were doing and make it look easy.

Max had been quiet at breakfast, and as the cowgirls ran out of the arena, I turned to him.

"How was last night?"

He continued to gaze at the empty arena as he spoke. "Interesting. I've never been around normal kids my own age much, just talking and hanging out like that. It was kinda fun." He paused for a moment, and then turned to me. "She kissed me."

"Katie?" I could feel my eyebrows shoot up into my hairline, and quickly forced them back down.

He nodded. "Yeah. After we were at the mall for a while, one of them asked me if you were my brother, cause you didn't look old enough to be my dad. I told them about you and Sam, that you were gay, and then another guy asked if I was queer, too. I told them the truth, and they didn't seem to care much one way or the other. Katie asked me if I'd ever been with a girl, and when I told her no, she asked if she could kiss me." He shrugged one shoulder. "I said yes."

He’d turned back to the arena while he was speaking, and I looked at his profile. He was so mature in many ways and yet so much a kid in others. He’d told me one time when we'd been talking about his past that all of his sexual experiences had been with men, all of them years older than himself. I wondered if he was questioning his sexual orientation, never having had a chance to see if he liked girls or not.

"How did it feel?" I asked him.

He shrugged a little. "Okay. Her mouth was really soft, and she smelled good, but it didn't excite me, if that's what you mean. She didn't kiss nearly as good as you or Cas. Did you ever . . .?"

"Have sex with a woman? No. Are you thinking about trying it?"

He turned back to me with a sexy little smile, and shook his head. "I like boys, Dean," he replied, squeezing my dick discretely to reinforce his words.

I smiled back and hugged him to me for a moment, then they ran the steers into the arena and the event began. Yesterday had been an elimination round, so only ten cowboys were riding today. The first two guys posted good scores, but there was room for Zane to do better if he rode well and Cher was sharp. As he jogged into the packed arena, we hooted and hollered so loudly that he actually spotted us and grinned.

When a cutting horse knows its job, it’s really something to watch, and Cher went at it with a single-mindedness that made you shake your head in admiration. She locked onto the steer Zane chose, separating it easily from the little herd huddled in a corner of the cutting pen, then worked it well, dodging back and forth as the steer tried to get back to his buddies. As she changed directions, her front legs were aimed one way and her back legs another, and she was so low to the ground that I was sure Zane's feet would drag in the dirt any minute.

He worked three steers in his first run, scoring well. We met him back in the barn between rounds, and he was pumped. Chris grabbed him in a hard hug, and it made me feel good to watch Zane's eyes shut tightly as Chris held him. We ate a quick lunch before going back to the stands for round two. Zane scored high again, and by the end of the day, he was in second place overall.

Zane was tired, so Chris stayed at the hotel with him when the rest of us trooped off to dinner at a steakhouse Jesse knew of. Although neither of them knew anything about horses, he and Ben seemed to be enjoying themselves, and it was nice to get to know them better. Ben was a funny guy with a dry wit that I hadn't picked up on in the previous couple times I'd been around him, and he kept us chuckling through dinner.

Sky wanted to go dancing again, and Max was hot to go, but at a gay bar this time so that they could really get into it. We asked a likely-looking waiter if there was such a thing in Amarillo. He ran his eyes once around the table, stopping at Sky's blond wonderfulness, then gave us directions to a hot place just a few blocks away. We had a couple hours to kill until the club opened, so we went to the Quarter horse sale, where I pointed out the traits to look for in a good horse.

As we were watching the bidding on a grey two-year-old, I spotted Del ambling along and hollered at him. He climbed up into the stands, sitting down between Sky and Jesse in the row behind me. He had already purchased one horse and was waiting for the next one he liked to come on the block. We watched the action, Del and I commenting about the price each horse went for, until he sat up and pulled his number out of his back pocket.

The horse he'd been waiting for was a big bay colt that was circling at the end of his rope and snorting at the crowd noise. He looked like a handful to me, but Del said he liked 'em feisty, and raised the bid by a hundred bucks. It came down to him and a guy at the other end of the stands somewhere. Del was reaching his limit, and when the other guy yelled out an amount higher than the next bid, Del slumped in disappointment.

"Damn. I really wanted that colt," he said, looking at the prancing horse with regret.

Without even thinking about it, I grabbed the number from his hand and jumped to my feet, shouting out a thousand dollar increase. The auctioneer stopped his gavel just short of selling the colt to the other guy and looked at him to see what he'd do. He nodded to the auctioneer, and we were off, going back and forth while the crowd went nuts, and the colt kicked at a handler who got too close.

Del kept grabbing at my arm trying to get me to sit down and shut up, but by now I was determined to own that damn horse, nodding grimly every time the auctioneer looked my way. I ended up paying more than the colt was currently worth, but young horses are all about potential, and this one looked to me like he had a lot of promise. Del watched glumly as I wrote out a check at the cashier's stand.

"What're you gonna do with him? You don't even like him."

"I like him fine. I just don't want to start him. That's your job."

Del blinked at me, and I set him down at a nearby table.

"I'm gonna lease him to you for a dollar a year. You get him broke, show him, whatever and then bring him to my place in a year, cause I have a couple mares I want to breed to him."

Del was grinning from ear to ear, and I just wanted to stick my tongue in that dimple, but I settled for shaking his hand. He went off to collect the colt, and we caught a cab to the dance club.

The club was loud and crowded, and the dance floor was jammed with sweaty bodies in various states of undress. I closed my eyes for a minute, pondering my responsibility to Max, but Sam pointed out that a dirty dance in a public bar was a long way from blow jobs in dark alleys, so I took a big slug of my drink and kept my mouth shut.

Max was a great dancer. He moved well and he was fun to watch. He tugged his shirt over his head and jammed it into the back of his jeans as he moved closer to some hot looking guy in spandex pants. Jesus. Eventually we all ended up out there, shirtless and sweaty and I had a blast. This weekend was so far removed from my nine-to-five existence, that I felt like a different person.

I saw Sky grinding away with someone, and recognized the hunky waiter who'd given us directions. He grinned at me as he leaned in to chew on Sky's neck. Sam moved pretty well too, shimmying up behind me with his dick in my ass and a hand down the front of my jeans.

After a couple hours everyone was hot, tired, and ready to go, so we cabbed back to the hotel, showered, and fell into bed. Max slept with us that night, snuggling up to me for a kiss as Sam turned out the light and climbed in behind me. Max lay on his back with my arm holding him close and Sam nuzzled into me. I thanked whatever gods may be for the choice I'd made back in June that had brought Sam and me together permanently.

I lay awake for a while longer, Sam's chest moving against my back and Max's rising and falling under my arm. I don't think there is a safer feeling in the world than falling asleep in the arms of someone who loves you. I pulled Sam's arm a little more snugly around my body, pushed my face into Max's neck, and let myself drift off, secure in the knowledge that they'd both be there if I woke up in the night.

The contestants rode in reverse order in the final round which meant Zane went next to last, so we didn't need to hurry in the morning, which was a damn good thing cause I was slightly hung over and exhausted.

We met up with Levi as we found our seats and he sat with us for a while. He was still the irrepressible character we'd met the first day, and we had a good time as he pointed out little insider things about the contestants, their horses, and the event in general. He'd rodeoed most of his life and knew something about everything and everyone.

Five days of competition was taking its toll on man and horse and most guys didn't do as well as they had the first couple days, letting steers by or having trouble getting them cut from the herd in the first place. By the time Zane came into the arena, it was down to him and the guy who would ride last.

Zane's first steer was a dud, so he let it go early and picked another who was tough to cut, but worked really well, giving Cher a serious workout. He had time for a quick run at another steer before the buzzer sounded, and we all crossed our fingers that it had been enough.

The final rider was a guy from back east somewhere. Levi spat into the aisle in disgust.

"Oughta have to be from west of the Rockies, at least," he growled.

Apparently, they knew how to cut cattle just fine east of the Rockies because this guy rode his chestnut stallion well. He had us worried until his horse zigged when he should have zagged, the steer ducked around, and it was over. He knew it, backing his horse off, and tipping his hat to Zane when the announcer called him into the arena to accept the big trophy and an even bigger check.

We were going crazy in the stands, whooping and hollering as Zane grinned like a fool, patting Cher while he circled the arena in a victory lap. Winning the cutting horse World Finals was no small feat, so Zane had every right to be proud. Chris pushed his way down to the front row, and Zane stopped for a hug, almost pulling Chris over the rail when Cher wanted to keep going.

We watched the trophy presentation, and then hurried to the barn to celebrate, swarming over Zane and Cher with kisses and carrots. Cas and I unsaddled Cher, got her washed off, blanketed, and fed, then joined the party. Katie and her folks were excited to be stabled next to the World Champion and helped us celebrate, as did Del and Levi.

Katie gave Max a hug and kiss on the cheek, which he returned a little shyly, but willingly enough. It gave me an odd feeling in the pit of my stomach to see him with a girl, his hands on her small back as he bent to her. He’d said she was going to tell her parents we were all gay, but if she had, they were cool with it because I detected no difference in their behavior toward us.

The whole crowd of us went out to dinner. When the owner of the restaurant discovered he had the newly-crowned World Cutting Horse Champion, the AGA Grand Prix winner, and the runner-up guzzling down beers in his bar while waiting for a table, he opened the private back room for us, and said everything was on the house as long as he could send in a photographer. We didn't care, so the entire event was nicely documented on film, including the part where Zane made a speech while standing on the table, his dusty boots planted firmly around a platter of nachos. That photo didn't make it in to the next day's newspaper, but a couple others did.

We quieted down a little when the food arrived. Levi disappeared for a few minutes and came back toting a guitar he'd borrowed from the band that was going to play later. He pulled a chair back a bit from the table and proceeded to treat us to one lovely western melody after another. His voice was sort of Willie Nelson-ish, gravelly like his speaking voice, but strong and true. We all fell silent as he sang a cowboy favorite.

Cowboys are special, with their own brand of misery from being alone too long.
You could die from the cold in the arms of a nightmare, knowing well that your best days are gone.
Picking up hookers instead of my pen, I let the words of my youth fade away.
Old worn out saddles and old worn out memories, but no one and no place to stay.
My heroes have always been cowboys, and they still are, it seems.
Sadly in search of and one step in back of themselves and their slow-moving dreams.

It was a great time, and we swapped phone numbers with Jack and Paula at the end of the night. They were thinking of relocating, and promised to visit Castlewood soon. Katie was dying to see it and wanted to fly home with us, but all the adults vetoed that, and Max looked relieved.

As we walked back to the hotel, Sky and Del fell back a little, and I figured they were both in for a treat when they got each other in bed. I knew Cas and Sky were sharing a room and wondered what Cas was going to do with himself, but that question was answered when Cas stayed in the elevator with us as his floor came and went. He smiled a silent goodnight at me, and followed Max into his room. I stared at the closed door until Sam grabbed me by the arm and shoved me into our room.

Thank God the walls were fairly soundproof because I damn sure didn't want to lay there listening to Cas and Max whooping it up next door. Sam distracted me anyway by stripping me naked and molesting me in the shower, something I always enjoy. All that steamy water splashing down as I add my own splashes is too much fun. Afterward we snuggled up in bed with the TV on low, and talked for a while.

"Aside from the mind-blowing sex, how did you feel about us being with Del?” Sam's voice was low and soft behind my ear as I leaned against him.

"It was fun. Not something I'd want to do often, but as a special occasion type of thing, it was great. It didn’t bother me that we didn’t know him. I thought it might because I didn't know if I'd be relaxed enough with a stranger to enjoy it, but that wasn't a problem. In fact, it was kind of liberating since I figured I'd never see him again. And it wasn't weird when I saw him the next day at the auction.” I stopped and thought for a minute. "So for me anyway, I think it really depends on who it is as to whether or not I'd want to do it again."

Sam was nodding as I spoke. "Yeah, I know what you mean. He'd been eyeing us from the bar for a while before I went to piss, and when I saw him up close, I thought you'd like him. I know you get a kick out of Chris's muscles, but the dimple is what did it for me."

I chuckled. "I loved the dimple, too. I kept wanting to poke my tongue in it."

He wrapped me up close as we drifted off to sleep. It had certainly been a different sort of weekend, but I'd be happy to get back home.

Zane and Chris were late for breakfast, and when they did show up, they sat at a table on the other side of the room and stared into each other's eyes as they nibbled on fruit and muffins.

Sky wandered in with a dreamy look on his face, and when I asked how he'd slept, he replied, "Del."

"Excuse me?"

"What?"

"I asked how you slept."

"Oh. I slept well, thanks," he mumbled, and wandered off for orange juice.

Max came in without Cas, who joined us about ten minutes later, kissing the top of Max's head as he went by to the buffet. He sat next to Max, and they ate off each other's plates like newlyweds. I stared at them for a minute, but they were oblivious.

I slid my eyes to Sam, but he refused to meet my gaze and got up for more toast. I gave up, sighed heavily, and finished my breakfast. Max's relationship with Cas was a good thing. It was just vaguely uncomfortable to watch it develop right in front of my face. And I had begun to wonder whether Cas was as interested as I'd first thought, considering his fling with Zane and Chris. Max hadn't discussed any of it with me, but he didn't seem unhappy with the current state of things, so I left it alone for the time being.

Our flight home was quiet. Chris had opted to share the drive with Zane, so Cas was on the jet with us, sacked out on the couch with Max under his arm. Sam was chatting with Jesse and Ben, so I joined Sky in the seats just behind the cockpit, leaned mine back all the way, and promptly fell asleep.

Gabriel met us at the airport with the big Castlewood van, and ferried us all home. Jesse had parked his truck at my place, and he and Ben left for home as soon as we got there. Gabriel and Sky came in for a few minutes because I wanted a brief run down of what had happened around the barn while I was gone. Gabriel's list went like this:

* Kahn kicked a bucket clear across the yard when he was startled by Mo's heehaw, narrowly missing Minx, but ruining a wheelbarrow it hit.

* Bella broke her wrist falling out of the horse van when the sun got in her eyes and she thought she had one more step to go. She'd be in a cast for three weeks, but was working one-handed.

I stopped him at this point, asking if anything good had happened, or if this was going to be a disaster recitation. He laughed, and said he was saving the good stuff for last. As he talked, Sky watched him, running his eyes over Gabriel's face, and grinning when he laughed.

* A check for $17,254 had finally arrived from a delinquent client who had departed in a huff a few months ago. I had turned him over to Jesse. It wasn't really his line of work, but he had apparently convinced the guy to pay.

* The earth moving at the new show grounds was finished, and work had begun on the buildings. It looked like we'd be ready for an April debut.

* Gabriel had noticed that Sherry the donkey was getting fat, so he had Faith check her over before he cut her feed. Sherry and Mo had apparently been up to no good before we got them, and she was due to foal in about two months. Great more donkeys. I made a mental note to tell Faith to castrate both Mo and Curly pronto.

After Gabriel and Sky left, I wandered around the house for a while. It felt great to be home, but it was so quiet after the non-stop activity of the past five days that I didn't know what to do with myself. Max went off to his room to download all the pictures he'd taken, and Sam ran over to the restaurant to check up on things. I told him to bring home dinner, and then went into the den and fell asleep on the couch.

It was a peaceful evening, something we all needed if we were going to be even remotely productive tomorrow. Sam came home with an assortment of pastas and a big salad, which we ate in front of the TV in the den while watching the slide show that Max had put together from his photos. I hadn't realized how many he'd taken as shot after shot rolled across the screen.

The one of Katie hugging Cher was beautiful. Her arms were around Cher's neck with Cher's big old head draped over her shoulder, eyes closed, lower lip drooping the picture of equine contentment. They were standing in shaft of sunlight in the barn, dust motes forever frozen in a faint haze around them. Max had given the photo a sepia wash so that all the colors were dulled, and you focused instead on the girl and the horse.

Sam poked me with his foot at the one of me staring at Del with a rapt expression on my face and my lips parted. I looked like an infatuated teenager, and it made me blush even as it chubbed up my dick a little, thinking back to what had followed that meeting.

Zane hugging his trophy while Chris hugged him was wonderful. Zane was looking at the camera, wrinkles fanning out from the corners of his eyes as he grinned his delight. Chris’s forehead was pressed into the curve of Zane's neck, and you could just see the corner of his smile because the big mound of his shoulder blocked the rest of the view. Max said he was going to print a large one to have framed for them.

Max caught Levi with his head thrown back in a big laugh, and it made you chuckle just to look at him. Levi was an interesting guy, and I’d grown fond of him as the weekend had gone on. He’d promised to visit the next time he had an event nearby. He wanted to see my ‘sissy horse farm’. I'd put him on Kahn over a six-foot fence and show him 'sissy.'

The one Max took of Cher in full tilt boogie on a steer gave you a real feel for the action of the cutting pen, and I requested one of those for my office at Castlewood. Her ears were pinned flat along her stretched-out neck, Zane’s hat was yanked tight down on his head and the steer had just kicked up a fountain of dirt clods that were caught in mid-air.

A few days after the World Finals, Chloe and I were in my office discussing the Foundation and whether or not she would campaign a horse on the Gran Prix circuit next season, when Cas walked in.

After greeting us, he got to the point. “I'm not going to compete next year.” That certainly got our attention. “I was thinking with the way you’re expanding everything around here, and with the GP title under my belt, I’d like to start a high level training center.” He paused before making his real pitch. “Considering the set-up you’re working toward, I’d like to do it here at Castlewood. What do you think?”

“Ya know, you’d be fuckin’ aces at it!” Chloe exclaimed.

Her language always gave me a chuckle. “I like the idea, Cas, and I agree with Chloe it’d be a good business addition to the farm too.” I was all for it. Having Cas around was a pleasure, and I knew Max would miss him terribly if he was gone competing for months at a time.

“Until I've got a few clients on board, I'll work with those two young horses I bought. They show a lot of promise and I think they could become good competition stock.”

“How about using Kahn as a school horse? You know how to handle him as well as I do, and he sure would impress potential clients. I'll lease him to you.”

“Hey, if those two horses turn out anywhere near as good as Kahn, I’d be interested in ownin’ them,” Chloe offered.

That brought a smile to Cas's face and our deal was sealed.

Cas continued to come by the house for dinner a couple times a week, and took Max out occasionally, but I couldn't see a whole lot of progress in their relationship since Amarillo. Max also went out with Sam's cousin Eddie now and then. I wasn't sure if he was sleeping with them, but he seemed happy enough so I tried not to think about it.

Fields of Gold Part Eight