Another Chance - Book Three
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Christmas ~ Part Two
by Zarek Dragon
Patrick took his jacket off and Joe commented, "Wow, I need to get one of those shirts for Jim. Where'd you get it?"
Patrick smiled, looked at Jake and said, "The best younger brother in the world gave it to me for Christmas."
"Seeing how you mean Jake, I won't argue, but…" Joe responded.
Jim argued, "I'm only younger by less than two months. Patrick does have the best younger brother, so leave it."
Joe gave Jim a hug, "I'm just glad that we all get along so great, and whether you like it or not, you are kind of the cornerstone of this family."
Jim gave Joe a funny look, "How do you figure? I would think Mom is."
Joe explained, "Well, she accepted Chris and me as her sons, true, but you have gone out of your way more to make sure I knew you accepted me as a brother. Who was it that the very first day I came to this family went and bought boots, having them fixed for my shorter leg? Who was it that rushed to my side when that mare threw me? Who was it that cried because you weren't fast enough to keep me from hitting the ground and breaking my leg? Who was it that treated Chris with so much love that he felt comfortable enough to explain what happened to him? Don't get me wrong, we both love Mom very much and would sacrifice our lives for her if it came down to it, but you, dear brother, are the cornerstone of this family."
Jim gave Joe another hug and whispered, "You keep talking like that, you'll make me cry. I just love you guys so much, I'm glad I get to be a part of your lives."
Jake saw Heather and ran over to her, "Grandma, I missed you so much."
Chuckling, Heather said, "You just saw me last night."
"Uh huh, but I love you and missed you," Jake replied. Heather picked him up and gave him a kiss.
Patrick walked over and gave Heather a hug. She looked at him, "Tuesday, I'll be fixing liver and onions if you would like to come over."
Chris added, "When Uncle Joe and I leave the ranch that day, you can ride with us, spend the night in your dad's old bed and then go back to the ranch with us, Wednesday."
Patrick looked at Zac and Jim and asked, "Can I?"
Jim was a little concerned, "Are you ready to face your fear again?"
Patrick answered, "This isn't exactly the same thing. You're not leaving me some place while you go away. Besides, maybe this is the little step towards facing it, and you'll be close enough."
Zac gave Patrick a smile, "I think in that short amount of time, you did a lot of thinking. I think Dad and I can be away from you for a night."
Jim gave Patrick a smile, stating, "And if you can sneak some liver and onions home, I won't tell Grandma."
Heather started laughing, "He doesn't need to sneak any. I'll send two plates with him to the ranch Wednesday."
Jake looked at Heather, "When do we open presents?"
Heather gave him a hug and said, "You're so cute, do you know that?"
"Uh huh, Papa, Daddy and you tell me that all of the time," Jake declared.
Heather smiled, "You make me want another little one. Well, we have to wait for Grandpa Vince, Grandma Marilyn and Zayne to get here. I'm not fixing lunch, instead we have sliced ham, sliced roast beef, some bacon strips, and sandwich fixings set out so everyone can eat as they feel hungry. We also have chips and pretzels."
"So are we opening presents when they get here?" Jake inquired.
Vince came in the door carrying the presents, Marilyn had Zayne in one arm and held the door with the other. She put Zayne down and the baby crawled over to Zac. Zac asked, "How long until he starts walking?"
Marilyn answered, "Generally, babies start walking around nine months. You started about three weeks earlier, and Zayne turned eight-months yesterday, so he may start walking before the end of the year."
Zayne made little noises, Zac claimed that he was trying to say "bubba, or brother," but Marilyn insisted that he was just making noises. "You know, when he was around six months, he said 'mama' but he was looking at Vince. Babies make up sounds trying to form words from about six months to just under a year. He won't associate you as 'brother or bubba' until he's around a year old."
Zac smiled, "I don't care what they say, I'm convinced that he called me bubba."
Nick walked in and asked, "Jim, will you be Santa again and pass out presents?"
Jim shook his head, "I don't live here anymore, so that passes to you, Joe or Chris."
"Joe, do you want the honors?" Nick inquired.
Joe answered, smiling, "Thank you for asking, but I think Chris should get it."
"Seriously?" Chris replied, enthusiastically.
Joe chuckled, "You are wearing the Santa shorts that Jim gave you, so in a way, Jim passed the baton on to you."
Chris handed Patrick and Jake matching boxes and said, "Mom, er, I mean your grandma said that whoever hands out presents should give these to the two of you at the same time."
"I'll race you opening them," Patrick challenged Jake.
While the boys were opening their presents, Jim looked at Heather and asked, "Do you remember Trevor and Roger?"
"They're the two sweet boys where we took Patrick to see you," Heather stated. "Yes, I remember them."
Jim continued as Jake beat Patrick opening the gifts, "Trevor would like to call Patrick sometime today and I told Patrick that I would ask you if it was alright."
Heather told Patrick, "Text Trevor and Roger and tell them I would love the opportunity to wish them a Merry Christmas, even if it is over the phone. They can call any time."
"I winned," Jake declared once everyone was done talking.
Patrick gave Jake a smirk, "Yup, you won. You beat me, but check out the cool sleds that Grandma gave us. Now we need to find a hill."
Chris finished handing out the presents and Patrick sent the text to Trevor telling him he could call. Patrick no sooner sent the text and his phone rang. Patrick answered, "Trevor, I'm going to put you on speaker so Grandma and everyone else can say 'Merry Christmas' to you."
"OK, and I'm putting you on speaker too, so Roger and the rest of the family can as well," Trevor replied.
Patrick hit the speaker button and Heather said, "Merry Christmas Trevor, tell Roger I send him my wishes as well."
"I can hear you, Mrs. Bolt, Trevor put you on speaker," she could hear Roger say. "Merry Christmas to you, too."
Heather responded, "Please, call me Heather. So who's all there? I'd like to wish them all a Merry Christmas, too."
Trevor spoke up, "My dad and Daddy, Roger's parents, Henri and Marine, and Grandpa Nate."
"Merry Christmas, everyone!" Patrick spoke in a slightly elevated voice. "And, thank you for the boots. Dad and Papa said that we'll go Monday for them to measure Jake's and my feet. But did you have to use so many boxes?"
"At least I didn't wrap each box before putting it in the other," Trevor sniggered. "Did Jake like all of the paper in his?"
"It was funny; I was like 'where's my present?'" Jake laughed.
Trevor commented, "I'm glad that you liked it, Little Bro."
Jake looked at Jim, "What's a little bro?"
Jim picked Jake up, "It's short for little brother. In other words, Trevor thinks of you as more than a friend, you're like a younger brother to him."
"OH! I like that," Jake replied. Speaking into Patrick's phone, Jake said, "Yeah, I liked it, Big Bro." You could hear everyone laughing from over the phone as well as around the house.
Bobby asked, "So, is there anything new and exciting happening?"
Sounding sad, Zac replied, "Jackson announced at the Christmas party that he will be selling the ranch. His husband was appointed to a District Court position and the courthouse for this District is in Colorado."
"I'm sorry to hear that. It's kind of weird that he would announce this at the company's Christmas party, do you have any idea who the new owners will be?" Zac could tell from Bobby's voice, he was deeply concerned.
Jim spoke up, chuckling, "You're talking to them. Well, technically, Zac and I will own half. Our brother, Joe, is buying a quarter and Jackson will retain a quarter to maintain the cattle business, but Zac and I will have full control of everything. We'll take ownership once I graduate. You and Nick should bring the boys for a visit next summer."
"We will take you up on that," Bobby averred. "Trevor looks a bit excited, and I'm sure he would like to meet Patrick Henry personally."
Trevor spoke up, "Speaking of him, I received the nicest thank you letter he could have possibly sent. Once he has his new horse, he's planning to send me a picture of it. He says that he wants to name it Patrick's Miracle. I thought that sounded very appropriate."
Patrick nodded his head, even knowing that Trevor couldn't see him, "I have to agree, I'm so happy for him, when I first met him, he looked so sick, almost like a skeleton, but now he's looking healthier. He's still on the really skinny side, but he is putting weight back on. You should have seen how happy his mom looked when he announced that his leukemia was gone. Jackson's dad swears that Aurixi did it, but how could a horse take a boy's illness from him?"
"I don't know, but I have heard of some strange things," Nick stated.
Heather asserted, "Nick, I recognize your voice, I would like for you to meet my husband, Nick."
"Nice to meet you, Nick," Nick chuckled.
"Likewise, Heather has been talking about you and Robert and how friendly the two of you were towards my family. It's nice to finally chat with you," Nick stated.
"Please, if you don't mind, I prefer Bobby," Bobby requested.
"If that is what you prefer, then Bobby, I will refer to you as such," Nick replied.
Bobby's voice sounded pleasant, "I would appreciate it, thank you."
After slightly more than an hour, Jim finally offered, "It was nice chatting with everyone, but we need to be heading home soon. Scott's planning to come to the house and spend the weekend with Patrick, and he'll be arriving soon."
"So, we better let you go. Patrick, do you have Skype? Roger and I would love to video chat with you and see this handsome Scott for ourselves," there was a chuckle in Trevor's voice.
"I have it on his laptop, I just need to create an account for him. I'll have it done tonight," Jim declared.
"Thank you and I'll chat with you and Scott tomorrow, Patrick," Trevor said before they ended the call.
They were still unloading presents from the truck when Scott's dad dropped him off. Scott asked Patrick, "Did you like what I got you?"
"I didn't open it yet. I wanted to wait for you to be here," Patrick answered.
Scott smiled. "You didn't have to wait, but I like the fact that you did. I love you so much, Patrick."
Patrick placed his arms around Scott and pulled him in close. He didn't care who was watching, he pressed his lips to Scott's and parted his mouth. Scott took the hint and slipped his tongue into Patrick's mouth. Patrick could feel himself and Scott both getting hard, but it was Jake that caught their attention, causing them to break the kiss, "Ewww, Daddy, Scott put his tongue in Patrick's mouth. How disgusting."
Jim started cracking up, "OK love birds, let's finish getting these presents in the house. Scott, have you eaten yet?"
Scott replied, "Yeah, but if you haven't, I can take my stuff to Patrick's room while you do."
Patrick winked, "I just had some tongue, so I'm good. Besides, we ate a lot at Grandma's"
Zac looked hard at Patrick, "I have a ham in the oven that's been slow-cooking all day. We have Grandma Heather's potato salad in the fridge, and I'll be cooking a bag of frozen corn. Are you telling me that you're not going to eat any of it?"
Patrick looked down, "I'm sorry Papa, but I'm not really hungry right now. Maybe in half an hour or so, I will be."
Zac gave Patrick a smile, "What about an hour? I'm not pulling the ham out for another hour. And Scott, you're welcome to join us, maybe have a sandwich."
"I can do that," Scott agreed. Looking at Patrick, he added, "Let's go open our presents."
Patrick gave Zac a hug and followed Scott into the house. Jim smiled at the two of them. Once they were in the house, he said, "I think we lost our help carrying the rest of the presents."
"I'll get the presents, why don't you go create a Skype account for Patrick so he can text the account name to Trevor," Zac suggested.
After Jim finished setting up the account, he found Patrick still holding the box Scott had wrapped for him. Scott was holding a silver chain with a horse hanging from it. "I love it, will you put it on me?" Scott asked.
Joking, Jim said, "If you really want me to, I will, but Patrick's right there. I think Patrick has good taste, though. That necklace looks like the one Papa wears. I gave it to him our first Valentine's Day."
"I meant him, silly," Scott chuckled as he went to sit on Patrick's lap.
Patrick admitted, "I see Papa wearing his all the time and it makes me think of Scott, so I looked for it when I was shopping."
"Like I said," Jim grinned, "you have good taste. This paper has your account name and password for you to get on Skype. I'm going to trust you and not check, just do me a favor and don't accept invites from anyone unless you know them. I'll leave you two alone."
Jim went into the kitchen to see how Zac was doing. Zac's horse necklace caught his eye and he smiled. "What?" Zac asked.
Jim gave Zac a kiss and replied, "Our son just gave his boyfriend a necklace that looks just like yours. He said that he noticed you wearing yours all the time and all, it just makes me feel happy that you still wear it."
"Well, you see," Zac started, "my boyfriend gave me this necklace on our first Valentines. I rarely take it off."
Jim looked starry-eyed as he spoke, "I know, but seeing him give Scott his, my heart is all aflutter like the day I gave it to you. I love you so much, Zac."
"By the way, did you look at the gift that Joe gave us?" Zac inquired.
Jim responded, "I saw the dinner tickets, was there anything else?"
Zac nodded his head, "The restaurant is in Cheyenne, and there's also a room waiting for us for whenever we set a date to spend the weekend at the Nagle Warren Mansion, just the two of us."
Jim had a look of concern on his face, "What about Patrick and Jake?"
"The note signed by Joe, Buster and Patrick says that Joe and Buster will stay here to watch the boys. Patrick signed saying that he agreed to this."
Patrick slipped into the kitchen, "Dad, I want you to do this. I want you and Papa to go have fun and not worry about Jake or me for the entire weekend. I feel like you two have given up so much for us already and I ruined your weekend away when I became anxious."
Jim took Patrick in his arms and said, "Bud, you didn't ruin anything. I think we had more fun after you joined us. If you think you can handle us going away for the weekend, I'm all for it, but never ever feel like you ruined anything. We love you so much."
Patrick hugged Jim back, "I love you and Papa, too. I know that you both planned to do things that night but couldn't, and…"
Zac cut him off, "As Dad said, we had more fun once you joined us. You made a couple of great friends and you feel more comfortable with who you are. You ruined nothing, Bud. I'm with Dad on this and we did manage to do what we planned, so forget the idea that you ruined our weekend. You made it a better weekend, if anything. Dad was worried about you until you tackled him, so yeah, we were happy that you showed up. So, what did Scott give you?"
Patrick simply smiled and held out his right arm. Around his wrist was a silver Figaro bracelet.
It was a little loose and Patrick showed that he could slip it off and on without unclasping it, but it was still barely tight enough that he shouldn't have to worry about it accidentally falling off.
Zac advised, "Just a suggestion, unclasp it when you do take it off so you don't accidentally stretch the metal."
Patrick agreed, "I know, I just wanted to show you that I can."
"You can also clasp onto one of the links to make it seem a little short and even less likely to fall off. Having it a little big, it might be just the right size when you're done growing," Jim suggested.
Patrick asked, "Can you show me?" Jim pulled the chain taut and then loosened it by a few links before he put the clasp through the link. When Patrick shook his hand to see how the bracelet fit, he smiled. "That feels less worrisome and makes me feel more comfortable, thank you."
Jim smiled, "Anytime, Bud."
Zac pulled the ham out of the oven and Patrick's mouth started watering. Scott came into the kitchen and said, "That smells good. I'm not really hungry, but I think I will take you up on that sandwich."
After supper, the boys went to Patrick's room and played until Patrick suggested for Jake to go to his own room so he and Scott could have a little personal time together. Jake hugged Scott and then Patrick and said that he was going to bed.
In the morning, Patrick was up first and went to the bathroom. He locked the door going to Jake's room and then woke Scott up. "Want to shower together? I already have Jake's door locked so we can wash each other."
Scott jumped out of bed and followed Patrick into the bathroom. After an hour in the shower, they heard Jim knocking on Jake's door to the bathroom. He called out, "We're leaving in ten minutes. You boys need to be dressed and downstairs or I'm dragging you out in whatever manner of dress you are."
Patrick's and Scott's eyes got big as they hurried to finish actually showering in the now cold water. They were at the top of the steps as Jim was starting up them. Patrick asked, "Can we at least drink a glass of juice before we go?"
Sounding serious, Jim asked, "Didn't you drink enough water in your hour-long shower? Poor Jake had to use our bathroom when he woke up. He almost didn't make it."
Patrick looked at Jake, "I'm sorry, I should have made sure you got to go before we took our shower."
Giving Patrick a smile, Jim said, "Your juice and breakfast is on the table. Papa's going to head to the ranch and we'll leave after you've eaten, so don't just gobble it up."
"Thanks Dad," Patrick responded.
As they rode to the ranch, Patrick texted Trevor.
Dad set my Skype account up. It's PABolt2004. We should be home around 4:30 our time.
The rest of the day was a typical winter Saturday for the boys. Patrick was anxious to get home. When they got in the house, he and Scott ran up to his room. He started his laptop and there was a Skype message waiting on him. It was from someone named Old Geezer1933 and said, "Want some fun with an eighty-two-year-old man? Get naked and start your video chat."
Patrick looked at Scott and said, "Ewww, that just sounds gross. Now I know why Dad said not to accept invites from strangers. I'm blocking him."
Scott nodded his head, "Yeah, I would, too. I mean, eighty-two, wasn't he around when Noah built the ark?"
Patrick laughed, "No, I think the 1933 in his name was the year he was born."
It was almost five and Patrick was tired of looking at his laptop, waiting for Trevor to "call." He grabbed his phone to text him and received a notification that he had another friend request. Hoping that it wasn't another old guy, Patrick opened his Skype and his face lit up as he read, "Trevor King has sent you a friend request. Would you like to accept it or decline?"
Scott was repeating, "Accept, accept!!!"
Patrick accepted Trevor's invite and started typing, "What took you so long?"
Trevor tapped out, "I wanted to give you extra time in case your dad decided to stop somewhere. Start your video chat so we can chat."
Patrick started his video chat and Scott backed away. Patrick gave him a funny look, "Babe, what's wrong? You were excited when you saw the invite."
"What if your friends don't like me?" Scott whispered.
Patrick had a funny look on his face, "Why wouldn't they? I mean, it's not like they'll be the ones dating you, so why wouldn't they? You're the one normally bold between us."
Scott finally grabbed the spare chair Jim had given to Patrick for when Scott was there. He sat beside Patrick and Trevor said, "Wow, Patrick. I thought Scott was good-looking in the pictures your dad sent us, but now to actually see him, he's just plain gorgeous."
Scott started blushing and Patrick put his arm around him. "See Babe, I told you, you didn't have anything to worry about. Besides, I love you and that's all that should matter."
Trevor asked, "So, do you still have doubts of whether you're gay or not? From where I am sitting, I can answer that."
Patrick smiled, "I'm gay, I know beyond any doubt that I am and I very much love Scott."
Scott just smiled. Roger looked at him and asked, "What about you, Scott?"
"Do I really need to answer that? I mean, I'm not ashamed of it, and I love Patrick with all my heart. If I have to say it, I will, but can't you see how happy Patrick makes me?" Scott replied.
Trevor nodded his head, "Yeah Scott, I see that big smile on your face. I can see how you keep stealing glances at Patrick with love in your eyes. So, you don't have to answer this, I mean it is personal, and if you do, we don't need details, but have you two done anything yet?"
Patrick blurted out fast, "Oh my gosh, do you know what head is? When we first found out, we thought it would be gross, but then I talked to a boy at school and he told us more about it and we tried it and…" then in a calmer, almost euphoric voice, he added, "It was amazing, both giving and receiving."
Trevor laughed, "Yeah, we know what it is. I'm guessing that you liked it."
"Oh yeah," Scott replied. "Patrick has an amazing tongue. I do have a question though."
"Ask, if we can answer, we will," Trevor declared.
Scott asked, "I heard some boys at school when I was in a bathroom stall. One said that he was going to get a fag to rim him before the school year was out. Do you know what he meant?"
Trevor explained what he knew about rimming and Roger started laughing. "What's so funny?" Trevor finally asked, looking over at Roger.
Roger said, "Look at Patrick's and Scott's faces. I don't think they believe you. Guys, you thought head was gross until you tried it, trust me, rimming is not as gross as you think. Just make sure you are clean down there. Think about it, as long as you both are clean back there, you're just licking skin"
Patrick stated, "I see your point, but I don't know. We'll think about it, but no promises."
Trevor commented, "You don't have to promise us anything. What the two of you do or don't do should be between the two of you."
The boys chatted for a while, Trevor told them about being elected Vice-President of the Gay Students Alliance. Scott asked a few more questions which caused Patrick to blush. Trevor answered as best as he could. When Jim called the boys down for supper, they finally said good-bye.
At dinner, Patrick told Jim about the invite that he blocked. He said, "I definitely see why you said not to accept invites from just anybody. I don't want some guy old enough to have voted for Lincoln seeing me naked. That's just gross."
Jim nodded his head, "Well, I'm glad that you blocked him. I'm not saying that I'll turn him in, but I may talk to Grandpa Nick about it."
Scott asked, "Why would an eighty-two-year-old man want to chat with boys?"
Jim looked down, "I would say that he may not have known how old Patrick is, but with his year of birth in his user name, I seriously doubt that. The sad truth is, there are some people who just like to hurt children. I don't know why or why God allows it, other than the fact He gave everyone freewill, but they do. And you never know who is really behind a Skype message or text message unless you know the person personally. There are people in their twenties, thirties and older who might pose as an eleven or twelve-year-old to get you to do things. Don't get me wrong, not everyone that age is that way, but it's hard to trust them unless you know them."
"Thanks for caring, Dad. I do understand why you said not to accept invites from strangers, and I'm glad you care," Patrick stated.
The rest of the weekend, Patrick and Scott had fun and were kind of sad when it was over. They did discuss rimming but neither boy was ready to try it. Scott gave Patrick a long sensual kiss before getting into his dad's truck. Scott put his window down and asked, "Can Patrick spend next weekend at my house?"
Jim slowly shook his head, "Next Saturday is Jake's birthday."
"I'll be this many," Jake said holding one hand showing all his finger and thumb and the other hand showing one finger.
Scott asked, "How many is that?"
Jake counted his fingers out loud, "One, two, three, four, five, six… I'll be six years old."
Scott grinned, "Very good, little munchkin."
Jake returned the grin and asked, "Will you come to my party? You're Patrick's boyfriend and like a brother." Patrick started blushing.
Scott looked at his dad, pleadingly. Mr. Gavin just nodded his head. Scott smiled and told Jake, "I wouldn't miss it, especially since you asked."
"The party will be at the ranch. Normally, we would do it after we get off work, but with Jake being only six, Jackson figures that it would be better for the guests if we have it at noon," Jim informed Scott. Then looked at Ed and added, "You and your wife are welcome to join us."
Scott got an evil look in his eye, he looked at Jake and asked, "Would you like my dad and mom at your party?"
Jake started jumping up and down, nodding his head. Jim worried what the boy might do to himself and placed a hand on his shoulder. Jake finally calmed down and inquired, "You coming too, Scott's dad?"
"Now, how could I possibly say no to that cute face. Dena and I will be there."
As his dad started pulling away, Scott put his window up. Jim heard Scott tell his dad, "Patrick has Skype on his laptop and we talked to his friends in…"
Jim placed his hand on Patrick's shoulder, "Is Scott planning to ask his dad to set him up with Skype?"
Patrick looked up at Jim's face and smiled, "He's going to try, promising to only use it to chat with me, and maybe Trevor and Roger."
"That would be cool, but school work takes top priority, and then yours and Jake's puppies. And no talking on Skype after your bed time," Jim averred.
Patrick stated, "We were thinking of doing our homework together through Skype, is that acceptable?"
"Yeah, Bud," Jim agreed, "as long as you get your work done and your grades don't slip. The two of you can do homework on Skype and then chat."
"Thanks Dad," Patrick said, giving Jim a hug.
Zac asked Patrick, "Speaking of the pups, did you and Jake ever decide on a name for them? I mean, they are four months old and saying yellow puppy or black puppy doesn't really cut it."
"Jake wants to name the yellow one Cheddar," Patrick stated.
Jim asked, "Like the cheese?"
Patrick nodded his head and said, "He said that you told him Colby was like the cheese."
Zac and Jim started laughing, Jim said, amongst his chuckles, "Yeah, but Colby is also a name."
Patrick explained, "But he's only going to be six, I don't think he understands that. He also wants to name the black one Duck, like from the commercials."
Zac stopped laughing and asked, "What do you want to name them?"
Patrick thought for a minute, "I think Cheddar would be kinda funny, but while I like that commercial, I'm not really fond of Duck as a name for a dog. Like Cheddar goes with Colby, I would like a name to go with Kunoichi. You said that meant female ninja, and Grandpa Nick has Shinobi which means Ninja, so I was thinking of maybe calling him Sam for Samurai."
"I like that," Jake stated. "Cheddar and Samurai."
"Do you want Sam or Samurai? Jake named Cheddar, so I think you should name the other," Zac inquired.
Patrick admitted, "I like Samurai, but thought Sam would be easier."
Jim nodded his head and acknowledged, "Then Samurai is his name. And we can always call him Sam for short." Patrick smiled.
On Monday, Patrick was looking at designs that he liked for his boots while an attendant was measuring his and Jake's feet. He found a design and asked if he could get it. The attendant looked at the page he was looking at and responded, "That is cobra skin and would be covered with your gift certificate, so yes you can. And for an additional fifty dollars, we can include matching belts."
"Fifty dollars per belt?" Jim asked.
"Oh no, I figured that if you got the matching belt, you would want one for each boy, that's thirty dollars for the older boy and twenty for the younger one." The attendant explained.
Zac commented, "You figured correctly, but how soon will the boys outgrow them?"
"For children, we add extra length to make it a longer time. They will outgrow the boots first. And with these boots, as long as they are still in good condition when they do, we will measure their feet again and create a new pair for half the cost plus the original boots. Then, we will donate the used boots to a needy family."
"Ma'am," Zac said sternly, "I believe you convinced me to add the belts."
Patrick asked, "Dad, can you take a picture of these boots and send them to Trevor and Roger so they know what we're getting."
"May I?" Jim asked the attendant. She nodded her head.
When Patrick spent the night at Heather's, he called Zac and Jim before going to bed, but had no issues with being away from them. When he handed the liver and onions that Heather gave him for Jim and Zac to Jim, Jim told him how proud of him he was.
New Year's Eve, Heather had invited everyone to celebrate. Patrick was surprised when she fixed him a drink. "Aren't I too young to drink this?" he asked.
Heather nodded, "You are, but it's very weak. I used only an ounce of alcohol for a twenty-ounce glass and am splitting it between you and Jake so that you would feel included. Cough syrup has as much if not more alcohol. If you would rather not have any, I can fix you a drink without any."
"If Dad and Papa have no problem with it, then this will be fine," Patrick responded.
Jim answered, "It's just once a year, Grandma already asked if you boys would be allowed. Papa and I agreed that as long as it was weak. Just no driving."
Patrick laughed, "Dad, I'm only eleven.'
"So you really shouldn't be driving. I may have to ground you," Jim teased.
Patrick chuckled, "Dad, I'm not driving."
Jim smiled, "OK, no grounding for driving, then."
The rest of the night, they played card games and other games that the boys could join them in. When they played more sophisticated games like euchre or spades, Jake sat on Zac's lap to watch him play and Patrick sat beside Jim so Jim could explain the games to him. Chris also took time to play games like Trouble, Sorry! and Chutes-n-Ladders with Jake and Patrick. It didn't surprise Jim when Jake fell asleep at his usual bed time, but Patrick stayed up until they watched the ball drop.
Jim was going to pick Jake up so they could go home but Heather stopped him. She suggested, "Why don't you carry him upstairs and put him in your bed? Patrick, would you like to spend the night again? You and Jake can go with Joe and Chris to the ranch tomorrow, if the weather permits. And Jim, you and Zac are welcome to spend the night also."
"It would beat walking home in the dark, Dad," Patrick urged.
"Jake can sleep in my bed and Patrick can sleep with Joe so you two can have your old bed," Chris suggested.
Joe agreed, "I'm up for it if Patrick doesn't mind sleeping in my bed with me." Patrick nodded his head so Jim and Zac agreed.
In the morning, it didn't snow but it was very cold; the high for the day was twenty-six degrees. Jim suggested that Patrick and Jake stay with Heather and Heather loved the idea. Jackson told them to work quickly to take care of the horses and get home.
Zac helped Jim, Joe, Chris and Buster take care of the horses, and they took turns going into the office to avoid getting too cold. At least the new barns weren't as drafty as the old barns had been and Gerry even built heaters into each of the barns. They helped, but as spacious as barns are, they were still colder than a house, but not nearly as cold as outside.
When Zac was in the office, he asked Jackson, "Did you ever find a horse for Patrick Henry?"
Jackson chuckled, "It might be a bit late for him, he died in 1799. OH, you mean Patrick's friend."
"You knew who I meant," Zac said, shaking his head.
"Yeah, there is one in Kanab, Utah. He's up for adoption, instead of sale, and they just received him less than a month ago. I've already contacted them and he'll be transferred to the rescue in March. He won't cost Patrick more than three hundred. The horse is barely three and has not had a rider yet, so that might be an issue."
Zac looked a little confused, "Why not until March?"
"In case you didn't notice," Jackson began, "it's cold outside. Horse trailers are not known for heat and they would rather not travel this far with him until the weather gets warmer."
Zac nodded, "That makes sense. Have you told Patrick Henry about the horse?"
Jackson grinned, "I did and he offered to give me the full five hundred if we break the horse for him. I told him that we would, but he didn't have to pay the extra, I would make sure it was done."
"Make sure what was done?" Jim asked as he came in, followed by Joe, Chris and Buster.
Jackson replied, "The horse for Patrick Henry will need someone to break him."
"I volunteer," Joe offered.
Jackson smiled, "I'm guessing that being thrown didn't bother you too much."
"Not too much. Besides, I've learned things that will help," Joe declared.
Jim chimed in, "I'd like to help. He is going to Zac's and my son's friend's horse, so I want to help with the breaking."
"It sounds to me like we have that taken care of, now if the horses are taken care of, git out of here and head home," Jackson demanded. Zac looked at Jackson before going out the door. As if he had read Zac's mind, Jackson assured, "Yes, the barn is ready for the party and I have eight heaters set around the walls of the barn, plus small ones at each table. It should be a little toasty in there."
"I'm glad, some of the parents were concerned with having the party in a barn," Zac stated. "I told them that you would have it taken care of and for them to join the party. I compromised with them asking to give five minutes, and if they weren't happy with your solution, we wouldn't be offended if they left."
Jackson chuckled, "I don't think they'll leave. If the horse barns were as warm, the horses might shed their winter coats. And they can't put them back on like the children can."
Zac laughed, "That would be funny to watch a horse take off and put on a winter coat like that."
When it finally came time for Jake's party, several families showed up, despite the cold weather. Ed, Dena and Scott were the first to arrive. Walker and his parents were next. Patrick asked, "Is Sean coming?"
Walker shook his head, "His dad took him to Canada to go ice fishing and they're not back yet. They were just crossing back into Montana at Wild Horse Border Crossing when I was talking to him."
Patrick had mixed emotions over Sean not coming, "It's a shame he can't make Jake's party, but I'm happy that he's having fun with his dad."
"He did give me a present for Jake in case they didn't make it," Walker stated.
As his classmates came, Jake introduced them to Zac and Jim. "Daddy, Papa, this is my best friend in class, Chase Dubois. His middle name is Ledoux, and he was named after a singing rodeo cowboy."
Jim said, "You mean Chris Ledoux? We have his CDs. Papa plays them all the time, they're so good."
"Yeah, him," Jake confirmed.
Another boy walked over to Jake and gave him a hug. When they parted, Jake announced, "This is Ivan Navi. If you read his name backwards, it's the same. Isn't that cool?"
Jim nodded his head, "Yeah, it is."
Patrick walked over with his phone in his hand, "Jake I have a phone call for you."
He tapped the speaker button and Jake said hello only to hear Trevor and Roger say in unison, "Happy Birthday, Jake."
"Trevor, Roger, thank you. You guys actually called on my birthday. I love you guys," Jake gushed.
Trevor said, "We love you, Little Bro. We couldn't miss calling you. We look forward to coming to Cody this summer. Catch you then."
Zac grinned, "That's so cool of them calling to wish Jake a happy birthday, even if it was a short conversation."
Jim concurred, "Yeah, they are a great couple of boys. I'm glad Patrick and Jake got to meet them."
Jake was very happy with his party and everyone had fun.
