Mending Wounded Hearts

"Hello guys", Cammie smiled, "Which one is this?"

Dennis stuck out his hand and introduced himself as well.

"Hi, my name’s Brandon."

"Wow Rob, where do you find these handsome boys?" Cammie joked.

Brandon blushed a bit, "Thanks, Ma’am." 

"Lose the Ma’am crap kiddo, I haven’t made forty yet," and she smiled her warmest, "Call me Cammie."

"Um… okay, Cammie," Brandon stammered.

The sound of approaching hooves signaled the arrival of Kelly and Wade.

"Mom, this is Kelly, He was in two plane crashes yesterday," Wade piped excitedly.

"Oh, you poor baby," Cammie gushed and wrapped her arms around Kelly. "That’s awful, you’ll have to tell me all about it, sweetie. Maybe while I cut your hair, you too Brandon, you are both overdue."

Both boys looked at me for protection.

"Actually she’s pretty good, she cuts Wade’s hair and he always looks sharp," I noted.

"I’m in," Brandon agreed.

"Um, will you be um… you know, wearing clothes?" Kelly asked cautiously.

"Yes, honey, we always dress for company that doesn’t share our love for being naked," It’s not a problem at all. "It must seem weird to you if you’re not used to it."

"I was never naked outdoors before I met Wade and I went with him to run the dogs. It was wonderful, but I’m not ready to see adults that way yet," Kelly replied.

"Of course not, honey. Wade was raised that way so it’s normal to him. He wears clothes all day at school or when we’re in mixed company, especially around little girls," Cammie grinned.

"Mom," Wade whined, "Do you have to do that?"

"Sorry baby, I didn’t mean to embarrass you."

"Okay, I guess," he sulked.

"Why don’t you show Brandon how to get there and show him the combination to the stock gate, and Wade, let him drive please. He needs to get used to driving the gator and you drive like a madman," I chided. "I’ll want you to show Kelly how to drive it as well. Okay?"

"Cool! We can go on a tour of the whole place. He’s only seen this part and the gate by the Hogan's," Wade exclaimed. He was pleased to have that assignment.

Wade and Kelly charged out the kitchen door with the dogs hot on their heels. Brandon leaned in and told us, "Actually I’ve been driving John Deere and Kawasaki utes since I was six. But I’ll let Wade show me what he knows and I won’t let on."

"That’s very kind of you Brandon," Dennis grinned. "He’s pretty proud of his abilities with machinery. You ought to see him in a skid steer. He makes that thing dance."

"I’d like to see that. He seems a lot like me when I was his age, maybe a bit now. I’m only two years older than him," Brandon muttered shyly.

"You’re only fourteen? Your poise and demeanor say you’re much older.  You could just ride over with us,” Cammie suggested.

"But then Wade wouldn’t get to show me the Gator, I better stick with plan A," Brandon grinned at her. 

We all rose and hugs were exchanged, Cammie and Dennis hopped in the truck with Cammie behind the wheel. I could see Dennis desperately poking at his phone to get the gate open. Cammie has a lead foot.

"So those are your neighbors, huh?" asked Brandon.

"Well a couple of them, I have others but they are by far the most interesting. They run the riding school across the road," I explained.

"They’re neat; do they come here a lot? That little Wade dude just loves the heck out of you. I like him, he’s so up front about everything. And that Kelly kid is really complex and very smart. But he hides it," Brandon observed.

“Well, to answer your questions, yes, we do hang around together, I board a couple of horses over there and Wade is sort of an adopted nephew. I’ve noticed that Kelly is a very keen observer like yourself, but he hides his light under a bushel," I continued. “It’s probably to avoid a confrontation with the guy he has to live with. Lyle is a scumbag and I mean to have a talk with Kelly while you get your haircut. Speaking of which, do you want to get a shower and wash your hair?"

"That would be nice, my clothes are clean but the water was too cold to bathe in," Brandon lamented.

"Come on up, you can use my shower, I have shampoo and conditioner, I think you’ll like my shower.

"Man you weren’t kidding, this is beyond cool,” Brandon raved. 

"I like it, I designed it to accommodate more than one. It has regular hot and cold valves. This pad selects between shower head or wand, and this row does all the other jets. You’re pretty sharp, you’ll figure it out. Fresh towels are on the rack and I turned the floor heat on already. Have fun, I’ll see you downstairs."

I pulled the door shut, leaving him to his own devices. I paused long enough to pull a jacket out of my closet. I bought it for Wyatt, but he was still growing and it was too small for him now. I figured Brandon could make use of it since he had only a light jacket to keep the elements off.

Fifteen minutes later, Brandon emerged and called to me in a worried voice. He was still wrapped in a towel although he had put his t-shirt back on.

"Something’s wrong, I have something weird on my leg close to my balls."  Brandon was near to tears with fear.

I took him to a room off my den. I have a massage table, it’s less precarious than the folding variety the Masseuses bring with them.

"Hop up here and let’s have a look. He lay down on the table and flipped the towel back. He had an angry looking sore right at the pubic symphysis and thigh. At first I thought it was possibly a pimple, boil or an ingrown hair. But it wasn’t any of those, and it was extremely sensitive. I repositioned the towel so I could take a photo to send to Doctor Briggs. I sent it with a text. He answered back that it looked like a minor bee sting. He asked if I checked the patient’s trousers. I told him I’d check. 

I ran up and got Brandon’s blue jeans and under a strong light, I found the remains of a stinger poking through the denim in an area that corresponded with the sting. I texted the ‘doc’ and told him what I found and went to get baking soda and cigarette tobacco from the kitchen. I keep some in the fridge to make poultices. A little saliva and baking soda to neutralize the venom if any was present and the Tannin and Nicotine in the Tobacco would numb the pain and reduce the swelling. I grabbed my razor but it wasn’t needed. He didn’t have any hair on his thighs yet. 

I informed Brandon that it was a bee sting and that if he would lie down I would treat it. The ‘doc’ texted back, prescribing soda and tobacco. I sent a thank you and got back to tending Brandon.

In sitting up, Brandon had dislodged the towel and his equipment was on display. He sported a nice looking circumcised penis with a nice set of balls in a hairless scrotum and nicely trimmed pubic hair. His penis was noticeably larger than when he had first thrown back the towel.

"Looks like you’ve been trimming the south forty. I do the same thing; if it gets too long; it wraps around my dick and feels like barbed wire." I nodded absently.

"Oh, I didn’t think you would notice. It gets caught in my underwear and pulls out in clumps too, I mean besides the problem you mentioned."

"Well it looks like very nice equipment, any boy would be proud to have it." I taped the gauze over the tobacco and told him he could get dressed. 

"What did you put on me, it kind of tingles?" he asked.

"Just baking soda, tobacco and spit. The tingling is the nicotine working to numb the skin and the tannins are relieving the inflammation," I told him. "Oh, and I removed the stinger from your jeans."

"Thanks Rob, and thanks for what you said about my um… equipment." Brandon whispered shyly.

"You better head up and get dressed, those hooligans will be back in a short while.

While Brandon finished dressing I sat alone with my thoughts. What the hell did I think I was doing. I wasn't worried about money, I have more than enough to last my entire life. I wondered if I was really up to this, this wasn't a sports car I could return if I didn't like the way it drove. This was a commitment that once I took it on I would have to see it through. I know that's what my parents would tell me. I knew that these kids could just be playing on my kindness but it didn't fit with their behavior. No that was silly, they couldn't act the way they do and be anything but what they were.

One thing was for certain, my life just took a major turn and it would never be the same. I figured that was a good thing because I was becoming self-indulgent. I needed something to snap me out of the path that I had been on.

I knew Wyatt would be moving on soon. I had picked up a few clues that he was not as invested in our relationship as he had been. The most likely reason for that would be that he met someone who fits him better. I just hoped he wouldn't go all to pieces on me and blame himself. That would poison the new relationship he had and I didn't want that. I always knew he would find someone who was closer to his own age and interests and the time was right. We had a lot of fun together and some great intimacy. He was a vigorous lover and had stamina inline with his age. I like to think I taught him a few things that come with experience and we both got what we needed in the exchange. I even held out the hope that he would continue to be a friend and include his new mate in our friendship.

I also considered what sort of hoops I'd have to jump through to get custody of these two boys, and what if a third comes along, where do I draw the line?

It came down to this, I had the means to help these boys find a more stable life, and I couldn't just get them all wound up and then not come through. Nope, I was in this and way too deep to back out. Even if I could I would never be able to look at myself in a mirror again. And frankly if another kid finds his way to my door and needs my help, that child will receive whatever help I can provide.