Riding Lessons
by Andrew Todd

 

Chapter 20

Before they left the Bob Evans parking lot, Dusty programmed the address for the ranch into the GPS. He knew how to get to Lancaster, but was unfamiliar with the streets when he got there. His plan was to drive straight through, so he figured he should program the GPS now.

As they drove down the highway, the boys continued their chattering for a while until Dusty noticed that only he and Zak were talking.

He looked in the rearview mirror and laughed.

“What?” Zak asked.

Dusty nodded his head towards the back seat and Zak looked behind him.

“Aww,” Zak sighed as he saw Spin and Mattie fast asleep leaning against each other. Spin had his head lying on Mattie’s shoulder and Mattie was resting his head on Spin’s head.

Zak and Dusty continued talking quietly as they continued on. A sleeping Spin was a Spin that couldn’t get on their nerves, so they wanted to make sure he stayed asleep as long as possible.

The GPS told them they were about 2 miles from the ranch; they turned down a very secluded dirt road that seemed to be deserted. It was rather bumpy and rough on the shocks of the truck. As they were jostled by the road, Mattie and Spin started to stir.

Dusty saw the two moving in the rearview mirrors.

“Welcome back to the land of the living, guys,” Dusty laughed. “According to the GPS, we are almost there.”

Spin and Mattie were still quite out of it and Dusty grinned as he watched the two try to discretely rearrange the obvious tents in their pants.

Up ahead the boys saw a large fenced-off field and a gate in the middle of the road. Over the gate was a large sign reading, ‘Dream Makers Ranch’.

Dusty pulled the truck up to the gate and rolled down his window. There was a squawk box on a pole and he hit the ‘send’ button on the box.

“Yes,” came a disembodied voice.

“Hi. We have an appointment,” Dusty answered.

“Anthony O’Brien?”

Dusty snickered and he saw Spin cringe in the back seat. “Yes.”

“Come on in. Just follow the road up to the barn, we’ll meet you there.”

The gates opened and Dusty drove through.

When they pulled up in front of the large barn they were greeted by a tall blond man of about 40 and blonde woman about the same age. The couple waved to the boys as they piled out of the truck.

“Hello,” greeted the man. “I’m Jeff Murphy and this is my wife, Jen.” He walked over to Dusty and offered his hand. “You must be Anthony.”

Dusty laughed and shook the man’s hand. “Actually, the redhead over here is Anthony, but we call him ‘Spin’. I’m Dusty Crandall. And the others are Zak Myers and Mateo Alvarez.”

Mr. Murphy walked over to Spin and offered his hand. “Sorry about that. From your e-mails, I assumed you were older.”

Spin shook the man’s hand. “That’s ok, sir. I’m just excited we made it here.”

“Please boys, I’m Jeff and this is Jen. ‘Mister’ and ‘sir’ just make me feel old,” Jeff chuckled. He went and shook hands with Zak and Mattie, while Jen greeted all the boys as well.

As the six stood there making small talk, two boys came out of the barn and between them was a large tan-colored dog. One of the boys was about 5’ 10”, strawberry-blond hair, light-blue eyes and a slender but tight frame. The other boy was about 6’ with bright red hair and bluish-green eyes. The taller boy was very thin. Both boys were dressed in blue jeans and western boots and wore t-shirts. The blond wore a University of Kentucky t-shirt and the redhead wore a Michigan State University t-shirt.

The dog saw the crowd of people and ran over to greet them. He made a beeline for Spin and jumped up on him, knocking him on his ass.

The two boys came running up. The blond one yelled, “Titan, no!!” He grabbed the dog by the collar and pulled him away from Spin who he was happily licking on the face.

The blond handed the dog off to the redhead and reached his hand down to help Spin up. None of Spin’s friends had tried to help him because they were too busy laughing themselves silly.

When Spin was on his feet, the blond boy said, “I’m so sorry. He’s usually not that forward.”

Spin looked at the boy and just shook his head. “That’s ok. I just seem to have that effect on big dogs.” That comment made Dusty, Mattie and Zak laugh even harder.

Jeff stepped in. “Boys, this,” he started motioning to the blond boy, “is our son, Nick. And this is his friend, Noah, and you’ve met Titan.” Dusty, Mattie and Zak broke into a new round of laughter. “Nick, Noah these are Dusty, Mattie, Zak and Anthony, though he goes by Spin.”

The boys all shook hands and greeted each other.

“We figured that since you boys were all about the same age we would turn you over to Nick and Noah. They know all the horses here and can help you to know their personalities and abilities. They’ll also help you get settled into the bunkhouse. There are three bedrooms in there, so I hope doubling up won’t be a problem.

The four boys looked at each other and grinned.

“No, Jeff,” answered Zak. “That’s fine. We’re all good friends so we don’t mind having to bunk together.”

“Great,” said Jeff. “Well, I’ll leave you guys with Nick and Noah.”

Jeff and Jen walked back towards the house, leaving the boys alone.

“Spin, I’m so sorry about Titan jumping up on you like that,” Nick apologized profusely.

“It’s not a problem, Nick,” Spin assured him. “You see, Dusty has a Great Dane and we just found out that Mattie has a mastiff and both those mutts jump all over me, too.”

Dusty and Mattie were standing on either side of Spin and both cuffed him on the back of the head.

“Oww!!” Spin exclaimed as he rubbed his head.

Dusty scolded him, “What did we tell you about calling Herc and Caesar ‘mutts’?”

Spin nodded, “Yeah, yeah. I know, sorry.” He looked back to Nick. “Apparently I just look like a chew toy to these big dogs.”

All five boys laughed at Spin.

“Hey, what kind of dog is he anyways?” Zak asked.

“He’s a Rhodesian Ridgeback,” Nick answered. “They’re an African breed. The name comes from the way the hair on his back forms a ridge down his spine. They are used as hunting dogs, but I don’t think this knucklehead could hunt if his life depended on it.”

Noah spoke up. “Why don’t we show you guys to the bunkhouse so you can put your stuff away and get settled and then we can show you the barn and the horses.”

The boys all agreed and went to get their duffle bags out of the back of the truck.

Nick and Noah led everyone down a winding stone path to a small house. Titan weaved his way between the six boys, happily accepting their pats and scratches.

When they entered the house there was a small sitting room and kitchen and then three bedrooms located off the sitting room.

At the first room, Nick said, “Ok, two of you can stay here and the other two next door.”

“I thought there were three rooms,” Mattie said.

Noah answered, “There are, but we are using the third, if you guys don’t mind. It isn’t very often we get visitors that are our age.”

“No problem, it will be fun,” Zak said.

Nick and Noah left the boys to get settled and waited for them in the sitting room.

Mattie and Spin chose the first room and Zak and Dusty went into the second. Each bedroom was a mini suite with a queen-sized bed, dresser, flat-screen television on the wall and a small love seat against one wall. Each room also had its own bathroom.

After the boys had had a chance to go to the bathroom and wash up they all joined Nick and Noah in the sitting room.

When the four boys walked into the sitting room, they were met with a surprising sight. Nick and Noah were cuddled together on a small loveseat, kissing.

“Ahem,” Dusty cleared his throat to let the two boys know they were not alone.

Nick and Noah jumped apart as if each were holding hot metal. Both boys blushed red and had looks of horror on their faces. Each spoke over the other in an attempt to explain.

Spin laughed, “Guys, don’t worry about it.” To make his point he grabbed Mattie and put a lip lock on him. This lasted for a few seconds until Mattie stepped back and smacked Spin on the arm.

“You know, you could have just told them.” Mattie said in exasperation.

Spin just laughed at his flustered boyfriend and took Mattie’s hand in his.

“Yes,” Spin laughed, “but my way of ‘explaining’ is more fun.”

Dusty took Zak’s hand and raised their clasped hands to show Nick and Noah.

Nick and Noah noticeably relaxed and sunk back into the loveseat holding hands.

Spin dragged Mattie over to a second loveseat and pulled him down into it. Dusty sat in a recliner and Zak settled on the floor in front of him wrapping his arms around Dusty’s legs.

“So, Noah, do you live around here?” Dusty asked.

“No, I actually live in Fielding,” Noah answered. “That’s a small town about six hours from here.”

“Wow,” said Zak. “That’s a ways away. Did you move from here?”

“No, I’ve lived there all my life.”

“So, how did you guys meet then?” Mattie asked.

“It’s a long story,” Nick laughed. “As you could see when you drove up, we’re kinda out in the middle of nowhere here. We’ve lived here since I was about eight. My mom inherited the ranch from a great-uncle and my parents decided to move us out here and start the rescue. My older brother started college two years ago and that kind of left me by myself. I love the ranch, but sometimes you need more companionship than your horse and your dog. Also, I’ve known I was gay for a long time and I didn’t feel like I could tell my parents or my brother.”

“Do they have something against gays?” Zak asked gently.

“No,” answered Nick. “Just the opposite; they’re very accepting and I’m very close to my parents and my brother. I just didn’t want anything to change that so I kept my feelings bottled up. I spent a lot of time online in chat rooms. The problem with those chat rooms is that half the ‘kids’ in them are perverts and pedophiles and another large part are cops. It’s hard to find a teenager in a teen chat room.”

Nick continued, “So one day about a year or so ago, I was in one of the rooms and I met Noah. At first we were both very cautious and suspicious of each other. But there are ways you can tell or sense that you are actually talking to another kid. Once we were sure of each other, we agreed to meet on Skype. Once I saw Noah on Skype any doubts I had slipped away and I knew I was head over heels for him.”

Nick turned to look at Noah and the two kissed.

Noah took over, “My story is pretty much the same. I live in a small town and it’s not the most progressive town out there. I knew I was gay and I’ve been too scared to come out to my parents. Some of my friends know, but not my parents or family. When I met Nick online, I knew he was the one for me. He was so easy to talk to, so sensitive and funny.”

Noah wrapped his arms around Nick and kissed his cheek. The other four boys all smiled at the gesture of affection.

“So, how did you guys end up actually meeting?” Spin asked.

“Well, it wasn’t easy,” Nick answered. “We spent about almost a year just chatting, messaging and Skyping. We thought that would be enough, but it was getting rougher and rougher on us. At one point we broke up cuz Noah really wanted a boyfriend that he could be with and cuddle and kiss.”

Noah nodded shyly, “Yeah, I thought that was important to me. And I found a boyfriend at my school. But it wasn’t the same thing. Even though he was physically there, I didn’t have the connection with him that I had with Nick. We still chatted and e-mailed constantly. It was frustrating because he was the one I wanted to be with.”

“So, I finally talked to my parents,” interjected Nick. “They noticed that I was getting depressed and spending a lot of time alone and moping around. They finally confronted me about my mood and it was like the floodgates just rushed open and I let everything loose. To my surprise they were fine with me being gay. They were a little suspicious of my relationship with Noah, because we had never actually met. They were afraid he was some kinda pervert.” Nick giggled and Noah rolled his eyes. “But my brother offered to drive me to Fielding, so Noah and I could finally meet in person.”

Noah took over, “We told my mom that I had met Nick at a Science competition and that we had become friends. We told her that Nick’s brother was looking at colleges and they had invited me to come along. My mom couldn’t argue with me looking at schools. So I went with Nick and his brother. We spent the afternoon at a Cracker Barrel restaurant a couple of towns over. All we did was talk and get to know each other more, but by the time Nick and his brother dropped me back at home that night, we knew it was the real thing and we had to find a way to be together.”

“My parents actually helped us solve that,” Nick said. “I have wanted to be a veterinarian as long as I could remember so that I could help my parents out here on the ranch. Noah wants to be one too. So when my parents found this out they called Noah’s mom and talked her into letting him spend the summer here as an ‘intern’. He’s been helping us with the horses and we’ve both been shadowing the farrier and the vet. And we get to spend lots of time together. We’ve had a great summer. I taught Noah how to ride and he’s getting really good. But, now summer’s coming to an end and he has to go back home next week.”

Noah took Nick’s hand in his and kissed it. The two boys smiled at each other with small tears in their eyes.

“So, what are you going to do?” Dusty asked.

“Well, Noah’s going to get his driver’s license as soon as he gets home. He’s been 16 since April, but he’s been dragging his feet on getting his license. But his grandparents have given him their old car, so we hope that his mom will let him come out here on weekends to continue his internship. And then I turn 16 in October and when I get my license we can meet each other halfway or I can visit him. We are determined to make this work.”

Nick and Noah wrapped their arms around each other and hugged tightly.

“Alright,” said Nick. “That’s enough about us. What’s the story with you guys?”

First, Dusty and Zak and then Spin and Mattie gave their stories telling about how they met, the Triple J and their horses.

“Wow,” said Noah. “We need to get down and check out your ranch. I’ve never seen a Friesian or an Andalusian.”

“Well, come on down anytime,” Dusty said and the others nodded their agreement.

“So; Spin,” Nick started, “my dad says you ride both English and western and weren’t sure which discipline you wanted to focus on, right?”

Spin thought for a moment. “Well, I’m leaning towards focusing on English, since Zak and I have been training so hard this summer. But, I love trail riding, so whichever horse I try will have to be able to handle the trails.”

“And he’s a bit of a daredevil, so a horse that likes to take chances would be good,” Zak interjected.

Spin flipped him his customary double bird and all the boys laughed.

Nick considered Spin’s requests. “I have an idea. We have several horses that should work well for you and all of our horses are used to being on the trails. Why don’t we split up? Noah can take Dusty and Mattie out on the trail, since they are the ‘cowboys,’ and I’ll stay here with Zak and Spin and we can try some of the horses in the arena. That way, if Dusty or Mattie likes one of the horses they try then Spin can try them tomorrow; and if Spin or Zak likes one in the ring, then you can try them on the trail.”

Spin nodded his consent, “Sounds like a plan. Why don’t Zak and I go change into our riding clothes and the other three can head out now.”

They all quickly agreed to the plan. Noah led Dusty and Mattie out of the bunkhouse and to the barn, while Spin and Zak scampered off to put on their riding clothes.

Noah led Mattie and Dusty into the barn.

“All of the horses we decided to have you guys try are mainly hunter/jumper, but as Nick said, they all do trails as well. The ones we’ll try today will take a western saddle or English saddle.”

“Good,” said Dusty. “Because me and an English saddle do not get along.”

Noah laughed. “I’m the same way; especially since I’ve just learned how to ride this summer, I feel more secure in a western saddle. Nick rides in both, but I think he prefers western too. But since they do so much work with the horses here, he needs to be able to do both. He’s tried to teach me English a couple times, but let’s just say it hasn’t gone well.”

Noah stopped in front of a stall with a large black horse in it. “Ok, this is Storm. He’s a Morgan. He’s been here about 2 years. He’s 8 years old and he loves to jump and he’s great on the trails.”

Dusty walked over to the horse and talked to him softly and patted him. Storm lipped at Dusty’s hands and shook his head. “Ok,” Dusty said. “I’ll take this one.”

Mattie noticed some posters on the outside of the stall. “What are these?” he asked.

“Well, since the ranch is a non-profit, Nick and his parents are always trying to come up with ways to raise money,” Noah answered. “One of the things they offer is barn tours for people who want to see the work the rescue does. These posters are on all the stalls. They have pictures of the horses when they arrived and tell the stories of how the horses came to be here.”

Mattie and Dusty looked closely at the picture on the poster. The horse in it was emaciated, all his ribs showing through. They were both shocked.

“This is the same horse as in these pictures?” Dusty asked.

Noah nodded, “Yes, it’s really heartbreaking when you see some of these guys when they come in. It’s just infuriating that some people can be so cruel.”

Mattie had tears in his eyes as he read the posters on some of the other stalls.

As he wiped the tears from his eyes he said, “I’m going to talk to my parents when I get home. They do a lot with charities and this ranch just got a new benefactor.”

Noah grinned, “Well, I know Jeff and Jen and Nick will appreciate any help they get.” He led them to another stall. In the stall was a chestnut mare. “Ok, this is Lady, she’s a quarter horse. She’s ok in the ring, but she’s awesome on the trails.”

Mattie and Dusty chuckled.

Noah was confused. “What’s so funny?” he asked.

Mattie explained, “Spin has it in his head that he has to get a male horse, or, as he says, a ‘guy’ horse. Since we all have stallions and since we are all gay, he wants a boy horse.”

Noah rolled his eyes. “Well, I usually ride Lady anyways, so you can try the next one for Spin–he’s a gelding.”

Noah led them to the last stall in the barn. In the stall was a large brown-and-white horse. “This is Whisper. He’s a paint. He is pretty good at hunter/jumper and fantastic on the trails. He is really fast, too. A bit of a daredevil.”

Mattie walked up to the paint. “He’d be perfect for my little daredevil boyfriend, then,” he said as he patted and scratched the horse.

Once he had introduced the boys to their horses for the afternoon, Noah showed them where the tack and grooming tools were and all three boys went to get their horses. They quickly groomed and tacked up the horses and hit the trail.

Spin and Zak emerged from their rooms at the same time. They walked into the sitting room together. Nick had changed as well. All three were wearing breeches and t-shirts and had their gloves and helmets in their hands. Zak and Nick wore yard boots and half chaps, while Spin wore his tall boots.

Nick led them to the barn. As they were reaching the barn, they saw Noah leading Dusty and Mattie down the trail. The boys all waved to their boyfriends who waved back.

“So, Nick, how did you and your parents start all this?” Zak asked.

“Well, like I said, my mom inherited the ranch, which is about 200 acres, when I was eight. They were burned out by the city and my mom had grown up with horses, so they decided to move us out here. At first they were going to raise and breed horses. But, one day my mom saw a report on the TV about a farm that had been raided by the ASPCA and local police. They had over 20 horses that had been malnourished and abused. Half of the horses were so bad off that they had to be destroyed. My mom was so outraged by what she saw that she started researching what it would take to turn the ranch into a rescue. Since we own the land free and clear, we can offer many of the horses a forever home. We try to adopt out as many of the horses as we can since resources are always limited. Some of the horses are so bad off that they cannot be ridden or worked. Most of those we keep, but some are adopted by people who are just looking for pets and not interested in riding.”

Zak looked around. “I never knew there were places like this. I knew there were kennels that rescued abused and abandoned dogs, but I had no idea there were places like this for horses.”

“Yeah, unfortunately, there are lots of them across the country,” Nick said. “The need is crazy since so many people buy horses without having the slightest idea how expensive they are and how much work they are. They get it in their heads that it’s like getting a puppy. There is so much care and treatment a horse needs: farriers, vets, special feeds, etc. And by the time we get them, they need even more. So many of the horses we get are malnourished, underweight, injured, or lame that it costs so much just to rehabilitate one horse. That’s why I’ve always wanted to be a vet. I love the animals and I can help my parents to keep costs down here by building my clinic here at the ranch.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” Zak said as they entered the barn.

Nick explained to Zak and Spin about the posters on the stalls as he introduced them to different horses.

He stopped at a stall with a big red horse in it. The horse came up to Nick and started lipping his arm and hand. Nick laughed, “This is Red–he’s my horse. He’s a quarter horse. He was one of the first horses we rescued and I’ve had him for about seven years.”

Both Spin and Zak went over to Red and patted and talked to him.

Nick next led them to a stall with a black horse inside it. “This is Apollo, he’s an Arabian. He’s been here about a year. He’s great at hunter/jumper. He’s had some dressage training. He’s good on the trails, but can be a little skittish in new surroundings.”

Zak approached the black horse, talking softly and scratching the horse’s cheek. The horse bobbed his head up and down.

Nick and Spin left Zak with Apollo and walked a few stalls down. Inside the stall was a tall chestnut horse.

Nick said, “This is River. He’s a thoroughbred. He was a race horse. He loves to jump the big jumps and he’s awesome on the trails.”

Spin opened the stall door and entered the stall. He slowly walked up to the big horse. He patted the horse’s neck and sides. He pointed to the horse’s legs. “What are those white marks on his legs?” he asked.

Nick shook his head and frowned. “He was pin-fired,” he answered. “It’s an old treatment method that they often use on race horses. They ‘treat’ the injury by burning it, freezing it or dousing it with acidic chemicals. It’s supposed to improve or speed healing and some think it improves the horse’s speed. It’s a barbaric practice, but we see a lot of the horses, especially the thoroughbreds, come in with the marks from it. Some are so bad all the hair on sections of their legs has been burned off.”

Spin just shook his head and turned back towards River; he had a hard time imagining anyone could be so cruel to a horse. To him horses were awesome animals; horses had provided him with some of the greatest times in his life.

River dropped his head down and Spin reached around and hugged the big horse’s neck.

Zak walked up leading Apollo. Spin reached over and grabbed a halter for River and put it on the big horse.

Nick showed them where the crossties were and then where to get the tack and grooming tools. While Zak and Spin started grooming the horses, Nick went and got Red.

The three boys quickly groomed and saddled their horses and then Nick led them to the outdoor arena where a number of jumps had been set up.

They led the horses into the arena. The boys each pulled on their gloves and buckled their helmets then mounted up. They spent a few minutes riding around the arena warming up and then they each took turns running the course. After running the course a few times, Zak and Spin compared notes on River and Apollo and then switched horses.

They each ran the course two more times on the new horses. When they had finished their second runs, the two compared notes again.

Spin preferred River since he was big and fast and sailed over the jumps. Zak liked River over the jumps, but was partial to Apollo’s smooth gait and quickness. Spin thought that Zak preferred Apollo because learning on Zephyr had made him partial to Arabians.

While the two friends continued to discuss the horses, Nick ran the course a couple more times.

They had been at it about an hour, when Noah, Dusty and Mattie rode up.

“Hey, guys,” Nick greeted them. “How were the trails?”

Dusty grinned, “Excellent. These guys are both great trail horses. You guys have done an excellent job training them.”

Mattie nodded in agreement. If he didn’t already have Ash, he’d be tempted to get his parents to let him adopt Whisper. Even though Mattie did not technically own him, he felt that Ash was his horse.

“Either of you two want to try the course, before we put them up?” Nick asked.

Dusty shook his head. “Nope, none of that hunter/jumper stuff for me. I’ll leave that to my boyfriend.”

Mattie hopped off Whisper. “I’ll give it a try.”

Spin looked at him. “Are you sure? Both these guys are kinda fast.”

Mattie just smiled at him. “I’ll take it easy on them.”

He took Apollo’s reins from Spin and borrowed Spin’s gloves and helmet. He mounted up and took the black horse around the ring several times before he tried the course.

He took his time running the course and cleared every jump with plenty of room to spare. Spin and Zak were impressed; they didn’t know Mattie could jump as well.

After running the course twice on Apollo, Mattie dismounted and handed his reins back to Spin. He then went over to Zak and took River’s reins from him.

He mounted the big thoroughbred and  took him around the ring several times. He could feel the power of the big horse and knew he had lots of speed in the tank.

He came around the corner and started the course. Zak and Spin watched in amazement as Mattie took River through the course faster than either of them had and he jumped the whole thing clear.

Mattie ran the course a second time and this time went even faster. When he finished he walked River around the ring a few times to cool him down.

He came back to Spin and Zak and hopped down off of River and handed the reins back to Zak.

“Let me guess,” Spin said rolling his eyes. “You did some show jumping in Spain, too.”

Mattie laughed, “Maybe a few times.”

Zak looked at him. “Is there anything you can’t do on a horse?”

“Well, Dusty’s going to teach me barrel racing and pole bending. I’ve never done those, but I don’t think Ash will be too good at either of those events.”

The three boys laughed while Nick, Noah and Dusty looked on. Then all six boys led their horses back to the barn. By the time they had finished rinsing all the horses and putting them up it was time for evening feedings. Dusty, Zak, Spin and Mattie offered to help Nick and Noah.

With the six boys sharing duties they were done in no time.

After they finished the feedings, the boys went back to bunkhouse to shower and change clothes for dinner.

When the boys were all ready, they followed Nick and Noah out to a large field behind the bunkhouse. There were several picnic tables set up. They saw Jeff and Jen working at a large brick barbeque pit.

Jen turned towards the boys. “Hey, guys. Did you have a good time this afternoon?”

Spin was his usual hyper self. “We sure did. I’m gonna have a hard time deciding on just one. But if I show up with more than one, my dad will skin me alive.”

Everyone laughed at Spin, but his friends knew that what he said was true.

Nick said, “Tomorrow we’ll switch and you can try Storm and Whisper in the ring. Then when you narrow it down we can all hit the trail for a nice long trail ride and you can make a decision after that.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” Spin responded.

“Well, soup’s on, boys,” Jeff announced.

They sat down to a huge spread and gorged themselves on some of the best barbeque they had ever had.

After dinner, Nick took the boys on a tour around the ranch. He introduced them to more horses and took the time to give them the backgrounds of each one. A couple times each of the boys would tear up at hearing some of the hardships these beautiful animals had been through.

They came around the corner of one of the barns and saw a small paddock. In the paddock was a jet-black horse almost the size of Onyx. The horse was pacing in the paddock, rearing and snorting. He was obviously not in a good mood.

Spin was transfixed. He started walking towards the paddock.

Nick reached forward and grabbed Spin’s shoulder. “Spin you want to stay back. That’s Revanche. We’ve only had him about a month and he is not a happy camper. We don’t really know his story. He was abandoned to the SPCA and brought to us. He had no physical injuries, but he’s pretty hot.”

Spin just stared at the horse. “What breed is he?”

“Warmblood. According to his papers, he’s supposed to excel at hunter/jumper and dressage and he’s done some eventing. But, so far none of us has been able to get close enough to even get a saddle on him,” Nick answered.

Nick grabbed Spin’s arm. “Come on, let’s go see the rest of the horses and then we can turn in. It’s gonna be a long day tomorrow.”

Spin nodded. He took one last look at the black horse and turned to go with his friends.

After finishing the tour, the six boys returned to the bunkhouse and said their goodnights. It had been a long day and tomorrow was promising to be even longer.

Dusty came out of the bathroom to find Zak had already crawled into bed. He looked over at Zak and Zak winked at him and pulled back the covers. Seeing Zak lying naked in the bed, Dusty quickly dropped his briefs and jumped in the bed with his boyfriend.

Dusty slid up beside Zak and gently kissed him. As the two boys let their hands roam over each other’s bodies their kisses became more urgent. Dusty reached down and began to stroke Zak’s beautiful cock. Zak moved his hand down to take hold of Dusty’s uncut dick and he began to rub it very slowly in a way he knew would drive Dusty crazy.

The boys continued to jack each other’s dicks as their kissing became more and more passionate.

Dusty felt Zak’s body tense as he moaned loudly into Dusty’s mouth. Dusty felt the volleys of cum shoot through Zak’s cock as he had his orgasm. Feeling Zak’s climax pushed Dusty over the edge and he began to cum simultaneously with Zak.

After their orgasms had subsided, Dusty went into the bathroom and returned with a damp washcloth. He lovingly wiped the sticky cum from Zak’s perfect chest. When he finished, Zak took the cloth and cleaned up his dark-skinned lover.

When he finished, Zak tossed the washcloth into the bathroom and returned to the bed. He snuggled up to Dusty under the covers.

“I love you,” Zak whispered.

“I love you, too.”

Mattie and Spin were involved in one of their energetic make-out sessions. Spin had learned that in spite of his boyfriend’s laid-back attitude and quiet demeanor, he could be quite the aggressor when it came to their ‘alone’ time.

The boys were rolling around on the bed having already divested themselves of their clothes. Spin lay on top of Mattie and was doing his best to brush Mattie’s teeth with his tongue. All day Spin had been thinking about doing for Mattie what his Spanish lover had done for him in the Bob Evan’s bathroom.

Spin licked his way down Mattie’s torso. Mattie tended to dress in more baggy clothes, so the first time Spin saw him naked he was taken aback by just how sculpted Mattie’s body was. His pecs were large and tight, topped with two large brown nipples. His tight abs were sculpted into a perfect 8-pack. The only hair on his body was that in his armpits and the dark trail that led from his belly button to his large uncut penis.

As Spin made his way down Mattie’s body, he devoured every inch of Mattie’s tanned skin that he could. He licked and nibbled his way to Mattie’s bush and then he sat back to admire Mattie’s rock hard erection. Spin was fascinated by the foreskin on Mattie’s dick. He pulled and stretched and rubbed the extra skin up and down the shaft and over the head.

Spin looked into Mattie’s hazel eyes and smiled. He licked his lips and looked back at Mattie’s erection. Without a second thought, he lowered his mouth over Mattie’s cock. He managed to get about half its length in his mouth. He bobbed up and down on Mattie’s love stick taking in more and more of it on each down stroke.

Mattie was lost in the ecstasy of his first blow job. He grabbed the side of Spin’s head and ran his fingers through Spin’s hair. Mattie writhed and groaned, becoming increasingly vocal. Spin reached up and placed his hand over Mattie’s mouth. Mattie looked into Spin’s emerald eyes.

“Shhh,” Spin whispered.

“I can’t help it,” Mattie groaned. “You’re driving me crazy.”

Spin kept up his work on Mattie’s dick. Mattie’s groans became louder and breathing more labored.

“Spin!” Mattie exclaimed. “I’m cumming!”

Spin kept up his mouth action on Mattie’s dick as Mattie’s juices flooded his mouth. Spin swallowed as quickly as he could. Mattie shot a lot more than Spin ever did and Spin thought he might drown in a sea of his boyfriend’s jism.

When Mattie’s climax was over, he gently tugged on Spin to let him know that his dick was too tender for Spin to continue. Spin slid up Mattie’s body and looked down at his spent lover.

Mattie looked up at Spin and started giggling.

“What’s so funny?” Spin asked, worried that he done something wrong.

“You didn’t get it all,” he whispered to Spin as he licked at the trails of his cum that leaked out the corners of Spin’s mouth.

The feel of Mattie’s tongue licking his lips and the replay of what had just transpired drove Spin to the edge.

He began to kiss Mattie deeply and Mattie reached down and took hold of Spin’s dick. As soon as Mattie’s hand closed around his cock, Spin felt himself going over the edge. He came harder than he ever had shooting his sperm all over him and Mattie.

Mattie looked at the mess they had just made. “Ick.” He cringed. “I think we’ll need to snuggle up on my side of the bed.”

Spin nodded. Mattie got out of the bed and grabbed Spin’s hand and led him into the bathroom. He took a damp cloth and wiped down Spin and then himself. He looked at Spin, who still had a glassy-eyed post-orgasm look on his face.

He led Spin back to the bed and had him get in first. Mattie then got into the bed and spooned up against Spin’s back. He gently kissed the back of Spin’s neck as he wrapped his arms around Spin’s body.

“Good night,” Mattie whispered. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Nick lay on the bed wiggling, squirming and moaning. Noah had Nick’s legs pushed up so that his knees were on his chest and he currently had his head buried in Nick’s ass. Nick was being driven crazy by the sensations of Noah’s long tongue burrowing into his hole.

Noah licked up Nick’s perineum. This caused Nick to squirm and whimper even more. Noah then took Nick’s balls into his mouth one at a time. He gently sucked on the warm marbles. He then proceeded up to Nick’s hard uncut dick. He took the throbbing organ in his hand and began to stroke it, causing another round of moans from Nick.

Noah reached over to the nightstand and grabbed a bottle of lube. He squirted some of the cold lube onto his finger and swirled the finger around Nick’s rosebud. He used one hand to steady Nick’s cock as he lowered his mouth over it. He had his other hand busy rubbing the lube into Nick’s ass. As Noah sucked on Nick’s cock, he slowly inserted a finger into Nick’s ass. He slid the finger in and out as Nick moaned. When Nick was accustomed to the first finger, Noah added a second, and then a third.

As he used his three fingers to stretch Nick’s ass, Noah kept on licking, kissing and sucking Nick’s dick. Noah would stop occasionally with his lips pursed around the head of Nick’s cock. He would nibble on the foreskin, a sensation that pushed Nick almost to the edge of sanity.

Satisfied that Nick was prepared and barely able to contain himself, Noah sat back on his heels. He squirted more lube into his hand and rubbed it onto his sizeable penis. The first few times they had done this, Nick had had problems taking his size, but through gentleness and perseverance they had struck gold.

Noah leaned forward and placed the large bulbous head of his dick against Nick’s tiny rosebud. Noah gently pushed forward. The head of his dick slipped into Nick’s ass. Nick inhaled deeply at the intrusion. Noah stopped for a second to allow Nick to get used to the intrusion.

Noah bent over Nick’s body and kissed him passionately. They looked into each other’s eyes and Noah knew Nick was ready for the rest. Noah slowly pushed the full length of his dick into Nick.

After letting Nick get accustomed to his size, Noah began to slowly fuck his hot blond boyfriend. Every stroke of Noah’s dick would hit Nick’s sweet spot just right. Nick rocked his head back on forth on the pillow.

Noah leaned over Nick and began kissing and sucking on his neck, while he was pistoning his dick in and out of Nick’s ass. Nick couldn’t take it anymore. He was going over the edge.

“Oh, Oh, No—AH!!” he cried as his orgasm swept over him.

As Nick came, his ass rhythmically squeezed Noah’s cock. The sensations on his dick and the look of ecstasy on his lover’s face pushed Noah over the edge and he came, shooting stream after stream of hot cum up Nick’s chute.

Noah slumped down on top of Nick. Both boys were panting from their exertion. Noah kissed Nick deeply, using his tongue to swab out Nick’s mouth.

Noah kissed his way down Nick’s chest and licked up the streaks of cum that lined Nick’s chest. Satisfied that his lover was cleaned up, Noah reached over and turned off the bedside lamp. Nick and Noah both rolled over on their sides. Nick backed up against Noah.

“I love you,” Noah whispered in Nick’s ear.

“I love you, too.”

Nick woke with a start. He lay in bed perspiring, Noah was spooned up against him fast asleep. For a long time, Nick had experienced vivid nightmares. Since Noah had come into his life they had lessened, but they still occasionally disturbed his sleep.

He knew from experience that he would not be able to fall back asleep. He looked over at the alarm clock on the night stand. It read 3:13 AM. He could feel Noah’s large erection lying between his ass cheeks, but he didn’t want to wake Noah, so he quietly moved Noah’s arm from around him and slipped out of the bed.

He grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and slipped out of the room.

In the sitting room he pulled on his jeans and t-shirt and decided to check on the other boys.

He first crept to Dusty and Zak’s room. He quietly opened the door and saw the two lying in bed asleep, Zak’s blond head resting on Dusty’s tanned chest. Nick quietly closed the door.

He padded down to Spin and Mattie’s room. He slowly opened the door and peeked in. He only saw Mattie in the bed asleep. He thought Spin might be in the bathroom, but he didn’t see any light coming from the room and the door was opened.

Nick suddenly felt a bolt of fear go through him.

He quietly shut the bedroom door and ran to the sitting room. He pulled on a pair of socks and his boots and bolted out the door.

He ran as fast as he could to the far barn. His parents would kill him if anything happened to Spin. He had tried to get through to him how dangerous Revanche was, but he should have been firmer seeing the look in the younger boy’s eyes.

By the time he came around the corner of the barn, his eyes had adjusted to the darkness. He looked toward the paddock expecting to see the little redhead’s dead body stomped to mush on the ground.

He gasped at the sight he saw.

Spin was cantering around the paddock bareback on Revanche.

 

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