Chapter 23 Colt
Chapter twenty-three
Colt
As the tattoo artist put the finishing touches on the C to the right of Ben’s cock, my chest swelled with pride and emotion. Angus understood. The letter A in the same area on the left had puffed him up just as much.
“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Angus asked, giving Ben a hug after the tattoo artist applied a protective covering to his tattoos and let him up from the chair.
“It hurt. But it was worth it. Now, it’s your turn, Colt.” He looked at me.
I’d come to terms with the fact that I was getting a tattoo. I didn’t want to let Ben down. I really didn’t have anything against getting one. I’d admired them on Maddox and Angus. But I never saw one I wanted or had an idea for one.
“I don’t know what to get,” I said.
“How about a fish?” Angus suggested. “You love to fish, and the three of us plan to go fishing together.”
I made a face. “A fish? That’s not very cool.”
“A piranha’s cool,” Ben said. “All those teeth are menacing-looking.”
“Yeah. But I want something meaningful to me, and I’ve never even seen one of those in person.” I took a breath. “Actually, I do have something in mind, but I think you’ll laugh.”
“No, we won’t,” Ben said.
“Angus is already laughing!” I pointed at him.
Grinning, Angus said, “Just because you’re so red in the face about it. Come on, tell us your idea.”
“It’s silly,” I said.
Taking my hand, Ben tugged it until I looked at him. Earnestly, he said, “It’s not silly if it means something to you. That’s the most important thing.” He gave Angus a warning look, then said, “Angus won’t laugh at you. Because he loves you.”
Angus sobered and nodded.
“At our ranch—the one I grew up on, I mean—there was this old oak tree in the front yard and my dad carved a big heart in the trunk of it with his and my mom’s initials inside when they were dating.
It was my grandparents’ ranch back then.
I used to look at it and think it was a sweet, romantic thing to do.
” I shrugged, embarrassed. “So, I thought, maybe…” I left off, feeling my face heating up.
“You want to get a tattoo of a heart with our initials in it?” Ben asked.
When I nodded, he hugged me.
“I think that’s sweet. Maybe here, on your bicep. Or on your back?” He touched in between my shoulder blades.
“No,” Angus said, and I looked up, meeting his gaze. “Over his heart. Where we belong.”
Letting out a breath, I nodded.
***
“That’s looking good, boys,” Angus said, surveying what Ben and David had gotten done.
They had insisted on fulfilling their promise to get the Borders’ garden in shape, but all other work to restore the old ranch was being done by a professional team hired by the medical facility in Hudson City.
They had paid Nova and Eric a large sum of money for the place, although the two remained owners of the ranch on all public records.
In reality, they helped run the place in exchange for living there, and that suited everyone.
The money they were paid was more than fair considering the state the ranch was in, and it allowed Nova and Eric to purchase some animals at auction.
The contract stipulated that, should the omega facility be closed down in the future, the ranch would revert back to Nova and Eric Borders.
If they ever chose to leave, the animals and what property they owned when they came to it would go to them.
By mid-June, all the fences had been mended, the new roof was on the ranch house, and several cabins had been built on the property.
A sign was erected at the beginning of the long driveway that read Borders Ranch for Troubled Teens.
The group of omegas would be kept separate from the teens, who would all be betas.
Alphas, even teenaged ones, would not be taken into the program because any accidental meeting between an alpha and an omega could prove disastrous.
The devised excuse for this was that the more aggressive natures of the alphas would hinder the healing of the betas.
After quitting her practice in Hudson City, Laura had settled into one of the cabins on the Borders’ property.
I didn’t think she was actually romantically involved with Nova and Eric Borders, but I did think that, if the pheromones Nova put out every time Laura was near were any indication, it was only a matter of time.
On a Saturday early in July, the temperature hovered in the high 80s, and the blue sky stretched out endlessly without a thundercloud in sight. Angus, Maddox, and I decided it would be a great day to take Ben and David to the river after they showed off their work on the Borders’ garden.
Proudly, David pointed out the rows of turnips, lettuce, spinach, green onions, radishes, snap peas, carrots, and beets that were ready to harvest. The new omegas, who would be arriving in a few days, would take over and do that job.
After we’d admired those plants, Ben led us to those that weren’t quite ready for the table: big, heavy potato plants; cabbage; broccoli; cauliflower; onions; bush bean plants with short, bouquet-like clusters of tiny white flowers; pole beans climbing on wooden stakes; summer squash; and flowering zucchini plants, their yellow blossoms open to the sky.
“You two have done a wonderful job,” Angus said proudly.
“I’ll bet Nova and Eric were pleased,” I added.
Ben nodded. “They wanted to pay us, but we said no.”
“Well, we have a little surprise for you to celebrate all your hard work,” Maddox said.
David’s eyes lit up. “Really? What is it?”
I smiled. “We thought we’d take a drive to the river.”
Ben and David looked at each other, twin grins spreading on their faces.
“Laura’s going to watch Ollie for us, David. Take him inside and nurse him. I put one of the bottles of extra milk in his bag. Then we can be on our way.”
Maddox took the bag from the truck and handed it and the baby to David.
While he was inside, I showed Ben that we’d tucked bags of swimsuits and towels in the truck bed.
When David came out of the house a few minutes later, he climbed into the bed with me and Ben, while Angus and Maddox sat in the cab.
“Why is Angus driving so slowly?” Ben asked after we’d gotten started. He didn’t have to speak loudly for us to hear because Angus was literally going five miles per hour up the dirt road.
“I think he’s being careful due to precious cargo,” I said, gesturing to him and David, who both rolled their eyes.
“I’ve only been swimming twice since I came here,” David told Ben. “This is going to be great.”
“I don’t know how to swim, though,” Ben said.
“I’ll teach you to float,” I told him. “And, eventually, to swim, too. But if you can float, you can keep from drowning.”
Ben looked doubtful, but he nodded. “Are we going to fish, too?”
“Fly-fishing is better done in the mornings or evenings. We’ll do that another time,” I promised.
Over seven hundred miles long, the North Platte River was a tributary of the Platte River.
Since the area where we were planning to swim was dam-controlled, the water there was clear and cold.
Angus chose a small, quiet sandy beach in a little-known area secluded by large cottonwood trees.
It was the perfect place for the five of us to enjoy the afternoon together.
“Here are the swimsuits,” I said, unzipping the bag and handing David his and Maddox’s.
Leaning close to Ben’s ear, I said, “Angus wanted to say we forgot them. But then I reminded him the three of us wouldn’t be alone.”
Ben made a face, undoubtedly at the thought of the five of us skinny-dipping together.
“He wasn’t thinking. Believe me, when I reminded him David and Maddox were going to be with us, he backpedaled fast.”
Ben laughed, and I helped him to the ground. He was showing—a definite bump to his lower belly—and I liked to put my hands on it whenever I could and think about the life growing inside that we had made.
“I brought some life jackets, but if we don’t go out too far, we won’t need them. Maybe you’d feel better wearing one, Ben?”
“No, not if I can stand in the water. I don’t want to go in too deep.”
“Okay. Let’s get some sun lotion on you,” I said.
Ben quickly changed into his swim shorts and so did I, and then I rubbed the lotion into his skin, knowing that if he didn’t do this, he would either burn or freckle. Probably both.
David was busy doing the same to his legs while Maddox slathered up his back.
David’s eyes roamed to Ben.
“Wow, Ben, you’re really showing! I wasn’t that big at three months!”
“Really?” Ben said, looking down at his belly.
“It’s probably going to be a big one—maybe ten pounds!”
Ben swallowed hard. “I hope not.”
“I’m just teasing,” David said softly. “Everyone’s different. Trey didn’t even show at all until he was five months or so along.”
When I finished with the lotion, I noticed Ben had an odd look on his face. David and Maddox had already headed for the water, and Angus, who had been pulling the towels and cooler from the truck bed, was changing into his swimsuit.
“Did what David said scare you?” I asked Ben.
“No, not really, but…” He looked up at me, white lines around his mouth. “I don’t feel so well.”
Nodding, I called to Angus. “Hey, Angus! Ben and I need to take a few minutes to, uh, settle his stomach.”
Angus nodded and jutted his thumb toward the trees where we could have some privacy.
After a five-minute torture session during which Ben sucked all the pre-cum he could out of my cock before I couldn’t take it anymore, he pulled off, smiled sweetly, and, after pressing a thank-you-kiss to my lips, headed for the clearing.
Blowing out a breath, I turned my back and jerked off until I spilled on the ground with a low groan.
When I came out from behind the trees, a splashing war was going on in the shallows.
I waded into the water several feet from them.
“Damn, this is cold,” I said, clenching my teeth. “Ben, are you ready for a floating lesson?” I called to him.