Priorities - Book Two

*** ~~~ Phoenix ~~~ ***

As the bus crossed the Wyoming border, I was sitting by Nick and Bobby. They were surprised by my sad appearance. "What's up," they asked, almost simultaneously.

"I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate everything you guys have done for me when you barely even knew me. While I am happy to be heading to Cody, I am going to miss being with your family."

Bobby smiled and said, "We enjoyed having you, and you are welcome to visit whenever you can. If you ever need anything, just ask."

Smiling as I replied, "Can I call you Uncle Bobby and Uncle Nick? Trevor says that we are family."

Bobby gave Phoenix a hug and whispered, "We are family, we're honored that you feel this way about us. Trevor is right, you are like a nephew to us."

As we approached the city limits of Gillette, WY, the first real town we were to go through on our way to Cody, Trevor opened a Skype call to Patrick. It was exciting to talk to him, knowing in just a few hours, I'll be there for good. Trevor mentioned that we'd plan our lunch stop accordingly. I had mixed feelings at that point. I was hungry, that's for sure, but I was also excited to arrive at my new home. In the end, my hunger, or more likely the hunger of everyone aboard the bus, won out.

Trevor looked up restaurants near Gillette, WY, and found one he thought would serve our needs. He told the driver the address and the man entered it into his GPS. Ten minutes later we pulled up to the Chophouse. It looked good to me, but the true test, as Trevor told me, was how the food tasted.

The meal was great, I had the Cowboy Burger and so did Trevor. It was very good. I really liked asking things of Uncle Bobby or Uncle Nick, using their new titles. I could tell they liked it too. Trevor turned to me once, after he heard me using that honorific for his Daddy and said, "I guess that makes us cousins." Then he kissed me. Not a kiss that you'd use to kiss a cousin, but… you know.

"Well, I guess now we're kissing cousins!" Trevor may have been joking but that kiss was amazing.

After lunch, we loaded back into the King Enterprises Motorcoach. Grandpa says calling it a bus lowers its class. He was joking, I am sure. I've never considered him to be one who classifies people by what they have.

Three hours and thirty minutes after we left Gillette, we entered the city limits of Cody. Trevor put his arm around me and said, "I'm really going to miss you, Phoenix. You've become almost like a brother to me. I want to give you something, please don't deny me this, I've lived in dorm type situations and there are things you need that just aren't there. Please accept this $500 Visa gift card to buy things you want or need. I know you'll be able to earn money, but this should tide you over until then."

I took the card but there was a tear in my eye. "You damn well better not forget my birthday!" I said to Trevor as a joke, but then thought of how it could have been interpreted so I back peddled, "You know, since we share a birthday you can't forget mine, right?"

As we pulled up to the gate for the Ranch, under the Another Chance sign was a smaller sign saying, "Another Chance Boys' Home" and under that… I had to choke back a sob when I saw a huge brightly colored banner that was obviously hand-made that said, "Welcome Home, Phoenix!"

We pulled into the ranch parking area and I ran off the bus to Jim's waiting arms. We hugged and I never wanted to let him go, "I can't believe I'm finally home!"

[Author's Note: In keeping with the style of Still Another Chance, the story will continue in 3^rd person]

Once everyone was off the coach, Patrick brought Scott over to meet Trevor and Roger. As soon as Patrick introduced Scott to Trevor, Scott's eyes went wide as Trevor gave him a very passionate kiss. When they broke the kiss, Trevor turned to Patrick and said, "You're right, he IS a great kisser."

A few minutes after their arrival, everyone was milling around and Trevor realized not everyone knew whom everyone else was. He called Patrick over to him and both stepped up onto the steps of the motorcoach.

"Excuse me everyone, Patrick and I realize that not everyone here knows everyone else, so, I'm going to introduce everyone who got off the coach, and Patrick is going to introduce everyone who's here from Another Chance."

"So, I'm Trevor King, standing right at the base of the steps is my boyfriend, Roger Duchamp."

Trevor identified each individual, "This is Henri and Marine Duchamp, Roger's parents, next to them are my parents, Nick and Bobby King. Over here is my Grandpa, Nathan King, He's talking to our housekeeper Ange, and her two boys, Robert and Jacques. Over by Ryan Sprayberry are two of my best friends from the orphanage Roger and I came from, Alex Brooks and Nigel Cooper. And as you all know, Phoenix, my kissing cousin got off the coach but he's from Cody now!"

Phoenix who was still holding Jim, heard Trevor's comment and yelled back, "You're the one who kissed me, and I must add, Roger is lucky!"

Patrick started introducing the Cody contingent when he was interrupted by Ryan Sprayberry. Trevor had a tear forming in his eye because he knew what was about to happen. Ryan asked Nigel if he liked the Dylans when he met them. Of course, he did, they're great people. Then Ryan told Nigel that they had filed for adoption and it was approved. He was being adopted and he didn't have to go back to the orphanage!

Alex's world started to crash. Nigel found a home and he didn't. That was, until he heard Jackson ask, "So, when are we filing for adoption?"

Ryan said, "I already filed. I told them that if Nigel's adoption wasn't approved, Alex wouldn't want to be adopted either, but I wanted the paperwork started."

Alex looked at Ryan and asked, "And?"

Ryan simply replied, "Welcome home, Son."

Alex's voice deflated as he muttered, "But home is in Denver, so I'll still be able to see Nigel, just not very often."

Ryan squatted so he was eye-level with the boy, "Do you remember, I told you that if Jackson and I are able to adopt you and Nigel's adoption was approved, you would stay with Grandma and Grandpa?"

Alex answered, "Vaguely."

Ryan told him, "Unfortunately, that won't be the case." Alex's heart sank. He wondered, "Why did Ryan bring that up?" Ryan gave him a grin, "The law firm I used to work for had a partner move to New York to open an office there. They asked me if there was any chance I would be interested in coming back, so I gave my notice two weeks ago. The end of this month will officially be my last day as a judge and we are moving back to Cody. Jacob asked Grandma and Grandpa to move in with them so we will have the house across the drive for us."

Alex's face lit up at the thought of him and Nigel being adopted and living just across a driveway from each other. He ran over to Trevor and asked, "Did you know?"

Trevor had a tear running down his face, "Yeah, I did, and I'm so happy for both of you. You better keep in touch, I know where you live."

Alex asked, "Is that why Mrs. Granger had us pack up everything in our room like we were moving out? She said they had to do some work in it while we were gone."

Ryan replied, "I'm sure she will give the room a fresh coat of paint, but there is no need for you to go back there.

Alex asked, "But what about the rest of our stuff? How will we get it?"

"Anything you don't have that you need, we'll get for you. If there was something you wanted that was left behind..." Ryan started but was interrupted by Trevor.

"Sorry to interrupt but, can Alex help me with these boxes in the back storage of the coach, they seem to have his and Nigel's names on them."

In the back of the coach were the boxes Alex and Nigel had packed with all their things from the orphanage.

Jim stood on the bumper of his and Zac's truck, "Now that we know who is who, I was planning a tour of the Boys' Home, but the beef will be done before the tour, so why don't we head to the Home and I can show you the kitchen and dining hall. That is where I figured we would eat."

"You have anything planned to go with the beef?" Henri inquired.

Heather spoke up, "I brought some potato salad, but if you have something else in mind…"

Henri remarked, "Show me this kitchen, and if it is alright, I will prepare something special to go with the beef and potato salad."

Jim gave Henri a smile, "You better believe it's alright. My mom makes the best potato salad, but I have faith, whatever you prepare will help bring out the flavors of the beef and potato salad. We actually have two kitchens that you can use. The one for the Boys' Home is bigger, as it is meant to feed a hundred teenage boys."

Heather threw in, "There is no kitchen big enough for that."

Jim gave his mom a smile and continued, "The other kitchen was added to the 'Party Barn,' as we call it. It is big enough to prepare big meals for Thanksgiving or parties. Both kitchens are at your disposal while you are here. I figured that you would like the bigger kitchen for preparing for the wedding, and the other for everyday cooking."

Henri looked pleased. "That is an excellente idée," he responded. "Care to show me the kitchen?"

Joe said, "See that building clear over there? You may feel like we walked halfway to Rapid City, but trust me, we aren't."

"Actually," Jim chuckled, "if you would rather not walk, we have a couple of sleighs hooked up. They have small wheels for when there is no snow."

Zac suggested, "Or if you would rather, I can transfer the horses to a wagon. And go on a hayride to the Home."

Nick looked over at his husband before replying, "A hayride... I haven't been on one of those... ever."

Zac nodded his head, "Then it's settled. Give me just a few minutes and I can switch the horses over to the wagon.

Looking at the group, Jim asked, "Does anyone have experience driving a wagon?"

Trevor stared over at his host, "I seem to remember Patrick telling me about his first time driving a sleigh... I'm not sure if I'd want him driving..."

Patrick growled at Trevor, "Thanks, I thought you were my friend."

Jake chuckled and Jim smiled. Jackson came to Patrick's defense, "He's driven the wagon a few times. If he wants to drive it, I'll ride with him, anytime."

"Thanks, Jackson," Patrick commented. "I know who my real friends are." Then he winked at Trevor.

After a few minutes, Zac returned with the wagon. There were fifteen bales of hay on the back of it. Patrick asked, "Can I drive?" and then stuck his tongue out at Trevor.

Zac responded, "If you drive, two of the ladies can sit on the bench with you. I have Silver and Gold saddled so Dad and I can ride."

"That's right, Daddy you're up front with the ladies." Trevor said, gaining him a smack on the back of the head.

"Just for that, Trevor, you're walking!"

Gold shook his head, to which Jim offered, "Gold will let you ride on him with me, Trevor." Phoenix gave Jim a funny look when Gold shook his head.

Jim, Zac and Jackson helped everyone get on the wagon. Some sat on a bale of hay, others dangled their legs over the sides. As they rode over, Joe informed Henri, "I hope you don't mind, but when we designed this kitchen, I sorta used my memory of your restaurant's kitchen for the basis."

"You did? But you were only there for thirty minutes!"

"My memory isn't as good as Jim's, but when it comes to cooking, I almost have an eidetic memory," Joe answered.

As Patrick pulled the wagon up close to the Home, Zac and Jim dismounted. Once everyone was out of the wagon, Jim tied Silver's and Gold's reins to it. Zac pulled out his keys and removed one key. He handed it to Henri, "While you are here, the two kitchens Jim told you about are yours. No one will be allowed in them unless you grant permission. This key will let you in any part of the Home except upstairs where Joe, Buster and Eric live."

Accepting the key, Henri simply said, "Merci." He took the key and tried it in the door. He could tell that the lock was still virtually new, but the door did open. The kitchen still had a newness in the air, something that Henri planned to change right away. As they're looking at it, Henri turned to Joe and said, "You do this simply from half hour in my kitchen? Magnifique! I already know this kitchen!"

Joe told Henri, "Some things may not be exactly where you place them, if not, please feel free to rearrange any of it."

Henri shook his head, "This your kitchen, they should be where you want them."

Joe put his hands out as if to say "stop!" Then he urged Henri, "I like your kitchen and I think you know better than me how to make it more efficient. As you can smell, I haven't used this kitchen yet, so however works best for you will work for me."

"If you insist," Henri agreed, taking a gander around the kitchen, not noticing anything needing moved. "You help me cook, no?"

"Yes!" Joe enthusiastically acknowledged. "I would love to help you cook."

Henri shooed everyone out of the kitchen except Ange and Joe. He noticed that there isn't much food in the kitchen, but then, it wasn't really planned to go into use for the Home yet. He did find some asparagus, bacon and Sauvignon Blanc. Joe explained, "We really didn't know what to stock for you, plus we weren't sure what you would bring and wanted to keep the space available for your wedding plans. I do have some portabellas upstairs, along with some lettuce, green peppers, onions and roma tomatoes."

"If you don't mind, I can use all of that," Henri remarked. Joe went to get what food he had upstairs.

While Joe, Henri and Ange were preparing food in the kitchen, Jim went to check on the beef. Zac, Jackson, Ryan and Jacob were chatting with Bobby, Nick and Nate King. Nick Archer received a phone call and then said that he needed to go to the office but would try to make it back before everyone left. Heather and Elizabeth were chatting with Marine. That left the boys all alone to chat.

Patrick stated, "I wanted to camp all of next week, starting Sunday, but Dad said that we should wait until Thursday."

"Did he say why?" Roger asked.

"Yeah," Patrick replied, "he gave several reasons. First, he and Papa want to help Phoenix get situated and feel at home. Second, he knows that we'll want Alex and Nigel with us and thinks they should spend time with their new families before we take them away. Third, someone is having a birthday on Wednesday next week. Eric will be an old man of fourteen." Trevor and Phoenix slugged Patrick in the arm at the same time.

Roger shouted, "For that, you are not allowed to kiss Scott until after Trevor and I have kissed twice." Trevor gave Roger a kiss right away so he amended his statement, "Make that four times."

Trevor switched subjects a little, "So if we're not camping until Thursday, where are we all staying? Do we want to stay together? I could rent the whole top floor of the hotel for us."

"I thought Grandpa had a hotel suite for us until Sunday," Roger stated.

"Dad and Uncle Joe were going to offer the Home's dorm for the Kings to use, why don't we see if we can use them?" Patrick suggested.

Eric looked a little nervous, "Will there be sex?"

Patrick shook his head, "No, we save that for when we are in private. Besides, we have Patrick, Jake and Austin to consider."

"Ok, we may need to ask Dad and Uncle Jim, but I'm in," Eric announces.

"I'm not sure when, but I know Dad, Papa and Uncle Joe said they need to have a conference with Phoenix sometime tomorrow."

Phoenix asked, "Do you know what about?"

As Patrick and Phoenix were talking, Trevor and Roger said they were going to check in with Nick and Bobby.

They found them talking with Grandpa. "Excuse me, but can we ask a question?" Trevor inquired.

"Well, you just did, but go ahead." Dad chuckled.

"Assuming we get permission from Joe Bolt, we'd all like to stay in the dorms here. All us kids, that is. Is that going to be a problem?" Trevor asked.

It appeared that Nick was going to deny their request when Grandpa spoke up. "I think that's a great idea. Go find out if that's going to be okay and get back to us." Trevor wondered because he'd never seen Grandpa interfere in decisions his parents made regarding him or Roger.

After Trevor and Roger had gotten far enough away, Grandpa turned to Trevor's parents and said, "Had you denied his request, you realize it would be the first of his requests you'd denied? It's not an unreasonable one either. He's an intelligent boy and if you want your secret to remain so, don't change how you normally treat them."

Receiving nods from both, the three continued their previous conversation.

Trevor poked his head in the kitchen; before Henri could ask him what he was doing, he inquired, "Can I talk to Joe for a few minutes, please?"

Joe wiped his hands on a towel and walked over to Trevor, "What can I do for you?"

Trevor felt confident when he requested, "We were talking, that is, us boys were and we are wanting to sleep in the dorms until we go camping."

"And who will be sleeping in the dorms?" Joe asked.

Trevor replied, "Patrick, Scott, Austin, Jake, Patrick, Phoenix, Eric, Roger and myself; that is, with your permission and if you let Eric. And until Sunday, maybe Robert and Jacques."

Joe gave Trevor a smile, "What does Eric think about it?"

"He was nervous that we would have an orgy, I think," Trevor answered, "but when we told him that we wouldn't have sex, he was for it."

"I'll talk with Jim and Zac. If they don't have any objections, I see no problem with it," Joe stated. "You won't have any adult supervision, so I will be trusting you boys."

"Thank you Joe. I believe you know that I won't do anything to violate your trust, at least not intentionally," Trevor responded. He headed back to his parents with what Joe said. Then after they agreed, he sat back at the table with the boys and shared the conversation.

Jim led a few hands carrying the cooked cow. Some parts looked a little charred; Jim was told that this was caused by flare ups from the fire and underneath was good meat. One of the hands started slicing off the charred part, revealing some really moist beef. Once the char was gone, the hand continued slicing off pieces of good meat for everyone to grab what they wanted.

Jim was about to get everyone's attention when young Brock came in. He walked over to Jacob and said, "There you are Jacob. I was looking for you to tell you I was leaving for the night." Then Brock went to give Jared a kiss.

Jacob replied, "Hold on a second, Brock, I would like to introduce you to our guest. They helped us make adopting Nigel a little easier. This is Bobby and Nick King. Gentlemen, this is Brock Radcliffe the Eighth."

"Radcliffe? We know a Brent Radcliffe, I wonder if there's any relation," Bobby mused.

"Perhaps, the name sounds familiar," Brock answered, "but I would have to ask my dad. He just returned from his honeymoon today. I imagine he spent at least $10 million on it."

Jacob looked at the boy and said, "I'm sure your father wouldn't be happy with you just throwing that out to strangers."

"But I can smell it, these gentlemen have more money than most people will ever see," Brock declared. "Why, I'll bet my yearly allowance that like my dad, they make Bill Gates look like a pauper." Bobby pulled out his phone and typed a text message.

Jared looked at Brock and asked, "Do you have to go? You can join us for supper."

Brock pulled out his phone and called his dad. When the older Brock answered, Brock asked, "Has Mom started fixing supper yet? Jared just invited me to stay for supper."

"We're having homemade lasagna, so if you want to stay, you may. You can always heat yours up tomorrow for lunch," the older Brock answered.

"Thanks Dad, and ummm, do you know a Brent Radcliffe?" Brock inquired.

"I'd rather not discuss him over the phone," the man sounded agitated. "If you want to know about him, I will discuss it when you get home."

Brock looked at Nick and said, "Apparently, my dad does know Brent. He didn't say how, though."

Henri, Joe and Ange started bringing out food and set it by the cut pieces of beef. Jim called out, "Everyone, grab a plate and help yourself. We have slabs of beef, bacon-wrapped asparagus, salad and potato salad."

Everyone grabbed their food and sat down. Joe and Buster sat with Jim and Zac. Trevor kept looking over at them, hoping they would agree. After a few minutes, Jim walked over to the boys. Patrick asked, "Dad, did Uncle Joe talk to you about what Trevor asked?"

"He did," Jim answered, "that's why I came over here."

"So, can we spend the night in the dorms?" Patrick pleaded. "We think it would be fun, and it's not much different than when we go camping."

Jim tried to keep from smiling as Patrick spoke. "You have a very compelling argument, Patrick. If we didn't already agree to let you, you might have had me convinced."

Patrick looked down, sadness in his voice, "Thanks for letting us know."

Roger looked at the 12-year-old and said, "Patrick, didn't you hear what he just said? If they didn't already agree to let us…"

Perking up, Patrick looked at Jim and said, "So we can?" Jim just laughed and nodded his head.

Once everyone was full, one of the ranch hands started stripping the remaining beef off the bones. He told the group that he would put it in the other kitchen if anyone wanted any. All of the asparagus, potato salad and salad were eaten. Jim, Zac and Buster offered to wash the dishes while everyone else visited.

Shortly after dinner, Bobby received a phone call from Brent Radcliffe. "Are you sure he said it was Brock Radcliffe the VII?"

"Well, the young man I met was Brock Radcliffe the 8^th, but yes, his father was the 7^th." Bobby replied.

"Man, I wondered where he'd moved to. See, he's a cousin of mine and, I'm ashamed to say, my own stupidity is why we're not close any more. See, when we were in college, Brock had a friend who was gay and I was an intolerant asshole about it. You may or may not know that when Garrett came out, I didn't have the best reaction. I'm hoping he'll talk to me when I'm there for the wedding. Do they know?"

"I'm sure you'll have a chance to talk and no, they have no idea. When are you arriving?" Bobby asked.

"Well, we'd planned on driving and arriving tomorrow evening, but, we may take the plane and get there sooner. That way maybe I can talk to Brock's son before I confront my cousin." Brent said.

"Either way, we'll be happy to see you. The boys are staying in the dorms for the Boys' home, I could ask if Garrett, Eric, and Malcolm could join them Friday night."

"I'm sure they'd like that, and if it goes well, maybe I can talk to my cousin alone before the wedding." Brent thanked Bobby for his time and they ended the call.

The boys started playing a game called One Thing. Trevor introduced it to the boys, so he started, "My name is Trevor King and I was adopted."

"My name is Roger Duchamp and I was adopted."

"Wait a minute," Patrick looked confuzzled. "Other than Patrick Henry, Scott and Austin, weren't we all adopted? How is that really sharing something?"

Phoenix spoke up, "I'm not adopted either."

Patrick looked down, "Oh right, but in a way you are; I think of you like a brother, so I didn't think about it."

Phoenix looked sad, "But Jim and Zac aren't going to adopt me. They will be here for me like a parent, but when we talked in South Dakota about it, they didn't feel that they were ready to take on another son almost as old as them. I mean, Jim is less than four years older than me, so I see his point. At least I know they do love me like a son."

Patrick put his arm around Phoenix, "As far as I am concerned, you will always be a brother."

"And my kissing cousin," Trevor added.

The boys went back to their game and went around a few more times. Finally, Joe ordered them to the dorms. And the boys chose which rooms they would use.

After leaving the rest of the boys for the night, Trevor and Roger returned to the room they'd be using in the dorms. Once the door was closed, Roger came over to his boyfriend and said, "I think this is the longest we've gone in a long time without having any privacy. At home we could always go up to your room and close the door, but here, we've not had that."

"Well, the door's closed now." Trevor said with a smile then took Roger into his arms and they kissed deeply.

One thing led to another and the next thing either of them knew they were naked on one of the beds and Roger had Trevor deep in his throat. He was just building up a rhythm, causing Trevor to begin to moan when the door opened and they heard Eric exclaim, "OH MY GOD! I'm sorry! I can come back." Then the door closed.

Roger removed Trevor from his mouth, sat up and said, "We really do need to think about locking our door. I guess we should put something on and go see what kind of trauma we've put the boy through."

"Yeah, you're probably right, but, did you notice how nicely he filled out those boxer briefs? I can't wait to see him wearing less!" Trevor replied with a wink.

[To be Continued]

 

I want to thank all of those who have done the kindness of sending feedback on this story, it's the best payment a writer can hope to received, good or bad… comments are always appreciated, or to be added to my mailing list for future postings, you can email me at True Fan