Carter City Farms Ch. 02

"Tommy is waiting in the truck. Can I bring him in? I want you to explain all to him—and I want him here with us when you confront Marie and Bill."

"I'm free all week John. You boys have been dealt a bad life. And I don't really like all the big farm politics that are destroying our way of life. Soon we'll all be just employees of international conglomerates on our own land."

I went out to the truck and asked Tommy to come in. At first he was reluctant. "I'm wearing my farm jeans, JK. I don't feel proper." We had both been dressed for a day of labor when we took off.

"Just come with me."

Mr. Stevens explained everything to him. Tommy was not a dumb guy. He understood everything immediately. He thought about ten seconds. "We're going to be partners and we get to keep the farms. That's all that matters to me."

So we authorized Stevens to prepare the papers and make the offers and the deal. We asked him to prepare the documents and make the calls immediately. We weren't going home until we had a preliminary resolution.

So Tommy and I had two fabulous days, enjoying the hospitality and the bridal suite of the Clayton Arms. We never left the room or the bed. Tommy got to prove that he was the man, over and over—as both top and bottom. I loved being inside him—almost as much as I loved him being inside me.

The room had a large Jacuzzi for two which we definitely tried—learning that sex under the bubbles is not all it's cracked up to be. But, we made up for it in the king-sized bed and the multi-headed shower. The pizza boxes started to pile up. Finally, on the last night, we went out to celebrate with a real Kansas steak and champagne (Clayton was not dry).

A week later, just before I was due to return to State, it was all over. Bill and Marie were predictably horrible, but after hiring their own lawyer, ultimately they accepted reality. After condemning us to eternal hell for our sins, they walked out of the courthouse. They didn't even bother to bid farewell to their friends at the Second Evangelical Church of Clay Creek. I wonder why?

With some reluctance, we returned to the farm, but decided to stay in my house. Being under the same roof as Bill and Marie for even a few days was unthinkable. Finally, the paperwork was finalized and filed. And, we really had to get back—harvest was imminent. And Bill had totally moved on.

Everything was set up as a 50/50 partnership—which was officially formed on Tommy's birthday—since by then we were both legally able to own farms and contract. The two farms were combined, debt free—and the profitable organic vegetable contracts were renewed.

Bill and Marie moved to Galveston—taking most of the furniture, which didn't bother us at all. In the king at the Clayton Arms, we had decided that we definitely needed one at home—even if we slept in a spoon every night. Tommy was going to remain in Carter Creek and manage the farms until I graduated—in eight months. We were going to be together every two weeks—him driving to me or the reverse. In winter, he'd get to spend some time in the apartment I had rented just off campus.

We were going to hire a foreman, skilled in organic vegetable farming and expland that part of our farm. He'd get to live in my old house—hopefully with a family. Our bunkhouse would become the one used for all the hands—so that Tommy and I would have the privacy of his house, some distance away.

And I was pretty sure that our partnership was going to be one of the most successful ever.

BD