Maverick Cattle Company Ch. 07

"What'd you think?" asked Mitch.

"For the picnic?"

"Yeah."

"I think it's fan-fucking-tastic," said Darrin with a laugh.

"I think you've been hanging around college kids too long," said Mitch with a chuckle.

Mitch climbed off the ATV and started setting up their picnic. Unfurling the blanket, he made short work of setting out the food. He soon had a meal arranged that was more reminiscent of a day in Central Park than an evening on the Oklahoma plains. Darrin had to smile when Mitch struggled to open the bottle of red wine that he had brought. Lifting himself off the 4-wheeler, Darrin walked over and rescued the bottle from Mitch before he threw it into the creek. He gently worked the cork out with a satisfying pop and then sat down on the blanket. As he looked at the meal, Darrin started laughing. While most people would expect caviar and cheese with their wine, Mitch had filled the basket with all of Darrin's favorites, including fried baloney sandwiches and deviled eggs. Reaching over, he pulled Mitch to him and kissed him gently.

"This looks great, babe. All my favorites!" said Darrin.

"Good! I'm starving, so lets eat!" said Mitch with a grin.

Mitch filled a plate for Darrin and passed it to him. After filling his own plate, he settled in to enjoy the meal. They ate slowly, enjoying the slowly setting sun almost as much as the company. As they polished the last of the meal from their plates, Mitch pulled out a container and popped the lid. The aroma of chocolate drifted through the air, and Darrin suddenly had room for one more thing.

"Are those what I think they are?" asked Darrin.

"They're double chocolate fudge pecan brownies from the café. Is that what you were thinking?" asked Mitch with a chuckle.

"Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" said Darrin with sophomoric humor.

Mitch handed him the huge brownie and chuckled as Darrin moaned when he bit into it.

"Damn, these're good," said Darrin around a full mouth.

Mitch slowly ate his, laughing as Darrin begged for part of Mitch's brownie after he licked his fingers clean from inhaling his own brownie. Relenting, Mitch broke what remained of his brownie in half and shared with Darrin. He laughed at his husband when Darrin lay across his lap and sighed.

"Damn, I'm so full! I'm full as a tick!" said Darrin with a chuckle.

"My, isn't Mr. Professor full of homespun sayings tonight," said Mitch.

"Damn straight," said Darrin with a grin, "It's my anniversary and my husband packed us a wonderful picnic."

"Yup, I sure did," said Mitch as he caressed Darrin's face, "But I'm hot, and that water looks inviting."

Darrin rolled on his side and stared at the slowly running water with a groan. "Man, I think you're just trying to collect the life insurance when I sink to the bottom."

Mitch chuckled at Darrin's antics and sighed softly.

"What's up, babe?" asked Darrin.

"You know we still haven't done all the legal paperwork for ourselves."

Darrin inhaled deeply and then released it slowly, "I know, and I promise we will. But let's not talk about how to setup power of attorney and all that other shit today."

Mitch nodded and a smile slowly crept across his face. "Yeah, you're right. We'll take care of it. Before classes start, deal?"

"Yes, deal. And isn't it my job to worry? What's go'n on?" said Darrin.

"You're wearing off on me," said Mitch with a chuckle, "Now come on, let's get in that water."

Mitch pushed Darrin out of his lap, and into a comical roll that had Darrin looking back at him with a dramatically sad look on his face. He lay in place and watched as Mitch stripped, enjoying the view of his bare hairy ass as he walked into the creek. Darrin quickly followed suit and waded in behind him.

The pair relaxed in the water, floating on their backs as the sun turned the world around them a brilliant crimson. Darrin was floating in the cool water, his eyes closed as he recalled all the good things in his life. Opening to the sound of a nearby splash, he watched as Mitch dove and played in the water. At one point Mitch was underwater for what seemed to be a long time to Darrin, but he surfaced with a gasp with the explanation that he'd got a foot caught in a snag for a few seconds.

Suddenly Mitch pulled Darrin under, water going up his nose as he flailed the water. When he broke the surface, he saw Mitch standing in shallower water, laughing uproariously.

"You asshole! I almost drowned!" screamed Darrin.

"You so did not almost drown. But it was fuck'n funny," said Mitch with a big grin on his face.

"Fucker! I'm gonna get you!" yelled Darrin.

Darrin launched himself at Mitch and soon the two were having a riot playing. The years melted away as they played with the exuberance of 12 year olds. As the light began fading to dusk, they dragged themselves out of the water and flopped onto the blanket. Breathing hard from their play, Darrin propped his head on Mitch's stomach.

"That was fun. This has been an amazing day, thank you," said Darrin softly.

Mitch turned his head to look at Darrin and smiled. "Good, I'm glad you enjoyed it. You're too serious sometimes."

"I know, I'm a worry wart. You tell me all the time," said Darrin with a chuckle.

"Yeah, you are. But you're an incredibility sexy worry wart, so it all works out," said Mitch as he ran his fingers down Darrin's arm.

Darrin rolled onto his hands and knees and moved between Mitch's legs, spreading them wide. Without a word, he leaned down and sucked the head of Mitch's soft cock into his mouth and started nursing it. Mitch sighed, his eyes drifting shut as the wonderful sensations began pulsing through his body. Lightly resting his hands on Darrin's head, he slowly thrust into his hot mouth. With only a few strokes, his cock was rock hard and the gentle warmth of need had become a roaring fire. He felt Darrin drill his tongue into his slit for a several delightful minutes before pulling him up. Staring into Darrin's eyes, Mitch kissed him hard, getting the faint taste of his precum from the kiss.

"I want your ass. I want to pound your ass," said Mitch with a voice filled with lust.

"Oh god, yes, please."

Mitch reached back into the basket and pulled out a small bottle of lube with a smile. Squirting it over himself, he slowly stroked his cock as he watched Darrin smear the lube over his ass. Soon Darrin was poised over him, heartbeats away from what he wanted. Then, with a sigh, Darrin let himself drop quickly, pressing downward without a pause until he felt his ass grind against Mitch's pubes. Resting for a few moments, he started gyrating his ass, feeling Mitch's thick cock scrape along his gut, creating an amazing feeling that coursed through his body.

Soon Darrin was riding Mitch with wild abandon. The thick column of flesh was again driving him wild with lust. But as he headed toward his climax, Darrin felt Mitch grip his hips, stopping him in mid thrust.

"Ah, ah! Let me go! Fuck, so close," gasped out Darrin.

"I want to fuck you hard," said Mitch with a growl, "Stand up."

Darrin scrambled to comply and soon found himself braced against the 4-wheeler as Mitch entered him with a hard shove. Darrin pressed his ass back as Mitch took what he wanted. The hard, fast rhythm was driving Darrin over the edge as their lovemaking reached a fever pitch. With a primal moan, Mitch pinned Darrin against him as his orgasm began. The splash of scalding cum in his gut was the final push for Darrin too. His cock began ribboning across the ground under him as their orgasms raced to completion. With a final shudder, the last cum dripped from Darrin's cock and landed in the pool that had formed on the ground. Darrin could again feel his racing heart and labored breath as Mitch's climax rolled to an end. With a final abortive thrust, Mitch gave Darrin the last of his seed. He collapsed across Darrin as his exhausted body struggled for recovery. As he slowly recouped, he turned his head and planted a gentle kiss on Darrin's neck.

"That was amazing, babe," said Mitch.

"Oh, hell yes. I don't think I'll be able to walk right for a week though," said Darrin with a smile.

"Whatda ya say to another little swim, to clean up?" asked Mitch.

"Good plan," said Darrin. Pushing off, Mitch's soft cock slipped out of Darrin and some of his load followed, adding itself to the pool already on the ground. They slowly made their way to the water in the now dim light and eased into its depths.

Mitch gave Darrin a soft kiss as they enjoyed themselves. "Babe?"

"Hmm?"

"Did you realize what just happened?" asked Mitch.

"You mean other than you pleasuring me in an outstanding manner?" said Darrin with a chuckle.

"Yeah, beside that," said Mitch with a laugh, then continued with a serious tone, "You didn't have a flash back."

Darrin hesitated for a second, letting the information sink in. "You're right. I was just thinking about us, and how much I love you."

Darrin pulled Mitch to him and kissed him again. "Apparently the love of a good man is the cure for all my troubles."

Mitch laughed and pulled Darrin tight against him. "That's good to hear, babe. Very good to hear."

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"Remind me again why we are up at the butt crack of dawn," said Darrin.

"Because Doug is working his calves today and needs some help," replied Mitch.

"It's so fuck'n early the cows won't even be up," complained Darrin.

Mitch smiled at Darrin's bellyaching, but kept silent. When he walked out of the room to get his boots, Darrin was still grumbling about the early time. Personally, Mitch would just as soon start early and miss some of the Oklahoma heat. As he was pulling on his boots, Darrin stumbled into the kitchen and grabbed a pop from the refrigerator to get some much-needed caffeine in his system. After a few gulping swallows, he staggered over to Mitch.

"You look like you have a hangover," said Mitch as he chuckled.

Darrin laughed softly and gave Mitch a small grin, "No, I don't have a headache or feel like puking. I'll wake up before we get there."

Darrin paused for a minute and gave Mitch a serious look, "Mitch, what about Doug's mother. We didn't exactly part on good terms last time."

"Doug asked us for help, so I'm hoping she either won't be there, or that she has somehow changed."

Darrin shrugged as he sat down to pull on his boots. "Ok, well so long as Doug asked us." He paused for a minute as a thought came to him and turned to Mitch, "Hey, Doug doesn't have Brahmans does he?"

"No, he has Beefmaster," said Mitch with a smile, "Bang on Josh's door why don't ya. We need to get going."

A few minutes later they had all piled into the pickup and were on their way to the neighbors. Josh was in the back seat, already asleep during the short ride, and Darrin was looking out the window at the grey pre-dawn landscape.

They pulled up to the corral, along with several other trucks, and looked at the pens of cattle. They sat in the pickup for a few moments and watched the herd of cattle mill in front of them. After a particularly large bull walked the fence in front of them, Darrin turned to Mitch.

"Let me guess. Beefmaster are part Brahman too . . ." said Darrin with a frown.

"Maybe . . ." replied Mitch with a grin.

"Asshole."

Mitch chuckled and reached back and woke Josh. Climbing out of the pickup, they walked over and listened to the plans for the day. Soon they were spread out as the crew began working cattle. Darrin was operating one of the head gates and was getting better at using the mechanism, after he let the first calf escape through the gate -- to his chagrin and the entertainment of everyone around him. He noticed when they were castrating calves that the testicles were carefully being tossed into an iced container. Darrin was curious why, and finally asked one of the people he was working with.

"Levi, what are you doing with the calf nuts?"

"Oh, that's dinner! Calf fries," said Levi.

Darrin turned a little green, but managed to keep down his breakfast. He firmly decided that whenever supper came, he wasn't hungry. Settling back into their work, they steadily processed calf after calf. Darrin's stomach was starting to grumble when he heard a triangle ring. Looking around, he followed the rest of his crew to find himself in line for lunch. As he walked up, he saw that Doug's mother was passing out the sandwiches, and her lips tightened slightly as she handed Darrin his lunch, but she said nothing. He scanned the groups until he saw Mitch and Josh and walked over to join them. Settling down, he took a bite of his sandwich and smiled, egg salad was another old favorite. Washing down the sandwich with an ice-cold pop, he turned to the other two.

"Do you have any idea what they are feeding us for supper?" asked Darrin.

"Calf fries," came the simultaneous reply.

"And you're ok with this?"

"Yeah, they're good," said Josh.

Mitch nodded his agreement as he took another bite of sandwich.

"Barbarians, I'm surrounded by barbarians," said Darrin in mock disgust.

They soon finished their lunch and were back at work. Darrin helped out in several locations in the afternoon, but he was glad they finished before the heat became unbearable. He and Mitch were loading into their pickup when they saw Doug walking over.

"You guys are coming to the calf fry aren't ya?" asked Doug, "We're at the lake so we can go swimming and cool off."

Mitch nodded, "Yeah, we're coming. Should be there in about an hour, unless you don't want us to have suits."

Doug laughed and slapped Mitch on the shoulder as Josh walked up. Turning to look at Josh, he was still chuckling, "These two are such cards, can you imagine swimming without a suit? Lordie, just cracks me up."

Josh smiled weakly, since he and Zach had been skinny dipping several times and wondered what everyone would think if they knew. But Josh climbed into the pickup and rode silently back to their house.

Shortly before the appointed time, they were pulling through the gate to the local lake. Mitch thought 'lake' was a generous description. But it was wet and cool, both great things today. They helped setup for the get-together, which didn't take long with everyone pitching in, and then headed for the water. Soon almost everyone was swimming or just soaking in water. Darrin and Mitch watched from the side at the roughhousing, which included Josh. Darrin and Mitch enjoyed the spectacle, but had no interest in joining in. The sun and water were starting to relax them when they heard someone yell.

"Hey! Where's Doug?"

There was an immediate swarm of activity to find him as Mitch and Darrin hurried closer. Mitch spotted a tell-tail stump barely visible above the waterline and remembered his incident with the snag. He immediately dove and started feeling for Doug in the murky water. A few others realized what he was doing and rushed to help. As he was running out of air on his third dive, Mitch felt fabric slide across his fingertips. Kicking up to the surface, he inhaled quickly and then shouted.

"Here! I found him!"

And with that he did a quick dive and found Doug again. Grabbing an arm, he tugged several times, to no avail. Knowing he was running out of time, Mitch ran his hands along Doug and realized his trunks were tangled in the branches. He yanked on them, and felt them rip slightly. With another powerful tug, Doug floated free. Mitch grabbed his arm and pulled him to the surface. As their heads broke the surface, people surrounded them to help. Doug was on the beach in short order, but he had not started breathing. Mitch was beginning to panic, hoping someone knew how to do CPR, when he looked up to see Darrin charging through the crowd with a look of determination on his face. He quickly took control, to everyone's relief.

Mitch watched Darrin go through the CPR steps with quick, quiet efficiency. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion for Mitch, but in a handful of seconds, Doug started to cough. Darrin rolled him to his side as he coughed out the water and waited quietly for his breathing to return to normal. By the time the sheriff and ambulance arrived, Doug was sitting up and breathing in ragged gasps. Darrin moved back as the EMT took over, giving Doug oxygen and checking for signs of anything more serious. Realizing what he had done, Darrin moved away from the crowd and sat down, trying to collect himself. When he felt a hand on his shoulder, he looked up to see Mitch beaming at him.

"And, that's why I love you," said Mitch softly.

Darrin shook his head and shrugged. "I don't know what came over me. I just took over."

"Darn good thing you did too." They heard from their side and glanced up to see Sheriff White Cloud coming to them.

"Is Doug ok?" asked Darrin.

"He's fine. Thanks to you," said the sheriff.

"Oh thank god," said Darrin with relief.

"I keep telling everybody, two-spirits are a good thing. And you boys keep proving me right," said Sheriff White Cloud with a chuckle. "Now if you don't mind a few questions, I can wrap this up."

Mitch helped Darrin up, and they told the sheriff everything they could remember about the accident. As they were wrapping up, Darrin looked over to see Doug's mother stalking toward them. Mitch and Darrin watched in silent trepidation as she covered the space between them and stopped. Looking at each of them and meeting their eyes, tears started rolling down her cheeks.

"You saved my boy, and I treated you both so horribly. The EMT said another minute and he would have died. Oh god, I can't tell you how thankful I am for the two of you," she said while Darrin and Mitch stared at her with open mouths. They stood in shock as she gave each of them a kiss and then wrapped her arms around them both and held them tight for several minutes. Finally releasing them, the tears had slowed but she wasn't finished.

"I'm so glad you boys are here. I think Josh can learn a lot from you. If you boys ever need anything, anything, you just let Ann know." She chuckled a little, "I'm Ann."

Mitch nodded as Darrin tried several times to speak. Finally starting he said, "Ann, Doug is a good person. We like him. We're both really glad he's going to be ok."

She squeezed them both again and then walked back to where the EMT was wrapping up things with her son. The pair turned back to the sheriff with stunned looks on their faces. Jim laughed softly at their perplexed looks.

"Boys, I do believe Mizz Parker has had a come to Jesus meeting," said the sheriff with a smile.

"But people don't change their minds that fast, they just don't," stammered Darrin.

"You saved her son, after she tried to run you off. She's a smart lady, she connected the dots real quick."

"Damn . . ." said Mitch softly.

Sheriff White Cloud chuckled, "I still wouldn't cuss around her. She's a tough woman and she doesn't hold with cuss'n."

"Ok, good to know," said Mitch almost in a whisper.

They talked quietly for a few more minutes before the sheriff left. Soon the ambulance was also gone and things had settled back to something approaching normal. They saw Doug sitting with his mother hovering over him and walked over to see how he was. Looking up as they walked closer, Doug smiled at them.

"My saviors. Man, I'm glad you guys were here."

"We're just glad you're ok, Doug. You feeling alright?" Darrin asked.

"All things considered, I feel great. They said to take it easy for a few days, and they told that to my mother. So I doubt I'll be doing anything for awhile."

They talked with Doug for a little while longer, and then left him to find Josh. After a few minutes, they found him helping cook supper. Knowing he would be busy for quite some time, they wandered back to their chairs, sat down and sipped their beers as they quietly talked about the day. The next thing they knew, Ann appeared with plates piled high with food.