My Long Road Home

I followed him to the barn and saw her lying on the ground. I did everything Dale told me to, from fetching lots of dry straw and scattering it on the floor to contacting the veterinarian in the event of a breach birth.

Late into night her water finally broke but nothing came out. Dale told me we would have to assist her by pulling the foal through the birth canal.

It was an educational experience I'll never forget. Dale placed his full confidence in me to follow his painstakingly detailed instructions in pulling what turned out to be a colt from the comfort of his mother's womb into the cold Wyoming winter wonderland.

"You did it Ethan!" he proudly beamed, "You're becoming a rancher!"

My heart was still pounding and I was exhausted, but I was filled with joy. The mare licked her newborn and nudged it till he tried to stand on his own. It was one of the most precious moments I'd experienced. I decided right then I wanted to become a veterinarian.

"Well, what's his name?" Dale asked.

"Come again?"

"He's yours, Son. Name him!" he said with huge grin.

"Mine?"

"What better way to learn ranching than tending a colt? He is your responsibility and, if you do the job correctly, you two will bond like family."

I was overwhelmed with Dale's generosity and the enormity of the responsibility he was entrusting me with.

"Haven...his name will be Haven," I said.

Dale looked at me as if he wanted further explanation.

"This ranch, you...and him...it's a haven to me. I want this colt to know that I'll always look after him and he'll always have his own haven here. So...Haven."

Dale wrapped his strong arms around me and kissed the top of my head, then said, "Haven it is! Well done, Son."

When we got back to the house I took my clothes off immediately and put them in the washer. I then got in the shower and stood beneath the cascading spray. Hot water had never felt so comforting.

I was emotionally fulfilled by the task we had just performed and my discovery of my professional calling as a veterinarian. I was so overwhelmed tears began to stream from my eyes.

I didn't even notice when Dale joined me in the shower. He wrapped me in his arms again.

"It's okay, kiddo. I'm right here with you. What a happy day for this ranch...and especially for you and me."

He kissed my neck and began nipping at my right ear. Moving his hands down to my butt cheeks he began kneading them like dough. His touch was effortlessly erotic and, before long, we were celebrating our hard work with yet another round of passionate sex under the comforting warmth of the shower spray.

Chapter 11

After several months of working the ranch my body started to fill out and sport muscular definition that I'd never dreamed possible. No longer was I the scrawny kid Dale and Duke rescued in those woods where Fred had left me...I guess to die.

Dale was teaching me everything from ranching to the art of self-defense. He instilled in me that disarming words go a long way before resorting to any kind of violence. However, for those occasions when words fail, he taught me moves that would free me from danger without inflicting life-threatening damage to an aggressor. We practiced them over and over till my confidence and self-reliance soared.

As winter rounded the corner into spring I was stunned to see the meadows fill with greenery and become lush with colorful wildflowers.

Haven grew by leaps and bounds. He'd become a young, strong stallion and I tended to his needs daily. I never really understood people when they spoke of their bond with their horse. But when I look into Haven's eyes, he always gazes back at me as in a way that makes clear he's communicating with me. From time to time, he nudges me with his nose and gives my face a tongue bath. It's funny, but I know it's his way of showing his love and affection for me.

I got accepted to the University of Wyoming to undertake my study of veterinary medicine that fall semester. Bryce and I continued to talk often.

We made plans for him to come see me that summer and he kept me up to date on my family. Even though they still refused to speak with me, I maintained hope that someday we could manage to reconcile our differences and accept that I was as much a child of God as they.

About once a month, I would go out of town with Dale to buy supplies for the livestock. On our way back to the ranch, we usually stopped at the same highway truck stop where Dale and Duke found me.

Dale was as attached to the food at that Denny's as Fred, but always checked to make sure the location wasn't triggering any unresolved trauma since Fred had eluded capture. I would assure him it didn't and that sometimes I even hoped I might run into him again, having been armed with Dale's training in self-defense. He would caution me not to be over-confident.

On one stop there we were in too big a hurry for a leisurely meal so Dale sent me to the take out counter while he hurried to the bathroom. I ordered and was waiting for our food when who should walk by but Fred.

I threw caution to the wind and followed him outside.

"Fred?" I called out when I saw him start around to the driver's side of his all too familiar rig.

He turned around.

"Do I know you?" he asked with a confused expression.

"You should. I certainly remember you," I said, closing the distance between us.

A spark of recognition suddenly registered on his face.

"Evan was it?" he asked.

"Ethan," I corrected him.

"Well, well, Ethan! This must be my lucky day! Just spent half an hour in the shower looking for a faggot I could use. No luck," he said with an evil grin.

My heart began to race.

"So how you doing, boy? Looking for ol' Fred to give you another...ride?" he asked, laughing while lewdly groping his bulging package.

"No," I flatly informed him.

"Then what exactly are you looking for...faggot?"

"An apology."

Fred laughed, "A what?"

"An apology!" I angrily repeated with my fists at my sides.

He sneered at me and said, "Alright. I'm sorry I didn't fuck you plum to death that night, you little snot nosed punk!"

All the rage and pain I'd felt at his hands that night boiled to the surface from his demeaning tone and manner. He'd violated me and taken away some part of me I'd never be able to get back.

He spied my clenched fists. Without warning he took a swing at me. Dale's training kicked in and I successfully dodged it. Then he quickly landed a kick to my stomach.

When I doubled over he took another swing at my head, but that time I managed to block it with my right arm and charged into him. I caught him in the face with my left elbow and quickly followed that with my right elbow to the other side of his face.

Fred reeled back and left himself wide open for me to knee his groin good and hard. He doubled over with his hands covering his damaged goods and I took advantage of the opportunity to jam my right fist into his nose, breaking it the best I could tell. His chin and shirt were suddenly covered in blood.

Fred stumbled back and almost fell down. He lifted his hands to his bloody nose and his eyes filled with renewed rage. With a loud roar he charged me at full speed in an effort to tackle me into the ground.

I quickly stepped aside and quickly turned to face him just as he mounted a second charge. Catching his chin with a roundhouse left, I knocked him off balance and watched him fall to the ground.

I fell on top of him and applied the choke hold Dale had taught me with all the strength I could muster. Fred's legs were flailing as he tried to pull my arms away, but his effort was in vain.

A short time later, he went limp and slipped into unconsciousness. I faintly heard Dale's voice calling my name from afar.

I looked up and saw him running toward me. He pulled me off of Fred and helped me to my feet.

"Are you alright, Ethan?"

I nodded, still breathless from my exertion and adrenaline rush. Once Dale knew I was safe I saw him take note of our surroundings.

"Let me guess...Fred?"

I nodded again, still panting.

Dale's expression shifted from worry to alpha-bear protector mode. I'd never seen him like that. He quickly removed his belt and got on top of Fred, tying his arms and legs like a cowboy roping a calf.

After that he called Sheriff Dalton and told him what had happened. Within 15 minutes several patrol units arrived.

They handcuffed Fred and put him in the back seat of one of the patrol cars. Sheriff Dalton arrived about 30 minutes later.

He contacted a local judge and obtained a warrant to search Fred's truck. In addition to an unregistered firearm, one bag of marijuana, a small bottle of cocaine and found several wallets. One of them was mine and still contained my old driver's license.

Sheriff Dalton came to me and said, "Well, Ethan, it looks like he should be going to jail for a long time. I'm willing to wager the rest of those wallets belong to other victims. You've done a real service here today...for us and your fellow man. I can't thank you enough!"

Sheriff Dalton then looked at Dale and said, "This brave young man's a real keeper! You two go home and get some rest. I'll fill you in tomorrow after we process this scumbag and remand him into the marshal's custody."

We drove home without saying a word to each other. Dale only put his big right hand on mine and would tightly squeeze it from time to time, never letting go of it completely.

Feeling totally safe at last, I laid my head against my window and looked up at the fading light of the dusk. Eventually I drifted off to sleep.

Within a week Fred confessed to my sexual assault. It turned out I'd been in much more danger than I ever imagined when I first climbed into that semi with him.

In addition, he admitted to the rapes and murders of eight other young men ranging in age from their mid-teens to late twenties. He also gave up all the burial locations.

It was in the national media for a few weeks. When the prosecutor asked why he didn't kill me that night Fred told him he heard a dog barking nearby and got spooked.

I knew right then it was Duke he'd heard, and that but for him I'd have met the same grisly fate as the others! I wrapped a hand around Duke's snout and kissed him right on the lips at that revelation. Somehow I think he understood why.

Fred's confession and cooperation in leading authorities to the graves was part of a plea deal, helping them close the books on eight unsolved murders in exchange for life in prison. I finally feel peace and have a sense of well-deserved closure for that chapter of my life.

About a month later I was out tending Haven. Dale came into the barn and told me he needed me to come with him quickly. I put Haven back in his stall and hurried to Dale's truck.

He didn't tell me what had happened or where we were going. In total silence he drove us deep into the meadows until we finally reached a plateau.

It dawned on me that this was the spot where Dale had taken me on that first tour of his property back in the dead of winter. I remembered the view and it was even more stunning with all the waving green grass, colorful flowers and lush forest all around us.

We got out of the truck and stood there again to enjoy nature's beauty and relive that first special moment we'd shared. I noticed there was a sitting area beneath a great oak tree with a hand-hewn bench carved into the trunk of another, fallen tree.

"This place is so much more peaceful and tranquil in summer," I mused, almost wonder-struck, "It has a completely different atmosphere than it did when you first brought me here last winter. This is definitely my favorite spot!"

"I can tell. You're smiling again, just like you did then. That's why I made this bench for you...for us," Dale replied in a tone of supreme contentment. He put his arm around my shoulders and continued, "You know, Ethan, I've been coming here by myself...a lot since you came into my life some eight months ago."

I looked at Dale and was trying to figure out where he was leading me.

"It finally dawned on me why I've been coming here so often. It's because this is where I first saw that beautiful smile; a smile so charming and gorgeous it's never left my mind since that day."

I blushed.

"Your arrival gave this ranch new meaning to Duke and me. You've captured us...body and soul. And I've never been happier."

Dale took out a simple ring with double mill-grain on both sides. There were two birthstones, one his and the other mine, and between those was a small diamond.

The gesture was incredibly thoughtful, but the longer I thought the more clear the meaning behind the arrangement of the stones became. Our birthstones represented us as individuals. The diamond represented the permanence of what we'd forged in our union.

Inside the band he'd had the initials "D" and "E" etched in. A tear rolled down my cheek.

"Ethan, all I have is my word...and my word to you is this...Just having you here with me is all the happiness I could ever imagine in life. And for as long as I live, I only want to do whatever it takes to make you happy in return. Will you marry me, and stay here with me and Duke?"

"Yes! Yes, yes, YES!" was my overjoyed reply.

My tears unleashed themselves full force and I collapsed into Dale's arms. He tenderly brushed them away with a single finger.

I had no more clue than he about what the future held in store for us, but the one thing I knew without doubt was that I loved him; that I wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of my life making him happy...because I am finally home.