The month of July was the beginning of my life as a farmer. I was sure that some years down the road I would look back on these days and wonder what had possessed me. I knew nothing useful, I was afraid I would be more of a burden than a productive worker.

But Jim gave me a tour of the equipment sheds down by the tree line; it was an eye opening experience. Not only did the farm have to undertake hours of care for the livestock and crops, there was also a huge amount of work to keep the machines running. And what behemoths they were too.

Jim showed me this huge green and yellow tractor, the major work horse of all his equipment. The diesel engine was as big as my Jeep, almost five hundred horsepower Jim explained. And it needed every bit of that to pull the huge plow, harrow and cultivator needed before planting; I had no idea what he was talking about.

In the next shed over sat a piece of equipment I recognized, a combine. OK, I knew about them from a film in science class. This machine was used for harvesting grains, and Jim had a good bit of red wheat out there in the fields. It was their cash crop he explained, as every bit of it was sold at market.

So I was shown bailers, hay rakes, disk harrows and the smaller tractor I'd seen Tally driving. Jim said every piece of equipment would be inspected, lubed and checked for worn parts in the next three weeks. If something broke down in the field we would work all night to fix it, lost time meant falling behind schedule and that cost money.

"But this is the trickiest piece of machinery we own," Jim said, leading me down to the largest shed on the line. "It's also the first one we have to check out."

I stared at the contraption which looked like a prop from a Mad Max movie. "What does it do?" I asked.

"This is a corn harvesting machine. See, the header takes in about four rows at a time and cuts the corn stalks off about two feet above ground. The stalks are separated from the ears of corn and get tossed back out. The ears go up a conveyor through a system of fans which separate the husk and strip away the remaining stalks."

He led me around to the side of the machine where I could see a long conveyor belt. "The stalks blow out the other side and the ears travel up this belt into a hopper, then the corn gets separated from the cob and goes up another belt into the storage bins that the small tractor pulls along beside it. It takes about three passes to fill the hopper and we pause the machine to go empty out the corn, and then we resume. Takes a few days to finish up, if the machines work right."

"Sounds like things break down a lot," I said.

"Not a lot, but once is enough. There are so many moving parts within these things, I barely understand them all. But that's why we inspect them so carefully. Engines, belts, augers, fans ... so many things to worry about," Jim said.

"You do your own maintenance, that's handy."

"What we can, Paulo is darn good with machines. But we can weld a broken fitting and replace bearings; it's the engines I worry about most. Parts are damned expensive and fuel costs are through the roof." Jim smiled. "Don't be intimidated, you won't have to drive one of these monsters. But you will have to unload them, and that's back breaking work."

"Where does the corn go when you bring it in?" I asked.

"The corn cribs. I know you've seen them, those little round buildings with the pointed roof."

"Yeah, Tally said they were empty," I said.

"Just about, that was last year's feed crop. It's all timed out, Evan. We use up what we have and bring in the new, no waste in that. Pigs will eat most anything but corn makes them fat. No profit in a skinny pig. The cows get their fair share because they need the vegetable protein in their diet. Come September we'll be feeding them this year's crop."

"You grow only feed corn?"

"No, I have about fifty acres in white corn as well, the market likes that and so do I. Ma cleans and freezes some right on the ear, the rest gets cooked and canned." Here he paused and gave me a sad smile. "I know it's a lot of work for her, I'd appreciate all you can do to help her out. I want you to have the harvest experience, that's why you hired on. But I think she really wants you in the kitchen, if that's not too much trouble."

"No, Jim, it's no trouble at all ... I've already told her that. What she puts up must save you thousands of dollars every year in grocery bills; it's all a part of running this farm. I'll be happy to help anyone out, just tell me what to do," I said.

Jim smiled and clapped a hand on my shoulder. "Tally was right, he said the other night that you'd come into our lives at just the right time. Ma sure has taken a liking to you, and if you haven't noticed yet, she always gets her way."

I laughed. "I understand, she's a determined woman."

"Got that right," Jim agreed.

The sound of a pickup truck came up the back road towards the sheds and Jim grinned.

"As I said, Paulo and Miguel are always on time, and here they are."

The old tan Ford squeaked and groaned over the gravel road, coming to a stop beside the nearest shed.

"Hola, Miguel," Jim said, as a middle aged Mexican man stepped out of the passenger's seat.

"Mister Jim, so nice to see you again," Miguel said, shaking Jim's hand. His English was halting but understandable. And then a young guy stepped around the truck and stuck out his hand for a shake. It was the first time I realized that Paulo was probably Miguel's son; he was about Brad's age, maybe twenty-one or so.

"Paulo ... how was the trip?" Jim asked.

"Very easy, except for the price of gas," Paulo said. His accent was far less noticeable than his father's, my impression was that he'd been in school until recently.

"Miguel ... Paulo, this is Evan, he'll be working with us this season. He's here to learn, but Ma hired him so go easy or you know what she can be like," Jim laughed.

Miguel laughed and Paulo smiled, giving me the once over. Oh, that certainly felt strange. I wasn't physically built like the other men here, Stan used to call me String Bean. But I knew Paulo was appraising me ... physically, and it felt strange. No, he couldn't be.

I wasn't totally innocent; I knew when someone was looking at me with more than a "Howdy" on their minds. Last year in Charlotte at that comic book convention a guy had come on to me very seriously. He was handsome, but I wasn't ready for anything like that. Looking back I suppose I should have been flattered, instead I was shocked.

No, I was reading Paulo wrong; Mexicans didn't generally go for that, but then I was sure some did. I was careful not to look back at him, but still my heart was pounding. Stan would know, but he wasn't here. I wondered if Tally knew anything, but then he would have told me.

I shouldn't feel threatened; Paulo and I would both be very busy the next few months. I could make sure we were never alone together ... maybe I was blowing this up into something that wasn't real. I shook hands with both men and detected nothing. Yeah, I had been wrong.

Jim told them that Sam had made sure the trailer was clean and nice before they moved in, Miguel smiled at that. They would take their belongings down to the trailer and meet us back at the barn in a bit. I knew Jim had their lodgings set up somewhere out behind these sheds, but I had never seen the trailer. The guys got back in their truck and Paulo started the engine. I felt nothing but relief as they left.

I had to tell Tally what I'd felt, mainly because it would make him laugh. Jeez, Evan ... here you are out of the closet for two weeks and you think every handsome guy is looking at you. It was silly, and I was sure Tally would see it that way

"Jim ... are we done here? I need to get back to the house," I said.

"Sure, tell Ma we have two more mouths for supper, I'm sure she could use your help," Jim said.

Oh Lord, would they be eating with us too? I ran back towards the house and wondered where Tally was. But he was sitting in the back yard shucking corn.

"Hey, I picked us some corn for dinner. Young ears, the tastiest," Tally said.

"Wonderful ... we gotta talk," I said.

"Oh?"

"Miguel and Paulo are here ... what do you know about Paulo?" I asked.

"He's only been here about three times; Miguel had him in school down in Texas ... what's up?"

"He looked at me Tally and I thought, well you know," I said.

Tally looked shocked; he knew exactly what I meant. "No way."

"OK, I'm not very experienced at this, but I felt uncomfortable ... has he ever let on?"

"No, I don't know Paulo that well, but I doubt if he's interested in you. Mexicans are pretty straight up, they don't like gay people."

"I have no idea what he thinks. I don't feel threatened; I don't have to work with him much. I'll just have to keep an eye on him," I said.

Tally laughed. "No, don't go lookin at him, I'll be jealous."

I winked. "You have nothing to worry about. So what's so special about that white corn?"

"Sweeter than the yellow, eats better and sells better. Granny says it comes off the cob easier too; I could eat about six of these. What have you been doin?" Tally asked.

"Your dad was showing me the harvest equipment."

"Ah, grease monkey time ... it gets real messy." Tally smiled. "Maybe we can bathe together."

"Not a great idea."

"We'll see. Those machines have about a billion grease points and we have to hit them every day. Dad and Paulo drive the harvester, Miguel, Rick and I usually unload, but now we have you," Tally said.

"Yeah, I want to help, at least when Granny doesn't need me," I said.

"Corn and tomatoes are ready about the same time; I think you're gonna be real busy keepin up." And Tally wasn't kidding.

The following day found four of us working on the corn harvester. The belts came off and every roller bearing had to be inspected. The cowlings were stripped off exposing the interior of the machine, again more inspection. Miguel and Paulo checked out the engine, Jim and I crawled over and under.

Funny thing about the hundreds of grease fittings, they looked like nipples. I must have unscrewed and unclogged dozens before we were done. Dirt and chaff from the corn worked its way onto the nipple preventing the grease from reaching the bearings. Then they could overheat, seize up and grind the ends of the roller shafts into metal dust, too many of those and the belts stopped moving.

The harvester ran for hours moving tons of corn, it all had to work perfectly all the time, the odds were against it. Jim had spare parts, boxes of rollers stacked on a shelf; he was used to the failures. We replaced seven that first day and as Tally had warned I was covered in grease. The slimy yellowish goo seemed to stick to anything, and I had tried to be careful.

Beyond our efforts, the workings of the farm had run on, Tally and the others had seen to that. I saw the brat with a shovel here, and carrying bags of feed there ... he seemed to be everywhere at once. And then just as I was cleaning the grease off my hands he pulled up in the small tractor and grinned.

"Wanna come along? I have to take some more pipes out to Barry and Brad," Tally said.

Jim nodded. "Yeah, give him a hand with the cart; it's tricky to hitch up."

I stood on the step of the tractor as Tally drove us around to the back of the equipment sheds. There was a long cart filled with aluminum pipes, feeder lines for the water pumps out in the corn fields. They had been spraying the crop again; I'd heard about it but never seen it done.

The summer had been fairly dry, rain only coming in short sudden storms that didn't water the crops very well. A good day of rain might saturate the ground an inch or so, a passing storm did little except turn the surface into mud. Setting out the giant sprayers to irrigate the crops was the only way to assure a healthy product.

We grunted and groaned jacking the head of the trailer hitch into place, and then Tally backed under it like an expert. I held on as he took us down the driveway towards the road, the field they were working on was two miles away.

The river fed a lot of the fields by way of a portable pump, but across the road there were several ponds used for just that purpose. Most of them were stream fed and consisted of a low dike around a depression in the land, Tally told me his grandfather had stocked one of them with fish years ago and they were still worth catching.

Riding a tractor on the road was fun until several cars backed up behind us. Top speed on a tractor like this with a load pulled behind was about fifteen to twenty miles an hour; we were a rolling road block. Tally pulled over on the edge of the road several times and waved the drivers around, some waved back and others glared angrily as they sped past.

I clung to the seat as we rode, my hand occasionally brushing his back.

"You drive real well," I yelled above the noise of the engine.

"Been doin this since I was twelve," Tally yelled back. "I have driving class this fall at school, you gonna let me drive your Jeep?"

"You get that permit and I'll show you all I know," I said.

Tally laughed and nodded, and then he looked up. "Oops, showers ahead."

I turned to look just as the overspray of a sprinkler drenched us, Tally laughed.

"Brad has the damn thing located wrong ... again. Last summer the sheriff went by with his windows down; boy did we catch hell for that."

Tally swerved the tractor off the road and turned into a dirt track at the end of the field. All I saw was a wall of corn but he aimed us into the void between two fields and followed some hidden lane that seemed to exist in only his head. I would have been lost out here; the corn was taller than a man now.

I could hear the sound of the pumps now, their engines humming away in the background. We cleared the field and I saw that Tally had brought us out in an open area beside a pond, Brad's pickup sat there.

Tally throttled back and rolled the tractor down the slope towards the back of the truck. He had this evil grin in his face as we rolled up behind and kissed the truck's bumper with the front of the tractor. Clunk, we touched and Brad's head popped up in the rear window.

Tally laughed at catching Brad napping. "Got ya," He yelled.

Brad was laughing; this must have been an old game between them.

"Just relaxing, Squirt. Hey, Evan," Brad said.

"You have the pump set too high, it's raining out on the road," Tally said.

"Oops," Brad yelled and ran over to the pump. He turned a valve and I assumed that cut the pressure back on the sprinklers. I carried pipe for the next hour, following Tally and Brad deeper into the field with each load. I had no idea how they knew where to go, but they did. The last pipe brought us to this large spray head mounted on a tripod, the darn thing stood eight feet tall.

Brad made the final hookup and adjusted a valve on the side of the standing pipe, then we walked back to the clearing. Two more pipes and Tally coupled the line to a flexible hose as Brad started the second pump's engine. A long feeder hose ran out into the pond and I could see the hose stiffen as the water coursed up into the pump. And then suddenly high over our heads I could see the arch of water cascading down on the crop.

My dad had a small sprinkler in the yard, but here the five inch lines fed a monster version able to water a half dozen acres at a time, it was impressive. We shared a soda out of Brad's cooler and talked. The spray heads would run for the rest of the day before being shut down and moved tomorrow to cover a different section.

"We're a hundred and twenty days into the growth cycle of this field," Brad explained. "Another month and this crop will be ready to harvest. Corn really needs about twenty-five percent moisture for a good harvest; the combine likes it that way. Too wet and the corn won't come off the cob well enough, besides drying it out is a pain in the ass."

I nodded, not really sure what he was talking about, but then I would soon enough. Tally and I climbed back on the tractor and headed out of the field, leaving the cart behind for tomorrow. He throttled back when we were almost back to the road.

"You ever want to make love in a corn field?" He asked ... the sly grin back on his face.

"OK, is this where I have to say yes?"

"Yeah." Tally leaned back and I saw the front of his overalls tented out, he revved the engine and pulled forward, turning right instead of left towards the road. Brad was acres behind us as Tally pulled the tractor deep into the corn field and stopped. He leaned over and kissed me, I was a goner.

I sat on the broad tractor seat, pants around my ankles as a naked Tally sat on my lap, impaling himself on my cock. I could see the water from the sprayers arching up across the field in the distance, the sun creating rainbows in the coarse spray. Tally leaned back to press himself fully onto my cock and I marveled at the excitement of doing it out here under the open sky.

Now I knew why he had come for me, this had been his ultimate goal. Alone in a corn field with a beautiful boy, how much better could it get? We could never do this anywhere around the house, even the loft of the barn seemed risky. But the acres of corn hid us here; I felt comfortable giving into his need and satisfying my own.

Tally leaned forward, clasping my neck with his arms and grinding his ass in my crotch as his cock wore a groove on my stomach. His lips caressed my neck and ears, his fingers digging into my scalp ... it was all so sensual, so right. I thrust up into his heat, feeling the seat bounce beneath my bare ass. I groaned as I felt myself reaching the tipping point, Tally moaned with my efforts and then his cock flooded my belly, pushing me over the edge into orgasm.

He ground into me for a while, not willing to let it all go just yet. We kissed and sighed, these were moments that made it all worthwhile. Finally I slid out of him and Tally jumped off the tractor, pulling a roll of toilet paper out from under the seat. He squatted down and emptied himself, then proceeded to wipe his cum off my stomach and chest. We dressed and I held him in my arms for a while.

"I'll be fifteen end of next week," Tally said.

"Yes, a happy time for us both," I replied.

"Can you take me into the city after my birthday? Mom is gonna give me some money as a present, I already asked her."

"Sure, you have something you want to buy?" I asked.

"Yeah, I want to get you something."

"Me? You don't have to spend your money on me," I said.

"But I want to get you something special," Tally said.

His eyes were full of emotion and I couldn't deny feeling the same way. "Sure, we'll go to town if that's what you want. I can never say no to you."

Tally grinned. "You spoil me, that's what Granny would say."

"Hmm, I like spoiling you, baby. We'll have to come out here more often, this feels like a safe place to love you."

"At least for the next thirty days, then it'll all be gone," Tally said. "We should go camping again when the work slows down a bit; after the wheat is in might be a good time."

"You just let me know," I said. "Maybe Jerry will want to come along."

"Maybe, we haven't talked much, I don't know what he's thinking."

"I think he wants to leave us alone, he might think he's in the way," I said.

"Maybe we could take Stan and Freddy," Tally suggested.

"Stan in a tent, that would be something new ... he's not exactly the outdoors type."

Tally laughed. "Freddy could protect him from the bears. We ought to get back, dad will be wondering what happened to us. You wanna drive?"

"I never drove a tractor before, you think I can?"

"Sure, it's easy." And he proceeded to show me how.

This little Allis-Chalmers was easy; the big green one was different. OK, throttle and brake, that's all I needed to know for the moment. He explained the left/right braking for when the machine was pulling a rake or something, but now they were locked together. He told me to use the hand throttle for now, and off we went.

I felt a little exposed riding this high off the road with no walls around me, but it was fairly simple. The three point stance of a tractor made steering a little strange; the machine could turn on a dime. But without a load behind we made it back to the shed that much quicker, and Jim was waiting.

"You have fun playing in the sprinklers," He asked.

"Yeah, Brad was trying to explain about moisture in the crop, but he lost me. Guess I'd better start making a list of questions to ask you," I said.

"Sure, I have some information from the state agricultural people I can show you too. Maybe you can make sense out of it all, I sure can't. My daddy taught me everything I needed to know. But sometimes there seems to be no answer and then the state boys come in to help us out. They're very good, makes me feel like my tax dollars mean something."

I drove the little tractor into the shed and parked beside the large green machine. Tally jumped off and went over to where Paulo was working under the flaps of the engine.

"Little man, where you been all day?" Paulo asked.

"Watering the crops in the north fields," Tally responded. "You know how it is; Brad was washing cars on the highway."

Paulo laughed. "And you catch him every time, good man, he's wasting the water."

I watched their talk, I must have been wrong about the man. Tally was a great lookin boy and Paulo didn't even give him a glance, he was busy with something under the hood of the tractor. Standing down here looking up at the cab of the thing towering over my head I wondered, could I even drive something like this?

"Hey, Evan ... climb up and start the engine will you?" Paulo asked.

Tally grinned so I knew something was up. I climbed the ladder to the step outside the door and opened it up. Switches and gauges surrounded me as I sat on the seat; I had no idea how to start it up. Tally was leaning in the door with a grin.

"Oops, a bit different isn't it?"

"Yeah," I laughed, "I'm totally lost, how does it work?"

"Pull that knob out and turn the key," Tally said. I did as he said and nothing happened except a lot of little lights came on. "Now push the button to the right of the key," He said and I did, startled by the sudden whine of something and then the engine cranked over, bursting into a full throated roar as it fired up. A burst of salsa music filled the cabin and Tally pointed up at the CD player mounted to the roof.

Paulo appeared a moment later wiping his hands on a rag. "She runs fine, you like my music?"

I laughed. "Not sure, it sounds like dance music," I said.

"Oh yeah, the senioritas love to dance to this, shaking their hips all over the place," Paulo said. "I love to dance with the ladies when I go home. Now we work and make money, then I dance at Christmas, its all fine."

He grinned. "I was going to teach Tally how to dance this summer, really impress the girls he knows at school. You still wanna learn, little man?"

Tally blushed but nodded. "OK, but like I told you, I am not gonna be dancing at any high school dances ... I have two left feet."

"At your age clumsy is normal, boys are all like that as they grow up. It takes courage and big balls to dance with the ladies at first, but you will learn how. You have the balls, little man, now all you need is the knowledge."

I laughed and Paulo smiled at his humor, Tally was the only one that looked worried.

"High school is a bitch, Tally," I said. "But Paulo is right, it only takes courage and you do have to learn to be social."

"Oh Lord, not you too?" Tally said.

"He is shy around the ladies, every boy must learn sometime," Paulo said. "Otherwise you'll be a virgin your whole life, Tally."

"Jeez," Tally yelled and climbed down off the tractor. We watched him leave the shed and I shrugged.

"He'll do just fine," Paulo said. "It's hard for farm boys to keep lady friends; there is too much work for him. But a handsome boy will soon make the ladies happy, Tally will learn."

Paulo reached over and turned off the key, the engine shut down and the music died. "And what of you, Evan ... did you leave a lady behind to come work here?"

"No, none of them will miss me, I'm pretty sure of that," I said.

"Oh, the voice of a man who has lost love before, I understand that. Following my father from place to place leaves no time for love," Paulo said. "Money or love, it's a hard choice since one cannot do without the other."

"Did you leave a lady behind?" I asked.

Paulo smiled. "Not one ... but many. I am too young to have only one; I must celebrate life until the right one comes along. We have not been home to Mexico in some time; my heart now lives in Texas. I would stay here if my father returns to Juarez, he will some day when he tires of the work."

Paulo placed a hand on my shoulder. "You have a wonderful country, my friend ... there is so much to see and do here. The ladies in Texas want me to stay, how could I refuse?" he laughed and grabbed at his crotch. "I must give them something they need, yes?"

We both laughed and climbed down from the cab. OK, Paulo was a total ladies man and I was an idiot. He didn't have a clue about Tally and I, and that was probably a good thing. I left him to clean up his tools and made my way back to the house. Granny was looking at a row of tomatoes on the kitchen counter.

"Evan, help me decide something," She asked. "These three are the same variety, I usually can them stewed. These three are a different variety and I can them whole. But this year they look too big to fit in the jars, we must have received the wrong seeds to plant."

"Can you switch them out, either that or get bigger jars?" I asked.

"Suppose I ought to do that, I need both kinds of tomatoes for different recipes. Yes, that will work. Tomatoes will start comin in next week; I'll start workin on them every Saturday."

"I'll be here to help, I don't want you overdoing it this time," I said.

"Good boy, we'll set up a production line then," Granny said and she laughed. "You still look a little dirty behind the ears from workin on those machines. I expect you'll need a bath before supper, Tally will too."

She left that hanging in the air as she went on about her business. Was she suggesting we bathe together? Sometime I think she said things just to shock me, it was her form of humor. So maybe we should, bathe that is.

Tally was back at the milking shed so I fell in step with the work going on around me. Milking cows, watering corn, fixing machines ... this had been a full day, and tomorrow would be no different. I was beginning to understand the life these people led was filled with things to do. The work never ended, it just changed with the seasons.

I knew the work became harder as the winter set in, but there was less of it. Keeping the livestock in order would then become the focus. Chasing cows across an icy field might even seem like fun if I thought about it. It would mean the family spent more time huddled together; Tally and I would have less privacy.

We'd had sex every day I was with him, that couldn't last, it probably shouldn't. The urgency had worn off, Tally was secure in the relationship, and I was too. He was still a completely fascinating creature to watch, but now I was absorbing the finer things about him, filling in the details of my knowledge.

We had hooked up my computer; Tally had the basics down from school. I hooked up to the phone lines and cringed at the slow speed of the modem. I had Sam come in the room and look at some of the sites Tally could view, Googling things like Mars and India. No one in this family was very computer literate, I was about to change that.

I felt like a farmer in my high rubber boots, I was even wearing an old pair of Rick's overalls as Tally and I hosed down the shed. The boy kept looking at me as we worked and I finally couldn't stand it.

"What?" I asked.

"You look cute like that, a regular farm boy, only sexier," Tally laughed.

"God, you are such a tease," I blurted out.

"I just wanted you to know ... never mind."

"No, I didn't mean it in a bad way, Tally ... I like it when you look at me."

He stopped the spraying, standing there with the steam pouring out around him, and he looked at me. "It's just ... I still can't believe you're here Evan. Things are so different now, I feel different."

I nodded. "I feel it too, together we've created something different. It's not just me I think about, it's us."

Tally smiled. "Yeah ... it is us. It feels so good, so right."

"Come on, let's finish ... I want that bath with you," I said.

Tally grinned and returned to work, fifteen minutes later we were done. We left the boots on the porch to dry out and walked through the kitchen. Granny and some of the family were out on the front porch, it was their living room for most of the summer when it got hot inside. Each bedroom had an air conditioner in the window as sleep was essential for hard working people, but the house wasn't cooled except when there was a breeze.

Granny looked up from her pile of snap beans. "You boys finished for the day?"

"I guess," Tally said. "Where's dad?"

"He and Brad went down to shut off the pumps; your mom is over at your Uncle Tom's. You got about an hour before supper," Granny said.

"I guess we better wash up," Tally said and Granny smiled.

We went upstairs and shucked off the damp overalls, Tally went in to fill the bath tub. It was an ancient thing, sitting up on legs and big enough for two. I shut the bathroom door as I joined him, wondering if I should lock it.

Tally smiled. "Lock doesn't work anyway; no one will care if we get in the tub together. Rick and Barry did when they were my age."

"You think they fooled around?" I asked.

Tally laughed. "I watched them playin around, but it was only jerkin off, I don't know if they ever did anything else ... I don't wanna know."

I climbed in the hot water and it felt like heaven, then Tally sat between my legs. I took the wash cloth and started in on his back.

"I wish I'd had a little brother when I was growing up," I said. "It would have been fun."

"My brothers think I was a pain in the ass up until a few years ago, I probably was. Not much a kid can do around here by yourself, I woulda gone nuts of it weren't for Jerry comin over."

I ran the soapy cloth over his shoulders and he leaned back to allow me to wash his front, the contact made us both erect. I was not going to allow this to go anywhere; we could save it for later in the bedroom. I handed Tally the wash cloth and picked up the shampoo bottle, pouring some out in my hand. Tally reached for the pitcher beside the tub and dumped a load of water over his head to wet it for me.

He had such a thick mane of coarse blonde hair; it was just like his mother's. Tally paused as I applied the shampoo, working it up into lather. His head slumped and I knew his eyes were closed as he enjoyed the feeling of my fingers working on his scalp. I heard a soft moan of pleasure escape his lips, yeah; this was just as much fun for me.

I worked my fingers through his hair and around his ears. His skin was so tanned back there, yet so soft and pliable. There were times when I couldn't get enough of touching him, but now I absorbed the feeling of his body through my fingers and put love in my touch. He bent forward as I poured water over his head, moving his hair to allow all the soap to rinse out. Then we switched places.

If I hadn't already been erect his first touches would have sent me through the roof. Lying in bed Tally loved to place his head on my shoulder and run his fingers across my chest, that feeling was electric, this was so much better.

He approached washing me as if I was a painting he was making. The cloth wiped me here and there, removing spots of dirt both seen and unseen. Tally was an artist, I was his canvas.

"You were on the ground under that harvester weren't you?" Tally asked.

"Yeah, a few times ... why?"

"Oil got through your shirt; you have black spots all over back here."

I had seen the oil and hoped the shirt would wash out, I didn't know it had soaked through. But Tally gently soaped my back and then up onto my shoulders, pulling me back on his chest. The caressing fingers found my chest and he explored. My cock was sticking up out of the water like a periscope but I ignored it.

Tally soaped my chest and arms, stopping his downward motion just above my pubes. I was thankful, this was already too damn sexy for words ... and then he did my hair. The hot water poured over my head, a bit cooler now that we had sat absorbing the heat, but it still felt fine. And then his fingers in my scalp, those strong farm boys hands ... I was in heaven.

Tally's massage elicited a few moans from me ands I heard him giggle. That naughty little boy was always lurking below the surface, it made him adorable. Water over the head again while I scrubbed at my legs, and then I turned around so we were facing one another, Tally began to wash my face.

Again the dabs here and there, always gentle, sometimes persistent. He would make me clean, I had no doubts about that. His gaze held me entranced; I could fall into the pools of his eyes and drown quite happily. Every move of his head, the concentration that wrinkled his brow as he worked, I adored him like this.

Fingers caressed my neck as his other hand held the cloth, he knew the effect he was having on me, I couldn't hide the emotions that must have shown in my eyes. He smiled and dropped the cloth, pouring water over my face to remove the suds and then wiping it away, his fingers gentle across my skin. Now it was my turn.

I had no doubt that the freckles on his nose were one of the most endearing qualities about his face. I rubbed then gently, afraid they would be gone if I worked too hard. So foolish a thought, they were as much a part of him as those blue eyes that often mesmerized me. I felt like this was the most sensual moment we had ever shared, and I was amazed, my cock was limp as a dishrag.

I removed the suds and stared at him, all I wanted was one simple kiss to seal the spell we were under. Then the door flew open and Rick appeared with a bucket in his hand. "Supper's ready." he yelled, and dumped the bucket of ice in our laps.

We both leapt up as Rick made his escape. Fortunately we weren't in the water long enough to feel the effect, I just had to laugh ... Tally growled.

"I'm gonna put a rattler in his boots tomorrow," Tally said.

"No ... no, it was funny ... you guys must do this stuff all the time," I said.

"I have to get even somehow," Tally said, but he was smiling.

"I can call Stan if you don't have any ideas; he knows a million ways to get even."

Tally started to giggle. "I put a picture of a cow in his new Playboy magazine last month, pasted it right over the middle of Miss May's best parts, Rick was pissed." Now Tally started laughing.

"It's always Rick isn't it?" I asked. "I think he loves his little brother."

"Yeah, we're never evil about the jokes, dad would skin us both alive ... did he say supper was ready?"

We dressed for supper and went downstairs. Rick grinned and Tally smiled casually. He didn't say a word to anyone about the ice and I think that made Rick nervous. I could see where the fun was in all this, Rick would get paid back and somehow I knew Tally was a master at revenge.

We sat at the table when Miguel and Paulo finally arrived. We all bowed our heads as Jim said the blessing once again, including our new guests in his words. Tally went straight for the corn as expected, he really was planning to eat six ears all by himself. The bounty of Granny's garden graced the table, fresh vegetables both raw and cooked. The tomatoes looked wonderful and tasted even better, beans, carrots, peas, and a small bowl of peppers which pleased our Mexican friends.

"Thank you so much," Miguel said, nodding to Granny.

The ham was covered in pineapple, probably the only ingredient not grown here. But it was all delicious, the silence at the table a tribute to her cooking. We all cleared the table before dessert, and Granny gave us strawberry pie. Another Saturday night success, tomorrow we had church and a day of rest ... well mostly.

Cows to be tended, morning and night ... other animals to feed ... crops to water ... the never ending cycle of life. Only now we had more help, Miguel and Paulo would be welcome to lighten the load on the rest if us. And suddenly as I sat there amidst this family I truly felt like one of them, I had worked hard this day for the good of us all.

I saw Granny looking at me and she nodded from across the table. She felt my changes, the wisdom of age giving her insight to my thoughts. We moved from table to kitchen, Tally and I both telling Granny to go sit on the porch with the others. She smiled and left us alone. I rinsed and Tally put the dishes in the washer, then we put the food up before joining the gathering on the porch.

The sun was low in the sky, dark clouds gathering in the distance, another day was ending. Miguel gave me a nod and glanced at Tally.

"Mister Jim says you were attacked by a bear in the woods, how did this happen?" He asked.

I rolled my eyes and saw the others looking on amused; they wanted Tally to tell my story once again. Tally smiled and began; the boy was a natural storyteller. And in the gathering gloom the story took on a new life yet again, I was so proud of him for making the effort. And when he got to the part about Jerry punching me in the stomach both father and son roared with laughter, Paulo almost fell off the porch.

Miguel and Paulo soon wandered back to their trailer as the sun set, leaving us sitting in darkness. Everyone got up and went back in the house to avoid the mosquitoes and sat down to watch television, Granny begged off and went to bed. Tally and I went upstairs where he turned on the air conditioner and we started to play on the computer.

I was determined not to show him anything about the porno sites I knew of, although he had been curious. I told him the access we had over the phone lines was too slow to view films and he accepted that. Instead I gave him lessons on the keyboard for a while.

When school started up again we would get serious about his studies, that was a given. I had explained that I would help him, but that he would have to do the work, Tally had agreed. His success would make our lives easier; it would fill the void over the long winter ahead.

The hour came and we knew it was time for bed. I was grateful tonight, tired and ready all at the same time. We did our nightly routine in the bathroom and then shut the bedroom door. Tally cuddled up close, I hugged him and our lips met.

"I really loved washing you," Tally said

"I feel the same way; just touching you like that makes me tingle inside."

"You did real well today, Evan ... that's what Dad told Granny."

"Oh ... I didn't think it was that hard, but we stayed busy ... I guess it's always busy," I said.

"Yeah, I can't keep doin this forever; we'll think of something else and do it together."

"I made love to a sweet boy on a tractor today, that was something else," I said.

Tally giggled. "Yeah, it was awesome."

I felt his fingers on my chest and his soft breath on my shoulder. My hand roamed his back until I felt him sag against me asleep. The hum of the air conditioner filled the darkness and I soon joined Tally in sleep.

Outside the night sky lit up with flashes of light, lightning shooting through the distant storm clouds, a testimony to the heat that parched the earth. The crickets filled the humid air with their mating call and mosquitoes battered the screens trying to get in, but to no avail. I slept with Tally in my arms, oblivious to the forces of nature outside, but not for long.

On to Chapter Ten

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