Goats and Bugs
by Nick Brady
Chapter 16
Life on the farm had settled into a comfortable routine. School was in session and was sandwiched between morning and evening chores, supper and bed. They were all excited about the building project and could scarcely talk about anything else. Ely spent several days working out the finances. Through the County agent and the local Farm Bureau, it looked like loans should be available at lower interest than the bank. It was February now, and the weather was alternately cold and rainy then mild and sunny. The work would get done regardless of the weather.
Bobby and George had become very comfortable with each other. George felt like he had found a home on the farm. Freed from the negativity from his mother, he found new confidence in himself, and the goofiness that he used as a defense mechanism seemed not to be necessary. Bobby was very comfortable with George and more outgoing. Ely was a still a man of few words but enjoyed having his boys with him. Rather than being irritated by George's humor, he laughed more than usual. Bobby remarked on it, and George was put at ease.
Wayne and Daniel came out the next weekend at nine in the morning with the first draft of the expansion plan. Sam was not with them. As promised, he had stepped back to allow his students to take charge. They gathered around the kitchen table where Wayne spread out the detailed floor plan.
"We suggest moving the laying boxes along the east wall where they will be out of the way," Wayne pointed to a detailed rendering of the barn floor. "The milking stalls will be here nearer to the door to the pasture. The cows can come in through there, be washed then directed to one of ten stalls. There is a feed box at each of them, and we can drop a controlled amount of food down a chute from holding bins in the loft. That was Daniel's idea. After they are milked, they can exit through the side door and back out towards the pasture. We suggest building a fence to direct them through a new second gate, so they don't get in the way of incoming traffic."
"This is quite an operation," George said. "How many cows can we run through here? We were thinking about thirty."
"Thirty would be easy," Daniel said. "Automated milking machines will make things go a lot faster than milking by hand. Basically, it's a two-man operation. One to lead them in, wash them down and put them in the stall. The other to drop a bit of feed in the trough, hook up the milker, and shoo them out when they are finished. With a setup like this, you could work sixty or more in the same amount of time as you could milk six by hand."
Ely whistled. "I can see this paying for itself pretty quickly," he nodded.
"That's right. You'll still have to gather eggs by hand, although there are ways to automate that if you want to," Wayne added.
'What about the goats?" Bobby asked.
Wayne pulled out another layout. "This would be the outside of the barn. We could put a pen and shelter for the goats here," he pointed, "and here would be where you could shelter the pigs if you decide to get into that. I think you will want to let them forage instead of feeding them all the time. Now, the goats will require some additional fencing to keep them out of mischief. The fencing is shown on the chart with the dotted lines."
Wayne smiled proudly while they looked carefully at the diagram. "You've thought of everything," George said.
"A lot of this was Daniel's idea. Of course, the location of the fencing is just a guess. You probably could improve on that. What do you think?" Wayne asked with an expectant look.
Ely, Bobby, and George exchanged surprised glances. Ely turned with a smile. "I think you boys have done a fine job. Now all I need to know is how much all this will cost."
Daniel pulled some papers from his jacket. "I have that right here. Most of the cost will be the concrete for the milking area, the plumbing and milk storage tanks, and refrigeration equipment. We have a source for used lumber, and with your help, we can do most of the labor ourselves. No doubt we have overlooked something, but we think this is pretty close."
Ely Looked at the numbers and whistled softly. "This is a lot of money, but to tell the truth, it's not as much as I expected. Wayne, you and Daniel have put a lot of work into this, and it looks good to me. Let me work out the finances, and we should be ready to get started as soon as you are. Thank you very much."
True to his word, a week later, a truck pulled up to the farm with a load of used lumber. They built the forms for the concrete slab and the next Saturday a cement truck was there to pour. When Wayne and Daniel had smoothed it out, they invited Ely, Bobby, and George to press the palms of their hands into the edge and wrote their names beneath the handprints along with the date. "Now you're immortal," Wayne joked.
Wayne showed Bobby and George how to build a new box for the hens. "Now that you know how, you guys can do the rest of the boxes when you get home from school so Daniel and I can start framing the stalls."
Now in addition to school and the usual chores, Bobby and George were busy with the hen boxes until late in the evening. Daniel and Wayne were busy with the milking stalls. The project was taking shape sooner than they imagined. Wayne and Daniel worked during the day, Bobby and George in the evening, and on Saturday the four worked together. By early March, they could see how the finished product would look.
Once the hen boxes were in place, Bobby and George started on the fence and shelter for Bonnie and Clyde in the barnyard. Daniel and Wayne were constructing the feed chutes for the milking stalls. Ely peeked in from time to time to check their progress and helped out by doing most of the chores to free up time for the construction activity.
While all this was taking place, Bobby was a little frustrated by the lack of time he had to fix supper for them all. He prided himself on his cooking, but had to make do with sandwiches and simple meals that required a minimum of time.
Wayne and Daniel worked together and left Bobby and George to their share of the project. The barn already had power and a water line, so they were able to tap into those. When it came time to fasten the feed chutes and run the new plumbing, it was helpful for all four of them to work together; two in the loft and two below. Daniel suggested that he and Bobby go up in the loft and let Wayne and George help from below. They cut holes for the chutes and passed conduit and water pipes from the barn below into the loft on a Saturday. When they finished the work in the loft, Wayne and George installed connections for the milking machines. While they worked below, Bobby and Daniel sat down on a hay bale to take a break.
Daniel looked at Bobby intently then looked away and said, "You have a nice farm out here."
"My grandparents built it a long time ago. It's been kind of hard to keep it going sometimes," Bobby nodded.
"Are you going to stay on and run it after Ely?"
"I reckon. I plan to study at the Agricultural College in Magnolia. I like it here."
"It's a lot of work to keep this going," Daniel said.
"It is, but all this new equipment is going to help. I hope George will stay on and help me."
Daniel hesitated. "You don't look much like your brother."
"Well, he's kind of adopted," Bobby shrugged.
"I wondered about that. You being a redhead and all. Where did you get that red hair?"
"From my mother."
"I see. I think red hair is cool," Daniel said. "Kind of sexy, you know?"
When Bobby didn't reply, Daniel stood and looked around the loft. "I need to pee."
Bobby nodded in the direction of the door at the end of the loft. "Piss out the door. That's what I do."
Daniel walked to the opening and opened his jeans. "You need to pee?"
Bobby shrugged and walked over to join him. When he did, he could see that Daniel had an erection which he flopped up and down. "I bet you've got red hair all over," Daniel said nervously.
Bobby looked for a moment then turned away. "I better go check on George and Wayne," he said and started for the ladder leaving Daniel alone.
"You guys through up there?" Wayne asked as Bobby joined them in the barn below.
"Everything is hooked up," Bobby replied. "Let's hope nothing leaks when we turn the water on."
"Right. We'll test everything before we hook up the milking equipment. It should get here this week sometime," Wayne said.
"Where's Daniel?" George asked.
"He's coming," Bobby said deadpan.
When Daniel came down from the loft, he looked at what had been accomplished and took pictures of everything. "Looks good down here," he said.
Bobby stepped next to George and put a hand on his shoulder. "If you guys aren't in a big hurry, I can fry up a chicken or something."
"Sounds good to me," Wayne smiled. "You got the time, Daniel?"
"I got to be getting back pretty soon, but I guess I have time for some supper," Daniel shrugged without enthusiasm.
They walked back to the house and found Ely working on his books. "How did it go?" he asked.
"Everything is ready in the barn," Wayne reported. When the milking equipment gets here next week, we can hook everything up and see if it works."
"That's wonderful," Ely smiled. "I hope it does. I've got a truckload of thirty Holsteins coming in about two weeks."
"We're really going to do this, aren't we?" Bobby grinned.
"Yes, we are," Ely replied. "I've wanted to do this for a long time. As soon as it warms up a little, we'll get a batch of new chicks, and before you know it, we'll be in business."
Bobby pulled one of the remaining roosters from the refrigerator and went to work on supper. George fixed one of his signature salads and started some rice to boil. They made a good team in the kitchen. Wayne and Daniel sat at the kitchen table and talked to Ely about the plans for hooking up and testing the new equipment. Before long the kitchen began to smell good.
When Bobby set food on the table, they dove in to make short work of everything. Ely thanked them all for their hard work, then Wayne and Daniel excused themselves and left, leaving Ely, Bobby, and George alone in the kitchen.
"Do I need to milk tonight?" Bobby asked.
"No, son. I got it done while you boys were up in the loft. I picked up the eggs too. You did enough today," Ely smiled. "I know both you boys are tired."
Bobby looked at George. "I don't know about you, but I'm pooped. Are you ready for bed?"
George leaned over and stretched his back. "I'm ready when you are. We got a lot done today."
They went to their bedroom and sat down on the bed. "I'm kind of stinky," George said. I think I want to take a bath."
"Yeah, me too. You go ahead, and I'll be right with you." Bobby started to get undressed. When Bobby got to the bathroom, George was sitting on the edge of the tub with his feet in hot water as he filled it. Bobby dropped his shorts and sat next to him then looked over at his naked friend.
"You're looking good," Bobby said.
"What?"
"Look at yourself in the mirror. You're getting some muscles."
George looked down at his belly and saw the beginnings of a six-pack of abs. He flexed his arm and realized that his bicep and shoulders were rounder. "You've been working me, I guess."
Bobby laughed. "You're beginning to look like a farm boy."
George sat at the end of the tub and leaned back in the soothing water. Bobby sat down in front of him and rested himself against George's stomach. George wrapped his arms around Bobby and ran his hands over Bobby's chest. "You have a lot more muscles than I do," he said.
"I got a head start on you," Bobby chuckled. "You'll get there if you stick around."
"I don't think I'll ever catch up with you," George sighed. "That Daniel sure thought you looked good."
"What makes you think that?"
"Something he said, and the way he looked at you."
Bobby chuckled. "He showed me his dick when we were up in the loft."
"Really?"
"Yeah. He said he needed to piss, and when he pulled his dick out it was all hard, and he waved it at me."
"What did you do?"
"Came down to the barn. I wasn't into playing with him."
"I noticed he was kind of quiet at supper," George said. "Maybe he was embarrassed, or probably disappointed."
"I didn't do anything to make him think I wanted to play with him."
"I'm glad you didn't," George said softly.
"Would you have been jealous?" Bobby chuckled.
"Maybe." As George tried to imagine the scene in the loft, he felt himself begin to rise. "Did it make you horny?"
Bobby pulled George's hand down to feel his erection. "A little."
"Could I help you with that?"
"Maybe. Let's get clean first." Bobby raised up, took the bar of soap and began to suds himself, then passed the soap over his shoulder to George.
They rinsed and dried themselves off, then darted across the hall wrapped in towels. Bobby dropped his towel next to the bed and slipped beneath the covers with George right behind him. They snuggled together, and George pressed his face into Bobby's neck. "Mmm, you smell like soap."
"You complaining?"
"No. It smells good." George turned and made a show of sniffing down Bobby's body until he reached his bush of curly orange hair.
Bobby erupted in a fit of giggles and jerked away. "That tickles!"
"I bet Daniel would like to do that."
"No. He's not my type," Bobby chuckled.
"Am I?" George slurped Bobby's uncut cock into his mouth. The effect was immediate.
Bobby took a sharp breath and put his hands on George's head. "Oh yeah! That'll work."
George cupped one hand under Bobby's balls and ran the other over his chest and stomach. "This smells like soap too," he mumbled with a mouth full of cock.
"Don't talk with your mouth full," Bobby giggled.
George pulled the foreskin over the head of Bobby's cock, took it in his mouth then pulled the skin down tight. "You like to play with that thing, don't you?" Bobby said.
"Um-hum!"
"Be my guest," Bobby chuckled. "You're doing a real good job."
George rolled over on his back. "Your turn."
"I guess that's only fair," Bobby gripped George's erection and wiggled it from side to side, then licked it from top to bottom and sniffed at his pubes. "Smells like soap."
"Come on," George urged him. "I'm horny."
Bobby obliged and sucked George deep in his mouth, swallowing as the head went down his throat. George breathed in deeply and raised his hips. "Ohhh!" After several minutes of this, he stopped Bobby. "Wait! I want this to last longer," he said.
"What do you want to do?" Bobby asked quietly as he ran his finger over George's hole.
"You want to do that?" George asked. "You know I like it."
"I know you do. I like it too."
"Get me ready," George said. "It's better if you get me ready." He raised his knees up and lifted his hips.
Bobby bent down and ran his tongue up the crack of George's ass. "Smells like soap," he chuckled, then he licked and sucked at George's hole, leaving it wet with saliva. "You ready?"
"Come on, come on. I really want this," George sighed.
"Sure, baby. I was just teasing you." Bobby got on his knees and pressed his cock against George's asshole and rubbed it up and down. It was very hard. He pushed against the soft opening and George reached down to place it at the right angle. It slid in easily, and George gasped. "
Did I hurt you?" Bobby asked with genuine concern.
"No. It feels good. Just give me a minute." Bobby pushed in partway, pulled back a little then pushed in deeper. Three such strokes and he was flat against George's hips. "Ahhh! That's so nice!"
Bobby began to pull out and push in in long slow, deliberate strokes. He closed his eyes and breathed through his mouth as he worked in a steady rhythm.
George moved his hips from side to side as the head of Bobby's cock stroked his prostate. "Go whenever you're ready he whispered. "When you cum it'll get me off."
Bobby increased his pace until he was pumping hard and fast then stiffened and gave a soft cry. "Oh God!" he moaned and emptied himself deep inside George's bowels. George climaxed with him and coated their bellies with his semen. They panted and finally held very still.
After a few minutes, Bobby raised himself up and sniffed. "We don't smell like soap anymore." he grinned. "Where's that towel."
Bobby wiped them both clean then lay down beside his friend. "You OK?" he asked.
"Oh, yeah. I'm just fine," George sighed. "You know, you really should try that."
"Maybe. I'm thinking about it," Bobby reflected, then pulled the rumpled blanket up to cover them both. Before George could reply, they were both fast asleep.
In another two weeks, the milking equipment arrived with a pair of men who installed it correctly. To their pleasant surprise, nothing leaked. It took both Bobby and George to persuade the cows to accept the strange devices that replaced Bobby's warm hands on their teats. The milk flowed into the new storage tank and was almost immediately chilled. The hens located their new boxes, and Bobbie and Clyde frolicked around in their new pen. All was well.
Sam, Wayne, and Daniel were there to see that everything worked properly, and were very pleased with the results. "I reckon you boys have done a good job here," Sam told Wayne and Daniel. "You will graduate with flying colors."
Ely shook their hands and handed each an envelope with a crisp pair of one hundred dollar bills inside. "Here is a little something to thank you for all your hard work. We appreciate it very much."
"Now, you don't have to do that," Sam told him.
"Good service deserves a little tip, don't you think?" Ely smiled, then shook hands with them all. "You boys are going to make a success out of whatever you do. If I can ever do anything for you, just let me know. Thank you."
By the first of April, a cattle truck pulled into the farm and unloaded thirty young Holstein milk cows who were led into the pasture to get acquainted with their new home. When evening came, they were led through the barn, milked and let back out through the new gate.
Six weeks later, Ely drove home with several crates containing two hundred chicks to supplement the laying hens. Roughly half would be roosters and put in the freezer to be eaten or sold to the local market.
Clyde had lived up to his potential, and it appeared that some new goats were on the way. By the time the school year was about to wind up, there were seven kids frolicking around. They took most of Bonnie's milk, but she spared a little so that Ely and the boys could sample some fresh goat's milk. They liked it. Since four of Bonnie's babies were female, they planned to try to make a little goat cheese when they had enough milk to try their hand at that. The goats foraged around the barnyard and cleared out the weeds that the cows wouldn't eat, and required very little care. Pigs were in the planning stage, but they decided that they had enough to contend with for the present time.
When they came to the end of the school year, they discovered they had a problem. George and Bobby would need to enroll for the coming year. Bobby was no problem, but Ely had no official custody of George. When Ely took the boys to enroll them for the ninth grade, he was told that he was not able to enroll George. That would require a parent or guardian. Bobby did not want to enroll without George because they wanted to be in some of the same classes, so they returned empty-handed.
George phoned his mother fairly often, but she seemed far away from his present life. Faced with the school dilemma, he called her.
"Hi, Mom. How are you guys doing?"
"We're just fine, George. How are you? I thought you had forgotten me."
"Oh no. I wouldn't do that. We've just been real busy. They're making me work here, but I really like it."
"I'm hoping that you can come up here for part of the summer. I would love to see you and so would Ron."
"I'll try Mom, but we have thirty-six cows to milk twice a day and about a hundred and thirty hens that are laying a ton of eggs. You should see Bobby's goats. We have nine of them now. They're really cute. It's hard to get away."
"Well, we're busy too. I think we're going to take a nice trip this summer. We are thinking of taking a cruise somewhere. Ron is doing very well," Phyllis admitted.
It sounds like you're happy, Mom. Are you guys really happy?"
"Yes, honey, I am. Ron has been wonderful to me. I miss you though. Are you happy being on that farm? We have plenty of room for you here."
"I'm very happy here, Mom. I have a little problem though. I need to enroll for ninth grade, and Ely can't enroll me unless he has some kind of custody. I wonder what we can work out?"
"I suppose I could come down and enroll you if I need to, but not this week. We have some plans."
George blurted out without thinking, "What if Ely adopted me? He says I am his second son. That would make it simple."
Phyllis was shocked. "Adopt you? Don't you want me to be your mother anymore? I don't know what to say."
"It's not like that. You'll always be my mother. But I love it here. Ely and Bobby are so good to me, and I've learned a lot. They need me to help. I really want to stay here for a long time, at least until I graduate high school."
"Oh, George. I don't know what to say."
"Honestly, Mom. I feel like I belong here. It's like you have your life there, and I have mine here. Can you understand that?"
Phyllis was silent for what seemed like a long time. "I don't know, honey. This comes as quite a surprise. I'll have to talk to Ron about this. He understands a lot of things better than I do."
"That's a good idea, Mom. See what Ron thinks about this. You will be my mother forever. That won't ever change. But if I'm going to stay down here it would make everything a lot easier if I was legal, you know?"
The conversation began to fizzle as Phyllis wrestled with this new information. Before they said goodbye, she agreed to talk to Ron and get back to him in a few days. She was uncertain about this but said she would think about it.
George clicked off his phone and sat back to think. Probably it would have been a better idea if he had discussed the idea of adoption with Ely before he sprung this on his mother. What if Ely wasn't willing?
After supper, George helped Bobby with the dishes then tapped him on the shoulder. "I need to talk to you."
"Sure. What's up?" Bobby led them out the kitchen door to sit on the back step.
George told Bobby about the conversation with his mother. "I should have talked to you guys before I asked Mom about Ely adopting me. He might not want to do that."
"Wow. Then we would really be brothers," Bobby grinned.
"Do you think Ely would do that?"
"Why not? I bet he would."
"Do you think you could talk to him? This is kind of awkward for me."
"If that's the way you want to do this. Sure. I'll ask him what he thinks, but you should sit down and talk to him."
"Thanks. That would make it easier. If he doesn't want to adopt me, there's no point in my asking him."
Bobby nodded in agreement and stood, went back into the house, then into the living room where Ely was sitting. "Hey, Dad. I need to talk to you about something,"
Authors deserve your feedback. It's the only payment they get. If you go to the top of the page you will find the author's name. Click that and you can email the author easily.* Please take a few moments, if you liked the story, to say so.
[For those who use webmail, or whose regular email client opens when they want to use webmail instead: Please right click the author's name. A menu will open in which you can copy the email address (it goes directly to your clipboard without having the courtesy of mentioning that to you) to paste into your webmail system (Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo etc). Each browser is subtly different, each Webmail system is different, or we'd give fuller instructions here. We trust you to know how to use your own system. Note: If the email address pastes or arrives with %40 in the middle, replace that weird set of characters with an @ sign.]
* Some browsers may require a right click instead
