benches spread out around the massive mess hall-main building. The bus stopped in front of the main building and the group got out taking their first look at the camp that had finally come to fruition.
“Holy shit,” Brock
whispered.
“Wayne said all the wood they used was from the trees they cut down to build the camp, and they planted new ones for every one that was cut down.” Wyatt walked towards the main building.
Kory walked towards the building, studying the signs that were pointing in different
directions. One said ‘archery range’ and another ‘stables.’
“They have horses?”
“Yes, Stuart Macavoie is the vet here at the camp,” Sebastian answered. “He’s been here for a few weeks, just making sure the horses are adapting and getting to know the land.” Sebastian grinned as Stuart made his way out of the main building. “Hey, Stuart!”
Stuart smiled at the group of kids. “Hi, how was the trip?”
“It was fine,” Sebastian put his hand out to Stuart. The guy had been forced into being one of Pierce Barnes’ flunkies, but hadn’t gone fully rogue. It took Wayne’s blood - and bite - to cure the man. He knew something was up with Stuart and Ross Collins, one of the werewolves from the Oregon pack, but the two of them hadn’t spoken in a while. Ross had been sent to Turkey with Hayden and Noah with the Delta Force to stop a group of human traffickers.
“Well, as you can see, all the comforts of home. There is one bathroom per cabin and plenty of outdoor commodes.”
Sebastian laughed. “You mean toilets?”
“Yes, there are shower cabins that have toilets in them,” Stuart smiled at Sebastian. “It’s good to see you.”
“You too.”
The group spilt up and started setting up camp. The lake had canoes, as well as flat
bottomed boats for fishing. The men in charge had spared no expense. The kitchen was as big as a cafeteria. The cooks would be arriving in the next few days, as well as delivery trucks full of food. Will walked around the cabin he was in charge of. Twin bunk sets covered the walls. The damn cabin was a small house.
Will located his bed and dropped his bag on the floor. He walked through the cabin, noting how many kids he’d be in charge of. The camp registration had filled quickly as most of the kids from the outreach center had signed up.
Will took the path towards the lake and noticed horses running free. One was all black. Will got a little closer and stayed behind the gate of the enclosure. The stables were right near the lake and the horses bent to drink from the cold water. He’d never been a fan of horses; they scared him. He’d been thrown from one when he was ten and had never gotten back on.
“They are beautiful, aren’t they?”
Will turned to see Stuart smiling.
“Yes, how many are there in all?”
“Twenty, the kids will have to take turns riding. We have miles of paths to cover. So we’ll split the time between that, the archery range and making crafts.”
“Crafts?” Will raised a brow.
“Yes, crafts. Riley’s idea.”
Well that made sense. Riley Esposito hadn’t really had a
childhood and he took great
pleasure in reliving it now. His husband, Mateo, endured his husband’s goofy side although Will could tell the man was head over heels in love. They had been recently told that their surrogate was pregnant, and Will couldn’t wait to see how Mateo Esposito would react to a baby. He grinned just thinking about it.
“Is that an Arabian?” Will asked, looking at the black horse frolicking in the grass.
“Yes, Riley named him Apollo. He was rescued by Riley. If you look close enough, you can see he’s been abused. When he first came, he was emaciated and covered in ticks. Whoever had him before had whipped him as well,” Stuart explained.
Will’s heart ached. “That’s awful.”
Stuart nodded. “It’s been a really long road with him; he’s hard to get close to. As it is, we probably won’t use him on the trail rides.”
“I don’t ride, so I won’t have that problem,” Will smiled,
chuckling.
“Well, let’s get back to the main hall. We have work to do there as well.”
~~
Over the next three days, they made sure everything was in order, getting the refrigerators stocked and all the amenities put in order. By the time bedtime would roll around, Will fell into bed and was out before he had time to shut off the light.
The camp was coming
around and he was looking forward to seeing the kids arrive. The camp had been the one thing that had kept him going. That and his friendship with Kory Maguire. His ex
boyfriend, Gary, had been calling a lot more lately and Will had never been so happy to leave his phone and his ex behind. Gary been a little abusive. All right, a lot abusive, and when he’d told Will he’d moved on, Will had never been so happy.
Now he knew he may not have gotten out from under Gary’s thumb. The guy was coming around his work and causing problems. He’d had to talk to Caden Fournier, his employer, about it for fear of getting fired. Caden had assured him his job would always be there, and if he needed anything, to call anytime night or day.
Will stretched in bed and stepped onto the cabin’s cold wood floor. The sun had risen and was warming the earth below. He took a quick shower and stepped out to look in the mirror. His short brown hair was wet and dripping down his cheeks and brown eyes looked back. Will sighed at his reflection.
“Someday, I’ll have a normal life.”
“Wakey, wakey!”
Will grinned to himself in the mirror and cracked the bathroom door open. Kory was walking around the cabin.
“I’m up, freak.”
“Good! Breakfast awaits and the head honchos are coming today.”
“Riley’s coming?” Will smiled.
“Do you have a crush?” Kory tilted his head. “You know Mateo will rip your eyeballs out.”
“No! Sheesh…Riley’s fun, that’s all.”
“Well hurry up! I’m hungry.”
By the time they headed out towards the main house, most of the guys were up and dragging ass with them. They had a little over a week to get the camp up and running. It was a test, of sorts. A kind of ‘put your money where your mouth is.’
Will knew he wanted to work with teens; after what he’d been through in middle and high school, he wanted to be there for bullied kids. It had taken a bit for him to get closer to Kory, as Kory had been one of those kids who didn’t like gays at first. Now he knew Kory wasn’t like that anymore. The chow hall was ridiculous. More log picnic benches spread over the massive dining hall and a long row of food covered one wall.
“Damn, it’s like a buffet,” Kory laughed, admiring the long rows of food.
“Yeah?” Wyatt grabbed a plate, heaping scrambled eggs onto it. “Then chow down.”
Talk flowed around the table as they settled in for breakfast. Lance Walker had arrived the night before and had taken a tour with Wyatt. Will thought having straight guys at the camp had been a strange idea, but then having straight guys who accepted gays was a plus. It showed the kids who were coming that not all straight people thought the same way. The fact that they were football players made it even better. God knew he’d been
tortured by the football team in high school. Will was brought out of his thoughts by Kory’s elbow in his side.
“Riley has arrived,” Kory whispered.
“Will you knock it off?” Will laughed, shoving Kory over.
A loud squeal reverberated around the chow hall and Will turned on the bench to see two little boys running toward them.
“Uncle Wyatt!” one of them screamed.
“Hey, little man!” Wyatt stood up as Gage plowed into him, almost knocking him over. “How are you doing, kiddo?”
“I misthed you!” Gage
hugged Wyatt hard.
Wyatt smiled as Etha
n made his way over more slowly. Ethan had formed a tight bond with Tristan Miles of the California pack. Wyatt was pretty sure Tristan and Scott would be adopting Ethan. Tristan was a completely different man with the little boy. When Wayne had found the two boys in the mines of Arizona, he’d been afraid Pierce Barnes had bitten them, turning them rogue. After testing, the two boys were found to be just fine, although Pierce had killed their parents. Wayne had taken them in, and now the boys thrived under the tutelage of Wayne and Conner.
“Ethan,” Wyatt nodded his head and kept a serious face. Ethan cracked a grin and Wyatt put his free arm out. “Come give me a hug.”
“Okay,” Ethan groused.
Wyatt snickered at the grin on Ethan’s face. “Faker.” Wyatt hugged the little boy close.
“Hi, Uncle Bastian!” Ethan put his hand out and Sebastian shook it.
“Little dude,” Sebastian winked.
“Good morning campers!” Riley eyed all the guys eating breakfast. “How are your
accommodations?”
“Seriously?” Sebastian laughed. “I feel like I’m at a resort!”
“Good,” Caden rubbed his palms together. “I want these children to feel spoiled.” “Well, you’ve accomplished that,” Wyatt grinned. “Morning, Uncles.” Since he had met nearly all of these men through his three brothers, Wyatt just called them all “uncle.”
Wayne kissed the top of Wyatt’s head. “Morning. How is everything? Running smoothly?”
“So far so good,” Sebastian nodded, taking a bite of his toast.
“Good. Riley, Caden and I will take a look around and make sure the construction team did their jobs well.”
“Yes, and I want to see Apollo,” Riley grinned.
“I saw him this morning,” Will said. “He’s beautiful.”
“Would you like to visit with him? Up close and personal I mean?” Riley grabbed a piece of toast off of Wyatt’s plate. Chewing thoughtfully, Riley regarded Will. “It would be good for him to be around other people.”
“I wanna see ’pollo!” Gage giggled.
“Oh, I don’t know…” Will started.
“Nonsense! Come on!” Caden pulled Will up, dragging him to the door.
Kory laughed as Will’s bewildered face went out the door with Caden and Riley tagged along with Ethan and Gage.
“Well, now,” Wayne eyed the men at the table. “Who’s giving me a tour?”
Kory wiped his mouth off and stood with his plate. “I will.”
“I’ll go, too.” Colin grabbed his own plate.
“Good, let’s go.”
~~
Will couldn’t have fought Caden Fournier if he tried. The man had one goal in mind and Will was going along for the ride. The stables were beautiful - built with logs and with horseshoes hung above the door. Inside, the horses each had their own stall with plenty of room to walk around in it. The two boys, Gage and Ethan, were running around in the pasture with the horses.
“We fenced in acres,” Riley said, running his hand over the nose of one of the horses. “They can run for miles.”
“And they still come back?” Will asked in amazement.
“Well, yes,” Riley turned with sadness in his eyes. “All of these horses have come from abused owners. They were placed in a shelter until someone came along to help them. It’s hard work to gain their trust, but we have had them for almost a year.”
Riley left out the fact that not only had Wayne worked with the horses, but Conner and Aidan had, too. The ability to speak with other animals made assuring the horses they would be very well taken care of much easier. Besides, Seth Ralston had been working with them as well, explaining to them that children would be around them.
Will looked down at the last stall and saw it open. Apollo, the large black Arabian was
wandering the stables. “Does he just… roam?”
Riley grinned at the stallion. “He’s a force of nature. His first owner hadn’t realized how
stubborn Arabians could be. He tried whipping Apollo at first, and then when that didn’t work he withheld food. When Apollo still wouldn’t take to a saddle, the man put him out to pasture, so to
speak.”
Will sidled closer to Riley, as the stallion started making his way closer to them. His heart pounded against his rib cage as the animal came to a stop right in front of him. Will stood stock still as the stallion sniffed him out. A puff of warm air blew his hair up as the stallion rubbed his nose through Will’s hair.
“He seems to like you,” Caden smiled, watching Apollo sniff out William Cooper.
“I…I see that…”
Riley eyed Will. “He won’t hurt you.”
“I was…I was thrown off a horse when I was younger. I haven’t gotten back on since.”
“Oh, well, one of our men is very good friends with Apollo. Maybe he can help you overcome your fear?” Caden called to Riley. “Has Seth arrived yet?”
“I’m not sure.” Riley looked at his watch. “I know he spent a few nights in Spokane, but he should be on his way.”
“Seth?” Will asked
curiously.
“Oh, he’s one of the selfdefense instructors,” Riley
provided.
Will choked in surprise. “The Navy SEAL guy?”
“Why, yes,” Caden said in amusement. “He is very good with animals.” Caden contained a chuckle, as Apollo almost bowled Will over smelling him. The horse had taken a liking to Will. Caden raised his eyes to Apollo and asked a mental question about Will. Apollo tilted his head, huffing quietly. “Well,” Caden adjusted his jacket. “We should finish breakfast? We did not let you finish eating, William.”
“Oh, okay,” Will smiled at Caden and Riley. “I’ll see you there?”
“Yes, we shall join you soon.” Caden watched as the younger man headed back towards the mess hall.
As soon as William was far enough away, Riley raised an eyebrow at Caden. “What was that about?”
“Apollo seems to think William is lost somehow. He has been hurt as well.”
Riley turned to Apollo. “Is that right, big guy? Maybe you can heal him, huh?”
“We have hundreds of
children who need healing, Riley. We will take as many as we can and help as often and as much as possible.”
Riley looked over the cabins. Hundreds of kids would be
coming. All of them hurt, angry and alone. It would take more than a few months to heal all of them, if any of them.
“We’ll do our best,” Riley turned to Caden with a look of determination. “And we’ll keep doing it.”
Caden walked out of the stables and whistled to Ethan and Gage. “Come on boys! It is time to eat!”
Riley laughed as Ethan and Gage raced back to the stables, both pushing the other one out of the way to get there first.
“I believe Gage has taken a liking to Wyatt,” Riley grinned as the boys jumped over the fence in one leap. Their werewolf abilities were manifesting faster.
“Yes, and Wyatt and Preston have fallen in love with him.”
“They will have families,” Riley sighed happily.
Caden chuckled. “If Tristan Miles gets his way, he will have Ethan.”
“I don’t think Ethan will complain.”
“No, I would think not,” Caden grinned.
“Food?” Gage came to a sliding stop in front of Riley.
“Yup, let’s go munchkin.”
~~
Most of the day was spent getting the cabins ready. Sleeping bags were rolled out and pillows propped. The only thing the
campers had to bring was clothing, and even then, the men had
provided clothing for the kids at camp if they needed them. Kory walked through the aisles and aisles of clothing. Jeans, shirts, sweaters, shoes, socks and it went on and on. Kory grabbed a few more pillows and set out to his cabin. The rest of the guys were throwing the football around and he smiled at Lance Walker. The guy was straight, but cute.
Kory shook his head; only one man made his heart race.
Dropping the pillows off in his cabin, Kory continued on to the archery range. He went about setting up the hay bales and
attaching targets to them. Kory stood with the bow in his hand and eyed the furthest target. Pulling back the string, he took a deep breath then released. The arrow struck the target right below the bull’s eye. Kory smiled. Loud clapping startled him and he turned quickly. Kory rubbed his eyes, wondering if he was seeing things.
“Well, that’s a good hit,” Jacob grinned, crossing his arms over his chest. Kory Maguire was still drop-dead gorgeous. Although, for some reason his hair was orange. Jacob had missed him.
“Jacob?” Kory tested the name on his lips.
“So you do remember me,” Jacob smiled, motioning to the target. “Have you been
practicing?”
“So you are the self- defense teacher?”
Jacob nodded, making his way closer to his mate. God, he’d missed him. “Yes, Seth and I. Are you planning on taking the course?”
Kory hadn’t thought about it, but he was thinking about it now. Jacob Steele hadn’t changed one iota. He was still beautiful. The graphite-grey eyes were smiling at him in amusement. Kory realized he was nodding his head, and his mouth hung open. Closing his mouth, Kory raised his eyes to Jacob’s.
“Yes, I guess so.” Kory tilted his head. “Where have you been? I haven’t seen you at Cuffs and Stuff.”
“Were you looking for me?” Jacob stepped closer. Kory didn’t step back.
Kory’s cheeks heated. “Maybe,” Kory looked at Jacob shyly. “What if I was?”
“I would have asked you to dance.” Jacob took another
tentative step forward; again, Kory didn’t step back. “Would you have accepted?”
Kory looked up at the
imposing man in front of him. Jacob Steele had to be over six foot two at least. His chest was massive, the pectoral muscles tensing as he waited for Kory’s answer.
“I would have said yes,” Kory finally said. Jacob’s lips lifted in a smile.
“Yeah?”
Kory nodded. Being this close to Jacob was making his hands tingle and his dick throb. His erection was rising in his jeans and Kory tried hiding his rising desire. Lord, what was wrong with him? He found Jacob attractive, that was a given; but kissing a man? Kory tilted his head looking at Jacob’s lips. They looked soft and inviting. A smattering of stubble covered Jacob’s chin. Kory wanted to reach out and touch it, see if it was coarse or smooth on his hands.
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