There are scenes of unprotected sex depicted in this story. In all cases it was between the main characters, who are in a committed, monogamous relationships and were tested. If you aren't in the same kind of relationship, then you should always protect yourself and wear a condom.
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Darrin shaded his eyes with his hand, wondering who was creating the boiling dust cloud he could see coming down the road. As it slowed to turn into the ranch, he could see the familiar insignia of the county sheriff.
"Hey Mitch, Jim is coming."
Mitch leaned the pitchfork against the stall he was cleaning and walked out into the sun, enjoying the warmth of the Indian summer day. He pulled off the worn leather gloves and shoved them into his back pocket. "Wonder why he's coming for a visit..."
Neither of them could be sure whether this was a pleasant visit, or one that would send their again peaceful world into upheaval. The sheriff had brought both Josh and Trent to the ranch, but now the two were married, well as married as two men could be in Oklahoma. He and Mitch had been enjoying the drama free weeks since the pair had returned from Alaska. They walked over as the car rolled to a stop.
"Hey Jim. Nice day to be out."
Jim White Cloud pulled off his grey cowboy hat and ran his fingers through his iron and steel colored hair. He slid the hat on and cocked it to the back and smiled at the pair.
"Don't worry. I'm not here on official business. Well, not official county business anyway."
Mitch lifted his eyebrows. "Oh?"
"You know how gossip spreads around here. Nanna heard about the boys Haida wedding. It didn't set to well for some northwestern tribes to be stealing 'her' Two-Spirits."
Mitch started chuckling. "Well have her ream those two then. Darrin would probably help." The scowl Darrin shot his direction only increased the volume of his laughter.
Jim grinned at Mitch and slowed his laughter. "Oh, she's going to talk to them too. But since you two are members of the tribe, she wanted you to have a traditional wedding."
Mitch glanced at Darrin and lifted his eyebrows, looking back to the sheriff. "Traditional wedding?"
"Yes, we are a sovereign nation. I'm not exactly sure what that means to the state government, but it means quite a bit to us." He paused and grinned at the pair. "Don't worry. You'll have a good time."
Mitch nodded weakly, conflicting emotions swirling inside him. Sheriff White Cloud walked back to his car, chuckling as he went. Once he was inside, he rolled down the window, and with a huge grin across his face asked, "By the way, how do you boys like breechcloths and leggings?"
Mitch snapped his head toward Darrin and the two locked panicked eyes while the sheriff drove off roaring with laughter.
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Josh slowly walked to the porch of the low-slung white house. The grass giving a typical late summer crunch of dormancy under each footstep as they walked closer to the figures sitting quietly on the porch. As they entered the shade, Josh was relieved to have entered the tiny oasis typical of every country home on the Great Plains. He looked back to see Trent lagging behind, looking like a truant school boy being taken to the principals office. Josh understood the feeling, he hadn't been able to shake the fear that they were in trouble since Sheriff White Cloud had told them his grandmother wanted to talk with them.
Trent had been fine, until Josh had explained she was a Kiowa elder, and kind of spooky perceptive about stuff. But even if they weren't both a little afraid of her, which they were, they would have still came to see her just because the sheriff had asked. Josh looked back and motioned Trent forward.
"Come on," Josh said under his breath, "They're waiting."
Trent nodded in acknowledgement, but if anything slowed his pace. After a few more steps, Josh circled back, grabbed his arm and pulled him to the porch.
"Hello, youngsters. Come. Sit." Josh lifted his head to see the smiling face of Nanna White Cloud. He admired and respected this woman, and she was always so kind and supportive. It was impossible to not enjoy talking with her. It was like visiting the repository of ancient knowledge about how a people could live in this god-forsaken region of the country without drying up and blowing away. In fact, the tribe seemed to be grounded in the bedrock of the region and could face almost anything and survive. They had been some of the first people to show up after the tornado hit the ranch headquarters. The couple stepped onto the porch and was greeted by the dull thud of a boot on hollow wood as the three people on the porch rearranged the chairs and pulled two more over for the guys.
"Hello, Mrs. White Cloud. Looks like it's gonna be a hot one." Josh tipped his cap onto the back of his head and smiled as he looked at the other people.
"Hello, Joshua. I believe you're right. Going to be pretty hot. An Oklahoma scorcher." Nanna smile at both men and then motioned to the other two people with her. "This is Jim Horse Thief and Emma Carson. They're friends of mine, us old folks like to sit and chew the fat ya know."
Josh and Trent nodded, their apprehension built with each tick of the clock. "Please, boys. Have a seat. We just wanted to talk."
They moved slowly, looking like scared fawns that were ready to scramble for cover at the first sign of a threat. They settled into the padded chairs and then took the drinks Nanna offered. Trent took a drink from his glass and smiled at the refreshing chill of iced tea down his throat. Settling his glass on his knee, he focused on the three older people.
"Well, how have you boys been doing?" Nanna took a sip of her tea.
Trent exchanged a glance with Josh. "Good, Ma'am. Keeping busy."
"Yes, young people need something to use up all that energy that's wasted on them." Nanna wiped her forehead with a cloth she had been fanning herself with. "I hear you boys been up to Alaska."
"Yes, Ma'am. We went up to see my father's people."
"Haida? Right?"
"Yes..." Trent's internal warning lights flashed impending disaster signals, but he couldn't figure out how to avoid the plunge off the cliff. "We had a nice visit."
"We hear you got married, traditional Haida ceremony." This time the other two elders leaned forward for Trent's response.
"Yes, best as they could figure out. No one remembers ever having a two-spirit wedding before." Trent broke into a grin. "Josh got the girls part."
Josh shot Trent a stern look and his face colored deep red. All three of the elders chuckled and bobbed their heads. "Yes, the Kiowa have wedding traditions too." A mischievous glint came to Nanna eyes. "We steal our wives."
Trent and Josh exchanged glances while the three chuckled over some inside joke. After a few minutes where the air filled with sophomoric laughter, Trent cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, Ma'am. But I don't think we understand what you mean."
"Please, youngster, call me Nanna. Everyone else does. And I think we've had enough fun at your expense, so we should explain."
"Yes, ma'am...Nanna." Trent got a nod and a smile. "We are a little confused."
"Well, you know two-spirits mark good things for the tribe. Until Darrin and Mitch moved in, we hadn't had anyone in a long time." She glanced at her other guests. "At least not brave enough to tell anyone. Certainly not a couple." She beamed at Josh and Trent. "But now we have two couples. Unbelievably good for the tribe. But one of them snuck off and got married under another tribes traditions..."
Trent's lips formed an O as he took in the information. "So you want us to do a traditional Kiowa wedding? You want me to—steal—Josh?" Trent couldn't suppress the chortle that came out. He turned to Josh with his lips pressed hard against each other.
"How do you feel about being stolen?"
Emma chimed in, "Or buy him with horses. That'd work too."
Laughter spewed from Trent. Josh's lips were twisted up like a baler had gotten to them.
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Trent lifted the dress pants from the rack and let them fall back in place. He turned to look at Josh and the corner of his mouth quirked.
"You really aren't thinking this is what we are going to wear for the wedding. Somehow I don't see us wearing a three-piece suit to the wedding where you get stolen."
Josh took a deep breath and let it out. "Yeah, I know. I just don't want to look stupid. I think that'd embarrass Darrin, and he's been kinda pissy ever since we got back from Alaska."
Trent chuckled. "Yeah, I finally asked Mitch what was up. He said not to worry about it. Said they had some stuff in the works that would fix everything." He shrugged and started flipping through the shirts. "And no, he didn't tell me what. Just that they had some stuff going down that would fix it."
Josh had the sensation of someone watching them. When he turned, he saw a big guy going through jackets a few rows over, but nothing else. Turning back to Trent he nodded. "Ok, then I'll try not to worry about it. I guess we can go look for some new Wranglers and some dressier shirts."
"The western store is just down the street. Let's go see what they have."
Josh followed Trent to the door and into the warm early autumn sunshine. They covered the distance when Josh felt prickles along his spine. "Hey, is there a guy following us? Big redheaded guy with a John Deere cap?"
Trent looked over his shoulder to the largely vacant sidewalk. "Nah, I don't see anything. Just a couple a blue-hairs shopping."
Josh tried to relax, but kept feeling like they were being followed. He stopped to look in the window they passed, and had to agree with Trent, he didn't see the guy again. He relaxed measurably. Josh followed Trent into the western store and lost themselves in trying to decide on the perfect clothing for them to wear to the wedding. They'd finished up and were standing on the sidewalk when Trent got a grin on his face when he spotted a coffee shop. He turned and grinned at Josh. "I want a chai tea."
Josh's face screwed into a scowl. "Ick! I don't see what you get out of that." He let out a low chuckle. "But while you're there, I wouldn't mind a latte."
"Yeah, make fun of my tea, country boy." Trent chuckled and bumped against his husband. "No problem, weanie. I'll get your latte."
"Meet ya back at the truck." Josh smiled as Trent headed to the coffee shop. Josh turned to take their purchases to the pickup. He arrived to find a huge dually pickup parked so close he could just get the door open. Dumbass! Parking so close.
"Hey."
Josh spun to find a huge guy standing at the other end of the pickup, blocking him in and too close for Josh to close the door and escape the other direction. All the pieces flowed together as he recognized the hulking presence he'd been feeling all day. I thought we were safe. I thought it wouldn't come to this. But this guy looks crazy.
