A Muddy Surprise at The Farm

Preface:

Fair warning: this short story is quite long by UMD standards and it is not something everyone will have the patience to read since the entire story is in a single post. It has an actual plot line, character development and a lot of descriptive paragraphs to paint mental pictures of the places in the story. Of course there is muddy action but it is not wall-to-wall.

Oh yeah, one friend of mine called it "a sappy love story." I call it a story with a happy ending to wrap up what has been a tough year for all of us. So if this is not your style, please skip over this one rather than giving it a low rating. I promise to post stories with more action density in 2021.

1 - It all started so innocently

Each year I get a week off from work to attend continuing education classes but I was having trouble finding one that looked worthwhile. Just as I was about to give up, a coworker showed me a listing for a class at the nearby state university that looked perfect. Unfortunately he found it a week before it started and all of the decent motels in town were already booked solid since it was tourist season.

So I expanded my search and found a rather unique sounding opportunity at a place called "The Farm" near campus that specialized in farm-to-table produce for local restaurants. It was a bed, breakfast and dinner package but you also were expected to pitch in to help and learn about their operation for a few hours during your stay as part of the experience. I guess it was a dude farm, instead of a dude ranch.

They were starting their summer guest program a week after I needed accommodations but I decided to call anyway. Mary, the owner, asked what useful skills I had. I mentioned that I could do electrical work and she said that I could come early then since they needed some help installing lights in the new barn and I would be the only guest. We arranged for me to arrive on the Sunday before my class started.

The drive up to Fort Collins from Denver was pleasant since it was sunny and hot. The farm looked quite nice from the road so as I headed in the driveway I had a good feeling about my choice. My knock on the farmhouse screen door was answered by Mary, the woman with whom I had spoken on the phone.

She showed me to an addition to the farm house where there was an expanded family room, a big kitchen and three guest rooms, each with private bath. Once I got settled in my room I went back out to the kitchen where Mary was preparing some food for dinner later that day.

"Why don't you go out to the barn and help my son Kevin with his electrical work."

She pointed the way out the back door to the barn and I headed across the driveway to a large new pole barn. I was wearing some well-worn Levis 501s with a nice fade in the crotch area, a Wrangler blue chambray western shirt, a ratty old baseball cap and my favorite black 12" Red Wing lace-up work boots with Vibram soles since I knew I would be helping out when I wasn't attending classes.

"Hi, you must be Mike. I'm Kevin," said the very handsome 30-something muscled and bearded guy as he saw me approach. His handshake was firm and lasted just a bit longer than I was expecting. He was also wearing 501s that fit nicely in all the right places, t-shirt, cowboy boots and a baseball cap.

"How can I help? Your mom said that you were wrapping up some electrical work and I have a lot of experience with that."

Kevin was installing lights in the new barn so I helped him with the mounting and wiring of the fixtures. I must admit that working with Kevin was quite pleasant and he seemed to make body contact more than one would expect when working with a stranger. I was not complaining.

With two of us working it only took a few hours to finish the installation. Kevin saw me eyeing an ATV parked in a corner of the barn.

"You know how to ride a 4-wheeler?"

"I've done it a few times but I'm no expert."

"Well we can go tour the farm and then if you're up for it we can go ride down by the creek."

He got on the ATV and motioned me to get on behind him. It was a bit cozy but he did not seem to mind my body pressing against him as we rode over to a big greenhouse. After a tour of the greenhouse, where all of the herbs and more delicate plants were grown, we headed out along the edge of the fields where the larger vegetables were grown.

Some of the access lanes alongside the fields had puddles and Kevin was not shy about riding through them at a fairly fast speed, splashing water and mud up on us. And at one point he wanted me to see where he was growing his prize pumpkins and we had to walk through some fairly deep mud to get there. I did not flinch as our boots and the bottom of our Levis got quite muddy.

When we got back to the ATV he asked me if I wanted to have some fun riding the trail down by the creek.

"That sounds great!" was my enthusiastic response.

He grabbed a couple of helmets that were in the utility box behind the seat and handed one to me.

"It's a bit rough in places so I like to have head protection."

I put mine on and then noticed there weren't any grab bars for the passenger so I asked, "What do I hold onto when it gets rough?"

With a grin he replied, "You can hold on to me, I don't bite."

OK, I'll admit that with an invitation like that I started sporting a boner when I sat on the seat behind him and put my arms on his waist. It was a gentle hold until we started hitting the rough patches that he promised and then my chest was fully pressed against his back and I was holding on tight.

We rode through several big puddles, sending sheets of water up from the tires, some of which dropped back down on us. It was a rather hot day and I enjoyed the spray. Clearly Kevin was enjoying it too, letting out a "Yee-Haw" at one point when we blew through a really deep one.

We got to a place where there was a picturesque old dam across the creek and Kevin stopped the ATV so we could get out and look around. He showed me the headgate behind the dam where their irrigation water was diverted into a canal that watered the farm fields.

"You doing OK? Kevin asked?

"You bet. That spray felt good on this hot day."

"That's good, because there's lots more up ahead. You want to drive?"

"Well, if you trust an amateur driver, sure."

So I got on in the front and Kevin hopped on behind me. Once again he was not shy about body contact and it felt good to have him pressed against me, holding on tight. I started slowly but soon we were zipping along, with the occasional splash from standing water on the trail. I was feeling totally in control so when I saw a large puddle ahead I slowed down but did not stop.

We got about 15 feet into the puddle and it was quickly getting deeper and muddier. Soon we came to a complete stop. The shallow layer of water on top was covering a deep mud hole. I spun the wheels once but all that did was to create a roost of mud that fell back down on us.

"Ummm, I think we're stuck."

"Yeah Captain Obvious, it sure looks that way," was Kevin's response. I turned around and even with the helmet on I could see that he was sporting a big grin.

"I think you knew that was going to happen."

"Maybe."

"I only saw the back wheels spin. Does this thing have four-wheel drive?"

"Yes."

"I probably should have engaged it before hitting that puddle."

"Yup."

Kevin got off the four wheeler and ended up standing in eighteen inches of liquid mud. He walked around and showed me where the 4WD control was and then flipped it on.

"Start it up again, you feather it and I'll push so the tires can get a grip and we'll be out of this hole in no time."

Kevin got behind the ATV ready to push, I restarted the engine and despite my best attempt to "feather it" I managed to spin all of the wheels, totally covering Kevin with a blast of mud.

I turned around and despite what had happened, Kevin was still grinning.

"I think you just got even with me!"

"Yup."

I had a handkerchief in my pocket that was still fairly dry so I got off the ATV and offered it to Kevin to wipe the mud off of his face. He took off his helmet and wiped his eyes and mouth.

"So how many of your guests do you bring down here for a mud spa?"

"Only the ones that look like they would enjoy it."

"Oh so the muddy pumpkin patch walk was my test?"

"Yes, and you passed with flying colors."

"Ha, I knew it was a test so I decided to ace it!" We grinned at each other.

I took off my helmet, placed it on the utility box and, much to Kevin's surprise, tackled him down into the mud. We wrestled around, getting that slick clay mud everywhere.

"If we keep this up I'm going to shoot into my Levis."

"Me too."

I mounted him, ground my crotch into his and in no time we were both letting out moans of ecstasy as we pumped big loads of cum into our 501s.

As we lay there in the slop enjoying the post-ejaculation serenity I felt Kevin's hand behind my head. He pulled my face close to his and we kissed. Damn, that felt so good. We locked lips with eyes closed for what seemed like eternity but it was just for a minute.

Eventually we opened our eyes; Kevin looked at me and said, "That was amazing."

"I was about to say the same thing."

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you?

"What do you mean?"

"Well when you made the reservation, mom said you were attending some class at the University so I figured you for an airy academic. Then you came out to the barn in those sexy work clothes and actually knew something about electrical wiring. When I tricked you into getting stuck in this mud hole you not only were a good sport about it you gave me as good as you got and better!"

"What can I say, show me a mud hole and I'm a big kid again."

"I have always enjoyed getting wet and muddy in my clothes and my mom got used to it as I rode my dirt bike and then an ATV growing up."

"Yeah, but I'll be she has never had a B&B guest into it!"

We both laughed and then hugged each other really tight, rubbing our muddy booted legs against each other in the slop. Kevin wiped the mud off of his watch to check the time.

"Bad news, we have to start cleaning up so we can get back to the house before dinner time."

"So what's the plan?"

"There's a winch on the ATV. It will get us out of the hole and we can ride it down to a rocky spot in the creek to wash it and ourselves before heading back on another road across the farm."

So we hooked the winch cable to a tree strap around a nearby tree and in no time the muddy vehicle was out of the slop. Kevin drove to the rocky creek crossing and parked in about 12 inches of water. We cleaned our muddy helmets and used them as buckets to shower water over the ATV. Along with a lot of splashing of the four wheeler and ourselves we soon had it fairly clean.

Then Kevin grabbed my hand and led me to a deep spot upstream where we both dove into the water to clean up. We stripped our shirts, boots and socks, rinsed them off and then laid them out on the warm rocks to dry.

We sat in the sun with our wet jeans still on, still feeling a bit modest. Kevin had a beautiful furry body and, from the bulge I could see in the crotch of his wet Levis, a nice size cock. By the time we got up, our clothes were semi-dry and we got dressed. Before getting on the ATV we hugged and kissed. Needless to say we both got hard again while pressing our bodies together.

When we got back to the barn I expressed concern about wearing our damp clothes into the house. Kevin said he had a change of clothes in the barn and told me how to get to the back door of the guest room hallway without being seen by his family.

It really did feel like I was sneaking around doing something illicit but I successfully got back to my room, took a quick shower and changed into some shorts and a t-shirt for dinner. When I walked into the family room, Mary was putting the food in the oven.

"Did you get the electrical project done in the barn? She asked.

"Yes, we finished it and now all of the new lights work as planned."

"And did you see the greenhouse and fields?"

"Yes, Kevin took me out on the ATV to see everything."

At that point Kevin's sister Sarah and brother-in-law Tom came in from their work in the packing building so I was saved from any more questions. After introductions they said they were going to get a quick shower before dinner and would be back shortly.

Then Kevin came in, dressed in a clean pair of Levis cutoffs and a denim western shirt. He helped his mom with the final dinner preparations while I got to work setting the table. Conversation over dinner was mainly about how the farm-to-table operation worked and the history of the farm. They wanted to know more about my work and my program at the University so I spent a few minutes giving them the Cliff's Notes version of my current activities.

Kevin kept looking across the table at me, often with a big grin. His mom seemed to take notice of it but said nothing.

I helped with the cleanup and then Mary said, "Why don't you boys go take the dogs out for a walk since they've been cooped up in the kennel. The rest of us will work on the orders and invoices in the office."

Kevin offered to help but Mary insisted that I should not be abandoned on the first night of my visit. So we got the two madly wagging Golden Retrievers from the kennel and went for a long walk.

"I think your mom suspects something."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, you were grinning a lot at me during dinner and I saw her notice that."

"She is perceptive. And very open minded."

"Are you out to your family?"

"It's kind of understood but never talked about openly. Ever since dad passed away things have been much more challenging for all of us. Sarah got married just before dad died and Tom was already helping out around here while they were dating so it seemed natural for him to quit his job and work here full time. But I worry that if I leave here to lead my own life it might mean the end of the farm."

"That a big burden to carry. So have you dated anyone?"

"I was seeing a guy in town for a year. He wanted me to move in with him but I wasn't ready for that. Plus, and this will amuse you to no end, he didn't like getting dirty."

I decided to not ask what they had in common since I've had my own relationships with guys who did not share my mud fetish and understood that sometimes there are other attractions that make a relationship work.

"I've been down that road myself. But it sure would be nice to have it all in a relationship."

The dogs were having a great time chasing rabbits and we continued walking in silence for a while.

"Mike, I had a great time with you today. I hope we can have some more fun out there before you go back to Denver."

"I'd like that too. I have one day with class ending early in the afternoon so if that works with your schedule we could figure out how to make it happen."

When we got back to the house, Mary, Tom and Sarah were watching TV in the family room.

"Are you OK with the dogs in the house?" Mary asked me.

"Oh yes, I love dogs. I've had several over the years and really miss having one."

They were well-behaved and after long drinks of water they settled down in their beds. Kevin and I watched the end of the movie with them and then it was time to retire for the night.

Mary asked, "What time do you have to be at class in the morning?"

"8 AM all week."

"Okay, breakfast will be on the table at 6:45. It's only a short drive to the university so that should give you plenty of time to get there."

As we headed off in separate directions I looked over and saw Kevin give me a wink.

2 - Things get more serious

The first two days of class were really busy and I did not leave campus until 5 PM. Then I had homework to do after dinner. But on Wednesday morning we were scheduled to have class at a lab and that session would end at 1 PM. I told Kevin about it and he arranged his work schedule with his sister so we could spend some time together that afternoon.

Even though the lab visit was interesting, I couldn't wait for it to be over so I could get back to the farm. When I got back I changed into my now dry and clean gear that I had worn on Sunday. Kevin had washed my clothes and put them back in my room, along with my boots, which were now dry.

The rest of the family was working in the packing house and office so I went over to the barn. The dogs followed me but there was no Kevin. So I played ball with the dogs for a while.

And then I heard a voice say, "Looking for someone?"

Kevin appeared in the doorway looking like he had been working out in the fields all day, which is exactly what he had been doing. He was sweaty and dirty and looked magnificent.

"Hope you like some b/o!" was his cheerful greeting as he entered the barn.

"Manly pheromones drive me nuts. Is anyone else around?"

"No they're all back in the office."

I walked up to Kevin, made a point of sniffing his pits, moaned and gave him a big hug and kiss. We both got boners as we pressed our crotches together.

"I can't wait to get wet and muddy again after working in the hot sun all day."

We had to put the dogs back in the kennel so they didn't follow us and then got on the ATV for another adventure. This time we stopped before the mud pit, Kevin put the ATV in 4WD and we blasted through it, the spinning wheels creating huge roosts of mud flying high in the air and then falling back down on us and soaking us with warm mud.

"Yeeee-hawww!!!" I was learning that this was Kevin's favorite exclamation when he blasted through water and mud holes with the four-wheeler.

I was fully expecting us to get stuck again and have some man-to-man fun in the pit but Kevin continued on. Then I saw why he kept going. Further down the road was a wide spot with a huge swampy area. There were multiple paths through it and they looked recently churned up. Kevin stopped at the edge so I could take in the magnitude of the slop ahead of us.

"So did you come down here to play by yourself yesterday?"

"What do you think?"

"I think you were a horndog like I was, but unlike me you had a way to get relief in our favorite way."

"Yup."

"Dayum."

"Let's roll!"

With that Kevin hit the gas and we went flying into the swamp. We actually got farther into it than I was predicting. But eventually all four wheels spun, we made no forward progress and mud was flying everywhere.

"Now what?" I asked.

"Get off."

I got off the seat and ended up standing in some really deep mud. Kevin got up and just as I thought he was going to get the winch cable he tackled me into the slop. We still had our helmets on so there was a bit of clunking as our heads came into contact.

Once again we wrestled, this time really going at it since we knew it was what we both craved. Mud was stuffed down inside butts and crotches and inside shirts. Finally we could take the friction no longer without consequence so this time Kevin mounted me and ground his crotch into mine.

The inevitable explosion of cum felt even better this time and we laid there, staring at each other through the openings in the front of our helmets.

Kevin got up first and offered his hand to me to stand up. After I got up he took off my helmet and his, put them on the ATV and gave me a big kiss. We fell back into the mud and enjoyed a long embrace, kissing and then just enjoying the body contact over and over. The mud was so warm and enveloping it felt like a womb.

All too soon it was time to get unstuck and clean up for dinner so once again the winch cable came out to get the ATV out of the swamp. Unfortunately it was 4 feet too short to connect to the nearest sizeable tree so this time I pushed and Kevin worked the throttle to inch forward those extra few feet.

I had put my helmet back on but needless to say I was thoroughly coated with muck slung up from the rear tires, including inside my helmet. Kevin had given me some goggles to protect my eyes and I had to wipe them multiple times so I could somewhat see what I was doing and how much progress we were making.

After 15 minutes of work we got close enough to the tree for the winch cable to reach and got the ATV back on relatively dry ground. Kevin steered us onto a bypass trail that skirted the swampy area and we went back to the rocky place in the creek where we cleaned up the previous Sunday.

It seemed like an old familiar routine as we cleaned the ATV, swam in the deep hole, rinsed our clothes, and got ready to return. But we had a few more moments to linger in the sun, lying naked next to each other this time. It was a nice sign of our new level of comfort with each other.

When we got back to the barn Kevin showed me an outdoor shower. There was a privacy screen around it and he explained that it was where the farm workers cleaned up after working in the fields if they were really dirty. Or at least that is what he told his mom it was for when he built it.

We cleaned up, first in our gear and then naked, enjoying soaping each other all over. Kevin had towels there and I had the foresight to bring a change of clothes from my room so I was presentable for dinner. He also had an old Maytag washer and dryer out there so we put our clothes in the washer.

By the time we walked into the house, we were both squeaky clean. Dinner was uneventful and since I had homework again I bid everyone goodnight and retired to the desk in my room to work on my laptop.

The family went to bed each night after the 10 PM TV newscast so I was a bit surprised to hear a knock on my door at 10:45. I was just wearing some shorts when I opened the door to find Kevin standing there with a big smile on his face.

"Would you like some company tonight?"

I pulled him in and closed the door. "Is this going to create a problem with your family?"

"If you'll let me stay I'll set the alarm so I can go back to my room before they get up."

Well of course I wanted him to stay so we got naked and hopped into bed together. Kevin is slightly shorter than I am so with me in the back and Kevin in the front, the spooning worked out perfectly. We didn't have any sex since we had exhausted ourselves that afternoon but I didn't get as much sleep as I needed since we were constantly moving around to experience every variation of body contact, kissing with each change of position.

All too soon the alarm went off and after putting his jeans and t-shirt back on he kissed me and left. I thought all had gone well until I heard the dogs bark. Hmmm, was our cover blown?

Thursday and Friday were long class days so the only time we had together were the dog walks after dinner. Kevin came to my room both nights and evidently found some treats to keep the dogs from giving away his nocturnal visits.

3 - Outed

I was supposed to go back to Denver on Saturday but since the official opening weekend guests were not coming in until Sunday afternoon Mary invited me to stay one more night - on the house - if I helped out in the packing room. And, as I found out the next day, she had an ulterior motive too.

I jumped at the chance and looked forward to one more day with my mud buddy. In the morning I was the second person in the kitchen; Mary had already started breakfast preparations.

"Good morning Mary."

"Good morning Mike."

While she was turned away from me, working at the side counter Mary said, "I know what is going on."

My heart skipped a beat.

"And I want you to know that I haven't seen Kevin this happy since before his dad passed away. You two seem to have hit it off with some common bond that in just a few days has really lifted his spirits. Sarah and Tom have noticed this change too, seeing him smiling so much when you are with him."

I almost fell off the stool I was sitting on. Did she figure out what that "common bond" was?

Mary turned around to face me. "I know it has been difficult for him to lead his life and help keep this place going. Sometimes I feel that I'm not being fair to him, especially after his sister got married. We all like you a lot and I want you to know that you are welcome to visit here any time. Now we may put you to work for part of your visit but that's just the way our family farm works."

It took me a moment to regain my composure. "Well I know the guest rooms help pay the bills so I'd want to pay your normal rate when I came to visit."

She looked at me, put her hands on her hips, and said, "We don't charge a guest who stays overnight in Kevin's bedroom. But a contribution towards the groceries would be appreciated when you visit and eat with us."

And then she turned back to whisking the eggs for the omelet. I really would have fallen off the stool if Sarah and Tom had not walked into the room, once again saving me - this time from mortal embarrassment. I've certainly never had a conversation like that one with someone's mom.

Kevin came in with the dogs and soon we were all eating breakfast and chatting about what was on the agenda for restaurant deliveries that weekend. Kevin noticed a change in my demeanor so he volunteered the two of us to clear the dishes while the others went out to the packing area.

As soon as they were gone he put his hand on my shoulder and asked, "What's wrong?

"We've been outed."

"By you?" He looked hurt.

"No, by the dogs."

"What?"

"Your mom knows that you've been spending the night with me. She took the opportunity this morning before anyone else came into the kitchen to tell me that I was welcome to visit any time."

"Wow."

"Yeah, and then she totally stunned me by saying that it was fine for me to stay overnight with you in your bedroom! I gathered that Sarah and Tom were OK with it too."

"Holy batshit."

"Then Sarah and Tom came into the kitchen so that was the end of the conversation."

"Well this is certainly going to be interesting after you leave."

"Your mom is concerned that your feeling of duty to the family is in conflict with you being happy and having a relationship. I told you that she saw your grins at me over the dinner table. She said this is the happiest she has seen you since before your dad died."

Kevin was silent for a few moments and then I saw tears in his eyes. He pulled me tight to his body and gave me a long, intense hug.

"I am happy. You've made me very happy. I don't want it to end."

I took his hands in mine and looked directly into his eyes. "I'm happy too. It doesn't have to end. You can visit me in Denver when you can get away and I'll come up to visit when you have time. I think your mom suspects that the ATV rides are more than just that but she is savvy enough to keep that to herself. You don't have a kid with his own shower and laundry in the barn without knowing that something is going on besides an abnormally strong hygiene fetish."

Kevin laughed. "Yeah, she always was a cool mom about her boy getting dirty."

Thus began a year of Kevin coming to visit me in Denver, me visiting the farm, the two of us going out on ATV mudding adventures and everyone accepting me into the family. Although winter brought an end to the mud fun, the reduced farm work gave us more time to spend together and we were seriously falling in love with each other.

4 - Big Changes

One Friday in late spring of the next year I had a really shitty day at the office. My boss was being a dick and the client he was covering for was totally incompetent to install the equipment we sold to him. This was not the first time I was expected to make an all-out effort to save the day for everyone. But this time I was not in the mood to do it. I left the office early and went home in a funk.

It was my weekend to go up to the farm so I drove up there not in the best of moods. Kevin immediately sensed my anger and unhappiness so he told Mary that we were going to go have a beer behind the barn. The dogs came over, happy as ever to see me.

I explained to Kevin what had happened. He was sympathetic but reminded me that this had happened several times since he met me and that it was not fair to him for me to come up to visit in that kind of mood. It was getting close to the one year anniversary of our meeting and I immediately felt terribly guilty about potentially screwing up this wonderful relationship.

I pulled Kevin close to me for a hug, which I really needed at that moment.

"What would you say if I told you that I wanted to quit my job, sell my house and move up here to be with you? I could help out with the farm and we could go play whenever the work was done."

Kevin was dumbfounded at my suggestion. "You have no idea how much I would like that but I'm not sure how you could bring in enough extra money to make it work. And would you really be happy working full time on a farm instead of doing your tech stuff?"

Yeah, once I stripped the emotions out of it, the finances had to work so the family would embrace the idea and not just consider me a drain on their budget. And I would miss my tech work. We agreed to brainstorm some ideas. We had a twelve-pack of beer and by the fourth round the ideas were getting pretty crazy.

Then I sat bolt upright and shouted, "I've got it!"

"I think you're drunk."

"No, seriously. When I took that course last year I made some good contacts at the university. One of the lab managers liked my work and told me that if I ever wanted to work in academia I should contact him to see if there were any openings. I could work there and live here, help out as I had time and pay for my share of expenses."

So after another weekend of work and mudding fun at the farm I went back to my office on Monday, kicked ass solving the problems created by my boss and the dumb client and then told my boss I was taking a couple of days off for a mental health break.

I called my contact at the university and he put my name in for some jobs. It took two months before they had a full-time opening that fit my skills but I aced the interviews and got the job. With the hot real estate market in Denver my house sold in three days and within a month I was living at the farm.

Kevin's family was incredibly welcoming to me. They could see how happy the two of us were together. Of course it was a bit awkward at first. We were still not fully comfortable with displays of affection in front of his family so we spent a lot of time outdoors and at the barn.

Mary came out to see us one Friday night while we were enjoying some local microbrews and said to Kevin, "What do you think about the two of you restoring Uncle Zach's place to live in?"

This was the first I had heard about Uncle Zach. He was Kevin's dad's bachelor older brother and he had his own home on the far side of the farm. It had been vacant since his death, two years before Kevin's dad had died. They both died quite young but from different causes. We agreed to drive over there in the morning to see the place. It had been boarded up after Zach's passing but a new roof was installed just a few years earlier. So we were hopeful that it wasn't a wreck.

I don't think we got much sleep that night. We were both so excited about the possibility of having our own place. I made some good money when I sold the Denver house so we wouldn't need to take out a loan if the work to remodel the place was not too extensive.

After breakfast the whole family came along with us as we drove on a road across the farm that I had never traveled. Soon we came to a small but attractively built house in the woods. Mary unlocked the front door and motioned Kevin and me to go in first. Flashlights in hand, we entered.

The furniture was covered in sheets, like you see in movies from the 1930's. Since the windows were boarded up the only illumination was from our flashlights and a Coleman fluorescent camping lantern that Tom had the foresight to bring along.

There was a living room with a nice fireplace, a small dining room, kitchen, bathroom and two bedrooms, all on one floor. The floors creaked a bit, having not been walked on in years. The house had electricity but it was disconnected, a well and a septic tank.

Kevin looked at me and I looked at him and we simultaneously said, "We'll take it!" prompting a laugh from everyone.

After that day's farm work we packed tools, clothes, food and sleeping bags and set out, determined to spend that first night in our new digs. The first thing we did was to pull the plywood off two of the windows so there would be some daylight in the house.

Man it was dusty inside. We began a survey of what needed to be done to make it habitable. When that list got to three pages we knew it was going to be a while before we could settle in permanently. The next morning we returned to the main house and shared our excitement about turning it into our new home.

Mary had found a large scale aerial photo of the property with a map overlay. I didn't realize it was so big since only 20 acres were currently farmed and the rest was open fields, woods, the two creeks and several ponds hidden away from the cultivated fields.

There actually was a driveway from Uncle Zach's house to a county dirt road so we wouldn't have to drive across the farm to go into town. It was so overgrown with brush that I hadn't noticed it was there.

The first order of business, after taking off the rest of the plywood covering the windows, was to assess the electrical system. It looked fine to me so we contacted the power company about restoring the electric service. We had to wait a week for that so in the mean time I bought a generator so we could vacuum the years of dust and test out the well pump.

I was impressed that the pump still worked but the color of the water was a bit disheartening and it had an odd odor. So we let it run for two days. The well did not run dry and by then the color was gone and it was relatively clear. A sample got sent off for testing.

In the meantime, lest you think we were all work and no play, Kevin and I spent a couple of hours examining the property on Google Earth, looking for more fun places to play. Oh my, there were spots that looked quite interesting that even Kevin did not remember because they were hidden in the woods. So when the weekend rolled around we got on the ATV with a GPS unit and started exploring.

It turns out there was a pond not that far from Uncle Zach's house that used to be filled with irrigation water from the creek diversion system. The feeder ditch was filled with a lot of weeds and the headgate on the ditch had not been opened in years. But the pond was partly filled with rain water in the center.

By then I was wearing my tall logger and lineman boots on our expeditions and had gotten Kevin into wearing tall lacers too. He soon realized that they stayed on his feet in thick gumbo mud, unlike the cowboy boots he had worn for years. Damn he looked hot in those boots. We both did.

So when we got to the pond we had to see if there was any decent mud left. Kevin walked out ahead of me and with each footstep he made a bit deeper impression in the mostly dried mud but it was not promising. Until with one step he sank in up to his knees and then, struggling to make the next move he sank in mid-thigh. The dried surface mud was thick enough to support his weight up to that point but obviously it got thinner as he walked closer to the remaining water in the pond.

Kevin turned around, smiled at me and said, "I think I found us a new play place!"

He managed to work his way to an even deeper spot and I followed along. As we progressed, with some major effort, the thick mud was turning more liquid and we eventually were in it up to mid-chest. It was warm, it was smooth and it smelled like earth, not rotting vegetation, which was just fine with me.

We spent a good two hours playing around in that muck. We could swim in the more liquid areas and belly slide along the crust in the thicker places. We cleaned up in the creek after the mud fun was over.

Once the power company put in our new electric meter we had real lights instead of lanterns. The water test came back with no biological issues but a lot of dissolved minerals so I installed a filter.

Amazingly, the septic tank pump-out test went well and we got the county to issue a certificate of occupancy with surprisingly little hassle. Mary went to high school with the lead inspector so I'm sure her friendly chat with him probably helped that process along.

I don't think I've ever been so busy or so tired. Between work, which I really enjoyed, helping out with the farm, starting to remodel the house and having muddy play time as much as possible, we fell asleep very quickly every night.

Once the kitchen and bath upgrade work, painting, rugs and a new furnace installation were completed we had our housewarming party. It was a small event, mostly Kevin's family, since mine lives back east, and a few gay-friendly friends from work. Everyone asked if we were going to get new furniture but Kevin and I actually liked the old stuff and kept most of it. We did get a nice big new bed though.

After the inside work was done we built a small shed with an outdoor shower and we brought over the old Maytag washer and dryer from the barn so we had a place to store our gear and to clean up without messing up the house.

One day Kevin caught me eyeing the old blue Ford front loader/backhoe behind the barn.

"I see a light going on in your head."

"Well we need to clear the driveway out to the county road. And you know that one area down by the pond that always dries up in the summer? We could fix that with this backhoe!"

I've always had a fantasy of being a heavy equipment operator so I was determined to bring it back to life. I had adopted a new look of wearing tan Carhartt bib overalls when I was doing farm work and felt rather butch as I worked on the Ford, getting the overalls quite dirty and greasy in the process. It took a while to get it running again but Kevin got a great video of me wearing my Carhartts, boots and hard hat as I triumphantly drove it from the barn to our place.

And thus began the construction of our ATV/dirt bike mud obstacle course. Sometimes I purposely dug holes, flooded them with water from the irrigation ditch and then put some of the dirt back so we had some nice deep mud pits to play in. The high clay content of the soil made for some great slippery fun and Kevin and I really enjoyed playing King of the Mountain on the dirt piles I created.

In fact, we had so much muddy fun building the obstacle course that we agreed to keep it under perpetual construction. And I had lots of chances to play construction worker running that loader/backhoe. We took turns with the manual labor and I must admit that my muscles grew a lot bigger shoveling dirt and mud around. I was starting to look almost as buff as Kevin!

The rest of the summer and fall went by very quickly. Mary, Sarah and Tom were thrilled that Kevin was happy and that the farm would continue in operation. Sarah and Tom had twin boys shortly after we moved out of the main house and Kevin's old room became the nursery. So it looks like there will be a next generation to keep it going.

As I fall asleep I often smile to myself as I think about how a lucky accident of motels being booked led to this amazing turn in my life. And then I hug my handsome man in gratitude one more time before nodding off. We each got a life partner who didn't require explanations about why it was so much fun to get dirty and play in the mud. I never thought that would happen to me.