Page 49 of Wild and Wanted

Clay, his mouth watering and his stomach growling, could only agree. He’d missed food. For too long he’d eaten it to fuel his body, to supply the correct nutrients for his physical recovery. But this morning he was ravenous.

Conversation flowed around him which he added to between mouthfuls, even laughing at a story that Walt told about one of the guests suggesting they sell plastic snakes with RVR branding to sit with the other merch they sold on the website.

Clay had almost finished his plate before he realised his sister wasn’t down yet. ‘Where’s Mags?’ As with all ranching folk, his sister was an early bird. And she sure as shit never missed a meal.

‘She came down with a migraine last night,’ his mom said.

As far as Clay knew, this was the first migraine Mags had suffered since he’d returned home but she’d been afflicted with them since she’d fallen off a horse and got herself a concussion at the age of thirteen. Strong medication helped her through an episode and the headaches had reduced in frequency and severity over the years, but they’d not gone completely.

‘Is she okay?’

‘Yes,’ she confirmed. ‘It’s gone now but she’ll be in bed all day sleeping off the effects.’

Clay nodded – that was normal. A migraine usually wiped Mags out for a couple of days. She’d even had to pull out of a competition she’d been expected to win in her first couple of months on the circuit because a migraine had hit.

‘Which means we’re going to need a volunteer to do her one-on-one trail ride with Stevie today,’ his father said, casting his eyes down the table either side to the staff who regularly took the trail rides, who all looked suddenly super interested in what they had on their plates.

Solo trail rides weren’t one of the more fun aspects of the job. The guest always enjoyed themselves immensely but it was full-on for the other person. The usual solo clientele were either divas or guys who thought they were Billy the Kid, which could be challenging.

But there was no way Clay was going to pass up a golden opportunity to spend some time with Stevie and show her some more of the ranch. And maybe a little sumthin’ sumthin’ else as well. His body tightened at the thought of lying her down under a tree – he knew just the one – and picking up their lessons from last night.

Fuck’s sake, he was getting a boner under the table just thinking about it.

‘I can do it.’

His parents looked at him with mild surprise. ‘You?’ his father pressed.

‘Yes, me.’ He grinned, refusing to be irritated by their obvious doubt. They had good reason.

His mom’s eyes narrowed a little. ‘Really?’

Uh oh. Clay knew that look. He could sense his mom’s girlfriend radar activating. When he’d been a teenager she’d been able to sniff out any whiff of interest he’d had in a girl in a freakily accurate way. So he really needed to chill.

Forcing his features into neutral, he gave a careless shrug. ‘I don’t have anything pressing to do today that the others can’t handle and you need someone to do it. Let me make it up to you for being such a⁠—’

‘Dick?’ Dev offered out the side of his mouth.

‘Jackass?’ Kirby added, also as an aside.

Clay rolled his eyes. ‘Challenge,’ he supplied.

One more long probing assessment later, his mother nodded. ‘I’ll need to check she’s okay going out solo with you.’

‘Sure.’ Clay absolutely understood why his mother needed to check. All the ranch staff were exemplary in their behaviour or they’d have been tossed out on their ass, but it was imperative that a guest felt comfortable with the situation.

‘Okay. I’ll text her in a couple of hours,’ his mother confirmed.

Clay gave another careless shrug like it was no skin off his nose either way, but then he already knew how okay Stevie would be with the situation.

Forcing himself not to speed through the rest of his meal was surprisingly difficult but somehow, he managed. As soon as he was free from the house, however, his phone was out.

Change of plans for today. I’m taking you on your trail ride. Wear that skirt from The Corral last week. No panties.

Grinning, Clay sent it into the ether.

15

STEVIE