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“What do you want me to do?”
“Take a ride over there, and see what needs doing to the place. If we’re going to have people staying the night, we have to make sure it provides everything they might need.” His eyes gleamed. “I’m sure you can think of a couple of things to add to a shopping list.”
Butch was no fool.Dear Lord, he’s talking about condoms and lube.
“I can do that.” He frowned. “I get why you want to do this, but why bring it up this minute? Surely it could’ve waited till morning.”
“Because right now I need a distraction, and it was the first thing that came to mind. Added to that, I might have forgotten it by morning. I’ve got other priorities at the moment.”
It didn’t take a genius to know Toby’s main priority was the boss.
“Leave it with me. I’ll report back once I’ve worked out what the place needs.” Then he reconsidered. “Why don’t you just let me deal with it? I’ll see to whatever needs doing and have it ready to go without bothering you about it.” He glanced toward the kitchen. “You can concentrate on the more important stuff.”
Toby’s smile reached his eyes. “Thank you. That’s something else I don’t need to think about. And thanks for taking charge this afternoon.”
“I’m just happy she’s gonna be okay.”
Happy had to be the understatement of the millennium.
“I’ll say goodnight then.” Toby patted him on the shoulder and headed for the kitchen.
Butch was on the path when his rumbling stomach reminded him he’d meant to grab a bite to eat. The boss’s arrival had wiped it clean from his mind. He turned around and walked briskly to the house. Inside, the silence was broken only by the tick of the clock in the living room. He went to the kitchen—
And stopped in the doorway.
Toby and the boss were sitting at the table, and although Butch knew he should make his presence known, he didn’t want to disturb the scene in front of him. He stood there and drank it all in, hardly daring to breathe in case that alerted them.
He’d seen the boss and Toby together plenty of times, but never like this. There was nothing sexual about the way Toby touched him, or even sensual, but at the same time Butch couldn’t miss the connection between them. Robert Thorston had run Salvation ever since his dad died, and every ranch hand knew that if he said jump, they jumped, no hesitation whatsoever.
Yet seeing the two men like this, there was no doubt in Butch’s mind his boss wasn’t the dominant force in their relationship. The way he reacted when Toby touched him, when he spoke to him…
What struck Butch most was that this didn’t seem to make him a lesser man, but quite the opposite. There was such an honesty in the way they acted around each other that it made him ache inside, and he was reminded of his urgent wish of only a few hours ago.
I said I wanted someone to love me, comfort me, hold me…
Well, now he could add to that.
I want someone to look at me the way Toby looks at the boss. Like I’m their whole fucking world.
He wanted that same honesty, that trust.
The scene was an intensely private and intimate moment. Robert laid his head on Toby’s shoulder, and Toby whispered to him, words Butch couldn’t hear, but then to do so would’ve been wrong. And through it all, he stroked Robert’s neck, the movement slow and gentle, a reminder of Toby’s presence.
And right then Butch needed to be someplace else before either of them found him staring at them.
Butch crept down the hallway and out of the house, his thoughts focused on the two men.
For such a simple display, it had shaken him to his core.
Chapter 33
Tuesday, September 6
Butch rode through the meadow at a gallop, as though the devil himself was on his tail. Except it wasn’t fear that gave him wings, but the phone call from the boss, and they were wings of joy. He and Toby had gone back to the hospital right after breakfast, and the news that Diana seemed much improved had lightened everyone’s spirits.
She’s going to be okay. She really is.
When he reached the creek, he slowed, letting Bailey drop into a canter. Birds tweeted in the trees that marked the edge of the forest, and ordinarily he’d enjoy their song, but today each note sounded sweeter, purer somehow.
