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“Iamsleeping with the other guests, right?”
“If that’s what you want.”
“That’s what I’m paying for.” Then he rolled his eyes. “Except now I’m not. No special treatment, okay? Supper I can deal with. I’m sure me eating with the boss and his boyfriend will raise enough eyebrows. Do the guests take it in turn to cook?”
“No, Matt does all the cooking. He’s Robert’s housekeeper too. A genuine treasure.”
“Seriously?”
“Oh yeah. He cleans house, shops, cooks…”
“Oh my. He’s a keeper.”
Toby grinned. “It gets better. Take a look on Scruff when you arrive. You’ll find him on it.”
Sol let out an exaggerated gasp. “He’s gay too? Be still my beating heart.” He fell silent, staring at the landscape. Civilization had given way to rolling fields and hills, and so much sky that he couldn’t take it all in.
It was like coming home, a place he hadn’t been in quite a while.
“This is beautiful. Looks so peaceful out there,” he murmured.
“Welcome to your first vacation in God knows how many years. And I know you’re here to take pictures and learn what you can for the website, but please,tryand have a good time too?”
Sol had looked at Salvation’s site several times during the last week. “I saw the ranch has plenty of horses. Any chance I could ride one soon?”
Toby arched his eyebrows. “You ride?”
“I grew up in Wyoming, remember? I think it’s in the genes.”
“Sure. I’ll introduce you to Paul Stormcloud, the ranch wrangler. He’ll find you a horse.”
“With a name like that he has to be Native American.”
“Yup. He’s never far from the stable. If I hadn’t seen him in the bunkhouse, I’d have sworn he sleeps with the horses too.” Toby took a right onto a long gravel driveway, as straight as an arrow. “Welcome to Salvation.”
Sol caught his breath. Ahead of them were two posts supporting a hefty log with the wordSalvationburned into it, but beyond that were four white barns trimmed in green, a building that had to be the stable, and in the center of them all, a sand-covered corral. Off to the left, an impressive log house sat on top of a hill, overlooking the ranch, and all around was the lushness of green and blue where land met sky.
“I take it back. The site’s pictures don’t do it justice,” Sol muttered. “Looks like my dad’s place when I was a kid. Not that he farms anymore.”
“Are your parents okay?”
“Yeah, they’re fine. Don’t see much of them. My sister keeps me in the loop.”
Toby stopped the truck beside one of the barns and switched off the engine. “Dude. That was four years ago. They still haven’t come around?”
“Uh-uh. No change.” Sol shook his head. “Talk about irony. I came out and they freaked. I got involved with an older guy, and they freaked. Then I introduced them to Liam, and it was as if they’d found their second son. Until the day he—” Sol swallowed. “We haven’t spoken a whole lot since then.”
“They still can’t blame you.”
He huffed. “Then they’re doing a really good job of acting like they do.” He held his hand up. “I know, it’s illogical. Now, can we change the subject?”
Toby indicated the barn. “This is the bunkhouse. I’ll introduce you to everyone.” They got out, and Sol collected his bag from the back seat. He strolled toward the paddock, taking in his surroundings. One barn stood out from the others, its paintwork a little fresher.
“Is that it?”
“Yup. And it’s almost finished.”
“Almost? I’m here to take pictures of it, remember?”
