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His words needled me. I didn’t need a reminder that Richard’s time here was temporary. Mostly because I didn’t like the pang of loneliness at the thought of him leaving. It made absolutely zero sense why I gave a shit about this entitled kid I’d met less than a full day ago. “You find me the hands we need, and I won’t have to teach Ariana Grande over there how to herd cattle,” I hissed.
The silence that fell between us made me instantly regret my words. I expected Jed to push back. He’d been part foreman, part father to me for over fifteen years.
Instead, he snickered. “Well, well. I see the lay of the land now.”
I ground my teeth together. “You don’t see shit,” I grumbled.
“Maybe you need an overnight in Casper,” he suggested. I could hear the grin in his voice.
If I thought simply getting laid would erase Richard from my thoughts, I’d have left for the city an hour ago. But the idea of driving all that way for a casual fuck with some random cowboy didn’t tempt me at all. In fact, it elicited the opposite reaction—the thought of touching another man cooled the heat that had been collecting in my gut ever since Richard had arrived at the ranch. “Maybe you need to shut the hell up.”
“Or maybe you just need an overnight in the bunkhouse,” Jed mused, scratching his grizzled whiskers. “Get it out of your system before calving really gets underway.”
I watched the muscles of Richard’s legs bunch through the snug fit of his jeans. He’d grown more comfortable in the saddle, letting his hips roll with the shifting of Duck’s bulk underneath him.
It was impossible not to imagine Richard straddling me instead, his knees pressed to the ground on either side of my hips, his fingers clutched in the thatch of hair on my chest. Or would I be the one riding him? Pushing him onto his hands and knees, pressing my palm between his shoulder blades and then trailing down his spine, easing open those plump ass cheeks…
I shifted, lifting a foot to rest it on the lowest rung of the fence, hoping to hide the growing tightness in my jeans. My knuckles were white from where I gripped the top rail, nails digging into the weathered wood.
Jed leaned a little closer and lowered his voice. “I still think you oughta give Tommy another look. Man’s got it bad for you, and that’s no bullshit.”
I grunted and thought of the good-looking rancher who ran a dairy operation on the other side of town. Nothing about him tempted me. Especially not today. “You know how I feel about locals. This town is too small for bad blood, especially when we have a business partnership of sorts with the man.”
Jed rolled his eyes. “A bulk purchasing agreement is hardly a business partnership. Besides, he’s a good man. Avoids drama, same as you.”
While I appreciated the fact this old cowboy respected my sexuality and had gotten more comfortable talking about it over the years, I still recognized his tendency to fall prey to the “he’s gay and you’re gay so you should go out” mentality. I didn’t want to embarrass him by pointing it out, but it still rankled.
Instead, I said, “The man goes to church every Sunday morning and Wednesday night. That’s not my scene.”
Jed knew I’d been brought up in a strict religious house in Texas and had the scars to prove it. He shrugged. “Didn’t say you needed to marry the man.”
“That’s the problem,” I pointed out. “He’s the marrying kind. I’m not. I know better than to mess around with a guy who has feelings.”
Before Jed could continue his argument, I added, “Maybe I’ll take your suggestion and head to Casper after calving season.” I hoped that maybe throwing the man a bone might bring this awkward conversation to an end. I glanced over at him. “And maybe you can come with me and find yourself a nice woman.”
His eyes bugged out for the briefest moment before he cleared his throat and shrugged. “Maybe.” The word came out a little strangled.
I barked out a laugh and slapped him on the shoulder. “You know I don’t give a shit about you and Norma, right?”
Red streaks worked their way up the foreman’s neck as he sputtered. “Me and Norma? Pah.”
Before I could rib Jed any further about his budding relationship, Birdie nudged my leg and let out a low whine. I looked down at her and followed her eyes to where Richard had dismounted Duck in some kind of way that had left one foot tangled in the stirrup. He hopped to keep his balance until, finally, his boot came free, and he tumbled back onto his ass in the dirt, scrambling away from the horse’s legs as quickly as he could.
