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“You heard right.” I give him a cocky smirk, and Wade chuckles. Since I don’t start until the morning, I add, “I should head out. Gotta go to the hotel and get the rest of my stuff.” I don’t have a lot, but there’s more than the one bag. Plus, I have to get my guitar. It’s the most important thing to my name.
Wade nods. “We get up at four. Work starts at five.”
“I’ll be there.”
I feel his eyes on me as I walk to my truck. I try to keep myself from scanning the ranch for Sully, but it doesn’t work. The only good thing is that I don’t see him. Probably went home to have supper with Aimee. Gonna tuck the kids into bed, then slip between her thighs. Does he ride her hard the way we used to do to each other? Can he be as rough with her as we sometimes were? I’ve never been with a woman, so I don’t know the first thing about fucking someone who isn’t a man.
“Goddamn it.” I get into the truck and toss my black hat onto the seat. I’ve seen Bishop for less than an hour, after eleven years, and he’s still fucking with my head.
* * *
I do a good job avoiding Sully my first few days on the ranch. It’s surprisingly easy, so I can’t help wondering if he’s avoiding me too. The hands don’t talk about the boss and his family, so I don’t know much more than I did three days ago. I haven’t seen Aimee, but that doesn’t mean a thing. The ranch is three thousand acres. It’s easy to get lost here.
When the bunkhouse alarm goes off at an ungodly hour, everyone is quiet as we rouse out of bed. Bulldog pushes his way into the best of the two bathrooms before anyone else can get there, the fucker. I linger, my muscles slightly tender from hard work, eyes stinging because I didn’t get the best sleep last night. I need to go out, find a bar to play my guitar, have a few beers, and see if I’m lucky enough to find a guy who swings my way. If there are any, they’re few and far between, and I might have to wait to have a good fuck until my days off when I can head into a bigger city.
When the bathrooms are clear, I grab my pants, head into one of them, take a piss and a shower, brush my teeth, and head back into the main area in nothing but a pair of jeans. I smell bacon and eggs. Big Jimmy likes to cook, I’ve noticed, and he’s always making decent-sized meals to help us keep our energy throughout the day. I can’t imagine looking forward to making food before and after spending a day working the ranch, but if that’s his thing, I’m not going to complain.
“What’s the plan today?” I ask Wade as I pull my shirt on. I got to work with Otis and the horses a little bit since I’ve been here but not nearly as much as I’d hoped. There’s always a million things to do, and since I’m not the boss, I just do what I’m told.
“Not quite sure. I think we gotta move the livestock from the east pasture to the north. They been grazing out east a little too long. We’ll figure out who’s doing what after breakfast.”
I nod, finish getting dressed, the bunkhouse mostly quiet as we all shovel food into our mouths. Jeb rambles a bit, but it’s too early to pay much attention to what he’s saying. Eventually he stops trying.
It’s just after five when we go outside, heading for the east paddock. The sun is rising in the distance, a silhouette standing in front of it, almost looking like he can touch the damn thing, and like always, I recognize him. Sully. Jesus, why can’t I stop thinking about him that way? He’s Bishop, and I’ll be smart to remember it.
I bite back a curse, hoping he’s not gonna be working with us today.
I adjust my hat so it sits a little lower on my head. Sully’s standing by a horse, saddled and ready, which tells me he’s been out here for a while.
“Mornin’,” he says, and even without looking at him, I know his eyes landed on me. It’s weird how a person can sense things like that, and when it comes to him, I’ve always been able to.
“Mornin’, boss,” the guys mumble as a few of the others who don’t stay at the ranch and come in each morning join us.
“We’ll finish getting the horses some fresh feed, and then I’m gonna take a few of you with me this mornin’ to rotate the livestock. Wade, Big Jimmy, Bulldog, Jeb, and Porter, you come with me. We’ll get out there, do a wellness check and get ’em moved.”
I look up, and his green gaze snags on mine. I hold it for a moment, wondering if there’s a reason he chose me to go with him. The intense stare and the way he holds on for a moment before looking away almost…fuck, bashfully, is all the answer I need.
The back of my neck begins to burn as Sully finishes telling everyone what’s expected of them today. As the group disperses, I say, “Can I talk to you for a minute, boss?” The title feels wrong on my tongue, tastes bitter when I’m using it for Sully, but he’s even more of the boss now than he was when I was younger.
“Can it wait?” he answers without looking at me, busying himself with the cinch as if it’s not already fastened in place.
“No, sir.”
With a sigh he turns to me, the two of us walking the opposite direction as everyone else. If he’s hoping to get some on the side from me, he has another thing coming. “Whatever was between you and me before, that isn’t what we’re doing now. If you’re trying to keep me around like you did when we were young, hoping to sneak away and get your dick sucked, that isn’t what this is.”
He frowns. “Jesus, you don’t ever change, do you? This is about work and work alone, Porter. I haven’t seen you with the cattle in eleven years. You ever consider I just want to make sure you know what the fuck you’re doing?”
“If you doubted it, why did you hire me?”
He sighs and shakes his head like I’ve exhausted him, which is just fine by me. I’d rather he keep his distance than try to pull me in and walk away later.
“That doesn’t mean I don’t need to see you in action. I’m doing my job—nothing more, nothing less.”
That’s right, isn’t it? He doesn’t need me anymore. Hell, Bishop Sullivan never really needed me. I was a good time, and now I’m not. Just the way it’s supposed to be.
Chapter 5
Bishop
