AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jackson grunted.
That morning, he’d taken Wyatt out on their horses to a quiet pasture so Wyatt could practice his roping skills. Mostly how to throw while mounted, and then throw while riding at different speeds, and it had all gone well. Wyatt said he liked it because some element of math was involved: speed, wind force, the speed of the animal he was trying to rope, plus how hard he could throw. It made sense to Jackson in an abstract way, because he just went with his gut when he roped.
They’d gone back to the barn for lunch, both smiling and exhausted from the work. As he dismounted, Wyatt turned his ankle and instead of grabbing the saddle for balance, he flailed and crashed backward into the wall elbow-first and jammed his funny bone. Brand had heard the commotion and helped Jackson get Wyatt settled on a chair in the break room with his ankle up. Rose came down from the house to inspect him. The ankle had been sore but not swollen.
Either way, Brand had sent Wyatt home with orders to elevate and ice that ankle, and to see a doctor right away if it started to swell.
Wyatt had looked so embarrassed and defeated over being sent home from tripping. Jackson had wanted so badly to hug him, to offer him some kind of comfort. All he did was stand outside and watch Wyatt drive away. Then he’d gone into one of the empty barn stalls and sent Wyatt a text:Rest easy, firebrand.
It wasn’t a lot but it was all he could think to say.
Since Cobblepot was saddled, Michael rode her out with Jackson to check the line. The herd was in the west pasture right now, and it had rockier terrain, more places for a steer to get stuck or lost from the rest of them. Michael tried to initiate conversation several times, but Jackson’s litany of one-word responses shut that down fast. Jackson wasn’t trying to be rude, but it had been a week since Brand nearly found him and Wyatt together, and something about it still bothered him.
He just couldn’t put his finger on what.
“I’m not mad at Wyatt,” Jackson said. A little worried but not mad. If Wyatt had busted his ankle for real, that would have been a quick end to his brief employment contract. “We’ve all turned our ankle before. Brand’s just bein’ careful. The last thing the ranch’s insurance needs is a worker’s comp claim from some clumsy kid who keeps hurtin’ himself on the land.”
“Yeah, I’m a little surprised Brand hired such a walking disaster, but at least they’ve all been minor injuries so far.”
“So far.” Jackson grabbed one of the dozen assorted mugs kept on hand for staff and set it on the small counter too hard. The handle broke off in his hand. “Shit.” He glared at his hand, annoyance level rising.
“You cut yourself?”
“No. Just clumsy today too, I guess.” He dropped the broken mug in the trash and reached for another, much gentler this time.
Michael moved closer. “You can tell me to fuck off and mind my business, but if you need to vent about anything, Josiah says I’m a good listener.”
“He’s your boyfriend. You’d better be a good listener with him.”
“Not all men are, not even with their partners.” Something in Michael’s eyes flickered, probably his own past and being taken to the cleaners by his cheating ex-husband.
Jackson wasn’t much for discussing his personal business at work, but he decided to take a chance here. “Even when you were in Austin and thought you were happy with your life and career, did you ever get lonely?”
“All the time. It’s very easy to be lonely in a crowd of people. You second-guessing some of your life choices?”
“Not second-guessing so much as reexamining. I love my life here, and I love this job, but living in such a small town can be, well, stifling. All I really know are small towns, though, and I’d rather be in one than a big city, but it’s hard to...”
“Meet people out here?”
“Yeah.” And when he did meet someone he could care a lot about, he couldn’t tell anyone because of a semi-inappropriate work relationship, a huge age gap, and because his boyfriend wanted to keep it a secret, at least until his probation period was up. Maybe in a few more weeks, when Wyatt was officially a cowboy, he’d want to come out.
Jackson sure hoped so. He was falling for Wyatt a little bit at a time, and maybe it was nowhere close to love yet, but Jackson could almost see it one day.
“Uh-oh, I know that look,” Michael said, grinning now. “Is there someone?”
“Kind of, but it’s complicated.”
“Like ‘fucking around with Brand’ complicated?”
Jackson stared, the hand holding his hot coffee trembling once. “What?”
“I’m sorry, man, I don’t know the details. I happened to overhear Brand and Hugo talking about it once in the barn, and I didn’t stop to eavesdrop when I realized it was a personal conversation and not about work. It wasn’t my business.”
With a grunt of annoyance, Jackson put the coffee down. “Not ‘sleeping with the boss’ complicated, no, but he’s not out and has his reasons. We both have our reasons for bein’ discreet about things, I just...” He crossed his arms. “Until recently, I never used to feel lonely when I was alone. I liked the solitude. Craved it most of the time, because I spent too many years forced to be around other people and do what I was told. I like the freedom of my life, but sometimes the other side of the bed feels real empty.”
“I get that. You talk to him about your feelings?”
“Not yet. We both agreed to give it some time, and I don’t wanna pressure him if he isn’t ready to be out.”
