by K. C. Crowne
It made me think of Skye, strange as it might sound. I thought about the conversation we’d had last night about animal activism. Not a doubt in my mind she wouldn’t stand around and let someone treat a horse like that. She was strong-willed as hell, and I dug it about her.
The strike appeared to hurt Bryce worse than it did the horse. The animal let out a snort, whipping his tail back and forth and still not budging an inch. I’d seen enough.
“Yo, Bryce!” My voice echoed through the expanse of the stable.
Bryce stopped and turned his attention to me, his blue eyes widening. “Who’s that?”
“It’s Adam Carter. Didn’t mean to interrupt, but I’ve been textin’ you and hadn’t heard back. One of the workers told me to find you here.”
He put his hands on his hips, obviously still frustrated. “This fucking thing,” he said, gesturing to the horse. “Paid a damn arm and a leg for this stallion, and it’s as stubborn as a kid who doesn’t want to go to bed.”
I stepped over to the animal, its black eyes focusing on me as I approached. “You gotta have a soft touch with these guys. You start takin’ a tone with ‘em, and they get even less cooperative.” I put my hand on the horse’s haunch and stroked it slowly. “There you go, boy. All’s good, isn’t it?”
I could feel a tenseness in the horse, likely on account of Bryce’s yelling. But the more I stroked its coat, the more the anxiety seemed to melt away. “There you go,” I repeated. “Now, why don’t you do what your master says, huh?”
Bryce watched, and though I was getting the results with the horse he’d been looking for, he didn’t appear too pleased, like I’d showed him up or some nonsense.
“He should be fine now,” I said, taking my hand off. “If he starts gettin’ ornery, just give him some TLC.”
Bryce shook his head. “Can’t believe I have to baby these fucking animals. How damn hard is it to train a horse to do what you say?”
“Harder than you think. And I’m sure you know you don’t want one of these guys freakin’ out on you. Easy way to get a hoof to the head.” I turned to Bryce. “Anyway, I’m not here for the horse. You still interested in gettin’ that barn built?”
“Yeah, you bet I am,” he said. “And I want it built soon – got a couple new thoroughbreds coming in next month, and I want to make sure they’ve got a place to stay.”
“Let’s go take a look.” Bryce nodded, and the two of us headed out of the barn and back outside. “Fine day on the ranch,” I said, glancing around and taking in the sights. “Good buildin’ weather.”
“How fast can you get this thing up?” he asked, not in the mood for small talk.
We stopped at a small plot of land, the place I’d picked out before when I’d come to his property the last time.
“Pretty damn fast. My boys and I ain’t strangers to puttin’ up barns – probably the most common job we do. But we’ve got some other jobs lined up for the next month…”
“Doesn’t matter. Whatever they’re paying, I’ll beat it.”
“Ain’t that simple,” I said. “We’re on contracts.”
“Then I’ll buy out the contracts. This thing needs to go up ASAP. Doesn’t matter the cost.”
A small smirk formed on my face. Rich folk could be pains in the ass to deal with, but it was hard to want to argue with them when they threw money in your face.
“Alright,” I said, my hands on my hips. “We might be able to work somethin’ out. If I can get this spot surveyed, call in all the boys, we should be able to get it up in the next week. But it ain’t gonna be cheap to work that fast.”
“Cheap doesn’t matter. I don’t feel like waiting.”
“You feel like payin’ and don’t feel like waitin’, we can most definitely work somethin’ out. Give me a half-hour or so to take some measurements, and I can let you know what I’ve got in mind.”
“Fine,” he said, his tone sharp. “I’ll be in the main house in the office. Just come in and find me when you’re done.”
He didn’t wait for me to respond before heading to the house. I’d never cared all that much about pleasantries – small talk had never been my strong suit— but the way Bryce behaved…I didn’t care for it. He acted less out of a sense of business and more like that he considered talking with working men to be beneath him.
Whatever – didn’t matter none. I was there to do some work, not to make friends. And Bryce sure as shit wasn’t the kind of guy I’d ever want to be friends with.
I grabbed a few tools from my truck, some odds and ends to check the land and get it measured. The work was quick, only taking a half-hour or so. But by the time I was done, the heat had caused a thin sheen of sweat to form on my forehead.
I started towards the main ranch, heading inside like he’d asked. The place was a palace, and more than that, it stuck out like a damn sore thumb. Rainbow Canyons had the southern thing going on, which was a strange fit for Texas. But it worked. Bryce’s home, on the other hand, was all sleek and modern, full of strange sculptures and art I couldn’t make heads or tails of. Looked more like a Dallas penthouse than any kind of ranch I’d ever seen.
A housekeeper strolled by, and I asked her in my rusty Spanish where I could find the office. It was upstairs, and I headed in the direction she pointed out for me. When I reached the office, I heard Bryce’s voice on the other side. Once again, I was overhearing a conversation, but I wasn’t in the mood for eavesdropping. Until I heard him say a name that caught my attention.
“This fucking girl, Skye Phillips? That her name?”
My brow pulled together as I listened. Why the hell was Bryce talking about Skye? I put aside my hesitation to eavesdrop and held off before knocking on the door.
“Yeah, that’s the one, that girl from the town over…really getting into my shit with that activism she’s doing.”
The emphasis he put on the word “activism” made it clear he didn’t think much of the subject. He practically spit the word out.
“She and some of her fucking hippie friends showed up to the racing track the other day…yeah, her and a dozen people, mostly college kids, probably don’t have anything better to do…made a big fucking commotion…I don’t know, some shit about how we treat the horses, I didn’t really give a damn. Of course I called the cops. What, you think I let them hang out, bought them some coffee and donuts?”
I couldn’t help but grin. Skye was one of those types who put her money where her mouth was. Her passion was a hell of a turn-on.
“If they’re just gonna show up and make noise before we kick ‘em out, that’s one thing, but they were getting paying customers to leave…Not a chance. We do what they say and we look weak, like any punk kids can show up and make us change policy…right, and they don’t have the slightest conception of how much any of this costs to actually implement…”
I’d heard enough, and more than that, I had plenty of work to do. I knocked loudly on the door.
“Alright, let me call you back –my contractor’s here. We’ll talk about this later.”
There was a silence, followed by a loud invitation to come in. I opened the door and entered the spacious office, the windows behind the desk looking out onto the ranch.
“What’s the story?” Bryce asked as I walked in and sat down.
“It’s doable. You want a standard barn. We can have that up in a few weeks.”
“Good. How fast can you send over the contract?”
“Could have it for you in a couple of hours. I’ll email it, and we can have it signed by the end of the day.”
He nodded and looked away, a thoughtful expression on his face. “Alright. Let’s make this thing snappy.”
I didn’t need to hear any more. We shook on it, and I was off, moments later heading back to the truck. As I did, something occurred to me. I started thinking about the argument I’d had with Travis. Shit wasn’t sitting right with me; I didn’t like fightin’ with him.
As I approached the
truck, I took out my phone and brought up his number. I was never a man to get nervous about anything, but my gut tightened as my thumb hovered over the call button.
“Aw, hell,” I said as I pressed it and lifted the phone to my ear.
It rang and rang, eventually going to his mailbox. I considered sending a text but thought better of it. He’d know I called, and it was likely better to leave it to him to get back to me when he was good and ready. But as I got back into my truck and started to drive off, I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d really made a mess of things.
Hopefully, the damage could be undone.
Skye
First day on the job and I was already beat by the time lunch rolled around. Travis hadn’t been shy about putting me to work, sending me to take care of some of the new horses on the property.
No problems there – it was the work he’d hired me to do, and it was the work I loved doing. And Rainbow Canyons was a hell of a slice of land – a little bit of heaven in the middle of the desert. I knew I would love working there.
But when I’d gone to see Travis and ask him where he’d wanted me for the day, he’d been…I don’t know, curt about it? I’d gone into his office to speak with him, and he’d barely looked at me before barking out what he had in mind for me that day.
It was strange. I mean, cowboys were known to be a touch rough-around-the-edges, and I wondered if the night before was causing some of his ire. Did he regret the whole thing?
He and Adam had sure gotten into it. The little spat they’d had at my apartment didn’t exactly signal they were on the best of terms. But I’d figured they’d be able to patch things up. They’d been best friends their whole lives, after all.
It nagged at me throughout the day, and I didn’t like it – I needed to focus on work and not the shit I’d gotten up to when I’d had a little too much to drink.
But whenever I’d think about the drama, it wouldn’t be too long before I’d get back to the actual events of last night. Damn, was it hot. Having those two boys stark naked in front of me, one cock in my hand and the other in my mouth, knowing I was bringing them both pleasure at the same time. That was to say nothing about how sexy-as-hell it’d been to have both of them inside me at the same time. Not often you got to live out a fantasy and find it to be exactly as good as you were hoping. I already wanted to do it again, but not if it meant busting up a friendship.
It was enough to make me wet as hell in the middle of my shift. More than a few times, I considered skipping out to the bathroom and bringing myself to a quick orgasm thinking about Travis and Adam, one cock in my mouth and the other buried to the root inside me.
On the other hand, the tension left a bad taste in my mouth. Last thing I wanted was to come between two men who were so obviously close. My mind was on a circular replay, and it was frustrating as hell.
So, when lunch rolled around, I decided I needed to say something. Wasn’t sure what, exactly, but I knew it wasn’t a good idea to leave the situation unaddressed. I gathered some courage and headed to Travis’s cabin.
“Who’s there?” His voice on the other side was sharp after I knocked as if he wasn’t in the mood to be bothered. His tone was enough to make me pause; make me think it wasn’t a good idea to bring up the matter.
But it needed to be done. “It’s me, Skye.”
A brief silence followed. “Come on in.”
I opened the door to see Travis seated on his couch, a big spread of papers in front of him on the coffee table. A mug of steaming coffee was close at hand, and he sipped it as he looked over the sheets, his eyes flicking up for a second to take notice of me.
“Have a seat.” He gestured to one of the chairs and I dropped into it. Music played on a nearby stereo, and a grandfather clock ticked off the seconds in the corner of the room.
“Waylon Jennings?” I asked.
He nodded, his eyes fixed forward. “Yeah. You into him?”
“You bet your ass I am. My daddy played him all the time. Soundtrack of my childhood.”
A small smile broke the steely expression on his face, but he still didn’t look up at me. Something was definitely going on.
“How’s the day goin’?” he asked. “Gettin’ your bearings?”
“Sure am. Spent some time with Clover. She’s a fine animal.”
He glanced up, something catching his attention. “And…she let you come near her?”
“Yeah. Did some grooming and helped keep her calm when Wyatt came out to check on her.” His expression was odd, so I asked, “Something wrong?”
He lifted his coffee mug off the table, cradled it by his chest, and sat back. “Nah. Just…surprised. Got Clover a few months back and she’s a hell of animal, but, man, have we been having some problems with her. Been thinkin’ she’s havin’ a hard time adjusting to her new home. Not even Wyatt’s been havin’ luck with her.”
“Oh,” I said, a touch surprised to hear it. “She was all sweetness with me. Had to get her to warm up a bit, but once that happened, we were fast friends.”
Travis looked me over, as if not quite sure what to make of me. He sipped his coffee and set it down. “Sounds promising so far,” he said. “If you can handle all the horses like you’ve handled Clover, we might have somethin’ here.”
I’d never liked compliments, but hearing the boss give his approval sat very well with me indeed. But there was still the other issue. I had the impression it was weighing on his mind, too. The friendliness from last night was gone, and he was all business. Part of me wondered if he wanted me to get a move on so he could go back to his work.
“Listen,” I said. “About last night…”
He narrowed his eyes slightly. He didn’t want to talk about it. “What about it?” he asked, his tone sharp.
“I mean, I wanted to make sure there wasn’t any weirdness or anything like that.”
He shrugged. “Far as I’m concerned there’s nothin’ to talk about. We got a touch drunk and shit happened. It’s a new day and it’s in the past. Don’t even know why you’re bringin’ it up, really.”
“But…it’s not in the past.”
“It is,” he stated. “We did it and it’s done. What more is there to say? I mean, hell, it’s not like we’re gonna do it again.”
“Well, I wasn’t bringin’ it up because I was penning another threesome into my day planner.” He winced at the word threesome. “But,” I went on, “there’s still the matter of what happened between you and Adam this morning.”
“Is that right? That’s a matter, is it?”
“It is. Because I told him I wouldn’t mind seein’ him again and you snapped at both of us.”
“I didn’t snap,” he countered. “I had a hangover and wasn’t in the mood for a conversation like that.”
“OK, well, now that you’ve had some time to nurse it, I’ll say again that I’m interested in seein’ him again. And as far as I’m concerned, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t.”
He sipped his coffee, weighing my words. “No. I want you to stay away from Adam. Consider the man off-limits.”
I didn’t like that one bit. “And why the hell should he be off-limits? He doesn’t work here, and you’re the boss of me on the clock, but last I checked, a woman is free to date whoever she damn well pleases.”
“Yeah, but not him, and not you,” he countered. “Listen, it ain’t hard – don’t date Adam. There’s a whole town of cowboys you can take for a ride. Can’t be too difficult to stay away from one of ‘em.”
“Even if I were inclined to do as you’re tellin’ me, which I ain’t, you still haven’t given me a single reason why I should stay away from him. What’s the story? You jealous or somethin’?”
He stared at me again. “Ain’t jealousy,” he said. “I just don’t like it.”
I shifted in my seat. I’d clearly touched on some kind of nerve. “Alright,” I said, simmering my anger. “I didn’t want to go there, but if you’re tellin’ me that I need
to stay away from Adam and you can’t give me good reason why that should be so, then I’m gonna go ahead and write it up to jealousy.”
“You can think whatever you want.”
More silence. Travis was putting up a wall, but I wanted to blow right past it. Maybe it would’ve been the smarter thing to let the issue drop, but there was still the little matter of me wanting him. Sure, he was off-limits, but that only made me crave him more.
I had to think he felt the same way and aimed to find out.
“Let me ask you this,” I said. “If you and me didn’t work together, if we didn’t have to worry about any of that, would you want me?”
He swiped his hand through the air, as if I’d annoyed him by bringing it up. “What kinda pointless nonsense is that?”
“It’s not pointless. Because here you are, tellin’ me I can’t be with your friend. And the only explanation I can think of is that you’ve got this whole thing goin’ on where if you can’t have me, no one else can. ‘Specially not your best friend.”
I could see the gears in his head turning. It was like he was trying to figure out whether to come clean with me. I was onto something.
“It ain’t like that,” he grumbled.
“Then what’s it like?” I leaned forward. “Let me put it to you straight and simple, Travis. Do you still want me?”
More silence, a totally incriminating kind of silence. Travis might’ve been the kind of guy to keep his emotions close to the chest, but he didn’t strike me as a liar. And lying would’ve been the only way to get out of the question.
“Aw, hell,” he finally said. “Of course I still want you.”
A surge of arousal ran through my body, starting between my legs and spreading out. With him putting it out in the open, all I could think about was how I wanted him right back.
“Then…what’re we gonna do about this?”
“We can’t do anything about it,” he said. “Because I’m your boss, and you’re my employee. Shit would be a scandal.”