Cowboy Way

by Cindy Sutherland

  Jake’s arms wrapped around him and held him close, and he buried his face in Ryan’s hair, three words trying to get out of his mouth and Jake thinking it was too early to say them. But he could feel them.

  Chapter 16

  “Ryan, I need to talk to you about something, and I’m not quite sure how to do it.”

  They were standing in the kitchen, doing the dishes together, and Ryan could see Jake’s red face. He started to worry. “Okay, well, you can talk to me about anything. You know that, right? I mean, I’ve dumped my whole life’s story on you, so….” He shrugged, and Jake gave him a little smile.

  “Well, it’s just that, hmmm, I don’t want to offend you or anything, but we got kind of carried away a couple of times today, and I guess we weren’t being very safe and….”

  Ryan grinned as Jake struggled for words. He put down the dish he was drying and dried off Jake’s hands before wrapping his arms around his waist and hugging him tight.

  “Jake, I haven’t been with anyone in almost a year, and I’ve been tested twice since then. I’m clean, and I promise you, if I would have had any doubts about that, it never would have happened. But it’s okay for you to ask, it’s your right to take care of yourself.” He reached up and kissed Jake softly before laying his head on his chest, listening to the strong heartbeat inside.

  Jake’s buried a hand in Ryan’s hair while the other arm wrapped tightly around Ryan’s shoulders. “I got tested after Mikayla left, because I thought she might have been with another guy, but she wasn’t, and I was clean, and well, there hasn’t been anyone else since.” He was glad that Ryan wasn’t looking at his face.

  Ryan was smiling, though. He liked that neither one of them had a lot of experience when it came to sex. It was something they could learn about together. And Ryan planned on doing a lot of exploring. But he knew it wasn’t the time to be flippant.

  “Jake, if you want, we can go and get tested. I wouldn’t mind or be offended or anything.” He looked up into those eyes he could quite happily get lost in. He wanted Jake to know he was serious. “In fact, I think it would be a good idea. Maybe then we could talk about getting rid of the condoms on a permanent basis, hmm?”

  The clouds faded from Jake’s eyes, and he leaned down to rub his cheek against Ryan’s. He kept running his fingers through Ryan’s hair. He never knew that something so simple could make him feel so good. He was willing to bet that doing this would lift his mood, no matter what was bringing him down. “Where did you come from, Ryan Andrews? How are you real?”

  “Galesburg, Illinois, and I have been asking myself that same question about you since you rode up on that damned horse.” Just the thought of the first time he had seen Jake made Ryan’s eyes darken with desire, and that look made Jake’s pulse quicken. Jake couldn’t help but kiss him, and he was getting ready to deepen it when someone knocked on the door.

  “Shit!” Jake pulled back after one more quick kiss and took a deep breath to steady himself. He looked at the time on his way to the door and knew who it must be.

  “Evening, Sheriff! What can I do for you?” He smiled when he saw Ryan’s eyes widen. Sheriff Tracy Barlowe had short blonde hair, piercing green eyes, and stood six foot two in her boots. She was gorgeous, in an Amazon sort of way, and many a drunken fool had mistaken her for being easy to get along with. And she was, until you pushed her too far. And Jake could tell that she had been pushed.

  “I’ve got a problem, Jake. That crazy bitch Jen Johnson has got her stallion stuck in the mud hole over at Gage’s Pond. That poor son of a bitch is sinking fast, but he won’t let anyone near him. That stupid woman has been warned not to ride there, and with the rain we’ve had here, it’s ten times worse than usual.” She was pissed, no doubt about it.

  Jake was already heading for the door, Ryan right behind him. “Let’s go, Sheriff, there isn’t much time.” Jake turned and saw Ryan behind him. He was about to tell him to stay, when he saw the look on Ryan’s face and knew he wasn’t going to listen.

  All three headed out the door, and Jake made the quick introduction. “Sheriff Tracy Barlowe, meet Ryan Andrews, my new hand.” They quickly shook hands on the way to the barn, where they grabbed ropes and some leather straps. The sheriff got into her Suburban, and Ryan and Jake hopped into Jake’s truck, following her out of the yard.

  “Ryan, I need you to be careful here. Nothing can happen to you, understand?” Ryan could hear the fear in Jake’s voice and wondered what was going on. “I’ll be careful, Jake, I promise.” He reached down and squeezed Jake’s leg, neither one of them saying anything more. Soon they could see the lights of a police car, and they pulled up behind it.

  “Jake, where…?” He trailed off as he looked through the trees and saw a huge gray horse, almost up to his belly in a lake of mud. People were trying to keep it still, without much success. They both got out of the truck and walked up to the sheriff, who was talking to Ben Johnson. His wife sat cursing at a paramedic, who was looking at a cut on her face.

  “Jake, I’m so glad you’re here.” Ben walked over and shook his hand. He turned to Ryan. “Ryan, right?”

  Ryan nodded. “Yes, sir.” He shook his hand too, and they all walked over to get a better look.

  The terrified horse was thrashing around, almost screaming in fear, and the people around him were just as scared. Ryan could feel the anger coming off Jake and the sheriff and was glad he wasn’t on their bad side.

  Ryan turned when he heard Jen’s shrill voice. “Just shoot the fucking thing and shut it up.”

  Ryan was about to say something when her husband beat him to it. “You want me to shoot a horse that is worth $120,000 because you were too stupid to ride him properly? Maybe we should shoot you to shut you up.”

  The woman launched herself at her husband, screeching like a banshee, nails going at his face like claws. Ryan was the closest one to her, so he grabbed one arm and twisted it behind her back, like his older brother would have done to him. He pulled her back, and she came, spitting filthy words at everyone.

  “Stupid fucking faggot, get your hands off me. I am gonna kill that useless piece-of-shit husband and that useless piece-of-shit horse and then I am gonna kick your ass. Jake, come get your fucking boyfriend off me….” The hurtful words just kept coming as the deputy put cuffs on her, shoving her into the back of a police car. Ryan looked everywhere but at anyone’s eyes, terrified of what was going to happen next.

  He saw Ben heading his way, and he tensed up for the abuse he was sure was coming. But all he felt was a warm hand on his shoulder, and he looked around in surprise to see Jake smiling at him. He didn’t have time to say anything because Ben was shoving a hand in his direction. To shake his hand, not to hit him.

  “I’m grateful, Ryan, for the help, and I am so sorry for her foul mouth.” He shook his head sadly. “I shoulda listened to my mama when she said not to marry her.” He let out a heartfelt sigh. “So, you fellas still gonna help me get my horse out of his predicament? It was kind of forced on him too.” He smiled as he said it, hoping to put everyone at ease.

  Jake spoke first. “’Course we are, Ben.” He grabbed Ryan’s arm and slapped Ben on the back on the way by. “Let’s go help Smoke.”

  They all walked over to get a closer look at Smoke. Ben stopped when the mud got to his knees, but Ryan and Jake kept on walking, slogging through the mud until they were almost at the terrified horse. Everyone else was trying to stay as far away as possible, but the two men seemed to be thinking like one. Jake walked around the front of the horse while Ryan walked up to his head on the side nearest the group of onlookers.

  Ryan was talking quietly, mostly nonsense, just something to let the horse know he was there and coming closer. Jake let Ryan do the talking and made sure he kept eye contact with the poor animal. Ryan nodded at Ben’s men to let go of the ropes they had thrown around the terrified animal’s neck and back away for a bit. They all did, and the horse got calmer.

  Ryan reac
hed out and started stroking the horse’s neck, letting him get used to his touch while Jake got the leather straps he had wrapped around his shoulder straightened out. Jake was trying not to let himself be distracted by the danger Ryan was in. The fact that he was in the same danger didn’t matter to him. Once the straps were ready, he started touching the horse on his side, letting him know that they were not there to hurt him. Ryan just kept talking, low and steady, telling him what a beautiful horse he was and how they were gonna help him.

  Jake kept sliding his hand lower down on the horse’s side, letting him get used to the feel of it, and Ryan did the same on his side. To everyone watching, it was like they were communicating without talking. Then Jake was leaning down to slide the first strap around the horse’s chest, just behind his front legs, almost under the mud, and suddenly Ryan came up with it on the other side. They slid a rope through the metal rings on either end, pulling them together before doing it again with another strap, further back.

  The horse started to panic again, and Ryan reached out, moving around to his face, talking a little louder to distract him from the man coming closer at Jake’s signal. The guy was carrying a long length of chain that was hooked to a winch on the front of a pickup truck. Jake ran the chain through the rings on the straps before locking it to itself, making a large harness.

  Jake and Ryan looked at each other, and Ryan nodded, letting him know that he was ready. Ryan stepped back, still talking, while Jake reached up to check the straps once more. At that moment, the horse panicked and tried to pull up, succeeding in getting halfway out before losing his precarious footing and going over sideways. To Ryan’s horror, he landed right on top of Jake.

  Chapter 17

  “Jake!” Ryan’s anguished scream echoed in the night air. “Start the fucking winch! Get it off him!”

  The winch started with a roar, and the horse was dragged toward drier ground while Ryan fought his way over to where he had last seen Jake. He couldn’t see anything for a long second, and his knees almost buckled. Then there was a pale flash of skin, and Ryan spotted a hand, and he grabbed it. Somehow in his despair, he knew he had to be careful, so he gently pulled on Jake’s hand until his head appeared. As happy as he was to see Jake’s face, his anguish grew when Jake didn’t open his eyes right away.

  He gently cradled Jake’s head and neck with his arm, trying to wipe the mud from his face. He didn’t realize he was crying until the tears started running off his face onto Jake’s, but he didn’t care. “Jake, wake up, please.” He was begging, but it didn’t matter. “Baby, come on, open your eyes. Come on, I need you to open your eyes.”

  “Ryan, let him go, come on, we have to get him to the hospital.” The surprisingly gentle voice came from the sheriff. He looked up and saw her and two guys with a backboard standing there, hip deep in the mud. Her heart was breaking from the look in Ryan’s eyes as he looked down at Jake.

  “Ryan!” This voice was a little less gentle and a little more urgent. He looked up at her again, and she reached out to pull Jake gently from his arms, supporting his head as the men Ryan now realized were paramedics slid the backboard under him. Once he was strapped on, they all started moving in the direction of the ambulance, everyone trying desperately to keep their feet under them. Ryan grabbed Jake’s hand, not saying anything, just keeping his eyes on Jake’s face, looking for any sign of life.

  When they got to dry ground, the going was easier. The paramedics put Jake down and started working on him. Ryan started shivering when Jake’s hand was pulled from his, and he didn’t even notice when someone wrapped a blanket around his shoulders. “Is he okay?” His voice was raw with emotion.

  The paramedics were checking Jake over carefully. “He’s breathing, and that’s a good sign.” They put a spinal collar on him and loaded him into the ambulance. Ryan stood there, unsure what to do. He wanted to go with Jake but didn’t know if they would let him. The sheriff made the decision for him. She grabbed his arm, pushed him into the ambulance, and shut the door, not giving anyone time to argue.

  Ryan felt like he couldn’t breathe. He felt numb and oversensitized at the same time. All he could do was sit and stare, praying with all his heart that Jake would be okay. He just needed to touch him. He was reaching out with one hand when he realized that the paramedic was talking to him. He looked at him blankly.

  “Sir, what’s your name?”

  Why was this important? He should have been taking care of Jake. “Ryan, Ryan Andrews.” The paramedic saw the confused look on his face and worried that he was going into shock. Ryan was shivering so badly that his teeth were literally chattering. He didn’t even notice.

  Ryan reached out again and touched the only part of Jake he could reach, his ankle. He just sat there and held on. Fortunately, the ride to the hospital didn’t take that long. When they got there, a couple of nurses helped Ryan out of the ambulance and led him into the hospital. He tried to protest being taken away from Jake, but he was so cold he couldn’t speak. He watched them take Jake out of the ambulance and down the hall before he was led around a corner and into a room with a shower in it.

  He stood there, unresisting, as they stripped off his clothes and shoved him into the shower, telling him he had to clean up and get warm. “Jake….” He could hardly force the word out.

  “Get cleaned up, and we will take you to see your friend.” Ryan was in shock, and the nurse was really concerned that he seemed so out of it.

  Ryan was remembering the conversation they’d had in the barn. “Boyfriend.” The nurse looked at him, not sure of what she heard. “He’s my boyfriend. He said so.” The nurse was starting to get it. She smiled at him and noticed that the warm water was helping to stop the shivering.

  “He did, did he? Well, you had better get cleaned up so you can get back to him.” That caught his attention. He used some hospital shampoo to wash the mud out of his hair, and by the time his shower was done, he was starting to feel a little better.

  The nurse handed him some towels and some scrubs, letting him get dried off and dressed before inspecting him closely for any injuries. “Are you hurting anywhere, Ryan?” He just looked at her and blinked. He almost smiled at the irony of that statement, but she was looking at him expectantly, so he shook his head. He was impatient to find Jake. “Ryan, are you sure your arm doesn’t hurt?”

  He was starting to get pissed off. “I’m fine, nothing hurts. Why are you asking….” His voice trailed off as he looked at his arm. A large bruise covered most of his forearm. The horse must have caught him with a hoof as he went down. His arm was beginning to throb a bit, but the only thing he cared about was Jake.

  “I want to get some X-rays of that arm, to make sure it’s not fractured.”

  With his last bit of patience, he took a deep breath and looked her in the eye. “The only thing that matters to me right now is that beautiful man that is lying wherever it is you have him. I need to know how he’s doing. I need to see him now, okay? After I make sure he’s okay, I’ll do whatever it is you want me to, but right now? The best thing you can do for me is to take me to him.”

  He said it quietly, and she knew that if she was going to get any cooperation from him, she would have to do what he wanted. She nodded, and he followed her out of the room and down the hall. Around the corner, Ryan could see the sheriff and Ben Johnson standing outside a door. They looked up as he approached, and he couldn’t tell by their faces how things were going.

  He walked determinedly up to the door and opened it. Jake was on the bed, still dirty, but breathing on his own. His eyes were closed, and Ryan missed that blue more than ever. The doctor standing beside Jake’s bed looked up as he walked in. “I’m sorry sir, only family is allowed in here.” Ryan looked back at the sheriff, and she stepped into the room.

  “It’s okay, Dr. Martinez. He would want Ryan here.” And she knew it was true. After watching them out there today, she knew there was some kind of amazing connection between them. She wondered
if Ryan knew that the horse went over on Jake because he pulled it that way. Jake had seen what she saw. Smoke was about to come down with both feet on top of Ryan, and Jake had made sure that it didn’t happen.

  Ryan pulled a chair up beside Jake’s bed and sat down. He took Jake’s hand in both of his and held it up to his cheek, rubbing against the back of it. Somehow, in a couple of days, this man had become the most important person Ryan’s life. He couldn’t lose him.

  Ryan looked up at the doctor. “What’s wrong with him?” His heart was almost pounding out of his chest as he waited for the answer.

  “Well, from what I can tell, there are no broken bones, just some bruising. It’s a good thing he was in the mud. It cushioned him, and because he sank, there was less damage. His lungs are clear, thankfully, and there are no spinal injuries.”

  Ryan breathed a little easier. “Then why isn’t he awake?”

  The doctor shook his head. “I’m not sure, but most likely it was the hit on the head he took. I am ordering a CT scan, and we will go from there.” The doctor headed for the door, nodding to the sheriff. “I am going to go order this test and check on some other patients. I’ll be back shortly.”

  Ryan ignored the doctor’s leaving. He couldn’t take his eyes off Jake. He knew the sheriff was standing behind him, and he waited for her to say something.

  “How long have you guys been together?”

  A small smile crossed Ryan’s face. “I’ve known him for four days. Four fucking days, and he is the center of my universe. How is that possible?” He kissed Jake’s hand and leaned in to lay his head on his shoulder, trying to get as close to him as possible, trying to let him know he was there.

  The sheriff was stunned. Four days, and Jake was willing to risk his life for this man. Obviously, Ryan felt the same about him. Tracy had never been hit with love like that in her life.