Wild Trail

by A. M. Arthur

  “My boyfriend, Wes Bentley. He was there and can confirm most of what I said. He didn’t see most of the shooting, though.”

  “I recorded them setting the fire,” Wes said. “On my phone.” He handed it over, and the cops watched the footage up until the shot that broke the trailer window. Wes had dropped his phone to cover his head. The rest was an uninspiring view of the trailer ceiling, Wes’s heavy breathing and the distant gunshots.

  “This is good,” Cop One said. “The footage will help corroborate Mr. Garrett’s order of events. Shotguns have a distinctly different sound than handguns.”

  Don’t I know it now?

  “We have to keep this until we can transfer the video to our servers,” the cop said.

  Wes groaned. “Yeah, sure, it’s not like my entire life is on it or anything.”

  “We’ll have it back to you by morning.”

  That was better than it sitting in an evidence lock-up for days on end. Hell, he hadn’t even told Miles he was driving out to the ranch, and fuck knew when he’d be home now.

  “Can you give us your recollection of events?” Cop Two asked Wes.

  Wes narrated what his shaky brain could remember, leaving out the private stuff in the trailer between him and Mack. “What about the fire?” he asked.

  “Fire and rescue was dispatched to the location. They’ll put it out and try to minimize damage. We also have units on the way up to photograph and collect forensic evidence.”

  “And the body,” Cop One added.

  Mack looked like he wanted to be sick. Wes squeezed his waist. Sounded like Mack had killed the guy in self-defense. Wes had no idea if Mack had ever killed as a cop, but his reaction now suggested no. He was taking this hard.

  “Once the suspect is out of surgery, we’ll question him,” Cop One said. “See what he has to say about this alleged boss of his.”

  “You don’t believe him?” Wes asked.

  “Hard to say. Old ghost town in the middle of nowhere? Hard to see a motive to torch it, other than two drunk bros out with a box of matches.”

  “What about the other stuff that’s happened?”

  “Other stuff?”

  Mack informed him of the cigarette butt, the mangled deer and the missing equipment, which all suggested someone was sabotaging the restoration. Why remained a big fucking mystery, and Wes didn’t have a single clue. Maybe the police could drum up a few?

  “This certainly gives us a new angle,” Cop Two said. “Did you save the cigarette butt?”

  “It’s in a plastic baggie in the trailer,” Mack replied. “Top desk drawer near the back.”

  “And the deer?”

  “Nature’s probably taken it by now.” He described its location, though, and the cop scribbled a lot of notes. A nurse brought Mack a large scrub top, and he pulled it on, exhaustion and stress settling in around the edges.

  “Is that all for now?” Wes asked, using his most authoritative voice. “His best friend just got shot, so perhaps we could have some space.”

  “Of course.” Cop One handed him a business card. “County sheriff’s office will follow up on this incident, but we’ll work with them. If you think of anything else, call.”

  Wes tucked the card into his pocket. “Thank you.”

  Once they left, he led Mack to a row of chairs and installed him in one. Mack’s red eyes were distant, a little glassy as shock set in. Wes squatted in front of him and squeezed his thighs. “I’m right here, Mack. Right here. Stay with me, okay? Colt’s gonna be fine. You were a hero tonight.”

  Mack’s gaze flickered in his direction. “Can’t believe this all happened. Feels surreal.”

  “Tell me about it. One minute I’m drinking wine, the next minute I’m part of a live-action police thriller.”

  “Shit, are you okay?” Mack grabbed his shoulders and looked up and down, assessing him.

  “I’m fine, not even a scratch from broken glass. I mean, yes, I was terrified for a good ten minutes or so, but I’m alive. You’re alive. Colt will be fine. Believe that. He’s going to live so you can continue to be mad at him.”

  Mack’s lips twitched. “He saved my life.”

  “It’s what friends do. He still loves you, you big teddy bear. That doesn’t change because he made a horrible mistake.”

  Something in Mack’s eyes softened a bit. “I need to call Arthur and Judson, tell them what happened. They’re going to wonder about the fire trucks.”

  “If they aren’t wondering already.”

  Mack moved to the far side of the waiting area, closer to the doors to make his phone calls. Wes hauled his weary body into a chair to wait, shaky and nauseated now that his adrenaline had burned up. His “be strong” mode was winding down, and he really didn’t want to lose it in the middle of a waiting room—or in front of Mack, who needed to focus his energy on Colt.

  Except...that was the point of being boyfriends, wasn’t it? To lean on each other, prop each other up. He could be weak in front of Mack, because Mack was safe. Mack would understand and not tease him for his weakness. Not pick on him for a few tears like Drake had a couple of times.

  Wes allowed his body to work through the fear and trauma by releasing more than a few tears that he wiped away on his sleeve. An elderly woman toddled over and handed him a wad of tissues that he accepted with a grateful smile. She didn’t ask questions or push, simply kept walking, handing out more tissues to other people. This waiting room’s own guardian angel.

  Mack returned and pulled him into a hug. Wes melted against him, grateful for the support while he cried some more, getting it out so he could return the favor for Mack. “You’re okay,” Mack whispered. Over and over. “We’re okay.”

  “I know. Stress.”

  “I get it. Believe me.”

  Eventually Wes’s tears stopped, and he had enough strength to hug Mack back. They needed each other to get through this.

  “Arthur and Reyes are on their way,” Mack said after a few moments existing in silence, marred only by the regular ER noises and voices. “Judson took Slater with him up to the site to supervise the cops, see what’s what.”

  “I can’t believe they burned down the blacksmith shed,” Wes replied. “Didn’t you tell me Avery said it was the most well-preserved of the bunch?”

  “Yeah. We’ve got a bunch of pictures, and it’s not like the anvil would melt. We’ll just rebuild it with reclaimed wood, like we are the other new buildings.”

  “Extra expense.”

  “An expense I plan on getting back from whoever is responsible for all this.”

  “I just can’t wrap my head around someone wanting to sabotage the restoration. It doesn’t make...” Wes stopped as a nebulous thought began to swirl and combine into something tangible.

  Mack pulled back so they were face-to-face. “What is it?”

  “Timing. The timing. You’ve had clues of something happening from nearly the first week, right? It’s as if someone knew the town existed, and suddenly you’re out there messing around, and they don’t want a tourist attraction built, because...they’re hiding something they found, maybe?”

  “If someone had found something out there, it’s so remote that they could have removed it without us ever knowing.” Mack’s gaze went distant as he lost himself to something in his head. Then he blinked hard several times. “Fuck.”

  Someone nearby hissed.

  “What?” Wes asked, ignoring the language prude.

  “Somebody’s been after Arthur to buy the back forty for a year. The ghost town is right on the border of the acreage that’s been offered on. Multiple times. But the buyer won’t tell Arthur why, and Arthur won’t sell unless he knows the land will stay wild and intact.”

  “So the buyer could be behind this.”

  Mack’s mouth twisted into a furious scowl. “L
ike you said. Timing. You got the card from that cop? Judson will know the name of the buyer. We need to pass along what we know.”

  Wes fished the card out and handed it over. Mack moved away again to make his phone calls. Wes watched him, unable to hear words, but Mack made animated gestures with his free hand, punctuating his statements. The whole thing seemed convoluted and strange, like something out of a romantic suspense movie plot, but it was happening.

  “For Colt Woods?” The male voice captured Wes’s attention. Mack’s, too.

  Mack charged the man in a lab coat, while Wes hung back, not wanting to intrude. Wes was friendly with Colt to a point, but he wasn’t Colt’s family like Mack was—angry at Colt or not, Mack still cared. It was obvious in the way he grilled the doctor. Eventually, the doctor disappeared, and Mack sank back into the chair next to Wes. Dropped his face into his palms and trembled.

  Wes’s stomach twisted. “Oh God.”

  “No, he’s fine,” Mack said into his hands. “Just relieved. Need a second.”

  “Thank fuck.” Wes draped an arm over Mack’s broad back, holding him until the trembling eased.

  Mack sat up. His eyes were even redder, his cheeks slightly damp—sweat or tears, Wes couldn’t tell. “Took the bullet out. Small caliber, didn’t go deep or do much damage. No organs were hit. He’s stitched up and resting.”

  Wes pressed a hard kiss to Mack’s temple. “I’m so glad. So glad for you.”

  “Hope people don’t think I should automatically forgive him, because he saved my life.”

  “No one’s going to think that, least of all Colt. He always struck me as a realist, not a romantic.”

  “He’s something, that’s for sure.” Mack’s voice was gruff but held no malice. “They aren’t admitting him, but he’s high on painkillers. A nurse will let us know when we can go see him.”

  Wes ignored the “we.” If ever Mack needed a private conversation with Colt, it was tonight.

  Arthur and Reyes arrived a while later. Everyone hugged everyone else, even Wes. Mack updated them on Colt’s condition, and then Reyes pulled Mack into a corner to speak privately. Wes suddenly felt all kinds of awkward standing next to Arthur. He had no idea if Arthur knew he was dating Mack, or what Mack had told Arthur about why Wes had been with him at the site.

  “Thank you for being here for my grandson,” Arthur said. “I know him and Colt have had their differences recently, but those boys are too close to lose each other.”

  “They were both very brave tonight,” Wes replied. “I mostly hid in the trailer.”

  “You were brave here in the hospital, I can tell. Mack’s calm. Collected. He’s a lot like his father. Loses his temper hard when he’s scared. So thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. I care about Mack a lot.”

  “Good. He deserves someone special. And maybe you do, too.”

  Wes’s face went hot all over. “Mack is an amazing man.”

  “That he is. He’s been to hell and back, but he’s still got a lot of love to give. You find yourself on the other end of that love, you don’t let go, hear? Love him as long as you’ve got him.”

  Instead of an ominous warning that things wouldn’t last between them, Wes heard sage advice from someone who’d also loved and lost, and he appreciated the words more than he could express. Maybe he and Mack wouldn’t survive in the long-term, but they had each other now. That had to be enough.

  Mack and Reyes returned. Mack didn’t comment on his new concern about the land buyer being responsible for the sabotage, so Wes didn’t, either. It wasn’t really something to discuss in the hospital, anyway. They made small talk, and eventually a nurse said Colt could be seen.

  No one objected to Mack going back alone.

  * * *

  Mack hesitated on his side of Colt’s privacy curtain. Doctors and nurses walked past, paying him little attention. His insides were all jammed up, just like his thoughts, and he had no idea what to say to Colt. He definitely wanted to find out why he’d been up at the site in the first place, but an interrogation might not be the best way to start the conversation.

  “I can see your boots, you know,” Colt said in a raspy voice.

  Busted.

  He circled the curtain and was totally unprepared for what he saw. Colt normally had a healthy tan, but his skin was nearly as pale as the sheets around him. He was slightly inclined in the bed, with various tubes attached to his left arm. Two dark smudges beneath his eyes. For a man who exuded life and energy, he looked...wiped out.

  He just got shot, what the fuck do you expect?

  “You look like shit,” Mack said.

  Colt snorted. “Good, because I feel like shit. Getting shot fucking hurts.”

  “You’re lucky that asshole had a shitty gun. Could’ve been worse.”

  “Believe me, I know.”

  Mack approached the bed, stopping near Colt’s feet. Unsure what else to say to the man, except “Thank you. You took a bullet for me, man.”

  Colt tried to shrug, then flinched. “I signed up to take a bullet for you my first day in the police academy. I know you hate me, but you’re still my brother. Brother in arms, brother for real.”

  Something unwanted tickled behind Mack’s eyes. He blinked hard several times to make it stop.

  “I can see you thinking questions,” Colt continued. “Why was I up there at all?”

  Mack nodded, not trusting his voice.

  “I heard through Reyes that some stuff’s been going missing and you were considering security cameras. The last few nights, I’ve been riding out, hanging around the site for a while, usually late, after everyone else is asleep. I felt so awful about not catching the thieves before they struck again that I went out earlier tonight. Was nearly there when I heard the first shot.”

  Colt’s confession punched Mack right in the heart, and it did a lot of damage to the part of Mack that was angry at Colt. It didn’t destroy the bad feelings, but they weren’t as strong as before. Colt had done a selfless thing without even telling Mack, and he’d been there when Mack needed him.

  “That...” Mack had nothing flowery to say so he stuck to basics. “Thank you. I mean it, man, thank you.”

  “Just glad I was there.”

  “Wait, you rode? Where’s your horse?”

  “Tied her to a tree. I told a nurse to pass the message along to Judson so he could keep an eye out.”

  Hopefully the poor beast hadn’t bolted from the noise of not only multiple gunshots, but the eventual noise created by emergency rescue sirens.

  Colt waggled his eyebrows. “Dare I ask what you and Wes were doing there?”

  Mack grunted. “Supposed to be a date. Was going pretty good, too, before those assholes invaded our land.”

  “The cops know anything yet?”

  “Not that they’ve shared with me, but I did give them a lead a little while ago.” Mack explained his and Wes’s land buyer theory. “Just can’t imagine what’s out there in the back forty that’s worth risking lives.”

  “Dunno. Gold mine? Arthur’s buried treasure?”

  “Whatever it is, hopefully the cops can untangle this damned mess, so we can proceed with the restoration.” Mack frowned. “They burned the best building we had.”

  “Sorry, man.”

  “Good news is we’re all alive. Sucks that my best electrician got shot, though.”

  Colt’s mouth twisted into a half-smile. “Yeah, that sucks. Hopefully, he’ll be back at work soon.”

  “He needs to follow doctor’s orders about his recovery and worry about work later.”

  “Gee, I didn’t know you cared.”

  Mack took a step closer, hunching his shoulders and trying to look as unintimidating as possible. “I care. Might be pissed at you, but I still care. Eight years of friendship doesn’t disappear ov
er bad feelings. I just...need time.”

  “I’ve got time.” Colt’s half-smile went full wattage. “Plenty of time. Just glad to know there’s a chance we could be friends again.”

  “Yeah. There’s definitely a chance.”

  Arthur and Reyes arrived at the cubicle to see the wounded warrior, so Mack slipped back out to the waiting room.

  He pulled Wes out of his chair and into a long, warm hug. Wes tucked his head into the crook of Mack’s neck, warm breath tickling Mack’s skin. Their rapid heartbeats slowed as they existed in each other’s arms, seeking comfort and support that they could only find in the other. Wes was everything Mack needed. Wes was home.

  “I love you, boss,” Mack whispered.

  He felt Wes’s smile again his skin. “I love you, too, daddy.”

  Everything wasn’t made magically perfect with those soft words, but they gave Mack and Wes something to build on. Something to fight for.

  The rest of it they’d figure out together. Always.

  Epilogue

  “I’m going to vomit,” Wes whispered.

  Mack gently elbowed his ribs, careful to keep his smile open and friendly when he whispered back, “Suck it up, boss. You’ll do fine.” He had no idea how Wes could perform live onstage six nights a week without a sweat, but staring down a handful of local reporters was giving him fits.

  Then again, Mack had never imagined being part of a small press conference on Garrett land for any reason, and he was a little out of his element, as well. But once the truth about the sabotage against the ghost town had finally come out... Well, the media caught wind and gained an interest.

  He, Wes and Arthur stood on the front porch of the almost-finished saloon, giving them a bit of elevation over the eleven-person group who’d assembled to hear a statement, and then ask their own relevant questions. After fielding calls for a week, Arthur had personally invited anyone interested to the site to this meeting so everything could be explained once.

  And behind the crowd of reporters, watching with bright smiles, were the newly married Sophie and Conrad Massey. Unwilling to wait until it was open to the public, the couple had said their vows in a simple ceremony that morning, standing on the very same steps as Mack was on now. Both sets of parents, plus Derrick and Miles, were all back at the ranch, probably watching this from the TV in Arthur’s house.