by J. P. Bowie
“That’d be good,” Jordan said. “I spent the night in a motel in Denton, and it’s not the greatest.”
“Okay, we’ll walk over there and I can show you where the guests stay. We have four cabins. All of them have a king-size bed and a pullout, plus kitchen and bathroom. There’s an empty one we can check out. If you’re ever giving a tour, you should know what to expect.”
Jordan glanced at Parker as they walked up the steps of one of the cabins. “You’re making it sound like I have the job, already.”
“Well, you still have to meet with Royce, but he usually agrees with my pick.” He unlocked the door and stepped inside.
“Oh wow,” Jordan enthused. “This is really great.” He looked around the spacious room, decorated in warm tones of beige and brown. The floor was wood-plank with a couple of scatter rugs, one by the bed, the other in front of the sofa.
“The kitchen’s fully equipped and the bathroom has a hot tub and walk-in shower.”
Jordan peeked into the bathroom and whistled with appreciation. “Nice. My room have a hot tub?”
Parker chuckled. “Not quite. A regular tub and shower’s all you get.”
“I’ll take it,” Jordan said, laughing. “Your guests don’t have much to complain about here.”
“Mostly, you’re right, but there’s always somebody with some bitchin’ they can’t hold back.” He peered at his watch. “Royce should be home anytime now, so let’s go wait for him at the house.”
Jordan felt good as he followed Parker back to the house. It looked like Jed’s recommendation had panned out for him. Not that he wasn’t qualified, but it was always nice to have someone else sing his praises rather than come across as arrogant. He knew he could do this job. For the most part he liked people, and difficult ones he was sure he could handle. Flirty ones too.
When they entered the house, a tall man with blond hair was standing in the kitchen, peering into the refrigerator. He grinned at them both. “Aha, the new boy on the block.” He held out his hand. “Royce Chandler.”
Jordan gripped the outstretched hand and introduced himself. He’d heard from Jed that Royce was a charmer and he could see it in the man’s air of self-confidence, ready smile and warm but not too overly firm handshake.
“So, has Parker been good to you?” He paused to kiss his husband on the cheek. “He can be a bit of a tyrant at times.”
“No, sir. No sign of bein’ a tyrant.”
“Okay, rule one, no calling me sir. It’s Royce. Like a beer?”
“Please, uh, Royce.”
“That’s it.” Royce opened the refrigerator and pulled out a couple of beers. “How ’bout you, my husband?”
Parker grinned. “Please, sir.”
“Watch it,” Royce growled, handing Parker a bottle. “So, Jordan, what d’you think of our little spread?”
“I like it.”
“Enough to work here?”
“You bet. If you’d offer me the job, I’d say, yes.”
“Then come on through to my office and we can start filling out our employment contract. I’ll just need your driver’s license and social security number. You have somewhere to stay?”
“I told him he can bunk here,” Parker said, following them into Royce’s office.
“I stayed in a motel in Denton last night, but I’d rather stay here.”
“Done.” Royce sat at his desk and signaled that Jordan should take the seat opposite him. “Okay, you came highly recommended by our friend Jed Miller, and he should know what he’s talking about. It looks like Parker wants you on board, so I’d like to officially offer you the position. It’s twenty dollars an hour for up to eight hours a day. We do pay overtime should it be necessary and we provide you with health benefits. We charge a minimal amount for your room and board, and you get one day off per week, your choice.”
Jordan nodded. It was more than he’d expected. This kind of job in this kind of environment was a rarity. The money wasn’t bad, and the health benefits and a room to stay in were definite bonuses.
“Okay, Jordan?” Royce was regarding him keenly. “If you’re all right with what I’ve just told you, you can sign here.” He pushed a contract form over to Jordan, the place for his signature highlighted in yellow.
Jordan gave the printed words a cursory look then signed his name. He mentally blew a sigh of relief when he handed the contract back to Royce. Jordan had been counting on this interview going well and he shook Royce’s hand gladly to seal the deal. Maybe this new start would help erase the wretchedness of the past three years.
“So tomorrow, Parker will assign you to two of our guests. They’re arriving later today.” Royce chuckled. “They described themselves as greenhorns, so go easy on them. Parker will show you how we treat the guests on their first day here. Okay, Jordan, welcome to the Seven Plus Ranch. Glad to have you as part of our team.”
They stood and walked outside together. “Why don’t I show you the room you can have,” Parker said, “and you can get your gear stowed away.”
“Everything I own is in the back of the Jeep. I was traveling light.”
“I’ll give you a hand moving it in.”
Royce clapped Jordan on the shoulder. “I’ll leave you guys to it. Stop by around seven, Jordan, and have dinner with us. Parker grills up a mean steak, if you feel like it.”
“My mouth’s already watering at the thought,” Jordan said, grinning.
“Seven it is, then.”
Parker helped Jordan unload the Jeep. He paused to admire the saddle among Jordan’s belongings. “That’s a beauty, Jordan.”
“Thanks. Spoils of the circuit. It cost me a bundle, but I wouldn’t part with it for twice what I paid.”
“Yeah…” Parker ran his fingers over the intricate leatherwork. “A beauty. Nice to see it so well taken care of. You know…” He paused as if remembering. “Few years back I helped Jed unload his stuff. Like you, he was travelin’ light… Now he’s the foreman over the Double R and married to an attorney. Life can be full of surprises sometimes.”
Jordan nodded. Chances of that working out so well for him were close to zero, but he wasn’t about to share that with Parker, a guy who was giving him the break he needed. He hefted the saddle into his arms and Parker pulled out two suitcases. He led Jordan past the cabins and Jordan was surprised when he spotted a pool and spa up ahead. Man, they have everything here to make this place the perfect resort…
“I didn’t expect to see a pool on the grounds.”
“Royce’s idea. It went in about six months ago. I have to say, though, it’s popular with the guests, ’specially when the temperature goes up. Here we are.” They stopped at a one-story adobe building. Parker unlocked the door and Jordan followed him inside. “This is what Royce calls the common room. Somewhere for you to relax with the other guys if you want company or just want to get out of your room.”
Jordan took in the comfortable-looking couches and easy chairs spread around the room, and the big-screen TV in the corner. A pool table stood in the other corner. “Very nice. You play pool?”
“Oh, yeah, when I can get the time. The rooms are down here…”
It was bigger than Jordan had anticipated and furnished way better than the motel room he’d checked out of this morning. “Man, this is really nice,” he said, surveying the brightly colored comforter on the bed and the big leather recliner.
“All Royce’s doing,” Parker told him. “He said he wanted the men to feel at home at the end of the day. Bathroom’s over there. Tim’s in the room next to you, Bob and Stu down the hall there. Bob you’ve met, and you’ll meet the other guys soon enough. Okay, I’ll leave you to it. Don’t forget, seven at the house.”
“Looking forward to it. Thanks, Parker, for the job, and this…” He gestured around the room. “It’s more than I expected.”
“Glad to have you aboard.” They shook hands again, then Parker headed for the door. “Later.”
Chapter Tw
o
Before he relaxed, Jordan decided to get the last of his belongings out of the Jeep. The path through the compound took him by the pool where two men were lying on loungers. One was the young blond who’d flirted with him earlier. Wesley, that’s right…
“Hi, handsome,” Wesley called out. “You get the job?”
Jordan smiled at him. “Yes, I did, thanks for asking.”
“Well…” Wesley rolled off the lounger and walked toward Jordan. The skimpy bathing suit he was wearing left nothing to the imagination and his blue eyes were filled with mischief. “I’ll have to make the Seven Plus my go-to place for fun and relaxation from now on.”
Jordan’s gaze skimmed over the tan and slim, well-toned body. “You tryin’ to get me in trouble my first day?”
“I’d love to get you into trouble, cowboy.” Wesley fingered the front of Jordan’s shirt. “I know the rules say we can’t play, but if you feel like some rule-breaking, I’m your man.”
Jordan chuckled at the same time as Wesley’s companion yelled, “Wesley, for fuck’s sake, stop being such a slut.”
Wesley sighed. “John is one big ole prude.” He ran his tongue over his lower lip suggestively. “Well, see you around, cowboy.”
“I don’t doubt it.” He could feel Wesley’s eyes on him as he walked away. Probably checkin’ out my ass. He could understand why Parker and Royce had instituted the ‘hands off the guests’ rule. With all the fine-looking guys around, the place could become known as Orgies of the West in no time.
They were still lying by the pool when Jordan returned, carrying the last of his two boxes.
“Need a hand with that?” Wesley asked loudly. “Or just a hand in general?”
“No thanks,” Jordan replied. “I’m good.”
“Oh, I bet you are!”
Jordan laughed when Wesley’s friend shushed him. No doubt that boy was looking to get fucked. There was a time when Jordan would’ve been happy to oblige…but that was then…now, not so much. Inside his room, he surveyed his two suitcases and the couple of boxes with a sigh of resignation. Not a lot to show for twenty-nine years of life. Apart from his saddle, there was nothing there worth a hill of beans, and how sad was that? He’d made pretty good money working the rodeos, but Grant Svenson and hospital bills had whittled it away to practically zero. Thank God the job interview had panned out. At least the clothes in the cases were clean thanks to the motel’s laundromat. Thankfully, he’d have something decent to wear tonight at Royce and Parker’s house.
A knock on his door surprised him. Maybe Parker forgot to tell me something? He swung it open and met the bright smile of a young man with light brown hair and a slim, wiry frame. “Hi, I’m Stu Reynolds. I bunk here too, two doors down. Parker told me to stop and say hi, welcome you aboard.”
Jordan took the callused hand in his for a firm handshake. “Jordan Hendricks, pleased to meet you.”
“Likewise. I’d stop and shoot the breeze some more, but Parker’s got me doin’ some inventory seein’ the guests I was training left this morning. Always plenty to do here. Okay, I’ll see you around.”
“Right, later. Nice meetin’ you.”
Stu left with a cheery wave and Jordan spent time hanging up his shirts and jeans, filling one drawer with socks and underwear. After showering, he slipped on a pair of boxer shorts and settled in the recliner. Just about to doze off, he was startled when his cell phone chimed. A text from his mother.
Where are you?
He sighed. Better call her rather than text… He punched in her number. “Hi, Mom.”
“Jordan, I’ve been worried.”
Of course she’d been worried, and he immediately felt guilty. He hadn’t intentionally meant to concern her with his hasty departure, but just then he hadn’t wanted to get into a hundred explanations of why he was quitting town. She knew the main reason, of course…
“Sorry, Mom. Just needed to get away. Clear my head. Good news—I got a job, so you don’t have to worry ’bout me so much.”
“Where are you, Jordan?”
“Just outside Sacramento. Little town called Denton. Working a ranch there. It’s a good job, and the owners seem real nice. Jed Miller recommended me.”
“That was good of him. How is he?”
“He’s doing well. He’s the foreman at the neighboring ranch, so I guess I’ll be seeing something of him.”
“Tell him I said hello…if he remembers who I am. You boys just don’t believe in keeping in touch.”
“I’ll keep in touch, Mom. I just didn’t want to get you involved in Grant’s mess.”
“Is that why you left?”
“Yeah. It was getting beyond bearable. I tried to save him. God knows I wanted to…to get him back to being the man I once knew. If that was even possible. He was killing himself, and I did what I thought was best for him…but he’ll never forgive me for the way I left.”
“You did the right thing, Jordan. Don’t blame yourself for the way things turned out. How could you have known he’d sink so low?”
Jordan swallowed the sob that had risen in his throat. “Sometimes I wish I could have done more.”
“You couldn’t have done more,” his mother said sharply. “He was destroying himself and you along with him. Your brother told me some things…terrible things that I could hardly believe. He should be in jail, Jordan.”
“He’d die in jail, Mom. No way could I ever have put him there. The place he’s in is bad enough.”
“Have you talked to Paul? Let him know where you are? He’ll be glad you have a new job…a new start, maybe.”
“I’m hoping that’s what it’ll be. I’ll call him, don’t worry.”
“Please keep in touch, Jordan. I’m glad you have a job and a new place to live, but you’re still my baby, and I can’t help worrying about you. Just call once in a while and tell me you’re okay.”
“I will, Mom,” he said, hating himself for being the one to put that anxious tone in her voice. “When I’ve worked long enough to get some time off, I’ll come see you. Okay?”
“I would love that.”
“Okay, Mom, I gotta go, but I promise I’ll call more often. Take care.”
“Love you, son.”
“Love you too, Mom.”
Restless after he’d hung up, Jordan got out of the chair and paced the room, but what he knew he needed was a long walk. Sighing, he pulled on his jeans and boots and a clean T-shirt. Just when he thought he was beginning to deal with the memories of a past he wanted desperately to forget, the conversation with his mother had brought it all back with a sickening reality. Not that he blamed her, of course. She just wanted to make sure he was okay, to talk to him, feel secure knowing that he hadn’t done anything stupid, like off himself. He’d thought about it, more than once, but each time he knew it would be like letting Grant win, and he would never give him that satisfaction.
Rage boiled inside him at the remembered taunts and insults, at the humiliation of having a man he’d once loved turn into a slavering, sloppy drunk who’d abused him verbally and physically on an almost daily basis. Grant had blamed him for every damned thing that had gone wrong in his life. Being banned from the rodeo circuit after he was accused of deliberately hurting his horse because he came in last in a competition. Blamed him for— “Oh, fuck, stop it for fuck’s sake,” he moaned aloud. He had to stop going over this shit time and again in his mind before it drove him almost to madness.
He had to concentrate on the present and the future, which this morning had certainly seemed brighter than the past. He couldn’t let what Grant had done to him ruin what he now had. A new job, a new start, maybe new friends. He had to build on that, try to suppress those crushing memories of deranged, drunken fury aimed at him time and time again until the only escape was when he was sitting astride a dervish of a horse determined to unseat him and maybe trample him under its hooves. Then it was just Jordan and an animal in a battle for prowess, something that set the
adrenaline in his body racing, and his mind clear, intent only on winning…because he knew he could. But those moments were brief and over too soon. He’d told Parker a lie. He hadn’t broken his leg in a fall from a horse. It had been under the wheels of Grant’s motorbike.
God, but I need some fresh air…
He wrenched open the door to his room and strode down the hallway that led to what Parker had called the common room. Of course someone had to be there. He came to a sudden halt when Seth, the cute guy he’d seen earlier in the corral, stared at him with concern.
“Hey, Jordan, you okay? You look pale as a ghost.”
“Yeah, I–I’m okay. Just need some fresh air.”
“You sure you’re okay? You’re trembling. Maybe you should sit down.” He gripped Jordan’s shoulder gently. “Come sit and I’ll get you a bottle of water.”
Jordan nodded. Get a fuckin’ grip on yourself and stop acting like an idiot on your first day here. “Thanks, I-I’m feeling better.” He straightened up and forced a smile to his lips. “Did the vet come out to tend Misty?”
“He did.” Seth steered Jordan over to one of the couches. “Let me just get you that water. There’s some in the fridge there.” Jordan sat and watched Seth walk over to get the water.
“Mike says she has a sprained tendon in her right foreleg,” Seth continued, handing Jordan a bottle then sitting next to him. “Not too serious, but she needs to rest a few days.”
Jordan sucked on the water gratefully. He was feeling better and Seth’s amiable personality was welcome at that moment. “Parker told me Mike’s your husband.”
Seth’s smile lit up the room. “Yeah, we got married six months ago. Took my folks by surprise, and me too, if I’m honest. I mean we were serious, but it still came out of the blue when he popped the question. Royce insisted we had the wedding at their house. My folks came in from Eugene, and he and Parker treated them so well.”
“What about Mike’s parents?”
Seth’s smile faded. “Well, his mom died from cancer a while back and his dad… Best you could say is they don’t get along. Mike had a rough life with an ex-boyfriend before I met him, so when I fell in love with him, I swore he’d be safe and happy for the rest of his life.”