A Wild Ride (14 page)

“Yes. I really believe he thought he was doing you a favor. He said the ranch hasn’t been making money for years, and I think he was afraid you’d sink all your money into it and be left with nothing.”

Dante motioned toward the house and followed Ryan inside. “Would you like a beer?” Dante asked. “I could certainly use one.” He pulled two bottles out of the refrigerator and handed one to Ryan without waiting for his answer. “I haven’t sunk a dime into the ranch. It hasn’t made much money in the last few years, but it’s holding its own. Gramps hasn’t been able to keep the books in a while, so I’ve been doing it. Our expenses are rather low, and I’ve kept the herd small because it was what I could manage and take care of Gramps while competing.” Dante took a gulp from his bottle. “I’ve done well with prize money and I have sponsors that help pay most of the expenses.” Dante took another pull. “Shit,” he said before leaping off the sofa and hurrying to his room. Dante snatched his date book off the dresser and rifled through it as he carried it and the beer back to the living room.

“What is it?” Ryan asked.

He found the page and breathed a sigh of relief. “My sponsor, Dunbar’s, is a maker of western gear, and I have a signing at a store in Houston. It’s part of my deal with them.” Dante made a note to call them and confirm the time he was supposed to be there. “Thankfully it’s not till next week. I do four or five of these a year as well as make appearances at the stores that sell their clothes when I’m on tour. I meet fans, and they sell more clothes and stuff.” Dante set his date book on the table and sat on the sofa again.

Ryan finished his beer and set the bottle next to Dante’s. “Do they know about you?”

Dante shook his head. “No. I’ve always been careful when I’m on tour. I don’t spend a lot of time going to bars and stuff.”

“Then why did you go out that night?” Ryan asked, settling on the cushions.

Dante stood up, grabbed the bottles, and carried them to the kitchen. “I had just lost the finals by two one-hundredths of a point. I needed something, and I was so pent up, I did something I never do and went out looking for guys. I guess I got lucky when I found you.” Dante grabbed two more bottles from the refrigerator and carried them back to the living room. “I’ve always been so careful, but I never lied—just didn’t discuss it.” Dante settled on the sofa. “Gramps drilled into me as a kid that lies get you nowhere, so I did what I had to do to avoid them. I don’t socialize with the other riders and cowboys. After events, I went back to my hotel or came back here when I could. I didn’t get to know many of the other riders in any way but professionally. But that loss did something to me.” Dante opened his bottle and took a long pull, gulping hard. He wanted to forget all about this day. “I’d heard about the bar we were at, where people weren’t necessarily picky about who they went home with.”

Ryan opened his bottle and lightly clinked the side of Dante’s. “Jacky dragged me there. I don’t have time to go out much, and he pushed me in your direction too. So I guess it was luck that we met when we did.” Ryan settled back, drinking from his bottle, but Dante could feel his gaze on him almost like a craved touch. Dante took another drink and closed his eyes. If Ryan wanted to look, he could. “You’ve had a hard day,” Ryan said, and the bottle clinked as he set it on the coffee table. “I know the temptation is to drink to try to make all this crap go away, but it isn’t going to work.” Ryan stood up and gently took the beer bottle from Dante’s hand. He set it on the coffee table next to his own and tugged Dante to his feet. “Come on,” Ryan said.

Dante let himself be led through the house to his bedroom, where Ryan slowly stripped off their clothes and then pulled back the bedding. “I don’t know if…,” Dante began as Ryan turned off the light and pressed him into the mattress.

“Quiet,” Ryan told him, kissing him deeply, but without the hard edge of need that usually accompanied situations like this. “Just close your eyes and let it go. Hy is going to be okay, and whatever arrangements need to be made will get done, but you don’t have to do them tonight.”

Dante listened to Ryan’s mellow voice and let go of the worry and fear that had churned inside him for hours. The tension in his back released and Ryan pressed to him, holding Dante tight. “I just can’t believe Gramps was actually going to sell the ranch.”

“Hey, he was worried about you. Look at it that way, and when he’s feeling better, talk to him. Tell your grandfather what you really want. Lord knows, talking to one another isn’t the worst thing in the world.” Ryan chuckled behind him, the laughter and the flutter of his muscles going right through Dante, and he closed his eyes.

“I shouldn’t have doubted you,” Dante said. “I should have asked before going off like….”

“One of the bulls you ride?” Ryan snickered. “You know, they say people begin to take on the characteristics of the animals they’re around.” He squeezed Dante a little closer. “So I guess I should be glad you don’t spend more time around horses.”

“Why?” Dante asked, rolling over to face Ryan.

“Instead of a charging bull, you’d be a horse’s ass,” Ryan said. Dante reached for his pillow and smacked Ryan on the head with it. Ryan retaliated with his own pillow, and then Dante was laughing and trying to breathe as Ryan tickled his ribs. Dante let out a belly laugh and tried to get away, but only ended up thunking on his ass on the floor.

The laughter stopped and Dante stared up at the mattress, wondering what in hell happened. Then Ryan’s face appeared above him. “You pushed me off the bed,” Dante said.

Ryan shook his head and extended his hand. Dante took it, and Ryan tugged him up and back into bed. “Come on, let’s go to sleep.” Ryan chuckled, and Dante settled in bed next to him, holding Dante tight like the sun rose and set around him, and for a few minutes, Dante let himself imagine that was true.

D
ANTE
woke and gasped softly before remembering where he was. The windows were still dark, and he glanced at the clock before realizing he’d only been asleep a few hours. “What is it?” Ryan mumbled and pulled Dante closer. Then Ryan rolled Dante onto his back, pressing him into the mattress, and kissed him softly but so intently that Dante closed his eyes and let Ryan take him where he wanted to go.

“What should I do?” Dante asked. Having sex usually involved instructions and guidance from Ryan, but Ryan didn’t answer and instead kissed him harder. Ryan caressed him, making small little circles at Dante’s sides, sliding their cocks past each other as Ryan made slow movements that drove Dante insane. “We usually…,” Dante began, trying to figure things out, and Ryan gently placed a finger over his lips before removing it and kissing him again. Then Ryan rolled them in the bed until Dante was on top of Ryan, being held closer and tighter than he could ever remember in his life. Ryan encircled Dante’s waist with his legs and made little circles on Dante’s back with his hands. Then he gently cupped Dante’s head and kissed him deeper. Dante let himself go, barely remembering the condom before giving everything over to Ryan, who didn’t have to say what he wanted or even utter a word; his simple gestures and tender caresses guided him until Dante slowly entered Ryan’s body and had his breath stolen completely away.

They moved together, Dante responding to Ryan’s unspoken commands in the most amazing way—kisses that went on forever, Ryan’s body gripping him until he was convinced neither of them ever wanted to separate. It wasn’t long until they were both flying and then slowly floated back down to earth.

Dante hardly registered Ryan getting out of bed or him gently washing away the remnants of their nearly otherworldly experience. What he did remember was Ryan getting back into bed, settling in next to him, and the gentle way Ryan kissed the top of his shoulder. Then he fell asleep and remembered nothing.

The phone woke him in the morning, and Dante jumped out of the bed, his feet barely touching the floor, his entire mind centered on what had happened to Gramps.

“Dante,” a familiar voice said when he answered, and he shook away the haze of sleep and saw Ryan staring openmouthed at him. “Sorry if it’s too early, but I needed to get a hold of you.”

“It’s okay, Harvey,” Dante said and caught Ryan’s eye as he headed for the bathroom, mouthing, “
My agent,”
in a rather Hollywood sort of way.

“Good. Look, we got ourselves a problem. It seems that the Dunbar’s people got wind somehow that you’ve been spending a lot of time with another man in… that way… and they aren’t particularly happy.” Harvey had an almost affected down-home way of speaking sometimes. “There’s always been sort of… rumors… surrounding you because you were such a loner, though no one really gave a rat’s ass, but now that you’ve been seen hanging around with another man, well….”

“Rumors? Look, what do they want to do? I’m supposed to do this signing event for them in a few days. Do they want to cancel?”

Harvey made some sound that Dante didn’t think people could make, and the thought of Harvey doing voice-overs for horses in the movies came to mind. “I told them to hold their horses and think about what they’re doing. That they could be sponsoring the next champion, and they hemmed and hawed.”

“What do you want me to do, Harvey? I’m gay, all right?” There, he’d said it out loud. Jesus, why didn’t folks just mind their own business?

“Don’t do nothing,” Harvey told him. “They know you’re popular with the fans. Sure, there are some folks who will care, and others who won’t give a shit as long as you’re winning. But I get the feeling this personal appearance and signing event is going to be watched pretty closely. If folks don’t show up, then Dunbar’s will be thinking they might want to get someone else to try to help sell their hats for them.”

“Shit,” Dante said as Ryan came out of the bathroom. He must have seen the surprise on Dante’s face, because he paused pulling on his pants and let them fall back to the floor before moving to Dante and slowly rubbing his back. Dante held up a single finger. “Thanks, Harvey. I got to get going. Gramps is in the hospital and I gotta do chores before going up to see him.”

“Of course,” Harvey said levelly.

“You don’t sound upset about all this,” Dante observed with a touch of surprise.

“Doesn’t matter to me,” Harvey said with a sigh. “We here in Texas talk about wanting to live free and make our own choices. We believe in carrying guns as a demonstration of our personal freedoms. And I agree with that. Personal freedoms are important. And while I don’t understand you liking guys instead of girls, I think it’s part of that personal freedom we’re always going on about.” Harvey paused, and when Dante felt Ryan’s hand on his shoulder, he closed his eyes. “Besides, I want you to be happy, and if that means riding bulls or something else”—Harvey snickered very briefly—“it isn’t my business or anyone else’s.” There was a long pause, then Harvey said, “I’m sorry to heap all this on you now, but I thought you better know. I’ll talk to you later, and call me when you know how your gramps is doing.”

Harvey hung up, and Dante set his phone on the dresser, closed his eyes, and leaned back into Ryan’s embrace, wondering just what in hell he was going to do. The only thing that had been keeping everything together was his sponsorships and the fact that he was making money on the circuit. If all that dried up, then maybe he would have to sell the ranch, regardless of whether it was making money, especially if what the doctor said was true and Gramps needed care beyond what Dante could provide. The fluttering in his stomach grew, and the only thing keeping him from being sick was Ryan’s soft touch.

“S
O
WHAT
’
S
so important?” Jacky asked as he walked into Ryan’s office at lunch a couple days later. “It isn’t Dante’s grandfather, is it?”

“No. Hy’s home and doing as well as can be expected, I guess,” Ryan said. “When you took me to the bar and I met Dante, you said that there had been rumors that he was gay.”

“Yeah, I guess, but there are rumors about every guy on the circuit who isn’t married. They’re mostly wishful thinking. You know how people are. Why?”

“Dante’s sponsor is thinking of dropping him because he’s been seeing me. It seems they heard those rumors, and now that Dante’s been seen with me, they’re thinking there’s truth to the rumors.”

Jacky flopped in one of his chairs. “That really sucks.” He shook his head. “What are you going to do?”

“Do?” Ryan asked. “There isn’t anything I can do. I feel bad because this happened to him because he’s seeing me, but I can’t make Dunbar’s decide to sponsor him for another year.” Ryan had been thinking of trying to see if his firm would sponsor Dante, but that wasn’t their style, and Dante would probably resent him stepping in like that.

“I know,” Jacky said.

“I thought about seeing if I could sponsor him myself, but if Dante got wind of that, he’d probably have a fit and think it was charity.”

Jacky’s eyes widened. “Do you have enough money to do that?” he asked, and Ryan shrugged. “It takes quite a bit to pay the entrance fees and stuff like that. Most places do it because then the riders make personal appearances on their behalf and stuff like that. They hope to get their investment back either through advertising or by taking a percentage of the rider’s winnings. But you better have deep pockets in order to do that, because if Dante doesn’t win, you’re out a lot of money.”