Cowboys Down (8 page)

Jasper had retrieved his bottle of water and sat on the rock with his left leg bent. Calum slapped a smile on his face.

“Call of nature.” Calum nodded to Ring, who nodded back.

“Ooh, what have you seen?” Janie asked. “Anything interesting? We spotted antelope and mule deer.”

Calum stifled his laugh at Janie’s misunderstanding and belatedly remembered he’d been supposed to point out the local flora and fauna to Jasper.

“We’ve seen prairie dogs too,” Melissa said. “They were so cute.”

Ring gave a pointed snort.

“And what do we find to add to our list when we come around that rock but a couple of good-looking guys.” Melissa wolf-whistled.

“We were hoping for elk,” Janie said.

Jasper’s laugh rang out.

“Or a bear,” Melissa said. “Ring said there might be one in these rocks.”

“Yeah?” Calum glanced at the wrangler who smirked.

“Did you use to be a rodeo star too?” Janie asked.

“No.” Calum walked Blue over to Ring’s horse. “You mean that one time you tried bull-riding and broke your arm?”

The wrangler scowled. “You ever sat on a bull’s back?”

“No, I have more sense.”

“I doubt that.” Ring glanced toward Jasper with a sneer on his face and Calum felt a ball of fury writhe in his gut.

My fucking father.
The reason for the earlier call now clear, Calum slapped his Stetson back on his head.

“Since we’re here,” Ring said, “Jasper can join us for the rest of the ride. Go and help my father work on the barn.”

Calum imagined himself planting his fist in Ring’s smug face, and then thought of Jasper’s reaction, and the report back to his father by the women of an unprovoked attack. Before he did or said something that couldn’t be undone, he wheeled Blue away and headed up the slope.

By the time Calum was in sight of the ranch, he’d calmed down. He felt bad he’d ridden off without saying anything to Jasper. It was possible his father hadn’t sent Ring after him. It was too easy to see conspiracy where there was none, especially if you had something to feel guilty about, though the fact that Calum even
felt
guilty infuriated him.

After a blazing row with his father three years ago, Calum’s sexuality had never been openly mentioned again. Instead, Calum put up with all the snide comments, veiled threats and looks of disgust because he’d do anything to avoid an all-out confrontation and risk what happened during that vicious argument. His father had had a heart attack, ended up in the hospital and Calum spent three days thinking if he died, it would be his fault.

When he reached Bessie patiently waiting by the Neilson Ranch sign, Calum slid off Blue’s back and stroked his dog.

“Hi, girl. You been sitting here or did you sense me coming?” Or
not
coming, as it happened.

Calum walked Blue the rest of the way to cool him down, Bessie padding along beside. It was just as well he and Jasper had been interrupted. His father had made it clear that if he discovered Calum had messed around with a male guest again, he’d write him out of his will and it wouldn’t be Calum taking the reins on retirement—whatever came first.

Sometimes, Calum didn’t care.

But most times, the thought of losing the ranch made his heart ache fit to break.

When he led Blue through the large wooden doors into the stables, Gunner was in there cleaning tack.

“Want me to see to him?” Gunner asked.

“Thanks.” Calum handed over the reins to the elderly, white-haired ranch hand and patted Blue on the neck.

Gunner had worked for his grandfather as well. The man was well past the age when he should have retired, but Calum suspected his father would let Gunner keep going as long as he wanted.

“Thought you took someone out with you on Zander,” Gunner said. “Lose them?”

“He’s coming back with Ring. Seems the rodeo star needed help handling the rhinestone cowgirls.”

Gunner laughed.

As Calum headed to the ranch house, he saw his father coming the other way looking unsurprised to see him.
Bastard.
Harsh words bubbled in Calum’s throat but he held them back.

“I need you to go to Jackson,” his father said. “Vera has a list of stuff and there’s a bunch of documents I want picked up from Hardy’s.”

And you couldn’t have asked me to do this yesterday when I went to the airport?

“Okay,” Calum said, and added, “Did you get that fence sorted?” Because he couldn’t help but think the whole thing had been made up just to find out where he was.

“Yep, Dave went.”

“Any cattle get loose?”

“I called Marty and asked him to check.”

Marty ran the adjoining ranch, but he and Calum’s father didn’t get on. Calum wasn’t sure if he’d ever known why. He
did
know that no man alive could hold grudges as long as his father. The guy had made it a work of art. Which led Calum to suspect his father lied about phoning Marty as well.

As Calum carried on walking, his father called, “Ask your sister if she wants to tag along.”

Calum clenched his jaw. It was almost as though his father could guess what he was thinking—which had been to wait until Jasper returned and then the two of them could go to Jackson together.

“Hardy’s waiting on you, Calum. You need to set off straightaway. Take the SUV.”

“Okay, Boss.”
And fuck you too.

Calum ran up the steps and found Vera in the private lounge.

“Dad says you need something from Jackson.”

She handed him a strip of paper. “Thanks, Calum. It wasn’t urgent, but—”

“Does Angie want to come?”

“I doubt it. She’s desperate to finish her necklace.”

“Okay. I’ll go on my own.” He turned to his dog. “Bessie, stay.” Calum snagged the keys to the SUV from the rack and headed out. Maybe a drive would help him sort out his head.

The inane chatter of Melissa and Janie ruined Jasper’s ride back to the ranch. He tried riding ahead, but it wasn’t easy to make a horse lead when he didn’t want to. Zander didn’t have an alpha bone in his body. That bastard Ring managed to wedge Jasper between the two girls by riding his horse with its nose up Zander’s backside. Jasper ignored all the wrangler’s comments about Zander being gay. Ring obviously missed the point that his horse was the one interested in Zander. Ring was such a bloody wanker.

Maybe Calum was too. His sudden disappearance had been disappointing. He’d ridden off without a word, and considering what Jasper had been about to do, he couldn’t help but feel hurt. Though maybe it was for the best. They hadn’t talked much, but enough for Jasper to understand Erik Neilson wasn’t happy about his son’s sexuality. Jasper didn’t want to make trouble for Calum.

Within minutes, the girls had given him a splitting headache. Jasper refused to believe it was the sun. It appeared neither female had an unspoken thought.

“I can’t wait to do the overnight trip,” Melissa said.

“It sounds so romantic, sleeping under the stars.” Janie sighed.

“Cooking our own food,” Melissa added. “It’s going to be fun.”

“It’s cold at night,” Ring said behind them.

“We could snuggle up.” Melissa grinned at Jasper. “Share body heat.”

“What happens when the sun goes down?” Janie turned to Ring.

“We build a fire, cook, eat, drink. I play the guitar, some like to sing and tell stories. Then we go to bed. It could even snow.”

“That would be so great,” Melissa said.

Jasper thought Ring was going to choke laughing.

“Cooking on a campfire, roasting marshmallows.” Melissa sighed. “Do you have those in England? Marshmallows I mean, not campfires. They’re sort of round and mainly white and pink but at Easter and Christmas and Halloween, you can get them in different shapes and colors.”

She went on and on, and finally Jasper had more than he could stand. “Do you know what marshmallows are made of?”

“Sugar,” Janie said.

“And gelatin,” Jasper said. “Know what gelatin is?”

“No.” Melissa shook her head.

“It’s a thickening agent made from animal bones and skin.”

After a few exclamations of disgust, they were quiet for a blissful two seconds before it started all over again.

“It never gets really cold in LA. Does it get cold in the UK?” Melissa asked.

“At times,” Jasper said.
Oh God, will she ever shut up?

“Not like here,” Ring said. “You have to be a real man to cope with our winters. The wind’s so strong, sometimes the snow doesn’t even reach the ground.”

Jasper bristled. “No pretend men live in Wyoming then? Only real men?”

The girls laughed and Jasper’s spine prickled. No doubt Ring’s laser eyes were boring into his back.

“That’s rich, considering you probably spend your days sitting on your backside in air-conditioned comfort,” Ring snapped.

“We’re a bit short of open ranges in London.”

Jasper kicked Zander on and after some hard, persuasive work with his thigh muscles, he managed to get him ahead of the other horses. Jasper pulled away on a diagonal and then mentally pleaded with Zander to pick up the pace. He wouldn’t.

“Where are you going?” Ring called.

“I’ll call if I need you for anything.” Jasper clicked Zander on and to his relief, this time the horse cooperated.

According to the literature guests were not required to ride with the wrangler. They only needed to stay within shouting distance in case they needed help. Jasper wouldn’t lose sight of Ring, but he damn well didn’t need to ride with him.

It wasn’t long before the three of them were well ahead and Jasper turned back to tag along behind. When the ranch was in sight, he slipped off Zander’s back and walked him the rest of the way. Ring and the girls didn’t bother. That was fine with Jasper. He couldn’t stand another minute of their company. He just hoped he wasn’t supposed to ride with them tomorrow.

By the time he led Zander into the stable, his shirt was sticking to his back. Ring was in there taking the saddle off the horse Janie had been riding while a white-haired guy removed the tack from Melissa’s. There was no sign of the girls. Guests might not
have
to look after their horses, but he disagreed. How could you bond with the animals if you didn’t take care of them? Jasper had already loosened Zander’s cinch. Now he went through the rest of the procedure—removing the bridle, putting on the halter, taking off the saddle. Years since he’d done this, but it was second nature.

He talked quietly to the horse as he worked and then walked him over to a bucket holding a damp sponge so he could wipe him down. Aware of Ring’s gaze, Jasper treated Zander like a prince. He cleaned the horse’s mouth and even brushed his hair flat.

“Like handling all that male flesh?” Ring whispered. “Does it make you hard?”

Bastard.
Jasper ignored him, but how did the guy even know he was gay? Though ignoring him rather than reacting with indignation had probably told Ring what he wanted to know. Jasper checked Zander’s hooves to make sure he hadn’t picked up any rocks and then ran his hand over his flank. Zander nuzzled insistently against the pocket with the mints and Jasper smiled. “Not yet.

“In a stall or outside?” Jasper asked.

“Inside,” Ring told him.

The stalls were all named so he walked him down the center until he found Zander’s, between Blue and Misty. Both horses were in their stalls. So Calum was back.

“Halter off?” Jasper asked.

“Yep. Hang it on the hook.” It was the older guy who spoke this time.

Jasper shut the door on Zander and offered him a mint.

“Did a good job there,” the guy said as he came up behind him. “Makes a change not to have to take over.”

“Thanks. I’m Jasper.” Jasper offered his hand and the man shook it with a smile.

“The guy who threw up. I’m Gunner.”

Oh Christ.
“Am I going to always be known as the guy who threw up?”

Zander snorted.
Traitor.

Gunner laughed. “Until you earn yourself a new name.”

Note to self: “Guy who fucked the owner’s son” had a nice ring to it.

Chapter Five

While the guests ate lunch and exchanged stories about their morning ride, Jasper sat and listened, thinking how he’d freak them out if he told them what he and Calum had been up to.
Nearly been up to.
Except he had an unhappy suspicion that the chances of finding himself with his arms around the cowboy didn’t look good. No sign of Calum at lunch, though Jasper tried not to read anything into that.

He considered going fishing that afternoon with Matt and Paul until Melissa and Janie decided to go. The thought of it set off Jasper’s headache again. The two couples wanted to do the Jeep tour. Jasper wouldn’t be joining them either. Nor did he want to go for a ride in case he ended up with Ring. When he’d booked this, he hadn’t thought he’d be the only single. He’d imagined several people riding together every day. Jasper slunk back to his room and changed into his swimming trunks. With a bit of luck, he’d have the pool to himself.