A Wild Ride (7 page)

“No. There’s just me and my grandson, and I don’t want to saddle him with the burden a place like this carries. You see, I’ve barely been hanging on here for years, and what I got I want to pass on to him, but this place ain’t big enough to survive nowadays. And if I know my grandson, he’d have a conniption if he knew I was thinking of selling, but he needs to be free to make his own choices in life, and a place like this will wear you down. You see, he’s making his own money and doing well for himself, but he’d spend every last dime to keep this place going, and then he’d have nothing.”

That was not the answer Ryan had been expecting. “So what is it you want me to do?” Ryan looked around. The ranch looked to be in good shape, everything taken care of and maintained. “I don’t understand; the place looks like it’s in good shape.”

“It’s a hard life out here. My grandson deserves better, and I want to try to give it to him. I got some stocks and other papers that my wife left, and I haven’t done much with them. Can you look them over and maybe set up something so when I go, I can pass something on?”

“Of course, but… when it comes to the ranch, why don’t you let your grandson decide what he wants?” Ryan asked, and Hy humphed softly, saying nothing. “Why don’t you show me those papers, and I’ll look them over for you.”

Hy reached to the far side of his chair and lifted up a shoebox. “They’re all in here.”

Good God,
Ryan thought as he took the box and set it on his lap. “Okay. I’ll look over what I can, but I’ll have to come back again so I can go through the rest of what’s in here.” He really didn’t feel comfortable just taking the papers.

“You can’t just take them and do what you need to?” Hy asked.

“Not without an inventory of what you have. That wouldn’t be right,” Ryan said, and Hy smiled.

“Okay, you’re hired,” the old man said. “I was told you folks were honest, and I’m glad it’s true.” Hy nodded, and Ryan opened his case and retrieved the brokerage agreement.

“I brought some papers for you to sign that would set up the brokerage account and allow me to deposit your assets into the account.”

Hy pulled out a set of glasses from his pocket, and Ryan handed the box back to Hy before reviewing the agreement with him. Hy signed the papers and Ryan gave him a copy. “Now as for the ranch, I can only give you advice. I’m not a Realtor, but when I come out again, I’ll look over the books and the operation and give you a recommendation.”

“That’s fair,” Hy said, and across the yard the barn door opened and a man stepped out. Ryan stilled as he watched him come closer. “That’s my grandson.”

“Dante?” Ryan asked, and he saw the man stop briefly before slowly continuing his walk to the porch. He seemed reticent, but approached and climbed the stairs to the porch. Ryan could hardly believe his eyes. He’d been thinking of Dante for weeks… and there he was.

“I take it you know my grandson,” Hy said, looking from Ryan to Dante and back. Ryan nodded, not taking his eyes off Dante. Oh yes, he knew Hy’s grandson—in the biblical sense.

W
HAT
the fuck is he doing here?
To say Dante was taken aback when he saw Ryan sitting on their porch talking to his grandfather was an understatement. But what shocked him was the force of his reaction to the other man.

“Have a seat, Dante,” his grandfather said, and Dante pulled one of the other chairs closer, his gaze never leaving Ryan. He was nervous as shit and wanted to know why in the hell Ryan was here, but at the same time, he couldn’t take his eyes off him. And fuck if he didn’t want to reach out and stroke what he knew was silky black hair. “You and Ryan here have met?”

Dante swallowed. “We met after the finals.”

“Dante and I played a few games of pool together,” Ryan said without looking away.

“So you saw him ride in the finals?” Gramps asked, and Dante saw Ryan’s gaze shift.

“I certainly did.” Ryan flicked his eyes to him, and Dante’s cheeks began to heat. “It was something else—a real wild ride.”

Dante squeezed his eyes closed for a brief second before standing up. “I’ll get something cool to drink.” He had to get the hell out of there. He knew what Ryan was doing, and fuck if it wasn’t working, big-time. Dante could hardly breathe, his heart beating a mile a minute, and he was so hard he could pound nails. Every ounce of him wanted Ryan, and he was so fucking close, but Dante knew he had to keep his distance.

In the kitchen, he got some sodas out of the refrigerator. He wanted a beer, or two, hell, maybe a six-pack, but Gramps shouldn’t be drinking, and to act as a reminder, he looked at the pill bottles lined up like soldiers on the counter. He grabbed the ones Gramps needed to take and added them to the tray before carrying everything to the porch,

“Dante takes care of a lot of the things that need to be done around here,” his grandfather was saying. Ryan and Gramps were both leaning against the porch rail. “He rebuilt that building last year before he went on tour, and between rodeos, when he needed some time to heal, he rebuilt the corral over there. The boy never stops.”

“Gramps, it’s time for your pills,” Dante said gently.

“Bah,” Gramps said the way he always did, but he took the orange pills when Dante handed them to him and downed them with some of the soda. “Beer would be better.” Dante groaned and handed one of the sodas to Ryan. He agreed, beer would definitely be better, but Gramps shouldn’t have any, so he never drank in front of him.

“Your grandfather was just telling me about this place,” Ryan said.

“Been in the family since the republic,” Dante said, and something dark flitted across Ryan’s expression before vanishing quickly. “I do what I can to help Gramps keep it up. He hasn’t been able to do a lot lately, but he’s proud of the place and it means a lot to him.” Dante touched his grandfather’s shoulder, the affection between the two of them clear. “We’ve got just a few hundred head right now. It’s what we can manage.”

“You two youngsters go have a look around. I’m going to sit here for a while,” Gramps said as he settled back in his chair, already starting to close his eyes. Dante had figured everything was fine as long as Gramps was around, but he wasn’t too sure how he felt about being alone with Ryan.

“Come on, you can show me the ranch,” Ryan said with a smile that seemed to say so much more. Dante sighed, knowing he couldn’t refuse without being rude or making Gramps suspicious. He got up and motioned Ryan toward the barn.

“Look,” Dante began as soon as they were out of earshot of his grandfather, “I don’t know how in the hell you found me, but I want you to leave.” Dante continued walking until they were inside the barn.

“Jesus,” Ryan said from behind him, and Dante whirled around. “I’m surprised your head can fit through the fucking door. Your grandfather called
me
because he had some old papers and investments he needed help with. I didn’t come out here looking for you.” Dante relaxed slightly until Ryan smiled a bit evilly and then moved closer. Dante stepped back as Ryan continued toward him. His entire body was on fire and he ached to have Ryan touch him, but he knew he had to resist. Somehow he had to stay in control. “You thought about me, didn’t you?” Ryan asked, and Dante took another step back, thumping into the wall of the first stall. “You did. I bet you thought about me a whole lot.”

Dante swallowed, refusing to justify Ryan’s supposition with an answer. “I—” he began, trying to protest, but his words caught in his throat.

“It’s okay. I know you thought about me.” Ryan stepped so close Dante could feel the heat from his body, but Ryan never touched him, not once. “I can tell you thought about me, and I know your body aches for me right now.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Dante protested feebly.

“Yes, it does. But as I said, I’m not going to touch you. So you can relax,” Ryan said, just softly enough for Dante to hear. “I won’t touch you again until you ask me to… and you will.”

Dante shook his head and moved to the side, away from Ryan. “No, I won’t,” he protested, feeling a little better that he’d been able to get away.

Ryan grinned a warm smile that made Dante almost move into his arms right there. “Maybe, maybe not, but like I said, I won’t touch you until you ask me. But….” Ryan paused and Dante stopped dead still. “I only gave you what you needed, and just because you couldn’t handle it is no reason to act like a jackass.”

“How can you know what I needed?” Dante challenged, moving down the row of mostly empty stalls, the few horses becoming agitated as they picked up on Dante’s mood.

“Dante,” Ryan snapped in a commanding tone that made him stop without thinking. “Your entire body screams for what you need. I’m just the person who was able to read the signs. And before you ask me, I don’t know why you need someone else to be in control any more than I know why I need to be in control, but you do need it.” Ryan stepped closer but acted like the things he’d just said were as normal and ordinary as explaining how much hay to give one of the horses.

“Now who has the ego the size of Texas?” Dante said, feeling a little better now that he had something to use against Ryan, and hoping he could deflect the conversation a little. “You think you know everything, but you don’t know shit. So keep your theories to yourself.”

Ryan simply nodded. “Fair enough,” he said, taking a small step back then leaning forward. “But what if I’m right?” Ryan whispered. Dante tried his best to meet Ryan’s challenging gaze, but eventually he had to look away.

“You said you have a few hundred head of cattle,” Ryan prompted, and it took Dante a few minutes to gather his thoughts and respond. How in the hell did Ryan do this to him? He was a bull rider, for God’s sake, and yet Ryan made him… he wasn’t sure what Ryan made him feel, but fuck… it somehow wasn’t right. He had to clear his head.

“Yeah. There used to be more, but Gramps and I alone can’t handle a herd much larger than that. We also have four horses, two of which are mine. The other two are ones Gramps put out to pasture years ago.”

“So who keeps this place up?”

“Me, mostly,” Dante answered.

“How?” Ryan asked as he peered into one of the open stall doors. “You must spend a fair amount of time training and traveling to events. There can’t be a lot of time to take care of things here.”

Dante’s first instinct was to tell Ryan his life was none of his business, but Ryan seemed genuinely concerned. “I have someone who helps while I’m away, and I like working on things here. This place has been in my family for a long time, and when Gramps passes it will come to me. I don’t know what I’m going to do with it yet, but it’s still a matter of pride to him, and to me, that the place be kept up and cared for. Someone has to do it, and with Gramps being sick, that falls to me.” Dante realized he’d probably said more than he should have, so he turned and walked to the back of the barn and pushed open the door.

“Your grandfather seems like an interesting man,” Ryan said, and Dante almost jumped at how close Ryan was. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore it, but he could smell Ryan’s cologne on the breeze, and fuck if that didn’t take him right back to the night they’d spent together. He hadn’t been able to get that out of his mind for a week. Hell, it took him damn near ten days before he could sleep without whacking off three times a night, and now he was right back there as Ryan’s scent surrounded him.

“He is,” Dante answered, forcing away the memory of Ryan moving inside his body. “Gramps raised me after my parents—” Dante cut himself off as he stepped outside and led Ryan toward one of the corrals. A horse came right up to Dante, and he stroked the horse’s chestnut neck. “This is Jesse. He and I have been together for quite a while.” Jesse lightly butted his chest and then sniffed around Dante’s pocket for treats. “I don’t have anything for you.” Jesse sniffed a little more and then moved away toward one of the patches of grass. Dante turned back to Ryan. “What else would you like to see? There isn’t much. It’s just a ranch with a few horses, cattle, and land.”

“Where do you practice?” Ryan asked. “I don’t see any bulls, so you must have a place where you can practice for your events.”

Dante nodded and pointed to one of the barns. “I have a mechanical bull in there.”

“Can I see it?” Ryan asked.

“Don’t you have to get back to the city?” Dante asked, making the mistake of letting his gaze rake over Ryan in his business suit.

“Not really. I had the evening free to meet with your grandfather,” Ryan answered, and Dante sighed softly before heading toward the other building.

“It isn’t much. Just one of those machines like you used to see in the movies,” Dante explained. He unlocked the door and then pushed it open. “This used to be one of the equipment sheds, but Gramps and I converted it so I could practice.” Dante led Ryan around the perimeter of the padding that surrounded the bucking machine. “These were developed so bull riders could practice without having to ride actual bulls and risk the injuries that go along with that.”

Dante watched Ryan slowly walked around the perimeter. “Can you show me how it works?”