Rough Ride CV4 (2 page)

Throwing the post-hole digger down, Wyn set the new wooden pole in the hole.

Kneeling in the red Oklahoma dirt, Wyn began backfilling the hole, tamping it down with a pipe he’d found in the back of the truck. He threw in a couple of scoops of gravel for good measure, before continuing with the backfill.

As the dust kicked up he began to cough. He closed his eyes and tried to clear his lungs.

He couldn’t help but imagine the cool interior of his store back in Cattle Valley. He wondered if Gavin was getting along okay managing the store. He’d made a point to call at least once a day in case there were any problems, but you never knew for sure. Gavin was a good guy and an even better employee, but Wyn was used to overseeing everything that went on.

He looked around him—nothing but cattle and work. He’d been right to get out when he’d turned eighteen. His dad hadn’t been happy, but they both knew his sexuality would never allow him to fit in if he’d stayed.

Once the hole was filled, Wyn stood and tested it, pushing against it with all his weight.

When it didn’t move more than an inch, he deemed it good enough. He went to his dad’s truck bed and picked up the spool of barbed wire. He wasn’t a weak man by any means, but that spool nearly toppled him several times.

He was lucky the broken post was close enough to a brace that he didn’t need to build a new one. Starting with the bottom strand, Wyn nailed the wire to the brace with two staples, taking the time to wind it around the bracing post.

ROUGH RIDE

Carol Lynne

9

Picking up the pipe he’d used on the hole, he stuck it through the centre of the spool and rolled out the needed length of wire. He was getting the wire stretcher out of the truck when his cell phone rang.

Grateful for the break, he dug his phone out of his pocket. “Hello.”

“Hi, it’s Ezra.”

Wyn rolled his eyes. Like anyone else on the planet had Ezra’s unique gravely voice.

“Hi. You caught me fixing a fence.”

“You’re fixin’ fence?” Ezra sounded shocked.

“Yes. I grew up here. I do remember a few things from my youth.”

“Sorry, just surprised me, is all. I’m arriving on the seven o’clock flight. Can you pick me up?”

Wyn took out a handkerchief and wiped his brow. “Sure. I’ll even take you to dinner.”

“I’d appreciate it. Well I got to get moving so I’ll see ya later.”

“I’ll be there.” Wyn hung up and tossed the phone through the open window to the truck’s bench seat.

Grabbing the stretcher, he went back to work. He finished up the bottom and top wires and was stretching the middle one, when all hell broke loose. Wyn still wasn’t sure what happened. One second he was bracing the stretcher with his leg to nail in the final two staples and the next thing he knew, he felt the wire break, snapping back to catch him in the shoulder, face and neck.

Wyn was knocked to the ground by the impact, his hand immediately going to his face.

His leather-gloved hand came back with a good amount of blood. “Shit!” he yelled at the top of his lungs.

He pulled the handkerchief back out of his pocket and held it to his face, noticing his shirt was already getting soaked through with blood.

Managing to get to the truck was no easy task as he started to feel a little wobbly on his feet. “Don’t pass out now, old man,” he mumbled.

He started the truck and pulled out onto the old dirt farm road that led to the gravelled driveway. His vision began fading as he started towards town. Knowing he could pass out at any minute, he made a quick decision to ask his dad’s neighbour for help.

ROUGH RIDE

Carol Lynne

10

Shivering, Wyn pulled in the long gravel drive and laid on the horn. He saw a figure running towards him from the area of the barn and slammed on the brake, putting the truck into neutral.

As the figure neared, Wyn knew it wasn’t the Frank Johnson he remembered.

“What happened?” the guy yelled from ten yards away.

“Stringing fence,” Wyn managed to get out before his world went black.

ROUGH RIDE

Carol Lynne

11

By the time Ezra walked into the terminal, his legs were numb. Damn cramped seating.

They definitely weren’t designed for a six-foot-eleven-inch man.

After picking up his bag from the claim area, he made his way to the front of the airport. He saw no sign of Wyn. His hand went to his face to scratch at his beard. He was momentarily surprised when his fingers encountered freshly shaven skin. Chuckling to himself, he walked towards the information desk.

“Excuse me, Ma’am?”

The information clerk smiled. “May I help you?”

“Someone was supposed to meet me here, but I don’t see hide nor hair of him. I was wondering if you could page Palmer Wynfield for me?”

“Sure,” she said and did what he asked.

He looked around, nothing. A tap to his arm caught Ezra’s attention.

“Are you Ezra James?” the tall cowboy asked. The guy was about six-foot-three with dark brown hair and a goatee. Ezra knew he’d never seen him before.

“That’s me,” Ezra replied.

“Sorry, you don’t look like the description Palmer gave me. Well, except the size, he was spot on with that.”

Ezra ran his hand over his face. “Yeah, well, I thought I’d surprise Wyn. Where is he?” The cowboy looked uncomfortable for a moment. “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but Palmer’s had an accident.”

Ezra’s hand immediately clenched into fists. “Who hurt him? I’ll kill ’em.” The man beside him held up his hands. “No, he was fixing a fence and the barbed wire snapped back on him. He’s in the truck. They’ve got him pretty drugged up.” The cowboy thrust out his hand. “I’m Richard.. My grandpa owns the farm next door.”

“Which way to your truck?” It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate Richard coming to get him, but he needed to see that Wyn was okay. He’d seen quite a few cowboys have run-ins with barbed wire and it was never good.

ROUGH RIDE

Carol Lynne

12

Richard pointed the way. “The doctor said he’d be fine. He’s got a mess of stitches though. The wire caught him in the shoulder, neck and face. He seems to be most upset about the cuts to his face.”

As they walked across the parking lot, Richard continued to fill him in. “He lost a good bit of blood, but the doc said he got to the emergency room in plenty of time. He was smart enough to come to grandpa’s house before he passed out.” They reached a beat-up shit brown truck and Ezra swung his bag in the back. Richard unlocked the passenger door and gave Ezra an apologetic look. “I figured he’d be asleep and I didn’t want anyone messing with him.”

Ezra nodded his head. “I appreciate it.”

Opening the door, Ezra felt his throat constrict at the sight Wyn made. His shirt had been cut up the middle, dried blood made the otherwise soft cotton stiff. White gauze bandages seemed to cover the much smaller man from armpit to temple.

Taking a deep breath, Ezra gently picked Wyn up and cradled him in his arms. He sat in the seat and held Wyn on his lap. He could tell Richard wanted to say something about the lack of seat belt, but Ezra gave him a look, daring him to comment.

With a shrug, the cowboy shut the door and went around to the driver’s side. “It’s about an hour’s drive once we get outside of the city.” Ezra nodded but said nothing. Wyn was truly out of it. Ezra longed to kiss him, but wasn’t sure how the man driving the truck would react to such a thing. He wasn’t sure why he cared, except he knew Wyn would.

Richard must have seen his dilemma. “Are you Palmer’s partner?”

“Not yet,” Ezra replied. He narrowed his eyes at Richard. “You got a problem with that?”

Richard chuckled. “No, but I’m probably the only one in town. I didn’t grow up in Pamona. I came down to help grandpa tag and castrate the spring calves.” With that information in mind, Ezra gave into temptation and kissed Wyn’s forehead.

“Wyn tells me he was jumped in town. You know anything about it?” Richard nodded. “I heard a few guys laughing about it when I went into Jenny’s for breakfast.”

“You know the names of the guys who did it?” Despite Wyn’s present condition, Ezra couldn’t help but get turned on by the small ass nestled against his cock.

ROUGH RIDE

Carol Lynne

13

“Not sure, really. I’d guess Henry Fletcher was behind it though. Palmer should be able to tell you when he wakes up.”

Ezra stored the name for future reference. Richard continued to make small talk the rest of the drive. Ezra was grateful the man didn’t always expect him to talk back. A thought occurred to him. “So, can I ask why you don’t have a problem with Wyn’s lifestyle?” He watched as Richard’s hands gripped the steering wheel. “I’ve been buried in the closet for several years now. When I was at OSU, it was different, but I had to drop out my junior year and help my dad with his ranch. People around here don’t understand, and I’m not as brave as Palmer.”

Ezra studied Richard for a few seconds. Yeah, he knew all about being in the closet.

He’d done it for the first thirty years of his life. “You ever hear of a place called Cattle Valley?”

“No, can’t say as I have.”

Ezra grinned. It was always the same. Cattle Valley seemed to be a secret utopia, known only to a few. “It’s in Wyoming. I’ve got a ranch there and Wyn owns a clothing store. You should look into it.”

Richard nodded. “They pretty cool with your sexuality?” Ezra chuckled. “Well, let’s see. The sheriff is involved in a triad, and the mayor is off on vacation in Hawaii trying to get laid by every surfer he can find.”

“Damn.”

“Like I said, look into it. It’s a nice community where you can be yourself.” As they turned onto a dirt and gravel road, Wyn started to stir. “Sorry,” Richard said.

“They haven’t come through with the graters yet. The roads are pretty rutted from the spring rains.”

Ezra watched as Wyn blinked several times before opening his eyes. For a moment, he felt the small man stiffen in his arms. “It’s okay, settle down,” Ezra soothed.

“Ezra?” Wyn placed a hand on Ezra’s face. “You’re stunning.” He felt his face heat at the compliment. It was much the same reaction he’d gotten from his ranch hands before he left. He’d almost forgotten he’d been quite the stud in his younger days. Once Nancy…Ezra cut the thought off there. No, this was about moving on. Twenty years of carrying the guilt over Nancy’s death was long enough.

“I’m here now, Wyn. Gonna take care of you.”

ROUGH RIDE

Carol Lynne

14

Wyn’s hand moved from Ezra’s face to the bandages covering his own.

He could see the worry in Wyn’s eyes. Ezra shook his head. “You’re still a damn fine looking man. The scar will add a bit of roughness to that pretty face. You may have to fight the men off when you get back home.”

Wyn yawned as they pulled into a drive. “Is this your dad’s place?” Ezra asked.

Looking out the window, Wyn nodded. “It’s not fancy like yours.”

“My house is just window dressing. Buyers tend to look at stuff like that. It’s what’s in the barns and behind the fences that count.”

As the truck came to a stop, Ezra nodded to Richard. “I sure appreciate everything you’ve done. Stop by again and I’ll treat you to dinner and a beer.” Richard smiled. “I’ll take you up on that. Let me get your bag.” Carrying Wyn up the porch steps, Ezra moved to the side so Richard could open the door.

“It’s locked,” Wyn mumbled. “Key’s were in the truck.” Richard dug into his pocket and produced the key ring. “I took them out before driving you to the hospital. You locked the door? No one around here does that.”

“Too many things have been happening around here. Better safe than sorry.” Richard unlocked the door and placed Ezra’s bag inside. He handed a white pharmacy sack to Ezra. “He’s due for another pill in about two hours. I’m going to get back before grandpa has a fit.”

“Can’t have that,” Wyn said. “Thanks, Richard.”

“No problem.” With one last wave, the tall cowboy got into his truck and drove off.

Ezra carried Wyn to the couch. “Do you need anything? Something to eat or some water?”

Wyn shook his head. “I just need to get out of this shirt.” Ezra studied the bloody shirt. “Let me get a pan of warm water and rinse the rest of the blood off.” He helped Wyn out of his shirt, surprised to see the amount of lean muscle on the hairless chest hidden underneath.

His cock responded immediately. Embarrassed, Ezra walked towards what appeared to be the kitchen. Digging in the cupboards, he found a large stew pot and filled it with warm water. A drawer near the sink produced a dish cloth so he threw that into the pan and headed back into the living room.

ROUGH RIDE

Carol Lynne

15

“Towel?” he asked.

“Linen closet right outside the bathroom door.” Wyn pointed towards the hallway.

After getting a faded green towel from the shelf, Ezra knelt in front of Wyn. Wringing out the cloth, he began wiping away the dried blood. He couldn’t seem to get the picture of Wyn bleeding to death with his throat slashed out of his mind. “You were lucky, you know?

Stronger men than you have been felled by a snapped wire.” He looked at Wyn’s face and was a little surprised to see his eyes closed. He thought maybe his little man had fallen asleep until he noticed the growing bulge trapped behind Wyn’s fly. Good, he wasn’t the only one being affected by their close proximity.

“Feel good?” he asked.

“Mmm hmm, too good,” Wyn answered and opened his eyes. “Why didn’t you call after you kissed me on Christmas Eve?”

Ezra had been wondering when that perfect kiss would come up. He’d thought about nothing else since Wyn’s call. “Guilt. You’re the first person I’ve kissed in nearly twenty years.”

Wyn’s eyes went wide. “What?”

Ezra finished wiping Wyn’s face and threw the cloth back into the pan. “I was married for nine years. Did you know that?”

Wyn shook his head, but didn’t say anything.

“We were both pretty young.. I was ashamed of my desires, and tried to hide behind a marriage to a woman I could never really love. I went to a cattle convention in San Antonio and met a man. We spent the entire week together. When I got home, I knew I couldn’t live the lie anymore. When I finally broke down and told Nancy the truth, she didn’t take it well.”