Sunset Ridge (11 page)

“What do you like about it?” Ram asked. He threw a shovelful of sawdust onto the floor of the newly cleaned stall.

“The peace more than anything, I guess. Horses might not talk, but I can tell they appreciate everything I do for them.” Jesse moved to the next stall. “Sounds stupid, but I like to feel like I matter to them.”

Ram swallowed around a lump of unexpected emotion. “You matter. Actually, that’s the same reason I love it. Sometimes the best thank you you can receive is the one you feel inside after you’ve done a good job. There’s a hell of a lot of grown-ass men and women who live a lifetime without realising that.”

Ram worked alongside Jesse for the next hour. He could tell the young man had something on his mind, but Ram decided to wait him out. Once they’d finished with the stallions’ stable, they headed for the pregnant mares’ stable.

“The counsellor at school said I have enough credits to graduate in December,” Jesse said.

“Really? That’s great. Are you going to do it?”

“I don’t know. Mom’s always told me I had to get out the day I graduate.”

When Jesse didn’t elaborate, Ram decided to help him out. “Are you asking for a full-time job?”

“Yeah, I mean, I know you have someone to muck in the mornings, but I thought maybe you had something else I could do,” Jesse stammered.

“I’ll have to talk it over with Gray, but I think there’s an extra bed in the bunkhouse if you’re interested?”

“Yes,” Jesse answered immediately.

Ram lifted the pitchfork out of the wheelbarrow and handed it to Jesse. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Yes, sir.”

Ram stopped himself before correcting Jesse. “You seem like a really good kid. Why were you fighting at school?”

Jesse began sifting through the sawdust with the pitchfork. “My mom drinks and the jerks at school know it.” He dumped the manure into the wheelbarrow before going back for more. “She’s a mess and all, but, ya know, she’s my mom.”

“‘Nough said.”

After finishing all three stables, Ram went back to check on Lady while Jesse spread the last load of sawdust. Once he was out of earshot, Ram called Gray.

“Hey, you about done?”

“I’m done. No thanks to you.” Ram grinned. Gray had woken during the night with a stomach bug. They’d decided it would be better if he stayed in bed until dinner. “Are you feeling better?”

“I haven’t puked in a couple of hours so I guess so.”

“Jesse’s here. Said his mom doesn’t
do
Thanksgiving. He helped me clean the stalls.”

“Nice of him.”

“Yeah, well, I’d like to invite him to join us if that’s okay with you, Raleigh and Georgia.”

“The more the merrier. Especially since I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to eat.”

“How about I give Jesse something to do until dinner, and I come upstairs and check on you?”

“Will you bring me some 7-Up?” Gray asked.

Ram grinned. Although he hated that Gray was sick, he enjoyed the vulnerability that came with it. “Of course I will.”

“Thanks.”

“Give me ten minutes.” Ram hung up and went to find Jesse. He had a man to take care of.

* * * *

Gray took another sip of his 7-Up and settled the glass back on the nightstand. “What is it about that shit that makes me feel better?”

Ram continued to rub Gray’s stomach. “It’s what all good mommas give their kids when they’re sick. It’s mental, not physical comfort.”

Gray pushed Ram’s hand down towards his waiting cock. “Speaking of physical comfort.”

“I thought you were sick.” Ram wrapped his hand around Gray’s cock and began slowly jerking him off.

“I am. You don’t have to make me come, just make me feel good.” Gray moved closer to snuggle against Ram. “So you really like that Jesse kid, huh?”

Ram nuzzled his face against Gray’s neck, kissing and licking the skin. “Yeah, I really do. He needs this place as much as we do. I’d like to offer him a real job and a bed in the bunkhouse.”

Gray brushed his lips across the top of Ram’s head. “I still don’t know what you said to Raleigh, but you seem to have a way with the troubled youth of Wellington.”

“I just talk to them straight. Let them talk to me the same way.”

“There’s gotta be more to it.”

“Nope, not really. Kids’ll give you back what you expect of them. I happen to expect more and tell ‘em so.”

Gray grabbed Ram’s hair and tilted his head up. “Kiss me.”

“And get sick? No way. Might fuck you though.”

Despite the will being there, Gray knew his queasy stomach wouldn’t be able to handle Ram’s brand of fucking. “Rain check?”

Ram chuckled. “You bet.”

“Would you stay here with me tonight?” Gray asked. Although Gray had spent the night at Ram’s place, his illness had forced him to his own before the sun was up.

“What about Raleigh? She may know about us now, but will she be comfortable knowing what’s going on inside her uncle’s bedroom?”

“This isn’t about Raleigh. This is me asking you to move in.” Gray held his breath. It was a big step for him, and he prayed Ram recognised that.

Before Ram could answer there was a frantic knock on the door. “Is Ram in there?”

Without looking to Gray for permission, Ram answered. “Yeah. What do ya need?”

“Jesse’s flipping out downstairs. He said Lady’s collapsed.”

“Shit.” Ram jumped out of bed and reached for his jeans. “Tell him to call Ben Moore, his number’s on my desk in the stable. I’ll be right there.”

“Okay,” Raleigh answered through the closed door.

Gray moved to the edge of the bed and stood on unsteady legs. “I’m going with you.”

“The hell you are. Get back in bed,” Ram ordered.

“You know I can’t do that.” Gray made his way to the dresser and pulled out a clean pair of jeans. “You go on, and I’ll catch up.”

Before leaving the room, Ram stepped in front of Gray and kissed him. “I’ll move my stuff over tomorrow.” He left without another word.

Gray smiled as he selected a shirt out of the closet. He might not have been ready to stroll through town hand in hand with Ram, but at least it was a step in the right direction.

* * * *

One look was all it took for Ram to realise his suspicions were right. “She’s going into early labour,” he told Jesse. “How long before Ben gets here?”

“Twenty minutes.” Jesse held Lady’s head in his lap, slowly stroking the mare’s neck. “Is she going to be okay?”

“I don’t know, kid.” Ram went to the cabinet in the tack room and began to gather supplies. He considered tying Lady’s legs together in case she started kicking, but hated to do anything without Ben’s opinion. A Caesarian section would probably be needed but just in case, Ram grabbed the pulling straps as well as one of the birthing kits they kept on hand.

He returned to the stall and set the supplies on a blue tarp he’d already spread out in the corner. “How’s she doing?”

“She keeps looking up at me like she expects me to help her.” Jesse shook his head, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down several times before he spoke again. “I wish I knew what to do to help her.”

“Then I’ll teach you,” a deep voice said from outside the stall.

Ram looked up at Ben Moore. “Thanks for coming. Sorry to ruin your holiday.”

“You didn’t.” Ben took off his jacket and hung it on a nail. He spotted the supplies and nodded his thanks as he opened the disinfectant and poured it into a shallow tub. “My folks moved to Florida a couple of months ago, so it’s just me. I was getting ready to sit down to one of those microwave dinners.”

“Then you’ll have to join us once you save Lady’s life,” Gray said, coming into the stable.

“Count on it,” Ben answered, washing his hands. He turned his concentration to Lady. “You ready for this?” he asked Jesse.

“Honestly, sir? I don’t know. I’m new to all this.” Jesse looked down at Lady. “Can you give her something for the pain?”

“That depends. First I need to examine her to see what’s going on in there.”

Ram got to his feet and joined Gray to make room for Ben. He watched the way Ben and Jesse continued to stare at each other and had a strong idea he knew what else Jesse had fought with the guys at school about. He wrapped his arm around Gray’s waist and whispered in his ear. “I don’t think we have to worry about either of those two talking behind our backs.”

“Can you do me a favour and tie Lady’s legs together? What I’m about to do won’t be pleasant, and I don’t fancy a kick in the head today.” Once again Ben looked at Jesse. “Sometimes it helps if you talk or sing to the animals. The calmer she is the easier this’ll be on her.”

Ram grabbed a rope and slowly began to tie Lady’s feet together, trying not to spook the mare.

“What’re you going to do?” Jesse asked Ben.

“I have to reach inside and feel around. Hopefully it’ll just be a matter of trying to reposition one, or both, of the foals.”

“Will they live?” Jesse surprised Ram by leaning over to kiss the top of Lady’s head.

“No,” Ben said honestly. “They’re just too young. The important thing now is saving their momma.”

Ram noticed Gray’s reaction to the news. A lifelong rancher, Gray had already known the foals were too premature to survive. Ram figured it was the thought of something happening to the mare that bothered Gray the most.

Finished securing the horse’s back legs, Ram rejoined Gray. “You want to go up to the house and tell Georgia it’s going to be a while before we can eat?”

Gray pulled his gaze from Ben and glanced at Ram. “Yeah. Never did like this part of ranching.”

“With that stomach of yours I don’t know that you can handle it without tossing your cookies anyway.” Ram kissed Gray without any worry of who was around. “Go. I’ll help Ben if he needs it.”

“Make sure he comes to dinner,” Gray reminded him.

“I will.” Ram noticed Jesse watching them, but gave Gray another kiss anyway. There would be time to talk to the kid.

* * * *

While Ben stitched Lady, Ram loaded the dead foals into the bucket of a front loader and took them out beyond the pasture, away from the lake. He couldn’t get the memory of Jesse crying and singing into Lady’s ear out of his head.

Despite the fact that Jesse loved working the ranch, Ram wondered if he had the strength to withstand the occasional harsh realities that came with the job.

It took another hour to dig the hole and bury the foals. After parking the loader, Ram stopped by the stable to see how Lady was faring. He found Lady alive with an antibiotic IV drip.

His hands cleaned, Ben was comforting Jesse, who still refused to leave Lady’s side. Ram hated to interrupt the tender moment between the two men, but he needed to know if the mare would be okay before he talked to Gray. “Has she delivered her placenta yet?” Ram asked.

Jesse started to push away from Ben, but Ben held him tight. “Yeah, about twenty minutes ago. Looked like all of it, but I decided to put her on a strong round of antibiotics just in case,” Ben answered.