Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 87067 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87067 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
No! You have to come back! Gidget immediately replied.
That’s not even funny, man, Quinn said.
Of course. I’ll be home as soon as Rowe gives the all-clear.
Good, but you’re off the hook for now. Go enjoy some time off.
You owe me cowboys on horses pictures! Quinn added.
While Rowe referred to all three of them as the triplets, Gidget was the de facto boss in the IT room simply because she’d been with the company for the longest and knew Rowe the best. She could almost say what the man would need before he even figured it out. If she was telling him to take the day off, then he should do it. There was no guessing when things would be this quiet at Ward Security again.
He wished them all a good day and promised to check in later. After finishing his oatmeal and coffee, he changed into an older pair of jeans and a plain white T-shirt. If he was going to be out in the Texas sun, dark colors were not going to be his friend.
A short time later, he found himself striding out of the guest house and across the wide lawn, toward the barns and corrals. The fresh air was mixed with the scent of cows, horses, and dirt. Not necessarily bad, just extremely different from the smell of exhaust and coffee that usually filled his day. There was the mix of animal noises as well as men shouting commands and jokes followed by a few answering laughs.
He found some workers and inquired about JB and the office. Everyone smiled and didn’t hesitate to point him in the right direction. At least, everyone who worked for JB seemed to be friendly. As he walked, he poked his head into a couple of the barns and was immediately overwhelmed by the size of everything. This was no mom-and-pop operation.
As he continued on to a larger corral area, he finally heard JB’s voice raised in a harsh shout. When he cleared the barn, there was a mass of chaos. It looked as if a herd was being moved out into a larger area. A cloud of dust swirled in the air. Cows were bellowing, horses were complaining, and men were shouting.
Cole searched the area, trying to spot where JB might be in all the mess. Then he spotted him, and the rest of his brain locked up for a moment.
Seated on a black horse with a long white stripe down its face, the man looked like every freaking Western Cole had watched growing up. He was clad in a western-type shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing hard muscles in his sun-tanned forearms. His tan Stetson was pulled low over his face to shield him from the bright sun. Dusty blue jeans clung to thick, powerful thighs as he sat astride the horse with an ease that spoke of a man who’d been born in the saddle.
Everything about him was just…impressive and sexy. Even Cole’s dick seemed to sit up and think, Whoa.
Which was really, really wrong.
He wasn’t into guys.
He’d never been into guys.
It was fine that his coworkers all seemed to enjoy dick, but he’d been sure he didn’t swing that way.
It wasn’t like he’d secretly fantasized about Clint Eastwood or John Wayne when he’d watched Westerns growing up. Though Val Kilmer’s sarcastic drawl and wit as Doc Holliday had been really cool, he hadn’t wondered what it would be like to kiss him.
And right now, he very much wondered what it would be like to kiss JB. To feel all those muscles pressed up against him. To feel that body overpowering him.
“Cole!” JB shouted, thankfully drawing Cole from his wayward thoughts.
Yeah, he wasn’t gay. He…that was random and weird. He was on a cattle ranch and feeling out of place. His brain was in a strange place.
“Hey,” Cole choked out, lifting one hand to JB.
JB directed his horse down the fence, closer to where Cole was standing. He leaned forward, patting the shoulder of the horse. “How’d you sleep? Did you get breakfast? I meant to leave you something but got called out early.”
“Slept great, thanks. I made some coffee and oatmeal, and then I checked in with the office.”
“That’s good.”
Cole nodded toward the last of the herd that was being directed toward the field. “It looks like you’ve been busy this morning.”
“Yep. Been at it since sunrise.”
“Dear God,” Cole gasped and cringed, earning a deep, throaty laugh from JB.
“You ready to ride?”
Cole hesitated, his gaze darting away from JB for a second. “I don’t know. I don’t want to take you from your work. I’m sure there are some things I can check—”
“Hell, no! We gotta get you away from the computer. You’re in Texas now. You need to see some of our state before you leave. Gotta ride a horse, or the whole trip doesn’t count.”