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)
“You might even have a few ranch hands wandering around who can’t be trusted,” Rowe added.
“That’s what I’m afraid of. I don’t even want to suggest it to JB. He loves this place and everyone who works here. I don’t think he’d listen to me.”
“He won’t,” Noah grumbled. “But he’s not stupid. He’s a former Ranger. He can look after himself, but you need to watch his back, too. That’s his home, and I’m worried he’s got his guard down too much.”
“I’ll keep an eye on him.” Hell, Cole had no problem keeping both eyes on JB. He enjoyed hanging out with JB and helping on the ranch where he could, especially if it meant being able to keep someone else from shooting him.
“Send us the name of the property developer and any details you have on him as well as these neighbors. We can at least do some digging around,” Rowe instructed.
“I’ve started some digging but haven’t been able to find much yet. I’ll send along what I’ve got.”
“We could also talk to Lucas,” Noah suggested.
“You think?” Cole could also imagine Rowe’s face scrunching up at his boyfriend’s suggestion.
“Lucas is a property developer. He probably knows other property developers. Or he might hear whispers about others who are shady or do dirty deals.”
“If Lucas has the time, it probably wouldn’t hurt,” Cole said.
Rowe snorted. “Lucas will make the time, or I’m gonna feed his kids chocolate and give them fingerpaints.”
“Fucking evil, babe,” Noah chuckled. There was a soft smacking sound and Cole figured that Rowe’s idea had warranted a kiss from Noah for its brilliance.
Which only reminded Cole of the kiss that he was trying very hard to forget about.
“Anything else, Cole? Should we just go ahead and ask for the National Guard to be sent in?” Rowe teased.
“No, I think…yeah…that’s it for this problem,” Cole muttered. He dropped down on the edge of the bed and hung his head.
“Why does it sound like there’s another problem?” Noah nudged.
“There’s not. At…I mean, it’s my problem. It’s not like this. It doesn’t involve shooting, at least. It’s just…personal.”
“What’s up? You know you can talk to us.” Noah’s voice was gentle and understanding, nearly pulling the words right out of Cole’s mouth.
“Holy shit! Did you kiss JB’s sister?” Rowe gasped.
Noah groaned and said with disgust, “Idiot. Of course, he didn’t. Katie’s married and has two kids.” There was a long, tense pause. “You didn’t kiss her, right?”
“No, I didn’t kiss Katie,” Cole snapped and then let out a long sigh. “I kissed JB.”
The silence was deafening. He was pretty sure Rowe and Noah had stopped breathing.
“Uh…was it like…a little kiss on the top of the head? You know, to like, reassure him?” Rowe started.
Cole closed his eyes for a second and counted down backward from five so he could reply in an even tone. “No, Rowe. I pretty much fucked the man’s mouth with my tongue.”
“But you’re straight!”
“Out! Get out!” Noah suddenly barked. There were sounds of a scuffle, and Rowe complaining loudly, shouting about how Noah was kicking him out of his own office before a door slammed. A moment later, Noah returned to the phone.
“All right, Rowe’s gone now. It’s just me. Talk to me. What’s going on? What are you thinking?”
“I don’t know! I don’t think I’m thinking at all. I’m pretty sure I’ve lost my mind!” Cole hadn’t meant to start shouting at Noah, but he couldn’t stop the words from pouring out. It was bad enough that he was frazzled over what was happening on the ranch, but now he was apparently attracted to a man for the first time in his life.
“It’s okay,” Noah said calmly.
“I’m not gay!” Cole growled suddenly, clenching his free hand into a fist. “I told him that I was straight, and now this happens! I don’t have a problem with people being gay. My brother’s gay, and I love him without question. I think all the people we work with are fantastic. I’d do anything to help them. You know that. But I…I’m not gay. At least, I didn’t think I was gay. I’ve never been into guys. Why now?”
“Deep breath, Cole. It’s okay. We’re gonna figure this out together, I promise.”
“Was it a fluke? The stress? Did I panic because I thought he was going to get his head blown off?”
“Maybe it’s JB. Did you consider that?”
The question stopped Cole cold. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that being bisexual doesn’t mean you’re necessarily attracted to men and women equally. Rowe is more attracted to women than men. And for Rowe, he probably fits better under demisexual.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s where a person has to be attracted to someone’s personality before they feel a physical attraction.”
Okay, that did make more sense. He did notice that JB was an attractive man, but the more he got to know JB, the more he was drawn to him.