“I know,” I replied. “A couple of them mentioned it when they came to visit me.”
“Yeah, well, if I ever needed an excuse not to climb up on the back of seventeen-hundred pounds of raw fury again, that was it. I’d rather wrangle errant subs and help them find more constructive ways to expend their energy.”
“And that’s fair,” I said. “But it doesn’t sit right with me that I went out on my back.”
“Do you think I don’t feel the same? Because I do, and I hate it,” he replied. “But even if they said go for it, I wouldn’t want to. Not with how great the cost was last time.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t hold things together with Cory.”
“You’ve said that, and I’ve forgiven you, so let’s just agree to never mention his name again and move on.”
“That’s probably for the best,” I replied as we checked to make sure the swing swung correctly. “I didn’t know you watched my last ride.”
“I watched all your rides, a few of them in person. Just wasn’t ready to talk to you at the time.”
“I’m glad you changed your mind,” I replied, “or I never would have landed here.”
“I know; that’s why I reached out. Figured it was time we mended fences, since neither of us had been particularly easy tobe around since we’d been apart,” he replied. “Jonathan’s words, not mine.”
Chuckling, I had to admit that was a fair assessment of my attitude while he and I had been on the outs. If anyone knew the difference, it was Jonathan. The veteran bull rider had ridden with us for months after his ancient truck finally gave up the ghost. But being back together again didn’t feel complete. There were still shadows of the past floating between us, keeping us from fully connecting again. The funny thing about this fantasy was that we’d been asked to fulfill something that was a direct reflection of the way we’d once pictured our future. On a ranch somewhere, Thorin and I living life together with our devoted boy, who thrived on praise and got off on being stripped down in the living room and tossed on the couch so we could explore his body.
Were the next two weeks going to be a blessing or a curse? While it was a bit too late to back out now, I wondered if Derick had considered that when he’d selected us for this? He was reputed as having this uncanny way of figuring out what people needed. If we’d somehow landed on his radar as being in need of an intervention, then these next two weeks could truly be eye opening.
Bridge the gap or break us?
I guess we’d have to wait and see.
Chapter Three
Payne
Whoa!
The gate was fierce and low-key terrifying. My artistic brain pictured the interlocking R’s and horseshoes adorning the black wrought iron as menacing eyes, while the bars twisted and curved to resemble the rest of the face. Foreboding and protective, I could almost hear its deep, gruff voice rolling through my mind, promising to always be the first line of defense between the world and those who called Rawhide Ranch their home. It was the kind of gate that would take its job seriously if it were a sentient being.
I wouldn’t want to wind up on its bad side, that’s for sure.
Only, at the moment, I was. All the wonderful things I dreamed of lay on the other side, and here I sat behind the wheel of my beloved Kia Soul, nervous and a little shy about meeting the Doms who’d be my hosts during my first two weeks here.
I trusted my former employer's assertion that the Ranch would be a good fit for me and me for it, despite the fact that I was still smarting over losing my job. It wasn’t Sterling’s fault that he’d gone and fallen in love with an amazing guy who could not only fill my shoes as his personal assistant but alsoconnected with his Dominant side in ways I hadn’t been able to; our tastes were just too different. Not only that, but Gannon was genuinely the sweetest, most energetically perfect host for an influencer like Sterling, who loved intimate suppers almost as much as he loved pop-up parties. Gannon fit into every crack and crevice of Sterling’s life, including his bed, which had never been part of our agreement.
I’d made sure his appointments were in order. That the appropriate clothes were laid out for the event or appearance he was scheduled to attend. I kept the RV in showroom condition for any impromptu entertaining he wanted to do, cooked whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted it, and took care of the million and one annoying tasks he didn’t wish to be bothered with, all with a smile on my face and a willingness to listen when he needed to vent.
Which was often.
Chicken and waffles or cheesy-stuffed omelets at 3 a.m. were his go-to comfort foods. Served with giant mimosas and a side of grunge playing low on the smart speaker, those early morning meals were when he tended to unburden himself while wrestling with whatever internal debate he had going on. From the first conversation about Gannon, I’d known he was meant to be Sterling’s forever, even if it had taken him four more months to see it for himself.
We’d made a formidable team, the artist and the influencer, but only in a purely platonic sense, which sucked when we’d filled the rest of each other’s needs so perfectly. We just lacked the spark needed to turn our friendship into something more. Did I believesomething morelay on the other side of that gate?
My inner romantic did, while my imagination had done a fine job of feeding me more than just a few steamy scenarios in which my dream Dom found a million different ways to torment me with a bullet vibrator and the stinging slap of his hand on mybehind when I got distracted and forgot to do something he told me to.
So, what was I waiting for?
Apparently, the guard was wondering that too as he approached the car and gently tapped on the window.
“Sir, can I help you?” the tall, imposing figure asked.
“Yes, please. I, um, I’m Payne Pettigrew, and I, um, have a reservation, I guess you could call it,” I said, offering him my paperwork.