Page 65 of Marrying Mr. Majestic

I wanted to warn him off of Dev, tell him about Dev’s fairly recent loss of his brother and the ensuing grief that had stolen almost all of his joy. But I wasn’t Dev’s keeper. And for all I knew, he wanted the temporary escape a willing body could provide, even if that body was more than ten years younger than he was.

“As far as I know, he’s single,” I said, deciding the truth was all I could really provide anyway.

“And into guys?”

I nodded. He grinned.

Maybe coming to Majestic would shake Dev out of the funk he’d been in.

Fuck knew it had already shaken me up.

TWENTY-ONE

WAYLON

I had to admit Silas had done us a solid bringing his friend Devon to help with roundup. The man was magical on horseback. Even riding an animal he’d never seen before, he could cut like any wrangler I’d ever seen. When Silas had first told me about him, I’d thought the man was a polo player or an English-style rider who wouldn’t know the first thing about rounding up selected head from the herd.

After a few hours on the first full day of work, I knew I owed Silas one hell of a thank-you.

Maybe a thank-you shower since our apology showers had been so effective.

The day was long and hot. The sun baked through the shirt on my back, heating up my thighs in the saddle and running in rivulets from under my hat band. But I relished the physical work. A hard day on horseback was ten times better than an easy day in the office as long as I was outside moving.

Silas had driven the utility vehicle loaded with water and food Sheridan and Bo had supplied, Taza had quickly shown Silas how to anticipate which gates we needed help with when, and Sheridan and ZuZu helped transport the selected horses to the paddocks closest to the barn.

At one point during a break to grab a bite and to water the horses in a nearby stream, I took the opportunity to get to know Dev.

“Silas says you’re friends from college,” I began.

I’d already picked up on the fact he was a quiet man. Silas had mentioned a recent loss in his family, but I didn’t get the idea he was naturally outgoing or gregarious, even out from under the pall of grief.

“Yeah, a group of us did a project together,” he said, mouth softening into a slight smile. “Silas was the bossy one.”

I snorted. “No surprise there.”

“Right. And he hasn’t stopped bossing us all around since.” He seemed to wonder if he’d misspoken because he hurried on. “Don’t get me wrong. I love him. He’s one of the best men I know. All the broth—I mean, all the guys from that group… we became very close… all of them are like family to me.” He paused to take a deep breath. “I don’t know what I would have done without them these past few years.”

He stared out over the stream curving gently across the landscape, in counterpoint to the rugged mountains in the distance. Living in Majestic my whole life, the scenery was familiar. Homey. I didn’t always stop and admire it the way I should. Imagining how it must look through Dev’s eyes made me appreciate the patchwork of lush greenery, the hypnotic sway of the tall grasses in the breeze, the vibrant color of the wildflowers, and the quiet melody of the water in a whole new way.

“Bit different from New York, eh?” I offered.

“Huh?” Dev blinked at me, seeming lost in his own thoughts.

“New York,” I repeated. “That’s where you all live, right?”

“Oh. No.” Dev shook his head. “Zane’s a musician, so he’s in LA most of the time, especially when he’s recording like he is now. Landry travels all over. He does some modeling, and there are a couple of recurring jobs in Europe that keep him overseas a lot. Bash is definitely in New York. He has a new boyfriend and is trying to help him get his business off the ground.”

I nodded along, appreciating the intel. Silas kept a lot of his personal life to himself. He’d told me plenty about his sister, about his business. Other than telling me about his group of friends in vague terms, though, he hadn’t shared much. He tended to change the subject whenever I asked too many questions.

Dev regarded me thoughtfully, and I realized his quiet nature hid a keen insight.

Too keen.

“Why don’t you ask me what you really want to know?” he suggested.

I gritted my teeth and let out a breath. I hadn’t known what I’d been fishing for until he called me on it. “I want to know more about Justin.”

Dev’s eyebrows lifted. “Silas told you about Justin?” His lips turned down in an exaggerated frown. “Huh.”

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