Page 35 of Last Chance Love

“I haven’t propositioned Dane, and I don’t want to,” I told him with a huff.

“Alright,” he said with a chuckle, holding a drink out to me. “Honestly, I’d be shocked if anyone hasn’t tried to hit you up for something.”

Well, this conversation was quickly becoming uncomfortable and I was sure it showed on my face. “It…I don’t like this conversation very much.”

Reed laughed. “That’s a yes. Not that I’m surprised.”

“It hasn’t happened lately,” I said, feeling a little defensive at the thought despite, once again, neither of us having a claim on the other.

“Heh, still shocking,” he said with a shrug, taking a deep drink.

“Not really. Guys here want to make sure they get through the program. Trying to screw around where they shouldn’t isn’t the best idea.”

“Yeah, because people here are well known for their good judgment calls.”

“Well…sure, I just…it hasn’t happened. Plus, most of the guys here have much more privacy and availability to…take care of things themselves. They don’t need to get desperate like they do behind bars.”

“Uh-huh, and I’m sure guys wouldonlyhit you up because they’re desperate.”

“That’s not what I mean,” I sputtered, glaring at him. “I just meant that most of the time when guys are doing stuff like that behind bars, it’s because they don’t have access to take care of things.”

“Funny, I always wondered if they did that because they didn’t have access to women or because they just like the power dynamic.”

Jesus, were we really having a debate about why a noticeable portion of guys behind bars turned to gay sex? Well, it wasn’t always just sex. There was plenty of attempted rape as well…and successful. You quickly learned to avoid certain places and not be alone if you could help it. I’d stayed as far away from that entire aspect of prison life and hadn’t found or wanted to have a ‘prison wife.’ And apparently, I’d been big enough, or perhaps mean enough looking, that no one had forced the issue.

“I mean, yeah,” I said. “It’s prison. It’s not a nice place. You’re either strong and tough enough to be left alone, or you’re like thatandwant to feel all big and tough over other people. Or you’re the kind that needs protection. But we don’t have those dynamics here at the ranch, Reed. There’s so many fucking different things that get in the way of people needing to act like that.”

A shadow crossed Reed’s face. “I don’t know aboutneedingto act like that, but I take your point.”

“I…did something happen while you were…before you came here?” I asked cautiously, knowing this was dangerous ground for either of us to be treading. I was risking bringing up an uncomfortable and potentially horrible memory for him, one that would trigger every protective instinct I had.

“Not really,” he said with a shrug. “There wasn’t much of that to worry about for me. I mostly stuck to people who weren’t into that sort of thing and kept alert. Worked pretty well for me. The program grabbed me up pretty quick, actually.”

“Yeah, not surprised by that,” I said with a snort. “With your background, I’m sure they saw a prime opportunity to get someone in the program who could make it look good.”

“Wow, that’s pretty cynical from someone who just hyped the program up.”

“What?” I asked in confusion. “It’s probably true. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in the program, and I feel like everyone here believes in it too, but that doesn’t mean they won’t take some easy ways out here and there. Gotta pump up the numbers so their investors stay interested.”

It wasn’t a secret that the ranch ran off government funds and private investors. Both sources of money would only stay steady if the program was successful, and the more successful, the more investors there were. I doubted they saw any outright returns, but it probably made them look good. Goodwill could go a long way, not as much as money could, but hell, there were probably a lot of benefits to being the type of rich bastard who could throw money at a place like this.

“Uh-huh, so I’m an easy pick, huh?” he asked, raising a brow.

I watched him for a moment, trying to figure out if I had somehow stepped on a toe or two. “I mean, unless you did something terrible that wiped out everything else, I can’t see how you wouldn’t be a prime pick.”

“Prime pick,” he repeated with a laugh.

“Yeah,” I said, feeling defensive. “Like, take Riley, for instance. That guy is guaranteed to get through the program in record time and with no issues unless you count getting decked by Reno.”

“Don’t your incident reports require you to say who is responsible for what’s going on?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“Then I’d say it doesn’t count against Reno.”

“And I mean, even people like Elliot count. The guy’s a little weird and gets on people’s nerves, but he’s not had any behavioral problems. The only one of note is when he tried to fight Reno. And if that’s the worst he’s done since he’s been here, that’s nothing.”

“And I fit that bill?”

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