Page 22 of The Earl's Wrangler
“What’s that for?”
“Just thinking.That’s all.”
“About what?”Randall asked.“I believe that a place like this is the perfect location to think.My parents went to church and all that.I don’t really, not anymore, given the church’s stance on people like us.I’m not really sure what I believe, but this place makes you think that a god is possible and that he might choose to stay extra close.I would, just for the view.”He didn’t want to blink in case he missed something.
Sawyer leaned closer.“That was pretty.”He grew quiet, and Randall figured he deserved the privacy of his thoughts.Whatever they were, they could stay between him and the god that Randall seemed to sense.Maybe it was stupid, but he was content in the moment, the two of them alone.He turned, and Sawyer did the same.Without thinking, he tugged Sawyer to him, kissing him hard, letting the awe and majesty of the location flow between them.Because Sawyer made him feel the exact same way.Sawyer filled him with a sense of something bigger than himself.But he couldn’t label what it was.Every time he tried, the words slipped away, but the feeling remained.
An approaching car broke the moment, and they pulled away, staring at each other as tires crunched on the gravel.A family piled out, with kids talking excitedly and parents standing together to watch the mountain, the same way they had.“Come on.There’s plenty more to see.”
Randall nodded, and they got back in the truck and pulled out of the overlook and back onto the road.The view shifted slightly as they rode with the sun growing lower in the sky.“Where are we going?”
“Don’t worry.I have everything all set,” Sawyer told him, and he sat back and watched the scenery as the sun reached the top of the peaks and then dipped behind them, their shadows finally catching up with them.Sawyer took his hand, and they rode in silence as the last of the light faded behind the peaks.
“WHERE AREwe going?”Randall asked again as they bumped along a road just off the highway.They passed a sign that the lights illuminated, but he didn’t have a chance to read it before the darkness enveloped it once more.
“To our lodgings for the night,” Sawyer said and then slowed and nearly pulled to a stop before making a final turn.The truck lights shone on a small cabin.
“Is that it?”Randall asked.He was starting to wonder if Sawyer had taken it upon himself to try to give him the true frontier experience.
“Yes.”He pulled out his phone and, after a few seconds, grinned and got out of the truck.Sawyer grabbed their bags and headed toward the cabin.At the door, he reached for the lock box thing and put in a code.Then he went inside and turned on the lights.
Randall hadn’t known what to expect, and the place wasn’t palatial, but it was rustic and comfortable, the furniture simple but nice.There was a single room with a bed and a few chairs, and a kitchenette along the one wall.
“How did you find this?”Randall asked as he sat on the side of the bed.It was comfortable, and the bedding was thick and soft.
“One of the guys from town stayed here, and he told me about it.I called when we stopped to use the bathroom this afternoon.It seemed like a good idea.”
“Did you use a credit card?”Randall asked.“Because they can trace it.”
Sawyer drew closer.“The owner of the cabin lives in Cheyenne, and he has a business, so if they trace it, they’ll end up in the wrong place.So it’s not a big deal.”He sat next to him.“Everything is going to be okay.They’re going to take their pound of flesh out of my father.”
“But we’re in the middle of nowhere,” Randall said.The place really seemed remote, and it was even quieter than the ranch, which he didn’t think possible.Sawyer opened the windows, and the sounds of the night seemed to assault him.It wasn’t as quiet as he thought, just a different kind of sounds.No cars or people noises—just nature.
“That’s the beauty of it.There are other cabins.They’re about fifty yards apart, so there are people around, just not close.”
“I see,” Randall said.“So it’s just you and me.”
“Yeah.Are you hungry?A few things came stocked with the cabin.”Instead of answering, Randall kissed him, and the cool night air coming through the window did nothing to chill the heat that built between them.He held Sawyer tightly, their kisses becoming more intense by the second.All he wanted was to feast on Sawyer and have him all to himself.There was no one that could hear them, and there were no chores to get up for.Randall could have Sawyer all night long, and he was determined to take advantage.
RANDALL WOKEas light came through the windows.His was totally relaxed and kind of sex hungover.Sawyer had spread out in the night, an arm under his head, the covers pooled around his waist.If Randall had any artistic talent, he would have wanted to paint the image of his cowboy still asleep, as beautiful and sexy as anything he had ever seen.Randall had traveled through Europe and been to all the great museums, and yet Sawyer, his cowboy, was more beautiful than anything he had ever seen.Randall didn’t want to move.He didn’t want Sawyer to stir and change the moment.And yet just waking up and wishing it wouldn’t change had done just that.
“What are you doin’?”Sawyer asked as he slid open his deep blue eyes.
“Watching,” Randall said, barely breathing.“I’m just looking at you.”Everything outside was still.The birds hadn’t started singing yet.It was like everything was just waking up, taking the first deep breath before getting started.Then a single bird called from outside the window, and the rest joined in, beginning the first notes of the symphony of sound that would last until the sun set.
“Settle back down,” Sawyer told him with a wide yawn.“We ain’t at the ranch, and we don’t need to get up with the sun.Not today.”He gathered Randall in his arms, tugging him close before kissing him.Randall thought that might have been the start of their morning, but Sawyer closed his eyes once more, just holding him, and soon Randall drifted back to sleep.
WHEN HEwoke again, it was to Sawyer stroking his chest, lips at the base of his neck.“I knew I could get your attention,” Sawyer whispered before returning to his particularly amazing wake-up call.
“Sawyer,” Randall whispered, stretching his neck, his entire body waking up.He wound his fingers through Sawyer’s soft hair and closed his eyes, immersing his senses in the sensation of Sawyer’s lips on him.“God….”
Sawyer backed away for a split second before taking his lips in a bruising kiss.Randall wound his arms around Sawyer’s neck, pressing the two of them together.Their bodies melded easily, sending waves of excitement through him.Sawyer’s muscles rippled under his touch, and each time he inhaled, Sawyer’s scent built, becoming stronger and amazingly more powerful with each breath, like it was carrying Randall away… and he willingly went right along with it.
“I want all of you,” Sawyer whispered.“And I don’t know how to do that.”He pulled away.“I want to feel you and see all of you.It’s like I can’t get enough, and every time I try, part of you slips away and I have to chase it.”
“Is that bad?”Randall asked, trying to understand.
“Hell no.I love a good chase,” Sawyer told him.
