Page 3 of The Earl's Wrangler
“The rest put on George’s account.”Alan drank the last of the whiskey in his glass.“We’ll be in touch to let you know about the trip to Wyoming.Who knows—you might find out you like it.”
“Alan…,” George said.“Randall, you really don’t need to go.He isn’t going to hold you to that.Alan is just teasing you.”
Alan nodded.“You can donate the shortfall to a worthy charity.”
Randall cleared his throat.“No.A wager is a point of honor.”There was no way in hell he was going to owe Alan anything.Yes, he might be offering to let him off the hook, but Randall knew that if he agreed, then every time Alan told this story, he’d be able to gloat at how Randall had taken the easy way out.That was something he could not live with.Alan and the Duke might be married, but that didn’t mean that Randall was going to be in any way indebted to a hick cowboy from Wyoming.
He had many faults, but his father had drummed into his head that a man always honored his debts and that not doing so endangered not only his honor, but that of the family as well.It was one of the few lessons his father had ever bothered to try to teach him.He and his father did not see eye to eye on much.Randall was fairly sure that if the old man could have disinherited him for being gay, he would have.But he was now the oldest and the only boy, so the title and all land and property associated with it went to him because primogeniture was the law of the land, even today.
“Then we’ll send you all the information you need to know just as soon as we make the arrangements,” Alan said.
Randall nodded, meeting his gaze, because he refused to back down.George then guided Alan out toward the cloak room.
Randall sank into a chair and ordered a double Scotch, neat, from a passing server and downed it as soon as it was brought.He hated making a fool of himself, and he could certainly grit his teeth and manage living on a ranch for two weeks, all the way out in the middle of nowhere, away from the comforts he’d very much grown accustomed to.But damn it all, one way or another, he’d figure out a way through this.
Chapter 2
THE SOUNDof horses approaching roused Sawyer Kinkaid in the early morning, and he climbed out of his bedroll, standing and stretching as a pair of riders approached where he’d spent the night in the back of his old truck.He groaned as the oldest of the Justice boys came into view.He had met Alan just the one time, when he was hired three months ago.Right after that, Alan had returned to England, and Sawyer had begun settling into his life here.“Have you been out here all night?”
“Yes.I had work to do, and it was easier to stay so I could start again first thing and make sure the herd didn’t find the weak spot.”He scratched his side.“Mrs.Justice understood.”
“Of course,” Alan said as he slipped down off his horse.The man was every bit the cowboy from head to toe.“This is George.”
“It’s a pleasure,” the other man said, and instantly Sawyer knew who he was.He’d heard stories about Alan and his husband, the duke.
“Thank you, your dukeness.”He wondered if he was required to bow or something, but figured to hell with it.Who the fuck was going to care—the steers and cows a hundred yards off?
“Just call me George.Out here I don’t use my title.”He turned to Alan, and almost instantly, Sawyer felt a stab of regret almost as hard as a poke in the side from a knife.The way Alan and George looked at each other made his insides twist and ache in a way he thought he had well under control.There had been someone who gazed at him like that once—at least he had thought so—but in the end, Sawyer had been wrong, just like he was most of the time when it came to people.Not that the loss hurt any less, even though it probably had been his own fault.He was as bad at reading people as he was skilled with horses and cattle.
Sawyer turned away, unable to stand the sight of the love that shone between them.“What can I do for you?”he asked.“I have this section of fence that needs to be mended.I found it last night, and the repair was going to take longer than I had light for, so I stayed here to keep the beasties away.”
“Mother hadn’t heard from you, and she was a little worried,” Alan explained.Sawyer felt bad for making Mrs.Justice concerned.She had enough to do without wondering about him.
George snorted.“Please.Don’t lie to the man.She mentioned that you were out here, and since we just arrived, he was looking for an excuse to go for a ride.Maureen said that she had messaged you and you didn’t respond.”
Sawyer pulled out his phone and tapped the screen, but it remained dark.Crap, he must have forgotten to plug it in before he left.“Tell her I’m fine, please.I’ll charge my phone when I get back to the barn later.”A white device sailed through the air, and he caught it out of instinct.
“Use that to charge it.That way you won’t be alone out here if something happens.”
Sawyer plugged in his phone and set it and the battery thing in the bed of the truck, not telling them that being out here alone and on his own was how he liked it.When he was away from everyone, he didn’t have to worry that he didn’t understand their jokes or the looks that people gave one another, or that he was the butt of whatever story was being told and had no idea.
“Thank you,” he said, just because he knew it was the right response.“I need to get this finished, and then I want to check the rest of this run.”He looked north toward the mountains.“I promise to keep my phone on in case someone needs me.”Maybe that would get them to leave him alone so he could go back to work.
George climbed down off his horse and opened one of his saddlebags.He pulled out a satchel and handed it to him.“Maureen sent you some coffee and breakfast.And she put in some sandwiches because she figured you’d probably stay out all day.”
Now Sawyer smiled.No one made coffee like Mrs.J.“I’ll thank her for the provisions.”He opened the thermos, inhaled, and then drank right out of it, the hot, smooth liquid sliding down his throat.
“See that you do,” Alan said and then winked at him.Sawyer hoped that meant the stern expression wasn’t actually real, though he wondered for a second.
“He’s kidding you.We’ll see you back at the house when you’re done.”George mounted his horse once more, and Alan did the same.Then the two of them rode away to the northeast, leaving Sawyer alone, which was perfect as far as he was concerned.
Sawyer opened the tube of foil and ate the two warm egg-and-ham biscuits inside.They tasted like heaven.That was one of the wonderful things about the Justice ranch.The food was always really good, and Mrs.J treated all the people who worked for her like they were family.That was probably why it was so difficult to get a job here—folks rarely left.It wasn’t like other places that seemed to have revolving doors on the bunkhouse.What was even more amazing was that the place was actually three ranches, or it had been at one time.Mrs.J had apparently kept her own name to avoid confusion after she married Claude.Together they managed their land as well as that of a third ranch that they leased.At least that was what Sawyer had been told.It wasn’t any of his business.He was just grateful for the job at a good place with good people who were willing to let him do what he did best.He drank some more coffee and then set the rest of the food in the cab of the truck out of the sun and got back to work.
After cutting away the broken lines of fencing, he found himself looking out the way Alan and George had gone.He couldn’t see them any longer, which probably meant they had entered the line of trees around the creek that flowed in that direction.They might have the time for fun, but Sawyer was being paid to get his work done.He went back to stringing the fence lines, doing a good enough job that he wouldn’t need to return to this area for a while.Once he was done, he checked over his work and loaded the tools and supplies into the back of the truck.He also took the opportunity to check his phone and send Mrs.J a message thanking her for the breakfast and coffee.Then he climbed in and drove off down the two-track access road, checking over the rest of the fence line.
“WERE YOUintending to stay out all week?”Chip asked with a grin as he met Sawyer in the yard once his truck pulled to a stop.He was Mrs.J’s second son and one of the most open and easy-to-read people Sawyer knew.They had become friends of a sort.“I thought I was going to miss you entirely.”
“Just overnight,” Sawyer told him.“How long are you here?”
