Page 5 of The Earl's Wrangler
“Yeah.Sawyer is one of our best hands, and you’re always saying you know horses.Well, one thing is for sure—at the end of two weeks, you’re going to know how to clean up their crap.”
Sawyer swallowed hard.“Are you sure that’s a good idea?Your mama said that she has three colts that she got at auction coming in.She asked me to get them settled and to start training them up.It’s going to take a lot of my time and….”
Alan smiled.“That’s perfect.You’ll need some help, and Randall here can give you that.He can clean the stalls and anything else while you work with the colts.”If Sawyer didn’t know any better, he’d think Alan was having a good time with this.Sawyer had figured that Randall was a friend of his and that he was having him on with this whole bet thing, but maybe there was more to it than that.“You up to that?”he asked Randall.
“Sure, I can help in here.”Randall looked about as thrilled as if he had been asked to help out in a slaughterhouse.
“Great.Sawyer here can explain what needs to be done.”Alan and George left the barn, leaving the two of them alone.
“There’s always things to be done.You can clean the tack.”Sawyer motioned to the back, and Randall headed that way.Sawyer followed and did his best not to watch the attractive backside in the fancy jeans.“You might want to get boots and clothes made for working.Those fancy duds are going to get really dirty, and they ain’t going to hold up.”
“I’ll ask George about it,” he said, as though Sawyer wasn’t good enough.It didn’t matter if a man looked like he walked out of a magazine, with dark blond wavy hair down to his shoulders that looked like a mane.He swallowed and shook his head.Sawyer needed to wipe out any thoughts of how good Randall looked or—when he passed him to go into the tack room—how the man smelled, like summer rain.Fucking hell, he was not going to do this.
“All the tack needs to be cleaned.Everything is in here.”He opened the cupboard.“I’m sure your earlness knows what to do.”He didn’t wait for him to answer before leaving to return to work.
Chapter 3
RANDALL SHOOKhis head and sighed as he worked the leather bridle with his fingers.It was old and in desperate need of some care.He’d worked on a number of other pieces and had set them aside.One thing he could say: the room was meticulously organized, with every horse’s gear clearly labeled.It was plain that for the most part, everything had been well cared for, even if some of the tack needed more than cleaning.
Sawyer hadn’t been back, but Randall heard him moving around outside.Occasionally wood slid along concrete, and Randall wondered if the man was building something or tearing it down.Not that it was any of his business.He was here because he’d been stupid and lost a bet.If it was Alan’s goal to show him how great Wyoming was, it wasn’t working.All Randall wanted was to return to England and his home, where he’d spend weeks washing the crud off, enjoying proper tea, and spending his afternoons on the estate, playing lord of the manor to the hordes of tourists who visited the home built by the second earl during the Restoration.He was damned proud of it and the work his grandfather, father, and he had done to restore and preserve it.
The dragging came again, the sound grating up his back.Randall finished the bridle and put it back where he’d found it before poking his head out of the room.“What in bloody hell are you doing?”
Sawyer continued dragging the old piece of furniture out of what had once been a stall.“What does it look like?”he snapped.“There are three colts coming in.I only got two stalls, so I need to clean out the one that everyone has filled with shit over the last decade.”He continued dragging the old kitchen sideboard out of the stall.“I was thinking I’d toss this on the burn pile out back.”He continued dragging, and Randall waved his hand.
“No.”He drew closer as Sawyer stared at him like he was crazy.He licked his finger and brushed it over the dry wood.“This has seen a hard life, but it’s not junk.”He needed more time and better light to really see, but even without getting into the detail, he knew this was not something to be broken up and burned.“Is there a storage place, somewhere dry?”
“There’s the workshop,” Sawyer offered.
“Then let’s take it there.I’ll help you.”He looked it over and lifted at the top, which separated from the base.“It’s in pieces.”
“If you say so.This is just junk.It’s been in here forever.”Sawyer took the other side, his arms bulging as he lifted.Randall let him lead the way, and they carried the sections out of the barn and into the work shed, then put them back together along the one wall.Sawyer stepped back, looking at it.“I still say it’s not worth any time.”
“We’ll see,” Randall told him.
Sawyer shrugged and left the shed.“There’s plenty of work to do.”
Randall’s stomach rumbled.“When do you eat?”He realized it had been hours.
“It’s only four in the afternoon.We’ll have dinner when it starts getting dark.Once the work is finished.”He strode back into the barn, and Randall wanted to throttle him, but he still couldn’t help admiring the way he filled out those damned tight jeans.
“I see you’re helping Sawyer,” George said as he approached, handing Randall a mug.“I thought you might need something.”
“The man is a pain in the ass,” Randall said, then hummed at the lovely tea.“Reminds me of home.”He closed his eyes, letting the smooth, warm liquid slide down his throat.
George chuckled.“Yeah, but you keep watching him.”
Randall rolled his eyes.“The wrapping may be pleasant, but the inside is filled with asshole.No thank you.”
“It isn’t like you’ve been at your most pleasant.”George swept his arms around him.“Look at this place.The mountains are so beautiful, and just breathe.The air is fresh and clean.Every morning, I step outside and see this and I’m just happy.”A pack of dogs hurried over, all of them settling around George, who petted and spoke to each of them.“How can you be so sour?”
“I was the one who was happy to stay at home.”
George lifted his gaze upward to the clear blue sky.“You’re here, so make the most of it.This is a totally new experience for you.Let yourself enjoy it, rather than being a Debbie Downer.”He grinned.
“Those American sayings…,” Randall said flatly.
“I know.Don’t you love them?”He sipped the last of his tea.“These people say what they mean.If they like you, they will move heaven and earth for you.They live off the land, and it’s a hard life, but they’re strong people.”George leaned closer.“And I can tell you that strength is sexy as all fuck.Look at Alan.”Goerge grinned.“Heck, bloody look at Sawyer,” he said just as Sawyer came out of the barn with a barrow full of junk.It had to be heavy, judging by the way his muscles flexed.“See what I mean?”He nudged Randall, who shook his head.There was no way in hell he was going to get involved with anyone.He was here for two weeks, and that was bloody well it.
