Page 47 of Wilder Heart

“That it could. Thanks for this.” He raised the bag.

“Don’t thank me. It’s just a couple of sandwiches.” Clyde gave them a wave. “I’m turning in. Night, you two.”

Alone again, Cash handed Wilder the sack and then fetched him a bottle of water from the mini fridge across the room. When he set the bottle on the bedside table, their eyes met. Wilder’s head was tipped back to look up at him, exposing the long column of his sun-tanned throat. It should be unfair for any man to look so good while doingnothing.

“I should go and let Lain know we’re back.”

“Mm-hm.” Wilder’s tongue darted out to lick his lips. The wire pulled taut between them, thrumming with tension, and Cash couldn’t resist, cradling Wilder’s face in his hands and leaning in to trace the path Wilder’s tongue had taken with his own, pressing inside and swallowing Wilder’s needy moan.

“Can I come back and check on you after?” he asked between deep, drugging kisses.

“I may be offended if you don’t.” Wilder’s voice was husky, his eyes heavy-lidded with want.

“Good. I’ll be back soon, then. Eat and take your pill while I’m gone.”

“Fine,” he groused, and Cash kissed him once more for good measure before he peeled himself away to go and do the responsible thing.

Outside Lain’s office,Cash wiped his mouth one last time with the back of his hand, and then knocked on the door to announce his presence. Behind the desk, Lain sat back with an expression of relief when he saw Cash standing in the doorway.

“Oh thank God, you’re back.” He gestured for Cash to take a seat across from him. “What did the doctor say? How’s Wilder?”

Cash bobbed his head. “Wilder is okay. I dropped him off at his room, and Clyde brought him something to eat. He’s got some painkillers from the doctor, and I told him to take one when he finished eating. The doc said that he tore a ligament in his knee, and he’ll need to stay off it for the next four to six weeks.”

Lain exhaled sharply. “Well, it could be worse. He can have as much time as he needs, of course. How is he taking it? He’s always been restless.”

“He’s been better,” Cash said. “He blames himself for what happened. To be honest, I don’t think he’s totally at fault. I think I might be as much to blame as he is, if not more.”

Lain passed a hand over his face. “It’s been years since I’ve ridden with Wilder, but I always remember him being a stickler for protocol when it came to riding. If there’s one thing he knows, it’s how to handle a horse. Even after all that time away, I can’t imagine he’d have put a saddle on wrong.”

The best course of action was to be as honest as possible, so Cash said exactly what he was thinking. “Honestly, boss, Wilder wasn’t the one who put the saddle on Blaze this morning,anyway. It was his first day riding with us, and he seemed a little nervous, so I got the saddle for him. He was standing by my side the whole time, but I’m the one who secured it. If there was something wrong with the saddle, it was my fault. Not his.”

Lain looked surprised. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you saddle a horse for one of the hands before.”

Cash didn’t have a good excuse for it. “Well—truthfully, I like Wilder. He’s a hard worker, and I think he’s a good man. He’s had a hard time of it, and I’ve come to consider him something of a friend.” That barely scratched the surface of what he actually felt, but he’d promised Wilder that he wouldn’t say anything about their relationship yet.

The shadow of a frown crossed Lain’s face. “I’m glad you think so. He’s a stranger to me now. I don’t know how to talk to him. Every conversation feels like a minefield. I didn’t even know he was gay, for crying out loud.”

Cash scrambled for something to say. “Well, that kind of thing is very personal. Maybe there’s a good reason why he never told you. It sounds like things between him and your father were pretty tense. He was probably afraid tellinganyonewould risk it getting back to him.”

“I thought we were closer than that, though,” Lain said. “I thought he trusted me.”

Cash shook his head. He didn’t know what to say without giving more away than he meant to.

Lain sighed. “I just don’t understand. I thought we shared everything back then. Hell, we used to joke about having so much in common that we’d wind up going after the same woman one day. Heneverindicated to me that he might be gay.”

“Is it—a problem?” He wouldn’t have pegged Lain as homophobic, but he’d been wrong about people in the past.

“No, of course not. I don’t care that he’s gay. I care that he nevertoldme.” Lain’s troubled gaze was distant, searchinghis memories of the past. “Maybe we were never as close as I thought we were. Maybe he always held me at a distance, and I just didn’t know. I used to tell him everything. I thought we had no secrets. He obviously had sides of himself that he kept hidden.”

Cash wanted to strangle them both. “Why don’t you go and ask him?”

Lain shook his head immediately. “No, I can’t. It’s been a long day for everyone as it is. I don’t want to bring all of that up right now. He needs his rest.”

While that was true, Cash also had a feeling neither of them would truly rest easy until theytalked.

“I think the best thing for us to do is just keep our distance,” Lain insisted.

It would be unprofessional to call his boss an idiot, even if he deserved it, so Cash inclined his head. “I respectfully disagree, but it’s your call, boss.” He slapped his knees and stood, assuming that was all for now.

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