Page 2 of Dust and Desire
“I’m kidding, Dustin. Mostly.” Her laugh was hollow. “Look, I should go. I’ve got a meeting in ten minutes.”
“Alicia, wait?—”
“Get out of that house today, okay? Promise me.”
The line went dead before I could respond. I stared at the phone for a long moment, that familiar knot of guilt and regret settling in my chest. Two years, and I still didn’t know how to talk to her. Still didn’t know how to bridge the gap between what we used to be and whatever we were now.
I tossed the phone onto the small counter and looked around my tiny sanctuary. The walls seemed to press in closer in the afternoon heat, despite the AC working overtime. Maybe she was right. Maybe I was turning into a hermit.
I grabbed a water bottle and my hat, stepping out into the oppressive Texas heat. The sun hit me like a physical blow, and I immediately regretted leaving the climate-controlled cocoon of my house. But I’d made a promise, even if she hadn’t heard it.
I started walking toward the main house, keeping to whatever shade I could find along the fence line. The rolling prairie stretched endlessly in every direction, waves of heat shimmering off the green grass. As I walked, I could hear the distant sounds of activity from the rodeo training arena. There was the rhythmic thud of hooves, and Caroline’s voice cutting through the air with sharp instructions to her students.
And then I heard it. That deep, familiar laugh that made my stomach flip every damn time.
Colt fucking Dawson.
I changed direction, angling toward the arena despite every rational part of my brain screaming at me to turn around. I told myself I was just being neighborly, checking on the ranch activities.But I knew the truth. I was drawn to him like a moth to a flame, and just as likely to get burned.
Colt Dawson was my teenage wet dream come to life. Red-headed, freckled, muscular, wild, and a rodeo star. Not to mention, he was an insatiable flirt. Every single time I saw him, my mind went blank, and my jeans got tight. That man turned me on like no other. I wanted him so bad I could taste it.
But he was taken already. Eli Daniels had gotten to him before me. Not that I stood a chance to begin with. Eli and Colt were best friends in high school, from what I understood. That should’ve worked in my favor, but in true enemies to lovers fashion, they punched one another and fell in love. And I was so fucking jealous of them that I could taste it.
That’s the way everyone was in Sagebrush. Everyone like me anyway. From what I’d heard, three years ago nobody would’ve known there was a gay man within one hundred miles of Sagebrush. Now there were at least nine. Talk about a rainbow explosion. I was number nine of course, and the odd man out, because the other eight were already coupled up. And while I liked to think that someone might come along, I knew the odds of that were probably less than zero. The gay gold rush had already happened, and I missed it.
I approached the arena, my steps slowing as I drew closer. The wooden fence was sun-bleached and weathered, perfect for leaning against while pretending I wasn’t there specifically to ogle a certain redheaded cowboy.
Through the slats, I could see Caroline Baker pacing along the edge of the arena, her dark braid swinging as she gestured emphatically at a young rider struggling to maintain proper form. Her voice carried clearly across the space.
“For Christ’s sake, Jessie, you’re gonna snap your wrist if you keep holdin’ the reins like that! Loosen up!”
And then I saw him. Colt was in the center of the arena, shirtless… Of course he was shirtless, when wasn’t he? With sweat glistening on his freckled shoulders and his muscles flexing, I had to shift my stance to make room for my thickening cock. He was demonstrating something to another student, his movements fluid and confident as he gestured with strong, capable hands. The kind of hands that could probably break a man in half or hold him together when he was falling apart. Ones that would probably feel incredible wrapped around my…
I swallowed hard and tried to look casual as I approached the fence, nodding to a couple of ranch hands who passed by with a friendly “Afternoon.” They tipped their hats in my direction, still regarding me with a mix of curiosity and respect that made me uncomfortable. The city lawyer who saved their jobs. The gay divorcé who lived in a tiny house and kept to himself. A curiosity, to say the least.
“Well, look what the cat dragged in!” Caroline’s voice made me jump. She’d spotted me and was already marching over, dust kicking up around her boots. “Dustin Corvus, emerging from hibernation. Must be a special occasion.”
I managed a smile. “Just thought I’d get some air.”
“In this heat? You’re either brave or stupid.” She grinned, wiping sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. “Though I suppose that shoebox of yours must be like an oven right about now.”
“The AC’s working overtime,” I admitted.
Caroline’s sharp eyes studied me for a moment, and I felt transparent under her gaze. She glanced over her shoulder to where Colt was now laughing with his student, then back at me with a knowing smirk.
“You know,” she said, dropping her voice, “he checks with Logan all the time to make sure you’re doing alright.”
My heart stuttered embarrassingly in my chest. “Who does?”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t play dumb, Corvus. It doesn’t suit you.”
Before I could respond, she was called back to the arena by one of her students.
“Maybe you should go out with the boys sometime instead of holing yourself up in that shack. Might make things a little less miserable, huh?”
“I’m not?—”
But I didn’t get to finish. She simply gave me a wink and sauntered off, leaving me with a strange flutter of hope that I immediately tried to squash. Colt was with Eli. Everyone knew that. Caroline was just being friendly and trying to coerce me into having a life. Just like Ali.
