Page 34 of Holding On to a Hero
The horse tossed her head.Fuck. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to scare her again!”
Cole led the horse toward me. “It’s okay, Will. She’s fine. We’re both fine.”
“Thank fuck! That was pretty scary. I’m going to call the Fish and Wildlife Service and report a hunter in the wildlife preserve. That shit’s illegal!”
Arturo had followed Cole down the paddock fence. “Can you give me the number to call? We probably need it since we’re so close to the preserve.”
“Of course.”
Cole said, “I need to cool down Endora here, but why don’t you go get your truck and meet us at the barn?” He turned to Arturo. “Will’s going to hang out with us today.”
“Great. Will, you should see the sheep. They’re looking so much better already.” Arturo gave me a friendly smile. I’d been dying to ask him what he thought about working for a gay couple who dated a third man, but I hadn’t dared. He was probably in his early fifties, about my height but with a lot more muscle. On Saturday I’d managed to catch a great shot of Arturo looking deeply concerned while examining one of the sheep. It was going to look fantastic on the website.
“Sure,” I responded. “I want to track their improvement. After I move the truck I’ll look up the number to the Fish and Wildlife Service, Arturo, and we can make the call to report the hunter.”
I walked down the road toward my truck. I had too many things in my arms to pull out my phone just then, but I was itching to report that fucking hunter. Just as I was unlocking the door, Jason’s truck came down the road. He slowed to a stop and rolled down his window, giving me a big grin. Damn, he was hot. Cole had the movie-star looks but Jason was just as good-looking, though in a more wholesome way.
“Hey, Will! Are you coming to the house?”
I gave him a brief rundown of what had happened. Jason looked pissed. “I’ll meet you at the house.”
I hopped in the truck, not bothering with the seat belt for the short ride. When I got out, Jason gave me a brief kiss on the cheek and told me to put my stuff on the front porch. Then he went silent and walked stiffly and swiftly toward the barn. I followed, but I had to half-jog to keep up. That man had some long legs. And, I was happy to re-verify, a delicious ass.
Cole and Arturo emerged from the barn when Jason was still several yards away. Cole took one look at Jason and held out his hands. “Jason, don’t freak out. I’m fine. Endora is fine.”
Jason grabbed Cole in a tight hug. “You could have been hurt.” His face was pressed into Cole’s neck but I could hear him perfectly. Cole’s arms went around Jason and his hands moved up and down Jason’s back. This was probably not a good moment to get turned on, but memories of the weekend were overtaking my brain.
I looked at Arturo and said, “Hey, Arturo, why don’t you show me the sheep?”
Chuckling, Arturo took me to a large paddock north of the barn which had been turned into a new home for the sheep and their goat friend. They had a sort of open shed for shelter, along with water and feed troughs. The sheep were looking much healthier and happier. “Who sheared them?” I asked.
“The vet came. He and his assistant did it, since the wool was so matted.”
Cole and Jason joined us as I was looking up the number for the Fish and Wildlife Service. I put it on speaker as I called. After making some guesses on the phone prompts, I was directed to leave a message, which I did. That was not satisfying for any of us.
Jason and Cole debated calling the cops but I told them it would be pointless. “The sheriff might have jurisdiction over this county, but the wildlife preserve is federal.” Arturo said he’d call if he heard any more shots just to be thorough.
No one had any other ideas.
“Well,” said Cole. “I think we could all use a cup of coffee.”
Arturo said he was going into town to get some supplies, so Jason, Cole and I walked to the house.
After the way our morning had started, I hoped today’s coffee was spiked with alcohol.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Cole
Jason held my hand the entire walk back to the house. I’d finally calmed down from the adrenaline rush of trying to hang onto Endora while she was bucking. I mean, I was a decent rider, but it was a miracle I hadn’t landed on my ass at a high rate of speed. So, yeah, it took a while for my hands to stop shaking.
Jason hugging me had helped. As usual I reveled in the contact, pressed together from my knees to my head, his arms wrapped tight around my back and waist, with just the tiniest hint of a side-to-side motion.
But now Will was here, planning to spend the rest of the day with us. Hmm, what could we do to pass the time?
“Cole,” Will startled me out of my contemplation of whether it was too soon to use toys with him. “I couldn’t see you when I was coming out of the wildlife preserve. Did you get thrown off the horse?
“No.” I gave him an arrogant grin. “My riding skills are that good.” I laughed. “Okay, well, she finally slowed down enough for Arturo to grab her bridle.”
