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Authors: Bailey Bradford

Tags: #Erotic Romance Fiction

Hay and Heartbreak (9 page)

BOOK: Hay and Heartbreak
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“Not the first day of spring.” Dan shivered.

Hector couldn’t tell if it was a real shudder or not. “Here, hold up. Are you cold?” Hector had the jacket rolled up with a blanket and some supplies behind his saddle.

“Nah. I’m good in this flannel shirt.” Dan plucked at the collar. “It’s nice, actually, with the sun out like it is.”

“Today’s the first day of fall.” Hector wondered, after he said that, if there was some significance to it. He came from a family that held a mixture of beliefs. His Granny Gallegos had been big on portents and signs. She’d have said there was something special about him taking a man out today like he was doing with Dan.

Could be she’d have been right.
Hector couldn’t shake the feeling she was up in Heaven agreeing with him.

 

Chapter Seven

 

 

 

Dan wasn’t sure how to do whatever it was he and Hector were doing. Sex, he understood. That was two bodies merging together, and it didn’t take any talk to get down to it. He worried over what, if anything, to say, then finally felt like he had to share some of his past.

But talking about prison, even though he’d been exonerated of the manslaughter charge, that was hard to do. Still, Dan wanted to make the effort—maybe.

“Yeah, I’m the baby out of seven kids,” Hector said just then, that lazy smile on his face. “Mama loves me best, no matter what the others say.”

“Seven kids?” Dan couldn’t imagine it. He’d felt swamped moving in with his dad, and having an instantaneous, large family. “Brothers? Sisters?”

“Yup, some of both. Was three of us boys and four girls,” Hector informed him.

Dan didn’t miss the past tense. “Was?” Then he brought himself up short. “Sorry. That was—you don’t have to answer that.”

Hector glanced at him as they ambled on their mounts through a vibrant green field. “I brought it up. Don’t apologize. I know you and Duke lost your brothers years back. We lost Abraham, the oldest, and Suzie, the next oldest. They were almost a year apart in age. Mama and Dad, they had some damned fertile years right up until Hugo, he’s the second youngest, and a good six years older than me. Anyway, after him, they had to take a baby break on account of Mama’s body was getting worn out. So I came along years later. But, Abe and Suze were thick as thieves, and not inclined to spend their lives on a ranch. Lost them both to drugs—heroin. Didn’t take them fast, either.”

“I’m so sorry,” Dan offered. He’d never tried H, and figured he was lucky. No, it’d been meth that had really tangled him up, more than the coke he’d had on occasion.

Hector grunted, seeming to be lost in his thoughts. After a little while, he spoke again. “You know, Suze actually wanted to get off of it. She just…she couldn’t. There’s not much available to really help someone who is addicted to heroin. Nothing as effective as most people who are hooked need it to be. Suze… She broke my mama’s heart so many times, especially after Abe died. Between her and him going to rehab over and over again, my parents lost all their savings and would have had to file bankruptcy except then Granny Gallegos passed and left them a sizable inheritance. That was right after Suze died. Wasn’t an overdose, either. She—I don’t talk about this, I can’t believe—”

Dan was going to tell him it was okay, but Hector rushed on.

“I can’t believe I’m telling you, actually. Talking about all this,” Hector said. “She killed herself. Left a note that said she was tired of fighting to get clean, and tired of hurting everyone and the heroin was always going to win. Abe, he died of exposure after passing out in an alley. Lost them both a few years apart. It was hard. I hate drugs something fierce.”

Dan pressed his lips together until he was certain he had teeth marks on them. There was no way he wanted to talk about his past now.

“The rest of my brothers and sisters are scattered around the country,” Hector continued. “Seemed to me like they couldn’t wait to get away from here, and I guess I get it. To each their own and all that. Me, I won’t ever move away from Montana. This place is in my blood.”

“Can’t say as I feel that way about Alabama,” Dan said, angling to hide his discomfort. He felt like he was lying by not talking about his past, yet he couldn’t make himself go there. “I met your bosses today. They seemed like good people. Will’s a hoot.”

“He’s something, that’s for sure,” Hector agreed. “You haven’t met Drake or Ian, right?”

Dan remembered that Ian was a cop and barely repressed a shudder. “No. Met Jody and Prissy, though. That little girl’s a sweetheart.”

“She is. She’s got every one of us wrapped around her little finger.” Hector pointed off to the right. “Look at the way the sun reflects off the water over there. Can you hear the creek?”

Dan listened as he looked at the creek, its surface decorated with the sun’s rays like gems shining on the dark water. “I can hear it.”

Hector sighed. “I should have brought us a picnic dinner. Shows you how good I am at this kind of thing.”

“Seems like you’re doing just fine to me.” Dan would have been too nervous to eat, probably. “I had a big lunch anyway.” Sandwiches, since he didn’t cook worth crap.

“You’re not just saying that to be nice?” Hector asked.

Dan shook his head. He pushed the cowboy hat back since it kept slipping down. “Nope.” His conscience was niggling at him over his past, but how much was he obligated to share? Hector had said he had no obligations, and he’d also made it clear they weren’t doing anything serious or permanent.

That being the case, what good would it do to bring up Dan’s past drug use? Hector might not believe Dan would never return to using.

What’s the point in telling Hector anyway? I’ll be gone in a couple of weeks and he’ll forget about me.
If they were dating, if they were going to have a real relationship, Dan would force himself to bare his past. Since that wasn’t the case, he didn’t think he could let Hector into his head like that.

Hector had fallen quiet while Dan was lost in his own thoughts. It didn’t seem like an uncomfortable silence. Even without conversation, he felt comfortable around Hector.

He let his mind drift to what might happen when they reached a stopping point. Dan fought not to clench his ass. While Mosh hadn’t been a selfless lover, Dan had still enjoyed what they’d done together more often than not. At least when it came to sex. Some of the orders Mosh had given him outside of that had been humiliating. Dan put those memories aside. He wasn’t in prison. Mosh had no place in what might happen between Dan and Hector.

After over an hour riding, Dan’s butt was beginning to ache. He squirmed in his seat, and Hector didn’t miss the movement.

“Getting sore?” he asked, grinning.

“A little,” Dan admitted. “Do they make saddles with more cushioning?”

That got a laugh out of Hector before he answered. “Maybe, somewhere not in Montana. You just need to toughen up your backside, that’s all. We got about another five minutes, then we’ll be at the spot I wanted to show you. This isn’t a proper ranch tour, I reckon, even though you saw the barn and corrals. And cattle, right over there.”

Dan had already been looking at the white cattle in the nearby pasture. “There sure are a lot of them.” He felt stupid as soon as he said it.

“There are,” Hector agreed. “Those are purebred Charolais. Good beef cattle. Carlos was as happy as a pig in mud when he was able to get them. Not too many years back, this ranch was a mess. Carlos, Troy and Will have brought it back from the brink of ruin, and I’m not being dramatic there. They made this place profitable through sheer grit and brains. Carlos is one hell of a rancher, let me tell you, and deciding to hire a Rainbow crew, well, that got them a lot of loyalty. There aren’t many ranches where a cowboy doesn’t have to worry about being out.”

“I reckon you’re right about that. Everyone I’ve met here has been friendly, and you sure can’t beat this view.” In fact, Dan could look forever at the mountains and the trees, the fields and sky, without getting sick of it. The wide-open spaces called to a part of him that still feared being locked up again. “It’s beautiful. I can’t blame Duke for not wanting to leave.”

“Yeah, he’s never giving this up,” Hector mused.

Dan understood that, now. He’d been thinking that Duke hadn’t really wanted to be around him, wouldn’t be there in the long run. Now he got it. Duke had a home here, and there was no way Dan would ever begrudge him that.

“And, look here.” Hector edged Val in front of Dan. “Right through these trees…”

“Oh, wow.” Inadequate, juvenile words, but Dan had no others. In front of them lay a field of grass so green it seemed unreal. The creek ran through the field and Dan could smell the fresh water just as clearly as he could hear it. It wasn’t much different from some of the other places they’d ridden through, and yet it was unique because of the way the colors and sounds came together.

“You should see it in spring, when the wildflowers are blooming,” Hector said. “There’s yellow glacier lilies, and purple larkspur, white moss phlox, and Indian paintbrush, just to name a few. The colors are so vibrant, like God Himself dipped down and painted this here field just to make something beautiful.”

“I don’t know what those look like, but I…” Dan hoped he didn’t sound pushy. “I’d love to see it come spring time.”

Hector dismounted. “Well, there isn’t any reason you can’t visit then, is there?”

Dan thought about how much the plane ticket had cost. Even if he found work, he probably wouldn’t be able to buy a ticket in March because he’d have to pay Frankie and Duke back for this trip. “Depends on my job situation. Right now I’m looking. If I find something, I doubt I’ll be able to take off work until I’ve been there a while.”

“What kind of work are you looking for?” Hector asked. He held his hand out for Dan’s reins.

“Uh.” Dan blinked. How could he tell Hector he’d never had a job before without bringing up the reason why? He’d had a job of sorts to do at the halfway house, but that wasn’t the same thing. No one wanted to hire a man his age who had no work experience to put down on an application. Dan didn’t explain any of that because it all tied into a past he was ashamed of, exoneration or not. He got off Maisy and idly rubbed her neck. “I’d like to work outside, I think.”

Hector handed Dan back the reins. “Like ranching, landscaping, construction or what?”

Dan had been at a loss for what he’d like to do for a living. Even if he got a decent settlement, he didn’t want to be idle. Boredom wasn’t a good thing for someone like him. “Landscaping, maybe. I want to know all the names of the flowers and plants.” He could envision it now, and knew he had some thinking to do once he was alone again. “Guess that means college.”
And a GED.

“You could take some online classes,” Hector said. “I did most of my bachelors’ that way. Got a degree in farm and ranch management, but you know, I was reading up on it and now colleges are recommending a master’s degree because of all the financial aspects of ranching and farming.” Hector huffed. “Aw, I’m sure you don’t want to hear about that, and I can sure babble when I get to going. Besides, I didn’t bring you here to go on about college.”

An unfamiliar, fluttering sensation kicked up in Dan’s belly, spreading warmth to his groin. “You sure about that?”

Hector beamed at him. “Why, Dan, are you flirting with me?”

Dan’s cheeks had to be pink with a blush. He could feel it on his skin. “Maybe.” He looked up through his lashes at Hector. “Just a little.”

Hector tied Vil’s reins to a limb, then did the same with Maisy’s. “I like it, a lot. You’re such a mixture of sweet and shy, and those eyes—damn, you could get me to do anything if you look at me just right.”

Dan felt like his lungs had gotten too small all of a sudden. Heat suffused him, arousal flaring sharp and quick. He didn’t know how to be coy or anything, and he’d always let someone else lead when it came to sex.

But he wanted Hector. It didn’t matter that they didn’t really know a whole lot about each other. Dan knew enough, and he had learned that life was hard and dangerous, and good things were scarce. He was beginning to believe that the people who grabbed at every day with both hands and an open mind were the ones doing it right.

So he pushed himself out of his comfort zone. Dan stepped up to Hector, so close their chests brushed together. Hector’s nostrils flared and Dan felt brave enough to rest his hands on Hector’s hips. He wanted a kiss, but asking out loud was impossible. Instead Dan tipped his head up, offering himself to Hector.

“God,” Hector murmured before he took Dan’s hat off and tossed it somewhere.

Dan wasn’t paying attention to that. He was watching Hector’s face, his mouth in particular.

Then Hector’s hands were on him, grabbing Dan’s belt and waistband at the back as he yanked Dan closer. At the same time, he slanted his mouth over Dan’s and kissed him, gentle like before, soft touches, smooth licks, before plunging in and devouring Dan.

Dan might as well have gone up in flames, as aroused as he was. He couldn’t think of anything but how he needed more of Hector.

Hector made a sound just like he’d done earlier and it went straight to Dan’s balls. He curled his fingers against Hector’s side, trying to hold back his own desperate sounds.

A moment later, Hector had his hand down the back of Dan’s pants, palming Dan’s ass, pressing fingers into his crease.

The whimper that burst out of Dan surprised him, and he nearly panicked until he remembered that he didn’t have to be quiet here. He was free, and with a man that he wanted like no other.

The weight that lifted off Dan was amazing, and one he hadn’t known he carried. He stopped trying to hold anything back and gave Hector everything. Hungry sounds spilled from Dan’s lips into Hector’s mouth as Dan writhed, trying to get closer. Their clothes were in the way, and he wanted desperately to feel Hector’s naked skin on his.

Hector’s rumble was more like a growl as he shoved Dan’s shirt up. He raked blunt nails up Dan’s back, not hurting him, just giving him touch. Dan sought skin, too, getting his hands under Hector’s T-shirt, feeling smooth, warm, living silk over hard muscles.

BOOK: Hay and Heartbreak
11.81Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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