Rough Ride CV4 (10 page)

“You’re my best friend,” Ezra replied. “You’re my everything.”

* * * *

After arriving home the next morning, Ezra went into his office and called the barn.

“Jax,” the ranch hand on the other end answered.

“Hey, I need you to find Smokey and send him to my office.”

“Will do, he’s out messing with the new bull.”

“Tell him to stop whatever he’s doing and get in here. Thanks, Jax.” Ezra hung up the phone and paced the floor in front of the window. He’d been unable to sleep even with Wyn wrapped around him. Hoping like hell it was all a misunderstanding, he went to the kitchen for a cup of coffee.

As he was pouring some of the thick brew into his favourite mug, the phone rang. “EZ

Does It,” he answered.

“It’s Ryan.”

“Hey, Sheriff. Wyn said you helped him out, I appreciate it.”

“So he told you,” Ryan sounded relieved.

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“Not the particulars, but he said Smokey told him to stay away from me.” He stood in front of the window and watched as Smokey strode towards the house.

“I just wanted to make sure. I haven’t seen Wyn that upset since the whole Doles debacle.”

Ezra eyed his old friend and took a sip of his coffee. “I’ll take care of it.”

“Talk to you later. If Wyn has any more problems, it’ll become an official police matter.”

“Thanks, we’ll let you know.” Ezra hung up as the front door opened and closed. He walked through the kitchen into the living room.

“My office, now,” he said passing Smokey in the foyer.

When they entered the office, Smokey took a seat in one of the comfortable leather chairs in front of the desk. “Is there something you need to tell me?” he asked Smokey.

Smokey took off his hat and ran his chocolate brown fingers over the short nap of his hair. “No, not that I can think of. The new bull looks good.” Ezra took a drink of his coffee and set the mug down. Crossing his arms, he leaned on the door frame. “Wyn said you came by his store.” He noticed the way Smokey shifted his weight in the chair. “Stopped in for a minute.

Thought I might buy some new jeans.”

“You didn’t say anything to him about staying away from me?” His friend’s nostrils flared as he stood up and turned to face Ezra. “That sissy-man go crying to you?”

Ezra walked forward until he had Smokey pinned against the desk. Bending down to get right in Smokey’s face, he narrowed his eyes. It took all the willpower he had not to flatten Smokey, friend or not.

“Don’t you ever refer to Wyn like that again. You got me?”

“Sure. I’m sorry if he misunderstood the reason for my visit. It was strictly innocent I can assure you.”

“Wyn said you told him if he stuck around I’d lose the ranch.” Smokey puffed his chest out. “I’m not sorry for what I said to him. You’ve spent more time with him and dealing with that club shit than you have on your own spread.” ROUGH RIDE

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Ezra’s hands balled into fists. “What I do or don’t do is my own damn business. If you don’t like the way I’m running things, pack up and move on. And if you ever so much as look cross-eyed at Wyn, I’ll have your ass for breakfast.” Smokey’s face fell as he put his hands on Ezra’s chest. At first Ezra thought Smokey would try to push him away, but instead, his foreman kissed him. Shocked, Ezra pulled back.

“What the fuck was that about?”

Smokey grabbed him again and began running his tongue up Ezra’s neck. “I love you. I have for years, but I thought you still weren’t over your wife’s death. I’ve hung back in the shadows waiting. The next thing I know, you’re running off to Oklahoma to take up with someone like Wyn. He won’t fit in here, Ezra. He’ll make you miserable.” Ezra struggled with his friend for a few seconds, eventually getting away from him. He turned away and strode towards the window. “I’m sorry if I hurt you. I didn’t have any idea you felt that way about me. I think it would be best if you looked for another job. I’ll give you a couple of months pay and you can have the ranch truck you’ve always driven.”

“You can’t mean that,” Smokey said coming up behind him. “You’re going to fire me on Wyn’s say so? I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Shaking his head, Ezra braced his arms on the window frame. “I just got off the phone with the sheriff. You want to try again to deny what you did?”

“Okay, yeah, I did it. I wanted him out of your life. I’ve been with you since you started this ranch. You’re just gonna toss me out because you’ve found a tight ass to play with?” Ezra turned around and picked Smokey up by the neck and slammed him into the wall.

“Forget the fucking truck. You’ve got exactly one hour to get your shit and find your own goddamn way off my property. And if you ever see me again, you’d better run the other way, because next time, I won’t let you walk away.” He released Smokey and left the office without a backward glance. He had a lot of apologising to do to Wyn. How could he have been so blind?

Walking out to the barn, he found Jax. “If you can get Smokey off this ranch in the next hour, his position and cabin are yours.” He left Jax slack jawed as he got into his pickup and headed towards town, and his meeting with the mayor.

“Fuck,” he growled, slamming his fist against the dash. In his present mood, it might not be a good time to talk to Quade. Perhaps he should stop by the store first and start on that apologising.

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“Well, this is a pleasant surprise,” Wyn said as Ezra stepped into the store.

Wyn came out from around the counter to give Ezra a much needed hug. Ezra held his man tighter and kissed his forehead. “I needed to see you,” Ezra said.

Pulling back enough to look up, Wyn’s brows rose. “What happened?”

“You were right about Smokey. I had to fire him.” The thought of ending his long time friendship still made him sick to his stomach.

“Oh, Ezra,” Wyn said and kissed his neck. “I’m so sorry.” Ezra shook his head. “Me, too. Maybe someday we’ll be able to patch things up.”

“Why aren’t you at city hall? I thought you had a meeting with Quade this morning,” Wyn asked, running his hands over Ezra’s pecs.

Bending down, Ezra gave his man a deep kiss. “I thought I needed to calm down first.” Wyn looked around the store, before running his hand over the bulge in Ezra’s jeans.

“So, this is calm?” Wyn asked in a teasing tone.

“No, but holding you always has that effect on me.”

“Pity there isn’t time to do anything about it. Rain cheque?” Wyn asked giving Ezra’s cock one last squeeze.

“Definitely,” he answered, giving Wyn another kiss before pulling away. “I’ll stop by after you close the store and we’ll go back to your place.” Wyn looked at him for a moment before shaking his head. “If you fired Smokey, I think you should spend some time with the ranch hands. I’ll come by and let myself in. You take your time and put your men at ease.”

Damn he loved this man. “How did you get so smart?” Ezra chuckled.

Shrugging, Wyn sobered. “Smokey may have had his own motivations for the things he said, but they weren’t totally without merit.” Ezra reached out and cupped Wyn’s cheek. “I love you.” Wyn nodded. “I know.”

* * * *

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Deciding to walk to city hall, Ezra turned right out of the store. He stopped before he went any further and rubbed his chin. Maybe it would help Quade’s mood if he brought him something to sweeten his pallet.

Turning around, Ezra waived to Wyn as he passed back by the window. He opened the door to Brynn’s Bakery.

Kyle wheeled in from the back all smiles. “Hi, Ezra. Does your visit mean you forgive me for the cookie bouquet on Valentine’s Day?” He wouldn’t tell Kyle, but that mean trick had helped him realise how much he wanted Wyn for himself. “Yeah, truce,” he grinned. “Wyn and I are planning to attend your wedding this weekend. Can’t be mad at a guy who is so in love.” Kyle blushed and Ezra gave him a friendly smile.

“I’m going over for a meeting with Quade. What would you suggest to sweeten him up?”

Kyle’s brows rose. “Oh, a bribe, perfect.” Kyle looked at the display case. “If it’s Quade, you can’t go wrong with a cinnamon roll.” He winked. “Between you and me, I think the man is addicted.”

“Perfect. I’ll take two.”

Kyle folded a pastry box and placed two over-sized cinnamon rolls inside with an extra container of frosting. He closed the box and pulled out a small sack, slipping two peanut butter cookies inside. “No sense not sweetening up Carol a bit, too.”

“Ahh, smart man.” Ezra nodded. He paid for the rolls, but Kyle refused payment for the cookies. After thanking him, he headed towards the city hall.

Stepping into the Mayor’s wing, he held the small bag of cookies out to Quade’s assistant, Carol. “Kyle said you liked peanut butter.” Carol took the bag and peeked inside. “Kyle’s trying to make me fat,” she said, pulling a cookie out and biting down on it. “But oh man is it worth it!” Ezra pointed to the closed door. “Is he busy? I know I’m a little late, but I brought a peace offering.”

“Hell, you could shoot his dog and he’d forgive you as long as you brought Kyle’s cinnamon rolls to the funeral,” Carol laughed.

Laughing, Ezra knocked on the frosted glass door.

“Come in,” Quade called.

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Ezra entered, brandishing the bakery box in front of him. “Am I too late?” Quade’s eyes were glued to the box. “Nope, have a seat and give me that box. I can’t get over how different you look. I saw you in town the other day and thought Cattle Valley had a new resident at first.” The mayor winked. “Your size is what gave you away.” After passing over the bribe, Ezra took a chair in front of Quade’s desk. He studied the mayor as he dumped more frosting on the rolls. Quade didn’t seem like a mayor. Ezra knew he was a smart man and good with the public, but Quade always seemed distracted.

“How was Hawaii?” He asked to get the ball rolling.

Quade stopped mid-bite and rolled his eyes. “Oh God, don’t remind me. I met the sweetest little surfer. Damn, that man was hot. I almost resigned my position over the phone and became an official beach bum.”

He knew Quade was trying to make light of it, but Ezra could see the pain in his eyes as he talked about the man he’d spent his vacation with. “There’s always next year,” Ezra said.

As soon as the words were out, Quade’s face fell. Shit, he should have kept his big mouth shut. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

“That’s okay.” Quade took another bite of his roll. “I’m sure Kai will have moved on by the time I get back there. He’s too perfect not to have a hundred guys surrounding him on any given day.”

“So ask him to come here,” Ezra said.

“Why would he willingly leave the beauty of Hawaii to live in Wyoming? Naw, it’s better that I just try to get him out of my mind.” Quade finished up the first roll and rubbed his stomach. “Now, down to business.” Standing, Quade went over to a closet and pulled out a cardboard tube. He tapped the tube against his leg for a few seconds before walking over to the conference table in the corner of the room. “There’s something I want to show you.” Ezra stood and strode to the table as Quade rolled out a set of blueprints. “The city had these drawn up a couple of years ago. We’ve held off on proceeding with the plan, but I think it’s time.”

Leaning his hands on the table, Ezra studied the papers in front of him. “A hotel? In Cattle Valley?”

“Yep. We have the Apple Valley B&B, but we’re hoping to attract some more tourists.

Surely there are folks out there who’d love to spend their vacation in an open and friendly ROUGH RIDE

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town like ours. Then there’s Rodeo Days to think about. Every year we lose money when people have to leave town and head to Sheridan to stay the night.”

“So, where’s this hotel going to be built and what does it have to do with me?” Ezra asked.

“James Brewster has the town convinced a dance club would violate the city sound ordinance. I’ve tried to find a way around it, but I’m afraid he’s right. But this hotel,” Quade pointed to the plans, “won’t be in the city limits. We have a rather large piece of property that is basically going unused.”

Quade looked at Ezra and smiled. “And? Are you going to tell me where this land is?” Ezra asked, getting frustrated.

“Overlook Mountain.”

Ezra thought of the mountain rising at the edge of Cattle Valley.. He looked back down at the blue prints. “A ski lodge? That’s brilliant.”

“I happen to think so,” Quade said and buffed his nails on his shirt.

“So, once again, what does this have to do with me?” Quade flipped through a few of the rolled drawings and put a different one on top of the stack. “See this area right here? We were trying to figure out what to do with it. We could invite another restaurant in, but the lodge already has the main dining facility so it’s kind of pointless. A dance club, however, would be perfect.” Ezra tried to picture a club in the rustic looking lodge. Yeah, he could definitely see the success in it. Without a word, he reached over and pulled Quade into a bear hug. “I knew there was a reason we made you mayor.”

He released Quade and looked at the plans again. “When do you plan to start construction?”

Quade cleared his throat. “Officially, we have to have a town meeting about it, but unofficially, I’ve already made several calls. It looks like we can start as soon as it’s voted on.”

“Now, is the city building paying for it, or an individual?”

“The town trust is having it built. We’ve already been in contact with someone who’s interested in a long-term lease for the building and the land.”

“Will Wyn and I be leasing the club space from the trust or this individual?” ROUGH RIDE

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“You’ll have to lease it from Guy, but I’ve already talked to him and he’s all for it,” Quade answered.

“Guy?”

Quade covered his face with his hand. “Sorry, that slipped out. Between us, Guy Hoisington is the man who approached us several years ago with the idea.”