Rough Ride CV4 (12 page)

“Talk to you guys at the reception,” Wyn said as Ezra led him away.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Ezra leaned in. “Am I the only one or…”

“No,” Wyn said cutting him off. “There’s definitely something odd going on between Matt and the Doctors.”

They found a spot towards the back and settled in. Ezra threaded his fingers through Wyn’s and brought his hand up for a kiss. “Love you,” he mouthed.

Wyn smiled and melted Ezra’s heart all over again. Yeah, there was that look he’d thought about earlier. He caught Nate looking at him out of the corner of his eye. The smile on Nate’s face said it all.

Here they were, a pair of older men, who’d truly fallen in love for the first time in their lives.

“Oh my God,” Wyn whispered as he pulled Ezra to his feet.

ROUGH RIDE

Carol Lynne

83

Ezra’s eyes lit on Gill. Standing proud at the end of the aisle, the giant ex-football player wiped a tear from his eye as Kyle stood beside him. Ezra looked down at Wyn. “When did Kyle learn…?”

“I don’t know, but it’s wonderful,” Wyn answered.

Ezra wrapped his arms around Wyn as he watched their two friends slowly walk down the aisle. He could see the determination in Kyle’s face to walk beside his partner all the way down. Gill looked more proud than any man had a right to, but yeah, Gill definitely had the right to feel proud of his man.

Matt caught Ezra’s eye as Kyle and Gill stood in front of Reverend Sharp. He was hovering off to the side, presumably in case Kyle needed his chair. That wasn’t what had captured Ezra’s attention however. Matt looked off somehow, like he was watching the couple without really seeing them.

Casey called for everyone to take a seat. Ezra released his hold on Wyn and did just that. He knew he should’ve been listening to the ceremony, but something about the way Matt stood there caused the hair on the back of his neck to stand on end.

He looked around for Doctors Brown and Singer. “Matt needs help,” he whispered to Wyn.

“Huh?” Wyn asked, distracted by the ceremony.

He was about to stand, to go find Isaac or Sam when the two men appeared at either side of Matt and inconspicuously led him away. Ezra watched as they walked Matt to the parking lot and put him in the back of Sam’s car. He noticed Isaac got in the back with him.

The car pulled out of the parking lot just as Gill and Kyle kissed.

Applause broke out and everyone stood. Ezra stood with them and clapped his hands.

“Where did Matt go?” Wyn asked. “I think Kyle’s in need of his chair.” Ezra motioned to a young man who wheeled Kyle’s chair to the gazebo. “Who’s that?”

“Kevin, Kyle’s brother.” Wyn turned and looked up at Ezra. “So where did Matt go?”

“Isaac and Sam took him home I think.”

“Was he sick?”

“No, I don’t think so, but something’s definitely going on with him.” Wyn gave Ezra a hug. “That’s too bad. He’s going to miss a hell of a reception.”

* * * *

ROUGH RIDE

Carol Lynne

84

As soon as they arrived at the reception hall, Wyn disappeared with Nate to start cutting the cake. With his hands in his pockets, Ezra walked around the new addition. He’d done a bit of work on the addition after the small fire and was happy to see it complete.

His eyes automatically went to the spot where he’d kissed Wyn for the first time. It was Christmas Eve and Nate had had mistletoe strung up everywhere. He smiled to himself, he knew after one taste of Wyn’s lips he’d never want another man. The problem had been saying goodbye to the guilt over Nancy’s death.

Man, that seemed like ages ago. He looked over at a laughing Wyn. Every time he laid eyes on his man, he couldn’t believe he’d gotten so lucky.

“Hey, big guy, what’s that smile about?” a woman asked from beside him.

Ezra looked down at Naomi. “Hey, squirt.” Naomi Rivers was cute as a button and as feisty as a cougar. She’d been coming to the EZ Does It for several years just to ride his horses. He didn’t mind, it gave the horses something to do other than work, and he saw the way a city gal like Naomi took to it so readily.

“So, you didn’t answer my question,” Naomi prompted.

Ezra pointed across the room to Wyn. “That’s all the reason I need anymore.”

“Why, Ezra James, you’re in love,” the redhead teased.

“That I am, Ms. Rivers.” He narrowed his eyes and put on his mean face. “Why, you got a problem with that?”

Naomi laughed and held up her hands in surrender. “Nope, no problem at all. Love looks good on you.”

“Feels good on me too,” he said with a grin.

He caught sight of Wyn waving at him from across the room. “If you’ll excuse me, the object of my affection is calling.”

Naomi looked over at Wyn and waved. “Go. Anything to keep that smile on your face.” Ezra growled at her for old times’ sake. He didn’t want the people of Cattle Valley thinking he’d turned into a complete lovesick fool, even though that was exactly what he was. He stuck his hands back in his pockets and headed over to Wyn.

“Hey, babe, what’s up?” he asked giving Wyn a kiss.

Wyn pulled him by the sleeve away from the cake table. “Ryan needs to talk to you. It’s about Smokey.”

ROUGH RIDE

Carol Lynne

85

Ezra’s hands automatically balled into fists. “What’s he done now?” Wyn tried to soothe him by petting his chest. “Calm down. Ryan got a call from Brewster. Seems Smokey’s taken up permanent residence at his bar and won’t leave.”

“Not my problem,” Ezra said.

“You’re right, it’s not, but no matter what Smokey’s done to you or me, he was your best friend for a long time. If Ryan goes over to Brewster’s he’ll arrest Smokey and put him in jail. Is that what you really want?”

Ezra looked down into Wyn’s concerned face. “He said a lot of things about you. Why do you care what happens to him?”

“If I remember correctly, we said a lot of bad things about and to each other for years.

No matter what I said though, I’ve always cared about you in my own way. Maybe Smokey fell into the same pit. I doubt seriously if he meant what he said. I was just the person who stood in the way of what he wanted.”

Ezra bent and gave Wyn a deep kiss, not caring who was around or if it was appropriate in such a public setting. “You amaze me,” he whispered against Wyn’s lips. “I love you more every day.”

“Good, because you aren’t getting rid of me in this lifetime.”

“Just the way I want it, babe.” He looked around the crowded room. “Okay, where’s Ryan?”

“Outside, talking on the phone.” Wyn gave him another hug. “Go take care of things.

I’ll still be here.”

“You’d better be. If I remember correctly you made a few promises about the ride home.” With one last kiss, Ezra excused himself and went to find Ryan.

ROUGH RIDE

Carol Lynne

86

Walking into Brewster’s, Ezra narrowed his gaze at the man slumped over at the end of the bar. He nodded his head to Kitty, the waitress, and made his way over to his old friend.

He had to keep reminding himself that Smokey had been his best friend and foreman for years.

Taking a seat, he leaned his forearms on the bar. “Do you have some place to stay?” he asked, not looking at Smokey.

Smokey’s head lifted off his arms and turned to look at Ezra. “What are you doing here?”

“Ryan asked me to try and keep you out of jail.”

“Maybe that’s where I belong.”

Ezra had never seen his old friend so down. While part of him sympathised, another part was still angry for the betrayal. Most people probably wouldn’t think of it that way, but that’s exactly how he felt, betrayed. Smokey had seen him weighed down by guilt for years.

So closed off he couldn’t allow himself to love again.

Wyn had changed all that, and if anything, he’d hoped his old friend would have been happy for him. “Where are you staying? I’ll take you home.”

“Don’t really have anywhere. I spent the last few nights sleeping in Elliott Sims’ garage apartment, but he told me not to come unless I was sober.”

“You can’t blame the guy. He’s got a young boy in the house to think about.” Ezra rubbed his chin, still unable to break the habit. “If I take you out to the ranch, you can sleep in the bunkhouse for a few days.”

He put his hand on Smokey’s shoulder. “You need to move on though, whether in Cattle Valley or somewhere else.”

“Why are you doing this?” Smokey asked.

“Because Wyn asked me to.”

“Wyn? Why would he care what happens to me?”

“Because he’s a hell of a man. Something you didn’t bother to find out before spouting off about him.” Ezra felt his blood pressure begin to rise again.

ROUGH RIDE

Carol Lynne

87

“Let’s get you out of here. We’ll stop by Elliott’s and get your clothes. In the morning you can sober up and decide what it is you want to do.”

“Can I have my job back?”

“Nope, sorry, but I’ve already given the position to Jax. We’ve hired a new hand to replace him in his old job. I’ll give you a formal letter of reference though and make a few calls if you’d like. The truck is yours as well. You earned it.”

“Thanks, Ezra.”

“Consider it payback for the years of loyalty you showed me and the ranch.”

“Will you ever forgive me?” Smokey asked, as Ezra helped him from the stool.

“I don’t know, maybe, but if I do it will be in large part because of Wyn.” Ezra waved to Kitty as they left. He walked his ex-friend out to his truck and loaded him up.

By the time he climbed into the driver’s seat, Smokey was crying. Ezra rolled his eyes.

God he hated maudlin drunks. “Come on now, pull yourself together.” Smokey wiped at his eyes and shook his head. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve loved you for so long I don’t know what to do with myself. I swear I’ll never feel this way again.” Reaching across the seat, Ezra patted Smokey on the back a few times. “You’ll find someone, and when you do, you’ll realise you never really loved me at all.”

“How can you say that?” Smokey asked beginning to sob again.

“Because when you truly love someone it’s almost all-consuming. We’ve been together everyday working side by side, eating meals together. In all the years we’ve done that, I never had an inkling that you loved me. The real thing you just can’t hide like that. You’ll see. Give it time.”

Looking towards the direction of the church, he decided to take Smokey out to the ranch before coming back for Wyn. Nothing in the world would keep him from enjoying the ride home with the man he loved.

* * * *

Ezra honked the horn in front of the bunkhouse and the cowboys came pouring out. He got out of the truck and met Jax by the hood. “I’ve got Smokey. He’s drunk and homeless it appears. See if you and the hands can’t sober him up a bit before you pour him into bed.” Jax looked from Smokey back to Ezra. “Is he staying?” ROUGH RIDE

Carol Lynne

88

“Nope. You’ve earned the foreman job. I won’t take it away. I told Smokey he could bunk out here with the guys until he found a place to live and a job. I’m going to call a friend of mine and see if he has anything available for Smokey. Just do me a favour and keep him away from the bottle.”

“Yes, Boss.”

He watched as Neil and Brent helped Smokey into the house. Ezra got the two big duffle bags out of the truck bed and handed them to Jax. “He’s hurting,” Ezra said gesturing to Smokey, “so treat him with respect.”

Jax nodded and carried the bags into the bunkhouse. Ezra waited until the door closed before getting in his truck and heading back to town.

By the time he arrived there were only a few cars in the parking lot. He hoped like hell Wyn wasn’t upset with him. He’d called on the drive over to Elliott’s and told him what his plans were, but that was nearly an hour and a half ago.

Parking the truck, he went inside the reception hall. Ryan, Rio and Hal were stacking chairs, while Casey, Nate and Wyn swept and took down decorations. Wyn was on a ladder, taking down fairy lights from the perimeter of the room.

Ezra couldn’t help himself. He reached up and grabbed a handful of Wyn’s sweet ass.

Jumping, Wyn almost fell from the ladder. Luckily Ezra was ready for it and quickly helped Wyn retain his balance.

Wyn turned around with his hand over his heart. “You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

“Sorry, babe. It was just right there looking so damn pretty I couldn’t resist.” Wyn handed him a string of lights. “Would you do me a favour and put these in that box over on the table? I only have one more string and I’ll be ready to go.” Ezra took the bundle of lights and put them in the box indicated. From his side view of Wyn, Ezra spotted the hard ridge of his lover’s erection pushing against the zipper of his dress slacks. He grinned. Scared or not, Wyn hadn’t been unaffected by Ezra’s little pinch earlier.

Wyn climbed down from the ladder and started to move it to the next position on the wall. Ezra hurried forward and took it from him. “Let me do this. I feel like I should be doing something to help, but it looks like you guys have almost finished.” Wyn put his hand on Ezra’s biceps and squeezed. “There’s only one thing I love more than a strong man.”

ROUGH RIDE

Carol Lynne

89

“Oh really, and what is that?” Ezra asked moving the ladder and securing it against the wall.

“When that strong man is you.” Wyn ran his hand down to brush across the front of Ezra’s pants.

“Careful, that’s a loaded weapon that’s fixing to go off at any second.” With a wink, Wyn climbed the ladder. “Give me three minutes.” Wyn quickly unhooked the next section of lights and handed them down to Ezra.

After one more ladder move, the last of the lights were down and in the big box with the rest of the church’s decorations. Wyn turned to survey the room. “Okay. I think if I can get you to put the ladder in the storage closet we can go.” Ezra stored the ladder and walked towards the group of friends gathered by the door.

He wrapped an arm around Wyn and kissed his temple. “Ready?”

“Yep,” Wyn said and leaned against him. “See you all later.” Ezra gave the group a nod and led Wyn out to the truck. “Do I dare ask?” Wyn asked getting in through the driver’s side.