Earth and Sky

and they seemed to be quite comfortable around each other. Hunter even thought they were flirting and eyeing each other. Was this what it could be like? Sometimes Hunter wished he had a ranch like Gable’s, where there were rarely others around and he had all the privacy he could want. At home, it wasn’t just his mother and sisters scrutinizing his every move; he was also subjected to the pressure of being the boss to quite a few employees. He would never be able to flirt with Grant there.

    “Flynn’s going to show the horses, if that’s okay with you,” Gable said, shaking Hunter out of his reverie when he came to ride next to him. “That way we can talk about him behind his back,” he added, winking at Hunter.

    Hunter smiled, suspecting this was as close as Gable was ever going to get to confessing to Hunter how he felt about Flynn. He hoped that one day he’d be able to admit to Gable that he’d hired Grant to work for him. Telling Gable he had the hots for his ex was something Hunter didn’t even dare to contemplate. Then again, Hunter had never come out to Gable either. “Sounds like a plan,” Hunter said eventually, feeling he still owed Gable an answer.

    Almost every horse Flynn showed them met with Hunter’s approval. Strictly speaking, he didn’t need twenty horses, but he knew he could sell them to his clients with confidence because Gable had trained them, and he also knew he was doing Gable a big financial favor. Both of them would benefit from the transaction.

    “Now this little girl looks like you could handle her,” Gable joked as he nudged Hunter with his shoulder.

    Hunter shook his head, clearing away his daydreams. He really had to pay better attention. For a second time, he was late responding to Gable’s taunt. “I was born in the saddle, Gabe. I can handle any horse.”

    “Any horse I pick out for you. You’re a horrible judge of horses yourself, if I may say so.”

    Gable was probably the only man who could get away with taunting Hunter like that, and the way Tim stared at the two of them after Gable’s last statement was a good indication that he agreed. It was a battle Hunter knew he couldn’t win.

    “So what makes this one so special?”

    “She’s gentle and docile and the first horse I broke in after my accident. She was no trouble at all and very eager to please. After seeing you ride Davenport, I think she’s just what the doctor ordered.”

    “She looks like a little girl’s pony,” Tim intervened. “But you’re the boss.”

    Hunter directed his look from Tim to Gable and saw Gable cock his head. “She’s a mixed breed, and that’s why she’s a bit smaller than the rest, but she’s got great stamina and determination without giving you attitude.”

    “I agree, you could do without the attitude,” Tim concurred.

    Hunter yanked off his hat and swatted Tim with it, making him jump down off the fence they were all sitting on, but he had to agree with both men: he was due a good horse. “Can I ride her?”

    Gable waved his arm in a welcoming gesture. “By all means.”

    Flynn dismounted and held the horse so Hunter could get on. She was smaller than he was used to but could easily take Hunter’s weight without sacrificing her mobility. Hunter trotted her around a bit and then gestured at Flynn to open the corral so he could give her some space to gallop. As Gable had promised, she handled like a dream. Hunter enjoyed letting his mind wander while he rode her at a surprising speed through the meadows.

    “Sold,” he told Gable after returning to the corral.

    “She’s called Honeybee, by the way,” Gable said after they shook hands. It wasn’t lost on Hunter that Gable was trying hard not to laugh, but Flynn and Tim had no such restraint.

Chapter 12

    “So how is Gable doing?” Grant asked, his hat in hand, fingering the brim as if he was nervous.

    “He seems okay,” Hunter answered as he patted the docile little honey-colored mare he’d just unloaded from the truck. “I think his leg still hurts a fair bit, but the ranch looks great. His help is called Flynn. Looks like a kid with two right hands.”

    “Are they…?” Grant didn’t finish his sentence.

    “I don’t know, Grant,” Hunter replied sternly, sighing after a tense pause. He knew what Grant was asking, and he realized it made him jealous. Not just Grant’s words, but his composure, the way the big guy looked small all of a sudden, his shoulders slumped