Earth and Sky

stopping him.

    When Hunter was fourteen, he hadn’t known about Gable’s sexual preference. Those things weren’t talked about, but they’d stayed in contact, as Gable was still the closest thing he had to a father figure and Hunter often turned to Gable for advice. He’d noticed the ever-changing ranch hands Gable employed, and as time passed, Hunter began to notice how Gable treated some of them differently from others. It wasn’t until Grant started working at Gable’s ranch that Hunter’s suspicions had been confirmed. He’d caught them pulling apart one day when he’d arrived at Gable’s unexpectedly and had seen them frolicking naked under Gable’s outside shower, back when the bushes around the shower were newly planted and not nearly as thick as they were now. He’d been too embarrassed to watch, but it had confirmed to him that Gable was gay and Grant was his lover. For a while he’d felt awkward around Gable and Grant, but then he’d realized that Gable was still the same man he’d always been.

    And now Grant was Hunter’s lover.

    Hunter rolled to his back on the bed. He was still achingly hard and couldn’t stop thinking about how he felt about Grant. For more than a year he’d been mad at Grant, angry because he’d left Gable at a time when a partner was more important to Gable than anything else in the world. Even now, Hunter still felt a lingering sense of recrimination. Grant’s weak excuse that he and Gable had been bed partners, but never lovers with everything that entailed, didn’t sit right with him. Even if they’d broken up just before the accident, Hunter felt that Grant had run away from his responsibility, which was to take care of the ranch. He could just as easily have left after Gable came back from the hospital.

    Rolling to his side and into a fetal position, Hunter stuck his hand between his legs and touched himself, more to get rid of the ache than to find satisfaction, but it didn’t work. “Fuck!” he cursed to himself. He couldn’t even get himself off tonight. Why was it so easy to love Grant when he was in the same room with him? What was it that made the wrangler so seductive? Hunter couldn’t get a handle on it, because whenever he was alone, the doubts returned. Maybe they shouldn’t go away tomorrow? Maybe it was best to stay at home in case there was another attack on the herd. Then he wouldn’t need to face his doubts. Then again, Hunter knew he had to get Grant away from the ranch and on neutral ground, because he wanted answers. Even if demanding those answers meant Grant would turn away from him. He owed that much to Gable.

Chapter 19

    Grant didn’t mind getting up early. Seeing the sun come up was almost as magical as seeing it set, and a lot easier to stomach when you had nobody to share it with. He also liked the quiet of the morning, with no banter from the stable boys, just the occasional snorting from the horses. That and a good, honest morning’s work helped him clear his head.

    By the time Hunter walked into the stables, most of the Saturday morning chores were done. Grant’s heart lifted when he saw the dark-haired cowboy stroll toward Davenport’s stable.

    “Think he’s learned his lesson?” Grant asked from near Raven’s box.

    Hunter startled slightly and turned around with a wry smile. “Are you suggesting I start riding him again?”

    Grant shrugged. “He seems to have lost some of his attitude. Tim rides him from time to time, and he says he behaves almost impeccably.”

    “Yeah, but Tim’s got a way with horses, just like his big brother Hugh.”

    Grant smiled. This was an argument he wasn’t going to win. “In any case, it’s a good thing that Davenport is getting some exercise other than being put on the treadmill.”

    Hunter nodded.

    Grant couldn’t help feeling something was off. Yesterday Hunter had been passionate and eager, and today he seemed standoffish and cold. He moved a little closer to Hunter. There was nobody else in the stable block, but it paid to be careful about people overhearing their more intimate conversations. “Are you having second thoughts?”

    Hunter shook his head. “No, but maybe we should postpone another week. What if another horse goes missing while I’m gone?”

    “You’re not indispensable, Hunter. I know you’re the boss and the man of the house and everything, but Izzie can take on the day-to-day operation for one night. You deserve a vacation, and it’s