Wild Trail (Clean Slate Ranch #1)(15)

“You never told me that,” Wes said.

“You never asked.”

Touché.

Reyes took a step back while Miles went through the same motions as the others, testing the reins and getting comfortable in the saddle. He rode straight-backed, elbows squared, like someone who’d had lessons. This was a story Wes might try to pry out of his friend later tonight. He knew Miles wasn’t in contact with his family any longer, and his childhood was not a subject for conversation. Apparently that childhood had once involved horses.

The jerk even showed off by getting Hot Coffee to back up, and then walk sideways. By the time he finished with a graceful dismount, the entire corral was watching him. Someone applauded. Miles flushed bright red and turned to face the tall fencing.

“That was impressive,” Reyes said softly. “You’re very good with horses.”

Miles mumbled something even Wes couldn’t understand.

“And last, but never least,” Conrad said, redirecting with style, “I think it’s Wes’s turn to get his skinny ass up on a horse.”

“I’ve been dreading this since I booked the vacation,” Wes said. “I might need those steps.”

“Give it a go the cowboy way first,” Reyes replied.

Wes didn’t put enough power into it the first time, but on his second try, he managed to swing his ass up and into the damned saddle. Not supercomfortable, even after adjusting himself. He glanced over his shoulder, not surprised to see Mack look away and put his attention back on one of the Reynolds moms. Dianne? Suzy? He usually wasn’t this awful with names, and they kind of looked alike.

Wes wanted to stand up in his stirrups and waggle his ass, show Mack what he was missing out on; the rest of him was too scared of falling six feet to the hard ground, so he stayed seated on the bazillion pounds of muscled beast beneath him.

“This isn’t so bad,” Wes said.

“Wait until you’ve been riding for an hour,” Reyes said. “Your ass won’t be so happy.”

From your mouth to Mack’s ears.

Somehow Wes got the horse to do what he wanted without getting thrown. He’d never ridden a horse on the show back in the day, and he did not understand how people got used to the way they got rocked about every time the big animal took a step. The whole thing was making him a little seasick. Eventually Reyes decided Wes was competent enough to let him dismount, which he totally fucked up. Instead of his right foot hitting the ground flatly, he turned his ankle and nearly fell over. “Oh shit!”

Reyes caught him before his ass hit the dust and set him to rights.

“Ooh, he said a bad word,” Joey screeched.

Cussing in front of the kids. Just great.

Wes made a show of dusting himself off and straightening his clothes, sure to aim his ass in Mack’s direction. The fact that he caught the bigger guy looking again gave him hope for at least one vacation hookup. Colt was hot and would probably say yes, but something about Mack’s bearded, gruff papa bear thing pressed all of Wes’s buttons.

With the lessons concluded, guests were free to hang out until the supper bell rang—roughly an hour and a half—or go on a guided walking tour of the land. Since it looked like Mack would be busy assigning horses, Wes decided to go on the tour. The ranch was freaking gorgeous and he wanted to see more. Miles stuck close, his camera at the ready.

By the time they assembled at the start of one of the trails, everyone in the guesthouse except the Reynolds family and Alex was there. As one of the longest employees of the ranch, Bert was leading the tour. Totally straight and no fun to look at, so Wes mostly drowned out Bert’s words and studied the land.

The trail dipped over low hills and wove in and out of groves of trees. Birds swooped in the air, which was thick with the scents of earth, grass and something floral that rose up the farther they moved from the heavy odors of the barn. At the top of a hill, Bert pointed into the distance, where spots of red dotted the landscape.

“That’s the rescue,” Bert said. “Got good people doin’ good work out there, and not just with horses. We rescue people, too.”

“How’s that?” Sophie asked.

“Arthur likes to take chances on people who’ve maybe burned up those second or third chances with others. Gives them a job, a chance to be part of something important. He took a chance on me when I got out of prison. Thanks to him, there’s no chance of me going back.”

“What were you in for?” Miller asked.

Bert only winked and smiled. “Doin’ bad stuff.”

They continued along the trail, and Wes soaked in the scenery. In some ways, it reminded him of the location they’d used for a lot of the Quick Draw exteriors. The shoot-outs and frantic horseback riding across the plains to stop that week’s atrocity from happening. Mostly Drake and the main cast of the show. Wes had ridden on a buckboard a few times, but not a horse. His character had been a blacksmith, only a few lines per episode at first.

Until he’d started sleeping with Drake Sellers, the star of the show. Then Wes’s character got more lines, a past and even a last name. The second season of the show, he’d even gotten his own secondary storyline for six episodes. It had been the start of something really big on the show, and he was happy with Drake—except their relationship was a secret from everyone, per Drake’s demands. Wes hadn’t even told Sophie about it, not until the whole thing was over.