Wild Trail (Clean Slate Ranch #1)(27)

And yet, Mack couldn’t shake a sense that he’d seen Wes before. Maybe some bit part on a TV commercial, or walk-on in a sitcom? Wes was gorgeous as hell, and if he had a sprinkling of talent, then someone had booked him for something. For the first time since seeing his name on the guest register, Mack was tempted to search for the guy online. Tomorrow night, maybe, after they got home.

For now, he had six other guests and their horses to focus on. No time to dwell on tender feelings for the crazy-haired city slicker who wore his jeans like a second skin. And definitely no time to compare those feelings to things he hadn’t felt in a long, long time. Not since Geoff.

Nope, definitely not thinking about Wes anymore.

Except that ass.

*

After spending two more hours on a horse, Wes wanted to cry. He hurt all over and he had to be on the damned thing for four hours again tomorrow, for the ride home. His thighs were burning by the time they arrived at the designated campsite, and he wasn’t too ashamed to ask Derrick for help getting down. Miller was the only other person who seemed as uncomfortable as him, so Wes sucked it up and tried to stand straight.

The site was gorgeous. Flat land near the base of a rocky crag that rose up to become part of a larger mountain. Stones had been laid out to create a fire pit, which was clean of old ashes. Another creek burbled nearby for the horses. A long wooden rail had been installed a few dozen feet from the fire pit, kind of like those places cowboys parked their horse outside the saloon in old Western movies.

Despite having worked on the show for two seasons, he’d never learned the technical terms for a lot of things, and he wished he’d paid as much attention to the set as he had to Drake’s ass. And abs. And award-winning smile.

Stop. Thinking. About. Drake.

All the horses were led to the creek for a drink. Then Mack and Reyes demonstrated how to un-tack their horses and stack the equipment neatly. “Your animal’s needs always come before yours,” Mack said.

Once all of the horses were naked except for their bridles and brushed down correctly at that rail, the cowboys produced these weird bags full of oats and helped each rider attach it to the horse’s head. Wes was a little worried about getting his fingers nibbled—Blizzard was seriously happy to smell those oats—but she was gentle with him.

“Sophie, Miles and Liam,” Reyes said, “come help me get the wagon unloaded. Everyone else is on firewood duty.”

“Firewood?” Miller parroted.

Reyes pointed to a wooded area to the...north? Wes wasn’t great with directions, but the sun was starting to sink at a certain point, and that was west, right?

“Plenty of wood out there,” Mack said. “Nice, dry stuff. Don’t snap nothing off a living tree, hear? It won’t burn and it hurts the tree.”

“Respect the land,” Wes replied.

That got him a smirk. “Exactly.”

“You gonna come protect us, big guy?”

“Yup.” Mack strode to the wagon and unlocked a compartment. He produced a long, shiny shotgun that looked a hundred years old.

Miles’s eyes widened at the gun. He tracked Mack’s movements, until he was respectably far enough away that Miles could return to unloading bedrolls without fear. Wes, on the other hand, started drooling over the sight of Mack standing there in full cowboy getup, a shotgun resting on one shoulder.

Wet dream fantasy come true.

One of his dirtiest, most secret fantasies involved a burly bear of a mountain man taking him captive at gunpoint and...doing things to him. All kinds of naughty things that always had Wes creaming his shorts.

“Wes, dude, you okay?” Conrad poked him in the shoulder. “Come on, we’ve got firewood to collect if we want to eat. I’m starving.”

“Of course he’s starving,” Derrick said. “I’d be more shocked if he ever said no thanks, not hungry.”

Conrad smacked Derrick upside the head, then bolted toward the wooded area. Derrick chased after him. Wes took his time, grateful that Mack was along with the gun. Mack wouldn’t send them anywhere that was dangerous, but he’d also admitted that wild animals lived on the land. A deer wouldn’t hurt them, but a coyote might.

“We need all sizes of wood,” Mack said to their group.

“But what if I only like big wood?” Wes asked with an innocent grin.

Mack nearly tripped. “Then collect big wood. But the rest of you, we need tinder, kindling, twigs and then larger branches.”

“Tinder, huh?” Wes couldn’t help smirking at that. “Didn’t figure you for a dating app guy.”

With a fierce glare that made Wes’s belly wobble in a “yes, daddy” kind of way, Mack turned and put a hand on Wes’s chest. Stopping him in his tracks. “Keep it up, and I’ll dunk you in the creek.”

“You’re just so much fun to tease.” His skin burned where Mack still touched him, and then seemed instantly cold when Mack pulled that lingering hand away.

“Well, quit. You gotta job to do. Go get your big wood and stop jawing.”

The big wood I want is standing right in front of me.

Wes kept his mouth shut and snapped off a salute.

Eventually, Mack declared they had enough of each kind of wood to get a good fire started. He even had a few sticks under the arm not supporting the shotgun. Nothing had mauled anyone, so Wes counted that as a win. Although Liam’s constant muttering about the task made Wes’s skin itch.