Wild Trail (Clean Slate Ranch #1)(36)

Wes placed a dramatic hand on his brow. “Don’t tell me Mack Garrett is clumsy.”

He laughed as he gathered up the trash. “You’d be amazed how many ways there are to stab or scrape yourself in a barn.”

“Do tell.” Wes dropped the hand in favor of a sexy eyebrow wiggle. “I’d love a private tour of the barn.”

Mack would love to give him one, too, which was precisely why it wasn’t happening. “I’ll be sure Reyes gives you one when we get back.”

“I don’t want Reyes to give me a tour.”

Mack blinked, having too much fun playing dumb to stop now. “Colt, then? Or maybe Bert? I’ll see who’s available.”

Wes opened his pretty little mouth to speak again, then squinted at Mack. “You’re teasing me, aren’t you?”

“Took you long enough.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t speak cowboy.”

“I can tell. Think you can walk?”

“Of course I can.” Wes pulled himself up using the ancient rail. The wood creaked, and he grimaced but didn’t fall back over. “Ow.”

“Stay here, I’ll bring your horse over.” No sense in him limping farther than he had to.

Mack packed the first aid and trash away, then led both horses back to Wes, who was gazing at the town.

“You seriously had no idea this was here?” Wes asked as he took Blizzard’s reins from Mack.

“Nope. Not even sure my grandfather knows. We’re right up close to the part of the ranch we call the back forty. It’s the wildest part of the land that no one’s explored in the last century.”

Wes’s eyes lit up. “Do you think that gold could be hidden around here somewhere? It was never found, right?”

“I don’t even know if I believe that story’s true, but it’s possible.” Mack gazed around. Behind the tallest remaining building, the land sloped upward sharply and got rocky. It was possible someone once had a mine up here, and the small town had sprung up around it. That had happened all over California during the gold rush, and most of those towns were gone—either deserted or reclaimed by the wilderness.

This town didn’t have many more years left before it was reclaimed, too.

Something buried itself into the back of Mack’s mind. Not an idea, so much as a hint of an idea. He kept it close as he turned, taking a few photos with his phone. Only a handful of buildings still stood, but they outlined how the town had probably once been situated at the base of the mountain.

“Makes you wonder about the people who used to live here, doesn’t it?” Wes asked. “Why they came? Why they left? Where their family is now?”

The depth behind those questions made Mack do a double take. Wes was stroking the front of Blizzard’s head while staring sadly at the building that had injured him. As if caught up by the ghosts of the people who’d once walked that porch as they went about their day. He liked knowing Wes had a deeper, more serious side beneath the flirting and bluster. It was damned appealing.

“It makes you wonder,” Mack agreed. “Come on. We gotta get back before Reyes starts to worry. I’m out of walkie range.”

“Okay.”

His left foot was the wounded one, and Wes had a little trouble bracing it in the stirrup to haul himself up, so Mack gave him a boost. Lifting Wes up with both hands under his butt absolutely did not make Mack’s dick twitch with interest. Not at all. Once Wes was settled, Mack mounted Tude and settled in.

“You sure you know the way back?” Wes asked.

Mack winked. “Guess we’ll find out.”

*

Wes felt like a complete idiot for two big reasons. First, that he’d gotten his dumb ass lost at all, and second, he’d fallen through the damned porch and gotten himself hurt. His ankle stung and ached, but it could have been a lot worse. He could have broken his ankle, and that would have been a quick end to his vacation.

Blizzard did all the work, dutifully following behind Tude, so Wes didn’t worry about letting his mind wander again. Wander back to Mack fixing up his ankle, holding his leg against that thick thigh. He had a gentle touch for such a big guy, and Wes was pretty proud of himself for not getting hard simply from the guy’s proximity and gentle touch. He loved seeing this new side of Mack.

Hurting himself had almost been worth it for the strong push of Mack’s hands against his butt, boosting him into the saddle. Big hands whose touch he wanted in more places that just his ass.

It had taken all of Wes’s self-control not to get back off Blizzard, fall to his knees and blow Mack by the old porch. Give the horses a proper show.

He was proud of himself for keeping things at subtle flirting. Mack seemed like the kind of guy who’d be drawn in by a challenge, rather than Wes throwing himself at him. The time constraints of his weeklong vacation, though, required a little extra finesse.

Mack had earned major hotness points by not teasing Wes for letting Blizzard get out of his control, or about Wes being scared. Clinging to a powerful horse for God knew how long, while the wild beast tore across the countryside? Not something Wes wanted to do again. Ever. But it had given him some amazing alone time with Mack. Almost made the stark terror worth it.

Wes had no idea how long it took them to meet up with the group. Sophie looked like she wanted to strangle him on the spot, so he stayed on his horse. Everyone was ordered to mount, anyway, since they were off their schedule and were already going to be late getting home.