Wild Trail (Clean Slate Ranch #1)(49)

The whole group of guests had followed Reyes and Quentin down a long trail for a morning at the lake, and Wes was in heaven. The water was just cold enough, with a gorgeous mountain backdrop and big open skies. He’d been excited to swim, even though he did keep his tank top on to hide the spectacular hickey Mack had left on his back last night.

Joey and Andy were having fun playing at the water’s edge, and watching the brothers goof off was almost as fun as swimming. Wes wasn’t much for kids, but they were kind of adorable. And their moms were supercool and patient with them.

Everyone had gotten into the water at some point or another, except for Miles. He’d spent an hour wandering within eyesight, snapping pictures, before parking his butt under a tree and staying there.

Wes’s stomach growled. Reyes said the group would head back at lunchtime, so it had to be getting close. He swam to shore and hauled his dripping self out of the water. Took a second to shake out his hair and wring out his shirt.

Miles silently handed him a towel.

“Thanks,” Wes said, rubbing the terrycloth over his head. “I can’t believe you don’t want to swim. The water feels amazing.”

“Not feeling it today,” Miles replied.

“You feel sick?” He put the back of his hand over Miles’s forehead.

Miles swatted his hand away. “I’m not sick, it’s just a headache. Okay?”

Wes second-guessed waiting until they got home to figure out what was really wrong with Miles, but Quentin blew a whistle.

“Time to get ready to head back,” he shouted at the people in the water.

A lot of groans went up, followed by splashing.

“When we get back,” Wes said, “see if Patrice has any aspirin you can take.”

Miles rolled his eyes. “Yes, mother.”

“I’m serious. You’re missing out on fun stuff, dude.”

Sophie bounced over and shook her hair out, splattering them both with water droplets. Miles yelped and covered his camera.

“Sorry,” she said as she snagged a towel from the pile. “Oh my God, that was so much fun. I’ve never swum in a real lake before. Ocean and pools, yes, but not a lake.”

“Water is water,” Miles said.

“Party pooper. You didn’t even swim.”

“I don’t like to swim, okay? Geez.” Miles stood and stalked a few feet away, arms over his chest.

Sophie turned wide eyes onto Wes. “What’s eating him today?”

“I don’t know. He said he has a headache, so maybe he really does. Hopefully he’ll chill out this afternoon.”

“I hope so.”

Wes also hoped that was all that was bothering Miles. His overall mood this week had fluctuated a lot, but today Miles seemed flat-out grumpy and antisocial. Maybe he’d just had too much sunshine and fresh air.

He found his sneakers. Dried his feet and slipped them on for the hike back to the ranch. He was crazy hungry by the time they all got to the guesthouse. Patrice had a laundry basket for everyone to dump their wet towels into as they came inside. Wes steered himself straight for the familiar lunchtime buffet of sandwiches and cold salads.

He settled at the table with his food, his friends joining him quickly with their own meals. He was halfway through a turkey and cheese on rye when he realized Miles wasn’t at the table. Miles didn’t appear at all for lunch, and after he’d eaten, Wes trotted upstairs to their room.

Miles was on his bunk, back to the room.

“Miles?” he asked quietly, unsure if the guy was asleep or not.

No answer, so he must be napping. Concerned, Wes went back downstairs and found Patrice. Told her his concerns. She promised to check on Miles in a little while with some aspirin and crackers, so he didn’t take them on an empty stomach.

The ranch itinerary had a voluntary horse trail ride that started at two, which gave Wes over an hour to try and stalk Mack. He hadn’t seen the man all morning, except for a brief glimpse of his back as he rode off on an ATV. Probably to explore the ghost town Wes found. The ATVs had rumbled back into the area while Wes was eating, so Mack was somewhere on the grounds.

He took his chance on the barn. Mack’s office was empty, so he wandered through, petting the horses who came over to say hello. He stopped at Blizzard’s stall and stroked her long forehead. Let her nibble at his empty palm. He should have brought her a carrot or something.

“I guess you technically found the ghost town, didn’t you?” Wes asked. “You just dragged me along with you.”

“Think I should name the town after her, then?” Mack’s voice directly behind him made Wes yelp in an undignified way.

Wes spun, his pulse racing both from the fright, and from Mack’s general proximity. “A ghost town in Northern California named Blizzard? Think that’ll attract a lot of tourists?”

“You never know.”

“Hey, how come you get to name the town?”

“Because I’m the one investing in restoring it.”

“You what?” Wes blinked hard at the guy. “Why the hell do you work on a ranch if you’ve got that kind of money lying around?”

Something dark flashed in Mack’s eyes. “It’s not money I live on. It’s something I was waiting to use the right way, and I think this is the right way.”