Wild Trail (Clean Slate Ranch #1)(66)

Mack’s smug grin made his decision worth it. “Guess you did go for quite the wild ride.”

“Twice in twelve hours.”

“Maybe next time we get together, we can try to set a record for three times in twelve hours?”

Next time we get together.

Wes’s blood hummed. “Definitely.”

He navigated his way to the entrance to Clean Slate Ranch from memory. Once he’d driven to a place the first time, he rarely had trouble finding it again, which made driving in a sprawling place like the San Francisco Bay area much easier. Colt was waiting by the side of the dirt road in an idling pickup and grinning like a madman.

“You tell Colt anything about us when you texted him?” Wes asked.

“No, why?”

Wes pulled to a stop and shifted into Park. “Wanna mess with his head?”

“Sure.”

“Play along.”

Wes left the car idling, but sprang from the driver’s side door with a perfect glare aimed right for Colt. Colt’s smile dropped off his face as Wes approached, replaced by wide-eyed surprise. “Thank you very much for the most awkward night of my life,” Wes snapped.

“Huh?” Colt’s mouth flapped open in the most amusing way.

He sensed Mack approaching. “Did you think I was going to make Mack pay for a hotel room because of your crazy matchmaking plan?”

“Uh...”

“What exactly did you think was going to happen by pushing us together to talk?”

Colt’s face went bright red. “That you’d...make up?”

Wes had mercy on the guy, because Colt was too genuine to keep stringing along. “And you’d be right.”

He blinked hard. “Wait, what?”

Mack grabbed Wes by the waist and hauled him close. Kissed him in a way that left Wes light-headed and half-hard, and made Colt cheer. When Mack saw fit to stop plundering his mouth, Wes laughed. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it,” he said to Colt.

“It’s okay, I think I deserved that,” Colt replied. “I don’t like lying, but I couldn’t stand seeing Mack so miserable. And face it, pal, you were miserable. And kind of a bastard.”

“He’s not wrong,” Mack said. “I buried myself in work so I didn’t have to think about missing you.”

Wes kissed his bearded chin. “Well, I missed you, too, and now I get to miss you until I can see you again.”

“We can text and email and shit. Speaking of which.” He pulled his phone out. “What’s your number.”

They exchanged information. Wes immediately texted Mack a series of excited emojis.

“Ugh, you two are adorable,” Colt said, “and Mack, please don’t punch me for calling you adorable, but we need to get going. Reyes is hitching up the wagon for you, but you need to get into work clothes.”

Mack glanced down at his clubbing outfit. “Yeah, that’s very true. Arthur would fire me himself, if I ever showed up at a guest pickup like this.”

“Can’t have that,” Wes said. He kissed Mack again, imprinting the man into his senses, before drawing him into a long hug. “I’m glad you want to do this with me.”

“Me, too.”

“Have fun with the new city slickers.”

“To be honest, I’m gonna try hard at that. Don’t know how many more weeks I’ll interact with the guests, not once the ball gets rolling on the restoration.” Mack cut his eyes at Colt, a funny glint in them. “I’ve got a historian flying in from Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon to take a look at the place. Maybe stay on for the project.”

Colt’s face went slack.

Interesting.

“A historian, huh?” Wes asked, playing along. “How’d you find her?”

“Him. Colt actually recommended his very own ex for the job.”

Colt made a hilarious choking sound, as if insulted that Mack would reveal such a thing. Then he sulked against the truck cab, face hidden in shadows.

“That sounds like an interesting story,” Wes said quietly.

“All I know is that it was a mutual breakup, but sometimes I wonder.” Mack chuckled. “I think I’ve paid him back for lying to me yesterday. You gonna get revenge on Sophie?”

“I haven’t decided. She’s already stressing about the perfect venue for the wedding. She wants non-traditional.”

“If she wants non-traditional, she should do it at the ghost town when we open. That would be a hell of a way to start off.”

Mack laughed again, like he’d made a good joke, but the wheels in Wes’s head started spinning hard. Sophie had loved the ranch. She wanted to go back next summer. She would probably flip the fuck out at the idea of doing the wedding there, and talk about a cash influx into Garrett.

“Does this town even have a hotel?” Wes blurted out.

“Small one off the highway. Why?” Mack’s eyebrows dipped. “Are you taking what I said seriously?”

“Yes. Sophie would totally go for it. She didn’t get to see the bones of the town, how much potential there is, but I did. She’d love to make the wedding party dress up in period clothes, too, I guarantee it.” The more Wes imagined it, the more perfect it seemed.

“Well, don’t get her hopes and dreams up yet, we’ve only just started. Once Avery sees the place and speaks with the construction foreman, I’ll have a better timetable on how long the job will take to complete.”