Wild Trail (Clean Slate Ranch #1)(87)

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up a painful subject.”

“I know, and it’s a fair question. But you’re not Geoff. You and I have a completely different relationship than I had with him.”

“Yeah. And I swear to you, I would never, ever cheat. I know John is superhot, and we’ve got to kiss and do a love scene, but I will. Never. Cheat. I promise on Sophie’s life, Mack.”

“I believe you. Same.” Mack’s gruff reassurance unfurled a bit of tension from Wes’s chest.

“Good. Anyway, it was a good audition, but I won’t know anything for a while. Let’s both put it out of our minds. How was your day, dear?”

He could hear Mack smiling. “Productive, believe it or not.”

Wes settled in and listened to Mack recounting some of the new things Avery had discovered about the land and how they could improve the restoration. When Mack was excited about something, it bled through into his voice and Wes could listen to him talk about this project for hours.

*

Wes still hadn’t heard back about the audition by his Thursday-night Skype date with Mack. Since Wes didn’t have to work—three cast members were down with the flu, and they didn’t have stand-ins—he and Mack had come up with a goofy plan to eat dinner together, while chatting. Like a date, only no touching. Wes had reheated some leftovers he’d brought home from the restaurant the night before, and he poured a glass of wine.

The app rang, so Wes took the call. Mack smiled at him from what looked like a small office of some sort. He had a plate of food in front of him, too.

“Anything yet?” Mack asked.

“No.” Wes pretended to grump. “I guess they don’t want me.”

“They’d be fools to not want you.”

“Good answer. You look stressed.”

Mack shrugged and speared something on his plate. “I am. Remember I mentioned on Tuesday night that some small pieces of equipment had gone missing, and I had to pay for the replacements?”

Wes couldn’t forget that conversation. Mack had called him an hour after their first chat, and he’d been livid, not only because how did tools disappear from a job site in the middle of the wilderness, but also because the foreman had intimated that maybe someone from the ranch had stolen the tools. Wes had joked about coyotes needing hammers to build a fence to keep hunters away, and that had helped cool some of Mack’s temper.

“Yeah, I remember,” Wes said cautiously.

“Happened again this morning.”

“You’re shitting me.”

“Nope. I called up a place and arranged for a temporary trailer-slash-office to be brought up to the site so we can lock that shit up at night, starting today.”

“Oh wow.” Wes hated to ask this, but, “Are you sure it’s not someone from the ranch?”

Mack growled. “I can’t be positive, no, but I’d hate to think anyone on the ranch is a thief. And everyone on the construction crew is local, so I don’t see them stealing from each other. Finding work around Garrett is hard enough to risk losing your job.”

“Renting the trailer won’t hurt your budget, will it?”

“Nah, I got a good deal on a long-term contract. Maybe it’s the cop in me, but I hate thieves.”

“Me, too. Especially this thief who’s stressing you out.”

“I’m tempted to invest in some security cameras, just to see what the hell’s going on up here at night.”

“Honestly, that might not be a bad idea.”

Mack harrumphed. “Sorry to be such a grump.”

“It’s fine. You had a bad day. Who else are you going to vent to, if not your boyfriend?”

“Good point. I’m so busy up here that I barely get to see or speak to Reyes. He got promoted to my position, so he has extra responsibilities that he’s still learning.”

“Good for Reyes.” Wes figured Mack was already grumpy, so why not prod. “Have you spoken to Colt yet?”

“No.” His pointed look said the topic was closed.

“You know, you look like you could use a blow job to relax. Want some company?”

“It’s a weeknight.”

Wes blinked hard at him. “Yes, it is, Mr. I’m My Own Boss Now. You don’t work for Arthur anymore, which means you can leave the ranch whenever you want. You don’t have to save that for Saturdays.”

“Damn.” Mack gaped at Wes with a startled expression. “You know, I’ve been in such a routine for so many damned years, it honestly hadn’t occurred to me I could leave the land without asking permission, or being off the clock.”

“Happy to help you realize obvious things.”

Mack very maturely blew a raspberry at him.

“So what do you say?” Wes asked. “It’s only six o’clock now. I can be there in an hour. Spend some time with you. You can take me around the site and show me what you’ve done so far.”

Mack stroked his beard with his left hand. “I like that idea. We can hang out up here, so we don’t disturb Reyes for once.”

Wes laughed, excited by the idea of seeing Mack tonight. “Besides, believe it or not, I kind of miss the wide-open spaces of the ranch. The way you can see a bazillion stars in the sky.”