Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 86431 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 346(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86431 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 346(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
“Yeah. I gotta get these wet clothes off.” Hart stood on shaky legs. “And find some clean sheets.”
“Unhuh. Change and then throw your boots on.” Free was already pulling on a T-shirt with his nylon shorts. When he pulled the thick comforter off the bed and rolled up in his arms, Hart got curious.
“What are you doing?”
“Just trust me.”
Hart didn’t say another word. He changed into his last set of nightwear and followed Free out of the room, down the stairs and out the back door. He took Hart’s hand and jogged across the small field to the barn.
“Baby, it’s probably a mess in here.” Hart stopped them at the door.
“No it’s not. I installed the cameras on the outside earlier. It’s great. Trust me. Lots and lots of hay.”
Hart smiled. Only five minutes after his unsettling nightmare and Free had him smiling. He had real love. Free used the flashlight on his cell phone to navigate them past the ride-on mowers and up the ladder into the roof space. He took a deep whiff when he stood at the top, staring out of the huge open loft doors. The air was cool, unlike the heat from earlier. This time of year was his favorite. Warm during the day, chilled and breezy at night.
Free pointed at a nice mound of hay. “See.”
Hart came over and wrapped his arms around Free from behind. “I love you so much.”
“I know you do.” Free inclined his neck, allowing Hart to rest his lips there a moment. “Come on. I want you to try to lie here and relax.”
“Okay.” Hart was exhausted. His body was sore from doing ranch work for the first time in years, and riding a horse could be agonizing on the hips and thighs if in the saddle too long. But, damn if he didn’t want to make love right there in barn. He’d always had that fantasy.
Free laid the comforter over the hay and rolled them up inside it. “There.”
They lay on their sides facing each other. “I feel like we shouldn’t waste this moment and make love.”
“It’s not a wasted moment.” Free yawned. “We’re together. And we don’t have to christen the barn this time. We’ll be back a lot…remember? I wanted this time to be about you and getting you what you needed to feel revived.”
Hart settled in comfortably with his love in his arms. Free was right. Nothing had been wasted about their weekend. It had all been perfect. And so far, Bull and Walker were ecstatic with the results of their security system. Tomorrow, Free would put the final touches on it and that’d be it. Then life had to resume again.
“Time to get back to the grind tomorrow,” Hart said into the quiet darkness. He could feel the morning coming.
“Yeah.” Free sighed, staring out of the loft doors as swathes of pink and baby blue begin to blanket the sky. “Have you heard from Fox yet?”
“No.” Hart released a weary breath.
“Reach out to him again, please. Let him know you’re here and you’re okay.” Free idly caressed Hart’s chest when he spoke, “Didn’t you say he enjoyed visiting on your family’s ranch, yes? See if maybe he wants to join you for the last couple hours we’re here. I’ll be face-timing with Tech most of the morning while I get the system online, so maybe you and him can do some activities together while I wrap up.”
Hart thought about it a moment. He did need to get back square with his second in command. “Yeah. I’ll message him. He’s always wanted to learn how to ride good.”
“Well there you go. Bull gives lessons,” Free said practically.
Hart chuckled. “Goodness. Fox and Bull. That’d be interesting as hell. Fox would immediately rub him the wrong way.”
Free grinned. “Yes. Call him. I think the silver Fox and the Bull might definitely need to meet.”
“You’re really trying to have some fun now, aren’t you?” Hart laughed, staring at Free’s profile. His boyfriend was just so damn unique and remarkable, that sometimes it took his breath away.
They held each other as the sun rose over the lush fields of colorful fall mums. The horses had been let out of the stables and Hart watched from above, remembering how he used to enjoy that time in the morning back home—waking with the animals.
Stretching and shifting closer toward Free, Hart felt strong, rested. He was ready to get back to the world, back to his job. Prepared to right some more of the wrongs in their city. It was a rough and tough job, but someone had to do it. What made it okay was now he knew he had a place to come and decompress when the career got too stressful. His partner had done that for him.
It wasn’t long before Hart was searching out Free’s kisses and touches beneath their covers. It didn’t escalate to more. They weren’t in a rush. Free had already promised him a lifetime, and he trusted him completely.
The End