Page 81 of All of Us

“I’m impressed with your confidence. Looks like all those trail rides we took paid off.”

“Yeah.” Unless I was completely off base, he sounded wistful. “That’s when we first met.”

“It was. One of the best things to happen to me.” I hoped that he heard me and genuinely believed it.

He looked at me, his eyes looked glassy. “Have you talked to Dusty? You need to make sure you stay close to him. After your years without each other, you need to hold on tight.”

That was a weird thing to say. It wasn’t like he was wrong, but it had been the first time he blatantly pushed me toward Dusty. We usually focus on each other. It felt like when we had Dusty over that night, everything had changed, and not for the first time this week, my heart felt like it was being torn from me.

“We keep in touch. I’m glad to be here with you.” I wanted to fix the bond between us, not think about Dusty.

“That’s good. It’s important. You two really have something special.” With those words, he turned Amber and went toward the other ranch hands, his camera clicking. I didn’t even have a chance to respond.

At the end of the day, our bodies were tired, and we didn’t say much, barely able to take off our clothes before we crashed. I moved over to him, wanting that physical contact. He didn’t pull away, but he didn’t relax into me. It was nearly impossible to sleep because I was confused, but worse yet, I was scared.

When I woke up, I was graced with the vision of Joe pulling on his jeans that hugged his ass perfectly.

“Shit, you are sexy.” He looked over his shoulder and smiled at me, the first one I had seen in days.

The next few days were the same as the first, and by the time we got back to the ranch, I’d never been so glad to see a bed and a hot shower. I’d been a ranch hand since I was seventeen years old. Somehow, these five days tore me up. Joe and I walked in the door, and he fell backwards on the bed.

“Holy shit. We survived. Dibs on the shower as soon as I can find the energy to stand.”

“Okay. Yeah. I’ll lie here and die.”

He chuckled. “Can I have Dusty? I think I want my own horse.”

“Yeah. He would love being with you, and he knows how much you mean to me.”

“Jacob. Jacob. Wake up and shower.”

No idea how long I had been asleep, but Joe was wearing a towel around his hips, and water was running down his chest. I wanted to follow the trail that the drop of water had traveled. He slipped over to his bed and climbed under the covers.

After my shower, I walked into the bedroom, and Joe was clearly asleep. Going over to the side where he was sleeping, I sat next to him on the bed. I brushed the hair off his forehead and looked at the towel on the floor. Leaning over, I kissed the side of his head.

“Joe, please don’t slip away from me,” I whispered in his ear, then turned off the side table lamp.

Even though I was tempted to climb into bed with him, I chose to slip into my own. He knew he was welcome to join me. Thankfully joined me in the middle of the night, my heart felt full as I held him. We were asked to wait until after the guests left at noon before we got our horses and left. We had discussed that we planned to sleep in, and having him in my arms was perfect.

When we finally got out of bed, the energy was still off. Glad to be headed home, because I felt like I could better fix whatever was going on between us. We got Amber back in her barn, and I took Joe to his cottage, where I helped him unload his stuff. I knew Dusty—the horse—was tired too, which meant I couldn’t stick around long. My best buddy needed to be put in his own stall where he could take a few days off.

Joe and I stood on the porch. When he pulled me to him and wrapped his arms around me tightly, I was surprised. All the hope I had been letting go of came roaring back.

“Jacob, you are such an amazing man. You make my heart feel full, and I am so glad to know you. Don’t ever forget that, okay.”

Looking up at me, he kissed me gently, then deepened it, his tongue demanding.

“You mean so much to me, Joe. We need to talk, soon, okay?”

“Sure.” He gave me one more quick kiss and walked away.

Waking up in the bunkhouse felt great; it had been my home for a few years now, and there was a comfort in being somewhere familiar. I decided to have coffee with Dusty in his stall; maybe he could tell me what was going on with Joe.

“I am so afraid he’s going to leave me,” I told Dusty while he ate a stalk of celery. Like always, he had been amazing. I would let him out of his stall, and he could work with me today if he wanted, but I wouldn’t ride him. Usually, he would follow me around, though. “He can’t. I’m in love with him.”

When someone cleared their throat, I turned around. “This was left for you. I had to wait until this morning before I handed it off.” Martin said as he gave it to me.

“Oh, thank you.” It was a nondescript envelope with my name on the outside. I recognized the handwriting.