It was either the eighth or ninth time that day Shea had called himself out for kissing Jake, then apologizing. In the paddock with Rambo after a long, hard ride, Shea let the strokes of the brush and currycomb soothe his anger. The rest of the morning Jake had avoided his eyes and had taken off with his friends to go for a hayride and a picnic lunch with his whole team by the lake.
“You talkin’ to the horse or yourself there, Shea?”
Craig strolled up with an amused glint in his eye. He leaned on the fence railing and watched.
“What? Oh, nothin’. Just thinking out loud.”
“ ’Bout what? Must be somethin’ important ’cause that scowl on your pretty face is about a mile long.”
“Anyone ever tell you to mind your business?”
“Well, see, that’s where it gets kinda tricky.” Craig pushed off from the fence and joined him on the other side of Rambo. He picked up one of the brushes and started grooming the horse’s coat while continuing his chatter. “What would you think if you happened on somethin’ you know you weren’t meant to see but did? And now you wanna talk about it, but you ain’t sure how to go about it.”
Shea’s eyes narrowed. “What I think is that you sound like you got somethin’ you wanna say to me, so go on and spit it out.” He set the currycomb down and placed his hands on Rambo’s strong neck.
Craig met his eyes over the horse. “I was out ridin’ this mornin’, when I heard someone shoutin’ and hollerin’. By the time I figured out where the voices were coming from, the situation was in hand, but…Shea. You and that guest? Since when do you mix business with pleasure?”
Hot shame rolled through him at the thought of Craig seeing him and Jake kissing. “It was a mistake,” he muttered, casting his gaze at the shining chestnut coat of his horse.
“Mmm. That all you gonna say about it?”
“Ain’t nothin’ more to it. Jake fell outta his rowboat when the swans came after him. I saw him splashin’ around in the water and went in to save him. We got to shore, and we had some words. Things got…out of hand.” He picked up the brush and began to use it on Rambo’s already gleaming flank.
“Outta hand? Is that what they’re callin’ it now? And ain’t he a married man? He was talking about a daughter.”
Bristling at Craig’s accusatory tone, Shea felt his temper flare. “He’s divorced. And it was a mistake. I apologized, and we left it at that. Not gonna happen again.”
“Why not?”
Shea stood openmouthed. “What the hell? Because he’s a guest. I don’t sleep with guests. Never have.”
“Aside from Toby, which we all know was a mistake, and that guy you brought here, you ain’t been with nobody steady. Spent all your time helpin’ your daddy with the ranch after he got sick, like the good son you were. It’s your time now. No shame in testin’ feelin’s. Jake seems like a decent sort.”
Shea remained silent. He couldn’t dispute the truth. Unfortunately for him, that emboldened Craig to keep going.
“Don’t think we ain’t noticed you lookin’ at him. And it ain’t all one-sided. He’s definitely into you too.”
His heart shouldn’t have jumped so hard at Craig’s words. “Don’t matter none. He’ll be gone tomorrow. It’s a silly flirtation.”
“Ain’t nothin’ silly ’bout love, Shea. And if it’s only a flirtation, let it ride. Have a little fling with no strings attached. Like you said, he’ll be gone, so you know it’s going to have to end.”
“Whatever. I got things to do, and so do you. We gotta get ready for tonight’s final dinner.”
“Oh, didn’t Patty tell you?”
He gave Rambo a slap on the rear. “Go on with you, boy.” Rambo nickered and took off for the far end of the paddock, where fresh water and hay awaited him. “Tell me what?”
“The construction crew working on the road hit a gas line. Knocked it out for the ranch. So no gas for cooking.”
“Shit.” He took off his hat, then resettled it onto his head. “Dammit. When is it gonna get fixed?”
“They’re hoping sometime today or tonight, but we can’t take no chances in case they don’t. So Patty called up Dusty at the Round Up and got us a big table in the back.”
His heart sank. “The Round Up?” Damn, this town needed more than one bar.