Reining in the Bad Boy - Jacki James Page 0,1

the ladies’ room,” Cap said with a laugh.

I rolled my eyes and chuckled like his joke was funny. I could have argued with him. Told him it had been months since the last time I found a man, but it wouldn't matter. That was the thing about people who'd known you for years, they had ideas about who you were, and those ideas died hard. Plus, what was I going to say? I hadn't picked anyone up because nobody interested me.

“Oh well, if they're heading to the club, maybe I'll take a trip into the city then. Like I said, pickings are slim around here, but there are always willing boys at the club.

“You would know, you've made your way through most of them,” Cap said, rolling his eyes.

“What can I say? The boys love me. Now, I gotta go. I have a client coming in to go look at the Wilson Ranch. Catch y'all later.”

No need for them to know that the idea of picking up another stranger, fucking them, and leaving without even knowing their name was less appealing than staying home and binge-watching Sugar Rush on Netflix, which was totally what I was going to do. Cap wouldn't believe me, and Ripley would start getting crazy ideas about me wanting to settle down, and the next thing I knew, they’d be trying to fix me. I didn't need to be fixed, I just needed…hell, I didn't know what I needed, but it wasn't that.

2

Landon

While I talked to my brother on the phone, I loaded the last of the items in the back of the truck and went inside the barn to get the horse ready to go. This was the first time Reed had sent me to deliver a horse alone. Usually Cruz or Bart went with me, but they were both tied up with something else today, so I was on my own. It wasn't a difficult thing so it shouldn't have been such a big deal to me, but it was. Reed's business was entirely word of mouth, and knowing he trusted me not only to train the horse but to deal with the customer meant a lot.

I put the phone on speaker so I could work with the horse while my brother went on and on about the holidays. “But, Landon, Mom is going to be so disappointed if you don't come,” Chad insisted. “You know she loves Thanksgiving, and she really wants you to there.”

“I know, but we’re so busy on the ranch right now—”

“I call bullshit, brother. I may not live or work on a ranch, but even I know this is the slow time of year. Plus, you said the guys where you work are all about family, so I can't imagine you couldn't get a few days off.”

“Reed and Ripley are all about family,” I insisted, as I slipped the halter over her head, and she turned to nuzzle my neck. I was going to miss working with this horse. She had been a joy to train, and I'd had to work hard not to get too attached.

“Then what's the real problem?”

“Mom wants me to bring my boyfriend, and I'm just not sure if we’re at that stage yet.”

“The unnamed boyfriend? It's been months, Lan. I think at this point, you could at least give us that much. Assuming there is a boyfriend of course.”

“Of course there is. What kind of sad sack makes up a boyfriend?” I asked, trying to sound offended when, in reality, I was that sad sack. I didn't mean to make up a boyfriend. It just kind of happened. My mother was harassing me to move home, and I was trying to explain why I didn't want to when she jumped to the conclusion that I must have found someone special. And I just kind of let her make that leap.

Carol Anne Nichols was a wonderful mother, but she was old-fashioned in a bizarrely progressive way. She had no problem with my being gay. She actually was a bit of a mother bear about it when I was growing up, which is why I tried not to tell her how horrible school was for me. She would have moved heaven and earth to try to make things better, but the simple fact was, people were assholes, and having your mother show up to defend your honor wouldn't have helped my situation. She taught women's studies at the local college and was very much a supporter