Page 7 of Saddle Studs (Rainbow Ranch #3)

SAM

God, it felt weird being back.

It also felt like I never left, and a lot of that had to do with how easy it was to fall back into a friendship with Benny.

From the jump, we slipped into the comfortable and silly banter that had always existed between us.

I’d been genuinely worried that our friendship was irreparably ruined—by me, nonetheless.

But what Benny and I had, whatever it was, appeared to be made out of solid iron.

“How was your trip here?” Benny asked as I followed him out of the house and into the fields out back. The kitchen window was wide open, which allowed the mouth-watering scents of Boone’s sweet buns to drift out on the gentle breeze.

“It was pretty chill. Flight wasn’t bad. My Uber driver here was very talkative, though. Had a lot of thoughts about the new mayor.”

“Good thoughts?”

“Not really, no. And the things he was complaining about were pretty wild. He didn’t realize where he was taking me and got real quiet once he saw the different flags out front.”

“Damn, sorry.” Benny shook his head, hands in his pockets of his tight jeans.

“We actually had a big campaign event here at the ranch to help Mayor Cortez get elected. She’s hosted a couple town halls here, too.

Huge supporter and advocate. Johnson Springs has come a long way since you’ve been here last, but we clearly have some more work to do. ”

I chewed the inside of my cheek. It hurt to think that Benny was still being put through bullshit simply because he was gay and chose to live his life in a small town.

What kind of society were we where some people still clung to ancient prejudices and unfounded hatred toward someone simply for being different?

So fucked up. It didn’t make any sense to me. Made me angry.

Thankfully, the rolling green pastures dotted with daises and grazing horses helped throw some water on the flickering flames of my temper.

“So you’ve felt okay? Staying here? Being gay?” Maybe it was a probing question, and maybe I shouldn’t have asked, but this was Benny. If there was anyone I could ask weird questions to, it was him.

“I have, I have. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t the easiest thing I’ve ever done, but compared to some of the horror stories I heard, I’ve had it pretty good.

I think a lot of that really has to do with Rainbow Ranch.

Our energy—it just sort of spreads outward.

Not only that, but we tend to attract a lot of other people like us.

So suddenly, a small town that may have had three gay people, tops, is flooded with all the colors of the rainbow.

People became more tolerant, so much so that there’s even a pride parade in town.

Makes me feel like staying here made a difference. ”

“Yeah, I can see that… Also, three gay tops? Is three too many?”

Benny gave a series of deep belly laughs.

Damn.

I really missed that sound, hadn’t I?

“Is that what you picked up on? No, I don’t think that’s too much at all. Then again, I wouldn’t know. I’m not a bottom.”

I looked to my side, eyebrows jerking halfway up my forehead.

The smug little smile on Benny’s face told me he wasn’t joking.

Goddamn, he was handsome, and his blunt confidence only made him even more attractive.

Benny was one of those guys that anyone could confidently say was good-looking, whether they were straight, gay, bi—wherever they fell on the queer spectrum.

Even me, a straight guy with curious (and avoidant) tendencies, could admit that Benny was a looker.

I was too busy silently admiring the hard planes of his face, the fullness of his lips, and the dark scruff of his beard to pay any attention to what was in front of me.

And that’s when it happened. That’s when my sneaker rolled over the top of a rock. I let out a surprised yelp. The ground gave way underneath me. The sky was above me one second, and below me the next. I rolled forward on the soft dirt, not even fighting the momentum.

“Holy cow!” Benny crouched down, looping a hand under my arm. He helped me back up onto my feet. I started to laugh. Couldn’t help myself.

“I must have looked so dumb just now.”

Benny shrugged. “Maybe a little,” he said with a teasing grin. “I didn’t know your limbs could stretch that way. You looked like one of those car salesman inflatable wacky tube men but caught in the dryer.”

My turn to belly laugh. He no longer had a hand under my arm, instead it was loosely floating over my hip, barely touching me.

So then why did I get the feeling that I could trace out the individual lines of his palm against my skin?

“You okay? Anything sprained, broken, loose?” He asked when my laughter died down.

Don’t focus on his hand placement. Don’t focus on his hand placement.

“Maybe my hip,” I said. “Feels a little sore.”

“It does? Here?” Benny pushed his hand forward, placing it directly against my hip. He gave a gentle squeeze. Firecrackers of sparkles and diamonds erupted inside my core. Heat flushed through my body, pooling between my thighs and spreading upward on a mission to paint my cheeks bright red.

Holy fucking shit.

“Yeah,” I replied. “Just a little sore.”

“This helpin’?” Benny asked as he began to gently massage my hip, his fingers applying the perfect amount of pressure, digging right into the V shaped muscle I worked so damn hard at the gym to make show.

I dropped my head back, eyes shut. “Damn, yeah, that’s incredible.”

“Weird, I thought you fell on your other side.”

I peeped at him with one eye. “That’s because I did. I’m just sore as fuck from the flight.”

Benny tsked and stopped massaging me, playfully slapping my chest with the back of his hand instead. “I don’t give these out for free.”

“Oh, so if I pay you, I can get a massage?”

Benny narrowed his gaze. His lashes were so damn long.

I remember all the girls in high school always wanting to put mascara on him just to see how long they could get them.

“No,” he said flatly. I laughed as he started to walk again, leading us toward the large barn.

The doors were already open, hay forming a clean, crisp layer on the floor as we entered.

A rake and a shovel were resting against the wall, next to shelves full of brushes and neatly rolled up towels.

All of the stalls were empty. There was an earthy scent in the air.

Nothing unpleasant, especially since I knew Benny kept these spaces spotless.

“Is it weird that I miss this barn smell? And that I prefer it over the subway during the summer?”

Benny chuckled at that. “Maybe some other people would think that’s weird, but I definitely don’t. I think you’re right, even though I’ve never ridden the subway. What’s it smell like?”

“Like ripe ass mixed with bottled up ball sweat and old gym socks.”

Benny’s face twisted into a grimace. “Gross. I can see why you’d like this more.”

We exited the barn and strolled out into a large grazing pasture where four different horses milled about, all of them living the absolute life.

Their manes were shining, their coats glowing, their temperaments were chill.

I could tell these horses weren’t just cared for, they were loved and doted on, and that was all thanks to Benny.

The moment he stepped out onto the pasture, the horses all perked up and started to make their way toward us.

Benny handed me a carrot he had grabbed out of a nearby bucket.

The sound of a happy trot made me look to the left, but I didn’t see anything— bump .

I dropped my gaze. There was a horse at my side who only reached up to about mid-thigh.

It greedily grabbed at the carrot in my hand and yanked it out of my grip.

The mini-horse took a couple of embellished steps backwards, tossed its white mane in the air, and munched down on the carrot, throwing us what I could only describe as a side-eye.

“That would be Dennis,” Benny said, flashing his pearly white teeth in a big grin. “He’s the troublemaker of the ranch. He’s also the heart of it.”

“I think he gave me a bruise.” I rubbed at the spot on my thigh where he’d headbutted me.

“It’s his way of saying howdy… Sam, I’m being real here: you aren’t going to take him, are you?”

The genuine concern and worry in Benny’s tone made my heart clench.

“Absolutely not. I swear on my life, Dennis isn’t going anywhere.

I’m honestly not sure why Frankie did what he did.

I think leaving it all to you or one of your siblings would have been the easiest thing to do, but he always had an interesting sense of humor. ”

“He was such a great guy. Heart of gold. And he always had the best words of advice. If he wasn’t a ranch manager, I always told him he could have been a killer therapist.”

“A killer therapist actually sounds like a pretty bomb TV show. Therapist by day, serial killer by night.”

“I’d watch it.”

I chuckled, bracing myself as Dennis finished his carrot and looked as though he was going to headbutt me for more. “Frankie had that air about him, too. You could just trust him. Like he knew what you needed to tell him before you ever said a word.”

“I agree,” Benny said. He smiled and offered me another carrot just in time, because Dennis looked like he was about to break into a run at any second.

The worry that had flashed across his face was nowhere to be found.

A mirage that shimmered away into nothingness.

He was back to his relaxed, calm, peaceful self.

The Benny I’d always known.

The Benny I’d really fucking missed.

“Come,” he said, bending down and giving Dennis a kiss on the forehead.

His shirt tipped forward and revealed a sliver of the tanned, slightly furry skin of his lower back.

A thick white band peaked out from underneath his jeans.

“Let’s finish up the tour so you can get settled in. I’m sure you’re tired.”