Page 23 of The Earl’s Wrangler (Cowboy Nobility #3)

“Celeste manages the house for me. She makes sure all the tours are running well and that everything in the house is exactly as it should be.” Randall smiled. “Is there anything that I should know?”

“There’s a tour that’s just started. They will be coming this way in about ten minutes. After that they are every half hour, and we close the house at five.”

“Then we should leave this portion of the house.”

“I’ll get someone to bring your bags,” Celeste said.

Sawyer lifted the bags. “That’s okay, ma’am.

They have their work to do, and I can get these.

Thank you.” He picked up the bags, and Randall went into the library and opened a secret door in the bookcases that led to the private family wing.

“Now this is more like it. I don’t feel like I’m going to break stuff just by looking at it. ”

Randall shook his head as he glanced around the room with fresh eyes.

The furniture was sturdy but old and well used.

Everything in the room, just like the rest of the house, had come down to him from his father.

“Make yourself comfortable.” Sawyer put down the bags.

“I can get us some tea and a few things to eat.”

“Okay. Then I want to see the rest of the house and the gardens and the stables. And I want to meet your horses.” He went to the windows to look out. “How much land is there?”

“About ten thousand acres. Much of it is leased out to local farmers, and there are about two thousand acres of woodlands that my grandfather was smart enough to protect. My father did nothing with it out of sheer neglect, so the area is quite wild at the moment. I hired a forester who manages that acreage now. Some of it we leave completely wild, and other areas are managed more actively. We thin some of the trees and sell the wood. We’re very careful.

It’s become quite a lucrative business for the estate. ”

“And what about all these tour people? Do they pay you too? It sounds to me like you got money coming in from all over the place.”

Randall sighed. “The house tours help pay for the upkeep on the mansion. I’m happy if they keep the lights on, the place heated, and allow us to do regular maintenance.

Right now, we’re saving up for a new roof, which is going to be a huge expense.

I have about ten years on this one, and it’s going to take that long to save up to pay for it.

Then there’s the estate store, where we sell the things we produce here on the estate, like some of our wool products.

We have sheep and goats on the farms. We sell the cheese and goat’s milk in the shop.

From the sheep, we sell wool for knitting and such and fleece blankets.

Some of the villagers use the wool to make hats and jumpers, and we sell those as well.

I have a tenant who uses some of the trees we fell to make bowls, spoons, and other wooden implements.

Everything in the store has some sort of connection to the estate.

My father liked to take credit for the store idea, but it was the estate manager who had the idea and came to my father with it.

Jessup is a real visionary. He retired, but he lives in the village.

I’ll introduce you.” Randall cleared his throat.

“All that money goes strictly to upkeep. Nothing more.”

“So you just take care of the place?”

“Yes and no.” Randall put his feet up, and Sawyer finally sat down.

“I have an income because my grandfather realized the kind of man his son was and tied up the family money really well. I have income from that trust, and I have some real estate in London that generates income. I try to live off that so the rest can go to the house.” Sawyer seemed so restless.

“Come on.” Randall was tired, but there was no fighting Sawyer’s energy.

“Let’s take a walk.” He stood and led Sawyer out of the sitting room and through the dining room to his messy office.

He tripped a latch and opened a hidden door.

“You have more secret passages?”

“Sort of.” They passed down a central hallway and came out to the main hall once more.

“This was used by the servants to access the first-floor rooms without being seen. There’s a door to the dining room as well as the library, but that door is fixed closed now.

There’s another of these halls on the other side of the house as well. ”

“Does anyone use them anymore?”

“Just me. It’s a way I can get around if I need to when there is a tour going on.

Most of the time I can join one and no one is the wiser, but every now and then a guide will feel compelled to introduce me to the guests.

They love it, and I will sign their maps and guides for them, but I like to just be able to live my life. ”

“I suppose.” They came out in the hall, which was deserted once more. Randall led the way out the doors at the back of the hall and out into the end of the verge.

“Holy crackers,” Sawyer said at the wide line of green with an abundance of flowers that stretched for nearly a hundred feet.

“Just walk down the path in the center and out along that way. If anyone approaches, just smile, wave, and keep going.” Randall wasn’t in the mood to play lord of the manner for tourists today.

A riot of color spread in front of them.

His mother had redesigned these gardens when he was a boy.

They had gotten overgrown and out of control, so his head gardener had asked if they still had the plans, and then did a complete restoration of his mother’s garden.

It made him feel close to her when he was out here.

Tourists holding brochures ambled along the paths, thankfully playing no attention to them. At the end, Randall continued across the lawn to a break in the hedge. He opened the gate and they passed through to a more “backstage” area.

“This is where I keep my horses,” Randall said, pointing out an old stone shed that he had converted to the small stables.

It wasn’t fancy, but it kept the horses out of the weather and gave them a warm home.

When they stepped inside, two heads perked out of their stalls.

“This is Caesar and this is Augustus. They’re both well-behaved geldings.

In a day or so, once we’ve had a chance to rest, we’ll go out riding and I can show you some of the sights on the estate you can only see from horseback.

” He smiled, and Sawyer strode over to him.

Before Randall could react, he was engulfed in strong arms, deep blue eyes entranced him, and then Sawyer’s musky scent threatened to buckle his knees…

and that was before he kissed him with such fervor that Randall was glad he was being held, or else he wasn’t going to be able to find that damned floor.

His heart raced, and Sawyer kissed him into near oblivion.

A throat clearing lifted the lustful haze around them and earned whoever was interrupting a glare. “Sorry, sir. I was coming in to check on the horses. Maybe I should go and come back later.” Before Randall could stop him, the groom was gone.

“Who was that?” Sawyer growled.

“The groom. The man who cares for the horses. He lives in the village with his parents and stops in before and after school. I think you scared him away.”

“Shit,” Sawyer said under his breath before backing away and hurrying out. “Hey, come back. It’s okay,” Randall heard Sawyer say, and then he returned with Clive. “Randall says you care for his horses. They look in fine health, so you must be doing a really good job.”

“I love the horses. His Lordship’s are really beautiful, and someday I want to become a vet. But I have a long way to go.” Clive was just eighteen, but Caesar and Augustus were like his best friends, and he cared for them as such.

“Then you do what I do. I care for the horses on a ranch in Wyoming. I train them too, and help with the cattle when it’s needed.”

“So you’re a real cowboy,” Clive said. “That’s so cool.” It seemed Sawyer had won over Clive.

“Randall and I have been traveling for what seems like forever, but tomorrow I thought we’d go for a ride. I’ll leave a note when I do so you’ll know.”

Randall leaned against the door post, listening as Clive and Sawyer talked about horses. Every now and then Sawyer’s gaze caught his and they shared a smile. Then Sawyer would continue whatever story he was telling.

“I should be going. Randall was just introducing me to the horses and showing me some of the area. But I’m sure I’ll see you later.

Maybe we can go riding sometime.” Sawyer and Clive shared a fist bump, and then Sawyer joined Randall again, slipping an arm around his waist. “Thank you,” he added softly.

“For what?”

Sawyer stopped, looking at him as though he were daft.

“Trying to make me feel at home.” He leaned closer.

“Now, how about we go back to the private area of your freaking huge house and pick things up where we left off before Clive came in?” His eyes smoldered, and Randall once again found himself nodding and half floating on air as they returned to the house.

“JESUS,” RANDALL whispered once he and Sawyer were in his bed.

Holy hell, the man was voracious. Randall didn’t know which way to turn, and it didn’t matter.

Sawyer was all incredible hands and exploring lips, pushing Randall onto a plane of ecstasy he never knew existed.

Eye-crossing was the word that came to mind, and Sawyer showed no sign of stopping.

Covered in a sheen of sweat that glistened in the sunshine peeking through the windows, Sawyer was glorious, and the fact that he wore his hat only revved Randall up even more.

It seemed he had found his kink, and fuck if it wasn’t Sawyer, naked, skin glistening, muscles heaving, and that fucking cowboy hat still on his head.

Sawyer leaned over him, and Randall gasped with passion just before Sawyer kissed him hard, drawing Randall a little closer to heaven.

This was sheer delight, and he was thankful no one could hear them and that the house was closed for the day, or else the tourists would be getting a bonus performance.

Not that he wanted Sawyer to stop for any reason.

He wanted this to go on forever, with Sawyer sending him flying to the moon and back as often as possible, which he did over the next half hour until Randall couldn’t take it anymore and his control shattered as he held on to Sawyer to keep from flying to pieces.

Randall lay in the quiet of his bedroom, with only Sawyer’s soft breathing and the sound of the rain, which had started again, dripping outside the window. It was still early evening, but the light of the day was fading fast because of the cloud cover.

“Drip, drip, drip,” Sawyer said from next to him.

“It took me a few seconds to realize what that sound was. We don’t get this much rain in Wyoming except maybe in the winter, and then it’s mostly snow.

I’m glad that isn’t falling or we’d freeze our bits off.

” He nestled closer. “I think we need something to eat. My stomach is starting to think my throat has been cut.”

Randall sighed. “I can see what there is in the house, but there probably isn’t a great deal. I….”

Sawyer shrugged. “Isn’t there a restaurant or something? You said there’s a village.”

“There’s the pub.”

Sawyer jumped out of bed. “Then let’s go there.”

Randall paused and then shook his head. “I don’t go there very often. My father was a staple there. It’s where he did a lot of his drinking. So many of the men used to love him because he was the good-time earl and he would buy rounds of drinks, especially once he’d had a few.”

Sawyer tugged him up and into his arms, holding him skin to skin. “You are your own man, and you don’t have to act like your father or try to be him.”

“I know that,” Randall said more strongly than he intended.

“Come on. I’m hungry, and this pub seems like the perfect place to get something to eat.

You can talk and reacquaint yourself with the people in the village, and you can also show them that you are different from your father.

You don’t need to buy a round or get drunk.

Be you and let them see who that is.” Sawyer held him so tightly, Randall actually thought anything was possible.

“Fine,” he groaned. “Let’s go to the pub.” He wasn’t sure what kind of reception he was going to receive.