Page 16 of Wrangled

Butch arched his eyebrows. “Someone put you in charge of the bunkhouse when I wasn’t looking?”

Teague got up from the table. “Then I’ll leave you to your job. Goodnight, gentlemen.” He walked out of the bunkhouse.

“Goin’ for a smoke.” Butch followed him out the door.

Okay, that felt awkward as fuck.

Walt caught my puzzled glance. “Don’t mind those two. They butt heads once in a while.”

Zeeb cackled. “That ain’t all they butt.” Walt fired him a warning glance.

There seemed to be quite a few of those exchanged that evening.

“Do we have Wi-Fi here?” I hadn’t checked my phone since I’d arrived in Bozeman.

“Sure.” Paul pointed across the room. “Code’s on the fridge.”

“Excuse me.” Garrett got to his feet. “Call of nature.”

Walt waited until he’d left the room. “Okay, guys? You don’t need to tell us if you need to take a leak, all right? We all piss in the same two pots, anyhow.” He pointed to the rear of the bunkhouse. “I wasn’t joking. That bathroom is pitiful small when you’ve got six or seven guys in there first thing in the morning.”

I glanced at Declan. “Is Garrett okay?”

Declan sighed. “He just needs a break, that’s all. He’s been through a rough time.” He smiled. “Don’t you worry. This place is exactly what he needs. He’ll be a new man by the end of his stay.”

“Did you know him before this?” Because it sure sounded like it.

Declan shook his head. “We were on the same flight from New York. I guess I have the sort of face that invites conversation.”

It must have been one hell of a conversation.

He stood. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go outside and stretch my legs before bed.”

Then there was only me, Zeeb, Walt, and Paul.

Zeeb flopped onto the couch. “Now Teague’s gone, I’m gonna find something to watch. He’s not gonna tellmewhen to go to bed. Who does he think he is, my mom?” He picked up the remote.

“I’m gonna go check on the horses.” Paul grabbed his jacket and headed out. Walt was on his phone, scrolling.

“Hey Zeeb.” I went over to the couch. “Have we met all the hands?” Six men didn’t seem like enough.

“There are a couple more, but they’re out with the herd. Usually we have more guests. When we move the cattle, it normally takes eight to ten of us with each group, so we take on more hands, guys who’ve done this before.”

I glanced at the bunk beds. “So where do they all sleep?”

He pointed toward the ceiling. “There’s another floor. No bathroom up there, though, so this one gets awful busy sometimes.”

Another floor made sense. The barn was huge.

I walked over to the fridge, found the network, and typed in the password. When I saw the Scruff icon on my screen, I couldn’t resist. I clicked on it—then blinked when it told me I was only feet away from a couple of guys.

The first guy to pop onto my screen was Walt.

The second was Matt.

Walt chuckled. “Well well well.” I looked up from my phone to find him grinning at me. “Ain’tyoufull of surprises?” He scrolled. “Hot damn.” His eyes glittered. “You ever get lonesome, there’s a great spot I can take you to. Where a couple of guys can…” He lowered his voice. “Fuck each other’s brains out and no one will see.”

Holy fuck.He really did remind me of Tyler.