Page 62 of Wrangled

What a day this has been.

Talking with Diana had been cathartic, discovering Matt wasn’t as straight as I’d figured had been a revelation, and what I’d seen on Scruff had been an education.

My face tingled when I recalled some of Toby’s photos. Not that I’d found full-frontal nude pics—I hadn’t seen any of those anywhere on the site, but I was sure they existed… somewhere. What had floored me was how he had a way of making love to the camera lens.

To be looked at like that…

I heard the sound of boots on gravel, and I glanced up.

Teague spied the bottle of beer standing on the table next to me, and grinned. “Nowthat’swhat I was hoping for.”

As he climbed the porch steps, I gave him an inquiring glance. “Thisisa social visit, right? Or is there something we need to discuss?”

“Social. Unless you’re all socialed out after Diana?”

I chuckled. “Have a seat and a cold one.”

He sank into the empty rocker and reached over to pick up the bottle. I picked up my bottle of peach iced tea, and we clinked. He sagged against the loose cushion, the bottle raised to his lips. “Just what I needed.”

“Wanna tell me why you had to dash off like that when Diana arrived?”

“Kyle called. Said he’d found a calf caught up in the thicket. Only, he couldn’t free the little guy. I went to give him a hand.”

“So all is well?”

Teague smiled. “All is most definitely well. Especially now.” He took another drink.

I gazed at the sky. “Another beautiful sunset,” I murmured.

“So… How wasyourday?”

I laughed. This was usually how our porch conversations began. “Well, let me see. I learned a couple of new things, and… I guess you could say I made a breakthrough.”

Teague’s eyebrows shot up. “Okay, that last part sounds kinda serious. Let’s start with the new stuff.”

I enjoyed the sensation of iced tea sliding down my throat. “For one thing, I discovered Matt’s into guys.”

That earned me a blink. “He told you that?”

I shrugged. “In a roundabout way. Turns out he’s on this app, Scruff. You heard of that?” He nodded. “Well,Ithought it was a dating app—until I saw the pics.”

Teague laughed. “It’s more of what you’d call a hookup app.”

“And you know this how? Are you on it too?”

He smiled. “No sir. I don’t have any need for such a thing. Why go looking, when I’ve got all I can handle right on my doorstep?” He shook his head. “Good Lord, another one. I confess, I didn’t know about Matt, but then he’s a real private individual.”

I pointed in the direction of the gatepost at the entrance to the ranch. “Is there a sign hanging over this place that I don’t know about? One that says Queers Welcome Here?”If there was, it had been there since I was a teenager.

Teague burst out laughing. “I know what you mean. Zeeb reckons it’s like in that movie,The Hobbit.”

“Excuse me?”

“You know, when Gandalf drew a sign on Bilbo’s door, and only the dwarfs could see it, so they all walked right on in there?” He peered at me. “Youdoknow what I’m talking about, don’t you?”

“Of course. I saw it too. It’s just…” I bit my lip. “Never had you down as aLord of the Ringskinda dude.”

“Boss, there’s lots you don’t know about me. Man’s gotta keepsomesecrets, right?”