Total pages in book: 16
Estimated words: 14860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 74(@200wpm)___ 59(@250wpm)___ 50(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 14860 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 74(@200wpm)___ 59(@250wpm)___ 50(@300wpm)
I grabbed Rusty by the hair and dragged him backwards until he was lying at the feet of the other hands.
“What the fuck, Boss? I was only trying to teach the fag a lesson for interferin’ with me and my horse—”
That was all Rusty got out before I began hitting him. And hitting him. And hitting him. Bloodlust consumed me with every punch. I felt hands grabbing me to pull me off, but it wasn’t until I heard a familiar voice from behind me that I stopped the forward motion of my hand. I looked over my shoulder to see Andrew standing a few feet away. His expression spoke volumes.
I forgot about Rusty and staggered to my feet. I wrapped my arms around Andrew. His warm blood seeped into my clothing but I didn’t care about any of that.
“It’s okay, I’ve got you,” I murmured so that only Andrew could hear me.
“How bad are you hurt?” I asked as I pushed him back a little, but all he did was push back into my arms.
“How’s Spirit?” I asked. While I still had yet to learn the names of all the horses, Andrew had been talking about the new horse practically nonstop, so I knew how much he cared about the animal.
“He’s okay. The whip didn’t get him.”
I wanted to kiss the top of his head, but I knew I couldn’t. I stepped back from him a little so I could assess his injuries. The wounds were long but not deep, but they had to hurt like a motherfucker.
I wanted to kill Rusty.
“Boss?” I heard Hank call as he agilely climbed over the rails of the round pen.
“Call the sheriff. I want him”—I pointed at a still unconscious Rusty—“arrested for assault and cruelty to animals.” I forced myself to release Andrew entirely.
“I want his shit off my land in the next five minutes and I suggest that those of you who have a problem working for a ‘fag’ get your own shit and do the same. For those of you who are staying, from this moment on, Mouse is in charge of the horses. He tells you who can get ridden and who can’t, he oversees every aspect of their care and treatment, and if he sees you look even sideways at any of them, he has the authority to fire your ass on the spot. You got me?”
I was fully expecting one or more of the men to protest or make some derogatory comment about the fact that I’d just outed myself, but I was too surprised to notice anything but a slim hand wrapping around mine. I automatically opened my fingers so I could intertwine them with Andrew’s.
“Andrew,” he announced. “My name is Andrew.” He cast me a glance before leaning into my side. I dropped my arm around his shoulder and placed a kiss on the top of his head.
When I turned my attention back to the ranch hands, the majority had left, and Rusty was still where I’d left him. I could hear sirens in the distance.
A couple of hands came out of the bunkhouse, gear in hand, and tossed it into a truck and drove off, but that was it. The other guys who came back out of the bunkhouse had just one set of gear that they threw next to the round pen. Presumably Rusty’s.
“You guys go on,” Hank said from where he was standing over Rusty. “I’ll make sure this one is taken care of.”
Rusty chose that moment to wake up slightly and lift his head. Hank promptly pressed it back down in the horse shit and then tipped his hat at me and Andrew.
“I’ll make sure Spirit gets put away too,” he said directly to Andrew.
Andrew sent him a smile. “Thanks, Hank.”
I kept my arm around Andrew’s shoulders as we left the round pen and headed for the house. Several of the lingering ranch hands tipped their hats at us or said their good nights but I didn’t care. My only goal was to get Andrew in the house so I could care for his injuries.
I was shaking by the time we reached my bathroom. “Are you okay?” I asked as I grabbed Andrew’s face with trembling fingers.
“I’m better than okay,” he said with a smile. He lifted his arms to put them around my shoulders and kissed me heartily. I immediately got lost in his lush tongue gliding over mine.
“Fuck, Andrew, I love you so much,” I growled when we both had to come up for air.
“I love you so much, Hudson. So fucking much,” he whispered, then he was kissing me. It was only when I pressed too close to him and he winced that I remembered his wounds.
“Shit,” I snapped as my rage began to boil over again. I carefully lifted Andrew onto the vanity countertop so I could examine the wounds more closely.