Page 34 of All of Us

“I had to ask permission before I told you some good news. Well, I hope you think it’s good news,” he looked at me. “Fuck. What if you don’t think it’s good news?”

I put my hand over his mouth, and his eyes got big. “Stop. Tell me.”

He nodded his head, and I removed my hand.

“When I was out of town with Martin, he asked if I would be willing to go with you for the dude ranch project. He said he would pay my way, but he thought it might be easier for you if you had someone with you.” He blushed and looked down, then he rubbed the back of his neck. “What do you think?”

There were so many emotions going on right now that I froze up. After a second he looked worried.

“Joe. I’m sorry—” I put my hand over his mouth again. The dear man was nervous about my response, and I was trying to sort through everything he said, which made me feel even more unhinged.

“I’m going to remove my hand. Let me talk?” I got the nod again. “First, you are adorable. That was a lot of information for me to process. I can’t believe Martin cares about me so much that he would do that for me.”

“He’s a good man. One of the best for sure.”

The color returned to his face, and he looked calmer. “I would love for you to come with me. It would make me feel so much better, and we could be tent mates.”

He grinned at me. “Yes, please. If you want to teach me more about your work, I’ll assist you as much as I can.”

“I feel like the luckiest man ever.” I took a few steps and kissed him gently. I was already excited about this job, but now it would be even more fun.

“Shall we head over and get Amber ready for our ride?” His smile amazed me.

“Yes.”

When we pulled up to the barn, I was excited for our ride. Gentry went to the back of the trailer and got Dusty. “Let’s go, buddy.” He didn’t even wait for the horse. Gentry took my hand, and we headed towards the barn while Dusty backed out and trotted to catch up.

Once the horse was behind him, he pushed Gentry, making him stumble. “You little brat.”

The horse nudged him again, then started rubbing his lips along the back of Gentry’s neck. Gentry scrunched up his shoulders and laughed, "You are such a troublemaker."

We stopped in front of Amber’s stall, where Gentry pulled a handful of peppermints from his pocket. He unwrapped one and put his hand out, offering the treat to his friend. The horse munched it happily, then pushed him again. “Fine, last one.” I let them have their moment while I went and got Amber’s halter.

He handed out candies to the other horses; all of them seemed happy for the treat.

“The peppermints are okay for them?” I was curious.

“Yeah, they are fine, and I asked Montgomery if it was okay to feed them to his horses.” He smiled. “We can give them more when we get back.”

I realized I had Amber mostly saddled by myself and felt really proud. “Oh. Look what I’ve done.” I blushed at Gentry.

“Let me help. We don’t want you falling off.” He tightened things up. “Be right back, I have to get something from my truck.” He jogged over and pulled a thick pad with a cinch out, then came back over.

“You aren’t going to saddle him?”

“Not today. I am going to use this pad only, since it’s going to be a nice, easy ride.”

I thought about getting a horse of my own. It was too easy to fantasize about Gentry and me going on long rides together. Maybe take a picnic or go with the drone to photograph the area.

I watched Gentry with Dusty—the horse—and felt the itch to put Gentry in front of my lens. Then something better came to mind. Would he let me take erotic photos of him?

Gentry swung his leg up and over the horse’s back without using a mounting block or stirrup—damn, that was sexy. He turned and grinned at me. “What?”

“That was—” I swallowed hard. “Really hot.”

“Oh? You like what you see?”

I chuckled. “Yes, very much.”