by Jena Wade
“What?” Perry asked, with actual interest this time.
“Mister didn’t finish his grain this morning. That’s not like him. Could you just check on him whenever you pass through here? Something’s off, but I’m not sure what.”
Perry wouldn’t have been more surprised if Cory had asked him to shine his shoes. He most certainly never expected Cory to want him to keep an eye on one of his horses. He returned to combing through Spice’s mane. “Sure, no problem.”
“Thanks. I shouldn’t be gone too long. I hope. I might be lining up a new deal with my sponsor. We could end up with some new swag.”
“Swag?”
“Yeah. Free stuff. Boots. Hats. Bridles. Bits. You name it, I can get it.” Cory’s smile beamed.
It hit Perry like a ton of bricks, firing an arousal he’d been trying to keep under wraps. Somehow he managed to act uninterested. “Am I supposed to be impressed?”
Cory shrugged, and the smile slipped from his face. “No. I was just letting you know, if you need anything I can get it. Your saddle looks like it’s seen better days.”
“My saddle’s just fine, thank you.” It was only ten years old. With any luck it would last another ten.
“Whatever, man. I was just trying to be nice. I’ll be back as soon as I can, so I don’t inconvenience you any more than I have to.” Cory turned and stormed off, the heels of his boots clicking on the concrete with each step.
Perry leaned against Spice, absently rubbing her forelock as she liked. He felt a bit foolish—what he’d thought was bragging was apparently Cory’s attempt at being nice. Then again, he’d fallen for the nice guy routine once before and it had cost him his job. “He’s an odd one, Spice. Not sure what to make of him.”
Spice just nosed her way deeper into her hay bag. A lot of help she was.
* * * *
Cory pulled into the farm after being gone longer than he’d wanted. It was well past sunset. His meeting had gone well, that was something. But he needed to get back to the barn. Concentrating on work had been hard when he knew that Mister waited for him at home.
He barely had the truck in Park and turned off before he was out the door.
Inside the barn, he approached Mister’s stall. Fuck. He couldn’t see the horse. Hopefully Perry had taken him out. But where would he have gone?
Coming up to the door of the stall, Cory’s worst fears were made reality. Mister lay on his side, breathing heavily. As Cory opened the door, the horse lifted his head and neighed softly, then lay back down.
“Fuck.”
Not bothering to close the door, Cory ran for the office and grabbed the medical kit. He took Mister’s temperature, checked his heart rate, and listened closely to his stomach with the stethoscope.
“Damn it.”
Cory turned around to meet Perry’s worried gaze.
“I was just out here an hour ago, and he was standing up. He seemed to be doing fine.”
Cory tucked the stethoscope away. “His stall is clean, so he hasn’t taken a shit all day. His stomach isn’t moving. I think we might have a case of colic.”
“I’ll call the vet.”
Just then Mister tried to roll over. Cory held the horse’s neck to keep him from thrashing any more. Too much movement could end up causing serious damage to the horse’s intestines.
He grabbed the lead line hanging outside the stall and urged the horse to his feet. After a few moments, Mister stood. Cory led him to the arena. It was best to keep the horse moving, to try to speed up his digestive tract until the vet could arrive to determine how severe the case was.
“The vet is out on a call doing a C-section on a mare in foal. She won’t be able to get here until she’s done with that.”
“Fuck. Is there anyone else?”
Perry shook his head. “She has her vet tech helping her with the surgery. She says to keep him moving, at least for a little while, then check his stomach for any movement.”
“Do we have any anti-inflammatory meds on hand?” Cory removed his hat and ran a hand through his hair.
Mister groaned and tried to stretch, but Cory kept him moving. He petted the horse’s neck and crooned in his ear, wishing he could take his pain away.
“No, we’re all out.”
“Fuck. Any idea what else we can do?” He hated to ask for advice on his own animal’s care, but at this point he was desperate. He should have never left this afternoon. Although there wasn’t much he could have done to prevent colic.
Perry shrugged. “Just keep walking. Don’t let him eat or drink. Do you want me to walk with him for a while?”
“No. Thanks, though. I’ll keep him moving until the vet gets here.” No matter how long it took.
Cory made a complete lap around the arena before he noticed Perry had left. On the edge of the arena, where the hallway led into the open area, lay two bottles of water. He picked one up and drank it down. He felt just a bit bad that he was drinking when his horse couldn’t, but he needed something if he was going to get through the next few hours.
* * * *
Perry hardly slept at all. It didn’t help that he’d fallen asleep in his recliner. Again. After he woke up for what felt like the fiftieth time, he decided to get up and go to his bed. It was four in the morning. He could get another hour and a half of sleep before he had to do chores.
The barn light lit up the dark night, which meant that either Cory was still out there, or he had left the light on. Regardless, Perry knew he had to go check.
It was early, but he put on a pot of coffee anyway. He filled his mug, then another, just in case Cory was still up.
Cory was in fact still in the barn, walking with Mister, and if Perry wasn’t mistaken, it looked like they had started doing patterns rather than walking the fence line. The tracks in the dirt zigzagged all over the place.
“Hey. Thought you could use some coffee.” Perry held out the mug to Cory as he approached. Exhaustion rolled off Cory in waves; his shoulders slumped and his eyes drooped, but Mister seemed to have a bit more pep in his step. “He’s looking better.”
After a long drink, Cory said, “Yeah, in the past hour or so he seems almost back to normal. His guts are moving, but he hasn’t gone to the bathroom yet. I haven’t been able to get ahold of the vet. I would’ve thought she’d be here by now.”
“Why don’t you sit down for a minute? I’ll walk him.”
Cory looked as if he might say no, but apparently thought better of it. He handed Perry the lead line. “Thanks. I’ll just sit for a bit; then I’ll take him back.”
Perry took the lead and Mister followed him around the arena. As he passed by the hall, he caught sight of Cory lying on a bench with his hat tipped down covering his face.
It was kind of an adorable sight. Sexy too. Cory, still dressed in his tight jeans and one of the many championship belt buckles he insisted on wearing every day, sleeping on a bench.
Perry nearly tripped over his own feet. He really shouldn’t be thinking about Cory that way. Just yesterday he would have sworn that Cory was a spoiled brat who couldn’t care less about his horses, except for the winning money they brought him, but Perry could see now that wasn’t the case.
He was a damn enigma.
Mister nudged his back, and Perry kept moving. Now was not the time to think about Cory.
After fifteen minutes of walking, Mister stood and refused to budge. For a moment, Perry thought something must be seriously wrong, but the horse just lifted his tail, did his business, then stepped forward.
Finally.
“Cory.”
Cory bolted off the bench, though Perry hadn’t spoken very loud. “What? Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I think he’s going to be just fine. Whatever digestive issues he had have resolved themselves.”
Cory hustled down from the bleachers, stethoscope in hand. He checked Mister’s stomach. He smiled as he stood straight. “Sounds normal.” With a quick pat on the animal’s neck,
he took the lead line from Perry. “I think I’ll leave him in here for the night. Then have the vet come out in the morning to check on him.”
“It is morning. It’s quarter after four.”
Cory’s eyes widened. “No shit? That explains why I’m so tired.”
“Well, that and you’ve probably walked your fair share of miles in this sand.”
Cory unclipped the lead line from Mister’s halter. “You want some breakfast?”
“Huh?” Perry’s brain still wasn’t working at full capacity, but he could’ve sworn that Cory just asked him to have breakfast.
“Breakfast. Get some food in you before you start chores in an hour?”
“Don’t you want to sleep?” The energy bouncing off Cory was making Perry tired, and he was the one who’d actually slept that night.
“Nah. Believe it or not, I get up around the same time you do. No point in sleeping now.” Cory winked as he opened the gate wide enough that he and Perry could slip through. He gave one last look at Mister, locked up the gate, and headed down the hallway.
Perry followed behind him, more out of curiosity than anything else.
Inside his apartment, Cory shucked off his boots and pulled off his shirt. “I’m sure I smell terrible, but I need some food before I shower. I think my stomach’s going to eat itself pretty soon.”
Perry’s gaze was immediately drawn to Cory’s abs. The muscles rippled and flexed as Cory stretched. Perry forced himself to look away. “That’s understandable.”
Cory opened the fridge. “So what do you like? Eggs? Bacon? Pancakes? Toast?”
“Umm. Eggs and toast are fine.”
Perry glanced around the apartment. It was all one room, with the small kitchenette and its bar-style seating opening up to the rest of the room. A full-size bed sat in one corner with a dark-blue comforter spread over the top. On the other end of the room a computer desk full of papers sat with a laptop and large monitor on its surface.
Two saddle stands stood next to the desk. Both held identical saddles, adorned with more silver than Perry had ever seen. Hanging on the wall were pictures of Cory in competition. Most of them were of him and Cash when Cory was younger, but a few were of him with his other horses.
Feeling a bit like he was snooping, Perry quit inspecting the room and returned to the kitchen area.
Cory had a griddle out and already had a few eggs frying.
“Can I help with anything?”
“Nope. I got this.”
Perry leaned against the counter. His hand brushed against something, and when he glanced at what it was he jumped away. “What the hell?” Inside the sink was a mass of what looked like horsehair soaking in water.
Cory turned around and smiled. “Oh yeah, sorry about that. I’m trying to get it clean.”
“What the fuck is it?”
“It’s a horse tail.” Cory flipped the eggs on the griddle like it was perfectly normal to have a tail in his kitchen sink.
Perry’s mind reeled. “What the hell is it for?”
“Competition. To make the tail look fuller.”
“Like hair extensions for horses? Doesn’t it look sort of fake?” Never having competed professionally, he didn’t understand the nuances that gave a competitor the edge.
“Well, yeah. But everyone uses them.”
Perry imagined attaching one of them to Spice’s tail. She’d probably throw him off before she took her first step. “I’m not gonna lie, that’s a little creepy. How’s the horse feel about having extensions?”
Cory laughed, a rich, hearty sound that Perry hadn’t heard from him before. He liked it. More than he should. “It took Cash a long time before he got used to it. Denny took to it just fine. I’m cleaning this one up to try on Mister and Bug.”
Perry shook his head. “I still don’t understand it.” He searched his mind for something to say. He wasn’t much of a talker, but sitting in silence while Cory made him breakfast wasn’t very appealing.
Cory flipped two eggs onto a plate and handed it to Perry.
“So, um, how is it that you got into reining?”
“I just sort of fell into it. I got into a bit of trouble when I was a teenager so my parents sent me out here for the summer. Back then we used to have summer camps, mostly for younger kids. I helped Grandma and Grandpa out, and in the process learned quite a bit about horses. Grandpa seemed to figure out right away that I wasn’t causing trouble just because I was bored. Once I admitted to myself and my family that I was gay, things got better. I stopped picking fights at school and started spending all my free time at the ranch.”
After a moment, Cory continued. “Mom and Dad still live in town. They don’t much care for the ranch life. They used to help me at my competitions before I was old enough to go on my own. Now they just attend for the fun of it.”
Perry shuffled his feet, unsure of what to say. That was way more information than what he was anticipating, and he wasn’t sure how to process it.
Cory took a sip of his coffee, then set it down on the counter. “Anyway, when I was fourteen I saved up enough money to buy my own horse. She was a beautiful black-and-white paint, wonderful conformation, could turn on a dime. Couple of months later, she gave birth to Cash. He turned out to be a hell of a cutter; you could see it in his movements even when he was a colt. It just seemed logical to compete with him. One thing led to another, and I qualified for the youth finals.” He gestured to the plate in Perry’s hand. “Eat up, man. Food’s gonna get cold.”
Perfect. Perry didn’t have to talk if his mouth was full. He dug in with fervor, realizing he was hungrier than he’d originally thought. Most mornings he skipped breakfast in favor of a few extra minutes of sleep.
Cory filled his own plate, then shut off the griddle. Soon the two of them were eating in comfortable silence.
After he was finished, Perry turned around to place his plate in the sink and was startled once again by the mess of horsehair he found there.
It was only four forty-five. He still had some time to kill before he had to be up and doing chores.
“You don’t think much of me, do you?” Cory asked as he set his plate on the counter. He studied Perry, eyes meeting his as he waited for Perry’s response.
“Umm. I don’t know what you mean. I don’t think about you at all.” That was a tiny lie. He thought about Cory a lot. He just didn’t know what he thought about him. He couldn’t really say that, though. It barely made sense in his own head.
Cory crossed his arms over his bare chest. The muscles in his biceps rippled as he moved, reminding Perry just what his line of thought had been when it came to Cory Matthews.
Something in Cory’s gaze set Perry on edge and made him start talking. “I don’t know what to think. One minute you’re ignoring your horses, the next you’re spending all night in the barn with them to make sure they’re okay. Doesn’t make any sense.”
Cory hung his head as if he’d just remembered his actions on the first day he met Perry. “I’m not an irresponsible horse owner. Despite what you might think.”
“I know.” Perry realized now that perhaps he’d been wrong to judge Cory so quickly. Especially with the way Cory spoke about his horses and the love that was evident in his voice.
“And I know you must think that I don’t do much around here, but while you’re doing chores in the morning, I’m keeping the book work up to date. Grandpa doesn’t like to do it anymore. Says he has adult-onset ADHD and just can’t concentrate. I think he’s trying to groom me to take over the place.”
“Is that what you want to do?” As far as Perry could tell, Cory didn’t seem to have any future plans. Then again, he really didn’t know much about him. Except what he’d learned in the past few minutes.
Cory stood still for a moment and stared at the floor. “I don’t know. I like being at the ranch, but I like traveling too.”
Curiosity got the best of Perry. “Who feeds your horses in the morning? I know Tre doe
sn’t get here early enough to do it.”
Cory smiled and heat settled in Perry’s groin. He’d be putty in the younger man’s hands if he flashed that smile at Perry too often. “C’mere. Let me show you something.”
Perry followed Cory to his computer and watched as he pulled up some sort of program. The screen showed a view of the stable, then a view of the individual stalls, and finally a view of the arena.
“Ah, so this is what the cameras are for.” Perry had seen them hanging in the stalls, but really hadn’t given them much thought.
“Yeah. While I’m doing paperwork I can keep an eye on the critters. Also, I have an app on my phone, and I can set the cameras to record so I can tape my training sessions.”
“Cool.” If Perry ever owned his own ranch one day, it’d have a high-tech setup like this. Not that he ever thought he’d have his own ranch. That was a dream he’d pretty much given up on.
Cory continued, “I feed my own horses. I just do it when you leave to go take care of cattle. Mostly so I don’t get in your way.”
Perry wasn’t sure how he felt knowing that Cory was purposely avoiding him. “Hell, it’s your barn. You can be in there any damn time you want.”
“Well, I’m going to have to pretty soon. I need to step up the training for Mister and Bug if they’re going to compete next year.”
“How’s the training going?” Perry asked.
Cory shrugged and the smile slipped from his face. “Bug is a quick learner. I think I’ll ride him in some of the three-year-old classes next year. I’ve been working with him in a bosal. I’ve never competed like that before, so it should be interesting. Mister…he’s going to be a handful. I’m not sure he has what it takes to compete.”
As he spoke about his training, Cory’s voice washed over Perry. It was smooth as silk. Perry was sure he could listen to it all the time. He shook his head. That was not the line of thinking he needed to have right now.
“How come you don’t compete with Cash anymore? I saw you working with him the other day. You two are perfect together.”
Sadness passed over Cory’s features, and Perry wondered if he’d crossed a line.
