26. Marko

Chapter 26

Marko

The following spring

“ Y ou’re sure Terry knows we’re coming?”

Heath gives me ‘The Look’ and I hold up a hand.

“I was just asking. I know when you get excited, you sometimes forget stuff.”

Which is an understatement. The last time he started talking to the guys at the ranch about the duck car, as I refer to it, he forgot he had started a bubble bath. We had bubbles oozing into the hallway and half an inch of water on the bathroom floor. The time before that it was watching the wild partridge that wandered into our yard, and he went outside naked as a jaybird to throw down birdseed and damn near froze his balls off.

Which would have been a shame.

“Okay. That’s fair. But yes, I spoke to him this morning, and he said it’s perfect timing because Jeff was…extra busy the last few days. A ‘ prolific breeder ’ were his words.”

Heath puffs his chest like a proud dad, and I slide a hand onto his thigh.

“Sounds a lot like his dad.”

Heath’s cheeks flame bright red, and I smirk. Sex with Heath has been nothing short of amazing. He’s a dirty one. Don’t let the boy next door smile fool you. More often than not, he begs for his own breeding, and I’ll never deny him.

“Marko…” He warns as my fingers slide dangerously close to his zipper. Hands at ten and two like a good little driver, he’s also helped me be more comfortable as a passenger in a closed vehicle. I’ll still always choose a bike, but this road trip is longer than either of us wanted on a bike. Especially since Jacob filled Heath in on the pleasures of road head. Another friend of his I need to send a thank-you card to.

“What?”

“Don’t do it. I…don’t laugh…but I don’t want Jeff to know I just came down your throat before we visit.”

Am I disappointed to be cock-blocked by a bird again? Absolutely.

Do I press him like I might other times when it’s a game for us to make each other horny out of our minds just to see how far we can take it? No.

Because it’s been several months since we’ve been to visit Jeff and it’s important to Heath. Instead, I relax back and leave my hand on his knee. He picks it up to kiss the back of my hand before placing it back on his thigh. His signal that he enjoys me touching him and I still have a shot later.

“I won’t laugh. I understand.”

“So…are you excited to go to your first rodeo?”

The other reason for the road trip. My first rodeo. The one we didn't get to last year.

“I am! I’m not entirely sure what to expect, but I’m looking forward to it. Jamieson told me there are tickets at the gate for us. ”

When I met the bull rider last year and finished his tattoo, I didn’t think I’d ever hear from him again. But he sent me a few clients over the winter and one of them told me I needed to come and see him and friends in a real rodeo.

“Was he the one who’s a steer wrestler?”

“No, Jamieson is the bull rider, and Jackson is the steer wrestler.”

“Well, that’s confusing.”

“They look totally different if that helps.”

Heath slows the Jeep, and signals to turn into the lane for the bird farm where Jeff now lives. It’s a gorgeous place that I’m envious of. Surrounded by amazing scenery to fuck the rest of your days away. I thought I’d like to be a spoiled house cat in my next life, but a stud bird could be the way to go.

Heath parks in a visitor space and meets me on the passenger side after grabbing a small bag of cranberries from the back seat.

“Heath! Hi! Right on time.” Terry exits the small building we parked in front of and shakes our hands. “Good to see you both again.”

I like Terry. He’s way more into the bird talk than I am, but Heath soaks up everything he says. He comforts Heath in a way I can’t, and for that I’m extremely grateful.

“Jeff has been a star, Heath. An absolute star.”

“Oh? What did he do?”

Terry leads us along a path towards the enclosure where Jeff spends most of his time with his feathered harem.

“I’ve had six peahens lay eggs this week alone. As long as they all hatch, the birds have homes already. Male offspring bring more money and Jeff is already making a name for himself as a good stud. His kids will be sought after to start other bird farms. ”

“Oh, wow. I’m happy to hear he’s helping you so much.”

“A good stud like his dad,” I whisper in his ear and Heath swats at me to be quiet. But he’s trying hard to hide that smile.

Terry opens the gates and lets us inside the large enclosure. Heath’s face lights up when he sees Jeff. “Hey, buddy!” He waves, whistling, and Jeff stops mid-step, snapping his head in Heath’s direction.

“I’ll wait inside. Take as long as you need.”

Terry leaves us and I fade to the side as Heath focuses on Jeff, who now struts towards him with purpose. Once he’s a few steps away, he pauses and lifts his feathers. Jeff shakes them and cocks his head as he slowly comes closer to Heath.

“He remembers me,” Heath whispers, and I think he’s right. We hadn’t been here over the winter and Heath was so worried Jeff would forget who he was. “Hey, buddy. I’ve missed you. Looks like you’ve got a nice setup here. Cute girlfriends.”

Jeff makes a sound I’ve never heard before. A low purr. Maybe a coo? It’s not a screech and Heath reaches out to pet his head. Which still blows me away that he can do that. The bird keeps his fan up and Heath pulls the cranberries from his pocket.

“I brought you a treat. Your favourite.” Jeff makes the same cooing noise as Heath shakes them on the ground. He pecks at them and a few peahens have drawn close, but Jeff turns and squawks, sending them running before cooing again as he eats and struts around Heath some more.

Heath keeps telling the bird all the things we’ve done since he left like he’s catching up with an old friend. Which I suppose he is, and I enjoy watching Heath with the bird that first caught my attention. After my shock of seeing a peacock in town, Jeff led me to the beautiful man whom he followed around every day.

“You know, Jeff is a matchmaker. Did you ever think of that?”

Heath pauses and looks over at me. “No. What do you mean?”

“I first saw him. A peacock on Main Street. He caught my eye and led me to you. Maybe I wouldn’t have met you if I hadn’t noticed Jeff first.”

Heath nods as he thinks it over. “What do you think, Jeff? Did you unintentionally find me a partner while you were strutting around?”

If a bird could throw daggers with a single look, Jeff nails it as he reacts like he understands what Heath says. He continues eating the cranberries, and once he’s done, he stands for a moment, staring at Heath before swivelling back to the peahens still milling around behind him.

“It’s okay, buddy. I get it. You can go. I’ll see you in a few months, okay?”

Jeff drops the tail fan and saunters away while Heath silently watches him leave.

“You okay, sre?o ?”

Heath unlatches the gate, and we step out of the enclosure before he finally wraps his arms around me.

“I’m okay. Better than okay. He remembers me. I wasn’t expecting that.”

“I’d say he remembered. I’m happy for you.”

Hugging him close, I kiss the top of his head before he releases me. I thought he’d cry, but he’s beaming the smile I fell in love with and throwing his arms around my neck .

“You’re right. Jeff led me to you. I never thought of it that way before. Maybe that’s what his purpose was in my life? Without him, I may never have met you.”

“Fate in the form of a peacock?”

Heath pushes up on his toes to kiss me. His lips brush over mine and I melt into him. Just like every single time.

“I don’t know if it was fate. But it was something.”

“No, it was everything, ljubavi .”

“Yeah, it really was.”

***

“Ok, which one is the steer wrestler again?”

Heath and I take seats in the stands of my very first rodeo. As suggested, I wore a cowboy hat, and I still feel like I stick out like a sore thumb. Although it could be the tattoos. Anywhere I go, new people stare like I have broccoli in my teeth.

“Jackson is the steer wrestler. His tattoo was some kind of champion symbol. He brought it in. Jamieson is the bull rider. His tattoo had initials.”

Settling onto the bleachers, Heath turns over his arm where his very first tattoo, inked by me, sits.

“Initials sound so serious. I like ours.”

Last year for Christmas, Blaze insisted on tattoos for their core group at the ranch that matched. Even Colby sat with his husband and white knuckled through it. Not that he didn’t want to, he was just nervous. Now they all have the Broken Horn Ranch symbol on them somewhere with the year they became a part of it.

Blaze joked it was an advertising expense, but I’m pretty sure he was serious about it.

The announcer’s voice comes over the speaker and music blasts across the arena as the show starts. It’s a Saturday afternoon rodeo, and the crowd is bigger than I thought it would be.

Heath explains to me bull riding is the premier event and will be the last one on the schedule, but steer wrestling will be towards the end of the first half. Not that it really matters. There’s enough here to hold my attention outside the action in the ring.

The man beside me.

Heath swapped his ball cap for a cowboy hat, and I don’t know what I like better. His faded jeans and worn cowboy boots, along with his faded black T-shirt, make it all work for me. A lot.

The first event is called saddle bronc, and it looks painful. I can only imagine what the guys on the back of a bull go through if this is what a horse does.

Heath hoots and hollers for all the cowboys, and I’ve probably watched him more than the events.

“Oh, it’s steer wrestling next!” He turns to me and smiles. A softness in his gaze when it settles on me. “What’s the look for?”

“Nothing. Just admiring the most beautiful thing here.”

Heath’s deep brown eyes never waver from mine. “Ditto.”

He leans in and our hats bump. Both of us laugh and I take mine off before claiming the kiss he was going for. The music fades away along with the announcer’s voice until Heath pulls away .

“Family event.” He murmurs as he sits ahead to watch the action again. His hand finds mine though, and he squeezes it before stealing another glance. “I think your friend was just announced.”

Heath points to the crowd of cowboys on horseback at the one end of the ring.

“I wasn’t paying attention because a hot guy was kissing me. Explain this to me.”

Heath tries to look embarrassed, but I know he loves my attention. Sometimes I wish I had feathers like Jeff to signal my intentions, but I’ll settle for holding his hand instead.

“The steer will come out of the shoot and the two guys on horses will try to keep it between them. The hazer is the guy who doesn’t wrestle the steer, and he’s just trying to keep the steer running straight for the wrestler. Then your friend will slide off his horse with a fancy move to grab the steer’s horns and wrestle it on its side. When all four feet point out off the ground, the timer stops.”

“He just falls off a running horse onto something with horns!? Holy fuck.”

Heath nods. “Yep, and then wrestles a four-hundred-pound animal to the ground.”

“Wow.”

Rodeo cowboys are unhinged.

There’s been a bit of an issue with something at the chutes, so the rodeo clown is out there doing what clowns do best and making a fool of himself until the announcer tells him to get lost. The crowd laughs and then it’s on.

The first two steer wrestlers have me on the edge of my seat and Heath nudges me with his elbow. “It’s cool, right? Alec used to do tie down roping with a guy named Hunter. He always told me to go to the Kissing Ridge Rodeo one day. If you like this, maybe we should plan a trip.”

“Jamieson told me about that place, too. Said it’s where he’s from.” I’ve been watching Jackson on his horse and he’s in the stall, or whatever it’s called, since he’s next.

The steer bolts out, and the two cowboys are on it fast. I’ve barely blinked and Jackson slides off his horse and just lays this animal down so fast I’m in awe.

“That is…wow. I think I love rodeo now.”

Heath laughs before turning to face me.

“That settles it then. Our first official couple vacation will be to the Kissing Ridge Rodeo. And I’ll get some new chaps.”

He winks at me, and I shake my head.

“You did that on purpose.”

“I sure did.” He licks his lips. “How bad do you want to stay for the whole thing?”

Standing, I pull his hand and apologize to everyone that we bump on our way down the bleachers. Once on solid ground, I remove his hat and crash my mouth to his.

“I can catch a rodeo any time. But every day with you is precious. You are moja sre?a , my happiness, and I’ll choose that all day, every day.”

“I love you,” Heath breathes as his arms loop around my neck. “You are my everything.”

A throat clears and we step aside for the man who needs to get by and we both hurry away, trying not to laugh.

It takes far too long for us to leave the rodeo grounds and get to Heath’s Jeep, but when we do, I can’t help but to box him in against the door and make out with him a little longer .

“I thought we were taking this back to the hotel?” He smiles up at me and blinks those long eyelashes. I’m such a sucker for his eyes and the way he says so much with a single glance.

“We are. I just needed a bit more for the road.”

“And do you have enough?”

“With you? I’ll let you know, but I don’t think I’ll ever have enough.”

He smiles and turns to open the door of the Jeep.

“Well, that’s good to hear. I’d like you to remember that when the order of ducks I bought shows up next week.”

“The what now?”

He slips behind the wheel and closes the door, forcing me to jog around to the passenger side faster than I’d like.

“Heath…what did you do?”

He snorts as he steers the Jeep out of the parking lot.

“I told you. Ducks.”

“Do we need to upgrade to a hobby farm?”

He turns his head to meet my gaze. His sunshine smile blinding my rational thoughts.

“That sounds like a great idea! Can we?”

“I…um…”

He laughs before squeezing my leg. “No, we don’t need a hobby farm. You love your studio. And it’s just two ducks. For now. You’ll love them. I promise.”

And you know what? He’s right.

He could say he ordered two cows, and I’d be happy just because it makes him happy.

But I won’t put that thought in his head.

“I should be angry you didn’t ask me first. ”

“Why do you think I mentioned chaps before telling you?”

I bark a laugh and reach for his hand.

There’s one thing I know with certainty: life with Heath will never be boring.