Chapter 3

Collin wasn’t sure what to make of Tank. He tried talking to him but got only short answers to his questions. After dinner, everyone moved into the living room, and Collin sat next to Tank to engage him in conversation. He was supposed to be spending the next two weeks staying at his house, and it was going to be a long visit if Tank was the strong, silent type.

Chip managed to get Tank to talk, but the two of them chatted about feed stores and chores that needed to be done. “Did you ever ride rodeo?” Collin asked Tank, trying to find something to talk about. “I watched it on the telly a few years ago. I thought it pretty amazing how men could ride those animals.”

“I was too tall,” Tank said, and Collin waited to see if he would continue. “Alan rode rodeo for a time, if I remember. He was pretty good. It wasn’t for me, so I became a soldier for a while.” He drank some more of his tea, and it seemed that was all Collin was going to get.

Collin wondered what Tank might have seen during that period, but kept his curiosity to himself. His experience was that most people didn’t want to talk about those times. “Are there rodeos here?” he asked, changing the subject.

“Yeah. There’s one next week up in Creekwood,” Chip said. “You should go. Maybe Tank could take you up there to see it.” Collin got the idea that Chip was just being himself, but it seemed by the scowl he got from Tank that it wasn’t likely that would be happening. The guy was huge, with muscles bulging out of his shirt. Tank could have looked mean—well, he actually did in some ways, especially with the bald head—but Collin wasn’t sure if he actually was or not. His instincts were conflicted, but he kept going back to the fact that Alan’s mother seemed to like him, so he couldn’t really be bad.

“That would be fun,” George offered. “I can see about getting us all tickets, and we could look at making a day of it.” Tank didn’t say anything, but Collin was grateful for George’s effort.

“You boys have all traveled a long way and have to be tired.”

“Yeah, and I need to get up early for chores,” Tank said flatly. Collin took that as his cue that it was time for them to leave.

“You come for breakfast in the morning,” Maureen told Tank. “I’m making the french toast that you liked so much when you were here for Easter brunch.” She hugged Tank and Collin too. Then Tank said goodbye, and Collin followed him out into the night, wondering just what he was getting himself in for.

“How far away is your ranch?” Collin asked as Tank drove.

“Not far,” he answered and kept driving. Collin was starting to wonder if they were going to end up in the next state, but then Tank turned in and pulled up near a huge home, low to the ground and a single story. In the front porch lights, he saw some weathered wood.

“Thank you for letting me stay,” Collin said, and Tank hummed something that Collin didn’t understand.

“Go on and take your bags inside. Your room is the first one on the right down the hall. I got some things to see to.” He trundled off toward the barn, and Collin stood outside. Cows lowed nearby, and in the distance, a howl carried over the land on the breeze. Collin picked up his suitcase and hurried up to the door to let himself in.

Three intense barks greeted him in the dimness. Collin started and fumbled for a light switch, then turned on an overhead light. He snickered as the small dog and two puppies stood rigidly in front of him, barking their heads off.

“Oh my God.” Collin smiled. He would have expected Tank to have a dog as big as he was, and instead, they were these cute little beauties. “I’m Collin, and you can stop barking.” He knelt down and held out his hand. The larger dog sniffed him and then licked his hand before coming forward. He gently stroked her head, and then the others followed suit, climbing over each other for attention. “Aren’t you sweet?” He petted them all before standing up. He found the hall and took his bag to the room Tank had indicated.

All three dogs followed him, the bigger one jumping on the bed while the other two whined and tried to get up. Collin put them next to her, and the three of them formed a little doggie pile, curling up together.

Collin opened his suitcase and unpacked, hanging things up in the closet. He wondered what he should do. Tank seemed to have escaped to the barn, and Collin had no idea what time to expect him inside. He was tired after all the travel, so he changed into sleep clothes and lay on the bed with a book. The dogs all nuzzled close, and soon the words muddled in his head. Collin set the book aside and closed his eyes. The house was quiet and the air was fresh. He didn’t mean to fall asleep, but the last thing he remembered was one of the pups climbing onto his chest.

He woke at some point in the night. The house was dark, the dogs were gone, and he’d been covered by a blanket. He checked the time—a little after four in the morning—and then rolled over, closing his eyes once more. The bed was soft enough and the blanket the right weight that he was warm, but not too warm.

The scent of coffee pulled him awake. Collin sat up, stretching and yawning as he rubbed his eyes, surprised at how long he slept. He felt scruffy and needed to wash off the travel, but his nose led him to the kitchen, where he found the coffee pot but an otherwise empty house. As soon as he sat, the dogs raced over, the two pups practically rolling over each other in their haste. Collin gave all of them some attention and finished his coffee before returning to the bedroom. He changed clothes and used the bathroom to freshen up a little before deciding he should find his host.

Tank was out in the yard, a horse on a training lead. It seemed like he was trying to build trust, especially with how softly he spoke to the horse. “Morning,” Collin called gently.

“Don’t move,” Tank said immediately, and Collin leaned against the fence, watching as Tank worked the skittish horse. Tank spoke softly enough that Collin couldn’t hear the words, but the horse obviously could. Finally, Tank stopped and led the horse over.

“What happened to her?” Collin asked, using the tone he would at home for a horse who had been frightened.

Tank kept her away from the fence. “Someone terrorized the poor thing.” He rubbed her nose, and the horse started, but Tank continued, and she calmed once she realized he wasn’t going to hurt her.

“I see.” Collin said softly. “You’re a pretty girl, though,” he said, addressing the horse, making sure she saw him. “Yes, you are.” Her ears twitched, and she took a step closer. “Tank will never hurt you, so you can calm down. That’s it.” She took another step forward, and Collin spoke even softer, letting his voice soothe her. He wasn’t sure if this was what Tank wanted, but he didn’t move her away, so Collin kept talking until the chestnut beauty came even nearer. Slowly Collin reached out, letting her see his hands before stroking her neck.

“You’ve done this before,” Tank said very softly.

“Yes. My father had a string of horses, and there was one like this pretty girl. He bought her at auction and got her for a pittance. He didn’t know what was wrong with her until he got her home and the tranquilizers wore off. She about tore the place apart. But I got her calm.” Collin smiled. “She wasn’t as pretty as this beauty, but she was a good horse… for me. Belle hated my father.” That gave him a small smile. “She had good taste.” His little joke was met with a flat reaction.

“Rocket here was abused. The county took her away from her owners, along with eight other horses. They had been mistreated for quite some time.” Tank treated her so gently, it was almost surprising, given how gruff he seemed to be. “I got her a month ago, and you’re the first person, ’sides me, that she’s let get close to her.” Tank clicked his tongue and slowly led her away while Collin wondered if he’d actually gotten a compliment from the quiet loner.

Collin watched Tank go, his footsteps raising tiny clouds of dust, tight jeans encasing his thick legs and bum. And what a bum it was. His back widened to broad shoulders. This was definitely a man Collin wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley, and yet in the light of day, there was a sheen of vulnerability around him, like this silence and gruff demeanor were covering for something. Of course, that could be Collin’s imagination. Still, he stayed where he was, shifting his attention to the other horses once it seemed like Tank might turn back. He didn’t want to be caught staring. Who knew how Tank would react?

He sighed and wondered what he’d gotten himself into. Collin had battled his father and accepted whatever consequences the vindictive old coot would decide to dish out so he could come here. Maybe he had this ridiculous fantasy that guys like Alan were lined up looking for someone like him, and he’d just have to go down the line to choose the model he wanted. That was stupid.

He pushed away from the fence. His phone vibrated with a message from George to say that breakfast was on in ten minutes, so Collin went to find Tank.

“What are you doing?” Collin asked as he entered the barn. Tank had a horse in crossties and was working on a foot. “Shouldn’t the vet be doing that?”

Tank looked up at him like he was crazy. “I been cleaning and caring for horses’ hooves since I was twelve.” He flicked the tool, and a stone arced through the air to the floor. “That’s better, isn’t it, boy.” He checked over the hoof and then set it down. “I’m going to give you some extra oats for that because you were good.” He patted the gelding’s neck and undid the ties, then moved him back to the stall.

“Breakfast is in a few minutes,” Collin said as Tank closed the stall door. Tank nodded, watching him intently, like he might want to ask something. “Go ahead.”

“Do you really have a vet do the simplest things?” Tank asked. “You got that much money?”

“We don’t have loads of it, no. We have land and the estate, which generate income. But we don’t waste it.” Unless you counted his father and the fact that he had no sense at all.

“Out here we do for ourselves as much as possible,” Tank explained. “The vet will come, but he covers maybe a thousand square miles. I could call him for something simple like that stone, but then another ranch might need him for a troubled birth fifty miles away and he wouldn’t get there in time.” He strode toward the house, and Collin followed, wondering if he had just been smacked down. He decided that had simply been an explanation of life here and a different take on things.

Collin washed up and rode with Tank to Maureen’s, where a huge, heaping breakfast awaited them. The others settled at the table now that they had arrived. He took a couple of pieces of french toast and a few pieces of bacon as well as some eggs and slowly began to eat. Without asking, Tank added more bacon and eggs to his plate, as well as two pieces of sausage.

“What am I supposed to do with all that?” It was a mountainous amount of food. Collin had never eaten that much at one sitting in his life.

“You’ll need it,” Tank said as he tucked right in.

“What I’ll do is explode,” he retorted, and the cowboys all chuckled.

“We’re going over to Tank’s today. One of the water retention ponds needs the intake feed cleaned out. It’s going to be a hot, heavy job, so eat up,” Alan said. “You’re going to need all your energy.” He had that serious look of his, so Collin ate all he could, but he still left a piece of sausage. He finished all the bacon because, dang, that stuff was good.

Once they were in the yard, Tank plopped a hat onto Collin’s head. “You can use it,” he gruffed and headed over to an ATV.

“You’ll need these as well, and this.” George tossed him gloves and a long-sleeved shirt. “The sun is fierce, so you’ll burn if you don’t cover up. Chip is driving the truck over with the tools. You go get on behind Tank, and he’ll drive you over.”

Collin turned to where Tank waited and wondered if there would be room for him. George got on behind Alan, slipping his arms around his waist, and then Alan took off. As Collin hopped onto the ATV behind him, he hoped Tank didn’t dump him somewhere. Tank scooted up a little, and once Collin put his arms around Tank and got a feel for his flat, hard belly, they started out, and all Collin could concentrate on was not falling off.

The ride was bumpy and fast. They zoomed over the land, through pastures and paddock gates. “Always leave a gate the way you found it,” Tank told him as they passed through one, and he had Collin close it. Then they continued on across a huge open pasture to what looked like a small lake glistening in the sun.

Collin got off and joined the others once Tank had dismounted.

“See the mud around the edge? That used to be the level of the water,” Alan explained. “Grab a shovel from the back of the truck and follow Tank. He’ll show us what needs to be done.”

Collin pulled on his gloves and got a shovel while other guys from the ranches arrived. Then he followed the others to a dry indentation in the ground. “The sides seem to have fallen in,” he told George. “They probably weren’t reinforced properly, and the water washed them away.” Collin continued up the embankment with Tank behind him. “What’s with those stones over there?” he asked, pointing to a couple of rock piles to the side of the field.

“They were part of an original house that was here a long time ago. We lost it in a storm in the fifties, and we left the stone. We can use it to reinforce the banks. Have a couple people load them up and bring them over.”

“Then once we re-dig the channel, we can line it with the rock and it will be more stable,” Collin added.

Tank nodded, and two of the men unloaded the equipment and rode off with Chip. The others began digging to deepen the channel, starting at the pond, while Collin made sure the slope was right. This was his element. He had studied hydrology in school, so he knew the basics. In a country where it rained a lot, managing the flow of water was a big deal.

When the guys arrived with the stone, he explained how to lay it, with the large pieces on the bottom and smaller ones on top. “Put the ones this size along the base of the sides.” He showed them how to do it, and the men got to the heavy work. Collin then helped with the digging.

Within an hour, he understood the need for the huge breakfast. He had also never been so sweaty and hot in his life. His shirt was soaked through, plastered to his skin, and so was Tank’s, giving Collin a good view of the ridges on his belly and the way his large nipples peaked the fabric.

As they got closer to the water source, the main earthen dam was the final obstacle. “We need to get all the rock laid before we remove this,” Collin instructed.

“All hands to the rock,” Tank bellowed, and they made short work of getting everything hauled over and placed. Then Alan began digging away at the top of the berm.

“No, start farther back,” Collin explained. “We want as little of that debris as possible to flow back up the channel. So make it as thin as we can, and then the water will do the rest.” He dug in, making a hole just up from the obstruction. Mud and dirt filled every crease, and then the water took what remained and flowed down. The remaining dirt filled in his hole, and soon the water ran clear up to Tank’s retention pond. “Now fill in the rest of the rock in this area.”

Everyone chipped in to get the last part done. “Drinks at Clancey’s are on Tank,” Alan declared as he clapped Tank on the shoulder.

“You all did good, and I thank you.” Tank turned to Collin with a smile. “All of you.” Everyone gathered up the tools and loaded the back of the truck. Then Collin climbed up behind Tank and they rode back to the ranch house, where Maureen had a heaping table of food set up on the back patio ready for what Collin could only describe as the biggest meal of his life—and this time he understood why.

“Are you ready to go?” Alan asked as he strode into Tank’s living room.

“You go. I have things to do.” Tank handed Alan a credit card. “You know I’m not… social.”

Collin watched as the two men stared at each other. “This isn’t social. It’s a thank-you for everyone who helped you. You know that, and you need to be the one who says it.” Alan wasn’t angry or upset, just firm, and Tank nodded. He took back his card and went down the hall, where he closed his bedroom door. Collin wondered if Tank was okay and what had happened to him. This wasn’t some sort of social anxiety thing; it was more than that. He turned to Alan, who shrugged like he had no idea what was going on either.

Collin figured Tank would return in clean jeans and a fresh flannel shirt, but he was so wrong. Black pants, white shirt open at the collar with a hint of tan skin, fresh, almost white hat with feathered decoration, and alligator boots that practically sparkled. He was a spectacle, and Collin’s mouth went dry. “Are we going?”

“Yes,” George said, and Alan tossed him the keys. They all left the house and got into George’s rented SUV, heading for town.

Clancey’s seemed like a cowboy bar straight out of the movies. There were trophies mounted on the walls, neon beer signs, and rows of plank wood tables with benches crowded with people. Music played over it all, adding to the din. The only thing missing was the smoke, for which Collin was grateful. They found a table at the far end of the room.

“Looking spiffy, boss,” one of the hands said. Tank nodded and sat down at the end of the table. He got a round of beer for everyone, and they all settled in and ordered food, laughing and talking up a storm.

“Is it always like this?’ Collin asked George, who was sitting next to him.

“Pretty much. Ranches are sort of like a family. It’s a hard life with a lot of work, like today, so time off is precious. Tonight is kind of special, and everyone is behaving themselves because Tank is here. He never comes out.”

Collin leaned closer. “Is this a gay cowboy bar?” He’d heard of those.

George shook his head. “But Alan and I will probably dance. It’s okay. Clancey doesn’t take crap from anyone, and he’s made it clear that if they can’t accept folks for who they are, then they know where the door is.” George gestured to the far side of the bar, where the biggest man Collin had ever seen stood, looking over the proceedings. The server took orders, but Collin was still full from dinner, so he got a dark beer, sipped it, and watched people.

The band started playing about ten, and the room jumped into action. “Do you wanna dance?” a man asked Collin with a smile. “I’m Teddy. I work over at the North Spike.” He seemed pleasant, so Collin nodded and let Teddy teach him the steps, which didn’t take long. “You’re really cute.”

“Thanks,” Collin said as the cowboy drew him closer. He smelled good, like fresh hay and the outdoors. He was sexy and seemed nice enough. As they danced, Collin relaxed and went with the music, allowing himself to have a good time, even smiling at Teddy. Maybe coming here had been a good decision.