Chapter 21 GENTRY
Chapter twenty-one
GENTRY
It felt good to have Dusty in my arms; our connection was as strong as it had been all those years ago.
Our bodies fit together like they were made for each other, and it gave me a feeling of wholeness that I had been missing.
There was no doubt that I loved him. We were different, having been boys back then, but now we were men, and that was something we needed to navigate.
We lay together, our bodies tangled. I ran my fingers up and down his arm, then kissed the side of his head.
“I have to go to the ranch tomorrow. The Pbr reps will be there, and I have to check on some of my cattle.”
“Early morning then?”
“Yeah. I’ll leave here around 5:00 a.m. I want to visit with Dusty a little before the day starts.”
He chuckled. “It’s good you have a friend.”
“He’s the literal best.” I needed to have a good talk with my buddy. There were a lot of things to work out, and he was a good listener.
“Will you come over tomorrow night?” I was glad he asked.
“I’d love to. You should know I am spending some time with Joe on Thursday. We are going riding, and I am going to order us some dinner. He only has a few weeks before the dude ranch job.”
I really had no idea how he would feel about that, but Dusty and I had only reconnected.
At this point, I wasn’t going to commit my life to him.
I wanted to know him better, learn more about him as a man.
Dusty is great, and I am very connected to him.
There was no doubt I wanted more time with him, plus we have that thing between us that will be there for the rest of our lives.
But Joe.
Dusty pulled away from me, sitting up so he could look me in the eyes. Bracing myself, I knew he was about to tell me how he didn’t want me to see him. I was afraid he was ready to insist we needed to be together, and I wasn’t ready for that.
“I’m going to see him Sunday for brunch.”
That surprised me, and I felt a little jealousy, but it wasn't over Dusty being with someone else. I didn’t like the thought of him seeing Joe without me. This might be a problem, then I looked at Dusty, and my heart felt all wobbly.
“That’s good. He’s a good guy, and I am sure he has all kinds of feelings. I told him about you when we first started spending time together.”
“I bet he has questions about us reuniting.”
“Yeah. I hope he knows this changes nothing, at least not for me.” I watched Dusty to see how he would respond.
“Good. It shouldn’t.” That felt good to hear. His not insisting we were a couple boded well for us; we could date and figure things out. “If you have an early morning, we should sleep.”
He leaned over and kissed me deeply. “If you are a good boy, I’ll give you a little middle-of-the-night treat.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me. Then he snuggled in.
As we fell asleep, Dusty whispered against my neck. “He told me about when you were together last time. It turned me on to hear about it.”
My heart started beating hard. Hearing about us together, it turned him on? That was interesting. “Really?”
“Yeah, it was hot. When you’re with him again, I want to hear all about it.”
I wasn’t sure what to think, but it was making me feel warm.
“It makes you hot?”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, and knew I was simply repeating his words, but something about that information stuck with me.
“It did. Now, knowing it’s you he was with.” He let out a low growl, and I could feel his cock move against my thigh.
There were so many feelings about what he said, all of them were good, but a lot to work through for sure. Dusty finding pleasure in me being with Joe was a new dynamic. I wasn’t even sure how to unpack that information.
Dusty hadn’t been kidding about the middle-of-the-night treat. I was going to be tired, but it was totally worth it.
It was 5:30 a.m., and I stood in my buddy’s stall. “Oh, sweet Dusty, we have a problem.” I kissed the side of his face again. “It feels so good to be around Dusty again.”
I had missed my equine friend the last few days.
He’s been with me for years now, and he holds all my secrets.
Continuing my conversation. “The problem is Joe. You’ve met him.
It hasn’t been a long time, but I am drawn to him.
You’ve seen us in all the ways. You have to admit we’re special together. ”
He snorted as if he understood.
“If I were asked to choose one of them, I couldn’t. I don’t want to hurt either of them. Dusty, the problem is that I have feelings for them both.” I placed my face against his forehead and hugged his head. “Tell me what to do, Dusty.”
When I heard the sound of hooves near the stall, I knew who it was without looking. Martin Wilson had a sixth sense with things. “I didn’t hear anything,” he said as he approached.
I looked at him, his Friesian stallion saddled and ready to go out. “It’s okay if you did.” Honestly, having someone to talk to would be a relief.
“Throw a bridle on your buddy there and let’s catch up on what’s happening with the cattle, and other things on this ranch. Being on horseback makes it easier to talk.”
He was right. Riding always cleared my mind. Opening the barn door, Dusty followed me out, and I slipped on his bridle. “Alright, let’s go.”
We headed toward the barn, where we had the breeding program for the Pbr bulls. “There are twenty-two bulls available this year. I think some have potential for the season. A representative will be out here today to take a look. I am guessing they will take at least fifteen this year.”
“That’s great, you’ve done amazing with our program.”
We opened the gate and headed toward some of the other breeds I was responsible for. Martin put me in charge of all our outlier programs, including our Wagyu cattle, the Highlands and Mini-Highlands, and the Brahmas. We also had a few different goat breeds that he had entrusted to me.
The brief thought of leaving had passed; this was my home, and we were all adults. We’d figure our shit out.
“I heard that friend you always talked about is back in your life.”
Even though I knew it was coming, I tensed up, and Dusty immediately reacted by dancing under me. I pat his neck, letting him know everything would be okay.
“Yes, sir.” He turned and looked at me.
“Sir? That seems a bit much. Something I should know about?”
I swallowed hard. “Not really, I am nervous about what you heard, and I don’t want to disappoint you.”
“Son. I heard this was a surprise to you. I’m more than impressed with you as an employee, a man, and a friend. There is no way you could disappoint me, as long as you are being honest with all the parties involved.”
“We are all being honest with each other, and I believe there are a whole lot of feelings going on.” I looked over at this man, who was like a father figure.
We stopped in front of the Mini-Highlands. “We’ll have seven babies for sale.”
“You’re doing a great job with our specialty animals, even the goats that Mrs. Wilson wanted.” He always got a warm, soft glow when he brought up his wife. I realized I wanted that a lot more than I was willing to admit. “Look, there they are.”
“What?” I looked where he was pointing.
“The eagles, the three of them, are living their best lives up there together. They mate for life. It looks like they figured out how to make it work.” Martin looked at me seriously.
“That’s pretty cool. I wish I were an eagle and could soar through the sky and not worry about hurting someone important to me.”
It was clear he wanted me to get my shit together as the eagles did. Which meant telling one of these men that I cared about, that we were only going to be friends.
“I’m spending some time with Joe on Thursday. I really like him.”
“He’s a good man, I don’t blame you.” Martin had six children, not to mention all the men and women they had brought into their family, including me. Yet he was taking the time to make me feel comfortable.
“Dusty—my horse's ears twitched hearing his name—was my first love. I still love him, but we don’t know each other. It’s a situation I’d never expected to be in, and I don’t know what to do.”
“I can’t imagine. I know you will all do what is best for everyone.” He nodded. “The eagles figured it out. You will too.”
We rode to the other animals I was responsible for and confirmed that we would be gathering sperm this week. As we returned to the main barn, Martin smiled at me.
“You’re going to do fine, Gentry. I know you, and you are a good man.” I could feel the stinging behind my eyes because I didn’t get a lot of parental love, and this felt exactly like that.
“I promise I won’t hurt him. Thank you for talking to me. We didn’t solve anything, but I am glad you aren’t mad at me.”
“You are family to Mrs. Wilson and me, I’d never be mad at you.” Already, Dusty’s bridle was off, and he followed me around as I helped groom Victory, Martin's stallion.
“Martin, can I go over some numbers with you?” Earl called from his office.
“Go ahead, I’ll put Victory away and sweep up in here.”
“One minute, Earl.” He yelled back. “Gentry come to me any time,” he pulled me in for a hug. When he released me, he looked me in the eyes. “Be like the eagles, Gentry.”
Before I left for the day, I went to spend some time with Dusty—the horse.
There were several peppermints in my pocket for him to enjoy while we talked a little more.
I went into his stall and sat in the corner.
Dusty came over and snuffled at me, wanting one of the candies.
Holding my hand out, I let him take one; he chomped on it happily.
“Let’s send our friend a text.” I stood up to take a selfie with my buddy. I rubbed his gums to get him to raise his lip, then snapped the picture. Sending the picture to Joe I included a simple note.
GENTRY
I’ve missed you.
I pulled out a couple more sweets. “What should I do?” Whispering in his ear has become a habit. It felt like he somehow understood. When my phone vibrated, I couldn’t get to it fast enough.
JOE
I’m looking forward to seeing you.
Come to my house for dinner after?
My heart beat hard, he wasn’t pulling away, and I was so happy because I thought I might have to beg, but he asked me to come to his place.
GENTRY
Yes! Definitely, yes!
Can I buy you dinner?
We can order on our way back.
JOE
I would love that.
I was so happy. Should I feel bad about dating two men? We were all adults, and this was normal for people; it wasn’t something that I had ever done, though. At this point, I was ready to embrace it and see how things turned out.
I ran into the bunkhouse, where I showered, changed, and grabbed some stuff in case I spent the night at Dusty’s again.
It wasn’t long before I knocked on his door.
As soon as he opened it, I was overwhelmed by his bright eyes and gorgeous body, on display in nothing but pajama pants.
The smile he gave me made a ton of butterflies take flight.
It was a beautiful thing that I would love to experience a thousand more times.
He was gorgeous, sweet, and seeing him felt like I was finally home.
He opened his arms to me. I walked into them and pulled him hard against me. When he looked up, I more than happily gave him the kiss he had silently asked for. Everything felt right with our arms around each other.
“Did you have a good day?” I asked before I went back in for another kiss. This time, he deepened it, and my toes curled in my boots.
“It was good. I made a sizable dent in my things to do pile.”
“Get comfortable, there is pizza on the way. I hope you still like sausage, onion, and extra cheese.” I turned and looked at him. All these years later, he remembered my pizza toppings—he liked mushrooms, pepperoni, and ground beef.
I took off my boots and settled onto the couch. He handed me a Dr. Pepper, then sat next to me. “You know it feels like you are still my best friend. Nobody has filled that role all these years. I mean, other than your namesake.”
He thought for a bit. “You know what. It’s the same for me. Montgomery and I are pretty close, though, but it’s not quite best friend range.”
We spent the rest of the night talking and laughing.
Eventually, he grabbed my hand and asked me to share his bed.
His body was amazing, and I loved being buried in him, making him beg and then scream my name.
When we were done, I rolled off him, happy and sated for the moment.
It was fun, and that was the best part of being with him. No pressure—it was fun and felt good.
“I’m really glad you’re back in my life, Jacob.” That made me smile.
“It feels really good to be in your life again.” He squeezed my hand, and I squeezed back.
I loved this man; it was uncharted territory, but grown-up Dusty was as great as the teenage one. Getting to know him was fun, and hanging out with him was natural. Before long, my eyes grew heavy, and I pulled him against my chest. It felt right having him in my arms as I fell asleep.