An Excerpt from Jeane Laws's A Good Man is Hard to Find

“Ma, is Ren all right?”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Ask him yourself.”

Kade clenched his jaw and started to turn.

“If he’s there.”

Kade turned back to her and searched her face. “What do you mean?”

“Well, he had to deliver a horse to Auburn earlier this week. I don’t know if he’s back yet.”

“Love you, Ma.” Kade grabbed her for a hurried squeeze and then turned and walked out the door.

The schoolhouse and Murry’s livery stable sat at opposite ends of the business center of Paradise Grove, but in a town this size, the walk wasn’t far. Still, by the time Kade reached his destination, his heart was racing. The sweat that trickled down the center of his back now was not from the heat. He tied his horse and headed around back, past the large service barn, to the training corrals.

As he cleared the barn and the round pens came into view, Kade froze.

A tall man was working in the center of the large, round pen. A young mare circled him at a slightly irregular canter, her rich brown coat glistening in the afternoon sunlight.

A mixture of emotions swamped Kade. Relief. Panic. Desire.

Ren.

Ren’s white cotton shirt hung on a protruding post in the pen. Ren stood only in boots, and trousers covered by a pair of black chaps. Like the horse, Ren was covered in sweat, and his muscles rippled and flexed as he moved.

Kade’s mouth went dry. The chaps hung low on Ren’s hips, calling attention to his long, lean torso and his narrow waist. His blond locks curled below the brim of his hat. Ren had lost weight after his injury all those months ago, but across the space, Kade could see no evidence of it now. He looked, in a word, perfect.

As Kade approached the corral, all the thoughts crowding his head drained, as did his body’s blood. It pooled between his legs, and his cock ached in his pants.

Ren knew he was there. They had worked together for too long, and the man was as keenly aware of his environment as Kade was. However, Ren gave no indication, continuing to focus his attention on the horse, encouraging it with subtle movement of his hands and body and the low, crooning tone of his voice.

Since Ren didn’t acknowledge him, Kade contented himself with watching the man work.

The horse had both ears turned toward its trainer, and Kade couldn’t blame her. The sound of Ren’s voice was like velvet brushing over his skin.

To an untutored eye, Ren didn’t appear to be doing anything other than following the horse’s movements from the center of the ring, but Kade saw the subtle shifts in balance, the small hand gestures that directed the animal to slow down or speed up. Ren raised a hand and the horse turned on its haunches to move in the opposite direction. It was like a waltz -- Ren led; the horse followed. Kade was mesmerized.

The horse was beautiful, but Kade’s gaze was focused on the long, muscled planes of Ren’s back, on the deeply tanned expanse of his skin. In the past, Kade had almost never allowed himself to indulge in a study of Ren. It would have been too painful. Now, his eyes devoured every slope and plane hungrily. He rubbed a hand over his rock-hard cock and shuddered.

The horse slowed to a walk and then to a halt before turning to the center of the ring and walking to Ren. He held out a hand, and the horse moved close, eager for the praise that would follow. The large animal nuzzled the side of Ren’s neck, and Ren brought an arm around to pat the horse gently. His head was blocked from Kade’s view when he spoke.

“You gonna hide in the shadows all day, Black Eagle?”

Kade’s gut clenched at the sound of his name on Ren’s lips. He bid a silent farewell to life as it had been and stepped into the light.

“Who’s hiding? I’m just not stupid enough to stand out in the middle of the sun, waiting for you to finish playing with the horse.”

Kade’s low, sexy drawl reached across the space and wrapped itself around Ren’s dick. Ren clenched his teeth to hold back a groan. He couldn’t stop the tremor that passed through his body, however, and the young horse shifted uncertainly. With a great deal of effort, Ren relaxed his body and stroked the animal.

The moment Kade had reached the livery stable, Ren had known, as he always did, that the man was near. It was like a sixth sense, honed over years of living and working together. A flash of excitement had raced through his body, but he’d quickly buried it and continued his work with the young mare. He wouldn’t beg, goddammit.
The fact that he wanted to suck Kade’s cock more than he wanted his next breath was making nonchalance difficult. When his friend stepped out of the shadows, Ren’s fist tightened in the horse’s mane.

Kade moved with a languid grace that never failed to mesmerize Ren, and as Kade moved closer, Ren stifled an urge to moan. The unremarkable black pants and vest only accentuated Kade’s tall, athletic build. He was stunning. His dark hair was shorter than it had been two months ago, barely brushing the tops of his ears, and the planes of his face were slightly more pronounced. Ren’s eyes narrowed.

Kade reached the edge of the round pen and propped a boot on the bottom rung. He leaned against the fence, his full, sexy lips curving into a slow grin, but there was a tension in the expression that gave him away. Kade was nervous. Ren’s eyes flickered down below Kade’s waist, where his cock appeared to be trying to poke a hole in his pants. Ren smiled. This could be good.

© Jeanne Laws, August 2006
All Rights Reserved