The Wild Bunch: Spark

Rainbow Ranch Gila, New Mexico Early March What the f**k is wrong with me? Josh “Spark” Diamond skidded to such a fast stop the horse he led through the aisle of the big barn almost ran him down. Why am I daydreaming and all revved up over a guest, just ‘cause he’s been here before, ‘cause he attached himself to me and ‘cause he’s really hot? No way! Me and Stace and Casa are the love ‘em and leave ‘em trio, the tumbleweed cowboys who never settle down. We don’t hook up with guests except for their stay. That’s always been our rule. We’re the Wild Bunch. Except that wasn’t strictly true anymore. Stace had broken the taboo with Jared Langford—and now Jared was relocating his digital media business from Burbank, California to Las Cruces, New Mexico just a two-hour drive to the southeast from Rainbow Ranch. That meant Stace would likely be spending considerable time there or Jared would be at the ranch…despite some undefined issues between him and the ranch owner, Jason Langford. The three cowboys still speculated among themselves about that situation and the uncanny resemblance between the two. Still, this also meant the Wild Bunch was starting to unravel after the three of them being inseparable since high school. For a few seconds, an icy fist clenched in Spark’s chest. He might not be scared of bad horses, tough bulls, the wild predators in the Gila Wilderness or much else but this change thing bothered him a lot. And now Louis Vetrano was coming back for a second visit. In a few more years, Vetrano would be able to play a Mafioso don on screen to perfection. Right now, his thick, wavy black hair was only air-brushed with silver along the temples and down in front of his ears and his handsome olive-toned face bore only the first traces of lines. He could pass for a movie star, but he ran a company in Chicago. He’d been vague about his business, and Spark had not inquired much. You didn’t butt into guest’s personal lives. It was apparently a very successful company anyway since he could afford two vacation trips to Rainbow Ranch in under a year. Spark knew such visits didn’t come with a small price tag. This time, the Chicagoan had booked a full two weeks. Usually, the three cowboys tended to divide up the special guests their boss marked for unique and individualized packages of adventure among themselves even before the guests arrived. At times, though, a guest would select the cowboy he wanted for his private host shortly after he arrived and force things to switch around. That had happened a few months back when Jared Langford, Vetrano and a Texas oil and real estate mogul had all arrived about the same time. Stace had opted to take Langford and that match stuck from the start. Casa was supposed to host Vetrano, and Spark, who was from Texas, would take charge of the Texan, but it had not worked that way. Instead, Louis picked out Spark from the beginning and pretty well monopolized his time. Tomorrow, the Chicago don would be back. Oh, he probably really wasn’t a don, but he sure looked the part. Anyway, Spark would drive to Las Cruces to meet Vetrano when his plane arrived. That was routine. What was not routine was the way his heartbeat speeded up and his c**k began to twitch at the mere thought of the masterful and fascinating Italian-American. Spark had almost insisted Casa go collect the returning guest but he couldn’t do it. The idea of Louis with someone else simply did not compute. Oh man, I think I’m in deep s**t. Spark pulled himself together and focused on the immediate job—changing shoes on his big white-stocking sorrel so the horse would be ready for some travel the next few days. The twitchy nerves almost went away while he worked. Shoeing even a gentle horse like Quatros Zuecos took a man’s full attention because so much could go wrong. One false move could lame a horse or earn the farrier a nasty gash from a nail or a slipping steel shoe. Spark was too wise to go into the job distracted, but finding his focus didn’t come easy today. * * * * “Hey, Lou, whattsa matter? You’re as fidgety as a w***e in church.” Louis Vetrano barely restrained a snarl at the question. Mike’s not trying to be a wiseass—he really doesn’t get it. He knew his assistant to be loyal to a fault and simply concerned by his boss’s lapse from his normal calm and steady demeanor. “Just too many loose ends to tie up, Mike. I’ve gotta leave first thing in the morning. Mixing business and pleasure this trip. That’s why I want you here and ready to jump on some things if I send word. I’m looking into some hot investment possibilities in New Mexico. Getting a toe in their green technology door could do wonders for Vetrano Enterprises. Then maybe I’ll squeeze in a week or two to relax at the dude ranch again. This winter has been hell on a skateboard.” A trace of relief slid across his assistant’s well-lined face. Mike Comparo had been with Lou’s father for years before Lou inherited his services along with the leadership of Vetrano Enterprises. Mike knew almost as much about the family and its business as Lou did. Lou was not about to admit the visit to the dude ranch played a bigger and more unsettling part in his thoughts than did the investment opportunities. True, Vetrano Enterprises had taken some losses in the recession, but things were not that bad. A few wise moves could recoup those dollars and add a good many more if all went as planned. But the idea of spending more time with a certain cowboy—now that seemed a risky venture at best, but an opportunity Lou could not resist or refuse. What am I doing, mooning over a good looking young stud—one who smells like horses and probably has straw between his ears when it comes to high finance and all the things that have always mattered to me? If I wanted a boy toy, I could find plenty more amenable candidates right here at home. Yeah, the s*x was great and probably will be again, but that’s not enough to build anything real around. I’ve got to get a grip. He’s not much more than a prostitute—giving satisfaction and playing the game because it’s his job. Only thing is, he sure does a f*****g good job! Not until Lou’s plane finally lifted into the air the next morning did he manage to settle down. Once on the way, his worries seemed to fade into the hazy sky as the plane nosed up through the clouds. He settled back in his seat, flipped open his latest gadget, the newest smart phone-c*m-computer, and set a few business projects into motion. After that, he glanced through the few fast photos he’d managed to capture of Josh “Spark” Diamond, the cowboy he was itching to see again. He’d looked at them a hundred times, but it wasn’t enough. Yeah, the westerner looked good enough from every angle to devour like a rare steak, but until you could hear his husky drawl and lay a hand on his hard, hot body, it wasn’t nearly enough. Soon…just hours now, not days or weeks. * * * * Spark dawdled around the ranch all morning, only getting into the big Dodge Ram crew cab pickup when he had barely time enough to get to the Las Cruces airport and meet the Chicagoan’s plane. He’d been so grumpy and nervous today even the ranch dogs, who usually seemed to consider him their favorite, stayed out of his way. Stace and Casa arranged not to cross his path. As he drove down the highway to Deming and then headed east on Interstate 10, he tried to think of anything except the next two weeks and what he and Louis Vetrano might do. He pulled up beside the huge hangar on the general aviation or non-commercial side of the Las Cruces airport just as the sleek private jet taxied in and came to a stop. He swiped sweat-slick palms down the sides of his jeans as he stepped out, straightened his hat, and strode to meet the dapper man who sauntered down the ramp from the plane. They were almost of a height, Lou about an inch shorter than Spark’s six-foot-three. But there any resemblance ended. Spark had blond hair lit with a few flashes of copper, while Louis had hair as black as a starless night. His eyes were the merest shade lighter, the darkest of dark brown. Spark figured they made a striking contrast. Lou wore pressed slacks and a sport coat, head bare and a pair of the finest Italian leather loafers on his feet. He looked like he’d stepped off the cover of GQ. Spark, of course, had on his regular uniform of jeans, boots, a plaid western-cut shirt and a Stetson, neat but definitely all cowboy, as fair as the other man was dark. He noticed several people paused a beat to look at them. They both stopped, a long step apart, and studied one another for a few seconds. “It’s good to be back,” Lou said. “You’re looking good enough to eat as usual.” “Not bad yourself,” Spark managed. “Ready to head for the hills?” Lou gave him a toothsome smile. “Plan to hold out that long?” Spark drew a fast, hard breath. “Mr. Vetrano, I’ve got a job to do. That means getting you and your gear to the ranch in reasonable time and making sure you get checked in and settled for a good vacation.” Lou arched one eyebrow as his smile faded. “Oh, I don’t doubt you’ll do every bit of that to perfection. I just thought we might find a place along the way…Remember my last night and the time we spent in the hot tub? That vision’s been nagging me for weeks.” Stace gulped. Yeah, he remembered all right. He’d even been there with a few other guests in the meantime, but it sure hadn’t been the same. “I’ve already got dibs on the tub for this evening, after supper, late. Just had a hunch you might like to relax after your flight.” Feeling a wash of heat flood his face at the other man’s intent stare, he turned away to heave Lou’s luggage into the bed of the truck. Before he finished and turned to open the passenger door, Lou had done it himself and climbed in. “Let’s go,” he said. “The sooner we leave here, the sooner we arrive there.” Although Spark didn’t break the speed limit, he pushed it as he headed back to the ranch. He figured it was best to stay legal because the time it took for a cop to write a ticket would be more than the few minutes he’d lose by staying a hair under seventy-five. Anyway, Jason didn’t like any of his hands to so much as put one toe beyond the letter of the law. The three cowboys had learned this quickly when he hired them, and he took care to remind them if he felt there was need. Jason was funny that way—somewhere between a father figure and a big brother to the three of them. He’d earned their unwavering loyalty and treated them more like family than employees. If the truth were told, they all found him alluring, but not one would admit it, even to himself, much less his buds. Somehow, Jason was definitely off limits. None of them had ever even approached that invisible line, no matter how tempting it might sometimes appear. Spark wasn’t even sure if Jason was gay, although there never seemed to be a lady in his life. Spark glanced at Lou as he turned off under the pine pole arch with the plank sign proclaiming Rainbow Ranch. The other man caught his gaze and smirked. “Almost there, eh? What do you want to do first?” “That’s my line,” Spark protested. “You’re the guest and my job is to see your every desire is taken care of. What do you want to do first?” Although the air still had a distinct nip of chill, Lou rolled down the window and took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh scents of juniper and mesquite, the latter just starting to leaf out. “Oh, man, I could get high just breathing this air. No smog, barely any exhaust. Do you realize how lucky you are to live here?” “I sure do. That’s a big reason the three of us jumped at the chance to come work here. Not the only reason, but an important one. It’s really a special place; the wilderness right out the back door, weather as good as you could ask for taking into account the whole year, a fun job, a great boss…If I’d dealt my own cards, I couldn’t have come up with a better hand. Of course, some of the guests are an extra perk…” Lou laughed. “And some of them are a real pain in the ass. I almost was the first time I came, wasn’t I? You boys had it all planned, and I threw a wrench right into the works. Your Chicano friend didn’t start my motor at all—but you did. I always know what I want and usually how to get it. I don’t take no for an answer, either.” Spark dragged in a fast breath, a chill more of foreboding than the dropping temperature of evening stirring deep inside. If this guy really wants me, what’s it going to mean for the long run? Is he just talking about a visit now and then or something else, something that’ll turn my world inside out? I don’t want to leave here, don’t want to change my life and the guy I think I am. Is he going to demand something like that…and if he does, what’ll I say? What’ll I do? For once, he didn’t have a ready answer, an easy way out. He knew he’d led a luck-blessed life and come up smelling like roses no matter what mess he fell into. His folks had accepted his being gay and his wish to go his own way. Yet, if he chose to return to San Antonio, he could go right into his dad’s business and be welcome, even without the college degree he’d missed by going off to rodeo instead. His accidents and mishaps had always skidded past being really bad, and he’d never even had a serious broken heart. Could his run of incredible fortune be nearing its end? Oh, s**t. He’d never been very religious, but he found himself asking the deity that watched over crazy cowboys to hang in there with him a little bit longer. I need all the help I can get, Boss-Man Upstairs. Give me a hand here, please.