When cowboy Gage Wellton visits boyhood friend, Corey Cassidy, for a fun-filled weekend in New York City, Corey's life is turned upside down. The two have the time of their lives in the big city. As memories of their childhoods unfold, dancing, drinking, and a night of heavy sex ensue.<br><br>Gage soon finds himself smitten, which he didn't expect. It's too late for romance though, since Gage has to head back to his ranch, ending the weekend of fun and good memories. Corey asks him to stay, but Gage has obligations in Kansas and decides to return home, leaving Corey and the city behind.<br><br>Once back home, Gage struggles without Corey at his side. Then a rodeo accident sends Gage to the hospital and Corey shows up to visit. Corey becomes medicine for Gage. During his visit, the two become intimate again. But it's hard for a closeted, gay cowboy to survive in a straight man's world. Will love be enough to make one man change his entire life for another?

The Weekender

Blake went home an hour ago. Saul, another ranch hand, has been off sick with a summer bug. It’s just Mama and me in the barn. Mother and son. Friends.


Do I blush? I think so. I shake my head and say, “We shouldn’t be talking about this.”


“Why not? You think I didn’t know about you two boys in Harlington? You think a mother doesn’t know that her son’s different and won’t be marrying Chloe Fitzgerald? You think I haven’t been paying attention to you all these years, Gage Wellton?” She reaches in her apron for a blue hanky and passes it to me. “Wipe your brow, son. You’re soaked.”


“You’re in love,” she whispers. “I know it when I see it. That twinkle in your eye. That smile that doesn’t go away. Something happened to you in that big city. I’m not sure what, but I know that it was with Corey Cassidy. You never could stay away from that boy, could you?”


“Mama, stop,” I plead. “We shouldn’t be having this conversation.”


Chapter 16