Rory Brown grew up in care but found a home, friendship, and a much-needed sense of security working on the Double J ranch. As far as Rory is concerned, fellow cowboy, Zane Fox, is perfect. Zane is strong but gentle, kind, big, ruggedly handsome ... and straight. Rory works alongside Zane, eats alongside Zane, and when an ice storm causes a power outage, he sleeps alongside Zane ... for warmth. Inhibitions lowered after getting drunk on his twenty-first birthday, Rory Kisses Zane and confesses his feelings for the man. The next day, when Rory learns his father is dying, although estranged from the man, Rory feels obligated to see him one last time. Zane follows Rory to Kansas and confesses he has feelings for Rory, too. After learning his father has died, Rory and Zane set off for home in Zane's old truck. However, bad weather and a mechanical breakdown mean they have to hole up in a guesthouse. Rory doesn't mind, it gives him a chance to explore things with his hunky new boyfriend. And there's a lot of Zane to explore. Life on the ranch is little short of idyllic, Zane is everything and more Rory could want in a lover, protector, and friend. A tiny part of Rory knows he should brace himself for if/when the other shoe -- or cowboy boot -- drops. Rory is thrown when evidence of Zane's heterosexual past reveals itself, leaving him totally devastated. Are Zane's feet made of clay, or can he redeem himself and once again become Rory's rock?

Rory's Rock

“You’re twenty-one?” Zane asked, slinging an arm around Rory’s shoulders—giving the smaller man a squeeze as well as a hard on. “I’m gonna take you to a bar on your birthday and buy you your first beer.”


“Uh, thanks.” Rory ducked his head. He hated being the focus of their attention.


Rory had never been carded when he’d gone out drinking with the other guys, although he didn’t go out very often. He preferred to stay in the bunkhouse and take advantage of the quiet to read or listen to music.


“But Rory’s eating supper here first before you take him out to get him drunk,” Barry insisted. “In fact you can all line your stomachs first.”


Barry was kind of a mother figure to them all, and Rory secretly appreciated that, although no one could replace Rory’s real mom.


As Liam was the foreman and the oldest man on the Double J, Rory saw him as a father figure—a world away from the…monster that was his so-called real dad.


Chapter 3