Spark, Stace, and Casa have been best buddies since their high school rodeo days. Now they work for a very special guest ranch that caters to gay men who need a break and escape from their high stress fast lane lives. Rainbow Ranch has a reputation for providing precisely the Wild West adventures each guest needs and desires with the cowboys of their hottest dreams. Casa is worried when he sees Stace and Spark have found special partners in guests who’ve visited the ranch the past few months. He hates to be the only one left, but he doesn’t think that will work for him. He’s carried a secret torch for his boss way too long to change now. When Jason is hurt in a rodeo accident, Casa is the one who steps in to help and keep things going while Jason recovers. Having dealt life long with prejudice because he is Latino, Casa is afraid to let the other man know. Will matters be taken out of his hands? Jason has realized his dream of a dude ranch for gays. Will this end when his head wranglers hook up with guests, leaving him alone? But Casa, who has always been his secret favorite, steps in to help when Jason is injured and shows no inclination to hook up with a guest and withdraw. Instead, he makes himself almost indispensible. Does he have a hidden motive? Unbeknownst to Jason, Stace’s new partner Jared bears a striking resemblance to him, which makes the three cowboys wonder. Is there some connection and maybe bad blood between the two men? In an effort to bring the two face to face, the cowboys engineer a barbeque, unsure whether the result will be terrific or terrible.

The Wild Bunch: Casa

Jason had curled into a protective crunch. As Casa knelt beside him, the fallen man began to unfold, inch by inch. Casa could see the tension and pain on the older man’s face, even before he’d stretched out and rolled over to try to get up.


“Hang on. The bull’s gone. Take your time. You don’t have to jump up and haul ass.”


By then the bullfighters were back, moving in close to help the fallen rider to his feet if he needed the assistance. They, too, sensed everything might not be not all right and paused in their reach to grab Jason by his arms.


Very slowly, he got up on all fours, but stopped there, breathing in fast, uneven gasps. The imprint of one massive hoof stood out clearly on the leather of his chaps, about halfway between the right knee and ankle. Hissing a ragged sigh as he started to push up with his right leg, Jason leaned to the other side. That was when Casa knew for sure he was hurt.


Chapter 3