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

Before he was quite ready, they pulled into the ranch yard. After Jason got out, Casa tossed him the keys. “Here. You’ll be driving yourself again from now on, I reckon.”


Jason caught them neatly. Already he seemed to be past the brief but heady mix of beer and post-cast euphoria. He nodded. “Thanks for playing chauffer for me the past few weeks. It’s been hard, not being able to do that and a lot more, but I’ll be up to speed soon.”


Casa nodded, trying not to let the end of this brief period of closeness bother him. It had been too good to last. “Yep, can’t keep a good man down…”


As he started away, he was anything but and he didn’t dare look back to see if Jason had a similar reaction. If there had been a few more miles between town and the ranch, who knows what might have happened. A couple of times he had sensed Jason was about to reach across the cab and—But no, that was foolish, wishful thinking.


Chapter 11