Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 87067 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87067 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Rowe smirked. “I did.”
“This is a horrible idea,” Cole growled. “I can’t believe I’m even considering this.”
“Yep,” Rowe countered with a grin. “It’s gonna be a nice little vacation. JB is a great guy, and he’s got a decent spread. You can ride horses, go fishing.”
Cole frowned, shaking his head. How had Rowe won so easily? “I’ve got a ton of work going on here. I can’t simply leave it.”
Noah laughed. “Rowe knew you’d say that. We already confirmed with Gidget, and things are quiet right now. Perfect timing for your forced vacation.”
“But—”
“You can take your computer and work remotely if things get crazy here,” Noah continued over his objection. “A vacation would probably do you good. You haven’t taken one since you came to work here.”
“I did. I took a week off a year ago.”
“And you showed up here nearly every day you were supposed to be off,” Rowe said with a lift of one red eyebrow.
“If I was going to travel for a vacation, it wouldn’t be to a ranch.”
“It’s all set up. I already emailed Gidget to get you a flight and…” He poked at his computer keyboard, then chuckled. “She’s got you one tomorrow. I’ll have JB pick you up. We’re all set.”
“Tomorrow? Just like that?” Cole put his elbows on his knees and buried his head in his hands, groaning softly.
“Come on, it’s a great idea,” Noah said. “You’ll like JB, and ranches are cool. Peace and quiet.”
Cole narrowed his eyes and shot Noah a look that could kill.
Noah threw his head back and laughed. Then he sobered up fast and stared at Cole. “Rowe’s right. This Briggs guy will kill you if we give him the chance. Out of town is the best thing to do. Come on, it’ll be fun. JB has horses and cattle—supposed to be a really nice place.”
There was nothing fun about being on a ranch, but he held his tongue. JB was a good friend of Noah’s, and he didn’t want to insult Noah.
This was a terrible idea. He’d never even been on a horse before and knew nothing about cattle. Computers were his entire world. The city was his comfort zone, offering nearly twenty-four-seven delivery of about anything he could want. High-speed Internet flowed like a swollen river in the city.
Oh, God! Did JB even have Internet? He had to if Noah said he could work remote. But would it be fast enough? Images of dial-up and screaming modems filled his mind, making him shudder.
“I don’t know about this.”
“It’s done,” Rowe said, his expression now serious. “Get used to the idea. This is about keeping you safe. And I still say a vacation would do you well.”
“My idea of a vacation is in another city.” Cole couldn’t help but give Rowe a small smile as he stood. “But I’ll do this. Gidget can email me the flight information. I’ll pack tonight.” He turned and left the office, wondering if he should buy a pair of boots.
Chapter Three
JB stood outside the security exit of the Austin airport, his hands shoved into the back pockets of his worn and faintly dusty jeans while trying not to think about his motives for agreeing to turn his family’s ranch into a “safe house” for one of Rowe Ward’s employees. He couldn’t possibly be doing this with the hope of getting to Noah again. No, he was past that.
Noah Keegan might have stolen his heart years ago, but seeing his old friend and occasional lover so completely happy with Rowe Ward, well…he was glad for him.
Okay, and maybe a little envious. He wanted that. He wanted the kind of love that shone brighter and hotter than the sun on a summer day.
It was with some relief that the love he’d felt for Noah had mellowed into a love for a friend, but it didn’t change his ultimate desire.
Of course, finding that kind of love wasn’t exactly easy when he spent all his time on his family’s ranch. Which was great. Don’t mistake that. He loved his ranch. It was his entire life.
But agreeing to house one of Ward’s employees offered an interesting distraction. When he’d seen Noah in Cincinnati three years earlier, he’d met a number of the bodyguards and IT support members, but he didn’t remember them too clearly. They’d been in the middle of trying to bring down a ring of mercenaries hell-bent on killing him and Noah. He’d been a tad distracted at the time. What he could remember of them was mostly that they were a funny, if not slightly crazy, bunch.
Rowe had mentioned that Cole was a member of the IT team. Was he the skinny, squirrely guy with black-rimmed glasses? Not the woman who looked like an elementary schoolteacher. There was another guy. Quiet. He couldn’t quite recall.