On the Fence

Chapter 44

Getting back to Bridlewood, there had been some tension with Zeke when he saw the bruises, and he attempted to confront Brant and me about me going along with the group up into the mountains, but Zeke's words of not needing a list ahead of time came back to bite him. Brant and I had exchanged a tiny smile, trying not to laugh, when Zeke had sulked off to the ranch house, clearly still irritated but without a leg to stand on. We also knew we wouldn't be able to pull that same trick again on him.

It had been nice to get back to our hot showers and soft beds that night, followed by a couple of days off to rest before jumping back into bailing hay and preparing for the rodeo. The ranch was in full-swing busy mode the rest of that week. Bailing until work hours were over, and then all the men who were participating in rodeo would be doing any preparations they needed, including practicing, in the evening. The weekend had been much of the same and into the following week.

I had stood with my arms crossed on the top of the fence, a boot on the first rail, watching Brant and Tyler practicing their roping with some other guys working the chutes and ropes the night before. I couldn't help but admire Brant on Rembrandt; my eyes had followed him all evening. It had been a long night for the competing guys, but now we were finally loading up to head to the county fair. The rodeo was starting that evening, and there was a lot of excitement on the ranch in anticipation.

I also was a ball of nerves, anticipation of seeing Aiden mounting within me but also making me nervous. It had been weeks since I had briefly laid eyes on him, and I still hadn't had a chance to set things right. He had accepted that there was another man, but the pain of potentially riding up on us in the middle of being intimate was more than any man could withstand.

"Come on, baby girl!" Tyler called me, waving me over to the open truck door, allowing me to slide between Brant and him. Behind the truck was a fully-loaded horse trailer, carrying Rembrandt and some other horses the men owned.

We pulled out onto the main road, heading off to the fairgrounds, Brant expertly driving the truck. He would put his hand on my knee in-between, shifting, making butterflies fly in my stomach. Tyler's arm was slung around the back of me as he chatted with the guys in the back seat of the crew cab, laughing.

"No, Steve, I promised my woman I'd sit with her," Tyler said, pulling my shoulder against him obviously when he said 'my woman,' in emphasis. All the guys laughed in response because it had become known that Brant and I were almost an item in the last few weeks. There was still an undercurrent that I was seeing someone else, but he wasn't from Bridlewood, which had the men speculating but me keeping that secret close.

"Where are you guys sitting?" Steve asked.

"Baby girl has an in with the boss man, so he sported her a couple of tickets close to his VIP box, but not in it. She refused his invitation to come to join him in there, so I think he tried to get her as close as he could," Tyler laughed, making the other men join in.

"Bet it's getting to him that it's with you," Jason laughed, enjoying Zeke's jealousy.

"He doesn't know," Tyler smirked back, an evil grin showing off his teeth, and then he turned that smile on me and winked, making me laugh.

"Brant, are you feeling ready?" Steve asked.

"You know it, Steve," Brant answered, all confidence, as he pulled into the grounds. We found a space to park, and the guys jumped out of the cab, springing into action to unload the horses and start preparing. The cab emptied all except for Brant, who held me back.

"Taylor, I will be busy for a while, but I was hoping we could spend the hours I have free together enjoying the fair? I know you were hanging with Tyler, but would you mind if I tagged along?" I smiled at him and answered him by pulling him to me for a kiss with a hand behind his neck. A quick knocking on the truck's window made Brant turn to look. Tyler grimaced, jerking his head to the right, our eyes turning.